I think they originally were going to make it f2p and there was an outcry from the community not to do so.
I won't be surprised if it's f2p in 6 months.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
LawBreakers' launch numbers are much lower than Battleborn's - PCGamesN
- Thread starter Marcel
- Start date
I won't be surprised if it's f2p in 6 months.
VincentMatts
Member
I played a few rounds yesterday, i have to say i didnt like any of the characters. I felt like all the guns didnt suit me. I kept changing and none of them felt fun to use.
Yeah, I Wasnt complaining about the marketing. But if i had to play Winston on overwatch to hit people, this game probably isnt for me. lol
TheCanisDirus
Member
Quake Champions really shows ya just how dated (and undesirable) the classic arena shooter really is nowadays. I played it and didnt really like it at all despite playing thousands of hours of Quake and UT.
You might think the demographic overlaps, and it might a very small amount; however, i'd argue the exact opposite. What do you mean buy "the market feels quite saturated"? Too many games so some must suffer low sales as a direct result? I'd say good games will stand out regardless. I'm always up for a new, super solid shooter, adventure game etc.
Nikodemos
Member
Listening to their fans was a bad idea. I know it sounds like corporate speak, but in several cases, going by what the community wants is not a good thing.
A heavily skill-based multiplayer-only game in this day and age HAS to be F2P. It's a sad fact, but unfortunately true. And before you bring up PUBG, that's not a skill based game. It strongly depends on how lucky you are.
I'm not expecting fans to understand the realities of the marketplace but Cliffy and his team are obligated to know better than their community or at least able to divorce themselves from the more emotional elements that often make up community discussions.
Well, there's OW. But that's a completely different monster. It is by Blizz, and was the one of the first on the new wave of shooters, so it had a huge advantage.
Nikodemos
Member
Overwatch relies a lot on team composition, so individual skill doesn't play as high a part. It's still there, but it's not the sole focus.
TheCanisDirus
Member
Sherif Saed's review of LB sums up my feelings exactly. Some good points below:
- via https://www.vg247.com/2017/08/08/everyone-is-busy-arguing-how-much-lawbreakers-is-and-isnt-like-overwatch-and-im-too-busy-having-fun-with-it-to-care/
- via https://www.vg247.com/2017/08/08/everyone-is-busy-arguing-how-much-lawbreakers-is-and-isnt-like-overwatch-and-im-too-busy-having-fun-with-it-to-care/
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
I feel like, this is a game Reaper would play, when he isn't being used in Overwatch
TetraGenesis
Member
Yowch. :/
I guess it depends on how you act and behave.
Also if positive reviews keep popping up, I'm sure more people will take a second look into this. Many people do just that before buying a game, wait for reviews. And good review is free marketing.
People keep mentioning that this is a $30 game as if that's a good thing, it's an online only arena based shooter with only a handful of matchtypes and add to that the characters have set weapons and abilities, so what sort of progression is there?
The marketing appears to have been pretty non existent, I never even knew there was an open beta until a friend mentioned it to me on the last day which was a bit too late for me.
The marketing appears to have been pretty non existent, I never even knew there was an open beta until a friend mentioned it to me on the last day which was a bit too late for me.
FanDeNintendo
Neo Member
Probably the fact that they look like teens/young adults from Instagram but wearing spacesuits.
Like Overwatch, you have an account level that unlocks loot boxes with various skins and decals.
Huh, interesting. I'd put them mostly around 25-35 if I'd make a guess. Some maybe younger and some definitely older.
FanDeNintendo
Neo Member
Just I quick edit I did in PS with a picture from Instagram and a concept art:
They grow up so fast
Nice, how old is that dude?Just I quick edit I did in PS with a picture from Instagram and a concept art:
They grow up so fast
Doug Heffernan
Member
I wonder how much better the game would have done if he had launched on Xbox where most of his fanbase is at.
Chronospherics
Member
I think Lawbreakers does stand out, and I don't think the characters killed the game either. You don't need to sell a MP game on the characters you play as. Some of them have pretty cool designs, they just lack personality, but that's okay. Games like Call of Duty and Battlefield, Battlefield don't sell their MP on the personality of their characters. It's okay to make a game without anime weirdos running around. Hell, Rainbow Six Siege doesn't have especially interesting characters, but it's become one of the most popular MP titles.
I really think people need to get past that, as a reason for this games poor popularity. I think the biggest reasons were just the lack of awareness. No one that I spoke to about this game has even been aware it existed, the launch window, those that I did spoke to said they liked it, but they weren't interested because they're getting Destiny 2 soon, and the accessibility of the gameplay and how it was marketed.
Instead of showing people how to play, and suggesting that they could do all this stuff, Boss Key deliberately chose to release trailers that emphasized the skill based movement systems, and how there was a significant skill requirement just to play the game. One of the trailers proudly brands the #SkilledAF hastag. Making things worse, the game doesn't have a tutorial, or any explanation of how to play.
When I was playing on PS4, I had fair number of friends jump into the party and express the sentiment 'I played this earlier but didn't know what I was doing, just getting killed'
Things like the lack of killcams don't help with that understandability either. It's a fast paced multiplayer environment, killcams, at least in unranked games could have gone a tremendous way in helping players learn how to play.
I really think people need to get past that, as a reason for this games poor popularity. I think the biggest reasons were just the lack of awareness. No one that I spoke to about this game has even been aware it existed, the launch window, those that I did spoke to said they liked it, but they weren't interested because they're getting Destiny 2 soon, and the accessibility of the gameplay and how it was marketed.
Instead of showing people how to play, and suggesting that they could do all this stuff, Boss Key deliberately chose to release trailers that emphasized the skill based movement systems, and how there was a significant skill requirement just to play the game. One of the trailers proudly brands the #SkilledAF hastag. Making things worse, the game doesn't have a tutorial, or any explanation of how to play.
When I was playing on PS4, I had fair number of friends jump into the party and express the sentiment 'I played this earlier but didn't know what I was doing, just getting killed'
Things like the lack of killcams don't help with that understandability either. It's a fast paced multiplayer environment, killcams, at least in unranked games could have gone a tremendous way in helping players learn how to play.
Chairmanchuck
Member
Too many MP games, the young generation that has time doesnt really dig arena-shooters. The older generation that digs arena-shooters doesnt have much time and moved on to sth. else.
I play OW and PUBG and dont have time to invest in another MP game regardless whether its good or not.
FanDeNintendo
Neo Member
I could not find the exact year
But I bet he could be called as "young adult" (not teen in this case) You can add Counter-Strike to that list, it has "pretty good" following. Not because of Rule 34 and lore, but tight gameplay.
Sure, I was surprised to find out that young adult means person between 20-40. I envisioned it lower myself.I could not find the exact year
Triggerhappytel
Member
That's true in that it will need a much smaller number of sales to be considered a success, but even so for any multiplayer game is needs an active community and as many players as it can for a chance at long term viability. I wonder how many sales a game like this needs to make to recoup its costs and turn a profit. I've not been a fan of Cliffy B in the past but I don't want to see the game crash and burn like this.
D
Deleted member 325805
Unconfirmed Member
I played it and it felt like a faster Overwatch with more jumping involved.
DryvBy
Member
It's not worth it. The last beta was a lot more fun but it's really just nothing special. I've been playing since the first alpha.
I agree and was one of my gripes in the OT. Doesns't seem to play the same on the PS4.
You playing on the PC? Because that's one of my gripes on the P4 is that it's not fast enough and doesn't play like the PC streams. To me UT was a much faster and more frantic gameplay.
TheCanisDirus
Member
I'm a member of that "older generation" and i played OW and PUBG but quickly got tired of them. I'll be playing LawBreakers and Splatoon 2 exclusively for my competitive shooter fixes. Everyone's different. The game itself however is objectively a well made, well balanced competitive shooter. How it fairs will almost certainly depend on marketing and some of the aesthetic design choices that BK made. I think they're is always plenty of room for new games and that this notion of saturation is given too much weight. Remember, PUBG and OW weren't the first to do "their respective things" and that there were games before them in the same genres. The market was arguably saturated when they came to popularity.
old
Member
Because I'd rather invest my playtime in games with large communities and indefinite support schedules.
When it comes to MP I'm not interested in Flavor-of-the-Week games. I'm interested in Flavor-of-the-Decade games.
I do appreciate the diversity but these designs specifically are just super duper bland.Am I the only person who actually like Lawbreakers character design? I mean, Cronos looks like a member of Slipknot and is constantly put forward by marketing despite being one of the worst designs in the game, besides Helix. Other than that though I think the character design is great and also diverse.
Of the 16 human characters(plus 2 robots) 7 are women.
None of them are in sexy outfits and they all have distinct personalities. You won't find any cleavage in any of the alt costumes either. I guess you could argue Hellion's outfit is tight but she's a ninja it fits her design.
Of the 16 characters 7 are white.
Nothing wrong with white characters but it's nice that there is a good amount of diversity.
Other than being diverse I just think the designs look good and modeled in high fidelity. Some of the faces have some uncanny valley happening but overall they look like real people.
That's part of the problem. The designs are generic at best and super ugly at worst. You don't have anyone who is immediately recognizable as a great mascot character like Tracer or The Heavy. When you're trying to sell a multiplayer game that lives or dies on its community, you need to make sure it's appealing to a wide audience.
Also, if I'm being honest, I just felt super underwhelmed by the alpha and betas. There are good ideas in there but the balance definitely isn't there yet and 90's 'tude of people saying shit like "FUCK OFF FUCKFACE" is just EXTREMELY unappealing to me.
This is a shitty condescending comment. Sorry that my idea of fun doesn't align with yours.
TimeEffect
Member
So I noticed gravity is a huge deal in this game, and I just saw a map with the central focus point being Zero G.
That just seems like a BAD idea. Zero G is rarely fun and incredibly gimmicky for a shooter game. Overwatch had the sense to make their Zero G map an entire lane, and it gets zero play.
That just seems like a BAD idea. Zero G is rarely fun and incredibly gimmicky for a shooter game. Overwatch had the sense to make their Zero G map an entire lane, and it gets zero play.
Chairmanchuck
Member
At least judging by the numbers now it seems it isnt popular at the time such games are most popular.
I mean it can grow, but who knows?
I do enjoy it, I mean it's good that the whole map ain't Zero G but it does spice up the levels and gameplay. And it also adds another mobility boost when you fire behind your back while in Zero G. Which adds to the skill ceiling imo. It also gives those more slower and boots on the ground characters an opportunity to soar.
Edit: It's really odd how much people put emphasis on the look of the characters. I guess that's the Overwatch effect and the one thing this game can be criticized about. (Well, tutorials too)
Because it's more fun, duh! =P
Plays great but the art style has no identity. I couldn't identify one character from the next, could have something to do with the distance but generally you don't know what class your teammates are and what you're up against until you're right in front of them. Also, for a class based shooter the gameplay doesn't really foster much teamplay. Turns into a K/D fest whereas games like Overwatch and Paladins are designed to force teamplay.
This is perfect.
I bought it last night and played for about 3 hours straight. I like it. Sucks it's not doing well, but never had problems finding games so if that keeps up then cool.
And I didn't really notice too many people yelling things the whole time. It's about as much as Overwatch characters say things usually, not annoying to me.
And I didn't really notice too many people yelling things the whole time. It's about as much as Overwatch characters say things usually, not annoying to me.
Gold_Loot
Member
Poor steam numbers? Sure. Talking about the game's mechanics, character personalities, differences in abilities , recognition during gameplay. ECT. Not really.
Those of us that played it can easily see who's who, and what strategies to use against certain classes
Not every game needs big gaudy character designs like Overwatch.
Yeah when he was promoting it during e3 it looked like Overwatch with much crappier character designs.
I didn't see the e3 stuff, but every video of this I've ever seen makes me think that in order for this game to look like overwatch I'd have to step into an alternate dimension, and also have never seen overwatch either.
No, Epic's Art Director was.
It's weird that this game never gets compared to Titanfall. It's probably the closest thing I've played to Lawbreakers gameplay wise. I guess no body else get's that impression. A first glance they look pretty different, but running around as Wraith immediately reminds me of Titanfall.
It's gets compared to Overwatch but I don't really see it. Maybe Overwatch is just too popular to not be compared to everything.
It's gets compared to Overwatch but I don't really see it. Maybe Overwatch is just too popular to not be compared to everything.