TLOU Part 2 had a few issues working against it that were mostly unique unto that game. The plot leaks (quite a few which were fake), bad faith Xbox & PCMR actors weirdly colluding with anti-SJW content-creator grifters to push the game as a far-left agenda hit piece, driving negative discussion around the game for months before its release. Then the Jason Schreir report on crunch & working conditions at ND during that time and, I think, kind of the genuine shock at Joel's death from a big segment of the fanbase (the "normies" otherwise 100% removed from the BS culture war and console war toxicity)...
I think all of those things together may've hurt TLOU Part 2, unfairly so. I'm mildly curious if ND ever retcon Joel's death in a Part 2 "Director's Cut" or something, although I think that would be asking too much. They could just alter the way he dies slightly, where maybe he goes out like a bit more of a badass at the very least, and that would probably be enough for most of the folks who are still kind of miffed with his death.
But something else I've observed is ever since then, it seems like certain circles only gather 'round the wagon to try spoiling Sony SP games specifically. We just saw them try it again with GOW Ragnarok! But I can't think of many (if any) other SP games where circles of people are trying to spoil the stories online. Didn't happen with Plague Tale: Requiem for example, or Pentiment more recently.
We should acknowledge that the main reason it's even a thing with Sony 1P SP games is because it's likely Xbox & PCMR chugs wanting to desperately spoil hype for games not coming to their platform, that are from Sony. It's really that simple, and it's pathetic. And for them it's just another way to try drumming up a narrative against those game, they tried it earlier in the year with HFW (if it weren't for Elden Ring releasing near its date or the early technical issues existing, we'd of definitely seen the usual suspects trying to spoil HFW's story big-time).
I'm also thinking about it now and, yeah, there actually a ton in the way of traditional advertising for Ragnarok, was there? I don't watch a ton of TV these days but maybe there were some TV adverts. I know they had the Ben Stiller/John Travolta/Lebron James etc. online advert/skit though.
But I think it's also like
Mibu no ookami
said; GOW can just sell itself at this point and PS5 is just naturally in the spotlight now. Splatoon 3 broke sales records too and I don't recall much any traditional advertising for that game; Scarlet & Violet are the fastest-selling Pokemon games in history are there's absolutely nothing in the way of traditional advertisements for them, either.
There are just certain IP that can sell on their brand name alone, and GOW is one of those at this point. They could also be saving adverts for a month or two down the road because the hardcore & core of the fanbase are going to jump in early on no matter what. But once those first three or so months pass is probably when adverts start rolling out to get down-the-road casuals & mainstream to pick it up (although some of them are probably picking it up right now, too).
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