I was super excited about the psychonauts 2 trailer being shown at E3. For it to been shown at the Xbox showcase felt a bit out of place but soon everything was made clear with the next announcement by Double Fine’s Tim Schaffer.
Not so independent anymore
Double Fine will be joining Xbox Gaming Studios. Being an independent studio for over 20 years and still going strong can only mean you’re doing things right. Working off the name Tim Schaffer built with Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango (among others) he managed to stay relevant by making games no-one else really dares to make. The boom of indie developers delivering great content might be in some part addressed to the success Double Fine had and continues to have. Games like Brütal Legend and Broken Age showcase the talent present at Double Fine.
Making games is hard
The fact remains that getting games out there for the public to enjoy is hard. Pitching your game idea to numerous studios to get the funds to start creating your idea is hard to do. Using crowd-funding is a path often taken but the uncertainty with going on that route is too big to be a viable business plan for a more than 1 man studio. People need to have a (steady) income.
Some concerns
The choice Double Fine made to go with Xbox Gaming Studios to avoid all this uncertainty is obviously a good thing for them. The concern, however, is that this limits the audience reached. As of now, everything Double Fine will make will be Xbox/PC exclusive which leaves a chunky part of their fanbase standing in the cold. If I didn’t have any more respect for what they accomplished until now, I could think they sold out. On the other hand, Double Fine will now finally have the funds to work out the games they want which would, in turn, result in more games. As a fan, I’m of course totally down for that.
The other concern might be the influence Xbox Gaming Studios would have on the creative process. Tim Schaffer has already addressed this in a youtube video posted right after the announcement. They obviously came prepared and expected some backlash after the announcement… It wouldn’t be Tim Schaffer if he wouldn’t slip in some wacky humor. In the video message, he’s telling nothing will change for Double Fine productions while wearing a Microsoft shirt and listening to a Zune…
Microsoft better be wise
I don’t take the people at Xbox Game Studios for fools. They surely know how this will boost their own sales if they just let Tim Schaffer and their team do what they do best. In other words… Xbox Game Studios would be fools if they start to intervene with how Double Fine works. Knowing Tim Schaffer’s approach, I doubt he would let them get in the way much either. Tim addresses this in the video by saying Microsoft wants them for who they are en what they are.
What about the currently developed titles?
Now some of you without an Xbox or PC might be concerned about the upcoming releases: Psychonauts 2 and Rad. Well, everything planned will still get published as promised. Psychonauts 2 will be released on multiple platforms and Rad will even get published by Namco Bandai. Everything beyond those titles will likely be all exclusive to Xbox and PC.
