What Makes A Game Successful?
Working at Raptr, I see video games come and go. I see games get hyped up, explode, then disappear – however, once in a while I see a game stay. So it got me thinking, what makes people keep coming back? Does a developer/publisher strive to make sales or provide replayability? Here’s what I looked at. Disclaimer: I am not a professional research analyst, just a Community Manager and gamer that watches trends.
So the game that brought about my sudden inner analyst was Battlefield 1943. I read all over the place about Battlefield 1943 shattering records and causing server crashes. I let a few weeks pass, and this is what I saw:
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Looks like some people are still playing it, but it is no where near it’s server crashing status. Looks like people have gotten a little bored of it. So I looked at other XBLA games. Next stop, Monkey Island:
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I seriously doubt all those people beat it within the first few days. Not surprised at these results – adventure games were never about their replayability. Maybe the issue is that Monkey Island is a single-player game, and most of the high performers are multi-player. I turn towards one of the most popular single-player games out right now: Fallout 3.
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Like all the others, it has had a spike and decline, but since then it’s stayed relatively steady. It looks like it was making a comeback the last few months. Around those small peaks were DLC releases – Mothership Zeta will probably produce a similar peak. So DLCs must change something about playtime. I look towards a game that recently has had a DLC – Gears of War 2:
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DLC does cause a big jump in gametime. Of course DLC would produce those results; in a way, it’s like a tiny expansion to the game. What about a game that doesn’t have any DLC? I look for a game that performs relatively well without any DLC – Street Fighter IV:
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No DLC here and it still performs relatively well. Despite that, there is still that peak and decline in gameplay. My search sends me to go look for a game with consistently high gameplay. After some searching, I came across my old friend Left 4 Dead:
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Looking at the chart, gameplay seems relatively consistent. Left 4 Dead had a good launch and plenty of updates – include user mods and the game does well.
So what have I decided? As I said before, I’m not a professional research analyst, so here’s my answer: I don’t really know. Create a fun game with continued support and user customization, and you will have something great.
July 31st, 2009 at 1:36 PM
You’re right! Defining a game and why it is fun is nearly impossible.
Some have concluded that successful games capture a short burst of enjoyment and continually repeat it throughout the game. This is clear in multiplayer shooter such as Call of Duty as players progressively struggle for another frag, and another, and another…. It’s like crack! XD
July 31st, 2009 at 2:17 PM
I think the game developers’ primary concerns when it comes to these charts is keeping the game off the used market by keeping it in players’ hands. Obviously, downloadable games like Steam provides are one way of doing that, but multiplayer and add-on content are a big part of it too.
August 6th, 2009 at 10:52 AM
I think building a huge hype machine is a major part of the process. If you look at all of those games, you see that they had a huge publisher. You also see that the games either had a huge add campaign or built off the success of it’s previous iteration (people love nostalgia). Hype in and of itself can lead to huge sales, just look at what COD Modern Warfare 2 is doing for pre-orders. But the games that sustain success are the ones that develop the hype and live up to it. I remember being really hyped for Silent Hill Homecoming, but not buying it until it eventually hit $10 because the reviews were universally mediocre to bad. Games that are heavily hyped, but suck, are just sold for other’s to buy which cuts into the games sales.
Further DLC to spice up the title also helps, but I think ultimately, with a few exceptions, a game’s success is driven by how many people know about it, how foaming at the mouth excited they are for it when it comes out, and how satisfied they are when it finally gets here.