If there were a kitschy title, to sum up, this year in gaming it would be “2014 Strikes Back.” The callback to that year comes as a response to the number of sequels and lucrative franchises that started or were going strong two years ago experiencing diminishing returns on their installments released in 2016. Flagpole hopefuls such as Ubisoft’s "Watchdogs 2" and EA’s "Titanfall 2" failed to match the performances of their predecessors despite the higher critical praise and even the behemoth that is "Call of Duty" seemed to tumble with the release of "Infinite Warfare." The industry was not all doom and gloom this year with "Blizzard" resurging with "Overwatch and "WoW: Legion" and "Naughty Dog" capping off their blockbuster Uncharted franchise on a high note. However, the number of games left bleeding on the marketplace floor cannot be ignored.
First, let’s go back to 2014 in gaming, a year that provided gamers with 12 months of delayed, unfinished, and/or falsely advertised video games. "Watchdogs" became a target for this issue as a much-hyped open-world hacking game seeking to rival the Grand Theft Auto series that released to mixed reception due to misleading advertising of the game's graphics and gameplay. Despite this reception, "Watchdogs" was a smash-hit, breaking records for Ubisoft. Everything seemed set for the Watchdogs name to join the ranks of gaming blockbusters, such as its sister franchise "Assassins Creed." Ubisoft was so confident in its success that it placed the "Watchdogs" sequel during the release window usually reserved for a new "Assassins Creed" game. However, this choice may have backfired on them when it was reported that the game’s sales were down from the first installment in the UK. As of writing this, no reports on North American stats are to be provided, so it could be doing decent business, but this sharp decrease in one market does show an all too early pattern of diminishing returns.
Perhaps most depressing is how critics have praised "Watchdogs 2" over its predecessor for its more self-aware tone and gameplay depth compared to the original. However, despite listening to its critiques, did the Watchdogs franchise burnout its audience before it could even finish its sophomore lap? This seems to be the case with another big franchise starter in 2014, EA and developer Respawn’s "Titanfall," a mech. warfare shooter that was also hyped up and praised only to lose a majority of its player base by year’s end due to a lack of content. Respawn seemed to be attempting to remedy the situation by providing a beefy single player campaign to this year’s sequel to keep players invested outside of an expanded multiplayer. This approach looked to be paying off, with "Titanfall 2" releasing to nearly universal acclaim and is currently garnering multiple “Game of the Year” nominations. Despite its critical victory, "Titanfall 2" also opened to lower than projected numbers, with the blame pointed at its sandwiched release between shooter juggernauts Battlefield and Call of Duty. EA has reported it is not writing off the franchise yet, but accounts from Respawn say that the performance of the game as of now complicates the possibility for a “Titanfall 3.”
The question ultimately comes down to how did these games not retain the large player bases they had at their respective franchise launch? The diminishing sales of franchises such as "Call of Duty" or "Halo" feel expected given their time in the spotlight for over a decade. However, for sales from new IPs that performed on par with those veteran franchisees at their first installment to fall so sharply so soon suggests a more fundamental issue with both the industry and the player habits of modern gamers. There’s no beating around the bush in saying games are expensive, but much of it has to do with how these original games were handled at their launch. Misleading advertising or little content may have led to players feeling scorned by these games, having their names fall into obscurity. Despite the good intentions behind each new installment to remedy complaints, players might have already unsubscribed, which is a shame because each game is quite enjoyable. EA is currently trying to give "Titanfall 2" a fighting chance by pushing a critically driven marketing campaign that will hopefully catch the eyes of gamers over the holiday season.
Where "Titanfall" and "Watchdogs" seemed poised to be gaming icons for a new generation, due to their rocky start, they may not even be able to make it to their junior effort. This is sad as both titles did show a vast improvement over their original title, fixing their critiques. The critical momentum behind both right now might be strong enough to prod them forward, but the game industry needs to address their business practices to retain fanfare in the future.
