LBP sales have depressed me...

[Reasonable]

disolitude said:

Reasonable said:

disolitude said:
If you enjoy the game...and think it is amazing gaming experience...why do you care how the game is sold?

I will never understand this...

I loved most of the high profile Sega games for the Saturn, and when PS1 beat their noses in with sales due to greater marketting(example - 1997 advertising budget for christmas was 100 million for sony, 15 million for sega), I did not feel any worse about my gaming experiences.

 

I care because sales dictate whether developers risk something new or something with another number in the title.  I care because I like to see creative risk rewarded.  The sales themselves mean nothing.

More than anything the fact that too few sales contributes to why games like this, ICO, Portal, etc. are thin on the ground while the shelves are filled with generic FPS, racing games, rehashed sports games, etc. is why I care.

My experience playing LBP isn't affected.  My hopes to see innovation and risk better rewarded/encouraged are.

I think it's easy to understand.

I have the same feeling when I look at the showtimes for cinemas and find them filled with generic, low risk crap rather than something actually worth my time/money.

Or turn on TV.  Or wander a bookstore filled with generic thrillers.

Sometimes the level of mediocricy vs excellence in most forms of media/entertainment/art just gets me down.

 

The thing is...developers will always take risks and try something new. It may not be the same company that did LBP...but someone else will step up. Its how new gaming companies get noticed...

Sure, there will be activision and EA milking the same titles every year...COD 21 and NFL 2324 are all but confirmed...but those companies have to support 1000s of jobs hence they can't risk as much as the smaller companies. However those smaller companies can't compete with the big ones when it comes to production budgets and sheer scope of game production...hence taking risks is all they have going for them.

 

I think it you look a little more closely you'll see the majority of developers, irrespective of size, following trends and churning out what they believe will be a hit based on existing examples.  I really don't think the games on shelves / Live, etc. back up your statement.  Most games/films are straight clones of something original that hit well and are copied until the well is dry (and often beyond these days).

And every time something creative doesn't take off it tips the balance for a while to even more conservative approaches and churn out generic shooter/platformer/RPG/etc. 13450B.

The same goes for pretty much every entertainment medium but that doesn't mean I have to like it