From the Review:
"About a month ago, Mike Jackson and I got to try out Michael Jackson: The Experience for the Xbox 360 (using Kinect). Even though it was intimidating being around professional dancers, we still had a good time looking like fools. Shortly after that, Thumbs’ Jackson posted a review of the Wii version of the game. Now, I am following up his take on that version with my take on the Kinect version, now that I have had the chance to enjoy it in the comfort of my own home."
IGN writes: "On September 11, most of the over 4,000 employees at Ubisoft Montreal returned to office in Montreal’s Mile End for the first time in three years. But hardly anyone seems happy about it, and many are furious at what they’re calling broken promises from Ubisoft leadership."
All this over working 2 days a week in the Office? Doesn’t surprise me coming from western developers.
“Montreal employees are expected to work a minimum of two days a week out of the office. "
Well 2 days a week or not, a broken promise is a broken promise.
According to the article, management told these workers they would be allowed to be 100% remote. 2 days a week is still lax sure, but it doesn't change the fact these workers were told one thing yet given something different.
I guess they’ll learn to keep their mouth shut next time. They brought this on themselves.
Right and I'm sure it was a promise made without any conditions...
There's a reason companies are trying tk get people back into the office. If performance across the board was the same or better then they wouldn't want to go back to the office....however, performance across the board is not at 100% it's less. Working from home is a privilege for the team.
circumstances change. They were promised 0 remote at one point. They can quit and go somewhere else- the reason they are complaining on IGN instead of doing that is that there is nothing better.
@MrCrimson Ah, yes, the old "If you don't like it, leave" argument. The same used when if you don't like the politics in your country you should just move. Consider what they are doing instead to be fair act of standing up to broken promises. They have a right to voice their concerns if this is true. Maybe quite a few people will leave, but that doesn't mean they should just leave quietly. There are also many reason you might not want to leave and hope management changes their minds so it's worth it to speak out.
Pfft hahaha 🤣, yeah you go ahead and let people walk all over you Jin, as if that'll earn you some favor in their eyes. You're just as disposable to them as pair of cheap shoes. Licking their boots won't change that.
I know corporate don’t give a shit about you but do tell how working at home is better for game development?
jin sakai is only concerned about worker's rights if their rights will affect the development of his favorite vidya gaem
@Jin_Sakai
Not every white collar job requires you to occupy empty space in an archaic office setting. I can speak as someone that's been working from home since covid started. I do VFX for a living, which can fall within game development among other things.
No commute. I don't need to wake up an hour in advance. No traffic making me late. No traffic coming back taking up my free time. Save on gas. Which in a recession is a godsend. I can focus on what needs to get done for the day without being pestered by others for unrelated work things because my domicile isn't a rotating door. Meetings are cut and dry. I save on time cooking lunches for myself in the kitchen. No need to overpay at an overpriced restaurant in the area. If family needs me I'm closer since my place of work is further out. Overall It's far more relaxing, better for my mental and financial health and has allowed me to improve on my craft.
@Shiore2u
"No commute. I don't need to wake up an hour in advance. No traffic making me late. No traffic coming back taking up my free time. Save on gas. Which in a recession is a godsend. I can focus on what needs to get done for the day without being pestered by others for unrelated work things because my domicile isn't a rotating door. Meetings are cut and dry. I save on time cooking lunches for myself in the kitchen. No need to overpay at an overpriced restaurant in the area. If family needs me I'm closer since my place of work is further out. Overall It's far more relaxing, better for my mental and financial health and has allowed me to improve on my craft."
1000% on everything stated here! My company tried implementing the exact same return to office policy as Ubisoft, but fortunately for me, I have an immediate supervisor that went against the grain and allowed us to continue work from home permanently. That's a hard custom to break once you've become accustomed to it for 3+ years.
Not if your have actual skills. You'd find companies bending over backwards to retain you. When it's working well it's a mutually beneficial relationship.
Shiore is 10000% right. I'm not a remote worker, but the facts speak for themselves here. If a job isn't necessary to work in an office, than why put undue hardship on your employees for the facts stated here, I can argue undue hardship is being done. Remember lockdowns, just 15 days to curve the virus? Then it was 30, then it was 30 more, this same can apply to 2 days a week, then its 2 days a week, turns to 3, then it'll be back to the normal 5 day system for everyone involved. Just because it doesn't effect me, or you, doesn't mean it shouldn't. The reason why we as a global society are in such turmoil across the globe financially (recession) has alot to do with every one of us complying. Doesn't matter what the topic is, if we see facts that stand to reason, and in order to comply those facts go against that reason, we need to stop complying. Plain and simple. There's a reason here in America the movement of "we will not comply" is taking form, and I'm seeing it in other parts of the world too. We as a human species need to stand for our rights together, if it affects 1 of us, then we need to see it as it affects all of us. This isn't 2010 anymore, alots changed in a short amount of time. Imagine what'll happen if we keep on letting these corporations boss us around.
Why are you talking towards something you clearly haven’t experienced or know almost nothing about?
GTFO
Someone here knows and speaks sense. And reason. 3 disagrees. Shows u how many sheep continue to be herded here.
Are you Japanese, where they work you to the bone, social status, looked down on if you don't earn a certain amount.
No employer gives a toss about it's workers unless they are high-end and pulling in big money. All people are replaceable.
But a Promise is a Promise. Don't give them out if you can't keep them.
That's not completly true. Some employers actually care.
Couple instances.
I was on my way to work one day decided to hit up peach street(street with the mall and numerous other plazas, best buy, etc It goes on for 2 miles of stores and fast food) I broke down in the middle of the road 4 to 6 lane traffic. One of the owners sons towed me to the part store paid for my part and put it in. I went to pay it back when I got paid and they wouldn't let me.
Another, we have a guy thats about to retire next spring, he's slipping(in the head) they are letting this guy finish it out so he doesn't have to go find another job until then.
I've been there for 12 years and they legit seem to care. Now I've worked at a few bigger corporate type places and those type of places don't seem to give two fks about anyone and anyone is replaceable.
Go worship your corporate overlords justifying their real estate investments somewhere else.
We call your behavior "bootlicking".
Oversimplification that demonstrates you've never had the responsibility of building an effective team. The world is too complicated to just go around and call people derogatory terms to shut down their opinion and think you're right to do so
Sorry about antongonizing you in previous comments Raiden. You have my respect now. 🙏
The thing is, I have a very similar set up for my staff, but the workplace have every right to call you into the office full time if needs be. But then they better be prepared to have people leaving and being unhappy if there was a promise that was broken.
Broken trust = Unhappy staff looking for other employmant.
If people can work from home they should be able to, I wish I could, I literally wish I had a job that allowed me to do that because getting to work when you don't drive is a bitch including the travel costs
Companies all over the world are scared because COVID has shown people that this was always a possibility and now these companies are paying for massive offices that they don't really need, thus loosing money including the landlords who most of them rent off.
If companies thought that their work force would be just as effective working from home, they would sell their office space. Why would they pay unnecessary expenses?
The only thing I'm concerned about is the idea that corporations will push for office use again, only to reason with the idea that "okay we will 'allow' you to work from home, but we require surveillance in your home from all hours of working" and that just reminds me of a dystopia Orwell's 1984. I mean, even moreso than what it is today.
@crazyCoconuts
I always assumed it was something to do with landlords and upsetting that kind of ecosystem.
If suddenly a lot of offices started to close down or downsize then these big greedy landlords would be f***** and a lot of these office blocks in your city will just be empty. That kind of ecosystem being disrupted is NOT a problem the Governments we have today want to deal with because it means changing things and I really don't think they can be arsed to put in the work. It's why a lot of things in the world stay the same even though new systems would be better for us because the excuse always seems to be "that's how it's always been".
Also companies want people back in the office because its easier for them to keep tabs on us, they want to know exactly what we are up to. I know some people who work places where they literally time how long you've went for a bathroom break and if you are a minute over or something they'll have a word with you. That kind of shit is just petty to me.
@fox yes landlords would be f'ed but leasing would be cheaper as a result. Unless the company was into real estate it should be happy to downsize.
In regards to tracking what you're doing while they're paying you, yeah, they tend to do that. It's kinda their prerogative don't you think?
Let’s put to rest the myth that the Western work is lazier than the Eastern worker or that killing yourself for your corporate masters is virtuous behavior.
Jin_Sakai,
As others have said, it is a broken promise. They even stated the longevity of this policy was contingent upon productivity, among other things. Productivity was not cited as an issue, but it was made apparent that the Montreal office is terrible and allegations about company culture have not been addressed. They went on to say this might just be Ubisoft trying to get people to quit to forgo giving severance pay. Just seems like a way to inconvenience people when you can get rid of the office, save money, and let people work remotely.
I will also make an extremely important point here: they said that employees have centered their lives and schedules around remote with. That means transportation costs, child care, family time, important errands, etc etc etc were focused around not having to go to the office. Single parents exist, mate.
If you have server access, needed software, and reliable internet, I don't see why this is necessary. More than anything, it feels like a culture of mistrust by Ubisoft.
Western?
Where are you from? A lot of eastern countries have an overwork problem that even affects people's dating profile ratings 😅
What if half of this Dev team lives on the othe side of th country and can't make it to the office?
Many people changed their lifestyle during covid. Many people left big cities for smaller cities. So 100% remote is essential in that case.
The only reason companies want people to come back to the office is cause they paid a bunch of money on offices not expecting a global pandemic to mess it up for them. They need to justify paying for office space and they can't do that if people are WFH. Also, it's easier to hold needless power over workers when they're in the office, even if it's entirely unnecessary for them to be. That's all it is, MBAs wanna feel like they matter to how their business operates so they demand people come in so they can manage people who were showing how they were completely capable of working without big brother watching them.
I hate this working from home all week nonsense. Maybe half the week is fine but all week. They just want to water the garden, goto hardware store, play with the dog, do a few reno's, watch some netflix, then maybe after that some actual office work. It's just laziness.
Imagine that, you just described people who want a life outside of their careers. Americans are among the most overworked people in the world, with the least amount of vacation, the worst hours, and the worst pay. The whole point of our insanely increased productivity thanks to all of the advancements in tech was supposed to make people work less and get the same amount of pay, not work more and still somehow get less pay. All that's done is make the CEOs at the top rich as fuck. And the majority of them sit on their asses not doing anything, or it's often better if they just sit on their ass cause they know nothing about the business they're running and will only destroy it if they get their hands on it. You're a gamer. Don Mattrick ring a bell? Why do people complain about normal folk who make crumbs next to these giants of industry that just gobble up other people's pay.
Wage theft is the biggest form of theft, bar none. Studies on it are low, but that's cause people with money don't want people snooping. All other forms of theft in the US, meaning car jackings, muggings, bank robberies, etc. amounted to roughly $500 million in the years of 2015 and 2016. $2 Billion of stolen wages was recovered in those same years, but it's estimated the total amount stolen is in the $50 billion range. We've got police dealing with petty crimes that might be harmful, yes sure. But nobody is going after these white collar crimes that destroy entire communities. And would we even be having so many petty crimes if the common folk had $50 billion circulating between us and not sitting in billionaires' offshore accounts? You getting mad at the wrong people.
https://www.epi.org/publica...
Kids don't be a bootlicker like mr sakai here, its bad.
The gaming industry needs a union.
Fuck, we all need them.
Im sure a lot of them changed their lifestyle, they may have moved house as no longer needing to be in the office, they may have kids and now need daycare which is a heap of money every week, then there is travelling time and money, its not as simple as whhahhhhhh
Hmmm..I thought it was like this across Canada. My friends who work from home signed contracts saying that they would have to work two days in the office and rest from home. Guess not everyone is the same.
Meanwhile why the rest of everybody else has to go to work the old fashion way and deal with it. Certain office workers, I guess are so privileged, that somehow I’m supposed to feel bad for them.
I get that certain concerns should be addressed but most people are back to their work environments and a majority have never left. When I hear about these workers, who possibly make much more than me, complaining about an office. Probably they should check out the environment that a majority of people have to work in. Hint, it’s not some beautiful, convenient space, that’s for sure. Why I’m sure their offices aren’t a bastion of delights. There are much worse working environments.
I hear you, but It's all about contracts. They way we feel about something doesn't really matter in this case. If they signed a contract with full-time remote work, then the workers have something. If they are just going by the good 'ol gentleman's handshake, the workers are screwed.
Question is, does their contract actually say that? From what I read in the article the company never actually promised permanent work from home. If they actually have a written signed contract that says they don’t have to work in office. Then that’s for lawyers to decide. If it was a verbal promise depends on who is doing the promise. If it was middle management, then whatever was promised won’t hold weight.
Some people will have specifically applied for and got this job for the remote working benefits, wether it be childcare/Location and travel costs. All these things need to come into consideration too.
I'm with you that post Covid Office workers are more privelged than ever, but then again if you're promising job perks and then taing them away, you have to be prepared for pissed off staff.
RLOW,
I don't really feel this is a "look what they're doing" situation. One should be able to disagree with a return to physical work environment policy without having to consider those from other companies that never got that choice.
If your job is 100% achievable from the comfort of your home, then that's all there is to know.
Take a page from Insomniac’s book and see how much more productive their staff has been, being able to work from home these past three years. Also, speaking from personal experience, working from home has definitely been a boon for me as it has allowed me to save time and money from having to commute 3 hours total daily. Amongst other personal mental benefits, I’m giving my employer more work hours per day and it doesn’t bother me in the least.
Working from home isn’t possible for everyone of course. But if you have a job that can 100% be done remotely, I don’t see why that should be an issue with employers in this day and age.
why is it anyone's business how Ubisoft carries out its business with its employees?
This does not concern games and it's a big nothingburger.
Because usually management doesn't care until gamers hear about it and raise a stink. Just pray you never end up in a situation where you are getting screwed and never ask for help.
Joy Ride Turbo launched 10 years ago today. The first title was Xbox Kinect exclusive, yet this sequel failed to support the device at all.
Cultured Vultures: "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal, and no matter how much developers might try, some gaming hardware just fails to hit the mark. We’ve compiled a list of 10 gaming hardware fails, and boy did some fail hard."
I would label the Power Glove, Kinect, and that Tony Hawk skateboard more as hardware addons hardware failure would be like the Virtual Boy and one day Stadia.
Kinect was bundled with every Xbox One and inflated the price on an already underpowered and low RAM machine so for the One it wasn't an accessory as much as a white elephant.
Definitely the RROD but that power glove had a lot of issues as well. The Kinect just didn't work
Hardware add-ons are more like RAM or a video card, basically components that enhance capabilities or performance of the computer.
If you really want to get technical the Kinect is more of a peripheral device, kind of like a keyboard or mouse to a computer.
The person in this article obviously is not up on their gaming history....
Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Coleco Gemini, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga, Atari 5200, Atari 7800 were all massive failures and in most cases cost their companies participating in future gaming generations.
Sega saturn (successful in Japan) and dreamcast were not failures.
Seems like you're not up on you're gaming history
@Gamer79
How in the world are the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast not seen as failures? They both sold around 8M each, which is much lower than the ~30M that the Genesis had sold before it, and even the Master System before that. They were both the worst selling consoles in their respective generation (PS1, N64 outsold Saturn, PS2, GC, and Xbox outsold Dreamcast). Both of the consoles were incredibly short lived. The Saturn was discontinued in every territory but Japan after just three years. In Japan the console was discontinued after six years. Meanwhile the Dreamcast was discontinued worldwide in 2001 after launching in most territories in 1999 and in Japan in 1998. The failure of the Saturn and Dreamcast lead to Sega pulling out of the hardware market. Which, by the way, all of this occurred when Sega was massively dropping the price of their consoles quickly to compete. Sega was hemorrhaging money at this point.
None of this indicates a successful console. Saying the Saturn was a success because it did better in Japan is like saying the Vita is a success (they both sold around the same amount of units in Japan). Even the Wii U outsold these consoles worldwide.
The picture should be the 360 RROD. When I think of gaming hardware failures that's what springs to mind. Kinect and it's bundled price tag definitely hobbled the already underpowered Xbox One though for sure so I would give it a close second place.
That's not what the author means by failures. It's about hardware that failed in terms of sales (Wii U) or just failed to deliver on its promise (Kinect).
Given that the 360 had a year head start, much easier hardware to develop for, was cheaper, and still ended up in third place I think it qualifies especially when you factor in the frustration and huge losses incurred by RROD.
Selling over 80 million consoles isn't a sales flop. We get it, you don't like Xbox, but that doesn't mean the 360 is suddenly a failure.
Porky....
You know how many people I know bought a 2nd or third 360 due to RROD? Even when MS had to confront the issue with replacement systems, my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in, and waiting for a replacement.,,..,..
If that's how you consider it a win... OK.. but so is having 5 , of which 3 don't function.... Its a win win....mwhahahahaha
"my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in"
You're acting like it would take months. When I sent my 360 in I got a new one literally 5 days later. As soon as MS had tracking confirmation that you sent yours, they'd send a new one to you the same day. No one is going to spend hundreds to buy a new console instead of waiting a week. I swear you guys pull some of the dumbest shit out of nowhere and think people will actually believe it.
Regardless, none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about.
Porky
"You're acting like it would take months"
Sometimes it could.. FFS.. 'Strya here...
Best turnaround I reckon was 2-3 weeks.....
Either way, My mates experiences still exist.. So Sorry, no point trying to earn Xbox Achievements when it doesn't feature in what was a situation you never dealt with,,,,
3 of my friends would disagree (overall, 10 extra Xboxes purchased)
Regardless.. MS sold a lot of 360's that was due to this reason.. That is sales. Fact
"none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about."
Headline says HELLO !
Oh and "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal," that's enough to pass this on without taking your article bias into consideration.....
As for the rest.... Ok.. But you've actually gone out of your way to give MS a Pass... Fap on.
Yup, and because of that big fiasco MS had to fork out 1 billion but knowing them I think they're very proud of the 360, it's the only time a MS console reached 80mil+ sales, RROD played a big part of that and a record they will never break again.
So true.. Even when MS accepted they where caught out in the biggest lie of any generation, The wait for a replacement was outweighed by just buying another, and having one be returned as a backup, which, btw, generally failed on first swap.
I own honestly can't believe MS tards are just supporting , or arguing why and what MS did by just dismissing it....
Lol I had the Atari Jaguar, surprised its "competition" the 3DO isn't on the list too, both as "popular" as each other.
Lol same. Played the crap out of Aliens Vs Predator and Tempest 2000 .... aaand that's about it really!!
Agreed, I never actually saw a 3DO make it to retailers in the UK. At least the Atari Jaguar was sold for around 6 months.
It made it to some my brother got one, fared just as well as the Jaguar so most probably hard to find in general.
3do had way better games. Jaguar not so much. Neo Geo sold less than both and yet isnt considered a failure. Go figure.
Stadia is a weird one. It hasn’t sold at all well but in terms of how it works it’s still miles ahead of Xcloud in terms of stability and performance. Xcloud is still a way behind and that needs sorting but it will be in time. Stadia for me is one of those things that will go down as a what could have been moments. With better marketing it could have been a roaring success. I still play it and it remains the best place in my opinion to play CyberPunk 2077. Only platform I have played it on without having any issues at all. The tech is great. The concept is fine. Marketing terrible. Shame really.
The sales model was awful. They should have teamed with an existing player to allow for local and cloud access to games or a gaming subscription service.
It was a strange mess from such a huge company, as I said, as a system it works really well but without gamers it’s nothing. Such a waste,
The Xbox One was Microsoft’s Nintendo Wii U. Undercooked, undersold and just an unholy mess. The thing is with any of these failures is to learn from them and thankfully both Nintendo and Xbox did just that to the benefit of gamers everywhere.
