Gigli78
11-04-2009, 03:41 PM
Over the past few days, I've been combing the internet to find out what the release date will be for the Sgt. Pepper DLC (and have epically failed in this attempt). During that time, I've come across numerous reports that TB:RB is not selling as high as expected, the game is dragging down Viacom's profits, yadda, yadda, yadda. Being a long time Beatles fan, and having paid premium prices for Beatles merch in the past, I made up my mind that I was going to pay whatever it took to be able to play all of my favourite Beatles songs (which is nearly every Beatles tune ever produced, in case you were wondering) in the RockBand format. In fact, I've been waiting for someone to come up with this idea since I had purchased Guitar Hero way back in the day.
Despite my incesant rambling about how much I love The Beatles, however, I am aware that not everyone shares the same view as me - that modern day rock 'n' roll would not even exist without the Liverpudlian lads - and that there are some deterants to buying this game. In fact, it almost seems as though the conditions have created the (tragically) perfect storm against the game... one that I hope Harmonix can weather, and continue to put out Beatles DLC. Below, I've listed some of the reasons that I think the game has underperformed in the market, what are your views?
1. Niche market - Like I said above, (unfortunately) not everyone in the world is a Beatles fan. This limits the potential market. Combine this with the fact that the game is 100% Beatles music, unlike other band-devoted titles (Aerosmith, Metallica) where there is other than the title-band's content, and the market shrinks even smaller.
2. Oversaturation - Waaay too many music based games in one year. Counting all of the GHs, RBs, SingStars, blah, blah, blah, it's all so overwhelming. I just bought TB:RB two months ago, and there's already a new Rock Band game out. There's just too much out there and I don't have unlimited cash to buy all this stuff!
3. Unlimited Cash To Buy This Stuff! - People may not have felt that they were getting proper bang for their buck due to the fact that the game has an unprecedented low number of songs - and not even all of the big hits to boot. I understand that some of the big hits had to be held back to attract buyers for DLC (which is going to be a crying shame if the DLC is halted) but... Let's say that the ultimate fan wants to go all-in for the full game experience. He or she will purchase the Limited Edition Game ($250), the authentic Gretsch ($100), the authentic Rickenbacker ($100), a couple of extra microphones for harmonies ($50), all 12(?) DLC albums (~17 x 12 = $200) and the miscellaneous singles (~$50) that are big, but not on studio albums. Taxes in, that's over $800 for one game! That's a big price tag for someone who is deciding on jumping into the music genre games. Heck, it's a big price tag for "the ultimate fan."
4. Customization - True to form with Apple releases, there's been a certain amount of lockdown that's been placed on the game packaging that takes something away that had been experienced in other music game offerings. Specifically, the ability to complete drum fills in other games has always been fun - allowing the drummer to add a certain artist license to the song and removing the hugely frustrating task of hitting every single off-beat note in drum or cymbal rolls. Also, the game takes away the ability to create characters. It's every superfan's dream to actually play with The Beatles (did anyone see the elation on Dave Grohl's face when he played with Sir Paul et. al. at the Grammies?) and removing the character creation separates me one step further from actually seeing "myself" play with the band. Since the feature has been a staple in other games, it's similar to giving a little kid a lollipop and then yanking it right back out of his hands, except with video game features.
5. Recession - See "Unlimited Cash To Buy This Stuff"... same applies here.
6. Reports That DLC Will Be Yanked - Look up "Self-fulfilling Prophesy" in the dictionary.
I'm sure that there are other reasons as well, but I leave that to you to discuss your own.
Despite my incesant rambling about how much I love The Beatles, however, I am aware that not everyone shares the same view as me - that modern day rock 'n' roll would not even exist without the Liverpudlian lads - and that there are some deterants to buying this game. In fact, it almost seems as though the conditions have created the (tragically) perfect storm against the game... one that I hope Harmonix can weather, and continue to put out Beatles DLC. Below, I've listed some of the reasons that I think the game has underperformed in the market, what are your views?
1. Niche market - Like I said above, (unfortunately) not everyone in the world is a Beatles fan. This limits the potential market. Combine this with the fact that the game is 100% Beatles music, unlike other band-devoted titles (Aerosmith, Metallica) where there is other than the title-band's content, and the market shrinks even smaller.
2. Oversaturation - Waaay too many music based games in one year. Counting all of the GHs, RBs, SingStars, blah, blah, blah, it's all so overwhelming. I just bought TB:RB two months ago, and there's already a new Rock Band game out. There's just too much out there and I don't have unlimited cash to buy all this stuff!
3. Unlimited Cash To Buy This Stuff! - People may not have felt that they were getting proper bang for their buck due to the fact that the game has an unprecedented low number of songs - and not even all of the big hits to boot. I understand that some of the big hits had to be held back to attract buyers for DLC (which is going to be a crying shame if the DLC is halted) but... Let's say that the ultimate fan wants to go all-in for the full game experience. He or she will purchase the Limited Edition Game ($250), the authentic Gretsch ($100), the authentic Rickenbacker ($100), a couple of extra microphones for harmonies ($50), all 12(?) DLC albums (~17 x 12 = $200) and the miscellaneous singles (~$50) that are big, but not on studio albums. Taxes in, that's over $800 for one game! That's a big price tag for someone who is deciding on jumping into the music genre games. Heck, it's a big price tag for "the ultimate fan."
4. Customization - True to form with Apple releases, there's been a certain amount of lockdown that's been placed on the game packaging that takes something away that had been experienced in other music game offerings. Specifically, the ability to complete drum fills in other games has always been fun - allowing the drummer to add a certain artist license to the song and removing the hugely frustrating task of hitting every single off-beat note in drum or cymbal rolls. Also, the game takes away the ability to create characters. It's every superfan's dream to actually play with The Beatles (did anyone see the elation on Dave Grohl's face when he played with Sir Paul et. al. at the Grammies?) and removing the character creation separates me one step further from actually seeing "myself" play with the band. Since the feature has been a staple in other games, it's similar to giving a little kid a lollipop and then yanking it right back out of his hands, except with video game features.
5. Recession - See "Unlimited Cash To Buy This Stuff"... same applies here.
6. Reports That DLC Will Be Yanked - Look up "Self-fulfilling Prophesy" in the dictionary.
I'm sure that there are other reasons as well, but I leave that to you to discuss your own.
