The Painful Tragedy of Scalebound

[00:00] Capcom veterans Atsushi Inaba, Hideki  Kamiya, and Shinji Mikami joined   forces in 2007 to found PlatinumGames.  Operating out of Capcom s backyard in Osaka,  

[00:20] Japan, while producing critically acclaimed  games such as Bayonetta and Vanquish for Sega.   These titles and several others set a cadence  for Platinum, mixing combo-based action with   over-the-top visuals for incomparable interactive  experiences. All the while, however, Hideki Kamiya  

[00:37] had another idea brewing in the back of his mind,  a concept that would finally give respect to the   larger-than-life creatures he d long adored. Scalebound was to star a young man stranded  

[00:49] in a fantastical world whose companion,  the fire-breathing dragon named Thuban,   constituted the last of its kind. Instead of an  antagonistic or purely functional relationship,   the two unlikely allies forged a bond  that united them across storytelling  

[01:04] and gameplay mechanics. Publisher Microsoft  Studios fell head over heels for Platinum s   pitch, signing a deal that would make the  sprawling adventure exclusive to Xbox One.  The public similarly grew attached to Scalebound,  fawning over every screenshot and morsel of  

[01:20] gameplay footage shown during its fleeting life  cycle. But it never actually saw the light of day,   not outside of well-crafted vertical slices and  glowing press previews. Announced during the nadir   of the Xbox One s early days, Scalebound seemed a  beacon of hope for the beleaguered console. Thus,  

[01:37] all were surprised when Microsoft abruptly ceased  development on the project, pulling the plug the   year it was to hit store shelves. And the fact  that Microsoft owns the intellectual property   rights means the keys to Kamiya s unique  vision remain outside of PlatinumGames reach  

[01:52] for an indeterminate length of time. This is the tragedy of Scalebound. 

[02:10] Hideki Kamiya s fondness for action,  adventure, and role-playing games  

[02:23] informed his love of dinosaurs and gargantuan  creatures like Godzilla. This passion followed   the now-storied game designer to Capcom to the  extent that he envied Shu Takumi s role on Dino  

[02:35] Crisis and wanted to swap projects despite  working on Resident Evil 2. But Kamiya s   passion was made manifest by other means moving  dinosaur skeletons appeared in Devil May Cry,  

[02:47] for example. The designer additionally  referenced dinosaur movements for the   game s Griffon demon. Dragons also served as  the thematic basis for Bayonetta s Fortitudo   boss and influenced the creation of  certain enemies in The Wonderful 101. 

[03:02] These auxiliary depictions merely scratched the  surface for Kamiya, who felt video games too   often typecast dinosaurs and the like as either  the villain, pet, or mode of transportation. In  

[03:14] an attempt to flip the script, the pitching  phase for PlatinumGames s first endeavor saw   the Devil May Cry creator propose a game  with dinosaurs as the main subject matter.  Kamiya divulged in a GameSpot interview that  Scalebound counted among the first concepts  

[03:29] the studio considered after opening its doors. The  project was initially pitched as a Wii experience   starring a little girl through whom players could  control dinosaurs with the Wii remote. Ultimately,   other endeavors took precedent. After shipping  Bayonetta in 2009, Platinum revisited the  

[03:45] dinosaur game, keeping the child protagonist  but jettisoning the dinosaur theme in exchange   for dragons. Building a prototype helped further  flesh out the idea and led to Kamiya s realization   that he d much rather join the action instead of  watching it. This line of thought begat another  

[04:02] significant change, one wherein a slightly  older swordsman replaced the little girl.  Platinum shelved the project again soon  thereafter, setting aside its dragon   prototype to move forward with what would  later become Wii U s The Wonderful 101.  

[04:17] Towards the end of the Wii U title s development,  Kamiya reengaged the dragon game, working   alongside the studio s lead designer to compose  a refined version of the concept document. At   long last, the game designer had an opportunity to  helm development on his dream. The Japanese outfit  

[04:34] inked a deal with a prominent western publisher  to help bring its co-founder s dream into reality. 

[04:58] Over time, Japanese publishers had grown wary of  original fare with a big budget and an independent   studio attached. Japanese firms who produced  these types of experiences, thus, turned to   crowdfunding, licensing agreements, mobile game  development, or leaving the industry flat-out.  

[05:14] Luckily for PlatinumGames at the time, translator  and former Capcom producer Ben Judd facilitated   a meeting with Microsoft that landed Scalebound a  new home after it entered production around 2013. 

[05:26] Creative Producer Jean-Pierre Kellams told  IGN that partnering with a western publisher   marked an important step for the studio and by  all accounts, the two fostered a great working  

[05:38] relationship. According to Kamiya, Microsoft  s very hands-on approach differed from that   of Japanese publishers that followed a good-ol  -days business model, in which higher-ups were   satisfied so long as the game worked out in  the end. The team at Xbox similarly emphasized  

[05:55] the final product yet had a vested interest in  the process by which its partners reached that   point. Most importantly, Kamiya insisted Xbox  s managerial efforts kept Platinum honest and  

[06:07] streamlined production to the extent that  they developed the game faster than usual.  Microsoft s expertise enhanced the content of  Scalebound, as well. A self-aware Platinum knew   that while most of its endeavors were critical  darlings, they didn t exactly fly off store  

[06:22] shelves. Asking Microsoft s gaming division for  advice on how best to attract a broader audience   served as but one of many ways the Bayonetta  creators stepped out of their comfort zone.   As a result, skilled and advanced players were  not the target audience; instead, the studio  

[06:37] tried appealing to a wider range of players  by sidestepping the severe risk/reward-type of   feel that pervaded its previous adventures. Though  certain design choices spawned from older pitches,  

[06:49] the hope was that Scalebound s fantastical nature  would further interest those who didn t typically   give Platinum-developed games a second glance. The player character, Drew, participating in   expansive battles between two large-scale  creatures provided Scalebound with its  

[07:04] gameplay core. In true Platinum fashion,  the protagonist wielded outrageous weapons,   including swords that dwarfed Drew in size.  And of the myriad tools at his disposal,  

[07:16] many came imbued with elemental characteristics  such as the ability to deal fire damage. While   this may have seemed like business as usual on  paper, action role-playing elements sat at the   forefront, a first for the development crew. But Kamiya and Co. remained adamant about  

[07:33] carefully ingratiating the studio s signature  action-centric DNA into Scalebound s more RPG   qualities. Thus, the responsiveness of movement  that helped separate Bayonetta and Devil May Cry   from their counterparts pervaded the dragon  game, ensuring players would always feel in  

[07:48] full control of Drew. Controlling the dragon,  Thuban, proved integral as well, given Drew   s ability to direct the creature s behavior  on the battlefield. Yet, developers designed   the companion AI such that Thuban could also act  independently, obeying commands in a general sense  

[08:03] while simultaneously responding to situations  with some semblance of autonomy when necessary.  Drew s command over Thuban extended to the dragon  s aesthetic design, too. Platinum wanted players  

[08:15] to customize his appearance with skins that  matched their preferences, emphasizing the unique   bond that users were to build with the creature.  Said bond represented the center of gravity for   Scalebound, as the unlikely companions found  themselves propelled into a mutually beneficial  

[08:29] relationship whose growth could save the magical  world of Draconis. This pairing and its importance   to the overarching narrative harkened back to  Hideki Kamiya s vision of designing a game where   the dragon took center stage hence the team  prioritizing customization options for Thuban. 

[08:46] The connection between Drew and Thuban blossomed  out of their shared sense of isolation,   with the former being unexpectedly thrust  into Draconis from the modern world and the   latter constituting the last of his kind. Platinum  notably designed Scalebound around the evolution  

[09:01] of their relationship on levels both high and  low. If Thuban died during a combat encounter,   so, too, did his human companion and vice versa.  Their partnership even informed various gameplay  

[09:14] mechanics, apparent in the skill point system  that rewarded users for healing the dragon or   performing other supportive role-type actions. Speaking with IGN, Gamer Designer Yasuke Miyata   behaviors that ultimately benefited progression.  Eventually, the duo would build up enough trust  

[09:34] that enabled Drew to mount the dragon; and  the same principle applied to unlockable joint   attacks a mechanic capable of amplifying  the synchronicity between man and dragon.  All told, Platinum seemingly had something special  up its sleeve, another original IP that could help  

[09:50] the industry break new ground. Microsoft Studios  s Creative Director, Ken Lobb, boasted during an   Inner Circle podcast appearance that Platinum had  the chance to produce a Game of the All-Time. And  

[10:02] for a long while, it appeared audiences would get  to someday make that judgment for themselves. But,   somewhere along the way, the Japanese studio s  ambitious epic slowly began fading from view. 

[10:46] PlatinumGames wowed audiences during Xbox s E3  2014 conference upon unveiling Scalebound with   an action-packed reveal trailer showcasing Drew  s dragon form and his bond with Thuban. Other   specifics about the Xbox One exclusive, such  as its release date, remained under wraps at  

[11:02] the time, but the developer and publisher  assured hopeful players the role-playing   title would leverage the power of Xbox Live  to deliver dynamic and immersive gameplay.  Despite offering a mere glimpse at the land  of Draconis, the debut trailer captured the  

[11:17] public s attention and held it until Scalebound s  second showing more than a year later at gamescom   2015. The five-minute, combat-filled gamescom  video depicted the RPG s dynamic duo taking  

[11:29] on soldiers and mammoth-sized creatures. Drew  employed short and long-range attacks; meanwhile,   his commands to Thuban mixed with the fearsome  predator s independent behaviors intensified  

[11:41] the moment-to-moment action. Better still, it was  all backed by strictly diegetic music that played   through Drew s headphones. In short,  

[11:55] gamescom 2015 set the tone for what people  could expect from Scalebound s holiday 2016   release. The tail end of the trailer  also teased four-player co-op options,   which would permit three additional users to pop  into dungeon areas for boss battles. While this  

[12:12] showing further intrigued onlookers, Platinum  s eagerly-anticipated dragon game wasn t quite   where it needed to be development-wise.  That much became apparent in January 2016,   when the company announced the project s delay  to a nebulous 2017 launch window. Executives  

[12:28] expressed pride in Scalebound s production  in a statement, claiming progress had been   going well. Yet, the extended development  period would provide developers the time   needed to implement the title s many innovative  features and thrilling gameplay experiences. 

[12:43] Within a year, however, these efforts had  arguably been rendered fruitless. In January 2017,   several sources familiar with Platinum s  operations informed Kotaku that Scalebound   was treading troubled waters and at risk  of being canceled by Microsoft Studios. The  

[12:59] publication learned of the project s descent  into development hell, its alleged problems   having plagued production for quite a while. From  the public s point of view, the claims seemingly   bore some semblance of truth, considering  the events leading up to Kotaku s report. 

[13:14] Microsoft removed its dedicated Scalebound page  from the official Xbox website days before the   report went live. And the action RPG conspicuously  received no mention in an early January Xbox   Wire post touting the then-upcoming releases  across Microsoft-branded hardware. Fortunately,  

[13:31] the publisher didn t let the public stew for  too long. Just hours after cancellation rumors   hit the web, Microsoft confirmed to the press  its decision to cease production on Scalebound.  This blow to the Xbox One lineup came  following a string of canned exclusives,  

[13:47] with Microsoft shelving the Phantom Dust remake,  Fable Legends, and Project: Knoxville in 2015 and   2016. Scalebound s abandonment hit harder for  some, though, thus resulting in the publisher  

[13:59] receiving the brunt of the backlash a response  that Platinum would later denounce as unfair.  In a 2019 VGC interview, PlatinumGames  Studio Head, Atsushi Inaba, said the team  

[14:11] opposed the ire directed at Microsoft following  Scalebound s cancellation. Both sides failed,   according to Inaba, who admitted Platinum  didn t do its due diligence while developing   the game. Unable to offer much in the way of  specifics, the executive noted that painful  

[14:26] lessons ensued from the Scalebound experience,  each one strengthening the studio s growth.  Irrespective of what happened and why, Platinum  s fondness for Scalebound never faded; in fact,   Inaba once told Eurogamer Portugal the crew  would love" to revisit the IP if given the  

[14:43] opportunity. That opportunity would have to  come with a blessing from Xbox, considering   its ownership of the rights. Unfortunately,  nothing suggests Microsoft has any interest   in retreading old ground, meaning Hideki Kamiya  s dream game remains trapped in limbo a space the  

[14:59] ambitious idea had already grown too comfortable  in after years of waiting on the sidelines.