Borderlands is out this week and the first reviews are in, after many years of development and a solid few months of hype. Despite the media and gamer buzz, however, videogame analyst Michael Pachter believes that Gearbox Software's FPS RPG has been "sent to die" and is going to be decimated by both Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age: Origins.
"Sent to die. I think Borderlands is the definition of a game that should have had it’s own window and not be up against all this stuff," explains the silver-tongued fox. "It’s absolutely the same audience. I don’t think it’s as much an RPG as they would like us to believe. If it’s an RPG, Dragon Age is going to kick its butt; and if it’s a shooter, Call of Duty or something else is going to kick its butt."
Ouch. Very harsh words from the industry's resident soothsayer, but do you agree? And does having one game sell better than another really take away from its success? I personally just hope this game does well. I think Gearbox is a solid developer full of good ideas and Borderlands has been on my "DO WANT" list for over three years. It'd be a real shame if Pacther's vision comes to pass.
Besides which, Borderlands has a good few weeks before the big names hit. Let's give it a chance.
[Via Wearetheinternetz, a site I forgot to source in the story. They could have informed me this properly, but chose instead to passive-aggressively Tweet about it until I worked out what the problem is. I hope this makes them feel better.]
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
3:20 PM on 10.19.2009
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There's definitely an audience for these type of games. You really can't compare Dragon Age to Borderlands, that makes as much sense as comparing Mario to Madden. Pachter can think whatever the hell he wants though, because you know he will.
He always spouts OBVIOUS predictions....nothing that would make me actually give him money to invest.
Why do game sites keep using him as some sort of guru?? Is he the only one that will talk to you?
Um... yes? lol
Companies make games for money, not accolades.
But seriously, I see where he's coming from, and I don't want it to be true, I'm buying this tomorrow, so I'm doing my part, but at the same time, have no interest in CoD. I hope it does well, and thus inspires originality, but fear for the worst.
I've converted at least 7 people, but none of them had heard of it last week, so it looks grim.
It's got a few weeks before the big genre-conflict games and THIS week it really doesn't have any competition (aside from residual Uncharted 2 love).
I suppose he thinks Gearbox should have saved it for Q1 2010? That space is JUST as crowded AND most people's x-mas money will probably be gone by then.
Companies make games for money, not accolades."
You misunderstand my point. My point is that MW2 selling lots of copies should have nothing to do with how many copies Borderlands sells. We have this mentality that just because one game/system did better than another, then that is bad news for the "losing" game/system.
I am merely asking if you think that two completely unrelated games like MW2 or Dragon Age could or should be kicking Borderlands' butt, considering none of the titles really have anything to do with one another. Even if MW2 sells more than Borderlands, does that really mean that Borderlands' sales will count for nothing?
Borderlands, Dragon Age, and Left 4 Dead 2 is my holiday 2009 lineup. And a rental of Assassin's Creed 2.
As somebody who has recently admitted to himself that he doesn't see the big deal (I tried) I have to say U kind of agree with Patcher. If this game had come out at a time when y gaming budget weren't so tight due to the mass of games this season I'd be much more inclined to buy it day one and experiment purely based on the hype. As of right now I can't justify it. And this onslaught is going on through Feburary? Sorry Borderlands.
Because I'm not going to buy Modern Warfare 2.
I hope Pachter is wrong, Borderlands looks like a worthwhile game. It may not make megabucks and be huge but it shouoldn't fail instead.
Borderlands may end up being a slowball. Perhaps not as many people will buy it on release, but it will continue to sell over time exponentially. The more people who have it, the more people want to buy it, et cetera into infinity.
I'm not sure if I'm giving Dragon Age the same strength as Mass Effect had during 07, but I would say that its gonna knock into Borderlands. Pachter is making a good guess and I wouldn't be shocked if this gets forgotten during the high traffic of the holiday season.
Another factor is that people are going to pay for sure things. Gearbox doesn't have the pedigree of Bioware or Infinity Ward. In this questionable economy, people are looking to brands they know and love. I still think this game will have a long sales life ala Bioshock, but its week to week sales are going to crash as soon as MW2 drops
@Topher
he doesn't factor in what people who don't care about MW2 and DAO will do. He's factoring in the gamers that would potentially have bought all 3 and are going to limit themselves to only one/maybe two purchases this season. In those instances Borderlands doesn't fare too well.
Also, obligatory "How the hell did Pachter get paid for spouting this BS" comment.
You are missing the obvious point about limited money and limited time.
I think his point about Dragon Age is being blown out of context. He only mentions it because GEARBOX CALLS IT A RPG. He says IF it is an RPG then Dragon Age will push it out. Gearbox is inviting the comparisons to RPG titles by advertising it as such.
Being a game reviewer perhaps you don't understand but most people do not have the money nor the time to play every game known to man. There are titles that slip through all the time and it's because the big ticket tried and true titles are bought first.
Let's not also forget that at it's heart it is a co-op experience, not a solo and not even a multi-player. It's a small scale MMORPG really. And MMO's are often defined by their player base. Will my other friends be picking up this title or will they be too busy playing Uncharted 2 and MF2 to play this?
All these are things that I would have think would be obvious.
Will Borderlands sell as well as CoD, even if it were in a different release cycle? Not likely. Why? Haloids are buying CoD. CoD is like Madden and Tekken. Lots of people play CoD and nothing else. They might as well glue the disc in the tray, because they're not going to play anything until CoD:MW3 comes out. I also think that Dragon Age is overhyped and won't do as well as everyone thinks it will. Hardcore fantasy RPG'ers are playing Demon's Souls, and they're a smaller subsect of gamers that the FPS crowd. I think there's a lot of folks like me; I love FPS games, but I'm tired of CoD. 4 was plenty. I want something new in my FPS. Borderlands seems like it could be the thing, but I'm still busy farming souls.
Is it safe to say (in Pachteresque douchbaggery) that Borderlands is destined to be a financial disaster? Not at all. I wish I could say that Koticks asshattery would have some impact on those people he insulted deciding not to buy his games, but mostly, gamers are retards who don't give a rats ass about who's talking down to them or trying to rip them off. They just stand in line to get ripped off (see: Halo ODST). When CoD:MW3 is $75 at retail, don't complain, because you continued to buy titles from the guy who said the industry needed to raise prices and cut overhead simultaneously.
I THREW MW2 ON THE GROUND!!!
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/e4e2187156/andy-samberg-i-threw-it-on-the-ground