Tribe Nine's EOS and What it Could've Been
A missed opportunity, and it's not the only one. Theorizing about the paths developers can take
*Gameplay footage of the introduction of Tribe Nine’s mechanics and story.*
Developed by Akatsuki Games and Tookyo Games, Tribe Nine is a 3D Action RPG Brawler. With Rui Komatsuzaki as the lead artist, alongside Kazutaka Kodaka (Creator of the Danganronpa franchise) at the helm.
What was supposed to be another slam dunk turned out to be a complete disaster for those involved. The issues? A constant online connection dependent on “gachapon” mechanics, all wrapped into one package. Launched on August 9, 2024, on PC (Steam) and mobile devices (iOS & Android). Lasting only nine months before giving out an end-of-service announcement.
The question I have throughout this duration was, why wasn’t this a price game for retail, say at $50? Why did the people making this game feel the need to make a live-service game? Hence, where I need to dive in and piece together between these three questions of:
Where did it begin?
Why do they do it? And more importantly…
Any solutions?
Let’s get started, shall we?
Where did it begin?
Putting live-service elements in a single-player format is already a red flag. Having the gameplay play like a traditional action game despite targeting mobile players? Spells disaster, and we saw the results of what Tribe Nine’s current state is. A case of wanting their cake and eating it too. Despite developing a game for two completely different audiences. Tribe Nine to me started as a game meant for a one-time buy. Until a higher up told them to add all the online elements to make more revenue. Of course, these are my assumptions, and I could only speculate on what happened since I’m not there in person.
Tribe Nine's gameplay is pretty good, which shocks me when I decided to play it for myself. It’s your standard action game, albeit it a lower skill floor to accommodate mobile users. Difficult to boot as well, for you do need to know what you’re doing. You know, playing the game? Otherwise, you won’t get far in Tribe Nine. Not ideal for mobile players for simplicity is ideal in that particular space.
Why do they do it?
Based on my assumptions is the mindset of “Every else has done it in our industry, so why not us as well?” The intrusive elements seem shoehorned into an otherwise serviceable game. A waste of talent of those involved in Tribe Nine, in what should be another successful franchise. Granted, Tribe Nine has a TV series for its multimedia plan, akin to Yu-Gi-Oh!. Making a mobile game to accompany with is smart business for a new IP. Unfortunately, this strategy didn’t work as intended, and here we are facing an EOS page.
Solution?
I like to at least attempt to provide a solution and not write off those in free fall. Since Tribe Nine’s end of service date is months away. If you’re going to have a game where an online component is important. As well as adding frequent content drops throughout the life span of your game. Following what fighting games have done could be a solution.
Give the option for those who want to have a particular character. People wanting to get characters and future ones should be an option as well.
I remember when this method was a bad practice for customers a few years ago. This method is still seen as such, depending on who’s asking. In this new age of nickel and diming players, what’s considered bad is now seen as the lesser evil. Time does reveal all, huh?
In case of a sudden EOS, it gets trickier because there’s no proper procedure for this sort of thing. Megaman X Dive was the best example I found so far. Capcom gave it an offline version to buy once all the monetization components were taken out. Long after its initial service ended.
Tribe Nine could go a similar path if the developers and publishers wish to do so. It’ll be a win-win for them and the customers. Assuming it gets a rerelease at all. This method isn’t perfect, but there’s no such thing as a “perfect method”. Which way for developers and publishers? You decide.
Closing Thoughts
As a customer, owning games is already challenging enough. Requiring a constant internet connection to even play it? Makes me, abe others, not invest too much into it. Unless you’re Fortnite, Lol, Counter-Strike, or whoever game people are still playing. Tribe Nine, as a franchise going forward, remains in limbo until further notice. It’s a wait-and-see what happens to this game once November 27th comes.
Wish them luck!
Sources
Tribe Nine Still Has a Fighting Chance As a Different Type of Game