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.

Trilogies can be wonderful, but investing 20-40 hours is alot of time to impose to new fans of a series.  There are only so many hardcore fans out there.  A good portion of my gaming friends like the idea of RPGs, but don't want to play them because they are so time-consuming.  They will only play the occasional great RPG such as Zelda or Final Fantasy. 

Trilogy movies only involve a couple of hours of time to be caught up.  Video games take much longer.  I applaud BioWare for the innovative concept, but also wonder how much this is going to effect their long-term sales. 

I know ME2 can be played without playing the first game 1st, but most fans of the ME series actively dissaude people from playing this way.  This hardcore nature of ME, may also be a big hindrance to overall sales.  The other hindrance, from what a certain ME fan told me, is that ME has a lot of annoying gameplay issues that turn off several people. 

NO.

i think you should still play mass2 if you havent played mass1, but mass1 is cheap enough to have a playthrough anyways.

re: sales its doing better than 1st one so devs should be happy

"The other hindrance, from what a certain ME fan told me, is that ME has a lot of annoying gameplay issues that turn off several people. "

Damn right it did, and Bioware did nothing in the form of a patch or anything. I would not buy Mass Effect 2 for the simple fact that the first was constantly loading, slow, and glitchy mess technically. The actual gameplay is great, but you have to suffer through a lot of s**t in order to enjoy it. In the end it almost is not worth it.

If ME2 has completely gotten rid of the problems, it is worth buying, but the first one may have done too much damage. Super Bowl ad didn't work too well huh?

i would suggest clicking the following link:

http://www.vgchartz.com/swlaunch.php?reg1=All&game1=Mass+Effect+2++-+X360[28815]&reg2=All&game2=Mass+Effect+-+X360[7635]&reg3=All&game3=&weeks=100

Mass effect 2 has decent sales in my opinion

Overall sales are definitely good, but ME2 does not appear to have any legs. ME2 should be able to sustain much better growth, especially since it is a GOTY contender and the main 360 exclusive of 2010 so far. My main point is that one of ME2's greatest strengths is also its greatest weakness-- fans can't get the richest possible experience in ME2 without first playing ME1.

The ME1 issue did put me off when I was considering getting it, but I probably wasnt going to get it anyway

Just bad timing of release,Mass Effect 2 has the reviews to go toe to toe with them,but Final Fantasy XIII,Battlefield:BC2 and for those with more than the 360 in their home,God of War III,Heavy Rain,MAG and Red Steel 2.

There's been so many games released in the last three months,and Mass Effect 2 doesn't have as dedicated fans as some of the franchises I mentioned.

We all know that ME2 had great sales for the first month.  But after 2 months, the game is no longer in the top 50 best-selling games.  All I am saying is that this was a very front-loaded game, and that it will have much more difficulty than other sequels in attracting new members to the series. 

I didn't buy Mass Effect 2, because I thought Mass Effect 1 was a badly designed game and I'm guessing a few other people agree. Besides, it's selling very well and I'm sure Bioware will be happy.