Rocket League was released on Playstation 4 on July 7th, 2015 on a service called “PS+”, which is a subscription based service that gives gamers access to Sony’s servers, AKA online play in any Playstation 4 game, and includes free games each month. This is not the first time a game has seen first-day release as a free download, like Apotheon on the same service. Xbox One has a similar service, but Rocket League wouldn’t come out for the Xbox until February of 2015.So how has a game released for free and created on a budget of only $2 million now be sitting with a profit of $70 million? Only one answer – it’s addictive and simple.
Rocket League has sold 4 million copies to date, not including copies that were downloaded for free, and has had over 12 million individual players. It only costs $20, and yet it is continuously outselling titles that are produced by large developers like Activision or Ubisoft, Rocket League suffers from, or benefits from, the “Bejeweled” effect as I like to call it. It is a game so simple, so easy to get into, and just difficult enough to master that any player of any age and background can sit down and enjoy the game. The game can even be described in 3 words – soccer with cars.
This may anger some people who view games of this nature as “Casual”, and even refer to those who only play games similar to Bejeweled or Peggle as “Casuals” online, However, even these people can’t deny the hardcore fun that getting a group of friends together and playing Rocket League can be. It’s breaking new ground by letting everyone know that it’s okay to enjoy “dumb” fun, as opposed to needing to sit down with games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim or The Witcher 3 to get a true “gamer” experience.
Gaming is whatever one finds enjoyment in – whether for one individual thats sitting down with a spreadsheet and a guide book as they begin to conquer a massively detailed, 80-hour long fantasy RPG, or if that individual likes to just occasionally go on their phone on the bus and play some Bejeweled, and neither of these gamers should be shamed for doing something they enjoy,