14 DAY TRIAL // The gaming industry isn't very fair sometimes, as there have been quite a lot of games that gained critical acclaim but didn't really excel in terms of retail sales. Last year, gamers forgot many new, high-quality titles, preferring sequels of poorer quality instead during the holiday season.
Yesterday we heard Psychonauts creator Tim Schafer say that the game sales didn't really matter, as publishers put quality over profit. That is why he was quite satisfied with the great reviews that Psychonauts received, even though it didn't sell very well.
But now, the creator, who is currently hard at work on Brutal Legend, comes to set some things straight, saying that sales only matter if you have invested your money in the product, and that regular gamers shouldn't worry too much if their favorite game isn't selling very well.
“I think games sales matter a lot. I just think that the people who should worry about sales are the people who have vested financial interest in a game,” said Schafer. “If your money or livelihood is dependent on a game, then you should concern yourself with its sales. But if it isn't, then you should try to relax and just enjoy playing them. And that's why, unless it's your money on the line, game sales don't need to keep you up at night. The market and game executives do not dictate what games get made—They just dictate what gets made easily. They affect what can be made without a fight. As long as there are creative people out there willing to fight for ideas they care about, then there is nothing that the market or anyone else can do to stop them.”
So there you have it, gamers, if you invest in titles, then you can start worrying in regard to their sales. But, hopefully, people will care about the upcoming Brutal Legend and it will enjoy a big success in terms of both retail sales and critical acclaim.