True Fantasy Live Online Cancelled

[Amankhan]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/02/news_6099836.html

In response, Microsoft Game Studios has decided to streamline its portfolio, making fewer bets in this genre.

Does the XBox even have any bets left in the MMORPG genre?  First Mythica now TFLO.

Citizen Zero is the only other MMOG for the Xbox that I know of, and its not exactly an MMORPG

http://www.citizen-zero.com/

[AgtFox]

Since Shane Kim took over for Ed Fries there has been a lot of streamlining going on at Microsoft Game Studios.  Positions have been cleaned up at the top where Robbie Bach (Chief Xbox Officer), Peter Moore (Head of Marketing), J Allard (XNA Leader/Xbox Platform head) and Shane Kim (Microsoft Game Studios Manager) seem to share duties whereas Ed Fries was once totally in charge of the Xbox division.

I'm sure the reason Psychonauts and TFLO got cancelled is because they were well behind schedule and Microsoft had already put a lot of money into them.  Kim and Moore probably also believed that neither game would sell enough to be considered a "hit" by Microsoft's standards.

It is a bit of a surprise they've stayed with Fable for so long, but they obviously see big sales in it and probably a promise that it will be out by the end of the year.

[Larraque]

Dammit. That was the only reason I was keeping xbox live.

[Amankhan]

Citizen Zero has been around for quite a while as well.  I think the first news about this game appeared in 2002.  I'd assume that Microsoft hasn't put as much money in the game as they did with TFLO or Psychonauts.

The XBox is truly lacking in the RPG genre, and to see the cancellation of what a potentially good RPG that was being developed by a major-name developer as well as having Live! support, is quite disappointing to me.

Edit - I totally forgot about Vanguard ( http://www.vanguardsoh.com/ ) Although not a console RPG, it wouldn't surprise me if this was where Microsoft was concentrating its MMORPG efforts right now.

[UConnBBall]

I wonder about Fable alot. Remember how AWESOME Black & White was going to be?  If Lionhead does another one of those UGH.

Thank God that KOTOR was so good.

-UConn

[EngineNo9]

Microsoft said almost the same exact thing when they cancelled their PC MMORPG Mytica a couple months ago.  

However I would have thought this one would weather the storm since it was one of their only chances at breaking XBox Live into Japan.  Oh, well.