The Division 2 is now being used to illustrate how many issues Anthem still has. That is really annoying, says our author Schuhmann. Especially when considering the past of The Division.
This is how I view comparisons: It was obvious that there would be comparisons between Anthem and The Division 2: Even we have done this repeatedly on MeinMMO.
It is in the nature of things: People like comparisons.
It is also right and important to compare games to explain to potential buyers what they can expect from a game and what they cannot.
Anthem and The Division 2 can certainly be compared. Both games differ significantly from each other, but they target the same player base that is supposed to buy and play the game:
- To clarify what a game will be like, I find comparisons excellent.
- Also, comparisons are perfectly okay to help people decide which game they should get at the moment.
- However, when that leads to a rivalry between two groups, it annoys me every time.
This was in 2014: We had a similar situation in 2014:
- The Elder Scrolls Online, a fantasy MMORPG, was released in April 2014
- WildStar, a science-fiction MMORPG, in June 2014
Both games were quite different but targeted the same buyer demographic and somehow that turned into a battle of ideologies.
Even beforehand, fans of both games were at each other’s throats, declaring how the other game would fail:
- When ESO started with major issues, WildStar fans made their jokes.
- When later WildStar struggled, ESO fans returned and asked: “So, where are you now?”
At least back then, it was still mocking at eye level.
This time it is different:
In 2014, both games started under similar conditions:
- Both were “big online games” from new teams.
- Both had significant launch difficulties and struggled to find their way.
- Both received similar criticisms and faced similar headwinds.
Now with The Division 2 and Anthem, there are similarities, but two major differences:
- The Division 2 is a sequel from the same team that made almost the same game back in 2016 – Anthem is a new game
- Anthem receives a lot of criticism – The Division 2 is still in its “honeymoon” phase and is being praised.
This is what is being said: Just in the last few days, major “This is how to do it right, BioWare” articles have appeared on US sites:
- On TechRadar it states “After Anthem, The Division 2 now shows BioWare how to make a looter shooter”
- On Insider it reads “A new game set in the ruins of Washington, D.C. is the new best shooter and Anthem should be ashamed.”
In comments on our site The Division 2 is frequently referenced and praised in articles about Anthem.
One user writes:
Since last week I have been playing The Division 2, and it feels so immediately after Anthem as if it were a single, realized looter shooter dream – technically/gameplay/quality of life/balance/game mechanics/world/story/immersion/variety/loot spiral/AI/combat dynamics/scope/depth – EVERYTHING is eons ahead of Anthem
MeinMMO reader Noe1s under an article about Anthem
The fans of Anthem are driven to fury by this. They cannot hear it anymore.
The Division 2 was born in pain
Why is The Division 2 currently so good? The Division 1 was down for a year in 2016, and the developers admitted: “Our game is not fun.” The Division 1 was ridiculed and scorned.
The backpack bug is still legendary today.
The situation was very similar for Massive and the fans of The Division as it is for BioWare and Anthem today.
Apparently, Massive has drawn the right lessons from this: The original team seems to have started developing “The Division 2” back in 2016 while other Ubisoft studios dealt with repairing and improving The Division 1.
The Division 2 is in 2019 in a completely different situation than Anthem, as the developers have learned from the mistakes of the first part. They also had the opportunity to do so.
With Anthem, we are where The Division was three years ago. A studio in the search phase.
Yes, The Division 2 can really be a role model, but: Massive took three years to achieve this.
That’s why I find the comparison understandable, but annoying: Currently, I find comparisons between Anthem and The Division 2 more annoying than truly helpful. They lead to players being put in a bad mood. They are not productive.
Ultimately, both games are in different situations.
The comparison seems to be, at the moment, as if someone wanted to sprinkle salt in the wound or kick someone who is already down.
The comparisons of Anthem from the perspective of The Division buyers, who are glad to have made a “correct decision”, I find understandable – yet they annoy me somewhat.
It seems a bit like the behavior of a “bad winner” who has forgotten that they were just as down three years ago.
By the way: Two years ago, we made an article to give hope to the then quite dejected fans of The Division 1.
Back then, we compared the situation of The Division 1 with that of The Elder Scrolls Online, which had struggled over the last three years and had transitioned from a crisis game to a new MMORPG hit.
I find such comparisons, in retrospect, really good.
