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Good Graphics Don’t Always Sell Games
When the first Crysis launched back in 2007, people bought it just to look at it. Its boundary-pushing visuals stressed PC gaming hardware to levels never before seen, and it became a wonderful new benchmark for video game graphics.
The game design introduced a fun cybernetic suit full of powers to mix up the more typical action stuff. This was interesting and nuanced in the initial open world levels, but as it went on and became a more linear thing it didn’t feel that different from other first-person tactical action games.
None of that mattered. Graphical beauty propelled the game up the charts, and it got two sequels which struggled to live up to that initial reputation.
This kind of thing used to happen in video games all the time. It didn’t always matter if a game pushed storytelling or game design forward; if it looked cool, it was probably going to make a profit.
Now, this simple path to gaming glory has fallen apart. Gamers are more likely to play the same beloved game for years at a time, even if it’s not state of the art. As the gaming market expanded, the spectrum of active gaming hardware widened. Any title that wants to try and cast a wide sales net must run on as many different…
