Aren't these old news? I feel like I've seen them referenced on other "Oh no, Retro" threads in the past.
This.
This.
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Glassdoor Reviews of Retro point to trouble in Texas
- Thread starter Vire
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Nah, I think we all have accepted that already considering the rumors about a canceled project and that. I think glassdoor reviews is the last place we should look for clues.
Edit:
Yes, this exactly.
Is anyone actually saying "everything is fine"?
Right, and I get that, but I would advise against putting too much stock into these reviews specifically because there is no guarantee they come from actual employees. We know there are/were issues at Retro, we don't need shaky or unreliable reviews to further prove it.
A site where anybody can leave reviews without any verification whatsoever sounds totally legit.
It could be true, it could be not. Nintendo people are notoriously tight-lipped so we'll probably never know for sure. I think we'd be hearing something about this from the press if there was any substance to it though.
It could be true, it could be not. Nintendo people are notoriously tight-lipped so we'll probably never know for sure. I think we'd be hearing something about this from the press if there was any substance to it though.
This is disgusting. The fact we may think it makes sense is also troubling. There is something going wrong there.
Who is saying everything is fine. People are being skeptical of glass door reviews, as they should be
Keep in mind that Glassdoor ratings are drastically affected by whether or not the company puts the time and effort into maintaining it and encouraging employees to participate on it. My company does, and our overall score reflects a wide variety of opinions and employee thoughts, with a very positive overall score.
Companies like EA, Blizzard, Ubisoft, etc, would all have human resources teams that would see the value in utilzing Glassdoor as a recruitment tool and valuable resource. It's likely they encourage employees to use it, etc.
I'm unsure of whether or not Retro would be "buying in" to using Glassdoor fully, but I'm leaning towards no. That would make it more likely that the only people seeking out to leave reviews about the company would be those who are disgruntled with it.
In other words, this probably means nothing.
Companies like EA, Blizzard, Ubisoft, etc, would all have human resources teams that would see the value in utilzing Glassdoor as a recruitment tool and valuable resource. It's likely they encourage employees to use it, etc.
I'm unsure of whether or not Retro would be "buying in" to using Glassdoor fully, but I'm leaning towards no. That would make it more likely that the only people seeking out to leave reviews about the company would be those who are disgruntled with it.
In other words, this probably means nothing.
So you're claiming there's trouble in Retro based off of a website where anyone can write a review with no authentication process and only 5 reviews currently on the page.
I imagine that not everything is sunshine and sparkles at Retro but come on man.
I imagine that not everything is sunshine and sparkles at Retro but come on man.
Regardless of it being glassdoor, there's enough signs pointing to problems at Retro. One of my favorite devs, hope they can pull through :(
Been saying it for a long time, it is very obvious that Retro are in serious trouble
– No signs of new title in what is nearly half a decade
– Downgraded from AAA sci-fi to an 'AAA' 2D platformer
– Rumours that their new title is a racing game in a hopeless series.
– No signs of new title in what is nearly half a decade
– Downgraded from AAA sci-fi to an 'AAA' 2D platformer
– Rumours that their new title is a racing game in a hopeless series.
Yeah seriously. I don't need questionable reviews to know something is going on there.
2 games during GC era, 2 games and 1 compilation during Wii era, 1 game during WiiU era, and 1 port during Switch era so far. They were not a magical dev during GC era house as some people are making them out to be. 2 games during GC generation, even if those games were great, is a very low output for a western dev.
Also what's weird is that they never released games for Nintendo's handhelds, only assisting in asset creation for retro tracks in Mario Kart 7, which leads me to believe they have some kind of Naughty Dog's "we will never stoop so low as to make handheld games" syndrome going on.
Yeah, that one struck me. Wonder if it's a reference to an *actual* plan to up sticks and move, or a reference suggesting that the management is gambling with the company, or what.
People should be skeptical about your sources though. Glassdoor is a website that anybody can use to write a review. There could be a 100% honest and true review that looks just as legit as a 100% fake review. How does one differentiate the two and figure out which one is right and which one is wrong?
A fairly reputable gaming journalist reporting that there are troubles within a given company is a whole lot more interesting than what Glassdoor reviews say because there's basically no way to verify much of anything on there.
Calling DKC:Returns/Tropical Freeze a "downgrade" compared to their previous works is needlessly dismissive. Those games (especially Tropical Freeze) are among the pinnacle of their respective genre. Just because it's in 2D doesn't mean there's less merit to it.
.... What?
They had like 30 people in the GameCube era, when would have been a good time for them to make a GBA game?
They pitched a DS game prototype to Nintendo as well but Nintendo declined to greenlight it (source: Resume of a former Retro dude).
I live one exit down from their Austin office and have close friends who work there. With that disclosure out of the way, two reviews on Glassdoor complaining about management is a miserably low sample size given the size of their office. Also, citing "unpaid overtime" for typically salaried work is a confounding thing to bring up.
I've been fighting this battle all year, and having finally played Tropical Freeze, I can safely say that it's no better than the Rareware era DK games, let alone Nintendo's own 2D platformers.
Why people keep saying this is beyond me, they're not even close to being in Nintendo's all time top 5 for the genre alone.
Right? That makes no sense for a salaried employee. I work overtime almost every week and since I'm a salaried employee, I knew in advance that it was going to be the case.
Because different people are allowed to have different opinions. I think it is definitely in the top 5 2D platformers that I've ever played. Even if you do disagree with me, you need to acknowledge the second part. Just because it's 2D doesn't mean there's less merit to it.
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This.
There are positive reviews on it, sure. However, more often than not the positive reviews seem so fake and/or forced.
Nah it's the kids that are wrong.
Also,
'Just move to Vegas and get it over with'
lol
And even though the 2D games were good, no one still can't deny that there isn't anything afoot in the halls of Retro Studios. Especially that racing games. And after hearing about the development cycle for it.....yeah it ain't looking good.
Yea, seems believable. They don't really seem to have the same talent there. I mean donkey Kong is fun and all but it's a pretty big leap from Metroid Prime
yeah honestly this topic is worthy of discussion but the way the OP framed this particular topic as well as the OP's dismissive attitude in the thread itself (with posts like "Hilarious reading this thread, 'lalalala everything is fine'") shows little intention for actually having a discussion and likely just wanted to stir the shit
I don't think DK is a downgrade really, as they made one of the greatest 2D platformers of all time. I'm not seeing the logic with that one.
That said, it's not a stretch to think something is wrong at Retro based purely on them being MIA for so many years. Also where do people keep getting 5 years from? DKCTF released in 2014. Other than the Star Fox rumors, the only thing we know for sure they have worked on were Mario Kart 8 and the Switch port of TF.
I don't think Glassdoor reviews are necessarily an indicator, as they aren't really verified if they were actually employees. Things like hearing nothing out of them for the last four years is more concerning than this is.
I'm still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on Star Fox Grand Prix though if it's a real thing. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised by that one.
How could you possibly get that from reading this thread? All people are doing is being skeptical of this specific source of information. Just because it matches other things that point to there being issues at Retro doesn't make it a good source, and it therefore might not be suitable to use it to "mount onto the existing reports".
Let's see, it is obvious that Retro has some kind of problem, but it is also obvious that we are talking here of anonymous sources and a ridiculous sample size to generalize anything.
The attitude of other post of the OP makes me doubt the good intentions of the thread.
The attitude of other post of the OP makes me doubt the good intentions of the thread.
DKCTF launched very early in 2014.
Retro didn't work on Mario Kart 8.
Retro is rumored to have worked on Labo in some capacity, but Nintendo never released credits for the game.
I swear I remember something about them doing something with the retro tracks in MK8.
I just looked it up, apparently I'm wrong and might be thinking of the work they did on MK7.
Isn't glassdoor known for having biased reviews all around ? These reviews should be taken with a cupful of salt. Regardless, some investigative gaming journalism to clear this out would be much more appreciated.
Not saying that Retro isn't in trouble, there's plenty of evidence to suggest they are, but just want to hit the point again the Glassdoor is probably not the best metric to judge that by.
^ this.
Seems more like a CONCERN thread rather than a discussion one.
I would personally put it below SMB3 and SMW, so it would sit at number 3 for me.
I respect your five though. I totally see where you're coming from.
Super Mario World 1
Super Mario World 2
Wario Land 4
Super Mario Brothers 3
Donkey Kong Country 3
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