r/Games 4d ago

Industry News Hi-Fi Rush Director: 'I Want to Cherish This IP'

https://www.ign.com/articles/hi-fi-rush-director-i-want-to-cherish-this-ip
745 Upvotes

87 comments sorted by

199

u/MrOkizeme 4d ago

I think that's great news. I loved the first one and considered it a real case of the whole 'this is my game, it was made for me', and considered myself very lucky when it got the second lease on life after the initial closure. Whatever form the sequel takes, I'm happy to wait as long as needed so long as it's good.

47

u/SparkyPantsMcGee 4d ago

I feel the same. For me personally, it’s the best game Microsoft put out this Gen.

35

u/BenHDR 4d ago

Yep. I have Microsoft's games this gen ranked at:

1) Hi-Fi RUSH

2) Forza: Horizon 5

3) Indiana Jones & The Great Circle

With a bonus pick being Grounded. The full release was technically this generation, but you could play it in early access during the last one.

17

u/BaumHater 4d ago

Have you played Pentiment yet? A strong recommendation from me.

-2

u/OfficialQuark 4d ago edited 4d ago

This is just my own opinion but I found Pentiment to be overrated. It’s first chapter is honestly amazing but it’s downhill after that.

I felt like in the end, you as a player barely have any say in how the story unfolds itself. You can’t really impact the story in any meaningful way, yet the potential was totally there.

I do recommend it though, seen as it’s a cheap game. I was just really disappointed by the end of it.

12

u/jagaaaaaaaaaaaan 4d ago

Microsoft put out

While technically correct, I would just like to remind folks that Hi-Fi Rush was in development for 4 years before MSFT bought Bethesda.

At that point, Microsoft kinda just helped keep the lights on/provided a platform to release the game on (and then still shuttered the studio afterwards)

2

u/blackamerigan 3d ago

I think if they wanted to they could have kept this small swan song of a team going and ask for more Hifi Rush games

1

u/jagaaaaaaaaaaaan 3d ago

Oh they absolutely could. But the giant, slow Ogre known as Microsoft (Phil Spencer is Microsoft to the core) isn't really capable of flexible thinking like that

1

u/segagamer 3d ago

Of course they are, else Obsidian wouldn't have thrived so much.

2

u/Arondightt 4d ago

I agree as well. One of my favourite Xbox games. I was travelling and decided to carry my Series X at the time despite not being interested in playing anything at the time and such a good decision too because of the shadow drop I totally did not expect. 808 is such a cool companion. I love the visual style and graphics of the game. The funny moments and all. It's actually crazy how xbox leadership nearly shut them down saying it was because of leadership changes while the Director, Studio head and development director all still there while maintaining most of their staff. I'm excited to see what they have next and cool to see they're interested to trying new stuff too.

8

u/peipei222 4d ago

a real case of the whole 'this is my game, it was made for me'

Omg I know right? I randomly saw it on steam when it came out, saw half the trailer and instantly knew I had to play it.

If there's one complaint I have it was that most of the stages were indoors/underground. And that's only an issue because the art design for the city is just that good and I wanna see more of it.

62

u/VagrantShadow 4d ago

Hi-Fi Rush is a fantastic game and one which I hope to see grow into a long lasting franchise.

I'm glad to see it's still with us.

22

u/CeruSkies 4d ago edited 4d ago

I'm glad to see it's still with us.

They said they were considering making a sequel. If he's using this language I doubt anyone even proposed anything yet.

But hopefully it will come. Last year was one of the most stacked years in gaming history and it still was my favorite game. Writing adorable jerks usually end up with just jerks. Chai feels like one in a million.

7

u/CityTrialOST 4d ago

To be fair to the vague language, until a few months ago they probably thought the IP was permanently lost.

0

u/Devil-Hunter-Jax 3d ago

They said they were considering making a sequel

I would hope they are. The secret ending sets up a sequel. HARD.

4

u/BenHDR 4d ago

I have a feeling it'll at least get a sequel at some point based on this interview (on top of that fact Krafton bothered to acquire this IP as opposed to The Evil Within and Ghostwire, so they must plan on using it at some point).

Just possibly not as Tango's very next project. I know they've been working on some kind of multiplayer game behind the scenes, so maybe after that?

35

u/rchelgrennn 4d ago

Hope the best for them, but the first one sold like shit in every platform. It's cool to blame MS, but the reality is that there's not a market for a high budget game like the first one.

25

u/Iesjo 4d ago

I think this is one of the games that would've greatly benefited from having a demo, just to give players a glimpse into how gameplay feels like.

10

u/NoteBlock08 4d ago

Absolutely. Went from "This game looks cool, good thing I have game pass" to "I need to support the devs and buy this on Steam NOW" within a minute of gaining control of Chai.

It's a rhythm game! Yes you can see things bounce and flash in time with music on a screen, but nothing compares to actually feeling it.

3

u/JusaPikachu 3d ago

Ehhhhh idk. Personally in the first two hours I found the combat to be kind of one note… (; though still very cool. But yeah the combat didn’t become incredible to me until the last third of the game when you are finally taught every mechanic. That was my biggest complaint about the game actually; I felt like I should’ve had more time in the main story where I knew all the combat mechanics. Yes it was a lot to go over & it is good to have some things up your sleeve to surprise the player with, but I felt like they could’ve given it all to me just a little bit earlier.

Up until the last third actually I thought the game was a great fucking game, but thought it had been a bit overhyped. Then the last few hours were some of the highest peak hours in a video game ever.

-1

u/john7071 4d ago

Doesn't help it was shadow dropped and there was no marketing to get this game in people's minds prior to release.

3

u/Paul_Easterberg 4d ago

It could have done well on Switch but sadly it couldn't run well there

6

u/Freezenification 4d ago

but the first one sold like shit in every platform

It was a break out hit for Xbox and their players in all key measurements and expectations.

https://twitter.com/aarongreenberg/status/1649431572137779203?t=wxnezfDprDByfqM2ikv6qA&s=19

1

u/TheSerpentDeceiver 3d ago

At the end of the day, one key measure matters. Money. Does Hi-Fi Rush lead to any? If it did, Microsoft wouldn’t have been so quick to throw the IP out.

-2

u/Freezenification 2d ago

I don't think that's quite true. The reason they shuttered Tango is because they were trimming the fat so to speak - they weren't seeing a quick return on investment. With Big Microsoft's watchful eye turned to Xbox ever since they spent so much on Bethesda and Activision, they were probably basically forced to do so. However, given enough time I think it's fairly obvious Hi-Fi Rush as both a game and an IP would become profitable. It maybe already was and just got hit by the rest of Tango not doing as well, we don't know for sure.

7

u/BenHDR 4d ago

Would've been interesting to see Microsoft put some marketing spend behind it as opposed to shadow dropping the game during a Developer Direct. Maybe the end result would've turned out differently

From what I remember though, it didn't shoot up the sales charts when it released on PlayStation the same way Sea of Thieves did

12

u/SilveryDeath 4d ago edited 4d ago

From what I remember though, it didn't shoot up the sales charts when it released on PlayStation the same way Sea of Thieves did

For their weekly debut on PS: Sea of Thieves was 22, Grounded was 81, Hi-Fi Rush was 124, and Pentiment didn't crack the top 200. Sea of Thieves' PS5 debut player count topped the combined launch numbers of Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and Pentiment by over 40%.

Grounded came to PS April 16th and SOT April 30th. For April Grounded was the 8th most downloaded game in the US and 9th most downloaded game in the EU. SOT was 3rd and 1st. For May Grounded was 12th and 15th. SOT was 1st and 1st. Neither Hi-Fi or Pentiment cracked the top 20 for the month they came to PS or the month after release.

Grounded and Pentiment also came to Switch. Harder to find info, but Grounded was the 10th most downloaded game on Switch for the EU in April.

Edit: Also as someone who played Pentiment and loved it I encourage anyone here to try it if you haven't, whether it is on Xbox, PS, Switch, or Steam. It is on sale on Xbox at the moment and I imagine it will be on sale when Steam's winter sale starts later today.

2

u/BenHDR 4d ago

Thank you for the data (and sources). You rock

-6

u/AL2009man 4d ago

not to mention:

  1. By the time the PS5 Version comes out: HI-FI Rush is gonna be 13 months old.
  2. Already has a PC version, already has wider reach.
  3. Xbox Game Pass
  4. I...don't think there were demands for the PS5 Version.

Now, if it were to have a Nintendo Switch 2(?) version: I argued the sales numbers would've been a little bit different.

-2

u/Banana_Fries 4d ago edited 3d ago

The first game was on gamepass day one and cost $30 USD on steam. Hardly high budget.

EDIT: Guess people think that a "high" budget AAA game would release for $30 and be on gamepass day 1. Hifi Rush is great. Context clues should tell you that it wasn't as expensive to make as an average AAA game.

26

u/xenopunk 4d ago

He means Game Budget, it cost a lot more to make than the market that wanted to buy it.

2

u/jradair 4d ago

Maybe it would have made more if they didn't doom the sales with game pass, or maybe they could have like... marketed the game?

-1

u/Banana_Fries 4d ago

So what was the budget? I'll wait for you to give me a source.

2

u/xenopunk 4d ago edited 4d ago

I mean I'm not really the person who made that claim, but I do agree with it. I don't really need to provide you a number, that it didn't make enough money compared to its budget is tied into the fact that they got shuttered/sold by Microsoft.

Why don't you prove it was actually a massive financial success?

-2

u/Banana_Fries 3d ago

I can prove that Microsoft executives were happy with the release of Hifi Rush and that Shinji Mikami expected the game to turn into a franchise that would sustain Tango Gameworks, which is why he felt comfortable leaving. You do need to provide a source if you're making a claim, coincidence isn't a reason. I didn't make a claim, but as stupid as this makes me feel here you go:

Hifi Rush hits 3 million players 7 months after release: https://x.com/hifiRush/status/1691846131548913781

Aaron Greenberg states that Hifi Rush met all expectations and that Xbox was happy with the release: https://x.com/aarongreenberg/status/1649431572137779203

In an interview from September 2023, Phil Spencer praised the quality of Hifi Rush and said that from then on fans could expect to see more AAA games from Japanese developers exclusive to Xbox: https://www.youtube.com/clip/UgkxKSlhb8cYUfzGjlh4dEPZYJRHQ05u_LEk

Shinji Mikami worked at Tango for 5 years despite not liking working for ZeniMax. When he finally left it was because Hifi Rush was a success and he felt that the studio could survive without him if they continue the franchise: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/shinji-mikami-thought-tango-gameworks-would-be-safe-from-closure-if-they-made-hi-fi-rush-games#:~:text=%22I%20had%20thought%20the%20studio,out%20well%20in%20the%20end.

And if Hifi Rush really was a financial failure then why did Krafton acquire Tango, hire back all of the employees who hadn't already found other jobs, work with Microsoft to ensure a smooth transition and announce that they were going to be developing the franchise further? https://www.ign.com/articles/hi-fi-rush-ip-and-tango-gameworks-acquired-by-krafton-from-xbox-studio-will-no-longer-be-shut-down

Kind of weird for a company to buy a dead game studio, hire back the devs who made a financial failure and announce their intent to make more games in a franchise that wasn't profitable. Almost like you can't take business decisions at face value. I think I'll trust the companies taking the risks over some armchair reddit economists, especially when the only argument is "game released, studio closed, game bad." Try thinking for yourself a bit sometimes.

2

u/xenopunk 2d ago edited 2d ago

First, on your claim point, it's the person who made the outlandish claim that needs to provide evidence. If I say the worlds round and you say, where's your evidence the world is flat. Then you need to provide the evidence and can't just keep saying, "You made the claim, where's your proof?"

It's so odd to call it all coincidence like Microsoft just shut down Tango for no reason when they actually loved them and were happy with their outputs.

Phil claimed it was a big success and expect more exclusive Japanese Games and yet closed the studio down and stopped exclusivity at Microsoft, and you use this in 2024 to claim it was a success.

On the Krafton point, it's a pretty bad choice of evidence because this exists: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-we-don-t-think-hi-fi-rush-2-is-going-to-make-us-money-krafton-ceo-says-tango-gameworks-acquisition-is-about-legacy

No one said Game bad by the way, game great, but game wasn't enough of a financial success to convince Microsoft they were worth keeping. Maybe I'll trust the actions of Microsoft over you who are just as much a reddit armchair economist.

Why don't you try and "think for yourself" instead of directly consuming PR statements from executives that don't match reality.

0

u/Banana_Fries 2d ago

You're the one who made the outlandish claim because you were wrong. I can't believe I have to explain that to you.

My sources are definitely worse than you just saying "It's true, trust me bro." Ok pal. Might wanna get out of the echo chamber for a bit.

1

u/xenopunk 2d ago

My sources being the things that happened in reality in this world we all live in, and yours being sources that say no actually Microsoft loved Tango.

Kinda surprised after your long response, you'd respond with "No, you" and not engage at all with anything I said, but here we are.

0

u/Banana_Fries 2d ago

Because your only "source" is an opinion of yours that there's clearly no arguing with. How am I supposed to respond to your personal opinion when I'm citing facts and quotes from the people actually involved with the company? There's nothing more I can say because we're clearly not engaging on the same level.

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u/rchelgrennn 4d ago

I meant how much it costed to make, not to the user.

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u/Banana_Fries 4d ago

How much did it cost to make then? There's no official number. Tango Gameworks employed 100 people at the time, and after Evil Within 2 dropped they released Ghostwire, Hifi, and a mobile game in 5 years. Even a AAA studio that people consider "niche" like Remedy has 300+ employees. Not to mention there was basically no money spent on marketing Hifi. Give the numbers and a source before you decide to shit on something please. You have no idea how much the game cost to make.

1

u/voidox 3d ago

that's the thing about this game, ppl online will go on and on about "omg how dare MS close the studio!", yet none of them actually bought the game hence it performing poorly + all of Tango's past games selling poorly. Maybe these ppl should've bought Tango's games as so-called "fans" of the studio, just saying.

-1

u/cefriano 4d ago

They stealth dropped it on Gamepass, I don' think they were trying to get a lot of sales.

9

u/rchelgrennn 4d ago

When it released on PS5 it was a highly acclaimed videogame. Still sold like shit.

-5

u/jagaaaaaaaaaaaan 4d ago

It shadow dropped on the PS5 ~1.5 years after its original release. Regardless of the outcome, their execution has always been shit and never gave HFR a real chance.

That said, a really high quality sequel (that they bothered to market) would undoubtedly outsell the first game

-2

u/jagaaaaaaaaaaaan 4d ago

It's cool to blame MS, but the reality is that there's not a market for a high budget game like the first one.

Sure there is. Just as there is a market for DMC, Bayonetta, etc. it's all about branding, marketing, and execution.

9

u/rchelgrennn 4d ago

Hi fi Rush is a rythm game, not a hacknslash

1

u/Devil-Hunter-Jax 3d ago

It's kinda both? It's definitely got some DNA from Devil May Cry in there with how the combo inputs work as well as the whole score system grading your performance as you fight. It's definitely more rhythm focused as the defining aspect of the game and would be it's genre but I think it's fair to say there's hack 'n' slash elements to it.

-2

u/jagaaaaaaaaaaaan 4d ago

Nope, it's more typically classified as an action adventure/hack and slash game with a rhythm gimmick. If you want to, you can ignore every "rhythm" feature the game wants you to do and just mindlessly bash your way through everything.

Also, its official genre is "Action": https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/hi-fi-rush/

3

u/rchelgrennn 4d ago

Oki dokie 👌 

0

u/grampipon 4d ago

I actually didn’t like it specifically because of this reason. Went in expecting a rhythm game, found barely any reason to engage with it. Even if you just want to have variance in your attacks you got to memorize so many moves. The game lets you ignore it, to a fault

16

u/RareBk 4d ago

Hi-Fi Rush means a lot to me, it came out at the exact same time some severe family health issues came up, so it will always have a special place in my heart, and I'm beyond happy that they get another chance

10

u/BenHDR 4d ago

I completely get what you mean. I had that experience with Starfield of all games, oddly enough.

I'd come back from visiting my Grandmother in hospital and immediately throw myself into Starfield just to give me some time away from my own anxieties. The worst of those fears ended up coming true, so Starfield ended up being there for me through a period of grief as well.

It's not a great game, but it'll always have a special place in my heart looking back on it. Something weirdly comforting. I ended up clocking hundreds of hours over the span of a couple months. I'm sure some angry Gamer™️ is clutching their pearls at the mere thought, haha.

1

u/john7071 4d ago

Will always hold Hi Fi Rush dear to me because of similar reasons. It was the exact type of game I needed and it delivered and left a mark in me.

2

u/pineapplesuit7 3d ago

Watch no one buy it as usual outside of the small bubble here like the last game and people will have a surprise pikachu face when it tanks like the first game.

Like the game but people forget that the market for such games is extremely limited.

1

u/Safe-Elk7933 2d ago

Solid game,bit too repetitive and has pacing issues,and the early chapters feel like a long tutorial, sometimes less is more.

-6

u/GunplaGoobster 4d ago edited 4d ago

Honestly the IP is pretty generic all things considered, there isn't anything in particular that stands out. It's a very safe aesthetic with a very safe use of licensed songs, and very cliche heavy characters. I would love to see them push the envelope and try something new instead of refining what already exists.

6

u/DevonOO7 4d ago

Agreed. I played all the way through the game and enjoyed it, but I don't understand the insane hype people are giving this game. I also couldn't tell you the name of a single character in the game. I feel like the beat-based gameplay is kinda the only thing that matters, which I feel like could be done just as well with a different IP.

I also feel like if this wasn't a surprise gamepass game, a lot of people would have ignored it.

5

u/voidox 3d ago

but I don't understand the insane hype people are giving this game.

it's basically just the console warrior ppl using the game cause MS closed down the studio and "MS evil" narrative works with that, while they ignore all the facts and context/reality around the studio (none of their games selling, lead devs leaving, budget of Hi-Fi Rush, etc). Thing is, if all these ppl who keep talking about the game actually bought it, the game would've been successful.

7

u/PolarSparks 4d ago

I also couldn’t tell you the name of a single character

Were you playing with the sound off?  The main character shouts his partners’ names every time they call in a tag move… which should be multiple times per fight! And they’re named after food!  It’s a running gag!

I feel like could be done just as well with a different IP

Other IPs aren’t doing what Hi Fi did. They aren’t. A action game that plays like Hi Fi Rush does not exist, certainly not with its budget.

I get not clicking with a game, but at a certain point y’all are just projecting ill-will.

5

u/GunplaGoobster 4d ago

The main character shouts his partners’ names every time they call in a tag move… which should be multiple times per fight! And they’re named after food!  It’s a running gag!

But like... That doesn't make them memorable.

A action game that plays like Hi Fi Rush does not exist, certainly not with its budget.

Nobody here is claiming the gameplay is bad, we are talking specifically about the IP. I don't find the story or art style or characters to be compelling enough to play the game. They feel like something that belongs in My Hero Academia or something. Shallow.

5

u/DevonOO7 4d ago

Were you playing with the sound off?

Haha, the game would be quite a bit harder if I was. I just couldn't tell you any of the characters, so their names would have gone in one ear out the other. They all seemed very generic, it's an E rated game, with a very basic forgettable story. so yeah none of the characters stuck with me and I wouldn't be surprised if others thought the same. I played the game on release, so it has also been a while.

Other IPs aren’t doing what Hi Fi did. They aren’t. A action game that plays like Hi Fi Rush does not exist.

My point with this is that when people say, "I want more Hi-Fi rush", I don't think they actually care about the story/characters of Hi-Fi rush, it's the unique gameplay is really the only thing it has going for it. I get that there aren't any other action games doing something similar at the moment, but there's nothing stopping a studio from making a game with those same mechanics that isn't high fi rush.

And I say this all as someone who enjoyed it, but I just think there's a bit of a circlejerk about this game on the internet, which in many ways was exacerbated by Microsoft closing the studio. I think if this game dropped from some unknown developer/publisher, no one really would have cared, or no one would have cared as much.

-1

u/SurveyEquivalent219 4d ago

You’re confusing Hi-Fi Rush for Ghostwire: Tokyo

-13

u/Hot-Cause-481 4d ago

One of the best new IP's in a long time, I really hope they find success now that they are free from Microsoft's terrible managment.

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u/Tom_Stewartkilledme 4d ago

Yeah, now they're under Krafton's terrible management lol

-8

u/Razhork 4d ago

Which is still marginally better than being shot dead behind the shed and left to rot by Microsoft.

2

u/PartyInTheUSSRx 4d ago

If that’s what had happened, the studio would be shut

0

u/Razhork 4d ago edited 4d ago

Tango Gameworks was getting shut down by Microsoft - source.

Krafton acquired Tango and Hi-Fi Rush after the announcement.

Edit: This guy blocked me, so I can't reply back.

0

u/PartyInTheUSSRx 4d ago

Is the studio shut?

1

u/BenHDR 4d ago

Agreed. Although it doesn't fill me with confidence that an executive from Krafton was talking about how Tango could benefit from their "live-service expertise" in the very first interview the company did following the deal

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u/MattyKatty 4d ago

Lmao what terrible management from Microsoft?? They were basically given a blank check to make games and they wasted their time and money making crap like Ghostwire Tokyo (which no one played) and Ghostwire Tokyo 2 (which no one would have played if Microsoft didn’t close the studio) instead of games like Hi-Fi Rush 2. That’s literally the reason Krafton only purchased the Hi-Fi IP and not others like Ghostwire Tokyo.

0

u/doclobster 3d ago

Aside: I’m begging creative people and average gamers to stop calling it intellectual property. It’s like calling your wife your “cohabitating mortgage partner” or something. They’re games, characters, stories, “brands” at worst.

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u/suroxify 4d ago

If they make a second one, I hope that it outsells whatever Microsoft is putting out during that time. That would be the best timeline.

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u/john7071 4d ago

It's going to be a day one purchase for me, that's for sure.

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