Blockbuster’s Top Ten Selling New Video Games Includes… Haze?

you weren't expecting anyone to actually buy haze after the demo?

Thats why its so high, these steaming piles of crap are rented thrown up over and returned. so much less guilt than spending 60 + on haze

badSamurai

@Kermad: that took me way too long to get it... I must still be drunk.

@D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..: Hahaha I remember that. Good stuff.

@BxB402: All of you should do yourselves a favor and go to tigsource.com to look up and play Smaze. It's a demake of the Haze game and is actually better.

BOOSH!

Tye-The-Czar

@Skyline7284: If library builders shop there at all, it's for cheap games they can keep. I never, ever, ever sell my games, unless it's with the console to a friend.

metaslugx

@Hindesite: I'd say its because there are no new Rock Band titles out. No reason to be sad, they're both great games.

Haze wasn't that bad at all.
Plus, I would hate to be an ex-Free Radical having to come across another article that needlessly kicks them while they're very much down. It's an easy shot to take, but not necessary.

Blockbuster you say? Isn't that a store that you used to go to when DVD rentals weren't queued up online to automatically appear in my mail slot? Odd I didn't think they still existed, Good for them, I guess.

I usually get my best game bargains at Blockbuster ($19 PSP microphone/headset? Done.) so I'm a big fan. Their selection may be balls at times (hey where's your Killzone2 already local Blockbuster?) but their prices are great. I've seen Haze for $9.99 plus when a retailer says "best seller" or "best deal" or hype something like that, you know they're lying to get rid of some massive inventory some fuckwad in accounting purchased because the developer offered them a "sweet deal".

Apparently Blockbuster USA may be going the way of the dodo but Blockbuster Canada will continue... how weird.

@excel_excel: Oh-ho-ho, but you are wrong.

A mere two weeks before the release of Haze, I and my friend were puttering around Gamestop looking for something to pick up. I've got a PS3, so he was checking out the selection there while I looked over the 360 stuff. He yelled out over to me, "Hey, is there any good shooters out for the PS3 yet?" (He wasn't a Resistence fan, which was about it at that time).

Before I could even answer, the clerk shouted out, "HAZE! ITS AMAZING!" He then went on for awhile about how he played it, that it was fantastic, and -- I shit you not -- potential game of the year. We kind of just brushed it off, because he had a fanboy vibe to him, talking about how the 360 couldn't handle the awesomeness of Haze.

Cue a month later, Haze has been released and is knocked down to $30 already after a flood of bad/mediocre reviews. When I saw him again, I just gave him a look and said, "GOTY huh?"

He didn't like me much after that.

Blockbuster sux! I have a BB horror story that I have told to many times so I will not repeat it again. Let's just say I quit going there years ago due to employees being lame and their computer system being lamer. The BB employees that did try to resolve my situation many times could not because of their software. I hate BB. I predict they will not be around in the next 5 years.

chromegnome

Free Radical's Battlefront 3 is dead, but their Haze lives on. So sad.

SnowCanary

@MooglesInMyFace: I don't know... the $10 is tempting, but I'd want at least $20 to play it to completion

Kermad

Haze isn't a great game by any stretch of the imagination, but its also not as bad as some folks claim. You'd think it was on par with Damnation or something. It had a better story presentation than some of the popular games we play today lol. I was shocked when I saw my cousin playing it, and my eyes didn't melt. I'm not suggesting anyone buy it..I'm just saying...:-)

Considering how awful the game sold, and how it faired critically, how many people on forums have actually PLAYED it. Most people i bet are just jumping on the bandwagon, which I was guilty of up until seeing him play it.

cornerman8

@NightBlood09: Yeah man Haze is the blazes! I mean tell me what other game has soldiers that dress like honey bees. Epic Wail.

YEAH HAZE REPRESENT!!!

@ToastyUterus:
Uh, oh - flame suit on :p

Peeps are just showing some lovin for Free Radical, yo.

@djHEAT: Yeah, if you think about it, it could just be because lots of people wanted to see if it really was as bad as it's said to be.

Chao1111

@Armagetiton: disregard that, I just realized were talking N64 games here. Don't mind me, It's morning, I'm hungover, and I haven't had my coffee yet.

Armagetiton

@rapkadrummer: Eh, I don't get it. But what I do know is I found a special edition perfect dark in a bargain bin at my place of work (toys r us) for 3 dollars. So I bought it, simply because it was only 3 dollars :D

Armagetiton

Most likely blockbuster can't rent the tons of copies of haze they have so they lied about it being popular. They used to have us push crappy movies when they didn't rent well. Personally I hate Blockbuster and look forward to the day Netflix dominates the rental industry and rips Blockbusters head off and shits down its neck.

@GreatNocturn357: OH MY GOD, ITS A FIRE... sale

@zebber: You know, that's exactly what I was thinking of when I posted my comment. :)

Siegeman

@PunkyChipsAhoy:

IMDB tells me different:

[www.imdb.com]

Same cast, and it'll be out in 2012.

Haze isnt a bad game but how ???i am agree with Kenny

Francuzzz1010

@fanboyps3: ...people prefer the 360 to the PS3? That's the only conclusion I can draw from it.

@BxB402: I got ICO for PS2 for £3.99, sold it on eBay the next day for £24.

@NightBlood09: What gasoline?

SuprShin

Why wont it die!?

SuprShin

@djHEAT:
Oh, and a whole lot of renting of course.

@BxB402:
I think one reason that the list sucks is because people usually buy used games at blockbuster.

@Joe_Kickass:

jajajajajaja... you're kidding right? you ARE kidding? Give me Bill Murray or give me death.

PunkyChipsAhoy

@SketchyIndividual: You guys couldn't handle what i smoke

Yea, its not the greatest game, but i still got love 4 ya haze, as do blockbuster costumers as well.

I actually really liked the Haze demo, or, I should say, was very accepting of it. Would buy game!

ademu

Anyone else think this is actually a marketing ploy? For example, I had no idea Blockbuster sold games, or even still existed. Now, suddenly, here is a news story about them. I submit to you that perhaps Blockbuster put Haze on there intentionally to drum up controversy and attention.

@BxB402: I got Grand Theft Auto IV on PS3 and Beautiful Katamari for 15 bucks. I am the "idiots" that go there.

wabbitfa

I am pretty sure they were selling it VERY cheap like 12.99....maybe people are just buying it because its there and cheap and in large quantities (because it never sold before).

hellodon

@mzo: Duh, because we;re too busy buying Haze!

You know, i'm sure that over half of the people that say "HAZE SUCKS" have not even played the game.

Let me translate to you what blockbuster is trying to say:

"HEY GUYS! THESE GAMES AREN'T SELLING. AT ALL! PLEASE BUY THEM! TOP 10 LIST OF GAMES THAT ARE NOT SELLING IN OUR STORES!"

shagg187

@MooglesInMyFace: i got mercenaries 2 for 15 and they for whatever reason gave me the world ends with you for free

Yeah, Blockbuster can actually be pretty fucking awesome. Beyond great prices on used games (which are usually in excellent shape), when I was searching for a PS3 (about 15 months ago) I called every department, electronics, mom-and-pop and oversized grocery store in the city searching for a backward-compatible model before I called up the Blockbuster a block-and-a-half from my house, and found a cherry 60GB for $480.00.

On top of that, when Valkyria Chronicles came out, Blockbuster was the only store that had them on release day.

@BxB402: I'd shop Block Buster before I'd shop ANY where else. They have standard prices on new games but they take typically 300% trade in value on used games- and they almost ALWAYS have a 'clearance' section that has dirt cheap games (around $7) that typically go for $20 at that OTHER place. If you have a bad BB- that sucks- but where I'm at, and places I've been, BB or Gamerush as it's called, is freaking awesome.

@Fallible.: Even you're Fallible. :p

@rapkadrummer: i see what you did there.

Fil Vina

@njd09 here, I want what you're smoking.

@Fallible.: And its horrendously...*

Looks like I might be an idiot, after all.

@BxB402:

Haze was an alright game, it was over hyped to the point where even the insignificant bugs and game-play issues that are present on every other (most) shooter became, themselves, over-stated.

Ironically, the only idiot here would be the people (person) bashing the people who bought the game with such a generalised assumption. What does that say for the millions of people who bought Gears of War 2, and it's horrendously broken multi-player?

I'd buy Haze for $5, I bet that's how much it was at Blockbuster

@Elpon: That was hilarious! Almost makes me willing to spend $5 on Haze

@wanion:

Sounds like halo.

@Hindesite: Don't worry, I was more saddened by seeing Guitar Hero instead of Rock Band as well. After finally giving GH:WT an actual chance I can firmly say Rock Band is the better music game platform.

@Kobun: Seconded. The TP is the best main paper in Louisiana, but that's like being the king of the garbage dump. You still stink.

Always thought it was pretty damn lazy to run Elfman's mediocre syndicated stuff when I knew at least 4 freelancing game writers in the city (having since moved) that would have been cheaper and were turned down by the TP.

It's a pity that Ghostbusters 3 is going to have NEW Ghostbuster recruits as main characters instead of the original cast. That's at least what I heard.

@Kobun: Haha, well I lived in South Carolina, so that'd be poor form... :p

@UncleMark:

Blast Corps is the shit.

@[www.xkcd.com]

You can find some pretty sweet deals on used games at Blockbuster

Rozzlit

I fully agree with every placment in order of Ghostbusters. It has to be the best game I have played since Super mario 2 came out.

But dont knowck haze. I belong to www.goozex.com where you can trade game with people, and just had HAze com eup for me as a trade at 150 points.. Roughly $7.50... lol.. So I think Ill accept the trade.

Ur-Lord-Crypy

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!: Yeah there had actually been screenshots of the N64 Version.

@GreatNocturn357: apparently, hooligans are smashing in car-windows and placing copies of Haze on the passenger's seat..

D-K, owhoo... how unfortunate..

@crabperson: Wich would not be an impossibility considering the overall sales numbers for the wii.

The only thing to say here is:

Boosh.

lol, scam, they are just trying to trick people into buying it by saying its popular.

@njd09:

IE, Orange Box.
It's not that mainstream, but it's AMAZING.

Firelance

@UncleMark: Wow... Blast Corps is one of my all time favorites, I would give my port testicle for an adaptation for the XBLA!

@Poul Wrist: non-online retailers that is.

Poul Wrist

Blockbuster is often the cheapest of game retailers here... at least for non-new games, where their prices actually drop. As opposed to various others, like Gamestop or GAME where you can go in and find a 3 year old game at launchprice.

Poul Wrist

Wow, apparently the thought that people who don't read reviews and judge games for themselves exited, never crossed anyones mind.

If it ain't good on metacritic, consider it horrible. I'm sure 90% of you people commenting haven't actually played the game.

@rapkadrummer: Bwahahahaha. Brilliant.

@ReignFury: They seem like sheep to me if they're buying only mainstream titles. How about thinking for themselves and buying games that the developers actually put effort into making? How about picking up games that your friends said weren't special but read were awesome?

If they were -really- judging for themselves, then they made poor choices.

njd09

@fanboyps3: that multiplats sell better on 360?

mzo

I like how everyone gets all heated because Haze is on that list, but look guys Wii Sports is on that list as well!

I mean at least Haze is a real game... and not a collection of mini games.

1. Blockbuster stores are closing right and left around me, so I have a bit of trouble thinking anything they say or do matters.

2. This game has been in the bargain bin since it came out. Any game that sells new in shrinkwrap for $5 is going to be a bestseller, despite bad reviews, if only as trade-in fodder or to get an extra Bluray case.

flojomojo

@NightBlood09: Can I buy some pot from you?

njd09

@rapkadrummer: *applauds*

kylenalepa

could be because blockbuster has some crazy good deals, i got GTAIV for 14.99 used in the beginning of the year

sodafountan

@hot_heart: I think that's something I would do if I worked for Blockbuster and was even remotely into gaming. Put something crazy like Halo 4 at number 10 and Mario Party 21 at the top.

crabperson

@BxB402:

i dont understand why people think haze was bad, to me it was like halo but for a playstation console, wait a decent console

pneboy

@BxB402:

I love their sales on preplayed games, as the other guy said.

But I wish they hadn't pretty much quit selling new games locally. Some were on a fire sale for a few days, then got shipped away without notice.

This is why Blockbuster should stick to movies!!!

@Siegeman:
Well looks like 360 is the only console that doesn't have any exclusives on the list. All they have is games that you can get on the ps3 as well, so what have you got to say about that dou...siegeman?

fanboyps3

@UncleMark:
It's no less Rare than Perfect Dark or Banjo Kazooie.

rapkadrummer

@Vedli: So then what's the point of blockbuster?

@Char Aznable says, Hail to the King of Pop: What? A "when in Rome" joke about not reading in the South? :p

I downloaded the demo. About three months ago.

Still have not played it.

Maybe I should give it a shot, just in case.

The Forgetful Brain

I generally do not recommend reading the Times-Picayune, but since you're citing it...

[blog.nola.com]

@MooglesInMyFace: They have really good prices on fairly uncommon games when they clear out older games. My brother got Blast Corps with the original box for really cheap. I'm not sure if it's rare, but that game is awesome.

While I only played the demo of Haze, from what I recall of that and the reviews, wasn't that it was such a horrible game, it was just uninspired, bland rather than bad. I might even pick it up someday if I have some spare cash and some free time. Maybe that's what's driving the best seller ranking now - that it's finally hit a confluence of boredom, price, and availability?

@Skyline7284:

1. Because I might want to play it again sometime.
2. Because were not all 12 year olds on a limited budget.
3. Because some of us like building our library.
4. Why not just cut out the middle man and pirate the damn thing if that's your attitude.

Not that surprising. Some BBVs have it for $10 new. A few months back I got Uncharted new for $20. BBV is moving away from carrying new games outside of the big titles, getting rid of their Gamerush sections.

@Skyline7284: Because that's retarded and cheating the policy. It's supposed to be in case the game is broken/unplayable, not, I finished this even though it was really good.

@( shake cows, win a ) Milkshake!: Oh yes. Oh yes.

@excel_excel: Wait..BEFORE the Gamecube? When did Gamecube come into this!? And BEFORE IT!? Holy crap.

ust because people buy doesnt mean its good

@Gezbox says: Exclusives Make a Console, not Multiplats.:

Only someone who didn't get what Too Human was about would say that!

/sarcasm

@MooglesInMyFace:

There's always ebay.
There's always stuff that "fell from a truck".

@ReignFury:

I mean, if they like it, go ahead and buy it.
They just have REALLY bad taste.
Do you have any idea, any idea at all, how hard Haze sucks?

Firelance

@Siegeman:

Except for, you know, what you just did.

Stavvy

@Gezbox says: Exclusives Make a Console, not Multiplats.: Oh god man.....I still remember the screens from like before the Gamecube was released. Good god.

@Skyline7284: That happened. There back no though that was weird!

Blockbuster doesn't sell shit for videogames. That was probably 10 copies of Haze sold that got it that ranking.

Did the comments just dissapear or is it just me seeing things again?

@excel_excel: The comercial for it looked halfway decent, does that make up for it being shit?

@NightBlood09: No, dear god there is NO way a person can actually call Haze amazing. Its not possible.

@excel_excel:

I still remember the 10 year hyping of Too Flop Human.

@SHOWTIME!: Yeah but there better than bloody Haze. God!

Haze is new?

@Siegeman: Because Ghostbusters and Guitar Hero for the 360 are just leaps and bounds ahead of any PS3 game right?

@Fieldy: You've had a year to read any number of reviews and realise how shit Haze is, and yet you still plan on buying it? $20 new is definately $20 wasted. They had LBP for £10 and Dead Space for £12 in the UK recently... those are good deals, not Haze.

Kermad

@MooglesInMyFace: Hmm? If you buy ANY used game you can return it in 7 days for a full refund. So if you can beat a game in a week then why not return it for your money back?

@Monster Chalk: Thats exactly where I'm talking about!

@PunkyChipsAhoy: Here here!!!

What are you guys talking about Haze was a amazing game I'm surprised it is not number 1

@Firelance: Idiots or people who aren't sheep and do not want to be told what's good and what isn't, but instead judge for themselves.

@Firelance:

But do those games cost $5-$10? Because I'm gonna take a wild guess and say thats what haze costs at BB now.

MooglesInMyFace

@Skyline7284:

Are you serious? No one takes advantage of that return policy. Except you apparently.

MooglesInMyFace

@excel_excel: Agreed. Even on this here, very, forum.

@Go Go Gadget: Gizmo:

There are probably a lot of people willing to give it a try for $10.

MooglesInMyFace

@BxB402:

Dude blockbuster has amazing clearance sales on their preplayed games. Got Samba De Amigo for Wii for $10 with the case, manual and disc. all in great condition.

MooglesInMyFace

For those that have never played Haze or need a reminder of how horrible the dialogue is, watch Unskippables take on it
[www.escapistmagazine.com]

That entire list is just a bucket full of sadness. It just goes to show what the mainstream audience is interested in.

Is that customers selling them Haze, or are they fudging the numbers?

Kermad

@GreatNocturn357: Even then...

@Hindesite: Well, it's more expensive. Makes sense, to me. People are getting more concerned about the price of things these days.

Haze is really popular at my store too, probably because it's $5.

I'm not surprised actually. Pretty much everywhere I look, Haze goes for about 20 bucks brand new.

Personally, I love FPS games. I prefer playing quality ones, but there have been times when I craved some shooting and had gone through all of my good ones, so I played mediocre ones. It's still a shooter, so I can find some level of enjoyment in it.

I actually plan on getting Haze eventually. I tried the demo and while it's nowhere near Resistance or Killzone level of quality, I've played and enjoyed much worse in the past.

That being said, I still have quite a few games that are higher up on the priority scale than Haze, but I'll still get around to it sooner or later.

@Skyline7284: Same thing as renting from Blockbuster that is. They're both renting you used games (assuming you take advantage of the gamestop return policy like i explained above). 1 Costs money and has little to no selection. The other has much better selection and is free.

9. Haze for PS3.

Man still remember the hyping of it.

But good god.

Obviously, Blockbuster Customers are idiots.
There are WAY better PS3 games out there, ie MGS4, Killzone 2, LBP, etc.

Firelance

Is it bad that I'm more saddened by seeing Guitar Hero on the list multiple times with Rock Band no where on there then I am from seeing Haze?

I'm glad that Ghostbusters is doing well in the sales department... now give me Ghostbusters 3!

PunkyChipsAhoy

Maybe they're checking someone's paying attention? =p

Hot hazy weather = haze? I don't know.

Shows the type of clientele that actually goes to a blockbuster. Why not just buy any used game from gamestop, and return it in a week for a refund. Same thing just it's FREE.

And here I was about to make a joke about New Orleans. Man, that was a close one.

But yeah, that's ridiculous. Haze, lol.

Looks like it's the #2 game for PS3... I'm not going to extrapolate this to mirror the overall state/quality/quantity of PS3 games so as to avoid the flaming maelstrom that would ensue.

Siegeman

coulda been an error, or bargain bin fire sale.

GreatNocturn357

Guess i'm not the only one that thinks Blockbuster sucks for games. The types of idiots that play Haze are the kinds that go there. lol

@pneboy: Fanboy alert

jinxman

@Skyline7284: My local gamestop only lets you return used games 3 times because they said people were using them as a " Rental Service " Which makes sense now.

dynoknight

@Char Aznable says, Hail to the King of Pop: Every time you post I hear Char's voice in my head as I read it.

Crescendo

thats because haze is less than 10 bucks at bbv (i work there)

@MooglesInMyFace:
But dude you're supposed to be supporting the game developers by buying new games and not used copies (which sends the profits to Blockbuster) otherwise there might never be a next Samba.