Watch Out, or the Titan Just Might Fall... on You!

For about a month before the launch of Titanfall, the Xbox One exclusive, there was hardly a day gone by without some sort of news on the subject.  It's almost like Microsoft gave explicit orders to it's PR staff to hold off on info and dole them out on a day by day basis.  Maybe it's screen shots, gameplay details, frame rate or resolution, it seems that each new day brings forth a nugget of info about the game.  Either that, or sites like Gamespot are just taking advantage of all the Titanfall hype.  But one of the most important news in the week before the launch of the game was the price.  No, it wasn't as obvious as $60.

 

Most people think sales of the Xbone is lagging the PS4 is because the latter is $100 cheaper.  That may be why, about a week before the release of Titanfall, an announcement was made that the European release would get a sweet deal.  I believe it was $500 for both the system and the game, effectively putting the game up for free.  It's all confusing now that I'm trying to recall it, but shortly after that announcement, American chains like Walmart began announcing the Titanfall bundle for about $450 US.  Then, a bit after that, Microsoft themselves posted the price officially on their webstore.  Yes, it's $450 for the Titanfall/Xbox One bundle.  I think.  I barely remember, but that's not really the point.

 

The point is Microsoft is clearly betting on the game being a success.  That's why there's so much hype and that's why there's such a steep discount on the system mere months after the system's launch.  MS knew it had a great thing and knowing that they went all the way.  The result?  In the month of March, the Xbox One dramatically closed the gap with the PS4.  At least, for that month.  Total sales numbers are still pending.  The point is, the hype worked.  The game sold like hot pancakes and moved systems.  In terms of sales, I believe the game lived up to the hype.  

 

As expected, a few weeks after the game's launch, the news died down.  After the reviews and the early discussions out of the way, Titanfall coverage dropped to a level of any game post release.  Then, a couple days ago, I saw something a bit odd.  It seems that the major chain Target is selling the Xbox One/Titanfall bundle for $450 and includes a free 12 months subscription to Xbox Live Gold.  This is worth about $60 make the effective price of this bundle much lower than the PS4. 

 

No, I'm not tempted to write that the Xbone is failing, or that sales are lagging, or that noone wants the machine or all that negative jazz.  This may or may not be the case but what struck me as most odd about this news is….  that it just might be too much.  Not just the Target sale, but the whole thing.  I get the feeling that retailers and the public in general still can't really get over Titanfall as an Xbox seller.  What I'm trying to say is, maybe Titanfall just got a little bit TOO much hype.  By itself!

 

It's pretty obvious that the game was hyped to the gills and that's no mistake.  Sales numbers speak for themselves.  But what is the opportunity cost of all this hype?  That's what struck me.  To me, there's a danger to succeeding too much with a game like Titanfall.  Now, after months of talk, it's possible that in the eyes of gamers and the overall public, that Titanfall = Xbox One!  And that's not good!  The Xbox One already made the misstep earlier when it chose to highlight it's TV watching potential over gaming.  It's just now starting to reverse that trend (with the new guy in charage of the Xbox division for one thing).  Now it's backed itself into another trend.  A Titanfall trend.

 

See, Titanfall is a very specialized game.  It's multiplayer only and it's competitive.  It's also a first person shooter.  So in hyping the game to the Nth degree, Microsoft is essentially saying 'Multiplayer competitive shooters are what you will be getting if you get an Xbox One'.  This works great for the male 18-30 crowd but not much beyond that. 

 

In Microsoft's defense, a bigger installed base can only be a good thing.  Sell the machines now, then sell the different games later.  They also have a Forza bundle, but it's not nearly as hyped and car racing games still fall firmly into the 'brogamer' category.  Finally, MS is doing a great job with their self publishing system, the ID@Xbox LIve program.  Developers are saying it's a move in the right direction and they've got a few Japanese indie creators on board already for it's Xbone launch in Japan.  Clearly, MS is looking beyond the 'brogamer' demographic to make sure they have a well rounded machine.

 

Yet, with all their tooting of the Titanfall horn, I'm wondering if it might not backfire in some way.  Gamers and retailers alike are already equating the Xbone with shooters.  If they want to switch directions, MS will have to fight another tidal wave of opinion, one which they themsleves created.  My question is…  when the indie games are ready, when the Japanese ports are ready, would the Xbox owners be?

P.S.  Yes, I wrote this weeks ago.  The March results from NPD are in.  For the month of March, the number one retail sales belong to Titanfall.  Number two was Infamous Second Son.  However, the number one console sold that month was the PS4.  So the Xbox One still fell behind the competition despite Titanfall having the biggest software sales.  I think this somewhat proves what I wrote above.  Sure, Titanfall sold well, but perhaps the reason the Xbox One still lags behind the PS4 is because the game only appeals to a limited (but large, by numbers) demographics.  I think people who play a variety of games, or the people who don't like shooters, or people who like single player might be getting turned off by the Xbone, and so, did not buy one.  Not if it's used to 'only' play a game like Titanfall.