Xbox Japanese push in crisis as True Fantasy Live Online is sensationally canned!
Key title pulled - Incredible full story inside!
In some incredible news breaking today, Microsoft Japan has announced that all development of True Fantasy Live Online has been cancelled, leaving Microsoft's embattled push into the Japanese market in tatters.
The news was quietly broken on the official Japanese Xbox site, wherein the firm stated a "development discontinuance." Incredibly, Microsoft stated that progress on the game had ground to a halt. It also admitted that the code as it stands will simply not be good enough to release.
In a statement, Microsoft US said, "The difficult decision to cancel True Fantasy Live Online was based on a number of careful considerations, including the game's progression to date and the remaining development time needed to complete such an ambitious project. The MMORPG genre, across all platforms, has become an incredibly crowded and competitive marketplace. In response, Microsoft Game Studios has decided to streamline its portfolio, making fewer bets in this genre. At Microsoft Game Studios, we continually evaluate our portfolio strategy and investments to ensure we are achieving our most important objectives of creating successful, platform-driving titles in a timely manner. We truly appreciate all the support True Fantasy Live Online has received from its fans and the games community."
As you will be aware, TFLO was trumpeted by Microsoft as being the key to opening a resistant Japanese market, whilst at the same time operating as a showcase for the Xbox Live service. There is no question that the game's launch was strategically planned as the pivotal moment for the Xbox in Japan. This news has left a gaping hole in any plans to win over an impressively loyal, geography-aware gaming community.
Stay tuned for follow-up news as it breaks!
The news was quietly broken on the official Japanese Xbox site, wherein the firm stated a "development discontinuance." Incredibly, Microsoft stated that progress on the game had ground to a halt. It also admitted that the code as it stands will simply not be good enough to release.
In a statement, Microsoft US said, "The difficult decision to cancel True Fantasy Live Online was based on a number of careful considerations, including the game's progression to date and the remaining development time needed to complete such an ambitious project. The MMORPG genre, across all platforms, has become an incredibly crowded and competitive marketplace. In response, Microsoft Game Studios has decided to streamline its portfolio, making fewer bets in this genre. At Microsoft Game Studios, we continually evaluate our portfolio strategy and investments to ensure we are achieving our most important objectives of creating successful, platform-driving titles in a timely manner. We truly appreciate all the support True Fantasy Live Online has received from its fans and the games community."
As you will be aware, TFLO was trumpeted by Microsoft as being the key to opening a resistant Japanese market, whilst at the same time operating as a showcase for the Xbox Live service. There is no question that the game's launch was strategically planned as the pivotal moment for the Xbox in Japan. This news has left a gaping hole in any plans to win over an impressively loyal, geography-aware gaming community.
Stay tuned for follow-up news as it breaks!
Read More Like This
Comments
smagic 3 Jun 2004 15:58
1/2
That seems a shame. Even though there are lots of these games for pc consoles arn't exactly exploding with them. Rpgs where you can use the mic instead of a keyboard are great because you can communicate without interrupting the flow of the game. I saw a trailer for this game on a demo dvd and it looked quite original. There were several ways of transport such as horses,giant frogs and even broom sticks. Some of the characters looked abit silly but it would have made a refreshing change.
Joji 3 Jun 2004 16:34
2/2
A blow for MS and a big surprise for us all. It looked quite promising too, even for xbox. This leaves more room for Fable, Sudeki, KOTOR2 and Jade Empire so there's still something for xbox owners to look forward to.
It's definitely unusual for an rpg to be canned, especially from outside of japan. A big shame but xbox folk will get over it.
It's definitely unusual for an rpg to be canned, especially from outside of japan. A big shame but xbox folk will get over it.