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[Dabanton]

Pretty much every 20 something male in America has fond memories of Mortal Kombat. You guys are vastly underestimating the potential for a game that goes back to the series roots.

I'd hardly call it fond memories it was always the lesser game to Street Fighter the only thing it had going for it was you could pull people's heads off. As a fighting game it was basic as hell.

I've been looking at videos of the new game and not feeling the excitement.

 

[T.M. MacReady]

LOLWUT?

Most people find the Kevin Butler ads funny and enjoyable even if they're non-gamers. Something I can't say about the 99% other ads that exist...

Example of this would be the hundreds of t shirts and signs that say "Well played, Mauer" at every Twins home game. NPD threads are just overflowing with hyperbole and fanboyism.

 

[alr1ght]

Call of Duty is violent, cinematic, and appeals to young males. By industry definition that is as hardcore as you can get.

COD is shallow, has a terrible story, and has constant positive re-enforcement. Casual.

 

[Bizzyb]

...but that's why it sells so well.

It's not about being ground-breaking. It's a VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND SERIES. That's the entire point.

If they innovated like crazy, or added some new amazing yet complex gameplay system, it wouldn't be as accessible.

I'm not saying you have to love it, but everything that you said trying to knock it is actually why it's such a success.

That's exactly why it shouldn't be selling well. Why reward a game for being lazy in innovation and very basic. I just can't understand the appeal of doing the SAME motions over and over. How much fun can running around shooting people (in the SAME game) be after so many hours? It would become incredibly mind numbing to myself despite all of the positive reinforcement and instant gratification given every 30 seconds. People who fall into this cycle just seem like weak minded gamers or something....I dunno, I just don't get it.

 

[Gravijah]

I'd hardly call it fond memories it was always the lesser game to Street Fighter the only thing it had going for it was you could pull people's heads off. As a fighting game it was basic as hell.

I've been looking at videos of the new game and not feeling the excitement.

Your own opinion and experience does not shape the masses.

 

[chris0701]

And since when did Killzone ever sell much more than that within the same time frame?

For what reason Killzone would sell like this fairly poor performance ?

Since GG address main issues on KZ2,and KZ3 is COD-lized now,the sales only reveals Sony failed to expand its market again.

 

[plagiarize]

LOLWUT?

Most people find the Kevin Butler ads funny and enjoyable even if they're non-gamers. Something I can't say about the 99% other ads that exist...

even if that's so, it doesn't appear to make them BUY ANYTHING.

MotorStorm 3 needs a good advertising campaign. stop the rot! i want Butler's head on a spike.

I just can't understand the appeal of doing the SAME motions over and over. How much fun can running around shooting people (in the SAME game) be after so many hours? It would become incredibly mind numbing to myself despite all of the positive reinforcement and instant gratification given every 30 seconds. People who fall into this cycle just seem like weak minded gamers or something....I dunno, I just don't get it.

i'd love to know what games you play that don't have the same basic core mechanics repeated over and over again.

fuck racing games, you just TURN every thirty seconds. that's all you do! you turn. what the fuck? why don't you ever backflip, or leap out the window and start dancing on the bonnet?

 

[_Alkaline_]

COD is shallow, has a terrible story, and has constant positive re-enforcement. Casual.

Shallow when comparing to actual games? Laughable.

 

[Huff]

1 milion sales is a reasonable criteria as "FINE" for AAA progect like Killzone?lol

I don't think you can just say AAA and have a "needed" number of sales.

Sony had an idea of what KZ3 would do based off of KZ2 and other exclusive sales in NA. No one but Sony knows if it has preformed as expected. They can also hope and wish for more, but companies have realistic numbers that they expect.

I would be interested to know the amount of KZ3 move bundles sold. Well, the actual amount of PS3s sold would be good to know too.

Edit: You can't just make a game "COD like" and expect more sales. I assume developers know that it isn't magic. If it clicks with the public, it clicks.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I wonder what will Socom do, it used to be Sony's flagship shooter long ago.

I think the very, very bad first six months of Confrontation will really hurt Socom 4 sales.

 

[Jin34]

I still don't see proof that Call of Duty is hurting other modern military FPS. I think Call of Duty will raise other military shooters up in the long term.

Do you mean sales wise or gameplay wise? Gameplay wise its pretty apparent imo. See Halo and Battlefield.

On a second topic: I don't think Microsoft's over reliance on multiplatforms/outside studio games is a good idea long term. Having the best multiplat experience is something that can easily change from one gen to the next and not having those strong internal studios as a lifesaver can cost them dearly if that happens. It is best to have both, but if you only have one, this seems to be the more precarious position.

 

[kame-sennin]

Call of Duty?? Really? Good Lord, are gamers brain-dead sheep or something now? A fucking first person shooter? WTF is going on in this industry?

Shooting games, first person or otherwise, have always and will always be popular (barring temporary market saturation). FPS, platformers, fighting games, and music games I think are all cornerstone macro genres because everyone can relate to playing cops and robbers, running and jumping, play fighting, or enjoying music. I don't know why a game from one of those categories becoming popular makes gamers brain-dead.

Does anyone else find it a little disheartening that Call of Duty Black Ops is the top selling game of all time in the US? Not trying to troll as COD is enjoyable and all, but with all the innovative and quite frankly higher quality titles out there; a rather generic, cookie cutter FPS game doing so well just rubs me the wrong way.

WHY DO GAMES WITH BROAD APPEAL SELL BROADLY

 

[lowrider007]

For what reason Killzone would sell like this fairly poor performance ?

Since GG address main issues on KZ2,and KZ3 is COD-lized now,the sales only reveals Sony failed to expand its market again.Even COD:BOPS can sold over 10x sales in its first month on PS3.

All the sales reveal is that it's selling like a Killzone game, what did you expect it to sell? a million out of the gate?, seriously some of you people are deluded, KZ was and is never going to compare with COD in terms of sales, Sony knows that.

 

[chris0701]

COD is shallow, has a terrible story, and has constant positive re-enforcement. Casual.

And it prints money.

Come on,COD is still one of the most intense,violent military fps this gen. People likes it for fucking awesome action and explosive.

 

[Grinchy]

I think the very, very bad first six months of Confrontation will really hurt Socom 4 sales.

I still can't believe they allowed such a big name be sullied so terribly. Why would Zipper want such a crappy version of Socom on the PS3? They should have stuck with their original vision of just making Socom 2 HD as a PSN title, and then let Slant Six screw that up instead.

 

[alr1ght]

Shallow when comparing to actual games? Laughable.

gameplay wise, absolutely.

 

[reKon]

that would be awesome if one of my favorite games this gen (modnation racer's) popped up at 10 randomly on these lists. It's definitely one of those games where more users playing = better experience because of there being more people to play and more creation of incredible tracks. Instead those high numbers are wasted on FPSs where it doesn't need a ridiculous number count of players.

 

[Bizzyb]

even if that's so, it doesn't appear to make them BUY ANYTHING.

MotorStorm 3 needs a good advertising campaign. stop the rot! i want Butler's head on a spike.


i'd love to know what games you play that don't have the same basic core mechanics repeated over and over again.

fuck racing games, you just TURN every thirty seconds. that's all you do! you turn. what the fuck? why don't you ever backflip, or leap out the window and start dancing on the bonnet?

My point is it being the best selling game ever. Not being a successful game. Games where you have to actually think to progress. Racing games test where you brake, and how strongly, when you accelerate, when to use boost, how to overcome an opponent gaining on you, etc etc

Adventure games are also a great idea to really get the player thinking on how to advance/progress.

I'm not saying there is no strategy in BLOPS or any fps, but it doesn't seem like making the gamer think to advance is its strong suite. Run around, throw a grenade or two and pull the trigger hoping someone doesn't get you first; wash, rinse, repeat for 5 more hours. The idea that people get hooked on this for months at a time to the point where they ignore ALL other awesome games is what really gets me.

 

[jax (old)]

That MvC number is bloody insane though. Bloody insane and sort of surprising. I bet Capcom is now seriously looking at their backlog to think about what else they can re-jig for the current generation.

 

[chris0701]

All the sales reveal is that it's selling like a Killzone game, what did you expect it to sell? a million out of the gate?, seriously some of you people are deluded, KZ was and is never going to compare with COD in terms of sales, Sony knows that.

Even so,why GG tries to make KZ3 COD-lized ?

The tried,they failed because hardcore KZ2 fnas hate the new design?

 

[BladeoftheImmortal]

WW sales will be fine so I doubt Sony will be sweating it, I can see it reaching 1 million globally within the next 4-6 months easily.

lol, it's probably already there worldwide. it debuted at number 1 in most EU charts this week. and it was number 1 when it debuted in the UK I believe.

 

[Nirolak]

That MvC number is bloody insane though. Bloody insane and sort of surprising. I bet Capcom is now seriously looking at their backlog to think about what else they can re-jig for the current generation.

Yep! They just said so actually: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=424088

 

[Grinchy]

I'm not saying there is no strategy in BLOPS or any fps, but it doesn't seem like making the gamer think to advance is its strong suite. Run around, throw a grenade or two and pull the trigger hoping someone doesn't get you first; wash, rinse, repeat for 5 more hours. The idea that people get hooked on this for months at a time to the point where they ignore ALL other awesome games is what really gets me.

I'm at the point now where that's basically what I see when I play FPS games, too.

So that's why I have played almost nothing but RPGs for a while now. That said, I now have a huge DC Universe Online addiction, and we all know that MMOs are the very definition of doing the same thing over and over again for months on end. Yet I love it. Can't. Stop. Playing.

 

[allan-bh]

I hope we get at least PS3 hardware number.

 

[Watchtower]

COD is shallow, has a terrible story, and has constant positive re-enforcement. Casual.

Ok I think I see where this trend is going.

-First you considered FPS the most hardcore, nerdy titles because only PC gamers would play them. Certainly anything but casual. Though they did become "dumbed down" according to PC gamers because you could play them with a controller.

-But hey, for you, they were ok because you could play them on your console. Then they became popular and cool.

-Then the Wii came out, and all of a sudden you created a "casual" title for all family friendly, easy to pick up games that were considered shallow and low budget.

-Now.....COD became too popular and it appears those same guys are enjoying a type of game YOU USED TO CONSIDER NERDY AND HARDCORE....."casual".

-So next...the only obvious place to go is to consider super niche titles that don't make the sales chart the "real hardcore" games.

But wait, there's a problem. Games like those, Steel Battalion, COE(Rez spiritual sequel), Project Draco(Panzer Dragoon next) are coming for Kinect!!! That can't be because everything on Kinect or any device with a motion controller is casual!

OH FUCK! What now?


Seriously....this crap needs to stop.

 

[alr1ght]

No, FPS games are not casual. Just COD.

 

[Watchtower]

No, FPS games are not casual. Just COD.

Stop.

Not calling COD casual. But calling ANY game casual or hardcore. By your definition, anything can be either. So what's the point?

 

[lowrider007]

Even so,why GG tries to make KZ3 COD-lized ?

The tried,they failed because hardcore KZ2 fnas hate the new design?

What's the point in making KZ3 CoD-lized when you already have BLOPS on the system that does it better @ 60fps?, personally I think GG should of kept to their own style of play instead of trying to imitate CoD, not that that would of changed a lot becuase like I said, KZ3 was never going to sell much more than KZ2 anyway imo.

 

[_Alkaline_]

gameplay wise, absolutely.

This is a casual game:

This is a casual game:

Call of Duty is far more complex than these games.

In it's own space it might appear to lack substance, I'm fine with that argument, but in no way is the game designed specifically for casuals - it's merely made accessible and addictive enough to appeal to them. CoD succeeds because it appeals to everyone, much in the way of Mario Kart and GTA.

It's a mainstream game. Not a casual game.

 

[Mrbob]

I thought the Gears 3 bonus on 360 would push Bulletstorm more. Hopefully the game doesn't crash after this month as I want to see People Can Fly succeed.

 

[alr1ght]

This is a casual game:

[isdmg]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/04/Kinect_Adventures_cover.jpg/200px-Kinect_Adventures_cover.jpg[/img]

This is a casual game:

[dsimg]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5b/Wii_Fit_PAL_boxart.JPG/250px-Wii_Fit_PAL_boxart.JPG[/img]

Call of Duty is far more complex than these games.

Fine. A casual core game. xXCasualCoreXx

Note: COD is an okay game. I see why it's popular, but that doesn't appeal to me. I just dislike the "me too" approach most devs are incorporating trying to replicate the COD formula.

 

[jackdoe]

Marvel vs Capcom 3 sales were nice and Killzone 3 did respectably (considering the fact that these numbers end at Feb 26, four days after launch). I think people are forgetting this. Same with the Bulletstorm numbers.

 

[FirstInHell]

LOLWUT?

Most people find the Kevin Butler ads funny and enjoyable even if they're non-gamers. Something I can't say about the 99% other ads that exist...

The Kevin Butler ads do nothing to grab anyone's attention. Most non-gamers do not even realize they are ads for the PS3. Those who do are left with a negative impression.

The persona is obnoxious and abrasive. I think it has done significant damage to Sony's brand this generation.

 

[Square Triangle]

I'd like to know the sales differences between the PS3 and 360 versions of MVC3. From what I've heard PS3 sold the most.

 

[user_nat]

Why do all NPD threads turn into a Casual V Core debate.

I'd like to know the sales differences between the PS3 and 360 versions of MVC3. From what I've heard PS3 sold the most.

The platforms in the title show highest selling SKU to lowest.

So..
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom: 360, PS3)
means 360 version > PS3 version.

 

[Watchtower]

This is a casual game:

This is a casual game:

Call of Duty is far more complex than these games.

In it's own space it might appear to lack substance, I'm fine with that argument, but in no way is the game designed specifically for casuals - it's merely made accessible and addictive enough to appeal to them. CoD succeeds because it appeals to everyone, much in the way of Mario Kart and GTA.

It's a mainstream game. Not a casual game.

Nope those are packsuals! Any game that comes with hardware is now officially a packsual. Unless it's a JRPG that comes with a map and a pendant. Then it's a hardcore collector's item!

And why not? Everyone else is coming up with their own definition. And clearly hardcore and casual has completely lost its meaning and doesn't even make sense any more.

 

[Kagari]

The Kevin Butler ads do nothing to grab anyone's attention. Most non-gamers do not even realize they are ads for the PS3. Those who do are left with a negative impression.

The persona is obnoxious and abrasive. I think it has done significant damage to Sony's brand this generation.

And yet I've seen the complete opposite from so called "non-gamers." It can go both ways. All this whining about ads is getting ridiculous, especially when, in regards to Killzone 3, there is a regular ad with just gameplay being shown.

 

[lowrider007]

Why do all NPD threads turn into a Casual V Core debate.




The platforms in the title show highest selling SKU to lowest.

So..
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom: 360, PS3)
means 360 version > PS3 version.

lol, I was just thinking the same thing, I remember the same debate last month.

Anyway I class CoD as a mainstream core title

 

[chris0701]

No, FPS games are not casual. Just COD.

 

[plagiarize]

No, FPS games are not casual. Just COD.

the word you are looking for is 'popular'.

COD is not casual. i have never met a person that plays COD casually. there is nothing casual about the COD experience. infact it's so all consuming that people who play it, play it for hours and hours and hours and don't play anything else, and STRIVE to increase their levels and get better at the game.

nothing about that is casual.

i don't play the things, but casual couldn't be further from the truth in any sense of the word.

 

[jmdajr]

man.... marvel vs capcom!

 

[jtb]

Frankly, I think the COD dominance will see its first true challenger (MOH was a halfhearted attempt, if we're being honest with ourselves) with Battlefield 3. I remember COD2 really sowing the seeds for COD as a franchise to really explode with Modern Warfare (which launched just two months after the juggernaut that was Halo 3) - a solid experience, whose longevity was solidified by COD3 (a game made by a different team, and ultimatley sold well... but nothing near post-Modern Warfare numbers... the BF parallel would be the MoH reboot). Assuming the market doesn't outright collapse from so many huge big-budget military shooters in one month, I think Battlefield 3 will really start eating into that COD mass audience. BC2 really, I think, did what COD 2 did for their respective franchises. Both franchises have their die hard PC base... it just came down to reaching critical mass on consoles, and both BC2 and COD2 really laid the groundwork for that. Either way, I wouldn't expect COD to ever reach numbers it hit with BLOPS (which is obviously something that everyone seems to say every year, and never actually happens). At the very least, we see a decline in COD sales because of increased head-to-head competition. Potentially, we see a shift towards the Battlefield franchise this November that COD never really recovers from (a la the Halo -> COD shift in 2007)... which would really come at a bad time for Activision, who is trying to milk it for all it's worth.

Kind of like how Activision's milking of Guitar Hero came in the wake of declining sales... and ended up killing that franchise for good.

Maybe I'm riding the BF3 hype train a bit too much, but that's just my two cents. EA's positioning of BF3 against COD8 speaks to volumes about their hopes, at the very least.

 

[jackdoe]

The platforms in the title show highest selling SKU to lowest.

So..
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom: 360, PS3)
means 360 version > PS3 version.

Really? So the PC version of Black Ops sold fewer copies than the NDS version? Same with NBA 2K11 selling fewer copies than the PS2 version? I find that hard to believe.

 

[Why For?]

No, FPS games are not casual. Just COD.

I'm surprised you didn't put Halo in there.

 

[SafeinSound]

I've heard people throw the word casual around quite often for COD. I think the reason being is that it just has a system that rewards players for just about everything. Even if you suck. Not sure how that's casual.

 

[Watchtower]

the word you are looking for is 'popular'.

COD is not casual. i have never met a person that plays COD casually. there is nothing casual about the COD experience. infact it's so all consuming that people who play it, play it for hours and hours and hours and don't play anything else, and STRIVE to increase their levels and get better at the game.

nothing about that is casual.

i don't play the things, but casual couldn't be further from the truth in any sense of the word.

I think it was the fact that a traditional game became so popular it outsold Wii Play. That was a trait of the casual game. It messed up some people's perception

If everyone's enjoying the game that the core community once loved, and lining up ahead of us to buy it, then how can we feel special anymore?

 

[Pooya]

The platforms in the title show highest selling SKU to lowest.

So..
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom: 360, PS3)
means 360 version > PS3 version.

Let's not spread BS.

 

[user_nat]

Let's not spread BS.

?

Can't remember what month, but it came up once before. I don't recall it being proven wrong.

What other reason would they have for resorting the order for some games?

 

[stupei]

Good to see Dead Space 2 charting another month. Well deserved.

LOLWUT?

Most people find the Kevin Butler ads funny and enjoyable even if they're non-gamers. Something I can't say about the 99% other ads that exist...

I chuckle at a lot of advertising for things that I don't buy.

 

[kame-sennin]

This should pretty much be the crow to end all crow eating threads for Treyarch doubters. Regardless of what you think of the game, or Bro shooters, they delivered big time.

It may also be evidence that people don't read the credits on the title screen. I remember when people were certain World at War wouldn't do as well as COD4 because it wasn't an Infinity Ward shooter. My thoughts then were that most consumers wouldn't notice before they bought the game (or perhaps even after).

That's exactly why it shouldn't be selling well. Why reward a game for being lazy in innovation and very basic. I just can't understand the appeal of doing the SAME motions over and over. How much fun can running around shooting people (in the SAME game) be after so many hours? It would become incredibly mind numbing to myself despite all of the positive reinforcement and instant gratification given every 30 seconds. People who fall into this cycle just seem like weak minded gamers or something....I dunno, I just don't get it.

It seems like you're advocating adding bells and whistles to a game just to say you've innovated. If a developer discovers a gameplay structure that is highly satisfying, why break it or make it more complex? If I want to play Pac-man or Tetris or even chess, I don't want someone mucking around with the basic mechanics of the game for the sake of innovation. Modern sports have maintained their popularity for almost a century due to NOT changing the fundamentals of the game. Nobody wants this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEqp3tN7muE