Insomniac Games, developers of Xbox One exclusive Sunset Overdrive, have taken to Twitter to explain why the game is locked to the Microsoft console.
“How big was the bag of money M$ threw at you to get Sunset Overdrive?? Looks pretty sweet. Wish it was on PS4!” tweeted a fan, to which Insomniac replied:
@mikentity wasn't about money, was about our controlling and owning the IP, and their belief and desire to execute our vision with us
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) May 10, 2014
What a noble sentiment. It’s for the art, darlings, and the vision! Microsoft could envisage the true beauty of the game, a vision that was shared by Insomniac. Art, passion and love collided in a cosmological convergence of opportunity and vision.
Oh wait, there’s another tweet:
@ajross80 retaining our IP is always our number one concern. Microsoft is funding and publishing the game and believes in the idea
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) May 9, 2014
Vision! Expression! Art, darl… oh. Microsoft are funding the game as well as publishing it? So there was cash involved too, and of course, art is easier if it’s well funded…
Insomniac have also revealed the hip-and-trendy box for the game. Art! Vision! etc.
Source: Twitter
Taylor Made
Of course money is involved, they got funded didn’t they.
bunimomike
I do love a quick rectification (or follow-up) tweet to clarify things.
“Wasn’t about money”. Well… it was. Just that wasn’t the only thing.
Starman
Nasty Microsoft paying for exclusivity. Wouldn’t catch any other companies doing that would we.
Stefan L
Any deal is about money. The R&C and Resistance years with Sony were all about money too, but the deal with Microaoft gives them two things they didn’t have over the last decade: ownership of their own IP and the autonomy to create the game how they want without much interference.
Reading between the lines, they wouldn’t have had the former at either Sony or EA. R&C was popular and quirky, but Resistance quickly became an also-ran and fairly standard FPS, the same can be said of Fuse which lost a lot of it’s individuality when it got the redesign and name change from Overstrike.
So yeah, the deal was about finding someone to pay the bills, but would we have something as vibrant and creative with another publisher?
Tuffcub
Last of Us, Unfinished Swan, Journey, Beyond, Flower, etc – Sony *is* the platform for creative quirky stuff. MS don’t have anything remotely like that kind of thing, they always go for big shooters.
Stefan L
Aside from TLOU, which isn’t as whacky and “out there” as the others, those are made by small teams, where there are reduced financial risks and I’d bet you that Sony have kept a hold of the IP in every case.
In fact, that’s the case with something more equivalent in Heavenly Sword, where Ninja Theory pitched to many but ended up with Sony. The game did moderately well, but Ninja Theory then wanted to go multiplatform. They were unable to take Heavenly Sword with them, because Sony own the IP, not Ninja Theory.
With Insomniac, owning their own IP is important to them now, and they own Fuse still. I’ve looked into it more, and it’s likely that EA simply don’t want to work with them again, as Fuse didn’t do too well and the EA Partners scheme is now closed.
So who else does that leave? I can’t think of another publisher that is going to put down the cash to support a big part of a 200+ person studio, let them stay independent and let them keep their IP. If not Microsoft, then who else?
lambchop
Smells like bull to me. The money MS threw at the game also buys these kind of tweets.
Andrewww
Sad but – probably – true.
TSBonyman
Insomniac certainly seem to have got their spark back so hopefully that means good things for next-gen R&C.
Erroneus
They should have partnered with EA, like they did on Fuse. Now they are launching a game on a platform, where their fans and buyers through 20 years, is sparsely represented. Just think if they went with PS4/Vita also, the huge amount of potential buyers.
JR.
Sony probably asked Insomniac to make the 73rd Ratchet & Clank game for PS4 and they just snapped. Then, Microsoft, seeing an opportunity to diss Sony by funding an exclusive game on the XBO, decided to skip ‘design a sleek and sexy console class’ and took Insomniac paint balling (because they’re totally down with the kids bro). Insomniac, still bitter that Sony forgot to promote Resistance 3 (like at all), agreed quicker than you can say ‘funded AND published’. Now, Insomniac, seeing how well PS4 is selling, are busy kicking themselves (again) and wondering whether they have enough time to turn Sunset Overdrive into an FPS, Microsoft are giggling like little schoolboys (because, well, its Microsoft) and Sony have just green lit several ads for Resistance 3 (not realising that it came out 3 years ago…). The moral of the story is… I don’t know.
double-o-dave
That box art is awful. I can kind of see what they’ve tried to do, but… that sure is ugly.
Tomhlord
Owning the IP is ALL about the money.