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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Microsoft might acquire IO Interactive

Azzanation on 12 December 2018
Bristow9091 said:

Can't say I've played it myself, so I have no idea how good it is, but I never go by Metacritic to tell me whether a game is good or not anyway. There's games in the 90's I reckon should be in the 70's and vice versa lol. Then again, I'm the sort of guy that thinks Knack should be higher than 51 so meh... 

I agree, Metacritic is nothing to take seriously. I have also played games that are scores low and deserve higher and vice a versa.

AngryLittleAlchemist said:

This is an extremely odd position for you to take. You are constantly on this site defending games that are much lower rated, and have even pointed out a couple of times that the people arguing against you were only using metacritic as their basis. Now you're doing the same thing? Especially with Xbox exclusives, which you seem to praise so often, that often get similar or lower scores than Hitman 2 ... 

Yes, I can tell you with confidence Hitman 2 is one of the best games of the generation. And no, it's not funny to mock that opinion by saying it's an opinion held from 2002, especially while having the avatar of a franchise who hasn't had a full fledged game since 2004. 

If you think that IO isn't a worthy studio for Microsoft because of a Metacritic score in the 82-84 range, newsflash: That's far above what many Microsoft games get. 

In fact, Hitman 2's Metacritic score is tied with Hellblade's on PC and Hitman 2's score is a point above Hellblade's on PS4 ... guess Ninja Theory wasn't a worthy acquisition either. 

You are looking at it all wrong. As i mentioned above, Metacritic is nothing to take seriously.

When it comes to actually playing the games Metacritic has no effect on me. What i normally debate on this site is sales. When someone says this game sold more = better. Except to the brand, then Sales means more and Hitman.. well i dunno.

I am really focusing on the quality of the company that is rumoured to be brought by MS. I personally see no point in IO being brought. Hitman is not a sort after game, there just not bad games. It wont make a difference at all for Xbox if Hitman was exclusive or IO was under MS, i dont see it anyway.

Sure MS release games with worse scores, but those games see huge popularity and have been exclusives in the past like State of Decay 2. Undead Labs is also a small company and probably didnt cost much to purchase. That purchase makes more sense to me.

Its a nice opinion on your behalf, you obviously love Hitman 2, I personally havnt played it so i cannot judge it.

To me, and this is just my opinion here, there are better studios that would fit better for MS than IO.

Off topic - Half Life will forever remain a masterpiece, something Hitman has never accomplished, and Half Life did it twice. Theres alittle difference there when it comes to IP power. Half Life 3 weather its a flop will be a marketing dream and will push units. Hitman 5 or what ever number there up to.. well not so much.

On topic - Ninja Theory has shown talent and they made a game at Hell Blades calibre with very minimal expense. Money hungry corps like MS drool over companies like that. I can understand that purchase.



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AngryLittleAlchemist on 12 December 2018
Azzanation said:

This is the weirdest comment yet. You're focusing on the quality of the company but also what games are sought after? That's understandable, but being sought after has an aspect of sales to it as well. So you're not just focusing on the quality of the company. And on that end, Microsoft's acquisitions are usually of low studios. Players who either sell very low amounts of software (even Hellblade), or players who make games that very few actually think are great (Undead Labs). IO Interactive would still be above most of these acquisitions in terms of both player reception AND sales (yes, Hitman 2's sales are better than most people think, don't make me argue this again) - so you aren't proving any point here. 

"I personally havnt played it so i cannot judge it."

But .... you are judging it. 

"Off topic - Half Life will forever remain a masterpiece, something Hitman has never accomplished, and Half Life did it twice. Theres alittle difference there when it comes to IP power. Half Life 3 weather its a flop will be a marketing dream and will push units. Hitman 5 or what ever number there up to.. well not so much."

So you admit that Metacritic is not a metric for how great a game is, and you also admit to never having played Hitman, yet you still want to judge the game as not being a masterpiece? Uh .... what? That makes no sense. Ok, so let's see what rabbit you can pull out of your hat this time. If you think that you can't judge something based on Metacritic, but you also haven't played the games, then what makes it so that there's never been a masterpiece in the Hitman franchise? And please, don't say sales. Because the original Hitman 2 was a massive success. I don't know if you know this, but the original Hitman 2 and Hitman: Blood Money are quite regularly considered some of the best stealth games ever made, and masterpieces of video game history. Also, if what you got out of that comment was a comparison between Half Life in terms of quality to Hitman, then you are missing the point. The point is the irony in mocking someone's opinion by saying it's from 2002 - while sporting the avatar of a game that hasn't seen a sequel in forever.

"On topic - Ninja Theory has shown talent and they made a game at Hell Blades calibre with very minimal expense. Money hungry corps like MS drool over companies like that. I can understand that purchase."

Hitman 2's game budget is very likely to be not that far above Hellblade's. No, seriously, I'm not joking. While Warner Brothers did pick up publishing for Hitman 2, they mostly focused on the publishing and marketing for the game. Hitman 2's budget was very low, and Hellblade's is a lot bigger than most people think. Like, in the 7-9 million range. That's pretty big considering that Hellblade is a 6-8 hour game that has a ton of filler puzzles. Comparatively, what IO was able to do with a shoe-string budget was a lot more impressive. Dozens of hours of non-linear content, more than a 100 if you enjoy the game as much as many do. And their budget was most likely only two times that of Ninja's, despite getting a lot more out of that money than Ninja did. I for one consider that way more impressive, especially because the only area in which Hellblade's money was used impressively is the graphics. 





Immersiveunreality on 13 December 2018
Azzanation said:
Immersiveunreality said:

Talented developers for starters .

Okay, what type of talented developers does IO offer that another studio wouldnt that MS can fork money out to buy?

Curious on what games i might be missing that IO make? Because i dont think they have ever made a masterpiece or must own game.

I have nothing agasint IO however i dont really see them bringing much to the table that another studio cannot bring.

Example

Id rather MS buy Moon Studios the creators of Ori, there just as talented, there small and have proven themselves. 

Talented experienced developers that can work together as a team and has already proven to have made quality games even when you personally do not find it must own or masterpiece material that does not tell they cant make other good  IP's with a decent investment from Microsoft.

Really we will see what Microsoft does with it but it is too early too assume failure because it has potential with the right direction and investment and i do think that Microsoft is preparing greatly to take back the lost ground on the consolemarket from PS4 in next gen.



Azzanation on 14 December 2018
AngryLittleAlchemist said:
Azzanation said:

This is the weirdest comment yet. You're focusing on the quality of the company but also what games are sought after? That's understandable, but being sought after has an aspect of sales to it as well. So you're not just focusing on the quality of the company. And on that end, Microsoft's acquisitions are usually of low studios. Players who either sell very low amounts of software (even Hellblade), or players who make games that very few actually think are great (Undead Labs). IO Interactive would still be above most of these acquisitions in terms of both player reception AND sales (yes, Hitman 2's sales are better than most people think, don't make me argue this again) - so you aren't proving any point here. 

"I personally havnt played it so i cannot judge it."

But .... you are judging it. 

"Off topic - Half Life will forever remain a masterpiece, something Hitman has never accomplished, and Half Life did it twice. Theres alittle difference there when it comes to IP power. Half Life 3 weather its a flop will be a marketing dream and will push units. Hitman 5 or what ever number there up to.. well not so much."

So you admit that Metacritic is not a metric for how great a game is, and you also admit to never having played Hitman, yet you still want to judge the game as not being a masterpiece? Uh .... what? That makes no sense. Ok, so let's see what rabbit you can pull out of your hat this time. If you think that you can't judge something based on Metacritic, but you also haven't played the games, then what makes it so that there's never been a masterpiece in the Hitman franchise? And please, don't say sales. Because the original Hitman 2 was a massive success. I don't know if you know this, but the original Hitman 2 and Hitman: Blood Money are quite regularly considered some of the best stealth games ever made, and masterpieces of video game history. Also, if what you got out of that comment was a comparison between Half Life in terms of quality to Hitman, then you are missing the point. The point is the irony in mocking someone's opinion by saying it's from 2002 - while sporting the avatar of a game that hasn't seen a sequel in forever.

"On topic - Ninja Theory has shown talent and they made a game at Hell Blades calibre with very minimal expense. Money hungry corps like MS drool over companies like that. I can understand that purchase."

Hitman 2's game budget is very likely to be not that far above Hellblade's. No, seriously, I'm not joking. While Warner Brothers did pick up publishing for Hitman 2, they mostly focused on the publishing and marketing for the game. Hitman 2's budget was very low, and Hellblade's is a lot bigger than most people think. Like, in the 7-9 million range. That's pretty big considering that Hellblade is a 6-8 hour game that has a ton of filler puzzles. Comparatively, what IO was able to do with a shoe-string budget was a lot more impressive. Dozens of hours of non-linear content, more than a 100 if you enjoy the game as much as many do. And their budget was most likely only two times that of Ninja's, despite getting a lot more out of that money than Ninja did. I for one consider that way more impressive, especially because the only area in which Hellblade's money was used impressively is the graphics. 

I am basing my opinions on a buisness level not on my own personal level. Hence why i mentioned that i am not judging Hitman. I am judging IO as a company and seeing how they will benefit Xbox. 

My entire point is what does IO bring to MS that is going to make Xbox that much better? Offering Hitman as an exclusive? I cannot see it. If they brought the rights to Half Life 3 than i can see the reason.

Immersiveunreality said:

Talented experienced developers that can work together as a team and has already proven to have made quality games even when you personally do not find it must own or masterpiece material that does not tell they cant make other good  IP's with a decent investment from Microsoft.

Really we will see what Microsoft does with it but it is too early too assume failure because it has potential with the right direction and investment and i do think that Microsoft is preparing greatly to take back the lost ground on the consolemarket from PS4 in next gen.

Do you personally think MS buying IO is a great move? I personally see it as a waste resources for both buisnesses.



Immersiveunreality on 14 December 2018
Azzanation said:
AngryLittleAlchemist said:

This is the weirdest comment yet. You're focusing on the quality of the company but also what games are sought after? That's understandable, but being sought after has an aspect of sales to it as well. So you're not just focusing on the quality of the company. And on that end, Microsoft's acquisitions are usually of low studios. Players who either sell very low amounts of software (even Hellblade), or players who make games that very few actually think are great (Undead Labs). IO Interactive would still be above most of these acquisitions in terms of both player reception AND sales (yes, Hitman 2's sales are better than most people think, don't make me argue this again) - so you aren't proving any point here. 

"I personally havnt played it so i cannot judge it."

But .... you are judging it. 

"Off topic - Half Life will forever remain a masterpiece, something Hitman has never accomplished, and Half Life did it twice. Theres alittle difference there when it comes to IP power. Half Life 3 weather its a flop will be a marketing dream and will push units. Hitman 5 or what ever number there up to.. well not so much."

So you admit that Metacritic is not a metric for how great a game is, and you also admit to never having played Hitman, yet you still want to judge the game as not being a masterpiece? Uh .... what? That makes no sense. Ok, so let's see what rabbit you can pull out of your hat this time. If you think that you can't judge something based on Metacritic, but you also haven't played the games, then what makes it so that there's never been a masterpiece in the Hitman franchise? And please, don't say sales. Because the original Hitman 2 was a massive success. I don't know if you know this, but the original Hitman 2 and Hitman: Blood Money are quite regularly considered some of the best stealth games ever made, and masterpieces of video game history. Also, if what you got out of that comment was a comparison between Half Life in terms of quality to Hitman, then you are missing the point. The point is the irony in mocking someone's opinion by saying it's from 2002 - while sporting the avatar of a game that hasn't seen a sequel in forever.

"On topic - Ninja Theory has shown talent and they made a game at Hell Blades calibre with very minimal expense. Money hungry corps like MS drool over companies like that. I can understand that purchase."

Hitman 2's game budget is very likely to be not that far above Hellblade's. No, seriously, I'm not joking. While Warner Brothers did pick up publishing for Hitman 2, they mostly focused on the publishing and marketing for the game. Hitman 2's budget was very low, and Hellblade's is a lot bigger than most people think. Like, in the 7-9 million range. That's pretty big considering that Hellblade is a 6-8 hour game that has a ton of filler puzzles. Comparatively, what IO was able to do with a shoe-string budget was a lot more impressive. Dozens of hours of non-linear content, more than a 100 if you enjoy the game as much as many do. And their budget was most likely only two times that of Ninja's, despite getting a lot more out of that money than Ninja did. I for one consider that way more impressive, especially because the only area in which Hellblade's money was used impressively is the graphics. 

I am basing my opinions on a buisness level not on my own personal level. Hence why i mentioned that i am not judging Hitman. I am judging IO as a company and seeing how they will benefit Xbox. 

My entire point is what does IO bring to MS that is going to make Xbox that much better? Offering Hitman as an exclusive? I cannot see it. If they brought the rights to Half Life 3 than i can see the reason.

Immersiveunreality said:

Talented experienced developers that can work together as a team and has already proven to have made quality games even when you personally do not find it must own or masterpiece material that does not tell they cant make other good  IP's with a decent investment from Microsoft.

Really we will see what Microsoft does with it but it is too early too assume failure because it has potential with the right direction and investment and i do think that Microsoft is preparing greatly to take back the lost ground on the consolemarket from PS4 in next gen.

Do you personally think MS buying IO is a great move? I personally see it as a waste resources for both buisnesses.

I cannot know it is a great move as im not an insider of the company but it does has potential, so im curious about what they will do with it.