Boom Blox disappointing sales
Here's some slightly
old news from GameDaily that I just came across, but it's really
disappointing to discover the Electronics Arts' awesome "Boom Blox,"
which I think is a candidate for best game of the year so far (my
review here), sold only 60,000 units in the U.S. during its first few weeks
on sale.
Here's an example of a game tailor-made for the most popular console on the
market that, in my opinion, is accessible to casual players and offers depth
for experienced players, but apparently didn't appeal much to either. Did the
cartoony aspects turn off the latter group and the newness turn off the former?
Was it just not marketed well? Should creator Steven Spielberg have been out
there pumping it more (he certainly didn't have a big presence publicity wise
that I saw)?
Whatever the reason, I hope EA can give it another push around the holidays.
Because there certainly weren't problems here quality wise. "Boom
Blox" is easily better than many of Nintendo's first party best sellers
for the system. There's got to be a way to sell an innovative game like
"Boom Blox" to the millions of people with a Wii.
Chris Morris reports on the business and culture of video games and offers analysis of recent events and industry trends.
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Posted by: buy habbo gold | March 11, 2009 at 11:16 PM
Remember the 90s and how you could sell truck of absolutely shitty games just by pouring some golden coins into agressive marketing campaigns?
Posted by: Stone Bytes | July 08, 2008 at 10:03 AM
"Did the cartoony aspects turn off the latter group and the newness turn off the former? Was it just not marketed well? Should creator Steven Spielberg have been out there pumping it more (he certainly didn't have a big presence publicity wise that I saw)?"
Maybe your opinion of this game was just as far off as your opinion of Colonization. That's a possibility.
Or maybe game players are simply tired of all the bloxploitation in the game industry. Based on the game's name, that's a possibility.
I could think of more, but you're the game reviewer. Your turn.
Posted by: noshame | June 29, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Where was EA on this one? There was barely any publicity or promotion. Maybe Riccitiello felt Spielberg stood to earn too much in royalties so they pulled out their "stealth" marketing plan? I'm really surprised that a title that held so much promise (and which has been validated by critical acclaim) was so dismally marketed by a publisher with the means to compete with Nintendo titles. Perplexing... but EA has done this before... remember Freedom Fighters?
Posted by: Borgwatcher | June 28, 2008 at 02:07 PM
Yes, it is indeed one of the best games brought out so far for the wii. It's horrible to think that Boom Blox has been outdone by titles with the words Pokemon and Kawasaki in the title.
Every person I have shown it to has loved it and word of mouth is a powerful tool, unfortunately if your marketing sucks you're probably going to end up a few mouths short.
Posted by: Marcus | June 28, 2008 at 05:34 AM
Yes, it is indeed one of the best games brought out so far for the wii. It's horrible to think that Boom Blox has been outdone by titles with the words Pokemon and Kawasaki in the title.
Every person I have shown it to has loved it and word of mouth is a powerful tool, unfortunately if your marketing sucks you're probably going to end up a few mouths short.
Posted by: Marcus | June 28, 2008 at 05:34 AM
Yes, it is indeed one of the best games brought out so far for the wii. It's horrible to think that Boom Blox has been outdone by titles with the words Pokemon and Kawasaki in the title.
Every person I have shown it to has loved it and word of mouth is a powerful tool, unfortunately if your marketing sucks you're probably going to end up a few mouths short.
Posted by: Marcus | June 28, 2008 at 05:32 AM
Yes, it is indeed one of the best games brought out so far for the wii. It's horrible to think that Boom Blox has been outdone by titles with the words Pokemon and Kawasaki in the title.
Every person I have shown it to has loved it and word of mouth is a powerful tool, unfortunately if your marketing sucks you're probably going to end up a few mouths short.
Posted by: Marcus | June 28, 2008 at 05:31 AM