Titanfall 2 and Late-comers

[SAMAS]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZwbfFbGXrA&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzvhC0PH6_I

So this guy here is talking about Titanfall 2: A game that's gotten lots of good reviews, including on this site, yet suffers from a fairly small playerbase. Now, a lot of things have been said about it's unfortunate release date (at the same time as Infinite Warfare and Battlefield I). But the videoes' author believes that since said release was six months ago, that should no longer be a factor.

Now, he puts the blame on the hypocracy of the gaming collective; saying they want things like more unique gameplay or non-predatory DLC practices, but when a game that has those comes out, they don't buy it. Now, I could dismiss that, but I have seen a similar situation regarding Nintendo games: People who say they want Nintendo to make or release more "mature" games, but never bought they ones they've released previously. So maybe he has a point. But there could be other factors, as I'll get into in a minute.

So while one question I wanna ask is: "Why haven't you bought Titanfall 2?[/b] I'd rather first ask: "How often do you buy games past their initial launch window(s)?"

In my case, I usually do. Titanfall 2 being an example itself. I kinda had a peripheral knowledge of it. I missed the first one due to not having an Xbone, and I remembered being happy that they listened to criticism on both the first game and the Beta. I saw the game on sale, and decided to check it out on impulse. I've also gotten many of my previous games, Splatoon and Xenoblade Chronicles X, some time after their initial release, and even after releasing their first few rounds of DLC.

To answer my own question(kinda), I usually don't buy games because of Interest(lack thereof), money, and memory. Interest because I'm just not that into that particular genre(ironically, this would have included FPS games not too long ago), I don't have the money to buy any games, or because I simply forgot about it(the times I did have the money to buy a game).

So what about you? Why didn't you buy Titanfall 2 then? Why haven't you bought it now? Any other games you have forgotten/neglected to get despite good word-of-mouth and why? Do you agree with the guy who made the above videos, and why or why not?

 

[Zhukov]

"How often do you buy games past their initial launch window(s)?"

A majority of the time. The market is flooded with mediocre games at the moment, I'm not in any hurry. I can wait for the price to drop.

I reserve day-1 purchases for games I'm especially interested in, multiplayer games where I want to get in early and the occasional impulse buy.

"Why haven't you bought Titanfall 2?

Because I bought the first one (long after release) and it was pretty meh. The titan fights mostly just consisted of standing there plugging away at each other and the matches were only 6v6 or something, so you spent most of the time looking for enemy players or shooting nigh helpless NPC enemies.

Now, he puts the blame on the hypocracy of the gaming collective; saying they want things like more unique gameplay or non-predatory DLC practices, but when a game that has those comes out, they don't buy it.

Non-predatory DLC practices are cool, but the game still has to be good for me to give a shit.

Titanfall doesn't actually have particularly unique gameplay. It's a shooter with wall-running and a double jump and the ability to get into a robot that turns it into a more boring shooter.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I've only watched the first video, and well, he's right in some aspects, but a complete and total asshat in others. I didn't buy Titanfall 2 because I don't really enjoy shooters that are that fast-paced and twitch-reflex-based; I'm getting a little up there in years, and I'm not likely to do well in that environment- and I am not going to buy a game I'm not likely to enjoy.

I am also not obligated to spend my money on a game I'm not likely to enjoy just to "support" what's "different". Not buying this game does not make me a "liar" or a "hypocrite".

 

[sXeth]

I bought Titanfall 2 back around(ish) when it came out, although on sale for some reason or another.

Since a few buddies did throw it on their "get it eventually" pile, I do have some familiarity with the latecomer perspective.

The singleplayer is probably worth a decent used/sale buy, if you're into FPSes. The unique ideas are *very* front loaded in it, and there's really only one mission that lets you do a lot of Titan vs Titan combat, mostly it restricts to boss encounters (which are mostly underwhelming).

I guess its probably exacerbated due to a lower playerbase, but the MP is awful on a latecomer to the game. The matchmaking does not give one crap about throwing a solo player on his first match against a team of multiple prestige tier max levels. Even if you did have a solid talent for the game, while most of the stuff isn't crazily imbalanced, there are enough gaps between lower level stuff and higher level stuff that you're fighting an uphill battle with starter guns and titans vs the stuff that unlocks 50+ levels in.

 

[-Ezio-]

I dont do competitive multiayer so i buy most FPS games looooong after launch if i bother at all. The one exception was Doom which i did buy at launch.

So i only bought titanfall 2 saturday. And the campaign so far is great.

 

[tippy2k2]

Before I say anything else...

I am also not obligated to spend my money on a game I'm not likely to enjoy just to "support" what's "different". Not buying this game does not make me a "liar" or a "hypocrite".

1000% this. I'm not going to buy something that is different just to support it. I will likely gamble on something different if word of mouth says it is good (it's why I bought "This War of Mine) but being different and being good are very different.

OT: I rarely buy games at launch. Good games come out so quickly and drop in price at that same rate that it either has to be heavy multiplayer based where it's best to get in immediately (Madden or NHL) or games that I'm just too damn excited for to wait (I think Last of Us was the last one to get that honor).

I bought Titanfall 2 during the Christmas sale for like...$15. I didn't care for the MP but I have heard very good things about the SP so I will play that one day (I have a huge backlog of games so I wouldn't be shocked if I didn't touch it again until next Christmas).

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

I can't really answer your question OP because I bought Titanfall 2 right around its release date, though my journey to get there was... interesting.

I originally bought the game on Origin (so PC obviously), played the single player and enjoyed it. Then gave the MP a shot and after two matches thought "ehh, I don't know if I really want to devote my time to another online shooter progression model" and had it refunded. Then the good press continued to roll in and I thought maybe it was worth my time. I got it for a lower price on Amazon and once I actually sunk my teeth into the game I found what others had been lauding so highly.

It's a genuinely good game that is unfairly classified as "dead" by grouches on the internet. I was just playing yesterday (and again, this is on PC so the lowest population platform) and I found games in seconds. I ran into some of the same people but that means nothing to me. Respawn has been great on support for the game and as you mention above there's none of that season pass and micro transaction bull shit. Plus, it runs great on PC and looks pretty good to boot. It's a fast paced skill based shooter, and the titan classes really mixed up the play-styles of each, bringing the titan element up to pretty much on par with the Pilot gameplay. I really hope people continue to discover the game because it honestly deserves it.

And a little OT: I don't really just "forget" to get games I'm interested in. They go on my Steam or mental wish list and I'll try to get to them when I have the time. Coming to a game late is not something I think about- but then I don't play a ton of online competitive games. I can understand that being a little intimidating, but single players games don't care when they're played.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I hardly buy any game on release. Financial restraints, time restraints, wait-for-patch-or-complete-edition restraints. Still have yet to get Horizon Zero Dawn and Resi 7.

However, Titanfall 2 was something I did get around release. It was slightly cheaper and well-rated enough to make the leap. Played through and very much enjoyed the campaign, but had no need to keep the game for just multiplayer so sold it on. Multiplayer grind-fests (even as fun as this one) aren't my cuppa tea anyway, it was nothing personal.

 

[SAMAS]

Gah, you had to remind me of Horizon! I still need to get that. This is what I mean by too many games too little money

 

[Jandau]

Because I don't really care about multiplayer-focused shooters. I understand that the campaign is alright, but I need more than "alright" to give a fuck. And I have no intention of diving into multiplayer, so that aspect of the game is useless to me.

 

[Jeremy Comans]

It annoys me when people use the whole, "gamers are hypocrits because 'they' said one thing, but then didn't do x" argument. It is so patently stupid.

For one, as others have pointed out, it does not follow from "I wish games didn't have scummy business models", that you would then buy every game that didn't have them. Or, that when I say I want something unique, that I want the same things as anybody else, or that I would then buy 'anything' that is in someway unique.

No individual persons opinions, preferences, tastes, etc., represent 'gamers' as a whole. 60 million odd individuals bought a PS4, at any given time 8-14 million people are on Steam, and millions of people read gaming websites and watch gaming related videos on Youtube every day. It's a darn big group of people, and they don't all agree on everything, or want the same things. So as far as I'm concerned there is no validity or logic to people like Mr. GamerTron accusing 'gamers' of being some faulty, inconsistent hive-mind.

n.b. I haven't bought TtF2 yet. I may pick it up in a couple years when it is dirt cheap to play the campaign. Not interested in any MP, and the campaign looks fun enough, but not like the type of thing that will be super appealing to me. So it's on my 'if I get around to it' pile.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

I buy games on release fairly rarely - the last couple I did buy was Horizon Zero Dawn (a fantastic choice, and it was much cheaper than the standard AAA price) and For Honor, which was a mistake since I bought it to play it with all my friends but then the connectivity was so bad we couldn't play together anyway. Dammit Ubisoft, the one time I give you a chance...

I tend to not buy games on launch since... well, my backlog is currently sitting at something like 150 games, launch-day release tends to be absurdly expensive given the Australia Tax (mmm 100 dollars per game), I have little interest in a lot of AAA-tier games coming out these days and I honestly don't play multiplayer often enough to try and get into an MP game 'early'. If I'm into a game for it's single player then... well, nothing's going to change if I buy it now or wait until it's 85% off, so why not just wait? I'm rarely in a rush.

Titanfall 2 was one of those 'why not just wait' games for me - heavy discount on the Playstation store, played through the campaign a couple of times (I love the Titan AI and how you can make him snarkier and snarkier over the game), hit up a few MP games but that was a pretty meh experience (not much of a fan of 'who gets sights first' gunplay, and even the titans felt like cardboard with how easy it was to kill them). I enjoyed my time with it, but yeah, not a game I was going to invest in launch-day. Especially given the first one's whole 'no single-player campaign' bullshit.

As to the guy's argument of 'gamers are hypocrites for not supporting games that do the things they want' - I mean, I did support a game that did the things I want. Horizon Zero Dawn. No day one DLC, no predatory microtransactions, No Season pass, Original IP, cohesive storyline, cheaper price for a AAA game (technically AA), no content locked behind pre-order packages... all shit I've been asking the games industry to do. Dunno what more the guy wants from me, really.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I actually didn't buy TF2 at launch for exactly why everyone thinks, I chose Battlefield 1 over it.

I just recently bought it, and while the singleplayer is great and the multiplayer is fun, playing it can get exhausting and I don't really feel the drive to unlock new weapons or use abilities other than the grappling hook.