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Naughty Dog Announces Development Delay on TLoU MP (MP Dev Team 'Significantly Scaled Down,' Bloomberg Reports)

feynoob

Member
CaringAdmiredHerculesbeetle-size_restricted.gif
Sad Schitts Creek GIF by CBC
 
my hot take: following the unprecedented critical/consumer success (& very deservedly so) of the last of us, naughty dog went full-blown prima donna, & this, imo, is just an indication of it finally catching up with them. yes, there are other mitigating factors (gaas, etc), but i still believe them getting high on their own product for years now has ended up taking its toll...
yes. it feels that way.
 
Hard to believe Factions needs scaled down when they're out hyping up generic Ubisoft trash like Fairgame$.

Jim Ryan's legacy will be infecting Sony first party with the GAAS virus that will lead to a lot of wasted time, money, and DOA games that will take years to rectify.
 

Jaybe

Member
This part was pretty funny. Jim brought the professionals in. ND should have simply put out a mode similar to the first game and called it a day versus making some RDR Online-like thing.

As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Usmultiplayer project's ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment.
 

FrankWza

Member
my hot take: following the unprecedented critical/consumer success (& very deservedly so) of the last of us, naughty dog went full-blown prima donna, & this, imo, is just an indication of it finally catching up with them. yes, there are other mitigating factors (gaas, etc), but i still believe them getting high on their own product for years now has ended up taking its toll...
Wouldn't the shows success be more recent? This sounds like it's been an issue for at least a year, but probably more.
 

TrebleShot

Member
Recon this will get cancelled what a shame but I always thought this factions 2 idea was a bit weird in the modern landscape of gaming.

There’s nothing tactical or like it out there as it doesn’t really sell like it used to (socom, ghost recon etc etc) real shame as they are great fun.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Oh I agree, but Bungie is the king of whatever this service push Sony is going for, so they'll always follow their advice, however unethical their methods may be.
I think it's the wrong approach. You want to see what ND with their own DNA can bring to the industry. Otherwise things become way too samey.

I love what ND did with factions. It was unlike any other multiplayer game out there. slow, methodical with crafting way before fucking warzone and pubg. KZ2 is still unmatched in terms of intensity becuase they chose not to go for the cod feel.

Bringing in Bungie just to shit on other devs who have done this before when Bungie themselves have lost most of their core audience is bizarre. Bungie doesnt have all the answers. People fucking hate Bungie for what they did to Destiny.
 

Alebrije

Member
I had a dream about Factions 2 being as The Division 2...but it seems ND has not the talent for Multiplayer games...and its fine..better keep.doing SP than spoil your reputation for just more money..
 
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Varteras

Gold Member
Good. Don't jam shit out the door just for the sake of having a product. Make sure it's quality or take a hike. Just really curious what took so many years to realize there was a problem.
 

MirageMew2

Member
It gets worse...

Apparently Bungie looked over a build of the game and reported back saying it looked dogshit 💀💀💀
I really don’t get it. Factions was already ahead of its time. Macro management, “seasonal” events, loot & craft loop, tight gameplay all the right elements are already there. Even adapting to the live-service model the type of game Factions 2 should be doesn’t need to stray too far from the original.

It’s gotta be some tacked on story element (for what is supposed to be a MP focused game) or evolving world bullshit or even F2P monetization that’s holding it back at this point.
 

JimRyanGOAT

Member
So I am rereading this, and its
  1. Pitiful after so much time they still refuse to show anything
  2. If they wasted all this time, it could have gone to their SP games
  3. Now they are scaling back the development so who knows what that means or implies

But also the good side could be
  1. They aren't here to drop some 6-12 month lasting game
  2. Sony is trying to do it right, if they feel its not up to standard they will not drop it
  3. When it does Drop, it will be a game that will be played for YEARS
  4. It'll match Sony's reputation for making amazing games

I say we let them cook
 
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Usually Naughty Dog doesn't delay games if they're in a good state. I'd rather have them delay it and make it amazing. I loved Factions so if anything this is probably good news in disguise. Just be patient. It's not the end of the world, too many games in 2023 anyways.

Didn't TLOU 2 got delayed like twice? You all acting like Naughty Dog never delayed a game lol.
 
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Sleepwalker

Member
"Sony has invested heavily in “games as a service,” or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through ongoing purchases. As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project’s ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment."

Bungie told them to fix their shit


I guess ND didnt like Bungie's feedback.
 
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icerock

Member
History is rife with examples whenever a SP studio has tried their hand to make a full-fledged MP experience, it has gone badly.

Not sure why people are surprised it didn't work out differently for Naughty Dog. Making a MP within a SP game is different, making a MP only game is a different beast. I always suspected the development wasn't going smoothly because they haven't shown anything. No updates either.

And, reading the article, it seems like Bungie didn't see potential in live service elements, and they could be monetized and retain players interest. So, not only they wasted 100s of millions of dollars in last 4 years, but they also lost valuable dev time and their SP projects are much further away.

This week should be a massive wake up call for both Hermen and Jim, this is entirely on these two.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Well, from his reporting it looks like only a few people remain on the project while they decide whether or not to cancel it. Doesnt sound like a delay to me though its possible they just ship a scaled down version of it with TLOU3.

I hope Sony learns from this and cancels the MP projects over at Insmoniac, Bend and GG as well. They have done a good job acquiring new gaas focused studios. have them work on that stuff and let the SP studios work on SP.
 

gothmog

Gold Member
This will be a good thing ultimately. Bungie just put a target on their backs, though. Marathon better be all of that or they're going to get slaughtered.
 

feynoob

Member
Usually Naughty Dog doesn't delay games if they're in a good state. I'd rather have them delay it and make it amazing. I loved Factions so if anything this is probably good news in disguise. Just be patient. It's not the end of the world, too many games in 2023 anyways.

Didn't TLOU 2 got delayed like twice? You all acting like Naughty Dog never delayed a game lol.
The game isn't meeting Bungie expectations.

It's in limbo state right now.
 

Varteras

Gold Member
Sensationalist tweet. Bungie isn't walking around shooting things in the head. They're doing exactly what Sony bought them for. Pointing out where Sony's other teams may be going wrong with GaaS before they spend too much time on them and release underperforming products. I bet they wish Bungie had been around sooner for feedback on Naughty Dog's game.
 

Godot25

Banned
Ehh. I get that Bungo are now "experts" in live service inside PS Studios. But is it really good to let them assess every other live service project inside of PS Studios?
Because for me that sounds like a recipe for having 10 exactly same live service games in future.
 

Gone

Banned
I mean who's gonna play it?
Several thousands at most. It won't be that popular so they should just release it
 

Sleepwalker

Member
Neil will get the lions share of the studio to work on his single player game. Which you can safely assume started development well over 2 years ago.

And they are putting even more people on it now, and scaling down the Factions 2 team even more.



Neil Druckmann has not spent the last 2 years working on their next game, his attention has been directed towards the TV show and him pretending to be a part of Hollywood. The game isn't in any advanced state IMO.
 

ckaneo

Member
Ehh. I get that Bungo are now "experts" in live service inside PS Studios. But is it really good to let them assess every other live service project inside of PS Studios?
Because for me that sounds like a recipe for having 10 exactly same live service games in future.
Sony doesnt care about the quality. They want the dollars
 
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