MrCuddles

Member
Oct 28, 2017
350
oof

GNLmldhXUAAZYX1


Send in the clowns...
 

DrFreeman

Banned
May 9, 2020
2,747
Starting off the answer with "you know…*big sigh*…" means the answer is definitely going to be sincere and you definitely do feel bad about these studios that you don't name directly
 

Ahti

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Nov 6, 2017
9,415
In that clip posted it is funny to me she talks of Indiana Jones as an upcoming game and not Hellblade II.

Hellblade II has become irrelevant to them, imo, there's not even proper marketing for it, I feel like. It is what Hi-Fi Rush was for them, a "prestige game" that won't sell gangbusters and lead to the closure of the studio because Xbox's new strategy is Fallout and COD.
 

RocknRola

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,361
Portugal
It does make me wonder, did they actually know? Or did someone further up at MS tell them they had to cut more staff / close studios after? Normally that kind of stuff would obviously be in the works for a long time and (hopefully) carefully considered but it kind of seems some of the higher ups at Xbox may have been unaware until recently, also looking at Greenberg's recent tweets on Tango. Doesn't excuse this horrible interview answer of course.

I doubt that was a long planned thing. That Arkane worked on a huge Redfall patch for this month including an offline option right up to hours until closure and MS not letting them finish and release it rather looks like this was a quick and spontaneous decision.
Unsure if that makes it better or worse tbh. The idea of high level execs like her being in the dark about these things…..Still a mess of a situation regardless.
 

Bitterman

Banned
Nov 25, 2017
2,930
I mean shit on MS and Xbox all you want for the Tango-closure but where is this "award-winning, hearts-conquering, mind-boggling" games output talk coming from ?
Hif-rush was a failure sales-wise (I bet it didn't even sell a million on steam, did it sell half a million atleast ?) and ghostwire tokyo was a mega-dud from all possible fronts. Some good gamepass numbers don't offset what's clear hard facts in front of you.
 

Knight613

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,205
San Francisco
I mean shit on MS and Xbox all you want for the Tango-closure but where is this "award-winning, hearts-conquering, mind-boggling" games output talk coming from ?
Hif-rush was a failure sales-wise (I bet it didn't even sell a million on steam, did it sell half a million atleast ?) and ghostwire tokyo was a mega-dud from all possible fronts. Some good gamepass numbers don't offset what's clear hard facts in front of you.
Virtually every game Microsoft has put out has been a failure sales wise.

Hi-Fi Rush did win a lot of awards though. Which you can't really say about other things Microsoft has put out the past few years.
 

Jinroh

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,203
Lausanne, Switzerland
I started playing Hi-Fi Rush after the news dropped and the game is fantastic, it's a mix of good gameplay, visuals, characters, music... it has a strong personality/sould unlike plently of other games. This is a devastating news, Tango truly was a great studio.
 

Iichter

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,384
And how much sales is that exactly ? Is it not terribly low (look at the total no. of reviews) ? The game failed to gain any sort of big traction in the mainstream for how good it was.
And glad you ignored ghostwire tokyo altogether lmao
I don't know how much sales that is, but I know that Forza Motorsport is much worse (6000 mixed reviews) and has always had much less players than Hi-Fi Rush ever had.

Let's go close Turn10, they're making bad games no one likes.


View: https://imgur.com/kbO3kJf

View: https://imgur.com/pdNc6Fv

Much of all Microsoft games are failures both critically and sales wise, Hi-Fi Rush is standing out because it didn't.
 

ZeoVGM

Member
Oct 25, 2017
76,700
Providence, RI
And how much sales is that exactly ?

That isn't what you said. You're moving the goalposts now.

The game failed to gain any sort of big traction in the mainstream for how good it was.

It was on Game Pass. I don't know what point you're trying to make other than dismissing the first game Xbox had in GOTY discussions since probably the 360 era.
 

jungius

Self-Requested Ban
Banned
Sep 5, 2021
2,738
And how much sales is that exactly ? Is it not terribly low (look at the total no. of reviews) ? The game failed to gain any sort of big traction in the mainstream for how good it was.
And glad you ignored ghostwire tokyo altogether lmao

tbh it gain traction a lot but gamepass and shadow dropping the game does killed it sales potential, in august it has 6 million players and it sold like 770k

unlike GAAS this is 12 hours one and done game that even 14 days gamepass trial players could complete it easily then never touch gamepass forever

if it sold less because of xbox strategic and marketing decision I wouldnt put blame on them
 

CaptainBearTV

Member
Dec 20, 2023
180
It will be brutal seeing Ryan dodge asking every hard question, the questions will lost likely be prepped in advance.
He is on the fan-level of Jez and TimDog.
Xbox and especially Phil Spencer can't do no wrong and this is part of a greater plan.

Most questions will be about his shirt collection and what the hidden messages mean.
And how sad he was about people nuking his fallout camp.
You can't hurt that poor man so much!
People please have feelings for Phil Spencer!

I mean shit on MS and Xbox all you want for the Tango-closure but where is this "award-winning, hearts-conquering, mind-boggling" games output talk coming from ?
Hif-rush was a failure sales-wise (I bet it didn't even sell a million on steam, did it sell half a million atleast ?) and ghostwire tokyo was a mega-dud from all possible fronts. Some good gamepass numbers don't offset what's clear hard facts in front of you.

Hi-Fi Rush literally got awards that were earned thanks to its good quality.
Something you can actually build up on in the future and turn this into a big franchise like a good publisher that throws billions at everything would do.

Like outside of the Forza Horizon Studio nothing was matching them in the past decade because Halo,Gears and everything else is just not up there in terms of quality.
They wanted to finally get a 90+ rated game and the studio delivered.
They finally had a game that was taken serious at GOTY discussions.
Everything else would have come with trust and actual marketing for a potential sequel.

If it weren't for past glory of games from over a decade ago Starfield wouldn't have sold shit either.
And that game was actually bad and low quality.
Meanwhile Todd Howard is keeping his job unlike those that actually delivered a good game.
 

AlanMoore

Member
Feb 22, 2018
3,265
I mean shit on MS and Xbox all you want for the Tango-closure but where is this "award-winning, hearts-conquering, mind-boggling" games output talk coming from ?
Hif-rush was a failure sales-wise (I bet it didn't even sell a million on steam, did it sell half a million atleast ?) and ghostwire tokyo was a mega-dud from all possible fronts. Some good gamepass numbers don't offset what's clear hard facts in front of you.
Then why did Xbox say this?

View: https://twitter.com/aarongreenberg/status/1649431572137779203
 

Renna Hazel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,799
And how much sales is that exactly ? Is it not terribly low (look at the total no. of reviews) ? The game failed to gain any sort of big traction in the mainstream for how good it was.
And glad you ignored ghostwire tokyo altogether lmao
You asked where the award winning talk is coming from, someone posted a tweet showing the awards. That doesn't translate to a sales number.

MS said Hi Fi hit all of their performance metrics.
 

goldenboy

Member
Mar 8, 2023
497
Wow, she came unprepared.

So she gets the interviews after studio closures, Spencer gets the interview with boolicker Ryan McCaffrey after the showcase. Speaks volumes...

(And in her defense, I bet she had no clue what mess was about to happen when she worte that Tango Happy 14th tweet)
 

Cheat Code

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,760
I mean shit on MS and Xbox all you want for the Tango-closure but where is this "award-winning, hearts-conquering, mind-boggling" games output talk coming from ?
Hif-rush was a failure sales-wise (I bet it didn't even sell a million on steam, did it sell half a million atleast ?) and ghostwire tokyo was a mega-dud from all possible fronts. Some good gamepass numbers don't offset what's clear hard facts in front of you.
Game that shadowdrops onto a subscription service has fewer sales than a traditionally launched game?

Damn that's crazy how did Microsoft not see that coming.
 

Vareon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,030
If Hi-Fi Rush was moderately successful, but Xbox closed Tango anyway, that means Xbox crippled their leg while claiming they want to move forward.

If Hi-Fi Rush was a commercial failure, then Tango was closed, then you can't trust anything they say, because there's no way sales aren't included in "all key measurements and expectations".

Great job
 

CheapJi

Member
Apr 24, 2018
2,507
Funniest thing about sales arguments is that hi fi rush probably didn't even do bad sales wise.
According to steamdb it's somewhere between 500k and 700k and it probably sold some on PS5 and even xbox. so I would guess it was close to a mil.
It sold SIGNIFICANTLY better than forza on steam and probably cost significantly less to produce.
 

Odinsmana

Member
Mar 13, 2019
2,412
I doubt that was a long planned thing. That Arkane worked on a huge Redfall patch for this month including an offline option right up to hours until closure and MS not letting them finish and release it rather looks like this was a quick and spontaneous decision.
There is no way that Microsoft closes these studios on a whim. The reason Arkane was working on a patch is because these employees don`t get the privilige of knowing that they are going to lose their job ahead of time, so things are going to be business as usual until the axe drops.
 
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Aldi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,636
United Kingdom
Twisting the conversation into 'look at how successful the fallout TV show was!' did not sit right with me. These are people's jobs, people's lives and what's left of the fanbase wants to know what the vision is.

I really hope fans get more clarity soon, because it's hard to see what the plan is when studios that are capable of making highly rated games are shut down.
 

Bitterman

Banned
Nov 25, 2017
2,930
A couple of awards don't mean anything to any big company when it doesn't translate into sales. Its not rocket science people lol.

Also I love how everyone chooses to not focus on Ghostwire coz you know it will destroy any point that you're trying to make about Tango closure.

I might be wrong on this but I think I remember reading how Mikami left and took key members with him so Tango was already crippled personnel-wise.
 

Dreamboum

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
23,031
lCVvqsB.png

It was said Tango got closed because they weren't doing any active projects and were in the process of pitching.

Why was Ghostwire Tokyo sequel in the roadmap of Xbox in the FTC Leak, then? Do they put games that are not pitched in a roadmap?
 

Knight613

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,205
San Francisco
A couple of awards don't mean anything to any big company when it doesn't translate into sales. Its not rocket science people lol.

Also I love how everyone chooses to not focus on Ghostwire coz you know it will destroy any point that you're trying to make about Tango closure.
None of their games have actually been selling though.

And no one's focusing on Ghostwire Tokyo because realistically, Sony already paid for timed exclusivity so that already gave them money to offset some lower sales. Plus Hi-Fi Rush was the one that was critically acclaimed.
 

n0one

Member
Jan 3, 2023
502
The disconnection between the answer and her belief in it is palpable. I don't think all of the division leadership are on board with these decisions, and the cracks are starting to show.

Line must go up, whatever the cost.
 

--R

Being sued right now, please help me find a lawyer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,071
A couple of awards don't mean anything to any big company when it doesn't translate into sales. Its not rocket science people lol.

Also I love how everyone chooses to not focus on Ghostwire coz you know it will destroy any point that you're trying to make about Tango closure.

I might be wrong on this but I think I remember reading how Mikami left and took key members with him so Tango was already crippled personnel-wise.
Mikami left on his own because he felt the studio would be safe under Microsoft and that they didn't need his name to stay open. 1 year later, this happens.
 

Izanagi89

"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,172
A couple of awards don't mean anything to any big company when it doesn't translate into sales. Its not rocket science people lol.

Also I love how everyone chooses to not focus on Ghostwire coz you know it will destroy any point that you're trying to make about Tango closure.

I might be wrong on this but I think I remember reading how Mikami left and took key members with him so Tango was already crippled personnel-wise.

What are you even trying to argue right now? And please stop spreading bullshit about Mikami leaving just to prop up your own argument. Ironic you're calling people out but using unsubstantiated information so you can look like you're making a valid argument. Stop, it's obnoxious.


View: https://twitter.com/ega1002/status/1788627002674774065


View: https://twitter.com/yunmwatanabe/status/1788079215012872627
 

Iichter

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,384
A couple of awards don't mean anything to any big company when it doesn't translate into sales. Its not rocket science people lol.

Also I love how everyone chooses to not focus on Ghostwire coz you know it will destroy any point that you're trying to make about Tango closure.
Ghostwire was partially financed by Sony's 1 year exclusivity deal, so not as important if it did badly (we don't know how much bad it did, but even then it has more reviews than Forza motorsport), that's the point of exclusivity deals.

But also remember that studios like Compulsion games that have 59 meta titles in their pedigree and bought out since 2018 never released a title since their buy-out.

I'm not here wishing for other studios to close down, but Tango definitely wasn't the one to take the closure first in the line if we're being fair.
 

S1kkZ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,529
Oof, the interviews during the showcase week will be brutal.

Someone make a bingo card.
you think any "journalist" will ask phil & co any hard hitting questions? the only person that would do that, is jeff gerstmann. and he sure as hell is getting no interview. all these people will hype ms through the roof, after they dropped some cg teasers at their showcase.
 

Lampa

Member
Feb 13, 2018
3,790
A couple of awards don't mean anything to any big company when it doesn't translate into sales. Its not rocket science people lol.
It hit every performance target they had for it, why are you trying to argue it did not sell well when they publicly stated it did what they expected.

I might be wrong on this but I think I remember reading how Mikami left and took key members with him so Tango was already crippled personnel-wise.
GNIbnWgXcAAOnKi
 

n0one

Member
Jan 3, 2023
502
lCVvqsB.png

It was said Tango got closed because they weren't doing any active projects and were in the process of pitching.

Why was Ghostwire Tokyo sequel in the roadmap of Xbox in the FTC Leak, then? Do they put games that are not pitched in a roadmap?

Because roadmaps are projected until they are fully realised.
 

Bitterman

Banned
Nov 25, 2017
2,930
None of their games have actually been selling though.

And no one's focusing on Ghostwire Tokyo because realistically, Sony already paid for timed exclusivity so that already gave them money to offset some lower sales. Plus Hi-Fi Rush was the one that was critically acclaimed.
"Why not close this other studio, see no sales there either" is whataboutism and does not hold any real value in trying to ascertain the problem at hand.
For all you know, those other studios will be cut soon as well.
 

Knight613

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,205
San Francisco
"Why not close this other studio, see no sales there either" is whataboutism and does not hold any real value in trying to ascertain the problem at hand.
For all you know, those other studios will be cut soon as well.
I never said to close other studios. Merely that if sales were the main factor for a studio to not get closed, then virtually all of their studios failed that.

And that's probably mostly due to management, not the studios themselves.
 
Nov 8, 2017
13,380
lCVvqsB.png

It was said Tango got closed because they weren't doing any active projects and were in the process of pitching.

Why was Ghostwire Tokyo sequel in the roadmap of Xbox in the FTC Leak, then? Do they put games that are not pitched in a roadmap?



It's highly likely that the far away games on that list were just intended to represent the cadence of releases they could expect from the studios. It's more optimistic than "Unknown Tango Gameworks Project #1" because it's basically what they will logically be expected to work on if the first game is a success, but it's not a project they've done anything more than vaguely pencil into a calendar as a placeholder.

Dishonoured 3 was also a project that Arkane Austin was only recently pitching, despite also appearing on this roadmap.
 

Renna Hazel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,799
A couple of awards don't mean anything to any big company when it doesn't translate into sales. Its not rocket science people lol.

Also I love how everyone chooses to not focus on Ghostwire coz you know it will destroy any point that you're trying to make about Tango closure.

I might be wrong on this but I think I remember reading how Mikami left and took key members with him so Tango was already crippled personnel-wise.
YOU asked about the awards, so people showed you where that talk was coming from.

Are you just making the point that the studio should have been shut down?
 

modiz

Member
Oct 8, 2018
18,076
lCVvqsB.png

It was said Tango got closed because they weren't doing any active projects and were in the process of pitching.

Why was Ghostwire Tokyo sequel in the roadmap of Xbox in the FTC Leak, then? Do they put games that are not pitched in a roadmap?
To be fair that list was basically a rough roadmap sketch from before MS acquired Bethesda. Ghostwire 2 could have easily been dropped after the first game flopped.