The gaming industry's 2009 Q4 is undeniably packed. With heavy hitters like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Borderlands, Left 4 Dead 2, DJ Hero, Dragon Age: Origins, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, The Saboteur, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii coming out in quick succession, competition is stiff, and some good games could potentially wind up getting left in the dust. Something tells me that one of those games is going to be Brutal Legend, the upcoming Tim Schafer production.
By all accounts, Brutal Legend looks like it'll be a fine game. Previews have been positive, and the buzz from those who have gotten extended time with the game is that it's both fun to play and well written, containing a pleasant helping of humor in its dialogue.
The marketing for the game hasn't been very well focused, however, as evidenced most convincingly by the fact that when asked what they know about Brutal Legend, all that most gamers can say is "oh, that's that game with Jack Black in it, right?"
Take a look at this trailer, for instance. After watching it, what do you know about the game?
You now know that you'll be driving vehicles, that there's some type of combat mechanic, and that Jack Black will occasionally be saying humorous things throughout this game. That doesn't sound too bad at all, right? In a year in which Assassin's Creed 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Modern Warfare 2 are all coming out around the same time as your game, you need to have a better advertising campaign than "hey, this looks pretty fun, right?"
Maybe the problem with Brutal Legend isn't its marketing. It is a new series, after all, and people rarely know what the gameplay is all about with such games. The main problem has got to be the aforementioned stiff competition. After all, times are tough and Daddy still has to pay off that massive car note, so if $60 is gonna get spent on anything but bills and food it's most likely gonna be Modern Warfare 2, a game that's going to be more than enough game for months for some players due to its online component, which is guaranteed to be a huge success.
The most obvious concern that one could have about Brutal Legend is due to the fact that its creator is Tim Schafer. Schafer is undoubtedly a master of game design and in-game humor, but for some reason his games tend to only sell to a small, highly dedicated group of fans. Psychonauts is the most obvious example of this; it's a huge cult hit among those who discovered it, but being a cult hit is just not as desirable as being a mass market hit if you're a developer who has spent years of his life developing a product.
I could be wrong about all of this, and Brutal Legend might turn out to be a huge success. I honestly hope that to be true, but for now I can only speculate, and the poor job that Brutal Legend's marketing team is doing with getting the word out about what the gameplay is actually like, combined with some juggernaut competition, has me really worried. I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to buy the game, myself. After all, money is tight and there are other games that have simply done a better job of grabbing my attention. Most gamers very likely feel the same way.
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Comments (17)
... written by wtf are u taking about,
October 04, 2009
WTF you think this game wont sell well? its am aweosme game. Btw you can be anyone who thinks this game would sell bad so why should i read your article
... written by Dirk,
October 04, 2009
Publishers and developers concentrate too much on sequels and not enough on original IP. Let us hope this game has the chance to go from original IP to sequel. I didn't notice any actual gameplay shown in any commercials I saw. It seemed too cinematic to tell if it was gameplay or a cutscene.
... written by dano,
October 04, 2009
Sad but true! Its a real shame if the game had of come out 2 months ago i would have most likely gotten it because it does look fun but i gotta put my funds toward the games ive been looking forward to for a long time. uncharted 2 and modern warfare 2. id say ill get this game but ill buy it when its in the bargan basked which isnt really good news for the developers but sure what can ya do
... written by LordCancer,
October 04, 2009
the game looks great. only question i have is if i buy it now will i miss out on the price drop and game of the year edition 3 months from now... /sarcasm
... written by Brian C,
October 04, 2009
All games that come out around this time of year have this problem. The smart publishers pushed their release dates back to next spring. I played the demo of Brutal Legend and it seems like a fun game. I probably won't buy it right away. If I see it on sale at Target or Best Buy though I probably will. When you pay $60 for games it isn't as easy to buy them. If it was $40 or $50 though it might do well.
... written by Jack Black,
October 04, 2009
Played the demo, and it sure looks to be a masterpiece. Too bad I can't stand Jack Black, and he seems to be really 'doing his best' this time, so I'll pass...nuff games indeed=) Thank god 4 that Nathan Drake voice actor Nolan something, a ex-2nd class soapactor I believe, but doing a hell of a job with games. Celebs shouldn't be used for protagonists, perhaps only for telling the story.
... written by mastershredder,
October 05, 2009
Brutal Legend has had a butt load of cash dumped into marketting thanks to EA. Not to mention it was the crown piece of all advertiments at E3 (if you were there, or saw pics you should know what I mean). I've seen plenty of advertisment cutouts, TV adds as well as online promoting this title ( the demo is a nice touch too). Even if the turn out is less than desired, it is a huge gain in recognition for Tim and Doublefine, which is WAAAAAY overdue.
... written by Mar27w,
October 05, 2009
played the demo,seems like quite a good story,shame the gameplay sucks
... written by Igor,
October 05, 2009
You are just stupid
... written by uwish,
October 05, 2009
Bad Timing, Shi% happens
... written by The Chopper,
October 05, 2009
Last days i was talking to some friends of mine about this game after we all played the demo. I believe in fact that it's gonna be a great game. I mean, i loved the combat mechanichs, the stylish graphics, the theme of the game, the voice acting, the hilarous dialogues.
But this might be a fail in sales, not because the game its gonna suck, neither the marketing. It's because like you say about Psychonauts, the plot of the game it's only enjoyable for the people who are on the metal/rock world. Maybe the plot it's only for few people. To those who doesnt care about havin Lenny Kilmister on the game, or Ozzy, this is gonna be a funny hack n slash game. That could reduce the target audience for this game.
I really hope not, i hope it makes at least, great sales. A man like Tim Schafer and a team like Double Fine Deserves It.
... written by Jim,
October 05, 2009
I've played the demo and while I love the presentation artistically it is almost disheartening how bad the graphics look. It's more like a PS2 game than PS3 (on which I played the demo).
So the game has only once chance... (just like Jack Black) you need to see it in action to have fun with it.
I'm gonna buy it.
... written by MrEco,
October 08, 2009
You know I really got turned off by the "unique" style in Psychonauts, and Brutal Legend is equally alienating as far as I'm concerned. A lot of people like to whine about how hugely underrated and unique Psychonauts was, and almost all of those people seem to confuse uniqueness with quality. It really pisses me off when I'm talking to someone who brings up Psychonauts that then claims that I'm "not a real gamer" because I don't like the game. It's the same pile of shit claims that I get when I tell people that I don't like Okami, Beyond Good and Evil, or any other "unique" and/or "underrated" game.
... written by Odd,
October 08, 2009
YOU'RE BACK! God, I've missed this site.
... written by Twonny,
October 09, 2009
I think the fact that it has Jack Black in it will help the game sell. But it's really hard to determine how much.
... written by cap hat shop,
July 19, 2010
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The gaming industry's 2009 Q4 is undeniably packed. With heavy hitters like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Borderlands, Left 4 Dead 2, DJ Hero, Dragon Age: Origins, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, The Saboteur, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii coming out in quick succession, competition is stiff, and some good games could potentially wind up getting left in the dust. Something tells me that one of those games is going to be Brutal Legend, the upcoming Tim Schafer production. 
