Sunset Overdrive: The Future??

[kung-fu-owl]

For Sunset Overdrive, the original is already done and all it needs is a port. I'm not sure what kind of exclusivity the first game has, but I can only imagine it's not forever. It would be boneheaded to not port the game and I know it would sell like hotcakes on the Playstation. As for any sequels, the major hurdle is step one. It seems like the correct route would be to keep reminding Sony and Insomniac that you want SO on the Playstation. They have a decent track record when it comes to making fan requests and trying to deliver the games people want, just look at the new Medievil. That's their business after all and as long as there is no weird exclusivity still going on, it seems like it would an easy game to deliver. Imo, sitting on the franchise and ignoring a potentially huge ip for the PS brand is silly, especially when all they need to do is deliver an already finished game to see if the franchise has the potential for growth.

What I am tired of is the constant nay saying in this community. It reeks of fanboyism from both sides. Shawn Layden made a statement that Insomniac was purchased for their work on R&C and Spiderman, and that those are a key focus for them. They also said that they haven't really unpacked what SO means for them. No where did they say it was dead and gone. So stop writing it off. Your abject negativity is offering nothing to the fans or the future of the series. There is no reason to believe that Sony and Insomniac have zero interest in the franchise, especially when Insomniac themselves fought to keep the ip. They obviously care about it and it fits the playstation brand perfectly.

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This is wishful thinking.

There is no question regarding the exclusivity on the first Sunset Overdrive: it's exclusive, full stop. The only way you'd be unable to imagine that is because you don't want it to be true, but it is, and that's unlikely to change because for there to be a port, Microsoft would have to agree to it, which of course would necessitate Sony asking for it in the first place, which they probably won't do because I doubt Sony has any interest in the IP so long as they have the Spider-Man license, regardless of how the folks at Insomniac might feel.

There are business realities here at play that cannot be ignored or overcome simply by positive thinking and consistent begging.

 

[Toriko]

It doesn't have a future.

Microsoft still owns the rights to the first game in its entirety and is unlikely to sell them.

They also have rights to a sequel, so even if Sony wanted to do a sequel, they would have to hash something out with MS, who, as friendly as they have been, probably won't be keen on making that happen.

Perhaps the rights held by MS have an expiration date (I think the original is for the life of the title, but the sequel may not be), I don't think Sony is even bothered or interested enough in doing another Sunset game anyway so most likely the IP is dead for good.

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MS don't have any rights to that IP. It belongs to Sony now. If Sony want to they can make the sequel

 

[kung-fu-owl]

MS don't have any rights to that IP. It belongs to Sony now. If Sony want to they can make the sequel

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Sony owns the IP.

Microsoft likely has right of first refusal on the sequel, which is an industry standard in any deal between publishers and independent studios.

Be my guest if you'd like to believe otherwise.

 

[IsThatHP]

A next-gen Sunset Overdrive 2 would be amazing.


Do you know where they've gone?

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Drew Murray, the main director of the game, is now at The Initiative. I can't crawl the web to back it up but I definitely remember reading interviews during SSO's development that pretty much said he was the star of the show for getting it to what it was.

 

[Vespa]

Murray went to the Initiative all i know. The new MS studio.

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Drew Murray, the main director of the game, is now at The Initiative. I can't crawl the web to back it up but I definitely remember reading interviews during SSO's development that pretty much said he was the star of the show for getting it to what it was.

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Ah interesting, thanks for that info. I'll be looking forward to seeing what The Initiative produce.

 

[Imitation Of Life]

Sony owns the IP.

Microsoft likely has right of first refusal on the sequel, which is an industry standard in any deal between publishers and independent studios.

Be my guest if you'd like to believe otherwise.

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Is there any doubt that they have already refused it? IP is dead either way.

 

[kung-fu-owl]

Is there any doubt that they have already refused it? IP is dead either way.

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Not a clue. RFR can vary depending on the original agreement. It could be as cut and dry as we can imagine or it could be a bit more complicated to protect MS' long term interests as the publisher of the original. Who knows? I certainly don't feel comfortable making any definitive statements until we hear something from people who would know or are involved on some level.

Ironically, MS are in a similar situation right now with The Outer Worlds. They acquired Obsidian and the IP with it, but Private Division/Take Two will have a stake in franchise that has to be addressed and resolved before a sequel can come to pass.

I agree the IP is likely dead, but in the case it's not, Sony will have to hash something out with MS, which, to be honest, I don't think is as big of a hurdle as some might anticipate, but I do think it's a hurdle Sony won't bother with anyway.

 

[Santerestil]

Until they swap that reference with a ResetEra one, we shouldn't care. /jk

 

[IIFloodyII]

That just seems overly petty. Microsoft didn't pull Hellbade of PSN. And in way it's good marketing to have your studio's old games on another platform. Might entice some people to follow them.

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I don't think they'd remove it from Xbox, just not keep it on GamePass if it's not locked down for life.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

There will be a new PS Exclusive called 'Moonlight Overdose'

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I wonder if they'd take a shot at the real Overstrike now haha. No need to fear that cartoony gun shooty games won't work anymore, especially after the popularity of TF2 and Overwatch. They may not be able to call it Overstrike because it's so close to Overwatch now though.

 

[Legacy]

Sunset Overdrive has no future.

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.

 

[Bitch Pudding]

No, hold on. This isn't some IP that was obliterated by mediocre reviews, or Sony buying the studio. Sunset Overdrive had its shot, and the market selected it for extinction.

 

[Butch]

It totally deserves another chance, the mission design was really boring as fuck but the gameplay was superb. It feels so good at 60fps on PC.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

No, hold on. This isn't some IP that was obliterated by mediocre reviews, or Sony buying the studio. Sunset Overdrive had its shot, and the market selected it for extinction.

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The unfortunate thing is they put it in a market that was very limiting for them (xbox when a lot of their fans were on another platform). I was jealous, but not jealous enough to buy a Xbox O.. lol One hahah (I couldn't even think this with a straight face. I'm actually laughing as I insert this via edit). Man I'd love to be a fly on the wall in Insomniac during the whole Xbox One pre launch fiasco.

Edit: Sorry about this. Should have kept that info to myself.

 

[Deleted member 29599]

Seeing as Insomniac kept the rights i could totally see Sony getting them to make a PS5 exclusive sequel as a pure "Fuck you" move to Microsoft in a similar vein to the massively petty (but effective) "This is how you share games between friends" video they made during the initial Xbox disaster. Honestly I wouldn't be mad if they did, i'd take a new SO over what will inevitably be a bunch of Spiderman sequels.

 

[N.Domixis]

Barely anybody bought Sunset Overdrive. Stick a fork in it, cause it's dead.

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because barely anyone wanted an Xbox at the time. Sony should just say fuck it and port the game to PS4 to gauge interest. If it's works they'd now have a third successful IP. I would have bought it I could on ps4. They alienated their fan base on a console that had a terrible PR launch, of course the game didn't sell.

THis game isn't like The Order where it was a critical flop and commercial failure. I'd say it has a chance.

 

[kung-fu-owl]

Seeing as Insomniac kept the rights i could totally see Sony getting them to make a PS5 exclusive sequel as a pure "Fuck you" move to Microsoft in a similar vein to the massively petty (but effective) "This is how you share games between friends" video they made during the initial Xbox disaster. Honestly I wouldn't be mad if they did, i'd take a new SO over what will inevitably be a bunch of Spiderman sequels.

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That "fuck you" move would easily cost them north of 50m.

 

[Compass]

I'm surprised we never got an Xbox X update for sunset overdrive to actually test interest now.

 

[Fisty]

On stage at Sony's E3 2020 press conference...

Announced for PS4:
Alan Wake Definitive Edition
Sunset Overdrive Definitive Edition

Announced for PS5:
Alan Wake 2
Sunset Overdrive 2

 

[Tappin Brews]

I'm surprised we never got an Xbox X update for sunset overdrive to actually test interest now.

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the dream

 

[Truant]

Sunset Overdrive was better than Spider-Man. What a shame.

 

[ZSJ]

Microsoft couldn't even bother to have Insomniac update the game for XB1X so I'd assume it's completely dead.

 

[Bear Cub in Sky]

Microsoft couldn't even bother to have Insomniac update the game for XB1X so I'd assume it's completely dead.

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I doubt Insomniac wanted to do it. A patch would need to be done QB-style. That was done by one person I believe.

 

[Velezcora]

I think the best bet for SO to come back on playstation would be a reboot with 0 MS connection and I just don't see them doing that in the foreseeable future. Maybe on PS6. Lol

 

[The Shape]

This game was such a disappointment to me. The videos looked great, everyone kept saying it was good. I bought it as soon as it released on steam.

Boy... It's really boring. The gameplay is clunky, not at all as smooth as I expected from the videos. Played for a few hours, didn't refunded it but never touched it again.

 

[Fisty]

Microsoft couldn't even bother to have Insomniac update the game for XB1X so I'd assume it's completely dead.

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I would assume MS had already turned down a SO2 pitch by the time the XB1X came out

 

[Pancracio17]

To be honest I liked Sunset Overdrive way more than Spider-Man, so im one of the few people thats super disappointing by the Sony buyout.
I hope it gets a sequel, but I dont expect it. I really hope Sony funds a sequel by some wild miracle.

Spoiler

While theyre at it, fund Gravity Rush 3.

 

[Falchion]

God I hope there's a future for this franchise because it's just so purely good.

 

[Braaier]

because barely anyone wanted an Xbox at the time. Sony should just say fuck it and port the game to PS4 to gauge interest. If it's works they'd now have a third successful IP. I would have bought it I could on ps4. They alienated their fan base on a console that had a terrible PR launch, of course the game didn't sell.

THis game isn't like The Order where it was a critical flop and commercial failure. I'd say it has a chance.

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Did you know it's on pc? I do not believe it sold well there either. There is no interest, on ps4 or otherwise.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Listen. To. This. Man. 👏

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SUNSET 👏🏽

OVERDRIVE'S 👏🏽

DEAD 👏🏽

 

[N.Domixis]

Did you know it's on pc? I do not believe it sold well there either. There is no interest, on ps4 or otherwise.

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The majority of the insomniac fan base has always been PlayStation. Not PC

 

[Braaier]

The majority of the insomniac fan base has always been PlayStation. Not PC

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Even if that is true that does not guarantee success. The market spoke. It does not want sunset Overdrive.

 

[Fiery Phoenix]

Why expect a sequel? This game always looked like a one-off from the get-go. If there ever was going to be a sequel we'd have it by now.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

Even if that is true that does not guarantee success. The market spoke. It does not want sunset Overdrive.

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At the time I was on Playstation, and it's single player focused so no PS+ requirement. I moved to PC, and by the time SO finally came to PC I had already watched gameplay and listened to it's issues enough to have less of a desire to play it. I do know that after you get air dash things get a lot better.

Are there mods on PC? heh
Ninja edit: Kind of got surprised when I searched it and saw it had a nexus mods page. It's all reshade stuff though.

https://www.nexusmods.com/sunsetoverdrive

 

[NeroPaige]

I bought the PC version of Sunset Overdrive only because it had an unlocked framerate, with G-Sync its

I enjoyed the overall game more than Spiderman on my PS4.

 

[melodiousmowl]

I bought the PC version of Sunset Overdrive only because it had an unlocked framerate, with G-Sync its

I enjoyed the overall game more than Spiderman on my PS4.

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I just got done playing a few more hours of it, and I have to say everything feels so much easier now with 60+ fps. I kinda wish graphics didnt take the front seat on games that realllly benefit from 60 fps

 

[Deleted member 1003]

It's dead people, let it go.

 

[melodiousmowl]

This game was such a disappointment to me. The videos looked great, everyone kept saying it was good. I bought it as soon as it released on steam.

Boy... It's really boring. The gameplay is clunky, not at all as smooth as I expected from the videos. Played for a few hours, didn't refunded it but never touched it again.

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had you gotten the air dash yet? traversal is kinda meh till you get that.

 

[Rosebud]

It doesn't have a future.

Microsoft still owns the rights to the first game in its entirety and is unlikely to sell them.

They also have rights to a sequel, so even if Sony wanted to do a sequel, they would have to hash something out with MS, who, as friendly as they have been, probably won't be keen on making that happen.

Perhaps the rights held by MS have an expiration date (I think the original is for the life of the title, but the sequel may not be), I don't think Sony is even bothered or interested enough in doing another Sunset game anyway so most likely the IP is dead for good.

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You really think MS would refuse to let Sony do a port?

 

[kung-fu-owl]

You really think MS would refuse to let Sony do a port?

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Considering they spent 10s of millions on funding the development and marketing of the game and the optics of it getting a port to PS4, yeah, I think it might be something they shut down.

I don't anticipate they would if asked, but I don't think Sony are remotely interested enough in pursuing a port to begin with.

 

[Phonzo]

When i got my OneX back in Nov 2018, i played it for like 30min, and thought it was kinda cool, not very into it, but i heard the xbox version is only 30fps while the upcoming Pc version is unlocked fps, so i held off. Now i gave it some time on the PC. 2hours in and im having a blast once i got the controls down. Didnt get air dash yet, but am awaiting it to make travesal even better.

its too bad im playing it in tangent with another fast pace game in dmc5, but im trying to beat both before August 30th for Blairwitch, and Astral Chain, and then shortly after Gears 5.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

I just got done playing a few more hours of it, and I have to say everything feels so much easier now with 60+ fps. I kinda wish graphics didnt take the front seat on games that realllly benefit from 60 fps

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I wonder if Insomniac still feel the same way about framerate, that 30fps is good enough. I'm spoiled on 100fps and I would wish next gen consoles went for more than 60fps as an option for games that can do it. VRR/freesync tvs and displays should be pretty common by the time they are out.

 

[Miles Davis]

LOL this game bombed, Sony is risk averse, and Insomniac is on to MUCH bigger things. No future. But I do want to get this game on PC for sure.

 

[Calverz]

I dont understand the level of praise for this game. I got it at launch and i loved the artstyle and liked it at first. But the gameplay becomes incredibly repetitive a few hours in. Dont think i ever spent more than 5hours on the game.

My guess is microsoft felt the same. I always remember getting a microsoft questionnaire to do in email. And it asked a LOT of questions about this game. Stuff like "do you want to see more games like sunset overdrive on xbox?" Etc

 

[Bitch Pudding]

LOL this game bombed, Sony is risk averse, and Insomniac is on to MUCH bigger things. No future. But I do want to get this game on PC for sure.

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Isn't it odd for a risk averse producer to give us Knack 2?

But of course Spidey being a huge hit despite being a niche game pushed Sony to buy Imnsoniac, not that one former Xbox exclusive IP down in its forgotten catacombs.

 

[Deleted member 40102]

Odds are the next two games they develop are another R&C and Spiderman 2 so if they do another SO it probably wont be for another 5 or more years.

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I hope they make SO exclusively for me cause im lonely </3

 

[Zonal Hertz]

Isn't it odd for a risk averse producer to give us Knack 2?

But of course Spidey being a huge hit despite being a niche game pushed Sony to buy Imnsoniac, not that one former Xbox exclusive IP down in its forgotten catacombs.

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I assume/hope it's sarcasm calling spiderman a niche game?

 

[Miles Davis]

Isn't it odd for a risk averse producer to give us Knack 2?

But of course Spidey being a huge hit despite being a niche game pushed Sony to buy Imnsoniac, not that one former Xbox exclusive IP down in its forgotten catacombs.

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It is very odd, and honestly it pisses me off seeing as Evo should have been granted one more MS or at least a remake of Rift. Sony has its biases that much is clear.
Spider-Man ain't niche tho bro. It's gonna be working on 20m going into the PS5 era. That is not niche no matter what you angle you want to tackle it with. I mean he is literally a top 5 most recognizable super hero in the world.

I do realize parts of era thought the game was going to fail lol, but let's be honest those people were being idiotic or just fanboys.

 

[Bitch Pudding]

I assume/hope it's sarcasm calling spiderman a niche game?

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It's just a running gag on some parts of Era, obviously not a niche game which so many units sold.

 

[litebrite]

You really think MS would refuse to let Sony do a port?

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I don't, bur I do think MS would ask for some concessions such as an enhanced update for Xbox users in order to relinquish publishing rights to allow SO to be ported to PS4-5.