Sulphur on 22/9/2020 at 04:27
They do already have xCloud, which they were pushing for Xbone(s). Having the software catalogue to go with it is the proper strategy, but... while Amazon and Google are trying to make inroads, I don't see cloud uptake being anything but a compromise consumers have to live with given the limitations of current technology. If Google and Amazon are going to try and push out more than just MMOs, that's when things are going to start looking very interesting.
EvaUnit02 on 29/9/2020 at 07:06
In the short term, it is definitely a good thing. Eg Obsidian might've been closed down if it wasn't for the MS purchase, seemingly living project to project; Arkane close to the chopping block by Zenimax, according to insiders.
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Mods for TES games will be one of the litmus tests for how much MS intends to honour the PC legacy of its acquisitions. Look, my cynical side tells me that in the long run, MS will probably end up grinding some of their studios into irrelevance just like they did with Rare et al., but they're saying mostly the right things right for the moment and it looks like they're
actually going all in instead of paying lip service to PC like the last five gajillion times, which isn't a bad place to be if this entire thing ends up a successful gambit.
But if it fails, well. That's a story history's already written about.
Agreed, they do seem to have committed to PC gaming through their actions in recent years.
We do have precedents of MS recently being good to the mod community:-
* 343 Industries consulting modders for Halo MCC PC ports and trying to make them mod friendly out of the gate.
* Flight Sim 2020 designed to be modder friendly.
* The various Age of Empires modders collaborations since 2013.
Daljord on 29/9/2020 at 13:17
Good then maybe we get som more Dishonored games :)
Jason Moyer on 30/9/2020 at 06:12
I wouldn't be averse to a Dishonored 3, but I'm way more interested in seeing Arkane make new things instead of building franchises. What I really wish is that the B teams for Arkane, Obsidian, and Bethesda would get together and make an entirely non-IP based game that combined Arkane's systems with Obsidian's reactive stories and Bethsoft's world scope. Hell, throw Schafer in the mix for some comedy/surrealism.
heywood on 1/10/2020 at 17:15
I agree about wanting a new IP rather than another Dishonored. I loved the gameplay. The setting, story, and characters were serviceable but not compelling enough to revisit again.
I'm not so sure about mixing the development teams though. I really like what Arkane has been doing and really don't like what Bethesda has been doing, so the further away from each other, the better. I don't have a strong opinion of Obsidian. I didn't play New Vegas, but Outer Worlds was just OK.
Renzatic on 2/10/2020 at 03:42
Quote Posted by heywood
The setting, story, and characters were serviceable but not compelling enough to revisit again.
I thought the setting was excellent, and would love to see more of that world. The stories and characters seemed like something that was more fleshed out on paper, but a lot had to be sacrificed along the way towards making a game in a reasonable amount of time.
demagogue on 2/10/2020 at 04:23
I think they could fit in a Prey 2, and then another series. The (
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/68718/prey-2-developed-original-developers/index.html) funny story about that possibility is that Bethesday grabbed all the Human Head Studio devs that were working on the original Prey 2 before it got cancelled in 2011, and there's rumors that the reformed studio with those devs (Roundhouse) may be working on Prey 2, maybe in partnership with Arkane on the side. And BTW Arkane is working on a new IP, Deathloop.
The other thing that linked article reminds us of is that Arkane apparently has been sidelined since Ralphael Colotonio left, so being bought up would be a good thing if it ensures their survival, since Arkane is one of the last hangers on of our breed of studios.
Incidentally, just looking at those three games, Prey (2017), cancelled Prey 2 (2011), and Deathloop they all have the same gimmick in common in one form or another. They all have the player waking up in a past setting in an endless loop. (I guess technically a new Prey 2 even fits the mold in a meta-way if you think about its original devs working on it.) It's evidently the gimmick de jour.
Sulphur on 2/10/2020 at 05:15
Oh yeah. There's Outer Wilds, the upcoming 12 Minutes (which was announced alongside Deathloop, heh), The Sexy Brutale, the upcoming Skyrim standalone mod The Forgotten City, and more. I think it goes all the way back to Majora's Mask at the very least. The funny thing is that it actually is a very good mechanic for video games - Outer Wilds, Sexy Brutale, and Majora's Mask all make for great experiences (and fuck me I need to get back to Outer Wilds post haste, it is so good).
heywood on 2/10/2020 at 12:20
I didn't exactly forget about Deathloop. But to me it's neither RPG or imm sim, it's a different category of game. The progress/die/start over loop is a bit too{/i] old school. It's why I didn't enjoy arcades and single-player console games of the 80s and 90s. I got into C64 and then PC gaming to get away from it.