Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

[Nathan]

Was anyone else pissed for a second, when they saw the semi-truck with the flame paint job? Before I realized that we would get 2 universes colliding, I thought they gave G1 Prime the Movie treatment.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Was anyone else pissed for a second, when they saw the semi-truck with the flame paint job? Before I realized that we would get 2 universes colliding, I thought they gave G1 Prime the Movie treatment.

I was primarily introduced to Transformers through Bay, so iv always preferred his designs. Not sure how I feel about his Grimlock, assuming that giant Dino looking thing is Grimlock

 

[TheVileOne]

Yeah but if they are still making a rushed product it might not make a difference.

 

[Saint]

I see what you are getting at, but if people loved those games so much, why didnt more people buy them? Neither game crossed the one million units sold mark. With War For Cyberton barely reaching 500k sold.

Because not all products are marketed equally. That's also why trashy tie-in games continue to sell copies.

Honestly if i were Activision id be doing the same thing. Looking at the numbers, the Transformers games that tied into the Michael Bay films had higher sales. Period. With the new Bay film coming out, why wouldn't I tie my game into that film?

Yes, and if your only goal is to sell a few copies to kids who see Michael Bay's awful Grimlock on the cover and don't know any better, then this is a tremendous strategy. If your goal is to build a legitimate video game franchise where an entry sells two million copies it's first week of release, then maybe take a page from WB's Arkham playbook and build the best game you can with the license, and forget about tying it into movie releases.

More importantly, though, as a consumer I don't give a crap how many copies they sell. I want a product that isn't trash. Cybertron games= good. Michael Bay= trash. Simple math for me.

 

[Saint]

The guys developing this had a hand in ME and DA.. So I'm greatly interested.

They ported those games to other platforms, they didn't develop them.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Yes, and if your only goal is to sell a few copies to kids who see Michael Bay's awful Grimlock on the cover and don't know any better, then this is a tremendous strategy. If your goal is to build a legitimate video game franchise where an entry sells two million copies it's first week of release, then maybe take a page from WB's Arkham playbook and build the best game you can with the license, and forget about tying it into movie releases.

More importantly, though, as a consumer I don't give a crap how many copies they sell. I want a product that isn't trash. Cybertron games= good. Michael Bay= trash. Simple math for me.

The issue is, they've had two opportunities to "build a legitimate video game franchise" and sales wise they failed BOTH times. The sales for war and fall were abysmal. You and the rest of the hardcore Transformers fans had your opportunity to show Activison the type of game you wanted and you failed to do so. You, meaning the core Transformers crowd, either just didn't buy the games or there aren't enough Transformers fans to make a difference.

 

[TheVileOne]

Yup, just like WB Montreal only ported Arkham City to Wii U.

Not that they didn't do a terrible job mind you, just nowhere near as good as Rocksteady.

 

[Saint]

The issue is, they've had two opportunities to "build a legitimate video game franchise" and sales wise they failed BOTH times. The sales for war and fall were abysmal. You and the rest of the hardcore Transformers fans had your opportunity to show Activison the type of game you wanted and you failed to do so. You, meaning the core Transformers crowd, either just didn't buy the games or there aren't enough Transformers fans to make a difference.

First of all, I can't underscore enough what a wrongheaded attitude it is to blame consumers when a product is not successful. Any company thinking along those lines is doing it wrong. Equally, a franchise is not made successful on the backs of a niche fandom alone, so again, wrong attitude.

As for "the issue," well, unless your argument is that they should stop trying to make games that are good as well as successful (and I'm assuming that isn't your argument), I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to convince me of.

I'm not telling you those games were successful, I'm telling you they're great. That's the only thing that matters to me, as a consumer. If you tell me that ROTF moved more copies, well, gasp, who would have thought a game piggybacking on a zillion dollar film marketed around the world would outperform a game that's barely promoted? That doesn't shock me, that doesn't move me, that doesn't change my expectations as a consumer or cause me to embrace Activision's business model or motives.

Again, I reiterate that the math is incredibly simple. I am a consumer and I vote with my wallet. In the context of Transformers video games, what I have voted for, and what I will continue to vote for, is 1) quality and 2) material that is as far away from Michael Bay's gutter trash as possible.

If Activision feels they can't make money under those criteria then I contend that they are doing it wrong.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

First of all, I can't underscore enough what a wrongheaded attitude it is to blame consumers when a product is not successful. Any company thinking along those lines is doing it wrong. Equally, a franchise is not made successful on the backs of a niche fandom alone, so again, wrong attitude.

As for "the issue," well, unless your argument is that they should stop trying to make games that are good as well as successful (and I'm assuming that isn't your argument), I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to convince me of.

I'm not telling you those games were successful, I'm telling you they're great. That's the only thing that matters to me, as a consumer. If you tell me that ROTF moved more copies, well, gasp, who would have thought a game piggybacking on a zillion dollar film marketed around the world would outperform a game that's barely promoted? That doesn't shock me, that doesn't move me, that doesn't change my expectations as a consumer or cause me to embrace Activision's business model or motives.

Again, I reiterate that the math is incredibly simple. I am a consumer and I vote with my wallet. In the context of Transformers video games, what I have voted for, and what I will continue to vote for, is 1) quality and 2) material that is as far away from Michael Bay's gutter trash as possible.

If Activision feels they can't make money under those criteria then I contend that they are doing it wrong.

My point is you just don't quite understand why Activision makes games. It's not to satisfy your desire for a Transformers game that features designs from the 80s. It's to make money. Just ask High Moon if Activision cares about quality. Hint, they don't. They gave you what you wanted and it failed. TWICE. What the hell else do you expect a company like Activision to do? Transformers fans proved they won't buy a product DIRECTLY aimed at them, so now Activision feels it's time to broaden the games reach by tying it into a wildly popular film series.

I rather just have a direct follow up to Fall, but after that game tanked and with Bays movie on the horizon, I can understand why Activision are doing what they are doing. Hell maybe Activision is just punishing the people like you who despise the Bay stuff, for not buying their previous games. That sounds like a Bobby Kotick move.

 

[The Caped Knight]

So is this a sequel to The War & Fall of Cybertron series or is this a prequel game for Age of Extinction?

 

[ProjectPat2280]

So is this a sequel to The War & Fall of Cybertron series or is this a prequel game for Age of Extinction?

We don't really know yet. I think it's safe to say the answer to ur Q is 'both'. It's using both universes, the one from War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron as well as the universe in which Age of Extinction takes place in.

 

[TheVileOne]

Possibly both? That's what press materials are saying. They are combining the universes.

 

[Saint]

My point is you just don't quite understand why Activision makes games.

If you feel that is the case, you have read my posts with startling ineptitude.

I was writing a post that responded to your points, but I realized I was just repeating what I said in my last post--which you either didn't bother to read or didn't understand, evidently. So I think that's enough.

Incidentally, if my issue was 80's robot designs, I wouldn't be buying the Cybertron games either, as they do not feature such.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

If you feel that is the case, you have read my posts with startling ineptitude.

I was writing a post that responded to your points, but I realized I was just repeating what I said in my last post--which you either didn't bother to read or didn't understand, evidently. So I think that's enough.

Incidentally, if my issue was 80's robot designs, I wouldn't be buying the Cybertron games either, as they do not feature such.

No I understand you perfectly. You're like all the other whiney fanboys who pitch a fit when a company like Activision makes decisions that they feel will snag them the most coin. It always comes across like one not understanding why these companies make games in the first place. You claim all you want is a good Transformers game that has nothing to do with Bays films. You got two of those. They failed, now Activision is going in another direction. Suck it up.

 

[jacobed]

Yeah I agree with pat on this one. It's very understandable why Activision is going in this direction. Who knows maybe the game will be awesome. Can't be any worse than the Dark of the Moon game, that was just terrible. It's too bad to see High Moon go like that as well but the video game industry is a really tough industry to stay alive in, one miss and it could be game over. And quite frankly they had 2 big ones with Dark of the Moon and Deadpool not to mention the stellar Cybertron series that made no money. As tragic as it is, I also understand why they basically closed the studio.

 

[Saint]

No I understand you perfectly. You're like all the other whiney fanboys who pitch a fit when a company like Activision makes decisions that they feel will snag them the most coin. It always comes across like one not understanding why these companies make games in the first place. You claim all you want is a good Transformers game that has nothing to do with Bays films. You got two of those. They failed, now Activision is going in another direction. Suck it up.

Shrug. If you don't get that one can understand the business model and still care more about the end product, that's really more your problem than mine. I don't feel the need to justify what I want from the product.

If you're on board with Activision's business model, though, I've got a copy of Dark of the Moon I can sell you. Tie-in dreck on a rushed schedule with a recycled engine--it'll be like getting a sneak preview of Rise of the Dark Spark!

 

[jacobed]

So if you're so against "Michael Bay trash" as you say. Why do you own a copy of Dark of the Moon? You're just helping both Pat's and Activision's argument

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Yeah I agree with pat on this one. It's very understandable why Activision is going in this direction. Who knows maybe the game will be awesome. Can't be any worse than the Dark of the Moon game, that was just terrible. It's too bad to see High Moon go like that as well but the video game industry is a really tough industry to stay alive in, one miss and it could be game over. And quite frankly they had 2 big ones with Dark of the Moon and Deadpool not to mention the stellar Cybertron series that made no money. As tragic as it is, I also understand why they basically closed the studio.

Well Hogh Moon was set up for failure by Activision. Activision quite literally told HM they weren't trying to make a good Deadpool game. They just wanted something pushed out the door quickly. Bit yea, looking at the sales record, HMs game didn't move copies unfortunately and as it's said, the bottom line is the bottom line.

There's still hope for this game though, I'm not writing it off just yet. If they're simply going to add on to what HM did previously, this could be a cool game.

 

[Saint]

So if you're so against "Michael Bay trash" as you say. Why do you own a copy of Dark of the Moon? You're just helping both Pat's and Activision's argument

It was a review copy I received from a site I was writing for at the time, so I could review it. Believe me, I would not have paid money for that game.

That said, the reason I wouldn't buy it is because it's a bad videogame. I could probably tolerate Bay-trash if the game itself was of high quality--but that's not likely given the reduced development cycle and resources afforded to movie tie ins. Simply put, there's a good reason tie ins have a bad reputation: they've earned it.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I'll play it, but the fact that it's gonna include Bay's contribution to the TF mythos and High Moon's lack of involvement are a bit disappointing.

 

[jacobed]

Well Hogh Moon was set up for failure by Activision. Activision quite literally told HM they weren't trying to make a good Deadpool game. They just wanted something pushed out the door quickly. Bit yea, looking at the sales record, HMs game didn't move copies unfortunately and as it's said, the bottom line is the bottom line.

There's still hope for this game though, I'm not writing it off just yet. If they're simply going to add on to what HM did previously, this could be a cool game.

You can tell they tried to make a good Deadpool game but it got old, annoying and tiresome very very quickly. He's not a character that can be translated very well by himself in 8+ hour game. He's too one note. So yeah they were going to fail no matter what. It sucks but hey that's the nature of the business. These things are so expensive to make now that they have to sell like gangbusters to be considered successful

 

[ProjectPat2280]

You can tell they tried to make a good Deadpool game but it got old, annoying and tiresome very very quickly. He's not a character that can be translated very well by himself in 8+ hour game. He's too one note. So yeah they were going to fail no matter what. It sucks but hey that's the nature of the business. These things are so expensive to make now that they have to sell like gangbusters to be considered successful

Yea they tried because as artist and creators you don't want to put out a poor product, but Activision told them they didn't care about the games quality, they were fine "with a meta score of 6". And they kept cutting the time and budget of the game. You may be right in that Pool can't hold his own game, but the HM Deadpool games failure was squarely on Activision. They were content with with a bad product.

 

[jacobed]

Yeah I agree with you there. Definitely Activision's fault. I am excited to see what this game is like.

 

[Cyclonus]

If HighNoon is not making this game, then to me it is not a sequeel to The War & Fall of Cybertron. On that note, does anyone know if HighNoon will be making another Transformers game... Love Fall of Cyberton game, best Transformers game!

 

[ProjectPat2280]

If HighNoon is not making this game, then to me it is not a sequeel to The War & Fall of Cybertron. On that note, does anyone know if HighNoon will be making another Transformers game... Love Fall of Cyberton game, best Transformers game!

No. High Moon has been gutted. I'm not even sure the studio is still open. Even IF they were to make another title, it wouldn't be the same team that made the previous two games.

Unfortunately, the series goes on, even though the devs have been removed.