Why Microsoft Should Be Praised Over Scalebound By Someone Who Has Worked In Game Development

Gareth at Skewed and Reviewed has posted an opinion piece looking at the cancellation of Scalebound from the perspective of his time working in game development with two companies.

[Herbalistic]

I'm not going to praise Microsoft being as they closed down nearly every one of their 1st party studios along with ruining others. am sure some good people are within the Xbox division that really care about gaming and dislike going down this direction but there is really nothing they could do. The problem with Microsoft in gaming starts with the top cats running the company.

[Garethvk]

I meant praise in the form of better than pushing a bad or incomplete game out to make a cash grab and save face. But there does seem to be a real disconnect over there at times. The One S was selling well and they have a new system coming yet seem to keep making blunders big and small all over. E3 is a few months out and now one would have to say ok, you showed off some great stuff but will you be actually able to complete it and bring it to market as your recent record casts doubt on this. When was the last time Sony touted a major release and was not able to bring it to market?

[Angeljuice]

They could always have stepped up the production with extra resources (developers, money and time) rather than bail out on a project that they obviously believed in.

They commissioned the game and failed to back their own judgement when it came to the crunch.

[Razzer]

Microsoft being able to deliver on games they promote is an issue. People buy consoles based on what they see at shows like E3. Killing a bad game is fine. Not sure I would be applauding quite yet though. Ultimately Microsoft sold a game console to millions. There is responsibility to deliver games, not announce and then cancel. It is a disturbing trend.

[sinjonezp]

I agree angel , this is just ridiculous. You have been selling the fact that this game is on the way. You been showing gameplay, trailers, etc, then all of a sudden, it's cancelled. Outside of Forza, Halo, and Gears, MS has yet to deliver any other original content. Every time a studio gets involved or in bed with MS, something bad happens. Look at Rare, when they were with Nintendo they could almost do no wrong, since with MS, what do they really have to show for it? I myself was looking forward to this title and it's really disappointing. It's crazy one minute a game is canceled then they say well we have this game and that on the way, and then those games are cancelled. What's the point of having a system that does not have dedicated content that the competition offers more of? I have an Xbox 1 S and a ps4pro and to be honest, outside of halo 5 and forza, it's been collecting dust. MS need to realize that content drives the business and without it what's the point? Look at Nintendo, look at the wiiU. I guess all their efforts are going towards project scorpio. I'm hoping when they finally unveil the new system, a lot of exclusive content is shown as well.

[GtR35olution]

The wheels on the bus goes round and round. Talk about flipping spinning. Scalebound was a game i was looking forward to because i like rpg games and also xbox lacks jrpgs.

I think xbox one console is a waste of time to own when you can get all games on pc. I must say the only reason to own an xbox is because you like the convenience of consoles over a pc. I think xbox will be a service only soon and youll need a pc to play xbox games. The writing is on the wall with a bunch of studios that closed down and games being cancelled. Dont be surprised if scorpio is just a small pc ( you know what i mean)

[_-EDMIX-_]

Who said they're only other option was to release an incomplete game?

I'm sorry but if there was something wrong with scalebound they easily could have brought in another team to assist Platinum Games , is it not Microsoft who owns the intellectual property? So how much do they want to invest in a title as a future series if they're not even willing to put their own damn team on board to help?

So basically your only argument is it's better to get absolutely nothing then what they possibly could have created? How do you know the final release was going to be rushed or crappie? They simply could have got another team to assist them so I'm not entirely sure why you're making it sound like the only possible feasible way would have been to release it rushed I'm sorry but a rushed game is a choice that is not the only option, you choose to do that.

If it took several more years then so be it , it would have showed Microsoft's real commitment to Japanese games it would have showed Microsoft a real commitment to developing a new intellectual property internally and it would have showed that they're in it for the long run.

[tyasia0]

Make sure you cash your check fast before Microsoft can cancel it.

[GtR35olution]

this guy wants to praise microsoft for not releasing a game a lot of people were looking forward to playing and they have been hyping the game for years. i guess he wants to also praise microsoft for not paying the development team also because i heard they were holding back money from the devs,

the game looked good to me except for the low frame rate which i know can be fixed with a bit more time and with scorpio coming out i know these developers had to make a pc version, a xbox one version and a scorpio version so imagine the time that is needed, people need to stop the damage control.the last guardian was announced by sony in 2009 and because people were looking forward to it they continued working on it until it was fixed. can you imagine the time it took to make a ps3 game work on a ps4 system.

xbox is for wasteman

[gangsta_red]

@Edmix

"I'm sorry but if there was something wrong with scalebound they easily could have brought in another team to assist Platinum Games"

So if you take you car to an auto repair shop and it's costing you money each day it's in that shop and the deadline that they said it would be finished keeps getting pushed out...do you "easily" hire more auto mechanics to bring to that shop to fix your car?

They were contracted to make the game, why would MS be required to step in and spend more money on a project they said they would finish.

And even still, didn't MS take KI out of the hands of the original developer and then give it to Iron Galaxy? In that case though the original dev finished the game as they were contracted to do and MS chose another dev to pick up where they left off. Platinum couldn't even finish the game and get it out as scheduled.

"How do you know the final release was going to be rushed or crappie?"

Because it was canceled and because reports and rumors are now coming in that the game was no where near it should have been at this time. I mean seriously...you truly believe MS would just cancel the game if it was good?

"If it took several more years then so be it , it would have showed Microsoft's real commitment to Japanese games"

So this is how you run a business?

How do you know that their scope or what they wanted could have been achieved on the current console? Do you think that maybe what they wanted just wasn't possible? Rumors suggest that they couldn't get the engine right and the framerate was terrible.

Several more years? So keep dumping more money and taking away more resources and wasting more time with no guarantee that there will be a return on investment and all to show that they have a commitment to Japanese games?

Are you serious?

@Bluefox

That's great that Evolution was finally able to get Driveclub out the door after delays, and then keep working on it and working on it even after it's release...

Where's Evolution Studios now?

[bluefox755]

False dichotomy. I remember Driveclub. Game was delayed, and delayed, tons of apparent development problems. I'm sure it would have been far cheaper to just scrap it early on, but they didn't. They took a lot of crap for it, even after launch, but in the end the game ended up being pretty great. I guess I'm glad they didn't just give up on it like they did with Scalebound, because then we'd have no game at all. Who knows? Scalebound could have been something special as well, in spite of all the struggles. The cheapest, and easiest way isn't always the best. Especially when you consider the cost of your consumers losing trust.

@Gangsta You're missing the point. It's not about the studios being there, studios come and go, unfortunately that's just the nature of the industry. It's about the fact that they completed what they started, even in the face of adversity. Also, I see you wrote off The Last Guardian for similar reasons because "it didn't chart", as if that somehow matters to gamers? It was a great game that, in spite of some flaws, received a lot of praise and even some GOTY picks. But because "it didn't chart", Sony should have scrapped it a long time ago? Who's side are you on? Are you a share holder? Is your brand loyalty really so strong that you're willing to defend the company over the consumer?

[_-EDMIX-_]

@gred- I'm not entirely sure why you're still trying to defend this stupidness....

The Last Guardian.
Final Fantasy 15

Ponder that bud.

[gangsta_red]

@mix

"The Last Guardian.
Final Fantasy 15

Ponder that bud."

Hmmmm *pondering*, Last Guardian, a 1st party game that supposedly couldn't run on ps3 so it was shelved until ps4. Not to mention it didn't chart on the top 10 on it's release. (I believe)

Final Fantasy 15, one of the, if not the only jrpg franchise series that sells everywhere, very well, no matter what.

Versus a brand new IP done by a small 3rd party studio that was rumored to not have the man power, time and couldn't be technically done on the hardware without extreme compromises. Any other trivial generalizations, because usually you have a lot more to say.

#bud

@Utalkin2me

"...but you do your research about the auto repair shop and make sure they do good work and make sure they hit normal timelines."

So Platinum doesn't do good work and never hit normal timelines? Wow, you guys are funny. It's even funnier that a lot of your solutions is to throw more money at something that isn't working.

"Im starting to think people have problems thinking before they type..."

The sad, sad irony of this line.

[OzzY-waZZy]

Let's just praise all the promised lies. Let's praise the fact that those cancelled games could have been the very reason why some people purchased an xbone. Such an absolutely trash and ridiculous argument.

[candystop]

"What's the point of having a system that does not have dedicated content that the competition offers more of"

Hum....Maybe this is what MS wants!

[rainslacker]

they could have recognized the problems long before months before release and resolved them on the production level like most productions go through. It's not like no games have troubled development. But most of the time, it's up to the producer to actually resolve those problems long before it gets to cancellation. A lot of money was lost on this cancellation, and I'm sure it wasn't MS first inclination to just scrape it. But you, as a former developer don't know what MS did to actually remedy the problems, and you don't know what problems may have been caused by MS itself, nor you don't know what problems were caused by P*, and don't know what could have even been done, or if it really was beyond salvation.

People say the game was bad. But nothing I saw suggested that on a technical level this was the case. It certainly needed some optimization, but the things people complained about on the technical level seemed more like unoptimized code than actual problems with the game play.

Development was delayed, apparently at several milestones. But what exactly was done about that.

I'm sorry, but praising MS for this decision is extremely premature. MS has not stated why it was cancelled. P* hasn't. We have some cursory reports that there were problems between MS and P*, but we don't know the full extent of that.

For a developer to say we should praise MS because they cancelled a bad game, is just wrong. MS should be QUESTIONED(maybe not criticized) on why exactly the game was canned. Instead, you feel it's perfectly fine to just say that some publisher should be praised because the game was bad....despite not actually knowing if the game is actually bad.

I'm sure, you, as a developer wouldn't be saying the same thing if you were in P* position. Your "praise" reeks of click bait and fanboyism, and you should be ashamed of yourself for jumping to the conclusions that you have, because if you've been in game development, you completely understand that this could be just as much MS fault as P*. MS was the producer of this game, and you understand completely what kind of control they have over the production of the game, and how it could be just as easily their fault for placing demands on the game that P* couldn't deliver. You also understand that P* is culpable in saying they could deliver. But you also know that the issues involved may have been possible to remedy and shouldn't be outright praised or condemned without knowing the facts.

[Utalkin2me]

@Garethvk

Are you being serious right now? MS is notoriously bad about changing their minds and deceiving customers. Games, Kinect, everything about the Xbox 1 release.

@gangsta_red

ROFLMAO.....No, but you do your research about the auto repair shop and make sure they do good work and make sure they hit normal timelines.

Im starting to think people have problems thinking before they type and just post solely on emotion.

[Major_Glitch]

Gangster Green is just mad because he's beginning to accept the fact that Xbox has no games.

[denawayne]

Most of the negative comments in all of these doom and gloom MS articles are from Sony fanboys anyways. Let's just wait until E3. I'm sure MS has stuff that has been in the works for a while and they decided to hold onto it until the Scorpio reveal. I can't imagine MS saying "Here's Scorpio and Crackdown 3, goodnight everyone!"

[foxdie2k15]

Thats all you have to look forward to scorpio aroun 600 700 bucks and crackdown having development troubles also and i have both systems ms has no exclusives sony has over 20 for the 1st quater of the year o more games goodluck with your all mighty powerful system with 0 games to show for it and as far as e3 i doubt they will have anything good they are riding there last hope on there premium console jajajajaja goodnight to you and good luck

[BlackTar187]

MS has been hurting Xbox brand for like 10 yrs now it for some started with the dying of Xbox so quick but for others is was the lack of game son 360 after year 4 and that trend is still going till this very day. Now you have them with very few games and trying to get another 400-600 system into people's houses. I ask for what purpose?

[_-EDMIX-_]

Yes because Xbox One gamers are just thrilled that scalebound is gone?

[Razzer]

You have to know Scorpio is going to dominate their E3.

[Sono421]

how do you not realize that all you Microsoft fanboys say the same thing every year.. "You know Microsoft has more right around the corner! You just know it!... I mean.. how couldn't they?!" It's the same thing EVERY YEAR when will you realize? If you're not getting Halo Gears or Forza then you're getting nothing.

[sampson3121]

"Most of the negative comments in all of these doom and gloom MS articles are from Sony fanboys anyways."

so let me get this straight, you are saying that xbox owners aren't complaining about this game being cancelled?
if this is true than MS will have smooth sailing in their non committal to releasing new ip's.

myself being a playstation gamer was just as surprised that this game was cancelled, and was looking forward to watching gameplay.

xbox gamers should be concerned about the amount of cancelled games and lack of in house development teams xbox has working on new ip's.

let's hope that crackdown doesn't suffer the same fate as scalebound.

[Specter229]

@foxdie ... you can't say "I have both systems" and then preach sony's praise. It kinda makes you look like your full of it. If you wanted to be taken seriously with your comment maybe rephrase it? I myself do have both consoles , and while my main gaming console is my xbox it is a bit worrisome to me that xbox doesn't have anywhere near as many exclusives as Sony. Hence why I have both consoles. I can enjoy the exclusives offered by Sony and play the multiplatform games on my Xbox.

[fiveby9]

I do have to think XBOX as a product would be better served if spun off from MS. Not sure what's going on there but doesn't seem very well run at times.

[rainslacker]

@Gumby

PS is already spun off from Sony. Subsidiary means it's not part of Sony proper, but a part of Sony's assets. This is what MS investors wanted for Xbox. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no clamoring. Sony is actually worth more because of PS, so not sure where you're getting your info from.

The reason some investors were clamoring for Xbox to be spun off was because it was holding back Xbox stock. not because it wasn't profitable.

[CaptainObvious878]

The signs were there a long time ago.

Why any gamers support this company is beyond me.

[Razzer]

Agree. Sony will have delivered more exclusives before E3 this year than MS will be able to announce AT E3.

[lastking95]

Well let's see,
Controller
Online
Exclusives
Price
Features
Other than that i have 0 clue

[bobtheimpaler]

This is why it's hard to get excited by scorpio. There aren't any games worth spending that kind of money over. Better off upgrading my computer. It sucks about scalebound though. I had a friend that was really looking forward to it.

[Aceman18]

No praise here sorry.

[OrangePowerz]

I wouldn't really prais them. For MS in total 1 or 2 more years of development wouldn't make any difference in their bank account. So if you have confidence in your product and in your partner you weather the storm. We just had a year where two games had been released where the companies decided that they have confidence in the product and they went through development hell on both games and both ended up very good games.

Sure you can end up with a Duke Nukem Forever, but if you don't try you won't find out. I rather see companies take risks and try and fail than just give up, especially if tthey have so much money that it's small change for them.

[Domovoi0ng]

The studio takes a lot of blame for this. They were developing several other games at the same time as scalebound and missed several deadlines set by MS, as well as the game having serious perf issues. MS pulling the plug is a good thing here. Maybe look into what/why this happened instead of commenting as per the usual? Does not excuse MS track record, but this decision does not add to that.

[jrshankill]

A little dramatic no?

Can't remember this drama when Silent Hills got the axe

[ZombieGamerMan]

Yeah it's like praising Ubisoft for easing the whip they lash their employees with by not making an Assassin's Creed game every year

[Asuka]

I dont know what to believe, but i am not praising anyone. From what i have heard MS tried to make P* westernize SB to the point it conflicted with the direction P* wanted to go causing various members of the team to stress out.

But honestly who knows what really what happened. All I do know is that SB is no more and that sux as i really wanted it to be a thing and be good. I love pet classes in mmos and this looked amazing to me (i know it wasnt an mmo)

I know MS owns the IP but maybe P* can pick it up and start from their original concept which was with a dinosaur and about a female protagonist according to some reddit threads...which more than likely means crap haha

[darthv72]

to be fair, when you pay for work to be done a certain way then you expect it to be done a certain way. Or you find someone else who will.

In the case of the original idea for scalebound... even platinum did not like the whole dinosaur thing which is why they changed it to dragons long before MS signed on to foot the bill.

If it makes you feel any better... just think of this game as being on indefinite hold. It could fly again some day down the road.

[Utalkin2me]

ROFLMAO......No you pay someone to do something cause you like their work. You do your research on who you are hiring and check references. You dont hire someone you thought was qualified and tell them how exactly to do their job. You tell them what you want done and they do it.

Also, you make a valid point if MS was telling them how to do their job then it was probably pretty frustrating on the dev team to deal with. MS has been known to not be very dev friendly. So i look at that being a more possibility then anything.

[lastking95]

@Utalkin2me
If someone is cutting your grass you let them do it on their time, past deadlines, their way?(with a machete for say?) Hell no

[spicelicka]

I have not heard anything about MS pushing them to Westernize the game. The game looks very Japanese to me, and looks like they have a lot time to make it.

I don't know what happened exactly, but looks like Platinum was not ready to release the game due to internal issues. It sucks a lot, but that's business.

[GrubsterBeater]

It was very Westernized. There was almost nothing Japanese about it besides maybe the developer.

They had a corny, brash American type guy who kept saying lame puns and cringey lines. It made me cringe when I watched a trailer with the protagonist talking.

[rainslacker]

I doubt westernizing the game was the problem. That kind of stuff would have been decided before production began, and if P* agreed to it, then it's what they would have done.

[joethetimelord]

Platinumgames'll just do what all devs do and take their ideas to other IPs. Scalebound, at the end of the day, is just a title. P* makes fun games, and they aren't gonna stop any time soon.

[Dixiedevil]

What's the next article? "Why we should be required to still pay for Scalebound even though it was cancelled."

[Steveoreno1]

All these types of articles are making me dizzy...... if you know what I mean.

[Vegamyster]

We have no idea what state the game was in other then some E3 footage, Microsoft shouldn't be praised for cancelling something that people were looking forward to. If the game truly was in a bad state then they should be showing or telling us why, the burden of proof is on them.

[ILikeGamesYeah]

I guess you didn't read the article

[ILikeGamesYeah]

But your comment was funny tho

[LastCenturyRob]

It's too bad... Scalebound was not the type of game I usually play but I was still curious about it. I'm fine with MS or any company for that matter dumping sub par games and if this game was no coming along, well, so be it... Where MS really needs to get on the ball, especially with a new system coming out is with MS only (Xbox & PC) exclusives... Not just timed exclusives but MS needs to create and purchase more high end properties. they have done pretty good, but with Scalebound and Fable being canceled that is a chunk of what were supposed to be high end exclusive content. The coming E3 will be very interesting for MS with the Scorpio most likely being officially announced and hopefully the state of Xbox console exclusive content being discussed in detail.

[Rude-ro]

Nope.
It has been 6 years. 3 years with "Kinect" on the 360 and the excuses that Microsoft was saving games for the new gen console to 3 years later and half of the fluff called games have been just that... fluff. Black tusks "game" etc
You do not praise a company that seems to find more bad third party developers than they do good ones. You call that dependency, bad management, and a vision that does not cater to the consumer base.

You can praise all you want, but the damage that has been done in their market of gaming is continuing to spiral downwards.

When Microsoft quickly went to building the "most powerful console" after spending two years lying about the cloud and then going to "we do not announce games that will not be out soon" shows you, clear as day, what they are doing. Going out of the gaming business if they do not change things this year.

[_-EDMIX-_]

100% agreed.

I know I could not simply be the only person that was noticing that this company has essentially been living off of promises of something big to happen that never happens.

[MatrixxGT]

So your telling me in 2018 Xbox will be no more and magically disappear. Your delusional.

[MonsterChef]

@MatrixxGT You must have no level of reading comprehension, that or you either hyperbole anything that doesn't align with your ideas. What is implied is that the writing is on the wall, Microsoft is slowly backing out of the hardware side of the gamine world, but they seem to be backing out in the game side as well. It seems they want their Xbox division to be more of a service type platform by what they are doing. Scorpio to me is just gone be used as the catalyst of that "service" direction they are heading towards.

[lastking95]

Ppl keep saying that yet ps is the one with a service lol while xbox has yet to have one. Don't you think they should already have that service up and running?

Wtf is scorpio then? It confirmed to be hardware and play on disk xo games sooooo......yeah.............. .

Damn i was pissed to see scalebound canceled but give it was rest. Weve had multiple games cancled for all 3 and will have more yet for someone reason it's causing conspiracy theories all of a sudden lol.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

The damage control over this is just insane. Cancelling marketed and hyoed games now are good. I guess Deep Down cancellation would be nothing seeing how we have seen so little about it.

[aaronaton]

It really frustrates me when 1st party developers end up getting the snip, especially when they've help to ship console units, my biggest heartaches came from:

Igcognito Games - Created Warhawk and Starhawk
Free Radical Design - Created Timesplitters
Zipper Interactive - Created Socom and Mag
Evolution Studios - Created Motorstorm

All of the games ive named above, its seem bewildering that they no longer exist as a franchise!

[BlackTar187]

zipper did themselves in by pushing out crappy games since socom 2/3. They always tried to give a game people weren't askign for and telling us it's what we want. EVERY single time it got further and further away fromt he game style that made them popular. ZIpper deserved it the head guy was a twit.

[Asuka]

The amount of money i am willing to spend for a MAG2 is almost criminal. Loved MAG and it was all about Team Valor ( down with the sver scum! =p )

[BlackTar187]

i like Valor and Sver hated Raven.

MAG was such a great game and really am sad no one uses prox chat in games like they did in MAG.

also that squishy sound on headshots was perfect

For clarification i forgot MAg was by Zipper when i posted my first comment. It was a great game but socom 3+ were all downhill.

[lovethenoob]

MAG2 would be amazing ... MAKE IT HAPPEN SONY!

[Muzikguy]

I so wish Free Radical was still around

[_-EDMIX-_]

At least the companies you actually mentioned actually got to push out multiple games in the first place....

Also Platinum Games is not a first-party developer they were a third party that was outsourced.

[gangsta_red]

And yet they're not around? So what's the point of pushing out multiple games if the end result is closure?

[Liqu1d]

Still pissed Sony dropped Evolution. Thankfully Codemasters picked them up so hopefully they can continue making great games.

[darthv72]

I guess it's a matter of which is the lesser of two evils (evils being canceling games and closure of studios)... Sony or MS?

I mean they both have canceled games that could have been something great. Sony with the Getaway and MS with Scalebound (just for example). they have each closed studios both big and small that have produced some really good games. Sony with Evolution (Motorstorm series) and MS with Lionhead (Fable series).

Business is business here people. If you want to condemn one for doing it then you must condemn all who do it. you can't pick and choose based on personal bias. From a consumer POV the canceling of games / studios sucks big time. But it isnt like new games arent being announced.

why dwell on the 'what could have been'? It's time to move on to new and potentially better things. things we know about but also things we don't know about. E3 is right around the corner and that is basically a chance for things to start over in regards to building excitement for the future of this industry.

[Petebloodyonion]

You are missing the part where it's cool to hate Microsoft. Honestly, have you ever seen in theses forum a scenario where Microsoft made a good decision?

[nitus10]

I take it you never read or post on IT forums? It is not a matter of liking or disliking Microsoft it all boils down to just not trusting Microsft.

[BlackTar187]

Except for the HUGE factor that needs mentioning is Sony can cancel games without losing out on a huge portfolio item MS doesn't since they make so few first party games.

[LP-Eleven]

Exactly.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed.

[KillZallthebeast]

*why* I drink and smoke weed every night, the story of a sad soul who didnt have the funds to creat their dream* fixed!

[trooper_]

Praise Microsoft for ruining potential games?

Really?

This guy must live in a fantasy world.

[Garethvk]

This guy worked in the industry with two major developers and saw games rushed out the door incomplete which killed the company and cost jobs. If you actually read it you will see the point is that they saw issues and opted to kill it rather than release substandard stuff.

[ziggurcat]

they could have also supported it until it was actually ready to be put on the market, too... development issues can always be fixed/resolved.

[BlackTar187]

This cost a ton of people jobs and if it wasn't platinum with hands in other games it would have killed a smaller company as well. I don't really see the point err i should said the difference.

[trooper_]

And...?

I don't agree with him. Even if Scalebound wasn't up to par, it could have been delayed to shape it into a decent game.

Microsoft gave up too easily.

[rainslacker]

Rushing a game out, and cancelling it are two entirely different things. Rushing a game out is pretty common. Even more so today. I can even think of several instances where the studio's closure was planned to happen after the game was rushed out, just so the publisher could get the game out and cut their losses.

I work in the industry, and it sickens me that this developer praises MS without actually knowing the circumstances regarding it's cancellation.

I know the pressures, pitfalls, and potential problems that come up in development. And while cancellations aren't uncommon, it is uncommon for them to happen so close to release, especially after using that game as a USP for a console.

Cancelling a high profile game requires more than, "It's cancelled, and it's good for gamers" that MS provided. It requires explanation. Even when that explanation comes, the praise or criticism warranted depends entirely on the actual reason for cancellation.

For instance, when Sony delayed TLG, essentially cancelling it, they stated the reasons why. They said it wasn't possible on PS3. They were up front about it. They revisited it several times. And each time they were transparent about it. Same with SE on FFXV. Delayed for years. Yet, SE was transparent on the reasons why, even if wrapped in PR speak.

MS...nope, their reasons...."It's good for gamers", and this developer, with no more clue than the rest of us on the forums, has the gall to praise MS for it. From a developer. One who knows that cancellations can cause a studios closure faster than a bad game release. At least with a bad game release, the studio can show they can deliver a game. Not so with a cancelled game. Dev may have worked with two major developers, but he's very myopic on why his praise is warranted. Luckily, P* isn't in such a fragile state that this is likely to happen.

[gangsta_red]

How did Microsoft ruin a potential game?

"Even if Scalebound wasn't up to par, it could have been delayed to shape it into a decent game."

For how long exactly? How long would it take for a small studio like Platinum to keep delaying and working on a game that wasn't shaping out how either of them wanted it to be?

"Microsoft gave up too easily."

MS gave these guys FOUR years to make the game...are you kidding me?

[BlackTar187]

Does MS own any part of the IP?

I was just wondering if Sony could pick it up and help them finish and release it on PS4?

[gangsta_red]

"Does MS own any part of the IP?"

I have no idea actually? I read that this was always a project that Platinum wanted to do when they first started the company. So it may very well be their own.

Edit:

So I did some Googleing and came across this...

https://trademarks.justia.c...

It seems Scalebound is owned by MS

[trooper_]

Okay?

But Platnium still had the potential. I just don't think its fair to pull the plug on a game that was practically hyped up like that.

[rainslacker]

I dunno. They gave help to Crystal Dynamics to make ROTTR. A game they weren't even producing. CD praised MS for their help getting it up and running. Did MS do that for P*?

So, assuming they did, that begs the question, was P* not willing to take MS help?

What exactly was the problem?

We don't know.

But the issue that we can actually criticize MS for is that they apparently took a long time to cancel this game, and it's not like whatever problems there were with the game were likely known long before last E3.

Beyond that, MS deserves no praise, nor criticism. They should be questioned for the reasons why it was cancelled, so people can actually make a decision if this was truly a good thing for us, the consumer.

Normally, I would say, we don't really deserve any explanation, but MS spent years promoting this game as a reason to buy the Xbox One. For that, they have some responsibility to be transparent and explain why it's a good thing that we aren't given the chance to play this game, and what exactly they did to try and make it work. I feel they owe it to P* too, because right now, there are those that are criticizing them and questioning if they are actually competent, and calling them a "small studio"....which isn't the case.

[gangsta_red]

"But Platnium still had the potential"

Potential to do what?

What do you think Platinum could have done and yet didn't do in the four years they had time to make this game?

No it's not fair, but then again life isn't fair.

[jrshankill]

Did you read the article at all?

[trooper_]

Yes? And I disagreed.

[JasonKCK]

Why put more money in a bad game? Look what happened with No Mans Sky.

[Garethvk]

Exactly. You get it.

[ziggurcat]

was there any indication that this was going to be a bad game, though?

[foxdie2k15]

Except that scalebound looked finished and fun as hell no man sky is a indy game shit

[rainslacker]

It got released, and there were a lot of people who did like it, and a lot of people who were let down by the final product. But it was given the chance in the market, and it's received a couple updates, with more coming to make it a better game.

So, yeah, why put money into a bad game?

Maybe because it may not have been bad to everyone.

[Liqu1d]

They really aren't the same situation. Sony payed for the marketing and physical distribution on NMS, everything else was done by Hello Games meaning Sony didn't fund development. They even self published on both platforms.

Scalebound's development was fully funded by MS. MS own the IP and the game wouldn't exist without them.

[PlatinumGX]

I praise them for cancelling Scalebound, Fable Legends, Halo Mega Bloks, turning Phantom Dust into vaporware, and pulling the plug on Project Spark.

Hopefully I can praise them for the cancellation of Crackdown 3 too, soon enough.

[foxdie2k15]

Crackdown might just have to praise ms cuz word is crackdown has been having development troubles and havet heard shot from it in 2 years or more so braise yourself ms no exclusive

[darthv72]

to be fair, the halo mega bloks was just a prototype. It could have become a full blown game though but it was just something that was being toyed with (pun intended).

Personally i believe there is still a chance for that one because even the folks at 343 liked how it was laid out. so it can't really be canceled if it was never announced.

[ApocalypseShadow]

I don't know about that. If we knew all the details behind it all, and it pointed towards Platinum Games, then we can say that Microsoft needs to be praised for canceling a sub par game. But here's my beef...

Gamers now are saying that the game looked mediocre and had bad frame rates, A.I. was wack, etc..... If you already know where I'm going with this, you don't even have to continue reading...

As I was saying, if the game had those issues, how come Microsoft couldn't have used this
http://1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44y...

Crackdown 3 is supposed to have improved frame rates and A.I. , physics and all that stuff we were lead to believe would help an Xbox one game become powered by 3 Xboxs
https://m.youtube.com/watch...

So, how come Scalebound can't be powered by this cloud that the next game is supposed to lead the charge in? Postpone the game if you have to get it running on the servers if we're lead to believe it works like Microsoft said it would. Or was it again, smoke and mirrors on something that isn't ready for current internet set ups and speed? Or is Scorpio the 3 Xboxs in one that you have to buy for that to happen?

It's their IP, their cloud. How come it couldn't help this game? But we're to believe the next game will?

[gangsta_red]

Maybe because Crackdown is using a whole different type of infrastructure and development team than Scalebound. Maybe because Platinum was never meant to have it for Scalebound.

Maybe Platinum doesn't have the knowledge or man power to implement cloud compute. Maybe the game was not budgeted to include cloud or anything similar.

That's like saying how come every game on PS3 didn't take advantage of the power of the Cell.

"If you already know where I'm going with this, you don't even have to continue reading..."

Except certain gamers were saying this before and throw in the fact they were complaining about the main characters headphones, d-bag attitude and dub step and other nit picky details from a certain fanbase and well...you know what I'm getting at.

[rainslacker]

But....and I know this is crazy, but maybe MS could have helped P* actually implement the cloud to resolve the problems. Didn't they do that for Titanfall? Didn't they help CD to get ROTTR run better on X1? Isn't MS often said to help developers get their games running on the system.

Apocolypse makes a valid point....as least with the assumptions he made that could have been the problem. MS had the power to remedy the problems.

Sure, people would have been annoyed about it, because it essentially makes the game an online only game, but it'd resolve the issues.

But, here's the kicker. In doing so, MS could have another nice marketing point for touting it's cloud platform, and actually showing what potential it has to improve games which have problems on the hardware.

Now, yes, the game design of SB was very different. But right now, we don't know what measures were taken to try and get the game released.

I think the biggest problem with all this discussion is that no one really knows what happened. Some assumptions can be drawn based on what scant evidence there is, but even those are kind of being done with the extreme outcomes.

I guess I just want to know what happened. While I wasn't super hyped for the game, I was begrudgingly looking forward to it for the X1. I've gone back and forth on it, but I thought it looked fun enough to give it a shot.

@edit @ below

No denying that. Games don't get made in a vacumn. Most games have some problem arise. It's on the director to handle those internally, and it's up to the producer to recognize those problems.

I'm not saying that MS should have used the cloud, just discussing a hypothetical.

I guess I was looking at it as a hypothetical, and how that could be used to MS benefit. I wasn't really trying to assert that MS should have done something, so if I did, I apologize.

The "roughness" of the game I didn't see. I saw it needed optimization, but that doesn't mean it was a bad. I know how these stage demo with 6-12 months from release, are often not how it ends up, as the big parts of optimization happen in the last 4-6 months before a game goes gold.

True, those other games released. And when looking at it pragmatically, I'm sure MS did offer, or even demand assistance. But to what extent they did this I couldn't begin to guess.

I do have a hard time believing that P* wasn't up to the task of making this game though. They aren't hack developers. But I can believe that maybe the scope of this game was way too big for what resources they may have been allotted. If that were the case, then it should have been recognized before MS gave them any money.

There is of course the chance that P* is in the wrong here, or they misappropriated funds and resources.

I really think the truth, as always, is probably somewhere in the middle, and of all the assumptions, I'm sure some of them are true, and any number of the theories can be just part of a bigger picture.

Unfortunately, the full truth is likely to never be known....but it's likely that the game wasn't progressing fast enough, and the resources MS was willing to expend on it simply ran dry. The delays of the game suggest that milestones weren't being met, or problems arose during development which couldn't be resolved. MS may or may not have been able to help.

So many unknowns, so most discussion on it is kind of distracting as we jump back and forth between assumption and hyperbole.:)

So, game on. Things will go on. SB may come back one day.

[gangsta_red]

@rainslacker

Being a supposed developer you should know if a company contracts a job to you, that puts it on you to finish the job. Not have that company come in and help you out.

For this game it may obviously well mean it wasn't in the scope to add cloud. Especially since Crackdown hasn't even been released yet and this game was suppose to come out well before that.

I mean such a thin argument here. If it is so simple why doesn't MS delay Halo or Gears or every game just to implement cloud?

How come Sony didn't ship in Naughty Dog to help out for the Last Guardian? Why doesn't ND do every single game for Sony when they are delayed?

No we all really don't know what happened but we can assume with how rough the game looked and the fact that other games from Platinum have been less than stellar that they were spreading themselves too thin, missing deadlines and didn't really have a whole lot new to show for Scalebound.

"Didn't they help CD to get ROTTR run better on X1? Isn't MS often said to help developers get their games running on the system."

And didn't those games release? So obviously there was something with Scalebound that just couldn't be done or wasn't working and had to be scrapped eh?

@Ziggurcat
"it's not unheard of for MS or Sony to step in to help out a dev if they're having difficulty"

But all of your examples, yours and Rainslackers, involve games that were either already finished or shipped. As Rainslacker said, we don't know all the information to what happened but it is foolish to think that MS just could have just stepped in implemented cloud and made Scalebound work automatically.

[ziggurcat]

@gangsta:

"Being a supposed developer you should know if a company contracts a job to you, that puts it on you to finish the job. Not have that company come in and help you out. "

it's not unheard of for MS or Sony to step in to help out a dev if they're having difficulty - Sony did it with regards to the Skyrim DLC for PS3: https://imgmr.com/ps3-news/... and that's (I think) only because of how complicated the PS3's architecture was.

also, Scalebound was a MS-published title, so they would/could/should have stepped in to help out if they felt things weren't going as smoothly as they would have liked. But I do think you are right though - perhaps there was something about the game's progress that was just too far gone for it to be salvaged.

I'm not disagreeing with you, just pointing out that it's not always the case with regards to your first point.

[2cents]

Maybe someday we will find out the real reasons why. Till then it's just noise.

[jokerisalive]

My guess is the game wasnt coming along fast enough or ran like crap. I know some people who had seen it had commented that the framerate was rough. Maybe a bit better on the S and MS didnt want to piss off owners of the original system....who really Knows anymore? All I know is I was looking forward to the game because it was something different from Halo or Gears and some variety that MS really needs in the XB1 library.

[uth11]

Yay! less games, praise Microsoft! /s

[Night99]

I really don't get why platinum games don't gets their shit toghet anymore. They once put out only quality games and suddenly they release so many awefull games like this turtles, transformers or avatar game and now this cancelation. I honestly think this cancelation has probably more to do with quality problems at platinum games than with evil Microsoft. They supportetd this game for 4 years if it would have been even close to finishing the development and with a decent quality I really can't believe that they would have not way rather released it.

[Kaneki-Ken]

Activation gave a very low budgets to Platinum so of course game like TMNT, Transformers, The Legend Of Korra turn out to be crap just like Tony Hawk Pro Skater that received a low budget and it look like a PS2 game and on top of that broken. Every other publisher like Sega/ Nintendo/Konami/Square Enix gave from good to amazing budget and their game turn out to be awesome but underrated.

[jcole97]

If microsoft still has the ip, they should continue with the same concept. And if it had problems running, maybe try graphics like the naruto games or like gravity rush(seems like it'll go along well with the concept). And make the gameplay more like ninja gaiden or something. From what I saw before, it looked very clunky. No point in waisting an ip like that. If not, let someone sony have it since I have a ps4 too.

[Petebloodyonion]

I don't see why I should praise a company for canceling a game or product but I can understand the why on a financial level.

Perhaps Scalebound was far from what MS wanted, perhaps after Recore and Quantum Break, MS are less eager to give money to developers?
But one thing for sure, there's no company in the losing money business.

[CrimsonWing69]

LOL!!! Right, right, right... so instead of finding some way to get this game made for the people who are interested we should instead praise them for dangling this carrot in our faces for 2 years and then telling us we're not going to get it. Sure, that makes super sense...

[guyman]

Exactly. You get.

As a publisher, Microsoft studios should have picked up development issues from an early stage (not meeting vision, etc.) take proactive steps with cooperation from platinum to solve issues allowing development to continue smoothly. It's how I see it.

[InKnight7s]

There is something really wrong in MS offices. Of course, SB wasnt presented as perfect game , but they need it. Halo, GOW and Forza are great games but since end of 360 till now there is nothing else and they aint enough, except Dead Rising, EA and BC.

[Drizzy]

Only game Microsoft has that I care about now is Crackdown 3. If that fails Rip Xbox and I won't be purchasing a Scorpio

[WelkinCole]

If Phil and MS has an once of respect for their gamers they would have done everything to make sure this game would still come out for their fans regardless of the cost or development challenges. A commitment to their gamers but no, money comes first or short term gains first. It really shows the type of company they are.

[yomfweeee]

Learn to grammar.

[King_Lothric]

Praise Microsoft for lacking games, exclusives, no Japanese support, close good studios and have difficult relationships with developers?

That's crazy. And then come the double standards. If it was Sony canceling a game, would we see articles asking us to praise Sony for canceling a game?

You know the answer is no, so this article is ridiculous.

[lodossrage]

Ok I normally don't bring the other system into stuff like this. But all I'm going to say is when Sony canceled "8 Days", I don't remember anyone saying they should be praised.

[zb1ftw777]

Let's get realistic.

Creating exclusives is turning into a poor man's game these days.

Limiting your playerbase to less than 50% of total gamers is slowly turning into a suicidal decision.

Let's be honest aswell, aside from Uncharted there isn't a huge amount of Sony exclusives that anybody is realistically missing out on either.

Gaming fixes can be wholely obtained from third party games. Third party games almost always offer higher quality too. I mean even third party fps games are better than Halo. Let's not even talk about GTA's utter dominance.

Scalebound looked awful. Closing it down was a great decision.

[Trez1234]

Those games you consider irrelevant are the reasons playstation is number one. Those games have hardcore fans and Sony deserves praise for the fact that they still give those fans, however small they are, they still get to play what they like and that's really what gaming is about.

Nothing wrong with preferring your xbox and its games but it's wrong to say " anybody is missing out" on ps exclusives because you way off the mark with that statement.

[BlackTar187]

Is this what it's like to be an xbox only fan? It sounds like a sickness.

Naughty Dog,SuckerPunch, GG, Polyphony, Sony Santa Monica, Sony Japan

Don't know why you would actively choose and support a hobby you're so passionate about limiting.

[Elda]

What you think is irrelevant,is relevant to the PS user base.The #1 reason alone that I have a PS4 Pro is the games.In the next 6 months PS4 are releasing at least 20 to 25 first to third party exclusives & most of them I'm interested in.This is why PS4 is leading world wide.

[rainslacker]

Studio was contracted to make the game for MS. The game was their idea, but MS funded the project. Likely, they couldn't get it funded any other way. Same as what happened with Bayonetta 2.

Exclusives aren't always bad for companies, as it can give focus to create better games. It also means those games get what is essentially free marketing, in what I call the "Exclusive bump". You think QB would have been so talked about if it were multi-plat? I mean, imagine if something like Watch Dogs were exclusive. You know it'd receive some undeserved praise just for being exclusive, as people just call out any criticism as others hating.

P* has made quite a few exclusive games in their time. So has Square, EA, Activision, Ubi, and every publisher out there. Certainly ,there are games which would not do as well as exclusive, but that doesn't mean it's suicide.

The reason for exclusives is so the console makers can have something to differentiate itself in the market. That's why the console makers pay for them. That's why MS paid for SB. If it weren't for that, it's highly possible that the game never would have been made, or it would take longer before a publisher picked it up.

[SharnOfTheDEAD]

"Someone Who Has Worked In Game Development" So? As if this makes your word any better than anyone elses? Brianna Wu works in game development and she's a right wally. Alotta devs have had bad experiences with Ms and I know a few devs who'd disagree with what you're saying too

Microsoft clearly have no interest in supporting exclusive content unless you're Gears, Halo or Forza you should be worried if working with them. I'm sure we'll see Scalebound in the future, under a different name on a different console

[medman]

Praised? For canceling games and shutting down studios? What an apologist. It isn't as if the few "exclusives" Microsoft has released have been of stellar quality...they've mostly been disappointing and lackluster, in both sales and reviews, i.e. Quantum Break, Recore, etc. It simply isn't good enough. Microsoft is reminding me of a line from Uncharted 2...."you were right...everything you touch, does turn to sh*t!".

[Germany7]

Because new ips are terrible for gamers and the industry, right? /s

[Aenea]

They could cancel some more games and get even more praise!!! /s

[Elda]

Praise?? smh.

[The_Sage]

A game died! Yay! Smh.

[Pego]

Most people were indifferent with that game and you could see that feeling when it was showed at XBOX E3 live presentation. During the live chat on Youtube, people were saying stuff like: "*** this game!", "Dragons, more like, ****AGONS!, "Do a barrel roll!" and "Obama is the devil, vote for Trump.", plus lots of other nasty comments that I couldn't see cuz the chat was scrolling really fast. My point is, people weren't digging it and that's why MS pulled the plug.

[rainslacker]

Developer shouldn't be praising or condemning the decision unless he actually knows what happened. There are reasons why it could be a good thing, and reasons why it could be bad. Just because he was a developer doesn't mean he knows if it's good or bad.

Even when I criticize, I still understand that the reasons aren't completely known, but I can draw conclusions based on my own experience in game development to know that MS probably mismanaged the production, and that P* probably set it's scope way too high for this game. I'm sure there were problems in production, but that doesn't mean they couldn't be resolved, and all I can truly say is that it sholdn't have taken so long for MS to recognize the problem, and I can only assume that MS didn't do everything possible to save it....although, given other reports, it seems that they didn't try to hard to.

[Max-Zorin]

The sooner Phil get fired, the better. So much got canceled with him in charge. And damn near every studio was closed. I'm surprised an Xbox developer didn't punch Phil in the face yet.

[Rd89]

Im sorry but i have to disagree with your argument because, we as gamers should be the one deciding if its a bad game or a good game, playing a what if and saying it was good that it was canceled doesn't cut it really. When you advertise a game year after year coming to your console and release new trailers for said game and suddenly cancel it, then theres no excuse that can justify that. Except that your running a dishonest business where the gamers and those who payed for the prospect of playing this said game are wronged in so many ways, the same happened with Phantom Dust, theres no excuse especially that the game was commisioned for and financed by Microsoft, the team could have been reshuffled or given more time or given help by Microsoft studios. Microsoft should look at how Playstation studios collabrate on the 1st party and second party level and learn from them.

[joethetimelord]

Maybe Kamiya'll learn from this and start directing multiplat games again. We haven't gotten that from him since Bayonetta in 2009.

[hahaha]

I am sorry to hear the cancellation news but I also simply moving on to joining PS4.

[Rob_Ko]

the problem is, many people actually bought x1 for this game. They are not going to be satisfied when you tell them - "oh, it was shit anyway".

[Father Murder X]

So people bought a console for a game with no release date?? GTFOH!!!

[rocketpanda]

Call it what you want, it doesn't matter as the console is seriously lacking in new and fresh first party titles.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

If Microsoft wants exclusives on a certain budget and deadline they should really consider opening more studios instead of trying to pay third party developers. I suspect that Microsoft wanted a game that would appeal to a "broad" (casual) audience, but the developer had other ideas.

[ifrit_caress]

Do not, I repeat, do not believe the hype. Stay off the hype-train and you can avoid the disappointment of a cancellation. Also, don't get so suckered in by E3 trailers, instead practice a snarkathon like Totalbiscuit.

I don't see why Microsoft should be praised for disappointing the fans they have hyped so much.

[ILikeGamesYeah]

Wow this is a nice break from click bait N4G sites. An actual insightful interesting article written by someone who knows the gaming business. Thank you so much! This is how N4G should be.

[andrewsquall]

A new nomination already for dumbest article of the year and we only had the first one a few days ago. Amazing.

[angelusbrz]

lmao, Xbox fanboys don't even know what to invent in those dark days...

[GrimReaperGamer]

The person who wrote this article and posted it on N4G rides the short bus and for good reason, because they sure as hell lost all their marbles.

[XXanderXX]

Praise em all you want , but i still want to see scalebound in redevelopment later on in Scorpios lifetime , Concepts to cool to let sit or even allow elsewhere .

[CoryHG]

This is the year Microsoft finally tanks. Nintendo will take over second place in the industry. There is too much gamble on Scorpio and besides the stats, the stake in the heart will be the price. If it's $400, great, they'll probably come out of nowhere. But if it's $600, stick a fork in them. There are no interesting exclusives this year (and I liked Halo Wars but doesn't cater to casuals). Scalebound looked promising. Then again so did Recore and that game is in bargain bins along with Quantum.

[rlow1]

I don't understand how reasonable people become so unreasonable. What I mean is everyone is spewing this hate towards MS and yet none of you including myself don't even know the whole story and the "why" of it. This article makes some valid points and even the author admits he doesn't know what really happened. In my opinion, MS biggest mistake was announcing this when videogame news is slow.

[guyman]

If there was any doubt of sknr bias towards Microsoft then surely this cringe worthy article eliminates it.

There is absolutely nothing praiseworthy about this cancellation no matter how you try and spin it. This is a pathetic attempt at damage control.

The fact is a whole new exclusive ip has been canned. It is bitterly disappointing for fans anticipating this game. It is a massive setback for Microsoft and for the Xbox one in terms of its 2017 line up. It ruins the relationships between pt games and Microsoft studios. It gives platinum games, a fantastic developer, a bad name and has resulted in a waste of time, money and other resources for plat (and Microsoft).

To try and spin this into something praiseworthy is pure idiocy, as expected from this mediocre website.

[WickedLester]

Oh FFS! I'm not sure if MS is necessarily to blame for Scalebound's cancellation but praise?!?!? Jesus, we've reached a new level of rationalization.

[Cussing]

TBH I hope they bring the heat but I'm getting really tired of saying (And hearing) Wait till e3!

[pyroxxx]

All praise to Microsoft !!! Giving consumers less and less product to choose from !! All hail MS !!

[Donnie81]

I guess canceling a bad game is better than shutting down a whole 1st party studio though. In the end if the game was still not ready and it wasn't gonna be of high quality then they made the right move.

[joab777]

If we come to find out that MS did everything they could, had paid out the money, helped where needed, and Platinum just couldn't get it together, couldn't meet deadlines, and no promise was being shown at all, then I fully understand. I can't imagine it was an easy decision. But we don't know everything and possibly never will. I hate giving praise because sometimes the best new IPs come from risk, patience and overspending on a development team that is proven and pushing the boundaries! But it is a risk and often ends in disaster!

I am also reluctant to give praise because it is a bad precedent to make the decision solely based on the recouping of funds. Unfortunately I do understand the nature of the business; it's not any one person's decision usually, and the bottom line IS important to maintaining a successful business strategy.

Without information, it is difficult to make any real judgement. Makes me think of just how insane Star Citizen really is. Such an enormous project with expectations through the roof. This was Platinum's dream game as is Star Citizen for its developers and often this creates problems.

Best of luck to Platinum games and I am looking forward to Nier, and a second chance at Scalebound, if possible!

[subtenko]

Yes lets congratulate Microsoft yet again for biting the hand that feeds. Xbox is changing

[PolishWingedHussar]

I refuse.

[Drithe]

The only reason MS is doing this is to force people to buy the new xbox in order to play this game later when they tell us that only through the power of the new xbox can we play it.

[Trekster_Gamer]

I love how so many people here who really don't know the real story and probably never will can judge Microsoft. Sony, Nintendo and every other major publisher has done the same thing so stop whining like a bunch of children until you have all the facts you really don't know what the hell you're talking about.

[Maxor]

Considering the state of recent "exclusives", there's nothing wrong with cancellations. Both Sony and MS should take a closer look at their lineups and trim the fat so to speak.

[thejigisup]

Praised over scalebound? How about just delivering on a promise made to the consumers of their product? Sony was praised for not letting go of TLG and making sure it not only saw the light of day but pleased the eager fans. Not to really compare Sony and MS but there it's a clear difference between what should be praised and what should not. I don't care about your involvement with the gaming industry, maybe that's why when I read this I feel like you, the author is a little jaded about what consumers expectations are. We are advertised a software that requires us to buy hardware. If I buy said hardware and the expected software is cancelled I'm going to be disappointed and in some cases annoyed because I'm going to feel like I was cheated. I will not and cannot praise a company that has done this so often in such a short period of time.