Jesus, now we get ****ing crying from the PS3 owners, too?
I'm not a PS3 user, but most of the ppl I turned on to UT3 are on there, and that is their biggest complaint.
Jesus, now we get ****ing crying from the PS3 owners, too?
What a completely bogus comparison then. This is like comparing a $1.00 beer in a bar to a $50 keg straight from the brewery. Obviously the $1.00 beer is going to sell better because it's in a place you go and it's cheap.
What a completely bogus comparison then. This is like comparing a $1.00 beer in a bar to a $50 keg straight from the brewery. Obviously the $1.00 beer is going to sell better because it's in a place you go and it's cheap.
Because they're playing CoD4
But seriously, UT has never been as popular as realism games. That has always been the case. I would bet my left nut that no sci fi game has EVER done as well as it's realism counterparts (except maybe in RTSes).
Now you are ignoring the difference between sales and online player numbers?
Advertising pays. Halo is one of the worst FPSes ever made, but Microsoft branded and marketed it well and now it's one of the most successful games ever made. Also look at Gears of War. Do you honestly believe that game would have sold period if Midway had been the publisher?
Counter Strike was probably around for YEARS before you ever heard of it. The alphas and betas were terrible in so many ways but those of us who saw the potential in it kept playing and recommending it to friends anyway. Now I feel like games have moved on and improved from counter strike, but it is still the most played FPS in the world right now.
UT had a TON of advertising. Gt Interactive did them right on that game. Every magazine everywhere had tons of previews, ads, reviews, etc. Entire websites were devoted to the game and media releases were frequent and full of information.
UT3 has the unfortunate problem of having scattered information and screenshots over it's development time, and a good 40% or more of what was talked about over a year ago isn't even in the game anymore. I've seen very few advertisements for it and media releases have been shoddy at best.
Games that do great have a combination of things.
First, they approach a subject matter that the majority of gamers are interested in at the time. Sci fi FPSes on PC have never really been a popular genre.
Second, this generation, running on 6 year old computers seems like it's mandatory for some reason. I don't remember people in 2004 whining about how UT2004 wouldn't run on the exact same machine that people played UT at crappy framerates on, but that does happen now with UT3->UT2004. It's really rather retarded.
Third, they advertise in a huge and major way. Media releases and news are frequent (even if information-less) and never give away anything that isn't set in stone. You never would have heard about a game mode for CoD4 that they were not sure as shooting would be in the final release. One REALLY important part of this is having a community portal like Charlie Oscar Delta or Cult of Rapture. I agree with many people on here that Epic doesn't give enough updates via public access methods (stickied forum posts, a site devoted to community updates, etc) and the problem with that is that it's clear from these other sites that it is absolutely something that gamers are craving today.
Fourth, if they are sequels, they capitalize but do not depend on the successes of the previous games. UT3 probably shouldn't have UWindows, but it sure needed a UI that lived up to the expectations of previous games. Also, relying on a third party system for game serving when you've handled it well in the past doesn't help either. However, this issue is something that I believe could have been reasonably resolved if a community portal did exist, and Epic were frank and up front about how that system was going to work months before release. Things like not being able to use a custom nickname could have been resolved ages before the demo came out. Gameplay does not need to match previous games, but it should feel like it's the same series.
Fifth, continued community updates and coverage. Infinity Ward is AWESOME at this. I'll even admit Blizzard is awesome at this (though I hate companies who rely on MMORPGs as a foundational part of their business strategy). A very important aspect of this is letting the community know what you are doing to improve their experience with your game. Yet again, this is another place where a community portal is very desirable.
Obviously there is more but I'm tired of typing The unfortunate problem here is that, while UT3 does touch on each of these areas, it mostly fails to impress much in any of them. I'd love to see Epic take a more active role in the community. Whether by hiring people to run a community portal for them, or even something as simple as posting a sticky in their forum every week or so letting people know what they are up to. I think it would make a HUGE difference in the outlook of the community in general.
Definitely. That's why I find it ironic that people are recommending to other people that they not buy/play UT3 even though they "find the gameplay great".like i said advertising isnt needed, word of mouth is much more powerful.
whelp i just finished reading this whole thread this is what i got out of it:
Second, this generation, running on 6 year old computers seems like it's mandatory for some reason. I don't remember people in 2004 whining about how UT2004 wouldn't run on the exact same machine that people played UT at crappy framerates on, but that does happen now with UT3->UT2004. It's really rather retarded.
Hi Wunderbar. The only problem is it accomplishes the exact opposite.
There's this insane gene in the DNA of forum posters that makes them believe they can affect change via forum posts. Posting it over and over again. Posting the same thing, each time with more 50% more rant, again and again. Hoping of reaching some "obnoxiousness" threshold for being heard.
Sadly, this only gets them added to the ignore list, whether figuratively or literally. This is necessary because these "empty calorie" posts clutter otherwise useful threads and make it hard to find the actually constructive information.
Fundamentally, people who non-stop bitch about the UI, the player counts, the "consolification", etc are doing it for their own benefit. 99.99% of the "I'm sad" or "How can we save UT" threads are retreads of opinions now almost 6 months old and are already well understood by the UT team.
I really hope they're at least enjoyable for the poster, since truly, they serve no other purpose.
That's probably true for this generation, but my first PC didn't have an AGP slot in it either, so I had to bite the bullet then.
At any rate, advertising is needed for something that is NOT a mod. CS had the advantage of building a user base over several years. You can't really do that with a retail game.
Why don't you explain stuff like this on your own forums
The users may get tiring, but I suspect a little casual candidness and forthrightness such as you put forward on BU would eventually translate to less BS threads and more meaningful and pleasurable discussions that might actually improve the games AND the community as a whole.
Because it didn't accomplish anything .