Team Meat Won't Go Back to Microsoft

[Andy Chalk]

Team Meat Won't Go Back to Microsoft

Super Meat Boy developer Team Meat says it will probably never work with Microsoft again.

Team Meat's issues with the treatment of well documented [http://www.amazon.com/Super-Meat-Boy-Ultra-Rare-Pc/dp/B00505EQBY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315585915&sr=8-2]. A lot of promises about giving the game a big push were made in exchange for making the game a 30-day timed exclusive on the service but in the end, most of them didn't pan out. Because of that, the studio is in no great hurry to hop back in bed with Microsoft.

"I don't think we'll work with them ever again," co-founder Edmund McMillen said on the Develop [http://indiegames.com/2011/09/indiegamescom_podcast_22_team_.html]). But he added that he's still "on good terms" with an unnamed producer at Microsoft, presumably the one the team worked with on Super Meat Boy.

"He also happens to be the producer on every good game on the fucking system [Xbox 360]," McMillen continued. "It felt like he was the only person who really believed in us, and he felt like a friend."

Even though it's been almost a year since the game launched on XBLA, McMillen said it hasn't once been put on sale and he doesn't know if it ever will. He claimed the studio asks every month if the game can be included in a sale or get some kind of promotional push, but the answer is always no.

Tommy Refenes, McMillen's fellow co-founder, said the duo would only be interested in going back to Microsoft "if it's more on our terms, which I don't feel like they'll ever want to agree with." Not that it appears that it really needs to; despite being a timed exclusive, Refenes said the PC version of the game on Steam has sold roughly twice as many copies as the XBLA release.


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[Lord_Gremlin]

So, now they work with PSN? Or maybe Wiiware. They will need console sales in addition to Steam.

 

[AngryMongoose]

Ah, but they forget, PC gaming is dead. Noone buys PC games anymore. All those copies MUST have been pirated. Maybe they only sold one copy on 360. If they don't go back to Microsoft they'll die to.

PC Gaming is Dead.

PC Gaming is Dead.

If we keep saying it it becomes true right?

Or maybe Wiiware.

Their dealings with Wiiware were even worse, to the point they simply didn't release on the system. The main issue was size limits on the store, I believe; something neither group felt they could budge on

They will need console sales in addition to Steam.

What for? Other than, obviously, PC gaming being completely dead and no one buying PC games anymore, as everyone knows.

They sold twice as many games on PC as on 360. Porting a game takes a crapton of work, apparently even more for the 360, so there's obviously not a huge benefit in doing so.

 

[KingofallCosmos]

So, now they work with PSN? Or maybe Wiiware. They will need console sales in addition to Steam.

They should. Though I remember them saying they wouldn't, can't remember the reason...

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Oh, Microsoft...what happened to you?

When Bill was there, you were at least affably evil. We gave you thousands, you gave us half-arsed programs.

Now Bill's not there, you can't even be evil any more. Job's Apple has swooped past you, selling you music that you can only play on their machines. You didn't even get WMP to work properly...

And now...you can't even match up to Uncle Gabe...you could have been a contender. You could have had a console war, but now you just lose everything to Sony and the rest.

Whatever happened to the evil Microsoft we loved to hate?

 

[Xman490]

For a team whose game insists on me getting a gaming controller (I like my Mac keyboard, thank you very much), this surprises me.

 

[coldfrog]

Their dealings with Wiiware were even worse, to the point they simply didn't release on the system. The main issue was size limits on the store, I believe; something neither group felt they could budge on

Actually, I'd consider that better dealings: At least here they know up front, this is our restriction, we can't change it. With Microsoft it was all runaround and doublespeak, which to me would be the worse experience.

Although there could have been other stuff with Nintendo, who knows

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

I didnt like Super meat boy(my opinion when i played it) so its no loss at the moment. What will they make next? They should be glad a company released their game in the first place. An maybe it was their fault for not being smart enough to bash out a contract that works for them instead of whats best for MS. Of course MS is looking after them self, why would they allow a game to be sold on another systems? Sony and Nintindo would do the same, you dont allow stuff to go to the competitiors, and if SMB didnt check the contract before signing then they have nothing to ***** about.

Atleast they are out their, people know their product and they have brand recognition so they need to see that as a learning process and move on.

 

[XT inc]

To be fair when it was on steam it was aloooot cheaper than xbox, when it came to being on sale.

800 microsoft points to play what looks to be a upgraded flash games, to most consumers.

It hits steam and a few weeks later it was going sale to sale steam vs xbox, consoles could get the 10 dollar game for 5-6 bucks and pc gamers got it for 2.50- 3.50.

 

[smithy1234]

An maybe it was their fault for not being smart enough to bash out a contract that works for them instead of whats best for MS. Of course MS is looking after them self, why would they allow a game to be sold on another systems? Sony and Nintindo would do the same, you dont allow stuff to go to the competitiors, and if SMB didnt check the contract before signing then they have nothing to ***** about.

Atleast they are out their, people know their product and they have brand recognition so they need to see that as a learning process and move on.

They probably are smart enough to bash out a contract but, it's obvious that Microsoft is bigger than a small indie game studio so it's not like there was much room for them to make a contract that would be of more benefit to them. It has nothing to do with intelligence, it's more to do with leverage. It seems like it's Microsoft without intelligence here for not being able to have a stable working relationship with a partner (something that isn't that hard to do because I see many companies that have successful partnerships.)

Now because of as you say that Microsoft was just looking after itself, it lost future contracts with the Super Meat boy team and won't be able to capitalize on their next release which will undoubtedly rake in a fair amount of money because as you said, people now know their product. Microsoft is the stupid one here, not the Super Meat boy team.

 

[Panzervaughn]

Team meat should just charge more, or do microtransactions. I will Consumerwhore the shit out of whatever they put in front of me.

Seriously, All Glory to the hypnomeat.

 

[Stelio Stinkmeaner]

Super meat boy sucked anyway (my opinion when i played it) so its no loss at the moment. What will they make next? They should be glad a company released their game in the first place. An maybe it was their fault for not being smart enough to bash out a contract that works for them instead of whats best for MS. Of course MS is looking after them self, why would they allow a game to be sold on another systems? Sony and Nintindo would do the same, you dont allow stuff to go to the competitiors, and if SMB didnt check the contract before signing then they have nothing to ***** about.

Atleast they are out their, people know their product and they have brand recognition so they need to see that as a learning process and move on.

lemme guess - your favorite game is a CoD variation?
if you played video games in the 80s and 90s and love GAMEPLAY vs graphics, there are few games that are as good as SMB.
/smh

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Super meat boy sucked anyway (my opinion when i played it) so its no loss at the moment. What will they make next? They should be glad a company released their game in the first place. An maybe it was their fault for not being smart enough to bash out a contract that works for them instead of whats best for MS. Of course MS is looking after them self, why would they allow a game to be sold on another systems? Sony and Nintindo would do the same, you dont allow stuff to go to the competitiors, and if SMB didnt check the contract before signing then they have nothing to ***** about.

Atleast they are out their, people know their product and they have brand recognition so they need to see that as a learning process and move on.

lemme guess - your favorite game is a CoD variation?
if you played video games in the 80s and 90s and love GAMEPLAY vs graphics, there are few games that are as good as SMB.
/smh

Why is it when some one doesnt like something people say "you are a cod lover?" Ive played games since ZX Spectrem and Atari. I also dont like COD games since they moved from WW2 material, and prefer RPGs. I just didnt like SMB, im not fond of that type of gameplay. Nothing to do with graphics. Just didnt like it. Its a thing called personal opinion.

 

[Strixvaliano]

Glad I chose to support Team Meat on Steam and introduced some of my friends to it as well.

 

[Jonathan Bradford]

I am curious who the producer they mention is personally, and while this decision could hurt both parties I don't really see anything irreplaceable being lost here.

 

[ciancon]

Yes, come to PSN! I still haven't finished SMB (Super Meat Boy, not Super Mario Bros) yet, but i'm just sooo close. Like the starting pop-ups You really do need a controller.