some thoughts...

in most forms of media and art and well anything else, popular is not considered synonymous with "good" or "great" at all. "popular" music is shunned by music critics. chefs probably dont rave about chips. wine connoisseurs dont care much for whatever cheapo wine is selling most at tesco. my dad can't stand most of the popular whiskeys. for a long time, dell computers were super super **** despite being in most peoples homes. packard bell too, but they are still **** (if indeed they still exist)

so why, may i ask, do people tout sales figures as an indicator of how good a particular console or game is? im sure harry potter probably sold more than killer 7, but i know which game the critic in me rates better.

popular is not synonymous with **** either, tho. i like chips, and i like cheap rose wine. it serves it's purpose, but i dont go up to a wine freak and tell him his wines are all **** coz no one buys them, and thousands of people buy my rose wine.

Reply 1

phobos

1. I'm glad you love muse :smile:

I've seen them 6 times now :biggrin:

2. I agree, just because something sells loads more doesn't mean it is better. I suspect the reason people quote sales figures as an indicator of greatness is because it's a way of saying, "that many people cant be wrong!" It's a safe bet - joining the crowd and going with the flow is better then taking a risk.

Michael Jackson could release an EP next week and it would sell millions, but it might be ****.

Then again, there are some things that you can measure with sales. Debut albums, new films... and stuff that spreads by word of mouth.

Reply 2

Choad

OP

1

phobos

1. I'm glad you love muse :smile:

I've seen them 6 times now :biggrin:

2. I agree, just because something sells loads more doesn't mean it is better. I suspect the reason people quote sales figures as an indicator of greatness is because it's a way of saying, "that many people cant be wrong!" It's a safe bet - joining the crowd and going with the flow is better then taking a risk.

Michael Jackson could release an EP next week and it would sell millions, but it might be ****.

Then again, there are some things that you can measure with sales. Debut albums, new films... and stuff that spreads by word of mouth.

muse rock my world. they used to be the one uber band that i would always listen to... now tool share that mantle with muse.

and yeah i suppose it is a safe bet.... but i dunno it just seems a bit crap. safe == good? dont think so.

Reply 3

omicronlyrae

11

People go with what's popular because the majority or people are sheep. If loads of people have it, it must be good, therefore if i get one i'll be happy. I myself tend not to do that, though i'm a walking contradiction in terms runnning windows and owning an iPod. But i run Windows Vista because i beta tested it and liked it, then was given a free copy. and because my new laptop came with it bundled on and i see nothing wrong with it.

I have an iPod for the simple reason ill i want to do is listen to music. I go to the playlist of the day, press play, and leave it in my pocket. i don't need a fancy shortcut button or a customisable background, i just want to listen to my music. I did a lot of research into players avaiable in summer '05 when i got my iPod and i got the iPod because it did all I wanted to do in a nice easy package. It doesn't mean everybody thinks they're good, lots of people on here are exact evidence of that.

I buy what I want because I want it to do X. A lot of people buy product Y because friends A, B, E, Z and T all have them so they must be good. Sometimes, it can be the right decision. Sometimes it isn't.

Reply 4

mudblood

1

olileauk

People go with what's popular because the majority or people are sheep.

Hmmm.

I sometimes get accused of being a sheep because I enjoy popular music and like to keep up with fashion but these are my choices - I'm not going to pretend that I don't like music in the Top 40 to look 'different' and I'm not going to pretend that I don't get excited when a look I love comes into fashion and can be bought anywhere.

Regarding the original post - I've also noticed that when it comes to games popularity isn't seen as a bad thing.

Reply 5

samba

6

Choad

and i like cheap rose wine. it serves it's purpose, but i dont go up to a wine freak and tell him his wines are all **** coz no one buys them, and thousands of people buy my rose wine.

if your cheap wine was the same cost as his vintage, then they could be compared :p:

(as one being good, and one ****!)

Reply 6

bisous

Well a lot of people aren't experts on everything so they just go with what they've heard of because they don't properly know what they're looking for, can't be bothered to research alternatives and so on. The example which leaps to mind are Apple iPods and computers, these are stupidly popular but I have heard them derided by many a techie.

Also stuff like music, books, and whiskey, those bands/brands probably were popular amongst the conoisseurs (I don't know how to spell that!) once upon a time but then as more and more people got into them, the snobs of these respective worlds probably see it as selling out even if they used to like them. People don't like a)the success of others and/or b) liking the same stuff as everyone else. I know I'm a b :wink:

.

Reply 7

mudblood

1

moniker

People don't like a)the success of others and/or b) liking the same stuff as everyone else. I know I'm a b :wink:

.

I must admit I find that quite strange - do you actively look for things that others don't like to make yourself look different and avoid anything popular?

:confused:

Reply 8

bisous

you are crime

I must admit I find that quite strange - do you actively look for things that others don't like to make yourself look different and avoid anything popular?

:confused:

No, what I mean is if I like something and it becomes massively popular I go off it a bit.

Reply 9

mudblood

1

I can't understand why anybody would do that.

Reply 10

bisous

you are crime

I can't understand why anybody would do that.

It's not a conscious thought or anything, I guess there's just a subconscious liking of being different. Obviously not everyone has it, I suppose I do. It's just a personality trait!

some thoughts...

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