Microsoft has lost an invaluable asset

MMGN writes: The breathtaking polish and compelling narrative that form the foundations of Destiny are exceptionally “Bungie” in their execution, and no one, especially not Halo fans, expected any less from this wonderful developer. Yet, despite 343’s internal experience and passion for the Halo name, it’s very, very hard not to feel as though Xbox has lost an invaluable asset, and right at a time that the console struggles to find an identity.

[Godmars290]

That's just now being realized?

[Magicite]

Both Bungie and Epic games. There will be no Gears and no Halo as it was. But times change and lots with it.

[ChozenWoan]

Just imagine if Bungie was still with MS right now and they were on the verge of releasing Destiny (likely titled "Halo Worlds" or something). XBox brand would be hot like Yoga Fire right now.

[OpieWinston]

Dmitrijs

As far as Epic goes...I point you to Gears Judgement...
Because Gears judgement was mainly bad because it lost it's direction due to Rod Fergusson and Cliffy B not leading the project.

Rod is working on the new Gears...So that game will be fine and yes it'll be as it was.

As far as Halo/Bungie goes... Bungie firing Marty was a bad sign about Bungies future...They just ripped the heart out of Destiny...Now Paul Mccartney has to carry all the weight assuming he doesn't walk away after first game.

Halo 4 was a pretty good trial... 343 is listening to the community a hell of a lot more than Bungie has ever done. So I wouldn't count them out just yet.

[medman]

@chozenwoan
If if's and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas.

[mixolydian_id]

Well at least Marty O'Donnell has been sacked...

343 can hire him and finally get the music on par with where it should be.

Does anybody rememeber the Halo 4 lobby music before it was patched?

Electronic ambulance of death!!!11

"Neeeee, Nawwww, Neee, Nawww"

[Ausbo]

I disagree. The halo 4 music was great. Dont remember the menu music, but the music during the game was epic.

[Ausbo]

No its not just being realized, but this is the first game since they left and its a big reminder

[Mystogan]

Bungie is a great developer but Destiny is definitely not their best. After playing destiny for a while it plain sucks, don't believe the hype. It kinda feels like Halo with super auto-aiming. The game is boring there is no tactics involved in boss fights. Everyone is just running around shooting at everything.

It just feels like a game trying to be what Halo would be like if it had an Openworld MMO and it's failing miserably at it. Elder Scrolls has the same issue.

[ShiranaiJittai]

Translation : How Dare bungie give Sony the beta first and exclusive content to Sony platforms for a year. I am going to go bash what is more than likely going to get game of the year instead of just getting it for PS3 or PS4. I will be subtle about it though since everyone is getting sick of Microsoft fans complaining about it and calling them out on it. So instead I will just make generic insults towards the game.

No hard feelings though Fairy Tail is a great series and Mystogan is one of the best characters in the series.

[trywizardo]

they never own bungie to lose them in the first place ...
and if you're wondering about biying them , no they couldn't because bungie was working on destiny since halo 3 OST so they was already thinking having their own IPs and controlling them ...

[ScorpiusX]

Dude they were bought by Gates himself prior to the launch of the first xbox for a price tag of 50 million. It all went down after the mac expo of 98-99.

[zeal0us]

Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000. So yes MS own Bungie at one time. However Bungie was allow to go independent in 2007.

[ScorpiusX]

Only after they agreed to relinquish everything halo and it's universe and completed Reach and I think ODST.but yes you are correct.

[MeliMel]

Yes it worked out pretty good for Bungie and MS. I think MS also gets first dibs on Bungie games as well.

Edit: or some sh!t like that...or think first refusal.. maybe someone can school me real quick in Bungie/MS relations.

[Volkama]

They really did own Bungie. They parted with the studio on relatively good terms, and kept the Halo IP. It was all very unusual, but it did happen.

Rumour has it that the real reason Destiny lacks open voice comms is that the channels would be filled with Playstation players saying "thank you Microsoft" every time something cool happens. It's just a rumour though.

[Ghost_Nappa]

Please tell me you didn't have a straight face when you typed that.

[loulou]

I didn't realise that bungie became independent in the last couple of months??

[iagainsti120]

Its been years.

[Zombro]

Just like the makers of resistance fall of man making games for xbox one sunset overdrive it just happens

[mkis007]

@Zombro

Except Insomniac was never owned by Sony. They have always been a second party playstation dev by choice. Until Fuse.

[GeofferyPeterson]

I have to say I strongly believe that if they would have had a new Halo game ready at launch or soon afterward that they might be the dominate system out there right now. Convincing people to pay an extra $100 would have been a lot easier with a great Halo game as a reward.

[Budobear]

I have to say that I agree.
If they had the Master Chief collection ready at launch I'm pretty sure that would have had a postive impact on sales.

[mcstorm]

You could be right but then again we will see what happens comes the end of this year when Halo Collection is out later on this year.

I also don't think MS losing Bungie has made any difference to the xbox one through and after playing 4 and CEA I can say Halo is in great hands under 343i but that said a lot of this team is exBungie employs.

For me the xbox brand is becoming exciting again in terms of exclusives as we have 343i, Rare, BlackTusk, Lionhead, Tuen10, Playground, Remedy and more who all have world class developers.

I think the beginning of this gen has kind of turned on its head from last gen where Sony were sat there with its game studios and said we now need to look to start making our own IP's and make them stand up above the rest and now Microsoft are doing the same under Phil.

All in all its a great time to be a gamer as we all know Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have some great IP's on the way.

[NZLAnonymous]

Unfortunately for Microsoft , Rare has not produced a AAA title ever since they were acquired by MS , all they have made in recent years is kinect games , what a waste of a talented studio..

[no_more_heroes]

I've long since been aware of Bungie's brilliance since they were MS first party. Funny that they're only now getting the credit they deserve.

[Volkama]

They have been receiving the credit they deserve since the first Halo released.

But I get what you mean. Now they avoid the vitriol that comes hand in hand with being associated with just one console.

[raymantalk1]

i for one think it is a good that bungie have gone multiplat gives everyone the chance to play there games it is a good for everyone

[Goku781]

Yes they did, the one game MS had with sole left when bungie stopped making it. I still dont remember what the hell happened in Halo 4, all I remember is I had to push a button like those 2007 German MTV commercials. Pooosh dee button!

[Volkama]

Awwwww you just reminded me of the terrible ending to the awesome Panza Dragoon Saga.

[Alsybub]

I still have my copy somewhere!

[Docknoss]

"Playstation players saying "thank you Microsoft" every time something cool happens"

This made my morning alot better reading this.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

"Compelling Narrative"? What game have you been playing?

[TheCagyDies]

I know right, what the hell?

[Clown_Syndr0me]

I don't mean to be the bearer of negativity, but I found the game had next to no narrative whatsoever let alone a compelling one!

[kneon]

That was a funny statement, I laughed almost as much as when I heard whatshisname in the tower explaining to us that the enemy is "The darkness".

So far the signs are pointing to a generic save the universe story line, but it's still early, it could improve as we get deeper into it. But as our character seems to have no personality and little interaction with others I'm expecting it to be quite shallow.

And we've got to same problem as in Mass Effect in that you're tasked with saving the world, but your superiors can't shell out a bit of cash for a better ship and weapons. I realize it's necessary for the gameplay, but it does make these stories seem kind of stupid.

[GoPanthers999]

Yeah right, what narrative?

[Jilokle]

It's a lose for someones, a win for other ones ;)

[Vasto]

I dont see it. I am playing Destiny Beta right now on PS4 and buddies playing on Xbox. Destiny is not Halo. Its a good filler till Halo Collection in November and Halo 5 will blow it out of the water next year.

[OpieWinston]

I've got a lot of faith in Halo 5 Guardians.

The introduction of Blue team in the games.
Tim Longo as Creative Director (Tomb Raider Reboot/Star Wars Republic Commando)
Beta happening 11 months before game launches. (Lots of bug fixes can be done)
Destiny Crucible will never be balanced simply because the guns are too variant... It won't keep people coming back for that.

I believe Destiny will only succeed if the End game "Raids" are good...If not the game will be dumped really fast due to the lvl 20 cap being reached easily and replay value being "Crucible Rage".

[805Junior805]

The level 20 cap is only for gear....

[Yaay4me]

games are art. in the art world famous pieces are copied for generations by artists who reproduce the famous marks while all the time making improvements to them. Even though the new copies are better from a technical point of view, they do not match the quality and vision that was the original which is what made it a masterpiece to begin with. this is why a copy of a famous painting will never match the original's price tag. Halo was Bungie's vision. it was bungie's baby. 343 can improve on halo all they want(which is great) but it will never be the "Halo" as envisioned by Bungie. In this sense, Destiny is more "Halo" than halo 5.

[Provolone24]

"For gamers, Bungie’s new era broadens its scope, and for the greater industry therein lies a formidable appeal to Xbox and PlayStation gamers alike: Destiny is, in some sort of twisted, tragic way, this Xbox fanboy’s way of saying to PlayStation fans, 'This is what you’ve been missing out on for the past decade!'"

Ehhh idk man, I've played Halo and I'm currently playing the Destiny beta and I'd confidently say Destiny easily tops Halo. Granted, that's just my opinion.

But yeah, Microsoft losing Bungie would be like Sony losing Naughty Dog. And it's even a bigger blow to Microsoft considering they have far less big first party studios. Sony could lose Naughty Dog and it would be borderline tragic, but they'd still have Santa Monica, Sucker Punch, Media Molecule, Evolution, Studio Japan, Guerilla, etc. to fall back on. Other than 343, Microsoft heavily leans on the studios that make Forza and Fable. This is personally why I prefer Playstation. Microsoft has been churning out Halo, Fable, and Forza since the original Xbox. That'd be like Sony still making Crash and Spyro games after all these years. And it's not that Halo and those other games are bad franchise; I just want new IPs and I think Sony delivers more of them. Bungie doesn't even make Halo anymore, and now Microsoft has pawned off Gears to another studio. Sometimes you just gotta let stuff die...

But hey, you gotta give Microsoft credit for going out and landing games like Quantum Break and Sunset Overdrive. Those games look fantastic. If you would have told me several years ago that Bungie's next game would be multiplatform with Playstation-exclusive content and that Insomniac's next game would be a full-blown Xbox exclusive, I would have looked at you like you had three heads.

[gamerhecz]

They need to add some first some party studios, I agree with you on that. 343i, rare, remedy, black tusk, turn 10 and lion head is a good few to rely on till they have more coming in

[Provolone24]

Maybe it's because Sony had already been in the game for six years and locked up a lot of talent before Microsoft had the chance. You'd think MS could easily establish more studios with all the money they have, but they just don't seem to do it. All the studios you listed are by no means bad ones, but they're certainly one-trick ponies. 343 will probably never make anything besides Halo again, at least not while they're owned by MS. Turn 10 makes Forza, Lionhead makes Fable, Black Tusk was actually making a new IP before it got canned because Microsoft acquired the rights to Gears and assigned it to them...which irks me because I just want to see new IPs even if they're not on my console of choice. As for Rare...well we won't even go there lol. I won't be as ignorant to say that MS ruined Rare since most of their talent had already left before getting bought out, but Rare will never be the same and I don't think there's much MS can do to change that. Lastly, Remedy may be a second-party studio if I'm not mistaken. They're kind of like Microsoft's version of what Insomniac was for Playstation. Sony never owned Insomniac, but they only made Playstation games for nearly 20 years. Ironically, Remedy may be Microsoft's best partner, but, much like Insomniac, they likely want to remain independent and won't let MS buy them out.

I think MS is finally aware that Halo, Fable, and Forza need a supporting cast, but I'm personally still not a buyer. Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break are great starts. I'm not buying a system for two games, though. Again, this is just me. Fans of Halo, Forza, and Fable aren't complaining. I just think Sony's studios are more diverse and are given more creative freedom, hence the usual influx of new IPs each gen.

[gamerhecz]

Hopefully we will find some more studios since xbox is starting to focus on games other multimedia crap. Glad they shut down XES, waste of money and time. The only thing thats missing to me is more game ips, studios that work on them, and resolution. To me 1080p is a must when comparing to the ps4.If they fix some of these problems im sure xbox will do amazing, especially with all the features they bring us every month and brining us great new titles

[GoPanthers999]

What narrative are you talking about? We have seen very little of that in Beta for Destiny. We get an intro narrative and a few missions.

[Revengeance]

Bungie is the sole reason Xbox even exists. When they left the soul of Halo was gone. 343 will never be as good as them.

As for Destiny I find myself enjoying this more than any new Halo that would come out, especially since you could do more in this game than Halo in the first place. Bungie is going above and beyond and I give them props.

[Mithan]

The problem with the Xbox One was one of internal mismanagement. People within Microsoft wanted to turn the Xbox One into something else, a multimedia machine. In the process, they lost what made it popular to begin with.

The last 10 years of MS have been like this actually, with them playing "catch up" in all market segments (smartphones, tablets, search, cloud, etc, etc).

MS has been very schizophrenic and this has in tern hurt ALL their platforms and products, from Windows 8 getting a Tablet interface, to them purchasing Nokia and trying to be like Apple, to their screwing up the Xbox One. Back in the mid 2000's, they we building several MMO's, but when certain presidents changed positions or quit, those MMO's were cancelled. They may of had the next WoW for example, but we will never know because they quit. On the flip side, why did they even get into MMO's in the first place? Look at their PC Gaming Strategy over the last decade with Windows Live and some other stupid things they have done. They could of easily have built Steam, but myopia cost them.

I believe that Microsoft now has a very focused CEO, but the damage has been done to certain brands, and it will be very hard to change things and some will be losers as a result.

Xbox One may very well end up being a loser this generation, though it is still too early to tell. It is a great system, but one that gamers see as second fiddle, and Joe-Average-Consumer doesn't care about as much as MS thought they would. Where does this leave it? It leaves it as the system that people buy because they loved the original Xbox and Xbox360 or with a reversed role with the PS3, the one you bought just to play a few exclusives, if you had money.

I dont either console yet, because I think they both still sort of suck content wise. I may get a console for Destiny when it comes out in September and if I do, it will obviously be the PS4, because that is the stronger system. Can I justify $400 later on just to play Halo? Do I care anymore? I am 38, gaming isn't as imporant as it used to be for me, and what games I do play are usually on the PC, with better graphics and options.

Bungie is important but not that important.

The most important thing is Microsoft's internal leadership, which over the last few years has been terrible, and that is why the Xbox One is the system it is today, because somebody thought that Kinect would be the future. He made a bet, it was the wrong bet, and they will lose the xbox division because of it.

And as per normal, in 5-10 years from now, another company will come retread ground that Microsoft already broke, and be a success with it.

[lemoncake]

Too much focus on the company name and not on the actual people who have made these games. Companies dont make games people make them, follow the developer trail and you see where it leads you.

[hiawa23]

Wow, when Bungie was with MS many were bashing them, they have been independent for years, now they are greatest devs, now that the games are multiplat. Meh, this happens with devs like the people who made Resistance. It happens.

[DJustinUNCHAIND]

As far as I know, Bungie is still making games for Xbox, so I don't see how they lost anything.

[Provolone24]

Also, Microsoft only have themselves to blame for losing Bungie. I'd venture to say that MS didn't give them much creative freedom and instead had them continue making Halo games because it's their cash cow. If they had let Bungie do what they want, Destiny could have been an Xbox exclusive.

There was an article on here recently stating that Sony actually loses money on most games because they let their studios do what they want...which seemingly isn't a good business stategy, but they've been doing it and delivering great new IPs since 1995 so why stop now.

[turdburgler1080]

And Sony is losing money hand over fist. I'd bet a bit coin that come next quarterly report they lose money again.

[Benchm4rk]

"Also, Microsoft only have themselves to blame for losing Bungie. I'd venture to say that MS didn't give them much creative freedom and instead had them continue making Halo games because it's their cash cow. If they had let Bungie do what they want, Destiny could have been an Xbox exclusive."

100% Agree with that. I dont know why MS didnt create 343 Industries to handle Halo and let Bungie do what they wanted with Destiny from the start. Instead they just wanted Bungie to milk the Halo franchise.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Destiny, although a somewhat fun game, is also really embarrassing for Bungie.

From the second you are introduced to the Ghost companion, who looks like Guilty Spark and serves as your Cortana in this game, you feel like you're playing a shallow rip off of Halo. The two gunplay, the grenade throwing and even the enemy AI, it's all exactly the same.

But they didn't stop there. The gunplay is also a bit reminiscent of CoD, the weapon scavenging reminds me of Borderlands and the entire structure of the game is similar the PSO.

The level design is very generic. Even though this is an "open world" game you are still forced down a linear path.

Unfortunately the music isn't nearly as good as what's found in the Halo series.

But putting my personal criticisms aside please allow me to refute the obvious agenda being pushed by this author. They haven't lost anything as the company is still making games for Microsoft hardware. That should be obvious.

[DJStotty]

Gotta agree with you when i was playing the beta last night it feels like im playing halo even some of the enemies look like the Jackal snipers in halo. Still a great game feels like a cross between Mass Effect and Halo. Playing the beta still made me wet though. Cant wait to go exploring with friends when the full game is released #xboxone

[Rachel_Alucard]

343 is an incompetent dev studio that created the call of duty of the Halo franchise, with QTE's, boring bullet sponge tier enemies, bad writing such as having MC speak a lot more than previous entries and a forced shallow dramatic ending, QTE's placed at the worst times, and CODified gameplay. I don't get how everyone just fanboys over halo this hard to think 343 is a good dev. Plus they never post on the forums or respond except for announcements and bans

[DJStotty]

Halo 4 wasnt a bad game. I thought it was a stellar effort from 343 as their first halo game. That chip on your shoulder needs to be flicked off, its starting to get mouldy.

[DJStotty]

Microsoft dont OWN Bungie and they never have. They OWN the Halo franchise and funded development and publishing rights. If they did own Bungie then Destiny would still be an exclusive?? Someone post a link to an article where Microsoft have sold Bungie please?

Same scenario as Titanfall. They have funded development of the game but dont own the publishing rights hence why they dont OWN Respawn Studios

[JOHN_DOH]

Here you go

http://www.bit-tech.net/new...

[DJStotty]

notice how it mentions the partnership ended? Not microsoft have sold bungie. If Microsoft OWNED Bungie then how could Bungie end the partnership? Yes they may have been under the microsoft studios belt. But its like Epic games. They were not owned by Microsoft.

[xkevmandc]

Microsoft lost nothing. They still have halo...and yes Destiny feels like a halo game...if you played a halo game then you will know that...

[Slick81]

I didnt think destiny was that special tbh....if you've played halo for the past few years it's nothing we haven't seen before.dont get me wrong it's a cool game but nothing groundbreaking IMO