270°

The Xbox 360 casualty sheet: 45 companies that didn't survive this generation

Remembering those who didn't make it
It's been a long, hard generation: financial crises, increased competition from tablets and mobile, the rise of certain mega-franchises severely limiting the success of other games' multiplayer modes. There's been a brutal shift in business models over the course of the Xbox 360's life. Spiralling development costs and uncertain returns have taken many companies to the wall; the loss of the "b-game" mid-market titles has taken down publishers and studios alike.

BadboyCivic3937d ago

Sony Liverpool? THQ?

I bash MS for the things they have done wrong. I don't blame them for everything gone wrong.

dirigiblebill3937d ago

"I don't blame them for everything gone wrong."

Nor does the article.

gaffyh3937d ago

Thing with Sony though, is that even though Sony Liverpool has closed, the IPs still exist, and they could make (and probably will) sequels to the franchises that Sony Liverpool developed.

Bathyj3937d ago

yeah, it must be one of those Sony fanboy sites.

oh wait...

shutUpAndTakeMyMoney3937d ago

Well the next gen would have been so locked down if MS had their way.

ColdFeet3937d ago

Maybe I'm just knitpicking this list but when they talk about Clover Studios, they don't even mention Okami. God Hand is hardly the reason Clover Studios were considered creative.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3937d ago
GentlemenRUs3937d ago ShowReplies(2)
Cmk01213937d ago

This is just so ignorant. 3rd party companies closing because of one console? Just beyond imagination the amount of fanboy write ups allowed on this site. def jam fighting game failed causing it to not make more games...SHOCKER. good games sell crap games dont simple as that.

DragonKnight3937d ago

Official Xbox Magazine wrote this. Are you saying that Official Xbox Magazine is a Sony fanboy magazine?

die_fiend3937d ago

So ignorant? So when you say good games sell are you saying Okami isn't good? Or viewtiful joe? Def jam was fun back in the day

Killzoner993937d ago

Just goes to show you Microsoft is circling the drain and they're trying to take everyone down with them. They're done.

DiRtY3937d ago

Yeah.

Sony Liverpool
BigBig
Zipper

ring a bell?

GameCents3937d ago

The article is about developers that used to work on xbox games, multiplats included, that have not made it through for whatever reason.
This isn't about the studios that closed because of Microsoft. Heck SONY is involved in the demise of more studios this gen than any other console maker.

Killzoner993937d ago

These are 45 companies that went out of business because of Microsoft. Sony only shut down a handful of devs this generation. The fact is Microsoft is destroying the industry while Sony is innovating and rebuilding it. "The Last of Us" alone has done more for the industry than Microsoft has ever done. Microsoft works with the NSA to spy on consumers with the required Kinect. That should be enough for you to see how evil they are.

dirigiblebill3937d ago

@Killzoner99

"These are 45 companies that went out of business because of Microsoft."

Hilarious. Literally all you have to do is read the intro paragraph, right there at the top of this page, to understand that this isn't what the article's saying at all.

coolasj3937d ago

I miss Pandemic the most.

Show all comments (30)
120°

Why Monopolies In Gaming Must Not Be Allowed

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.

thorstein7h ago

Shouldn't be allowed in any field.

Inverno4h ago

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.

jwillj2k42h ago

Eventually they’ll realize the value is with the employee not the company. Buying an IP means nothing if the people who contributed are let go. They’ll get it one day.

MrCrimson2h ago

tech is different because they buy threats and then kill them. Twitter bought Vine and did nothing with it. Despite people seemingly liking it. Could've had tiktok a decade before bytedance. go figure.

Zenzuu3h ago

Monopolies shouldn't be allowed regardless. Not just for gaming.

MrCrimson2h ago

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" -

130°

Looking Back At 2008, An Unbelievably Incredible Year Of Video Game Releases

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."

ChasterMies9h ago

Some of these low paid video game “news” writers weren’t born before 2007.

just_looken5h ago

Here here

Those that were around before 2000's i am sure are like me that think we entered a world of non readers or those that follow without question.

I can not wait to see fallout 3 a goty game even though it was about water with non content until you add the dlc/updates then you got the performance/crashing

CrimsonWing6920h ago

I don’t think anything can compare to 2023

lucasnooker20h ago

1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.

It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!

KyRo20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.

Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.

CrimsonWing6920h ago(Edited 20h ago)

Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.

Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:

- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2

I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.

Profchaos17h ago(Edited 17h ago)

Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.

I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.

I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.

But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.

Gameseeker_Frampt8h ago

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.

just_looken5h ago

It still amazes me we got over 7 rockstar games ps2/ps3 but 3 for the ps3/ps4/ps5

Dragon age 1-3 and mass effect 1-3 in 7ish years what a generation.

120°

6 Fun Games Where You Actually Play As The Bad Guy

While the mainstream media always sees things turning in favor of the hero, here are 6 games that own being a bad guy.

Profchaos1d 2h ago

Pretty much all of these games listed are based around a morality system you don't have to be bad and you don't have to be good.

It seems to have left out some real amazing games like red dead redemption 1/2,ass effect and true crime la/ny

Tacoboto1d 1h ago

Armored Core VI?

Ok, I'm really missing something here. Just beat chapter 3 earlier this evening, unlocked A-rank Arena fights. I'm not seeing or sensing any branching paths or morality system and I've done every side mission and arena fight available to me up to that fight.

Is something big coming soon to branch the story?

banger881d 1h ago

No mention of Grand Theft Auto? Saints Row (original trilogy), Manhunt? Also The Suffering (depending on the ending you get).

ChasterMies15h ago

Trevor in GTA 6 is a sadist and psychopath who dabbles in cannibalism. Should be top of the list. These game “news” sites should hire people that know games.