Many months ago, Microsoft canceled Scalebound and fans weren't pleased. The title was supposed to be an Xbox One exclusive from acclaimed Bayonetta developer PlatinumGames. It featured a Devil May Cry-like character and spectacular battles between various different dragons. However, the title didn't live up to the quality Microsoft expected, and as a result it was shelved. While many gamers blame Microsoft for the decision, in a recent interview between VGC and PlatinumGames studio head Atsushi Inaba, more information was revealed.
Inaba doesn't want Microsoft to take the blame for the cancellation because mistakes were made on both sides. Inaba issued the following statement to the outlet.
Wasn't easy... Both sides failed... didn't do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer. Watching fans getting angry at Microsoft over the cancellation wasn't easy for us to watch. Because the reality is, when any game in development can't get released it's because both sides failed. I think there are areas where we could've done better and I'm sure there are areas that Microsoft as a publishing partner wish that they could've done better. Because nobody wants a game to be canceled. At the bare minimum, it's unique for us as a title in so much as we feel that we didn't do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer. There were a lot of painful lessons, but that helped us grow as a studio. We obviously can't go into details about it, because there are rules of engagement as a developer. We want to make sure that the publisher who gave us a chance to make a game in the first place isn't treated poorly. The truth is, we don't like to see Microsoft take the brunt of the fan ire because game development is hard and both sides learned lessons, for sure... I wouldn't say our experience with Scalebound influenced us to go towards self-publishing. Quite frankly, the reality is that we've had plenty of titles canceled in the past: that's part and parcel of what comes with making video games.
Development is a complex process and the blame lies on both sides. It's great that Inaba was able to clarify the matter so that fans have the complete picture.
Do you hope to see Scalebound in the future? It seems that Microsoft holds the rights to the franchise, so you never know.
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