djskribbles
Legend
People still use the term "Halo killer"? "Halo killer" in what way? If anyone thought KZ2 would outsell Halo 3 needs to get their head checked.
*spin-off* Halo Killer: Instinctual term
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I agree, however, I think selling a million by now for the PS3 user base to show that it accepted it as a flagship title (like a Halo) would have been sufficient.
That it didn't do that is less than expected and less than desired by a wide margin.
But isnt this what we expect from every promising title? The only common thing with Halo is the genre. Why the term Halo killer? Why not call it Half Life killer then? Or Call of Duty killer? Or Quake killer? Or whatever? We expect a title to do well in general. Not in relation to Halo.
So Halo doesnt quite stick in such discussions. Unless we want to speak about the genre in general and bring many examples including Halo.
The term Halo killer was created by the media in relation to the graphics and gameplay when Killzone 1 was first announced because Halo for some reason was used as a benchmark of how a FPS should be and be compared to. You know. The usual hyperbole. Its intention was unrelated to sales. It is nothing more than a term used between the two console camps. It's not a healthy discussion starter.
Because there is no way to define a Halo Killer. In terms of quality? It depends what the developers want to achieve with a particular game. And of course there are areas that some games improved and do better over Halo. In some other areas they probably dont. So no Halo isnt a benchmark title. In terms of sales? Why should we care if a game may sell as much? It is illogical to expect a title to reach Halo. For a game to reach and surpass Halo it needs a huge marketing campaign and the right conditions (which also has to do with luck).
If Killzone 2 sold less than expected, it should be an isolated matter and unrelated to Halo
djskribbles
Legend
I agree the sales are a lot lower than expected. But in terms of sales, even if KZ2 sold 2m in the US, how would that make it a "Halo killer"? I just don't understand why people have to say this and compare every FPS to Halo.
Perhaps you missed the part where I said "I agree" to Halo killer being a stupid term.
I then pointed out why IMO it "failed" (in context) on its own without the need for hyping it as a supposed Halo killer.I'm not sure I agree with you. Because what you're saying, there's no way for anyone to communication notion or belief that product A will take the reign away from product B.
What defines product B killer? Well that depends on the individual. Much like what does AAA title means...to some AAA titles are x budget with x development time. To other, it's different. So is there a no clear definition of AAA titles then? Well, it's a collective acceptance of the term. Though dialog we understand that AAA x budget with x development time, but take into delta variant for personal individual.
So to saying a product is a "Halo killer" is really saying that a product is expected to out sell Halo. Why sales? Because we like to think sales is a good gauge of product well received by the public...regardless of the specifics.
So whether Killzon 2 was consider a Halo killer before result, that's up to debate. However, to say that the term Halo killer is stupid really limits our ability to communicate.
Since I'm on the subject of Halo Killer...Wow at CoD5:WaW...now that's a Halo killer...
CoD is unreal... 4/WaW/ and now MC2 will sell Millions first month
I always took that media-created term to refer to platform exclusivity and first party relations...
Perhaps you missed the part where I said "I agree" to Halo killer being a stupid term.
Oh treat it as an addition to your comments then
A term "killer" is a general term and counts for every potential AAA title. We arent talking about the definition of an AAA killer ap in this case though.
Sales is a gauge of how well a game is received. But brake down the reasons of its "appeal" and a huge debate is about to begin. Sales were used in the past because they were considered to be correlated with the quality of the product. As time passes the more we realize they cant be always correlated. Then it is the fact that sales are affected by demographics of the console owners, the amount of owners owning the platform, the availability of similar products, and the kind of demographics that a particular product tends to target. Remember how many times people were looking for a Sega Rally Killer during the 32-bit era? Even if an inferior title could sell more on the PS1?
If we talk about quality there are titles that pretty much reached Halo. So everything else is pretty much left on external factors.
But if we are about to talk about sales then it's different. Because if you see what Halo does as a product isnt the key. It is what it does as a pop culture icon. It is the outside makreting campaign. It is the outside conditions etc. The Halo name is enough to outshadow every equally good or better game out there in sales. An example of this is Halo Wars that sold tremendously well. It is not that it does revolutionary and outstanding things as a strategy game. It because its based on the Halo universe. Should it be considered a benchmark as well? The search for a Halo Wars killer? Because of Halo's popularity? Should Killzone 2 be compared with that as well since it is still Halo and sold tremendously well for similar reasons?
So why not call it Halo Marketing Killer instead? That sounds like a better term.
It is the term "Halo Killer" that limits our ability to communicate. First because we view only the surface (higher sales? Halo the best), and secondly because of the kind of people that started it and tend to use the term. It is used equally by both console camps. Either by people that want to give a jab to the 360 camp or because those on the 360 camp believe that Halo is the pinnacle of FPS. Why cant we talk about sales and marketing without using that term? Is it such an important term only because it started by a bunch of journalists and fanboys?
RancidLunchmeat
Veteran
I think this discussion is amusing.
A Halo Killer is like pornography, we'll know it when we see it.
Attempting to define it is an exercise in futility. If it existed, we could point to it.
A Halo Killer is like pornography, we'll know it when we see it.
Attempting to define it is an exercise in futility. If it existed, we could point to it.
Oh treat it as an addition to your comments then
fair enough :smile:
interesting point about the term Halo killer though that TrungGap has.... in essence he is taking it less literally than some do so for example, it's for CONTEXT.
good point
Killzone was marked as the "Halo killer" by the media and a segment of gamers ate it up. But don't think that Sony didn't or doesn't buy into the "Halo Killer" concept.
Halo is the "king of the hill" when it comes to FPSes on consoles. Yet, Sony with a PS2 userbase 5 to 7 times the size of the xbox userbase couldn't produce a first, second or third party title that could come close to rivaling it. Not only did Sony buy GG and pour millions into KZ2, but they made it literally the face of the PS3 experience by showcasing it in every E3 except 1 since 2005. Nothing has gotten the exposure afforded to KZ2 by Sony, not even GT. Which if I were anyone at PD, I would dumbfounded that GT, with its huge proven track record (its a bigger franchise than Halo), doesn't get the red carpet treatment Sony heaped upon KZ.
The media created the "Halo Killer" concept and feed to the market but Sony ate that concept "hook, line and sinker" and tried to make KZ live up to that branding. Halo is probably the only reason Sony took a buggy yet visually ambitious title with lukewarm sales and try to turn into something much bigger. KZ2 is to Halo what the Zune is to the Ipod.
I remember another game that was a high profile game that sold about equal or better in same timespan. Seems neither platform is dead though!
That is all I had to say.
WoW has pretty impressive sales, I agree.
Dont know about WoW first half-year sales. Was it good or?
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