What Happened To Concord? Xbox Boss Talks Worst Mistakes & More
Table of contents
- Sony's game "Concord" shut down just two weeks after launch, marking a historic failure in the gaming world.
- Sony's new leadership claims they lack iconic IPs, but with 30 years of PlayStation history, that feels tone-deaf.
- Borderlands 4" promises all-new Vault Hunters with deeper RPG elements and diverse biomes.
- Silent Hill 2 is making a comeback with immersive features and a '90s filter for the ultimate old-school experience.
- Space Marine 2 is the thrilling, old-school action game we've been craving.
Sony's game "Concord" shut down just two weeks after launch, marking a historic failure in the gaming world.
Hello, folks. Today is Friday, September 6th, 2024. As usual, my name is Jake Baldino, here to talk about all the video game news that has been going on this week. We're in the office. It's been a while. We're back. Yay. Here we are. So there's a lot to talk about this week.
The first thing, with it being September 6th, it is officially "Concord Shutting Down Day." If you missed the news, I know this has probably been talked to death now at this point, but Sony and developer Firewalk Studios did put out a statement earlier this week announcing that "Concord" is no more, at least for now. They said in the post that it didn't quite land like how they were hoping, and that they are offering refunds. This comes after, of course, the game being kind of like the running joke in gaming news and sites and stuff for having a really, really low player count.
Yes, I will say that this is a failure on a pretty historic level. When you think about just how short the window was here, it was only two weeks. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before, anything that quick. And it's fascinating from like a video game history and business perspective. What were they thinking here? It was a game that didn't release, like it wasn't like a glitchy disaster or like buggy or anything. Like it had to be taken down from the store or anything. It was just like, just didn't appeal to anyone. So this is where we're at, but there are still a lot of questions for the future.
Is Sony going to try and salvage "Concord" into something else, like make it into a free-to-play thing that's going to take some time? I wonder if that's what they're gonna do or are they gonna try and just completely sweep it under the rug and it's just a tax write-off for them? Who knows? I am not a business person. I have no idea, but there's also been a lot of speculation of "Concord" showing up in "The Secret Level." You know, the thing from the people behind Netflix's "Love, Death & Robots" and Tim Miller, like a lot of different cool video game IP being featured in that, like "Mega Man," "God of War," a bunch of cool stuff, and then also "Concord." People are like, is "Concord" still gonna be in this? According to sources from IGN, it is when it does drop, but we'll just have to wait and see.
I did say this in another video, but like I do really, I am jealous of the people that do have physical copies of this. While yes, you can go and get a refund if you want, depending on your retailer, I would like to hold onto a copy of that just because of the video game history of it, a physical game that only really existed for two weeks. It's insane. So let me know what you think about this whole debacle. Everybody's gonna have an opinion for sure in the comments.
Spinning off of that, interestingly enough, Sony had, or new Sony had, who has replaced Jim Ryan, which some people are saying was Jim Ryan the mastermind behind this whole "Concord" disaster, or did he try and get out while the getting was good? Either way, Hiroki Totoki did do a recent interview separately, unrelated to "Concord," talking about the fact that they don't have enough IP or intellectual property.
Sony's new leadership claims they lack iconic IPs, but with 30 years of PlayStation history, that feels tone-deaf.
Let me know what you think about this whole debacle. Everybody's gonna have an opinion for sure in the comments. Spinning off of that, interestingly enough, Sony had, or knew Sony had, who has replaced Jim Ryan. Some people are saying was Jim Ryan the mastermind behind this whole "Concord" disaster, or did he try and get out while the getting was good? Either way, Hiroki Totoki did do a recent interview separately, unrelated to "Concord," talking about the fact that they don't have enough IP or intellectual property, their own iconic characters and things they've created, which I think is absolutely insane.
Whether it's newer PlayStation stuff from the last five years or so, lots of new stuff that we've all seen, but also from the history, Sony is of course celebrating like 30 years now of PlayStation. There are so many incredible things that they've made throughout the years that people are still begging for them to bring back. So to hear this kind of statement from a new leader at the company feels a little tone-deaf and a little troublesome. But talk is one thing. I'm curious to see the actions behind this. Are they going to continue to invest in new IP? They tried with "Concord," that fell flat, but I hope that doesn't get in the way of them trying in other ways. The money, resources, and time wasted on "Concord" hopefully don't impact or affect them still trying new ideas and new things. We'll see.
We'll be talking more about PlayStation and the 30th anniversary later in the video. Over onto Xbox, a pretty interesting interview with Phil Spencer recently. It was on the lighter side, more casual conversation at PAX West. In this interview, Phil Spencer did admit some mistakes, specifically passing on games. Some of you might find this interesting, especially people who've been paying attention to this stuff for a while. If you like video game industry history, Phil Spencer says he specifically regrets passing on games like Bungie's "Destiny" and "Guitar Hero," two things that ended up with Activision. It's pretty crazy when you think about it.
I linked the whole interview in the description down below, as well as everything else I talk about this week. It's an interesting scenario, like a what-if scenario, if Xbox had started with Bungie and "Destiny" or started with things like "Guitar Hero." Could you even imagine? Even though it's really funny now, it all came full circle because now Microsoft and Xbox own everything anyway.
Next up, this is news also coming from the PAX West convention. A little bit of "Borderlands 4" details. I know some people have been looking for this stuff considering the teaser didn't really show us much other than that the game is coming. What we were able to hear from the developers includes some basic things: four all-new Vault Hunters, a lot more world and biome diversity in the game, and doubling down on those distinct Vault Hunters as actual characters. They are focusing on what makes them interesting, but also mechanically as well, giving each Vault Hunter and each separate class more RPG depth.
Borderlands 4" promises all-new Vault Hunters with deeper RPG elements and diverse biomes.
A little bit of "Borderlands 4" details have emerged. I know some people have been looking for this information, especially considering the teaser didn't really show us much other than that the game is coming. From what we were able to hear from the developers, there are some basic things to note. Essentially, there will be four all-new Vault Hunters and a lot more world and biome diversity in the game. They are also doubling down on those distinct Vault Hunters as actual characters and what makes them interesting, both narratively and mechanically. Each Vault Hunter and each separate class will have more RPG depth.
Apparently, the developers mentioned that they wanted to switch it up and not just do "roach designs" like a soldier or a mage. They're trying to rethink things and do things a little bit differently. I do think that "Borderlands" is a brand or a game that could use that innovation and really spearhead some interesting character class change-ups for these types of looter shooter, RPG style games. Still, we'll just have to wait and see. We don't know when we're actually going to see "Borderlands," but I thought some of that stuff was interesting. If you want to read more about it, all this is linked down there.
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Additionally, "Silent Hill 2" release is right around the corner. Things are looking up for it a little bit. The recent round of press and YouTuber previews came away fairly positive. From the developer's, Bloober Team's, account, they mentioned, "Looking for the most immersive way to play 'Silent Hill,' you're gonna be able to turn off all UI elements." They also have a '90s filter with film grain effect, color correction, and screen adjustments to quote unquote, "Complete the old school experience." Good, that is something I want.
Silent Hill 2 is making a comeback with immersive features and a '90s filter for the ultimate old-school experience.
But also, "Silent Hill 2," the release is right around the corner. Like I said, things are looking up for it a little bit. The recent round of press and YouTuber previews came away fairly positive. From the developer's, Bloober Team's, account, they mentioned, "Looking for the most immersive way to play "Silent Hill," you're gonna be able to turn off all UI elements." They also have a '90s filter with film grain effect, color correction, and screen adjustments to, quote-unquote, "Complete the old school experience." Good, that is something I want, and I'm curious to see how effective that is.
As a "Metal Gear" fan and a Konami game fan, I am looking at this and seeing how they implement this and see how this works, considering "Metal Gear Solid 3," that remake, Delta has also stated that they're going to go for a retro filter option type thing as well. I'm still skeptical, but I hope this is good. I want "Silent Hill" to have a big comeback. I want it to be a thing again. I'm really trying to cram in a playthrough of the original "Silent Hill 2" before we get our hands on this. Fingers crossed for me.
Another announcement that slipped under some people's radar, but I think it's going to be very significant, is the announcement of "Balatro" for mobile. This, what do you call this? Like a deck builder game? Like a blackjack hand builder game with a weird clown in it? Andrew described it as, "Poker meets solitaire, but also it's video games." Thank you, Andrew. Perfect. This game has been a big deal on the platforms it's already released on, like PC and Switch. People have been addicted to it. This game is the talk of the town. I tried it. I'm personally not into card games, so it didn't really land for me. I'm also dumb and I barely know what a poker hand is, but I can't deny that everybody around me is absolutely hooked on this thing.
With it coming to mobile, I think it's over for you degenerates. I think people are gonna be really hooked on this. This is coming out September 26th, and I would say, keep an eye on it. What I'm curious to see is how much mainstream adoption it gets. Sometimes when games like this come to mobile, it really gets embraced by more people because so many people are on mobile. So I'm curious to see how that goes because the game itself definitely is a winning formula. Andrew added, "When this comes to mobile, I'm straight (beep)." Good luck. Great, see you never.
"Quidditch Champions" dropped. For all my old heads who were fans of "Quidditch World Cup" back in the day, played through that whole thing on GameCube. So yeah, new full-featured Quidditch game, which they also announced you can get the PS1 Hagrid meme face as a player in the game. I like that, that's funny.
Also, don't miss "Space Marine 2." It is technically dropping now, but it's awesome. I played through this, I love it. Check out my before you buy for it. Like I said in that video, I think it's what video games should be. It's a good, fun, thrilling third-person action campaign with some cool multiplayer on the side that is actually interesting.
Space Marine 2 is the thrilling, old-school action game we've been craving.
Back in the day, I played through the whole "World Cup" on GameCube. Now, there's a new full-featured Quidditch game, and they announced you can get the PS1 Hagrid meme face as a player in the game. I think that's funny. Also, don't miss "Space Marine 2." It is technically dropping now, and it's awesome. I played through it and loved it. Check out my "before you buy" video for it. As I mentioned in that video, I think it's what video games should be. It's a good, fun, thrilling third-person action campaign with some cool multiplayer on the side that is actually interesting—something you want to play. It doesn't feel like a big cynical Fortnite skin thing. It's just a regular old-fashioned, straight-up fun action game, and it's just what I was looking for. So, it hit me really well, and I am now officially a Warhammer fan. Thank you for having me.
There are also good games this week. Despite the industry news being gloom and doom, the games are good. "Astro Bot" is now out, exclusively on PS5. This is an incredible platformer, probably one of the best I've played in many years, which is a big statement, but yeah, this game is something else. It has a lot of PlayStation nostalgia, but also just video game industry nostalgia. It goes beyond just first-party PlayStation stuff. It's thrilling, entertaining, and fun. If you have younger brothers, sisters, or kids, jump on it with them and show it to them. Even if you are a more cynical gamer or burnt out, I think this game will make you smile and give you a bit of that joy, which sounds corny, but I think that's what we all need sometimes.
Another interesting thing is PlayStation celebrating its 30th anniversary. They announced some little things with it, including releasing some old game soundtracks on modern music streaming services, like the old God of War tunes and scores. I am all about that. However, the thing that really made headlines is that Sony may have possibly leaked the actual look of the PS5 Pro. We talked about this image leak last week from someone who did a sketch of what it will look like. Now, in PlayStation's own graphics for the 30th anniversary, little bits of all the old consoles and stuff in the background, some eagle-eyed people spotted a design that looks very much like that. Is this the PS5 Pro? Did they essentially show it here? I'd say it seems pretty likely. This lines up with that other design. It's not completely out of this world, like a completely different design. We knew that the PS5 Pro was going to keep a similar look, but now maybe with these three ridges. So, I'd say this is just even more confirmation of what it's probably going to look like.
The big question still on everybody's mind is when are they announcing this sucker? The newest rumors suggest that we're going to get it by the end of this year, but when is it going to be announced? People are thinking not Tokyo Game Show, but maybe around Tokyo Game Show, like a separate little streamed event. We'll just have to wait and see. There's also news about the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal happening soon. So, I don't know what's going on, but a lot of new stuff is coming, though we just don't know when exactly.
That's the gaming news going on this week. We have to get back to work and playing some really good games. Let me know what you think in the comments about everything, from Phil Spencer lamenting missing out on getting behind some games early on the Xbox side to the debacle of "Concord." Are you one of the few people that enjoyed "Concord," or are you one of the many who were just not interested in it? Let me know your perspective on the business side of things. What's Sony going to do now? Are they going to try and keep it going somehow, or are they just going to let those multiple years of development and like $100 million go to waste? Let's talk about that stuff. Let's talk about the new games releasing. Let us know what you're playing. And of course, in the pinned comment under this video, let us know in that thread what you're currently playing for research so we know what you guys are up to and can help make videos that might interest you.
That's really it. If you want to yell at me directly, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube @JakeBaldino. All I ask is have a great weekend, be safe, be well. Pizza's on me.