Aliens: Colonial Marines Sales Prove Bafflingly Massive

[Still Life]

I actually kind of liked A:CM... I suppose that makes me a bad person.

I can understand that.

I avoided this one because of its history, and it turned out to be a good call for my wallet.

In the past I bought Firewarrior (an intensely mediocre game) and I still had fun with it despite the fact.

 

[Epicspoon]

Thanks to the (admittedly brilliantly) duplicitous marketing campaign, I'm willing to guess a ton of people pre-ordered it. Now I'm willing to bet they spend a lot of time crying in the shower.

This is why I keep my subscriptions to my gaming magazines updated. Because the reviews come out before the actual game and if it sucks I can CANCEL MY PREORDER AND GET MY MONEY BACK. That being said I never gave a crap about this game from the start.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Seriously...why spend $60 on this thing? I can understand why people would want to buy poorly reviewed or, just plain bad games. Hell, I'm guilty of this [sub][sub]Aquaman, Duke Nukem Forever, Predator, Sonic 06[/sub][/sub] but I wouldn't buy a game this poorly reviewed until the price dipped to less-than-$20.

 

[Elijin]

I actually kind of liked A:CM... I suppose that makes me a bad person.

Yes, we're going to lock you up, you monster!

...Kidding. There's nothing wrong with having a differing opinion. Still, with all the outrage....

...Oh yeah, Michael Bay. And almost every EA game. It's almost like people buy stuff anyway.

Its almost like no one actually gives a shit what the internet thinks, or how many tantrums it throws.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

I actually kind of liked A:CM... I suppose that makes me a bad person.

You're not alone. It was okay, I was a bit annoyed with the screen tearing and texture popping, but otherwise it was what I expected, the multiplayer is actually pretty fun if playing in a group.

 

[Something Amyss]

Its almost like no one actually gives a shit what the internet thinks, or how many tantrums it throws.

Or people in general. Bay has been mocked at large for years. I'm sure he's crying all the way to the bank, though.

 

[Right Hook]

Anybody who preorder this was mildly stupid and very naive (myself included, I vow to not preorder again unless I feel it is an absolute necessity and quality is more assured. Way to go Gearbox, your disregard and ineptitude will cost better companies money they actually deserve).

Anybody who bought this after the release and the reviews started dropping is completely stupid and pays attention to nothing. (Seriously there is almost no excuse for any purchase after the reviews dropped, why would you buy this?!?)

I pre-ordered and am happy with the purchase, why? Because I played it before it was released at the EB expo, so I knew what I was getting. Not everyone has a problem with the end result and the article is unprofessional in implying that those such as myself whom enjoy a game we didn't over hype ourselves for are somehow stupid for approaching the game resonably and thinking rather than sucuming to the hype train.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, I think the anger is more from feeling personally burned than anything else. I also think people like you are in the minority on this one and people like that tend to get overlooked in the larger argument. It can also be a little hard to see why someone would enjoy this game, the multiplayer was alright I suppose.

 

[Weatherking]

If you can enjoy mediocrity, then why should anyone work at their craft to please you?

I firmly believe that nobody should do anything to please me. They *could* if they wanted to, but I personally would feel like it would be overly entitled of me to expect that they *should*.
So if I don't misunderstand, which I often do, what you are objecting to is my, to be honest, flippant comment about being able to enjoy what the general public perceives as sub-par being enviable. To clarify where that comes from: it's about my dislike for hate as an emotion to respond to anything really, and considering enjoyment a more healthy alternative when it comes to things like games, not the only one either. You can dislike or like whatever you want, I just object to extreme and harmful emotions being used frivolously, I don't think it's good for people to not try to control harmful behavior and emotions, that's all I'm trying to say. Saying I want people to not try to do the best they can and coast through doing the bare minimum as you seemed to infer is not what I intended to get across with it.

 

[The White Hunter]

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is legitimately better than any Mario Kart ever made and has become one of my favorite racing games ever. A:CM's only saving grace is it's amazingly convoluted development history.

Spoiler: And this.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a brilliant racing game, it's an utter joy to experience, it's gorgeous and lush, it's fast and frantic without ever feeling unbalanced, cheap or even frustrating. It's one of my most recommended releases or recent times!

OT: That's some pretty bad garmz jurnalism but ok. Yeah it's kinda inexplicable apart from the huge marketing push for the game and the years of hype and pre-orders.

 

[Mahoshonen]

The pre-orders explanation might be the reason for the high numbers. But if it isn't, then I wouldn't put it past Sega to be outright lying about the sales figures to mollify shareholders. After all, they seem to be okay with bullshitting their consumers.

Of course, if they are lying and get caught, then Sega's in for a world of hurt.

 

[lordmardok]

I actually kind of liked A:CM... I suppose that makes me a bad person.

You're entitled to your opinion man, I mean, it's not like liking the game is hurting anyone y'know? It may mean that you might not have the best judgment or taste when it comes to deciding which games are objectively good or not but that's not really a big deal. Games are made to be entertaining and if you were entertained by that... uh... thing... then more power to ya I guess.

 

[Zanderinfal]

Is there anyway to figure out how many returns of the game there are? Cause I'm almost willing to bet that there would be almost 1.3 million in return copies of that game.

They didn't actually return alot of copies, if I remember correctly. There were some people who got it refunded but for the life of me I actually can't remember.

Ot: Yeah, it was the brand label that sold it. Combined with pre orders and you have a recipe for disappointment.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I wonder if they count returns as sales anyway.

It's very hard to return a game these days. Once its open, the most you could do is ***** enough to get $60 in store credit. At that point the publisher still get's their money and the game store loses nothing because they have a guaranteed sale from you to purchase another game. They get your money and get to sell your used copy of A:CM as a used game for more profit.

 

[stabnex]

Good lord, it took me 3 months to sell one dang copy of that game. I guess my customers all listen to the critics...

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I wonder if they count returns as sales anyway.

It's very hard to return a game these days. Once its open, the most you could do is ***** enough to get $60 in store credit. At that point the publisher still get's their money and the game store loses nothing because they have a guaranteed sale from you to purchase another game. They get your money and get to sell your used copy of A:CM as a used game for more profit.

Well, we definitely know they don't count purchases that were later regretted, so that's roughly the portion of buyers that returns would have covered.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I picked up Sonic and Sega All Star Racing Transformed for $50 brand new and it was worth every cent. It's not just a blatant Mario Kart rip off any more and the whole family could play it simultaneously.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Probably a lot of them due to an awesome trailer and it being a Aliens game. Also, people trust Gearbox because the Borderlands franchise has gone down so well. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to these things (apparently, because I haven'y played it yet).

I don't know why it would be so freaking hard to make an Aliens like the AvP 2 crossover done by Monolith maybe a decade ago now. That game was unbelievable, so good each individual campaign, each captured what it's like to fight, move, and stalk (or be stalked) like the creature they are with the various abilities. Groundbreaking stuff for an FPS, something we are really lacking in at the moment. And the first decent implementation of the trademark Aliens motion tracker. Every encounter kept you on your toes.

 

[FoolKiller]

It's undeniably a bad game, and yet 1.31 million of you decided to drop $60 on the title.

What the eff guys?

It's not that bad. It's just not particularly good either. Also, I only spent $10 on it and it entertained me enough for that amount. However, I feel for those that did waste $60 on it.

 

[Strazdas]

Thanks to the (admittedly brilliantly) duplicitous marketing campaign, I'm willing to guess a ton of people pre-ordered it. Now I'm willing to bet they spend a lot of time crying in the shower.

Is there anyway to figure out how many returns of the game there are? Cause Im almost willing to bet that there would be almost 1.3 million in return copies of that game.

0. you cannot return videogames.

I've already seen A:CM's prized down heavily on GamersGate.com. It was a temporary discount of 75% IIRC. So not everyone payed 60 bucks.

Still didn't pick it up. I think I can get better games from 2 years ago for 10 bucks.

You can get far better games than Alien's Colonial Marine from closer to twenty years ago.

Moot point. you can get the best games from closer to twenty years ago.



The lesson to be learned here: maybe the retardation of per-ordering should finally stop?

 

[itsthesheppy]

Not many people read critics, no.

But if the game sucks, even if that game makes bank, customers may be reticent about buying from those developers in the future.