![]() Even if you can't exactly articulate it, you can clearly see it. You know, a serious-looking male protagonist striking a badass pose, typically in front of some rubble, or an explosion, or even a wintry scene. These are the latest in a series of cover art stereotypes. Starting to see a pattern here? This isn't so much a problem with Dead Space 3 as much as it is with the industry as a whole. I'm talking of course, about the box art. It infuriates me to no end because, like Resident Evil 6, this is indicative of a lack of vision and identity. ![]() Hell, Arin Hanson and Jon Jafari even pointed it out when they played the demo. This might sound like a nitpick on my part, but it's something that really grinds my gears, so I had to talk about this somewhere. Question is, how many?Ĭover Art Clichés and Consumer Controversies I have no doubt that are plenty of die-hard Dead Space fans who have already given up on this franchise for the very reasons I've listed above. Whether their fears are justified or not, whether they're assumptions or correct or incorrect, many have likely already made up their mind, consciously or subconsciously, whether or not they are going to buy. Thing is, when that announcement was made, when people noticed that emphasis on action, they were immediately turned off. These publishers are essentially the Icarus of the industry, and we as consumers are Daedalus, forced to watch helplessly as they fly high on ambition, only to have their sales plummet into the ocean. The mainstream isn't interested, and the niche that were all but guaranteed to purchase a copy were scared away. Still paranoid about losing their original target market, they still try to cling to the original idea, albeit whilst still watering it down. In an effort to make even more money, publishers try to appeal to everyone, and in the process, forget their game's identity. Remember when EA told us they needed to appeal to a wider audience? I'm more than a little worried that a pattern has started to emerge here. And you know what? The reviews were mixed at best and its sales were worse.īack to Dead Space. The game was a homogonised marketing mess with no vision, and no identity. The action-packed gameplay was held back by the game's survival horror holdovers, and the actual horror was completely watered down. The game was pulling in two directions at once, and as a result, it pleased no one. Essentially, Capcom was trying to make their game more like Call of Duty by pandering to their constant need of ADHD action and constant explosion, but still maintain an atmosphere of horror. They turned off their target market completely by de-emphasising the survival horror aspect (you know, the genre that they invented?) and instead focusing on ridiculous, over the top action set-pieces. By trying to homogenise their game, they lost their niche. We've seen it all before with Resident Evil 6. By trying to hit that magical mainstream that everyone wants to appeal to so badly, they may in fact be losing customers. That said, my main fear is that EA and Visceral may be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy here. Either way, this franchise is on a precarious precipice, and I don't want to see it reach its nadir. Honestly, it sounds more like EA wants more money, but doesn't really need it. First off, isn't that a little high? How bloated is this budget exactly? Have development costs really gone up that much? I can't believe that. ![]() If these modes cannot be equally represented, then solo should always be superior, because that is the path of least resistance for the player.įrank Gibeau has already stated that Dead Space 3 needs to move a whopping five million copies just to justify its very existence. I shouldn't have to dig through my limited friends list just to see who has the same game as me, and hope their schedule synthesises with mine. ![]() If I jump into the game solo and it feels like something missing, or that I'm playing it wrong, then you've screwed over those people. What's worse however, is building a single player experience around cooperative play. On the one hand, if they make a single player campaign, then simply add co-op to it, the cooperative play feature is going to end up feeling tacked on and as a result, it won't feel as fleshed out as it should. You see, if one makes a drop-in, drop-out co-op campaign, they essentially have to make two campaigns. Yes, it's optional, but that doesn't mean that it's not the better option. One of my biggest concerns about Dead Space 3 is its co-op feature. 3 Cover Art Clichés and Consumer Controversies. ![]()
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