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E3: 'Word Of Mouth Is Going To Carry' Red Faction: Guerrilla - Volition
by Kris Graft [PC, Console/PC, E3]
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June 2, 2009
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In late May, analyst Doug Creutz with Cowen expressed concern that lagging preorders for the high-budget THQ release Red Faction: Guerrilla indicate that sales of the game will likewise fall short.
But as Guerrilla launches today, Volition, the THQ-owned studio developer behind the game, is shrugging off naysayers. "We're not worried about [reportedly low preorders] at all," Volition community manager J Goldberg told Gamasutra from the E3 show floor.
Goldberg is confident that the strong average review score for the game -- 89 percent on Metacritic thus far across about 20 reviews -- will translate into sales.
"With the acclaim that we're getting from the review scores, we know that word of mouth is going to carry this game," he said. "Even if the analysts say preorders are a little low, people who're buying the game will not have necessarily preordered."
Community buzz on online outlets is favorable, Goldberg said. Discussion around Red Faction: Guerrilla is strong on gamer communities such as NeoGaf and GameFAQs. "There are a lot of gamers who are aware of the game. Our community site is going nuts." He said there's been a landslide of new users signing up for the game's online community.
But THQ doesn't want to rely only on word of mouth. "We have a huge marketing campaign going on through a lot of the major cable networks like FX and, of course, Sci Fi," said Goldberg. "We're really getting out there and making sure people know our game."
The last Red Faction game released in 2003 on PlayStation 2, simply titled Red Faction II. The franchise debuted on PS2 in 2001, boasting what Volition called "GeoMod" technology that gave players more freedom through highly destructible terrain. Destructibility remains one of the selling points of Red Faction: Guerrilla.
"Once people get their hands on multiplayer, we're going to see how the [in-game destructibility technology] changes the way that people play."
Goldberg acknowledged that some fans of the original Red Faction chose to skip the 2003 sequel, which took took place on Earth instead of Mars. But he said that Red Faction: Guerrilla is going to be more of a sequel to the original game, which may bring fans of the original back into the Red Faction fray.
"The second one did really well, but there were some issues. We took all the feedback, and put it into [Red Faction: Guerrilla]." The studio held a multiplayer beta about a year ago, and drew a lot of suggestions from that experience, Goldberg said.
The studio, which is also behind THQ's star franchise Saints Row, also plans on supporting Red Faction: Guerrilla post-release. "There will be DLC, and we'll be continuing to support this game a long after it has come out."
THQ needs every game it releases to be a top-tier hit as it focuses on fewer, higher-profile titles. The publisher struggled in fiscal 2009, as losses mounted to $431 million. The company said in February it would cut its budget by $220 million, and its workforce by 24 percent, or 600 workers, a goal that THQ said it's on track to meet.
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