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Alan Wake 2: Lack Of Sales Update Suggests It Didn’t Sell Too Well

Alan Wake

Member
Physical games sell millions every year.
Is this hard to understand?
Yes. And its share is declining every year. The topic was whether the lack of physical release impacted the apparently lacklustre performance of AW2. I stated it was likely not the main reason.
 

Alan Wake

Member
The first one wasn't that great, I don't understand the expectations that some of you had for the sequel.
You say that as if it was a fact and not just your opinion. The sequel got lot of attention, that's why we expected it to do pretty well. It still might over time. And yes, it's a great game.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Yes. And its share is declining every year. The topic was whether the lack of physical release impacted the apparently lacklustre performance of AW2. I stated it was likely not the main reason.
But we still don’t know the numbers for big/main AAA releases. Maybe the numbers of digital are inflated by sales and tons of small games that are not on disc.
If Sony gave numbers it would be great but we don’t know. When game like ragnarok releases. I honestly think most release and pre order sales are physical.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Yes. And its share is declining every year. The topic was whether the lack of physical release impacted the apparently lacklustre performance of AW2. I stated it was likely not the main reason.
Apparently it was as we have this thread.
EGS is another factor but console gamers(physical buyers) are a bigger market and sales are disappointing...
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
Totally guessing out my ass but...

300k-400k on consoles
200-250k on EGS
Would be very poor if that's the case. Whilst the game uses cutting edge tech which would imply a high budget, it also uses a lot of tricks to get mileage out certain scenarios. For example you revisit a lot of environments over and over again. So perhaps the budget wasn't crazy high.
 

Zannegan

Member
God! That word engamement.
It's been a few years since that became the preferred term among industry professionals. Since the rise of GaaS and subscriptions, they don't really care about enjoyment or completion. They're happy for us to be a little bored or even miserable just so long as we feel compelled to buy season passes, complete the dailies, etc.
Its getting a lot of critique praise, but i thought the game had a very generic story, great direction, poor combat, and a simple premise.

I'm not sure why its so beloved by some, i figured it wouldn't sell well.
It has the pretties.
 

LixhulHot

Banned
I personally think it was because it was digital only. I was going to buy it but I have a tendency to feel like non-physical releases are not full games.
 

Yoda

Member
EGS alone doesn't explain the flop. Alan Wake not being the main character in "Alan Wake" most likely set off alarms in a lot of ppls mind about the tone of the games story (it's main selling point). After watching a few reviews I agree with other saying this seemed like one of those movies made purely to win awards at the Oscars, but instead is a video game.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Y'all know the saying: "go EPIC, go broke"

But seriously, the EPIC deal probably fucked them. They helped developing AW 2, sure. But at the same time, they couldnt release physical copies probably due to an agreement with EPIC, and no Steam release.

I've never seen Epic releasing physical games before (corret me if I'm wrong). And they've probably prohibited Remedy to seek another publisher.

They made a deal with the devil to make this game happen, unfortunately

I wish EPIC would notice this going forward and STOP IT!
 

MacReady13

Member
Yes ok it may not have sold well but, in this post game pass world, what do sales mean anyway? Let's find out how many hours players shone their flashlights at enemies in this game. Or lets see how many bullets were shot in game. These are the REAL figures we want to know and ultimately, these are the true indicators of whether a sequel can be made or not, not fucking sales! Who gives a fuck about that???

Also, this game surely now goes onto game pass soon as Microsoft need "content" for their sub service (Microsoft will pay big dollars for a game of the year nominee to appear on game pass) and these guys need money as the game clearly hasn't made its money back.
 

Reaseru

Member
Tell that to Spider-Man 2 or Baldurs Gate 3, both games are far more woke then this.

I don't understand why people say Baldur's Gate 3 is "woke"...BG3 is about what you want to be, and whom you want to hang. That's why everybody (well most everbody) loves the game.

It doesn't impose anything to anyone...It doesn't impose (for example) homosexuality to anyone.

EDIT: Just like Cyberpunk 2077, for example.
 
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Zathalus

Member
I don't understand why people say Baldur's Gate 3 is "woke"...BG3 is about what you want to be, and whom you want to hang. That's why everybody (well most everbody) loves the game.

It doesn't impose anything to anyone...It doesn't impose (for example) homosexuality to anyone.
An argument some make:

1. Choice of pronoun.
2. Gay/lesbian/trans sex.
3. Homosexual NPCs in the game.
4. Lots of non white characters.

None of the above bothers me, but those that are really bothered by the 'woke' get really upset.

But my point was that woke=broke is mostly a myth.
 

RoboCain

Member
They increased the price three times its previous value in my regional store.

I own all their previous games several times, but this time they can fuck themselves.
 

YeulEmeralda

Linux User
Real question: How many games that have a black woman protagonist ever sold well?
The walking dead?

the walking dead eye roll GIF by Telltale Games
 

devutos

Neo Member
A good, complex story to much for you? AW2 puts Resident Evil to shame. This coming from a lifelong RE fan.
There's nothing good about the story, and certainly nothing good about the way it's told. It's Twin Peaks, only if it wasn't written by a genius filled with love and respect for his setting but by a 18 year old college student who's never stepped out of California.
Maybe it gets more interesting as it goes on, but the 'gameplay' is too boring for me to ever find out.
 
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TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Tell that to Spider-Man 2 or Baldurs Gate 3, both games are far more woke then this.
When it's a sequel to something that was really successful and wasn't "woke" the damage is minimum, it's successful based on the originals reputation but not as successful as the original.
Like TLOU2 for example.
But the sequel to that product is the one that feels for full backlash, even if the product is really good and has no woke stuff, it will still suffer due to its predecessor.

Why noone understands this simple logic is beyond me
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Go woke go broke

Spider-Man GIF by PlayStation


You were saying?


When it's a sequel to something that was really successful and wasn't "woke" the damage is minimum, it's successful based on the originals reputation but not as successful as the original.
Like TLOU2 for example.
But the sequel to that product is the one that feels for full backlash, even if the product is really good and has no woke stuff, it will still suffer due to its predecessor.

Why noone understands this simple logic is beyond me

TLOU2 sold around 15 million copies with no Remakes! Stop it!!!
 
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Reactions: TGO

mdkirby

Member
Probably sold a million or so, remedy really should have worked on a new ip, no steam release and physical cost them a lot. Dump control ip, 3 million in 3 years. And they working on a sequel. Like why?
Because Sam lake knows what sort of games he wants to make, and what sort of stories he wants to tell. We bitch literally all the time about devs taking some popular media friendly ideology, or making games by committee designed by sales and marketing guys chasing just profits with no care for the craft. Yet here we are bitching about a studio that ignores all that bullshit and makes their vision and makes well received games efficiently and with modest budgets and are happy not setting sales and profit statistics on fire. 🤦‍♂️
 

NickFire

Member
Spider-Man GIF by PlayStation


You were saying?
The insomniac thread gives me reservations about whether the company is losing focus, but I really don't consider Spiderman 2 to be woke. I'm near the end, and while it definitely had me rolling me eyes a couple times, it's a Spiderman game at heart IMO. If it doesn't have the legs of the first game I would guess its more due to being more of the same than the other stuff.

As for Alan Wake 2, I haven't played it. Reasons being that while it looks really good visually, I never played the first and have no attachment to the franchise, and it seems like a niche game to me. I am open to trying smaller / niche games, but not really in the fall season. Fall season is full of big hitters like Spiderman 2, COD, new versions of sports games, etc. There is only so much time and money I can invest at any one time to new games. IMO, games like Alan Wake 2 should be targeting a different season when they won't be overshadowed as much.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
The insomniac thread gives me reservations about whether the company is losing focus, but I really don't consider Spiderman 2 to be woke. I'm near the end, and while it definitely had me rolling me eyes a couple times, it's a Spiderman game at heart IMO. If it doesn't have the legs of the first game I would guess its more due to being more of the same than the other stuff.

As for Alan Wake 2, I haven't played it. Reasons being that while it looks really good visually, I never played the first and have no attachment to the franchise, and it seems like a niche game to me. I am open to trying smaller / niche games, but not really in the fall season. Fall season is full of big hitters like Spiderman 2, COD, new versions of sports games, etc. There is only so much time and money I can invest at any one time to new games. IMO, games like Alan Wake 2 should be targeting a different season when they won't be overshadowed as much.

I personally don't view SM2 to be woke either, but we are in the minority here on that according to GAF. And from that Insomniac thread, I have no idea what to make of it. To some degree it's a bit creepy, but I have no idea what that will mean when it comes to their next game. It may have no overall effect for all we know.

I'll keep an open mind and not allow "The Internet" to dictate how I feel about something just because it has a narrative or message to push down my throat. And trust, many on GAF have just as much of an agenda to push as the crazies on REEEEE.

- If it was up to REEEEE Hogwarts 2 wouldn't be made. They hate J.K. Rowling.
- If it was up to some on GAF, TLOU3 wouldn't be made either. They hate Druckman.
 

NickFire

Member
I personally don't view SM2 to be woke either, but we are in the minority here on that according to GAF. And from that Insomniac thread, I have no idea what to make of it. To some degree it's a bit creepy, but I have no idea what that will mean when it comes to their next game. It may have no overall effect for all we know.

I'll keep an open mind and not allow "The Internet" to dictate how I feel about something just because it has a narrative or message to push down my throat. And trust, many on GAF have just as much of an agenda to push as the crazies on REEEEE.

- If it was up to REEEEE Hogwarts 2 wouldn't be made. They hate J.K. Rowling.
- If it was up to some on GAF, TLOU3 wouldn't be made either. They hate Druckman.
I don't hate Druckman, but fully admit that I was pissed when I read the leaks about Joel.

But the leaks aren't why I didn't play part 2 yet. That was because Sony already showed us the playbook for late generation releases. A remaster was virtually guaranteed, so I said I'd wait for it to come on PS5. Which, as expected, happens this month. No way I won't play it fairly soon (will probably wait for a sale though).
 
I personally don't view SM2 to be woke either, but we are in the minority here on that according to GAF. And from that Insomniac thread, I have no idea what to make of it. To some degree it's a bit creepy, but I have no idea what that will mean when it comes to their next game. It may have no overall effect for all we know.

I'll keep an open mind and not allow "The Internet" to dictate how I feel about something just because it has a narrative or message to push down my throat. And trust, many on GAF have just as much of an agenda to push as the crazies on REEEEE.

- If it was up to REEEEE Hogwarts 2 wouldn't be made. They hate J.K. Rowling.
- If it was up to some on GAF, TLOU3 wouldn't be made either. They hate Druckman.
SM2 not woke? GTFO. They literally invade popular franchises to spread their message. I watched 10 mins of into the spiderverse and I got a 'support trans kids' message to swallow. Shit like that should not be in there in there.
And no I don't hate trans persons. Be who and what you wanna be. But stop shoving your ideology down my throat and keep that shit out of entertainment.
 

NickFire

Member
SM2 not woke? GTFO. They literally invade popular franchises to spread their message. I watched 10 mins of into the spiderverse and I got a 'support trans kids' message to swallow. Shit like that should not be in there in there.
And no I don't hate trans persons. Be who and what you wanna be. But stop shoving your ideology down my throat and keep that shit out of entertainment.
I'm over 80% complete and did not see that message in SM2. I completely object to pushing that stuff on kids, and feel like it would have stood out if it was in there.

There is a mission early on where you need to help a guy ask another guy to a high school dance. But it was one mission, and I would think most kids in high school have friends / acquittances who are gay these days. In my life experience it turns out we all did. Us older people just didn't know it yet because kids weren't comfortable being themselves in high school back in the 90's. Huge difference between accepting diversity and being woke.

Most jarring part to me was MJ. It feels like they intentionally made her less attractive. Definitely something that fits "woke" themes if my memory is correct about prior appearance. But we aren't talking about making her into some blue haired land whale with metal dangling from every orifice on her face. She's still a normal looking pretty woman.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
I don't understand why people say Baldur's Gate 3 is "woke"...BG3 is about what you want to be, and whom you want to hang. That's why everybody (well most everbody) loves the game.

It doesn't impose anything to anyone...It doesn't impose (for example) homosexuality to anyone.

EDIT: Just like Cyberpunk 2077, for example.
There's a very high concentration of homosexual couples and damn near everyone seems to be bi or pansexual, even ignoring they all have the hots for the main character. Nothing wrong with gay couples, but I can practically count more same sex couples than straight ones which is strange to say the least.
 
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Mortisfacio

Member
There's a very high concentration of homosexual couples and damn near everyone seems to be bi or pansexual, even ignoring they all have the hots for the main character. Nothing wrong with gay couples, but I can practically count more same sex couples than straight ones which is strange to say the least.

I'm not opposed to the idea of flexibility in a game, though. Like in CyberPunk you either need to create a female V or get a mod to let Judy be your relationship option. In real life, this would be applicable. People are whatever orientation they are and you have to deal with that. Cool, but some people like a certain voice actor or appearance or whatever else and it's just a game, so they want the option. BG3 provides that flexibility of player choice. I view BG3's relationship options more as expanded player choice than being woke. It's the "body type 1 or 2" stuff that is just dumb.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
When it's a sequel to something that was really successful and wasn't "woke" the damage is minimum, it's successful based on the originals reputation but not as successful as the original.
Like TLOU2 for example.
But the sequel to that product is the one that feels for full backlash, even if the product is really good and has no woke stuff, it will still suffer due to its predecessor.

Why noone understands this simple logic is beyond me

Thanks to the leak, we know this is false.

TLOU 1 402 million net sales
TLOU 2 447 million net sales

You must think Wii Sports is one of Nintendo's most successful games with over 80 million copies sold.
 

angrod14

Member
I think the game has an identity crisis. Average people don't quite understand what you're suppossed to do in it. Is it a shooter? A Silent Hill type of game?

And as good as the game looks, it has a certain indie aura to it. The first game didn't precisely set the world on fire so, I don't know what they expected.
 
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Muffdraul

Member
I couldn't get into AW2 at launch, I wasn't in the mood. But it was pretty much all I played during my end of year two week holiday that just ended. Completed two playthroughs. Not surprised if it isn't a big seller though. Many Remedy games are pearls before swine.
 
When it's a sequel to something that was really successful and wasn't "woke" the damage is minimum, it's successful based on the originals reputation but not as successful as the original.
Like TLOU2 for example.
But the sequel to that product is the one that feels for full backlash, even if the product is really good and has no woke stuff, it will still suffer due to its predecessor.

Why noone understands this simple logic is beyond me
As far as i know, TLOU2 has sold more in 3 years with a single sku than the original TLOU with 2 generation releases up to that point.

TLOU2 is going to have those extra sales now with the PS5 release and PC release later...plus the 2nd and 3rd seasons of The Last of Us being adaptations from the 2nd game.

Some of you want TLOU2 to be a flop so bad...but the truth is the game broke even after 4 days, lmao.
 
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DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
As far as i know, TLOU2 has sold more in 3 years with a single sku than the original TLOU with 2 generation releases up to that point.

TLOU2 is going to have those extra sales now with the PS5 release and PC release later...plus the 2nd and 3rd seasons of The Last of Us being adaptations from the 2nd game.

Some of you want TLOU2 to be a flop so bad...but the truth is the game broke even after 4 days, lmao.
It's always the same people saying the game underperformed, yet they rarely discuss actual sales of the game in depth.
 

Muffdraul

Member
The first one wasn't that great, I don't understand the expectations that some of you had for the sequel.
I loved AW1 back in 2010.

I played the remaster on PS4 and thought, "Yeesh, what was I thinking ten years ago? This is... not great."

Had very low expectations for AW2. Played a couple hours at launch, wasn't feeling it. Put it off until my holiday break.

Just finished my second playthrough a couple days ago. AW2 is 1000x better than AW1.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I think the game has an identity crisis. Average people don't quite understand what you're suppossed to do in it. Is it a shooter? A Silent Hill type of game?

And as good as the game looks, it has a certain indie aura to it. The first game didn't precisely set the world on fire so, I don't know what they expected.

While this maybe true, people should keep in mind that the game costs like $50 million to make. So it was always going to have an "indie aura" to it. It's how the make their games. Control is very similar. You can see where the costs are cut. And that's fine. I find it hard to believe that this game wouldn't be profitable if it sales 2-2.5 million units at an average price of $40. That'll be close to or around $100 million on a $50 million budget.

It's always the same people saying the game underperformed, yet they rarely discuss actual sales of the game in depth.

Some even get upset when you bring up the sales performance numbers. They say it failed, yet don't like when anybody brings up sales numbers, Metacritic scores, or any review scores.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Some of you want TLOU2 to be a flop so bad...but the truth is the game broke even after 4 days, lmao.
You can't want a game to flop if it's already sold well, people are just saying it hasn't sold as much as expected or much as people are saying and some just can't handle that.
In the last two weeks people have said the game has sold 15mill (just like Ragnarok has done in a year) but that number is an assumption.
The game is a success regardless of the official numbers or the assumed.
There is no need to do gymnastics with revenue to prove this.
But the fact still remains that half of the userbase that bought the original hasn't bought the sequel.
And that can be for many reasons including not actually liking the original.
 
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