In this IGN article, Insomniac reveals that focus groups believed that Overstrike's art style was for kids. This contributed to the change of direction for the game, now known as FUSE.
As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.
And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.
They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -
Gary Green said: We have a juxtaposition of 2D and 3D visuals, flashy turn-based combat, quirky anime characters with cheeky dialogue with plenty of partial nudity; Yes, this is a Compile Heart JRPG. Whilst the engine is borrowed from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Mugen Souls is more of a Disgaea spin-off. It’s not a strategy RPG as such, it merely sits within Disgaea’s ever-expanding universe (Multiverse? Netherverse? Your guess is as good as mine). You won’t find cameos though, since Mugen Souls is a franchise which aims to stand on its own two feet.
Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."
Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.
2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.
This is some good reading on insomniacs.
I understand that the gaming industry is a business and listening to Focus Groups is a good way to tell if a game is going to be successful.
But the focus group was dead wrong here.
I guess this is what happens when companies like Insomniac leave Sony, especially for companies like EA. I just don't see Fuse doing well at all.
Focus groups... What was it full of cod addicts and bro gamers? How can anyone like the generic style of fuse over overstrike. Insomniac must be so happy making facebook games and listening to ea focus groups.
Are these the same focus groups who refuse to play Borderlands because of the art style?