Major Signs a Game Will Flop

TGS reveals the signs that indicate the next big flop.

TGS: "Every gamer has made the mistake of buying a horrible new game. Here are the signs that will help you spot a flop before you waste your money. You deserve better."

[jimineyscrickets]

Better article than I thought it would be. Haze was so bad. I wish somebody had pointed out these things to me before I bought it.

[gameplayingfool]

The points made really do indicate a game is not gonna be worth your money.

[spydersvenom]

Truth be told, these are exactly what you need to recognize upcoming flops. We've all be there

[JOLLY1]

It's not on the ps3?

[Morbius420]

Yeah Halo not being on the PlayStation really made it flop didn't it.

[himdeel]

...that is number one for me as well. If you cannot see at least two dozen reviews at least the week before a game drops it is a clear sign of hot garbage for me.

[Anon1974]

If it was guilty of anything it was being average and being a little over ambitious with it's social commentary. Didn't it sell almost 3/4 of a million?

And it introduced me to the term "Boosh!"

Co-op and multiplayer were fun. Still, when I finish a bad guy off I want him to go down screaming about how he'll stab at me from hell's heart, not cry and ask for his mom. Where's the fun in that?

[Gun_Senshi]

Haze is exactly the same as Halo and plays exactly the same too. Online is same too.

[Danja]

Am I the only one who actually enjoyed playing Lair with the Motion Controls instead of using Analog ?? imagine if Factor 5 had went with using the Analog sticks reviewers would have dogged the game for not supporting motion controls....cant please them.

I agree about no reviews till after games are released thats a huge warning sign right there.

and Haze wasn't that bad as people make it out to be... not great but not bad very average game , I enjoyed the 4 player co-op and online matches.

[original seed]

I agree with all points stated.

[chrisnick]

is if its an xbox 360 exclusive published by SE (man they're messing up royally)

[Christopher]

They're all kind of common sense concepts, but unfortunately not everyone browses the Web for game news, let alone the history of a game that's about to be released.

[Chubear]

I am sooooooooooo glad somebody said this.

Look, I understand the Halo universe is loved and enjoyed by millions of gamers and in that aspect of things I totally respect that.
What I can't for the life of me understand though is the god like reverence to ANYTHING halo cause to me, the gameplay and story of halo is of very normal average stuff but it's always held as some odd bench mark for FPSs when it is, in it's self, just normal run-of-the-mill type FPS.

.. and then Haze comes along and I'm like "uhm, feels kinda like haloesque" but in that thought I caught myself thinking "So how come one game is looked at as god like and the other, not just ok but a flop and crap.. but they play and feel very very similar.

I'm not talking about the story or the environments etc I'm talking about the actual pacing and feel of the gameplay. I have to wonder, had HAZE come out when Halo1 did and instead became the first FPS display for that eras current gen consoles, would it have garnered the exact same thing?

As a matter of fact, would ANY exclusive FPS that come out first on last gen have benefited like halo? ofcourse the mind numbing marketing that followed the sequels no doubt aided significantly but the question still stands. How the hell can someone tell me HAZE is crap but it plays very similar to halo but halo is considered god like in the 360 fanbase?

I only thing I've found way above average with halo series is the music which is really of epic proportions but for the life of me I have no clue how this game garnered the reputation it has. I mean please someone break it down for me, please cause I just don't understand it.

Grahpics: nothing to write HOME about especially the online graphics

Story: Straight good stuff nothing different from the likes of Lair.

Voice acting: adequate and nothing more.

gameplay: nothing extraordinary. Just shoot swams of enemies, not much thinking or strategy at all. Pacing was similar to HAZEs or many other FPSs and introduced NOTHING to gameplay in current gen FPSs.

online gameplay: simple straight cookie cutter stuff and feels like last gen. And no, forge doesn't automatically make the online gameplay teh uber cause it's just a very watered down and limited map editing stuff.

AI: Shoody and adequate at best times

Sure you can record your games which is cool but you could be similar on PS1 games like Driver 1 too.

I just don't get the crazy hype with this game. Many FPSs, especially this gen, have surpassed Halo in virtually every category in gaming but somehow this game is held high by the gaming media and it's fanbase as the best of the best. I just dont' get it.

[edgeofblade]

My signs of a game's potential flop-itude:

* The PR company sounds prophetic or revolutionary, rather than simply promotional.

* If they imply something like "Nothing will ever be the same after the launch of Pocket Ponies: The Jeweled Pillow of Jewels".

* "Real time weapon change" - They claim something amazing that has already been done and want credit for innovating. It's usually a sign there isn't much in the game that innovative at all.

There are these impossible claims that we, as jaded free-market consumers, are supposed to filter, but some how never completely scrub them and the promises creep into our subconscious to build things up.

[Chubear]

Yes I know I'm going to get disagrees and bubbles taken away like crazy for my above comments but please also try and educate me a bit so I can understand better. Show me comparison vids showing why halo3 gets 10s across the board for Graphics, story, gameplay, MP etc etc that other FPS just can't match up to.

Please I want to understand it.

[Gun_Senshi]

Simple Explaining. MS Checks.

Just look at redicouls Halo 3 Ad Campain from MS. They should make Halo Diapers.

I bet if Halo was on PS consoles it would say it sucks.

BTW, no wonder real FPS players (PC Gamers) Hate Halo, its an insult to FPS Genre.

[redsquad]

No argument from me, Chubear.
I played HAZE and I played HALO (1 and 3). I liked HAZE, I didn't like HALO. Does that mean anything in the grand scheme of things? Of course not, as it's just my opinion (one that very few agree with, clearly), yet I won't lie to myself just to follow a trend.

[ps3gamerkyle]

For the most point, I agree. However the point "The Developer is struggling to find a Publisher" is incorrect, in my opinion. Sometimes 'risky titles' are hidden jems in the rough.

[Baka-akaB]

Well no arguments from me . I dont get halo , never did and sadly maybe never will . I usually just avoid that argument , because since i care much more about sony or nintendo franchises when it comes to exclusives and consoles , it would logically be dismissed as fanboy drivel .

When the first was released i didnt care yet for consoles fps , and i couldnt see anything in it not done on PC and better .
I could accept it though as one of the few chosen console fps to move things forward ON consoles .

Then stupidest things happened (imo back then) , despite the far better pc fps of the era , i also saw people begin to weep for the pc version coming so late . it even had sucess , though obviously far more limited on pc .

Then the second came , and it was more the same but obviously better done . I was like ok , not a surprise anymore , though i still dont like it .

But the third ... it imo just became some silly travesty and show , with basically the same game as the second and not living up to the potential of the console .. unlike say a gears of war , wich actually deserves its success , even if i also dont like much that game .

And now halo wars still selling based on the name , withot any shock and surprise on my end . it no longer surprise me to see people fiercely defend the game's greatness , despite the "facts" that better 360 rts are around like red alert , clancy's or C&C , and yet they dont even get as close in success .

I'll just stop now , cause it'll just probably cost bubbles .. and the aformentioned "fanboy drivel " dismissal

Where i distance myself with you guys , is i'd never dare say or believe that Haze was better . What i've seen was far less polished be it in multiplayer , co-op and solo .... and something that got no excuse given how often it was delayed .

[ps3d0]

not says flop like a ps3 exclusive

[dragunrising]

Good points.

However, how do you return an opened retail game and get your money back? "Too Human was returned in droves." I interpret this to mean the game was traded in used. Anywhere have more lax return policies for media? Too Human was enough of a flop to earn a sequel...hmmmmm.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

"Haze is exactly the same as Halo and plays exactly the same too. Online is same too."

Hey CONGRATULATIONs! You just received the official bonehead statement of the month award!

[DaTruth]

Halo 1 was an incredible game and deserves all the praise it gets! I played that game a million times at my friends house. I couldn't convince my friends to play the Halo 2, they just didn't like it and I never got to see the campaign at all. Halo 3 was a shame and MS should have spent more money building the game then promoting it.

Halo fans are like Leafs fans; You can give them mediocre again and again and they'll just keep on paying! Sad thing is, if you would just call the game for what it is and get upset, MS might actually put in some money and work and give you a good game next time!!

[iDystopia]

DaTruth= Pure propaganda

[Gun_Senshi]

Sure your name and pic shows you are not halo biased fan

[TheColbertinator]

Very interesting article.

[Kleptic]

only thing he missed imo...would be constant delays...Too Human was the DEFINITION of that...he kind of touches on it, but doesn't dedicate much more than a tag on a picture to this regard...

Splinter Cell: Conviction should have some flags up to this degree too...MGS4 sending it back to the drawing board is not a good sign...where as something like Alan Wake technically has not been delayed at all, and probably will end up being awesome...there is a difference between being in development for a long time...and being delayed numerous times...

[goflyakite]

Haze was also delayed/pushed back, right?

[Kleptic]

yeah...but by 5 months or something...too human was around 8 years...

[raiden_93]

The signs these days are getting more and more predictable. More and more games are becoming bigger and bigger flops.
Great Article!

[va_bank]

... is all you need to know. The later they come out, the worse the game will be. It has never failed.

[PSP2]

i look forward to playing too human 2

[PSP2]

in 20 years

[mintaro]

I actually enjoyed Too Human quite a bit, it wasn't excellent by any means but it was a pretty decent game not necessarily desevring of all the flak it got.

Although the dev was a douchebag. Dyack was it?

[Covenant]

Agreed. TH wasn't the best game I've ever played, but it wasn't horrible either.

And yes, Dennis Dyack constantly running his mouth about the game built more hype than the game deserved. If they make a sequel, the first thing Silicon Knights needs to do is duct-tape his mouth shut.

[Baka-akaB]

I didnt find it horrible per se , but too many things ruins it for me . Like a design i didnt like to begin with . A really crappy story that reeks of pretention for me , many irritating details , a minimalist co-op that makes little sense .

And the funny thing is half those things wouldnt have been noticed or made such a huge impact , if the game itself didnt shine a big light on it , or if dyack in interview or forums had shut up a bit .

I never even expect a good story from a dungeon crawler/diablo clone .. nor do many , so why make up all that pompeous philosophical crap ? And why even bother with a mythology if it's not even to really try using it ? And by that i dont mean the fact that it was mixed with sci fi , wich wasnt the prob , but how it never really even use most of those myths themes ?

It was the same probleme with Hellgate in a way . They try setting up some falsely huge backgrounds and story , only to use it badly ... when most people would have been fine with a "demons are there , choose a class , and kills them to save the world , and get drops "

[mrlahey]

I enjoyed it too, spent around 16 to 20 hours in it. It wasnt the game it set out to be, but i still thought it was a okay game for what the end product was.

[ChampIDC]

Yeah, I also had fun with Too Human. There's a lot of games out there that can be quite enjoyable if you can look past the bugs and find the good in the game.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Just bought the game for 10 bucks at Best Buy. And I'm having some fun playing it. Surprisingly good story. The death scenes is silly and I can't believe I can't skip them.

[iDystopia]

#1 Hype it on the PS3.

[TheColbertinator]

lol I guess Too Human was a PS3 exclusive,eh?

:D

[iDystopia]

lol Everyone knows which console is the flop this generation. :)

[TheColbertinator]

No please tell me.I'm sure you will use logic to explain it.

[iDystopia]

Righttttttttttt.

I'll save you and Nasim the embarassment.

http://images.buycostumes.c...

[TheColbertinator]

lol ok.That didn't really explain anything

?

[Deadman64]

Well considering how much of the market the PS2 took, yeah the PS3 has def. flopped this gen.

[goflyakite]

"No please tell me.I'm sure you will use logic to explain it."
lol bubble to you for this and your other comments in this article Steven.

[krazy14kraz]

Very nice article. the motion control on the PS3 is not the best of controls. Warkhawk is mucho hard using those thangs.

[va_bank]

I can only play Warhawk WITH motion controls. If you take the time to learn them, they will give you a significant advantage in the game.

[iHEARTboobs]

Motion controls, if done properly, are a good feature in games. Flower's use of the motion controls was spot on.

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

i feel like playing lair for some reason lol

I thought Lair was ok and if it werent for the bad grafx & low framerate coulda been better. And the bad part is I cant bring myself to sell it -_-. There prolly wont be another game like Lair this gen. That makes it a 1 of a kind gem even though it wasnt all that great a game.

[Baka-akaB]

Well those are obvious signs anyone should already know . It quite rare to have a major hit a publisher doesnt ant to publicize a maximum . Hell they even do it for crap , so it should immediately looks suspicious .

Even when big corps do their review embargos for big games like re5 or Kz2 , you can "smell the hordes" of bloggers and journalists waiting in starting blocks . And there is always a positive leak , most likely orchestrated by the publisher himself .

[Xi]

I love how people always put a picture of too human with these stories. I recently bought a copy and I can tell you that the game is as addictive as diablo once you get to collecting and complete the armor and runes.

It's development was delayed by the contract they had made with nintendo, the game was not in development for 10 years like people seem to claim.

[TheMART]

Its more simple:

One major sign a game will flop in sales:

if it is a PS3 exclusive.

[sack_boi]

You beat me to it.

[Foxgod]

You took the words out of my mouth.

[Max Power]

oh mart you sure know how to make someone laugh. /s

[TheColbertinator]

Oh sales.I thought this article was about game quality.

Lair had terrible controls,boring boss fights,and bland story.It was hyped to be a great game yet it wasn't.Thats a flop.

Haze had broken co-op,crappy dialogue,and crappy graphics.It was hyped to be a great game and yet it wasn't.Thats a flop.

Too Human was touted as a next gen Diablo despite having terrible combat controls(right analog stick),poor graphics,and horrendous level design.It was hyped to be great and it wasn't.Thats a flop.

Flop is not about sales unless they are truly horrendous like selling only 3,000 copies on the first day.Flop is based on game quality and many games are terrible like Need for Speed Undercover and yet sell millions upon release

@OmarJa

His name is MART

[OmarJA]

Steven don't waste your time speaking to fart... :D

[pangitkqb]

There is a difference between sales flops (not the point of the article) and game quality flops, the type of flop the author is referencing.

[sack_boi]

Chill out Steve, this is the Open Zone remember? The funzone. For unbiased or reasonable comments go to the Gamer Zone.

OmarJA, on the other hand can stay.

[TheColbertinator]

I know what I am doing and where I am,Sackboi.

I'm just wondering if people can back up what they say,instead of blurting out something then run away like cowards when I ask them to elaborate.

[Aclay]

I tend to get suspicious about a game being a FLOP if there's little to hardly anything at all shown from the game and/or no major developer interviews for a very long time after the game has been announced.... I could state the games I feel that fall into that category, but I'm not starting a flame war.

A developers track record could also be a way to tell if a game will flop or not... but a lot of times you can't always rely on that because Guerrilla had a very average track record before, but they redeemed themselves with KZ2, and Free Radical had a pretty good track record but HAZE totally bombed.

And I'd also add multiple delays as well.... I wouldn't get concerned about a game flopping that has gotten ONE delay, but 2 or more delays to me are signs it could flop.

[Sangria]

I don't think we should consider Too Human sold well, especially when you see the number of games that retailers received at the launch date.
I remember when it released, we put the game in the demonstration console, and few hours later, our high boss call us and said:
"Have you received Too Human?
- Yes, we put it in the demo console.
- Stop it, get the game off the demo console, we'll never sell it."

Customers came in the shop, hyped about the game and few days later they came back with their copy. We sold not even 10% of our stocks, all the rest came back to the mother house after some months.

[dylantalon]

the sad thing is that LAIR was a good game with good motion controls and was reviewed by people who couldn't play it well and HAZE was a mediocre title not because of controls or game play , but because it had mediocre graphics and story. i played TOO HUMAN and it was mediocre also like a lot of other games.
my review for LAIR is 8.5. HAZE is 7. and TOO HUMAN is 7.5

ps. the talon stands for talented.

[Panthers]

Is Lair a good game? I have been hearing it is a lot better than the reviews let on. I am planning on getting it eventually since prices are rock bottom.

[Baka-akaB]

Imo no . Of course there was that issue with the controls but imo it never really was the biggest problem

They later fixed it . But even before , even with good controls , the game is just average .Pretty but not interesting .

[Tapewurm]

I truly enjoyed lair. They patched the controls to allow stick use, but I played it through the first time with the motion controls. If you take the time to learn the controls it actually is a lot of fun.... if u do buy it.....definitely complete the control tutorial. Everyone has varying opinions on different games... I liked it a lot....try it and find out for yourself.

[OmarJA]

"Major Signs a Game Will Flop"

If it's a 360 exclusive... :D

[iDystopia]

lol

[caffman]

than a PS3 exclusive

[goflyakite]

What does that tell you caffman? That 360 users buy garbage? According to your post I guess so.

[heyheyhey]

lol... xbots turn everyhting into a sales thing nowadays, kinda funny... must be the pathetic 360 line-up and failure rate deluding their already weak minds that got them to buy and support a last-gen system

it's funny when the sales thing turns against them ala "Ubisoft making more money on PS3" and they have nothing left... so they spin you right round, baby right round

[sack_boi]

Xbots brag about sales, Droids brag about flops. Everybody wins, hein?

[heyheyhey]

wrong... droids brag about a tenfold better exclusive line-up of games, reliability of the system, features (wifi, BluRay, Home, free online, Linux, VidZone, HDD, Bluetooth etc) and better console design with no disc tray and no massive power brick

xbots.... "TEH SALEZ"

[GiantEnemyCrab]

HeyHeyHey it works both ways. Sales don't matter but when "Sony is #1 in sales for Ubisoft" you all break out champagne.

Only idiots would think sales don't matter in a console war. Every generation before was measured on install base, now suddenly it's about quality not quantity. Last generation and the months leading up to the PS3 launch Sony fanboys spent a lot of time throwing the 120mil install base around.

[heyheyhey]

don't get me wrong Crab... i understand the importance of sales, but it seems to me that bots turn EVERYTHING into a sales argument, even in an article directly related to quality

no, i know that sales are related to quality in the long term... but sales don't influence an individual game's quality at all... unless it's a online-centric game, and while perhaps Killzone 2 didn't do Halo numbers... the online community is healthy

it just seems that bots shy away from discussions about quality, understandable yes... what's coming for the 360 in 09? a Halo add-on pack

i broke open the champagne, because following article after article of bots claiming PS3 owners don't buy games... Ubisoft generating more profit on PS3 seems kinda, well, just plain lulz really

as for hardware sales, i really don't see what the bots are gloating so much about... PS3 is doing wonders in Japan, and it's marginally outselling the 360 in Europe (GFK numbers, no VGchartz here... contact N4G member deep if you want to know more).. it's losing in America, but it's selling healthily for the price... we'll see what happens when the price cut drops in July along with the PS3's killer line-up

software sales? yeah, Sony hasn't had a Halo-esque seller yet, that's because GT5 hasn't released yet... GT games always outsell Halo games

software sales in general? well Ubisoft and EA are reporting higher revenue on the PS3, despite the install base gap... that speaks for itself i think

in the end, game quality will always be much more important... and Sony are gaining momentum by the day, while people don't know where the next 360 AAA exclusive will come from... Mass Effect 2? maybe, but it will also be on PC.. and maybe PS3 in the future

[aguy10346]

Hmm the no reviews one is soo true. I remember Dragonball Z : Burst Limit totally did that, lol, me and a mate took it back the same night after completing the story in no time.

The next potential flop could be Bionic Commando, although i'm about to go to a mates to play it on his xbox so i suppose i shouldn't really say that. I only say this cos its been off the radar for quite a while until this multiplayer beta has come out. Hope its amazing tho, Rearmed was stellar ^^

[maxcer]

i wouldn't expect too much from the bionic commando demo, its multiplayer only and the controls feel a bit too loose for my liking. i would have liked a singleplayer demo instead considering its the main focus of the game

[OmarJA]

Ninja Blade
Halo Wars

It must be great to be a 360 owner this year, LOL! i don't care about good games only sales so i can brag about them like a little b!tch in N4G... :D

[borgome]

Ya your right, Halo Wars is a Flop, that type of nerd gameplay would of sold better on the PS3. All the nerds that own a Playstation would of been all over Halo Wars like a Fat Kid on a Smartie.

[PopEmUp]

you need to understand the different between a game flop and sales flop

[PStu'rd]

Sales wise........obviously if its a ps3 exclusive.

Gameplay wise...........if Stards hype it

Killzone was hyped and it floped
Valkyria wasnt hyped yet it turned out awsome

MGS4 was hyped and it floped
Motosrtorm PR wasnt hyped yet it turned out awsome

MAG is being hyped and it will flop
infamous isnt being hyped yet it will turn out awsome

[OmarJA]

& 360 exclusives are flopping either ways... :D

"Killzone was hyped and it floped"
"MGS4 was hyped and it floped "

Guess they don't call you turd for nothing. :D

[mll09]

Hahaha!!

Yes MGS4 is a flop, of course receiving 10/10 from a lot of gaming sites means the game is a flop.

Gears of War and Halo must be sh!t then huh?

[rhood022]

It would have been nice to know what exactly he means by "flop." His definition or criteria varies, but it seems to always come back to HOW well a game sells. Which, unfortunately, is a logical fallacy to determine if a game is flop or not.

A few points towards his argument:

1. A change in developer or publisher isn't a sign that game is a flop. There could be numerous reasons WHY a game changes hands that don't include the quality of the game.

Going by this logic (and his assertion that publishers only hold on to cash cows), Ghostbusters, Brutal Legends, and COD: World at War are going to be (or in the case of COD already are) flops.

2. Having trouble finding a publisher is also not an indicator that a game will flop. He said it himself, publishers are more interested in making money than taking chances--which is why, no matter the quality, movie tie-in games, Assassin's Creed, the new iterations of Halo and Madden will sell a ton.

Occasionally big publishers will take a chance (EA), but for the most part companies are going to stick with what makes them money. This has nothing to do with a potential flop or not.

[Baka-akaB]

Your example doesnt apply , and of course they'll always be exception .
But your ex of cod , uhuh .
When did it change publisher ? It only when back to one of the two rotating team on the franchise ...
And it wasnt their first cod game .
Call of duty always sold well no matter what , and however good or crappy some eps were . It was was even considered a flop and always meet sales expectations .

As for the rest , sorry but again mostly exception to the "rules" . For a brutal struggling to find an editor at first , you'll find plenty crap like Limbo .

[Elven6]

How can you call COD a flop? It's selling really well and has gotten great reviews (the recent). COD 3 was the fault of Activision who only gave Treyarch what 8 months of development time to build a engine and game? 95% of studios take nearly a year to build their game engines and in the same amount of time they had to make not only a engine but a game to boot. Despite that COD 3 was pretty good, not as good as the others in the numbered series but definitely no flop.

[manwich25]

How about the game spends over 10 years in development. that almost always spells FLOP!

[Socomer 1979]

wow. the whole emaning of the word has completly dissapeared like the 2009 xbox360 exclusive line up of games.

what happended?

Xbox360 has no games. they should be celebrating the sales of sean white snow boarding. yay! or resient evil 5 sales. hoo ray !

wait a minute, those games are crap.

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

on a scale of 1-10 most people consider a 5 to be a bad game when in reality its an average game..

[Baka-akaB]

well i'm quite harsh on game myself .
And i feel that with 24h a day and so many stellar games on each console , there isnt enough time for "average" or mediocre games

[pangitkqb]

You are both right. PlayStationGeneration, it is sad that games that get average scores are treated by the gaming community as really bad. Baka-akaB, I agree in that there are too many excellent games to choose from for me to spend money on games that offer only an average performance.

[DelbertGrady]

If it's a PS3 exclusive you can be sure it will flop commercially.

[table]

nah. but a 360 exclusive that isn't a shooter... you bet it will.

[DelbertGrady]

Like Forza 2? Or Fable II perhaps? Mass Effect?

Metal Gear Solid 4 is the best selling PS3 exclusive ever. It's still still struggling to catch up to Forza 2, the 9th best selling 360 game. lol!

[table]

lol. you're funny. seriously, no sarcasm, it was funny :)

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Stewgard just got pwned hard!

[Bazookajoe_83]

Or like Too human or any 360 jrpg. Lol, no im pretty wasted now so i shouldnt head into a discussion. But fudge in the eyes to those who cant see potential...

[Chubear]

NO ONE CAN SIGNIFICANTLY TELL IF A GAME WILL FLOP OR NOT.

The main way a game will be known to flop this gen is if editorial reviewers want it to flop and tell the community to not buy it. They control what will be a flop or not.

There is no logical reason games like Too Human or Lair had to flop other than the gaming media, for some reason or the other, wanted this.

Had they given Too Human 8s and said "nice try but could do better" Too Human would not be looked at as a flop. There was nothing about the gameplay of that game that warranted overly harsh criticism unless you just didn't like the developer.

Had they also given Lair 8s and stated "There's a big learning curve but you grasp it soon enough" more people would have tried out Lair and possibly had a chance to experience a bigger better sequel.

Editorial gaming sites have way too much power in the gaming industry IMO.

[iHEARTboobs]

"Editorial gaming sites have way too much power in the gaming industry IMO."

If that's the case it's because gamers give them all that power. I would encourage all gamers to try a game before they decide not to buy it. If it looks interesting, rent it at least. Don't rely on reviews because no matter how much someone says they hate it, there's always people out there that feel the exact opposite.

[pangitkqb]

That idea that the highly opinionated and vastly diverse media all conspire together to randomly make certain games flop is utterly ridiculous. Do you really think sites that COMPETE with one another call each other up in huge groups to say "Hey, lets all give this game bad reviews cuz we feel like it" and then work together like that? Do you know how competition and capitalism work? Do you have any idea how journalism works?

What are you basing this off of?

[karan8624]

Most of these actually seem proper reasons.

[Reibooi]

I will say that these are not the be all end all signs and a game can show one or even all of these signs and still be a great game. Example. When Bungie first showed off Halo at E3 the game was slow and buggy and everyone thought it was going to fail. However the last few months of dev time made the difference and well we know how the rest goes.

However I will agree that more often then not these signs are a signal that the game may be having trouble and is going to fail.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

"A Change in Publisher or Developer"

Uh-Oh Dead Rising 2 and Ghostbusters!!

You've been warned. ;)

[Elven6]

The writer is implying a change in the middle of game development, Ghostbusters, Splatterhouse (or what ever that game was that Namco basically stole away from that San Fran dev), etc. Although Ghostbusters despite changing both publisher and developer at one point still looks great.

[ElementX]

It's released on the Wii

[Socomer 1979]

Who mispelled my words?

I said the whole Meaning of the word.

what happened?

N4G mods are coming after me again and jumbling my word so i make no sence. im on to you buddy.

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

Too Human = The biggest flop in gaming history.

[Deadman64]

Barely beating Resistance 2 and Killzone 2

[Obama]

xbugs never understand what the word quality means.

[goflyakite]

To truly know the meaning of something you need to experience it first hand, so I understand that they don't know what the word means.

[mirroredderorrim]

You're getting a Star Punch. *presses select*

[MriownBOTH]

its a matter of is this game worth $64. i sometimes think if new games crappy flop games sold new for 20 or 30.....it woulndt be so bad....but i feel bad for anyone includeing my self who has bought a 64 dollar game that flopped...we all have done it haha it sucks...

CANT SAY THIS ENOUGH

this is gonna be a good year.

WHO AGREES!!!!!

[pangitkqb]

It is gonna be a good year.

[DMason]

Great Article! This need to be said. It is a completely realistic depiction of how games work. If you don't see advanced reviews for it, then most likely it is garbage. Oh, and the whole "bugs" in the preview is a great way of telling.

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to tell it like it is. One of the better non-biased articles on this slowly sinking, stink-filled gaming site.

[Ripyealip]

you can tell a game will flop when it goes exclusive to a console that uses last gen technology. Take that America

[Steyene]

I have to agree with the review rule, if you buy a game before the review is out, chances are it will be a horrible game.

[Bazookajoe_83]

A movie based game is allways a certain sign it will flop, and if there´s no or to much hype around it.

[Mo0eY]

Meant to put in open zone.

[Mo0eY]

He forgot to add the most important sign:

The game is exclusive for the XFlop PleaseFixMe (excluding G@ylo 3 and Qu**rs of War 2 - only little kiddies buy that garbage).

:)

[DarkSavior]

Gun_Senshi - 8 hours ago
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1.7 -
Haze is exactly the same as Halo and plays exactly the same too. Online is same too.

No you're right and it also sold as well:As of January 3, 2008, Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies,What are high on nectar kid?

[kaveti6616]

I think the main reason why reviewers gave Halo 3 such high marks is because during this gen people are so afraid that sequels will be garbage, and when halo 3 came out, it wasn't garbage and was actually better than Halo 2 in every way except for the gameplay. The graphics were better but the game was exactly the same IMO. So, instead of criticizing the game for not bringing anything new to the table, the reviewers gave it high scores because to criticize it would be hypocritical in a sense because they gave its predecessor high marks as well and would now be criticizing a sequel that was exactly the same. You get what I'm saying? But of course, real gamers are actually looking for a new experience in addition to a great experience, which is why Halo probably deserved 7's or 8's across the board rather than 9's. However, the online multiplayer is as enjoyable as Halo 2's so it's not like Halo players are lacking in fun. Haze, on the other hand, looked awesome in the previews and I am pretty upset that it didn't do well. I'm even more upset that the development studio collapsed after that because HAZE could potentially be a killzone kind of game, with the first being mediocre and the second being awesome.

[All-3]

There's has to be more to a game besides the --> pacing and FEEL of the gameplay though.

You seem to have forgotten WHEN Halo was released as well... when it did - Halo's graphics WERE above average for a console game... and so too was the entire game, including the gameplay and pacing. BTW - comparing the graphics to TODAYS games is retarded.

---

--> So, instead of criticizing the game for not bringing anything new to the table...

Halo 3 also released with many features that set a standard for todays shooters. Killzone 2 developers took note...

[kaveti6616]

The theater mode and the forge mode are very fun, but usually only a certain group of people tend spend a lot of time forging maps on halo rather than playing the mp, and as for theater I think its cool that players can show each other all the crazy things they've done rather than describe it like for halo 2, but nevertheless, these features don't add much to the gameplay in my opinion. I would rather Bungie focus on three things in the single player: 1) the story, 2) the graphics, and 3) the gameplay. Before Halo 3 came out I was a massive halo fan, I spent a lot of time pondering how they would end the trilogy, what it would all be about, and when it finally came out and I played it, I realized how it wasn't a secret. So many people had predicted the relationship between the forerunners, the flood, and the humans years ago.

I guess it bothered me that we all saw the story coming from a mile away. And then there's the graphics. I know they don't matter for most games, but when we are talking about FPS shooters, graphics are like the major selling point, and DAMN, Halo 3 is so underwhelming. It is the most ugly beautiful game I have ever seen. The water looks cool, the characters look ugly. The shading looks great; the explosions look ugly. The lighting is immersive; the textures look ugly. For a game that had such a large marketing campaign, some time could have been spent making it look impressive. It wasn't even native 720p. Other than that the most saddening part of halo is the gameplay is largely unchanged, and by gameplay I don't just mean mechanics. In the commercials, we saw large battles and explosions off in the distance and rockets being shot at Master Chief from god knows where and we were all confounded, but when the game came out, I was shocked that it hadn't changed at all. It was nearly the same: small skirmishes quiet areas, small skirmishes, all your allies die, you finish off the brutes, pelican pickup, etc. I was hoping for large, intense battles with a larger variety of characters, but it seemed like an upgraded version of halo2. Don't get me wrong, its still very fun, and I play it still, but I and many others are looking for something new and refreshing.

[All-3]

I have the game as well... and I don't disagree with the bulk of your opinion on the game. We share many of the same criticisms.

But I was commenting on your take on why Halo 3's review scores were so high.

Perhaps you should go read a bunch of reviews... then you'll see what I mean about the features in Halo 3 and how they factored into many of those scores.

[robotnik]

The Last remnant, tales of vesperia, ninja gaiden 2, star ocean 4, infinite discovery, Halo wars, too human... FLOP AFTER FLOP, and you idiots keep defending your flopbox 360, what a bunch of losers, hahaha, I guess the PS3 is too expensive for your wallet LOL.

[Doletskaya]

Looks like this article is right.
Velvet Assassin just flopped.