I completely wasted about ten minutes of my life last night in one of a certain fanboy's threads arguing that the Halo 3 will indeed be a successful game. I mean, just take a look at the franchise. Even my mom knew when the Halo 2 release was for crying out loud. Amongst casuals and hardcore gamers alike, the series is just massively popular. Nothing is going to change that before the release of Halo 3 either. He simply pointed out that in his eyes, sales aren't what meausure the success of a game. My reply was...
[QUOTE="JJGY"]So this entire monstrosity of a thread, all of these posts, the debate is really only about whether or not the game will be successful in your eyes? The voices (not to mention cash) of the entire gaming market holds no sway in whether the game is good or not? I loved Crystal Chronicles. It's one of the greatest games I've played to date. Do most other people think so? No. Should they think so? Not necessarily. It's a game that I love, so of course in my eyes it's a very successful game if held to my standards. That's why sales speak to the success of a game. Not opinions. Facts, statistics.. money. That's what drives the gaming market. Not how much you and I enjoy games.
Why do we see this same argument over and over again in system wars? We have three sources to base the quality of the game on. Sales, reviews and opinion. Honestly, I could give a damn about sales. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed Crystal Chronicles. Now at the same time, I'm one of the few people at the time who had brothers and friends that I could always play with, and four GBAs and link calbes always ready. Most people really didn't get a chance to enjoy the game. It's also just a game that many may not really like. Reviews can't always be trusted. I was tempted to categorize them under opinon, but there is a certain amount of science involved with a modern review. Although you get a good look at the mechanics of a game, and a feel for the how the whole thing comes together, the reviewer's opinon is still smattered througout. How then, are we to measure the success of a game? For me, it's when I sit eight hours in front of a TV, forgetting that I have school and athletics the next morning, enveloped in the sheer bliss of being so far drawn into a game. I just think that amongst sales, review scores and other things it's something many gamers have lost sight of. I dunno, perhaps I'm simply rambling on about nothing again. But I just don't get why we are all supposed to hold the same opinons about certain games.
I'd say success, for a game, is defined both by critical acclaim and sales. These are objective standards (at least, as close as you'll get), so those make the most sense.
However, success doesn't define the quality of a game to an individual, and it shouldn't.
Well theres more than one way to succeed. A game can be a commercial success, a critical success, both, and sometimes neither. But none of that really factors in when it comes to your own personal enjoyment of the game. For the game makers I'm sure the success they are most concerned with is the commercial success of their game. Being a critical success is just a bonus for them.
I guess it depends on what you define "success" as. If you mean commercially, then yes, sales are a good measure of that.Â
But generally, what most people mean by success of the game is the perceived quality of the title. Many games get exceptional reviews only to be ignored by the general gaming community. They may be a top notch quality game, but they have relatively little impact on the gaming market.
Remember JJ, we're not supposed to make threads regarding fanboys or arguments we've had with said fanboys in SW. This can only get worse from here.
Sorry, but I've gotta lock this.
The_Game21x
I apologize. The point of my thread wasn't meant to bash him so much as just figure out everyone's opinions on what the medium for judging the success of a game is. I fixed it up. Again, sorry for doing that. Being the leader and all I shouldn't be bashing people here.
Edit: By the way Game, thanks on the lock. I shouldn't have left my post like that, and officers should not hesitate to take action when necessary, even against other officers or the mighty JJ himself :P
I would agree that for "normal" games, sales don't indicate success. But Halo is a phenomenon, and I think when you're talking about those kinds of games--the Halos, GTAs, Final Fantasies, etc.--it becomes extremely difficult to deny success. At least, for their initial installments. Follow-ups could just be riding on the name itself.
Log in to comment