Bungie may be going home

[|darc|]

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/04/rumorlan ... e-horizon/

Rumors are flying in Seattle that Bungie, makers of Halo, and much more relevant here, Marathon and Pathways to Darkness (more on Bungie's history in this piece by a talented and handsome young writer), may be splitting from Microsoft. A complete and total rumor, unsubstantiated and unsourced, but like all good rumors, it has just enough good reasoning that it might actually be true. Microsoft certainly has no reason to let go of Bungie, but it's totally believable that Bungie is tired of being the Halo company, and ready to do some developing on its own again.

And of course, if Bungie breaks away to work on the platform of its choice, it's almost a given that we'll see a brand new Bungie game on the Mac. And how fortuitous, says Christopher Price-- he cites Bungie's rumored split as part of a trinity of Mac gaming developments lately that all point to one thing: Apple is poised to return to (and take over) gaming.

We are securely in rumorland here, so take all of this with a full tablespoon of salt. But you can smell the storm coming in terms of Apple and gaming-- something is brewing in Steve Jobs' head. I don't know if it will come on AppleTV (because of course that's a "hobby," and Apple's real power isn't in the set top box -- it's in the insanely fast and beautiful Macintosh computers), but the stars are aligning, and if Apple wants to get into gaming, it can definitely do it. Make no mistake -- Leopard is the priority right now, and likely will be through the end of the year. But next Christmas, don't be surprised if gamers want something under their tree from Apple.

[zero]

All what that sounds like to me is a bunch of Apple fanboys wishing a little too much .

[APE]

All what that sounds like to me is a bunch of Apple fanboys wishing a little too much .

I concur entirely. The Maq platform is not poised to take over gaming and at best is hoping the few companies that do support it continue to do so. The fact they can dual boot Windows allows them to begin to claim they have gaming under their belt, unless you really like Doom3 and Starcraft.

As for bungie splitting off, they must have some mighty fine crack in fantasy land.

[|darc|]

It's all theoretical, he wasn't being serious.

[Code-Red]

Apple is poised to return to (and take over) gaming.

When hell freezes over, pigs can fly, cows come home, fat lady sings, etc.

[FuriKuri]

Bungie is to become an independent company again, Microsoft confirmed today.

The platform holder said it will retain an equity interest in the Kirkland, Washington-based developer.

It will also continue to publish games based on the Microsoft-owned Halo IP and other future properties developed by Bungie.
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Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said the company was "supporting Bungie's desire to return to its independent roots".

However, he added, Microsoft "will continue to invest in our Halo entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the Halo universe".

"We look forward to great success with Bungie as our long-term relationship continues to evolve through Halo-related titles and new IP created by Bungie," he added.

Bungie studio head Harold Ryan described the move as "an exciting evolution" of the relationship with Microsoft.

"We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through Halo and beyond," he said.

Bungie's most recent game, Halo 3, achieved USD 300 million in sales in its first week, Microsoft said yesterday.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=84829

[|darc|]

This will be very interesting. While I don't think in any way that Apple is about to take over gaming, Bungie was an extremely important Mac games developer. If their old staff are all still there, it's almost certain that Bungie will begin developing for the Mac again, quite possibly even exclusively. It's possible that we will see a really "killer app" type Apple-exclusive game, especially now that Bungie's name is known in the Microsoft world.

[Covar]

This will be very interesting. While I don't think in any way that Apple is about to take over gaming, Bungie was an extremely important Mac games developer. If their old staff are all still there, it's almost certain that Bungie will begin developing for the Mac again, quite possibly even exclusively. It's possible that we will see a really "killer app" type Apple-exclusive game, especially now that Bungie's name is known in the Microsoft world.

"We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through Halo and beyond," he said.

i doubt we'll see mac games by bungie anytime soon.

[Calavera]

I thought Macs couldn't play games because they are business machines for doing serious work. Or that is the excuse anyways.

[APE]

I thought Macs couldn't play games because they are business machines for doing serious work. Or that is the excuse anyways.

Originally I think the main argument against was the 68k or PPC based proc was crap for gaming, but I don't recall if that argument actually held water.

[DaMadFiddler]

I thought Macs couldn't play games because they are business machines for doing serious work. Or that is the excuse anyways.

Originally I think the main argument against was the 68k or PPC based proc was crap for gaming, but I don't recall if that argument actually held water.

My engineering knowledge is next to nil, but whenever I read any kinds of technical breakdowns, the PowerPC line always seemed like a fairly well-thought-out and effective design. It's kind of a shame that Apple abandoned them, especially now that they're really starting to mature and diversify (for example, Cell architecture is a highly modified design rooted in PPC G5).

Then again, the move to Intel provided the "safety net" that made me feel comfortable enough to go ahead and by a Mac the last time around, so....

[Ex-Cyber]

Originally I think the main argument against was the 68k or PPC based proc was crap for gaming, but I don't recall if that argument actually held water.

It certainly doesn't. 68K was the processor of choice for most arcade games from the late 1980s to mid 1990s, and while PowerPC never hit that level of popularity, it was present in a few high-end arcade systems in the late 1990s (most notably in Sega's Model 3 series). There are arcade games using PC-based hardware, but that seems to be done primarily for ease of development and access to modern GPUs (3dfx in the mid-90s, ATI/NVidia today).

[DaMadFiddler]

Originally I think the main argument against was the 68k or PPC based proc was crap for gaming, but I don't recall if that argument actually held water.

It certainly doesn't. 68K was the processor of choice for most arcade games from the late 1980s to mid 1990s, and while PowerPC never hit that level of popularity, it was present in a few high-end arcade systems in the late 1990s (most notably in Sega's Model 3 series). There are arcade games using PC-based hardware, but that seems to be done primarily for ease of development and access to modern GPUs (3dfx in the mid-90s, ATI/NVidia today).

You also forgot to mention that both the GameCube (and, subsequently, Wii) processors are both fairly straightforward PowerPC G4s, and that Sony's Cell was developed using PowerPC G5 as a starting point.

[Stormwatch]

And that's part of the problem, actually. What made Apple move was that the G5 was too hot and power-hungry for use on portables; and IBM didn't seem to care much, they made more money making chips for consoles. Meanwhile, Intel had the Core, which was just what Apple needed.

[|darc|]

This will be very interesting. While I don't think in any way that Apple is about to take over gaming, Bungie was an extremely important Mac games developer. If their old staff are all still there, it's almost certain that Bungie will begin developing for the Mac again, quite possibly even exclusively. It's possible that we will see a really "killer app" type Apple-exclusive game, especially now that Bungie's name is known in the Microsoft world.

"We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through Halo and beyond," he said.

i doubt we'll see mac games by bungie anytime soon.

“But sure, now that we’re branching of and controlling our destiny, that puts us in a position where we could put ourselves back on the [Mac] platform definitively again,” said Jarrard.

[Covar]

This will be very interesting. While I don't think in any way that Apple is about to take over gaming, Bungie was an extremely important Mac games developer. If their old staff are all still there, it's almost certain that Bungie will begin developing for the Mac again, quite possibly even exclusively. It's possible that we will see a really "killer app" type Apple-exclusive game, especially now that Bungie's name is known in the Microsoft world.

"We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through Halo and beyond," he said.

i doubt we'll see mac games by bungie anytime soon.

“But sure, now that we’re branching of and controlling our destiny, that puts us in a position where we could put ourselves back on the [Mac] platform definitively again,” said Jarrard.

i'll believe it when i see it.


as for apple dumping the ppc, there were several reasons, the biggest being that the ppc chips were not experiencing growth anywhere near the rate of x86 processors. and the release of the core duo really didn't help motorola any. also from what i understand, with a lot of the new consoles using ppc chips motorola wasn't able to devote enough of the chips manufactured to apple to keep jobs satisfied.

oh and acorrding to assembler teacher the 68k architecture is the most well designed chips he's seen.

[Ex-Cyber]

You also forgot to mention that both the GameCube (and, subsequently, Wii) processors are both fairly straightforward PowerPC G4s, and that Sony's Cell was developed using PowerPC G5 as a starting point.

I didn't really forget; I focused on arcade stuff because it's an area where the hardware designs were closely driven by developer wants and price generally wasn't going to stop someone from picking the CPU they wanted. That's also why I didn't mention Genesis, Amiga, X68000, et. al.; I probably should have said something to this effect in the actual post, though.

also from what i understand, with a lot of the new consoles using ppc chips motorola wasn't able to devote enough of the chips manufactured to apple to keep jobs satisfied

The console chips aren't made by Motorola, though there may have been capacity concerns anyway. I'm inclined to guess that Motorola was concentrating on designing processors for embedded systems and didn't want to compete with Intel/AMD on raw performance.

oh and acorrding to assembler teacher the 68k architecture is the most well designed chips he's seen.

I think it's a mixed bag, but it's a dream compared to the mess that is x86 (where the solution to every shortcoming is "add more instructions!").

[butters]

Microsoft said yesterday that it was giving up its controlling ownership of Bungie Software, the video game subsidiary that developed the hugely popular Halo franchise, including its latest iteration, Halo 3.

Bungie, based in Kirkland, Wash., said it planned to return to its roots as an independent game studio, a move that eventually will cost Microsoft exclusive ties to one of the most successful and sought-after teams of game developers.

Harold Ryan, president and studio head of Bungie, said that he had been working for months on a plan to separate the studio from Microsoft, based in nearby Redmond, Wash. Mr. Ryan said that the companies had a good working relationship, but that developers at Bungie yearned to work for themselves, not a corporate owner.

“It’s an emotionally creative point of view,” he said of the decision to take the studio independent. “That’s the state we wanted to be in.”

Neither Mr. Ryan, nor Shane Kim, the head of Microsoft’s game studios, would discuss the financial terms. Microsoft originally acquired Bungie in 2000 for an undisclosed amount.

Bungie’s Halo games have been of singular significance to Microsoft in the development of its video game machine business.

Halo has been available exclusively on Microsoft’s Xbox video game consoles. That has meant the game’s popularity has helped drive consumers to the Xbox consoles rather than to competing systems made by Nintendo and Sony.

Microsoft said that since Halo 3 hit the market last week, it had rung up more than $300 million in sales. It has been selling at a faster pace than Halo and Halo 2, which combined sold nearly 15 million copies, Microsoft has said.

Mr. Kim said the separation furthered Microsoft’s aim of getting blockbuster hits for its consoles. “It was in our best interest to support Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots,” he said.

At least initially, important aspects of the relationship between Microsoft and Bungie will remain intact.

Mr. Ryan said that Bungie planned to continue to develop games exclusively for the Xbox platform. He said that at some point, Bungie would have the right to develop games for other platforms, but he declined to say when.

Bungie has 113 employees. Evan Wilson, a video game industry analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, said that leading employees of Bungie had bought out majority ownership from Microsoft. “Bungie and Microsoft clearly had different creative directions,” Mr. Wilson said.

He added, “Bungie lost some key employees over the years, which while not uncommon for studios, may be an indication of that.”

New York Times article