Microsoft Don't hold your breath on seeing the Perfect Dark Reboot anytime soon

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Xbox’s Perfect Dark Reboot Is Still Years Away - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

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While a new partnership with Crystal Dynamics appears to finally be bearing fruit, multiple sources who have worked on The Initiative's Perfect Dark reboot recently say that the game is still “in the earliest stages” of development, estimating that it is still roughly two to three years away from being ready for release.

 

Quote

 

At The Game Awards 2020, Xbox unveiled a new game from its fledgling studio The Initiative: a reboot of Perfect Dark.

 

The two-minute trailer was purely cinematic, showing off an “eco-futuristic” Earth as a camera soared over a massive city bedecked in greenery. After zipping through a skyscraper, we saw a woman gazing at distant pyramids amid a raging storm. “Did you find what you’re looking for, Agent Dark?” a voice asks. “Not yet,” replied Joanna Dark. “This is only the beginning.”

 

Three years later, developer The Initiative is still, in many ways, only at the beginning.

 

At the time the trailer – created by an external CG house – was shown, it was “very obviously way far ahead of anywhere the game was at,” according to one developer who was working at The Initiative at the time. “We hadn’t even figured out any of our core game mechanics. We didn’t even really know what type of game we were making.”

 

Teasing new games with cinematic trailers years before the game itself is ready is a common practice in the industry. But The Initiative’s radio silence since combined with reports of major attrition at the studio have sparked questions about the project, exacerbated by its recent absence from Xbox’s summer games showcase. The concern is not unfounded: according to conversations with 13 sources familiar with the game’s development, little meaningful progress has been made on Perfect Dark since that 2020 trailer.

 

 

[Spork3245]

[Mr.Vic20]

We now live in a perpetual cycle of "still a few years off". 

[best3444]

Meh. 

[imthesoldier]

7 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

We now live in a perpetual cycle of "still a few years off". 

 

It seems we had some of that the last decade, but it appears to be happening more and more this decade, and I fear it'll be a typical PR tagline for big development games from here on out. With as much complexity, costs, and simply the sheer size of these games, I'm not surprised, yet still feel some sadness. 

 

I worry with budgets ballooning, the added complexities of the software, and simply gamers just sick of waiting will cause a "recession" in gaming, though not to the extent of the 1983 crash. I'd like to be wrong though, and at least compared to back then, there are far more platforms, far more teams, and far more gamers to have appetites wet. In general, there's still a little something for everyone. 

And if things go that bad, we still have our classics to fall back on. 

[best3444]

Just now, imthesoldier said:

 

It seems we had some of that the last decade, but it appears to be happening more and more this decade, and I fear it'll be a typical PR tagline for big development games from here on out. With as much complexity, costs, and simply the sheer size of these games, I'm not surprised, yet still feel some sadness. 

 

I worry with budgets ballooning, the added complexities of the software, and simply gamers just sick of waiting will cause a "recession" in gaming, though not to the extent of the 1983 crash. I'd like to be wrong though, and at least compared to back then, there are far more platforms, far more teams, and far more gamers to have appetites wet. In general, there's still a little something for everyone. 

And if things go that bad, we still have our classics to fall back on. 

 

Good points. Interesting...

[crispy4000]

Announced too early.

[Keyser_Soze]

You need to stop telling me what to do with my breath!

[SuperSpreader]

[imthesoldier]

4 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Announced too early.

 

Perfect Dark, Metroid Prime 4, Elder Scrolls 6. I know there's more to name, but what am I missing from that "Announced too early list?" 

[crispy4000]

26 minutes ago, imthesoldier said:

 

Perfect Dark, Metroid Prime 4, Elder Scrolls 6. I know there's more to name, but what am I missing from that "Announced too early list?" 

 

Last of Us Factions 2, Beyond Good & Evil 2, Silksong, Everwild, Indiana Jones, Fable, etc

[Brian]

Example #1047204 that Microsoft needs someone in charge of these studios. They can throw all the money at the problem, but there is clearly a lack of oversight and responsibility. It feels like every project is overrunning at this point. 
 

 

[ort]

...because the last reboot was so great and well received????

[SuperSpreader]

13 minutes ago, Brian said:

Example #1047204 that Microsoft needs someone in charge of these studios. They can throw all the money at the problem, but there is clearly a lack of oversight and responsibility. It feels like every project is overrunning at this point. 
 

 

 

No Phil is doing an amazing job 

If anything he needs more studios under him to make them just as good 

[imthesoldier]

26 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

Last of Us Factions 2, Beyond Good & Evil 2, Silksong, Everwild, Indiana Jones, Fable, etc

 

And Silksong out of that list you posted is the only one I'm dying to play. 

[gamer.tv]

Everyone should replay Perfect Dark and realise how good its campaign actually is. 

[best3444]

1 minute ago, gamer.tv said:

Everyone should replay Perfect Dark and realise how good its campaign actually is. 

 

It runs at 4fps and the "textures" are laughable. I do have nostalgic memories from 2000 that it looked and ran amazing though. I couldn't possibly play this today. 

[gamer.tv]

2 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

It runs at 4fps and the "textures" are laughable. I do have nostalgic memories from 2000 that it looked and ran amazing though. I couldn't possibly play this today. 

The XBLA remake fixed all of that (also on Rare Replay) and for me shows how structured FPS games hold up well - at least it did for me when I played it last year. Except when I died and had to restart a level when it could fuck right off. 

[imthesoldier]

15 minutes ago, gamer.tv said:

Everyone should replay Perfect Dark and realise how good its campaign actually is. 

 

I honestly miss those kinds of shooters of the late 90s, and early 2000s. Especially when you consider how much replayability Perfect Dark had back in its way, plus the different difficulties, the unlockables, etc. There was a ton of stuff. Not to mention there's the multiplayer, which with the added AI Bots, made it even more exciting and fun imo. 

 

Another famed example of this approach is No One Lives Forever, but I doubt we'll ever get another sequel to that...let alone a remaster/remake/reboot of it due to licensing issues. 

[Greatoneshere]

The XBLA remaster of Perfect Dark was sooo good. My brothers and I played the original on N64 with the expansion pack but it was still really rough to play. We went back on Xbox 360 and played the hell out of the remaster - counter-operative, co-operative, multiplayer, challenges, etc. Counter-operative was such a fun mode/idea.

[Brick]

1 hour ago, Keyser_Soze said:

You need to stop telling me what to do with my breath!

 

Breathe softly into my ear as I wake up in the morning. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

Was this news also brought to light based on the FTC proceedings? Like Elder Scrolls VI?

[best3444]

1 hour ago, gamer.tv said:

The XBLA remake fixed all of that (also on Rare Replay) and for me shows how structured FPS games hold up well - at least it did for me when I played it last year. Except when I died and had to restart a level when it could fuck right off. 

 

Oh...interesting 

[stepee]

STOP TELLING ME NOT TO HOLD MY BREATH ITS A FREE COUNTRY

 

*inhales with vigor*

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

14 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

Was this news also brought to light based on the FTC proceedings? Like Elder Scrolls VI?

 

This is "investigative journalism" by IGN itself.

[best3444]

10 minutes ago, stepee said:

STOP TELLING ME NOT TO HOLD MY BREATH ITS A FREE COUNTRY

 

*inhales with vigor*

 

@SaysWho? will tell you if you if you will hold your breath or not. 

[SaysWho?]

1 minute ago, best3444 said:

 

@SaysWho? will tell you if you if you will hold your breath or not. 

 

Well done.

[Xbob42]

I never played Perfect Dark. Came out a little too late in the N64's lifecycle so I missed it. Been waiting on a decent remake to give it a try. I just can't bring myself to play it at N64 frame rates. I can't even do that for Zelda games and I know I love those. (Native PC port of Zelda has been incredible.)

[eventide11]

[Greatoneshere]

3 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

I never played Perfect Dark. Came out a little too late in the N64's lifecycle so I missed it. Been waiting on a decent remake to give it a try. I just can't bring myself to play it at N64 frame rates. I can't even do that for Zelda games and I know I love those. (Native PC port of Zelda has been incredible.)

 

The XBLA remaster runs at 60fps locked I believe. 

[Xbob42]

29 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

The XBLA remaster runs at 60fps locked I believe. 

That'd be great if I had something with XBLA on it!

[nublood]

 “Few years off” LOL. Has next gen even started for Microsoft?? Good lord. 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

On 6/26/2023 at 3:43 PM, best3444 said:

 

@SaysWho? will tell you if you if you will hold your breath or not. 

Oh yeah, says who?