'Controversial' Games: Dealing with Fan Backlash

Change you can believe in...

There were several other games that we could have brought up as being controversial with consumers, including Final Fantasy XI, Resident Evil 5 and Fable, but you get the point by now.  There are lessons to be learned from these games and situations, on both the consumer end and publisher end.

To game makers: As creative people, it can be hard sometimes to remember that gaming is, inherently, a for profit entertainment industry.  While it's abhorrent to think that you're limited to a certain box of thinking, it's probably just as well to keep your fans informed and to keep fans' expectations in mind.  Nintendo has handled this about as well as any company, bowing to fan wishes in their main franchise, and Valve has done a great job of reaching out to its loyal, if capricious, fan base as well.  With established properties, it's probably best not to throw the baby out with the bath-water; do not destroy existing convention while upgrading for a sequel.

To fans:  For many, game franchises belong as much to consumers as they do to their creators.  There's a tendency to cling, almost worship, that which you've enjoyed in the past.  At the same time, we would say this: don't fear change.  Many of the titles outlined in this feature weren't really criticized because they were bad; instead the focus was on how they were different.  While it's natural to expect certain things from a game, many of these games were drawn-and-quartered in the court of public opinion, sometimes at their mere announcement.  If gamers are going to continue to complain about how we see little innovation in games today, they're going to have to learn to accept some changes when a new sequel comes around.

At the same time, we recognize that many of the games listed here had to deal with increased expectations because of the preceding game.  It's hard to follow a classic, but it's certainly not impossible: Street Fighter IV is a perfect example of a game refreshing a brand and providing a satisfying experience while simultaneously appealing itself to anyone who's ever played the series.  It's a hard balance between sticking with tradition and innovating the brand, but it's an important one for sequels to truly be successful.