Starbreeze CEO Still Proud of Syndicate Despite Poor Sales

[RSOblivion]

Wasn't this game banned in au?

Yup, so what? It's not like the government actually has any power to stop people making their own informed decisions. Just cos a bunch of idiot's think they do, doesn't mean they actually have any power at all unless you give it to them.

[caitsith01]

Yet people are still clamouring for a Starcraft Ghost that's not happening anytime soon. People are weird, trying to predict what they want is never going to turn out well unless someone's wearing those fancy hindsight glasses.

Yeah, it's not like half the internet was frantically telling EA and Starbreeze that we really really really really want an updated version of the isometric squad shooter named Syndicate and not a **** FPS.

Seriously, these guys don't even have to do market research. Everyone tells them explicitly what they want, over and over again, and they ignore it.

Look at Firaxis and XCOM, and compare it to the "other XCOM" in production. One caters to exactly what people have asked for, the other doesn't. Guess which one will succeed?

[thefinn]

Yeah whatever. Go back to living in your dream world.

Pretty much this. I'm not saying anything about the game itself as i've neither played it nor the originals but that guys comments were pretty stupid. Somehow a very minor group caused the game to be a financial failure? Ok. They should have started with a new IP as the whole point of using an existing IP is for brand recognition but when you change everything about that IP you p!ss off and alienate those who actually know of the brand in the first place thus defeating the whole point. Meanwhile those who hadn't known of Syndicate before would be treating it like a new IP anyway.[/quote]

Yeah if you want to innovate, then don't steal a brand name hoping for mega-sales

It's just lulz.

They either don't innovate, or they go ahead and take a perfectly good brand name and innovate on it, totally missing the point.

The problem is a lot of these people consider themselves "professional game makers" now - and thus don't play the games or have time to talk ABOUT games in places like this forum.

Really makes me want to hit something to hear a game company complaining about the end users - considering the trash that comes out of these studios sometimes.

[retaxis]

my view on the game:
played first thoroughly, I loved it.

heard reboot was a fps, didn't bother buying/trying/looking at.

Don't think I'll even bother looking into it, sucks to be you starbreeze.

[Bluefire]

lol I was paying so little attention to this game I didnt even realise it had been released.
Dont think any of my mates bothered to buy it either.

Considering I enjoyed the orig syndicate games...
verdict is avoid this one ?
buy it on sale ? or just dont buy it ?

Im leaning towards not buying it seeing as noone I play with owns it as far as Im aware.

[Auld]

I think its just bad marketing, if they'd called it a spin-off people probably wouldn't have had a problem.

"Hey guys we are making a FPS spin-off to Syndicate, if this is decently successful we will start working on a proper sequel"

Internerd rage avoided. Instead they marketed it as a sequel and got pwned.

edit: prequel?

[thefinn]

I think its just bad marketing, if they'd called it a spin-off people probably wouldn't have had a problem.

"Hey guys we are making a FPS spin-off to Syndicate, if this is decently successful we will start working on a proper sequel"

Internerd rage avoided. Instead they marketed it as a sequel and got pwned.

edit: prequel?

Yeah this is totally what they should've done.

[exe3]

I think its just bad marketing, if they'd called it a spin-off people probably wouldn't have had a problem.

"Hey guys we are making a FPS spin-off to Syndicate, if this is decently successful we will start working on a proper sequel"

Internerd rage avoided. Instead they marketed it as a sequel and got pwned.

edit: prequel?

That probably would have helped though I think it'd be hard to say it's a spin-off given the last game was so long ago. Spin-offs usually work while the franchise is still active.

[GroggDogg]

alternatively, the market is saturated. esp in generic fps. syndicate reboot was pretty good though, but it wouldnt of been hard to make a syndicate isometric game. like the new jagged alliance, which was also very good. but, heres the kicker! u cant make a jagged alliance type game(rts or whatever) work well on consoles. rts are all **** on consoles. except halo wars, that was bearable and ok. so starbreeze were banking on high console sales, what they got was low console sales and a pc market that revolted against it.

[DarkMellie]

They should have started with a new IP as the whole point of using an existing IP is for brand recognition but when you change everything about that IP you p!ss off and alienate those who actually know of the brand in the first place thus defeating the whole point.

Excellent point.

I played up to the first boss guy outside the train station, couldn't be arsed figuring out how to beat him and left it. I'll go back to it one day when I finally get onto my PC again.