457 replies to this topic

[Expert]

Elegant certainly... But Bateson's voice was not always impressive. Not dark enough.


Comparison with the french voice:



Besides Bateson is just the english version of 47. It's not the voice.

That's why the reaction of some fans seems disproportionate for IO.

[Class1clone]

Elegant certainly... But Bateson's voice was not always impressive. Not dark enough.


Comparison with the french voice:

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

Besides Bateson is just the english version of 47. It's not the voice.

That's why the reaction of some fans seems disproportionate for IO.

I have an aching urge to smash your ass up the floor, but.......ouy era ym evals, won og yalp enola ni yuor moor.

[Coot]

Expert doesn't give a shit apparently because he's in love with the French voice version. And it's probably going to be replaced aswell anyway.

[Expert]

And it's probably going to be replaced aswell anyway.

Probably.

[hityutz]

the french guy sounds like he's got a pigeon stuck up his ass, not a hitman. bateson: calm, professional, to-the-point, killer.

the person who decided he should be replaced is a moron.

[Expert]

Two styles.




Together we can change IO's mind.

Just this sentence is strange. It's IO's mind who made Hitman. Not the fans.

[Choronzon]

Here's my latest theory on the David Bateson situation.

IO get their production budget and in their arrogance decide to know better than common sense. Square-Enix encourage them to take the "Hollywood approach" and support their staunch arrogance. Enter the L.A. casting agency they keep mentioning. They (the casting agency) convince IO that they'll find the perfect voice for the cast and, more importantly, the lead character.

In a fit of overconfidence and youthful enthusiasm IO decide to burn their bridges with the old cast (Bateson, McKee). Out with The Old, In with The New! When all is said and done, the casting agency gives them your standard, Hollywood dark voice type deal (cfr. Christian Bale's Batman). This leaves IO between a rock and a hard place. The latest voice is okay but fails to meet expectations and they can't go out and hire the old cast again - since they went out of their way to (publicly) drop them "unceremoniously". With contracts in place, the situation is now a legal labyrinth of obligations and embargoes, very hard to untangle. Not having what they were promised, and having sacked what they had, IO now just sulk. As Joni Mitchell's once sang: "you don't know what you got, until it is gone."

This would explain IO's silence on Bateson's replacement.

Edited by Choronzon, 30 March 2012 - 02:54 AM.

[superwoman]

*snip*

I am dumb.

Edited by superwoman, 30 March 2012 - 10:46 AM.

[TwoFacedGodJanus]

It's been a while since I've posted on the forum but I thought I'd stop by the site and see what developments have been made in the Hitmsn franchise. Admittedly I was hoping to find out that IO reinstated David Bateson as the voice of 47. Instead, I found forum posters writing, "stop complaining about Bateson...IO doesn't care about the fans....they just worry about how many units they can sell." When I first heard Jesper wasn't going to be involved I understood the problem and was of course disappointed but when Bateson was unceremoniously dropped I was furious. Very few icons can sustain without the origins and formula that constitutes their original success. After a decade of defining 47, Bateson brought life to a CGI world along with the rest of the tireless work by the games developers. While I'm sure another actor can get the job done, it won't ensure that the job is being done right. Not that long ago Prince of Persia's series made the same decisions: they took the sequel to Sands of Time and made Warrrior Within. Escaping the defined elegance of Sands of Time they chose to make the game darker, "edgier," change voice actors, and dismissed the unique storyline and gameplay that made the original a standalone masterpiece. In doing so they were faulted by the industry and the game, despite selling units, alienated their core fan base. The sales never recovered and the franchise was eventually expanded with a third title returning to the series roots and reconciling the changes. The problem was the damage was done to the fan base and it's incredibly hard to recover from that sort of loss. I can't see the future. I don't know if Hitman:Absolution will be a hit or a miss, but what I can tell you from the reactions on the forum as well as Htiman's official Facebook profile is there is a legitimate dissatisfaction with David's dismissal I believe will affect sales (as many of the fan base aren't going to buy Absolution). When someone tells me the fans mean nothing to the company, that is a huge sign the company will fail. Even the most heartless industry leaders know basic principles of business is give the public what they want. While someone at IO might believe that's a whole new game, dismissing the original fan base in the process, I think history has proven that's ultimately a mistake. The other issue here is complacency. Telling people to stop complaining, to simply accept what is, is the biggest disappointment I have to say I've seen here. Why should you accept anything but what you truly desire? It's not outlandish to be upset and it's certainly not a stretch to vocalise that. I'd rather have someone scream into the void with the slimmest hope they may be heard than accept something they feel in their heart is unacceptable. So to the forum posters, new and old, I'd say never stop expressing how you feel because dismissing your opinion in the face of the odds only furthers the odds against your favor. And to IO, I can only say I hope you do decide to fix this mistake even this late in the game (no pun intended). If not, there's always the HD collection release.

[Johnny Drama]

Nice read. Agree with everyting.

[Expert]

the problem and was of course disappointed but when Bateson was unceremoniously dropped I was furious.

When you dismiss someone, you do a ceremony? It is a little unhealthy no?


I understand the problem with fans of Bateson. But Io will say anything before the new voice be presented. This is useless since I am convinced that this is an artistic choice. So people will not understand. They will therefore continue to criticize this choice until the end without hearing the voice longer. It reminds me a little the change between Brosnan and Craig. Although I prefer Brosnan. But I am not dissatisfied with the change.

Edited by Expert, 07 April 2012 - 02:10 PM.

[TwoFacedGodJanus]

When you dismiss someone, you do a ceremony? It is a little unhealthy no?


I understand the problem with fans of Bateson. But Io will say anything before the new voice be presented. This is useless since I am convinced that this is an artistic choice. So people will not understand. They will therefore continue to criticize this choice until the end without hearing the voice longer. It reminds me a little the change between Brosnan and Craig. Although I prefer Brosnan. But I am not dissatisfied with the change.

The ceremony IO could have given was a polite send off, such as a public statement and perhaps not dismissing the artists attempts to communicate (as IO did with Bateson).

I'm a screenwriter who has been around the film industry for the better part of a decade. I'm not famous but I know how the entertainment industry treats the talent and the way IO behaved was appalling. As for an artistic change, I can accept that but instead there was no mention or explanation, it just happened. But let's look at James Bond: to the end, the only reason Sean Connery was replaced or Roger Moore was age. Connery, like Bateson, founded the role and was therefore the face of the brand (metaphorically speaking, although his physical attributes were recognized as inspiration for the character model). So Bateson's dismissal comes to the fan base as more than just a change under the shield of artistic integrity, indeed given the lack of explanation for the sudden changes (and how they were carried out) it seems like a justifiable reaction to be outrage by the series fan base.

[Expert]

@TwoFacedGodJanus


As I wrote above, Io could bring much explanations, it would be not enough. I understand the contempt they may have against the narrow mindedness of some fans and their overreaction from the start. Bateson does not have the right to explain himself because he would try to denigrate the choice of Io during the marketing campaign. It is a risk that Io can not take. Moreover Io follows a marketing calendar, it's as simple as that.



Daniel confirmed that Bateson had not served as a model for 47. It's a legend.

[Watson]

@Expert

But Bateson did explain himself, check his website. He make a polite and brief statement announcing his departure from the series, he showed no signs of deliberately trying to discredit IO (as you appear to imply), but rather encouraged the fanbase by reaffirming that he hopes the new game will be a great Hitman experience for all fans. Legal reasons, as he himself states, prevent him from commenting further.

Many people appear to believe what could have been done better is the handling of the situation. We heard Bateson's absence from a third party, with first reports coming from Edge magazine. We also heard reports both David Bateson and Vivienne McKee were kept in the dark on this, as evidenced by fan e-mail correspondence. This, of course is additional to this fact: Bateson conveyed in 2010 that IOI told him he still had the job. The issue still remains to this day: there is no vague word as to why the change occurred and we don't know who'll be replacing him. I'm sure we'll learn of these things in due time (marketing calendar, as you mention), however it's understandable how disappointing the situation is - simply because there is a lack of clarification. There are many things we can speculate on, we just don't know.

Also, many people know IO didn't just meet up with Bateson and say they wanted to create an assassin character based on his looks.

Edited by Watson, 07 April 2012 - 06:55 PM.

[Expert]

@Watson


It's not me who argues my argument based on the fact (inexact) that Bateson served as a model for 47.
Secondly, it's Bateson who presented himself publicly like a victim. It's a lack of restraint that put Io in a bad position.

Edited by Expert, 07 April 2012 - 07:14 PM.

[Watson]

No, I'm not saying that you are arguing Bateson was the character model, I'm reaffirming your position.

Bateson didn't present himself like a victim, he made a simple statement where he then announced his support for the new game.

What do you mean that is was a "lack of restraint" that put IO in a bad position? are you suggesting that Bateson should never have made a comment and that the handling of the situation had a positive impact?

[Expert]

I answered one of your sentences or you reproached me to support my argument by the fact that Bateson has not served as a model. Furthermore, I was only responding to the argument of TwoFacedGodJanus, who gave legitimacy to Bateson since according to him, Bateson was a model.

But you have edit your post.

I will not go into an endless controversy. Only, once after arguing with the fans of Bateson long enough, the main problem rest how Bateson would have been treated by Io.

Therefore force to note that Bateson played a negative role in this matter. Since he is the only who had communicated about it.

Edited by Expert, 07 April 2012 - 07:51 PM.

[Watson]

Therefore force to note that Bateson played a negative role in this matter. Since he is the only who had communicated about it.

He has a right to communicate with his fanbase as per whatever legal arrangements there may be, I speculate that he checked with IOI before launching that official message on this web page. I see Bateson commenting and issuing a statement as something positive, it was a simple confirmation of what most people already knew and ended speculation he may have been hired, as some people beleived. He simply acknowledged he wasn't in the game and spoke out in support of Absolution. IOI's lack of any official statement on the issue to clarify the situation was worrying, but they are sure to do so when the time comes. I'm simply of the opinion that the entire situation may have been handled better.

Edited by Watson, 07 April 2012 - 08:00 PM.

[Expert]

Watson, I'm not talking about this message, but of those that preceded and that encourage emotional excesses of some fans.
Bateson might have abstained. I do not think that Io appreciated that Bateson returned the fans against them in playing on the emotional sensitivity of some.

Edited by Expert, 07 April 2012 - 08:16 PM.

[Watson]

I understand what you mean. I am completely against some of the horrible abuse people have posted on these boards about IOI, such behavior is uncalled for, completely inappropriate and utterly disrespectful. JaRDoS made an ample notice regarding this. People can express their views and speculation on the situation in a reasoned, non-abusive way that's centered on a cordial discussion, not an abusive one. I think most of the people in the "outraged at IOI" bandwagon would still be angry and abusive towards the developers regardless if Bateson made a statement or not. It also speaks to the incorrect sense of entitlement, that people feel they need Bateson for it to be a Hitman game and will not accept any other option because they think the game is "destroyed" otherwise. Sure, I liked Bateson and his work in the Hitman series and it's a disappointment to see him replaced, but I don't feel entitled to the idea that IOI must unconditionally use him as the only way for me to enjoy their product, the game is not ruined because of Bateson's absence.

Edited by Watson, 07 April 2012 - 08:54 PM.