A Special Announcement From Obsidian

[Amentep]

You DID realise we kickstarted 4 million not once, but twice to prevent exactly something like this from happening right? Or did that just get overlooked in painting us off as the enemy?

 

I think it was more to prevent going bankrupt and no longer having a company, than to prevent being purchased and still having a company.

 

I didn't back for either of those reason. I backed because I like Obsidian games and wanted to support them making a new game. If they'd tried to kickstart an action RPG like DSIII or Alpha Protocol on consoles, I'd have supported that as well. 

 

Heck, I didn't even know backing the Kickstarter was helping Obsidian at a time when their finances were problematic due to cancelled titles (I knew there was cancelled titles but now how badly it had affected them).  If I had known how dire their straits were, I'd have tried to pledge more.

 

The primary thing to me is Obsidian, a company that makes games I like, making games I like.  Time will tell what impact the MS purchase will make on this, to me, bottom line but for now I see no point in worrying about it (particularly given that, in the end, there's nothing we can do about it).

[MDMAisGOOD]

Copy and pasted from the other thread:

 

 

Congrats Obsidian, you definitely made the right choice. Ignore the snide comments, celebrate the victory and the paycheck, I'll continue to suport you guys and buy your games.

 

Talent is not limited by the parent/owner company, it's quite baffling that some members here would say "Goodbye quality games" due to Mucrosoft buying them out, if anything quality will only go up as they are now free to fund.

 

Again, I'll say it again,

 

CONGRATULATIONS OBSIDIAN! May you prosper and continue to give us great games, better games regardless of if only console or not (could care less as I play on both pc and console).

 

you obviously have no clue at all how company's work, every thing will get swallowed, especially things like "Talent" and will be drowned by corporate bull****.

the bigger the company, the more "Talent" get/is and will be limited. the same with Humanity, the more we are, the dumber we'll get.

[SonicMage117]

you obviously have no clue at all how company's work, every thing will get swallowed, especially things like "Talent" and will be drowned by corporate bull****.

the bigger the company, the more "Talent" get/is and will be limited. the same with Humanity, the more we are, the dumber we'll get.

Welcome to the forums!

 

You're new here so I'm going to cut you some slack, sonny.

[bringingyouthefuture]

Quote

They will get new fans though, that's the whole point.

Yeah, once again, heard this sham again too with Star Wars. I sure hope for LucasFilm their "new fans" was worth ****ting all over us that shelled out 2 billion just for the name. And now they're gone. Whoops. Also how's that BioWare crowd nowadays? Gotta love the universal knowledge BioWare will be executed after Anthem yet somehow BW itself is not seeing it... or is in heavy denial. Probably the latter.

 

----------------------

 

I don't get the Star Wars reference.  I mean I actually saw the first Star Wars in theaters, and a studio like LucaFilm gave stewardship to Disney, I mean George Lucas is 74 - dude I am pretty sure can't run the studio anymore ... plus I liked the prequels, everyone hated on it but man it will go down in history as one of the first feature films to spearhead the use of digital cameras:

 

https://www.redsharknews.com/technology/item/2990-how-george-lucas-pioneered-the-use-of-digital-video-in-feature-films-with-the-sony-hdw-f900

 

I mean the dude basically made the success of Avatar possible.  I am not sure if you are talking about the games or the movies though ... not to hip to the gaming industry ... but pretty sure George Lucas didn't just sell out for the paycheck.  I am just waiting for Netflix to buy Paramount Studios ... times change for sure.

[PsychoBlonde]

I notice that InXile Entertainment also joined Microsoft. Maybe Microsoft is planning a large cRPG project.

 

Srsly?  Wow.

 

Could we be looking at some kind of RPG renaissance?

 

That would kick ass.

 

Tell them to choke EA until they cough up Bioware, or at least the part of Bioware that does Dragon Age, before they kill that one the way they killed Mass Effect.

[PsychoBlonde]

For those worrying that Obsidian will go the way of Bioware . . . I don't think that's going to happen, because Microsoft as a games publisher is a fundamentally different type of company from EA.  Or Activision.  Or Ubisoft.  They're not, in fact, a games publisher at all.  Their core business revolves around a PC operating system that, as far as gaming is concerned, enjoys near-monopoly status.  (Right now, if you're a PC gamer, chances are EXTREMELY high that you run Windows on your gaming machine).  They have a side business that involves producing games for their console platform--which they're merging with their PC gaming platform to run a unified OS.  Unlike the PS4, the Xbox One is backwards-compatible--you can play 360 games on it.

 

Oh, they've made their share of big-company blunders, don't get me wrong.  The awfulness that was Games for Windows Live cannot be described except by using a combination of profanity, obscenity, and scatology.  And their App Store isn't much better.  The history of the Xbox has basically been the saga of Microsoft entering a market they really did NOT UNDERSTAND when they started, screwing up royally, and ultimately making a go of it.  And the weird part is that they've made a go of it in gaming by acting like a smaller company.  Microsoft, the abusive titan of the PC, basically became a scrappy underdog (almost a failure of one) when they entered the gaming market.

I don't think they're going to pull an EA or an Activision or a Ubisoft.  Oh, I'm sure there will be screwups and missteps.  But unlike other games publishers they're not in the games market to make money.  They already make money on their OS and their software.  Microsoft makes games because they want to make games.  They are the ONLY games publisher out there who does something else to make money.  Valve was like that for a while, but they basically stopped making games and they only do Steam these days.  You can argue that CdProjekt has GoG.  And look at how awesome CDProjekt is.

There may be good reason to be cautiously optimistic about this.
 

[hcl]

minecraft/mojang may be a good example.

But w/o a glasssphere its hard to predict what we will see. Personally MS store would be a nogo, really enjoy the DRM free experience and the ability to mod the game. 
At the end its a matter of long term smart psychological, responsible thinking vs greediness and stockholder pressure. You actively have to steer against those industry evolution mechanisms that results from human shortview. Many companies who became too big, lost track or became too self-shure (intel) and started to act against customers* This is always the entry point for other/new players (amd, linux, ..)

*(MS already does in some ways, Blizzard lately too, EA, Asus, etc ppp.) So act smart, MS!

Edited November 20, 2018 by hcl

[injurai]

What's interesting is Sony is now the only first party to not really have a dedicated rpg developer. Neither in the JRPG realm nor the WRPG realm. Nintendo has their own brand of rpgs like Pokemon, Mario & Luigi, etc. But they also net a tone of exclusives. While Xbox suffered from the middle-sized japanese devs just not putting out on their system, it's also clear that Sony is just letting things fall in their lap.

 

MS might really be able to push Obsidian head and shoulders above much of the other competition given the competitive landscape.

[Chairchucker]

I didn't back for either of those reason. I backed because I like Obsidian games and wanted to support them making a new game. If they'd tried to kickstart an action RPG like DSIII or Alpha Protocol on consoles, I'd have supported that as well. 

 

Heck, I didn't even know backing the Kickstarter was helping Obsidian at a time when their finances were problematic due to cancelled titles (I knew there was cancelled titles but now how badly it had affected them).  If I had known how dire their straits were, I'd have tried to pledge more.

 

The primary thing to me is Obsidian, a company that makes games I like, making games I like.  Time will tell what impact the MS purchase will make on this, to me, bottom line but for now I see no point in worrying about it (particularly given that, in the end, there's nothing we can do about it).

I was suggesting that was Obsidian's motive for making the Kickstarter and Fig campaign, not necessarily ours for backing it.

[Tigranes]

The KS for POE, successful as it was, was never ever going to give them a basis to sustainably make games for perpetuity. For that, Obsidian needed to fire 80% of its workforce, trim down to ~10 people (which was the core POE team, by the way), cut the budget for POE1 & 2 by a huge amount (since they went over KS budgets), and in turn significantly reduce the scope and visual appeal of the games - and then still hope on tenterhooks they sell enough to fund their next game.

 

The alternative is that you KS every single game. Not exactly viable, and I'm not sure that's such a utopian outcome.

 

I knew what I wanted from the POE KS: give Obsidian a shot at an old school CRPG inspired by the IE games. I got that.

[Chairchucker]

It gave them a basis for not shutting down in the immediate short term, which was absolutely going to be the result if PoE hadn't been successfully Kickstarted.

[PangaeaACDC]

I can't be the only one who is deeply concerned about this?

 

At least I've got some great games out of the company while it was independent. Now? Much less confident of quality games that will be released DRM Free and natively for Linux, and on GOG (they suck a lot more than previously, but are still much better than steam). Time will tell, as always. But I'm not very hopeful, given what usually happens when big carnivores go after smaller prey.

[SonicMage117]

Not really. It's far more likely that a game will get cancelled than be lesser in quality. And Microsoft canceling games is a rare thing as it's under extreme conditions.

 

Maybe you mean "Microsoft will no longer let Obsidian produce the type of game I want to play, so to me it's irrelevant" which has nothing to do with quality but your acceptance if it.

[Terror K]

Not really. It's far more likely that a game will get cancelled than be lesser in quality. And Microsoft canceling games is a rare thing as it's under extreme conditions.

 

Fable Legends, Project Spark, Scalebound, Phantom Dust remake...

 

Not to mention all support for their first-party GFWL titles like Halo 2, Gears of War, Fable III, etc. At least some others like Capcom, Rocksteady, Codemasters, 2k, etc. had the decency to convert their titles to Steamworks.

[Chairchucker]

I can't be the only one who is deeply concerned about this?

Yep, the only one, there's no worried people in this thread at all.

[SonicMage117]

Fable Legends, Project Spark, Scalebound, Phantom Dust remake...

 

Not to mention all support for their first-party GFWL titles like Halo 2, Gears of War, Fable III, etc. At least some others like Capcom, Rocksteady, Codemasters, 2k, etc. had the decency to convert their titles to Steamworks.

Like I said, those were the exceptional titles canceled under extreme conditions. And looking at the amazing tittles that nobody wants to mention like:

Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Minecraft, Forza Horizon series, State Of Decay, ReCore, Ori and The Blind Forest, Alan Wake, Max... the list literally goes on.

 

I'm not sure why Steamworks support matters, we are lucky to get Xbox exclusives like Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break on Steam to begin with but the games aren't broken or anything? And optimization for Microsoft's ported Xbox games have always been great. Do you just want mod support?

[Vizera]

Rip Obsidian, and thanks for all the great games in the past. I will remember you as you were.

[Undecaf]

And looking at the amazing tittles like:

Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Minecraft, Forza Horizon series, State Of Decay, ReCore, Ori and The Blind Forest, Alan Wake, Max...

:D Edited November 23, 2018 by Undecaf

[Hassat Hunter]

I think it was more to prevent going bankrupt and no longer having a company, than to prevent being purchased and still having a company.

 

Also, first Pillars Kickstarter had 73,986 backers, Pillars 2 Fig campaign had 33,614 backers. Approximately $2.25M of the funds raised for Pillars 2 was in 'Fig funds', which I think is money from people who invested in the game, but I'm not 100% sure.

Yes, but that was the entire basis for KS. So developers didn't need to rely on publishers (or be taken over by publishers) for their games. That eventually apparently all still did shows KickStarter, for gaming atleast, ended up a massive failure. Or maybe the many

flops, scams etc. made people give up on it (even if the biggest KS scam is alive and well, scamming on and on). People keep saying here KS success itself is impossible, but Larian is pulling it off. So clearly, impossible it's not. 

 

I don't get the Star Wars reference.  I mean I actually saw the first Star Wars in theaters, and a studio like LucaFilm gave stewardship to Disney, I mean George Lucas is 74 - dude I am pretty sure can't run the studio anymore ... plus I liked the prequels, everyone hated on it but man it will go down in history as one of the first feature films to spearhead the use of digital cameras:

 

https://www.redsharknews.com/technology/item/2990-how-george-lucas-pioneered-the-use-of-digital-video-in-feature-films-with-the-sony-hdw-f900

 

I mean the dude basically made the success of Avatar possible.  I am not sure if you are talking about the games or the movies though ... not to hip to the gaming industry ... but pretty sure George Lucas didn't just sell out for the paycheck.  I am just waiting for Netflix to buy Paramount Studios ... times change for sure.

You seem to have missed everything happening since 2012. 2 billion dollar on name alone (TFA). Them pissing everyone off to "get new fans" (TLJ). Then 200 million loss on their latest movie (Solo). Just an example why buying an IP then going for "new fans" over the backs of others can massively backfire. It's not a guaranteed money and fans guaranteed as made out by the user replied to.

[Chairchucker]

Yes, but that was the entire basis for KS. So developers didn't need to rely on publishers (or be taken over by publishers) for their games.

That was approximately zero percent of the basis for KS.

 

First, KS existed as a platform for quite a while before video game Kickstarters started to be a thing.

 

Second, the first high profile video game KS, Doublefine Adventure/Broken Age, was more about making a kind of game that they weren't able to get publishers to fund. We know they weren't averse to working with publishers, because they still did that a whole lot.

 

Thirdly, Obsidian Entertainment's initial Kickstarter had absolutely nothing to do with a desire not to work with or get bought by publishers, and everything to do with the fact that they were going to have to fold if they didn't have something happen.

[Boeroer]

They state so themselves in that one "documentary" video about the making of PoE.

[etagloc]

off all the big companies they could be sold to, MS Is one of the better.

 

Is it a blessing or a curse?

If they are given the opportunity to make bigger more impressive game without to many restriction. This could be great.. otherwise... not so much.

Crossing my fingers and hopeing. This is not just another one of those RIP moments. 

[SonicMage117]

 

This video explains alot, bare in mind this is also the daw video in which Josh says "Pillars won't be in consoles because we (Obsidian) don't like consoles but they did put Pillars on consoles a year after. Kinda makes you wonder "When was the offer from Microsoft made?" And "Was putting Pillars 1 on consoles just an experiment?"

 

It's a great documentary though, a bit better than that Road To Eternity though.

[Boeroer]

You should also bear in mind that it wasn't Obsidian who put PoE to consoles. It was Paradox alone. Obsidian hard no part in it and didn't even host the support forum for Console-PoE.

 

Also the answer was something like "my general answer is no. But we tested it with the steam controller and a tablet and it went fairly well. But we'd have to change a lot of things and I don't see it right now - but we'd like to explore that in the future". And that was Andy, not Josh.

 

They also didn't say "we don't like consoles" in that video. At least not the part I watched before I fell asleep... Maybe that came with the Q&A part?

Edited November 24, 2018 by Boeroer

[SonicMage117]

Ahhh thanks for the correction. I'm glad you liked the video, it's fun to fall asleep to a video

 

It may have been in the Q&A as you suggested.