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[ecosse_011172]

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been an enormous success by every metric possible. Pre-release people were commenting that it was being sent to die with a name like that (too French, pretentious, obscure etc.)
There have been other similar names like Metaphor:ReFantazio, a far less accessible name that "Persona" but again, a huge success by every metric.

So, do game titles matter much at all nowadays?
Or, do they matter but people are more open to more elaborate titles than we used to believe?

 

[The Cockatrice]

So, do game titles matter much at all nowadays?

Yes, you can make a turd game, call it Silent Hill f and people will get suckered in towards it.

 

[Beretta]

For me, I don't really care what the game is called, I just care if it's a good game, but I can understand people who do care. A name is supposed to help attract people to the product. If they see a dumb name, they may not be inclined to even give it a look and miss out on a good game.

 

[ecosse_011172]

Yes, you can make a turd game, call it Silent Hill f and people will get suckered in towards it.

 

[Paasei]

I think it works. Both ways, even. A good game with a weird or too long name like your example.
But also something known or simply a cooler title but the game is bad.

Maybe not necessarily for me, or us here on GAF, but generally speaking I think it does matter.

 

[LectureMaster]

Yes it matters.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Fuck that.

 

[vodka-bull]

Nah it doesn't, but I'm also currently playing Nier Replicant ver. 122474487139… and having a blast with it.

 

[Sakura]

Nobody ends up calling it by the full names so it doesn't really matter. (to an extent)
Everybody I've talked to in real life calls the game Expedition 33 or Metaphor and that is it.

 

[Avid Reading Horse]

There have been other similar names like Metaphor:ReFantazio, a far less accessible name that "Persona" but again, a huge success by every metric.

A name so stupid I will now repost a stupid GIF I made

 

[ecosse_011172]

Nah it doesn't, but I'm also currently playing Nier Replicant ver. 122474487139… and having a blast with it.

That was another one I thought of.

 

[Shubh_C63]

Ofcourse the name matters. But when most games are mediocre or copied ideas with a different paint, name won't matter if the game is good.

If we were drowning in AAA 9 stars games then the Name would matter again.

 

[GymWolf]

No i don't really give a fuck about titles, but i'm gonna laugh at the silly ones

 

[Jinzo Prime]

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM EXTREME VS. MAXIBOOST ON is an objectivley terrible name for a game, but it didn't really stop players from playing it.

I think the worst thing you can do is make a name too generic or too similar to another game's name. I forgot Atomfall's name until a few days ago when I was looking for it on Steam. So many games are ___fall they blend together.

 

[Furozen]

I don't always post about Natsuiro High School: Seishun Hakusho Tenkou Shonichi no Ore ga Osananajimi to Saikai shitara Houdoubuin ni Sarete ite Gekisha Shounen no Hibi wa Scoop Dairenpatsu de Igai to Motemote nanoni Nazeka Mai Memori wa Pantsu Shashin Bakkari toiu Genjitsu to Mukiainagara Kangaeru Hitonatsu no Shima no Gakuen Seikatsu do Sekirarana Koi no Yukue.

But when I do, I use the full title.

 

[GrayChild]

Yes, titties matter. A lot.

 

[PlayStaytion]

I think exceptions to this role has never been that high before like Ubisoft and the list goes on.

 

[Durin]

I think how hard a game name is to pronounce matters more than the quality of the title, but a great game will trump anything.

We're literally an industry where one of the most successful games of all time was a spiky haired guy with a giant buster sword named after a weather formation, and it was the 7th entry to a supposedly "final" fantasy.

 

[Baemono]

Yes, it avoids confusion.

Except when it doesn't

Which isn't the same as

And this one

Is different than this one

 

[xrnzaaas]

It's not a key factor, but it matters in some ways. A really cool title makes it easier for the game to stand out and attract some extra attention, a generic title makes it easier to forget about its existence (also with a future purchase in mind) or to mistake it for something else.

I also hate games with less than 3 letters in the title (like Z, D or OD), makes it extra hard to find them when using search engines.

 

[Trunx81]

 

[kyubajin]

Well, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a thing that exists and nobody cares about it lol.

 

[Sticks]

Megabonk

 

[BlackTron]

Megabonk

Came to say this. I noticed on reddit the creator of the game agreed with a post that he didn't like the name, but just wanted to get the Steam page up. But that was months ago, nothing better ever manifested...lol. And apparently, no one cares.

Well, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a thing that exists and nobody cares about it lol.

Super Mario Party™ Jamboree – Nintendo Switch™ 2 Edition + Jamboree TV

 

[KiteGr]

I don't know

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Of course it does, in fact, the latest one was Silent Hill f.
This would have sold half the copies if it wasn't for the name attached to it.

Konami really knew what they were doing

 

[Cakeboxer]

Only if it's confusing like Hitman or God of War.

 

[Edgelord79]

It's more important with craft beers and established IP to draw people in.

If it's a really bizarre name, I just assume that it's not in English or it's going to be translated poorly.

 

[Signalis]

Least game titles aren't as bad as all those shitty Japanese Isekai anime/manga names(but we'll get there eventually probably)

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Names matter a lot. I disagree with E33, it's a name unique and easy to remember and depicts perfectly what the game is about.

Refantazio is an ugly name but better be ugly than generic.

 

[Aressa]

Yes it matters.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Fuck that.

Try:
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage.

Are you kidding me? That's a damn paragraph.

 

[Sintoid]

When I see "Re: " into a Game's name I istantly skip it

 

[Treasure Hunter]

I'm yet to skip a game due to its ugly name, but I don't play a lot of new games these days. Fantasy books titles are more annoying to me and I hope the "X and Y: a Nothing of Shit and Piss" formula dies a slow and painful death.

 

[crackajack]

They mattered more in earlier days of gaming. When you bought games solely based on the infos the box showed or just a cool cover art and the title maybe had some weight in the decision too. Before internet, before you as a kid even get the idea of buying magazines that tell you what is good. I don't think it actually matters nowadays much. Maybe to some very small degree, some thought lingers in your mind influencing your overall opinion that the title is just stupid, too long, convoluted or whatever, but I doubt it alters sales much. At most a mom will hesitate a bit more or refuse to buy lets say Killer Instinct compared to Call of Duty for the birthday present for little Timmy, since the latter hardly sounds necessarily violent, bad and inappropriate.

 

[Queso de Grande]

Yeah, I saw someone on this site recommending a game called Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-yo. It is a pretty cool game, but with such a bad name I dismissed it at first. When I decided to try the demo, I couldn't find it due to the bad name. There are a lot of people who will overlook a good game because of this.

 

[Liopleurodon]

Yes.

I really don't have time to spend on all random stuff, even if it is great.

 

[Humdinger]

I think titles do make a difference, absolutely. If you look at book publishing, finding the right title can really help or hurt a book's chances. I'm sure the same is true for games.

In the case of Expedition 33, it landed in a genre that has a long history of convoluted, nonsensical titles (not to say Ex33 was that). Heck, the genre is almost known for its ridiculous titles. I think there is more leeway in some genres than others.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Try:
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage.

Are you kidding me? That's a damn paragraph.

Yeah I just see that and think, fuck off

 

[Achelexus]

The best titles are single words that are evocative and exotic.

"Pathologic" is one of my favorite video game titles.

 

[Power Pro]

I never had this, but after looking it up, I should have, especially when it had great content like this...

 

[Madjaba]

If your main genre is JRPG, clearly you've seen everything

 

[Magic Carpet]

Yes, I'm shallow like that.
I ignore all games that contain any of the words, "Fatal", "Final", "Souls", "Infinite", "Forever".

 

[Notorious_Roy]

Nah, you can even call an ape donkey, which is also an ass, and it will be magnificent.

 

[Labadal]

I don't personally care.

Generally speaking, it might matter a little bit, but I do not think that it makes or breaks a game.

 

[Roman Empire]

Yes, you can make a turd game, call it Silent Hill f and people will get suckered in towards it.

 

[PurePlatinum]

I think yes, but there are limitations. The new Call of Duty could be called "Dick in Ass 14" and it would still be the highest selling game of the year.

No name would have helped The Wonderful 101 despite it being the best character action game of the last fifteen years.