That header gets me every time. So funny.

Love you Jim, don't ever change.

Really glad to hear that the game sold better than expected. I can't wait for Quantic Dream's next game.

One of the games I want if I ever get a PS3.

I still need to play this game at some point. Wasn't really too crazy thrilled with the demo, but it seems like a game I owe it to myself to play through at least once.

I agree with the criticism of the game.

But i'm def glad it was a success as I think more risks will be taken because of it.

Im waiting for the Move edition, might as well.

Now, about that cancelled DLC....

I really want this game still. I love the demo and have played it several times.

I'm glad it did well since I like Quantic Dream, but the game was still a pile of horrible mechanics wrapped in plot holes.

It was so unexpected because people look at the games industry as a whole and see billions of xboxers playing generic FPS games for hundreds of hours!

This game had the right audience is all, the PS3 community is welcoming to mature, story driven games, even if there is no shooting and the sales results do show this.

Also shows the geographic gaming tendancies...

Xbox - sells REALLY well in the USA.
PS3 - Sells really well in Japan and pretty damn well in Europe etc.

Shooting games - USA
Mature story driven games - Europe and Japan.

i'm kinda dissapointed that i played it already, I would prefer to play it with the move, but doubt i'll pick it up again, hell i might just rent it and give it another run through. i only killed one main, optional character, and that was by accident.

Heavy Rain and "casual dancing game" are two sides of the same coin. That's why it always tickled me that people cheered on iHeavy Rain but looked down on stuff like Wii Fit.

mh....thats why will get no more DLCs...nice

Ponce: I don't entirely agree with your argument, and bear in mind I'm not dismissing casual dancing games as having some sort of merit. What I mean is, casual dancing games and FPS titles sell loads, and so people keep making them. Heavy Rain, which is more like an old style adventure game or Dragon's Lair type deal, isn't all that common and a game with that aesthetic and style wasn't tipped to sell well.

My point is that any game can sell well if pointed at the right audience in the right way. Publishers haven't quite grasped that yet, so they're just clinging to the same stock genres that they already know will succeed without any effort.

The risktaker had follow-through and got rewarded. You're right, it is nice to see.

@Sexualchocolate:

Nice generalization...

I bought this game last week for 30 bucks and am playing the shit out of it now. I love this game!

@Themightylebeau2009

You could get the game now, because Sony is planning on just patching regular copies with Move support and as well as reprinting the game with the patch on the new disc. It's like the "Game of the Year Edition" of Left 4 Dead that had the extra content on the disc available for free download anyway.

So, have at it!

This was one of those games that I bought and then ebay'd for $5 less the following week. A great presentation doesn't make up for a horrible story and clunky controls. Definitely my biggest disappointment this year (along with the last 3rd of God of War 3).

This was one of those PS3 games that came out, and I thought it was gonna be crap, but it turned out to be pretty good. Worth checking out if your into these sort of games.

This is why I love Sony. Microsoft wouldn't consider these sales all that great since the # is worldwide sales. Microsoft would be bitches and cancel the sequel or new game Cage was working on and wouldn't give him another shot. Sony is different. They're willing to have average successes and be happy with them. I'm glad that we get unique experiences that don't cater to the average, retarded jerkoff.

I hope Microsoft gives us a serquel to Alan Wake, or else...

@Jim Sterling

First of all, dancing games only started selling when Just Dance dropped. Since then, only Ubisoft's dancing games are getting the big sales.

My argument wasn't so much the aesthetic of the games are similar, rather that the role they fill is the same.

@glitz so your pretty much agreeing thay microsoft only makes shooters? Ahah just playing

Ponce: Your argument doesn't even begin to engage mine, which is about something else entirely. My argument is that publishers can take risks and succeed. Whether or not you think Heavy Rain fills a similar role to Wii Fit is irrelevant. That's not my point at all.

Heavy Rain was a sales risk. Far more than Wii Fit was, which had a definite, proven audience already there. Heavy Rain and Wii Fit are NOT the same from a marketing perspective, not at all. That's the line I am drawing.

Still want a PS3 for this game.

@Sexualchocolate
Are you fuckin...nope. Nope. I'm not even replying. Not in the mood.

Who was the proven audience for Wii Fit? To the best of my knowledge, everyone was saying the thing would fail because it required a Balance Board that jacked the price up to $100. It more or less eschewed the platform's main control method. Whereas Wii Sports and Wii Play featured actual games, Wii Fit was more about fitness routines. Not many people thought it would perform well, even in the face of previous Wii hits.

I think you got more shit for taking juvenile shots at Heavy Rain for weeks after your review, and engaging in some kind of trolling war over it. You'd be doing another Pokemon piece and feel the need to throw in insults for Heavy Rain and anyone who liked it. It got old.

I didn't much care for Heavy Rain myself, but I'm pleased it was a success. Like others have said, hopefully it will mean more variety in games, with more risky IPs getting the green light. I also hope to see better efforts from Quantic Dream. They have the potential, no question.

Man, I'm really sorry SC, but that comment made me wanna' hurl >_>

@sexualchocolate

Glad you're the leading expert on countries you don't live in and what they like, making broad, sweeping generalizations about what all gamers in the States like and enjoy.

Yeah, you're not making yourself look like a dickhead at all.

Ponce: The proven audience were the families and women and old people for whom the game was designed. Fitness products are huge sellers, and considering how much money people spend on weight loss stuff, $100 for a Balance Board is nothing.

I never had a doubt it would succeed, and nor did Nintendo. And nor do the tons of other publishers that are now trying to copy it, which again, goes back to my point that publishers need to stop copying each other and trying to find their own unique successes, a point that, so far, you haven't tried to argue so I am guessing we agree and this is just boiling down to semantics.

*sigh* So conflicted about this game. I like originality. I like adventure titles. I like story. I likes me some serial killins. But after playing the demo, try though I might, I could only summon a "Meh."

Heavy Rain, should I give you a chance, or was it just not meant to be?

I'm glad it did well. I doubt we'll see too many of these type of games in the future but I hope Quantic Dream's next game builds o what they've done here. As much as I enjoyed the game it has its flaws. The movement became more and more troublesome as I progressed. Crawling in that tunnel as Ethan was especially bad.

So I'm guessing those 400,000 people didn't play indigo prophecy?

@ fulldamage - I keep seeing it dirt cheap but then iI see something dirtier and cheaper (Dead Space) and get that.

@ Gamescook - Well Move is out real soon so yeah, think I will do that then :-)

Jim: "I never had a doubt it would succeed, and nor did Nintendo. And nor do the tons of other publishers that are now trying to copy it, which again, goes back to my point that publishers need to stop copying each other and trying to find their own unique successes, a point that, so far, you haven't tried to argue so I am guessing we agree and this is just boiling down to semantics."

BOOSH! LOL.

You got shit for saying the game wasn't Very Good, Jim. Well, that and spoiling the whole thing the week it came out. That's just bad form, bro. I wouldn't even spoil a Halo game the week it came out (could you do that? do those games have a story?) and I HATE Halo AND Halo fanboys.

hpv: Well, that makes all the difference. Me getting shit for saying a game was good and not "very" good makes the arguments look far less petty. Except that kind of makes them look worse.

Also, I didn't spoil shit. Post came with a spoiler warning. I didn't make anybody click beyond the jump on that shit and I certainly didn't intend to ruin it for anyone.

But if you could explain how I could write an article on Heavy Rain's plot twist without referencing the plot twist, I am all ears, son.

@hpv

You hate me? Well, I LOVE YOU, Sexy.

BRING ON REACH! =)

@Sexualchocolate

"It was so unexpected because people look at the games industry as a whole and see billions of xboxers playing generic FPS games for hundreds of hours!"

As a gamer who has admittedly sunk "hundreds of hours" into games like MAG, Socom and Killzone, should you really be blaming this trend on anyone but yourself?

@Tony Ponce,

Thank you for linking to your article as if it were fact. Didn't agree with it then, still don't agree with it now.



@hpv,

I don't remember anyone being mad at Jim for "spoiling" the game. Who the hell would read a Heavy Rain analysis article if they didn't want the plot spoiled?! I'll say it point blank, anyone who went into that PLOT ANALYSIS article not wanting to be spoiled on the PLOT is a moron!


@Jim,

I've always agreed with your stance on Heavy Rain's plot and I think it's pretty ridiculous that people jump out of the woodwork to defend such obviously flawed storyline decisions. That said, like you, I still very much enjoyed the game and I recommend it to people all the time: with the caveat that they should lower their expectations for the ending ahead of time.

Ethan's blackouts were the dumbest and cheapest plot device EVAR.

Heavy Rain and "pictures of Robocop with a duck" are two sides of the same coin. That's why it always tickled me that people cheered on Heavy Rain but looked down on stuff like Robocop ducks.

@Jim Sterling

I suppose I read the post a bit wrong. Still, I hope this doesn't mean that publishers will flood the market with QTE wonderlands like they have flooded it with minigame comps and trigger-happy blow-'em-ups.

Wow it sold that much . Good for you Quantic Dream good for you. Still won't get the game because I never was really impressed by it , yes it had nice graphics and stuff. Just never really hooked me in. Also I played it my friends house so yeah I did play it.

I wish this didn't sell as well, but I see your point, Jim. Now if someone can just do the game properly, in the future.

400,000 in the us sounds like a flop to me - i know it did better in other markets, but still. for it to sell that poorly here and somehow be a 'success' is strange to me, if only because blogs and the media in general love to point and laugh at poor sellers. apha protocol (a multi-plat title, but still a decent example) just hit 700,000 units yet no one would take any claim that it sold better than expectations seriously.

@KingSigy,

Why wouldn't you want it to sell well?

And you wish that it wasn't a profitable venture and then ask for someone to make a similar but better game in the future?

If no one bought it then no one would try it again. At least not for a long time. From any conceivable angle, this game selling well benefits pretty much everyone.

Sexual Chocolate makes observation grounded in reality. Shitstorm!!!!

Great news to hear. This sorta proves that we need more variety of games to sell more than just FPS.

good news, they should make a new one like it. I loved the game, the plot has its flaws but the story is simply awesome. we need more movie games like this

@Tony Ponce - That article was not only a stretch, but one of the worst gaming-related articles I've ever read. That would be fantastic on Kotaku.