Reasonable said:
Squilliam said:
@ Reasonable, you're over thinking it IMO.
If I saw LBP in the store, picked it up, read the front and back cover etc I would put it down again and buy something else if I didn't know what it was.
The huge issue of the game is theres nothing compelling for me from the front cover to the back cover which would assure me that my $130 would be well spent on that game.
I think what causes this is the fact that the game is supposed to mean so much to so many people that it means very little to any of them. Its attention is spread to thin, it doesn't know what it is.
Take Mario, you know what Mario is as soon as you pick it up, Gears of War is pretty obvious when you see the box, Gran Turismo is pretty obvious too. But what is LBP? |
I bet you buy books based on the cover too... 
Actually much as I love shooters I mostly hate their covers. Sheesh the covers of Gears 2 would put me off for sure. I agree on LBP though. More than anything its struggling with the fact most people buy genres (something most creative people I've meet actually hate funnily enough) and despite the loose 'platformer' association its actually something unique and hard to categorize.
P.S. I think I read someone thinking I'd insulted SMG. I don't believe I did. My point is that having played both they offer a pretty similar experience (and I don't buy a visual trick makes SMG 'different') with regard to the campaign of LBP but then look how much more LBP offers - online play, offline coop, custom levels, the ability to build your own, at least (if not better) art direction, better graphics (SMG looks very nice but it really pales next to LBP on an HD for textures, richness of the gaming world, etc), and so on. I note that even its creators are stating it was rather conservative as a title.
How much a game appeals to you and you enjoy it is subjective - but you can quantify certain elements and clearly LBP offers much, much more than SMG as a whole.
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I already own the game, but if I didn't know what it was I would never buy it. Its not compelling for people to pick up in the store and walk out with it. People tend to make safe decisions when it comes to making purchases, so they'll buy what they know has a good chance they'll like rather than taking a risk. I played a few levels and I really enjoy it but its not really going to have legs like other games in its genre because it really doesn't have that pick up and buy factor.
Like I said earlier, it doesn't really know what it is. It sends mixed messages to the buying public about what the game is about. The difference between LBP and SMG is that people know what Mario is about, they know what to expect. With LBP, who knows? Just from looking at the cover its something I would buy at a bargain bin price to try but without knowing what it is theres no way in hell I would have purchased it without being involved on this forum.
I tried to describe what the game was about to my brother with a PS3? You know what, I couldn't really put my finger on exactly what the game was about. So I just said "Its a good platformer with um a level creater" Not exactly that but I think my message has been delivered.
Making a game innovative is more likely to create a game which tanks in sales rather than sells millions. Theres the concept of building a better mouse-trap to deal with. The reason why games do things the way they do is because they work. With innovation you're taking a big risk.
