Is Forza Horizon 2 getting overshadowed? (Pun intended)

Forza Horizon 2 came out today (Tuesday the 30th) and it doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention, especially compared to Shadow of Mordor. I've played the first hour of it and so far I agree with the review consensus that it's a very good game and a worthy follow up to the first, which is in contention for my favorite racing game of all time.

Is it just that Horizon 2 is an Xbox exclusive and Shadow of Mordor is multiplatform, with PS4 having more players at present? Is it a lack of interest in racing games as a genre? Are people still mad about Forza 5? Is it the LOTR license giving SoM a boost?

I love Forza Horizon because not only is it a great racing game but it has an upbeat happy party atmosphere that is very rare in games these days and makes it fun to play even when it's frustrating. Most games are bland, grimdark, or kiddie focused, but Forza Horizon and Forza Horizon 2 are uplifting and welcoming. It would be a shame for this series to die because of a poorly chosen release date. I know we are getting into the crowded part of the year, but surely there is room for both Shadow of Mordor and Forza Horizon 2, games that aren't exactly in direct competition, especially after the recent long release drought. I know I will play both.

I hope that this game starts to get more attention over the next week and that more people check it out. The Horizon Festival is a really fun virtual place to spend some time and unwind.

I think for a lot of games coverage you can forgive some of the lack of coverage. Just last year Forza 5 was released, less than a year ago, and a fresh new game is out at the same time. For a lot of people they're more interested in the new game than the racing game.

It will be interesting to see if the changes made in Horizon 2 are enough to give it a boost so Shadow of Modor doesn't just dominate the conversation.

I loved FH and was really considering an XBox One to play FH2. But I think I'll continue to wait for a price drop or more exclusive games.

With that said MS is not really advertising FH2 and seemingly is just shoving it out and assuming racing fans will buy it and that's about it. Mordor has far more appeal as a mainstream game and Warner is getting behind it (probably hoping it will takeover the Arkham franchise as their marque game for the current gen) and putting out a ton of ads to boost awareness.

I think it's a combination of many factors contributing to a lack of attention for Forza.

• A Forza game came out last year
• It's not a mainline entry in the series
• It's only on Xbox
• Racing games in general aren't as buzzworthy as other genres
• Shadow of Mordor is not only a game of an inherently more attention getting genre, but it's turned out to be a surprise critical hit
• Let's also not forget that Destiny continues to dominate video game discussion, both because of leaks and future content speculation and also because many people are still playing it

people love that lord of the rings shit a lot...

• racing games are less popular than big action adventures
• lotr is bigger than forza ever was
• it's been one day...coverage will come...
• multiplatforms vs exclusive

I'll get both, but you can be damn sure I'm playing Horizon first. I don't give a shit about lotr, but if the game is really as good as they say who am I not to try it?

@vinny_says:

I'm excited for SoM, but I don't want to see the Horizon series get cancelled just because of bad timing. I'm also not sure that coverage will come. The reviews are already out, and games tend to get covered more up to their release than after, with the exception of the very biggest games, which have a coverage tail, or games that have controversy around them like Destiny.

I guess we'll see what the sales are like, but it seems very strange to me that Microsoft isn't making a bigger push for its exclusives, even when they review quite well like Forza Horizon 2 or D4.

The press want people to buy Shadow of Mordor. There's only enough hype for one game at a time.

I don't think Shadow of Mordor had a right or expectation to be good. People have been unsure for months about it, so now it's starting to become the conversation piece. Forza is Forza. It's expected to be good and Horizon 2 is a known quantity.

Had no idea this was out until last night. so that goes to show im ether a shit fan or yeah there is just crap all marketing out to say hey new game new game! Ill play the shit out of it and SoM

I didn't know Horizon 2 was coming out until like last week. I don't think the marketing has been very good for it, though I saw a few ads during football on Sunday, I think. At the end of the day, I doubt the games scratch the same itch.

Same here. I knew Horizon 2 was coming at some point, I didn't think it was already here. Particularly since they already released a Forza game on the XOne less than a year ago.