Mass Effect 2 sales in the toilet-- is the reason ME1?

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Gojimaster said:

I haven't played Mass Effect 2 yet, but I definitely would like to play this game in the future.  All the reviews and gameplay videos have been stellar.

That said, the reason I don't want to play Mass Effect 2 is because I haven't played Mass Effect 1.  The majority of people out there have claimed that one shouldn't play Mass Effect 2 without first playing the 1st game.  But is this statement harming Bioware's sales of Mass Effect 2?

ME2 sales have dropped like a rocket in the past few weeks, and the game is no longer in the top 50 best selling games.  ME2 is already dropped to $40 in several major retailers.  Is ME2 a completely front-loaded game that is going to be completely reliant only on the fans that bought ME1?  This is not a good predictament for BioWare.  Sequels should grow a fanbase.  Recent successful sequels include Uncharted 2, Assasins Creed 2, and Modern Warfare 2.  None of these games required someone to play the 1st game to understand the story.

 

Well, a few things.

ME2 will likely improve on sales of the first game. Your thread is wrong.

Also, unless I'm mistaken my dear Watson, Mass Effect 2's sales were immediately split out over the 360 and the PC. ME1 didn't have a PC release to split sales with for about 6 months, so of course, ME2, including PC sales, is doing monumentally better than ME1, and you just can't deny that, unless of course I'm mistaken. Care to comment?

Also, ME2 is much better than those games you've mentioned, imo, simply because it isn't a game aimed at a broader audience. The game isn't "for everyone" and it shouldn't be. If the game was "for everyone" it really would be much worse than it is. No game that is "for everyone" can be as good to its target audience as it would be if it was just for them. It's a hardcore niche title, aimed at WRPG fans of the franchise.

Another example, Radiant Dawn was a much, much better game to its target audience than any you've mentioned were to almost anyone(just ask a Radiant Dawn fan if the game was good, and grab some popcorn). However, Radiant Dawn was such a niche game that appealed to JUST one certain type of gamer, that critics panned it.

Sure, popular broad appealing games are going to get great reviews and sales. That's because they are meant to appeal to everyone. They will never have the concentrated goodness of a game that appeals just to you.

I mean, I thought Avatar was decent, and had great sales, but I sure as fuck don't want The Hurt Locker to do a sequel concentrating on 3D CGI visuals, no matter how much it would help the damn sales.

If Mass Effect sold out, as you propose they should, then they would lose the only damn fans that matter. The hardcore ones. They aren't as wishy washy and they'll probably buy Mass Effect 3, even if it's shit, simply because it didn't sell out.

You can never guarntee you'll make a good game. What you can guarntee is you won't sell out your friends to buy your future. That, my friends, is integrity.