Phil Fish Quits Game Industry, Cancels Fez II
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Comments
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Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:53 AM
Good Riddance.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:55 AM
Marcus Beer said what others wanted to say but didn't have the heart to. I like him even more for it!Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:56 AM
Bloody whingeing tosspot!Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:56 AM
Am I the only one who thinks Fish gets it rough? like, seriously, give the guy a break. He made a great game, more than any of us have done.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:57 AM
Pro for him leaving: He has a volatile personality. Came off as hard to like in Indie Game the movie. Cons: Fez was brilliant. Fez 2 was probably going to be as good if not better. Probably feeds Beer's ego. Whilst Fish is a certainly strong personality its wrong for Beer to go after indie developers because he sure as hell won't call out big publishers as they will be the ones paying his wages through a fashion.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:58 AM
Shame others don't follow suit. Iv been slagging Joey Barton on twitter for 7 years. @5 Goggle "Phil Fish Japanese comments" im sure you will soon change your mind.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:05 AM
shame, Fez was a great game. I know the whole internet hates him for his comments, but it's just getting out of hand.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:08 AM
@5 Really? I think quite a lot of us do more productive things than make games and don't act like a tosser doing it. He can say what he wants about other people but clear can't take it back, sounds pretty childish to me.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:09 AM
@8 People got those comments all wrong. Even Keiji Inafune agree's with the commentsMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:10 AM
Regardless of what Fish said or says, Fez II is canceled and that's unfortunate because I was totally looking forward to it.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:12 AM
Phill Fish is a grade A A-Hole, Marcus Beer just said what others have been saying for months. Just look up any interview with phill fish and watch the way he conducts himself, not taking anything away from FEZ, but I'm glad he is out of the industry. He was giving it a bad name.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:12 AM
Isn't this the same guy who was griping that Minecraft was getting preferential treatment on Xbox? I might be totally misremembering this, but I thought it was him the was bitching that they weren't having to pay the update fees.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:14 AM
Okay, no Fez II, but what about Fez with its game breaking glitch, is that going to be fix because of this?Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:14 AM
These comments pretty much sum up the idiocy that lets these angry/annoyed ranty critics do what they do. Do any of you even know Phil Fish? Do you know that his business partner stabbed him in the back? That his girlfriend walked out on him? That he almost went bankrupt making Fez? He went through a lot of crap just to put that game out there and the end result was amazing - whether it is your personal style or not. All he gets in return is entitled douchebags like this AnnoyedGamer, claiming he owes them something. Does he deserve to be sworn at and called names over his refusal to comment on A RUMOUR ARTICLE? Honestly, he even tweeted that he would not comment on rumours. Sure his response after may have been a bit OTT (no one condones telling people to kill themselves) but when people come out and say he deserves to be yelled at, abused and treated like shit then they are just clueless. Most of his comments get taken way out of proportion and, when you take them in context, he actually has a lot of positive things to say about the industry and where it is heading. Fact is that people see him as an easy target because he actually cares enough about his games and the industry to respond to people one on one, rather than hiding away. So when a guy who is famous for just shouting at stuff doesn't get a soundbite from Fish he thinks he is OK to just call him all names under the sun and, even worse, idiots validate him for it and heap even more abuse on Fish. Not surprised he quit the industry.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:17 AM
I've never forgiven him for his idiotic complaints when Mojang announced how many people had bought Minecraft for 360 thinking Microsoft had told them but still hadn't told him how many people bought Fez. When they then said it was based on Leaderboard numbers and not info from MS, he had to apologize. Heck, it's not like you hear the guys who made Limbo giving their insight into the gaming community. Pretty sure all they are focused on is making another game. What an original idea, right?Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:19 AM
@16 Indeed it doesn't, so now your other account gets a permaban rather than a temp one. Kudos.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:25 AM
http://www.change.org/petitions/polytron-corporation-please-continue-to-revolutionize-the-gaming-industry If you don't support the individual behind the game, at least support the incredible game that has been created.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:32 AM
@15,18: Phil pls go.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:34 AM
Phil fish is a god dam hipster!Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:34 AM
@1......never a truer word said. This is why I lose patience with Indie games so muchMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:37 AM
@10 I think the thing with the Japanese comments was he embarrassed a guy who praised the work shown in Indie Game: The Movie and just asked how the panel felt about modern Japanese games. Jonathan Blow at the same panel was in one writer's words "way more constructive" with his feedback. It's sad that this guy took his ball and went home and his fans may never see Fez II but honestly there are women in the games industry that take more shit (publicly and privately) and develop thinker-skin. Hopefully for the fans of Fez, Fish will keep working on Fez II. When it comes to Marcus Beer the guy calls out a lot of guys (normally the likes of Kaz Hirai, Frank Gibeau and Don Mattrick.) most of the time he is pretty spot on with his rants and I agree with him for the most part on this one too but the way he put his opinion across in this case was rather poorly thought out.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:38 AM
@20 Good comment. I love your skills at recognising site staff especially.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:41 AM
I sent this in as a news tip days ago... Good riddance, Mr. Fish.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:47 AM
Good riddance hipster douchebagMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:50 AM
After Microsoft have changed their policies he no longer has anything to complain about. So he had become redundant.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:03 AM
@13: I don't think he brought Minecraft into it but what if he did? (In general)Lot of people here giving him crap for things that shouldn't be like the update issue. Fez was the lightning rod for how greedy and ridiculous Microsoft was in how they treated indie games. Did we know how much Microsoft charged for patches before Fish commented that he couldn't fix Fez because of the prohibitive cost? I don't think so. 10k for each fix previously. He "whinged." But that cert cost and resubmit cost is gone now. Legitimate criticism: The patch still hasn't come about. I thought it had but I'll take the general consensus view on that. If he had commented I'm sure it would have been relegated to more "hipsterism." No winning there. What a waste as Fez was a great game irrespective of glitches which I've fortunately not experienced (beyond some freezing which is annoying). Who knows what the sequel would have been. Now I'll check out that petition.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:22 AM
@15 what the fuck does his gf walking out on him have to do with anything? Although he's such a massive tool I'm not surprised. I seem to remember he called all of his customers 'fucking ingrates' at some point. Good riddance Phil Fish, you piece of shit.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:23 AM
He's a turd that made one game. He'll be forgotten tomorrow, to the loss of absolutely no one. Hopefully he can now set aside some time to shave those fucking retarded chops off his face.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:23 AM
The problem here is the troll's, Fez is a great designer but the lack of respect to game designer's is the problem. The 2nd comment is the sort of disgraceful comment's that have put him from working on his game's, people should be respectful of, I DARE anyone who slag's off Fez here to make a game. -_-Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:30 AM
@32: The fact that you are referring to the designer as "Fez" shows you know absolutely nothing about this story, the people involved, and why it happened. Your opinion is now void.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:32 AM
@33 there's a difference between knowing, talking about the patches and well resorting to namecalling, attacking him on a personal level.........Learn the difference. -_-Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:33 AM
So let me get this straight he loses his mind over the "industry" but takes it out on this Marcus beer guy? Crazy people.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:37 AM
@34: attacking and resorting to name calling... you mean the way Fish has been doing for years? It sounds to me like he can't take the shit he gives. He attracts all the criticism he gets by dishing it out in the first place. If he can't handle it being put back on him, he should just shut his mouth.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:37 AM
Someone buy Marcus a Beer!Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:39 AM
Guy was a tosspot true, to be honest though he did himself no favours and if he reacted in a more level headed way then he would have garnered more support than just "good riddance" being a popular theme amongst the onlookers. Thats half the problem with idie devs, they world under mental situations and go threw burning hoops to get their game out there - we can see the strain they go under but because they are indie they tend to be the face and PR reps for their development team... when they rant reguarly, pick fights publically and garner too much wrong kind of media attention then it effects their support and potentially their games. Social media is nothing new but unless they are pished or the likes and forgetting themselves then there is no need for them to having anymore of these melt downs. Too many indie devs these days just want to pick fights or whinge routinely - that aint what people want to read about, or at least it aint what i want to read about but its all too common. Guess the media are just at fault because thats the kind of coverage they too often give them but given this was a case of the kind of media they need to shift their games reaching out to them as figureheads for the indie dev scene its quite baffling that there whole stance was "fuck you, come back when youve got proper facts before i give you my opinion" when thats all that was asked of them - an opinion on something which could potentially have a profound effect on indie devs like themselves.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:48 AM
@36 he has for year's? New's to me (being serious since haven't really noticed myself but not disbelieving), it's just sometime's the community can be really harsh sometime's. The problem is people tend to trolling mostly against him, rather than following proper critism. @38 Agreed or least sort of because being an Indy developer is costly, take's a lot of hard work, an example for me I might spend 2-3 day's making a 3d model, get the usual troll related comment. (It's hard to understand Fev's point of view until people actually make their own game), the problem is it just seem's like the community is being just as bad as Fez, maybe Fez did start it but in this warzone It's hard to tell between the troll's, the people that are genuiely annoyed at Fez, of course Fez's point of view.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:52 AM
The guy released a (semi decent) broken game then blamed everyone else because it sold beyond poorly. At least he said straight up hes taking the money & running, which gathering from the sales should be enough for bus fare........ Then again i cant say much, i did buy the game. Hey Fish, spare me some change? Mine preferably.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:54 AM
Personally I think he is a breathe of fresh air in a fairly stale industry... he is honest and sometimes brash - but in many cases he is not wrong. Give him a break - for someone as talented to walk away from the industry can only be a bad thing.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:01 AM
The issue here is the double standard Fish held himself too, which is what Beer was calling him out for. Fish refused to comment on MS changing their policies, the same policies Fish has moaned about, but will jump to any media coverage that is self serving. All the guy needed to say was something like, "Its interesting, but I want to see them prove their commitment before I consider publishing on the Cvox again." And all this would have been avoided. Basically, dude needed a PR person at Polytron.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:04 AM
If this guy was any true professional and wasn't being an obsessive internet-fueled barnacle (and hipster tbh) then the words "water" and "off a duck's back" spring to mind. The internet has been around long enough for him to know better and if throwing a tantrum is deemed acceptable from a grown adult in the public eye and consistently outspoken and poorly thought-out comments are "part of his personality", then I agree with the sentiment that it's a good riddance. This guy has garnered way too many headlines since he showed up, for one game that ripped heavily from others that came before. Sure, it was a new idea for an Xbox game ("console of the shooters") to have the perspective platforming thing, but it had already been done elsewhere, and yet every "critic" lauded, praised and fellated him for his GENIUS. This is the games industry we live in today; one consisting of sensationalism, PR and multi-billion dollar advertising, and just like so many overnight sensations of decades past, Mr Fish's ego exploded and his grasp on "terra firma" slipped away. Perspective, hindsight, "I was stressed"... I don't like the way the whole thing is set up as it all stinks, but whatever happens, much like Cliff Blezinski, I hope this attention magnet stays gone and I never see or hear his name again.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:07 AM
@30 Wow, way to prove my point by acting like a total jackass. What that proves is that he put his whole life on hold to make a game he believed in, at the cost of his finances, mental health and relationships. If you'd done that and people (like your good self) still called you a piece of shit without bothering to know the facts then how would you react? The fact that people are coming on here and calling him all names under the sun and then admitting they don't know anything about him, his history or only know half truths about some story the heard somewhere, at some point, from a friend shows what he has to deal with. People just jump on the bandwagon to abuse him for no reason. All these people saying he has 'abused people for years' show me some examples. Show me one point (with context) where that happened when someone hadn't abused him first. Please don't embarrass yourself with the 'Japanese games suck' as he was referring to modern titles and went on to explain his issues with their design and flaws - a fact that is never reported. Now go for it.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:10 AM
The guy is a whiney asshole. This guy was a one trick pony, a decent core mechanic that took him 5 years to realise and then released it with a game breaking issue. When he didn't get what he perceived he was "entitled" to as a developer he bitched and moaned and blamed everyone and everything but himself. This whole situation is him basically taking his ball and going home.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:12 AM
@15 He does come across as a bit of a dick quite a lot of the time though like that comment to that Japanese journalist.He also came off as extremely arrogant and generally not a nice person. I feel more sorry for his business partner having to work with him tbh.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:25 AM
@47 You've proven my point. All anyone remembers is him saying "Japanese games sucks" to one guy and making him feel bad. They don't mention that he instantly went into detail about what he felt were the flaws in their design etc. But it was much easier for everyone to take that one comment and splash it on an article. Likewise look @35 - bad opinion of Fish despite having the facts all wrong. As it was Beer that attacked Fish (and Jonathan Blow) in the first place for no reason. So again someone gets a bad opinion of Fish based on them taking this article out of context. Same with @42 - who seems to miss the point that Fish said he didn't comment on rumours (and it WAS a rumour about the MS policy shift). But they've taken it as fact and that Fish was wrong for not being forced to comment on a rumour. Why should he? Seriously? In fact I love how no one is critiquing Jonathan Blow for not commenting to MS, or the fact he also got slated by the vaunted Mr Beer for no reason. He didn't respond like Fish did - but he would have had every right to frankly. Fish is no saint, and he winds people up sometimes, but people just attack him with zero facts/evidence and seem to think this issue occurred because of him. They seem to ignore/brush over the fact that he was the one that was attacked (with no provocation) in the first place. And to those people that say he 'asked for it' or 'deserve it' then I feel sorry for you. Also, @46 Fez was NOT released with a game breaking issue. When they re leased a patch for a few fixes was when the issue actually occurred and then MS said he couldn't fix the problem unless he paid tens of thousands of dollars for a whole new patch. Again, the facts are helpful.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:30 AM
I must say I'm a bit disappointed that there won't be a FEZ 2 as I really liked the first before the glitch, but Fish seemed to act like a big child a lot of the time. He'd talk all kinds of shit, but couldn't take people talking shit back. I get that he was burned hard by life and the industry, and maybe that's what made him so incredibly outspoken and explicit with everyone, but if he's going to dish it, he needs to be willing to take it.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:46 AM
He was the same way during the developement of FEZ 1, seemed like an intolerable idiot that always QQ'd about people being cruel. He just needs to suck it up and have some damn pride.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:46 AM
He is giving my 4 year old sister a run for her moneyMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:52 AM
sry, but FEZ wasn't great. it was rather a nebulus-clone with cute graphics. http://www.c64-wiki.de/index.php/NebulusMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 08:05 AM
Until this weekend and this article, I've never even heard of Marcus before, and same goes for Phil Fish. Never played Fez either, and probably won't if it still has the game-breaking bug you guys speak of.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 08:11 AM
Just when I thought he couldn't get any dumber, he totally redeemed himself.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 08:18 AM
I don't know whether to be disappointed that there won't be a Fez 2 or the uninformed gamers who claim that he can't dish it out yet got riled up about a few personal comments he made. Newsflash people, famous people have an opinion too, I see so many even more disgusting tweets and you all are focused on this? Firstly, most of you probably know absolutely nothing about game development and you were all just hammering this guy and secondly, most if not all of you would be on the edge if the people you loved left you and you poured your heart and soul into something, only to be ridiculed later based on the fact that the people want a newer product. I'm not condoning it, but I'm understanding where the frustration comes from. The guy went bankrupt trying to create the first game, how do you expect him to make another one? You guys want to give him a helping hand? Didn't think so.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 08:20 AM
@48 While creating video games can lose you friendships and relationships here and there, no measure of time working on a game automatically gives you carte blanche to be total cunt publicly, then cry and whine when people slap you the fuck down for it.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 08:20 AM
Didn't like Fez tbh and when I watched that Indie Gamer documentary on Netflix I thought he was a bit of a dickhead. The main Meatboy guy was worse but that was a great game at least.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 08:55 AM
@48 He knew what Microsoft's policies were when he agreed to release on fez on the xbox, he knew it how much it cost to release and patch up front. I may not agree with it but it's not like M$ produced a figure out of thin air. He released the game then through his own actions caused the game to become unplayable to a vast amount of users. When faced with the cost of fixing his own mistake, which once again he knew of before hand, he chose to screw over the people who'd invested in his game.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:11 AM
Don't care what kind of guy he is/was. The fact is he is a public figure in this industry (due to his own actions/desire to respond to fans) and ANYONE in that position needs to be able to handle a few insults from the internet. You either grow the fuck up and ignore the nasty comments (or atleast don't let them affect you) or you get the fuck out of the spotlight. He probably made the right decision. That being said, I don't feel bad for him. Fez may have been amazing, but it had problems and needed fixed. Fish was one of the loudest people in the industry speaking out against Microsoft's "pay-to-update" policy, and now that its gone, there still isn't a fix. So fuck him.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:12 AM
Wow, kudos to the badass that downvoted my posts (you know I can see who does that right?). At least I can make a rational argument without having to insert a swearword. All the negative arguments here are basically "Phil Fish what a *****" or similar - really good contributions. @56 Please show me all these examples of where he has been a cunt publicly, again with context to prove it wasn't because he was provoked etc. People keep saying 'he shouldn't dish it out if he can't take it' without bothering to note that he is only dishing out comments IN RESPONSE to what people say to him. So maybe you all should be saying that people shouldn't insult Phil Fish if they are afraid of him giving it back. But then it's easy for people to say he is abrasive, insulting, obnoxious etc and ignore the fact they are sat here swearing and calling him names, and that thousands of people would do that to him publicly via twitter each week with zero provocation from him. Sure, that's fine. He didn't quit because of this one thing, people seem to miss that fact, but because he has been taking abuse from anonymous trolls (rather like most of the people here) for YEARS with zero provocation on his part. Would you want to work in a job like that? @58 Again a twisting of the facts. He may have known the cost of patches up front, but he actually asked MS if he could just fix the problematic patch and re-issue it. They said no, and insisted that he pay through the nose again. I love how no blame is attached to MS here. Also, as soon as they dropped that stupid policy Fish came out and publicly stated that they would do the patch ASAP. He didn't have to do that - especially after all the great 'feedback' he gets from people.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:15 AM
@58 P.S the game didn't become 'unplayable for the vast amount of users' it was a save glitch that impacted less than 1% of users. Please try to prove a point without hyperbole. This is why everything related to Fish is taken wildly out of context - people read crap like that and assume it is fact.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:29 AM
jackanape, I just want to say i appreciate someone actually sticking up for Fish against all these trolls. I've never understood why everyone is so against Phil. He made an awesome game, was modest about it, went through hell making it, people loved it, yet they hate him... it makes no sense to me at all. genuinely baffled. Even after reading this entire thread. It still makes no sense. Cheers Jackanape, i no longer feel alone.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:35 AM
@Jackanape I'm not really bothered, i have 7 e-mails and can easily make a new profile with a fake name that isn't obvious and blend right in. Don't play for achievements anymore though so i rarely use this site, have no need for a profile. :)Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:50 AM
@jackanape @mphcrash Finally, people who think like I do!Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:51 AM
His twitter picture is Andy Kaufman. Just throwing that out there for the conspiracy theory.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:51 AM
This whole thing could have been avoided if, when asked for comment by GI, Phil Fish had simple said, "I'm not sure about it yet. I'm waiting to hear more details." Everything that happened after and who is right and who is wrong and whether or not Fish is justified in flipping out and blah blah blah is extra. The fact is that Fish should have just given an "I don't know yet" comment to the world largest videogame print publication like a normal human being and avoided the entire mess.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:52 AM
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/03/07/modern-japanese-games-just-suck-says-phil-fish If anyone is interested. I think Jack makes some fair points IF Phil didn't respond the way he does. If you look a someone like Cliff B , he makes a strong statement and then explains himself. Phil just seems to get the scatter gun out. @63 welshdragon, nobody cares, especially not me. You're wasting your time.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:53 AM
Seems like a bunch of the people didn't even like his claim to fame game in these comments. I thought fez was trash as well, glad I'm not alone. As for fish, good riddance, have fun flipping burgers or bagging my groceries.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:53 AM
Good riddance indeed. He made one successful game and then immediately started talking shit about the videogame industry. Reading his Twitter feed, he sounds like a whiny, spoiled child. Marcus Beer calls him out for doing so, and so like a spoiled child, he throws a temper tantrum, says Fez 2 is canceled and that he's done with games. Don't get me wrong, after watching the episode of Invisible Walls in question, Marcus Beer is equally guilty in being immature in the way he lashed out at Jonathan Blow and Phil Fish (or BlowFish as he chose to call them). Honestly, I'm not sure what his beef with Blow is; he seems like a pretty humble, level-headed guy in interviews. Long story short, with Phil Fish, who knows if Fez 2 is really canceled or not after he calms down. Sounds to me that unplugging from Twitter could have done him a world of good.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 09:54 AM
Someone's a massive fanboooooooooy.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:13 AM
@63 Fine by me, takes me no time at all to ban you. @69 No one called Fish out on insulting anyone or being rude etc, Beer had a rant because Fish had the temerity to not comment on the RUMOUR surrounding MS doing a U-turn on its indie self publishing policy. So because Fish and Blow chose not to comment on a rumour he felt it appropriate to call them "fucking hipsters" "twats" "whiny arseholes" "wankers" etc. That is the full story. Marcus Beer didn't call him out on anything noble, he just had a foulmouthed rant over nothing. Then Fish responded, and here we are. I'd also point out that, unlike Beer, Fish had hundreds of other people bombarding his twitter feed calling him names etc. So kind of an unbalanced fight. @70 If a fanboy is someone that can see both sides of an argument and make a valid point without resorting to insults and idiocy. Then yeah, you got me. I don't even know Fish, I've never played Fez and yet, even to me, it is blindingly obvious that most people don't bother to read the full story and than just cuss the guy for no reason. It's really classy.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:16 AM
Who said I was talking to you?Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:22 AM
@72 As there have only been a few people making any kind of positive comments it was a valid guess, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:25 AM
@71 If you've never played Fez then how do you know the end result is amazing? I refer you to comment 15. Good on you for taking his side, but this whole thing is probably a joke and Fez 2 will be back on next week.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:30 AM
This guy is nothing but a douche, talks shit about everyone and once people do it back he can't take it. The industry doesn't need this tool. Good riddance.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:33 AM
@74 For an indie to make a debut game with a metacritic score of 89% is amazing. It's basically one of the top rated Xbox 360 games of all time (I think less than 50 games have cracked the 90% barrier). People laud the graphics, music and gameplay, not to mention all the hidden easter eggs and such. For one guy to spend 5 years of his life on this game and have such a well received end product speaks for itself - I don't need to play the game to know that. Much bigger studios with much bigger budgets have done much worse, time and time again. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's not for everyone but a game doesn't score so well based on luck and I'm fairly sure as an indie that Fish wouldn't have been able to 'bribe' all those reviewers which is what the masses seem to think when a game THEY don't like gets praise. Fez was a good game, and very well received, so regardless of peoples opinions about Fish himself he clearly had some talent.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:40 AM
@76 No that's someone else's opinion not yours, you can't say that it's amazing because you've never played it even if it is highly rated. I can't say a film I haven't seen is amazing or a book I haven't read is amazing even if every single person that has seen it/read it says its amazing. You're just basing your comments on what other people have said about it. Now see how that works when other people make comments about Fish based on what other people say about him? Yes the scores are amazing, that you can say, but not the game. Until you play it. xMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:51 AM
@77 Taking pedantic to a new level. So Lionel Messi is not an amazing footballer because I've never seen him play? Ali wasn't an amazing boxer because I've only heard other peoples opinions? Obviously not. The end result was amazing (as that is actually what I said) because he was a first time indie and made a critically acclaimed game. Now, listen carefully in case this makes your head hurt, the game may not be amazing FOR ME but what he accomplished in making it, the design etc is amazing. I do not need to play it to know that and using other critics as a barometer is perfectly reasonable. My point was that he put his entire life on hold for five years to make a game that, by general consensus, was pretty damn good - that fact is amazing. How many people would have the balls and drive to do that? Kudos to him. Claiming that something cannot be good unless you have experienced it directly is nonsense. Why would anyone review/critique anything - does that mean every other persons opinion on ANYTHING is invalid? Ridiculous. My opinion on my enjoyment of the game may vary, sure, but that doesn't take anything away from his achievement and success which is the 'amazing' part of what I was getting at.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:55 AM
Considering I don't know all true facts about this, the only thing I can say, it's probably better for his health.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:56 AM
@77 P.S your middle paragraph in particular makes me smile, as at no point did I say "Fez is the best game ever, you should all play it" which seems to be what you are trying to imply. What I did say is that for a first time indie dev to have such a well received and successful title is amazing. That is beyond dispute. Also, it takes nothing away from my arguments that most people are simply out to slate Fish without knowing anything about him, his game, how it was made and the issues around it. Most people on here seem clueless to the issues around this story despite the fact they are mentioned in the article.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 10:58 AM
@55 of course famous people have opinions too but if they are detrimental to the company then keep them to yourself and share them in privacy not on social media sites. The Queen of England must have met some right cunts in her time but ill wager shes never been one to express them in public - similarly with these indie dev figureheads its a case of if your the PR man for you small company then dont attract bad PR especially when so much of it is self inflicted with bad attitude and a loud mouth.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 11:04 AM
@78 Alright mate there's no need to be patronising, my head isnt going to hurt, this is all pretty easy stuff to take in and I'm reasonably intelligent. @80 Glad I made you smile, I think you need it after all this. P.S. I think your gamer picture is amazing. P.P.S. Stop replying to me/defending Fish, go and play Fez. It's pretty good.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 11:18 AM
Fish is an impossible-to-please prima donna. Fez was also overrated (good game, but hardly amazing), so no sequel isn't the worst thing I've ever heard. @29 --- It's not like Microsoft sprung anything on Fish after the fact. He knew it all heading in. You being indie doesn't mean MS is going to suspend the rules that everybody else lives with to keep you happy. In fact, his meltdown is unlikely to make anybody work harder to please indie devs because, as we saw, you can do precisely what they say they want you to do and still meltdown.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 12:10 PM
I agree with jackanape. Fez was a great game and he was shafted by the big dick of microsoft, so regarding glitches or bugs (which I never experienced once) it's stupid putting the whole blame on Fish. Also his comments can be a bit brash, but if I poured my heart and soul into a game and then everyone gave me nothing but shit, then I'd tell everyone they can go fuck themselves in a similar manner to Fish.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 12:22 PM
@82 I actually meant to take that line out as I thought it was a bit much at the time, so apologies for that. As you can I'm generally speaking to the f-bomb et al but didn't mean to be rude. Also I'd actually forgotten what my gamer pic was (as it doesn't show on my phone) so now I look like a crazed fan, which was not my intention. Anyway hopefully Fez 2 reemerges and everyone learns a valuable lesson. Doubt that'll happen but you never know.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 12:38 PM
@78, I think athletic ability and video game quality aren't really comparable things in this context. Athletes can show objective results by beating the rest, which would make the objective equivalent to video game quality sales. And I don't think many people agree with that idea. Whether or not a game is great is completely up to the individual's opinion, whether or not an athlete is great is up to their performance in their practice. Not really the argument at hand, but that one little bit bugged me, sorry :pMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 12:45 PM
Fish seems like that guy we all knew when we were young, he would invite people to play and then get angry with them and run home with his ball. He hasn't grown up, he just has a bigger ball now!Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 12:49 PM
WHAT... A... PUSSY...Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 01:52 PM
Everyone hates on this dude because he said modern Japanese games suck? Well they do, lmao Look at all the crap that Crapcom have produced in recent yearsMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 02:39 PM
As a gamer, I feel bad for the fans of the game, but I am happy to see that bitchy shit leave.... he and his statements are that of a pouting child. He needed to grow a thick skin... he always cried so quickly. He set himself up for most of the shit he got. I speak for only myself, but for my part.... you won't be missed.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 03:22 PM
Fuck Phil Fish. This would be good news if only it were permanent. Don't worry people who like him, he will be back next week. @89 Do some research mang, you look stupid TriHardMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 03:24 PM
@89: You must be a bro gamer that only likes sports games and shooters. (After checking your profile that is pretty much confirmed.)Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 03:41 PM
I actually liked Phil Fish, he is/was very passionate about game making, gotta respect people like that. I think you guys are just mad because he gave you the finger in indie game the movie and basically told you to go fuck yourself! Have fun PhilMonday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:10 PM
Oh man, seriously people... I couldn't care less if a game developer is a homosexual, a woman, an idiot, a hipster, a goth, a punk, old, young, whatever...if I don't like what he has to say, I don't listen and don't read it on the internet. As long as he makes passionate, great games everything's allright. Phil Fish made ONE OF THE BEST GAMES of this generation, and a lot of people (myself included) where looking forward to Fez II. It's a shame it won't happen, this is a sad day for gaming...Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:17 PM
I enjoyed Fez, it was a pretty fun game for a couple days. I probably wouldn't of bought Fez 2 though, and I wouldn't of given it an 89 either. Might of gotten it on sale, who knows. But other than that, I would still say it is "pretty amazing", for what an indie dev accomplished. I do hope he changes his mind and continues on.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:24 PM
More like "Phil Fish trolls entire gaming journalism industry"Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:30 PM
I think that he's lying, for one, and secondly if I had a dollar for every time I have been called a tosspot I'd have zero dollars, but that guy has made his own bed as a public figure who has gone out of his way to alienate people with his behavior and bring on hate to make a name and a persona for himself. If he genuinely can't handle the bed he's made and the honest backlash that comes with it, then get out son. I hate that guy and I didn't purchase Fez because of the person standing behind it.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:43 PM
People saying he can't take the comments, are the same people that got hurt by Phil calling them ingrates. The hypocrisy...Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:51 PM
When the going gets tough, Phil Fish turns into a bitch.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 04:52 PM
It is crazy how many people are on the internet just hating. If you do not like what someone says you do not need to spread more negativity about, just leave it alone. No one deserves how much he went through, and most of the people commenting are trolls who are just jealous and need someone to hate on to seem cool. For me, I hope Phil does continue, I would love to see Fez 2.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 05:14 PM
But he takes the money and runs...yeah I'm not saddened by this news. Good riddance. Please, please don't do a Cliffy B where random news articles come out with his random thoughts that no one gives a fuck about.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:40 PM
@101 I enjoy Cliffy B's insights on the video game industry.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 06:59 PM
Well, thanks for the game I guess that was my enjoyment, obviously fez ment alot to him and he seems to have other issues to work out maybe he will be back later.....Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:10 PM
People are such pricks.Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 07:14 PM
What is Fez I?Monday, July 29, 2013 @ 08:27 PM
HAHAHA WHATS A TOSS POT???Tuesday, July 30, 2013 @ 11:29 AM
He'll be back. Sorry to disappoint everyone who hates him just because he wasn't scared to point out that Japanese game companies don't know how to make a good game anymore.
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Monday, July 29, 2013
Phil Fish has thrown a big wobbler, cancelled Fez II and apparently walked out of the game industry.
The notoriously outspoken developer had a bit of a meltdown over the weekend following a performance by GameTrailers producer Marcus “Annoyed Gamer” Beer on the Invisible Walls podcast.
Beer called Fish a “tosspot” and a “fucking hipster” for refusing to comment on Microsoft’s recent decision to allow self-publishing on the Xbox One.
Following a row on Twitter, in which Fish called Beer a “middle-aged parasite”, Fish announced, "I'm getting out of games because I choose not to put up with this abuse anymore."
He later added, "To be clear, I'm not cancelling Fez II because some boorish fuck said something stupid, I'm doing it to get out of games."
Shortly after, the Polytron Twitter account tweeted, "It's with a heavy heart that we announce that Fez II has been cancelled and is no longer in development. We apologise for the disappointment."
In a statement send to Polygon, Fish said, "Fez II is cancelled. I am done. I take the money and I run. This is as much as I can stomach. This is isn't the result of any one thing, but the end of a long, bloody campaign. You win."