Gaming News

[crackdude]

Sony made a very dumb decision with the PS4 Pro, completely abandoning the main advantage a console has over PCs, full fledged optimization.

They are asking console game devs to optimize for multiple hardware and settings. This is a by-product of that decision.

PC gaming is imploding anyway, in 2 years time the mid-market will be completely depleted on PC, so don't sell your console just yet.

MS is doing the smart thing by releasing Xbox games on PC, already preemptively filling that gap.

Sony is marketing to its own market right now. The one that it created with the PS2. Unfortunately, it is completely catered to people with different tastes than me.

Those PS4 games look terribly boring and derivative to me. I understand why many people like them, I just feel that someone who's favorite game is any of these just isn't much into gaming outside the PlayStation market bubble

[Tad]

I don't think PC gaming will implode as such, but I can see it slowing down to more typical numbers.

The Pro seems like a tremendous waste of time in all honesty. It can't really run 4k natively without the rendering trick - okay, only 1 known game has but it's a smaller title and I suspect others will be the same.

People who have played those games using checkerboard rendering have apparently noticed it too. HDR seems good, but beyond that, the pro seems more designed to help VR than anything else.

[crackdude]

I don't think PC gaming will implode as such

It has already begun:

[Tad]

I'd say that's more to do with Steams awful quality control more than anything else. On a similar note, I think Valve need to be careful. Think people are starting to get a bit tired of Valves ways lately.

[Tad]

Yooka-Laylee will be out on April 11th:
https://youtu.be/LNBET707f4s

Also, there's new Shenmue screen shots.

[Tad]

Scalebound has been cancelled: http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1332178

[CrazyT]

Microsoft is kinda irrelevant to me now. Dont really care much about what theyre going to offer at least soon.

But otherwise its quite a weird case for them in general because it seems theyve been really bad with developers. Its not just scalebound but also fable and even quantam break.

[Tad]

And they've pretty much destroyed Rare. Nobody has come out and said as such, but the fact that most of the "core" staff have left and joined PlayTonic Games is quite telling.

That's now two huge UK studios they've managed to ruin now (Rare, lionhead) and I have to say, I'm finding it really hard to like MS because of it.

[crackdude]

Rare and Lionhead would have had the same fate regardless of Microsoft. They are mid-sized devs that wouldn't have survived the gaming markets evolution anyway.

Also, disregarding Microsoft's contribution in games and development over the past decade because of some overrated devs crumbling down is petty.

[Tad]

I'm going to assume you've not seen all the cancelled projects by MS from those studios? I'm not sure on Lionhead, but Rare certainly tried to evolve. Kameo 2 took a different direction, a untitled game in the vain of Titanfall, a untitled Last Guardian-ish game, Banjo Kazooie 3, Perfect Dark sequel that wasn't pushed out to hit the 360 release window etc. It's all there on youtube and so on to see...it's rather quite sad really.

With most of the team gone now, it would't surprise me if Rare is next for the chop after Sea of Thieves.

As for MS's efforts in the gaming industry, I do indeed give them a nod for their contribution in both hardware and software. I just wish they handled studios better like many do. Their list of first party studios must be getting quite thin now mind.

[crackdude]

Perfect Dark Zero was great at the 360 launch.
Just because those games have "leaked" out to the public doesn't mean anything. Every videogame developer has tons of games and ideas that don't make the cut. Budget and dev time are always concerns, and Rare wouldn't have survived without MS anyway.

When bought, LionHead had an astounding output of....3 games, one being a sequel. Black/White and Fable were Molyneux's babies, but anything past that was pretentious bullshit and snake oil. Microsoft didn't destroy anything, the studio just wasn't that good of an investment.

Public perception of a studio can change with one game. Look at id. Look at Sonic Team.
Studios don't mean shit. Games are a combination of people and IP. Good people working on good IP will always produce good content.

I do wish MS would do something cool with Rare's IPs. If they are done by Rare or not is completely irrelevant.

[Team Andromeda]

And they've pretty much destroyed Rare. Nobody has come out and said as such, but the fact that most of the "core" staff have left and joined PlayTonic Games is quite telling.

That's now two huge UK studios they've managed to ruin now (Rare, lionhead) and I have to say, I'm finding it really hard to like MS because of it.

Lionhead killed them self's true be told and SONY have killed off plenty of UK studios too you know. As an Amiga fan it was horrible to see Psygnosis be shut. SONY also shut Evolution Studios and Studio Liverpool along with the likes of Zipper but somehow get a free pass

Platinum games I don't have much time for them , their games have always been vastly overrated costs loads to make and simply don't sell inthe numbers needed (just ask SEGA and NCL). To me more of a screw up by MS was not getting FromSoftware to make a IP for One and sequels to Blue Dragon and LO -instead MS put millions into that Kinect

[Team Andromeda]

I do wish MS would do something cool with Rare's IPs. If they are done by Rare or not is completely irrelevant.

Perfect Dark Zero was utter rubbish imo it was so bad, Kameo was average . but I agree RARE have been wasted for a few years - they still have a awesome R&D piple line and should now be allowed to make the sequels the Team wanted to make . I think with the Kinect being dropped and Avtar's not counting for much , this is happing

[Team Andromeda]

Nobody has come out and said as such, but the fact that most of the "core" staff have left and joined PlayTonic Games is quite telling.

That happens , how many Staff have SEGA lost over the years ?. It's kind of depressing when you see the talent that SEGA let go, even Yu Suzuki left the group and the way SEGA Japan (even before Sammy) messed up the Smilebit and UGA studios still hurts - they were the best games developers around nobody could touch them 

[Tad]

It does indeed happen, but it's rare to see an entire team go off and start their own studio in the same mold as their previous one wouldn't you say?