Microsoft won't ever cancel games

By Games Industry.biz Published 12 June, 2008

Says European bossman type.

Just a week after Sony called time on Eight Days and The Getaway PS3, Microsoft Game Studios Europe has pledged never to cancel any of its games.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, business development manager Peter Zetterberg said, "Maybe we sometimes announce [games] earlier than we should, but we stick with them, we have our resources team work with them as much as we can.

"It's crunch time down in Guildford now and we have people working their butts off to make Fable 2 happen. We do not, we shall not cancel games."

Zetterberg says that he sees around 600 game concepts a year, ranging from a piece of paper to a full-blown presentation with a demo, video and concept documents.

Of those submissions, about 30 go into a discussion meeting to be evaluated. Of those, perhaps five might go into a greenlight process, and then three might get signed.

Microsoft Game Studios Europe has the autonomy to greenlight a project, but when it commits to large franchise developments it obviously needs approval from the rest of MGS, Zetterberg said.

MGS Europe has a slightly different role than the team in the US, and is focused on genre diversity and local values.

"We need to find games that are globally accepted, that people love on a global basis," Zetterberg said.

"Like music or singing, things that we all love. Then we can nail the local values to it."

In Europe, Zetterberg observed, local values are more important because there are 25 countries, 20 languages and so many different cultures.

"There's a reason why Microsoft hasn't been that successful in the past on the continent, because they sit in Redmond and it's hard to understand how to make 15 games for a smaller European market," Zetterberg said.

"We've always moved on a global basis and this means that sometimes we have missed out on the smaller things. If you look at World of Goo or Crayon Physics, these can be easily overlooked by a large corporation that thinks global."

For more from Zetterberg, go and say hello to GamesIndustry.biz.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Fwing #1 4 years ago

    Vanguard

  • bad09 #2 4 years ago

    I'm still reeling after The Getaway being canned it seems like a stupid move as, although many hated them, they were a still a popular series.

    I guess Singstar and Buzz make 'em enough money so they don't need real games. :)

    / runs!

  • bcstereotype #3 4 years ago

    Uhh ... I know this wasn't MGS Europe's call - but what about that Marvel MMO that was a 360 exclusive?

  • JediMasterMalik #4 4 years ago

    Such a dumb statement, of course they're going to cancel games, every games company has to.

  • muftak #5 4 years ago

    "Vanguard "

    damn beat me to that one , wasnt heavenly sword a MS game 1st

    what a load of spin

    [link url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cancelled_Xbox_g ames
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cancelled_Xb ox_360_games
    ]http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Ca...[/link]

    Edited by 3 at 12/06/08 @ 11:26

  • Darren #6 4 years ago

    Although Microsoft cannot cancel games from third-party publishers, there's a fair few I wish they'd refused to certify!!! I'm sure I don't have to list those game. ;)

  • t8yman #7 4 years ago

    maybe if they *did* cancel some of the shite games we could have all saved some money!
    hardly a bragging point is it "we release all manner of tat"

  • Darren #8 4 years ago

    According to *this* link, Microsoft HAVE cancelled two Xbox 360 games, namely Freelancer 2 and Marvel Universe Online!!! ;) LOL

  • kissthestick #9 4 years ago

    ^thats wasnt Microsoft Europe though was it?

  • HardToast #10 4 years ago

    The internet sure is quick.....

    They claim they have cancelled a game...
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/08 @ 11:31

  • penhalion #11 4 years ago

    Is this guy a grade A moron or what?

    Of course you'll cancel games, otherwise you'll get a lot of crap coming through. Some projects simply end up not working and need to be cancelled.

  • seasidebaz #12 4 years ago

    "We need to find games that are globally accepted, that people love on a global basis,"

    Oh, you mean those featuring guns and / or cars?

  • HolyJebus #13 4 years ago

    I'm still waiting on B.C.

  • Darren #14 4 years ago

    B.C. looked amazing... it would work really well on the Xbox 360 I think and surely it's a more interesting concept than bloody Turok?

  • oceanmotion #15 4 years ago

    ""Like music or singing, things that we all love. Then we can nail the local values to it."

    Guess that confirms that "Lips" titled game that slipped out a while ago.

  • monkie_king #16 4 years ago

    I don't think the 360=guns/cars thing works anymore, since the PS3 hype of late has been around GT5 (cars), Resistance 2 (guns), KZ2 (guns), MGS (guns), Hazelol (guns), GTA (guns, cars), Motorstorm 2 (cars) etc.

    There's only really LBP and SingStar doing anything different.

    The Wii owners can gloat though.

  • Wash #17 4 years ago

    lolz at the claims 360 is still only a shooter console.

    Also if people read the article they'd see its M$ Europe, did they cancel vanguard and the marvel mmo?

  • Penguinzoot #18 4 years ago

    "It's crunch time down in Guildford now and we have people working their butts off to make Fable 2 happen. We do not, we shall not cancel games."

    Maybe it's just me, but that makes it sound like Fable 2 was in line for the chop at some point.

  • Moonprince #19 4 years ago

    "It's crunch time down in Guildford now and we have people working their butts off to make Fable 2 happen. We do not, we shall not cancel games."

    It's that bad huh?

  • Penguinzoot #20 4 years ago

    ^ Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

  • zoidberg #21 4 years ago

    I never thought the process was .... make (produce) a game and THEN ... NAIL LOCAL VALUES to it. Local values can be NAILED to a project? For funsies?

  • Steroyd #22 4 years ago

    But you'll shove them under the rug when they get less than 65% in metacritic.

    /runs

  • Mr_Brown #23 4 years ago

    Does that mean True Fantasy Live is back on the cards then? :-)

  • [TR] #24 4 years ago

    Give the guy a break. Of course they're not going to cancel games. Soon they won't have any game studios under their wing, so there will be nothing to cancel.
    Still, MS seems to be adopting some of the crazy PR/marketing speak from Sony. Good for them.

  • seasidebaz #25 4 years ago

    Sorry, I shall re-do my comment:

    "We need to find games that are globally accepted, that people love on a global basis,"

    Never going to happen. GLOBAL also includes JAPAN.

    Oh well, better luck next time ;)

  • subtlesnake #26 4 years ago

    "Maybe it's just me, but that makes it sound like Fable 2 was in line for the chop at some point. "

    I think he means 'happen this year'.

  • Kiigan #27 4 years ago

    That's blatantly nonsense. Microsoft is perfectly capable of cancelling games that just aren't working out and cannot be (cost-effectively) rescued. That's just common sense.

  • anomagnus #28 4 years ago

    i believe what he is referring to is not canceling games that are mid or late development

    the marvel mmo hadn't even reach alpha (though i could be wrong)

    as for vanguard, that wasn't an xbox title

    in fairness though, that was a stupid comment to make on his part, you simply cannot make statements like that in this industry

  • wowami #29 4 years ago

    ah - a good source of quotes which will come back and bite old Pete on the bum methinks

  • Ryze #30 4 years ago

    Yep after The Getaway and Eight Days were used to promote the PS3, and 'gameplay footage' (lies) was also used to entice buyers.

    A kick in the teeth for those who stumped up the ca$h, I'd say.

  • dadrester #31 4 years ago

    genre diversity = more homoerotic space marines!

  • rodpad #32 4 years ago

    Guildford ftw.

  • Fwing #33 4 years ago

    I dunno why space marines are always labeled "homoerotic". They didn't do anything for me.

    I think the lady doth protest too much.

  • Fwing #34 4 years ago

    homoerotic double post
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/08 @ 15:20

  • The-Bodybuilder #35 4 years ago

    In context (remember guys, it's good to read), he means not cancelling games that have been greenlighted, specifically greenlighted by MGS-Europe. No doubt such a statement will bite him in the ass though.

    It leads to two questions;
    1. Just how big is MGS-Europe? Clearly, MSs problem has been that HQ-america has too much control and too isolated on american views and what america wants (just like america then). There's like, rare and the makers of fable, but who else?
    2. Wasn't BC cancelles after getting greenlighted?

  • The-Bodybuilder #36 4 years ago

    In context (remember guys, it's good to read), he means not cancelling games that have been greenlighted, specifically greenlighted by MGS-Europe. No doubt such a statement will bite him in the ass though.

    It leads to two questions;
    1. Just how big is MGS-Europe? Clearly, MSs problem has been that HQ-america has too much control and too isolated on american views and what america wants (just like america then). There's like, rare and the makers of fable, but who else?
    2. Wasn't BC cancelles after getting greenlighted?

  • NorUraeus #37 4 years ago

    So what he is saying is that no matter how bad and rubbish a tittle turns out they would never considered cancelling it. Better to ship lots of crap than to narrow the focus to achieve quality.

  • Petrarch #38 4 years ago

    Vanguard wasn't cancelled by MS, but they did back out of publishing it. The story from an ex-employee of Sigil goes that MS started to get suspicious over what Sigil management was telling them and cut their losses.

    As it turned out, a rather smart move on Microsoft's part.

  • Feanor #39 4 years ago

    "Read my lips: We do not, we shall not cancel games."

  • Pasco #40 4 years ago

    "Maybe we sometimes announce [games] earlier than we should, but we stick with them, we have our resources team work with them as much as we can."

    Psychonauts, Stranger's Wrath, True Fantasy Live Online...

  • HarryB #41 4 years ago

    they cancelled that true fantasy online or whatever it was?
    its a bit of a stupid statement, not cancelling games isn't a good thing...I guess they are trying to say they plan their titles well etc but really, it's stupid.

    Plus, the getaway should have been made, I was interested to see what the PS3 coud do, since it wasn't multiplatform like GTAIV.

  • HarryB #42 4 years ago

    they cancelled that true fantasy online or whatever it was?
    its a bit of a stupid statement, not cancelling games isn't a good thing...I guess they are trying to say they plan their titles well etc but really, it's stupid.

    Plus, the getaway should have been made, I was interested to see what the PS3 coud do, since it wasn't multiplatform like GTAIV.

  • makeamazing #43 4 years ago

    This has to be the most stupid comment Ive ever read from a company.... what is wrong with them... idiots.

    The news of PS3 games being cancelled was pretty much in the news etc, it didnt need any more press as it was everywhere already..... but gloating and coming out with stupid comments like this wont win him any friends (keeping quiet would have been the best option).

    I can pretty much bet 100% there will be games cancelled by MS... games get cancelled at various stages of a games life, to say they would never is rediculous in the extreme. I hope they cancel a game next week as punishment for stupidity.

  • CreepinJesus #44 4 years ago

    Well, when have Microsoft Game Studios ever made a bad game... ?

  • smelly #45 4 years ago

    "We do not, we shall not cancel games."

    Not even if they're shit?

  • subtlesnake #46 4 years ago

    "The news of PS3 games being cancelled was pretty much in the news etc, it didnt need any more press as it was everywhere already....."

    Peter Zetterberg's comments were taken from one of his answers to an interviewee's questions, but were then 're-launched' on gamesindustry.biz to give the fanboys something to argue about, as usual.

    [link url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles /microsoft-games-studios-europe-part-1
    ]http://ww w.gamesindustry.biz/articles/mi...[/link]

    It's the same thing every week - a developer/PR person makes some comment in an interview that nobody bothers to read anyway, that could be seen as controversial, and news sites jump all over it. Cue 100 page comment threads full of indignant ranting - as the story makes it's way round the various tired blog sites, and everyone gets to have their say - about an article that they can't even be bothered to read, that's been taken out of context by a journalist looking for the page hits.

  • subtlesnake #47 4 years ago

    double post
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/08 @ 23:33

  • Triggerhappytel #48 4 years ago

    "Well, when have Microsoft Game Studios ever made a bad game... ?"

    Blinx, Brute Force, Nightcaster, Azurik, etc.

    Or, was this sarcasm? Damn this hard to fathom means of communication.
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/08 @ 23:36

  • Luckz #49 4 years ago

    How many thousand double posts are there here?

  • McFly55 #50 4 years ago

    Its a bit of a silly comment. I can imagine if Sony said "we'll never cancel a game" then MS would have come back with "If a game isnt turning out the way we expected, we have no problem about stopping production. We want all the games released for the Xbox to have a certain level of quality etc etc.."

    Its just disagreeing for the sake of it really.

  • Madafunkola #51 4 years ago

    For those who keep mentioning Marvel MMO - isn't that because Marvel pulled out and it is now Champions Online from Cryptic??

  • the_inchworm #52 4 years ago

    I know it wasn't MS Europe, but the above-mentioned cancellation of True Fantasy Live Online on Xbox really depressed me. I was very hyped for that game, but it never came to be.

  • hiddenranbir #53 4 years ago

    Maybe it's just me, but that makes it sound like Fable 2 was in line for the chop at some point.

    Of course it was. All Peter and his team do is plan freakin' cosplay parties. People taking days off work just to work on their stupid costumes.