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Kim & Clint Hocking their Swiftboat down the Amazon

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What in the fuck. Portal gun rolling down a hill in the Amazon game? Systemic portal solving.

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I have underestimated Amazon twice and I am not keen to repeat the experience.

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That is just about the most confusing thread title I've ever seen.

Strangely, whilst I had assumed it was being literal, one of the thoughts that went through my head while trying to parse it did turn out to be the correct one. Not sure what that says about me.

 

Also, I've got a job interview with Amazon in a few weeks, so I think they're highly relevant and important. shutupshutupshutup

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That is just about the most confusing thread title I've ever seen.

 

Ah, I think it's just time spent on the Thumbs forums. Eventually, titles like this make immediate, perfect sense.

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It's time for... who cares. Amazon is just an also ran. We'll be talking about them like we talk about the CD-i in ten years.

 

I think they would be an also ran without game to back it up. Hiring Swift and Hocking has me paying attention at least, even though I generally have no interest in purchasing another thing that plays games. A solid game from either could change that, though.

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I hope this evil megacorporation who I stopped ordering from treats them better than Valve did!

 

I wonder how many zeroes they added to their annual salary. 

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They also purchased Double Helix, so the question is are going to make a game, and exclusive Kindle Fire game or a new game system?

 

Double Helix doesn't really have a good track record, so maybe that's why they hired Kim and Clint?

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I dunno, I think it's a little odd to simply dismiss Amazon as an also-ran. A game's success seems to be largely based on 1) quality 2) marketing. Amazon can easily buy both and not at such a ridiculously high price considering the target is a mobile-equivalent console with a narrowed scope compared to AAA console games (I mean, their premier game at launch is $7 so the games can't cost much to develop or they wouldn't make money) and the front page of their website is marketing enough for seemingly any product. If Ouya's pocket change is enough to sway some developers to go at least timed-exclusive and make their games compatible with Ouya, what will Amazon's deep pockets do?

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They also purchased Double Helix, so the question is are going to make a game, and exclusive Kindle Fire game or a new game system?

 

Double Helix doesn't really have a good track record, so maybe that's why they hired Kim and Clint?

 

It seems like when they were given time and a halfway decent budget (Strider, Killer Instinct, SH: Homecoming), decent games got made.  But when they had to make licensed, cheap rush jobs to coincide with a movie release, the game was shit.  Hardly surprising.

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i'm so confused & a little excited & somewhat filled with a powerful sense of dread

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I choose to be optimistic.

We have two designers with great games on their resumes and a team capable of doing good work.

Let's assume Amazon hired them because they want to enable talented people to make good games.

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That means a lot to me.

I am glad I backed off about being much more rude about it, then!

I was in a cranky mood. Swiftboating is a pretty negative connotation, regardless of pun status.

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I dunno, I think it's a little odd to simply dismiss Amazon as an also-ran. A game's success seems to be largely based on 1) quality 2) marketing. Amazon can easily buy both and not at such a ridiculously high price considering the target is a mobile-equivalent console with a narrowed scope compared to AAA console games (I mean, their premier game at launch is $7 so the games can't cost much to develop or they wouldn't make money) and the front page of their website is marketing enough for seemingly any product. If Ouya's pocket change is enough to sway some developers to go at least timed-exclusive and make their games compatible with Ouya, what will Amazon's deep pockets do?

 

Personally I wouldn't bet against Amazon because Wall Street seems happy to throw all the money at them regardless of whether or not they earn any sort of profit. Any company that can pull that trick off is not to be messed with.

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The amount of jobs Amazon Game Studios has been hiring for over the last 9 months or so has been staggering to see. Between an earnest showing yesterday, scooping up Double Helix, this announcement it shows Amazon is putting real money and effort into this.

 

As a game developer, I can't ignore that, especially when the expected ramp up in hiring was expected after the PS4 or Xbox One announcements never happened, a mid-tier (in terms of team size and development cost) console that the studio is backing with their own content is something I'm really happy to see.

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I wouldn't necessarily count on that long term.  If the games are compatible with other OSes and/or devices (if they don't require the higher specs of the Fire TV compared to similar devices), I think Amazon will be happy to sell games for the PC and other Android devices if they think that will be profitable. 

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