Imagine listening to retailers over customers.
It’s anecdotal, but a lot of my friends got bg3 simply because everyone said it was such an amazing, well made game. Most of them never finished a run and said it’s good, but not for them. I actually think it’s not impossible that the genre really isn’t that popular and the game performed so well because most AAA games aren’t made with that level of passion and creativity anymore.
They bought it though, didn’t they?
Yeah. Not because they were dying for a new crpg, but because they heard it was the highest quality game to come out in years. I don’t think most of them would buy a hypothetical BG4 and a few have already said they wouldn’t.
Honestly that’s fine. Not every game is for everyone.
I bought Hollow Knight because everyone said it was amazing and it seemed exactly like the kind of game I would like. I bought it, played for several hours, but ultimately stopped because I wasn’t having fun.
As a result I didn’t buy Silksong. But… Silksong seems to be doing just fine.
For me Baldur’s Gate I & II were the best games I played growing up. Divinity Original Sin I & II were the best games I’d played in recent years. I had high expectations for Baldur’s Gate III and the game exceeded them.
Of course even I would be wary of a Baldur’s Gate IV. I don’t trust Hasbro to be able to make a quality game.
Played through it with my partner, 10/10 great couples activity.
It’s a great story rich game solo, but the multiplayer is where it really shines when you want that sweet dopamine.
Weird that you don’t listen to your fans and customers
stop listening to retailers and listen to consumers… fuksakes…
The problem is, there’s no real good way to “listen to consumers” other than to ask retailers what is actually selling.
Online chatter is notoriously unreliable, not just in games, but in a lot of sectors. Car enthusiasts go on and on about what nostalgic car they want, but when auto manufacturers try to sell some version of that, there’s a million excuses why they bought Generic SUV #472B instead. Music artists have millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram, but can’t sell albums and have to cancel tours due to lack of ticket sales.
Also, at one time, it might actually be true that very few people wanted that style of game. Trends and preferences are constantly changing.
In the beginning of PC games it was the nerds buying the computers and games so 90% of the customers were nerds and they dictated what sold. For example, many different takes on D&D. Now it’s such a mixed bag of what is considered a “gamer” so they have to make a variety.
The problem back then was saturation from other competitors who were also cheaper. Noawadays word of mouth through social networks is much more effective.
I remember hearing about Neverwinter Nights a mere two days before release. Didn’t have time to pre-order it and went to EB at my local mall to get it the day it came out and I was worried it would be sold out. Get there and there’s just a huge pyramid of copies of the game right at the entrance.
People only didn’t buy them back in the day because most people didn’t have a PC. If they were available on a console at the time, I’m sure they would have sold a lot more.
