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[BruiserBear]

Pretty naive if you think MS/EA aren't trying their absolute hardest to turn this game into the next Halo/CoD. They're not waiting around for the next big thing to happen, they're making it happen on their time.

My point was you can't make something the next big thing. The game unveiling got people excited at E3. My reaction to that had nothing to do with EA or Microsoft. When the press got their hands on it at events later in the year, they also liked what they played. When they offers up an open beta a month ago, and 2 million people played it, most of those people liked it a lot.

Just as it was with Modern Warfare in 2007, the game being awesome made it the next big thing. Unfortunately that doesn't fit with the narrative that some people want to spin for this game, so they use silly words like "manufactured hype" to explain it.

Every publisher thinks there new up could be the next big thing, but few become that. Ultimately the game sells itself.

 

[Panajev2001a]

It seems a certain section are already setting sales expectations ridiculously out of reach just so they can push their agenda.

You got a point, it is suspicious they have been mentioning it in every interview they had for what feels like forever...

 

[Acrylic7]

Hmm so this means that xbox, xbone and PC sales are below 1 million in total correct?

Because If the sum total was above 1 million for all 3 platform then they Microsoft would have no doubt tried to spin it and say "Millions playing Titan Fall since US release", no?

 

[Deku Tree]

Hmm so this means that xbox, xbone and PC sales are below 1 million in total correct?

Because If the sum total was above 1 million for all 3 platform then they Microsoft would have no doubt tried to spin it and say "Millions playing Titan Fall since US release", no?

360 version is not out yet IMO.

 

[Famassu]

It's a mutiplayer only game. The number of people playing online should be very close to the sales numbers IMO.

It depends on how Microsoft counts it. Do they count two different accounts and two completely different people owning those accounts who might be playing the same copy of the game on the same console as one gamer or two? Or do they just count the number of different Xbones connecting to the Titanfall servers (this would probably be the more accurate way to count sales)?

There are quite a lot of teenagers with brothers & sisters who still live in the same household playing the same games (our family had four boys who mostly played the same games 10-20 years ago), there are some couples where both have their own accounts and both might at least try Titanfall (adding to the number of "gamers playing the game"). All of these could add to not-too-minor number of gamers who have played Titanfall so far, if Microsoft counts all of them as separate gamers (though, of course not all people make separate accounts, especially if someone wants to just try it). I'm not sure how much stuff like that could affect this kind of "gamers have played this game online vs sales" metric, but I dunno, I have a feeling it's not necessarily a completely insignificant number.

 

[Opiate]

Let me give a really simple, extreme example to explain what I mean in the above post.

Imagine if the mainstream car market was constantly pushed to make faster cars. At first such needs could be accommodated with no other changes; manufacturers would find ways to make everything go a bit faster and keep prices as they are.

But eventually, this would no longer be the case. Eventually, production costs would increase enough that something would have to budge if we wanted to make the mainstream cars go any faster. Either prices need to go up, or something else would need to be sacrificed. Maybe they could make the cars out of cheaper material. Maybe they could cut back on electric and hybrid car models, which are still more expensive to produce.

Regardless, something would need to budge, because you can't expect companies to bleed money just to please you. Either top speeds would need to stop going up, or price would need to go up, or something else has to go. Now apply this same logic to the gaming industry.

 

[Acrylic7]

360 version is not out yet IMO.

Ohh. Sorry didn't know that.

 

[Wynnebeck]

Guess we hit the part of the thread where we go tear each others heads off like a Civil War era Senate.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

My point was you can't make something the next big thing. The game unveiling got people excited at E3. My reaction to that had nothing to do with EA or Microsoft. When the press got their hands on it at events later in the year, they also liked what they played. When they offers up an open beta a month ago, and 2 million people played it, most of those people liked it a lot.

Just as it was with Modern Warfare in 2007, the game being awesome made it the next big thing. Unfortunately that doesn't fit with the narrative that some people want to spin for this game, so they use silly words like "manufactured hype" to explain it.

Every publisher thinks there new up could be the next big thing, but few become that. Ultimately the game sells itself.

The problem here is there is needless hyperbole on both sides. The people who like titanfall really fucking like it and that leads them to overestimate its sales potential and significance as a release. Combine that with the EA/Microsoft Marketing machine pre-release and it does feel that the game was being shoved down our throats as something everyone is supposed to like and the game that changes everything.

On the other hand, people who don't like the game, can't play the game because of platform or people simply indifferent to the who thing, do seem to feel the need to "prove" the game isn't the greatest thing since sliced ham, even to those people who are throughly enjoying it.

the way I look at is this. Titanfall will be and is a fantastic success for a new IP. It will be the springboard of a new franchise that will have its dedicated fanbase and provide a much needed level of diversity in the FPS genre.

But I also believe it is a game that has been oversold and actively harmed by the circumstances surrounding its announcement, initial reception and release. It is a game that was never meant to have this level of pressure and scrutiny, and had it no been subject of the marketing machine that it had been, it would not of invoked the type of reactions from people thst you are seeing now. People need to see this game fail or at least be an average seller and that has been formed from the expectations drumed into their head that this is the greatest thing ever.

Once the dust settles, it ultimately doesn't matter, but there is no point in being annoyed about it all just like there is no point being annoyed that this is a successful game and people love it.

 

[LuchaShaq]

My point was you can't make something the next big thing. The game unveiling got people excited at E3. My reaction to that had nothing to do with EA or Microsoft. When the press got their hands on it at events later in the year, they also liked what they played. When they offers up an open beta a month ago, and 2 million people played it, most of those people liked it a lot.

Just as it was with Modern Warfare in 2007, the game being awesome made it the next big thing. Unfortunately that doesn't fit with the narrative that some people want to spin for this game, so they use silly words like "manufactured hype" to explain it.

Every publisher thinks there new up could be the next big thing, but few become that. Ultimately the game sells itself.

When dozens of games press members who dismiss COD/BF/Halo out of hand start circle jerking around a game that is literally 80/90% COD, it's hard not to see it as manufactured hype. Same thing when MS uses "you saw titanfall?!?!" as the response to their criticisms over the past year over and over again. Same thing when an outlet explicitly states they are knocking a score on COD because of frame rate issues, a few months later say they don't matter in titanfall.


If this game was multiplatform and called COD 2014 Mechs and Parkour edition 90% of the hype wouldn't be there.

Hyping a game as revolutionary when it could pass as an expansion pack for another series is hilarious and a perfect example of hype being manufactured.

 

[Louis Cyphre]

That's kind of changing the story now isn't it?

It was EAcrosoft's idea to turn an online-only multiplayer-only gold-only new IP shooter into THE NEXT BIG THING. This just hit my box:

A more reasonable comparison would be with previous THE NEXT BIG THINGs. It's still probably a bit too early to say there, but for now it's on pretty rocky footing.

To be fair it was also the gaming media who has been praising this title to be the next big thing. That still doesn't relinquish the fact not many new ip's sell 1 million copies on new hardware, let alone a game that requires online and a Gold subscription.

It probably will sell a million copies but a million in 3 days when there are 'only' 3-4 million X1's worldwide?, i think even EA/Microsoft won't be expecting that, not after only 3 days anyway.
It seems a certain section are already setting sales expectations ridiculously out of reach just so they can push their agenda.

Of course certain people have an agenda, all one has to do is look through their history profile of comments made in the past. It's no secret that person who put that out there hates Microsoft and has done nothing but try and dismiss Titanfall from the start.

It's embarrassing watching people spin this false narrative over and over again.

As if most companies don't want their new IP to be the next big thing. The collective of people being excited about the game are what built this game up, not EA.

It's even more embarrassing when you're making the comments you're making in a thread like this, that has basically no data of any kind within. We have no idea what this guy's comments mean, and the game just hit all territories yesterday. Could you possibly be any more a transparent hater? At least try and hide it a little better.

A lot of resentment stems from the game not being available on all platforms. Add EA and Microsoft in the mix and you will get a collection of doubters and haters. It's bad enough the publishers put these sales projections out there like Square Enix did for Tomb Raider that seems almost unreasonable. Why should consumers? This is one of the issues with AAA games, there's too much at risk which leads to a lack of new ip's.

I 100% agree with this.

Also it doesn't matter at this point how much it sells. I think it's pretty safe to say that their will be a sequel and that this series will end up being a multi game franchise.

Sales do have an impact of future titles.

Pretty naive if you think MS/EA aren't trying their absolute hardest to turn this game into the next Halo/CoD. They're not waiting around for the next big thing to happen, they're making it happen on their time.

Of course they are. Sony tried it with Killzone as well back on the PS2.

My point was you can't make something the next big thing. The game unveiling got people excited at E3. My reaction to that had nothing to do with EA or Microsoft. When the press got their hands on it at events later in the year, they also liked what they played. When they offers up an open beta a month ago, and 2 million people played it, most of those people liked it a lot.

Just as it was with Modern Warfare in 2007, the game being awesome made it the next big thing. Unfortunately that doesn't fit with the narrative that some people want to spin for this game, so they use silly words like "manufactured hype" to explain it.

Every publisher thinks there new up could be the next big thing, but few become that. Ultimately the game sells itself.

Perhaps some have gotten sick of all the attention the game has been getting. The fact is reviews have been very positive and now we will wait to see how it sells.

The problem here is there is needless hyperbole on both sides. The people who like titanfall really fucking like it and that leads them to overestimate its sales potential and significance as a release. Combine that with the EA/Microsoft Marketing machine pre-release and it does feel that the game was being shoved down our throats as something everyone is supposed to like and the game that changes everything.

On the other hand, people who don't like the game, can't play the game because of platform or people simply indifferent to the who thing, do seem to feel the need to "prove" the game isn't the greatest thing since sliced ham, even to those people who are throughly enjoying it.

the way I look at is this. Titanfall will be and is a fantastic success for a new IP. It will be the springboard of a new franchise that will have its dedicated fanbase and provide a much needed level of diversity in the FPS genre.

But I also believe it is a game that has been oversold and actively harmed by the circumstances surrounding its announcement, initial reception and release. It is a game that was never meant to have this level of pressure and scrutiny, and had it no been subject of the marketing machine that it had been, it would not of invoked the type of reactions from people thst you are seeing now. People need to see this game fail or at least be an average seller and that has been formed from the expectations drumed into their head that this is the greatest thing ever.

Once the dust settles, it ultimately doesn't matter, but there is no point in being annoyed about it all just like there is no point being annoyed that this is a successful game and people love it.

Excellent point

 

[Duxxy3]

Let me give a really simple, extreme example to explain what I mean in the above post.

Imagine if the mainstream car market was constantly pushed to make faster cars. At first such needs could be accommodated with no other changes; manufacturers would find ways to make everything go a bit faster and keep prices as they are.

But eventually, this would no longer be the case. Eventually, production costs would increase enough that something would have to budge if we wanted to make the mainstream cars go any faster. Either prices need to go up, or something else would need to be sacrificed. Maybe they could make the cars out of cheaper material. Maybe they could cut back on electric and hybrid car models, which are still more expensive to produce.

Regardless, something would need to budge, because you can't expect companies to bleed money just to please you. Either top speeds would need to stop going up, or price would need to go up, or something else has to go. Now apply this same logic to the gaming industry.

It's a free market, as far as I know there is nobody keeping publishers from releasing games at $70. Demand would plummet, but that's the way the market works.

Same idea with the car analogy. A company is free to explore any avenue they want to make a car. If they decide to ramp up speed, without degrading parts, they are looking at a small profit or raising the price. That is their decision to make, not ours. It is our decision whether or not to buy it.

 

[Dire]

It's embarrassing watching people spin this false narrative over and over again.

As if most companies don't want their new IP to be the next big thing. The collective of people being excited about the game are what built this game up, not EA.

EA was publicly talking about this game and "teasing" aspects of it as early as 2011. Think about that for just a second. The marketing for the game started to kick in way before anybody have even touched the game. Do you not remember the blurry "teasers", the mocap "teasers", and all of this? The hype started before people even knew what it was called. Oh and when it was revealed, once again before it had ever been touched, it featured this:

Visit the vast majority of gaming sites shortly following that and they were absolutely spamming Titanfall media. Put that much hype into anything and you'll get a "collective of people being excited about it." It's also insanely expensive. Obviously I'm using the term THE NEXT BIG THING somewhat derisively but it's really just a colloquialism for games with enormous marketing budgets. Point being that has to be considered when you discuss the success or failure of a title. When you turn something into TNBT it vastly ups the bar for success. In the case of Titanfall I think it was incredibly risky to try to turn it into a TNBT since, as mentioned, it's a title of the sort that has not historically fared particularly well at all on consoles. But comparing it to those titles is not particularly fair since none of those were turned into TNBTs.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

That PR speak definitely seems like sales are much lower than they would have hoped.

I am playing it on PC and enjoying it far more than I thought I would but it doesn't feel like a revolutionary product like COD4 did. No matter how hard MS try's to convince us this game is the greatest thing ever doesn't matter if the gaming community doesn't decide that for itself

 

[Opiate]

It's a free market, as far as I know there is nobody keeping publishers from releasing games at $70. Demand would plummet, but that's the way the market works.

Exactly: something has to give. Either the price goes up, or something in the budget is sacrificed. You can't have everything all at once.

Same idea with the car analogy. A company is free to explore any avenue they want to make a car. If they decide to ramp up speed, without degrading parts, they are looking at a small profit or raising the price. That is their decision to make, not ours. It is our decision whether or not to buy it.

Exactly. You can't expect a car company to do everything at once, and neither can video game enthusiasts. Something has to give. Titanfall is one example of one possible sacrifice. It seems like you agree with me, but it's phrased in a strange way that suggests you don't.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

That PR speak definitely seems like sales are much lower than they would have hoped.

I am playing it on PC and enjoying it far more than I thought I would but it doesn't feel like a revolutionary product like MW2 does. No matter how hard MS try's to convince us this game is the greatest thing ever doesn't matter if the gaming community doesn't decide that for itself

I turned it off after a couple of hours, I got bored. If that's what Microsoft see as the real jump to next gen then I can't say I'm excited. I feel it's a good game but it doesn't justify the purchase of the box imo.

"Have you seen TitanFall ?"

Yeah, played it, it's alright

 

[Bornstellar]

When dozens of games press members who dismiss COD/BF/Halo out of hand start circle jerking around a game that is literally 80/90% COD, it's hard not to see it as manufactured hype. Same thing when MS uses "you saw titanfall?!?!" as the response to their criticisms over the past year over and over again. Same thing when an outlet explicitly states they are knocking a score on COD because of frame rate issues, a few months later say they don't matter in titanfall.


If this game was multiplatform and called COD 2014 Mechs and Parkour edition 90% of the hype wouldn't be there.

Hyping a game as revolutionary when it could pass as an expansion pack for another series is hilarious and a perfect example of hype being manufactured.

I hate these arguments because they clearly come from people who haven't actually played the damn thing.

 

[BruiserBear]

The problem here is there is needless hyperbole on both sides. The people who like titanfall really fucking like it and that leads them to overestimate its sales potential and significance as a release. Combine that with the EA/Microsoft Marketing machine pre-release and it does feel that the game was being shoved down our throats as something everyone is supposed to like and the game that changes everything.

On the other hand, people who don't like the game, can't play the game because of platform or people simply indifferent to the who thing, do seem to feel the need to "prove" the game isn't the greatest thing since sliced ham, even to those people who are throughly enjoying it.

the way I look at is this. Titanfall will be and is a fantastic success for a new IP. It will be the springboard of a new franchise that will have its dedicated fanbase and provide a much needed level of diversity in the FPS genre.

But I also believe it is a game that has been oversold and actively harmed by the circumstances surrounding its announcement, initial reception and release. It is a game that was never meant to have this level of pressure and scrutiny, and had it no been subject of the marketing machine that it had been, it would not of invoked the type of reactions from people thst you are seeing now. People need to see this game fail or at least be an average seller and that has been formed from the expectations drumed into their head that this is the greatest thing ever.

Once the dust settles, it ultimately doesn't matter, but there is no point in being annoyed about it all just like there is no point being annoyed that this is a successful game and people love it.

It's annoying seeing people be completely irrational. The conspiracy theories for this game are absurd. If I'm being completely honest you can boil all of this stupidity into one sentence. The game isn't available for the PS4.

When dozens of games press members who dismiss COD/BF/Halo out of hand start circle jerking around a game that is literally 80/90% COD, it's hard not to see it as manufactured hype. Same thing when MS uses "you saw titanfall?!?!" as the response to their criticisms over the past year over and over again. Same thing when an outlet explicitly states they are knocking a score on COD because of frame rate issues, a few months later say they don't matter in titanfall.


If this game was multiplatform and called COD 2014 Mechs and Parkour edition 90% of the hype wouldn't be there.

Hyping a game as revolutionary when it could pass as an expansion pack for another series is hilarious and a perfect example of hype being manufactured.

Still upset about that Polygon score for Ghosts on the PS4. Sigh.

Revolutionary, blah, blah, blah. I just can't play this game with people anymore. If I say what I really want to I'll get banned.

EA was publicly talking about this game and "teasing" aspects of it as early as 2011. Think about that for just a second. The marketing for the game started to kick in way before anybody have even touched the game. Do you not remember the blurry "teasers", the mocap "teasers", and all of this? The hype started before people even knew what it was called. Oh and when it was revealed, once again before it had ever been touched, it featured this:

Visit the vast majority of gaming sites shortly following that and they were absolutely spamming Titanfall media. Put that much hype into anything and you'll get a "collective of people being excited about it." It's also insanely expensive. Obviously I'm using the term THE NEXT BIG THING somewhat derisively but it's really just a colloquialism for games with enormous marketing budgets. Point being that has to be considered when you discuss the success or failure of a title. When you turn something into TNBT it vastly ups the bar for success. In the case of Titanfall I think it was incredibly risky to try to turn it into a TNBT since, as mentioned, it's a title of the sort that has not historically fared particularly well at all on consoles. But comparing it to those titles is not particularly fair since none of those were turned into TNBTs.

Respawn released those first teaser screenshots of the game. You know, because they wanted to get people excited for their new game. Such a weird thing to do!

 

[MyLifeIsALie]

When dozens of games press members who dismiss COD/BF/Halo out of hand start circle jerking around a game that is literally 80/90% COD, it's hard not to see it as manufactured hype. Same thing when MS uses "you saw titanfall?!?!" as the response to their criticisms over the past year over and over again. Same thing when an outlet explicitly states they are knocking a score on COD because of frame rate issues, a few months later say they don't matter in titanfall.


If this game was multiplatform and called COD 2014 Mechs and Parkour edition 90% of the hype wouldn't be there.

Hyping a game as revolutionary when it could pass as an expansion pack for another series is hilarious and a perfect example of hype being manufactured.

I agree completely, and i have played the game. Anyone who says different is delusional.

 

[Dire]

It's bad enough the publishers put these sales projections out there like Square Enix did for Tomb Raider that seems almost unreasonable. Why should consumers? This is one of the issues with AAA games, there's too much at risk which leads to a lack of new ip's.

The discussion was in success vs failure. Raw numbers mean nothing since it requires context of what was put into marketing and development to get those numbers. Gone Home sold less than 300,000 copies yet it was undoubtedly a hit. If Titanfall ends up selling 900k units, it would equally obviously be an unprecedented disaster in spite of 300% more raw sales vs a game I'm calling a hit. Of course I completely agree with your last sentence though.

 

[Scully Scully Scoo]

titanfall will sell well, it has to given the marketing, but it will not be the lord and saviour ms are predicting it to be. the main aim of keeping titanfall off sony consoles was to push x1, we will see next month how many consoles it pushed. i think ms sells around 500-550k next month npd and during its lifetime x1 verison should sell around 3m

 

[bigboss370]

Exactly: something has to give. Either the price goes up, or something in the budget is sacrificed. You can't have everything all at once.


Exactly. You can't expect a car company to do everything at once, and neither can video game enthusiasts. Something has to give. Titanfall is one example of one possible sacrifice. It seems like you agree with me, but it's phrased in a strange way that suggests you don't.

there are plenty of games that do give everything at once though, and still profit. Its not out of the realm of possibility to create a polished high production game with a modest budget. Heck I bet marketing alone cost multiple times the budget of the titanfall game itself. I don't think budget was a factor per se in not having a campaign, i think it was time limit and dev size.

 

[Nydius]

When dozens of games press members who dismiss COD/BF/Halo out of hand start circle jerking around a game that is literally 80/90% COD, it's hard not to see it as manufactured hype. Same thing when MS uses "you saw titanfall?!?!" as the response to their criticisms over the past year over and over again. Same thing when an outlet explicitly states they are knocking a score on COD because of frame rate issues, a few months later say they don't matter in titanfall.


If this game was multiplatform and called COD 2014 Mechs and Parkour edition 90% of the hype wouldn't be there.

Hyping a game as revolutionary when it could pass as an expansion pack for another series is hilarious and a perfect example of hype being manufactured.

I don't doubt that the hype was manufactured, which is the case not only in the gaming industry but also the movie industry, the TV industry and, to a lesser extent, the automobile industry. However, dismissing the game as "COD 2014 Mechs and Parkour Edition" does a great disservice to your point and makes you look jaded.

Are there similarities to COD? Of course. But I could also argue that there are the same amount of similarities between Titanfall and Unreal Tournament or Titanfall and Battlefield 2142.

No, it's not terribly innovative and I'll be the first to admit that. It's fun but it wasn't worth all the hype it got; I'll admit that too. However, the game IS something fresh in a genre that's been dominated by Battlefield and COD for far too long.

In a way, Titanfall reminds me of Bulletstorm, which was a game that got a lot of hype simply due to the creative director (CliffyB) and the people behind it (People Can Fly/Epic Games). In the end the game was very enjoyable, it was a fun diversion from the other formulaic FPS titles on the market but it always had a cloud over it thanks to the hype machine.

 

[JayEH]

I have a feeling this game didn't sell as well as EA was hoping. It's been 4 days and we haven't got a bragging press release yet.

I know the game wouldn't have sold CoD numbers. But if the game sold like a million first day you think they would say something.

 

[LuchaShaq]

I hate these arguments because they clearly come from people who haven't actually played the damn thing.

Considering some reviewers agreed with that almost word for word means you're just being silly.

 

[Opiate]

there are plenty of games that do give everything at once though, and still profit. Its not out of the realm of possibility to create a polished high production game with a modest budget. Heck I bet marketing alone cost multiple times the budget of the titanfall game itself. I don't think budget was a factor per se in not having a campaign, i think it was time limit and dev size.

No, this isn't the case. If it were, we'd be seeing considerable aggregate profits. Consider Sony, as an example: they've lost billions of dollars over the last generation, and barely eeked out ~1%-2% profit margins in the game segment during the PS3's "fat" years. They've been a disaster, even though you claimed them as an example of "success."

There are examples of single, specific games doing well, but that will be the case in any market save those in complete and abject collapse. To show a viable market, you need to show aggregate profits.

 

[Amir0x]

Considering some reviewers agreed with that almost word for word means you're just being silly.

There are clear similarities to Call of Duty, and it takes a lot of the same problems from modern competitive FPS and amplifies them (perks, ironsights, challenges, etc), but in action it hardly plays like CoD at all in the pure gameplay sense. Most of the time you're hopping all over the goddamn place, learning the best route to farm the bots, and calling your Titan down to follow you around. The flow of the game feels fundamentally different because of the mechanics. Sadly, the other problems still exist, so I continue my search for a modern competitive FPS that is pure skill vs. pure skill ala RTCW, but it gets less likely I'll find such a thing ever again year after year

 

[besada]

Considering some reviewers agreed with that almost word for word means you're just being silly.

Could you point me to these reviewers, because I read quite a few reviews and didn't see anything about the game being an expansion pack. I have, on the other hand, seen you in many Titanfall threads expressing strong opinions about a game you've apparently never played.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Why is it crazy? If MS and EA hyped the game to the heavens for Xbone with over 3 million consoles in the wild, why is it not possible to sell a million?

I think you might not understand how this works.

 

[Sola Scriptura]

Mark me down in the camp that thinks if this was a hot seller, EA/MS would have announced numbers by now. That being the case, mark me down with a prediction of less than 500k in the first two weeks.

 

[LuchaShaq]

Could you point me to these reviewers, because I read quite a few reviews and didn't see anything about the game being an expansion pack. I have, on the other hand, seen you in many Titanfall threads expressing strong opinions about a game you've apparently never played.

Assumed he meant the COD comment not the expansion comment, and I have played it quite a bit, besides the frame rate/tearing ruining one mode it's solid.

 

[Dragonborn]

I don't doubt that the hype was manufactured, which is the case not only in the gaming industry but also the movie industry, the TV industry and, to a lesser extent, the automobile industry. However, dismissing the game as "COD 2014 Mechs and Parkour Edition" does a great disservice to your point and makes you look jaded.

Are there similarities to COD? Of course. But I could also argue that there are the same amount of similarities between Titanfall and Unreal Tournament or Titanfall and Battlefield 2142.

No, it's not terribly innovative and I'll be the first to admit that. It's fun but it wasn't worth all the hype it got; I'll admit that too. However, the game IS something fresh in a genre that's been dominated by Battlefield and COD for far too long.

In a way, Titanfall reminds me of Bulletstorm, which was a game that got a lot of hype simply due to the creative director (CliffyB) and the people behind it (People Can Fly/Epic Games). In the end the game was very enjoyable, it was a fun diversion from the other formulaic FPS titles on the market but it always had a cloud over it thanks to the hype machine.

But see that's the thing. The gunplay in Titanfall feels exactly like CoD. Like seriously, it's straight up copy/pasted.

The only difference is the parkour and mechs but it really does feel like CoD with Mech and Parkour. It adds to the game, but the fact that it's also MP only and barebones takes away from it (Compare that to CoD where you get a good amount of maps, a lot of different modes, an SP campaign, and a third horde style mode).

I think that's the issue people have with this game and I also think that after all the insane, blind hype, it was pretty disappointing that this just turned out to be another shooter. A good one, yes, but nothing revolutionary or mind blowing.

 

[NullPointer]

There are clear similarities to Call of Duty, and it takes a lot of the same problems from modern competitive FPS and amplifies them (perks, ironsights, challenges, etc), but in action it hardly plays like CoD at all in the pure gameplay sense. Most of the time you're hopping all over the goddamn place, learning the best route to farm the bots, and calling your Titan down to follow you around.

Watching a buddy of mine play this the other day was sad. He was playing it like it was COD, without deviation. No parkour, no jumpjets, no rooftop to rooftop action. I'm sure there are plenty of people playing it in the very same way, looking for the usual chokepoints.

And I can only hope the rooftop jump-jet parkour masters are teaching them harsh lessons in the value of vertical mobility. I know I would ;p

 

[lentini]

I have a feeling this game didn't sell as well as EA was hoping. It's been 4 days and we haven't got a bragging press release yet.

I know the game wouldn't have sold CoD numbers. But if the game sold like a million first day you think they would say something.

The game only came out in the UK yesterday. It had the usual staggered worldwide release unlike CoD that's released on the same day.

 

[Sola Scriptura]

But see that's the thing. The gunplay in Titanfall feels exactly like CoD. Like seriously, it's straight up copy/pasted.

The only difference is the parkour and mechs but it really does feel like CoD with Mech and Parkour. It adds to the game, but the fact that it's also MP only and barebones takes away from it (Compare that to CoD where you get a good amount of maps, a lot of different modes, an SP campaign, and a third horde style mode).

I think that's the issue people have with this game and I also think that after all the insane, blind hype, it was pretty disappointing that this just turned out to be another shooter. A good one, yes, but nothing revolutionary or mind blowing.

What I don't understand is why people went into it thinking it would be something other than just another shooter. Hype, yes, I get that. But even in previews, impressions, etc., it became readily apparent that Titanfall wasn't going to be a mindblowing, revolutionary "game changer." Then the beta confirmed that.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

There are clear similarities to Call of Duty, and it takes a lot of the same problems from modern competitive FPS and amplifies them (perks, ironsights, challenges, etc), but in action it hardly plays like CoD at all in the pure gameplay sense. Most of the time you're hopping all over the goddamn place, learning the best route to farm the bots, and calling your Titan down to follow you around. The flow of the game feels fundamentally different because of the mechanics. Sadly, the other problems still exist, so I continue my search for a modern competitive FPS that is pure skill vs. pure skill ala RTCW, but it gets less likely I'll find such a thing ever again year after year

Those days are long gone my friend. If you are good at COD once you get the learning curve down a lot of those skills translate to Titanfall. I'm already placing top of the list and my K/D is already 2/1. Funny enough BF4 has been the biggest learning curve shooter for me in a while and the gameplay is diverse enough that I think it's the shooter I'll be still coming back to.

I do wish so bad for a game in the vein of RTCW

 

[LuchaShaq]

But see that's the thing. The gunplay in Titanfall feels exactly like CoD. Like seriously, it's straight up copy/pasted.

The only difference is the parkour and mechs but it really does feel like CoD with Mech and Parkour. It adds to the game, but the fact that it's also MP only and barebones takes away from it (Compare that to CoD where you get a good amount of maps, a lot of different modes, an SP campaign, and a third horde style mode).

I think that's the issue people have with this game and I also think that after all the insane, blind hype, it was pretty disappointing that this just turned out to be another shooter. A good one, yes, but nothing revolutionary or mind blowing.

That is what is hilarious when people throw a fit about the comparison. Calling it COD + Mechs/parkour is a gigantic compliment considering COD gun mechanics are the best in gaming. Look at medal of honor it tried incredibly hard to emulate the COD style gunplay and failed miserably. Say whatever you want about COD AI/yearly release cycle/poor IQ, the actual shooting was unmatched until titanfall. That alone makes up for alot. It's why I would be incredibly interested in a titanfall sequel that was cleaned up technically and had more content (15ish hours to levelcap is what I've heard from friends.)

 

[bigboss370]

No, this isn't the case. If it were, we'd be seeing considerable aggregate profits. Consider Sony, as an example: they've lost billions of dollars over the last generation, and barely eeked out ~1%-2% profit margins in the game segment during the PS3's "fat" years. They've been a disaster, even though you claimed them as an example of "success."

There are examples of single, specific games doing well, but that will be the case in any market save those in complete and abject collapse. To show a viable market, you need to show aggregate profits.

thats not necessarily true though. I didn't pose sony as a whole as an an example, because that would take into account their hardware side of the business. But they have a solid business model when it comes to their first party games. and as for the market being viable, we are seeing aggregate profits overall are we not?

That is what is hilarious when people throw a fit about the comparison. Calling it COD + Mechs/parkour is a gigantic compliment considering COD gun mechanics are the best in gaming. Look at medal of honor it tried incredibly hard to emulate the COD style gunplay and failed miserably. Say whatever you want about COD AI/yearly release cycle/poor IQ, the actual shooting was unmatched until titanfall. That alone makes up for alot.

 

[Wynnebeck]

I think you might not understand how this works.

Oh I understand how it works, but the general sentiment behind that comment still stands. EA and MS hyped the game to the stratosphere. They have kept quiet after the launch, not even giving a tease. Obviously for a new IP on a new platform 5 months after launch, it's going to be quite impossible to sell such numbers, but the fact remains that the silence from both companies is deafening.

 

[border]

No, I think it's appropriate to debunk your wildly revisionist notion that this is the first time that this kind of thing has been tried and your other so far lame rationales for why what Respawn is doing is somehow forging new territory

You are debunking things that I never said, mercilessly beating up a tired and whithered strawman. The word "finally" is really not meant to imply that Respawn is the first company ever to make a multiplayer-only shooter. It's meant to imply that Titanfall is an overdue response to the now-longstanding contention that AAA shooters are needlessly bloated and poorly budgeted relative to what they provide their players. I never said they were forging new territory.

20% is hardly an amount to scoff at when you're selling millions or aiming to sell millions. If you're targeting a 5-6 million seller, that's a million or more of those sales that could be adversely affected.

It gets worse if you drill down through the Trophies. Over half of players didn't finish the third mission.....nearly two-thirds of players did not finish the fourth mission. The majority of players didn't even bother to get halfway through the game.

I don't think one can argue that there's some huge completely offline population for Battlefield 4 that is under-represented by statistics. The game's huge multiplayer focus and the fact users had to log in to download patches for its completely broken release means that nearly everyone has to go online and report their trophies.

Even if there's some fraction of the population that cared enough to actually finish singleplayer, how many of those people would outright refuse to buy the game without the campaign? And are those people who see that as a dealbreaker really enough to justify the budget of an entire singleplayer mode?

 

[5amshift]

You've got some weird expectations if "hundreds of thousands" after a few days in a single country is disappointing. Titanfall isn't an established phenomenon like GTA or CoD.

Uhh and after how it was marketed? I expected way more as well.

 

[TomShoe]

Could you point me to these reviewers, because I read quite a few reviews and didn't see anything about the game being an expansion pack. I have, on the other hand, seen you in many Titanfall threads expressing strong opinions about a game you've apparently never played.

Anyone else want to play devil's advocate? No? Fine, I'll give it a shot. Not quite word for word, but close enough to spark some debate.

An evolution of the core Call of Duty concepts rather than a revolution for multiplayer shooters as a whole, Titanfall feels, in a way, like a hyper-budgeted mod that will only truly see its aims realised in the inevitable sequel.

Watching a buddy of mine play this the other day was sad. He was playing it like it was COD, without deviation. No parkour, no jumpjets, no rooftop to rooftop action. I'm sure there are plenty of people playing it in the very same way, looking for the usual chokepoints.

And I can only hope the rooftop jump-jet parkour masters are teaching them harsh lessons in the value of vertical mobility. I know I would ;p

Teaching gamers to be creative is difficult.

"Why try and find new solutions when you can stick to the meta? The meta never failed before." It's a shame, but hopefully they'll get the message after getting killed by the guy on the roof for the thousandth time.

EDIT:

It's really unfortunate that this game has to bear the weight of being some "flagship" title for a controversial console. It doesn't deserve that. It deserves to be played and loved.

Amen to that. It's a shame that this game is being judged solely on it's ability to sell XBOs and draw in the CoD crowd, rather than on its own merits. That's what always happens with the start of a console generation though. Hopefully this kind of trend will fade as each system gets more games.

 

[Shake Appeal]

It's really unfortunate that this game has to bear the weight of being some "flagship" title for a controversial console. It doesn't deserve that. It deserves to be played and loved.

 

[QaaQer]

Sadly for Microsoft the PC version is much better but at least the Xbone owners get to play it,unlike PS4 owners,which is a shame.

It can be argued that x1 is the best place. There will (probably) be fewer hacks and everyone will be playing with the same control scheme. So I think it is the best place to play.

Now that may change if the x1 online pop falls off a cliff, and the 360 pop stays viable.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

It's annoying seeing people be completely irrational. The conspiracy theories for this game are absurd. If I'm being completely honest you can boil all of this stupidity into one sentence. The game isn't available for the PS4.

That is incredibly reductive to the point where you miss a chunk of the issues with the game. If you think people wouldn't have issues with this game if it was multiplatform, you are being incredibly naive.

Yes, its exclusivity has whipped some into a frenzy but compare the reaction to Ryse KI and forza. None of those games were stuffed down our throats as the next big evoultion for their genre. Granted they did get some negatively that are based on its exclusivity, but nothing like this.

The best comparison comes from the Last of us. How many people went out of their way to state how much they hated the game and how much it sucked? Its easily comparable to titanfall. I think its exclusivity to the PS3 was a very small part of it and the reactions were more due to the hyperbole around the game as the "Greatest game of all time"

"The future of Gaming narrative' "The standard that all games should aspire too" and all such nonsense. Like Titanfall those reactions are based on the fact that TLOU is an excellent game. But you are being beat over the head about great a game is and you are heathen for either not playing or liking it, then yes, there will be blowback.

 

[HunterOfBananas]

Because these games came during a time where Activision smashed those records year after year. What's the point of announcing something on day one when the latest Call of Duty just crushed your record before you even put out PR? Besides, this being a new generation and MS having a chance to tout a record for an exclusive and they aren't taking it? Yeah, I'm not buying them waiting.

Halo 3 is another such example.

Who were they waiting for then? They were the CoD of gaming back then.

 

[A_Gorilla]

It's really unfortunate that this game has to bear the weight of being some "flagship" title for a controversial console. It doesn't deserve that. It deserves to be played and loved.

You can thank MS marketing for that.

 

[li bur]

Wait...

Now we also got "Titanfall / Respawn is doomed" notion?

 

[BoboBrazil]

Those days are long gone my friend. If you are good at COD once you get the learning curve down a lot of those skills translate to Titanfall. I'm already placing top of the list and my K/D is already 2/1. Funny enough BF4 has been the biggest learning curve shooter for me in a while and the gameplay is diverse enough that I think it's the shooter I'll be still coming back to.

I do wish so bad for a game in the vein of RTCW

After playing both Battlefield 4 and Titanfall, I have to agree that BF4 is the better game. I love the huge amounts of players, all the different gameplay modes and vehicles, and the great graphics and maps. It had some issues on release, but the core game is still great. I was bored with Titanfall after a couple of hours of the beta on PC, while I kept going back to BF4.

 

[Terbinator]

You can thank MS marketing for that.

Why? People would still hate it anyway as it isn't on PS4.