We're there, Fallout's lowest point

Cyberpunk88

Cyberpunk88

First time out of the vault
Fallout 3 and New Vegas are still my favorite games and I prefer them to even most new games, Fallout 4 was a big disappointment for me personally on many levels (but mostly the cartoony look and forced story), and seeing how 76 looks exactly like it i'm not getting my hopes up. After I watched the gameplay I felt sad and didn't have much hope for the future of Fallout. Then came the expensive Power Armor edition that featured weird unpainted toys. But now we have:
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You guessed it! Fallout TRADING CARDS!!

https://www.game.co.uk/en/fallout-trading-card-game-booster-pack-2446499

I mean come on, I could do with the Vault Boy cartoon videos every now and then, explaining the game, but this is just absurd. I KNEW they were gonna do this as soon as I saw the interview where they showed off the perk cards, and behold, physical Fallout cards were just around the corner.

I'm done, no more. Just shoot the franchise in the head and bury it, or sell it to a capable developer who would treat it with respect! But that's never gonna happen..

What are your thoughts on all of this? All this milking of Fallout 4 and 76 items and merchandise, yet I can't even find 1 officially released item related to New Vegas except for some apparel. No posters, no statues, no in-game item replicas, but you CAN buy Nuka Cola underwear and now trading cards..

End rant.
 
I dunno, if they actually made it a game of sorts like Magic The Gathering or Pokemon or whatever I could see a point to it. Hell, it could even be used to flesh out the lore (well, if they were competent at handling the lore that is, which they aren't).

We did get a card deck with the FNV special edition which has some neat concept art for characters (Vulpes looks way better on the card than he does in game).

There's nothing inherently wrong with merchandising. Is it milking a franchise? Sure. But is that really a bad thing? Let's say Fallout never turned as shit as it did and it got merchandising, would it really have been so bad? Now I'm not interested in buying Vault Boy Bobbleheads but someone out there is. It's useless junk but some people like to use that kinda stuff for decoration around their room so who am I to judge? And some things can be practical. Like coffee mugs. I used to have a Gorillaz Superfast Jellyfish coffee mug and I adored that one.

The problem with merchandising is when the original property becomes stale and stagnant cause they become too damn scared to change anything or introduce anything new as they are afraid of alienating people accustomed to the iconic stuff already merchandised. Just look at Marvel trying to change heroes or even kill one of them off. The new ones aren't as iconic so they aren't going to sell as well so they revert their decisions and keep the old guard around for even longer, causing the universe of Marvel to stagnate as the status quo will eventually balance itself back to what works.

And why wouldn't you, as a business, want to expand your catalog of products to earn more money? So long as you aren't hiring third world sweatshops that are essentially slavery then I don't see why it's a problem. You don't like the merchandising then don't buy it. But I mean if I went into a store and I saw a Caesars Legion flag for sale you bet your ass I'd buy it.

Maybe trading cards aren't for me. Maybe they're not for you. But they are for someone out there.

Let people have their fun.

It's just merchandise. Who gives a shit?
 
The lowest point...which I do not expect to happen, would be expurgated [and FO3 retconned] Unity3D remasters of Fallout 1 & 2, and the originals removed from retail sale.
 
Fallout trading cards are much less insulting than the huge piss Fallout 3 and 4 took on the series. At least the cards are not connected to the games and they don't oversimplify and dumb down the series like Fallout 3 and 4 did.
 
Say what you like about merchandise, but I'd definitely buy a GECK. I'm not too fussed about the seeds, or the torch-pen, I can get them from Wilkos, but it'd still be worth it for that cold fusion power.
 
I like the Vault Tek mugs. Too bad our laser engraving machines can't do 3D surfaces or I would just make it myself.
Although there are talks about getting a new one, maybe the new one can more easily do that.
 
What pisses me off is that each new merch is yet another cash grab, in lieu of developing a game that deserves additional content (or even additional content worth getting). It's irrelevant to say that we would be glad for it if the games were good, because that doesn't change what all this garbage really means. Their philosophy is to squeeze everything they can out of it; blood from a stone if possible. The franchise has only dark days ahead of it.
 
Hassknecht said:
I like the Vault Tek mugs. Too bad our laser engraving machines can't do 3D surfaces or I would just make it myself.
Although there are talks about getting a new one, maybe the new one can more easily do that.
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Get a roll of aluminum tape, or adhesive backed tooling foil, and cut out a placard to engrave, and mount on the mug. :ok:

NMLevesque said:
What pisses me off is that each new merch is yet another cash grab, in lieu of developing a game that deserves additional content (or even additional content worth getting). It's irrelevant to say that we would be glad for it if the games were good, because that doesn't change what all this garbage really means. Their philosophy is to squeeze everything they can out of it; blood from a stone if possible. The franchise has only dark days ahead of it.
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I'd prefer it if they never made another attempt at a Fallout sequel. Two abysmally clueless failed sequels is more than enough. They've proven themselves incapable.
 
The franchise is in the greatest shape it's ever been in. Resurrection, Nevada are still fresh and new. Sonora is upcoming, and Mutants Rising might arrive some time around October 2077.

The days are only dark if you think Bethesda is somehow related to Fallout beyond a word written on a box, and if you think that, you can't have been paying much attention.
 
I'm honestly not sure why people criticize Bethesda for their merchandise. I don't get the huge part of the criticism, that is.

At this point, virtually every single major video games developer releases accompanying gaming merch. From board games, card games, figures, various collectibles, T-shirts, mugs, soundtrack vinyls, comics, posters, banners to whatever else is left. The list is huge.
Sure, some of the things like those scented candles really fall to the ridiculous side of the spectrum, but bottom line is that in this day and age such commercial practice is not only common, but actively encouraged by the huge portion of audience.
People like these kinds of stuff and there is a market for it. Is it cash grabbing? In a way, yes, but there's nothing inherently wrong with it. It is fan-targeted merchandise. It's not a new sequel or "canon" addition to the series that would ruffle the feathers of fans of previous games, it's completely optional content that has little to no relation to the actual series.

Of course, I do understand when fans get angry because the released merch misses the point and tone of the games it is based on, and criticize publishers for allowing it, but as far as the whole practice goes it's perfectly normal and fine.

And despite my great dislike for Bethesda and what they did to the series, criticizing them for (majority of) their merch is just ridiculous. From what I've seen large portion of the merch they made is actually of good quality...unlike their games.
 
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