this post was submitted on 09 May 2024
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Microsoft says it needs games like Hi-Fi Rush the day after killing its studio (www.theverge.com)
submitted 6 months ago by Stopthatgirl7 to c/[email protected]
49 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Today, one day after Microsoft announced that it would shut down four of its games studios, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, held a town hall to discuss the division’s future goals. “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards,” Booty told employees, according to internal remarks shared with The Verge.

For some listeners on the call, it was a surprising goal: Microsoft had just shut down the Japanese developer Tango Gameworks, which was coming off the small, prestigious hit title Hi-Fi Rush.

Hi-Fi Rush, which was a surprise release last year, was praised for its innovation and charm. The rhythm action game featured music by The Black Keys and Nine Inch Nails, with an art style that evoked the hyper-stylized games of the PS2 era. Just four months after its release, Hi-Fi Rush hit 3 million players. During the 2023–2024 awards season, the game went on to win a Game Award, a Game Developers Choice award, and a BAFTA.

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[–] Quetzalcutlass 53 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Music licensing for games is so dumb. You'd think the studios would remember the Guitar Hero effect, where having your back catalog featured in a game introduces it to a new generation and brings sales and new fans.

If anything, they should pay the devs for the exposure rather than the other way around. It's not like I bought Hi-Fi Rush for the music, but I ended up enjoying and seeking out a few tracks due to it.

[–] gaylord_fartmaster 21 points 6 months ago (3 children)

I wouldn't be surprised if licensing a song to a video game pays more than the fractions of a cent per stream you get from the bump afterward, and exposure doesn't pay your bills.

[–] ignism 8 points 6 months ago

My rate has just gone up if someone wants to hire me for exposure.

[–] Quetzalcutlass 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Apparently Rockstar paid around $5-10k per track for GTA IV, so it wouldn't take much of a boost in sales to be more significant than the licensing fee income.

[–] gaylord_fartmaster 7 points 6 months ago

GTA is one of the few games where the value of exposure might actually be worth it during negotiations though. That's getting up to doing the super bowl half time show for free levels of publicity.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

No, but touring does and a bigger market for ticket sales is the best profit an artist can get.

[–] IsThisAnAI -3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

I don't know a single person who listens to any music "because of rockband" and I was in highschool/college during the peak playing that shit at parties all having a blast.

Do you have any evidence at all that shows in game licencing creates fans of the music? I didn't see a generation of millennials suddenly going out to see Rush in concerts.

[–] Quetzalcutlass 6 points 6 months ago

Sure.

Both licensed and indie bands whose works have been included in the Guitar Hero games have gained further popularity from this inclusion.[51] Both record companies[52] and retailers[53] have experienced increases of 200% to 300% in sales of songs after their inclusion in the series. Every Guitar Hero III song tracked by Nielsen SoundScan (62 of 70) saw an increase in digital download sales the week ending December 30, 2007, when many who got the game as a gift were playing it,[54] and every song included in Guitar Hero III and Rock Band saw downloaded sales increase during 2007 between 15% and 843%.[14]

[–] Doof 2 points 6 months ago

Did you close you eyes and ears during that time?