Psychonauts pulled from Microsoft Games

[IKEA_boy]

link

When asked about the split, Microsoft had this to say:

"Microsoft Game Studios has made the decision to end its publishing agreement with DoubleFine for the upcoming Xbox game 'Psychonauts.' Microsoft Game Studios believes in the vision of the title and would like to see the game on Xbox. Microsoft is supporting Tim Schafer and DoubleFine in their search for a new publisher."

I hope they're helping Double Fine more than they helped Tiwak. I've been looking forward to this game ever since I first layed eyes on the OXM video.

[Reaver]

What the fuck is going on? First they shake Oddworld 4 loose, and now Psychonauts? MS, I'm quickly losing faith in you...

[Deez108]

Too bad. I'm a big Tim Schafer fan from his work back when he was with Lucasarts. I don't have an XBox, but I wanted to see this one do well.

Hopefully they'll find someone to pick this one up and dust it off.

[Enzian]

I usually don't read press releases, but this one seems so contradictory. "We decided we don't like the game enough to publish it ourselves, but we're now acting as agents trying to sell it to other publishers"?
Wha!?

[billyslits]

This truly sucks. Psychonauts was one of the main reasons I bought an Xbox. This looked to be an interesting, original game as opposed to all the movie licensees and / or bloated sequels that are out there cluttering retail shelf space. Oh well, maybe there'll be some good news at E3.

[IKEA_boy]

Originally Posted by Enzian

I usually don't read press releases, but this one seems so contradictory. "We decided we don't like the game enough to publish it ourselves, but we're now acting as agents trying to sell it to other publishers"?
Wha!?

They said the same thing before:

"Microsoft Game Studios has made the difficult decision to end development on Tork. We recognize that Tork is a great game and value our developer relationships, so we are doing everything we can to help Tiwak bring their ideas and development of Tork through another publisher. We currently have a huge portfolio of titles in development, including a number of exciting platformers and great new games from Rare, and made the decision to focus our resources on other games."

As far as I know, nothing came of it.

[Ruined]

WTF IS THIS, CRAP ON ADVENTURE FAN GAMER YEAR? First full throttle 2 canned, then sam & max 2 canned, now friggin psychonauts too????



people jus don't buy games that make you think anymore

still pissed off that bg&e bombed,this is even worse news.

On another note, MS looks like its pooling all its resources to system-seller games. Which is fine and probably a smart move at this point in XBOX's life, but this news still sux.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by Ruined

WTF IS THIS, CRAP ON ADVENTURE FAN GAMER YEAR? First full throttle 2 canned, then sam & max 2 canned, now friggin psychonauts too????

Well, the game wasn't canned. It's still in development at Double Fine. It's just that MS won't be publishing the game. Same thing with Oddworld 4. I just have to wonder if this nixes the exclusivity agreements as well.

[IKEA_boy]

Originally Posted by Reaver

I just have to wonder if this nixes the exclusivity agreements as well.

Even if it did, I doubt Psychonauts would be a financially successful game so the chances of it getting ported are slim.

On Full Throttle 2 and Sam & Max 2 - while I love the originals, the new versions never looked promising to me anyway.

[Enzian]

Originally Posted by IKEA_boy

They said the same thing before:



As far as I know, nothing came of it.

Ahh. A form letter. Cool. I suspected it was lip service, but... Meh. I decided to ask the obvious.

Thanks for the proof.

[Engineer_J]

nope no cost cutting going on in Home & Entertainment Division....

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Engineer_J

nope no cost cutting going on in Home & Entertainment Division....

I think it's less cost cutting and more reassigning of assets to what is important to XBOX at this point in its life. Let's face it, despite the amount of money MS has and has comitted to XBOX, if they spend $50,000 on Psychonauts, that is $50,000 they can't spend on Halo2, Fable, or Rare games. Psychonauts is also more of a niche title than a system seller, something that is much welcomed but won't be a system seller at this point in XBOX's life; with XBOX having less than 2 years left, based on their userbase they need system sellers much more than niche titles at this point. In addition, with the rather large amount of titles that missed the 2003 xmas window, in addition to the number of titles MS already had on the slate for 2004, Microsoft likely has to reassign their assets now so that all the games that were supposed to come out in 2003 come out in 2004, and all the 2004 games come out in 2004, too. XBOX2 is launching in November 2005, so any XBOX games pushed beyong XMAS 2004 will have much smaller chances of being big sellers, especially with XBOX2 hype building.

If all the games on MS' publishing slate make it out by the end of the year, XBOX will have an unstoppable lineup, just from what MS publishes alone:
Halo 2
Fable
B.C.
Kameo: Elements of Power
Conker Live and Uncut
Half Life 2
Sudeki
True Fantasy Live Online
etc...

[billyslits]

Whether or not Psychonauts was a system seller doesn't interest me. I know I'm in the minority but these smaller niche games are the ones that excite me the most and seeing them cancelled shakes my faith in the console manufacturer.

I understand that companies have to move units and all that but, when the consumers begin to suffer because of corporate conservatism, I find it hard to stand on the sidelines cheering their decisions. Sure, I'll buy Fable and Halo 2 when they reach the stores but a little variety and risk-taking can be a beautiful thing.

I can only hope that, one day, Microsoft reaches the level of financial stability necessary to take chances with these smaller, weirder titles. Until then this speculation on asset reassignment and executive intrigue does very little to warm the cockles of this sad gamer's heart.

Hey, I bought Otogi, Microsoft! That should count for something!

With cold cockles,
Billy

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by billyslits

Whether or not Psychonauts was a system seller doesn't interest me. I know I'm in the minority but these smaller niche games are the ones that excite me the most and seeing them cancelled shakes my faith in the console manufacturer.

Goddammit, how many times does it have to be said: Psychonaughts has NOT been cancelled! All MS did was drop its publishing rights. The game is still in development by Double Fine, and I'm sure that another distributor will step in.

[billyslits]

Reaver writes: "Goddammit, how many times does it have to be said: Psychonaughts has NOT been cancelled!"

Sorry, buddy. Angry much?

I want this game to be released. If this does get picked up, I'll be dancing in the streets. I'm just skeptical about its chances.

I don't know all that much about video game publishing but being dropped by Microsoft probably doesn't bode well for distribution interest. I mean, what company wants to step in and invest in a project that even the console manufacturer couldn't get behind? I would think the dropped project suddenly seems too great a financial risk.

Is there a history of this happening? I don't just mean with Microsoft or the Xbox but any console / publisher.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by billyslits

Whether or not Psychonauts was a system seller doesn't interest me. I know I'm in the minority but these smaller niche games are the ones that excite me the most

Me too,

and seeing them cancelled shakes my faith in the console manufacturer.

MS needs to sell consoles. Plus, XBOX2 will be out next year and there are still a lot of big projects in the pipe. If these projects get pushed back until XMAS 2005, they are going to sell poorly and all the money invested in them will be waste.

but a little variety and risk-taking can be a beautiful thing.

Aside from MS getting into the console business being a huge risk, they have released many "risky" titles and got burned on quite a few.

I can only hope that, one day, Microsoft reaches the level of financial stability necessary to take chances with these smaller, weirder titles. Until then this speculation on asset reassignment and executive intrigue does very little to warm the cockles of this sad gamer's heart.

It's kind of hard to criticize Microsoft for not releasing weird titles when they have released stuff like:
Blinx: The TimeSweeper
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Kung Fu Chaos
Nightcaster
Oddworld: Munch's Odyssey
Voodoo Vince
Whacked!
etc... if you look at MS' history they have released quite a few strange/niche titles that they tried to make mainstream - and for the most part were unsuccessful in getting big sales. Now is the time MS needs to finish up their XBOX1 projects and sell consoles, so you will probably see less titles like the above ones.

Hey, I bought Otogi, Microsoft! That should count for something!

That was a SEGA game :p

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by billyslits

Sorry, buddy. Angry much?

Naw, I just get tired of people coming into a thread and making posts without actually reading what's in the thread. Gets old.

[Engineer_J]

Originally Posted by Reaver

Goddammit, how many times does it have to be said: Psychonaughts has NOT been cancelled! All MS did was drop its publishing rights. The game is still in development by Double Fine, and I'm sure that another distributor will step in.

Yep and MS is helping them like they helped out Tork over a year ago, and since I believe both were shown at E3 2002, that makes both develpment times over 2 years plus. If it did not make sense for MS to publish it then chances are it will not make sense for any developer to publish it.

What is funny you both sound like me trying to defend MS (me Nintendo) decisions

[Reaver]

Well, Tork has found a distributor, as has Malice, and I'm sure Psychonaughts will too, so it's all good.

[IKEA_boy]

Who took Tork?

[Engineer_J]

Originally Posted by Reaver

Well, Tork has found a distributor, as has Malice, and I'm sure Psychonaughts will too, so it's all good.

Ubi Soft bought Twiak, Tork's creator, but has made no statements about Tork and Malice was suppose to finally come out in April (AFAIK) and still no sign of it

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Engineer_J

Ubi Soft bought Twiak, Tork's creator, but has made no statements about Tork and Malice was suppose to finally come out in April (AFAIK) and still no sign of it

Malice has a tentative June 2004 release on XBOX/PS2,

[billyslits]

The Reaver writes: "Naw, I just get tired of people coming into a thread and making posts without actually reading what's in the thread. Gets old."

A thousand apologies, Guv'ner. Actually, I did read the entire thread before posting (I even posted earlier) and I didn't find anything conclusive regarding whether or not this game would ever be released. You're postings, while filled to bursting with hope and speculation, are not based in fact. To say that it is still in development but has no current distribution is like saying a screenplay is in "turnaround" and that's generally not good news.

I guess "cancelled" is the wrong word to use but, for all intents and purposes, the likelihood that this title will be released seems doubtful. I was merely voicing my annoyance with the current lack of creativity in the videogame world and with this Psychonauts news in particular.

Ruined, thanks for your reply and, although some of the titles you listed might be better categorized as "bad" instead of "weird", I think you're right. It makes sense for Microsoft to concentrate on the guaranteed money-makers. I agree with everything you said. I just wish it wasn't the case.

[Ruined]

Ruined, thanks for your reply and, although some of the titles you listed might be better categorized as "bad" instead of "weird", I think you're right. It makes sense for Microsoft to concentrate on the guaranteed money-makers. I agree with everything you said. I just wish it wasn't the case.

"Bad" is in the eye of the beholder . I actually liked all the above games quite a bit, with the exception maybe of Oddworld which for some reason I am having problems sticking with.

I also forgot to list Azurik: Rise of Perathia, another odd Microsoft title which got slammed in reviews and sold poorly, but one that I hold near and dear to me - one of my favorite xbox games If you give it a chance, it's actually quite an amazing exploration/adventure game, and if you were looking forward Psychonauts, you might actually like it. Also check out Beyond Good & Evil if you haven't already, it is the best adventure game I've played in a while and is appealing to virtually all audiences (and it also sold poorly).

But yeh I think the times of Microsoft publishing those types of titles are over for XBOX1. They need to finish up their 'big' XBOX1 titles since XBOX2 is coming out next year.

It also should be worth mentioning that adventure games have been dieing a slow, agonizing death since the late 90s. People just don't want to think anymore

[billyslits]

I played Beyond Good & Evil and I thought it was great. I'll have to look into Azurik. Thanks for the recommendations. I've been a fan of the adventure game genre since I was a kid and it's sad to see it falling out of favor with the general populace. I blame the surfeit of uninspired, routine platformers that regularly flood the marketplace. With enough bad product, I think people get bored and lose faith.

It seems that when a new console is introduced there's a brief window of time where companies are more willing to introduce odder, more experimental titles before they define their target market and narrow their focus. Hopefully, this will be the case when Xbox2 is released.

Oh well, I'm looking forward to E3. Maybe something interesting will pop up this year.

[Engineer_J]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Malice has a tentative June 2004 release on XBOX/PS2,

I'll believe when I see it, but I hope it makes it. Ruined did you ever hear about Haven coming to GC/X-Box, I heard that platformer wasn't that bad either. So Azurik is decent, have to pick that up for the $8 it is going for.