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Why people on ERA are against acquisitions of struggling developers?

Rodjer

Rodjer

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Jan 28, 2018
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The recent MS/Obsidian thread was really embarassing, a lot of people would've preferred to see Obsidian struggling to release games after 2 underperforming titles instead of joining Microsoft Gaming Studios, are you guys for real? Do you know how fucking hard is to survive when you are a big indipendent developer and you have to rely on Kickstarter to make your games? Sure there are plenty of good developers that are doing good with Kickstarter like Larian Studios and i appreciate their indipendece because right now they are not struggling like years ago, but if a big publisher can save developers i'm totally ok with that, regardless of the publisher i don't want to see another Telltale situation with Obsidian or any other indipendent developer

If your excuse is: "I can't play their games on my preferred platform" you need to check your priorities first, because i rather see people getting paid for their work and not losing their jobs instead of crying because i can't play their games on my favourite platform.
 
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dreamstation

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Oct 27, 2017
1,649
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I would have preferred they have been picked up by a neutral party rather than one of the big three. But yes you're right. I guess I just won't be able to play their games anymore.
 
TrickyAssist

TrickyAssist

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Nov 19, 2017
318
I don't understand the hate for acquisitions as most of the time nothing actually changes for the actual studio other than they know they probably wont shut down anytime soon.
 
Mezoly

Mezoly

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Oct 25, 2017
4,401
Struggling studios would close whether they are under a big publisher or not. Look at studio closures under MS, EA, or Sony.

Happy about Obsidian acquisition though. I feel this would give them a shot in the arm to try again and make AAA titles. But if they don't make money or great games to support the studio budget even under MS, they would close down there too.
 
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Lothars

Lothars

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Oct 25, 2017
9,765
How about in the case of the obsidian one that Microsoft is actually the cause of it? Or are we suppose to give them a pass for that?
 
Hardvlade

Hardvlade

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Oct 27, 2017
2,444
Some people don't trust Microsoft since they've made questionable decisions in the past. However MS has new leadership and has been making great moves, I'm all for this acquisition, they'll have a bigger budget, not have to worry about closing down if a project tanks. In the end they'll still bring the games to PC.

In general, I think this is good for Obsidian and Microsoft. I hope they do a great job in whatever next project they got going on.
 
applejuice

applejuice

Member
Oct 27, 2017
416
Tampa, FL
You're reaching. No one wants them to fail or close their doors. People with a dedicated console are only going to buy the other competitors' system if its a blockbuster of a game like Spiderman currently is. Me sitting here going :/ 'aww shucks' isn't the same as saying I want them to cease to exist and want people jobless.
 
Majukun

Majukun

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Oct 27, 2017
4,542
They are just against gating content behind a particular console ecosystem,which is comprehensible.

But it's the way the industry has always worked,and exclusive content is often some of the best content of a given console gen
 
OP
OP
Rodjer

Rodjer

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Lothars said:
How about in the case of the obsidian one that Microsoft is actually the cause of it? Or are we suppose to give them a pass for that?
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Giving a pass for what? Are you seriously thinking the people behind the Stormlands deal are still on MS and on top of that they want to acquire Obsidian? lol

If both parties agree, and i mean, both Obsidian and MS heads, you don't have to worry or care or give a pass for that, they know what's better for them, not me or you.
 
Cantaim

Cantaim

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Oct 25, 2017
33,322
The Stussining
As long as it is not a hostile takeover I am fine with every acquisition. Like who cares if a studio willingly sells itself to another party? It's what the studio wanted and for independent studios they now get the benefit of a permanent publisher. So no more fears about having to lay off staff because you couldn't find work in time.
 
VanWinkle

VanWinkle

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Oct 25, 2017
16,092
Were people actually saying they'd rather the studio shut down than go to MS, OP? I find that really hard to believe.
 
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Rodjer

Rodjer

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ULTROS! said:
Obsidian was struggling? I thought they were doing fine with Pillars of Eternity.
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They were always struggling, Pillars of Eternity 2 underperformed, Tyranny tanked, PoE did good but not Divinity level of good.
They have 170 employees, you won't pay bills and salaries with KS money.
 
Musubi

Musubi

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Being acquired by a big company isn't like 100% job security either. We've seen how studio acquisitions have gone for some other big companies. *cough cough* EA.....

It also means that creatively your now beholden to men in suits telling you what your making since your most likely now part of a publicly traded company. Its a series of trade-offs and both sides of the coin can have risks and rewards.

I'm very glad IO Interactive recently went independent again. Hitman 2 should be pretty amazing and I hope it does them well.
 
Absoludacrous

Absoludacrous

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Oct 26, 2017
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You could fit Nicholas Cage inside that strawman.

Unless you have some posts lined up of people going "Aw shucks, I wish they would close instead."
 
Lothars

Lothars

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Oct 25, 2017
9,765
Rodjer said:
Giving a pass for what? Are you seriously thinking the people behind the Stormlands deal are still on MS and on top of that they want to acquire Obsidian? lol

If both parties agree, and i mean, both Obsidian and MS heads, you don't have to worry or care or give a pass for that, they know what's better for them, not me or you.
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they can buy whoever they want but Microsoft doesn't get the benefit of the doubt when they havent done anything to earn it. I just don't believe they will do good with obsidian.
 
paulc

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Dec 14, 2017
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ReS(ony)etera.

It's not worth trying to have a positive discussion about anything Microsoft or Nintendo related here because it just gets shot to shit.
 
RockmanBN

RockmanBN

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Oct 25, 2017
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I've got all platforms to play on and a good PC so if it leads to better games, then it's all good on me.
 
Kenzodielocke

Kenzodielocke

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Oct 25, 2017
12,840
Seems like most people where positive about it? People have different opinions man. Not everyone can afford every hardware either.
 
Com_Raven

Com_Raven

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Oct 27, 2017
1,103
Europa
Couldn't agree more, OP. The midsized independent developer is a brutal spot to be in these days, with most major publishers unwilling to finance (big) games if they don't own the IP. Been there, done that, and it was rough.
 
Zhukov

Zhukov

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Dec 6, 2017
2,641
I'm just sad to see developers go from making interesting or distinct things to having to pump out whatever generic/derivative/mtx-ridden/gaas/retro tripe that some inflated suit decides is The Next Big Thing.

Don't give a damn about the Obsidian acquisition in particular. They stopped being interesting ages ago. I was a bit bummed about Ninja Theory though. Senua's Sacrifice was interesting and I can't see Microsoft greenlighting anything like that.

If they can't survive without selling up or just don't want to deal with the stress then fine. Totally understandable decision and I don't begrudge them that. Doesn't make me any happier about the end result.
 
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Rodjer

Rodjer

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Kenzodielocke said:
Seems like most people where positive about it? People have different opinions man. Not everyone can afford every hardware either.
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I'm probably seeing the deal with a different view because i own all consoles and i don't have a problem with that because i always buy all consoles regardless of platform holder and i care more about games instead of defending corporates and publishers, but Obsidian was always open for an acquisition, this was not a hostile takeover or MS forced anything, they wanted to join MS like Playground Games, Ninja Theory and other developers acquired.
 
Xx 720

Xx 720

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Nov 3, 2017
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My preferred plastic box is the best, its as stupid as that. We've seen game developers acquire, get huge, sometimes shut down. Life happens..
 
TechnicPuppet

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Zhukov said:
I'm just sad to see developers go from making interesting or distinct things to having to pump out whatever generic/derivative/mtx-ridden/gaas/retro tripe that some inflated suit decides is The Next Big Thing.

Don't give a damn about the Obsidian acquisition in particular. They stopped being interesting ages ago. I was a bit bummed about Ninja Theory though. Senua's Sacrifice was interesting and I can't see Microsoft greenlighting anything like that.

If they can't survive without selling up or just don't want to deal with the stress then fine. Totally understandable decision and I don't begrudge them that. Doesn't make me any happier about the end result.
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Ninja Theory's next game will be whatever they want it to be.
 

Deleted member 19218

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paulc said:
ReS(ony)etera.

It's not worth trying to have a positive discussion about anything Microsoft or Nintendo related here because it just gets shot to shit.
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That's not true. People have been very positive regarding Nintendo first party games and Xbox's backwards compatibility features. Meanwhile Sony got a lot of hate for not allowing cross play.
 
gordofredito

gordofredito

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Jan 16, 2018
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Rodjer said:
The recent MS/Obsidian thread was really embarrassing*, a lot of people would've preferred to see Obsidian shutting down instead of joining Microsoft Gaming Studios, are you guys for real?
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well, for starters, Microsoft are known for being shit with their studios. Sure, looks like Microsoft has changed and all... but technically we haven't seen that change. They've done cool things for gamers but their first party games are still, Forza aside, pretty much garbage.
Gamers seem to have shitty memory and are easily mislead, since Microsoft:
1- In 2012, Obsidian was supposedly working on an Xbox One exclusive: Project Stormlands(?) but Microsoft suddenly cancelled it, and Obsidian almost went bankrupt, so they had to lay-off 30 employees
2- Phantom Dust, 2015. We all know that horror story all too well.

We have technically yet to see games since Phil took over, but so far, they have yet to prove themselves. Phil is an honest and transparent guy, and he's good at implementing things pro-consumer (also, Xbox is at the bottom so they have to play nice) but I think Microsoft is still the same old company that has more money than time or talent. So them buying so many studios only proves that. We know it's hard for studios to survive and we know Obsidian has always had one step on the grave, but Era just seems to want all companies to be bought by a bigger one or sometimes just to cheer on their favorite box/console
 

Deleted member 46641

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I think situations like what happened to Rare scare people, and they don't want it to happen.

Also, the last time Microsoft and Obsidian made a game together, the cancellation damn nearly destroyed Obsidian. So forgive people for being touchy around that prospect.
 

Deleted member 10737

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it's all console warrior stuff
when talking about studios you want your favorite company to buy, people have no problem suggesting perfectly fine, stable and successful developers who are making games on all platforms
when it comes to another company buying a dev, even if that dev was struggling or close to being shut down, or even worse making games you weren't interested in the first place, then they'll be "sTeAlInG oUr GaMeS" mad about it since some unknown game isn't going to be released on their platform
 

Deleted member 2172

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If you're pissed because you don't own an xbox then suck it up and buy one or move on. Such childish behavior on this forum when this is peoples careers we're talking about here, fucking hell.
 
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Rodjer

Rodjer

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gordofredito said:
well, for starters, Microsoft are known for being shit with their studios. Sure, looks like Microsoft has changed and all... but technically we haven't seen that change. They've done cool things for gamers but their first party games are still, Forza aside, pretty much garbage.
Gamers seem to have shitty memory, since Microsoft:
1- In 2012, Obsidian was supposedly working on an Xbox One exclusive: Project Stormlands(?) but Microsoft suddenly cancelled it, and Obsidian almost went bankrupt, so they had to lay-off 30 employees
2- Phantom Dust, 2015. We all know that horror story all too well
We have technically yet to see games since Phil took over, but so far, they have yet to prove themselves. Microsoft is still the same old company that has more money than time or talent. And them buying so many studios only proves that.
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So now Halo, Gears, Ori and Cuphead are garbage? Ok.
The 2012 deal was made by different managament and, Obsidian was always open to be acquired, if both agree, what's your point?
 
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