Xbox 360 RTS games aren't cool =( hopefully will only sell 20 copies to those hard core fan boys but da men play Supreme Commander Rock On Chris Taylor
I think that the coming demo will make or break the sales. If the controls really are better than Battle for Middle Earth II, I think it'll sell quite nicely.
@NickA, The release date for C&C3 is May 10 and Halo Wars is coming sometime next year.
Not do RTS's have console troubles, but this on has to compete with Halo Wars. I haven't looked at the respective release schedules of these games, but even as well as the C&C franchise has done over the years, I can't see it competing with a Halo franchised game on the 360. I think once you factor in the market division this will cause, a skeptical outlook is the only way to approach this game.
Agreed, this stock seems (to me at least) to be ridiculously overvalued simply because console RTS's will never sell. Unless the AI is scaled back to allow the silly human player to fumble with the controls, I can't see this selling more than 300-400k copies. Definitely a sell.
I hope the people who are long on this stock understand that this is for the Xbox 360 version, not for the PC.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of any recent-ish precedent in which an RTS has been successful on a console. StarCraft is a great game, but did any of the hardcore StarCrafters ever consider playing with vastly inferior, burdensome controls instead of the killer PC combo of keyboard and mouse? Forget hotkeying; how long is it going to take to select each building you'd need to build anyway? And micromanagement would be almost nonexistent.
To be fair, I find the success of Halo and other console FPS's strange, because I can't stand playing with their controls (with the exception of Goldeneye). (That's actually one of the main reasons I've been anticipating a system like the Wii with much more intuitive controls similar to a mouse.) However, I do understand that FPS games on consoles are great for taking to someone's house or inviting people over. Inviting friends over to play— on a console— an RTS in which each skirmish can often last an hour? Sorry, I don't really see it happening.
With what I believe to be good reason, I am short on this stock.
This was developed by the studio Westwood, and were a much MUCH better final product then C&C Generals/Zero Hour.
There is competition in the market for RTS right now. Supreme Commander is going to be the main competition, and will be the better game.
Look at EA's policies lately. They sell cheat codes on the 360, put out unfinished games. I would love for this game to be incredible, But it wont simply because EA does not know what their doing.
I'd be very wary with this stock, as it has the potential to either be a bust out hit if the controls are good, or a massive failure if they're bad. I say wait for some videos/ demos to surface and have a look at the control scheme, then either buy buy buy or get ready to short.
You do know Jayen that C&C and Red Alert, Red Alert aftermath(I think) were all on Play Station and I played them on that console as well as the N64 and it was not fun. A game controller just doesn't work like a mouse does, or as sensitive. I feel this will sell well for the series but not above 50 or 60 dkp.
Granted, these figures are from the PC version but hardcore strategy games have been lacking on the consoles, plus with the awesomeness of XBox Live to drive the multiplayer aspects of this title, I'm confident it will sell really well.
-10
Rock On Chris Taylor