GTA IV was just a better game

If I was the boss of a video game publisher thats biggest title was a game where you can beat people with a giant purple dildo, I would personally be embarrassed. I feel he's expressing the same sentiment - but then so much of this is what we read into it. But he's only being candid in an interview - not releasing a press release. I appreciate the level of honesty we're getting! I would hope people don't cut me down because SR3 isn't for me, I think the same courtesy can be extended to him, right?

The thread title should be changed. Rubin didn't say he was embarrassed of SR3, that was a reply to Crecente (the article's author) saying he was too embarrassed to play that game in front of his wife and son. This has probably already been mentioned but I'm not going to read 10 pages of "fuck that guy" posts.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

GTA IV was just a better game

That's not the argument here.

@hagridore said:

If I was the boss of a video game publisher thats biggest title was a game where you can beat people with a giant purple dildo, I would personally be embarrassed. I feel he's expressing the same sentiment - but then so much of this is what we read into it. But he's only being candid in an interview - not releasing a press release. I appreciate the level of honesty we're getting! I would hope people don't cut me down because SR3 isn't for me, I think the same courtesy can be extended to him, right?

the major difference is that you're not throwing your best dev studio under a bus for their brain child in the process. So basically Rubin is either throwing Crecente under the bus in his tweets saying it was all on him, or he's throwing Volition under the bus for creating GOTY 2011 (which was the opinion of practically everyone on Giant Bomb minus Brad).

Rubin put himself in a corner by wording it the way he did. Instead of defending/championing his best studio, he just dogs them like that? Come on, son.

@DeanoXD said:

Saints 3 was a OK game, nothing more and nothing less. THQ is well as far as i can tell another poorly run game company that is trying to keep from going under. I also think any person(s) from their bosses point of view can do better at their jobs. I have no opinion on all this other stupid he said, she said bullshit.

Yeah that would be true if Saints Row was not selling millions and getting for the most part great reviews.

@Cloneslayer said:

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/6/8/3071167/thq-e3-2012-jason-rubin

I was really excited for THQ after hearing the Jason Rubin interview that was on gamespot the other day. By man, if Rubin trys to reign in Saint's Row... i just don't know...

I'm all for trying to imporve the company and do better and aim higher but I feel a lot of SR3 shouldn't be considered unworthy because its crazy. The game could be improved sure, but not because of content.

edit; and topic title typo.... awesome

Embarrassed by a game that sold four million copies?

Yep, this guy sounds like a suit, and he's almost certain to ruin THQ. Maybe the Volition team can pack up and rebrand... Looks like they're not going to be in a very welcoming environment...

Didn't Saints Row 3 sell really well? Why fuck with success? Unless he's just one of those dicks that want to come in and put their own stamp on something just because they can. Those people suck.

@MikeFightNight said:

Didn't Saints Row 3 sell really well? Why fuck with success? Unless he's just one of those dicks that want to come in and put their own stamp on something just because they can. Those people suck.

It's sounding more and more like that's exactly what he is.

@OldGuy

. . . so maybe . . . just maybe . . . this company that badly needs sales has a new head who is hoping that SR3 can SELL as well as RDR or TES:S?
 
From GB Achievement tracking: SR3 = 7565, TES:S = 11139, RDR = 22697.
 
The best data I can find online is from company announcements: SR3 = 3.8mil, TES:S = 10mil, and I can't find numbers I trust for RDR, but I'm going to bet it's a bit north of TES:S (though not by as much as you might think since TES:S has a huge PC player base and RDR has one of 0 -- though TES:S numbers are "shipped to retail" so they don't count online sales)...
 
Just a thought.

RDR has definitely sold more. 13 million as of early 2012.

@TheSouthernDandy said:

@Cloneslayer You should maybe update your original post or something. If somebody doesn't bother clicking on the link and read the article it can be pretty misleading. Misplaced rage and all that.

i someone didnt bother to click the link and read the article then they shouldn't be posting in the topic.

@TentPole said:

@Getz said:

Guys, read the damn article before you comment. Jason Rubin is not a "suit" and he's not talking about "toning down" Saints Row. He's merely pointing out that SR3 aimed pretty low and that the team is capable of so much more: and he's absolutely right. I enjoyed Saints Row 3 just as much as you guys did, but it wasn't exactly the most ambitious game.

I have a lot of faith in Rubin; that he has the best interest of the developers under THQ in mind and that he has a solid plan for the future.

You are part of the problem.

If wanting more is wrong then I don't wanna be right

I'm glad to hear that he claims he was misquoted and all, but I do wish he would get ahead of this and actually clearly articulate what he means. This isn't something you should just let people sit on for several days. That's how bad blood gets brewed like a mother. Though even with the updated article, his quotes regarding both SR and DS seem...suspect.

@Hailinel said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

GTA IV was just a better game

That's not the argument here.

It's a reflex I have when I end up on a Saints Row board

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Hailinel said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

GTA IV was just a better game

That's not the argument here.

It's a reflex I have when I end up on a Saints Row board

That reflex is called trolling.

I hope this isn't the end of Saints Row as we know it from the third one. As crazy as it was, it can get way crazier and a continuation of the story from the point where the Saints made their own city-state really appeals to me. Now if they want to add on some additional depth and somehow combine an open world game with Civilization-esque strategy elements then that's some change I can believe in.

@Oldirtybearon: He expressed confidence in the studio. His discomfort seems to be that a game as "blue" as SR3 is the crown jewel of THQ.

I loved Saints Row as much as the next guy, it is easily one of my favorite games but I think they could tone down the childish/immature stuff (pick dildos and bdsm) and amp up the crazy/epic stuff (POWER, luchadors, and Oleg) that where the best parts. That would help the game at least be more "repectable" and less "Strap it on" which I just thought was kind of dumb, especially because it didn't need that stuff to be some fuckin great.

Guys, there's nothing to worry about Saints Row-wise. The real villain here is a kind of shitty piece of accidental misrepresentation by Brian Crecente. Hopefully he's more careful in the future, because he's already taken good steps to quickly clarify and contextualize how the interview actually went. I'm discouraged by the response from some people in this thread, but hopefully the video game world at large won't lash out against THQ or Jason Rubin because of this unfortunate incident.

@JordanK85 said:

I hope this isn't the end of Saints Row as we know it from the third one. As crazy as it was, it can get way crazier and a continuation of the story from the point where the Saints made their own city-state really appeals to me. Now if they want to add on some additional depth and somehow combine an open world game with Civilization-esque strategy elements then that's some change I can believe in.

I might be way off here, but... JordanM85?

Just wait until he fucks it up, and then you'll have nothing else to look forward to from THQ now that Devil's Third's been canned...

"I haven't played the game, I confess to Rubin, because I wouldn't want to be caught playing it by my wife or my son. It would be embarrassing."

I am sorry his wife has a stick up her ass. My wife saw the trailer for SR 3 and we bought two copies for PC so we could play it, together. Saints Row 3 is a cartoon that is not to be taken seriously. If you're offended, you're doing it wrong and need to lighten up. I am hoping that Rubin is being misunderstood with all this, but Third is an absolutely fabulous game and Volition needs to be left alone, lest you screw up whatever they do next. Seriously, his wife would be embarrassed? This qualifies as journalism? Does he not watch comedies like The Hangover, either? Stop being a god damn prude, already. SR3 is not porn.

1. Saint's Row The Third isn't the kind of game you would play in front of your family anyways, as that's not its purpose. Therefore, I feel that point in the interview is moot as fuck.

2. The update is saying that Rubin was misinterpreted...but as I'm reading it in that interview itself, Rubin is still the one saying "Why couldn't that be a Red Dead Redemption or a Skyrim?" he said. "I look at that title and I say, ‘Who cares what it is and why it got to be what it is? From that team we can make something that isn't embarrassing." That looks an AWFUL LOT to me like Rubin stated that...so I don't understand how that is misinterpreted at all or even the opinion of the interviewer. After that is a little Editor's Note trying to say "no, you are reading that quote wrong"...but I'm NOT reading that quote wrong. Those are words RIGHT FROM RUBIN'S MOUTH!

3. Rubin was behind Flektor. Never heard of it? That's because it lasted two years and then went under...so the tech could be used for its sister company...MySpace. I can't say that this guy gives me much confidence in making THQ rise from the ashes when the last, like, five years of his business life has been about as flacid as a sterile porn star.

4. Saint's Row was a series about going in the OPPOSITE direction of Grand Theft Auto, and it did that in spades. Moreover, it was VASTLY more fun than most of the other shit that has come out in the last five years alone. Meanwhile, he wants to talk about giving Volition options? Here's an idea: SOMEONE GIVE THEM THE RESOURCES TO MAKE A REAL RED FACTION GAME AGAIN INSTEAD OF ARMAGEDDON! They had a good thing going with Guerrilla, and then THQ clipped their fucking wings. They were willing to throw something out there, but then they pulled back on the investment. So fucking stupid. Moreover, the multiplayer for Guerrilla was FANTASTIC and POPULAR!

Volition is one of the best commodities outside of Vigil and Relic that THQ has right now. Let them make the games they WANT to make rather than holding them back. Go big or go home.

I would be embarrassed too, the game played like ass. Not sure why it so damn popular around here. I guess it is because of some of the crazy shit you don't see in other games, but once that wears off I feel like every thing else about it is ridiculously subpar.

Crecente if he has any integrity should pull down the interview entirely. Leading the interviewee with completely bizarre biased questions is bad, BAD journalism.

@zeekthegeek: Nobody got tricked into saying anything.

The update is just Rubin trying to backpedal when so many people turned on him.

Meanwhile, I look at Rayman and I think 'Why couldn't that be a Skyrim, or a Red Dead Redemption?'

@Ronald said:

The update is just Rubin trying to backpedal when so many people turned on him.

Meanwhile, I look at Rayman and I think 'Why couldn't that be a Skyrim, or a Red Dead Redemption?'

Mario and Zelda too. No one takes Mario and Zelda seriously so why not make them like Skyrim and RDR. Dance Central too. And Forza. Yeah, all those games need to be like Skyrim and RDR because every game should be self-serious...or open world...or whatever the fuck Rubin meant by that comment.