Scalebound Director Addresses Cancellation, Future Plans

Platinum's Hideki Kamiya says sorry to fans for Scalebound's cancellation, plus offers some hints about what he'd like to work on next.

[tyasia0]

Awesome, glad to hear the loss of Scalebound wasn't a setback. I look forward to his next game.

I feel bad for all the Xbone owners who were looking forward to Scalebound and a Platinum Games game on there console. It's unfortunate they probably won't get any upcoming Platinum games after Microsoft dropped support for Platinum's Scalebound project.

[thatguyhayat]

Correct me if im wrong but didnt something similar happen with level 5? Havent seen any of their games on xbox

[darthv72]

Things happen, you move on to other things. As for playing PG on xbox... i still enjoy bayonetta and metal gear rising revengance. It aint the same as a new game but still fun nevertheless.

[tyasia0]

Well that's good because those last gen games are the only Platinum games you'll be playing on Xbox for the foreseeable future.

Personally I'm glad I got the play the GOTY contender Nier :Automata and whatever Platinum's next big hit will be. I'm hoping it's Bayonetta 3. Man it would be a tough pill to swallow for you if that game was PS4 and Switch only huh? I mean since you're still playing Bayonetta One, right?

Oh well i guess in the end it was better for Xbox gamers!

[darthv72]

If bayo 3 did come to ps4, im all set but if it came to only switch then i dont have that... yet.

And my comment was about PG games in relation to MS (like you said) not about PG games in general.

[Adrian_v01]

@tyasia

The fanboy is strong with you.

[XanderZane]

The game got cancelled because PG missed 2 contractual deadlines. So it's good to see Hideki Kamiya apologize for PG short comings. I'm curious as to what he has next up his sleeve and wondering who were in that meeting with him. It's not impossible for them to still make an XBox game. It's a business. There next game could be multiplat. No one knows.

The Level 5 games was True Fantasy Online. This was a JRPG MMO, probably similar to DQX. That game was cancelled as well, but I don't remember the reasoning why. Level 5 is famous for games like Dark Cloud 1 & 2, Rouge Galaxy, the Professor Layton series, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, White Knight Chronicles and a bunch of 3DS/DS games. They've never made any XBox games, but Ni No Kuni 2 will be coming to Win 10.

[tyasia0]

Ni No Kuni will be coming to Steam, I think it's important to be clear about how it's coming to PC. It's not going to be on Windows Store.

Also I don't think the reason has been detailed by anyone from Microsoft or Platinum

[rainslacker]

Where did you hear that they missed 2 deadlines? It wasn't in the article.

Missing 2 deadlines is by no means an uncommon occurrence in game development. Some games miss almost every deadline. If they were years behind with those deadlines, that'd make sense, but if that were the case, MS likely wouldn't have been promoting it so much at conferences.

I'd be more prone to believe that the original concept, or any changed concept just wasn't living up to expectations. That happens sometimes, where the game's design sounds great, but in practice, it just isn't that good. That actually matches up better with what Phil Spencer said about it being good for the gamers. Cancelling a game because it missed deadlines isn't something that is good for the gamers, it's only good for the people producing the game to cut their losses.

[TheCommentator]

The guy from Platinum literally apologizes for screwing up Scalebound, yet it's still MS' fault it was cancelled?

Only thing sadder than your comment at this point is the amount of people who agree with you...

[tyasia0]

Microsoft made the call they could have chose many things but they chose to cancel it.

You choose to defend Microsoft who has a history of bad relations with game studios and being too demanding and stifling creative freedom. I choose to defend Platinum who before this indecent has never had any reported problems working with anyone and they have made games published by a lot of different publishers from both the west and the east.

[TheCommentator]

If it was turning out to be a good game, or even a good investment, MS would have kept it going. It is therefore safer to assume it is PG who is at fault, especially since they just apologized for their mistake.

But yeah, you choose to defend Platinum even though you know better.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

tyasia0 seems to be more concerned with attacking MS than defending Platinum.

[rainslacker]

And MS didn't apologize, they just said it was best for the gamer.

Apologizing like this is a matter of humility, and more a Japanese cultural thing than admitting fault. At no point did he actually admit to screwing up Scalebound. Just said they couldn't make it work. Sometimes games don't work. It happens. Remember that unanounced game from The Coalition....it wasn't working out. They said so without problem, then got stuck on Gears.

MS made the ultimate decision, and to date, any reason why is still complete speculation and assumption.

Ultimately, the real reasons are probably nowhere near as black and white and the console wars would make it. I could list off a hundred reasons why a game would get cancelled years into development. Some would even be the same assumptions people have made from both sides.

I'd like to know the real reason because it's one of the few games I had an interest in on X1, but know I'll probably never find out through official channels, so I don't let it bother me much anymore. What's done is done, and knowing the reasons won't bring the game out. It's just something that will satisfy my curiosity, which is just my own thing.

[TheCommentator]

The Coalition admitted that it was their choice to work on Gears, and it was one of the hardest decisions they had to make because they liked the game they were working on at that time. Also, MS didn't apologize because they didn't screw it up. Platinum couldn't make it work, right? That means Platinum is at fault, hence the apology. Nice try, Rainslacker, but do you ever say anything that is grounded in reality?

[Obscure_Observer]

@tyasia0

"Microsoft made the call they could have chose many things but they chose to cancel it."

Same goes for Sony, right?

Sony had cancelled a BIG AAA FIRST PARTY Open World game from Santa Monica after they had invested millions on the project AND at the same time lay off hundreds from that studio who had worked on the project.

And i don´t have seen any criticism towards this decision from you hipocrites. It was all fine and dandy since its Sony.

I blame Microsoft for Fable´s cancellation and close of Lionhead Studios, but not this.

[Gazondaily]

Apology accepted Kamiya san

[naruga]

apology not given ...it will be a long time (maybe never) until Xbox sees a new game from him....

[TheColbertinator]

Kamiya is a great game designer. Onwards to better projects.

As for your Microsoft and Japanese game fans,such a loss.

[MagicBeanz]

Sorry to say it but 'Microsoft' and 'Japanese game fan' are two diametrically apposed concepts. If you like Japanese games you might want to become a fan of a different console maker, just sayin.

[TheColbertinator]

Microsoft has hosted many of my favorite Japanese games since they entered the console market

Shenmue 2
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Lost Odyssey
Breakdown
Dead Rising
Ninja Gaiden II

Additionally MS has welcomed plenty of strong Japanese 3rd party support like Capcom,Square Enix and Tecmo Koei

[XanderZane]

To add to TheColbertinator's list. There have been a lot of JRPG games on XBox platform in the past.

Infinite Undiscovery
Tales of Vesperia
Blue Dragon
Eternal Sonara
The Remnant
MagnaCarta 1 & 2
Resonance of Fate
FF 13 & FF 13-2
Nier
FF Type 0
Phantasy Star Online 1 & 2
Pier Solar and the Great Architects
Metal Dungeon

[TheOttomatic91]

Well MS wanted an MP Microtransaction game and that's not Kamiya's style I hope whatever project he works on next is as stellar as all his completed games (fingers crossed for the Wonderful 102).

[shiva1]

Are you sure PG games would never have microtransactions?

[tyasia0]

Well they haven't put micro-transactions in any game yet, in fact I don't even think any of their games have DLC.

Platinum Games is a class act who is about the artistry of gaming not just a company out to nickle and dime.

[rainslacker]

Nier was more a Square Enix game. In any case, I don't think that Scalebound was anywhere close to the DLC stage, and the MP was likely more a problem than the MT. The co-op demo was kind of painful.

[XanderZane]

That wasn't why the game got cancelled. Had nothing to do with microtransaction or MP. You're grasping.

https://media.giphy.com/med...

[Nu]

What if Kamiya was hired by Sony to sabotage Microsoft. Microsoft simply found out and decided to discontinue relations.

[Segata]

What a stupid comment.

[Razzer]

LOL

[Nitrowolf2]

Yes, Kamiya was hired by Sony to destroy his own project that he and his team was already working on before Microsoft decided to fully fund it.

[Nu]

I souldve included /s in my N4GK

To clarify, I was high on the cannibis that the character from GTA V gives when I made that comment...

Yakuza are extremely loyal even unto death of their projects /s

[rainslacker]

Then he'd probably be in jail for fraud.

There was no misappropriation going on with the development of scalebound. Such things have legal consequences, and no doubt MS would take legal action to get their rather sizable investment back.

[krypt1983]

trash ass dev such a diva

[Platformgamer]

Kamiya isn't my favourite developer, but the scalebound cancellation is microsoft fault.
He doesn't have to apologize, phil spencer should do it instead of saying "it's better for the players"

[TheCommentator]

You have no evidence to support that FUD.

[TheCommentator]

Disagree all you want, still no evidence...

[rainslacker]

Apoligizing like this is more a matter of humility in Japanese culture. He's not actually saying he's at fault for the cancellation.

It's not unlike when you say you're sorry when empathizing with someone who's going through some rough news. Even though it's not your fault, you sympathize with their disappointment, and in this case, it shows that he regrets that the people looking forward to it won't be able to play it.

Ultimately, since MS was the producer of this game, they would be the only ones who should reveal the real reasons behind the cancellation. That's customary, although sometimes that kind of trust is broken if someone is really pissed off about it.

[shadowknight203]

Mad respect for Platinum Games and Kamiya

[rlow1]

Please "tyasia0" you imply crap as though your an insider. Why would he apologize to his former crew if he didn't screw up somehow? Sony cancels games and closes studios just like MS. This was a game MS was financing and it was his job to get it done, he failed. He even said people at MS were working on the game, so it wasn't as flippant or evil as you would imply it to be. They ( Hideki and MS) put a lot of effort into it, but I suspect the cost to fix or add content was going to go way past the budget. Better to cancel a game then to put out a half baked game (Mass Effect anyone?). The way I see it Platinum owes MS another exclusive. Basically if I hired you for a job and you couldn't complete it then you either give back the money, can finish it to satisfaction for free, I can sue you, or you can make up for it.

As for the game itself, when it was being shown, before cancellations I read a lot of people down playing it. Now that they can, they use it as ammo to paint MS as this evil empire that doesn't care. Business is business and if you have ever run your own, you would understand. In the end none of us know or may never know the true reasons, but i'm glad that he is getting back on his feet and has the support from his peers.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

Well said!!!

[rainslacker]

Because apologizing like this is typical in Japanese custom. Doesn't matter if he was at fault, he was the top rung of the project within the company. It's more a matter of expressing empathy than actually taking blame. No doubt the people on the project actually know the reasons it was cancelled, and if he was at fault, he would have done so to them personally, not through an interview....as is also Japanese custom.

[shinrock]

How many studios have Sony shutdown? How many games cancelled? FACTS pls, not opinion or feelings.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

You won't get any. This all about attacking MS.

[oasdada]

When they do stop support they hand their ip to the studio eg. Rime unlike MS keeping scalebound ip FACT, sony support risky projects where there is no guarantee of financial success and more often than not see them to the end eg. Last guardian FACT