The biggest flops of 2010 so far

[pietasterp]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

FF 13 sold a ton......even sold a ton of 360 Elites too. I know my sister bought that 360 Elite bundle when she seen FF 13 on it.

I know it sold a lot of copies initially (as I mentioned in my other post), but it completely disappeared from the charts by its 2nd or 3rd month out, and now no one even talks about it. When everyone started doing their "best games thus far", I didn't even see anyone bring it up as a contender. It almost certainly won't be mentioned among the year's best - Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead seem to be getting almost all the chatter at this point, and with some major releases yet to come, it's basically off the landscape. It just seems like a major release like that which had a ton of money spent to make it and a really long development time made virtually no significant impact on the videogame landscape this year, which is a bit odd.

I guess that doesn't qualify it as a "flop" per se, but I definitely think it was a disappointment for Square-Enix (not to mention gamers....).

[Blzer]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

The Blur demo was very fun. I just can't justify myself paying $60 for a racing game of that calibur though, especially for how grand the demo already was with multiplayer.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

FF 13 was on par with the last 3 FF games. FF games in general don't have a lasting effect after 2 or 3 months in the USA anyway. That and the fact it came out right during the same time frame of 2 other RPG's.

Which was Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age. Graphically Mass Effect 2 was on the same level as FF 13, however Mass Effect 2 had a way better story line and replayability.

Dragon Age wasn't nice looking graphically, however it's story line was better then FF 13 and the replayability of Dragon Age is through the roof. Plus they had a couple of expansion packs for Dragon Age already.

After that it was a like a domino effect, one mega hit game kept rolling out month after month. So therefore FF 13 got buried deeper and deeper in the back of people's mind to the point only the true hardcore FF fans still talk about it, just like any other FF game that came out.

FF 13 lived up to it's hype, however FF is no longer the king of RPG's anymore. And before Red Dead Redemption came out, Battlefield Bad Company 2 was all the rage for months.

Honestly I must say this year has been one of the best years for games in a while. Damn near every month this year there has been at least one game that was worth buying that blew you away when you played it.

[beastwork]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

pietasterp 06:13 PM 08-10-2010
What about Final Fantasy XIII? I know it sold a ton right off the bat, but if I remember right, I think it was out of the top 20 (!) within a month or two of release. Yikes. Talk about sales falling off a cliff....

Even though total sales were big (being multi-platform helps), the game just didn't have an impact on the gaming world at all in my opinion - especially for a name franchise of videogame royalty. I mean, I completely forgot that game even came out this year!

I think FF13 did well. Again you have to consider that this game will always sell like hotcakes in Japan. It was my first RPG. My girl asked me to buy it and it has become the sole reason I'm ok with not buying Madden this year. Really opened me up to non-sports gaming. since then I've bought and loved Valkyria Chronicles and RDR. the hell with sports games lol.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

the hell with sports games lol.

That's blasphamey ! Just kidding, I myself like RTS games and espinonage/military/cia themed type games like Splinter Cell, Alpha Protocol, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Modernwarfare 2.

Truth be told I get a kick out of playing God mode on Tropico 3 still. When it comes to sports games, I have more fun re-editing rosters and sliders then playing the actual game. Weird I know, but I feel gitty when I am able to re-tool a sports game to play the way I want it to play.

[ut_jazz]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

Blur is a great racing game, it's a shame it flopped

[spankdatazz22]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

Alan Wake is great imo, still playing through it. Hopefully it did well enough to get the followup it deserves. Unfortunately it came out the same day as RDR. Glad I purchased both

[DJ]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

I agree with those that said UFC 2010. I'm still baffled as to how THQ managed to screw that game up when they had a great foundation to build off in 09, which for a first year effort was pretty outstanding.

[ChubbyBanana]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

Just Cause 2. How you can take such an open world experience and not include any Multiplayer or even a barebones free-roam mode to help mix it up a little is beyond me.

Seems the same thing happened with Mafia 2. No online free roam.

[av7]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

I agree with those that said UFC 2010. I'm still baffled as to how THQ managed to screw that game up when they had a great foundation to build off in 09, which for a first year effort was pretty outstanding.

THQ did the same thing for the motocross series, completely ruined it.

[PVarck31]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

For me, almost every game this year was a flop. The only games that held my interest beyond a week were, BC2, the show, and RDR.

The biggest flop of the year imo is Madden 11.

[DXZeke]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

THQ did the same thing for the motocross series, completely ruined it.

Reflex was HORRIBLE. I was so mad when I played the game and this dual stick control just made things feel more cluttered and complex than it should be. MX Untamed was a fun game that only need some tweaks here and there and it would be enough each year to keep bringing people in with new tracks, etc. Rainbow Studios botched the formula. Hopefully they go back to doing what made them successful.

[JohnDoe8865]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

Reflex was HORRIBLE. I was so mad when I played the game and this dual stick control just made things feel more cluttered and complex than it should be. MX Untamed was a fun game that only need some tweaks here and there and it would be enough each year to keep bringing people in with new tracks, etc. Rainbow Studios botched the formula. Hopefully they go back to doing what made them successful.

yeah it's almost like studios sometimes try to re-invent the wheel, when all it really needs is a few rough edges sanded off.

Of course you never know how much pressure the higher-ups puts on a team to introduce new mechanics, controls, etc just to have a "back of the box" feature.

[Phobia]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

THQ has honestly falling off my radar and won't buy many games by them UNLESS it is getting good reviews. The way they ruined UFC 2010 after the great UFC 2009 is just baffling. I don't think in the 20 years I been gaming have I been this disappointed in a game as I am for UFC 2010.

As much crap as EA gets, they have really really turned around their sports games the last few years.

NHL series = EXCELLENT
FIFA series = EXCELLENT
NCAA 11 = AMAZING
MADDEN series = So So
NBA Live series = Getting better

I will stick with EA more often than not for sure.

[DJ]

Re: The biggest flops of 2010 so far

THQ has honestly falling off my radar and won't buy many games by them UNLESS it is getting good reviews. The way they ruined UFC 2010 after the great UFC 2009 is just baffling. I don't think in the 20 years I been gaming have I been this disappointed in a game as I am for UFC 2010.

As much crap as EA gets, they have really really turned around their sports games the last few years.

NHL series = EXCELLENT
FIFA series = EXCELLENT
NCAA 11 = AMAZING
MADDEN series = So So
NBA Live series = Getting better

I will stick with EA more often than not for sure.

I'm a casual hockey fan but I am hooked on the NHL series. It is such a blast to play. Same thing with FIFA. I really don't like watching soccer (I do appreciate the athleticism in the sport and the dedication of the players) but FIFA is really fun.

NCAA came out HUGE this year. After how bad the series was on this generation, EA really hit a home run with 11. Madden, like you said Phobia, is so-so. I think maybe people were expecting another "big" jump like from 09-10 and when that didn't happen and the defense was toned down, people got upset.