(WARNING: Above video contains language not suitable for children. NSFW. Also, thank you Robbaz for the video.)
Everyone’s favorite goat simulator, Goat Simulator, is reaching the widespread success that developer Coffee Stain Studios neither expected nor welcomed, according to a report given by the developer at GDC Europe August 12th.
In fact, they tell consumers not to even buy the game:
To be completely honest, it would be best if you’d spend your $10 on a hula hoop, a pile of bricks, or maybe a real-life goat.
This brand of modesty might have been primarily responsible for their surprising success. Goat has sold almost 1 million copies(!) since the April 1st, 2014 release.
Alright, so maybe the recent numbers aren’t entirely surprising. Apparently within the first 10 minutes of the game’s release, all production costs were neutralized by sales revenue. Alongside that, the game generated in 4 months more than what the studio has made in the last 4 years.
But why?!
This is the toughest question to answer. /article
Considering the game has a Metascore of 62 and a similar user score of 6.8, it doesn’t seem like a quality game. And that’s your answer.
The following for this game embraces its quirks and bugs and overall cruddiness, because the game is self aware. The developers know that the game is poorly made, and it is. There are bugs, frequent crashes, poor engine mechanics. But somehow it works.
Well for the most part. Gamers are split about the self awareness of the game’s “poor” quality. One half (well closer to 2/5s) see it as a step back in the gaming industry, that embracing bugs and poor mechanics allows games like Battlefield 4 to make so much money. The other half (or 3/5s, because math!) recognize the self awareness as a critique of the very system that the abovementioned audience believes the game endorses.
In other words, half of the game’s critics get the joke and half don’t.
But anyway…
The game has sold almost 1 million copies, and there isn’t much anyone can do about it. If you would like to support the game, go to the game’s website and buy a copy.
Also, the game is up for nomination in Guild Launch’s Dragon Slayer Awards under the category of Best New Indie Game. To learn a little more about it, go to GameSkinny’s Dragon Slayer Awards bio page for the game. Then vote!
