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Two things killed Ridge Racer 6 sales

rastex said:
Well here's the thing, EVERYBODY who has played the game for more than 1 hour absolutely loves it and sings the game's praises. The game was almost universally panned by reviewers. Conclusion: Reviewers didn't play the game for more than an hour.

You know, with Xbox Live and the achievements and everything, reviewers should be putting their gamercards along side their review so that everybody reading the review can see just how far they got into the game.

As much as I hate to do this.....IAWTP
 
You know, with Xbox Live and the achievements and everything, reviewers should be putting their gamercards along side their review so that everybody reading the review can see just how far they got into the game.
That would be awesome :lol

Mandate this MS!
 
Um...yeah no.

Correct answer:

1.- It's a playstation franchise.
2.- It was never that poplular in the states to begin with.
 
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I will be flamed for this opinion, but I honesty think it is the truth. It does not have any appeal except to hardcore gamers who loved the previous titles.

It has no real cars, no real locations, and it's a very old brand, with it's last sequel coming what, 5 years ago? The average person does not give a shit about this game, and even a lot of hardcore gamers do not either.
 
rastex said:
Well here's the thing, EVERYBODY who has played the game for more than 1 hour absolutely loves it and sings the game's praises. The game was almost universally panned by reviewers. Conclusion: Reviewers didn't play the game for more than an hour.

You know, with Xbox Live and the achievements and everything, reviewers should be putting their gamercards along side their review so that everybody reading the review can see just how far they got into the game.

Best post in the thread!! I totally agree with this. I'm not saying that people have to like the game, but one look at my Gamercard and Acheivements will tell you that I've put a little time into this game. The game may not be some peoples cup of tea, but I'm really curious how far did they progress before writing it off.

In all due fairness, PGR3 is a juggernaut in temrs of advertising. And really how many racing games do you need. NFS:MW has been getting good reviews as well. I heard about RR6 from word of mouth from friends and in the forums here. Namco really should release an online demo in OXM and XBL Marketplace. Throw in a couple of tracks with some Class 3 cars, and I think people would get a better impression of the game. With games being $59.99 a pop this gen...people want to be real sure that they are going to enjoy the game.
 
Kewk said:
1. Faggot US reviewers
2. Someone (namco?) not making the smart move and putting the game in with bundles

The only thing RR6 lacks is live support in comparison to PGR3. PGR3 is a great game but RR6 is an extremely fun game. PGR3 has the best live support I have seen yet but that is no reason for RR6 to not even make the top 10 in sales in the US. Can't wait to see RR6 as the #1 Jap launch title.

Please don't come back.
 
i dont think the problem is not that the reviewers didnt play it long enough its that the reviewers played it for too long and realized the lack of track Variety really cheapened the game. :p
 
the only reason rr6 didnt sell is because of namco themselves.

they could have advertised the game... but they didnt.

...

they expect 500K in sales? i hope thats a long term 7 year goal.

or the numbers for the ps3 version... cause it's not happening with the 360.
 
The 500k thing is Namco's way of weasling out of making any future X360 games.

"Oops! Didn't meet out expectations! No more support!"

Now if the same thing happens on the PS3 version:

"It didn't meet our expectations, but it's not like it would've done any better on the X360. We'll try again."
 
I haven't seen anyone else mention this possibility...

Ridge Racer fans plunked down $250 for a PSP and it's Ridge Racer title earlier in the year and weren't in any kind of a hurry to buy another system for $400 just to play the next game in the series.

As for the concept that Xbox owners didn't buy it because it was Japanese, most of your casual game players have no clue where this game is from(it's a driving game, not some quirky Katamari-esque title). In the months before we knew what the launch titles were going to be, quite a few people expressed concerns over there being too many driving titles(PGR 3,NFS,Ridge Racer 6, Test Drive, Full Auto)and that sales could get cannibalized.

On the new OXM, they have a Ridge Racer 6 video which consists mostly of a rendered girl walking around(hardly the best way to promote it). Namco really needs a playable demo to boost interest.
 
The sales for this game will pick up.

Most people that want an Xbox360 right now can't even get one.

Plus the fact that January-March is looking to be a dry spell so most people that have had a 360 for a while will probably be buying stuff on their B-List.
 
They should pop a demo up on the marketplace, given the chance to try the game I'm sure more people would come around.
 
1. PGR3 is $10 cheaper.
2. Takes more than plain vanilla racing to woo the American gaming public these days.

Seriously. If it doesn't have XTREME crashes, hugely in-depth career modes, visual and performance mods, super detailed realworld locales, or other such hooks, just driving a car around a track really fast doesn't spark the interest of the average consumer anymore. The quality of RR6 isn't in question, it's the perception of what it is when someone sees it on the store shelf next to PGR3 and NFS:MW.
 
Uh...has everyone forgotten that 95%+ of the RR fanbase are the hardcore Playstation supporters?

And then releasing it as a launch game on the XB 360 where it has to fight for a total new audience and not to mention it's lack of mass appeal as the gameplay has barely changed since the first game on PS1 should obviously explain the extremely low sales.

Heck RR in general is a dead series even on Playstation consoles. It might have performed well on the PSP as it was basically the only good racer available and managed to show off the capabilities of the PSP well.
 
rastex said:
Well here's the thing, EVERYBODY who has played the game for more than 1 hour absolutely loves it and sings the game's praises. The game was almost universally panned by reviewers. Conclusion: Reviewers didn't play the game for more than an hour.

i almost finished the game before i reviewed it and 40 hours of the same 7 tracks over and over again is not what i woudl consdiering "exciting"

the game is good for sure

but it is ridghe racer through and through. there is nothing that makes this ridge racer stand out from any of the other ridge racers.. if u like rigde racer you will like it,, if you dont you wont its as simple as that.. the game is good but it isnt great and theres not much you can can do besides race, and the car selection boils down to just top speed and drift abilities until you get to the secret bonus cars. there is just not anywhere near as much variance in teh cars as nfsmw and pgr3 and that im sure did not strike a chord with americans. unlike japanese gamers who distinguish themselves based on skill, american gamers like to distinguish themselves based on looks and more readily identifyable aspects (color, brand of car etc). WE all know the majority of gamers here in teh US are all about show and flash (and dont get me wrong i am not saying one is better than the other its jsut different) and ridge racer is more about being good at ridge racer than making a car and or racer your own with show and flash

this was evidenced by the jap and us rr6 sales #s - polar opposites, worst in US, best in JP

justd my 0.02
 
crunker99 said:
i almost finished the game before i reviewed it and 40 hours of the same 7 tracks over and over again is not what i woudl consdiering "exciting"

the game is good for sure

but it is ridghe racer through and through. there is nothing that makes this ridge racer stand out from any of the other ridge racers.. if u like rigde racer you will like it,, if you dont you wont its as simple as that.. the game is good but it isnt great and theres not much you can can do besides race, and the car selection boils down to just top speed and drift abilities until you get to the secret bonus cars. there is just not anywhere near as much variance in teh cars as nfsmw and pgr3 and that im sure did not strike a chord with americans. unlike japanese gamers who distinguish themselves based on skill, american gamers like to distinguish themselves based on looks and more readily identifyable aspects (color, brand of car etc). WE all know the majority of gamers here in teh US are all about show and flash (and dont get me wrong i am not saying one is better than the other its jsut different) and ridge racer is more about being good at ridge racer than making a car and or racer your own with show and flash

this was evidenced by the jap and us rr6 sales #s

justd my 0.02

I'd agree with the notion that rating the game a 7 would be fair.

I love the game, but the game could have looked better, played more like RRV, featured more tracks, etc. It could have had the customization features of RRV, and that would have went well with online play.

But as far as fun factor goes, it's an 11 out of 10 for those who dig RR, and a 5/10 who don't.

Again, if Namco was smart enough to release a Marketplace demo, more people would be able to give it a shot. The current 30fps movies on there make the game look bland.
 
The Faceless Master said:
what about the complete lack of advertisement and the backlash from the mention of having pay download content available at launch?

or maybe they just wanted it to fail like the conspiracy theorists say...

IAWTP
 
I own a X360.
I love Japanese titles.
I loved RR games on PSOne, including Rage Racer and to a lesser extent, RR4.
I'm a graphics whore that would appreciate a 60fps X360 game.
I love driving games.

So why didn't I buy RR6 for my X360? I think it was playing the RR for PSP that did it. I don't even own a PSP, but I played the PSP RR for a good bit on my buddy's. The handling of "cars" in that game just made no goddamned sense! NONE! It was like pointing the steering in whatever direction during a skid was not really consequential. It skidded in a certain predetermined jacked up way that nothing that ever rolled on tires could, once it was full on.

RR had gone way beyond arcadey and full on into the dreaded Burnout's "rocket hovercrafts disguised as cars" territory. If that's the case, I'd rather play Wipeout, or F-Zero, ya know?

To make it worse, I'd read that the handling of "cars" in RR6 was even more arcadey than on RR PSP. I was like "WTF....".

If there was a RR demo available free on XBL marketplace, I'd gladly try it out and see if my fears are unfounded. But I sure as hell won't blow $60 to do it.
 
drohne said:
i dunno -- i think xbots are deliberately killing franchises i love. panzer, jsr, and now ridge. :x

I still think Panzer and JSR sold pretty good for being released near launch. Most Sega games sold less.
 
Sholmes said:
The 500k thing is Namco's way of weasling out of making any future X360 games.

"Oops! Didn't meet out expectations! No more support!"

Now if the same thing happens on the PS3 version:

"It didn't meet our expectations, but it's not like it would've done any better on the X360. We'll try again."


:lol so true
 
Shogmaster said:
I own a X360.
I love Japanese titles.
I loved RR games on PSOne, including Rage Racer and to a lesser extent, RR4.
I'm a graphics whore that would appreciate a 60fps X360 game.
I love driving games.

So why didn't I buy RR6 for my X360? I think it was playing the RR for PSP that did it. I don't even own a PSP, but I played the PSP RR for a good bit on my buddy's. The handling of "cars" in that game just made no goddamned sense! NONE! It was like pointing the steering in whatever direction during a skid was not really consequential. It skidded in a certain predetermined jacked up way that nothing that ever rolled on tires could, once it was full on.

RR had gone way beyond arcadey and full on into the dreaded Burnout's "rocket hovercrafts disguised as cars" territory. If that's the case, I'd rather play Wipeout, or F-Zero, ya know?

To make it worse, I'd read that the handling of "cars" in RR6 was even more arcadey than on RR PSP. I was like "WTF....".

If there was a RR demo available free on XBL marketplace, I'd gladly try it out and see if my fears are unfounded. But I sure as hell won't blow $60 to do it.

I haven't played it much (about an hour), but the whole thing feels like the PSP version. And I spent a lot of time on the PSP version. This just doesn't feel like a next gen game. It feels like a hires PSP game. Yes, its all about the gameplay - but I have that in my hand. I need something else to keep me playing.

For now its on the shelf waiting for me to complete PGR3.

FWIW, PGR3 is a lazy update, with bad balancing (silver is way easier than last time), too short, too few tracks with little variety in courses.

And I love it.

It adds gorgeous grahpics of course, but it also adds that 'x' factor. The incar view generates a sense of being there I've never experienced in a racing game before. The viewpoint, the slight detachement of the camera, the windshield.
 
1)No
DFP%203.jpg





2)No
DFP%203.jpg



I need you
I need you
I need you
I need you

I'm asking my friend I need you again
Can you do something for me
Time it just passed and we had some laughs
Maybe it's just about greed

You'll always need me much more
Than I need you
You'll always need me much more
I need you

I'll ask you again but I don't think you've changed
You never did nothing for me
I wonder sometimes if you're looking down
On everything that you see

With all of your gold stories all told
Some things just aren't meant to be
You live in the past shadows don't last
This time it's all about me

You'll always need me much more
Than I need you
You'll always need me much more
I need you




GeoNeo said:
Maybe the Ridge Racer fans are waiting for the PS3 Ridge Racer game. ;)


:)
 
Shogmaster said:
So why didn't I buy RR6 for my X360? I think it was playing the RR for PSP that did it. I don't even own a PSP, but I played the PSP RR for a good bit on my buddy's. The handling of "cars" in that game just made no goddamned sense! NONE! It was like pointing the steering in whatever direction during a skid was not really consequential. It skidded in a certain predetermined jacked up way that nothing that ever rolled on tires could, once it was full on.

The game requires an astounding amount of finesse to be able to take the right lines (on every kind of corner) to maximize nitrous charging. Making it around a corner cleanly is easy, but doing it the right way to win is much harder than the uninitiated expect. Then there's this huge tradeoff between the kinds (single, double, triple) and frequency of boost applied, and how the timing of all this relates to the charging process. There are amazing battles going on in Time Attack, this is crazy shit with lots of depth and different tactics being applied. It may not be for everyone, but this game isn't dumbed down, it just takes a different approach.

bishoptl said:
You totally don't even play racing games, do you?

He owns an Xbox, but turned down Outrun for $20 when there was no indication at the time that C2C was coming. He spooges over PS2 racing games but doesn't actually own his own GT feedback wheel. You do the math. He's strictly softcore.
 
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