Are People Buying the Games Simply Because of the Name?

[SheikahWarrior]

i mean, would you buy something like, 'The Legend of Zelda: Link's Happy Fluffy Pink Flower Picking Quest', simply because it is 'The Legend of Zelda' ,like pokemon fans who say 'the 151 originals are the greatest! everything else sucks!' still buy the new games because they cant bear to part with the series, even if the game is terrible in their opinion. what do you think?

 

[zack125]

I buy it because it is my favourite franchise. I never bought and never will, any side game like Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, Link's Crossbow Training and the CD- i games.

 

[bbevington90]

Well, yeah, it's the name... but it's also because every game in the Legend of Zelda series has been absolutely excellent. Most of the Zelda games top my favorite games list. When Nintendo stops making good Zelda games, I'll stop buying them, but I doubt that will happen .

 

[DeletedUser9]

I'm pretty sure most Pokemon fans who say that are mainly referring to the designs of the Pokemon, hence why they refer to "the original 151" not "the first two games". Since that's probably the case, they could easily still be having fun with the games.

As for Zelda... I really don't think that's the case. Zelda has proven itself as an amazing series, and while the series has dwindled in quality lately (according to some, anyway), it's still way above most other games out there. It'll take a long time of quality loss before Zelda will be unable to live up to it's own name.

 

[Lady_Yuna]

Well, I certainly don't. I always "research" my games first before I make the decision on buying them. If they don't interest me that much then I won't bother purchasing it even if they have "The legend of Zelda" as part of the title. The same goes for Final Fantasy.

 

[Zeruda]

I think the name has a lot to do with it. If somebody is a fan of a series and a new game comes out in that series, they are likely to buy the game just based on its name even if they didn't pay attention to any reviews or hype or whatever. I buy and play Zelda games just because they are Zelda games. You could title the new Zelda something silly like "The Legend of Zelda: The Royal Tea Party" and I'd buy it. Of course, just because it's titled Zelda doesn't mean I'm going to like the game. This was the case with Twilight Princess, but I bought it because it was Zelda.

I think, though, it eventually stops working. I originally kept buying the Pokemon games, but after a while I tired of the series all together, and now it doesn't matter if a new one comes out- I don't buy it.

So, I think that it's an important part of marketing that helps make sales, but I don't think it'll work on everyone forever. People will eventually stop buying games that are part of a series they enjoy if the games themselves stop interesting them. Having an ongoing title helps and people definitely buy Mario games because they're Mario games, but it's not something that should be completely relied on.

 

[Austin]

Totally, people have been buying products (even video games) due to name brands. If you ever go to a store, you'll see your name brand and non-name brand products. The name brand products will be a lot more expensive compared to their non-name brand. With video games, you have these indie (independent game developer) games. They're about under 10 dollars compared to their 50 dollar name brand games.

With LoZ you're not going to see a cheap game be made! They're not going to soil the name "Legend of Zelda" because they want to keep up a good reputation. The reason LoZ is considered name brand because its good and continues to be good! Indie games can be fun too, but they haven't really got the exposure as the name brand games did, back in the old days. Its difficult with big companies having the exposure in the old days and winning the hearts of many fans.

 

[Link 2 the past]

In the case of Zelda maybe just because I'm such a big fan. I don't think I would have bothered with FSA had it not been a Zelda game. But I do read reviews before hand, and I certainly have never bothered with any of the spin offs, like Link's crossbow training or the Tingle games.

 

[ChargewithSword]

This is not true if you remember what happened to Wind Waker. Fans felt betrayed and revolted against the game like madmen. Sadly I would have tro say that it is the art style of the game that will drive the gamers.

Now, the Wind Waker saga has found it's love in the fan base but that still doesn't change that people hated the art style and decreased sales of what was a spectacular game.

Then Twilight Princess came and people were just sold on it like bees to a sunflower. The sales were a dramatic increase and people were hyped. This was a problem when you consider that it could've been too hyped.

Overall, it is artstyle that sells a game not just it's title. If Mario got a dramatic change in style to something gritty, you can tell that people would be angry and hinder sales.

 

[Zeruda]

This is not true if you remember what happened to Wind Waker. Fans felt betrayed and revolted against the game like madmen. Sadly I would have tro say that it is the art style of the game that will drive the gamers.

Now, the Wind Waker saga has found it's love in the fan base but that still doesn't change that people hated the art style and decreased sales of what was a spectacular game.

Then Twilight Princess came and people were just sold on it like bees to a sunflower. The sales were a dramatic increase and people were hyped. This was a problem when you consider that it could've been too hyped.

Overall, it is artstyle that sells a game not just it's title. If Mario got a dramatic change in style to something gritty, you can tell that people would be angry and hinder sales.

But you can still argue that people buy the games simply because of the name. While people were thrown off by TWW's cel-shading (and I might point out that it's more popular in Japan than TP while it's the other way around in western countries), plenty people still bought it just because it was titled The Legend of Zelda, even if they didn't enjoy the game they still bought it for that reason.

Most people bought it regardless of the art style just because it was Zelda, and their opinions (whether they liked it or not) were established after they had already bought the game. I think it can also be said for a game like FSA.

 

[Phantom Zelda]

I'm sure it has something to do with it because I've bought Mario and many Zelda games without really looking into them besides there basic story so yes the name matters

 

[Hero of Time]

As long as I know it's part of the main Zelda series I will buy it. I actually bought almost all of them with close to no knowledge other than they're Zelda.

 

[Vanessa28]

I personally think the name has a lot to do with it but mainly BECAUSE people know the Zelda games are all brilliant and cool. If Zelda was unknown or not that good people would not hear much about it and less eager to buy a game. But of course Zelda games are sold on forehand because of the name ....and the name is absolutely great and worth it

 

[Random Person]

I've played many of games simply because they had the name Zelda on them. But I must say, I would not have even thought to touch windwaker if I hadn't played minish cap. I didn't think Link should be toon, so even though it had Zelda on it, I didn't want it. Then I played a game where he was toon and it was still excellent.

 

[Josh]

In a sense......yes.

Typically it seems like human nature to see certain things, and trust certain things more because they've either been made by a company we know and trust, or because it's popular. It's the same basic principal as Lays potato chips vs. a generic brand. I feel like I....trust Nintendo more to make a good game, and to make it worth my time to play that game.

Now in a smaller sense, it happens too with Mario, Zelda, Pokemon. I've played previous games and I know what to expect from it. Now on the other hand, if it's really popular, I'll expect more from it, and expect to be more satisfied from it.

So....yes.