why didnt 2k games provide information to comfort existing fans??

[IllusionOfLife]

Yep, a little bit of info ASAP would stop a whole lot of tears.

I am currently bewildered as to how anyone could think that announcing a seemingly silly, derivative "reboot" of one of the best games of all time without providing any details on how/whether it will respect its origins was a good idea.

If you adopt the XCOM name for this game, you instantly and automatically owe a debt to a truly great game. When you then sprinkle your press release with ominous sounding details about it being a "reboot" and a FPS then you are just begging for trouble.

The problem lies in the fact that 2K made a very minimalist announcement. They essentially said "Guess what, we're making XCOM, we'll talk about it more soon." and suddenly X-COM fans come swooping in out of nowhere and an all out forum war beings. I understand your concerns, I really do, but as Liz has said a couple times, let's all calm down until the OXM cover story comes out, because really we don't know anything yet.

2K is also probably playing this one close to the chest because of the backlash they got with BioShock 2 for revealing that there was only going to be a single Big Sister and changing that aspect later on.

[Patrick Bateman]

The problem lies in the fact that 2K made a very minimalist announcement. They essentially said "Guess what, we're making XCOM, we'll talk about it more soon." and suddenly X-COM fans come swooping in out of nowhere and an all out forum war beings.

No, you see, if they had literally just said, "guess what, we're making XCOM, we'll talk more about it soon" then I would be ecstatic because I would assume they are making a true sequel. But of course, what you omit is the small detail of them deliberately mentioning that it will be an FPS. That changes everything... suddenly excitement turns to apprehension, and 2k have some major explaining to do.

[Aegeri]

Would you rather have been disappointed now or later Patrick?

[IllusionOfLife]

No, you see, if they had literally just said, "guess what, we're making XCOM, we'll talk more about it soon" then I would be ecstatic because I would assume they are making a true sequel. But of course, what you omit is the small detail of them deliberately mentioning that it will be an FPS. That changes everything... suddenly excitement turns to apprehension, and 2k have some major explaining to do.

Yes, but we still don't know anything. FPS is an extremely broad term that can apply to anything told in the first person with guns. True, most FPS games stick to the same cliche's and formulas, but that doesn't make it a rule. From the hints that Liz has been dropping I fully expect this to be much more ambitious than just your typical Halo clone.

[nu_clear_day]

So, I just signed up for an account, because I just heard about this news.

I really don't want to be one of "those" guys. I don't want to say "I'm angry because they're not making my game the way I want them to."

But this does confuse me.

Someone brought up the recent Batman reboots as an example. I understand that concept, but to me this is more like "Hey, did you like the movie Alien? Well I've got great news - we're rebooting the franchise and keeping everything that you loved about that movie. Only now we're calling it Alien: Battlefield Earth! What, you don't like that? They both have aliens in them - that's the one thing you enjoyed about the original film, right?"

(Okay, that's unfair, and B:Earth is a bad example. I actually enjoy most of 2K's games and I have faith that in this case "FPS" doesn't mean "brainless shooting at stuff game." I'm perfectly willing to give these guys a chance, but at the same time "FPS," by sheer definition, means that what I liked about the X-Com games won't be making an appearance this time out...)

It should also be mentioned that I think time and the likelihood of a "real" X-Com game are going to factor into the original fans' acceptance of this sort of thing. For example, if you were a fan of Halo, but hate RTSs - Halo Wars probably still didn't bug you all that much. Because you still have a contemporary version of the game that you're a fan of.

And this is not the case with X-Com. If it had ever looked like I was ever going to get the X-Com reboot I actually would be interested in playing, I'd be a lot less pessimistic about this specific game. That might not be logical, but I can't stop how I feel.

Anyway, I actually am willing to be surprised about this. If this game ends up being something I'd eagerly buy if it were called something else, then I'm not going to let the fact that it's not what I think "X-Com" represents stop me from buying it. (But at the same time, I really don't go in for real-time first-person action games, so it's going to have to really blow me out of the water to interest me...)

[CrimsonAngel]

This is so a shadowrun 2010 in forms of PR.

The first info from Shadowrun was;
Reboot, FPS and new Timeline.

First info from Xcom is:
Reboot, FPS and New Timeline

Who ever is PR person at 2k needs to get punched in the mouth for screwing up like this.

[japester]

i fail to understand why 2k didnt release any information that they knew would comfort and gain support from the existing fanbase.

No, you see, if they had literally just said, "guess what, we're making XCOM, we'll talk more about it soon" then I would be ecstatic because I would assume they are making a true sequel.

I think these two snippets underline the entire situation. "Damned if you do, and damned if you don't." LOL

Honestly, people need to just chill and be patient. Everyone loves to act like every announcement is the end of the world, assuming the worst in everything. XCOM is a dead franchise. It's coming back in some form. Let's wait and see if it's a good game before we trash it.

[Aegeri]

XCOM is a dead franchise. It's coming back in some form.

X-Com is a dead franchise.

This game isn't changing that.

[Gorkel]

xcom isnt so much as a game but it is unique in itself, a genre to itself and a first. There are many xcom clones

ufo aftermath ufo afterlight, ufo aftershock, ufo extraterrestrials. These are all trying to recapture what made the original 3 xcom games instant classics. XCOM is as revered as pacman, doom, space invaders, dungeon keeper, theme park, monkey island and syndicate. Its a part of gaming history

xcom is famous for its xcom feel. Anyone who hasnt played xcom has no say in this argument. It isnt like changing fallout into an fps because fallout is primarily an rpg and not a turn based game. XCOM is different it is a hybrid of many genres making it unique in its field and providing a very refreshing gaming experience. it has rpg/strategy/turnbased gameplay mixed with realtime gameplay and base construction. It is a great blend of different genres and is primarily a strategy game, xcom is like no other game ever made so people who havent palyed it cannot comment on this.

Im sure this game will infact be quite good for what it is, but fans of xcom cant help but be disapointed with the fact that we arent getting anoher xcom game, just the xcom name and logo.

ufo extraterrestrials 2 looks set to be the answer for fans longing for that xcom feeling. Its release date is end of this year.

the reason why i think 2k didnt let the fans in on this first is likely becasue
a, they want xbox magazine to get the exclusive
b, 2k aquired the xcom licence through irrational and thought,

hmm xcom was successful lets make a new xcom.
well xcom is a strategy game?
ah well lets turn it into an fps, its bound to make money and it worked for fallout
but the fans will likely hate it?
then lets just get new fans and aim for a console release
well what about all the base building and research?
your kidding me? we havent got time to put all that in get rid of it.
well what are we going to do with it?
give it a good story, your good at stories the reviews of bioshock said you was
but why not jsut call it something different?
hmm..

[japester]

Anyone who hasnt played xcom has no say in this argument.

Just so we're clear, the above sentiment won't be tolerated here. Everyone has an equal say, whether they are an existing fan or someone who is new to the franchise. Some people will be excited for this game, even if they know nothing about UFO Defense. I won't see "true fans" shut them down.

I think that wasn't actually your intent, but I wanted to be crystal clear before we continue.

but fans of xcom cant help but be disapointed with the fact that we arent getting anoher xcom game, just the xcom name and logo.

I'm as big a fan of XCOM as you'll see. I think I still have my boxed copy (floppies and all) in storage. And I logged hundreds of hours on the game. But since I'm not an absolute pessimist, I'm willing to wait until I know a little more before passing judgement. You know roughly one fact about the game so far. It's a bit too soon to utterly dismiss it as "nothing more than the name and logo".

[IllusionOfLife]

hmm xcom was successful lets make a new xcom.
well xcom is a strategy game?
ah well lets turn it into an fps, its bound to make money and it worked for fallout
but the fans will likely hate it?
then lets just get new fans and aim for a console release
well what about all the base building and research?
your kidding me? we havent got time to put all that in get rid of it.
well what are we going to do with it?
give it a good story, your good at stories the reviews of bioshock said you was
but why not jsut call it something different?
hmm..

I highly doubt that's how the concept process went. The people who are working on this are X-COM nerds as well. This isn't just going to be a cash grab, 2K is seemingly planning on making a big deal out of this game, and when 2K makes a big deal out of something they typically deliver the goods in the end. Again, it's just too soon to tell anything for sure, but from the comments that Liz has made it seems clear to me that they're passionate about the series and want to give it the respect it deserves.

[Aegeri]

The people who are working on this are X-COM nerds as well.

lol. They're more than welcome to claim whatever they like but what they are producing is not what I would expect. I know if I had the license I would not be turning it into a crappy space sim (Interceptor), or a terrible third person shooter (Enforcer) or an FPS (this game, quality remains to be seen). I would in fact be updating a fantastic turn based strategy game for a new audience. Not gutting it.

But it seems that a good chunk of people who not only played the original games and loved them seem to firmly disagree all across the internet this is a good idea. In fact I think the response to this game has been far worse than Fallout 3 initially and that says something. Then again, Bethsoft quickly answered their critics while we get told to buy a magazine I think won't be out until next month (Not entirely sure). So that's not going to be helpful at all.

[fastestlouigie]

I think we need to give them a break. However, there may be a risk that the general game-playing public put FBI agent and aliens together and get X-Files. Now this may be a deliberate ploy to tap into a vein of that fan-base but it may equally put off a lot of punters. 2K needs to maximising the chances of drawing in the original X-Com crowd by integrating important elements of the first games (see Paendrag's entry) as well as appealing to the masses. Big-up the atmosphere by all means but give us some of that brilliant X-Com gameplay as well!

[Yachmenev]

People need to understand that this isn´t a game for the fans. 2k is not the kind of company that is out to satisfy the fans of a 15 year old game. The title is only there to boost sales, nothing more. Period.

[Gorkel]

well it was irrational who aquired the licence originally and i firmly believe that they had the franchises best interests at heart. Bioshock was a good game and a worthy followup to system shock. Unfortunatly like bioshock xcom has changed hands within the company. i agree that 2k marin staff probably did enjoy the xcom games and are infact big fans of it but when it comes down to what the devs want and what the publishing and investor side of 2k want. Thats a completely different thing.

Why didnt they stick with what they have and do a system shock reboot as opposed to an xcom game? seems to me like an all out xcom game with base building research development and fps instead of turn based startegy was just to much for them to make it work, i think system shock would have been much more thier sort of thing. I mean its practically bioshock in space.

mafia2 does look good and from the videos i have seen (havent read up that much on the game) a good sequel that will please fans of mafia2 because its more of the samething we expect from mafia franchise.

http://www.ufo2extraterrestrials.com/
fans of xcom keep your eyes on this game^^

[Gimli]

Just a note: 2K Marin's Australia branch was largely composed of people who did Fallout Tactics and as I recall 2KA also worked on Freedom Force.

[I-ChooseTheImpossible]

Just a note: 2K Marin's Australia branch was largely composed of people who did Fallout Tactics and as I recall 2KA also worked on Freedom Force.

They worked on BioShock aswell.