Microsoft Marketing Fail

[xxDontknowHowtoDeleteanAccountxx]

But are The Witcher 2's target audience really the same people as Fable 3's target audience? Yeah there'll be overlap, naturally, but... I dunno... maybe it's from being a long time RPGer (both tabletop and PC) so maybe I'm just more sensitive to divisions within the RPG community.

Oh, definitely. I was never trying to suggest there is no difference between the two, in fact imo the games are pretty much on the opposite ends of the RPG spectrum. But there are certainly going to be people, such as myself, who would enjoy both games. You seem to be of the opinion that The Witcher 2 is a better game (one I'm not disagreeing with) but in the end, if someone who was going to get Witcher 2 but bought Fable III and ended up enjoying it, is that such a bad thing?

Yes, Microsoft have never delayed or cancelled the release of a completed PC game before. Oh wait, yes they have.

Well at the end of the day, that was their choice. Not entirely relevant though, as I was simply saying that at very least Lionhead is an accomplice to this crime, ontop of the charge of making a flawed, disappointing game.

 

[mighty_wambat]

i would bet this is not a fail. it was an attack. they know they don't make money on pc games so they launch them on days when they can do the most strategic good.

most people who play the pc version of fable 3 will do so by pirating it anyway, so why not use it against competitors for the hand full who pay?

 

[Forktongue]

Gotta love it when people angrily spew an opinion as if it's fact. Yet another armchair analyst making sweeping statements on how the gaming industry should handle business. The fact is, no one will now how this release date will affect the sales of Fable 3 or Witcher 2.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

But are The Witcher 2's target audience really the same people as Fable 3's target audience? Yeah there'll be overlap, naturally, but... I dunno... maybe it's from being a long time RPGer (both tabletop and PC) so maybe I'm just more sensitive to divisions within the RPG community.

Oh, definitely. I was never trying to suggest there is no difference between the two, in fact imo the games are pretty much on the opposite ends of the RPG spectrum. But there are certainly going to be people, such as myself, who would enjoy both games. You seem to be of the opinion that The Witcher 2 is a better game (one I'm not disagreeing with) but in the end, if someone who was going to get Witcher 2 but bought Fable III and ended up enjoying it, is that such a bad thing?

Yes, it's a terrible thing and that person should have their genitals whipped with a knotted rope.

I dunno if The Witcher 2 is a better game than Fable 3... although it would take some monumental effort to make it a worse game, so there's a very good chance it will be the better game. It will certainly be the better game for me regardless as I am exercising my right to hold pointless grudges against corporations who neither know nor care about my existance.

Yes, Microsoft have never delayed or cancelled the release of a completed PC game before. Oh wait, yes they have.

Well at the end of the day, that was their choice. Not entirely relevant though, as I was simply saying that at very least Lionhead is an accomplice to this crime, ontop of the charge of making a flawed, disappointing game.

That sort of depends on their contract. It's not exactly uncommon for dev contracts to allow the publisher to unilaterally pull dick moves regardless of the developers' wishes.

 

[Zaik]

Oh wow, two mediocre linear corridor RPGs are releasing together, I will make sure to buy neither one.

I understand that everyone wants to take every chance they can at taking a shot at M$, but this really is a bit of an overexaggeration.

 

[xxDontknowHowtoDeleteanAccountxx]

Yes, it's a terrible thing and that person should have their genitals whipped with a knotted rope.

I dunno if The Witcher 2 is a better game than Fable 3... although it would take some monumental effort to make it a worse game, so there's a very good chance it will be the better game. It will certainly be the better game for me regardless as I am exercising my right to hold pointless grudges against corporations who neither know nor care about my existance.

Well at the end of the day, I'm sure both companies care about you for the same thing, money. It's just one of them has much more than the other, and can afford to loose customers, so don't have to connect as much to their community in order to make enough. Make of this what you will.

That sort of depends on their contract. It's not exactly uncommon for dev contracts to allow the publisher to unilaterally pull dick moves regardless of the developers' wishes.

True enough, but without insider information on such contract, further discussion would seem moot.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Well at the end of the day, I'm sure both companies care about you for the same thing, money.

If Microsoft cared about getting a slice of my gaming budget they'd start making games I want to play. As it stands, they'll just have to settle for the money they got when I updated to Win7 (which cost me around half of what a new game goes for).

 

[Zhukov]

What are they going to pick? The game they were shafted for months ago and has a bunch of glaring flaws? The game that will receive little support and will most likely be a bad console port? The game that promises harder difficulty as an exclusive feature?

Or are they going to go with the game that has a good following, dedicated PC support, and a Dev team that went out of their way to make an entire overhaul to an already decent RPG?

I would bet money that the PC version of Fable 3 will sell more then Witcher 2.

Probably by a significant amount. Yeah. It sucks. I know.

Welcome to the games industry.

 

[xxDontknowHowtoDeleteanAccountxx]

If Microsoft cared about getting a slice of my gaming budget they'd start making games I want to play. As it stands, they'll just have to settle for the money they got when I updated to Win7 (which cost me around half of what a new game goes for).

Except Microsoft doesn't really make games for the PC, it just ports them. An unfortunate side-effect of one of the worlds most successful computer company also producing an equally successful dedicated gaming system. When looking at it like that, It wouldn't make as much sense to port them the other way around. Us PC owners will just have to suffer with reduced attention on cross-platform releases, although personally I prefer this to having stagnated hardware.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Us PC owners will just have to suffer with reduced attention on cross-platform releases, although personally I prefer this to having stagnated hardware.

Naw, us PC owners will just have to show more love to East European game devs who can't afford console GDK/SDKs.

 

[Lt_Bromhead]

"The Internet: Where making dickish comments gets you an honourable mention."

Had to be said. Basically you have a guy hyper fuming because some obscure game 90% of people never heard of is getting some imagined snub. Not that I haven't, even if I never finished the first game. Btw is your handle there a Zulu reference? If so, great film.

Why yes it is.
I'm a particular Michael Caine fan, to be honest - and yes, Zulu was a superb film. Nice someone spotted it!

 

[Lt_Bromhead]

so Microsoft can try and sap sales away from a game that actually deserves them.

such as?

witcher 2

never heard of it.

And there you go ladies and gentlemen. Perspective. Take it or leave it.

glad to be your prime example

"The Internet: Where making dickish comments gets you an honourable mention."

what a wonderful invention.

and by the way, i wasn't meaning to make dickish comments. i've genuinely never heard of it. what is witcher, what is it about?

Sorry, man - just joking!

Witcher is a game based on a series of novels by a Polish author about a man with supernatural powers fighting ghouls and monsters for pay (the titular Witcher) in a pseudo-Medieval setting.
The first game was actually quite good once you got into it, but I haven't tried the second yet.

 

[Krion_Vark]

How exactly is it a marketing fail if they are competing with other RPG's?

Because it isn't going to work. Why would you wait four months to release a game to compete with a much stronger exclusive title, instead of releasing it simultaneously with the console launch? They would have made a lot more money off the bat, given that people wouldn't have had time to ***** about it before Microsoft and Lionhead got their money.

I have not heard much about The Witcher. I have heard more about Fable 3. If I played games on the computer which one do you think I would buy?

Also its not a Marketing Fail. Its far from a fail in my opinion. The only fail I can really see is the delay that they put into the games release. If this was a marketing fail it would be something like what happened with Too Human where the guy kept saying how revolutionary the game was.

 

[mjc0961]

It is no surprise to the PC community that Fable 3 got delayed, while the 360 version came out on time.

The PC version is now set to come out... on the exact same day as The Witcher 2.
Way to go Microsoft, you really know how to market your games.

That's not a marketing fail, as setting a release date isn't marketing. It's just a "picking a release date" fail. Marketing fails would be everything EA has ever done in recent history, or Sony's "It only does everything" slogan.

And it's only really a release date failure if it hurts sales of the game. If they sell something awesome like a million copies in the first week, that certainly would not be a failure.

So, in short, this has nothing to do with marketing, and we don't know if they have failed yet.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

I'd hardly call The Witcher obscure. It's got quite a following with the heavy RPG players and a second sect of people who are PC only gamers.

The lack of Fable 2 on PC will already sting some and put them off; what will be the point of people buying a title they're missing a big chunk of the story from?

Given then The Witcher 2 has quite some hype behind it I'll wager that on PC it'll outsell Fable 3. How many people have already pre-purchased The Witcher 2 on Steam anyway? I bet there's a few.

 

[Andrew_Mac]

so Microsoft can try and sap sales away from a game that actually deserves them.

such as?

witcher 2

never heard of it.

And there you go ladies and gentlemen. Perspective. Take it or leave it.

glad to be your prime example

"The Internet: Where making dickish comments gets you an honourable mention."

what a wonderful invention.

and by the way, i wasn't meaning to make dickish comments. i've genuinely never heard of it. what is witcher, what is it about?

Sorry, man - just joking!

Witcher is a game based on a series of novels by a Polish author about a man with supernatural powers fighting ghouls and monsters for pay (the titular Witcher) in a pseudo-Medieval setting.
The first game was actually quite good once you got into it, but I haven't tried the second yet.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm... sounds intriguing. Only for the PC? I may have to check this out...

 

[Retronana]

It's not going to be a failure to microsoft as they've already generated 80% of Fable 3's total revenue from 360, a mediocre sale on PC isn't going to bother them that much as the RRP is lower anyway.

That being said I'm pretty sure the Witcher will win on, and after release day.

 

[Lt_Bromhead]

so Microsoft can try and sap sales away from a game that actually deserves them.

such as?

witcher 2

never heard of it.

And there you go ladies and gentlemen. Perspective. Take it or leave it.

glad to be your prime example

"The Internet: Where making dickish comments gets you an honourable mention."

what a wonderful invention.

and by the way, i wasn't meaning to make dickish comments. i've genuinely never heard of it. what is witcher, what is it about?

Sorry, man - just joking!

Witcher is a game based on a series of novels by a Polish author about a man with supernatural powers fighting ghouls and monsters for pay (the titular Witcher) in a pseudo-Medieval setting.
The first game was actually quite good once you got into it, but I haven't tried the second yet.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm... sounds intriguing. Only for the PC? I may have to check this out...

No idea what console(s) it's available for.
But it's worth a look, I think.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

No idea what console(s) it's available for.

None. Only platform it's available for is PC and CD Projekt cancelled the development of a console title using the same setting.