JonFE
Junior Member
Uncomfortably numb...
Posts: 1,952
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Post by JonFE on Sept 3, 2024 17:06:49 GMT
An amicable solution to an unfortunate and unpleasant situation; well done to all involved!
I, also, feel for the devs working on this for eight years, only to be shelved within a fortnight must be hard.
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Post by Jambowayoh on Sept 3, 2024 17:07:19 GMT
I'm still amazed the beta was released the only thing released.
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Post by killerbee on Sept 3, 2024 17:12:31 GMT
I’ve never had any particular interest in this, but it does feel like Sony should have learned a few more lessons from the experience with Destruction Allstars. Different genre but suffered from the same blandness of its character roster and failure to build a decent or long lasting player base.
Seems inevitable there’s a F2P relaunch on the way, but too many will have filed this as a dud alongside the likes of Redfall.
Very sad for the development team.
Very silly of Sony not to realise this result was coming.
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Post by Jambowayoh on Sept 3, 2024 17:15:09 GMT
Looking forward to the Wha' Happend of this. There's so many people involved in its failure; Bungie in it's advisory overseer of F2P/mp games, previous and current Sony executives and whatever management at the studio was smoking.
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Post by baihu1983 on Sept 3, 2024 17:19:14 GMT
Hush now Redfall the crowns been taken.
But no, sadly I think we all know the next step Sony will be taking.
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Bongo Heracles
Junior Member
Technically illegal to ride on public land
Posts: 4,633
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Sept 3, 2024 17:35:40 GMT
It’s amazing that a spreadsheet must have forecast it’s not worth sinking another penny into pivoting to F2P.
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Post by paulyboy81 on Sept 3, 2024 17:39:10 GMT
Christ, I remember remarking in the PS5 thread after the State of Play reveal that this would be dead by Christmas, didn't expect my prediction to be so undercooked!
It's quite upsetting to watch unfold to be honest, I even feel vaguely complicit in it's demise having been so down on it previously.
It never stood a chance regardless of being F2P or not quite frankly, but the £40 price tag still boggles my mind. It's up there with the Stadia pricing model as being unfathomably misjudged.
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Post by theguy on Sept 3, 2024 17:45:55 GMT
I know it flopped but shutting it down and refunding players just two weeks in is insane, especially when there was such a strong push behind it.
Not saying it's not the right move though, I just didn't think the situation was this bad. It seemed destined to fail but wow
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Post by Jambowayoh on Sept 3, 2024 17:46:34 GMT
Oh...I just remembered. This has a Secret Level episode planned for later this year. AWKWARD.
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Post by Whizzo on Sept 3, 2024 18:04:15 GMT
"This Concord episode is great but I can't find the adventure game it's based on anywhere on PSN."
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Frog
Full Member
Posts: 7,279
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Post by Frog on Sept 3, 2024 18:17:12 GMT
Someone got really upset with me on Facebook for calling it DOA a few days after release. I totally haven't gone back to swing my bollocks about in the post now.
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Post by Duffking on Sept 3, 2024 19:10:15 GMT
Pretty worrying for Sony given they've still got Fairgame$ or whatever the fuck it is in the pipe along with Marathon.
Feel bad for the devs of these things, the odds of anything being able to dent the market are near 0 these days but the pubs will force them to keep trying because of the miniscule chance of infinite money.
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X201
Full Member
Posts: 5,112
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Post by X201 on Sept 3, 2024 19:45:17 GMT
I suspect the rapidness of the timing is to stop anything interfering with the predicted goodwill and good reviews that Astrobot looks like it’s heading for.
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deez
New Member
Posts: 716
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Post by deez on Sept 3, 2024 20:14:11 GMT
I suspect the rapidness of the timing is to stop anything interfering with the predicted goodwill and good reviews that Astrobot looks like it’s heading for. I honestly doubt it TBH - it's basically either pull the plug now and have another go at a release, or let it run and die - even another couple of weeks of bad press would be enough to bury it forever. Plus, is Concord really a Sony game in peoples general consciousness?. Mass market punters haven't even heard of it I don't think.
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Post by baihu1983 on Sept 3, 2024 20:16:17 GMT
Yeah better to refund a few now than more later.
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Post by Jambowayoh on Sept 3, 2024 20:17:58 GMT
Yeah I don't really buy that either. It's just being realistic from a business POV as they know it was on life support not even 2 weeks in. You do it now or you do it when people can't even get a match and you're prepping for seasons and paying for staff to make that content that doesn't even make any sense financially when barely anyone is consuming it. We haven't even broached the subject of them planning to make more cutscene content. Expensive content.
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Post by oldskooldeano on Sept 3, 2024 20:19:43 GMT
It had to happen. If you have maybe 100 players globally it’s just not feasible. Bite the bullet, pull of the sticking plaster; the quicker it’s done, the quicker they can put it behind them.
I do feel sorry for the devs. Imagine if this was your first big game you worked on. A permanent stain on your CV as you tout it around once Sony lay you off.
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Bongo Heracles
Junior Member
Technically illegal to ride on public land
Posts: 4,633
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Sept 3, 2024 20:40:21 GMT
Even at two weeks it will be costing them more to keep it running than they are making. I would imagine every day they keep it online pushes them further into the red with no way of turning it around that doesn’t involve throwing even more money at it.
Even so it’s still surprisingly brutal.
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X201
Full Member
Posts: 5,112
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Post by X201 on Sept 3, 2024 20:47:19 GMT
Claiming the costs back from the pension pots of the execs responsible would be even more radical action, but that won’t happen, instead some devs will spend Christmas looking for a new job.
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Post by JuniorFE on Sept 3, 2024 20:52:28 GMT
"Unfortunately, Mr. President had to buy a new yacht after nicking the paint on his two week-old one upon hearing the refund news, so we're laying all of you off. I'm sure you can understand."
Alternatively, "Well the executive vision was obviously going to be a hit, so clearly the fault for the failure lies with the development team and the way they realised it. We wish you luck in your future endeavours."
Either way we know exactly whose heads will roll here...
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Post by JuniorFE on Sept 3, 2024 20:56:54 GMT
Hits from Internet comments: "Spend 8 years making this or remaster Bloodborne; which would have sold better?"
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Ulythium
Full Member
Lily-livered
Posts: 7,106
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Post by Ulythium on Sept 3, 2024 21:01:18 GMT
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Post by starchildhypocrethes on Sept 3, 2024 21:03:00 GMT
Hits from Internet comments: "Spend 8 years making this or remaster Bloodborne; which would have sold better?" What this generation really needed was another exciting remaster.
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Tuffty
Junior Member
Posts: 3,618
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Post by Tuffty on Sept 3, 2024 22:59:34 GMT
The new meta now for anyone still playing Concord is to kill yourselves as fast as possible in a game mode where there are multiple rounds with only 1 life each. It's the fastest way possible to get a match xp bonus and thus, the fastest way to get XP in order to hit a certain XP level which is necessary as part of getting the Platinum trophy.
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Post by Jambowayoh on Sept 3, 2024 23:26:28 GMT
But how can you get if the game isn't actually playable as they've turned off the servers?
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Post by JuniorFE on Sept 3, 2024 23:29:03 GMT
But how can you get if the game isn't actually playable as they've turned off the servers? I think they go down on the 6th. Happy two-week-versary, I guess?
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Post by Bill in the rain on Sept 4, 2024 2:05:27 GMT
The problem with these GaS games is that if they aren't popular they end up costing the publishers money, and they need to shut down the servers, which means they need to refund everyone.
Make a nice singleplayer game and if it doesn't sell well then you don't have ongoing costs dragging you further into the red and you don't need to refund those who did buy it as they can still play it.
/yelling-at-clouds
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Post by baihu1983 on Sept 4, 2024 5:04:23 GMT
But how can you get if the game isn't actually playable as they've turned off the servers? Got till Friday
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Post by simple on Sept 4, 2024 6:34:10 GMT
Can purchasers still play offline against bots like you could in UT and the Quakes 25 years ago or is it fully inoperable now?
The game looked dated and shite from the off being a hero shooter with an Aldi GOTG cast and desperate wannabe Overwatch aesthetic but to be so disastrous that the decision to kill it must have been made within the first week and announced before it even made it to two.
The official PS youtube channel had been busy with trailers and individual character previews all summer so they were clearly pushing it. Those are all offline too.
Incredible that someone has topped Cyberpunk for biggest high profile launch disaster because no one is coming back to this no matter if/how they try to salvage it.
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Frog
Full Member
Posts: 7,279
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Post by Frog on Sept 4, 2024 6:38:20 GMT
Someone at Sony is shitting themselves after presenting their vision of all the GAAS titles. They have loads in production from the reports in the past.
The market is flooded, people are already addicted to the big ones so you have almost no chance of penetrating the market. What the last one that released that's still doing well, must be Warzone unless I'm forgetting one. Even early success games like the finals have slipped into the background now.
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