Current Events > Swen Vincke calls Baldur's gate 3 a "niche rpg"

(+) Yeah! (+)

He is happy his niche game from the unpopular turn based rpg genre(where many of those games sold millions in the last years) is succesful
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/d8fe0e51.jpg

Yeah... something that sells 2 mil as fast as BG3 did ain't niche unless you're comparing it to the biggest AAA titles

Hes fucking Belgian, cut him some slack.

It absolutely crushed Starfield.

I think he's talking about CRPGs in general. And he literally put it in quotes anyway so I wouldn't take it seriously.

I mean D&D has been pretty niche in recent years before release. I'm betting it'll pick up with Baldur's gate's release.

Carljank posted...

I mean D&D has been pretty niche in recent years before release.

Bruh

MrMojoRising posted...

I think he's talking about CRPGs in general. And he literally put it in quotes anyway so I wouldn't take it seriously.

True, just noticed my response came off a bit odd too...but yeah, definitely not niche and I'm happy the game is a success, even if I couldn't personally vibe with it

I mean did anyone expect Baldur's Gate 3 to sell gangbusters like it did? the Baldur's Gate series was niche and hadn't had a new entry in 20 years. The fact that it exploded was a pleasant surprise.

MrMojoRising posted...

I think he's talking about CRPGs in general. And he literally put it in quotes anyway so I wouldn't take it seriously.

This.

Weird topic to make, weird thing to whine about.

MrMojoRising posted...

I think he's talking about CRPGs in general. And he literally put it in quotes anyway so I wouldn't take it seriously.

It honestly does not play that different from FF tactics or Fire emblem except it's not grid based. I guess the genre apply more to the interactions?

Carljank posted...

I mean D&D has been pretty niche in recent years before release. I'm betting it'll pick up with Baldur's gate's release.

Yeah, some people tried to stigmatised D&D players, but like almost everyone knew the board game existed

Murphiroth posted...

This.

Weird topic to make, weird thing to whine about.

Tbh, I think he is making fun of Microsoft calling the game niche

epik_fail1 posted...

Tbh, I think he is making fun of Microsoft calling the game niche

I completely forgot about that...

Zwijn posted...

Bruh

Its not going to be niche on THIS website but in the general population?

Ivynn posted...

I mean did anyone expect Baldur's Gate 3 to sell gangbusters like it did? the Baldur's Gate series was niche and hadn't had a new entry in 20 years. The fact that it exploded was a pleasant surprise.

Exactly

Carljank posted...

Its not going to be niche on THIS website but in the general population?

Do you have any idea how immensely popular Critical Role is?

Carljank posted...

Its not going to be niche on THIS website but in the general population?

It had one of the biggest booms in its popularity in the last few years because of stuff like Stranger Things, Critical Role and Vox Machina.

Zwijn posted...

It had one of the biggest booms in its popularity in the last few years because of stuff like Stranger Things, Critical Role and Vox Machina.

Yeah. Just because of stranger things, people at least are aware it exists

Ah. I haven't caught up on stranger things. That makes sense though given the era.

Murphiroth posted...

Do you have any idea how immensely popular Critical Role is?

So popular I haven't heard of it until the kerfluffle regarding third party DnD monetization. And then haven't heard about it again until your post

Unknown5uspect posted...

So popular I haven't heard of it until the kerfluffle regarding third party DnD monetization. And then haven't heard about it again until your post

Oh well shit if you haven't heard of it it must not be popular.

Ivynn posted...

I mean did anyone expect Baldur's Gate 3 to sell gangbusters like it did? the Baldur's Gate series was niche and hadn't had a new entry in 20 years. The fact that it exploded was a pleasant surprise.

Yes actually Baldur Gate 2 was highly popular

WingsOfGood posted...

Yes actually Baldur Gate 2 was highly popular

Well. According to google, it sold about 2 millions. That's decent numbers, but not giant mainstream numbers like 3 is pulling

WingsOfGood posted...

Yes actually Baldur Gate 2 was highly popular

CRPGs weren't niche at the time. Sort of like how 2D platformers are niche now but weren't in the 90's.

ellis123 posted...

CRPGs weren't niche at the time. Sort of like how 2D platformers are niche now but were 't in the 90's.

I have no idea the climate when BG2 released but since up till now it has gained huge popularity and considered a classic.

I haven't even played it and heard and knew about it and neverwinter nights and ps2 had some loot game based on it I think like loot slash game.

Carljank posted...

I mean D&D has been pretty niche in recent years before release. I'm betting it'll pick up with Baldur's gate's release.

Are you serious? DND has literally never been more popular than it has been in the past decade

WingsOfGood posted...

Yes actually Baldur Gate 2 was highly popular

For a PC game from early 2000 when you just needed to hit 1 million copies to be a hit. BG3 IS still a niche game, cause it caters to the "nerds" with all its hardcore options you can go around playing it.

The game just happened to be very good and reviews helped it to garner a lot of hype so it pretty much went viral.

He's referencing how analysts at places like Microsoft didn't want to make a deal with Larian because they didn't believe the game would sell well. Hindsight is 20/20

For you guys saying how popular DnD is, remember that this year's DnD movie literally didn't make a profit

JuanCarlos1 posted...

For a PC game from early 2000 when you just needed to hit 1 million copies to be a hit. BG3 IS still a niche game, cause it caters to the "nerds" with all its hardcore options you can go around playing it.

The game just happened to be very good and reviews helped it to garner a lot of hype so it pretty much went viral.

Would you say the same thing of Diablo 2?
It also a PC game pre-2000s that barely needed to hit 1 million.

Legacy is important and BG2 has been discussed decades since as one of the best games of its kind and a classic.

epik_fail1 posted...

It honestly does not play that different from FF tactics or Fire emblem except it's not grid based. I guess the genre apply more to the interactions?

I consider them two different genres. While they are both turn-based, there's plenty of differences from the amount of units you can control, combat versatility and options, roleplaying aspects, and graphics/art direction that makes them vastly different gameplay experiences.

WingsOfGood posted...

I have no idea the climate when BG2 released but since up till now it has gained huge popularity and considered a classic.

I haven't even played it and heard and knew about it and neverwinter nights and ps2 had some loot game based on it I think like loot slash game.

I was into CRPGs at the time so I very much know the climate at its release.

And being a classic means little as the transcends genre and the like. Same thing goes with it even being a success, look at Rocky Horror for an example of both at play.

ellis123 posted...

I was into CRPGs at the time so I very much know the climate at its release.

And being a classic means little as the transcends genre and the like. Same thing goes with it even being a success, look at Rocky Horror for an example of both at play.

And any announced sequel to Rocky Horror would NOT be seen as niche. It would be a huge deal as was BG3 always.

MrMojoRising posted...

I consider them two different genres. While they are both turn-based, there's plenty of differences from the amount of units you can control, combat versatility and options, roleplaying aspects, and graphics/art direction that makes them vastly different gameplay experiences.

I guess so, but Borderlands and CoD are both FPS and they are very different games and feel different.

I would still categorise Borderlands as "FPS"

The quotes tell me he has been keeping up heavily with the reception of the game and has seen it called that a lot in various online communities.

Seems more like a jab at the people that thought it would be unsuccessful.

Relax, he even put it in quotes I doubt he was being serious about that.

Ivynn posted...

I mean did anyone expect Baldur's Gate 3 to sell gangbusters like it did? the Baldur's Gate series was niche and hadn't had a new entry in 20 years. The fact that it exploded was a pleasant surprise.

Hey. Beamdog made an entry between 1 and 2 inbetween making the enhanced editions of the games.

Not a good one mind, but still.

Also remember Microsoft super lowballed them with a day 1 gamepass offer(5 million dollars)

Unsuprised_Pika posted...

Also remember Microsoft super lowballed them with a day 1 gamepass offer(5 million dollars)

Nope, because they never did that. They just had internal communication about how much they thought it'd cost.

I don't think anyone, even Lairen, expected the game to blow up as much as it did.

I mean they arent wrong

DarkFists posted...

Yeah... something that sells 2 mil as fast as BG3 did ain't niche unless you're comparing it to the biggest AAA titles

I mean, a niche can still sell well. How much it sells so quickly doesn't disqualify something from being niche

he put it in quotes you illiterate idiots

colliding posted...

he put it in quotes you illiterate idiots

How dare you call me an illegitimate idiom.

He put it in quotes, I don't think it's a totally straight statement.

Funkydog posted...

I don't think anyone, even Lairen, expected the game to blow up as much as it did.

Maybe it is younger people who hadn't hear about Baldur Gate over the decades that have this false view.

WingsOfGood posted...

And any announced sequel to Rocky Horror would NOT be seen as niche. It would be a huge deal as was BG3 always.

And the entire comment is about the genre, of which Rocky is niche on that front. Just like with BG3 and its genre.

WingsOfGood posted...

Maybe it is younger people who hadn't hear about Baldur Gate over the decades that have this false view.

If
WingsOfGood posted...

Maybe it is younger people who hadn't hear about Baldur Gate over the decades that have this false view.

I know multiple people my age who never played the first two and played BG3 for the first time

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur%27s_Gate_II:_Shadows_of_Amn

GameSpy, GameSpot, and IGN awarded it their "Role-Playing Game of the Year" awards for 2000, and the game has sold more than two million units.

In the United States, Baldur's Gate II entered PC Data's computer game sales charts at #5 during the September 1723 period.[120] It rose to second place the following week, behind The Sims: Livin' Large, while its Collector's Edition captured the seventh position.[121] In its first 14 days, Baldur's Gate II drew in revenues of $4 million across all SKUs in North America, a sales record for an Interplay computer title

Baldur's Gate II received critical acclaim upon its release,[148] and is listed as the seventh highest-scoring PC game on the review aggregator Metacritic (as of November 2022).

Awards
Baldur's Gate II has been honored many times. GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN awarded it their "Role-Playing Game of the Year" awards in 2000,[169][171][172] and it won GameSpot's Readers' Choice Game of the Year award for that year.[168] It received three "Gaming Globe" awards from Eurogamer in 2001: Best Game, Best Art Direction, and Best Male Supporting Character (for Minsc).[166] The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences honored Shadows of Amn with the "Character or Story Development" award at the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; the game also received nominations for the "Game of the Year", "PC Game of the Year", "PC Role-Playing", and "Game Play Engineering" categories.[165] IGN placed it at No. 25 on their 2005 "Top 100 Games of All Time" list.[173] In 2006, though not ranking in the top five games, it earned an "honorable mention" in Gamasutra's Quantum Leap Awards.[178] Baldur's Gate II was inducted into GameSpot's "Greatest Games of All Time" list.[170] In 2009, Game Informer placed Baldur's Gate II at No. 88 on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", calling it "the best Dungeons & Dragons game ever made". This is up one place from their top 100 list in 2001.[167][179] Empire ranked it No. 19 on their list of the 100 Greatest Games.[180] At the end of 2009, Baldur's Gate II, though not quite making the Top 12 list, received an honorable mention in Gamasutra's Game of the Decade, where readers voted for their best game of the 2000s.[181]
In 2010, on IGN's Top 25 Modern PC Games, Baldur's Gate II clocked in at No. 2.[174] In 2013, it was placed at No. 46 on GamingBolt's "Top 100 greatest video games ever made".[182] IGN ranked Baldur's Gate II No. 1 on their list of "The Top 11 Dungeons & Dragons Games of All Time" in 2014.[183] Ian Williams of Paste rated the game No. 2 on his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015.[184] IGN ranked Baldur's Gate II No. 3 on their "Top 100 RPGs of All Time" list.[185] In 2016, PC Gamer noted the game on their "best RPGs of all time".[186] It was placed at No. 9 on Game Informer's "Top 100 RPGs Of All Time" list,[187] and was included among PCGamesN's "best RPGs on PC" as well.[188]

Maybe you guys should just admit you don't know much about PC gaming history or maybe gaming history in general

like it is ok if you only play like Halo, CoD or Fortnite and never touched other games, nothing wrong with that, just don't act otherwise

Definitely niche. Turn based strategy RPGs aren't exactly the biggest selling titles in the world. Just because it became extremely successful doesn't mean a turn based RPG is suddenly Call of Duty or GTA

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Definitely niche. Turn based strategy RPGs aren't exactly the biggest selling titles in the world. Just because it became extremely successful doesn't mean a turn based RPG is suddenly Call of Duty or GTA

Why is it ok to use CoD for fps, but not Pokemon for turn based rpg?