430°

Hi-Fi Rush Was a "Break Out Hit" for Microsoft According to Aaron Greenberg

Today Microsoft Xbox Games Marketing VP Aaron Greenberg commented on the performance of Tango Gameworks' rhythm action game Hi-Fi Rush.

BandarHub383d ago (Edited 383d ago )

Rare to have hack-and-slash games on consoles nowadays. Hopefully, this team will be able to rival Platimum
Tango game works need to increase the size of their team.
3 dev teams.
Team 1: Horror
Team 2: Hack and Slash
Team 3: Experimental games.

This whole Jeff Grub debacle is so overexaggerated. Based on someone who say something that its seem like....Hi fi rush did meet sales expectations.

sparky77382d ago

They are increase there team size they announced today in fact: https://twitter.com/Hazzado...

And yeah HFR was a massive hit, it's still the highest rated game this year on Open Critic.

Apparently they are making a JRPG next which is something Xbox really needs.

SDuck382d ago

Rare to have hack-n-slash games nowadays, period. Man, I need dmc6 so bad!

BandarHub382d ago

A dying genre and we need more studios to keep it alive.
The most popular Hack and slash franchise God of war has ditched its combat for over-shoulder melee combat.

Jin_Sakai382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

Just Greenberg doing damage control after the news broke.

“Microsoft Isn’t Happy With The State of Xbox, Grubb Says; Hi-Rush Didn’t Make Enough Money“

BandarHub382d ago

That Whole idea of expecting Hi fi rush to sell despite it not having a physical release, being on game pass on subscription, and shadow drop is not a recipe for sales.
The metric for measuring its success is something that Jeff Grubb doesn't even know about so when his source said that it did not seemingly meet sales expectations is lost in mistranslation.
The measure of success for Gamepass games according to me is the reach of players.
2 million gamers have played the game that big for a game that was announced in the way it was.

SoulWarrior382d ago

Bet the two other replies to this laud Jeff's usually pro Xbox stance and leaks...

382d ago
FinalFantasyFanatic382d ago

I'm really surprised that “Microsoft Isn’t Happy With The State of Xbox" isn't a top article here on N4G and I saw it in several places today while using my phone during lunch.

shinoff2183382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

Bandar,now physical sales matter. Thought this was digital for life

Also this Jeff Grubb wasn't he the guy that broke the news of kojima working with xbox. O when its good news it's fuck yea, when it's bad news it's pos liar

Gotcha

Asplundh381d ago

I don't think they would had gave the ok for them to spend $68 billion if they were upset with how things are going with their Xbox division.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 381d ago
fr0sty382d ago

Team Xbox is saying "this game is doing great", meanwhile everyone else is saying it failed to meet sales expectations and lost money... so which is it?

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

382d ago Replies(4)
IamTylerDurden1382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

But MS says sales don't matter so who cares?

Hi Fi is overrated anyway outside of beautiful visuals and production. Level design, rythm, music, platforming, even combat all average. I thought Hellsinger had better music, rythm, and i enjoyed it more. Fake GotY buzz for Hi Fi is a jk. I'm having more fun with Loop Hero and Atomic Heart tbh.

Flewid638382d ago

Really? I feel like I have an endless source of hack & slash options on console lol.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 381d ago
XiNatsuDragnel383d ago

Good job Tango even though in rumors it didn't met expectations

darkrider383d ago

Dude, it didn't that's why they are reacting. That's why they made this tweet.... But we aren't all morons...

Abracadabra382d ago

What the hell does Microsoft know? Only Sony fanboys know when a game is a success or not. /s

crazyCoconuts382d ago

Well it is kinda easy for us. If it's on Playstation, it's a success... 😉

Abracadabra382d ago

@crazyCoconuts

At least you're honest.😂

CBaoth382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

really, cuz I don't know how is this news? Unless you can't accept reality. Games don't sell on Xbox. MS already admitted this in court. Xbox sells half of the PS5. Half of the Xboxes sold are the welfare SKU, the series G. When half of your miniscule customer base can't afford to buy games what did think the results would be? Does Vaas need to remind people about the definition of insanity? Sad when you have to expect sales from competing platforms to prop up your portfolio

badz149382d ago

it's really not THAT hard to figure out. NPD (or whatever it's known as now), just released sales data for games and they updated their year-to-date game sales,

https://www.vgchartz.com/ar...

yes, STEAM included. remember when the game launched xbox fanboys were quick to claim that it sold very well because it was around the top of the best seller list? dollar-sales wise doesn't look like the game is selling all that well as it's not even in the top 20 in xbox's biggest market.

if it really is doing well, why not Greenburg try and provide real data to debunk this NPD data? no?

shinoff2183382d ago

Ms won't even come out and say what their key expecting for games are. That's bad

Abracadabra382d ago

@badz149
Every week boxofficemojo releases top moves box office. There aren't any Netflix, Amazon, Apple, etc, original movies on the top. OMG, ALL OF THEM ARE FLOPPING! /s

Hi-Fi Rush doesn't have to be on the NPD charts to be considered a success. Gamepass will determine if it's a success or not, just like Netflix's, Amazon's, Apple's subscription service will determine if their movies are a success.

Forspoken charted on NPD and we all know that's a giant FLOP. Maybe a subscription service would have saved that train wreck...

Crows90381d ago

We'll you're not wrong. Sony fans know when Sony announces sales. Microsoft doesn't announce sales so Sony fans kinda have to do the hole hint hint with Xbox fans.

badz149381d ago

@Abracadabra

I knew some of you would mention Forspoken. haha...does it hurts you guys that Forspoken is charted but Hi-Fi Rush isn't?

the games in the chart are selling, thus they make money per copy sales. Hi-Fi Rush not charting means, it sells way less than Forspoken, PERIOD! back in 2019, xbox fanboys were making fun of Days Gone and Anthem but at the end of the day, both was in the top 20 NPD but Gears 5 wasn't and worst yet, Gears 5 was not even in the top 10 of xbox bestsellers but Anthem was! so...following your xbox logic, Gears 5 was a huge success too ha?

https://venturebeat.com/gam...

xbox fanboys will believe anything Phil and Greenberg say despite not providing any numbers to prove it.

Abracadabra381d ago

@badz149
Typical! You understood nothing what I said.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 381d ago
FinalFantasyFanatic382d ago

I actually thought it would have done better, especially since it was one of the better Xbox games in recent memory, even more surprised it didn't sell well on Steam when it was plastered all over the store after being announced.

darkrider383d ago (Edited 383d ago )

The real news isn't this. It's damage control from Microsoft . Hi fi floped. It's everywhere. From GameSpot to Forbes. Microsoft can say whatever they want now. It's already being talk also everywhere in social media.

And I think no one is really surprised.

BandarHub383d ago

This is the real news...Even Jeff Grubb the source doubted was not sure what was said. Even in Shiji Mikami Tango game works themselves said the games were a big success. Jeff Grubb speaks from his ass most of the time.
The fact that seeing people happy about the fake news that the game underperformed is the sad part. Imagine going around saying his game has failed and rejoicing over a rumour that the game has failed.
Pathetic

blackblades382d ago

Well people know Greenberg is a liar. Which most people are going by, can't trust anything he says PR.

Abriael383d ago (Edited 383d ago )

The fact that mediocre websites with zero journalistic integrity often turn the speculation from clout-chasing "insiders" into fake news doesn't make it true. 😏

It's hilarious that nowadays "trust me bro" is enough to make news at certain outlets. 😂

There's a reason why that kind of crap is banned here on N4G. And thank goodness it is.

darkrider383d ago

Mediocre sites? It's everywhere. And it's not just Grubbs a well know leaker.

Is such a lie that Microsoft is damaging control everwhere. The bottom line gp is destroying sales of games... Go watch dreamcast guy...

Abriael383d ago (Edited 383d ago )

It's only on mediocre sites, because only mediocre sites without any journalistic integrity would create news from someone's "trust me bro" statements with zero backing.

"well known leaker" is just another way to say "charlatan." 😂

You want to desperately believe him only because it fits your console warring needs.

Jin_Sakai382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

What’s funny is that this was coming from a pro Xbox insider. And it’s all over the internet which is why Greenberg did damage control asap.

383d ago
BandarHub383d ago

"Go watch dreamcast guy"
Dreamcast guy...really this guy is hilarious...that's your news source. What a joke
Listen, man, I kinda feel sorry for the fact that you follow that guy. He regurgitates misinformation mixed with his own personal opinion which is terrible.
If you need a news source, you need to not take things at face value with articles, you are your own news source. Make clear distinctions as to which publication is biased towards a certain platform and look at the other publications' bias as well. From their form your own opinion, you will be able to see which one is full of shit and which one is trying to manipulate information.
Don't follow the likes of Dreamcast guy. I suggest that you unsubscribe from him.

darkrider383d ago (Edited 383d ago )

News source... he just put the tweet and gave access to what is being talked on social media by multiple journalist.

The reality they are talking its not new. Microsoft gamers don't buy games. Gp is destroying sales of games no matter if they have quality or not. Hi fi is just another casualty. Even in gp it got 2 million downloads? Not a flop? Huge flop. 80% or more didn't even care, when Microsoft doesn't have new games... It's just scary.

It's a model that can't survive for long. That's why the talk of cutting down on services, TV and others. Numbers are falling everywhere. The pandemic is over.

Dreamcastguy is not amazing but if you compare to coltweatwood.... Even a turd made by Microsoft is groundbreaking to him. The damage control he tried to do with redfall gameplay it's just ridiculous and he got slammed on social media. He is one of the paid youtubers of Microsoft that try to change and manipulate the reality

382d ago
sparky77382d ago

So MS say it didn't flop so you don't believe them, but you believe unsourced rumours.

Yet when everywhere is saying PSVR2 sales flopped it's lies and only Sony is the real source.

You guys are looking desperate now.

darkrider382d ago

Believe in Microsoft? Are you kidding? After showing redfall running at 60 frames on pc and telling it was on series x. That kind of company? You gotta to be joking.

thesoftware730382d ago

Cheers, my guy.

Comment of the day.

gangsta_red382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

Was it this Jeff Grubb?

https://twitter.com/JeffGru...

Or was it this Jeff Grubb?

https://twitter.com/JeffGru...

"And I think no one is really surprised."

Yeah, it's actually no surprise to see the same usual suspects doing the same usual, tired schtick.

thesoftware730382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

Dark,
You run off of nothing but emotions; nothing you ever say is based on facts that have any real point, it's all your feelings. When your 'feeling' are met with logic and facts, you deflect and move on to spew a different unrelated feeling, without realizing or acknowledging you were being irrational at best.

Exhibit A:

You completely believe the RUMOR that the game did not do well, without hesitation, without an official word, all on a reported rumor.

Sparky77,(his post below) responds to you with this:
"So MS say it didn't flop so you don't believe them, but you believe unsourced rumours.

Yet when everywhere is saying PSVR2 sales flopped it's lies and only Sony is the real source.

You guys are looking desperate now."

A very sound comparison, using logic to show your hypocrisy. Then realizing he had your card, had you dead to rights, this is what you said:

"Believe in Microsoft? Are you kidding? After showing redfall running at 60 frames on pc and telling it was on series x. That kind of company? You gotta to be joking."

You completely moved away from his example of your hypocrisy, you talked about Redfall, completely unrelated to anything he said, you forced it in as if they were related to show MS character, through all that you never once mention his main point.

Why do you believe the same media outlets that reported PSVR low sales now? but not then?
It's a simple question, and maybe you can answer it, but you did not and I suspect any answer will be just more of the same, your feelings urging you to spew negatives towards MS, with nothing based in logic or facts, and lacking any real end point.

gangsta_red382d ago

I would like to know when did MS tell everyone that the gameplay shown for Redfall was running on Series X

EasilyTheBest382d ago

Well said TheSoftware...
His arguments are like a child's.

darkrider382d ago

Sorry but I'm not talking about Sony this was about the flop of hi fi rise. Of course he couldnt accept and try use psvr to counter. I don't know the number of psvr2, but if the media told it were low, it's bad.

That doesn't change the fact that hi-fi rise is a another flop. Why? Because it didn't move consoles and Microsoft didn't brag about how many subcribers it got or use that metric, with zero value, that 20 minions play it.

Petebloodyonion382d ago (Edited 382d ago )

Let me get this straight,

When Bloomberg makes similar claims about PS VR2 lackluster sales they are not credible and should not be trusted despite the fact Bloomberg is an international reference media in economics.
Instead, we should only trust the real information coming from PlayStation.
despite seeing countless PS Vr2 headsets sitting on shelves.

But when Jeff Grubb from a basement knows a guy that says Hifi Rush tanked well that information is REAL and Microsoft is surely lying when they mentioned that the game was a hit for them.

Moe-Gunz382d ago

PSVR2 isn’t sitting on shelves because unless I missed something they can’t be purchased in store

Petebloodyonion381d ago

In Canada you buy them at GameStop or Bestbuy.
I expect the same for USA but don’t know for Europe.

381d ago
+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 381d ago
Petebloodyonion382d ago

The purpose of this statement is to respond to Gamespot story that HIFi Rush supposedly failed to meet expectations.

hotnickles381d ago

Did gamepass get boosted tho? They probably aren’t looking at it like it’s 1999. Releasing everything on gamepass day 1 should lower your expectations into the dirt. You would think at least lol

381d ago
hotnickles381d ago

I’m not comparing it to any game I’m not in the nerd wars.

It’s just an honest opinion. I don’t know if gamepass got a boost, I’m asking. If they got a massive boost because of hifi maybe that’s the successful expectation they were looking for. And maybe Forbes and the “flopped in sales” advocates are looking at it in a traditional model of sales expectations which is ignorant.

MS isn’t working on that model anymore. I would assume that anyways by launching day 1 gamepass. If MS expected massive sales then they are stupid.

SinisterKieran382d ago

Wow…somebody who works at microsoft complimenting the game

381d ago
Show all comments (115)
240°

Hi-fi Rush is too good a game to be shut down

It was announced today that Tango Gameworks, the studio behind Hi-Fi Rush, will be shut down, which casts doubt on the future of the game.

Read Full Story >>
videogamer.com
z2g1d 2h ago

I’m sure the support and franchise will live on due to its success. They may even keep some ppl and roll them into other studios. There are layoffs across the map tho in the game/tech industries in general tho including Sony, Facebook and more. My personal family has been affected by them.

Lightning771d 2h ago

No excuses for MS. I guess Hi Fi didn't do as well as we all thought. So Much the for fun Little experiences that MS has been wanting games of all sizes. The thing is MS are so predictable this year they say "oh we want to prioritize bigger games." Next year they'll have more shut downs and say oh well these ballooning budgets of AAA blah, blah, blah. Even though a year prior they said they want more bigger games. When are gonna admit MS can't do or won't do gaming right? It's always waiting for this and that. String you along while destroying ppls jobs. Year in and year out.

Cacabunga22h ago(Edited 22h ago)

MS’ aren’t gamers they are businessmen.. they prefer a terrible game that sells and makes money to a great game with potential and can be used to grow a wider fanbase.. a bunch of crooks 🤮

TwoPicklesGood18h ago

Uhh Sony has laid more % of people off than MS…

notachance19h ago

this MS employee goes around every posts about MS studio closure and made deflecting comments in all of them lmao

Kaii1d 1h ago

Yet MS made a company-wide profit of $22 billion.
In my eyes releasing this on gamepass was a double edged sword approach, received extremely well, but didn't hit w.e batshit insane sales target MS had In mind

jznrpg20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

Nothing will sell well when they have trained their fanbase to rely on GamePass. (There could be a unicorn every decade or something like that) The price has to go up a lot or more than likely they close a lot of studios to get upkeep way down and have few studios handle all of the IP and still raise gamepass price just not as much as necessary to keep those doors open for all of the devs that created the IPs MS now owns.

Plague-Doctor2716h ago(Edited 16h ago)

The problem is it did seem to hit their targets

https://x.com/aarongreenber...

XiNatsuDragnel1d 1h ago (Edited 1d 1h ago )

Hifi is good but Microsoft dislikes risk I guess.

purple1011d ago

have all the people saying m$ buying all those companies, been proved correct yet,

they said more games, more choice, but ended up
less choice, less games, in reality... we were right

Crows9019h ago

It sucks to be right sometimes. Love tango works games with evil within. Also huge fan of prey...if redfall had been a single player story driven title I bet your ass they could've done wonders with freaking vampires.

Asplundh21h ago

They developed the highest rated game Xbox has had as a exclusive in years and they shut them down? Doesn't make much sense.

jznrpg20h ago

Makes sense to me. They still have the IP the studios mean nothing to MS

EazyC12h ago

That just shows how backwards their philosophy is. Studios are the ones creating the magic, you can't just chop and change them on a dime.

TwoPicklesGood18h ago(Edited 18h ago)

It does when it was a nice Indy time that didn’t make money. Unlike you, they think as a business and if the studio made enough money it would have been safe. One of the biggest companies in the world knows not then you, me, or any other random no matter what you abt to believe.

Asplundh17h ago

"Unlike you, they think as a busines"

Yeah a very poorly ran business, the brand has been going down the toilet for over a decade. With all the dumb decision making, it's not suprising why they're going 3rd party.

Plague-Doctor2716h ago(Edited 16h ago)

You can't give your games away for free and then shut down studios when they don't sell. Extremely idiotic thinking

purple10111h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Funny we buy art though, we don’t buy money.

So they should start “thinking” more like creators of art l, rather than creators of money, and as a side bonus, guess what, they might get more money

I get what your saying though, even any scraped some projects recently

Yui_Suzumiya16h ago

I'm pissed about this. I loved Tango Gameworks.

Show all comments (33)
80°

Hi-Fi Rush Receives PEGI 12 Rating for Nintendo Switch

Hi-Fi Rush for the Nintendo Switch has received a PEGI 12 rating in anticipation of its release. This is even though the game hasn't been officially announced.

Read Full Story >>
nintendopal.com
GotGame8188d ago

I wouldn't play this on Switch, unless it can run at 60fps on it. I don't see that happening. Hope I'm wrong.

LucasRuinedChildhood8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

If players are willing to play Doom at 30fps on the Switch, I suppose it wouldn't be a problem for them to play Hi-Fi Rush at 30fps.

I suspect it will also get a Switch 2 version/patch.

Fantastic game though. Stands up there with Returnal as being one of the more unique, high quality games this gen with a still somewhat sizable budget.

Vits8d ago

I would argue that Hi-Fi Rush at 30fps is a much worse experience than Doom. It is a rhythm game at the end of the day, so extremely reliant on your input latency, which is directly connected to your refresh rate and frame rate.

It's likely not unplayable or anything close to that, but it's going to be a case where for the Switch version, not only the visuals are impacted, but so is the quality of the gameplay.

50°

Hi-Fi Rush And Beat Slayer Show The Untapped Potential Of The Rhythm-Action Genre

"First Hi-Fi Rush and now Beat Slayer, I'm convinced the rhythm-action genre has a ton of potential just waiting to be explored," writes Hanzala from eXputer.