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Are publishers out of touch with consumers?

Texashiker

Texashiker

Lifer
While browsing the BBC website, I came across this article about Duke Nukem Forever (DNF).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/13688993

Scroll down towards the bottom, and I quote, referring to DNF:

"It's absolutely a triple A, modern, advanced game for this era"

Randy Pitchford, executive producer
Click to expand...

With all of the bad reviews, how can DNF be called a triple A title?

Next, lets take a look at Brink, which was hyped for months before release. After Brink was released, it looks like yet another battlefield game with different graphics.

It appears to me that game developers are out of touch with what consumers want. Instead of producing new ideas, just reuse what has already been done and "call" it new.

Take a look at the left 4 dead series, and compare it to Black Ops and Brink. L4d introduces something new, black ops and brink look like the same games that have been remade dozens of times already.

Metro2033 published by some developer I have never heard of introduced gamers to a whole new world. So if some unknown developer can do it, why cant the major players?
 
paperfist said:
The alternative to buy is...?
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The alternative is don't buy the games and the publisher will get the message people don't want games like that.

Wonder why there are very few new ideas? Because most of them are poorly done and sell like crap. Nobody wants to make a bad game that doesn't sell.
 
paperfist said:
The alternative to buy is...?
Click to expand...

Games like Serious Sam, left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2, metro2033, STALKER, Borderlands,,,,,,,.

Some of the games I am looking forward to are Rage, new maps for left 4 dead 2, Serious Sam BFE, the squeal to metro2033 and Diablo III.

I will not be buying Brink, Duke Nukem Forever, Black Ops, or any other the other call of duty series.

Personally, I want something new, something different, and not the same product that has been rebranded a dozen times.
 
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Texashiker said:
Games like Serious Sam, left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2, metro2033, STALKER, Borderlands,,,,,,,.

Some of the games I am looking forward to are Rage, new maps for left 4 dead 2, Serious Sam BFG, the squeal to metro2033 and Diablo III.

I will not be buying Brink, Duke Nukem Forever, Black Ops, or any other the other call of duty series.

Personally, I want something new, something different, and not the same product that has been rebranded a dozen times.
Click to expand...

Not to nitpik, but it's Serious Sam BFE
 
Texashiker said:
While browsing the BBC website, I came across this article about Duke Nukem Forever (DNF).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/13688993

Scroll down towards the bottom, and I quote, referring to DNF:



With all of the bad reviews, how can DNF be called a triple A title?

Next, lets take a look at Brink, which was hyped for months before release. After Brink was released, it looks like yet another battlefield game with different graphics.

It appears to me that game developers are out of touch with what consumers want. Instead of producing new ideas, just reuse what has already been done and "call" it new.

Take a look at the left 4 dead series, and compare it to Black Ops and Brink. L4d introduces something new, black ops and brink look like the same games that have been remade dozens of times already.

Metro2033 published by some developer I have never heard of introduced gamers to a whole new world. So if some unknown developer can do it, why cant the major players?
Click to expand...

Guys from the studio that put the game out making BS quotes is nothing new and nothing unique to games. You see actors and directors defending their shitty movies all the time.
 
Nope. The gaming public at large has made blockbusters out of MW2 and Black Ops. I'd say the publishers and developers are giving them exactly what they want.

It's you and I that desire something more than what generally appeases the masses.
 
Texashiker said:
Games like Serious Sam, left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2, metro2033, STALKER, Borderlands,,,,,,,.

Some of the games I am looking forward to are Rage, new maps for left 4 dead 2, Serious Sam BFE, the squeal to metro2033 and Diablo III.

I will not be buying Brink, Duke Nukem Forever, Black Ops, or any other the other call of duty series.

Personally, I want something new, something different, and not the same product that has been rebranded a dozen times.
Click to expand...

demo of serious sam didn't do anything for me
L4D series is shit, Borderlands is shit
Haven't played Metro 2033 yet

but none of those are modern warfare types of games. There really is no god alternative to CoD and BF games. The other modern warfare type games are pretty bad.
 
Texashiker said:
Games like Serious Sam, left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2, metro2033, STALKER, Borderlands,,,,,,,.

Some of the games I am looking forward to are Rage, new maps for left 4 dead 2, Serious Sam BFE, the squeal to metro2033 and Diablo III.

I will not be buying Brink, Duke Nukem Forever, Black Ops, or any other the other call of duty series.

Personally, I want something new, something different, and not the same product that has been re-branded a dozen times.
Click to expand...
I would take something that has been re-branded a dozen times if it were FUN. If Serious Sam 3 is exactly like the first 2 games or slightly better than the 3rd I would still be pleased with it. But most of the crap we've been seeing is lame and boring as well as uninspired.
 
pontifex said:
demo of serious sam didn't do anything for me
L4D series is shit, Borderlands is shit
Haven't played Metro 2033 yet

but none of those are modern warfare types of games. There really is no god alternative to CoD and BF games. The other modern warfare type games are pretty bad.
Click to expand...

If you think L4D and Borderlands are shit then you need to find some friends to play with. They aren't meant as SP games.
 
Texashiker said:
With all of the bad reviews, how can DNF be called a triple A title?
Click to expand...

Because it IS a "triple A, modern, advanced game for this era"
It is just that you don't like what a triple A, modern, advanced game for this era looks like.
A lot like news, we get the games we deserve.

It appears to me that game developers are out of touch with what consumers want. Instead of producing new ideas, just reuse what has already been done and "call" it new.
Click to expand...
Nope, developers know exactly what consumers want and they are giving them exactly that. Games like Modern Warfare 3 are selling literally 10’s of millions of copies. It is hard to argue with.

Take a look at the left 4 dead series, and compare it to Black Ops and Brink. L4d introduces something new, black ops and brink look like the same games that have been remade dozens of times already.

Metro2033 published by some developer I have never heard of introduced gamers to a whole new world. So if some unknown developer can do it, why cant the major players?
Click to expand...

The Major players CAN but Modern Warfare 2 has sold more then 9 million copies this year alone and it is 2 years old with a total of something like 26 million copies sold for a take of over $1 billion USD, while Meto2033 has sold 300k copies in US and Europe, and Borderlands is at 2 million copies sold.

Why make games that so few people want, when you can make games that 10's of millions will play?
 
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SMOGZINN said:
Why make games that so few people want, when you can make games that 10's of millions will play?
Click to expand...

A buddy of mine has a phrase that might answer your question, its called a "comfort groove". Most people go with what they are familiar with, or will buy from brand names they recognize.

It might not be that the battlefield series is better then some of the other games, but that people recognize the title.

There are several blind taste test studies that show people preferring the taste of pepsi over the taste of coke. Until the test subject sees the name of the brand. After the test subject knows the brand name, then they prefer coke over pepsi.

Since a lot of people start out on console platforms, they recognize games that are published for consoles. This puts companies like valve, that started out on the PC at a disadvantage.
 
The future of gaming is Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, Farmville, and WoW. Cracked had an article about it, which was posted here as well. They're simplistic games that change little year after year. Its all about shifting games from a commodity to a service. To say they're out of touch is not true. They know what their audience wants. Their audience wants to shoot stuff, collect things, and do it all as easily as possible.

Take a look at the most innovative games released in then last few years. Mirror's Edge for example created the first person parkour genre but sold poorly. Okami on the PS2 perfectly blended Zelda and a fresh take on art direction, and was one of the most innovative and praised titles of 2006. It sold poorly. People want more of the same. It's not risky for publishers. People will gobble it up. It's how Hollywood can keep cranking out Transformers and Fawkers movies even though they get progressively worse as time goes it. Nobody has a hunger for artistic innovation anymore, anywhere.
 
mmntech said:
Nobody has a hunger for artistic innovation anymore, anywhere.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with that - just look at Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.

from wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_4_Dead

On September 24, 2009, Valve announced that almost 3 million copies of the game had been sold
Click to expand...

That is 3 million copies sold in 10 months.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_4_Dead_2#Sales

On December 1, 2009, Valve reported that more than two million retailed copies of Left 4 Dead 2 were sold in two weeks, which represents "more than double" the sales of the original game's two week debut.
Click to expand...

The left 4 dead series introduced a new style of zombie games, maybe even a whole new genre and both games have been well received by consumers.

So yes, I think consumers do hunger for new and innovative games.
 
Spending millions making a game like Metro 2033 is probably too risky for most developers. It's safer to make something that's been proven to sell. I bet if you had focus group of gamers and asked them if they wanted to play a game with a load of Russian guys living in a subway they would say no.
 
Games are no different then movies or music or other types of entertainment. Its a risky business and if you're lucky a few people show up who really know how to pick the next big thing. This summer we have Captain America, Xmen, Green Lantern, and Thor dominating the box office. The problem with games is they still haven't figured out how to put out a consistently good quality product like they have with such special effects movies.

In recent years they've gotten pretty good with the graphics, now they just need to finish figuring out the rest of the puzzle. Yeah its an art, but its also a science and business and these things don't happen overnight.
 
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