It’s quite understandable to suggest of dropping the “2” from Overwatch 2 and I can explain it with 2 Reasons. 1. The Slow Reintroduction of Systems from Overwatch 1:
from On-Fire in Season 2 to Lootboxes in Season 15 even 6v6 coming back! So why not also return to the Overwatch 1 Branding completely at this point? How much Bad Publicity needs to occure on Overwatch 2 until we’re truly back to Overwatch 1? Since Overwatch 1 was a perfect display of the Blizzard Way. The only Problem was (at least for me) that it got old and updates were sparce but even at that Time Overwatch 1 could carry along, better than Overwatch 2 ever would be and currently Overwatch 2 is just a Checking for old Systems to comeback - Waiting Game so why not dropping the 2 entirely? I’d say: take the Final Patch of Overwatch 1:
-remove purchasable Lootboxes,
-add the Ping System,
-Keep the 100 Ranked Coins per 30 Ranked Matches from Overwatch 2
-and slap on that Battle Pass for Monetization
and that would be a better Experience than Overwatch 2 ever was. 2. Overwatch 2 was the Promise of PvE. That was the Reason for the “2” in Overwatch 2, since you decided to not deliver on that Promise, the “2” in Overwatch 2 feels like one of those mid-construction abandoned skyscrapers ruining what could be a nice horizon. I have no doubt that the Overwatch Community would’ve taken worse PvP (5v5) for a promised and delivered PvE Experience, but we got worst of both worlds. The Man with the PvE Vision is gone and what we’ve left with are people who surround themselves with yes-men in silence. Imo Aaron should’ve hinted to the cancellation of PvE much much sooner. It would’ve been a massive blow either way but with enough Communication about the Future of Overwatch provided and being honest and thorough with the Community, it would’ve soften that Blow. But that’s not what we got, we get silence… for months… BOOM!! HERE’S A SPOTLIGHT and we wait in silence again!
In the end my Point is that all the additions of OW2 could’ve been even better in OW1 and who knows maybe one day they drop the 2
They’ve said they’ve been looking at all these and they might return.
PvE wasn’t wanted. By the majority. It failed, it’s dead. Time to move on. It’s been evolved into other things like stadium.
Internally they don’t call it 2. Only when they speak to the press/players. If you stop calling it 2 and just call it overwatch. You’ll have done that job for them.
yeah but offically dropping the 2 may mend Overwatch’s Reputation.
Again the One who wanted the PvE Direction is gone but Overwatch 2 was presented as the PvE Expansion. So when they decided to scrap PvE the “2” in OW2 became meaningless and all OW2 was was just System/UI Removals and a Shop Update.
Which as a Sequel is really poor in addition of OW1 not being accessable anymore.
the entire original marketing campaign for OW"2" was based on pve and they simply changed their minds about doing it. stating that “nobody wanted it” is simply false because it all starts from the principle that they proposed it to an audience that was really waiting for it… and in the end they had a demo of what was supposed to be the original project.
no one here is stupid except you. pve did terrible numbers, but objectively no one is willing to have a book and then only be able to read the first three chapters with a “maybe one day we’ll publish the rest of the chapters of the book”. it doesn’t work so the project was unfairly blocked. at least get informed before coming out with similar statements. (jason shreier book, for example)
that blizzard attracted a certain type of audience and then didn’t deliver what it promised… then yes, blizzard is wrong, not the audience that was looking for that aspect. ok? there are ways and ways to do things and it was blizzard that did NOT know how to handle them and changed their minds in the middle of the project for a PVP cure. has pvp improved? yes, but absolutely the whole PVE argument should not be belittled with “it is not popular”, because it is false. No one would buy a narrative game and only have three narrative chapters after far too many “it’s coming.” the pve community is 100% right to be angry about that point.
today perks and stadium deliver an alternate version of the talents they originally took away? GOOD. but that’s half the original promise of what ow2 was supposed to be, never forget that. the other half is a story mode. that until proven otherwise… a removed archive will always represent one less feature compared to before, no matter how it can be explained. definitely not with a “PvE wasn’t wanted by the majority”. clear?
exactly, but why did the original plan change. as mentioned before, shreier’s book on blizzard background is very thorough on how id blizzard’s internal politics before the microsoft acquisition was a disaster for overwatch. The franchise didn’t end up like heroes of the storm by a miracle.
claiming that invasion sales are a reflection of community interest is like saying “oh, I can sell you a new novel, but it’s only 3 chapters of a full story and I can’t exactly confirm if I’ll develop the rest. it’s not the most rereadable thing in the world and it took me ages to only get you these 3 chapters.” is… insanity. it’s one thing to not have found a good formula, but it’s another to claim that there is no interest in the narrative formula (spoiler: there is, but blizzard hasn’t found a way to develop it / isn’t putting enough effort into it).
you’re right, I expressed myself badly, grammatically (english is not my first language). it was supposed to sound like “not everyone’s stupid except you, you know? ”.
I meant that sometimes there are tones as if to say “i know how things works, you guys don’t”. and frankly it’s not right to get to the point of discussing in this way in speeches, as if all certainties are absolute.
PVE didn’t work? True. But wasn’t it wanted by the players? False, it was wanted but it depends a lot on the management that was there. And that of Overwatch 2’s PVE wasn’t an adequate PVE management, to be defined as “well, they tried it, it didn’t work, so maybe people don’t want it that much…”
there is always a way to do things, and doing it with a certain “absolutism” always seems exaggerated to me. claiming that PVE is something unpopular doesn’t seem like one of those to me, since it had attracted a certain type of public that wanted it and lost it.
PvE failed to sell because they didn’t committed to it enough, Jeff left and what they decided to release they pay walled… I’d say OW1’s Archives PvE Missions had more care than OW2 Invasion.
Pay walling it was always going to be the plan. The said in 2019 they were going with the CoD model.
But failed because lack of interest, and poor execution. Caused by many things, including Kaplan refusing extra staff to spilt the development. Then many other corporate boring reasons took it over the edge.
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