barneystuta
Established Member
News: Microsoft saved Titanfall from cancellation, claims report - OXM UK
I'd really recommend downloading and reading the "Final hours of Titanfall". It is a paid app available on iTunes, Android, Windows, and Steam.
It is less than £2 and if you have any interest in the game, you will get a real insight into game development. It is by Geoff Keighley, who is a video game journalist, and includes lots of exclusive content.
NOTE: The headline is maybe a little misleading unless you read the full "Final Hours of Titanfall". The game wasn't even made at that point, there was barely even anything to show. Respawn needed investment and insight into the new consoles to understand what they were working with. MS helped somewhat giving details on their codename "Durango" where as Sony didn't so much. They were reluctant to release any info on their new console, especially to an unproven developer (which is understandable).
The Final Hours of Titanfall - by Geoff Keighley - iTunes, PC, Windows
Titanfall: The Final Hours - Android Apps on Google Play - Android
Some of the main points are in this article below though for those that don't want to buy it
It really explains why MS had exclusivity. The story seems to go along the lines of...
Titanfall concept - Respawn reach out to MS & Sony for info on their console.
MS offer to help, with financial backing. Sony unwilling to give any PS4 details so said "make it for the Vita".
MS saved the game from going in the bin, hence the exclusivity
I am just glad the game got made and I get to play it
I'd really recommend downloading and reading the "Final hours of Titanfall". It is a paid app available on iTunes, Android, Windows, and Steam.
It is less than £2 and if you have any interest in the game, you will get a real insight into game development. It is by Geoff Keighley, who is a video game journalist, and includes lots of exclusive content.
NOTE: The headline is maybe a little misleading unless you read the full "Final Hours of Titanfall". The game wasn't even made at that point, there was barely even anything to show. Respawn needed investment and insight into the new consoles to understand what they were working with. MS helped somewhat giving details on their codename "Durango" where as Sony didn't so much. They were reluctant to release any info on their new console, especially to an unproven developer (which is understandable).
The Final Hours of Titanfall - by Geoff Keighley - iTunes, PC, Windows
Titanfall: The Final Hours - Android Apps on Google Play - Android
Some of the main points are in this article below though for those that don't want to buy it
Titanfall wouldn't have been released at all without some last-minute investment from Microsoft, according to a fascinating, book-length report on the game's tumultuous development.
Composed by Spike TV's Geoff Keighley, the Final Hours of Titanfall is a pretty startling read that includes concept artworks and videos of pre-release versions of the game, in addition to a breakdown of Respawn's almost-ruinous legal clash with Activision. It'll set you back £1.69, and is available on iTunes, Steam and the Windows Store.
Among other things, the e-book covers early ideas for Respawn's first game - "Batman with guns" and a Deus Ex-style cyber thriller are two of the standouts - and a prototype that would have put the player in charge of four separate classes - Titans, Pilots, a four-man infantry squad and an undivulged class that may be the basis for a future Respawn game.
It describes how Respawn met with Microsoft to discuss the next generation of Xbox - then code-named "Durango" - in January 2012. Programmer Jon Shiring apparently reached out to Sony for information about PS4 at the time, but was rebuffed. "I can't emphasise this enough," he's said to have told a contact at Sony. "Decisions are being made here about our game and we really need to know about the next PlayStation." Instead, Sony suggested that the developer put together a PS Vita version of its first game.
The legal battle with Activision - sparked by claims of royalties owed to ex-Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West - was a continual drain. According to several staffers, West grew increasingly detached from the project and the rest of the team - he eventually left Respawn in May 2012. Respawn settled its lawsuit with Activision out of court in June 2012, but was obliged to ask publisher EA for more funds in the fall. The project had become "a massive economic problem", according to EA's then-CEO John Riccitiello.
Titanfall was planned as a timed Xbox and PC exclusive, due to a shortage of manpower and resources: according to Zampella, the console version would have been Xbox-only for 13 months. EA had other ideas, however. Here's the relevant excerpt:
In order to make the economics work and keep Titanfall alive, EA needed a first-party publisher to invest. Xbox was willing to step up and save the project, which turned out to be a wise bet. Xbox now has one of the biggest games of the year as an exclusive to its platforms, although it lays no claim to any sequels.
Download the full thing for more. It's well worth the asking price.
It really explains why MS had exclusivity. The story seems to go along the lines of...
Titanfall concept - Respawn reach out to MS & Sony for info on their console.
MS offer to help, with financial backing. Sony unwilling to give any PS4 details so said "make it for the Vita".
MS saved the game from going in the bin, hence the exclusivity
I am just glad the game got made and I get to play it
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