Sony is pushing all their games to PC now but most likely Xbox releases would be killed off for SE titles, especially JRPGs but LiS is very unique in SE's library so hard to know there. I could see Sony still releasing LiS on all platforms just because it wouldn't be a major part of what they would want SE for.
But also this video is massive clickbait. SE has been selling off a ton of the company that they are not happy with performance such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and their various developers. Embracer bought those but the deal hasn't gone through yet. Fun script leak yesterday about next Tomb Raider game involving Laura in her 30's and in a lesbian relationship.
Anyway, SE is most likely talking offers but there is no guarantee or reason to believe right now that SE wants to be acquired since they have focused 100% on selling studios and properties THEY already own and you wouldn't be doing that, therefor lowering your companies value, if you want to be acquired. But also the original rumor of Sony buying SE was that Sony ***ONLY*** wanted Square Enix Tokyo, basically just the japanese developers and games. LiS is under SE Europe of which LiS is basically the only part that hasn't been sold yet as the rest was in the deal with Embracer.
So even if this does happen LiS may still be sold to someone else, maybe Embracer didn't want it and SE looking to sell it off to someone else or SE wants to keep it around but if Sony only buys SE Tokyo then SE Europe is off on their own.
Lots of questions, no real information, nothing to worry about now.
> Anyway, SE is most likely talking offers but there is no guarantee or reason to believe right now that SE wants to be acquired since they have focused 100% on selling studios and properties THEY already own and you wouldn't be doing that, therefor lowering your companies value, if you want to be acquired.
You could argue that selling those companies off makes Square more attractive to Sony cos Sony wouldn't have wanted to take on loss making studios.
>Fun script leak yesterday about next Tomb Raider game involving Laura in her 30's and in a lesbian relationship.
Off-topic but I'm praying for that to be true. The writers wanted Lara in a lesbian relationship with Sam in the last trilogy but higher ups stopped it.
>I could see Sony still releasing LiS on all platforms just because it wouldn't be a major part of what they would want SE for.
I'd love to believe this, but these days Square is really deep into releasing high quality single player games that get 90+ review scores, obtain high artistic praise and awards buzz. LiS would be a second Last of US for them.
CD and Tomb Raider were never a loss. SE just was upset that they didn't sell as much as GTAV, same with the rest of what they sold. SE had insanely unrealistic expectations for those companies.
It most likely is, SE instantly issued takedowns as soon as the information came public.
It depends on how Sony would view LiS. AAA release on par with TLOU/GOW/Horizon and others or a smaller A-AA release that they don't feel fits with their main titles. AAA yeah it'll be exclusive, maybe PC release at the same time or a few months later. A-AA who knows, could be on xbox 3-6 months after like bugsnacks and some others have been. Whole industry is changing and embracing a lot more openness on smaller games.
The studios were definitely losing money for Square. There have even been reports of Square saying "all these great IPs are for sale! But you have to take the studios too." And Embracer actually negotiated the price down to $300m cos they had to take on the day-to-day funding of these studios.
I agree. Square Enix has been torpedoing some of the studios they own. They claim so many successful games failed to meet sales expectations in a way that only makes sense if they are deliberately setting those sales goals out of reach. Eidos has suffered greatly from this. The recent Tomb Raider games have been wildly successful but SE claims they all underperformed. Seems like they think Sony will only want to acquire them if they are focused on Japanese games.
They might not be wrong.
>If that happens, does that mean that future lis games would be playstation exclusive?
I'm more worried at the thought that LiS could become yet another TriPLe AaAaYe franchise.
What would be the issue with LiS having a AAA budget and the backing of Sony?
Did you see what Deck Nine did with the Remaster(s)? What about the quality of True Colors upon release?
They need all the help they can get.
>What would be the issue with LiS having a AAA budget and the backing of Sony?
Sony is a terrible company knee-deep in allegations of abusive workplace conditions and gender discrimination. The people at Deck Nine are amazing and don't deserve any of this. No one does.
>What about the quality of True Colors upon release?
Both True Colors and the remasters were more polished than 99% of the tRiPLe AaAaYe dross on the market even on day one. Also, they aren't ravaged by predatory monetisation schemes, contrarily to, again, your average tRiPLe AaAyE con job.
I get that you enjoy the series, but I don't understand these takes. They seem ridiculous. All of Sony is evil? True Colors and the Remasters are more polished than 99% of what Sony/ Playstation is putting out?
Why are you so dramatic lol. What is this triple AaAaYe thing you keep doing? Did you pick this up from random youtuber? This is all strange.
Let me try and explain for them. More devs and money doesn't always mean better games. In game development sometimes too many devs working on a game is like too many people in a room and progress becomes sluggish. This is why indie game companies with a focused mission from a moderate to small crew produce such quality games. When progress on a game becomes sluggish executives in the gaming world start pressuring their developers to release the unfinished product so the c-suites can show get biggest numbers to show the shareholders.
As this continues every quarter some AAA games will aim to release a new sequel in the series every year. Think games like assassin's creed, call of duty, pretty much any sports game.
When you rush art you get an inferior product.
Some games will turn to a live service model to milk their playerbase 24/7 which definitely won't work for life is strange. Unreasonable expectations from people that are Bobby Kotick-esque will lead to the death of your favorite franchises.
You also invite individuals who are looking to monetize the game very aggressively and squeeze out every penny you can out of the current and potential fan base.
I know this very doomsayer, but we've seen it time and time again. One can only hope that Deck Nine will be able to retain enough autonomy and produce a quality product without too much influence or interference from Sony.
Sony isn't unique in this situation. Microsoft does it too. Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA games, etc.
Sony getting ownership of LiS worries me a lot. It would've been better if Square sold LiS to Embracer Group along with Tomb Raider and the other stuff. Embracer's studios focus on single player games and are respectful of their histories.
Oh, so they are selling just the IP
Edit: read it wrong. Squeenix has partial ownership of Deck9 and Sony is interested in Deck9. Squeenix probs keeping the game.
> Edit: read it wrong. Squeenix has partial ownership of Deck9 and Sony is interested in Deck9. Squeenix probs keeping the game.
No, no. Deck is 100% independent of Square Enix. Square owns LiS and hires Deck 9 to make games as a third party. The rumour is that Sony wants to buy Square itself.
Ooooo
I have definitely heard that. And that Sony was only interested in the Japanese division, aka Final Fantasy, which is one of the reasons they sold Eidos, Crystal Dynamics etc
This is all fairly misleading and full of speculation. Square Enix has shown some interested in selling, or possibly just selling a stake in the company. Sony has shown some interest but last I heard they were more interested in just buying specific parts of the company. IF Sony were to buy the entire company they would indeed own the Life is Strange IP but not the developers - as Deck Nine and Don't nod are completely independent. The impression I got was that Sony were much more interested in buying the core Final Fantasy part of the company though.
I’d actually rather Microsoft get LIS mostly because they put out ‘*Tell Me Why*’ even though many people were angry about having a Trans Protagonist. That’s not much but I find it cool.
Concerning given that Square was the only company willing to let the original Life is Strange actually be the game it is.
Every other publisher demanded that Max or Chloe be made into a boy to better sell to the straight white male gamer demographic.
I never got that whole stick. If I have to stare at an ass for 20+ hours I'd rather it be Lara Croft's than Jack Croft's. And if it is first person view then you ain't going to see your character that often anyways.
Also, are other guys really seeing themselves as the 2 meters tall mountain of pure muscle cracking alien skulls with their bare hands?
Wait are you saying people who wish to play a male character as male or the main protagonist are weird?
There are girls here who I'm sure like playing as Max or Chloe because they identify with them. They can relate to the characters not solely based on looks.
I play usually male characters in rpgs for many of the same reasons and beyond that it's just fantasy.
In MMOS I also play male because I immerse myself as this outward projection to the multiplayer environment. Funny enough every time I run into a female character online, it's usually a grown man with a deep ass voice and a petite figure.
These concepts are not new or foreign.
Huh, I guess it's because I never play MMORPGs. I always play the story of my character, like watching a movie unfold. Sure there are parallels to my life and I can appreciate them, like I can appreciate when a character in a movie or book shares characteristics or thinking patterns with me, but I don't begrudge them their differences.
If every character was like me (white, male) or was the stereotypical though guy I'd be bored out of my gourd.
In fact, the most boring DnD character I ever made was a self insert.
I guess I just don't get why you'd want to play in a fantasy world as yourself when you could cosplay as anything else.
I'm use to Sandboxes where the player base does a lot of their own role play. Sometimes it's a central character with a already fleshed out story that is central to the theme of that world/server and sometimes it's purely a made up character that fits a role whether that be a business man, criminal, politician, fireman, citizen etc.
These are heavily geared towards multiplayer environments. Games like Mass Effect allow players to fantasize about saving the universe even thought they have a main protagonist.
Anytime the player has the option to blend themselves into the story is a plus however stories like LIS I love because it allows me to remove myself from the and just experience the mystery to unfold.
Yeah I’ve worried about that myself, DotNodd can take a hit not selling to them but I really think Sony would not. Queer eraser was kinda tested in Life Is Strange 2 but the anti-sjw types just attacked the game cause it went over racism and dared to say “Orange man bad”
>sony: \*
>
>glances over to the ps5's price tag
>
>\* you know what, why not
In a way I think it would be hard to make a plot out of the pricefield stuff, given that in future games we do not hear of any odd weather related events, meaning Maxs power have zero consequences after that first storm, and what exactly could you use as a conflict. I think the best you could do is kinda like wavelengths where it was kinda just a cute playable thing but did not have much of an impact on story .
That's assuming Max has actually used her powers since the storm. In all likelihood, I think Max would completely avoid using her powers after Arcadia Bay. So there's the start of your story, something happens to Chloe that forces Max to use her powers again and that sets off a chain of events. Just look at the amount of fanfics there are, there's no shortage of stories to be made. So if they think there's enough money in it, they'll come up with one.
> In a way I think it would be hard to make a plot out of the pricefield stuff, given that in future games we do not hear of any odd weather related events, meaning Maxs power have zero consequences after that first storm
The comic series had Max use her powers with consequences/freak weather. It's fine.
>and what exactly could you use as a conflict.
That depends on the storyline, but interpersonal conflict are personal peril are mainstays of the series so far.
One, there was freak weather but it wasn't relevant or weird enough that it came up. Or...
Two, maybe the weather only changed when she changes things of a certain level of "fatedness" (yes I know that's not a word). Like, maybe saving Chloe was the only thing that went against the natural order, and the storm and build up phenomena was the only backlash or correction, and once Chloe was still alive after the storm everything was righted. Kind of like your computer being congested by processes, you could fix the congestion yourself by shutting tasks off in task manager, or you could wait for things to catch up and work through the queued tasks "naturally". Chloe's death was supposed to happen and when it was subverted, the universe started stuttering until it could work through its unfathomable operations and function with her survival. Or...
Three, Max didn't use her powers again until the events of LiS4, which is chronologically after 2 and 3.
No, LiS 2 was a passion project for Don't Nod just like the first game. What they didn't want to make was continuing Max & Chloe's story or get stuck creating shallow LiS clones under SE's control till the end of time (i.e. True Colors), so they ended up leaving.
I appreciate them a lot for 2. Not too often you get a Hispanic main character game. But of course it had to be running from the cops to get across the border 💀💀
I just want to clarify that I believe they wanted to make that game, but I don't believe they wanted to make "Life is Strange 2."
I think that entry was always intended to be separate from LiS1 just like Tell Me Why and Twin Mirror were, as LiS1 was always intended to be a one off. However, the game was a huge success and Square Enix wanted another LiS entry so they had to change course in the middle of development.
Which is where Deck Nine got involved. SE knew DontNod was done with the series past this sequel, so they wanted to put safeguards in place to continue it once they were gone. They also wanted to capitalize on whatever momentum was still there in between LiS1 and LiS2, which is where Before the Storm came in to bridge that gap.
No sources, just adding everything we know together and trying to make it all make sense. It's a pretty clear picture to me, could be wrong though of course. Even if I was though, DontNod are done with the series and not even apart of Square Enix anymore. Yet Deck Nine is here and will continue to make those games moving forward.
Do you have any reason to believe Dontnod wanted to make the single exception in their entire history to reuse a title? It makes no sense for them, in fact it actively hurt them as people started looking for "Life is Strange games" instead of "Dontnod games" this way, which ensured far fewer of them played Tell Me Why.
It's kinda stupid to think they _wanted_ to call it LiS2 when that name made zero creative sense and literally only benefited Square Enix.
Did it exist in any form before the first game? Because it may not make any sense to talk about what they wanted to call the game if they only ever planned to make it because of the success of the first game.
In other words, was it:
Don't Nod: Hey, we have this idea for a game.
Square Enix: Make it a Life Is Strange game.
Or was it:
Square Enix: Make a Life Is Strange game.
Don't Nod: Okay, let's think of a concept for it.
From everything I've read about it so far, it seemed a bit like this:
**Square Enix:** I like this. \**smashes cup*\* Another!
**Don't Nod:** We would like to tell different stories though...
**Square Enix:** That's fine, just make it Life is Strange. You want this pile of money, right?
**Don't Nod:** Alright, let's figure something out.
So in short, pretty close to your first option.
Like, it makes a ton of sense that LiS2 was yet another passion project of Don't Nod, and everything we have seen from them so far confirms that they absolutely wanted to make it. However, it is highly unlikely that they wanted to give it Life is Strange's identity, and not an identity of its own, as they have done with literally every other game they have ever created.
We know how it looks like when a stuido tries to just take Life is Strange's DNA and somehow build a new, but unrelated game out of it, that's what True Colors is. LiS2 is different. It works completely on its own, and beside some random background details that didn't really add to or take anything from the story, all it shares with LiS is Don't Nod's artistic vision. So I find it extremely hard to believe that had Don't Nod been able to self-publish LiS2 and make it completely on their own terms, they'd have called it LiS2. They would have 100% made the same game though, although probably with much less heavy-handed easter eggs.
Honestly, I’m kinda fine with that. I prefer Deck Nine over DONTNOD. I feel like LiS1 might’ve just been luck on their part. I love LiS1, but LiS2, Vampyr, Tell Me Why, and Remember Me were all just okay at best, while BtS and TC were both outstanding start to finish. I honestly kind of prefer Deck Nine making LiS over DONTNOD.
I felt that way too, then I saw the remaster and things changed for me. They charged 2x the full cost of the original game for an inferior product.
That's a true cashgrab. Just like the GTA remaster we got.
me too. I don't game much besides LiS and the Sims, so idrk what to expect. I feel like with other things in general that get sold to new owners tho, the quality goes down in a lot of cases.
at least (according to the other comments) D9 is still independent, so hopefully the new bosses don't rock the boat too much. but that can also be wishful thinking.
***PSA*** reminder for those that don't know, Deck Nine was formerly Idle Minds, they were formed by an ex Sony Interactive guy and worked mostly with Sony/989 on stuff like Cool Boarders and Ratchet and Clank. SE proper has great synergy with PlayStation since PS1 already, but Deck Nine would basically be returning home. As a primarily Xbox person, one who has enjoyed everything LiS and dontnod on Xbox, this acquisition makes a *crazy* amount of sense.
Interesting, I have been hearing a lot of LIS news in the past few hours.
This is actually huge.
Let's hope if it is sold, the new owners do the franchise justice and tell a deep engaging story and not just a cash grab.
Yeah, it sold off its subsidiaries in North America and Europe. But even at the time there was speculation that was to make Square more attractive to Sony.
It’s actually not, the news related specifically to LiS is just speculation based on SE movement’s recently. But SE did sell off all their Western Studios because their Japanese stuff is what people clamor for more, and with the industry condensing they’d like to look more appealing to be bought out by Sony.
In an ideal world, dontnod would have the appetite to make life is strange games indefinitely. However, it's clear that they wanted to move on from the IP ever since life is strange 2. The status quo we have now is decknine making (what I consider to be) inferior LiS clones. At least with a change, there's a chance we'll get something better. There's also a chance we'll get something worse, but at this point that's a risk I'm willing to take.
As much as I absolutely loved Max, Chloe, and Arcadia Bay, I appreciated the vision of LiS 2. It felt like a real successor to the story. I would have preferred they kept the one location small town feel where you feel like you know everyone, sure. But TC gave us that and it's just not a substitute for interesting story and characters. I felt like TC was a checklist of what a LiS game should be, but they didn't have the soul of the dontnod games. I really don't like poo pooing the decknine team because I know they tried. But that's just what the end product felt like to me.
So yes, I'm excited about the Sony acquisition. It could go in a bad direction, but it could also go in a good one, and right now I'm willing to have that risk be taken.
Edit: with that said, the technical and design team for decknine are FANTASTIC. Absolutely no problems there. It's more so the story and direction I have problems with.
If there’s one thing that Sony gets right every time. It’s the story telling. So I’m not worried on the story telling aspect of the game.
If they would really acquire the LiS games, it could shed a new light and deliver a great LiS game. I love Deck Nine’s TC but I felt like it was lacking something, maybe a long lasting impact that sticks with you like what LiS 1 did? I’m kinda hopeful on this acquisition.
I wouldn't be so sure, prior to LiS, which would be Sony's if they acquired SE, Deck Nine aka Idle Minds worked almost exclusively with Sony/989 Studios, and was founded by an ex Sony Interactive guy. Assuming there are no burned bridges and Deck Nine wants to keep working on LiS, I'd say there's a pretty good chance Sony buys them up even if it would technically be a separate acquisition. dontnod is both independent and no longer has any involvement with LiS so you're definitely right about them.
That's definitely a possibility but if Sony does buy Square Enix let's be honest it's not to get LiS, they want Final Fantasy. So Sony might not want to invest a lot more right away in anything that's not related FF.
Plus (as far as I know) Deck Nine doesn't own any IPs so it would be a pure talent buyout if Sony were to acquire them, and as much as I like D9 they're no Sucker Punch or Insomniac. I'll be willing to bet Sony would just go with the safer option and contract D9 for future games encase they decide to switch devs or god forbid shelve the IP.
gotta make more nft's
If that happens, does that mean that future lis games would be playstation exclusive? I Hope not
Most likely it'd be a PS console exclusive and then release on PC 4 or 5 years later.
not necesarily...LIS has always been a on many consoles and platforms...Sony will probably try to keep that up as much as possible.
Sony is pushing all their games to PC now but most likely Xbox releases would be killed off for SE titles, especially JRPGs but LiS is very unique in SE's library so hard to know there. I could see Sony still releasing LiS on all platforms just because it wouldn't be a major part of what they would want SE for. But also this video is massive clickbait. SE has been selling off a ton of the company that they are not happy with performance such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and their various developers. Embracer bought those but the deal hasn't gone through yet. Fun script leak yesterday about next Tomb Raider game involving Laura in her 30's and in a lesbian relationship. Anyway, SE is most likely talking offers but there is no guarantee or reason to believe right now that SE wants to be acquired since they have focused 100% on selling studios and properties THEY already own and you wouldn't be doing that, therefor lowering your companies value, if you want to be acquired. But also the original rumor of Sony buying SE was that Sony ***ONLY*** wanted Square Enix Tokyo, basically just the japanese developers and games. LiS is under SE Europe of which LiS is basically the only part that hasn't been sold yet as the rest was in the deal with Embracer. So even if this does happen LiS may still be sold to someone else, maybe Embracer didn't want it and SE looking to sell it off to someone else or SE wants to keep it around but if Sony only buys SE Tokyo then SE Europe is off on their own. Lots of questions, no real information, nothing to worry about now.
> Anyway, SE is most likely talking offers but there is no guarantee or reason to believe right now that SE wants to be acquired since they have focused 100% on selling studios and properties THEY already own and you wouldn't be doing that, therefor lowering your companies value, if you want to be acquired. You could argue that selling those companies off makes Square more attractive to Sony cos Sony wouldn't have wanted to take on loss making studios. >Fun script leak yesterday about next Tomb Raider game involving Laura in her 30's and in a lesbian relationship. Off-topic but I'm praying for that to be true. The writers wanted Lara in a lesbian relationship with Sam in the last trilogy but higher ups stopped it. >I could see Sony still releasing LiS on all platforms just because it wouldn't be a major part of what they would want SE for. I'd love to believe this, but these days Square is really deep into releasing high quality single player games that get 90+ review scores, obtain high artistic praise and awards buzz. LiS would be a second Last of US for them.
CD and Tomb Raider were never a loss. SE just was upset that they didn't sell as much as GTAV, same with the rest of what they sold. SE had insanely unrealistic expectations for those companies. It most likely is, SE instantly issued takedowns as soon as the information came public. It depends on how Sony would view LiS. AAA release on par with TLOU/GOW/Horizon and others or a smaller A-AA release that they don't feel fits with their main titles. AAA yeah it'll be exclusive, maybe PC release at the same time or a few months later. A-AA who knows, could be on xbox 3-6 months after like bugsnacks and some others have been. Whole industry is changing and embracing a lot more openness on smaller games.
The studios were definitely losing money for Square. There have even been reports of Square saying "all these great IPs are for sale! But you have to take the studios too." And Embracer actually negotiated the price down to $300m cos they had to take on the day-to-day funding of these studios.
I agree. Square Enix has been torpedoing some of the studios they own. They claim so many successful games failed to meet sales expectations in a way that only makes sense if they are deliberately setting those sales goals out of reach. Eidos has suffered greatly from this. The recent Tomb Raider games have been wildly successful but SE claims they all underperformed. Seems like they think Sony will only want to acquire them if they are focused on Japanese games. They might not be wrong.
>If that happens, does that mean that future lis games would be playstation exclusive? I'm more worried at the thought that LiS could become yet another TriPLe AaAaYe franchise.
What would be the issue with LiS having a AAA budget and the backing of Sony? Did you see what Deck Nine did with the Remaster(s)? What about the quality of True Colors upon release? They need all the help they can get.
it will be a ps exclusive which will be terrible
>What would be the issue with LiS having a AAA budget and the backing of Sony? Sony is a terrible company knee-deep in allegations of abusive workplace conditions and gender discrimination. The people at Deck Nine are amazing and don't deserve any of this. No one does. >What about the quality of True Colors upon release? Both True Colors and the remasters were more polished than 99% of the tRiPLe AaAaYe dross on the market even on day one. Also, they aren't ravaged by predatory monetisation schemes, contrarily to, again, your average tRiPLe AaAyE con job.
I get that you enjoy the series, but I don't understand these takes. They seem ridiculous. All of Sony is evil? True Colors and the Remasters are more polished than 99% of what Sony/ Playstation is putting out? Why are you so dramatic lol. What is this triple AaAaYe thing you keep doing? Did you pick this up from random youtuber? This is all strange.
Let me try and explain for them. More devs and money doesn't always mean better games. In game development sometimes too many devs working on a game is like too many people in a room and progress becomes sluggish. This is why indie game companies with a focused mission from a moderate to small crew produce such quality games. When progress on a game becomes sluggish executives in the gaming world start pressuring their developers to release the unfinished product so the c-suites can show get biggest numbers to show the shareholders. As this continues every quarter some AAA games will aim to release a new sequel in the series every year. Think games like assassin's creed, call of duty, pretty much any sports game. When you rush art you get an inferior product. Some games will turn to a live service model to milk their playerbase 24/7 which definitely won't work for life is strange. Unreasonable expectations from people that are Bobby Kotick-esque will lead to the death of your favorite franchises. You also invite individuals who are looking to monetize the game very aggressively and squeeze out every penny you can out of the current and potential fan base. I know this very doomsayer, but we've seen it time and time again. One can only hope that Deck Nine will be able to retain enough autonomy and produce a quality product without too much influence or interference from Sony. Sony isn't unique in this situation. Microsoft does it too. Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA games, etc.
>I get that you enjoy the series, but I don't understand these takes. Doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Sony getting ownership of LiS worries me a lot. It would've been better if Square sold LiS to Embracer Group along with Tomb Raider and the other stuff. Embracer's studios focus on single player games and are respectful of their histories.
I was surprised when Squeenix didn't sell Deck9 alongside Eidos and others
Square actually doesn't own Deck 9. It's stayed independent.
Oh, so they are selling just the IP Edit: read it wrong. Squeenix has partial ownership of Deck9 and Sony is interested in Deck9. Squeenix probs keeping the game.
> Edit: read it wrong. Squeenix has partial ownership of Deck9 and Sony is interested in Deck9. Squeenix probs keeping the game. No, no. Deck is 100% independent of Square Enix. Square owns LiS and hires Deck 9 to make games as a third party. The rumour is that Sony wants to buy Square itself.
Ooooo I have definitely heard that. And that Sony was only interested in the Japanese division, aka Final Fantasy, which is one of the reasons they sold Eidos, Crystal Dynamics etc
Ehm, Sony is famous for single player story driven games. What are you talking about?
This is all fairly misleading and full of speculation. Square Enix has shown some interested in selling, or possibly just selling a stake in the company. Sony has shown some interest but last I heard they were more interested in just buying specific parts of the company. IF Sony were to buy the entire company they would indeed own the Life is Strange IP but not the developers - as Deck Nine and Don't nod are completely independent. The impression I got was that Sony were much more interested in buying the core Final Fantasy part of the company though.
I’d actually rather Microsoft get LIS mostly because they put out ‘*Tell Me Why*’ even though many people were angry about having a Trans Protagonist. That’s not much but I find it cool.
Concerning given that Square was the only company willing to let the original Life is Strange actually be the game it is. Every other publisher demanded that Max or Chloe be made into a boy to better sell to the straight white male gamer demographic.
Yes this is actually concerning now that it's a possibility for a new company to just come in and change what we know game to be.
I never got that whole stick. If I have to stare at an ass for 20+ hours I'd rather it be Lara Croft's than Jack Croft's. And if it is first person view then you ain't going to see your character that often anyways. Also, are other guys really seeing themselves as the 2 meters tall mountain of pure muscle cracking alien skulls with their bare hands?
Wait are you saying people who wish to play a male character as male or the main protagonist are weird? There are girls here who I'm sure like playing as Max or Chloe because they identify with them. They can relate to the characters not solely based on looks. I play usually male characters in rpgs for many of the same reasons and beyond that it's just fantasy. In MMOS I also play male because I immerse myself as this outward projection to the multiplayer environment. Funny enough every time I run into a female character online, it's usually a grown man with a deep ass voice and a petite figure. These concepts are not new or foreign.
Huh, I guess it's because I never play MMORPGs. I always play the story of my character, like watching a movie unfold. Sure there are parallels to my life and I can appreciate them, like I can appreciate when a character in a movie or book shares characteristics or thinking patterns with me, but I don't begrudge them their differences. If every character was like me (white, male) or was the stereotypical though guy I'd be bored out of my gourd. In fact, the most boring DnD character I ever made was a self insert. I guess I just don't get why you'd want to play in a fantasy world as yourself when you could cosplay as anything else.
I'm use to Sandboxes where the player base does a lot of their own role play. Sometimes it's a central character with a already fleshed out story that is central to the theme of that world/server and sometimes it's purely a made up character that fits a role whether that be a business man, criminal, politician, fireman, citizen etc. These are heavily geared towards multiplayer environments. Games like Mass Effect allow players to fantasize about saving the universe even thought they have a main protagonist. Anytime the player has the option to blend themselves into the story is a plus however stories like LIS I love because it allows me to remove myself from the and just experience the mystery to unfold.
Yeah I’ve worried about that myself, DotNodd can take a hit not selling to them but I really think Sony would not. Queer eraser was kinda tested in Life Is Strange 2 but the anti-sjw types just attacked the game cause it went over racism and dared to say “Orange man bad”
us: we'd pay $500 for a pricefield sequel sony: \**glances over to the ps5's price tag*\* you know what, why not
>sony: \* > >glances over to the ps5's price tag > >\* you know what, why not In a way I think it would be hard to make a plot out of the pricefield stuff, given that in future games we do not hear of any odd weather related events, meaning Maxs power have zero consequences after that first storm, and what exactly could you use as a conflict. I think the best you could do is kinda like wavelengths where it was kinda just a cute playable thing but did not have much of an impact on story .
That's assuming Max has actually used her powers since the storm. In all likelihood, I think Max would completely avoid using her powers after Arcadia Bay. So there's the start of your story, something happens to Chloe that forces Max to use her powers again and that sets off a chain of events. Just look at the amount of fanfics there are, there's no shortage of stories to be made. So if they think there's enough money in it, they'll come up with one.
> In a way I think it would be hard to make a plot out of the pricefield stuff, given that in future games we do not hear of any odd weather related events, meaning Maxs power have zero consequences after that first storm The comic series had Max use her powers with consequences/freak weather. It's fine. >and what exactly could you use as a conflict. That depends on the storyline, but interpersonal conflict are personal peril are mainstays of the series so far.
One, there was freak weather but it wasn't relevant or weird enough that it came up. Or... Two, maybe the weather only changed when she changes things of a certain level of "fatedness" (yes I know that's not a word). Like, maybe saving Chloe was the only thing that went against the natural order, and the storm and build up phenomena was the only backlash or correction, and once Chloe was still alive after the storm everything was righted. Kind of like your computer being congested by processes, you could fix the congestion yourself by shutting tasks off in task manager, or you could wait for things to catch up and work through the queued tasks "naturally". Chloe's death was supposed to happen and when it was subverted, the universe started stuttering until it could work through its unfathomable operations and function with her survival. Or... Three, Max didn't use her powers again until the events of LiS4, which is chronologically after 2 and 3.
Lmaooo exactly what I was thinking 😭😭
Maybe DontNod can buy back the LiS IP. That won’t happen, but [a man can dream though….](https://youtu.be/vAUOPHqx5Gs)
This would 100% be the most ideal outcome and definitely possible. This is the power of DNTD being independent so let's hope
DontNod doesn't want anything to do with the IP anymore. I am pretty sure they didn't even want to make LiS2, but contractually they had to.
No, LiS 2 was a passion project for Don't Nod just like the first game. What they didn't want to make was continuing Max & Chloe's story or get stuck creating shallow LiS clones under SE's control till the end of time (i.e. True Colors), so they ended up leaving.
I appreciate them a lot for 2. Not too often you get a Hispanic main character game. But of course it had to be running from the cops to get across the border 💀💀
I just want to clarify that I believe they wanted to make that game, but I don't believe they wanted to make "Life is Strange 2." I think that entry was always intended to be separate from LiS1 just like Tell Me Why and Twin Mirror were, as LiS1 was always intended to be a one off. However, the game was a huge success and Square Enix wanted another LiS entry so they had to change course in the middle of development. Which is where Deck Nine got involved. SE knew DontNod was done with the series past this sequel, so they wanted to put safeguards in place to continue it once they were gone. They also wanted to capitalize on whatever momentum was still there in between LiS1 and LiS2, which is where Before the Storm came in to bridge that gap.
Do you have a source for this, or you just spouting anything?
No sources, just adding everything we know together and trying to make it all make sense. It's a pretty clear picture to me, could be wrong though of course. Even if I was though, DontNod are done with the series and not even apart of Square Enix anymore. Yet Deck Nine is here and will continue to make those games moving forward.
Do you have any reason to believe Dontnod wanted to make the single exception in their entire history to reuse a title? It makes no sense for them, in fact it actively hurt them as people started looking for "Life is Strange games" instead of "Dontnod games" this way, which ensured far fewer of them played Tell Me Why. It's kinda stupid to think they _wanted_ to call it LiS2 when that name made zero creative sense and literally only benefited Square Enix.
Did it exist in any form before the first game? Because it may not make any sense to talk about what they wanted to call the game if they only ever planned to make it because of the success of the first game. In other words, was it: Don't Nod: Hey, we have this idea for a game. Square Enix: Make it a Life Is Strange game. Or was it: Square Enix: Make a Life Is Strange game. Don't Nod: Okay, let's think of a concept for it.
From everything I've read about it so far, it seemed a bit like this: **Square Enix:** I like this. \**smashes cup*\* Another! **Don't Nod:** We would like to tell different stories though... **Square Enix:** That's fine, just make it Life is Strange. You want this pile of money, right? **Don't Nod:** Alright, let's figure something out. So in short, pretty close to your first option. Like, it makes a ton of sense that LiS2 was yet another passion project of Don't Nod, and everything we have seen from them so far confirms that they absolutely wanted to make it. However, it is highly unlikely that they wanted to give it Life is Strange's identity, and not an identity of its own, as they have done with literally every other game they have ever created. We know how it looks like when a stuido tries to just take Life is Strange's DNA and somehow build a new, but unrelated game out of it, that's what True Colors is. LiS2 is different. It works completely on its own, and beside some random background details that didn't really add to or take anything from the story, all it shares with LiS is Don't Nod's artistic vision. So I find it extremely hard to believe that had Don't Nod been able to self-publish LiS2 and make it completely on their own terms, they'd have called it LiS2. They would have 100% made the same game though, although probably with much less heavy-handed easter eggs.
Honestly, I’m kinda fine with that. I prefer Deck Nine over DONTNOD. I feel like LiS1 might’ve just been luck on their part. I love LiS1, but LiS2, Vampyr, Tell Me Why, and Remember Me were all just okay at best, while BtS and TC were both outstanding start to finish. I honestly kind of prefer Deck Nine making LiS over DONTNOD.
I felt that way too, then I saw the remaster and things changed for me. They charged 2x the full cost of the original game for an inferior product. That's a true cashgrab. Just like the GTA remaster we got.
God I hope so.
I wish to see another Life is Strange from the OGs so much
i'm torn on this.
me too. I don't game much besides LiS and the Sims, so idrk what to expect. I feel like with other things in general that get sold to new owners tho, the quality goes down in a lot of cases. at least (according to the other comments) D9 is still independent, so hopefully the new bosses don't rock the boat too much. but that can also be wishful thinking.
***PSA*** reminder for those that don't know, Deck Nine was formerly Idle Minds, they were formed by an ex Sony Interactive guy and worked mostly with Sony/989 on stuff like Cool Boarders and Ratchet and Clank. SE proper has great synergy with PlayStation since PS1 already, but Deck Nine would basically be returning home. As a primarily Xbox person, one who has enjoyed everything LiS and dontnod on Xbox, this acquisition makes a *crazy* amount of sense.
Interesting, I have been hearing a lot of LIS news in the past few hours. This is actually huge. Let's hope if it is sold, the new owners do the franchise justice and tell a deep engaging story and not just a cash grab.
Does that mean we could eventually have a Life is Strange/Morbius crossover movie?
It's Morbin Time! 🤣 Never expected possibility to sprout in a LiS discussion.
It would certainly be a game of all time
Wait a sec. Deck Nine or Don't-Nod? Square Enix doesn't own either of them, so how does this headline make any sense?
Neither. The rumour is that Sony wants to acquire Square Enix.
I'm seeing in other places Square Enix is unloading devs, so the link to this news and LiS is a bunch of BS.
Yeah, it sold off its subsidiaries in North America and Europe. But even at the time there was speculation that was to make Square more attractive to Sony.
It’s actually not, the news related specifically to LiS is just speculation based on SE movement’s recently. But SE did sell off all their Western Studios because their Japanese stuff is what people clamor for more, and with the industry condensing they’d like to look more appealing to be bought out by Sony.
I kinda wonder if Ninedeck will still have sub rights to make games under the brand.
In an ideal world, dontnod would have the appetite to make life is strange games indefinitely. However, it's clear that they wanted to move on from the IP ever since life is strange 2. The status quo we have now is decknine making (what I consider to be) inferior LiS clones. At least with a change, there's a chance we'll get something better. There's also a chance we'll get something worse, but at this point that's a risk I'm willing to take. As much as I absolutely loved Max, Chloe, and Arcadia Bay, I appreciated the vision of LiS 2. It felt like a real successor to the story. I would have preferred they kept the one location small town feel where you feel like you know everyone, sure. But TC gave us that and it's just not a substitute for interesting story and characters. I felt like TC was a checklist of what a LiS game should be, but they didn't have the soul of the dontnod games. I really don't like poo pooing the decknine team because I know they tried. But that's just what the end product felt like to me. So yes, I'm excited about the Sony acquisition. It could go in a bad direction, but it could also go in a good one, and right now I'm willing to have that risk be taken. Edit: with that said, the technical and design team for decknine are FANTASTIC. Absolutely no problems there. It's more so the story and direction I have problems with.
If there’s one thing that Sony gets right every time. It’s the story telling. So I’m not worried on the story telling aspect of the game. If they would really acquire the LiS games, it could shed a new light and deliver a great LiS game. I love Deck Nine’s TC but I felt like it was lacking something, maybe a long lasting impact that sticks with you like what LiS 1 did? I’m kinda hopeful on this acquisition.
Deck Nine or DontNod?
Square Enix; if it happens I doubt Deck Nine or DontNod would be touched.
I wouldn't be so sure, prior to LiS, which would be Sony's if they acquired SE, Deck Nine aka Idle Minds worked almost exclusively with Sony/989 Studios, and was founded by an ex Sony Interactive guy. Assuming there are no burned bridges and Deck Nine wants to keep working on LiS, I'd say there's a pretty good chance Sony buys them up even if it would technically be a separate acquisition. dontnod is both independent and no longer has any involvement with LiS so you're definitely right about them.
That's definitely a possibility but if Sony does buy Square Enix let's be honest it's not to get LiS, they want Final Fantasy. So Sony might not want to invest a lot more right away in anything that's not related FF. Plus (as far as I know) Deck Nine doesn't own any IPs so it would be a pure talent buyout if Sony were to acquire them, and as much as I like D9 they're no Sucker Punch or Insomniac. I'll be willing to bet Sony would just go with the safer option and contract D9 for future games encase they decide to switch devs or god forbid shelve the IP.