@ OP

The following would happen:

-MS and Wii fanboys would jump on the Killzone 2 flopped bandwagon calling it the new Haze/Lair

-Sony fanboys would get into defence mode and go into damage control

-this would be in the forums for a month at most

So in the real scheme of things.... maybe some really thin skinned fanboys may break out crying after being insulted on the internet, cry to their parents who then complain to government, who then in turn complain to Sony about quality control and what went wrong with the game. Sony then would get all defensive and launch a verbal attack on the government. Government gets all pissed off at Sony headquarters and nukes Sony headquarters. Then its revealed that the PS3 has actually been used to build new weapons of mass destruction and Sony unleashes everything it has at Microsoft and America because its losing the worst there. And then starts world war 3 and all hell breaks loose.

Was that the answer you were looking for?

^Exactly right.

Buy Killzone 2, to save your life and the lives of people everywhere! To save the world!

Sony would be in trouble. They have invested a great deal in this game and Guerilla, and for it to not turn out a good selling game after all this time, would be awful for Sony.

Not just because it would cost them a great deal of money, but I am sure they will want to rethink their 1st party studios policies and stop expanding

It also damages Sony as they want a new great franchise, and while Uncharted looks as though it could be big, they are nothing like Halo or Mario, and I think they need another major franchise to go along with Gran Turismo.

However, their problem of lack of big hitters is not just to do with Killzone, which they need to become close to Gears in terms of size, it is also Motorstorm and Resistance, both of which Sony would have been looking to to become large franchises, and that has not happened

Sony will probably bundle this game to hell and back, so in the end it will always look like it "had some legs" even if it sells badly in the beginning.

If it flops, it will be the same as always... Fanboys move onto the next presumably big title and laud it as the next savior. Everyone else laughs a bit, mocks said fanboys for failed predictions and expectations. Lather rinse repeat.

omfg lmAo 

The internet will suffer from "PS3 Doomed" and "Killzone2 Sucks" threads.....

Im expecting it to have ~ 2-3 times as big an opening as R2 had.... but nothing major... still I would see it reaching to 4 million easily...

If it will bomb ( meaning less then 2 million LT ) then it will be yet another blast for Sony, but nothing fatal ;)

I really can't see Killzone 2 flopping. Sony has invested a massive budget in its development. I'm sure the game will also receive a heavy ad campaign. I'm with Stof, I think the game will sell 2 million units or so. I'd be shocked if it sold less than that. With the game being a first party, 2 million should net Sony a nice profit even with a large, 10 to 20 million, ad campaign.

And as for the internet, Microsoft fanboys will keep shoving it in our faces, while we move on and hype inFamous or Heavy Rain.

Doubt Wii fanboys would be that bothered but other than that I agree with everything you said would happen