People Can Fly and Epic Games’ Bulletstorm did not sell well. It did not sell well and I am very pleased that it didn’t. Pleased not for myself but for gamers as a whole. Other than being a personal example of schadenfreude, there is a more important message to be found in small miracles like this.
First, it is better to appease the pedants already preparing to scroll down the page and jump straight in insulting me. Saying that Bulletstorm did not sell well is not the same as saying it didn’t sell at all. Even if it is to be believed that it could not sell more than 300,000 units within a month of release (an estimate created by a financial analyst partially backed up both by EA stating that the game underperformed and by Epic president Mike Capps’ statement that the game made no money for them when speaking with Stephen Totilo) it still might have sold 299,999 units in that period. Maybe. I mean, it probably didn’t, but there’s an outside shot.
The next likely port of call is a comparison. Probably to Activision and probably to Modern Warfare. Probably with metaphors involving rape and Bobby Kotick, but let’s not dwell on that particular popular angle.
“Why do so many people buy Modern Warfare each year and not something innovative like Bulletstorm?” Using how many people buy each new Modern Warfare game interchangeably when comparing the sales of something like Bulletstorm implies they aren’t different and that one is ‘good’ and one is ‘bad’.
For the record: both were critically acclaimed. Not that I want to support either franchise. They are no better than each other in my eyes. To me they are two different types of gaming cancer and for now let’s just stick with the one in the title, since it’ll take a few years yet to cure the other one.
The basic premise of Bulletstorm is where it fell down for me. I remember reporting on it when it was first revealed at E3 a few years ago and described it as “An 18+ rated game meant for a fourteen year old,” and that first impression was proved correct in time. Peppered with swearing, horribly sloppy parodies, jokes about balls or setting the anus on fire, the high-brow angle was clearly never the target market – but just how childish did they think older gamers are?
From here is where I rightfully believe that joy can be found in the poor sales of Bulletstorm. Gamers are proving that they are mature. The mature ones I mean. The ones the game was legally made for. Other than kids, of course it appealed to a small section of the 18+ market. Initially it’ll have been anyone interested in Epic’s connection to the game or the fact it’s an FPS and they are the in thing, but they’ll have called it quits at the demo. After that it’ll be the ones who find farting funny (and thinking hard) that will have stayed interested. The Cliff Bleszinski market as I sometimes call it.
Bleszinski’s direct influence in the creation of Bulletstorm is probably negligible, save the desperate attempt to give a new franchise attention by bundling in early access to the unnecessary Gears of War 3 beta, but that didn’t stop him taking centre stage when it came to plugging it to anyone who would listen. It doesn’t say much for the faith placed in a new game that should be able to stand on its own feet when you have to get the world interested through methods like that. While having no direct influence I do suspect outside influence, looking at Gears and thinking the same will happen for Bulletstorm if it’s mentioned constantly enough. It’s a fundamentally flawed business plan that foolishly made it all the way to market and proved that even Epic fans are not as easily led as previously believed.
It is both bizarre and unfortunate that Bulletstorm was a critical success with reviewers. Why? Because it creates a wonderful batch of excuses to be deployed as needed. “New franchises get no support!” “It didn’t have Call of Duty in the title!” “It wasn’t given a chance!” How about, “It was a poorly contrived game” or “Terrible writing and acting” or “Childish, generic FPS deserving to be forgotten?”
Gamers get blamed for being evil creatures of habit unwilling to try new things far too much. I’ve probably been as guilty of leaping to that conclusion on occasion – take for example Alan Wake which I enjoyed a lot but did less well in terms of revenue due to, I now believe, not really having a mainstream appeal rather than being an example of gamers not wanting to try something new.
Bulletstorm is one of many examples of why it isn’t (at least the majority of the time) the case that gamers shy only from new or different since it’s as generic and familiar as they come (I do not count shooting someone in the backside and having ‘REAR ENTRY+50’ appear on the screen as a non-generic gaming innovation). Why not look at the financial, that’s financial not just critical, success of the likes of Limbo, Minecraft, Angry Birds and more – including Epic’s own foray into smartphone gaming with Infinity Blade which I also enjoyed. Gamers do try new things and they make money if they are good enough.
Despite hating Bulletstorm and being glad that it didn’t do well, that is not to say that I wish any particular ill on Epic Games or People Can Fly or that I am encouraging people not to try something that is (rightly or wrongly) classified as ‘different’. It’s a case of pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and try harder next time. Aim a little higher. Don’t be so lowbrow. That is assuming that they can admit when they got something wrong and not try to make it out like it was the gamer’s fault it failed. Locking the door any time Cliffy B visits the office is also probably a good idea. Just saying.
Good article. Very intelligent insight…
Good games have a chance to succeed. Blaming gamers for not playing an immature, stupid game instead of trying to create something truly awesome is silly…
i get where your coming from and yes most older gamers are more mature but sometimes its nice to have a game like this and like duke nukem to bring us back to when we were childish, nowadays all the games coming out are serious and have darker tones and are more about story then plain old fun and thats what bulletstorm attempts to do in my eyes, sure its not for everyone but its an easy going game
Stupid does not equal funny…
While there are many really funny “stupid” movies, most “stupid” comedies are not funny at all.
The same is true for games – I have nothing against brainless entertainment, even “stupid”, as long, as it is fun. But – contrary to common believes – it is quite hard. It is much harder to make something funny that something sad. Some people try to solve this problem by just adding stupidity to their creations. It may work with some teens, it will never work with mature audience…
great read! just sayin. i agree with you 100% i am a gamer and have been for twenty years, and i have watched developers throw in foul language and gore as their excuse for innovation and its sad to see. i have a 6 year old son that i would love to sit and game with but this gen has forced this from happening. heck, i just picked up enslaved, loved it, but couldnt play it around the little one due to foul language. i do miss the days, because if anyone is a father, there is nothing greater than sitting back and handing the controller back and forth with their child.
Totally agree, just started picking up all the Lego games I can so that there is something fun and co-op to play with my 6yr old son. He LOVES the Lego games, can handle all the different characters and all their different abilities to solve the puzzles in the game. The only thing keeping him from being able to play alot of the newer games out there is the unneeded VIOLENCE and LANGUAGE.
What can I say…I agree!
I love most games that I can pull a trigger in, and initially, I did enjoy Bulletstorm. But after a half hour or so, all I wanted was for it to end. After beating it, I traded it in (at a huge loss) within a week of casual playing.
So, sorry if you were looking for an argument…look on, I guess.
Hey, did you ever notice how the main character’s hair looked like it had way too much “product” in it??
I honestly agree with you. My brother has Bulletstorm lying around somewhere, and I’m not that interested in keeping on playing it. It’s a pretty immature game.
I also hope that gaming will become more imaginative, innovative and creative as time passes. I’m sick tired of shooters.
Seems like another Cliffy B hater!
Although your article is well written..Why single out bulletstorm? Because it had dick and fart jokes?
If thats your sole reason for celebrating its failure..Maybe you need to lighten up a bit?
I enjoyed Bulletstorm, i though it was tongue in cheek fun and was a refreshing change from the usual boring military FPS fare which plagues the gaming world
Seems like you are a Cliffy B. SUCKER.
If you want a serious shooter, stick to military shooters like Call of Duty or Medal of Honor. You weren’t tricked into ever thinking Bulletstorm would be anything but a kick back to the olden days of Duke Nukem and its toilet humor galore. And to be honest, that’s what a lot of people wanted since the last few years of shooters have been nothing but serious, uptight military shooters.
Once in a while, I like to play a game where I’m constantly thinking “this is so ridiculous and absurd that it’s actually fun!” The allure of a game like Bulletstorm is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it knows that once in a while people just want to relieve some stress and just blow stuff up… very similar to watching a Michael Bay film. You don’t go to watch Transformers for its story and character development, you watch it because robots are fighting robots and they turn into cars. It will never win an Oscar for acting but it will give you your money’s worth.
Even though it didn’t sell well, Bulletstorm at least tried something different and attempted to change the way people play shooters, which is a lot more than can be said about Call of Duty and it’s dozen other clones, so give Bulletstorm credit where it deserves it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Call of Duty. I own every incarnation since CoD3, but after 6+ years of the same thing with slight tweaks, it’s starting to get stale.
So instead of bashing a game for thinking outside the box, open your mind a little and learn to appreciate the little things.
Also, @rudero, if you want a game to play with your son, any game where you kill people/humanoids is probably not what you should be considering. Are you trying to imply that bad words are more damaging to a child than showing them images of excessive violence and gore?
We do play the litlle of games there are, and hmmm… Super Mario bro, oops violence, umm, ratchet and… Nope violence, umm.., Zelda.., no. ummm yes there is a difference. Games are fun, blood and gore IS an issue, language IS an issue, for kids especially in games that are no different from ratchet and clank except for language.
All the 360/ps3 fanboys can cry all day, but just maybe that’s why the 360 and ps3 will never see the wii sales numbers. Just maybe they could see more sales in games and systems if the f-bomb isn’t being dropped as much as the ammo is.
But according to you, I guess, gaming is just bad for all minors, if you considering any form of violence. Heck I need to swipe Mario cart from my son now… Damn it!
Ps I’m not saying to stop making mature games, I’m just suggesting, as in the article, what can be hurting sales. Keyword SALES! Not games.
Your average gamer is 25 to 38. Usually that’s the age to have little ones running around and even if I kept my kids from those games, I could never enjoy them because of the language. Or for me that is, I know some parents don’t care.
There’s a clear difference between “excessive violence” which is the wording I chose and cartoon or fantasy violence which is what the ESRB usually slaps on games like Mario, Zelda, and Ratchet. Stomping on a Goomba which has no real-life counterpart is entirely different to curb stomping a humanoid Locust in Gears of War. My point was not that you shouldn’t expose your kids to video games, but that if you want to play video games with your kids and you’re worried about exposing them to vulgar language, then Bulletstorm or Enslaved (which is the game you mentioned) shouldn’t even cross your mind.
I have a seven year old daughter and she plays video games. Those video games being more of the Nintendo nature such as Mario Kart, Wario Ware, and Rhythm Heaven. But I don’t try to purposely guard her from bad things. She’s seen me play Bulletstorm and Mortal Kombat and she knows not to say bad words to others and that decapitating a person is a) never to be attempted and b) not real since it’s just a video game. Video games may expose kids to bad things but it’s up to the parents to be parents and teach them what’s right. Because you can’t protect them forever.
All perfect sense. Except for enslaved, you’re fight robots just as in any Nintendo game. Ie no blood and gore. No different then metroid.
But then with the question in place, is this reasoning perhaps the culprit of low sales? I threw my opinion in because I avoid the games mainly for these reasons. I apologize if I appeared to be asking game making to change. I’m not. I love The hardcore mature games, just having my son has made me choose to spend my money on other games, mainly he can play, or we both can. Hence im not buying duke nuken or such games I know are subpar with a crap load of violence and language. The games are fine, but there are reasons affecting sales of such games I was saying why from my part.
I do appreciate the conversation and I truly like the article and thus far all comments as they are pretty solid with good arguments! Thank you all!
I am not sure if you are a vet fan of FPSes, you sound like an MMORPG convert and I am not saying that to be provocative.
FPS’s heritage is low-brow. The very first one you were chasing Nazi’s around rooms that you couldn’t even look up in. Those early titles gave way to Quake and Unreal which each added “Giblets” (little pieces of body parts) that would bounce around when you hit someone with an explosive, this was considered innovation in it’s day. Fastforward to Postal and Postal 2, both of these games allowed for a ton of low-brow situations, but many of which were done in a manner that wasn’t approached in games previously allowing for a bit more immersion.
Now you have COD which just rubber stamps sequels as long as Michael Bay approves of the number and intensity of explosions. And of course the Battlefield series which provide for much more highbrow gameplay, but these games were themselves influenced by an influx of highbrow gaming (Ghost Recon, Rainbow 6, even Splinter Cell to some degree).
At this point you are starting to see the low-brow come back into fashion (to some degree). Bulletstorm and even the troubled Duke Nukem series represent that yesteryear nostalgia in FPS Gaming. I am hoping Serious Sam works it out better than Duke. Honestly to me it’s a bit refreshing, I love me some serious shooters, but I really think gaming too a wide turn into the serious zone. Having a few titles trying to break out of the Modern Shooter mold isn’t a bad thing.
Congratz ass, you missed Bulletstorm’s entire reason for being.
did child of eden have to many dick and fart jokes? sometimes games don’t sell ,somtimes it the ones you like and sometimes it’s the ones you don’t
Well obviously YOUR opinion counts for than the hundreds of critics that gave this game a very positive review. Obviously the hundreds of critics were all wrong and this game is crap.
/sarcasm/
I really don’t appreciate being stuck into your idea of ‘low-brow gamers’ just because I enjoyed Bulletstorm. I thought it was fun, and silly, and completely B-movie. And that’s something important to me: it was fun. So many games now forget that little idea, that they should be fun. So many games try to be the most realistic and accurate ever, that I get sick of it.
Bulletstorm just tried to be fun. If you didn’t like it, hey, it certainly isn’t for everyone, but don’t make assumptions about the people who did. I loved Alan Wake, and have been really disappointed to hear nothing about any further development on that side of the fence.
I’ve been a gamer for nearly 20 years now. I’ve played the pure stupid, low-brow Duke Nukem’s, to the sublime Populous and Deus Ex. And here’s the main thing: I realy do require only one thing from my games: fun. So excuse me if I’m a bit mad that lack of sales may prevent someone from doing another cheesy, just-for-fun game in the future. I find that disappointing, because if gaming moves exclusively into “hyper realistic” and “good for everyone” molds, I’m just going to stop.
Well i guess you wont be happy to know that Bulletstorm sequel is already in full production!
bc its only 5 hours
They milk the crap out of DLC! Theres already 3 expansions at $9.99 each so who’s gonna pay a extra $30 dollars on top of the $50-60 dollars.
You got it. Those of us that purchased Bulletstorm must be easily amused Cliffy fans.
It must feel good pretending you’re above others. So good you had to write an article about it, to share it with the world.
Do us all a favour, and stop writing about videogames. The internet is better off without this verbal masturbation.
I dont care if you liked it or not I LOVED bulletstorm such an awesome game. Some people just cant kill with skill. buy madden or mw games there ALL the same EVERY year same game. Bulletstorm was something new and it was GREAT. Coming up with new ways to kill and rack up points. I like it cause it was not like every other game I played.
Sorry, I don’t usually make it a practice to double post. I think what, after reading all of the posts, is NOT being said is that the “vulgarity” for lack of a better term that is in this game is really not all that funny or entertaining for, well, again for a lack of a better term – intelligent gamers. Really, some of the tongue and cheek dialogue that was praised above was just, stupid; some of it didn’t even make sense. And, not in the, “ha, ha, ha…that’s funny” it didn’t make sense; in the, “Wha???
that doesn’t even make sense…” way.
I get the comparisons to Serious Sam and “old” Duke (heavier on the Sam side), but at least the “questionable” humor in Sam wasn’t only for apparent shock value or for vulgarity sake itself (which is exactly my take on Bulletstorm – vulgarity for vulgarities sake).
Remember the episode of the Simpsons when Homer plays the new character Poochie on Itchy and Scratchy, and every radical, buzz word was included in his dialogue? Bulletstorm reminds me of that purpose (I’m not comparing the two’s dialogue, just the purpose).
I say Bulletstorm’s success (or lack thereof) is deserved. It’s not a bad shooter. It’s just one with stupid dialogue for the most part, a repetitive killing theme (with a unique twist, admittedly even if it did grow old fast for me) and a lack of multiplayer that most would NOT want to revisit.
The point of whether it deserved a better fate is moot. At best, this was a good weekend’s rental for the vast majority of us. If you loved it, then good for you; but I won’t be lining up for a Bulletstorm 2 (and even if you LOVED it, I’ll bet you won’t get a chance to either).
On Metacritic it got 83…considering another shooter like KILLZONE 3 got 84 tells you how misleading REVIEWS(review scores to be exact)sometimes are….i really didn’t like this game. Tried to find where the 83% average went. Biased journalism. Another game that did not deserve the credit. Reading this article, i felt happy. BULLETSTORM WAS THE TRYING HARD VERSION OF GEARS OF WAR, HALF ASSED, RECYCLED. There are some good games out there that don’t get their chance because of inappropriate reviews. This one clearly the opposite.
Bulletstorm has some good moments but its extremely repetitive, I think that even Duke Nukem Forever has more diversity
I actually like seeing interviews with Cliffy B. He seems smart, and he has really worked the industry from the bottom to the top. (He started as a Quake designer long ago, IIRC) Bulletstorm was a swing and a miss, but Gears isn’t nearly so bad. I have played G1 and G2, don’t plan to finish it with G3, ’cause honestly shooters just bore me these days. I even sold my XBOX, cause if your not going to play Gears, why have an XBOX? Really, answer me that. Maybe Halo Anniversary? Would also accept Netflix as a viable answer, but I use my Ipad for that.
So yeah, Bulletstorm is an epicly terrible game that, had it been wildly successful, would have very nearly been a death gong for our industry, but, Cliffy B. ain’t all bad. Mans gotta’ make a living, after all.
Bulletstorm was The most fun i had with a game in last 1 or 2 years. And language and gore and also simplicity was part of the fun really.
Hope to see games come back 2 fun things. and we do not see absolutely the same Call of Duty released every year.
I too am glad it didn’t sell well. The game was pure garbage, only being hyped b/c Cliffy was behind it, and that stupid woman.
Seriously, 360 fan boys are so depraved of games, they just hype up ANYTHING. They even hype up XBLA games that are clearly a cash-in for complete morons.
Xbox (original) is where it is all at. Glad I got rid of the piece of shit Xbox 360. Microsoft is dead to me.
*Sigh* Another hater
Bulletstorm was multi platform
I bought it for my PS3
I actually didnt think this article was well written, I found it long winded and redundant. Also what I noticed more than any contrived point, was that the author seems to hate Cliffy, and seems to be a bit pampas, and arrogant. After all, who are you to wish an entire group of people who are most likely many times smarter than you fail at their hard work.
Did you write an article complaining about the fart and diarrhea jokes in the Metal Gear games? Why single out bulletstorm. These type of games generally do sell, because they are what a lot of people want in entertainment. Sorry but you are just not important enough to change that by wishing bad of peoples hard work. BulletStorm didnt sell because the mechanics were weird and niche, not because gamers are mature (RHE)
Maturity huh? That’s why you hated the game, because of it’s lack of maturity? Just because you see something with various references to fecal matter and the like, you can’t bare to play it?
I like being exposed to constructive criticism, but your article doesn’t come close to fulfilling such an easily surmountable feat.
I could understand if you had a problem with the whole execution of this video game, but what I read above these posts doesn’t seem to talk about anything other than how Bulletstorm failed to live up to your arbitrary standards of maturity. You just went on and on about how childish this title is and how that was/is a good enough reason, in your book, for it to fail.
The way Bulletstorm played was(in my fucked up, immature mind) what made it so innovating, not the swearing or endless lists of moronic phrases. I’m not arguing with the fact that words like “dicktits” added nothing to this game in terms of value. The gameplay is what made this game truly stand out from the crowd, not the various penis and fart jokes.
I play games for the gameplay and the action they allow me to be immersed in. Period. I let my movies and books fill in that void of depth that other forms of entertainment such as Bulletstorm and CoD may or may not create. If a game developer decides it wants to pay the extra cash to add some decent acting and an entertaining story, then that’s fine. It’s not required though. Again, that’s where, for me, movies come in.
You seem to be implying that for a game not to be labeled as trash, it needs to be serious, mature, and have good acting. Have you ever played Vanquish? Fantastic gameplay(and graphics). Horrible everything else. The game’s so called “actors” displayed some of the worst dialogue I think I’ve ever heard and the story seemed to be tacked on almost like it was an afterthought. It was still a great game.
You know what, though? I believe that in the end, I should actually be thanking you for your article. After all, with the way you appear to present yourself as a being of high intellect, you’re most likely just trying to do a favor and point out to me and everyone else who appreciated this game how idiotic we all truly are. If it wasn’t for stand up citizens such as yourself, I would have never realized that this whole time, a game that I’ve enjoyed as much as the majority of game critics, is actually a piece of immature garbage that should be spat upon.
Thanks again!
Well said.
I’d also like to point out Mr.Reviewer doesnt even mention the time attack/scoring modes and the Anarchy multiplayer aspects of the game
(Both of which were pretty good fun!)
When you think about it..This is a really shallow and somewhat spiteful article
“An 18+ rated game meant for a fourteen year old,” this line is spot on… but then when I finished the article where are your further points?
I played the demo and was bored out of my skull by this game… but I’d expect a lot more of arguments from you side.
i simply think bulletstorm is good and very funny. i really enjoyed playing, dunno why all this. Some games like this and Vanquish are awesome games and ppl just try others not to buy. Their loss, great games!
Bulletstorm is a great game because it is so meatheaded. Games like Killzone, Gears of War and Call of Duty profess to take a darker more serious and adult tone with their stories and characters. Which is for the most part a lie. The aforementioned games are just as adolescent, ludicrous and exploitative but instead they are wrapped in an adult sheen. This somehow seems to be enough to make gamers think they are mature experiences, which they certainly are not.
Bulletstorm was fantastic because it didn’t do that. It called itself ridiculous, a parody of the modern shooter and for been honest it was better. It revelled in its adolescence, swearing and crudeness. All three are attributes that it shares with most others who pretend to be civilized.
Simply put the games we seem to take as been mature are not and a game like bulletstorm should not be shamed for been willing to admit videogames are still largely a crude media. If anything games like Gears of War and Call of Duty should be shamed for still being so adolescent in tone while trying to convince us they are grown up. Making something grey doesn’t make it more articulate or developed, it’s just hiding the fact the characters are still muscle men with a ten word vocabulary.
I think we can all agree that the author, in his attempt to prove that these games are immature, has instead proven that he is the most immature by wishing failure on others’ hard work. Arrogance and a superiority complex is all I picked up from this article. As my parents told me, “if you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all” so how about you rethink your career choice if all you can spout is hatred. “Just saying.”
Not to be pedantic, but I wasn’t wishing failure on anyone – I was celebrating failure. I also pointed out I hope they do better in the future assuming that they rightly blame themselves and not gamers for their mistakes.
Please read to the very end before leaping straight to that post comment button.
It’s all semantics. It would be like if I said, “I don’t wish ill will against you, but I’m happy your website isn’t too successful.” And by referring to less mature gamers as the “Cliff Bleszinski market” it clearly shows that you have some sort of disdain against Cliff and/or Epic. If I were to refer to people who enjoy the hateful rants of arrogant bloggers as the “Ian D community” then it implies some disdain on my part.
Now, I’m not a blogger or journalist by any means, but I know that if I’m negatively biased towards someone or something, I’m not going to write an article about them because that’s just not good taste and as a blogger, I should show some sort of composure and restraint.
There’s a fine line between creative criticism and a rant. You could have criticized Bulletstorm for their repeated use of crude humor and language and that would have been fine by itself. But when you start insulting the gamers who play those games by calling them immature and celebrate a company’s mild failure, then you’ve crossed the line.
Also, my repeating your line “just saying” at the end of my last comment should have told you that I did read your entire article.
Semantics? No, no it isn’t.
And once again – it’s a celebration not a rant.
Jebus – 6months worth of CG comments on one article. I’m not reading all that!
Me find game fun and play lotsa. Maybe me no has Harvard Degree in Game Dev., but me enjoy fast paced gameplay for what is. Maybe if you try game and not berate little brains we can come to understands? Maybe game made to be fun and not artistic expression of deep philosophy or inherent truths… Maybe game made to be fun and immature, because most immature moment is fun? Me also think you believe people way to dumb. Sure Bulletstorm immature, but unlike other games it no hide it, which means it was at least pure in it’s endeavors. Me find this more relevant than just a pretty story you get to click the button to get through. Of course, me opinion no important.
yeah never would have guessed that the way the game looks it would not have sold…
this game is a perfect example why I play games in the 1st place, I get enough mature realistic shit in my day to day life I dont need an excessive amount of snobbery in my games as well. If I feel like playing something with depth to the story and characters i’ll go play Metal Gear (which still pokes at itself now & then) or something thats like Heavy Rain, in other words games that are mature but dont try to force their dicks in your mouth like cod.
THIS GAME KICKED ASS
I’m 41. Loved this game. There’s nothing more to say.
I agree, and this was one horribly written article trying to hard to act mature. The game hardly had all the so called immature content this ass of a so called writer was talking about.
Very badly written and BS was a good game.