[Lupin The Third]

I'm a big adventure game fan (as I'm sure most of us here are), but unlike many here I actually prefer gaming on consoles than on PCs. Yes I know that's sacrilege but I find it much more comfortable and it fits with the fact that the majority of my gaming time is when I go to bed, and my wife enjoys watching games as she falls asleep. So sitting at the office desk at bed time doesn't exactly work for me and I'll gladly take an adventure game on a console when I can.

Anyways for the past few months I've been bothered quite a bit by the way Microids handled the announcement for Syberia 3 and the possible PS3 version. I own both Syberia 1 & 2 on both PC and on Xbox and I have to say I've become very irate that instead of including the 360 for a release of Syberia 3 Microids is going forward with a petition to basically beg Sony to allow the game to come out. If you know anything about the way Sony handles their console business you know they've refused US release of many Microid games at huge expense to Microids, as Sony often refuses licenses at the last minute regardless of development time/cost and even quality of the game. It's been well publicized that the absolutely amazing Working Designs went under entirely because of Sony blocking several key releases of theirs at the last moment and Microids has complained about similar treatment. Now Sony has every right to do this. It's their console and I'm not here to attack them nor do I begrudge them a version of Syberia 3 all their own. But instead of doing the painfully obvious and at least also including a 360 release for Syberia 3 (a system that has cross-platform games just like the PS3) Microids seems completely oblivious to the fact that not only would their game be welcomed on the 360, it would likely reach a larger audience given the console's success in the US and Europe.

I've let this go for a few months, figuring that they'd eventually announce a 360 version as well (regardless of Sony's decision) but every time I see mention of the series I'm irritated by the fact that Microids is literally ignoring a consumer group that has gobbled up Monkey Island: SE. Thus I'd like to find a way to contact Microids (rather than just the generic e-mails on their site), and possible even the dev team specifically, with my concerns and I wondered if anyone here knows how I can do this? Again I'm not trying to prevent a PS3 release or attack Sony, but I'd much rather play this on my 360 and it simply seems idiotic for a developer to ignore a console and consumer base that would buy their product to instead court a company that keeps slamming the door in their face.

I'd really love to be able to kick back right before bed and solve some puzzles with my AG-compatriots on my 360 while they play on PC or PS3. So help me out here folks!

[Terramax]

While I'm certainly not a fan of the 360, there is certainly a larger audience for that system so it would make sense from a financial point of view to release it for the system.

Perhaps Microids has something against Microsoft (as if there were a soul out there that didn't)?

The only obvious way I can think to contact them is via the telephone number on their website.

Let me know how you get on with them.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I had no idea that there was another Syberia game in the pipe. I don't expect it end up on current consoles, either.

I've played Syberia on PC years back, and then I played Still Life (as well Indigo Prophecy and Dreamfall) on my old XBox and it was pretty decent, albeit slightly inefficient in its interface. I haven't yet played Syberia 2 on Xbox. I've since given up PC gaming (I was poor and couldn't afford to constantly upgrade systems and hardware anymore, so bought a console to spare myself the annoyance).

I would be ecstatic if Syberia 3, and more adventure games for that matter, were to come to the consoles, the market is incredibly fertile and with the right marketing, advertising, consumer acculturating towards games that challenge the mind, and of course game design expressly for consoles, this type of game could be very successful.

It's almost startling to me that classic adventure games (Monkey Island, Myst, etc.) are being re-issued on the iPhone and iPod Touch! It's a great idea. But part of my surprise is that while they are doing this, there have been almost no adventure games released on the current consoles (X360, Wii, PS3). Why is that? Aside from re-releases of old adventure games and ports to XBox Live of Sam & Max, why have companies like TAC and others given us almost nothing on this platform?

Originally Posted by Lupin The Third

Anyways for the past few months I've been bothered quite a bit by the way Microids handled the announcement for Syberia 3 and the possible PS3 version. I own both Syberia 1 & 2 on both PC and on Xbox and I have to say I've become very irate that instead of including the 360 for a release of Syberia 3 Microids is going forward with a petition to basically beg Sony to allow the game to come out. If you know anything about the way Sony handles their console business you know they've refused US release of many Microid games at huge expense to Microids, as Sony often refuses licenses at the last minute regardless of development time/cost and even quality of the game. It's been well publicized that the absolutely amazing Working Designs went under entirely because of Sony blocking several key releases of theirs at the last moment and Microids has complained about similar treatment. Now Sony has every right to do this. It's their console and I'm not here to attack them nor do I begrudge them a version of Syberia 3 all their own. But instead of doing the painfully obvious and at least also including a 360 release for Syberia 3 (a system that has cross-platform games just like the PS3) Microids seems completely oblivious to the fact that not only would their game be welcomed on the 360, it would likely reach a larger audience given the console's success in the US and Europe.

I have little knowledge of how adventure game companies in general handle relationships with the console companies. Maybe you can provide some links to news stories and official statements from those companies?

[Terramax]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

I had no idea that there was another Still Life game in the pipe. I don't expect it end up on current consoles, either.

Wait, where did you get that from? I'm searching the original post and I can't see it mentioned. Am I blind here?

EDIT: Did you get Still Life and Syberia mixed up?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Sorry, I meant Syberia. Will edit my post.

[beverheim]

Why would Sony refuse games to be released on their console? Isn't it in their interest that as many games as possible is available for their console? A strange attitude indeed, and another reason to prefer PC to consoles.

But it is good for the adventure game genre that adventure games is available also for consoles, of course. And also, pirate copies is much less problem for consoles, I think. I imagine you need to do some physical rewiring of the console itself for using pirated games on those?

[Lupin The Third]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/17/mi...ase-essential/

Developer Microids confounded our meager brains on April Fool's with a gag press release announcing a new point-and-click Syberia adventure in which players on both the PlayStation 3 and PC would be able to "collaborate online." Now the French dev sends word that while that announcement may have been all in good fun, the company is working on a third Syberia game. However, president Emmanuel Olivier notes that the game's console hopes rest with Sony.

Syberia 3 will get a PC release "for sure," though Microids adds that, given rising development costs, a cross-platform release is "essential." That said, the company writes in a rather frank statement that Sony has a history of turning its nose up at the studio, having previously denied a U.S. release of several unnamed Microids titles including the PS2 version of the original Syberia. The developer calls out Sony for "censorship" and what it deems "exorbitant royalties" demanded by the console manufacturer as part of "the 'rule of the game' imposed by Sony." Microids has gone so far as to launch a letter writing campaign to get its game onto the PS3. We've reached out to Microids for more, if only to ask why it feels that Sony is the only game in town.

Which is simply baffling. If Sony conducts business in a manner that hurts a developer they then chases after Sony like a puppy? Why? It's like the kid who wants to be friends with the bullies at school. In the end, they're still going to hurt you because they don't value you. Microids bitches that Sony has treated them like shit (a complaint leveled by a LOT of niche product developers like SNK, the now-defunct-entirely-because-of-Sony Working Designs, and others) and then begs them to let the game come out....why? Put it on 360! Put it on Wii (if the Wii can handle the visuals)! This whole situation makes absolutely no sense.

Thanks for the suggestion about calling them Terramax, but I'm in the US and I doubt that calling internationally to a French company would help much. I was hoping the team had a specific e-mail or maybe someone here knows how to contact them to let them know how silly this is and that they are alienating consumers with this idiotic behavior.