Bungie jeopardizes Last of Us Multiplayer (Gaming)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Wednesday, May 31, 2023, 14:55 (545 days ago) @ Cody Miller

I mean opinions aside (Destiny 2 is very good and a large part is because it uses a live service model well IMO) Naughty Dog chose live service for a multiplayer game. Bungie is one of the few developers who have been able to really understand the space, lessons they learned from faceplanting, getting back up and improving. Even if you are bitter about the system better to have bad implementations then yet another Live service game dying in flames no?

We don't know how intrusive or even what kind of live service the game was going to be - only that it would not generate lots of money in Bungie's opinion.

What is lots? Could it have been sustainable or profitable just at a smaller scale?
How intrusive or unintrusive were these live systems?
How good was the game?

My gut tells me that the game probably was pretty good given Bungie's appraisal. But we won't, and may never know. Because they killed it.

I think you're taking a pre-decided and cynical point of view to it. If the gameplay isn't fun, then it won't make money, period. Not saying your assessment is wrong, but you know there is more nuance involved than just a group of briefcases coming in and shredding the blueprints.

Zero mention in the article fun was the issue. It was entirely business. If the game weren't fun, enough so that it got the project put on hold, that would have been mentioned.

I'm not giving my email to read an article, but no where else have I read that the multiplayer game is "on hold" or "killed." Given your sky-high critical requirements, I'm surprised that you would assume that Bungie's critique didn't have merit, but I guess it's another reason to dunk on Bungie, which seems like one of the only reasons you've hung around here for years. (I honestly don't know what you get out of it.) This is second-hand reporting, and beyond that selective I'm sure. So Bungie said they didn't think the game would make money. So what? Maybe that was one of many things they said, and maybe they said that because they were asked that question.