Bungie Face Changes, Gauging Interests in Old IP, Until Dawn Movie & more! | Triangle Squared Ep.360

[@PolyPorter2011]

Thought for the Until Dawn movie, if it was on Netflix instead of theaters, they could do the same thing they did on Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, where the viewer made choices that changed the movie they were watching. It's very much in line with how the Until Dawn games work. You could rewatch Bandersnatch and make different choices that changed the scenes you watched. It makes for a much larger production since it's like 4 movies instead of 1, but that's how they could do it.

[@NARTECH]

I'd thought something similar myself, but it seems as though isn't a streaming specific made film, which would be a lot cooler. That said. When the game is there, what would you find to be the marketing draw for people to go buy the game after the movie if the movie is essentially the same level of choices and control as the game?

[@PolyPorter2011]

@NARTECH I think matching the game is a mistake. Those that played the game may find flaws, and those that haven't, like you said, may not have a desire to play the game since they know the outcomes. It would be better served as a film that takes place in the same universe as the game, but new story and new characters.

[@bigbox1431]

What did Bungie lie about? Chris seems to buy a lot of media FUD about Bungie but I don't see any validity to the claims. Hopefully I can clear a few things up... 1. Steam releases an end of year list highlighting their top grossing games every year called "Best of Steam". Guess how many times Destiny 2 landed in Steams top 10 highest grossing games since it launched in 2019? All 6 years. It will probably finish in their top 10 list for 2024 as well. 2. If we look at Steams monthly CCU charts that track all the way back to its Steam launch in October 2019, the most popular month was March 2023 (Lightfall) in which it averaged 135k CCU players. The second highest peak month? That would be June 2024 (The Final Shape). I'm sure Bungie sees some revenue metrics that tells them they need to shift off from Destiny 2 but I think it's probably safe to say that the trend is relatively soft. It's not spiking downwards like the media tries to portray. 3. In Pete Parsons "New Path for Bungie" blog post, he wrote "...in 2023 we began running in the red." This suggests that Bungie was running in the black (profit) essentially the entire time before that. Destiny 2 was so successful that it's 300 - 400 person Destiny team was able to support the growth of a much larger studio the entire time. Bungie grew to 1,300 (now 850) people because Destiny 2 was so wildly profitable. It was only in 2023, likely during it's low CCU months, that Destiny 2 was no longer generating enough profit to cover the studios larger expenses. 4. PlayStation employs a team of high priced M&A lawyers and employees. These people are at the top of their profession. They did their due diligence on Bungie before spending 3.6B dollars. I don't think gamers have any idea how thorough these people are with financials, goals, projections, performance history of a studio like Bungie before they pull the trigger. I enjoy listening to you guys but I'm not sure if you realize that the medias job is to generate clicks, not to reveal truth. The Bungie is dying, Bungie was almost bankrupt narrative just doesn't check out when you look into the details.

[@NARTECH]

I'm generally more in agreement with you on this whole thing but wanted to give Chris the room to express why he bought what was being said. Without knowing specifics of Bungie as a company, all I really need to know is that Sony wouldn't make a move that expensive THAT impulsively. I will say that I can see a version of Bungie showing their best cards and maybe trying to not overly expose any areas they may have been weak, but I don't think that constitutes the same as "lying" or "Bungie's doom". It may have simply meant Bungie may have been one rocky release away from having to downsize to stay solvent, but that is far from the same narrative news sites want us to believe. All that said, I DO want to bring this comment to next episode and allow your rebuttal to give Chris a chance to defend his position or determine if he bought into it too much. Appreciate the discussion as always, and I enjoy the opportunity to challenge our thoughts, as you've done many times! Can force us to reframe our thoughts, or better dial in how to account for our bias! - Brett

[@bigbox1431]

@@NARTECH Appreciate you! Always like hearing differing viewpoints and you guys put on a great show.

[@NARTECH]

@bigbox1431 Glad to hear it! We strive to enjoy ourselves on the show and hope that is felt through the content. Thanks again for watching and chiming in! - B