We all see the numbers each week for sales of whatever somebody finds interesting, be it games, consoles, Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD sales, or what have you. With each of these topics, we see multiple sources quoting multiple analysts about some number or trend regarding the direction these products are going. One camp says they are tops in this region. Another says the first is lying and they are in first. The last says the second made a statement that wasn't true about widget 4. You see where I'm going with this, right? With all these PR people trying to spin their product, why should be listen? What do we get out of it? The truth is most definitely something we don't get, and the numbers can lie.
If a good game, well designed and critically praised, under sells its potential, does that mean it was a bad game? Of course it doesn't. We've all seen the results of what happens when a publisher fails to promote a game that may be a little out of the norm. We get Madden (a game that shows little innovation from year to year) shoved down our throats each and EVERY year, but a truly unique game like Psychonauts, gets less press coverage and no on air advertising. Clearly Psychonauts was less of a mainstream game and it didn't sell very well, so if the numbers are correct it must have been a bad game. Let's look at Kane and Lynch, a game that was given not so hot reviews by pretty much everybody. The sad thing about a game like this is that it wasn't a great game (which the developer and publisher had to know) and still had a HUGE marketing campaign to back it. Conversely, we see badly reviewed games, poorly designed and difficult to play, get up in the sales charts all the time. They may not be horrible games, but they're probably not as good as an Okami or some other non-typical game. Take the example of Kane and Lynch. Will it sell better than Psychonauts? Probably. If it does sell more, does that prove that it was the better game? Not a chance.
I've given up listening to all these charts and numbers that everyone puts out. The only number that matters in my life is little ol' number one: me. I know what I like and what I'm likely to buy. Am I going to let Microsoft's or Sony's number games influence my buying decisions? Don't count on it. Don't buy in to the PR schtick and stick to what you like. Let's stop crap from getting so much attention.
NoobFeed editor Azfar Rayan writes - The target audience for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is certain to be narrow. This game is purely designed for fans of narrative-heavy games where the gameplay takes a back seat, as well as those who want to play the sequel to the original. Some portions are spot on, and other parts fail badly at maintaining the mood while attempting to stay true to the concept.
Similar to Heavy rain, Detroit become human etc. not my cup of tea. MS better port Forza Horizon/Motorsport to PS5 thx
Hardcore Gamer Writes "If you've been dying to know if Yahtzee Crowshaw's recent indie game stands out from the crowd, then find out in our Starstruck Vagabond Review."
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 nearly perfected its boss fight formula and one refinement could make it even more fluid and immersive in a third main entry.
Aye!!
I agree with much enthusiasm.
get fixated on the numbers game, and it makes sites like this the worse for it. Look at all the flamebait that shows up in the pending news area because of all the conflicting data.
Great post pimpin'. I believe you hit this on the head.
had to take this down and repost it. I didn't proofread very well and corrected it. Sorry, I'm not usually this big of a moron.
You can TELL Hitler not to hate jews
You can TELL people not to hate Taxes
You can TELL a dog not to pant
You can TELL a cat not to Meow....
But that doesn't mean they will do it
Blogs are useless.
Opinions are useless, you see, in the real world where everyones isnt gonna agree with you,ranting won't help better the world one bit.
People should quit wasting their time trying to better everyone.....
-edit
Yes, I guess it is, that would be an endless cycle of rant but yes
I'm just asking you, why bother?
do you find pleasure in this sort of work or something....
I like knowing why people do things.....