@EquityArcade Jess March talks about why an okay game is worse than a flop.
[...]At least with a boring, poorly made, or otherwise weak game it's your prerogative to move away from it and onto something new. Usually backed by a strong fan consensus of poor ratings and feedback, a unanimously labeled "bad game" finds itself in the used and discount bin, and ultimately garage sales across the world. But not always. Sometimes, the only thing worse than a flop of a game is a mediocre game.
We talk often about the games we love, and just about as much about the games we can't stand. The games that fall between the two, however, are often forgotten. The 6.5, 7, and maybe 8 out of 10's; the dust collectors that sit on your shelf that you can't bring yourself to part with because you'll finish it someday. If you suddenly remembered a laundry list of titles, do yourself a favor. Get up from your computer, and take a good, long look at yourself in the mirror. You're lying to yourself, and it is doing you no favors. Dark Souls 3 and Wasteland Workshop just came out. You are not moving backward anytime soon.
More information.An okay game might have flawless graphics, but an unlikable protagonist. It may have a well-crafted story but have less-than-perfect physics. Sometimes it's too long, sometimes it's too short. Without running the risk of sounding too Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a hit game fits the wants and needs of its players just right.
That fact is, no one tries to find the World's Most Average Hamburger. There are no awards for being in an all-around okay band. The focus of attention is polar in nature, more often than not, regardless of an individual's opinion. Being great, awful, or just okay is a subjective opinion, but an opinion that grows stronger by the numbers. If the numbers aren't backing the game, it's likely to fade away into obscurity. Let us have a moment of silence for the games lost to time, for being neither great nor terrible; for the ones that brought us joy for 12 or so hours before retiring to a shelf for the rest of eternity.