It Is Okay If You’re Confused, Gamer
The worst piece of gaming-related news this year, probably, was the cancellation of Scalebound. For a long period, many fans believed Xbox One would have a heavy-hitting exclusive with Platinum Games’ new IP. Nope. And even with apologies from both Xbox head Phil Spencer and studio head Hideki Kamiya, fans fell without comfort or replacement. But, speaking with Japanese site Gamewatch, Spencer offered a little more of an explanation.
According to Spencer, the game was revealed too early. And because it was revealed so early, the development pressure mounted quickly; you can even say it suffered as a result. Feeling Platinum couldn’t deliver on the product fans wanted, Microsoft, “after careful deliberation,” made the decision to cancel. Too much hype killed Scalebound.
According to our DualShocker source, however, it was a joint decision by Platinum Games and Microsoft. Both felt the pressure mount to unreachable heights. And while they understand fan disappointment, the end result was necessary. Based on their own perception of the project, fans would have been, ultimately, disappointed. Unfortunately, there’s no way of telling.
Spencer added, he hopes to work with Kamiya in the future, and he’s appealing to Japanese developers for more collaborations. He’s looking for any feedback that can help get Japanese gamers on board with console gaming. This may not be such a hard task. Simply take a look at our article, “10 Xbox E3 2017 Predictions That Could Even the Console War,” where we mention Microsoft’s need to invest in Japanese ports. Currently, most Japanese-based IP are on the PlayStation 4, many of them sharing a space with PC. If Spencer and co. broke into that space, Xbox One sales might not suffer globally,
But what are your thoughts? Do you think hype could have killed Scalebound? Let us know in the comments below.