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Scalebound, Crackdown and Quantum Break at Gamescom

P

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
Huh, really weird to basically announce that these exist at last years E3 but not follow up and show them this year. Really wonder what they're actually showing then.
 
H

hawk2025

Member
Amir0x said:
First, we do know what Sony will show at their Gamescom conference. Nothing. A company who understands good strategy is one that plans for what they do know, not what they don't.

They don't know what Sony has at E3, but it's a fair bet they'll have some big announcements and some of them will surely drown out some of Microsoft's smaller announcements, just like some of Microsoft's big announcements will do the same to some smaller Sony announcements.

Games like Scalebound are big to us, but it's a Platinum Game... their titles never sell a huge amount relative to the 'big AAA' titles, and so it's the perfect game to debut at a show like Gamescom when Microsoft can depend on Sony not being there to drown it out. Similarly, Crackdown is on a AA tier of game judging by sales, which makes it yet another perfect candidate for a show to Microsoft's own. And Quantum Break is a brand new IP from Remedy who has been hit or miss with their games in terms of the attention/sales they've received, and the title has already had a huge coming out party multiple times... and it was also delayed out of 2015. It's yet another perfect candidate for a show to itself.

This is a brilliant strategy. It really, really is. They will have games at E3. Microsoft will have a packed show just like Sony. They will show their new Forza, their Gears of War Collection, and all sorts of surprises. They have big stuff in the pipe. And that will be at E3.

But then they smartly now have a huge summer show to themselves, where they can highlight their second tier of products without any of them being drowned out by overwhelming E3 press coverage of a billion different products.

I do the E3 summaries each year on NeoGAF, and the number of announcements each year is staggering. It's basically impossible to keep up with. Microsoft has in my estimation made a very very clever strategic move.
Click to expand...


This is totally understandable in principle (this news actually made me more excited for the unknowns of Microsoft's E3 conference).

However, it makes me wonder: What does that say about the strategy for their previous conferences where these games were featured? Not only featured, but two of them were only CG trailers?

Why should Scalebound and Crackdown not receive the royalty treatment that, say, Sunset Overdrive did?
 
R

Rembrandt

Banned
SRTtoZ said:
1) 2 months is 2 months, especially for a conference ONLY segment.
2) Lets see what they actually show at GDC.
Click to expand...

A 2 month delay in showing isn't long enough for you to say they showed it off too early and are you implying they won't show them at Gamescom?
 
D

dancrane212

Member
Disappointing since I really wanted to see more from those two pushed games but also kind of exciting. If the press conference can stand on it's own without those three games it is, hopefully, pretty stacked.
 
B

Bessy67

Member
RulkezX said:
Can't wait for CG announcements of games we won't play for 2+ years

E3 2014 :Redux
Click to expand...
Or perhaps gameplay from the big titles coming this fall that we haven't seen much on? Halo 5 campaign, Forza 6, Gears of War remaster, Fable Legends, Tomb Raider...
 
R

Rembrandt

Banned
hawk2025 said:
This is totally understandable in principle (this news actually made me more excited for the unknowns of Microsoft's E3 conference).

However, it makes me wonder: What does that say about the strategy for their previous conferences where these games were featured? Not only featured, but two of them were only CG trailers?

Why should Scalebound and Crackdown not receive the royalty treatment that, say, Sunset Overdrive did?
Click to expand...

Probably because they won't release until after next E3 and will be prominently shown there.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
hawk2025 said:
This is totally understandable in principle (this news actually made me more excited for the unknowns of Microsoft's E3 conference).

However, it makes me wonder: What does that say about the strategy for their previous conferences where these games were featured? Not only featured, but two of them were only CG trailers?

Why should Scalebound and Crackdown not receive the royalty treatment that, say, Sunset Overdrive did?
Click to expand...

I think the big difference is that this year Microsoft knows Sony is not going to be at Gamescom. When that announcement was made over a month ago, I'm sure a lot of thought was put into how to take advantage of that fact over at Microsoft. And if I were in their position, I'd have concluded the precise same thing: this is a chance to steal weeks of publicity for second tier games in our lineup that otherwise might get drowned out because they're not quite the biggest franchises or they're new untested IPs or whatever. It's a net win. They can say something silently about Sony's games lineup while simultaneously giving these games huge breathing room to catch the public's eye.

There's also the double bonus of giving the big announcements they're going to have at E3 even more room to breath.

The success of the strategy of course will depend on multiple factors. For example, if they took these games out of E3 and moved them to Gamescom and as a result their E3 conference seems starved due to it, that would make this move a bit more debatable from a positive/negative standpoint. But I am pretty sure that won't be the case. Another factor will be just how well received these games finally are at Gamescom. If they get a lot of people talking it'll be huge, but if there's any disappointment in there it'll make it seem like a squandered opportunity.

Ultimately, though, I think this was the smart move. If I were in their position, I'd have done this and perhaps even moved some more big titles to Gamescom too. It really is a huge opportunity for MS to capitalize on a odd strategic absence on Sony's part.
 
T

That1BlackGuy

Member
If Crackdown isn't going to be at E3, then I lost a major reason to watch Microsoft's conference as that was the main thing I was looking forward to since Phantom Dust is up in the air. Still, hopefully they show some great games.
 
H

hawk2025

Member
Amir0x said:
I think the big difference is that this year Microsoft knows Sony is not going to be at Gamescom. When that announcement was made over a month ago, I'm sure a lot of thought was put into how to take advantage of that fact over at Microsoft. And if I were in their position, I'd have concluded the precise same thing: this is a chance to steal weeks of publicity for second tier games in our lineup that otherwise might get drowned out because they're not quite the biggest franchises or they're new untested IPs or whatever. It's a net win. They can say something silently about Sony's games lineup while simultaneously giving these games huge breathing room to catch the public's eye.

There's also the double bonus of giving the big announcements they're going to have at E3 even more room to breath.

The success of the strategy of course will depend on multiple factors. For example, if they took these games out of E3 and moved them to Gamescom and as a result their E3 conference seems starved due to it, that would make this move a bit more debatable from a positive/negative standpoint. But I am pretty sure that won't be the case. Another factor will be just how well received these games finally are at Gamescom. If they get a lot of people talking it'll be huge, but if there's any disappointment in there it'll make it seem like a squandered opportunity.

Ultimately, though, I think this was the smart move. If I were in their position, I'd have done this and perhaps even moved some more big titles to Gamescom too. It really is a huge opportunity for MS to capitalize on a odd strategic absence on Sony's part.
Click to expand...

Well, I VERY much look forward to what we see! I think you make an excellent point.
 
Megatron

Megatron

Member
Miles Quaritch said:
Are you ready for third party deals, DLC exclusivity announcements and lots of and lots of CG trailers that may or may not actually become, well, games...

I'd also expect there to be a 10 minute Division demo up there too.
Click to expand...

You know at this point, all of those describe Sony more than they do Microsoft
 
L

Linkhero1

Member
I was super hyped for Crackdown and Quantum Break. I'm hoping they blow E3 out of the water because those are some of their big titles they're holding off showing.
 
J

jond76

Banned
Amir0x said:
I think the big difference is that this year Microsoft knows Sony is not going to be at Gamescom. When that announcement was made over a month ago, I'm sure a lot of thought was put into how to take advantage of that fact over at Microsoft. And if I were in their position, I'd have concluded the precise same thing: this is a chance to steal weeks of publicity for second tier games in our lineup that otherwise might get drowned out because they're not quite the biggest franchises or they're new untested IPs or whatever. It's a net win. They can say something silently about Sony's games lineup while simultaneously giving these games huge breathing room to catch the public's eye.

There's also the double bonus of giving the big announcements they're going to have at E3 even more room to breath.

The success of the strategy of course will depend on multiple factors. For example, if they took these games out of E3 and moved them to Gamescom and as a result their E3 conference seems starved due to it, that would make this move a bit more debatable from a positive/negative standpoint. But I am pretty sure that won't be the case. Another factor will be just how well received these games finally are at Gamescom. If they get a lot of people talking it'll be huge, but if there's any disappointment in there it'll make it seem like a squandered opportunity.

Ultimately, though, I think this was the smart move. If I were in their position, I'd have done this and perhaps even moved some more big titles to Gamescom too. It really is a huge opportunity for MS to capitalize on a odd strategic absence on Sony's part.
Click to expand...

In with you on this. Moving those games back creates a lot of question marks in the conference, which is very exciting. It's no fun knowing everything in advance, and I honestly think MS might have the drop on us with some unknown announcements.
 
G

greenegt

Member
I do want to see those games, but it does make sense for MS to focus more on their fall 2015 lineup at E3 and their 2016 lineup at Gamescom. Having everything at E3 would be a lot.
 
S

Sesha

Member
No Scalebound? Urge to hype Microsoft conference fading.

Kaako said:
Because that's probably all they had at the time. Shit got announced waaay early me thinks.
Click to expand...

Yeah. They shouldn't have announced the game last year like they did. I guess they felt they needed to fill that space with something, even if they had nothing else to show.
 
L

Linkhero1

Member
Poodlestrike said:
I dunno, man. Rare and Twisted Pixel are both working on something AAA, apparently. There may be some legitimately cool surprises coming.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping that Rare's IP is a Banjo Kazooie 3. I'm still pumped to see Gears of War, but I hope they didn't cast those games to August to spend 10-15 mins on a Gears Remaster.
 
P

Percy

Banned
Scalebound was the only thing they had I gave a shit about. Guess I can skip the MS conference if it won't be there.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Percy said:
Scalebound was the only thing they had I gave a shit about. Guess I can skip the MS conference if it won't be there.
Click to expand...

but you don't know everything they have

by definition, E3 conferences are usually filled with surprises

i mean unless you're some sort of videogame psychic (which begs the question: why are you surprised this game won't be there?) :eek:
 
H

hawk2025

Member
Poodlestrike said:
I dunno, man. Rare and Twisted Pixel are both working on something AAA, apparently. There may be some legitimately cool surprises coming.
Click to expand...

Those two have one thing in common: I don't think either are still capable of making a good game.

I'll assume the good stuff will come from elsewhere.

Percy said:
Scalebound was the only thing they had I gave a shit about. Guess I can skip the MS conference if it won't be there.
Click to expand...
There's so much else they could show, though. All this means is that 6 weeks later we will get to see these games... but what does this mean for the remainder of the time they have? We could have very different surprises. Hell, a new "Scalebound", that you didn't expect, just like last year!

Majanew said:
I'm sure there will be some indie games at E3. Yay.
Click to expand...
Sounds good to me :)
 
S

StealthGoblin

Banned
KefkaPalazzo said:
This either means an amazing E3(Think Banjo, New IP, and and the Joe Montana Football rumors being legit) or MS looking to deliver two good/solid conferences instead of one amazing one. So bummed by the lack of Scalebound, please swerve us!
Click to expand...

If those games mean an amazing E3...

I think their E3 will be weaker than most expect.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
hawk2025 said:
There's so much else they could show, though. All this means is that 6 weeks later we will get to see these games... but what does this mean for the remainder of the time they have? We could have very different surprises. Hell, a new "Scalebound", that you didn't expect, just like last year!
Click to expand...

Technically we expected it because it was spoiled by that one neoGAFer who came on this forum for a few hours to leak everything Microsoft had in store and then vanished into the great darkness :p
 
H

hawk2025

Member
Amir0x said:
Technically we expected it because it was spoiled by that one neoGAFer who came on this forum for a few hours to leak everything Microsoft had in store and then vanished into the great darkness :p
Click to expand...

That one particular part was so unbelievable that I even forgot that it was also leaked :O

I'll say this, though: As soon as Joe Montana Football is rolled out, I'll be wishing I could be seeing any of these three.
 
N

Napalm_Frank

Member
I wouldn't be surprised if Crackdown and Scalebound have pretty much nothing tangible to show at GC either. They reek of late 2016/early 2017 titles. The most surprising thing to me is the lack of Quantum Break.

Halo, Gears, Tomb Raider and Forza are their big guns at E3 and honestly I'm fine with that if they can show some nice surprises of smaller titles. I feel like Microsoft has lot of catching up to do with actually delivering anything on the big games they have already announced. I'd rather them not announce a bunch of games with CGI teasers that may or may not actually release years from now.

Same goes for Sony but I feel they are getting better at it. Bloodborne had pretty much perfect announcement->release gap.
 
P

PensivePen

Member
Amir0x said:
but you don't know everything they have

by definition, E3 conferences are usually filled with surprises

i mean unless you're some sort of videogame psychic (which begs the question: why are you surprised this game won't be there?) :eek:
Click to expand...

I mean I kind of understand the disappointment. People have been waiting patiently for a year after having no info for this game at all, only the occasional vague teases of "this might be the best game of all time!" and then it's announced just a few days prior to the event it won't be there. For myself and a few others I'm sure it was the only real game of interest at last year's show, and knowing that we're still getting nothing is enough to sour some on the whole event.

I know it's childish when it's confirmed to be getting shown in just two months, but it is frustrating.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Evazan said:
Or they aren't ready for prime time yet
Click to expand...

Quantum Break has already huge gameplay previews that look and ran fine. Crackdown has been in development for some time, 2 months would not make such a difference between "could show" and "could not show" at this point.

It really has nothing to do with them being ready for primetime. You guys aren't thinking this through logically, as if you're a giant corporation who has to try to think of ways to give the games they're spending money on the most exposure possible.
 
C

CrimsonEclipse

Member
Amir0x said:
I think the big difference is that this year Microsoft knows Sony is not going to be at Gamescom. When that announcement was made over a month ago, I'm sure a lot of thought was put into how to take advantage of that fact over at Microsoft. And if I were in their position, I'd have concluded the precise same thing: this is a chance to steal weeks of publicity for second tier games in our lineup that otherwise might get drowned out because they're not quite the biggest franchises or they're new untested IPs or whatever. It's a net win. They can say something silently about Sony's games lineup while simultaneously giving these games huge breathing room to catch the public's eye.

There's also the double bonus of giving the big announcements they're going to have at E3 even more room to breath.

The success of the strategy of course will depend on multiple factors. For example, if they took these games out of E3 and moved them to Gamescom and as a result their E3 conference seems starved due to it, that would make this move a bit more debatable from a positive/negative standpoint. But I am pretty sure that won't be the case. Another factor will be just how well received these games finally are at Gamescom. If they get a lot of people talking it'll be huge, but if there's any disappointment in there it'll make it seem like a squandered opportunity.

Ultimately, though, I think this was the smart move. If I were in their position, I'd have done this and perhaps even moved some more big titles to Gamescom too. It really is a huge opportunity for MS to capitalize on a odd strategic absence on Sony's part.
Click to expand...

*slow claps*
 
T

Tarahiro

Member
I was really looking forward to Scalebound but this is actually making me look forward to E3 even more. If they can push those to Gamescom, makes me wonder just what they have to show at E3 - and even if E3 isn't brilliant, I know I will enjoy Gamescom :)
 
H

hawk2025

Member
What's the latest word on Joe Montana?

Is that really happening?

Would, in that case, Microsoft drop their focus on Madden? That rumor is still so very weird.
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
All that free time now going to Banjo Threeie.

(SB and CD were the only things I was looking forward to. We're getting the umpteenth MS E3 of somethingForzasomethingHalosomethingGears, aren't we?)
 
B

Bessy67

Member
hawk2025 said:
What's the latest word on Joe Montana?

Is that really happening?

Would, in that case, Microsoft drop their focus on Madden? That rumor is still so very weird.
Click to expand...
I really want that rumor to be true, but I just don't see MS doing something that would so obviously piss off EA.
 
S

Sydle

Member
Spieler Eins said:
All that time for Banjo Threeie.

(SB and CD were the only things I was looking forward to. We're getting the umpteenth MS E3 of somethingForzasomethingHalosomethingGears, aren't we?)
Click to expand...

It won't be called Threeie. I doubt Rare stays close enough to the original formula to carry that name.

I've prepared myself with low expectations so whatever twist Rare applies to it won't completely crush my soul.
 
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