Here's why Blur crashed and inevitably failed

Blur from Bizarre Creations (Activision) has crashed and burned. However, there is one good thing to come out of this, the realization that new IP takes more than a funny Mario kart spoof to sell or the previous reputation of an excellent development studio. Keep reading for MaxConsole’s reasons as to why Blur has failed to deliver in the market place. Confusion, a lack of engaging USP, a weak proposition amongst other reasons are cited.

[Quagmire]

Because Split/Second was better

Oh and coz it was published by Activagina

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

I honestly can not tell the difference between Dirt, Grid, Split/Second, Blur, Shift, and that other ATV racer from Disney.

I thought they were all just typical generic yearly released sequels.

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

When I saw Dirt, Grid, Split/Second, Blur, and Shift in the commercials, they all look too similar.

Average Joe doesn't read the review. And so, Average Joe can not tell the difference between them from just seeing the commercials.

[Red-Dead-Roar]

dirt has dirt tracks, rally
grid had tarmac, touring cars
s/s has destructable environment
blur has weapons
shift has shaky cam effects
fuel is sandbox
pure is atv

different angles all over...

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

they were all clearly different. But somehow, that was lost to the consumers. The image peoples saw was generic racers.

[ranmafandude]

and it's not call of duty what else is there to explain lol.

[kancerkid]

Yea. Only bullshit games backed by multimillion dollar marketing campaigns get sales.

Just another case of a great IP going down the drain because people follow the herd.

[MonopolyRSV]

Boycott Activision.

[Elven6]

Yes, boycott all their new IP's so when the higher ups start to look at the sales charts and see new IP's like Blur (which reviewed well) sold horribly and Call of Duty Black Ops sells 20 million units...well, you know.

[Red-Dead-Roar]

a racing game should be about racing. otherwise we already have wipeout hd...

[kancerkid]

Uh...why? Because they published the POS MW2? That game was a piece of crap.

[r1sh12]

I actually liked the beta so I bought the game.
I even sent the dev's of the game messages asking them to release it earlier because red ded would be out before.
Nothing happened, the game has serious lagg and glitching issues.
It was hacked 1 week before release date.
THey havent released a patch yet either.

[BeaArthur]

It released at a bad time. If it had released in July it probably would have had better sales.

[HagenBombel]

this game would have been one of the biggest summer-sellers if they droped the sp and only released this game on psn/xbl like Blacklight: Tango Down. or make it a budget title. dont get me wrong, i think the sp is fun to play too but the mp makes this game really special. im a fan of this game and even i just rented it and played the beta a lot. 69 euro( at gamestop) was an CRAZY price for this game to come out with. now you can get it for around 40Euros at Amazon.
releasing it next to the fresh and next gen looking split-second was a bad decision. split second is fun for a short rush but it is nowhere as deep as blur.

[El_Colombiano]

If only COD sold this way...

/wishes

[kancerkid]

No hope in hell bro. Crap games sell goooood.

[madpuppy]

I grabbed 2 copies of Blur for myself and my brother, I got them for 20.00 each
because of the 20.00 sale and the 20.00 coupon a week or so ago. It is totally enjoyable. and I really don't even like racing games. Sure, it isn't worth more than 40.00 but, the game is solid and it is the closest thing to the great burnout series, (specifically 2 and 3) sans the great soundtracks.

[equax]

The game was well worth my 20 dollars at BestBuy. Even though I have not played through the full game, hopping online was very easy and the community seemed very friendly to!

[xg-ei8ht]

Where is the demo for the PS3.

Demo's do help a game sell if a game is good.

[madpuppy]

grabbed it for 20.00, without a demo I probably wouldn't have gotten it for 40.00.

[lodossrage]

True, but demos help a game stay on store shelves if it's crappy lol

[ChronoJoe]

You do realise that what they're offering isn't really new, or anything. Midnight Club LA operates on the exact concept, powerups and licensed cars.

Midnight Club, however was a well known brand, and it wasn't the powerup side of things that was marketed much either. It was car customisation, large free roam area... and licensed cars. The powerups are just a bonus that.

[madpuppy]

I really dislike open world racing games, It takes away from the focus of racing and more trying to figure out where you need to go. To me Burnout 2 and 3 are better games than Burnout Paradise because of that.
plus, midnight club had all that cheesy voice acting and stupid crappy cut scenes.

Blur is distilled down to just racing/battling and a really good on line mode with near perfect voice chat.

[ChronoJoe]

Neither did I. Midnight Club is great fun! :)

But maybe if they had marketed this the same as Rockstar marketed there game (they marketed it like a NFS game, with lose emphasis on powerups) rather than claiming it was essentially a mature kart racer, sales would have been better.

[Redempteur]

-split second appealed to me
-no blur demo for me ( psn ) if i'm wrong tell me where is it
-activision
-who want mario kart for adults ? mario kart is crazy because it's a fantastic world

-just trying to make a mario kart for adult isn't enough ..game like crash team racing or sega all stars proved that a crazy world is better suited for a arcade racer ( split second follow that rule [crazy])
-ads that attack nintendo titles are NEVER a good idea

[badz149]

serve u right!

[J-Smith]

i will buy at low price soon because of the 4 player off-line mode

[madpuppy]

there was a 20.00 off manufactures coupon and the game was reduced to 40.00 a few weeks ago, you could have gotten it for 20.00.

[TheoreticalParticle]

This mode has replaced any other games we've been playing. People who don't even game are now swinging by to get in on the action.

Our favorite set-up currently is High Handicap, One-Hit Kills, Power-ups Always on.

[iistuii]

Sorry boy's you should have stuck to the amazing PGR series, as this is just a poor version of mario karts.

[Ether]

It released at a bad time. If it had been released this week or the next, I'm sure it would have had a lot more sales.

[ExitToExisT]

it's an okay game but could have been better; still didnt understand these poor sales number.
i recently started playing online, and there is like 1500 people online everyday

[orange-skittle]

get demo's like XBL. PSN does not have trail versions of arcade games. Stop complaining and do something about it. You like screaming to world that it's free, but you don't get all the stuff paid members get. Not bashing PSN, but there's a reason they are coming out w/ PSN Plus($50 a year). People have to understand that all this is not free for Sony, so why should people(gamers) not have to pay?

Blur was a great demo and something I would buy, but not at $60. Plus I own Split/Second and that game is addictive and intense. I bought for $28 on ebay and it was worth it. I refuse to pay $60 for fighting or racing games. They have no story or long term appeal since there's only one concept. No stories and no puzzles. All racing and fight games should have reduced pricing.

[willie32]

My biggest gripe about the game was it never established its own identity. They needed to go all arcade gameplay or do an all sim game. The controls are horrible for this game for as much action that is taking place. All too often 15 of the racers end up in a huge cluster pile in the first sharp turn. Why didn't they include insane power slides is beyond me.

[gypsygib]

I didn't buy it because it was a multiplayer based game with no one online. Maybe most other people feel the same - this game needed a stellar first week sales to gain momentum and cement an onlinecommunity - they should have gone the Batman AA route and released it at a discounted price for its launch week to get the ball rolling.

[iceman2929]

Only because it was on sale at best buy for 39.99 , and i had that 20$ off Blur coupn. Im fine with paying 20$ for a new game, that may or may not be great. I could trade it in at EB games for 28$ too :)

[ghostgaming]

Came out at a bad time with other blockbuster games. Sometimes laggy online. One player experience was short and pretty easy - split screen is nice as it seems so many games now a days dont even bother with that.

Not worth 60, but it you can get under 40, its solid.

[Jeff257]

I never bought this because I was more interested in Modnation Racers. I havent regretted that purchase once since I got it either.