Microsoft - Acquires Obsidian and InXile

I suspect that isometric, party based cRPGs became niche product partially because its not suitable product for consoles. And I assume Microsoft will expect from its newly bought companies to produce something more suitable for Xbox. So I again suspect the future products from these companies will be something different. Which I regret …

Originally Posted by Andrew23
I suspect that isometric, party based cRPGs became niche product partially because its not suitable product for consoles. And I assume Microsoft will expect from its newly bought companies to produce something more suitable for Xbox. So I again suspect the future products from these companies will be something different. Which I regret …

It's not that they aren't a suitable product for consoles - in fact all of the big name isometric RPGs recently have come out for console. It's that they aren't suitable for the majority of console owners, who are, on the whole (as Archangel said in some other thread recently), "simpler" people who prefer to blast away in some corridor shooter rather than play any game that requires reading, numbers, thought, planning, strategy, etc. If you want to sell amazing numbers of units, you have to appeal to those "simpler" folks, and the sort of RPGs that tend to be isometric (other than Diablo type fare) just don't. So it will always be a niche genre, but there is still plenty of opportunity for people to make money making them as long as their sales expectations (and therefore development budget) are set correctly.

That's a lie and it won't become true no matter how often you repeat it. Neither are console players simplier, nor are the isometric gamers smarter. It's simply not suitable for the platform. Of course you can do excel sheets on a smartphone. It just doesn't make fun. Same for isometric CRPGs like Baldur's Gate on a console with an analog stick controller.

Shooters are better played on PC too, mouse+keyboard is an infinitely better control scheme for them than a controller. Yet shooters are still the best-selling / most popular type of game on consoles, and have been for years and years. I don't think that argument even works.

Originally Posted by Stingray
Shooters are better played on PC too, mouse+keyboard is an infinitely better control scheme for them than a controller. Yet shooters are still the best-selling / most popular type of game on consoles, and have been for years and years. I don't think that argument even works.

This is only true if you limit this to standard control schemes for consoles.
If you start to look at motion sense, gun-like controllers, etc., the console experience is probably more fun for some shooters (m+kb may still be more accurate tho, and easier on the gamer over longer play times).

But yeah, playing a shooter with a standard controller is like trying to tie you shoes with your mouth.

Originally Posted by Cacheperl
This is only true if you limit this to standard control schemes for consoles.
If you start to look at motion sense, gun-like controllers, etc., the console experience is probably more fun for some shooters (m+kb may still be more accurate tho, and easier on the gamer over longer play times).

Fair enough.

But yeah, playing a shooter with a standard controller is like trying to tie you shoes with your mouth.

And that's my point, console gamers are already putting up with that in massive numbers to play shooters, don't see any reason why it'd suddenly be some huge barrier with isometric games. Nah, the problem is that the audience is much different.

Originally Posted by Stingray
Shooters are better played on PC too, mouse+keyboard is an infinitely better control scheme for them than a controller. Yet shooters are still the best-selling / most popular type of game on consoles, and have been for years and years. I don't think that argument even works.

But it's not impossible. The only truth is, shooters are still entertaining and fun with a different control scheme on consoles. It's fast and it's often coop/multiplayer. The type of game many want to play in their living room. You can't say the same for isometric die-hard RPGs.

Originally Posted by Stingray
It's not that they aren't a suitable product for consoles - in fact all of the big name isometric RPGs recently have come out for console. It's that they aren't suitable for the majority of console owners, who are, on the whole (as Archangel said in some other thread recently), "simpler" people who prefer to blast away in some corridor shooter rather than play any game that requires reading, numbers, thought, planning, strategy, etc. If you want to sell amazing numbers of units, you have to appeal to those "simpler" folks, and the sort of RPGs that tend to be isometric (other than Diablo type fare) just don't. So it will always be a niche genre, but there is still plenty of opportunity for people to make money making them as long as their sales expectations (and therefore development budget) are set correctly.

There is reason why party based RPGs on consoles are either turn-based or let you control one character while rest is AI controlled. The reason is that micro-managment of several units in real-time is not convenient with gamepad.

Biggest effort to make real-time party RPG work on consoles I consider Dragon Age Inquisition. Micro-management on consoles was in this case still quite inconvenient (and many players just took control of one characters while rest was left to AI), but at least it was possible and in PC version with mouse-control it was almost not bad. Still, party was limited to 3 units and controls on PC was far from ideal. Also game mechanics were nowhere close to D&D or similar level complexity.

So as per my opinion, isometric, party based RPGs are not suitable for consoles and if developed with consoles in mind it will look significantly different then if PC is considered as only or at least main platform.

As for your analysis of console owners, in principle I cannot agree with generalisation, fabricated just to prove the point.

It's more than a question of what's suitable, it's a question of opportunity cost. Microsoft didn't spend the money on studios so that they could piddle away their time on games that would only sell 100-200k units, instead of titles to sell 10x those numbers. Fans of isometric RPGs are a niche audience and such audiences don't pay the bills, as is evident by this sale in the first place.

Dont feel competent to analyze if isometric RPGs and strategic games on consoles would do better if consoles used k+m since beginning or not. It might as well be case of substitution of cause and consequence. But you might be as well right

https://www.allgamesdelta.net/2018/1…ct-reveal.html

Originally Posted by porcozaur
https://www.allgamesdelta.net/2018/1…ct-reveal.html

Looks like a 60's inspired Sci Fi RPG from those promotional images.

Link - https://www.rpgsite.net/news/8052-ob…he-game-awards

Obsidian Entertainment has begun teasing an upcoming announcement for a new RPG, set to reveal at The Game Awards on December 6. This is confirmed to be the project announced last December under Take Two's indie publishing label Private Division. As revealed last year, this RPG is helmed by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, co-creators of the original Fallout.

The teaser comes as 'pop-up ads' on Obsidian's homepage, featuring several images similar in style to what you might imagine from a Fallout or Bioshock game. A Linkedin account unearthed last year has potentially revealed that this title is a 3rd person action RPG.

Well, Obsidian, make a new Fallout-type game, call it whatever you like, make sure it has zero online elements or requirements, and turn it loose on us. I mean, it cannot be as bad as the most recent Fallout, right?

Consider me intrigued!

Originally Posted by porcozaur
https://www.allgamesdelta.net/2018/1…ct-reveal.html

Definitely recognizing Leonard's art style. WOOOT. 8 days to be tantalized even more.

Who knows they might be successful at that…

Originally Posted by Carnifex
Well, Obsidian, make a new Fallout-type game, call it whatever you like, make sure it has zero online elements or requirements, and turn it loose on us. I mean, it cannot be as bad as the most recent Fallout, right?

It looks more Steampunk to me

I'd be ok with a good Steampunk game, maybe even more so!