230°

Hellblade 2 seemingly set to release soon as Phil Spencer teases "We don't have much longer to wait"

The Xbox boss has praised developer Ninja Theory and says he "loves how the game is coming together".

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gamesradar.com
PrinceOfAnger578d ago

2024
Will be amazing year for PC

Hellblade 2
Stalker 2
Flight sim 24
Avowed
horizon forbidden west
Clockwork Revolution
If only CIG release Squadron 42 soon

Last year was good too with
Hi fi rush
starfield
Forza
Last of us remake.

MrNinosan577d ago

And probably FFXVI and FFVII Rebirth as well

BehindTheRows577d ago

Rebirth would be at least a year, so no.

XVI, most likely, but until late in the year.

S2Killinit577d ago (Edited 577d ago )

you’re missing some games, there

576d ago
Lightning77577d ago

Exec says they're excited for said game does nothing for me, but bring it I say. It's been ages since they had games that's story driven focus and this game has been in the pipeline for 4 years.

Let's see it already.

Crows90577d ago

Phil likes to talk big about games he has little to do with...and when theyve got a decent game he just shadow drops it assuming its not that good...hi fi rush is a prime example.

He talked really well about starfield and was surprised about redfall....before throwing the dev team under the bus of course.

Obscure_Observer577d ago

@Crows90

"Phil likes to talk big about games he has little to do with..."

Phil has a 100% Hellblade completion, he´s not a clueless gamer talking out of his a$$ like you do. He loves that game and Senua was one of the very reasons he acquired Ninja Theory in the first place.

He was the one who saw that team´s potential, he was the one who approach them with an offer to become an Xbox first party studio, by turning a small studio formerly made of 20 people into an full blown AAA Studio made of about 200 people.

Phil is the one who made sure tand put Senua into the spotlight since the Xbox Series X reveal.

She is the current Xbox generation poster girl! Not Master Chief, not Marcus Fenix, not Kait, and definitely not some weird Minecraft character.

You may hate the guy. But give credit when credit is due.

Ninja Theory have a history as a Playstation second party studio and yet SIE never cared about them enough to make them part of the Playstation family! You, as a Playstation fan, should be mad at Sony for letting Ninja Theory slip through their f* fingers!

If we were dependent on Sony, Hellblade II woudn´t ever exist.

"He talked really well about starfield and was surprised about redfall....before throwing the dev team under the bus of course."

Starfield is a great game which sits at 83 Metascore, which is higher than some of Playstation first party games that you praise to the heavens, so spare us from your hypocrisy.

After Redfall´s massive flop at launch, Phil not only allowed the team to continue and fix their mess in the game, but greenlit a new AAA game from Arkane Austin which is already in development.

Sony on the other hand, shut down Pixel Opus which were working on an unannounced PS5 AAA game in collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation since 2021 after Concret Genie.

Talk about "throwing the dev team under the bus"

But hey, feel free do defend and sugar coat Sony on their greedy bs, by cutting off creative studios to favor and pursue some GaaS nonsense!

Crows90577d ago

@obscure

Aside from you pathetic insults..grow up.

"You may hate the guy. But give credit when credit is due."
I give credit to the playstation base which made the game successful. I completed the game as well. Didnt 100% only because I missed a couple of runes or whatever those lore points were. It is a one and done game like most single player games so I ddint bother...especially with the lackluster combat.

I also give credit to Playstation for Heavenly Sword which really put their style in the spotlight. Those monologues come from that playstation exclusive so yeah...definitely not avoiding giving credit.

If Hellblade 2 isnt successful I'll make sure to credit Phil...and random stats wont cut it.

"You, as a Playstation fan, should be mad at Sony for letting Ninja Theory slip through their f* fingers!"
Nope. Im not you. No reason to be mad. I wasnt bothered by MS purchase of Ninja Theory. they can buy all they want..its bad for the industry though and im worried for the survival of those devs more than anything.

But I've no doubt youre as ignorant as you sound. Im a gamer that plays mostly on PC nowadays. Im a good games fan...which is why I dont fall for MS average games like fanboys as yourself do.

"Starfield is a great game which sits at 83 Metascore, which is higher than some of Playstation first party games that you praise to the heavens, so spare us from your hypocrisy."

Which game do I praise to the high heavens? Stop making things up. Im currently praising remnant 2 a lot but thats not 1st party. And im playing that on steam.

"But hey, feel free do defend and sugar coat Sony on their greedy bs, by cutting off creative studios to favor and pursue some GaaS nonsense!"

What GaaS game has sony released? I mustve missed it.

As far as PixelOpus...Do I have some kind of loyalty to these guys? Did sony say that their vision sucked and was bad? No.

Phil said some crappy things about arkane though to deflect from his poor ass leadership...so yeah. Thats the problem and thats why im concerned with all the other perfectly fine studios making games that were more successful on playstation than on xbox.

"If we were dependent on Sony, Hellblade II woudn´t ever exist."
The very definition of talking out of your A$$

S2Killinit577d ago

At this point with MS, they need to put out or shut up.

Lightning77577d ago

Hi Fi Rush is not example of anything. The shadow drop was done by the studios head because it viral internally. HB2 happened because MS bought NT. No MS didn't make the IP of Hellblade but they're fully funding the sequel which is what a publisher is suppose to do right?

I have no clue where u got your info from.

Obscure_Observer576d ago

"I give credit to the playstation base which made the game successful"

BS!

Hellblade is a multi platform game beloved across all platforms including Xbox, PC and Nintendo! So gtfo with your lying bs, because if there´s someone hating on that game now that it´s an Xbox first party IP is the PS fanboys! Just look at the comments, it´s mostly PS fanboys like yourself calling that game mediocre, lackluster and nothing special, while pretending that they don´t understand the hype surrounding Hellblade II.

Bunch of hypocrites pretending to love story driven single player games when in reality they hate it if those aren´t on Playstation!

"I also give credit to Playstation for Heavenly Sword which really put their style in the spotlight."

Another IP which Sony didn´t gave a f*! Wheres the sequel?! Congratulations I guess?

"If Hellblade 2 isnt successful I'll make sure to credit Phil...and random stats wont cut it."

Get a grip in reality, dude. Your opinion means nothing and nobody gives a flying f* about what PS fanboys think about Phil and Xbox first party games.

"I wasnt bothered by MS purchase of Ninja Theory. they can buy all they want..its bad for the industry though and im worried for the survival of those devs more than anything."

Are you? Both RARE and Mojang has been active as Xbox first studios for longer than they previously had as third party independent studios. RARE completed 21 years as an Xbox first party studio while Mojang is about to complete 10 years!

The source of your fake concern is not objectively based on track record, but blind fanboy drivel and hate.

Obscure_Observer576d ago

The source of your fake concern is not objectively based on track record, but blind fanboy drivel and hate.

"But I've no doubt youre as ignorant as you sound. Im a gamer that plays mostly on PC nowadays"

You are a PS fanboy, don´t even try to deny it. Nobody falls for your "I´m PC gamer" crap, dude. The reason you might be playing mostly on PC nowadays is because you actually don´t have many games to play on your preferred platform.

"Im a good games fan...which is why I dont fall for MS average games like fanboys as yourself do."

And yet you´re here. Wasting your time and talking crap about an "average" XBOX GAME! Quit this childish game, dude. You have nothing to be excited about. That´s why you´re all over Xbox games, you´re just sad and boring. Smh.

"Which game do I praise to the high heavens? Stop making things up. Im currently praising remnant 2 a lot but thats not 1st party. And im playing that on steam."

Which sits at 80 at Metacritic while Starfield sits at 83 Metacritic. You can´t make shit up

"What GaaS game has sony released? I mustve missed it."

Don´t worry, they have 11 GaaS games currently in development. You´ll have plenty to play very soon.

"As far as PixelOpus...Do I have some kind of loyalty to these guys? Did sony say that their vision sucked and was bad? No."

Actions speaks louder. Pixel Opus got the Axe in the middle of development of a PS5 AAA game! Sony did´t even bother to gave that studio a public message and thanking them for all of their passionated work and love for creativity. They quietly shut that studio down, and when IGN reached SIE to talk about it, that what Sony said:

“PlayStation Studios regularly evaluates its portfolio and the status of studio projects to ensure they meet the organization’s short and long-term strategic objectives,” the company told IGN. “As part of a recent review process, it has been decided that PixelOpus will close on June 2.”

Again, zero gratitude and empathy for its developers! That´s the company you love! That how your favorite company treats creative first party developers!

https://kotaku.com/pixelopu...

"The very definition of talking out of your A$$"

Sony couldn´t be bothered and release a Heavenly Sword sequel, why would they even bother with a sequel for Hellblade which used to be a third party IP? Face the damn facts! Sony never gave a damn about Ninja Theory! It is what it is.

Thanks to Phil Spencer Senua fans will live to see a proper sequel to Hellblade. A true current gen AAA game that hopefully will turn out into another masterpiece and win multiple awards, just like the first game.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 576d ago
Crows90577d ago

Phil loved crackdown 3.

Just saying. Theres no one else other than the xbox boss constantly yammering about how great certain games in the pipeline are...Show dont tell.

Let ninja theory do the talking dude.

PrinceOfAnger577d ago

mark cerny and others loved knack

Crows90577d ago (Edited 577d ago )

Did he? Or did he just like the tech behind it?

I love how you put 'and others' clearly not naming the PlayStation boss. You know the one, like Phil, who is supposed to be responsible for everything their devs make and who gets a pretty good say about the games the their devs make.

ModsDoBetter577d ago

Lol uno reverse. 😂
For what it's worth, I enjoyed Knack.

Einhander1972577d ago (Edited 577d ago )

I have never understood the vitriol towards Knack. It was a family friendly game parents could buy with the PS4 that kids could play that launched with the console. And honestly it had pretty fun gameplay, there was good enemy variety and the art style that was styled like old Japanese cartoons was pretty good.

It's so weird how just because a game is for kids it's seen as bad, not just knack but in general.

The whole thing where every game has to be made just for one demographic is bad for the industry and creativity.

S2Killinit577d ago (Edited 577d ago )

Yeah but phil hyped up games like redfall and starfield to heaven’s end. At least Sony lets their games do the talking.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 577d ago
Obscure_Observer577d ago

"Did he? Or did he just like the tech behind it?"

Lol!

Mark Cerny is not other but KNACK´s director, genius!

It´s HIS game! XD

Crows90577d ago (Edited 577d ago )

Yes. And of course hes going to "like it" my comment which you quoted mentions what he probably actually liked about it and would gush about at its time. The tech behind it.

But thanks for making @PrinceofAnger look even dumber...A developer of a game liking their game...who woulda thunk.

Point is Phil talks big about games he hasnt made all of the time. Most of them being a disappointment.

Obscure_Observer576d ago

@Crows90

"But thanks for making @PrinceofAnger look even dumber...A developer of a game liking their game...who woulda thunk."

You didn´t even knew that Mark Cerny made that game, dude. And yet, you have the nerve to call people dumb rather than acknowledge your own ignorance . Such "Playstation fan" your are. Smdh.

SimpleSlave577d ago

Ninja Theory's best game was, oddly enough, DMC. Everything else have been mediocre at best. Enslaved could've been great but fell flat and the first Hellblade was laughably bad where it matters, the gampleay.

So they have a shet ton to prove before getting excited about this. Will the gameplay suffer even more now that the graphics have taken a massive presedent? We'll see. But so far, the gameplay they've shown was beyond underwhelming.

This is poised to be another Ryse or The Order 1886; A visual feast and shallow as a puddle. I'll be shocked otherwise.

SimpleSlave577d ago

...ly bad. Yes.

While having impressive technical feats such as the animation and motion capture, and Andy Serkis' scenery chewing performance never fails to be glorious, the game also suffered from bad game design, bad level design and shallow gameplay that felt outdated the moment the game came out. Which made for a pretty but shallow and boring experience.

Oh, and those damn QTE and Slow Motion Projectile Cam sections. The joy... 😐

Sadly, Heavenly Sword is a lineal, shallow, beautiful but ultimately boring game that came and went for good reasons. And while it was mercifully short it also felt too damn long. Like a Demo or Proof of Concept that got out of hands.

Elda576d ago

Clearly your opinion. Imo...Heavenly Sword was a fab game, it's flaw was that the game was too short.

SimpleSlave576d ago

Clearly...or is it? The game has shallow combat, brain dead AI, lineal and bland level design, QTEs and extremely repetitive and boring slow motion sections. While other better games certainly share some of the same traits, they do try to compensate in other aspects at least. Ninja Theory simply thought that pretty graphics and animation, with Ham Serkis, would somehow be enough to do the trick. It didn't.

I think it's ok to like bad stuff. I do. We all do. And there's nothing wrong with that. Just learn to be conscious about it is all I'm saying.

But hey, that's just a Theory...

AdonisIsBeast577d ago

Crazy that some xbox fanatics are excited for this. The franchise is mid at best and they’ve been developing this for over 6 years.

And it’s not even a large RPG with intricate systems or anything of the sort. It’s a linear action adventure game.

__SteakDeck__577d ago

Xbox fanboys for years have thrashed PS exclusives for being “one and done”, linear “interactive movies”, “walking simulators”. They better keep that same energy for this, but we know they won’t. Lol

outsider1624577d ago

The exact words from Sparky was "cookie cutter story driven games" lol.

Lets see what he has to say about Hellblade now..

Prubar577d ago

It’s not that third person character action games are “bad”. It’s that’s all current Sony seems to be interested in making. I found PlayStation was way more interesting during the PS3 era. At least during that time they had multiplayer elements to their games. Now nodda.

Obscure_Observer577d ago

"They better keep that same energy for this, but we know they won’t. Lol"

We won´t.

I love Hellblade and The Last of Us is one of my TOP 3 games of all time. Also, despite Metascore, I also like The Order 1886 a lot and I think Sony is dumb for not giving that franchise another go.

We´re gamers. We welcome all types of games and gaming genres and, fortunately for us, Xbox first party studios got all the gaming genres covered, as it should.

ModsDoBetter577d ago (Edited 577d ago )

That's an interesting flip.

Before Hellblade 2 was announced and Xbox exclusive, all I ever heard was PS and Xbox fans giving the game high praise.

Interesting that it's being downplayed now...

S2Killinit577d ago

They haven’t had anything at all so its understandable that they get excited for anything.

Show all comments (54)
60°

Former Blizzard Boss Says Xbox Should Ditch Consoles To Focus on Becoming Leading Publisher

Former Blizzard CEO says that Xbox should ditch the console strategy and strive to be the world's largest entertainment publisher.

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tech4gamers.com
1d 10h ago
XiNatsuDragnel1d 1h ago

Atp yeah imo that's what is happening

lukasmain1d 1h ago

Their console business and GamePass go hand in hand. If they were to stop consoles, they would be, in effect, killing GamePass. The vast majoirty of GP subs are console gamers. If you remove the console, you no longer have 30 million gamers embedded in your ecosystem. The majority will never move to PC gaming and buy a $2000 PC. They will go to Playstation where there is no GamePass.

got_dam1m ago

Could work... if they were publishing anything worth having. Bethesda is just making the same tired stuff over and over. Obsidian is a good studio, but they have been slipping hard. nXile isgreat,bit the last thing they even talked about was wasteland 3. Activision/blizzard is either the devil, or his closest friend.

320°

Former PlayStation Boss Says $80 Games Are Amazingly Affordable

PlayStation boss believes that $80 games are affordable due to the value they provide. Using Mario Kart as an example, he noted that it offers numerous hours of gameplay with just one purchase.

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tech4gamers.com
jambola2d ago

value inside the product does not have any impact on how afforable they are

Eonjay1d 11h ago

He never said anything about affordability at all. He only commented about the perceived value that a game can have to a player that gets many hours out of it.

Again, as with many other forms of we are disrespected and lied to.

Title says Yoshida said $80 games are amazingly affordable. This is a lie.

CrimsonWing691d 11h ago

Perceived value is subjective, so how do you even argue for it? If one person says $500 was worth it because they played a game for six months, what does that mean to someone who didn’t share that experience or see that value?

This is exactly where corporate thinking falls apart. The value is defined by them, and then they twist the logic to defend it from a purely internal, out-of-touch perspective.

I’ve never based the price of a game on how long I’ve played it. There’s a standard price range that consumers feel is fair. If it were truly based on time or value, Resident Evil 2 Remake would cost $20, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth would be $1,000.

Eonjay1d 8h ago

@Crimson

"Perceived value is subjective, so how do you even argue for it?Perceived value is subjective, so how do you even argue for it?"

I think his point is that it is subjective.

thorstein1d 7h ago

Why is tech4gamers allowed to publish here. The lying is constant with them.

FACTUAL evidence16h ago

Honestly, expedition 33 is a prime example of quality for the low. Expedition 33 launched at 50$, and that game gave me more fun than most 60-70$ games I’ve purchased within the last decade.

88313h ago(Edited 13h ago)

Clearly, they want to increase prices. They need to convince people that it’s not so bad. As long as they can do that, they can do whatever they want. You gave an outstanding example of the direction things could go if creators were focused primarily on The community and quality. If that example or a few others like it didn’t exist, it might be hard to convey to many how it is even possible.

pwnmaster30002d ago

I get the concept.
People buy movies for $20-$30 dollars that offers only a couple of hours of enjoyment.
While games offers 3-10+ times the amount of hours and content.
So in theory yeah I get it.

But I will never accept it and would rather keep the price now or even better PS360 price lol

isarai2d ago

On the surface ye that makes sense, but when you realize the budgets are very comparable, you realize it's kinda stupid and overpriced especially when it common for it to be released unfinished

Extermin8or3_1d 6h ago

Not really, movies that have similar budgets have the box office where if they arent a flop- they typically make all their money back or a profit. Movies have a much wider audience. Games however just have that release and have a smaller market.

PapaBop1d 5h ago

Are many people buying movies for $20-$30? Outside of the more dedicated movie goers who have a physical collection, I imagine most rather scoff at that and stick to things like Netflix instead.

DivineHand1251d 4h ago

You also have to take into consideration that most games are enjoyed by one or two people, while movies can be enjoyed by a group of people who are either friends or family.

Another thing is that the value of an entertainment product cannot be judged based on its length, but how it makes the user feel when it is all done.
An example of this is Ubisoft games. They can last close to or exceed 100 hours, yet many people hate on them for doing things to pad the length of the game, while Uncharted 4 and other Naughty Dog games average about 15 hours in length and are hailed as some of the best games of all time.

gold_drake1d 17h ago

said by the guy who probably had a high 6 figure income

Eonjay1d 2h ago

He never made the comment. Welcome to the internet.

gold_drake1d 1h ago

..have u watched the video at all?

welcome to the internet indeed.

Petebloodyonion1d 12h ago

The value of an $80 all-you-can-eat buffet is undeniable, making it curious why some people choose a $20 restaurant for a single, standard meal.

In a similar vein, movies, despite their higher production costs for a two-hour experience, outperform video games in revenue while also being priced around $20. Suggesting that video games need 100 hours of diluted gameplay to compete seems like a misdirection. The real solution might lie in re-evaluating how their core offering is valued.

Extermin8or3_1d 6h ago

Individual movies yes, the movie industry as a whole? No, the movie industry is dwarfed by the behemoth in terms of revenue that gaming is.

DoubleYourDose22h ago

The $80 buffet and the $20 meal both come out the same end.

FACTUAL evidence1d 12h ago

Lol so rich people want to speak for my wallet now? I still haven’t adapted to 70$ yet, and not planing on to. I don’t mind waiting on sales.

Show all comments (58)
140°

Square Enix is “aware” of Final Fantasy XIV player numbers dropping

Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu discusses the dropping player count of Final Fantasy XIV and the numerous projects of YoshiP.

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videogamer.com
jznrpg3d ago

It’s really old now. All great MMOs decline.

PRIMORDUS3d ago

Also who wants to keep paying a monthly fee every month, there are other options like Guild Wars 2 😁with no monthly fee and while not that many people overall compared to FF XIV, it did increase to about 21 mil now.

Sephiroushin2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I prefer to pay since i do not like guild wars and it keep kids away, but FF14 decreased on quality since they started to make it "more accessible", tried throne and liberty and while it was okay it has so many issues, same for dune awakening... Its time to start making a new FF MMO

kaewcha7343d ago

Looks like Square Enix is self-aware but still stuck in place, they see the player drop and apologize for the bugs, but nothing really changes. Shame, FFXIV used to be the gold standard

Servbot413d ago

My entire free company has stopped playing. The writing has consistently gotten worse and the content is sparse and lacking; unless you are a hardcore player there's very little for you to do. They are over-catering to the people who will grind three+ times a week on a single fight for multiple months when the playerbase by large doesn't want that sort of content. Square needs to dedicate more resources to the game instead of wasting them on mobile and other live service slop.

Miraak82 2d ago

The biggest factor for me is the way they butchered job design over the years , the casualization and over simplification really hurt a good chunk of enjoyment I used to have . Jobs lost any form of complexity and just became " press glowing button" DDR style for fighting where the gameplay loop is a about the 2 minute burst window . They removed most DoTS, timer mechanics , cast times, pets, RNG ect and all around homogenized everything . When you try and can cater to everyone ... you cater to no one .