Having so many games to choose from these days on the PC, 6 different consoles and two hand held gaming devices, it’s relatively easy to get a good game on at least one of those chosen platforms. Yet time after time we see terrible games being bought and played, over more well deserving titles. Games like “50 Cent Bulletproof” and “Jaws Unleashed” climb up the sales charts with horrible reviews across the board, as great titles like the recent “Viva Pinata” go basically unnoticed to the buying public. There are plenty of useful sites that give detailed reviews of every game that comes out, so why aren’t people using them? What is wrong with people? And why the hell do they prefer bad games over creative and unique releases year after year? Obviously big name franchises and popular branding is the most common factor when people are blindly buying games.
As far back as the Atari 2600 we had good and bad games to choose from, yet people still bought up bad games in huge numbers. The now infamously bad game “E.T.”, sold 1.5 million copies during it’s day. A game that was so bad it is now considered by most, as the worst game ever made on any platform. Yet the magical number of 1 million sold was hit by this title. The only reason people bought this game was the name E.T. slapped across the cover. Recently we’ve seen a number of awful games hit the market and clean house while others sit and collect dust on the shelves. Jaws Unleashed is one of those awful releases to see nice sales numbers once it hit retailers. It didn’t hit the 1 million mark, but it did climb to over 370,000 in sales numbers. A good enough number for that particular game, and for the industry to consider it a commercial success, further guaranteeing that we get more titles just like this in our gaming future. 
There is no shortage of good games out there, and it’s not that hard to find out what is good and what is bad. All you have to do is google “game rankings” or “game reviews”, and a hundred sites pull up instantly for you to choose from. The Xbox 360 released just over a year ago, and there are already over 40 games with an average score of 8 or higher to choose from on that system alone. Yet one of the lowest rated games on that system (Superman Returns), still manages to sell over 370,000 copies. The fact that someone would bypass all common sense and buy it just because it said Superman on the cover is amazing to me. I of course can see the draw towards games like this, I like Superman, but reviews still count for something to me. And there are plenty of sites out there with good reviews and detailed explanations behind that particular review. And if that one review isn’t enough for you, there a hundred more reviews to choose from so that you don’t have to rely one just one persons point of view on a particular title. If you want a second opinion on a game you have high hopes for, keep checking different reviews and see if someone lays out exactly why they didn’t like it. Hell I like to see games come out with branding I like, but I’m not going to buy a game just for the name alone. It has to be reviewed well before I throw down $60 for a title. I browse several sites and see what they all say on any game before I buy.
One thing gamers get stuck into, is the rut of buying a particular type of game and what type of gamer they are. FPS, RPG, RTS etc. gamers get stuck in this rut and don’t branch out to try new titles that might surprise them into liking different genre’s of gaming. There is so much to choose form that I find it amazing when someone says they only play a certain type of game and that’s it. The end of the year when game sites posts there official “games of the year” is a perfect time to get some great games and even some that went overlooked through the past year. The end year game picks is one of my favorite times, because most sites list the best games no one played through out the past year. This is where you’ll find the diamond in the rough. Games like Viva Pinata which I actually picked up on release day, was on several lists this year. This is a great game with a lot to offer and it slipped by just about everyone. I’m disappointed a game like this didn’t get more recognition than it ultimately did. Viva Pinata barely sold above 50,000 copies and was picked not only as best game no one played, but made it as a finalist as game of the year on several sites. I also saw more promotion for Viva Pinata than I did for Jaws Unleashed, and it still undersold Jaws Unleashed in retail stores. I don’t understand how Jaws Unleashed gets more sales with less marketing than Viva Pinata. Jaws? Really? What is there really left to say about the Jaws franchise that hasn’t already been said. I cant stand to see games like this continue to sell and great games go unrecognized year after year. People need to think about their purchases and hold off on that next 50 Cent inspired game, maybe then you might start to see these developers step up their game making abilities in future editions. For now, anyone who buys these games from companies who are just in in for the money, needs to receive a kick to the nuts as a bonus gift as you pay for your new game at the counter.
Jeff Standley
Edit:
Viva Pinata has since sold almost 200,000 copies in North America.
The numbers are getting better, but still not even close to what this titles deserves.
5 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
50k? Is that all? Seems very few, but it has longevity so can sell over time without dating too easily I think.
Games get grossly under and oversold all the time. I remember over here in the UK years back “Rise of the Robots” staying at no’1 in the charts for weeks on the SNES and it was without doubt one of the worst games I’ve ever played.
Viva is a fantastic game, part of the problem I think was they marketed it as a kids game(which it is anything but), thus skipping most of the 18-30’s that actually buy games for themselves.
I think games like Superman probably sell well because of the kids. Barnyard and Open Season *shudder* are also good examples, a film will come out and whether it was good or not, millions of children will see it. Then when they get home the parents will be asked to get the game and maybe 20% of them will, without a second thought. Reviews don’t come into it and developers know this. Only the real gamers will read the reviews and base their decision upon them.
Most people judge books by their cover, and video game covers as well. If I was an stupid empty minded teen who had to have the ‘cool’ games and saw on game with rainbow colored pinatas, or some game with the name of a popular rapper that had bulletproof on the cover, I’d probably go with the rapper game.
I think your exactly right. I wish people paid more attention to reviews and bought off recommendations rather than blind purchases. Damn 50 cent game. hehe