Obsidian and inXile acquired by Microsoft

[Jedi Master Radek]

What if the whole thing is a plot created by Fargo and Feargus to take over the Microsoft from the inside? Every move they have made in the past few years was just a single step in the big master plan?

 

[imweasel]

So you're saying Brian and Feargus deliberately made their companies absolutely irresistible to Microsoft by making Pillows of Shitternity 2: Dumpsterfire, which sold 110K copies (lol), and Bard's Turd 4, which sold even less (lol)?

The truth is actually quite simple: Microsoft's first party console lineup is an absolute travesty and the idiots only just recently realized that it is a huge problem. Brian and Feargus got lucky, because Microsoft desperately wants to make exclusive RPGs for the Xbawx.

 

[MajorMace]

What if the whole thing is a plot created by Fargo and Feargus to take over the Microsoft from the inside? Every move they have made in the past few years was just a single step in the big master plan?

You already know way too much.
Feargus' nephew - who's a freelance and totally not on Microsoft's payroll - will get you soon, punk.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

So you're saying Brian and Feargus deliberately made their companies absolutely irresistible to Microsoft by making Pillows of Shitternity 2: Dumpsterfire, which sold 110K copies (lol), and Bard's Turd 4, which sold even less (lol)?

Yes. Making their games failures on purpose was a part of the grand plan. If successful developers sold their studios, it may look suspicious. Now nobody threats Fargo and Feargus seriously, just like they always wanted. MCA had to go because he could improve Deadfire, Feargus couldn't let that happen. Investing into voice acting was a genius movie, that ensured that even if the game somehow sold better than they wanted, the company would still stay in red. It was a safety measure. The whole purpose of establishing and using Fig, was so the investors would leak data about the poor sales to the public. Fargo established whole new studio in New Orleans, so he would have a pretext to handle BT to inexperienced developers who would ruin the game. There have been many fierce discussions between Fargo and Feargus on how many bugs they can introduce into their games without raising suspicions. Now after Underworld Ascendant they feel they have been too stingy with introducing bugs to their games and they feel shamed about wasted opportunities. The whole plan was created in the late nineties, it took a lot of effort to bankrupt Interplay, but with enough effort they managed to do that, so the first step of the plan could be put into motion.

I will write more about the Grand Plan, but please wait, someone is knocking on my doors.

 

[Sailor Woedica]

When do Feargus and Fargo begin to kiss in this Grand Plan slash fiction you're writing tho?

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

They released one groggy thing with Wasteland 2 and immediately moved away from it with ToN, BTIV, and promised that WL3's character system will be streamlined for greater appeal. AA studios are done with "old school," we'll only be getting that from garage devs from this point forward.

Yet, W2 sold more than ToN and BTIV combined. They deserve bankurptcy because they don't understand their supporters.

 

[Roguey]

Yet, W2 sold more than ToN and BTIV combined. They deserve bankurptcy because they don't deserve their supporters.

Wasteland 2 had novelty and crowdfunding-optimism on its side.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Yet, W2 sold more than ToN and BTIV combined. They deserve bankurptcy because they don't deserve their supporters.

Wasteland 2 had novelty and crowdfunding-optimism on its side.

T:ToN had even more novelty and crowfunding-optimism on its side, but it failed because it had nothing to do with PS:T. Vault Dweller hit the nail on the head. At the end of the day, it all comes down to good design. If a game don't have any redeeming qualities, it will flop.

 

[Roguey]

T:ToN had even more novelty and crowfunding-optimism on its side, but it failed because it had nothing to do with PS:T.

It had crowdfunding-optimism during the campaign itself but by the time ToN was released, the novelty of pseudo-isometric RPGs and the optimistic belief that we were getting new classics was over. This was after Shadowrun Returns, Dragonfall, Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity, Hong Kong.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

T:ToN had even more novelty and crowfunding-optimism on its side, but it failed because it had nothing to do with PS:T.

It had crowdfunding-optimism during the campaign itself but by the time ToN was released, the novelty of pseudo-isometric RPGs and the optimistic belief that we were getting new classics was over. This was after Shadowrun Returns, Dragonfall, Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity, Hong Kong.

We have two competing hypothesis to explain why these games failed commercially:


(1) These games bombed because the novelty of pseudo-isometric cRPGs wore off.

(2) These games bombed because they sucked.


Reasons to think that (1) is true:

(a) The first games received more crowdfunding.

(b) The first games were a commercial success.

(c) The belief that most supporters are ex-cRPG players that supported them out of nostalgia, but had no real interest in supporting them a second time.

(d) The belief that most buyers were casuals induced to buy these games on the crowdfunding hype.


The problem with these reasons is that (a)-(b) can be interpreted in a way that is compatible with (2). The sequels and other crowdfunding projects bombed because the first games are not the real deal. Whereas (c)-(d) are highly disputable because they are based on armchair sociology. We don’t actually know how many cRPG players are out there, or how many of these cRPG players are old bastards that are not willing to spend their spare time to play these games.

In any case, the conclusion is the same: only smaller or bigger (but adventurous) studios will be willing to try these games. I think this is for the best, to be honest. The so called cRPG renaissance was a failed experiment that only brought dumbed down games to the genre.

 

[imweasel]

Roguey is right, Wasteland 2 got a huge sales boost due to the Fallout and Interplay nostalgia factor. The reception of the game itself was not good enough to sell ~1 million copies.

Just look at Obsidian's crowd funded games. Pillars of Eternity sold over one million copies. Pillars of Eternity 2 had to stand on its own merits as a series, without a Baldur's Gate nostalgia factor, and as such only ~110K copies have been sold to date.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Roguey is right.

Pillars of Eternity 2 had to stand on its own merits as a series, without a Baldur's Gate nostalgia factor, and as such only ~110K copies have been sold to date.

How about this: whether a game is sucessfully or not is determined by the quality of its design. Except when there is a novelty factor (kickstarter!) or a nostalgia factor, or both. That would explain why these pseudo-siometric games were sucessfull, at first, despite having questionable design. However, once these extrinsic factors wear off, you need good design or you are dead in the water. This only reinforces the notion that when all is said and done, the most important thing is good design. You can fool people, making them believe that your new gaem is grognard material, but only for so long. In fact, the very fact that you fooled them once ensures that you won't have their support the next time.

 

[Roguey]

Although it is true that the novelty is over, I am actually quite certain that these games will keep attracting an audience. The sole reason being P:K. It has proved that nostalgia does pay. A right result for the wrong reasons.

Kingmaker is doing somewhat-better-than-Deadfire levels of success. At the moment it's uncertain if any new AA RPG will be able to even match Wasteland 2 levels of success without co-op.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Kingmaker is doing somewhat-better-than-Deadfire levels of success. At the moment it's uncertain if any new AA RPG will be able to even match Wasteland 2 levels of success without co-op.

Or MMO art style, or any other retarded factor that made DOS games so successful.

 

[2house2fly]

What does "literally who" mean? Unknown developer? Sure but they also have Chris Avellone, whose name is a selling point

 

[rusty_shackleford]

the average consumer has no idea who chris avellone is

 

[2house2fly]

The average person who is likely to be interested in an isometric CRPG does

 

[Zep Zepo]

The average person who is likely to be interested in an isometric CRPG does

I still don't really know who he is or what's he's done...and I still don't care.

MAKE GOOD GAMES. I don't need to know your name.

Zep--

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

Does anyone really *know* the enigmatic Chris Avellone?

 

[Roguey]

Avellone has more twitter followers than Richard Garriott. As far as western RPG celebrities go, I don't believe there are any higher than he is.

(let's ignore the Todd Howard meme here since a great deal of that is ironic affection)

 

[Latelistener]

Chris Avellone - RPG gangsta supastar.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Avellone has more twitter followers than Richard Garriott. As far as western RPG celebrities go, I don't believe there are any higher than he is.

(let's ignore the Todd Howard meme here since a great deal of that is ironic affection)

Probably any of the random higher ups at bioware have more followers. Taking a quick look, Casey Hudson has nearly double. I had no idea who he even was before this post because I don't pay attention to individual developers at all.

 

[Roguey]

Probably any of the random higher ups at bioware have more followers. Taking a quick look, Casey Hudson has nearly double. I had no idea who he even was before this post because I don't pay attention to individual developers at all.

I suppose that's true, but unlike Avellone, no one can directly attribute to him anything they liked about a specific Bioware game.

 

[Latelistener]

I suppose that's true, but unlike Avellone, no one can directly attribute to him anything they liked about a specific Bioware game.

Actually, EA is actively spinning that shit right now: "Look, it's Casey Hudson! He MADE Mass Effect! That's why Anthem is going to be AMAZING!" Despite the fact that Anthem is an online grindfest and Hudson now is just a manager.

The sad this is that, it's actually working.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Avellone has more twitter followers than Richard Garriott. As far as western RPG celebrities go, I don't believe there are any higher than he is.