Poll: To Sell a Bad Game

[gyroc1]

I'm wondering, if a hypothetical game you helped make was badly created and it got the bad reviews that it deserved, and you had hyped it up before release, what would you do? Do you go ahead and try to promote the game and get people to buy a flawed product? Money still needs to be made to keep losses from being too low.

Then there's the moral issues of selling a game that even the creators thought was bad. That may not be the case usually, since game devs are so invested in their own games that they can't effectively see what's wrong with it.

 

[Sir Christopher McFarlane]

Nowadays, can't you fix the game with patches? I think I'd try that.
Otherwise I would not promote it. Promoting this bad product could cost me more in the long run because people wouldn't want to buy the future games from my team.

 

[DementedSheep]

I'd still sell it unless it doesn't actually work but I probably wouldn't be promoting it much.

 

[Smooth Operator]

If we are talking like a 2-5 man team where you are actually allowed to make public statements then I would go for damage control:
- every game is worth something so get the price as close as possible to what it's actually offering
- tell people what they are in for
- fix anything still within budget

Otherwise people just remember you as the bastards who sell bad games and from there on in you won't be selling anything.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I'd still sell it unless it doesn't actually work but I probably wouldn't be promoting it much.

I agree with this. If the problems were down to stability/bugs and the like I'd try and get it patched ASAP, too (and maybe promote it then). If it were just poorly made I'd quietly release it in small numbers.

Of course, if I'd hyped it up before release, it'd be hard to avoid the bad press.

 

[Vern5]

If my payroll depends upon that bad game's success then you can bet your entire ass that I will promote it. I have bills to pay, damnit!

 

[WhyWasThat]

Work on improving the game where you can via patches, and then make any and all DLC for the game free of charge.