SmokSmog
Member
Game that no one wanted + gamepass = no sales.
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Hellblade 2 Review Embargo drops 1 hour before release
Game that no one wanted + gamepass = no sales.
rofif
Banned
These are not whole studio efforts
iamvin22
Industry Verified
rhodesianshepard
Member
I agree. It just seems like the game is just being put out to pasture to die. It's not a last minute fixing bugs situation, as the director has stated the game is 100% complete already. I would be shocked if HB2 doesn't get at least an 85MC. Between the terrible marketing and the inabilty to market good review scores, it just makes no sense. Unless, MS wants the game to bomb so they can close down the studio easier? It is just weird
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SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
Whats the context here? Why are they acting scared?So the lowcost Sony inspired cinematic experience is going to be a commercial AND critical failure ?
I'm scared for the studio's future.
GymWolf
Gold Member
GymWolf
Gold Member
Wow the opposite for me, i could not give less fucks about their output at all.
Best thing i remember of their work was the great direction and acting in the cutscenes of heavenly sword and the demo of dmc where he talk like an ever more edgy version of ellie from tlou
SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
they did back then what i expect from studios this gen. Push the bar. Constantly. Heavenly Sword was doing facial and motion capture before it was cool. They had hundreds of enemies on screen and had a phenomenal epic scale completely missing from modern games. Enslaved was a bit more intimate but they still made a very enjoyable action adventure romp that hellblade didnt even come close to. It was TLOU before TLOU. And DMC had a phenomenal art style and setpieces. I understand the hate because they changed the art design but if it had been a new IP everyone here wouldve gone nuts over it.Wow the opposite for me, i could not give less fucks about their output at all.
Best thing i remember of their work was the great direction and acting in the cutscenes of heavenly sword and the demo of dmc where he talk like an ever more edgy version of ellie from tlou
Humdinger
Gold Member
The first game was a third-party console exclusive for the Playstation for a year, iirc. I don't think exclusivity per se is the issue.
The first game had a very long hype build-up, despite the fact that it was a small game. I was following the game at the time, so I remember that pre-release hype cycle well. There was a long pre-release marketing push. It went on for months. There were dozens of developer interviews, behind the scenes, previews, etc.
It's very different this time. Very little marketing at all. Very little hype. I attribute that to the fact that it's Microsoft. They don't want to "throw good money after bad," in their minds. They bought Ninja Theory back when they wanted to build up their portfolio of indie studios that put out unique, critically acclaimed games. They were short on them. But clearly, their attitude toward these studios has changed. It's all about the money now, and MS is well aware that this game will not sell well. It is a niche title, 7 hours long, and the vast majority of people will just rent it on Game Pass. They don't want to put marketing money into something they know won't deliver.
Eiknarf
Member
I feel like they’re doing that on purpose, to be annoying
Like they get a thrill out of being hated
If they were a girl they’d get off on being hate-fuct rather than being loved for who they are
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WildBoy
Member
Cos not on ps
Vroadstar
Member
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ChorizoPicozo
Banned
I think this game is going to leak on youtube between Saturday-Sunday
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Lots of outlets and streamers posting about playing the game.
5~ more days, cannot wait!
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Gambit2483
Member
Apparently the combat is "heavy", "visceral" and just as good if not better than the original. The game sounds promising so far.
Lots of outlets and streamers posting about playing the game.
5~ more days, cannot wait!
Barakov
Member
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
Jerm411
Member
Shit like this is why you can never take this brand seriously….
Why on earth is this clown getting a review code? Rhetorical I know…so dumb.
GooseMan69
Member
Remember Starfield when they tried inflating the initial metacritic score with a bunch of Xbox sites? And had their shill army all over Twitter hyping the game up to that high heavens?
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rofif
Banned
Dude I have a pc. I will play it on gamepass.
This dude’s review doesn’t get added to Metacritic or Opencritic.
Y’all whine about anything. Every brand and publisher gives codes to streamers and influencers these days.
Radical_3d
Member
Ey, if Mauro says so…
Negotiator101
Member
It's needs to be better, just as good ain't cutting it.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
My simple guy .. he's not a metacritic/opencritic reviewer, he's just talking about reviewing on his streaming shit. You know, like most 'influencers' do when publishers send them review codes.
Starfield still living rent free in some y'all heads.
Yep, pre-load's been live for about 2 days. Reviewers are playing through the game. Ready for the release date.
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Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
Bumblebeetuna
Gold Member
Who is “they”? Do you think that just because a site has Xbox or PlayStation or Nintendo in the name or if they are fan sites dedicated to a certain platform, that the platform holder controls or owns the site or something?
Either way it’s irrelevant, those kind of sites are certainly not exclusive to Xbox.
rhodesianshepard
Member
Starfield was overly egregious. They gave it small fanboy Xbox sites but skipped many major European outlets. It opened at like an 88MC on Xbox and eventually settled at an 83. I have never seen any of the other major platformer holders attempt similar antics on that level
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adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The one benefit of not having a physical release, I suppose. No chance of Walmart breaking street date.
The review codes were given to all major US outlets with only some European ones getting it late. Eurogamer got their code before release, Skillup didn't get code because he said this in his FO76 review, which got him blacklisted.
Bethesda blacklisting outlets from reviews / codes is nothing new, they've had multiple outlets on their blacklist for over a decade now.
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ChorizoPicozo
Banned
yep. that was the first time I saw this tactic used.
rhodesianshepard
Member
Ok, WTF is the reason small Xbox sites got review codes on time and massive European sites like Eurogamer got them late? It's obvious Bethesda/Microsoft was trying to tip the scale
And I am sorry, Xbox influencers/fanboy sites are much more rampant than PlayStation or Nintendo. Microsoft/Xbox personally engages with youtubers to build up hype around their game. It's one of the reasons why there are like 5x as many Xbox podcasts as PlayStation or Nintendo podcasts. It's why pissant influencers like Klobrille get review codes
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adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I think you answered your own question. It was a European specific PR issue, all US outlets, even the ones who gave the game mid scores, got their review codes in time. As far as conspiracies go, this is a pretty tame one.
Digital Foundry, who are based in Europe, got it early and had their coverage in time for the games launch because they are in contact with Bethesda's US PR.
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DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Hell, MS might’ve already made the decision to close the studio and they’re just waiting til after launch to avoid the negative publicity.
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised. This is the kind of game that maybe made sense as a value add for Gamepass + as an exclusive to broaden the appeal of Xbox. But I don’t think MS gives a shit about either of those things anymore. MS doesn’t want to pay a team of 120 people for 7 years just to develop a product that MIGHT turn a modest profit. They only want the big megaton cash cow games that generate revenue for years.
rhodesianshepard
Member
Even shit like giving Gene Park a review code for the Washington Post was bullshit. For some reason the Washington Post didn't think it was a conflict interest to give the reviewer an exclusive Launch interview with Todd Howard. 10/10 rating obv
Jaybe
Member
Yup. And Starfield was basically a release day embargo as well given it was on the first day of early access.
King Dazzar
Member
An hour before release. Cool. So when does the marketing start?
Giallo Corsa
Member
An hour before release
GametimeUK
Member
I really hope it's judged by what it's trying to be. I like enjoy a wide range of games from corridor shooters that last 8 hours, to RPG's that last 50 hours and everything inbetween.
If this game is a short, narrative, cutscene heavy game then I honestly don't see anything inherently wrong with that providing its enjoyable. I don't feel we get enough of these types of games so it will be refreshing after the bloated games I've been playing recently.
If this game is a short, narrative, cutscene heavy game then I honestly don't see anything inherently wrong with that providing its enjoyable. I don't feel we get enough of these types of games so it will be refreshing after the bloated games I've been playing recently.
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Bumblebeetuna
Gold Member
83 Metacritic, yep it’s clear the game was massively boosted by fan sites and this is exclusive to Xbox games /s
Katatonic
Member
"Craft" has to be the most abused marketing term in the last few years.
rhodesianshepard
Member
Less to do with fansites. Influencers like Colt Eastwood and Klobrille don't effect metacritic. But not sharing review codes to certain outlets to achieve a higher MC score at launch is disingenuous. Which is why Starfield was an 88MC when it launched and after a week was an 83MC.