Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

Dead Space’s Remake Stomps The Callisto Protocol’s Launch with Almost Double the Players on Steam

Find out which games are the most played on Steam and which are the most watched on Twitch right now!

www.githyp.com

With an entire decade passing since the last installment in the Dead Space series, fans were thrilled to hear that Striking Distance Studios (founded by Dead Space‘s co-founder, Glen Schofield) would be releasing the spirtual successor in 2022.

But after years of marketing hype and a budget reportedly around $160 million, The Callisto Protocol‘s highly anticipated launch in December underperformed with lower-than-expected scores from critics, mixed reviews from gamers, and a peak of only 17k players on Steam.

Now, less than two months after The Callisto Protocol‘s launch, EA and their Motive Studio (responsible for previous Star Wars games using the Frostbite engine) have revived Dead Space with a remake of the 2008 horror classic. A remake that’s been much more well received with high review scores, positive feedback from fans, and a peak of 30k players on Steam.

With such big necromorph-stomping boots to fill, the developers at Motive seem to have mastered the Frostbite engine and nailed the remake formula by perfectly blending old with new. Just like Capcom did back in 2019 with their survival horror remake of Resident Evil 2, both players and critics agree that the new Dead Space is faithful restoration and new fan-favorite.

So, what happened with The Callisto Protocol?

Everything seemed good after the first cinematic trailer revealed a new survival horror game from the same industry vets who created Dead Space… but, that hype quickly began to fade out after laggy first-looks at gameplay and marketing that focused way too much on highly detailed actor scans, death animations, and plans for even more post-launch paid DLC animations.

 

[Gaiff]

Decent remake of a beloved game succeeds.

Shit game that runs poorly on almost every platform fails.

Everything is in order here.

 

[ClanOfNone]

This is the most unsurprising thing ever, remakes always draw the crowds and it is why we see so many of them.
If Nintendo slapped a new coat on og Super Mario Brothers millions would play it on launch.

 

[Nankatsu]

Like this?

 

[Kacho]

Like this?

I hear the "hrrng" every time I see the stomp

 

[R6Rider]

That site is spreading misinformation that was resolved months ago.

 

[Kupfer]

To be fair, two days vs lifetime graphs ... why not showing at least the same two days release window graph for Callisto Protocol?

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

Like this?

This.

Not a single month (week ?) without a "Hey ! Listen ! Look at me !" trying to prove they reinvented the wheel with no respect for the original art.

 

[saintjules]

Interesting. Sales seem lower at launch

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/dead-...er-than-the-callisto-protocol-uk-boxed-charts

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

To be fair, wasn't the target and marketing for the game mostly aimed toward PS players and not PC players?

Kind of like the COD thing with consoles vs. PC?

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Doesn't that just speak to the notion that gamers prefer old remakes instead of new experiences? I don't see why one game is competing against another when one of them is a spiritual successor to the other.

 

[Thief1987]

Interesting. Sales seem lower at launch

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/dead-...er-than-the-callisto-protocol-uk-boxed-charts

However, it sold less than half of what The Callisto Protocol managed in its first week back in December

Who will make "Callisto Protocol stomps Dead Space remake with more than double sales in UK retail" thread?

 

[ZehDon]

To be fair, wasn't the target and marketing for the game mostly aimed toward PS players and not PC players?

Kind of like the COD thing with consoles vs. PC?

The game was heavily marketed as a PlayStation title, and PlayStation 5 was the only platform to receive an optimisation pass before launch. The PC version was a mess on launch day, and I know more than a few held off. The review scores didn't help either.

 

[Dynomite]

Callisto Protocol is a bad game that is worst then Dead Space is just about every regard. The lack of story, unremarkable characters and bafflingly misguided combat system solidify that game as a flop.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

The game was heavily marketed as a PlayStation title, and PlayStation 5 was the only platform to receive an optimisation pass before launch. The PC version was a mess on launch day, and I know more than a few held off. The review scores didn't help either.

Yeah so like i said, i think people are taking the Steam number too hard to the face, it was mainly a PS game targeted to PS users.

 

[Puscifer]

Decent remake of a beloved game succeeds.

Shit game that runs poorly on almost every platform fails.

Everything is in order here.

There's a guy on here who honestly thinks it only got a bad reception because it's not woke enough lmao

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Is anyone really surprised by this? It’s like expecting the Evil Within when it first came out to outsell the new RE4 Remake. New unproven IP vs an established beloved, classic franchise. Not saying a new IP can’t overtake a remake of a classic, but the new IP usually has a challenge ahead of it even if it’s considered good. There’s a reason there are so many remakes coming out. Unfortunately, new IP’s are generally seen as a risk.

 

[FunkMiller]

Decent remake of a beloved game succeeds.

Shit game that runs poorly on almost every platform fails.

Everything is in order here.

/thread.

 

[Astral Dog]

of course Callisto is a brand new IP (with lower than expected review scores) Dead Space is a Remake of a beloved classic with 90 metacritic, even if 10 years have passed the Dead Space brand is still more recognizable