The Painful Tragedy of Scalebound
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ธ.ค. 2022
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Capcom veterans Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya, and Shinji Mikami joined forces in 2007 to found PlatinumGames. The company developed an impressive stable of IP within a matter of years, operating out of Capcom’s backyard in Osaka, Japan, while producing critically acclaimed games such as Bayonetta and Vanquish for Sega. These titles and several others set a cadence for Platinum, mixing combo-based action with over-the-top visuals for incomparable interactive experiences. All the while, however, Hideki Kamiya had another idea brewing in the back of his mind, a concept that would finally give respect to the larger-than-life creatures he’d long adored.
Scalebound was to star a young man stranded in a fantastical world whose companion, the fire-breathing dragon named Thuban, constituted the last of its kind. Instead of an antagonistic or purely functional relationship, the two unlikely allies forged a bond that united them across storytelling and gameplay mechanics. Publisher Microsoft Studios fell head over heels for Platinum’s pitch, signing a deal that would make the sprawling adventure exclusive to Xbox One.
The public similarly grew attached to Scalebound, fawning over every screenshot and morsel of gameplay footage shown during its fleeting life cycle. But it never actually saw the light of day, not outside of well-crafted vertical slices and glowing press previews. Announced during the nadir of the Xbox One’s early days, Scalebound seemed a beacon of hope for the beleaguered console. Thus, all were surprised when Microsoft abruptly ceased development on the project, pulling the plug the year it was to hit store shelves. And the fact that Microsoft owns the intellectual property rights means the keys to Kamiya’s unique vision remain outside of PlatinumGames’ reach for an indeterminate length of time.
This is the tragedy of Scalebound.
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Every time I see footage from this game, my heart breaks all over agin. God I was so stoked for this game...
I was stoked about Platinum working exclusively for the XBox. I felt if any of the third party dev's were going to be able to make magic on the X1 it would be them. Breaks my heart as well.
@@vaguedreams I get the sense that it’s not Microsoft fold it actually platinum games is doing because the team they’re working on is very inexperienced
@@vaguedreams same here back in those days all I had was a xbox one due to financial issues and poverty.
I loved platinum games from the start and was expecting an interesting fun game exclusive but never got it. I still sometimes think about it and wonder. Altho I feel like it would be game around 7 out of 10, it would surely take a special place for those inteserted
It was canceled for halo wars 2
It wouldve inspired me to purchase an Xbox again.
I saw a lot of the obvious problems like marketing and graphic performance early on after it was revealed, but for a passion project like this to go on for so long and (seemingly) get the axe very late into development is a damn shame. Hopefully the ideas get a revival sometime in the future. Other ambitious games like Deep Down and Edge of Twilight were also cancelled/heavily downscaled around this time as well.
I really hope the concept (if not the actual game itself) makes a comeback as well. Also it's been over 7 months since your last video and I can only rewatch your old stuff so many times. Btw just wanted to let you know that your Ruiner review was what convinced me to buy it so thanks 🙏.
@@sukamadik5983 i wouldn't be surprised if most that stuff was straight up lost or just scrapped. Waste of harddrive space.
In the 90s it would be more common it's lost. These days, most likely just deleted.
I have a hunch Bayonetta 3 used some of this game's ideas in their combat system (which is more focused on Wicked Weaves)...
I knew Deep Down was too good to be true when they showed the visuals. I’m hoping that game is still in development but they scaled it back until they can reach the vision they have for it. Modern graphics aren’t too far behind what they showed for Deep Down, so hopefully the time is nigh.
As someone who always loved dragons/wyverns, and always being heart-broken to see them in the evil role and we often have to kill them, I was so excited to finally have the opportunity to play a game where not only they're not enemies, but allies. Allies you could fight along with, get imbued with, interact with, form bonds with. Even the customization, it was like -the- dream game for dragon lovers. It was heartbreaking to see it get shelved and eventually cancelled.
Yeah, it was just miserable that we weren't allowed to get it.
This one broke my heart when it was cancelled 😢
i fell you bro , i feel you !
Likewise, it was sad news.
imagine it with the new hardware , both on Xbox One Series X and a modern PC , with raytracing and 4K textures , a bombastic OST , an Xbox One X Elite pro Joystick on hands , With your cool dragon pet and the Dante looking guy , man ! why Microsoft , WHY ?
@@offlinegamer6756 ive been asking the same question all these years. Truly a missed opportunity.
Agreed was hyped for this one
This is one I keep waiting for a "surprise" re-reveal of, huge applause with it released not long afterwards. I like to have completely unrealistic expectations… 😂
Same bro... same
While the project died, the ideas remained and then repurposed with Astral Chain and Bayonetta 3, kinda wonder if Project G.G. will take some additional DNA from what would've been Scalebound
People say that but I don't think it is true. Astral Chain and W101 have the same mechanics. Instead of different morphs you use different Legions. It doesn't look like any ideas were repurposed because if you play enough Platinum games, like I did, you notice how similar they all are. Except for the ones like Infinite Space, Sol Cresta etc. You always have a dodge, slow time mechanic, red hot kick, combos etc. What did Scalebound give to Bayonetta and Astral Chain that wasn't already in a different Platinum game? Project G.G is probably going to be another superhero sentai game like Viewtiful Joe or W101. When I first saw the name I assumed it was a new Joe game but it can't be because Capcom
@MrGregory777 what scalebound gave Astral Chain and Bayo 3 was the idea of controlling 2 characters at the same time. And it worked. Astral chain was Platinum's best selling original IP and Bayo 3 sold really well.
I could have sworn there was more to this story. This was pretty scant.
I was also expecting more of a story in regard to what actually went down and led to the cancellation. Or info on the state of the game, and how far along development was. This was just a retelling of some surface facts with the 3 arc being, it was in development and then it got cancelled, :(
The first part is interesting though, the background. But this was just a meh ending.
just because you want more, doesnt mean there is more. grow up.
@@actualartist3082 There is more to the story that isn't being told. Like what the American developers said about it after the fact. Don't be a dick fanboy.
@@kruumyeah some of their videos lately have been very short, or shorter than usual.
I am kind of being turned away from this channel, but thanks for saving me 15 minutes.
Probably too much rumor to include
A passion project based in childhood fantasies we all had at some point. There's more then a passing similarity to the most recent MH titles and the Lost Planet series. It also reminds me of the final boss battle in Dragon Age Inquisition that also used a dragon companion fighting alongside you. Mechanically I can see it being a nightmare to control and design unique encounters for. Keeping the giant dragon and player both on camera alone would be hard. All of this is compounded by console limitations and gamepad controls. I'm sure the developers had a nagging thought in their head, "Why do we have a human player character? Let's just play as the dragon!" If the game were to release I suspect the dragon would only be available for limited, highly curated set-piece levels and most the game would be a generic third person hack n'slash with a bland MC and generic story. Maybe, maybe it could work if players could ride the dragon and that would give them significantly more control and gameplay would be a balance of encounters fighting on your own or atop the dragon. The LotR Shadows of Mordor series used mounts that way.
My man, you didn’t listen to the video.
Sounds like you miss the point that the devs wanted to avoid doing such things since they wanted to try something different to not make it just another mount like other games that does it. Something I am sure was possible with the right team and time but Platinum games themselves couldn't pull it off.
@@Deliveredmean42 exactly, clearly said!
the xbox one run ran decently on KCD compare to its rival..
Scalebound was a bigger tragedy than P.T. if were being honest
This really made me appreciate Platinum Games even more, I love God Hand, that's the only game I've played somewhat 50% that's made by them, I have MGRR, Bayonetta and Vanquish on my To-Do List too.
Really these titles see the light of the day sometime in the future again.
Your videos are always enjoyable :)
I would love to see a deep dive into the Phantom Console.
Ah man happy to see you came out with this.
finally a video about my favourite developers :) Scalebound is a pretty sad story indeed
Still hurts. I want this game.
I've been trying to find your channel for a long time now, I forgot and gave up at the time but oddly enough I found it again now!
Man, this was painful. I'd still want to contribute to reviving this game. It sounds so badass.
Love the content keep it up
I'm glad that exclusive games from third party developers like Sunsey Overdrive and Dead Rising 3 came out. It's sad that Scalebound didn't make it.
Another sad tale of what could be and never was. Still, I wait to see more exciting and funny games from Platinum studio!
I was looking forward to this for ages was gutted
As always you guys deliver excellent content, it is sad that game get cancelled , and that we never know the true potential of those cancelled games.
Still nowhere near as heartbreaking as the cancellation of Star Wars 1313
I bet 1313 is barely remembered by anybody but the most extreme star wars fans by now. That game got cancelled years ago and barely reached the eyes of the mainstream viewers or gamers.
@@EximiusDux wrong, I’m a casual Star Wars fan and it blew me away and I still lament it to this day especially with how close it was to being finished
@@kremesauce There is a big difference between you sharing an opinion, and somebody else being wrong.
@@EximiusDux Correct! You we're wrong. Glad you're able to tell the difference.
Amazing that Battlefront 2 (2017) got released, and not that.
what I learned from an article years ago was that Platinum developed the ENTIRE game in an engine that couldn't do what they needed the game to be able to do so the giant issue came with them having to literally develop the entire game from scratch in an entire new game engine. Microsoft would have to green light and fund an entire game to be built from scratch after spending the amount they've already spent on the first Scalebound iteration. Something like that would have ballooned the development cost when Microsoft was looking forward to a great return investment. That's a big big ouch. Hopefully they get to make Scalebound again and this time make it in the right game engine. I would love for Scalebound to be made like a smaller game to build the IP back up.
Surely if MS was as hands-on as they describe in the vid, there would've been some discussion around the engine-choice, right? Although I've heard that kind of problem come up various times, even with established studios & in-house engines, so maybe not 😣
Im pretty sure that's not the case hideki kamiyo came out and apologized to ms because they used the funds for developing other games like nier
Day is gonna be good with an upload from GVMERS
I remember seeing gameplay back in the day and now I know why I never played it. Hopefully Microsoft will revive this project at a later date.
I hope one day they'll try again it was just such a unique game for the time and had an amazing world that I would love to explore
I remember the hype about this, even I was kinda excited.
I remember this game was so hyped when announced...
Never heard of this game before! Nice one!
Its Such a shame that almoust no one cared abouth scalebound until it was cancelled
I would love to see this made.
I'm just noticing this now, but the protagonist reminds me of Nero.
I'm still sad about this one, because I wanted to play around with my very own personalized dragon
Very interesting topi, i consider myself to be a pretty huge platinum fan, so when this was canned i was pretty sad
But i do see glimpses of its design inside of bayonetta 3, the massive kaiju theming, using them as attacks etc, it doesn't quite hit the same notes, but the inspiration is there for sure
I really wish things with this game didn't go down like they did. I was so excited for it. :(
Im currently a student as a game designer, in a weird way, cancelled games like scalebound and that single player star wars game from a while ago are one of my most anticipated games for me personally, and i was devastated, I want become a lead designer/director of many games that many will adore. I personally want to create something like scalebound in the future, that is one of my personal goals; the concept was so cool! its like a westernized legend of zelda with a pet dragon! ill give Ms 10 YEARS before i start creating something like scale bound, otherwise im going to do something to scratch that itch. but really, i wish they restart the project; i doubt they will
Oh this one still hurts.
you may want to explain vertical slices to your audience. I even had to explain it to people within our studio.
Bed time video sorted 👌🏻
lol same
Quality content as usual - thank you! Attempt #18 How about the rise and fall of Mechwarrior series? :)
I'm hoping they finish it eventually.
This us probably obe if the biggest misses in gaming ever. This would've been freaking *amazing* and I'm pissedit was taken from us😭
That video just reminded me that Fable Legend was a thing... and then wasn't a thing anymore.
I still think this game would have been cool and really was looking forward to it
In an alternate universe, we might be waiting for the release of a PC port or a Scalebound 2 by now. Heck, it might even be as anticipated as Sony's GoW or Nintendo's BotW sequels.
I remember seeing the trailers at the time and thinking it didn't look that great of a game, but seeing it again now, it looked pretty awesome. Shame it didn't come out.
9:50 Ken Lobb. The Klobb in Goldeneye was named after him.
It still hurts to this day.
Hoping the IP will be picked up again and we finally get the game.
This video was entertaining, but I didn't learn anything and the video didn't answer any questions. It's still vague. What happened and what's up with the closing line that seems to point a finger at the studio lead?
One game that needs to come back in some form
Damn I remember this game looked awesome at E3! Think it was 2013? Anyway, they had a full "demo", which really made no sense as they cancelled the game soon after.
2015 more likely, since that was the year they release the trailer.
What a shame this never saw the light of day. And it probably won't be revived for the years to come.
So much time and money spent with no end product.
Come on Phill make it happen, we want it, platinum wants it, and you need to bolster exclusives, gamepass, and to appeal more to the asian market, come oooon
There's still hope...
it's funny how laggy the game was back in those presentations and no one was talking about performance issues,
people was just mesmerized with the passion poured into the project, i trully hope this game returns, had so much potential
to be shelved like that, i would deffinitely want to play that!
Suddenly the Elden Ring Greatsword looks pretty realistic
I will delay my sleep to watch this.
Major The Last Guardian moment
Nah totally different game.
They apologize alot to MS recently and asked to do scalebound again. But would you give a team more money after they took your money and used it on other projects? While I really wanted scalebound to come out, I respect MS decision to not give more money.
That's just a rumor. The money that MS provided was just for scalebound. If they really did use it for other projects, the company would have been shutdown for fraud.
Along with True Fantasy Live Online, Scalebound really stung when canceled. There was just so much potential there.
this main character absolutely looks like Nero from DMC5
Scalebound got cut but Redfall got the pass?
I seriously hope people will never let that one go.
Probably should've dug a big more into the reports. It seemed clear from the reports that it was definitely more on Platinum's end with a lot of missed deadlines. I'd really love to see Microsoft revisit Scalebound with Platinum. I imagine the Xbox One could partly have been to blame. It was a fairly ambitious title being developed on a fairly underpowered and anemic platform. A do-over would need to be exclusive to current-gen platforms and PC to give it the power budget it deserves.
Nah the xbone could have handled it after all half its ideas made it into a switch game so anything's possible.
Bro no ones buying that shit.
Microsoft is known for pushing out games too early.
I never forgot about the old windows universal platform and their store. All the dead studios they caused. The franchises they killed as well.
They made it cool to charge a fee for online play.
Helped push MTX into mainstream. Remember when Valve wanted to release orange box with free updates anyone? Or how ODST was intended to be a free DLC release from Bungie.
Microsoft saw all this shit and said MONEY like they're a fucking copy of Mr. Krabs.
Halo Infinite. They even trashed their biggest IP.
Bro platinum has delivered countless games and exclusives. No problem. And it's worth noting none of that shit released as a broken half finished mess as per modern standards.
Suddenly this Xbox exclusive is a problem? They just didn't want to give the devs the time needed to make the rest of the game and we all know it.
@@hypno17 Hey if the Switch could manage With Bayonetta 3, I am sure the xbox one could as well with some optimization.
@@littlebigcommentaries9833 That's a funny way of saying Halo 5, but yes Infinite is also up there too.
@@littlebigcommentaries9833 Altho Platinum hasn't been perfect either, since they also release duds games that you forgot they existed.
"Hi. Would you like to talk to me about dinosaurs?" -Hideki Kamiya (probably)
After having played Bayonetta 3 I can see some of Scalebounds DNA in it
I feel like there's alot more to this than the video entails. Very short for a GVMERS video, usually they're 30 mins to an hour. Judging by some comments and Kamiya's twitter drama that's IN THE THUMBNAIL BUT NOT MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO, I feel this video skipped out alot
luv the voice sounds JUST LIKE ME :3
real!
I was SO sad when it got cancelled
REALLY hoping it comes back somehow.
I hit like on the video but i feel like we didnt get much of what happend??? Nobody was willing to share? I heard a rumor at time they were beinf forced to create a tacked on multi-player mode that just didnt mesh with the vision platinum had.
Not true. The creative producer for the game (JP Kellams) stated that multi-player was pitched from the beginning.
@Alexander nah weve gotten too much conflicting on that to take one persons word sorry. Its he said she said at best. Plus probably forced to say that bc thats what parent company wanted. Clealry the results spoke for themselves. Platinum wasnt a multi player team. They were known for bad ass single player action titles. It makes sense multi player didnt mesh
Oh man I forgot about this game. Are they ever going to release scalebound. It would be great if they would remaster it for like the new consoles and a PC release. If it's possible. Man I wish I could do that 🤔😁🥺🙄
They may but it have to be with out platinum games or with many western support studios and move it to UE5
@@anterosauditore5850MS could have Shinji Mikami and his team finish it. Tango is a MS studio now, after all.
Huh I just realised how much Scalebound must have influenced the Demon Slave mechanic in Bayonetta 3!
While it is sad the game never got the release it deserved, I am glad they were able to somewhat revive it within Bayonetta 3.
Not to mention one of the areas shown in trailers and demo's ended up as a location for Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
I feel like this why games should take time. This is baulders gate 3 did so well. Microsoft right now should start the development of the scale bound again in secret. Make sure the game works and do a big release like they did for star field.
I wish there was a way to revive the project
Man I was actually interested in this game too oh well
still waiting for its release
Here's obviously what went wrong with Scalebound;
-NO plot or story explained (need I say more?)
-Convoluted/confusing mechanics (the game expects your dragon to be stuck with you if its going to share its lifebar with you).
-The use of stock UE4 menus
-It felt like it was trying to mishmash several ideas into one. Granblue Fantasy Relink, throughout its troubled production and even the plot restart, at least it didn't try to reverse-engineer dumb ideas and try to make them work.
-The E3 2016 trailer was scripted in such a way where it was 50% on-rails combat meaning you'd have to copy the exact movements to make it all work
While Scalebound's concept can be done right, I'm quite surprised no one else has actually tried making such a game themselves, not even indies. I can tell you from what I've seen, Scalebound would require a very demanding control scheme (you'd need a way to command your animal companion/whatever, ride it, and so on). The sheer lack of plot (which I was the only one to bring this up) was a major major red flag. It's basically similar to Terraria: Otherworld where Otherworld couldn't justify its existence as with how the game was designed it didn't even know if it wanted to replace the original game or not. This cancellation isn't like with issues within the company like with Sadness, Star Wars 1313 or various other failed games.
Microsoft might've considered handing development to someone else, but I think they might've turned that down because they didn't see any more potential it going further. Even if Platinum had taken their time, this project would've just been taking too long. And when it comes to open world DmC-style games, this was way before the likes of Genshin and Wuthering Waves. I can tell you though that Kamiya's apology about co-op _did not age well_ with Babylon's Fall, which the State of Play trailer lied that you can parry Zenon's sword and use the Gideon Coffin on his sword. Guess what? You can't do that because that scene was actually SCRIPTED, meaning they programmed this scene specifically for the trailer.
Scalebound did have a plot and fully fleshed out world. They also brought in a couple of western writers as well (through MS connections I think). Blame Microsoft for not showcasing any of it in the marketing.
great video but you left out a lot of information in your video like mismanaging fund that MS gave for this game, prioritise Nier: Automata over this game, and MS want this game on unreal4 which they have zero experience on that engine etc....
Nier has nothing to do with the development of this game.
Drew: Isekais into a magical world and gets a dragon buggy.
Frey: Isekais into a magical world and gets a bengal. . . sorry, misspelled that one, a _bangle._
*Slap both of them * Your Dead to me
I had never heard of this game, but it looks absolutely amazing - I really wish that it had been released.
What a shame....that said Astral Chain and Bayonetta 3 both lack the old platinum magic and on point action..so who knows how it would have turned out..
This video is pure gold.
I hope Scalebound is a valuable experience for platinumgames. Looking forward to their next original IP Babylon's Fall!
died in 3 months with a max player count of 300. Then again why anyone thought it was a good idea to release right next to Elden ring is beyond me
loooooool
You can tell though that Babylon's Fall has some Scalebound DNA. That being the multiplayer aspects
@@almalone3282 "game was shit, quick complain it was overshadowed instead"
KAMIYA: This game is my idea
MICROSOFT: Your idea is ours
Platinum agreed to microsoft when game was pitched
Why u acting like msft forced them to give the ip?
Uhh yeah, they likely spent literal millions of dollars funding this project. This is how publishing works.
wile we never seen an game like this, bayonetta 3 brought several ideas from scalebound. if you ever noticed, several demons are fairly more improvment over is incarnation. so nothing was wasted.
So 16 minutes and you can’t spend a single second on what caused the development to fall apart 😮
I hope Microsoft gives this another shot. It's a really cool idea and could be really awesome.
Hm, anyone get DMC vibes from Scalebound? Like Drew looks like Nero, down to the devil arm and seemed to have a personality like Dante. Would love to know if Capcom had anything to do with the cancellation.
So sad 😢
You can tell by playing Bayonetta 3 that they really wanted Scalebound to come out just as much as us. It sucks that he kept trying to go back to his dream game after shipping other stuff like Bayonetta, Vanquish, etc. and while those games are fantastic, it sucks that he ever got to release the game that he always wanted to make.
yall know damn well that's just Nero
I wonder what happens to a game if cancelled so late into its development?
It seems like the soul of this game was revived in Bayonetta 3 .
Except Scalebound showed promise. Bayonetta 3 is just dogshit
I was looking forward to this so bad
oh ! this one hurts my loving dragons gamers heart !
Great video! The way things are going, its only matter of time before we get a "From Platinum to ash, the death of PlatinumGames" :(
Platinum is doing fine. Bayonetta 3 is a major significant sale compared to bayo 1 and 2
Gotta factor in how badly Babylon's Fall performed though. Sure Bayo 3 maybe killing it in sales but Babylon's Fall probably burned through some serious cash and resources.
@@freedom375 It didn't burn through any of their cash. It's a Square Enix published game.
Man just when I thought I forgot about this tragedy