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Trip Down Memory Lane: Looking Back to When Microsoft Rejected Grand Theft Auto 3
- Thread starter ChiefDada
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DownTheRabbitHole
Neo Member
And nothings changed.
Deft Beck
Member
Didn't they later help SEGA dub Yakuza:Like a Dragon into English and promote it heavily for Xbox?
Torrent of Pork
Banned
Good to know at 38 I will be judged for the stupid shit I did as a Junior in High School.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Yes. Sega and Microsoft, in general, are very cooperative to each other these days.
The leadership and decision making is not the same now as it was then.
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ZehDon
Member
You're obviously completely correct: Microsoft's move 22 years ago, made by people no longer at the company, is directly reflective of their exact thinking with Xbox today.
Back in reality, Microsoft seems to have understood the value of Halo, Splinter Cell, and Morrowind just fine for their shiny new console. After GTA2, no one was expecting what Rockstar was about to drop on the world. Not even Rockstar.
Back in reality, Microsoft seems to have understood the value of Halo, Splinter Cell, and Morrowind just fine for their shiny new console. After GTA2, no one was expecting what Rockstar was about to drop on the world. Not even Rockstar.
Badlucktroll
Member
bender
What time is it?
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Yep. I remember them passing on publishing Demon’s Souls, and now it’s Namco’s.
A total lack of vision as a leader in the gaming industry.
A total lack of vision as a leader in the gaming industry.
bender
What time is it?
ChiefDada
Gold Member
Calm down, buddy. I stated a personal concern/opinion and in no way presented my opinion as fact. And having proper foresight of what a project's potential could reach is definitely a positive managerial attribute. There are more recent choices that can be pointed to. For the sake of avoiding derailment of the thread, I will pass on listing. If you can't guess what I'm referring to then we'll just chalk it up to difference of opinions .
lastmessiah
Member
Uh, do you realize that Microsoft is just the name of a company and the people who made these decisions back then are not the same people today?
I mean before that Sony promoted the series and helped bring it to the west from Yakuza 5 onwards, which is when it hit peak mainstream considering the game after that was the utter brilliant amazing Yakuza 0.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
yes. they rejected Spiderman. They've rejected so many pitches that would go on to be come multimillion sellers. They have no idea of what gamers actually want.
ChiefDada
Gold Member
Fair enough comparison, but it seems to me that Microsoft commits these poorly-aged decisions far more frequently.
Rusty Shackelford
Member
bender
What time is it?
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Yeah that's why they also rejected Spiderman then went on to whine about it in court.
Things haven't changed. MS just doesn’t get in early when it comes to creativity and risk. They chase the successes after the fact.
vaibhavpisal
Member
"Microsoft believed Rockstar's pitch was "complicated" and they didn't understand the interface"
There is some merit to this. If you look at something like Horizon Forbidden West, game seems overcomplicated to a point where it comes in its own way.
If MS will make something like that, it's will have simpler interface, stuff to do with higher focus on moment to moment gameplay.
There is some merit to this. If you look at something like Horizon Forbidden West, game seems overcomplicated to a point where it comes in its own way.
If MS will make something like that, it's will have simpler interface, stuff to do with higher focus on moment to moment gameplay.
Syphon Filter
Member
thats weird, why would rockstar go to MS at the time when sony and nintendo were the proven consoles?
Gaiff
SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
It seems the management was at their most competent during the Xbox 360 era where they invested in successful games first. I remember them getting fantastic games such as Oblivion, Bioshock, Ninja Gaiden II, or Mass Effect first. They also invested in quality exclusive content like Gears, Lost Odyssey, DOA4, and others.
They were definitely heading in the right direction but caught a case of bad brainrot in 2011 or so and started chasing Nintendo's customers and ditched everything to bank on the Kinect that ended up failing spectacularly. Ever since then, the Xbox brand has had difficulties finding good exclusive content. While Playstation struck gold with third-party exclusive games like Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, MGS4, Persona 4/5, FF XVII Remake, and many others, Xbox kept getting duds like Quantum Break, Ryse, the ill-fated Scalebound, and other crap.
They were definitely heading in the right direction but caught a case of bad brainrot in 2011 or so and started chasing Nintendo's customers and ditched everything to bank on the Kinect that ended up failing spectacularly. Ever since then, the Xbox brand has had difficulties finding good exclusive content. While Playstation struck gold with third-party exclusive games like Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, MGS4, Persona 4/5, FF XVII Remake, and many others, Xbox kept getting duds like Quantum Break, Ryse, the ill-fated Scalebound, and other crap.
Captain Toad
Banned
They also turned down Final Fantasy XIV because they didn't want to allow cross-play with PlayStation during the few years they were outselling them.
And I think I heard they turned down Spider-Man as well?
And I think I heard they turned down Spider-Man as well?
Grand theft auto prior to 3 was primarily a PC game even though the 2D games had found some success on the original PS. At the time MS was getting ready to launch the OG xbox to compete with PS2.
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ZehDon
Member
You made a thread specifically to call out your "main concern/issue" with one of the three major console platform holders using a 22-year-old example. You're making reference to a six-year-old example. And you're now hand-waving away any and all counterpoints. If you're not willing to discuss your own topic, why did you bother creating this thread at all?
Goalus
Member
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ChiefDada
Gold Member
Because the 6 yr old example was referenced in a tweet posted yesterday, which initiated my thinking about some of the managerial fumbles that have become very on-brand for Microsoft.
Not at all.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
I remember when someoen said rumble was last gen important....riiiidge raaaacer....and 599 dollars was fine in 2006...
Massive damage!
Also, no one plays old games.
Massive damage!
Also, no one plays old games.
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Zathalus
Member
Sony also turned down the offer to own Marvel .. twice. All companies make mistakes with the benefit of hindsight.
Trying to spin this as Microsoft lacking vision is also hilarious when the original Xbox had gems like Knights of the Old Republic, Halo, Morrowind, Fable, and Ninja Gaiden.
You can pull ridiculous examples like this for all three console companies if you wish.
Trying to spin this as Microsoft lacking vision is also hilarious when the original Xbox had gems like Knights of the Old Republic, Halo, Morrowind, Fable, and Ninja Gaiden.
You can pull ridiculous examples like this for all three console companies if you wish.
Zathalus
Member
Purchasing Minecraft for a mere 2.5 billion is likely the best acquisition in gaming ever.I remember when Microsoft bought Mojang/Minecraft, and a lot of experts were convinced that it was a bad investment
Roberts
Member
Keep telling that to yourself. I'm pretty sure nobody else would have supported a risky project like Sea of Thieves. It payed off. Also, stuff like Pentiment, Grounded and some of the stuff on the latest xbox showcase promises weirder, more niche releases that make gaming more diverse and interesting.
And speaking of this thread in general, no wonder MS makes all that money, they can live rent free in so many heads.
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ZehDon
Member
You're naming one example, refusing to name another, and declaring this as "on-brand" across their 22 year history. I posted three examples of Microsoft's foresight in terms of understanding video games on just their first console. You're not making your point and you're actively disengaging in your own thread, advertising your opinion isn't based in the real world. I'm happy to post more examples if you'd like? In terms of tangentially related video game-based foresight from Microsoft, I could also easily add pretty simple stuff like hard drives in consoles, achievements, online multiplayer, digitally available indie games, and smart delivery.
Disco Dave
Member
GTA3 would still be in development if Microsoft had anything to do with it. It would be shown at every E3 for the past 20 years with Big Phil promising that next year will be XBoxs year.
RagnarokIV
Member
Concern trolling, pointless thread.
Silver Wattle
Gold Member
As someone that played a decent amount of GTA1+2+London well before the PS2 released, I could easily see the transition to 3D being awesome.
Stuart360
Member
To be fair no one saw it coming with GTA3. GTA back then wasnt like GTA is today. The 2D games were solid sellers but nothing like the GTA games are now.
Even EDGE gave GTA3 a 6/10, then in the next months mag they reviewed it again and gave it a 8/10 after the game had blown up sales wise over that month lol.
Even EDGE gave GTA3 a 6/10, then in the next months mag they reviewed it again and gave it a 8/10 after the game had blown up sales wise over that month lol.
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