Here's something all of you need to remember/think about.
COD Black Ops (not unlike the other COD's or BF's) falls into the category of "overhyped, underwhelming FPS experiences" and therefore with those types of games it's like a firework. Lots of initial dazzle that falls of sharply as time goes on.
RO2 (not unlike RO1 or other gritty shooters) falls into the category of "steep learning curve, high satisfaction experiences" and therefore with these types of games it's more like a slow burning candle. Low initial player count that is augmented by the friends of a player after hearing about/watching those immensly satisfying moments one can only experience in a game such as RO2.
At the end of the day, we're almost talking about two different sub-genre's within the FPS world. The "insta-gratification-but-leaves-you-feeling-empty-over-the-long-term" hype-driven FPS, and the "slowly-addicting-leaving-you-with-a-feeling-of-great-satisfaction" word-of-mouth-driven FPS.
Apples and Oranges really.........to each their own I guess.
...just my 2 cents.
I wouldnt say this game as a steep learning curve at all.
Also it is worth noting that TW spent considerable effort trying to make this game more accessible to a more casual crowd; gone are the hard and difficult gameplay elemnts, replaced by something shallow and easy to pick up.
THerefore, many of these players fall into the group of casual gamers. I'd say out of that 9000 maybe 2000 of them are realism/ro fans. So when the next shooter roles around (i.e. MW3 and BF3) many of the causal fans will leave for those.
Either way it does not help RO2's numbers.
RO2 is in limbo in my opinion. Not nearly as challenging and realistic/authentic as RO, and not accessible enough like BF and CoD.
It has alienated its core fans, and the casuals. Instead it appeals to this awkward group of hybrid players.
No idea
