E3 2013: Insomniac Explains Why Sunset Overdrive is an Xbox One Exclusive

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Lee Bradley

Sunset Overdrive is the upcoming Xbox One exclusive from Insomniac Games, an outfit previously known for its PlayStation 3-exclusive titles like Resistance and Ratchet & Clank.

In a recent post on the studio's website, Insomniac CEO Ted Price has outlined the reasons for this switch.

"The Xbox One and Xbox Live will support our ambitions to create an ongoing two-way dialogue with our community," said Price. 

"It will also allow us to have quicker production cycles, enabling timely content updates for new weapons, characters, storylines and even pop culture-relevant content like memes based on social commentary."

However, despite this Price says Insomniac hasn’t turned its back on Sony.

"While we are excited about partnering with Microsoft on Sunset Overdrive, that doesn't mean we can't or wouldn't make games with our longtime friends at Sony,” the CEO said. “That's the magic of being an independent developer."

Unveiled at E3 2013, Sunset Overdrive is an online open-world shooter with free-running elements and a wonderfully colourful visual style.

It looks like it could be pretty awesome to us. Check out the announcement trailer below.

Comments
56
  • The other reason: because Microsoft gave them more money than Sony would.
  • 'Two way dialogue with the community,quicker updates?' Are they talking about the same MS?
  • @1; ..and thank god they did!
  • @1 that always helps. Looks pretty awesome this can't wait to play it.
  • I can't see how this is true as M$ are still charging for updates and requiring Dev's to have publishers, were as Sony are allowing self publishing and cheap patching. So can't see a difference of why it's a XB1 exclusive, if anything I would have thought it would have been easier on PS4 due to the cheaper patching and self publishing.
  • I know right. In all the madness of E3 I didn't really pay attention to SO last week. But that trailer makes it look all kinds of fun.
  • This was one of the standout games at e3 for me, cant wait to see more about it and with it being an exlusive making it a bit sweeter;P
  • I hope open world is the new thing freedom is all I need in a game
  • @5 I believe it has more to do with the cloud function, being able to implement small things in quickly.
  • And all the people changing to Sony's bus become a little sadder. This is why having an allegiance to one console over the other sucks. Both systems offer exclusives worth getting. I am getting XB1 at launch, but definitely will be getting a PS4 down the road when a price drop hits.
  • @10 Yes. Yes yes yes.
  • @9 Sony have said they can do the same with their cloud system, so there really is no difference apart from M$ fee's for patches and not being able to self publish, which to me seems a bigger hindrance than being helpful.
  • I'm under the impression that being exclusive means that your title gets heavier promotion, something Insomniac could use after their most recent game (Fuzz or something) sank without a trace. "....even pop culture-relevant content like memes based on social commentary." ChristopherLambertFortressNoooooooooooo.gif
  • Lolz better online communication. Microsoft paid more, that is why it is a XB1 exclusive.
  • How did Fuse manage to flop on such a monumental scale? Was it really that bad or was it just the lackluster advertising and promotion for it?
  • Game looks very awesome, but I wonder why not go for both consoles? It would have been been very easy for this game to make it to PS4 with Insomniac's connections to sony. But it's just like @1 said: Microsoft threw a lot of cash at them to make it an X1 exclusive. I think that money would be better spend redesigning the console so that the xbox gamers get the console they deserve.
  • @10 A good point, but most people can't or are not willing to fork out the money for two next generation consoles, so with being left to pick one, Sony has sure made the PS4 the much more attractive option.
  • The concept looked interesting however that was not footage at all, that was without a doubt a cgi trailer. I just hope that Insomniac's core team have been working on Sunset Overdrive and that Fuse was just a blip.
  • Sooo...can we get Ratchet & Clank on XB1/360 as well? That would be much appreciated.
  • @19 R&C is owned by Sony even though Insomniac did develop it originally.
  • Sony don't have good enough exclusives for me where on the other hand xbox one definitely has. This looks awesome
  • I love how everyone is saying this game looks “awesome” when it's not game footage at all. It’s completely pre-rendered; a glorified cut scene. It does look like it could be a ton of fun, but this is just a style guide more or less for how they hope they came will vibe. A big pet peeve of mine is how most big games show as little actual in game footage as possible and hold out as long as they can in doing so. You'd think Aliens: Colonial Marines would have taught us to be skeptical of expo/demo footage and not take it on face value.
  • Looks like bloody good time/mirrors edge hybrid! Enemies are aliens. Absolutely no effort put in.
  • This game really has my interest, the Xbox One definitely had the better showing of games, and certainly exclusives. They offered so much variety, with shooters like Titanfall, creative games like Spark, open world game like Sunset Overdrive, zombie game with Dead Rising, Hack and Slash with Ryse, racing with Forza 5. So much great looking content!
  • It's a shame, because it looks really good and I'll probably never be able to play it.
  • It was a completely CGI trailer, while it looked fun, it shouldn't be enough to sell anyone. Also, the real reason "because Microsoft drove up in a truck full of cash" is why it's on the Xbone.
  • Looks like a weird Fanta advert to me.
  • I knew there ugly out there for developers. Shame about this developers. They bought many great PS3 titles but then Fuse came with good fun but so much buggy and letdown for part of reasons as well terrible game sale. I am sure this another new IP game possible sale badly like Fuse from Insomniac. Cash cows and bastards all over world for business. Well don't knock them just bash the door and arguments with them if you want to. Lol
  • ofcourse it's about money!when did developer start working for hug's and kisses?though i find it funny when many of twats on here can't see the difference between developer/publisher freindly vs indie freindly
  • Insomniac makes fun games that's what they do. People fuss over fuse but it is still a fun game to play. Even people who are disappointed by the game said it was fun. Sunset overdrive seems like a return to the corkiness of their games so there is plenty to be excited about. Not surprised at Microsoft throwing money to make it exclusive but its better than Microsoft wasting money on timed exclusives.
  • @29 I like how you seem to be upset that Insomniac "sold out" to Microsoft for this... and that's exactly what they did with previous games to Sony, but that was okay.
  • I'm going to throw it out there, devils advocate... Microsoft and Sony's cloud don't work the same way, they don't have the same mechanics. They are tailored for the vision and direction they have chosen to go in. Half the people talking about "the cloud" on here (and elsewhere tbh) have little to no understanding as to what it is, let alone what each is capable of. Now I'm not saying that the other reasons mentioned (buckets of $ thrown at them) aren't valid, of course they are, but we know nothing about what's under the hood of either of them. Microsoft certainly threw money at them to get them to come develop for them, to come and develop a new IP that shows what the X1 can do; that goes beyond the shiny box. IMHO X1 has already given a far better indication of its cloud potential than Sony. Sony seems to have focused on delivering services from the cloud, like backwards compatibility, where as Microsoft seem to be leveraging the potential of game specific cloud based processing. If that is the case, if the mechanisms are more highly tuned in to titles then it could be a legitimate claim. I believe there is at least a grain of truth in their claims. The article on here last week regarding "the infinite processing power the cloud offers the X1" [read it if you haven't, and yes I posted] describes something far more interesting than anything that I've seen come out of Sony regarding the cloud. The Forza guys touched on it during the reveal (offline AI processing), more has come out about it since, and Sony seems to have only been reactionary in discussing where cloud processing may or may not fit in to titles. I think part of the X1 being always online means games leveraging off of this cloud processing will eventually become common. I think at some point we will see games that will not work offline because of it. I think when we hit AAA exclusives about 2-3 years in X1 is going to deliver in ways the PS4 won't, or maybe can't. A PS4 has the ability to live its entire cycle without ever once being online. How can developers comfortably throw their weight behind the cloud knowing there is a good chance it may not be available? Cross platform titles may tweak things a little between platforms, but its the exclusives that are going to make a platform shine. [Minus away. I could be wrong, but at least its a reasoned point of view]
  • #32 Well I not upset but just disappointed but it is doesn't matter to me. There plenty developers out there and plenty games to look forward even Insomniac might bring another letdown IP title like Fuse. I am believe Insomniac will bring new Ratchet & Clank game for PS3 once they done with new IP for Xbox One. If Sunset Overdrive is great then I am happy with this. :)
  • Oppps I meant PS4 not PS3 well maybe bring it to PS3 along with PS4 but I think PS4 will be force for new entire R & C series and move on from PS3. :P
  • @32 What do you mean that's what they did with Sony in the past?
  • 3 things consoles have to perform the same for devs so they can release games multiplat. most games are created using the same tools with the goal of capturing all gamers on 3 platforms so the idea that one is going to be better is wrong, same games engine's need to work on all 3. the hardware and tech have to be so similar that devs don't have to have to pay 2 production crews to make one multiplat game. #2 if im a dev and it cost 10 grand to fix my shipped product, that's great incentive to get my shit complete before I let my and ms customer base down. #3 if devs don't need publishers(was going to shorten that to pubs... changed my mind)that would create no need for publishers. while I do think cut out the middle man will create better product, massive job loss makes an unstable industry and people not being able to provide 4 family makes me sad
  • #36: Pretty sure he just means 'Made exclusive titles for Playstation'
  • I have to give Microsoft the nod this time around for better looking exclusives. If only they changed their policy on being able to rent games. The always online doesn't bother me as I have a great wireless connection. Xbox 360 clearly lacked new IP exclusives and it's good to see a change of direction in that regard at least.
  • Why does every person believe that the cloud sony will impliment is the same as microsoft? Sony is adding a game cloud to access and download your game library that is cloud storage; microsoft is already implimenting a processing and memory cloud that allows information to go both ways like the cloud normally does but also allows the cloud to take over some of the processing taking a load off the hardware to allow that to be used for addiional things. Big difference i know im in the computer networking field one is old news and has been done for years already (sony) and the other a whole new way to use the cloud on a unprecidented scale (microsoft).
  • @40 - exactly. its what I was saying in #33. I've been developing using cloud technologies for 7 or 8 years and watched it grow. Microsoft's goal with X1 seems to want to take it to another level. Sony is seemingly treading well worn ground. They could prove us wrong, but I don't see any PS4 developer coming out guns blazing saying anything about it, not even a whisper.
  • The exclusives for xb1 are nothing special apart from Dead Rising! Dont like shooters for one and they all look good as little demos or cgi Trailers but im sure they will have there problems. preorder both nextgens but sony has me so far playstation plus is just a win win the content you get for your money is unmatched. wish xb1 didnt have drm ><
  • @33, @40 - Exactly. Glad to see that others sees this, too. Sony has only talked about streaming games. Microsoft's talking big picture, complementing the console in real ways and other ways no one has even imagined yet. Sony's an electronics company - Microsoft is a computing and technology company. Microsoft's cloud infrastructure and technology is light years beyond anything Sony has and it already exists. IF Sony does get a clue and decides to latch on to cloud computing, they'll almost certainly have to pay Amazon (AWS) or Microsoft (Windows Azure) and spend a ton of money building their platform. I just don't see Sony building up their own cloud infrastructure (and no, Gaikai doesn't count - they're small potatoes for what we're talking about here). In 5-6 years, I suspect we'll see start to see Sony going through the usual limitations you start to see late in a console's life, whereas Microsoft's vision could very well carry the Xbox One for 10+ years. It'll be awesome to see what we get when developers truly start to understand and take advantage of it.
  • OFF TOPIC still carnt believe we wont be getting the xb1 in Poland?? where giving you the witcher3 bastards....
  • @5: Except microsoft doesnt make developers pay to update their game. The whole thing that came out last year about how much updates cost was purely the cost of labor. Its just how much it costs to pay a developer to do their job. This costs the same regardless of whether the update is for the xbox or the playstation.
  • @10 I'd love to get a one, but I'm not one of the privileged few that have an awesome connection, that'll probably be required to stream the amount of stuff it's asking you to do. The PS4 is the working class console, and that's what I am, working class.
  • @45: Except they DO charge per update: http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2012/02/16/microsofts-40000-per-xbox-patch-explains-why-updates-are-slow-to-roll-out/ This and the fact that Microsoft is forcing Studios to get Publishers, some of these studios are ones that are known for their own name and not some publishers. Is making me realise that Microsoft have some pretty goddamn awful policies. Whilst Sunset Overdrive looks good, I can't believe Insomniac went back on their word about never being exclusive again, just goes to show that companies will go back on promises when a lot of money is thrown into their face, greedy arseholes.
  • If not for awesome games like Sunset Overdrive, Dead Rising 3, Project Spark and others such as Halo and Forza... I would be one of many switching to PlayStation for the next generation. Microsoft is getting my money purely because of these great games. It's the talented developers who get the credit in my eyes, not MS.
  • Lee, you couldn't have explained it better. That's, also, the only reason Titanfall is a One exclusive. Microsoft gave them $50+ million to make it a One exclusive.
  • everyones focused on the CURRENT exclusives MS has lined up for the one. it isnt like MS is going to keep paying companies $50 million + dollars for exclusive rights... theyre simply doing it to look better at the very beginning. Eventually the exclusives for both platforms are going to even out like they have with ps3/360 (although ps3 arguably has better exclusives). Each system is going to have their respective exclusives because MS will not be shelling out this kind of money later on just to make a game exclusive, i guarantee it. on another note, i like the idea that MS is using cloud and incorporating into the x1 in new, innovative ways. itll be interesting to see how it plays out in the future, but i feel like its effects will only be seen IN the future, and not anytime soon. This gives me a good couple years with the PS4, and if the whole cloud system gets really cool AND if MS decides to lift some of their annoying policies, than i cant justify not buying an xbox one (besides the forced kinect... i dont want a goddamn kinect).
  • Based on the evidence the video has shown us, Sunset Overdrive is a MMO, which means it can be updated on either console, regardless of cloud computing. Sony already has MMO's on their consoles, and Microsoft is doing the same with Happy Wars and World of Tanks 360 edition. For this reason, I believe the major reason Insomniac chose Xbox One was due to either faster updates, or a lot of money. A MMO is a MMO, and everything within a MMO can be updated whenever they want.
  • #51 - you could not be more wrong. See #33, #40, #41, #43.
  • I find it funny to see everyone complaining about MS giving money to developers to be an "One Exclusive". Please, stop. Microsoft GAVE Insomniac and Respawn money to FUND them to make the games, and I guarantee Sony said bugger off when they were asked for money for funding most likely because their Games branch of the company isn't doing too well.
  • @52 I'm saying the game is a MMO, therefore can be updated REGARDLESS (I say this as some people will overlook this) of cloud capabilities. Sony has shown it can hold a MMO without cloud, and am still running forward with Warframe and Final Fantasy XIV. Regardless of the MMO's quality, both console manufacturers can run MMOs on their softwares. This is why I'm saying it has to do with money, but I could be wrong, and there is another way, I just seriously doubt that they chose Microsoft over Sony.
  • @10, it should be the other way around, buy the xbox one when its cheaper lol
  • #54 - ok, firstly, I think you are the only person at this stage who has said it is definitely MMO that I've seen, I could be wrong. But that is neither here nor there. The point that was being made is that to make something cross platform you need to find the lowest common denominator between the platforms for the game to be the same. Microsoft's and Sony's implementation of their cloud services are unrelated, their own IP, and we know nothing about the pros or cons of either. We have no idea what can be accomplished on either of them, but the developers do. If they see an aspect they can utilise of one cloud implementation over the other that they can harness and deliver a greater product why would they not go exclusive? To say that Sony have done this over here and Microsoft have done that over there is meaningless. Its a whole new ball game now. You can't base what is to come on what has been. Again we also have no idea how either implemented any of those previous games, I think you will find they would be a cloud implementation too, just not the new monolithic frameworks they have now. As I said, its a bit abstract. Of course Microsoft were courting developers, and Sony were doing exactly the same yet no one seems be jumping up and down nearly as much about the Sony exclusive titles the X1 isn't getting. The vitriol over on the Insomniac forums from PS4 fans is embarrassing in its childishness. Loyalty is one thing, but the sense of entitlement is shameful, particularly in an age when studios are closing down left right and centre. They have to go where the money is and where they can deliver a top notch product. And really, so what if they took a bunch of money? If it keeps the studio open and if the game is killer no one is going to care less. The PS4 doesn't get *one* game, Insomniac have said they aren't turning their back on PS4, and they are acting like Insomniac have shit in their mothers mouths. Forget about the consoles, if that is their community they can keep the PS4. On here we have to put up with, and I hope it's dying down, fuck you MS I'm buying a PS4. On the Insomniac forums they are calling Price a cunt and to go kill himself. WTF is that?!?!?!
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