I don't know what to say. When a game can sell so many copies and is a critical success and still be considered a failure this late in the gen, then what's going to happen next gen?

That is the state of shock happening in this thread, and spawning others.  That news is a wakeup call for a number of people I believe, or something that enables them to express concerns they have had.  And the word is that an extensive marketing budget made things worse.  The presumption is quality + extensive marketing budget = success.  Well, these three titles show that extensive marketing budget could end up resulting in failure, and not success.  In short, what you know is wrong.

People are now dealing with it at this point, thinking of THQ and others going under at this point, and the contraction.  People are coming up with their own theories.  

I do wonder what happens if GTA V doesn't end up doing gangbusters, and people find out it really isn't what they had wanted (game is to feature playing 3 characters with lives you jump between and strategically planning bank heists).  And say it makes a small profit AFTER being on the market 2 years.  Going long haul with it is going to the bloom to come off it and people wondering why it is a bomb.  Then bomb associated with GTA V will hover around the Internet.  This is going to end up causing more doubts to rise.  Then if Destiny does  the same, and Titanfall?  People will be in a state of shock.

i dont think its that bad for others, just SE being silly. last of us exceeded expectations and hasnt even hit 4 mil