Pete Parsons
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Bungie responds to report on its lackluster efforts to improve workplace culture
In response to a story from IGN reporting on years of systematic sexism and workplace harassment at the studio, Parsons has published an apology letter.
Bungie's COO thinks Destiny and games like it are hard to review
Bungie continues to hype its Destiny shooter post-launch, with the latest bit of messenging courtesy of COO Pete Parsons and an interview at GamesIndustry.biz. "The launch of Destiny was the starting line," Parsons says, before going on to explain how Bungie's Destiny operations center "looks like a NASA control room" and how "it's very difficult to sit down for nine hours, 11 hours, and write up a review of game like Destiny." Parsons takes that notion a step further and asks how similar titles will be reviewed in the future when game journos face "a nearly impossible challenge" due to an inability to experience PvP, the campaign, and endgame activities on a deadline.
Bungie COO on Destiny's 10-year plan, business model, and more
Bungie COO Pete Parsons spoke to GamesIndustry.biz at E3 a couple of weeks ago, and the website has now published a wide-ranging interview that covers everything from Destiny's rumored $500 million budget to the fact that Bungie came to Activision with a 10-year plan for a new IP and a tent-pole franchise. Parsons declined to directly answer questions on Destiny's unannounced business model, though he did reiterate that "it's not going to be subscription" and that Bungie is going to make sure that "it's never confusing for anybody."
Destiny shows off Devils' Lair, explains lack of a PC version
Destiny revealed a bit more of itself yesterday, as Bungie released a seven-minute gameplay trailer focused on the Devils' Lair. Joystiq also laid hands on the upcoming sci-fantasy shooter, toured Bungie's offices, and interviewed COO Pete Parsons. Bungie also spoke to Eurogamer about the lack of a PC client. Despite the fact that the game was designed and developed on a PC, design lead Lars Bakken says releasing it on the world's most powerful gaming platform is "not that simple." Parsons agreed, saying that releasing on "four platforms on day one is a lot, considering we've been a one platform team for a very long time." Destiny launches September 9th for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. A PC version is "pretty complicated," Bakken continued. "That doesn't mean it can't happen in the future, it just means it won't happen right now." Click past the cut to watch the Devils' Lair vid.
Destiny parts ways with composer, growing 'close to shipping'
Destiny Composer Marty O'Donnell was either fired or peacefully left Bungie last week, depending on whether you take his or the studio's testimony on the event. In either case, the fact remains that O'Donnell is no longer part of the studio. Bungie Chief Operating Officer Pete Parsons refused to comment on the specifics of the decision but said that the game is still on track for release. He said that O'Donnell's contributions will remain part of the soundtrack, which is also being worked on by a few others. "We have a fantastic team. We're pretty close to shipping. There's a lot of polish left to do, lots of tweaking and tuning, but a lot is already complete," Parsons said to Eurogamer. Bungie claims that the studio and O'Donnell parted as "friends" while the composer tweeted yesterday that he was "terminated without cause."
Bungie would apparently love to bring Destiny to the PC
What's that, you say Bungie's new Destiny shooter is going to be console-only? Well, not so fast, according to the Penny Arcade Report. Bungie COO Pete Parsons was asked point-blank if there was a PC version in the works, and while he didn't say yes, exactly, he also didn't nip it in the bud with a no-comment or a PR-soaked non-answer. "The interesting part is we, from the ground up, from the very beginning, we have made sure that [Destiny] can be on multiple platforms," Parsons said. "It's one thing to say it, it's another to design and actually architect for it, which we've absolutely done." This jibes with a similar report at Eurogamer that quoted Parsons as saying that Bungie "would absolutely love to be on the PC."
Bungie's Destiny: Always-online console shooter revealed
Bungie has officially lifted the veil surrounding its Destiny project, and Joystiq reports that it is a persistent-world console shooter and part of a 10-year publishing deal with Activision. Players will be able to customize their identities and gear as they venture across "a future vision of our own solar system on quests to gather loot and defeat evil." Destiny allows for single-player enjoyment, but the crux of the title's gameplay revolves around co-op multiplayer. As such, a constant internet connection is required in order to "realize the vision of the game," according to Bungie. There will be no subscription fee, and Bungie says that we shouldn't expect to see zones filled with hundreds of players. "[The] amount of players you see is design-controlled," COO Pete Parsons said. "It's not about stuffing as many people in there as possible." Check out Joystiq's multiple Destiny previews as well as more info on the publishing contract.
April Fools: Bungie docks the Pimps at Sea on Facebook
Bungie's classic Pimps at Sea series has seen its highs and lows during its storied history -- Pimps at Sea 64, Call of Pimps: Sea Warfare, Ar Tonelico Navale: Pimps of Ar Sea El -- but fans are assuredly in for a treat with the company's latest iteration: PimpsVille for Facebook! Bungie COO "and trans-media marketing guru" Pete Parsons explains the new project by saying, "I was talking to Mark Zuckerberg yesterday – who just so happens to be a really close friend of mine – and he said Facebook has something like 500 million users. I'm thinking if we can get one dollar from every one of those guys, we can easily make a billion dollars." Truer words, Pete! No time has been given for the launch of PimpsVille, but we imagine that Bungie will wanna get out ahead of kids going on summer vacation. Or it'll never come out, because it's totally fake, but you never know. Weirder things have happened, right?
