Forza is a well known name when it comes to racing games for the Xbox 360 console. Their games have typically seen great success and have a dedicated following. But Turn 10′s latest title, Forza Horizon, isn’t looking so hot. Or at least that’s what the current sales are telling us.
Right now you can grab Forza Horizon, which just released on October 23rd, for a small $15 investment on the Microsoft Store website. This throws up a red flag that the game is already tanking and hasn’t seen much in terms of sales in the past month. Why? Well, think about it. All other big games such as the Call of Duty series or Halo series tend to hold their value long after release.
Case in point: Halo 3. This game was released in 2007, just over 5 years ago, and still sells for $19.99 brand new. Even titles that aren’t quite as big as CoD or Halo typically hold their value for 6 months to a year before dropping an astounding $45. But Forza Horizon is on sale one month after release for just $14.99 when it debuted at $59.99.
This is very unfortunate for the game and the brand itself. It’s especially surprising considering the game actually received many high rated reviews, too. Here are just a few of the review scores give to Forza Horizon:
- IGN – 9.0
- GameSpot – 8.5
- MetaCritic – 85%
- Joystiq – 4 Stars
- Eurogamer – 9.0
With ratings like those you would think the game would’ve done well off launch date. While there aren’t any official numbers out as of right now, the current $45 off sale is a strong indicator that the game isn’t doing too well. When Forza Horizon released it didn’t really have any games to compete with. Is it possible gamers held off on buying it because of the near-future releases of games like Halo 4 and Call of Duty Black Ops 2? Or was the game not on players’ wish lists at all? Who knows.
Forza Horizon is a bit different from the rest of the titles in the series, though. Instead of the typical racing event schedule the game is an open world where players are free to roam the roads. You’ll still have races to attend but you have free reign of where you can otherwise. Many of the reviews above state that this is something the Forza Motorsport franchise has needed for quite some time but maybe it came too late.
What are your thoughts on Forza Horizon? Do you like the game? Did you hold off getting it to purchase games in bigger franchises this year? Leave a comment below and let us know!
