Scheurer, founder of the business consultancy Sarassin, said that the costs RockStar incurred in overturning the BBFC's ban on Manhunt 2 would have put an independent developer out of business, and further warned that due to the vague reasons given for the ban any game could be next.
During his talk, he explained the stated reasons behind the Manhunt 2 ban, including the level of realism, the lack of a puzzle element and the lack of humour.
"Call of Duty and BioShock could be banned under that criteria… The next game to be banned could be BioShock 2, and then where would we be?" he said.
Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.
i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.
its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.
They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.
They shouldn't have bought any studios. Some is okay...but they went on a shopping spree...stupid
The better question is why did Microsoft buy publishers for a service they were subsidizing they knew couldn't support.
And why are so many websites trying to make people feel sorry for Microsoft instead of truly criticizing the fact they are closing studios and killing jobs that would have been fine if Microsoft themselves hadn't gotten involved.
Quit feeling sorry for Microsoft and start feeling sorry for the industry and the all the gamers who are actually losing out.
THIS IS MICROSOFTS FAULT.
The first thing that happens after any major acquisition or merger is a consolidation of the whole new portfolio, which includes cutting any excess, bloat or portfolios that don't fit the larger MO of the big boy. So far, it's been par for the course with Microsoft and that's why gamers have been so against this acquisition. Tango Gameworks is the beginning. You think Microsoft wants to pay to keep small timers like Ninja Theory in business?
There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that Microsoft will improve any of these studios, but plenty to suggest that they will get rid of what they don't need and hold onto the IP. The real agenda of the acquisition was always to acquire The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush etc. that will create millions in passive revenue stream for Microsoft regardless of where the games release. Microsoft simply wants their cut.
Because of Games Pass Microsoft has no interest in investing in new IP which is risky and requires creative talent they can neither nurture nor manage. Game Pass has also not grown in the way Microsoft expected it to, even post acquisitions. Therefore the logical thing to do, without serious money makers to release, is to cut as much cost as possible.
Backward compatibility works for many games on newer consoles, but titles such as The Simpsons: Hit and Run have been left out.
From base building to swinging willies, here are the best survival games around, which include a couple of less than obvious picks.
SeNot the submitter, but the author. I thought there was about to be some factual information on Bioshock being banned...
why dont they ban movies that are even worse than manhunt ??
fuking idiots..
Just as long as they don't edit the game to fit these ratings. Make an edited version for the BBFC asswads but leave the US version alone!