Borderlands' Competition
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 12:56
There is no doubt that Borderlands will be a real jewel on nearly any gamer’s shelf. It has the potential to shine brilliantly. But will it shine as bright as other games? Brighter? To try and answer that question we must compare it to the other games it will face uupon release.
Borderlands will be released October 20. I have chosen to compare Borderlands to games released anytime in September through December. Borderlands will have to be put up against a large variety of games, but mainly FPS’s and RPG’s. I ended up with a short list of 5 games.
Bumping with the Best
First of all, I would like to point out that Borderlands is up against the big boys. In these economic times people are less likely to take a chance with a new franchise. They will stick with what is familiar. Although change is exactly what the industry needs, being innovative is a big risk for developers. If that wasn’t enough, the sequels Borderlands has to win over are fabulous games in themselves.
RPG’s
Role-play is half of what Borderlands tries to be. It therefore attempts to tackle other RPG’s in the quest for sales. Luckily, very few of such games are being released this fall. Two games in particular caught my eye: Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, and Dragon Age: Origins.
Fallout 3 is a widely respected game that was released last year and ranked number 1 on Borderlands Guide's list of the greatest RPG shooters.. The GotY Edition will be the same, with all of the DLC already included. I know that many people held out on buying Fallout 3 at release in anticipation of this. Fallout presents a vast world and lots of numbers to satisfy the statistics addict. Gearbox offers a contrast to this, replacing numbers with action in Borderlands.
Dragon Age: Origins is a game made by one of the most renowned RPG developers around, Bioware. Dragon Age is the spiritual successor of the acclaimed Baldur’s Gate series. The most dangerous thing about Bioware (and Dragon Age) to Borderlands is the fact that Bioware sticks to its guns. Fans know that they will get a great game because what is put into it has been hammered and polished to perfection. On top of that, Dragon Age: Origins will be released the same day as Borderlands.
Shooters
More importantly, Borderlands must be able to compete with the plethora of shooters on the market. This genre has a larger fan base, and more releases this year. Luckily, Borderlands is an FPS before it is an RPG. This means that it will appeal to those you just want to shoot stuff.
I have chosen 3 shooters that will bump with Borderlands come release in October; Halo: ODST, Modern Warfare 2, and Left 4 Dead 2.
ODST joins the bandwagon of open world environments, something it has in common with Borderlands. They are both sci-fi first-person shooters as well, with fast-paced gameplay. Borderlands has been referred to as a Diablo game in the Halo engine.
Modern Warfare 2 will have both a compelling story and an intense multiplayer. It will have a large collection of guns when compared to most games (not Borderlands of course), but customizing them is what makes you feel in control. Modern Warfare 2 promises even more customizability than before by letting you choose your kill streak rewards. This may be comparable to Borderlands’ shields, class modifications, and artifacts.
The last large competitor will be Left 4 Dead 2. Their primary similarity is the emphasis on 4-player coop. Plenty of shooters have great competitive multiplayer. Only recently has this genre really put their attention on working together. Left 4 Dead set the bar last year, and only improvements are expected of the sequel.
Can Borderlands match this standard? Can it do better? We can only wait and see…
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 17:26
#2
I have my doubts :(
There is no doubt in my mind that Borderlands will be among the top games put out this year. However, I just don't think that people will be willing to go with a new IP that's running against ODST (hundreds of millions of fans [literally] worldwide), L4D 2 (another crazy fan count), and CoD: Modern Warfare 2 (yet another crazy fan count). I'm thinking that the vast majority of gamers will only be able to afford 2-3 games this fall, and chances are pretty high that they will go with games that are satisfaction garunteed. I also believe that many of the people who are intersted in Fallout 3 or Dragon Age: Origins are not even going to contemplate Borderlands. Good, solid RPG's like Dragon Age, tend to have more of a niche audience (granted it's a little larger than most niches) but still. Many RPG fans won't play anything other than an RPG (and that includes an RPS).
I've been watching the game market (and the crowds that go with it) for a number of years now, and I believe that I have a pretty decent handle on how the industry works and how the fans will react to various things. With the economy in such a sad state recently, I can pretty much assure you that Borderlands will likely end up on some Christmas lists, but I wouldn't expect the launch week numbers to be all that specacular. My only hope is the Gearbox and 2K Games are reasonable enough to realize that initial sales don't have to make or break a franchise.
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 19:16
#3
My two cents
Honestly, I'd say the only challenge facing Borderlands is exactly what you talked about in your second paragraph, Savage. The simple fact is, it's new IP, and people don't want to waste money on something that could still turn out to be a piece of crap.
I don't think we need to worry about it trying to compete with the RPG market too much. Sure, it does have some PRG elements, but I think BL is an FPS first and foremost. People who are really into the slower-paced RPGs won't be thrilled with Borderlands' intense action. That said, I think it will still draw a limited amount of RPG fans, but they shouldn't be Gearbox's main target.
As for the FPS crowd, there's a ton more of FPS fans. COD4 and 5 proved that FPSers do like limited RPG elements, which I think Borderlands copied and improved upon, based on what little I know about its skill tree system. Additionally, the core FPS gameplay looks extremely solid and fun. Iron sights, grenades, regenerating health(in the form of shields), and a ton of other things that I can't be bothered to think of right now, are all elements that people love in other, established FPS series, like COD, for example. And sure, both BL and L4D2 are 4-player co-op online games, but the problem with L4D2 is that all the survivors are exactly the same. I guess a point in L4D2's favor is that is does require more teamwork, but it will only work with 4 other people. BL is just as fun by yourself.
I've played almost all of Gearbox's other games, and I absolutely loved the BiA series. They were all extremely fun games, with excellent shooting mechanics, so I don't think BL will really have the problem of simply being poor quality. People just won't want to "waste" money on something new. Hopefully, if enough people decide to risk it(and assuming it does turn out good), they'll spread the word about how great it is.
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 11:12
#4
I think Borderlands will be a solid competitor...
Look at the prominent features in all those FPS. Notice anything about them? They are all also features of Borderlands... 4 play co-op, open worlds, customization... While those games have one extremely drawing feature, Borderlands essentialy has all of them, with something thrown in for the RPG fan for good measure. Furthermore, I think simply having the Gearbox name attached to the game will be a big plus, as any one who has played any of the BiA games knows that Gearbox has shooter mechanics down.
On the other side of things, I think the games appearance might be a deterant to some people, and the more hardcore RPG fans will definitely be sticking with Fallout and Dragon Age.
While I'm not saying it will blow the competition out of the water (those are all big names to go up against, all with a solid pre-existing fan base), I can definitely see it holding it's own, and doubt it will have poor sales.
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 12:10
#5
Im not show how much this may
Im not show how much this may affect sales, but it is important to remember that there is a large group of L4D fans that are boycotting L4D2, due to the fact the sequel is coming out literally 1 year after the first, whereas the fans were promised a lot more content to arrive for the first (and all that has been done is survival mode and one map for it, when it was said more campaign levels would be done).
Initially, I was only getting Dragon Age Origins, but when I looked into this game, I decided to add to my list, and have set aside money so when October comes, I will have enough. I have not even contemplated on the other games (Disliked Fallout 3, dislike Halo series, enjoyed COD4, but got boring quick, so can't be done with MW2, L4D2 doesn't look as enjoyable as the first, which I am still happy with).
I think BL won't have as high sales as the other established franchies on release, but I feel once it is out and more people start to see what kind of game it is, then will go up. So my view is it won't be the biggest seller, but will definatly not be a flop.
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 12:36
#6
Definitely share that opinion...
I totally forgot about the L4D2 boycott, and I'm sure many people will take this as their next choice for a 4-player co-op experience. I also had a similar thing going with Dragon Age... it kind of came down to "which RPG/RPS do I want more?" and I chose Borderlands.
I personally am planning on making quite a few purchases this fall/winter... Batman: Arkham Asylum, NFS: Shift, Brutal Legend, Borderlands, and Assassin's Creed 2. Borderlands is definitely the highlight of that list, though, at least for me.
Back on topic, though, I really think the L4D2 boycott will be alarge contributing factor to BL's sales, and definitely share the opinion of it not flopping, but also not having extremely high sales.
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 12:46
#7
The last I checked, the L4D2
The last I checked, the L4D2 boycott had about 31,000 people to the list who said they wouldn't buy it. This is actually a lot more than I thought there might be:
31,000 people x £39.99 RRP = £1,239,690.
That is a BIG loss if all those people do abstain and don't buy the game. Granted this was only calculated in £.
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 13:08
#8
I can guarantee that 95%
I can guarantee that 95% percent of the people in the L4D2 boycott will be buying L4D2 day one. I'm sure once they stop bitching and moaning for no reason at all, they'll be just as excited for the game as everyone else. Comparing their number to how many people actually bought L4D1 and will definately buy 2, not to mention all of the new fans the game will have, that's nothing and will have little to no real affect on sales.
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 13:15
#9
I'm loving the response this
I'm loving the response this has gotten. Makes me giddy to think that my writing is actually being read by peeple other than my parents. I want to be a games journalist/critic, so getting an early foot in the door with freelance work means alot.
That aside, I chose L4D2 because it was the only other game coming out this fall that offered a fast paced, 4-player, FPS coop experience (that I know of, and that the general poulation knows of). The boycott will certainly be interesting.
Fri, 08/07/2009 - 13:41
#10
@Savage
I want to be a games journalist/critic
Hey, me too! *high five*
You wouldn't happen to be in college right now, would you?
Promoted to the front page.
I've read a lot of comments from Left 4 Dead players saying they're going to skip the sequel in favor of Borderlands because of its co-op offerings.
Former name Borderlands Guide.