My point is that a launch is like a choke point, so if it goes bad you'll find hard to have a following. But if you manage to have a good quality game at any point, you can also be sure that the quality will stand out.
The "word of mouth" can condemn a game as it can resurrect it. It's just unlikely the latter to happen because it's unlikely that a game improves that much. Especially after a bad launch.
What I'm trying to say here, the real bottom line, is that games don't fail because the players have a WRONG idea made as result of a bad launch that put the game under a bad light. They fail because the players know exactly the merits of the game. Because the word of mouth works well, and because this is a specialized genre where you can find a lot of informations if you want them.
The point IS NOT an indelible impression in the player's mind. The problem is how you transition a game toward a significant improvement when it's already severely bleeding.
If you manage to go through that I'm sure the quality will stand out at the end. But before the quality can stand out, it must be there.
Re: Accessibility is a game's vocation
My point is that a launch is like a choke point, so if it goes bad you'll find hard to have a following. But if you manage to have a good quality game at any point, you can also be sure that the quality will stand out.
The "word of mouth" can condemn a game as it can resurrect it. It's just unlikely the latter to happen because it's unlikely that a game improves that much. Especially after a bad launch.
What I'm trying to say here, the real bottom line, is that games don't fail because the players have a WRONG idea made as result of a bad launch that put the game under a bad light. They fail because the players know exactly the merits of the game. Because the word of mouth works well, and because this is a specialized genre where you can find a lot of informations if you want them.
The point IS NOT an indelible impression in the player's mind. The problem is how you transition a game toward a significant improvement when it's already severely bleeding.
If you manage to go through that I'm sure the quality will stand out at the end. But before the quality can stand out, it must be there.