Blur was 'not able to break out', says Activision
Denies accusations it did not market the game strongly enough.
Blur failed to "break out" in the racing genre, but did break new ground with innovative social and multiplayer features, Activision COO Thomas Tippl has said.
Speaking during the publisher's Q2 2010 earnings call with investors, Tippl said: "Blur was not able to break out in what turned out to be a relatively soft racing genre despite the number of high-quality releases."
The title may not have sold as hoped, but it did have worth.
"Importantly, the game broke new ground in creating innovative, social and multiplayer features, including functionality, enables our unique online and back-end platforms that will play an increasing role in driving value in the future," Tippl explained.
Tippl also denied claims that Activision cut back marketing support for Bizarre's racer.
"We have made a very significant investment behind the establishment of Blur as a new IP. So I think the marketing plan was very strong, probably stronger than for most of our franchises."
Blur is out now for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Via Seeking Alpha
User Comments
Mr_Ninjutsu@ RAGE_OF_THORN
RAGE_OF_THORN@ Mr_Ninjutsu
RAGE_OF_THORN@ Mr_Ninjutsu
I never said a racer is sophisticated, I just plainly stated the fact, that we do indeed seek more bang for the buck, but basically no racers fit the bill for paying such bloated boulderdash prices.
Racers are basically like sports games, at the core they are all the same, some just use more gimmicks than others. Not to say racing games are bad, but just alike. That leaves the racer as a fill in game till hard hitter titles release, games with more substance than a repedative racer.
Just to be clear there Skippy......
Mr_Ninjutsu@ RAGE_OF_THORN
That's what Blur does.
RAGE_OF_THORN
I think it comes down to just alot of us gamers are just jaded and we want some new and crazy artistic game to wet our tounges to. I think as a whole, gamers have grown out of the arcade like state, but still use alot of racers as stepping stones to better more sophisticated titles,. Really in this day and time where games cost everyone a good chunk of change, people are more apt to look at more creativity than the normal.
El-Dev
Woffls
Mr_Ninjutsu
CheekyLee@ pblive
Compare it to, say, Guitar Hero adverts? There, you get to see that the game itself is fun to play. Or the Modern Warfare adverts. A videogame advert should primarily make you want to play the game it is advertising, either through footage of the game or at the very least through footage of people playing it and enjoying it. Attacking one of the worlds favourite franchises is rarely a good idea. If I were making a Blur ad, I would have probably showed some guy getting a tweet on his phone saying his time has been beaten. Or, getting a challenge from a friend. Subsequently, our hero would play the game, reclaim his spot on the leaderboard or beat said friend, and look suitably triumphant. Concentrate on what makes the game unique!
pblive
CheekyLee
pblive
I saw lots of advertising, including that great ad on TV, for Blur too, so I don't see how Activision cut the budget for advertising. I think they just didn't get enough support and released it in a bad month as Wido has already mentioned.
Wido@ Clockpunk
Gone down to £25 in most places now I think. I think the multiplayer demo of Blur has been taken off XBL again. I don't know if they are going to release a singleplayer demo or even the multiplayer demo just to grab a few extra sales.
Clockpunk
Wido