I guess game really bombed bad.
Because I think the beta turned people off.
The single player portion actually isn't too bad. Not great though.
The MP is quite horrible though.
I guess game really bombed bad.
And me and this guy used to butt heads a lot in the Starhawk beta thread, he really wanted this game to be great. So did I.
You see, it's partially a problem of the kind of game they do.
They do good games. Warhawk was amazing, but I didn't buy starhawk. Why? because it requires dedication. A dedication that can't be found for many games nowadays due to time constraints and the amounts of games released in a small timeframe.
Except without lots of marketing, games will be buried on the iOS store. Games on iOS don't automatically sell 3 billion and make £1,000,000 revenue per day.
Games on IOS don't require a huge investment, so they don't need 1M revenue per day. Thats why so many small teams are heading there. They can self fund them.
Yep.A studio moving away from console development to indie/iOS/social? Seems like a trend that we're probably going to see more often moving into next-gen.
I think that's Windows Phone, at present.So they moved to ios huh? That's really the bottom of the barrel, ouch.
LMAO @ "Alphabeta" I'm going to have to use that for some beta sometime in the future.
But he isn't entirely wrong: I thought there was a good game (but not really for me, kinda like Warhawk actually... *cough*) in the foundation of Starhawk, but it really REALLY needed to remove the item build limit (or fix it to where you aren't being harmed by your own team) to get off the ground. Really, when people are telling you this issue months before launch on many forums, that should've sent alarm bells ringing.
Uh didn't they just announce a $20,000 MLG tournament for this game or something?
I really wish people would stop with this "marketing can sell anything" stuff. Its just wrong on so many levels.
You shouldn't need a huge spend to sell a product. Whatever happened to word of mouth? Sales growing organically based on recommendation and buzz?
Does everything have to be created by throwing huge sums of money at a marketing budget and payola for corruptible publications?
Beyond that if you have a huge marketing spend, that's even more money to recoup from sales, and generally speaking only happens when there's massive confidence in the product to begin with.
The reality is that in 9/10 cases the fate of a product is decided based on focus groups and marketing test feedback long before it gets launched. If the sales prediction looks bleak you will most often see your marketing budget go down, not up, because its pointlessly risky to double-down on an outside bet.
And more than anything else, if you think marketing is an issue, the absolute last place you'll turn to iOS where you are at the mercy of whether Apple deigns to feature you on their storefronts, and happen to launch at a time when the big boys aren't hogging the spotlight via promotion or discount.
They need to make the money back which a lot dont. In fact i would guess the majority don't
I really wish people would stop with this "marketing can sell anything" stuff. Its just wrong on so many levels.
Seriously who thought Okaying advertising the game on this episode was worth it? (And that episode probably would've been just as bad even with a fictional game on it. I blame TV writers not doing a good job with "gamers" in general)
You're accurate in saying "marketing can sell anything" is an incorrect assumption. On the other side of the coin, a lack of marketing by the publisher makes for an staggeringly uphill battle just to get noticed.
Would Starhawk have sold better if there was more marketing muscle behind it? Almost certainly. It might not have been a true blockbuster, but could have helped carry them in a spring and summer that was almost completely devoid of other new first-party hits.
Perhaps at the completion of development, Sony's management felt (privately, not outwardly) that the quality of the game wasn't up to snuff, and figured they'd release it with little fanfare and let it die a quiet death. The problem is that they've done that with nearly every first-party game in the year 2012. Look at Twisted Metal, Sorcery, and practically the entire Vita lineup...totally inadequate marketing, whether or not the games were deserving of that fate. MLB 12: The Show and Uncharted: Golden Abyss have done decently, but almost everything else was (as the cool kids like to say) "sent to die".
What's going to happen later this year with LittleBigPlanet Karting, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sports Champions 2, and Wonderbook? Will Sony really get behind these games with a serious marketing push (not just PS.Blog for the Internet savvy...I'm talking mainstream media), or will they also be "sent to die"? I don't think any developer (particularly those who are independent) wants to have a first-party publishing deal and then feel like the the first-party company isn't supportive of their efforts. They'll feel like the rug is being yanked out from under them. That will affect the first-party's ability to attract or strike deals with other developers in the future.
I guess game really bombed bad.
Like most of Sony first party stuff.
What's going to happen later this year with LittleBigPlanet Karting, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sports Champions 2, and Wonderbook? Will Sony really get behind these games with a serious marketing push (not just PS.Blog for the Internet savvy...I'm talking mainstream media), or will they also be "sent to die"? I don't think any developer (particularly those who are independent) wants to have a first-party publishing deal and then feel like the the first-party company isn't supportive of their efforts. They'll feel like the rug is being yanked out from under them. That will affect the first-party's ability to attract or strike deals with other developers in the future.
Those 2 are going to be marketed well i feel
Yes, Wonderbook is getting a serious push here in Europe at least.
What's going on with LBP Karting anyway? Is it me, or the game is basically dead (exposure-wise) since the San Diego layoffs?
That pisses me off. What a fucking asshole that poster is. A bunch of people just lost their jobs.
Yes, Wonderbook is getting a serious push here in Europe at least.
What's going on with LBP Karting anyway? Is it me, or the game is basically dead (exposure-wise) since the San Diego layoffs?
I believe this and Twisted Metal launched around the same time (maybe a month apart). They both really didn't get a lot of commercials if I remember correctly
Ok I think its safe to say this strategy by SCEA to fund the foundation of smaller independent teams was a bust.
Eat, Sleep, Play went through the same thing. Founded by ex staffers and was financially backed by Sony. They then release one game that is poorly marketed and not really up to snuff with other big budget multiplayer games and they get out of there contract and run off to mobile.
I wont be shocked if the same happens to Superbot.
In hindsight it seems like a bad plan to work for Sony without the benfits of being a part of Sony.
They were successful way before joining Sony.I got Media Molecule, ThatGameCompany, Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog, and Quantic Dream on the line, who's success story do you want to hear first?
I got Media Molecule, ThatGameCompany, Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog, and Quantic Dream on the line, who's success story do you want to hear first?
They were successful way before joining Sony.
Naughty Dog, Sucker and Media Molecule are owned by Sony. TGC and Quantic Dream are not made up of people who left Sony then made the exact game exclusively for Sony with less support.
So, the point is they stuck with Sony and were rewarded handsomely and now have grown into two full teams making back to back games.
Coming into this gen they weren't, and that wasn't the point being made.
EDIT: I was wrong about Naughty Dog, they were acquired last gen, my bad.
Let's just admit some developers are winners and others are losers.
Nature of the beast.
Naughty Dog established their position by delivering more of the same for the better part of every console generation.
Lightbox bottomed out by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They made a game Warhawk fans didn't want, and a game Call of Duty fans only took a passing interest in - if at all.
Not saying developers shouldn't take chances, but when you're risking as much as Lightbox did out of the gate; perhaps it's best to play it safe and improve upon a proven concept?
Let's just admit some developers are winners and others are losers.
Nature of the beast.
Naughty Dog established their position by delivering more of the same for the better part of every console generation.
Lightbox bottomed out by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They made a game Warhawk fans didn't want, and a game Call of Duty fans only took a passing interest in - if at all.
Not saying developers shouldn't take chances, but when you're risking as much as Lightbox did out of the gate; perhaps it's best to play it safe and improve upon a proven concept?