Will it be lack of marketing or the fans who cause this game to fail?

It didn't take me very long to become optimistic about Silent Hill Downpour. Just a matter of a few days. I went from not caring about it at all to having it be the only thing I can think about. I want this game to do well. That's what I keep thinking.

 

The problem is, Konami isn't really marketing it. When I was watching The Walking Dead on Sunday, I saw the commercial for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. That's being released this month, too. And while Silent Hill and Resident Evil have always been two very separate series, they did attract the same group of people. In a month of big releases, Downpour really could have used some promotion to begin with. But now, to go up against Resident Evil, which is its direct competition...That's worrisome.

 

Let's be honest though. Even if Konami did market Downpour, it would still have another obstacle to overcome. The fans.

 

We are killing this series, little by little. The reason Silent Hill 4 isn't being released in the HD Collection is because the fans openly despise that game and Konami didn't think we would want it. They hear what you're saying and they take it into consideration. Why do you think the past several games have all been created by different developers? Why do you think they included the option for the original voices in the HD Collection? They are trying to please everyone.

 

Earlier today, I made a post on Tumblr questioning the hatred for Silent Hill 4. I was told the reason people don't like it is because it's not a "real" Silent Hill game. I'm aware that SH4 was meant to be something else entirely, but putting that aside, let's think about this. Silent Hill 2 is generally regarded as the best game (storywise) in the series. It has no ties to the first game. It doesn't reference the original story, it has all new characters. Is that a real Silent Hill game? If so, why is Silent Hill 4 any different?

 

I'm not trying to be antagonistic, mind you. I have a genuine concern for what we, the fans of this amazing series, are doing. We're undermining something that we love so much.

 

I'll be the first to admit, I'm guilty of it. I had my mind made up about Silent Hill Homecoming before I even played it. There was no way that game was going to live up to the first few games. The fact that they changed the controls and the camera made me believe they were aiming to turn this series into an action TPS rather than continue on as survival horror. You know what though? The fact is, Silent Hill hasn't completely abandoned its roots and even the worst game in this series is still superior to other games (no names mentioned). Homecoming isn't a BAD game. It's definitely not my favorite and I question where they were going with it, but it's not terrible or unplayable.

 

Not to speak for everyone, but I think that we all tend to be territorial when it comes to this series. This is ours, we love it and that's why people are so vocal about their disappointment with the newer games. The fandom is very passionate about Silent Hill and they want it done right. When it became more action oriented, it was almost like a betrayal. As if Konami decided to market to a different group of people, when we were the ones supporting them all along. How can you ignore the needs and wants of the fans who have been there since the beginning?

 

I don't think they're intentionally trying to run Silent Hill into the ground. Do you think they want to disappoint you? Of course not. They're trying. That's why, again, they keep switching developers. I personally think that's a terrible idea. They should let one group stick around for more than one game, that way they're able to take the criticism they received from the previous game and improve upon its flaws for the next one.

 

Silent Hill doesn't sell as well as other games. How long will developers continue to put time and energy into this series? It doesn't make money. People don't seem to care about it. The people who do care about it spend more time pointing out what they hate about the games rather than trying to find things they enjoyed about them. That's not exactly motivation to continue working on these games, is it?

 

The thing that makes Silent Hill different from other series are the fans. They're intelligent. They have real discussions about the symbolism behind enemies and the storylines. Silent Hill draws emotion from you. It makes you think. That's what is so great about it. It would be awful to lose this series because it doesn't sell enough, and it would be even worse if we were the cause of it.

 

I really hope that everyone plays Silent Hill Downpour with an open mind instead of judging it based off a few videos and reviews that were published by people who would probably rather be playing a completely different type of game. (Whether it be an RPG, FPS, etc.)

 

If we don't start supporting Silent Hill, it may not last much longer.