Why is this game not more popular?

[bobtom]

Some people fish, build models, collect guns,or hunt as a hobby.

I do all those things. But sometimes I want to stop doing them so I could just play arma the whole time!

[Lukio]

Some people fish, build models, collect guns,or hunt as a hobby. I play Arma. I consider this a hobby that is perfected by the amount of time and energy that I put into it and it is improved and made better by other enthusiasts.

Playing a game enthusiastically is definitely a hobby. Thing is though that all the other hobbies you listed are easy to get into but hard to master, which makes them popular. ARMA is not easy to get into and remains hard to master. Popularity doesn't mean dumbing down the game and moving it out of its niche genre, its all about making the entry level experience less of a hassle and more streamlined.

[xX_Fr0st-W0lf_Xx]

There are 5 reasons why arma 2 is not popular in my opinion

1) Bad advertisement.

I Have never heard of anyone but myself that knew what arma 2 was before mentioning it to them. Nobody knows what kind of game it is, what platform what style. Sure BI may not big as other companies and rather not spend money on advertisement, which I am Okay with, but there must be a way to get it more known. Maybe youtube or facebook or other gaming sites where they can show off what arma 2 can really do

2) You need a very good PC

Your standerd Joe pc gamer cant play arma 2, hell my friend who just bought his new gaming pc cant run arma 2 with more then 30 frames, imagin back when arma 2 came out. It requires way to much and it is a real pain to run this game with more then 40 fps. When I first got arma i was focusing more on improving FPS then actually playing the game. Sure given time dedication and money you can make arma 2 running like charm (and when you do the game looks beautiful) but there are not many people who are willing to put much hard work to make just one game run

3) Not user firendly

So you found out about arma 2 and you got it tweaked to your perfrence now its time for you to learn the ropes of this game, which is much harder then it seems. The game has so many diffrent controls most that you will never really use. This can be itimidating for the new player looking to enjoy the game. When I first got arma 2 the first thing I started was training missions. On my very first one, while listening to my instructer a insurgent out of no where came and shot him in the face. I had no idea if this was scripted or a bug. I later found out the last part was to kill (or tag) these 3 men. Arma 2 can be very frustrating to learn.

4) Many bugs

So you got used to the controls and your ready for some action. Chances are you going to be riddled with bugs of some sort. When I first started harvest red on one of the first scenes one of the character dissapeard from thin air. It sometimes skips over dialogue or triggers not reacting properly. Some missions are just unbeatable because of the bugs and you cant progress in the story unless you restart everything over. This can be real annoying.

5) Multiplayer

When you first go to arma 2 multiplayer looking for simple match you will constantly get "missing mod....., missing island". You do not know what you need to do to get these things and when you finally do join a match everybody is usually doing there own thing leaving you to do what you have to do. The multiplayer the first time you play it is very unwelcoming. Once I joined a clan that all changed, arma 2 became the funnest game I have ever played, sadly being in a clan takes a lot of your time with scheduled events and training sessions and with manny real life issues I find it hard to keep up (that is why I had to leave )


Don't get me wrong I love arma 2 but not many people are going to go the extra mile to play a fun game. Arma 2 can be amazing when dealing with community addons and fun online clans but not many people are going to take the time and figure out how to do it. Most people say you need phD to play it and who am I to say they are wrong


This is why arma 2 is not as popular as it should be

[Herbal Influence]

I was astonished recently when I saw the amount of servers hosting a mission I didn't know at all.
And only half an hour ago it was more than 6000 gamers online where in the last years have only been 1000: During European daylight time!

The solution is the new Zombie-Mod DayZ.

Another info (German) who obviously can only think in "Steam"-Terms, which is a No-go for me (data privacy).

So. Now we know the answer. After 2,5 years of discussing here: Mods for the public! Not being fixated on military terms ... which annoy many people.

[[FRL]Myke]

I was astonished recently when I saw the amount of servers hosting a mission I didn't know at all.
And only half an hour ago it was more than 6000 gamers online where in the last years have only been 1000: During European daylight time!

The solution is the new Zombie-Mod DayZ.

Another info (German) who obviously can only think in "Steam"-Terms, which is a No-go for me (data privacy).

So. Now we know the answer. After 2,5 years of discussing here: Mods for the public! Not being fixated on military terms ... which annoy many people.

Congrats. Reviving a nearly dead thread for something that is now since 3 weeks one of the top themes. You should browse the forums a little more mate. Or try the search for "DayZ".

[Herbal Influence]

That was absolutely my intention. And maybe you see the importance of your view on time when you compare the start of this thread in Feb 2010 to the last three weeks? Nah, now, don't say nothing, please.

[AVIBIRD 1]

he will he can't help himself it's in his nature.

[Flametrace]

I'm sure this has been said many times, but... Because people don't like a challenge. They like their kiddie shooters like CoD. They want to be able to pick up the game and destroy everyone. People are just losing their want for a challenge these days, and just getting weaker because of it.

[Haviv]

Why is this game not more popular? I guess being #1 isn't enough?

[DayGlow]

I'm sure this has been said many times, but... Because people don't like a challenge. They like their kiddie shooters like CoD. They want to be able to pick up the game and destroy everyone. People are just losing their want for a challenge these days, and just getting weaker because of it.

Do you feel better about yourself? Feel all pumped up and superior? Maybe people like COD and similar games because they enjoy the action and speed? Why does the sim community always have to pump theirselves up, I see it in flighty sims with the DCS and F4 crowd looking down their nose at 'inferior' sims. Race sim guys the same with more arcade racers.

Really its sad.

I enjoy Arma for its realism, but I also enjoy COD, MoH, etc for the holiwood action and over the top story. I don't judge someone because they like a certain style of gameplay over another. It's poisonous to the whole community.