Back in the N64 era, it was absolutely absurd to see such a game like Conker's Bad Fur Day on a Nintendo system. Especially when it was also directly associated with Nintendo due to being developed by their prized second party developer in Rare at the time. I was way too young at the time to remember or pay attention to what was going on in the industry side of things, but I can imagine how shocking such a game would've been like back then.
Unfortunately, despite its controversial nature and status as a beloved cult classic these days, its March 2001 release date did it no favors. Released 8 months before the release of the GameCube and Xbox and after the Dreamcast and PS2 were already in full swing, the game kind of bombed and understandably so. Next gen had arrived and nobody really cared about buying more games for the ancient dying N64. Due to this, the game was seemingly overlooked by many and despite having some very risky violent and sexual content for the time, it didn't make much of a splash and didn't generate as much controversy as something like, say, GTA has done before.
What if the game had released earlier in the N64's lifespan? Say somewhere around 1998 or 1999 maybe. When the N64 was still the hot new Nintendo system and was still relevant. I imagine the game would've undoubtedly sold better. Would it have angered parents and politicians the same way something like "Hot Coffee" did (Sunflower scene, anyone)? Would it have helped Nintendo fight against its "kiddie" image to have such an obscenely raunchy exclusive come out and sell millions of copies? Would Conker have become a franchise and have had new entries for years to come? Would the success of the game have preserved Rare's relationship with Nintendo at all? So many questions and possibilities to think about in this scenario.
Alternate scenarios are always fun to discuss and thinking about the kind of impact a game like CBFD might've had in the gaming world if it had released much earlier is interesting to think about. What do you think, ERA?
Unfortunately, despite its controversial nature and status as a beloved cult classic these days, its March 2001 release date did it no favors. Released 8 months before the release of the GameCube and Xbox and after the Dreamcast and PS2 were already in full swing, the game kind of bombed and understandably so. Next gen had arrived and nobody really cared about buying more games for the ancient dying N64. Due to this, the game was seemingly overlooked by many and despite having some very risky violent and sexual content for the time, it didn't make much of a splash and didn't generate as much controversy as something like, say, GTA has done before.
What if the game had released earlier in the N64's lifespan? Say somewhere around 1998 or 1999 maybe. When the N64 was still the hot new Nintendo system and was still relevant. I imagine the game would've undoubtedly sold better. Would it have angered parents and politicians the same way something like "Hot Coffee" did (Sunflower scene, anyone)? Would it have helped Nintendo fight against its "kiddie" image to have such an obscenely raunchy exclusive come out and sell millions of copies? Would Conker have become a franchise and have had new entries for years to come? Would the success of the game have preserved Rare's relationship with Nintendo at all? So many questions and possibilities to think about in this scenario.
Alternate scenarios are always fun to discuss and thinking about the kind of impact a game like CBFD might've had in the gaming world if it had released much earlier is interesting to think about. What do you think, ERA?
