When HN users recommended it
2 HN users recommended this between 2009 and 2010, in 2 comments.
20072026
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
2 HN users recommended this between 2009 and 2010, in 2 comments.
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
"It's the same with magazines, review sites and events for gaming."
If a game isn't fun, people won't play it for long. Spore is an example. Googling for 'spore fun' reveals quotes from people along these lines:
Yeah, its a pointless game, but still fun at the same time. Sure, you have goals, but they’re just there to get your creations moving. And really, they’re boring as hell and wouldn’t last if it weren’t for the creation aspect. The only redeeming gameplay modes are the cell stage and the space stage. The other ones are short, easy, and a chore.
And another:
I played the game for maybe 10 hours. For the first 30min its pretty cool.. i mean being a cell is kinda fun... simple eating and running away. When you get to different stages like creture, tribal, civ, and space.. first few minutes is not too bad when you get to try the new stuff.. but soon after you know how the stage works, its gets repetitive and boring. The concept is pretty sweet that you get to evolve and design your own creature and buildings and vehicles.. but the game gets repetitive and boring. It gonna take a lot of time and trust me youll just get bored of it.
Spore had an insane amount of hype and PR surrounding its launch. They even had a public demo of Robin Williams creating a character before much was known about the character creator. And yet, Spore appears to have fizzled out, and rightly so. Consumers might put up with DRM if the gameplay is good, but DRM + boring gameplay = 1 1/2 stars on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Pc/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1...
So the PC/Console gaming scene isn't very similar to the music scene, mostly because games have to keep people's attention for more than 4 minutes (or ~1 hour for an album).
However, casual gaming is an entirely different beast, and does share a lot of similarities with the music industry. But all I'm saying is, if a game is bad, people are going to find out.
The computer game Spore had a very large negative response due to the DRM SecuROM being used. Interestingly, publishers use SecuROM often now and much of the backlash has disappeared. It shows how being on the crest of a wave can hurt your product, but following it can work out.
http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/