Why did "The Game" overshadow "Girlfriends"

[TMC]

...despite Girlfriends arguably being superior?

The Game was pitched as a spin-off of Girlfriends and the lead character was a cousin of Joan Clayton.

But outside of the backdoor pilot on Girlfriends and the pilot episode, the cast of Girlfriends are irrelevant and Joan is never mentioned on the show.

Was Girlfriends simply used to get the people talking about The Game and they simply rectonned The Game as its own show?