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Microsoft acquires Double Fine Productions
- Thread starter Arm Van Dam
- Start date
I'm happy for them. They've always struggled and the stability this brings is great. It's a bummer I won't be able to play their future releases on my console of choice and what possible meddling form higher ups at MS might do to their creative vision. But I have faith that this is probably the best thing for them and I'd rather see this happen than see Double Fine shut down.
Happy for DF, I feel like they've been kind of perpetually on the rocks not unlike Harmonix. A lot of clever small projects that feel half baked and never quite stick the landing in their execution vs their presentation.
In the documentaries funding and financial backing seems to have been a constant concern over the years, hoping they can have some stability and expand their games' scopes with MS' backing
In the documentaries funding and financial backing seems to have been a constant concern over the years, hoping they can have some stability and expand their games' scopes with MS' backing
Just because it's not done for charity doesn't mean it's not a good thing for Double Fine, mutually beneficial agreements are a thing. Also MS is doing it for profit, not some short term pr reason. It sucks that huge Indies can't really exist right now but it seems incredibly selfish to want Double Fine to be some sort of champion for it and not do what they think is best for them and their products.
They tweeted that they're honouring all previously announced platforms for Psychonauts
If they were doing great they wouldn't have sold to Microsoft. Full stop. You seem incredibly pissed about this and are insistent that everyone sees it as a business move. Which yes, it is. But then you need to see that it offers a huge financial safety net for double fine and is objectively better for them as a studio, even if you want their games on PlayStation.
AA and AAA indie development is dying. That's incredibly obvious after this generation.
And on top of that Tim says the MS acquisition will make Psychonauts 2 a *better* game.
Which implies that the Fig money and the Starbreeze money wasn't enough for them to deliver the game that they feel they should.
For Mac and Linux and PS4 and Steam users to get a better Psychnoauts 2 is a good thing.
Tim is happy. Do you know better about this thing than Tim?
Yeah people get to eat. Do you not think I get that?
Like seriously I find it offensive that you think it's either "be happy that people get to eat no criticisms." And I'm happy DF has financial stability even if I'm not happy about the circumstances around it. I don't like how these things are celebrated and we should be more critical about this than we are because it's always been a problem everywhere you go.
We shouldn't allow trillion dollar companies to have somehow even more control of small businesses.
And look, they did do this partially to score PR points because this is exactly the response they want.
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Yes perfect you got it. That still doesn't change the reality of the situation. The company either gets purchased or goes under. I guess then it depends on which publisher you wanted them to be purchased by...
It "sucks" (I suppose) that smaller studios are being bought buy larger publishers. But especially in cases like this, it's plain arrogance to think that you know better than the people who actually have a stake in the matter other than "boo hoo I can't play xyz game on PlayStation/Switch anymore".
Outside of all of this, if you want to have a conversation about rising dev costs and consumer trends towards massive AAA titles that require a ton of resources and push indie AA and AAA developers out of the fold, then fine. But acting like this is somehow an exclusively Microsoft issue when literally every single large publisher and most consumers are complicit is laughable.
Literally not my argument. Although I find it telling about the state of gaming where you think it boils down to "you're just mad because you can't play their games on Playstation" and not "you're just mad that indie studios are being wiped out by billionaires" because that's the kind of bubble we're in. I get the reality, I get this isn't a perfect world, I don't have a solution other than break up Microsoft, yay financial stability. Doesn't mean I can't be critical about it or concerned about the long term prospects since DF's relationship with MS has always been shakey at best and their games are only going to get more expensive and probably sell around the same as their best titles. Just don't try to spin this as a console warrior argument, it's not. (I play their games on PC anyway).
Double Fine has struck me as a company that could use a big publisher for some time. This is a smart move for both companies.
Look at my edit, your complaint doesn't belong in this thread (at least certainly not in the way you're trying to twist it).
The reality of the industry won't change because you want it to. AAA and even AA games require a ton of resources. That's where the industry, as a whole, is moving (so pretty much every publisher). If this is such a big issue to you, support and encourage others to support smaller indie titles.
This isn't a thread to get upset that an acquisition happened. The acquisition is a good thing for all of those involved.
Ok gotcha secret Resetera moderator. Can't be critical of anything.
Oops, sorry, I guess I should post "in my opinion" before every statement I make🙄
It's up to them but....if it was me, I'd never sell my company to a large corporation if it was something I really cared about. No amount of money can replace independence. But who knows what kinda deal they got, they're big in the indie scene so maybe they got a good deal in terms of rights and independence. Still....artists shouldn't have to be bought by a huge corporation in order to keep making art.
I really think this was a waste of money by Microsoft. I'm not saying Double Fine is bad or anything but the benefit of acquiring them is just really low for a big company like Microsoft. I can't help but feel this acquisition came out of Tim Schafer's retirement plan. Tim has been in the gaming industry for 30 years. He probably was like "OK. I'm finally trying to settle down from the gaming industry. I made FIG. I made Double Fine. Psychonauts 2, it's my last premier title. There is nothing for me to do. I'm out of here to my condo in Florida. Microsoft come buy me!".
Tim has been running the company independently for 19 years now, a choice he made initially after being frustrated with the way LucasArts games division was being operated. But he's getting old now, and he's done his very best to keep the company independent for this long. It's not some startup who takes the first corporate handout they're given.
And this isn't his first rodeo with Microsoft either. He knows full well what he's getting into. So does Microsoft. They know who they're buying, what people like about Double Fine, and what types of things it takes for the company to thrive.
This is a good thing for everyone involved.
It's up to Microsoft, but for now it's a safe assumption that the games not currently in the pipeline would be on MS platforms. Besides Psychonauts 2, Double Fine is also working on RAD, and they're publishing a couple small games like Knights and Bikes and Ooblets.
The history of small and independent companies getting bought by mega corporations tells me most of what I need to know. Yeah I'm sure he is happy - he stands the most to gain from the deal - but why should that make me happy? I just hate how these companies keep getting bigger and more powerful. I understand why these deals happen but I don't get why consumers cheer it on.
ok that makes sense. it would be similar to what Obisidian and NT are doing too.
Certainly not on purpose. But constantly having to buy new graphics cards and replace RAM because mine keep failing is not something I enjoy doing.
What you're describing is not normal. Like, at all. What kind of power supplies did you buy?
This really just sounds like user error honestly or some real bad luck. I don't think I've ever had computer hardware failure. I can't imagine it happening consistently to someone.
Awwwww. Well, good for them, getting a steady paycheck/funding, and decent budgets. Too bad I won't get to play anymore of their games :/
I'm not doom and gloom like some people in the thread but this remains to be seen. I'm certainly skeptical of what this means for DF in the future. Don't know if I trust a company like Microsoft to not meddle in the affairs of a quirky game dev like DF.
I'm sure Tim made the right decision if the other choice was going bankrupt. Tim can always leave if things go south but it sure would suck to see DF IPs stuck with a company that doesn't care about them if things do.
We don't know what's going to happen.
Banjo would be a curious case. I don't know whether to give Banjo and Kazooie voices or not. DF really shines on getting great comedic performances, so a Banjo game made by them I would expect to have VA for the supporting cast, not sure if the player characters too.
Okay but we already have Tim on record saying that nothing about the company or the kind of games they make is going to change.
I know but that doesn't mean nothing can't. Anything can change. Especially when it comes to business.
That's true of every aspect of game development, and every studio. Technically, Sony could drop Naughty Dog tomorrow. Anything can change. Especially when it comes to business.
Maybe but he would say that anyway, we hear those words every time a big company acquires a smaller one.
I'm not as anti as others about the big 3 snagging smaller devs, and good of DF to honor previous multi-plat announcements. The fact is, seeing as how commoditized the platforms (mainly Xbox and PS) are becoming, it's necessary for them to find USPs by using exclusives as major factors.
Hahahahahah... ha.. I wonder how long Tim is going to last. This has to hurt for him. He's not an idiot.
He's 100% going to cry himself to sleep now that they're financially secured.
He's been his own boss for 20 years. You don't just put the corporate jacket back on.
Love Tim's sense of humor. DF is actually such an amazing get for MS. they fill a very unique void in XGS portfolio. Nice one.