Will you purchase Starcraft 2?

Cross-X

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Cross-X on 15 April 2010

Will buy sometime this year. Just not Day 1

Kenryoku_Maxis

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Kenryoku_Maxis on 15 April 2010

FaRmLaNd said:

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

FaRmLaNd said:
So is that a no because Blizzard have decided to not advance the gameplay as forward as you wanted?

Because this thread really isn't a discussion of mechanics etc unless of course that lack of forward looking gameplay stops you from buying the game. In which case the argument is of course very valid.

For a sequel to be successful, they are going to cater to two markets. One, the exact same people who liked the original and played it 'hardcore'. And two, the people who just like to play it for fun and the 'new' players. In theory, they could try and cater to both markets, but that's very hard to do. So with such a popular title like Starcraft, they seem to be opting to target the very large (and profitable) fanbase that already likes the game the way it is (especially in Asia) and hope that new people will buy the game based on hype and marketing. Much like they did with the original Starcraft.

Problem is, this isn't 1998 and Starcraft II will have actual competitoon, both as an RTS game and a PC game. And the rest of us who are on the fence or felt some parts of the game haven't stood up against the test of time will probably pass on the game. Or even worse, there's going to be others who feel the new game isn't 'as good' as the original. And, like such titles as Pokemon or Final Fantasy, you'll probably see this title sell less than the original game did. Because its both a sequel and its heavily focusing on one part of its fanbase.

Thats not neccesarily true. Look at new super mario bros which moved back towards the 2d gameplay of the originals yet outsold the more forward looking 3d marios. I think that the people that truly care so much about such innovation in the RTS genre may be less then you think. Especially considering no RTS game has come remotely close to Starcrafts sales since its release. To me it looks more likely that a huge number of people haven't been playing any RTS games since then for whatever reason. Those general consumers may care less about advancing the genre forward then the more hardcore RTS players. The dificulty will be getting these gamers back I think.

Furthermore most Blizzard games have been outselling their originals, so historically it wouldn't be abnormal for it to happen here considering Blizzards massive brandname. I don't think starcraft 2 is being released digitally so the diminishing pc retail space is far more likely to negatively affect the game then its lack of innovation I think.

I'm not saying Starcraft II won't be successful. I think that's a given. Heck, even many sequels that were later deemed 'inferior' to their predecessors by the fanbase at large did monumentally well such as Final Fantasy VIII, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Twilight Princess, even Warcraft III. And I definitely think Starcraft II will meet massive fanfare and huge opening sales for a PC game.

What I am saying is that there focus may make the sequel sell less than the previous title over time and have the same 'sequel effect' of having fans think fans think its inferior to the original, such as many other major sequels have had (like the ones I mentioned above).

Six upcoming games you should look into:

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FaRmLaNd on 15 April 2010

Well that certainly could be the case, especially the inferior feeling. But innovation is a double edged sword, if you innovate at the right time you can change the industry and get massive sales because of it. But if you innovate too early you can turn everyone off and the game can end up being niche. There is such a thing as being too far ahead of the curve.

It'll be interesting to see which way it goes.

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thranx on 15 April 2010

I will of course be getting this, and my girlfriend will probably come to hate starcraft and blizzard as their games always suck me in

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FaRmLaNd on 16 April 2010

Just as a point of refence, 385 people own the original Starcraft on this site (not including the 64 release here). So far 45 people have said they'll buy it. But since this section of the forum isnt as popular I think that Starcraft 2 should be able to reach a similar number here. Especially consiering we're still probably a while from the release this year and the hype outside of pc gamer/starcraft fan circles isn't hugely there yet.