OK first off, those of you who have read my articles before know that I am in no way a fanboy and actually consider fanboy-ism a disease in the gaming industry. My primary gaming system is my PS3, but I last year completed over 9 exclusive titles on the Xbox 360 (including some older titles).

And for the type of gamer I am, Alan Wake was the best one.

Out of all of the titles released in 2010, I personally rank Heavy Rain as my Overall Game of the Year, and Alan Wake as my Xbox 360 Game of the Year.

I loved Alan Wake.

From the game style, the creative use of dark and light, the Brightfalls live action prequel, the  characters, voice acting, and everything else. I thought the plot was original, well thought out, and the design of each level as a TV episode was genius. Wake is positively cinematic if you ask me.

The gameplay was inventive too. OK, sometimes I did think the waves of dark enemies were more then required, and this sometimes made the fight mechanics feel a little over used, but the use of different weapons and excellent atmosphere just kept me hanging for more.

My favourite part though was the man himself. Everything about Alan Wake fit perfectly. But best of all was his consistent narration of the tale. Alan would narrate his thoughts and help the gamer to fall deeper into the compelling dark feeling and constant fight for survival. I could go on, trust me.

A Metacritic rating of 83/100 says I’m not far wrong.

So, in that case then, What the Hell Happened?!

Every successful game gets a sequel, doesn’t it?

I mean, it’s like movies, right?

But that’s the bad part. Alan Wake was not a total success. It was a critical success. It was a creative success. But it was NOT a commercial success.

Please correct me here if I’m wrong ppl, but I don’t think Alan Wake reached the million copies sold mark.

But Why? What went wrong?

Well, to work that out, we need to look over the fence. You see, Alan Wake wasn’t the only risky release in 2010 that was exclusive to a gaming platform. Actually, in many ways, Heavy Rain was a bigger and more expensive risk.

Both Alan Wake and Heavy Rain are different and unique from most other releases. These are two high quality titles that were in the making for 3+ years. Both have emotional plots, with deep characters, original voice acting, new gaming mechanics, excellent soundtracks, and passionate makers.

Neither did they offer anything in the way of online multliplayer options, nor high rankings to post on leaderboards. Actually, trophies and achievements were the only extra’s, besides some great dlc.

But what these titles do offer are high end story based modes, edge of your seat suspense, gripping atmosphere and emotional links to their worlds.

Bottom Line:  They made you care.

So why did Heavy Rain make it, and not Alan Wake. Well, Heavy Rain offers a little more in the way of variety, player choices, and overall a superior package. Rightfully so. Credit given where it is due.

But, here is my argument -

If Alan Wake was released on the PS3 or both the Xbox360 and PS3 – I think it would’ve done a lot better and we’d have a sequel ready to be shown at this years E3. Heavy Rain is a success primarily due to it’s audience. It was accepted by the PS3 players, but Alan Wake was not accepted by the 360 fanbase.

Now I’ve read many editorials stating how the 360 fans only care about shooters, FPS games, etc, and I’m not here to bash the 360 fan base. I do though think they have missed out on a stellar title which brings a unique experience to the table. Once that all gamers would appreciate, once tasted.

Now I know for a fact that Remedy Entertainment are waiting for Microsoft Game Studio’s to give the go ahead for another Alan Wake Season to be created, but I’m afraid that the lack of sales numbers might be the reason why this go ahead is still in the dark like Alan himself.

Do you agree with me?

Do you think Alan Wake would have sold more copies if it was released on the PS3 as an exclusive or multi-platform title?

Please don’t give me the defensive answer, but give me the honest one.

If you want to know more about how good Alan Wake is, please read this article by my TGH colleague -

http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/06/alan-wake-got-me-to-play-dead-space/

Have you played this unique title? Did you play the Season 2 dlc? do you want another season of Alan Wake?  Please comment, and let everyone know how you feel.  I certainly have.

I am JustaGamer………….. just like you!

(Apologies for any mistakes above, but it’s 11.30pm, and I better get some sleep, lol)