The Scalebound Question

Scalebound appeared as an interesting mix between action and RPG, featuring a boy and his dragon (with the function of assisting the play

er in various ways); Platinum Games had promised a stratified combat system, which would not only target the use of white weapons, but also of shooting and explosive weapons, a loot system capable of giving the game more gear, a nonl

inear exploration phase, NPC presence and more. Despite the slightly dull material, with some animation not exactly convincing, for most video game players and specialized printers it was impossible not to stay awake in waiting for the release of the full game, considering especially that at the head of the project there was a certain Kamiya

. Furthermore, everything about Scalebound seemed like something so “real and tangible” that no one could ever think of a similar epilogue. Just think that a few months ago Titan Books had even announced comics and books on the game. Following the official confirmation of the interruption of the work, we entered the usual unbroken voices of rumors and speculations about th

e motivations that led to the cancellation of the game. It has been read of all kinds: from a Microsoft not particularly happy for the state of the work, stop at the last build shown, according to some, passing for a Kamiya in a precarious state of health and ending with the dev

elopment team that would expressed the will to make heavy changes (which presumably would have generated further delays) to gameplay. There are also some doubts about the excessive pretense of the project, indicating an open world of this kind as something too big for a talented team like Platinum Games, or that Microsoft had put too much into the team, thus cre

ating a general job condition not ideal. If these difficulties related to the timing and structure of the game are real, we wonder if Microsoft could not take a few more decisive steps to support the project until the end, instead of throwing the sponge by launching several years of development. To achieve a different end result, it would have been enough for both parties to do

so, who would have to understand how hard it could be to work at an open-world and how long it would take to achieve full development, by changing ad management and deadlines. We know, however, that with and without the story itself, and we do not think it is possible to turn a case like this into speculations and theories: after the circumstantial and unsatisfactory expenses of Phil Spencer on the matter, i

t is better to accept that confirming how things are really happening will probably never happen. Whether you want to blame Microsoft, whether you want to give it to Platinum Games or you’re so upset about not wanting to talk about the situation, what’s going to happen is a double certainty: meanwhile,

Xbox One is definitely not born under a good star, with a disastrous initial announcement, and the ground lost with respect to competition has m

atured for the most part right at that time. Phil Spencer’s next effort to try and make the “video game” as such the true protagonist of the console is indisputable, at least in the early stages of his settlement, but his new management is unfortunately full of indecisions. 1st Party projects presented with enthusiasm and conviction went to a sad destiny, followed by the adoption of communicative methods with the dysfunctional comm

unity and by no means convincing. There are too many promises made in words and never kept on returns and possible ads and in this sense there is still a basic inability to communicate communicatively with their users: a problem that even “Xbox Wire” has failed to solve . For example, a new team called Decisive Games has been confirmed and in the secon

d year of life we ​​have not even observed the logo or talking about something not strictly tied to AAA titles could refer to Lift London: a study never seen at work, theoretically to work on four F2Ps and after almost three years nothing has been said anymore: it is only the team’s site that makes us realize that they have gone to something different from the development of console games. Or the confirmation, dating back to 2013, that Microsof

t was in the process of creating an important study for future AAA 1st Party initially called Victoria Studio, then changing the idea and hijacking a good deal of members in Black Tusk Studios (then The Coalition) or the closure of Entertainment Studios just a month later claiming it could be important to the Xbox division. This mystery and little conviction surrounding many of Microsoft’s 1st Party ads is not functional, functional, and in general is not positive: the pervasive feeling is that it is often a project that you do not believe in Microsoft first. To

find concrete examples of work breaks and cancellations you do not need to go far and take examples like Milo & Kate or the absurd decisions that for years have caught Rare, but just go to just a year ago when more of this has been widely demonstrated. In a matter of months, Microsoft closes the Project Spark project (recalling that E3 2015 had announced the return of Conker to a series within the production of which only the first chapter was released after a bad advertisement) after an unmistakable beta phase – with flickering quality – Fable Legends is cance

led and even closed an entire historic team like Lionhead, which is indissolubly linked to IP like Fable and Black & White. Even more incredible is the story of Press Play, a small interesting Danish team bought in 2013, which is entrusted with the development of two “minor” titles that had managed to conquer small slices of public; following some intere

sting communication phases between the team and the community is chosen the third game and the next month, in conjunction with the closure of Lionhead, they also meet the closing. It seems correct to conclude instead with a reference to Phantom Dust, announced and then deleted without even communicating who the developer was. In all three cases proposed, the way in which everything was handled, in relation to users who insisted on exhaustive ex

planations, is by no means satisfactory. Could it be the purchase of Mojang and focus The Coalition on the Gears Of War franchise some of the few moves made with cause and foresight from a Microsoft-cited company? No, it’s too little.

With the scalability of the Scalebound, the Xbox One line-up for 2017 loses a big deal of importance. Of course, it comes with Halo Wars 2, which, from the tests carried out and considering the development study we are entrusted to, is sure to prove to be a quality product, but its kind on hard consoles that have always taken off; On State Of Decay 2, Undead Labs, we also have great hopes, thanks to the AAA Guaranteed Budget this time, as well as great hopes are put on the “little” Cuphead that can fool us with any material you see. If the Sea of ​​Thieves really turned out to be the great return of Rare that every fan of the British team is hoping for by far, 2008 could and should be exulting the entire video game community. Much more cloudy appears the future of Crackdown 3 which according to the latest rumors does not navigate exactly in good waters. This was postponed following Microsoft’s decision to launch it in a full edition and should show the potential of the cloud; is currently developing at Reagent Games, Cloudgine and Sumo Digital. In the fall, then Microsoft will have to point to an important AAA, something unknowingly, hoping strongly is not some time exclusivity, or an exclusive Xbox 3rd party title. A strategy used on several occasions by Phil Spencer but recently criticized and therefore set aside, at least so it seems. The future we know well, it is called Scorpio, but at the conference dedicated to it, it will be important to indicate instantly everything that concerns the line to be taken on the floor of the title park, which is really what matters to us. All this, continuing to hope that those words that have been said over and over again in recent years, or that significant investments in new high-budget 1st Party projects will be made, can become concrete facts. It will necessarily be a great presentation with clear and determined ideas.