or Why I Prefer the Safe Bet
I love original and fun video games, but original and fun video games cease to be
called original they moment they are declared successful. Because successful games, though
they might be fun and original, are what developers actually develop (or try to develop)
all the time. I bring this up because many are feeling bitter towards Modern Warfare 2,
Halo 3: ODST, Guitar Hero 5, The Beatles: Rock Band, etc. for pushing many releases such as
Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Red Dead Redemtion, and even some
original titles such as Bayonetta, Heavy Rain, and Singularity. However, we should not
feel resentment towards Call of Duty as a franchise, because it was also once a new IP at
one time. You as the consumer have voted with you dollar, and have reaped what you have
sown, so quit your whining. However, if you did not vote with your dollar, you still don't
have right to complain. "But Popcorn, what ever do you mean? I didn't vote with my dollar,
why should I suffer the delay <Insert Game Here> because of another games overhyped
success?" to you I say, "Well, its simple really. With <Insert Game Here>'s delay many more
people will be able vote with their dollar after the crowded holiday season on <Insert Game
Here>, which will in turn fund the publisher and developer to make sequels to <Insert Game
Here>." In short original IPs, if they are successful or if there is enough demand for a
sequel, there usually is one. Franchises like Left 4 Dead, Warcraft, Guitar Hero Halo, Call
of Duty, Half-Life, Diablo, Metroid, Mega Man, and even such an old character as Mario all
started as an "original" concept.
I suppose this piece is turning into an economics paper, but before I delve more
into the effects of the dollar on franchises, let me state that I am uber-excited for a
single "original" game this year. A little game called Borderlands caught my eye in a Game
Informer cover story. With words like millons of guns being thrown against bold statements
of "diablo meets halo" I just couldn't wait until I could start tearing it up on the planet
of Pandora. That was in September of 2007, with the launch promised for a Christmas 2008
release, then Tuesday, March 11, 2008 it was reported by Kotaku* that Borderlands would
move to sometime in 2009. I was a little disappointed, but by then Fallout 3 had been
shown, and I was uber-stoked for that. I've yet to pick up Fallout 3 for several reasons,
(waiting till I was at the appropriate age, money, not having played the previous games,
Game of the Year Edition, etc.) but at the time I was foaming at the mouth for Fallout 3.
The release date for Fallout 3 came and went, though, with nary a wink from my eye. I had
chosen a different game that year, Mercenaries 2, which needless to say was not my favorite
game of all time. Why would I choose such an obvious stinker for my Game of the Year
(literally, the only new release I bought in 2008 was Mercs 2)? Well, I had played and
thourougly enjoyed the first Mercenaries, and wanted to see a sequel. Obviously, I was
disappointed, not because Mercs 2 was a bad game, but because Mercs 2 didn't capture the
feel or fun of the first game. Games create personal opinions, and personal opinons have a
nasty way developing nostalgia. Nostalgia in turn, will color ones judgement of the other
games in the franchise, for good or for ill. Which is why I wanted Mercs 2 (aside from the
upbeat ad campaign song), my judgement of the first game colored my judgement for the 2nd
game. Which now brings me to Borderlands (in a roundabout sort of way), the only way of
knowing if I should buy this game or not is only my judgement, (albeit colored by my
judgement of other games, ad campaigns, and prerelease footage) and not nostalgiac value.
Because I've been judging the game on its own merits, I've determined that this is where I
want to put my 60 bucks. Although, I haven't gotten to the bit about why I prefer the safe
bet. Which is why I'm going to another paragraph.
So, why do I like the safe bet? Because its safe, I know I won't waste my money on
a crap game. At least, it used to be that way, most things are popular because they are
good. Everything else thats popular is popular because the people who buy the not good, but
popular thing are stupid. I know its a cliched argument, but I believe its true, case in
point the Twilight book series (to be fair, that's more of a case of 'sex sells' than an
acute case of stupid). So when a franchise that is critically acclaimed and popular its
usually something I like to look into. When said popular (but still good) franchise butts
into a holiday release calendar with all the fanfare of the second coming, don't forget
that a lot of these franchises (COD, Diablo, Warcraft, Guitar Hero, Halo, etc.) started out
just the same as a lot the original titles of today. So, peace out, have fun with whatever
game(s) you'll be snuggling up to this holiday season, and I hope to see you online.
If you liked this article/editorial/economics paper/rant go ahead and comment and tell me
what you liked about it. I'll be doing an unboxing of Borderlands, and a review (if I get
it, appropriateness may play a role in getting it for me) on my youtube channel.
www.youtube.com/c0l0nelp0pc0rn
Sources:
*http://kotaku.com/366619/borderlands-delayed-to-2009
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