Rogue Keeper on 24/11/2008 at 11:47
Wiki : The second version of Bloodlines shipped on November 16, 2004, the same day that Half-Life 2 was released. ... Earlier release plans were to postpone until Spring 2005 so that Bloodlines would not compete against a sequel to a blockbuster, with a large advertising budget and ready made loyal following during the already competitive Christmas season.
Perhaps if they waited until Spring 05, the losses wouldn't have been so big. To hell with Activision marketing dpt., they are the main reason why Troika went down.
Jason Moyer on 24/11/2008 at 16:25
I dunno, if you're in charge of making decisions at Activision, and your choices are a.) pay everyone's salaries for a year with no game selling or b.) ship the game now and start earning income on it I don't think it's a tough decision. Especially if they felt the game was ready to ship (which it apparently wasn't, but it sounds like they didn't see a reason to delay based on game quality).
ignatios on 24/11/2008 at 17:11
Then again, perhaps releasing a PC game on the same date as (arguably) the most highly anticipated PC game in history wasn't such a great idea after all.
gunsmoke on 25/11/2008 at 11:54
Since the game is STILL selling copies...I wonder what the grand total is of copies sold?
Rogue Keeper on 25/11/2008 at 12:34
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
pay everyone's salaries for a year with no game selling
What it was, Activision's only 2004 game? They released succesful titles like Armed and Dangerous, Call of Duty, Rome: Total War, Spiderman 2, X-Men Legends and few more on multiple platforms and on top of it all : DOOM 3! Surely 2004 wasn't a bad year for Activision. But no, they wanted more and in case of Bloodlines the bet went down the drain. With developing studio, of course. Granted, there were more troubles with the project in the development house, but it's publisher's responsibility to handle marketing of such sensitive projects with greater care, afterall they have hurt their own pet, too.
Yakoob on 25/11/2008 at 21:48
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Since the game is STILL selling copies...I wonder what the grand total is of copies sold?
As the idea of a "trickling profit over years due to loyal fanbase" seems very nice, I fear it doesn't really matter. I think the reason why companies are so obsessed with "first day sales" is because what matters is the profit they get ASAP. And, I mean, it makes sense - you've been working on a product and start selling it, you want (and often need to) get the return as soon as possible. You can't just sit idly on your but and wait five years for the money to accumulate because, in those five years, you still need to keep paying your workers.
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Silkworm on 26/11/2008 at 17:22
Quote Posted by Koki
Bloodlines has in general most memorable NPCs and best voice acting in videogame history.
Yep.
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
You fucks are making me want to replay the damn game. I always played as a Gangrel. I tried a Nosferatu, but meh. Too strange. Any recommendations for a build? Maybe a Brujah would be fun. I just love brawlers.
I strongly recommend you try playing as a Malkavian, because it is an awesome experience.
Matthew on 26/11/2008 at 17:36
YES. This.
Jason Moyer on 26/11/2008 at 18:39
Yeah, Malkavian is the only way to go. That's pretty much the case in every White Wolf setting though.
ZylonBane on 26/11/2008 at 21:20
But you can't tell people exactly why a Malk is so awesome to play, because half the awesome is the little surprises.
