What popular games and franchises stump you as to why they are popular?

[Kantor]

Onyxmeth said:

I don't really follow the thread. I suppose I'm blessed and should be thankful to be able to step out of my own shoes and look at things from an alternate perspective. It just baffles me with all of the sales and market knowledge flowing through this website that there could really be people here unable to understand why a game they find either boring, perverse or wholly unoriginal is actually popular. I supposed it fits into the narrow minded and self centered mentality I see from forumgoers around the web that still can't wrap their head around hows and whys of the popularity of Nintendo.

In the spirit of participating though, I suppose I'll say Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport. I can't understand how anyone could like these games when I personally find them so boring and plodding. 

It's not so much "Hmmm, I do wonder why this game has such popularity", it's "How on earth can anybody enjoy this?" Naturally, people do enjoy them, for different reasons, but this thread is more about complaining than wondering. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are successful because they appeal to a wide casual audience who like music and want to use a new kind of controller to play a game.

I would have to agree with you on GT, Forza and every other racing sim ever made. I can just about force myself to enjoy Formula One if the need arises, and once you get into it, if you're with friends and can complain about your racer of choice failing, it's actually good fun. But, I do not see the appeal in pretending to be one of those people. There's none of the atmosphere of being in the race, you actually have to concentrate on slowing down around corners and all the other stuff that F1 drivers do, and generally there's very little excitement to be had.

In my opinion, of course.

EDIT: This takes me back to ~18 months ago, when I'd just joined the site, and you were lecturing me on attach rates and popularity in my thread complaining about why MGS4 didn't sell more. I've never forgotten that. Thanks...I guess.