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Forums - Sales Discussion - How would you define a flop?

dgrzalja on 24 March 2009

Biggest flops are when a game is so hyped up and even early previews
seems like it will be good and then it gets so bad, so (s)hitty, so horrible and you wasted your time hoping a game will be great....



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BxN on 24 March 2009

A game hyped to death that fails to receive critical aclaims and/or doesn't sell.

ie:
star ocean 4
assassin's creed (it's a flop, despite selling well)
haze
lair
too human

etc. etc.



786_ali on 24 March 2009

i think its a flop when its a game of low quality and doesn't sell as high as expected.

both have to be true to label a game a flop imo



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perpride on 24 March 2009

My definition of flop has absolutely nothing to do with sales. I could honestly give a fuck less about that. If we were to base whether a game is a flop or not on sales, we would have to call some of the most amazing games ever made flops.

A flop is a game that was made out to be amazing but turns out to be shit.



canch on 24 March 2009

A flop is when developers don't get their money back they spend on making the game in the first place.  To me any game that makes the developers £1+ in profit is a success.  But games companys don't work like that.

What Crysis a Flop, im sure it made tons of money for crytek, saying it only sold so many for the first few months and now we heard (its sold over 3million copies ?).  Same with Unreal III (PC)... it may of sold badly at first but its made a profit.

Haze for the PS3 sold over 500,000, I belive free radical still made a little profit but they when out of business.



PC gaming rules.....

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FaRmLaNd on 25 March 2009

If a game makes a loss its a flop.

If a game makes a profit but doesn't sell anywhere near as much as past games in the franchise then I also consider that a flop.



Tyrannical on 25 March 2009

When it doesn't reach expectations



Yet, today, America's leaders are reenacting every folly that brought these great powers [Russia, Germany, and Japan] to ruin -- from arrogance and hubris, to assertions of global hegemony, to imperial overstretch, to trumpeting new 'crusades,' to handing out war guarantees to regions and countries where Americans have never fought before. We are piling up the kind of commitments that produced the greatest disasters of the twentieth century.
 — Pat Buchanan – A Republic, Not an Empire

Naum on 25 March 2009

Easy.

When it doesn't give the developer any profit.



If it isn't turnbased it isn't worth playing   (mostly)

And shepherds we shall be,

For Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritūs Sancti. -----The Boondock Saints

Galaki on 25 March 2009

It's a flop when it supports my argument.



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Shinlock on 25 March 2009

I don't care about expectations and hype. this is how I define a game

(note this is over the life of the game, not first week)

Money Maker - Making a huge profit. 130%+ of development costs recovered.
Successful - breaking even or making a profit.
Disappointment - game failing just short of breaking even. makes between 70%-99% of development costs
Flop - miles from breaking even. recovers less then 70% of development costs.

This does mean a small few games with 300,000 sales are "Money Makers". But Gaming is a business and the key aim is to make a profit if some kind. Even if a game is hyped up and fails to meet expectations, if it makes a profit any company should walk away feeling good.