Until Dawn Studio Supermassive Games [Goes Their Own Way] for The Dark Pictures Anthology

This week on The Trophy Room: A PlayStation Podcast, Hosts Joseph, Kyle and Special Guest Sean Capri talk about the latest news coming from Gamescom! Out of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Devil May Cry 5, and Shenmue 3 which has the gang more excited. Bloodstained Ritual of the Night gets a delay, and Vita version gets canceled, as the final death nail for PlayStation Vita. Spyro Reignited Trilogy gets pushed back to November 13th, and Supermassive Games leaves Sony for Bandai Namco's Dark Anthology Series, should Sony have bought Supermassive Games.

[ApocalypseShadow]

As much as I like Supermassive, let's correct this a little with MY words and opinion...

"After tarnishing their image with 3 released games(Hidden Agenda, Bravo Team and The Inpatient-all below 66% on metacritic) that were rushed out the door to profit off of their success of Until Dawn(79%) and Rush of Blood(72%) on Playstation and PSVR, Supermassive games has gone multiplatform to recoup their losses and hopefully their reputation."

"Why would Sony buy a developer that didn't care for QUALITY over QUANTITY?"

[Neonridr]

it's a fair point you bring up since it seems like their games are progressively getting worse in terms of quality. I am not sure if it's their desire to push into the VR market which is affecting their quality. Perhaps they should have just delivered another solid 2D game instead.

[ILostMyMind]

The PSVR's game is not one of those low scored games.

[Neonridr]

@ILostMyMind - go look up Bravo Team.. lol

[himdeel]

Sony never owned them, so how exactly did they leave Sony now?

[showtimefolks]

This isn't news since they came out after until dawn and said after their deal with Sony they want to make games for other platforms

Sony never owned them so its one of those things where the deal ended and both parties decide to part ways. Let's not forget the fact Sony put them on the map so I am sure supermassive appreciate t

[gangsta_red]

@himdeel
They left Sony as a publisher.

@Showtime
"the fact Sony put them on the map"

Don't know if that's actually a fact considering Sony didn't push their games as much as they should have which is probably why they decided to not go with Sony this time and go multiplat.

[Elwenil]

@gangsta_red,

You don't "pick" a publisher. You attempt to sell your idea to a publisher in order to get the game published and/or get more funding for development. If the publisher thinks the idea will sell and be profitable, then they will negotiate a deal. If not, then you move on to less desirable publishers and most likely less and less appealing deals. More than likely, due to the low performance of recent games, Sony declined to publish whatever their newest project is or offered a less appealing deal and they were forced to shop around for another publisher.

[gangsta_red]

@Elwenil

Pretty sure that's not how it exactly works.

Supermassive's deal with Sony as a publisher probably forced them to let Sony own the IP for any game they made.

For their next project they more than likely wanted to keep the IP for themselves and therefore shop around for another publisher.

Considering it's Namco, I don't see how they would be "less desirable", especially when they are a major third party game developer and they are able to bring this game to every major platform.

[uth11]

i think they were contracted to do those games by Sony and overpromised what they could deliver in the time frame.

devs who work there have said as much

[Razzer]

This is nothing but speculation. We have no idea what prompted this. As far as we know, Sony simply didn't have any work for them. And that too is just speculation.

[bluefox755]

I like Hidden Agenda actually, though I would have preferred them sticking to making great full length games rather than bite sized ones.

[porkChop]

If the games were pushed out the door before they were ready that would be Sony's fault, not Supermassive. The publisher decides when games are ready for release.

And you don't "correct" something with an opinion as opinions aren't facts.

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

LMAo..no. Supermassive is independant...they had full control over there games. You clearly have no idea how this works. It is never as simple as "The publisher decides". Sony is one of the most open and gives devs freedom.

[porkChop]

You're the one who doesn't understand how game dev works. It doesn't matter if Supermassive was independent. The publisher decides when to release a game and whether to delay. Supermassive had creative control, but they don't control the business side of things.

[showtimefolks]

Pork

It works both ways but if Sony saw that giving extra time wouldn't help than makes no sense but we do have history that shows Sony usually gives a lot of freedom and time

Look at the 3 reboots got dreams and games like heavy rain/detroit which other publishers didn't want to touch

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

So you know sony forced to release the game and Supermassive never said it was ready? I await your proof. The Burden of proof is on you. Sony is the most lenient pub out there.

[porkChop]

@Gahl1k

EA regularly releases unfinished games, so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make? Dragon Age 2, BF4, Mass Effect Andromeda, etc. EA literally has a history of releasing unfinished games.

@showtime

No one is denying that Sony usually gives devs plenty of extra time to make great games. But that doesn't mean they do so 100% of the time.

@Jesus

The proof are the Supermassive games that were released unfinished after being tested by Sony's own QA teams. They played the games, they would have seen that they weren't ready for release and needed more polish. Yet the games were greenlit and released anyway.

Don't pretend Sony wouldn't have known the games weren't ready. Every publisher knows. 90% of the time Sony's games are very well polished, but every once in a while they release a rough game. And that's true of every publisher, especially EA and Microsoft though.

[sinspirit]

This goes two ways.

1. If the publisher proposes an idea to be completed in a certain amount of time, and the developer agrees it can make that happen.

2. In this case, SM came to Sony with their idea, given with their expected completion window, which the publisher agrees to. It's not always the publisher that brings up the release date. But, it is their final decision. SM failed to deliver in the window they said they needed.

[porkChop]

@sinspirit

"SM failed to deliver in the window they said they needed."

Absolutely. No argument there. I'm just saying that when Sony was QA testing the games they would have seen that the games weren't ready. A delay should have been made for those games to get the polish they needed. The publisher makes the final call, and they made a mistake in that instance.

[remixx116]

@red

Gotta agree with you on that last point, I like Sony but damn do they have an issue with marketing their exclusives.

Last year in Q1 Sony had gravity Rush 2, tales of bersia, yakuza 0, nioh, kingdom hearts 1.5 2.5 hd, nier automata and ni no Kuni 2 all releasing in the same period but unless you follow PlayStation heavily you'd think horizon zero Dawn was the only game dropping the first half of the year with how hard Sony pushed it. (Poor poor gravity Rush 2, my goty for last year next to botw and persona and it's servers already got shut down due to lack of sales/marketing)

[Mr_Writer85]

@remixx

Other than GR2 and Horizon Sony don't own or publish any of those games, take Yakyza 0 for example, the game is owned by Sega, who could port that game to PC or Xbox.

Why would Sony take money away from marketing from a game they have spent millions on (HZD) to market Yakuza?

[remixx116]

@writer

I'm not suggesting exactly that per se, more that if your first party studio develops an exclusive then either A: don't release it in the same window as a bunch of other more established exclusives on your platform or B: at least give it some marketing so it doesn't drown in a crowded window.

Also Sony helped publish a few of those for it's platform so why not market them, they market games like cod and red dead which aren't even exclusive (keep in mind I understand why they do this).

[NeoGamer232]

You should join Sony PR.

[doggo84]

50°
Until Dawn Studio Supermassive Games Leaves PlayStation for The Dark Pictures Anthology

That's quite an overstatement there considering they were never owned by Sony and Until Dawn IP was always owned by Sony

[DaReapa]

...And not to mention, The Dark Pictures Anthology is still releasing on PS4.

[doggo84]

Exactly

[porkChop]

With the exception of two small games, Supermassive have been a PlayStation-only dev since they were founded in 2008. While they weren't owned by PlayStation they were still primarily a PlayStation developer.

[doggo84]

But just because they are making a multiplat game, it doesnt mean they have abandoned Sony and will never make exclusives for them again.

[porkChop]

I didn't say they were abandoning anyone. They're still releasing games on PlayStation. But this sort of partnership they've had is ending, at least temporarily.

[gangsta_red]

I know people like to read headlines only but maybe...

"Supermassive Games leaves Sony for Bandai Namco's Dark Anthology Series, should Sony have bought Supermassive Games."

They left Sony as a publisher to go with Namco.

[doggo84]

Facepalm

[letsa_go]

I like how you didn't even quote it right. It clearly says "Leaves Playstation". You see what you want to see, then make it fact.

[gangsta_red]

@letsa_go

Quote it right? Read the summary where I actually pulled the quote...here, let me help..

"Spyro Reignited Trilogy gets pushed back to November 13th, and Supermassive Games leaves Sony for Bandai Namco's Dark Anthology Series, should Sony have bought Supermassive Games."

You know like I said in my reply of not just reading the headline.

"You see what you want to see, then make it fact."

Lmao!!! Yeah, because it was a fact. Or was I being a "contrarian" again?

[Razzer]

What is a fact? That Supermassive "left" Sony? That isn't a fact. It is purely speculation. It could just as well been the case that Sony sent Supermassive elsewhere as they had no work for them. We don't know.

[gangsta_red]

@Razzer
"What is a fact? That Supermassive "left" Sony? That isn't a fact."

I agree, cause I never said that was a fact.

It could also be that Supermassive left them as a publisher to go with someone else like Namco, so they could get their game on multiple platforms.

[Razzer]

Sure. Just like Remedy. It happens.

[gangsta_red]

Don't worry, it was easy to mistake. Just only reading the headline it would be easy to think the podcast was implying Supermassive was owned by Sony.

But reading the summery that's right under the title proves a tad bit more information.

[sampsonon]

they were owned by sony?

[ILostMyMind]

"leaves"? Aren't they going to make games for PlayStation anymore?

[jaycptza]

no, they will

[Chaosdreams]

Uh, clickbait much?

Supermassive was never owned by Sony - think Insomniac. I for one am thrilled they are releasing more games in line with Until Dawn (their last three projects didn't intrigue me). If they are able to achieve that by releasing on multiples consoles then I'm all for it.

[conanlifts]

I read they have between 50-100 employees....now multiplatform.... Anyone else wondering if it is a coincidence ( or even know what I am implying).

[doggo84]

I dont know what you're trying to imply exactly, but it's wrong.

[porkChop]

If what you were implying were true, they'd be signing a deal with Microsoft instead of Bandai Namco.

[conanlifts]

I should add I do not think it is likely, but after this move and the recent announcement by MS I can see how this studio would tick all of the boxes for them. As for Bandai Namco publishing the game if this were true, I guess using an independent publisher could make sense. Of course it was more that I read both announcements side by side and this was my thought on it.

[rainslacker]

The vast majority of devs in the mid-tier range ate 50-100 employees.

[conanlifts]

Of course, but after booty talking about their acquisition plans this studio ticks all of the required boxes. That doesn't mean I think it should happen or that it will. In many ways I would prefer MS just build multiple studios of this size. This would add more to the industry than acquisitions which simply lock content away from other platforms. But it was interesting to read both articles together, which is what made me think about this.

[Silly gameAr]

Trying to get those clicks and start fights.

[Platformgamer]

going multiplatform doesn't mean they're leaving playstation 4, doing that is a retarded thing

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

They never "Left" Sony, they were always an independant studio. Awful headline.

[FPS_D3TH]

Can’t leave Sony if you were never a part of it. lol try again

[Spurg]

It's a bit of an overstatement.
But Sony didn't capitalise of Until Dawn's popularity instead they were commissioning VR game from them. They should have pushed for more games like Until Dawn(which was far superior to what David Cage has been making for the last decade).
Of course Bandai Namco is the real saviour here push to publish what Supermassive game wanted.

[StormLegend]

The clickbait is strong with this one. that studio was not a part of PlayStation just like how Ready at dawn isn’t or even Insomniac. Stop gasping for clicks!!

[Flewid638]

Considering they were never owned by Sony, this article confuses me.

[Thundercat77]

Change the title of the article. It makes no sense and is misleading. Supermassive was never owned by Sony. They can't not leave if they were never owned.

[boing1]

So The Dark Pictures Anthology won't be available on PlayStation or is this a really poor attempt for clickbaity title?

[Davidgr2]

Money talks, Insomniac went to make an exlusive game for Xbox One and it sold poorly. Sunset Overdrive was an awesome game imo, but most Xbox players didn’t like it. Once this game sells bad on Xbox they’ll come back lol

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

But they never left?

[Smokehouse]

I’m fine with it. Until Dawn was an awesome niche game. Niche games need to be on as many platforms as possible.

[Einhander1971]

Rush of blood is amazing, one of the show cases for PSVR.

[sampsonon]

back in 2015 the devs asked a question and here it is along with my suggestion.
https://twitter.com/UntilDa...

now i know it isn't the exact premise but I'm pretty sure that it was my idea that started the discussion about where the "new" https://twitter.com/sampson... story should take place... on the ocean.
i also told them not to do a sequel and to take my idea and make it take place on a ship. if you read all my ideas it s for sure being used.
if you noticed the other suggestions are not even close to what i sad and what their new game ended up being.

i think a gold copy of the game would be a nice gesture for my idea.

what do you'll think?

i have yet to hear from them and i am waiting for at least an acknowledgement of my idea.

[TheLordOfStuff]

Yeah, because your idea was so unique, never could have got inspired by movies or anything...

[sampsonon]

hey, they asked and everyone else said something else except for me. so right, it couldn't have been my idea. i mean they never asked right? thanks for your support.

perhaps you need to read all the tweets, about 10 to understand what I'm talking about.

"does anyone have an idea for a new sandwich?"

yes, make it a bacon with cheddar but make the bread with raisins,

"hey everyone, we have a new bacon cheddar sandwich"

nothing to do with their request for an idea for a sandwich,,,,,, right?

i also said that they shouldn't make a sequel but that they should make a new game that takes place on a ship.... they asked and i told them. whether you agree or not, they made a game that i suggested they make.

facts.

they asked for suggestions plain and simple.

[Mylove1516]

The should be something like "Supermassive games partners with Bandai Namco for next game" this title makes it seem like sony owned SG, which they don't..the title should be changed IMO.

[Lionalliance]

But they were never owned by Sony.