Mirrors Edge, why didn't it sell more?

[Reasonable]

I think, as many have pointed out, that the game didn't totally overcome a number of traditional challenges:

1) it's a new IP that's also looking to start a new genre. That's a tough sell. Most gamers buy more of the same. A new IP like Gears is not so bad as its relatively easy to market due to genre, etc. and fit to target demographic. Mirror's Edge in a sense had no known demographic to target

2) they had a great new mechanism but overused it and didn't get the balance right. I'm still stuck near the last chapter with a move that's just killing me to pull off and have left the game. I'll probably pick it up again later but the difficulty of some moves, elements wasn't perfectly balanced.

3) they over-relied on the mechanic from a gameplay point of view. For the most part the game forced you into running, and only occasionally offered alternative activity (more on which later). More variety would have worked better IMHO as would somewhat less linear levels when you were running. In particular better use of stealth and investigation mechanics would have made the game shine IMHO. Too often you creep in somewhere and whammo - the guards are on to you because the game wants them to be. Or you creep into someone's office but don't get to actually do any detecting. The game simply updates and objective then forces you to run again.

4) the shooting/melee mechanics didn't feel quite right. Combat just never seemed to flow and it was easy to miss your mark by a fraction and find yourself grappling with a guard who'd moved behind you. I was glad shooting wasn't the focus of the game, but I suspect making the shooting smoother would have helped the game overall

5) while the style and feel of the game was awesome, the actual plot was weak and I think the animation cutscenes broke with the look/feel of the city too much, spoiling immersion. Either CGI or use of the game engine would have been better I believe

I bought and liked ME. I still have to finish it - and that's rare for me. I tend to finish games I buy. Always.

I do hope for a sequel and believe this could be a great IP. My concern is they'll swtich it to FPS shooter with some optional running/jumping. That would be a shame IMHO as we have plenty of shooters already.

I'd like them to sort out the melee to work better. Sort out the jumping difficulty and add a better story and more varied gameplay. I'd love to see them add more stealth/detection work as the game seems to cry out for it IMHO.

Mind you in some ways I think ME was also just unlucky. I could list the same five points above for Assassin's Creed - a game I think that like ME was a great idea with average execution and many flaws, and look at how that sold.

Perhaps at the end of the day playing as a cool male assassin in a flawed game is just more appealing to most current gamers than playing as a cool female freerunner in a flawed game...