Square Enix puts Deus Ex on hold (possibly Tomb Raider)

[Xeogred]

Source:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/deus-e ... 0-6447374/

Lots of mixed emotions. For starters, I do think Mankind Divided is the weakest Deus Ex installment story/character wise, but it is OBVIOUSLY a second game in a trilogy by how it's setup and ends. So I assumed with its high production and all that a third game was guaranteed. My fault for being optimistic.

On the flip side the amount of micro transactions and other out of game intrusions into the game was a complete infestation and terrible. It was this constant reminder that I'm just some drone playing an artificial product, rather than having a cool experience sinking into another world. The online integration was extremely off putting and pulled me out of the immersion. You go into in-game menus and see stuff for sale with real money or websites linked and all this shit, ugh that's so bad.

So anyways Deus Ex Mankind Divided didn't meet sales expectations per usual because Square Enix demands those Call of Duty numbers. What boils my piss the most here, is that they have the gun to their exterior developers on sales numbers and strict development time frames, yet they can take 10+ years with all the money they want to use to put out putrid shit like FFXV. If this isn't the ultimate bully publisher I don't know what is.

Both Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics are being forced into this Marvel partnership and plan, which I don't give a damn about (licensed games in general thesedays). So this is why I assume, Tomb Raider will probably get axed next unless a third game has been officially confirmed. But it's probably over after that.

Square Enix sucks and they're probably going to be one of the first AAA towers that starts to crumble from the top. This industry can't continue to sustain their unrealistic expectations and budgets. Maybe they'll let Deus Ex idle for so long or the Eidos Montreal ownership can be cut, that someone else can revive it in better form down the road.

Whether you like the new Deus Ex or Tomb Raider games or not, this just reeks of EA bad to me.

Relevant Jim Sterling rant (I know, I know haha)
How Square Enix Kept Meddling With Deus Ex (The Jimquisition)

[Ack]

If this isn't the ultimate bully publisher I don't know what is.

You mean Konami?

[Sarge]

FFXV is putrid crap?

As far as I can tell, both it and the latest Deus Ex reviewed pretty comparably. My guess is that the microtransactions definitely put a bad taste in players' mouths, and the Marvel/Square Enix deal is probably where the resources are going to be put. That's likely to be a big money-maker. I'm also assuming that despite the development turmoil with FFXV, it probably sold a ton of copies.

Also, just found out, apparently Mankind Divided took five years to make, so it probably wasn't a cheap proposition, either.

[Xeogred]

Maybe that was a bit extreme. FFXV souring me just doesn't help my current outlook on them.

Mankind Divided had a new engine, so I figure that's why it took longer to make. (think HR used the Unreal engine? or something heavily modified). But with this, I kind of figured with their new engine up the turnaround for a third game would be a bit quicker.

Ack: Man I gotta admit, when I'm not on the subject of Metal Gear Solid, I forget Konami still exists. They've barely done anything these last two generations. Maybe for the best. But yeah, they probably get the #1 bully award.

[isiolia]

Square Enix sucks and they're probably going to be one of the first AAA towers that starts to crumble from the top. This industry can't continue to sustain their unrealistic expectations and budgets. Maybe they'll let Deus Ex idle for so long or the Eidos Montreal ownership can be cut, that someone else can revive it in better form down the road.

SE has been seeing their digital entertainment numbers go up year over year. I suspect that quite a lot of that is from the MMOs and mobile games, of course, but they have still been putting out a fairly diverse portfolio.

I'd also speculate that the Deus Ex folks just might not have been too far into their next game, making them prime candidates to retask. It's also probably a great way to both get the Disney contract, and effectively market licensed games. I mean, this thread is basically advertising that Eidos-developed Marvel games are coming.
Not having better Marvel games already is actually kind of odd, all things considered. It's actually something that a friend of mine brought up in conversation not too long ago. There's a pretty decent chance of the resulting games actually being good, so it's not exactly all bad news.

Tomb Raider I'm pretty sure has already had the next game's title leak, and has a new movie coming down the pipe to boot. Maybe it'll get spun off to another team, but it seems likely that it'll still be coming out.

[noiseredux]

There's a pretty decent chance of the resulting games actually being good, so it's not exactly all bad news.

personally, when I saw the little teaser trailer that put "Avengers" and "Crystal Dynamics" in the same clip... I got really excited.

[Xeogred]

Maybe that won't be a huge deal... but considering how big Marvel and their influence is, it just worries me that both Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics might be forced to go the Call of Duty route and will ONLY get to develop Marvel games for many years to come and nothing else. I don't want that.

They're both large studios though, so who knows.

[alienjesus]

Maybe that won't be a huge deal... but considering how big Marvel and their influence is, it just worries me that both Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics might be forced to go the Call of Duty route and will ONLY get to develop Marvel games for many years to come and nothing else. I don't want that.

They're both large studios though, so who knows.

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't they basically only made Tomb Raider and Deus Ex games for quite some time now too?

I wonder if they appreciate a change of focus?

[Xeogred]

True, licensed material for games just doesn't interest me much usually. I'd rather enjoy that stuff outside of videogames and let videogames show me new IP's and worlds. There's probably way more good games of movies that work, but the flip side on that as we all know is usually a joke. Yet I don't really see them all that differently, like a superhero based videogame is never top tier on my radar.



So maybe they have been tied down to Deus Ex and Tomb Raider, but if there was a choice I'd rather they get to do completely new IP's instead of having to make some Marvel stuff now, if that makes sense. Maybe it's just me.

[MrPopo]

I think it depends on what we get out of it. I could see them putting the Tomb Raider team on a Black Widow game.