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Toys for Bob going independent

bumpkin

Member
TFB has low-key made some of the most enjoyable games and experiences I’ve played in recent years. I know the toys-to-life bubble burst and now many folks (like me) have a bunch of dust collectors, but when they were new, damn it was fun! I’m glad TFB is going to keep making games, they’re good at it.
 
Making that comment after lecturing Banjo on how success is measured is chef's kiss
You can learn a thing or two. Keep watching kid.

Sam Elliott Hello GIF by GritTV
 

efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
Good for them, they're a talented bunch and I look forward to seeing what they work on next, and with whom (hoping for a Nintendo collaboration personally).
 

BlueLyria

Member
Real question: Who's taking their spot in the cod mines? They were already one of the pieces to keep the COD machine running, now without Toys for Bob and the layoffs, how are the COD studios expected to keep the same cadence of releases and updates?
 
And there went all the hopes Xbox fans (the few that remain) had for a Banjo Kazooie remake/reboot/sequel. Toys For Bob is done. They are nothing without a licensed IP.
 

cash_longfellow

Gold Member
I know, I’m just playing any way. Truthfully I’m glad they don’t have to deal with Acti now, and believe they deserve much better because they are a great studio. Happy to see them staying above water!

Did you not read my other posts in this thread? Of course you didn’t.

Here, I’ll quote myself since you are taking the route that Ass of Can Whooping Ass of Can Whooping calls people out on, and you have a hard time reading posts before you comment…

O Ozriel
 

3liteDragon

Member
IP's owned by ABK, who are owned Microsoft.
No point making a distinction in IP ownership between a subsidiary and the parent company.
I think it matters regardless cause (not saying it'll happen) in Bungie's case, the Destiny trademark is all under Bungie, not Sony. So in a theoretical scenario where they wanna go independent, they're taking the IP's with them since they owned it all this time. Might be wrong on this but I think the Sunset Overdrive IP was trademarked again by Sony in 2021 under the SIE brand when it expired, Insomniac registered it under their name in 2013 which was before they got acquired by Sony.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
MS own Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro, Crash and Conker. The 4 biggest 3D platform mascots in gaming outside of Nintendo IP.

And they’ve let Toys For Bob go.

Honestly, Microsoft are astoundingly bad at gaming. You can’t imagine worse decisions, but they continue to outdo themselves.

Good for Toys For Bob to be honest. Hopefully they continue to make great games.
20 years ago? yes.
Now? probably...crash i guess?
 

geary

Member
This might be an Ori situation like with Moon Studios. Games published by MS
 
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Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Getting those Xbox 2015 vibes. I wonder if we see some other studios do this and if there were clauses in place before the acquisitions of studios like Doublefine, Ninja Theory and Compulsion.
Why the hell do some people in this forum pretend they can just buy themselves or walk out? The mental gymnastics to make it seem like Microsoft did not just let them go, they just moved out on their own.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
I think it matters regardless cause (not saying it'll happen) in Bungie's case, the Destiny trademark is all under Bungie, not Sony. So in a theoretical scenario where they wanna go independent, they're taking the IP's with them since they owned it all this time. Might be wrong on this but I think the Sunset Overdrive IP was trademarked again by Sony in 2021 under the SIE brand when it expired, Insomniac registered it under their name in 2013 which was before they got acquired by Sony.

A fully owned subsidiary can’t just decide to leave and then take their IP. These things are negotiated if a split happens. For example, Saber gets to keep all their IP when they left Embracer, which justifies their $500m price.
 

xrnzaaas

Member
The fact that Spyro and Crash still belong to Activision is not a problem. There's plenty of other similar 90s/2000s platformer IP's they could revive / continue or start with something brand new. I know I'll pay close attention to what they're doing.
 
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Ozriel

M$FT
The fact that Spyro and Crash still belong to Activision is not a problem. There's plenty of other similar 90s/2000s platformer IP's they could revive / continue or start with something brand new. I know I'll pay close attention to what they're doing.

They’ll need funding for that. Either via partnership with a publisher or getting investment from the likes of Tencent or Netease.

Wish them tons of luck going forward
 

Nickolaidas

Member
It's incredibly sad that people remember Toys for Bob for kiddie/meh IPs like Skylanders, while those guys were the GOATs who made one of the best space adventure/RPGs of all time, and the inspiration for Mass Effect.

The creators of Star Control.



 
I mean we kind of have a bit of that going on already, if you think about what embracer own.

But I don't really mean it In that sense. More that it would be nice to go back to gaming where publishers would publish games and studios were "independent" but basically worked with their friends at publishing houses.

So in otherwords I'd like to see the return of actual publishers again.

Publishers having to search the industry to publish the next great title and studios looking for publishing and developing their passion projects

Oh okay, got it. That would be nice to see, but realistically can't be the case anymore with how big a money generator gaming is these days. The publishers will want to have some sense of securement, which would mean at least long-term contracts to publish with developers, if not buy the studios outright to publish their content in perpetuity.

In the '70s and '80s, yeah, that was 100% doable. But with big money comes big greed, including as much ownership over the content you publish as possible. Though, thanks to the advent of digital distribution, developers can kind of be their own publishers again, and the advent of the internet & social media help with huge, organic WOM if your game hits. Which saves significantly in traditional marketing costs.

You seem to equate revenue with success. I hope you understand that bigger revenue does not necessarily correlate to bigger profits.

This applies to Halo as well, even back during its golden era.

Cultural impact and legacy.

Does that apply to male ass-cheeks from conceited actors as well?

It's incredibly sad that people remember Toys for Bob for kiddie/meh IPs like Skylanders, while those guys were the GOATs who made one of the best space adventure/RPGs of all time, and the inspiration for Mass Effect.

The creators of Star Control.





That was before most of our time, and are effectively relics in the modern sense as the IP hasn't been commercially relevant for decades.

It's like a once-famous film director who points to their magnum opus from the '60s and thinks that still makes them relevant at the equivalent tier in today's film industry as it did back in the '60s. I can respect TFB for making gems like this back in the day, but scifi adventure/RPG epics aren't modern TFB's area of expertise.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?

Yep. It's likely that either Bob really wanted to work on one of those IP's (Crash, Spyro) or that they just wanted to bypass Activision management, who wanted to turn them into a CoD support studio but were still keen on working with Microsoft game.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Not sure this is the dunk you think it is. I said they may try to do another crash or spyro game. We don't know what their next game is or if the game will be multiplatform.

The meat of your post was about them not working with Microsoft, not about the IP.

If its being wholly funded by MS, it’s pretty much a first party title.
 
The meat of your post was about them not working with Microsoft, not about the IP.

If its being wholly funded by MS, it’s pretty much a first party title.

I like how you're ignoring everything I actually said in order to say that was the meat of my argument.

My point was that I didn't think this was going to be a Microsoft exclusive title with a new IP.

I specifically said they could license crash and spyro from Microsoft, in suggesting that the game would at least drop on other platforms.

If this ends up Xbox exclusive and/or a new IP, I'll suggest that I was wrong.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
I like how you're ignoring everything I actually said in order to say that was the meat of my argument.

My point was that I didn't think this was going to be a Microsoft exclusive title with a new IP.

I specifically said they could license crash and spyro from Microsoft, in suggesting that the game would at least drop on other platforms.

If this ends up Xbox exclusive and/or a new IP, I'll suggest that I was wrong.

If this article is correct, Microsoft is paying for this, so it’s a first party Xbox game. It’s not just them licensing Microsoft IP.

Doesn’t mean it can’t be multiplatform, of course. But that would be tied to MS strategy, and not based on TfB.
 
Not sure this is the dunk you think it is. I said they may try to do another crash or spyro game. We don't know what their next game is or if the game will be multiplatform.
I see what you're saying. If this ends up just being MS charging them to use the Spyro or Crash license then you're OP would be half right. I think the confusing thing is that in your OP you said you wouldn't hold your breath for them working with MS and then you severely hedged your bet by saying that they might end up licensing Crash or Spyro to them, which we can all agree is technically "working with MS" but certainly not to the same degree as straight up making a game for them, especially if it ends up being exclusive. So I do see what you mean.

Personally I just found odd how MS did what is objectively a GOOD thing and let TfB go instead of canning the studio and GAF poops on them for it?! MS did the right thing in this case and we need to applaud good behavior as much if not more than we call out bad behavior by these companies.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
I see what you're saying. If this ends up just being MS charging them to use the Spyro or Crash license then you're OP would be half right. I think the confusing thing is that in your OP you said you wouldn't hold your breath for them working with MS and then you severely hedged your bet by saying that they might end up licensing Crash or Spyro to them, which we can all agree is technically "working with MS" but certainly not to the same degree as straight up making a game for them, especially if it ends up being exclusive. So I do see what you mean.

Windows Central explicitly says the entire project is being funded by Microsoft. So the entire other way from TfB paying a fee to license Crash or Spyro.

They’re a newly independent studio with no IP of their own and staff salaries to pay. A publishing deal was always going to be outcome.
 

intbal

Member
There's already a multiplatform fanbase for the Crash and Spyro games.
I don't think Microsoft would be funding this unless they planned to sell it to as many gamers as possible.
90% chance whatever game Toys for Bob makes is going to be multiplatform. Especially now with Bond in charge.
 
I see what you're saying. If this ends up just being MS charging them to use the Spyro or Crash license then you're OP would be half right. I think the confusing thing is that in your OP you said you wouldn't hold your breath for them working with MS and then you severely hedged your bet by saying that they might end up licensing Crash or Spyro to them, which we can all agree is technically "working with MS" but certainly not to the same degree as straight up making a game for them, especially if it ends up being exclusive. So I do see what you mean.

Personally I just found odd how MS did what is objectively a GOOD thing and let TfB go instead of canning the studio and GAF poops on them for it?! MS did the right thing in this case and we need to applaud good behavior as much if not more than we call out bad behavior by these companies.

I wasn't pooping on them, but I also don't know if I would praise them here. They laid off people before this happened, which is probably why they asked to go independent.
 
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