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Raymond: Splinter Cell’s Complexity Stymies Sales Potential

As a general rule, if anything is considered to be a "thinking man's" product, that immediately disqualifies it as a mainstream product. In most cases, the masses don't "think."

And this is why Ubisoft Toronto boss Jade Raymond says Splinter Cell isn't as popular as other company franchises like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry . In speaking to Eurogamer , Raymond said the inherent challenge of the Splinter Cell titles holds them back from huge sales success.

"One of the things that held it back is despite all of the changes that have happened over the years, it's still one of the more complex and difficult games to play. Even though we do have core fans who are like, 'Oh, I want to have more of this experience,' when you play any other game that has stealth elements, they're all a lot more forgiving than Splinter Cell."

Raymond went on to say that most current stealth-based experiences don't require the player to plan ahead of time, while Splinter Cell does. She says that most games let you "walk in and start shooting right away," or you can "improvise as you go along." And that's why Splinter Cell is a "thinking game;" it offers different ways of attaining thrills and satisfaction.

Well, that's one explanation as to why the series isn't as popular as Assassin's Creed or Far Cry . There's another one, though, Ms. Raymond. Splinter Cell: Conviction sucked. The fans hated it. They're all hoping the upcoming Blacklist (which launches in August) is a return to stealth greatness. If it isn't, well…there are other issues.

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xenris
xenris
11 years ago

I agree conviction was just a bad game. It launched when ubisoft was trying that always online DRM crap and it really ruined my experience playing the game on the PC. But technical issues aside it just didn't feel like splinter cell.

The best splinter cell game among the fans seems to be chaos theory, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

If this next splinter cell can offer what Chaos theory did I will be happy. I'm sure it will have a mode, or something to allow it to be more forgiving but as long as the hardcore stealth elements and modes are there for me to dive into I will buy it.

kraygen
kraygen
11 years ago

I will agree that most of the biggest selling games don't require much thought, as for the latest splinter cell sales, I haven't played it yet, it's in my backlog, but I hear often that it sucks.

cLoudou
cLoudou
11 years ago

So, if you don't play splinter cell you're an idiot. Derp!

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

So make the game in such a manner (with on/off gameplay options) as to have the option for being smart or stupid.

Rogueagent01
Rogueagent01
11 years ago

Haha! That would be a developer thinking about developing the game so everyone could approach it. Yeah, unfortunately most devs just refuse to think or make games that way, they would rather just take the easy route and blame the customer.

Games like MGS4 or Sacred 2 take the proper approach and make the games accessible to all players, which by far is the superior developer attitude.

Akuma_
Akuma_
11 years ago

Whatever you say Miss Raymond. I'd listen to you no matter what you tell me 😉

vatoloco47
vatoloco47
11 years ago

While conviction wasn't as good as the previous games i still enjoyed it. And playing co-op is so much fun. Online bad thing is i can never get it to work online anymore it only woks through lan 🙁

___________
___________
11 years ago

it does not sell as well because allot of people dont have the patients required for stealth games.
i cant wait for blacklist it looks so freaking awesome!
hope theres allot more gadgets for you to play with, especially the sticky camera!
loved throwing that next to a guard, than tapping into it and playing music watching the guards freak out that was so hilarious!
makes me wish someone would make a game where you could teleport.
walk up to someone behind their back, tap them on the shoulder, than leap to the rooftops above and watch them freak out.

Jed
Jed
11 years ago

So, the smart people don't get "thinking games" because the stupid people far outnumber us? I do agree that the stupid people outnumber smart people, but there are plenty of people looking for "thinking games" to keep making them.

SmokeyPSD
SmokeyPSD
11 years ago

Thinking man? Really? MGS2 is a work of postmodernism. Splintercell is at best B movie political thriller material…

ProfPlayStation
ProfPlayStation
11 years ago

Yeah, I never did understand the hype around this series, beyond the original's "It's kinda-sorta like MGS, and it's only on Xbox!!" I've always found Splinter Cell to be intensely dull, and I like stealth games. It just doesn't have an edge that sets it apart from the crowd.

This reminds me of the "If you don't like Inception, it's because you're not smart enough" argument, which holds about as much water as this one.

kariyafan99
kariyafan99
11 years ago

its strange to see that so many ppl dont like conviction. that is the only splinter cell iv playe so far, i played it on 360, and i thought it was a great game. maybe my standards are too low, i guess ill have to play the others now

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