To be honest im not really into their type of games. But id rather they remained platform agnostic.
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Brad Sams: Microsoft was looking into buying Platinum Games last year, "deal fell apart or they decided to go another direction"
- Thread starter Kolx
- Start date
Any of the big three can get exclusives if they approach them.
I'd rather them remain independent
I'd rather them remain independent
Not sure what this means.
I wish all games were on PC, and consoles were just one way to play them (if you like sitting on a couch to play).
Console exclusivity sucks in my opinion.
??
The Xbox ecosystem is literally on PC now.
But the Steam ecosystem is easily the best there is, between detailed game reviews, highly active per game community discussion forums, modding community, etc, so much you don't get in console ecosystems in addition to the standard features you would expect from cloud to achievements. Indeed Steam's ecosystem is so good, it's why you see so many upset when games are EGS exclusive.
Yeah, it gives them the ability to always do what they want, and then to go fish for funding when they need it.
I'm honestly a little sad about this. Ninja Theory seems to actually really enjoy that Microsoft money. And every time Platinum game launches a new IP I'm always crossing my fingers it doesn't blow up in their faces financially. So, it would have been cool to see them without that burden of financial instability.
What is there to be sad about?
They've already received investment, retained their independence and may continue on this path.
PG received some money from Tencent so they are good for now, I'm just surprised MS tried going for PG, they must be very serious about adding more talented devs from Japan to XGS and they would have other devs in their sights, just yesterday shinobi was hyping up Xbox E3 in the official Xbox thread. I'm hoping we get more announcements at that event or hopefully before then.
Tencent definitely made the most sense, unlike a platform manufacturer they would be allowed to keep their independence and do what they want as long as they comply to some tencent demands here and there. I wouldn't have been satisfied even with a Nintendo acquisition, they would have been far too restrained and shit like Nier wouldn't be possible.
In the industry, generally studios don't do work for hire if they are doing well financially. :)
Sounds like Inaba thinks they're both to blame, but clearly Kamiya was pissed at how Microsoft handled things.
Scalebound Director Pissed at "Shits at Microsoft," That Are Messing with him
Translates to:
"those shits at MS… are they fucking with me…?"
Scalebound Developer Laments Microsoft Taking 'Brunt' of Blame for Cancellation
I'll never understand why he hated the marketing stuff they had on the Xbox site so much, I honestly thought it was probably one of the best looking things on the site from any game. Though I guess it could always be the case that they had something better they wanted to use.
To be fair, nothing about Nier except the combat system came from Platinum. All of Yoko Taro's personal brand of bullshit, which is most of what Nier is, would've happened regardless of the developer. So if Nintendo bought Platinum, another Nier would still be entirely possible without PG.
I don't think this is a fair analysis at all. Everything about Nier Automata came from Platinum. They were the developer and many talented people worked on it. Yes, Yoko Taro is the director and it is his creative vision - but creative vision alone does not make a great game. Interactive entertainment has a ton of moving pieces. Why is Nier Automata the only Yoko Taro game to be so successful after he had directed 3 Drakengard games and a Nier game before that (2 versions of it even!)? Because it is by far the most polished execution and presentation of Yoko Taro's ideas - because the game runs well, looks good, controls well, plays well, and has a great UI.
You can have a great script for a movie, and it wouldn't engage a ton of people if you end up with a poor cast, sloppy production design, lame sets, weak cinematography, etc. Yoko Taro has really good ideas, but Nier Automata is the first game he directed where he was paired with a developer who could elevate his concepts and ideas into a cohesive package that felt complete and satisfying in a way his previous games didn't. All that credit is owed to Platinum. Not just "the combat system." The programmers, the art team, the animators, the game designers, etc. Every single person who worked on the game contributed to making the game stand above all his previous games - and the majority of them were Platinum employees. Let's not sell them short.
I'd rather Platinum remain independent. The more devs that can remain independent, the better. Let them develop what they want for the platforms they choose.
SIE's not that interested in investing in Japanese made console games. They'll throw moneyhats at AAA sure things or VR stuff but that's about it these days. A company like Platinum isn't even on their radar.
The ability to fish for funding is not really a plus. That's actively one of the worst parts of being independent.
Isn't it difficult for foreign companies to acquire Japanese companies? Or maybe Microsoft having satellite offices in Japan would allow them to have an easier go of it.
Pretty much, it's very hard to argue that Platinum didn't contribute a great deal because as you said literally all you have to do is look at his past work, ideas aren't enough the people on the ground realising them are always very important.
I mean, if nobody else wanted to fund this project but it's what they want to make, they have the avenue to try again with crowd funding. These guys aren't some random indie studio—pubs will (and do) pick up their games left and right. At least remaining independent gives them the opportunity to try this, and if it works and sells well then I'm sure someone will try to publish the sequel.
Yes it does suck. I am glad Sony or Nintendo did not purchase them because then they would likely remain console exclusive.
Game development doesn't really work like that so I disagree strongly. What you're saying really dimishes the role that engineers, producers, designers, artists, community managers and the like all do to bring a game to fruition. a Director/Creative Director can have a vision but unless there are talented people there who can actually help them realise said vision then it means nothing.
It's why I don't get why people idolise Kojima like he's a one man army. If Yoko Taro were to go to a shit development studio to make a Nier 3, you'd be able to tell that it was made by a shit development studio.
You are assuming they get the bulk of the money from the sale of their games which is unlikely. Also there is overhead. They aren't working for pennies, rightfully given their skill.
Likely Platinum had an option to receive loans from Tencent to remain independent and fund and self publish their own IP's and went that direction.
I wouldn't mind if MS were to buy the Jade Empire ip. It's not like BioWare gives a damn about it.
Pretty sure Kamiya posted a hostile tweet towards Microsoft before deleting it during the development of Scalebound.
The Future of PlatinumGames - IGN First - IGN
We visit PlatinumGames to talk to the team about focusing on fresh ideas and developing talent as they prepare for their next big projects.
The amount of times you think of buying X or Y in the corporate world is high, the amount of time you actually then do the due diligence to see if it is possible is how.
I guess Xbox has their eyes set on some other dev since Phil is adamant about adding a Japanese dev team to XGS :) I hope they get Itagaki onboard too.
Really? Isn't Minecraft on everything? Aren't they releasing games on Steam (PC) and even switch? Compared to Sony and Nintendo, MS seems to be more liberal with their properties.
There's a distinct time-lag between actions and the stories people tell themselves.
Where does it say they were in dire need? They were looking to start self publishing.
Don't know if MS would necessarily hinder that. They don't see Nintendo as direct competitors.
there would probably be Xbox ports though. Nice for those who want bayonetta in 4K.
I don't see that as adamant at all. Whenever he's been asked about Japanese output, his response is "it would be nice" if they found a studio. He wants for it to happen, but it has to be the right team and that sort of thing is unlikely to be easy.
Like Platinum, Valhalla is in the interest of collaborations with Nintendo, and they are not independent so unlikely to be swept up by Microsoft unless Itagaki leaves to and forms another studio.
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