Doom Dark Ages rumoured to of sold less than a million copies

But Doom Eternal didnt hit your sales target by this point neither did Doom 2016. Astrobot hasn't hit half that figure even though it isnt day one on a subscription.
5 million sold is pretty harsh to consider a game not a commercial flop.
im talking in the context of Xbox/Game Pass.

when i say high profile games I'm taking AAA. Now, when you look at the math of a 200M dollar game aiming for a 30% profit margin we are taking around a range between 3.5 to 5 M copies sold.

so, why 5-10 M copies sold and 5-10M players reached on GP, 10-20M players reached in total?

easy: MS/Xbox's bullshit over the years.
They have been framing all their decisions (since 2016) as an strategy to make gaming more accesible and reach 3B players, GP and going Third Party as solutions for the "lack or growth" in the industry.

If Phil's master plan is working... their games should perform as i said....in reality their games have been performing even worse than on the 360 era.


in other words:

The Xbox strategy is not only not working, but it is also having a negative effect across the board.
 
Hey now, when people say they are playing games on it for free I'll be the first to remind them that under normal circumstances they are paying for it.

For me, people like you are just showing yourself up. Next, you'll be making out all of us who subscribe and pay monthly for our phones/broadband are having the phones all the data for free, just like with Gamepass *rolleyes*
 
Have Game Pass but have no interest. I bought 2016 and it also didn't hit so I'm done with the series barring some innovation or a third person mode.
 
Game is too expensive. If they need to raise the pricing so much, they should also up the quality and/or try harder to appeal to me. I'm not paying €80 for a game received as a mixed bag.
I loved 2016 and Eternal, but this seems like a step down somehow. I'll probably like it, but not enough to justify that pricetag.
 
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I bought the previous games day one but skipped this one for now because of price, i dont like the setting and open map design, everything i saw looks less fun like 2016 and Eternal.

I bought Capcom Fighting Collection 2 instead and having a blast.

TDA will be a discount purchase. I feel less gamers were warmed up for this.
 
I'm not sure, but I remember Doom Eternal selling around 1kk in its first week or month of release.

This one sold 20% less at $10 more and had over 2 million players via GamePass.

It doesn't seem that bad in comparison and considering Microsoft's strategy with subscriptions, lower individual sales are to be expected.
 
The only thing Microsoft wants to sell is subscriptions to Gamepass, so this was probably a huge success. I enjoyed the game the most out of all three. But the music is the least awesome, but I really enjoy the gameplay and shield mechanic.
 
How long can this strategy of theirs last? Not getting sales is not sustainable. Gamepass releases on launch day is killing games.
I hope as much as possible, because I wouldn't pay $70 but I'll play via GamePass.

But in terms of gross revenue (one week):
Eternal: 1kk at $60 = $60,000,000
The Dark Ages: 800k at $60 = $56,000,000

It's just a rough estimate, but you have to take into account that in some regions the price was higher, and some people played it through Game Pass, which might turn them into active subscribers for several months

Regarding MS's strategy, I believe it will continue to bet on this as long as the number of subscribers continues to rise, at least it has apparently worked on PC GamePass:

 
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This place is one big echo-chamber, most of the time completely out of touch with reality.
We see it over and over and people keep scratching their heads.

Gaf is basically like TheQuartering of the gaming community.
Guy is banned so it almost feels unfair to reply to this bad take, but wtf, bro, its not rainbow forum, u got actual diveristy here, diversity of viewpoints/thoughts.
Here on gaf u got druckman/concord defenders, and u got guys like me- antiwokeists and antifeminists to the bone, hard to find more diverse community.
 
Guy is banned so it almost feels unfair to reply to this bad take, but wtf, bro, its not rainbow forum, u got actual diveristy here, diversity of viewpoints/thoughts.
Here on gaf u got druckman/concord defenders, and u got guys like me- antiwokeists and antifeminists to the bone, hard to find more diverse community.
Guy is a condescending "know it all" dick who in every thread is throwing shit at the forum and/or its posters with his superiority complex... I had he in ignore for quite some time.
 
We don't have a certain data.
Estimates from SuperData were

It released 20th March.
My source: https://wccftech.com/doom-eternal-sales-top-steam-ps4-xo/

But I think your estimate might be more accurate, which would put Doom Dark Ages' sales closer to Doom 2016's rather than Doom Eternal's.

In any case, it's hard to say how much individual sales were impacted solely by Game Pass. A lot of people see the number of players on the service and assume, 'Wow, a large portion of them chose not to buy the game and just subscribed instead.' But I'm an example of someone who pays for PC Game Pass and still wouldn't have paid $70 for the game, you know? It's not really about choosing one over the other, and I believe the vast majority of users feel the same.

As for its performance compared to Doom Eternal, if those numbers are accurate (800k vs 3kk), the gap is massive, which is a shame, because the game looks great. I'll probably play it once I'm done with Expedition 33.
 
Wait a minute:
  • Less than 1M sold
  • Claim 3 million players
  • That means 2M+ gamepass players
  • Campaign around 15 hours of playtime (no furthrer MP or replay value)
  • Most people would beat that in less than 2 months
So, Gamepass should generate as much revenue in the first two months since the game release enough to cover for Doom DA development costs right? And what they get from sales is the actual profits the game makes? How does this work actually, diven that all subscripion should "cover for all games"?
 
I'm struggling to get through it, not because it's hard, it's just not as fun as doom 2016 or eternal (Eternal also better looking on current gen consoles). Not as bad as Doom 3 or Rage however.
Doom 3 and Rage i bought (1 and 2). I haven't bought the Dark Ages and honestly have no interest till utter bargain bin rental price. It doesn't look appealing or like a Doom I want to play.
 
Oh sure, just €79.99 on Steam—what a steal!

Really hoping it tanks in sales so they realize no one's paying that and drop the price fast.
 
Game is great (it's doom) but £20/30 too expensive.

In my head, I just see anything above £50 as too steep a price for a no thoughts quick buy.
 
The worst part is that new Painkiller game is probably going to be lambasted för ripping off this game. When Doom: Dark Ages arguably ripped of it more.
 
Game is too expensive. If they need to raise the pricing so much, they should also up the quality and/or try harder to appeal to me. I'm not paying €80 for a game received as a mixed bag.
I loved 2016 and Eternal, but this seems like a step down somehow. I'll probably like it, but not enough to justify that pricetag.
I can tell you, Dark Ages is also a much smaller game compared to Eternal. Chapters are so short, there isn't much to them. People keep banging on about how much better it is than Eternal.. Yes it's fun, it plays great, but there is not much content. For the price of the game, it's shit value because it has half the content, they phoned it in with this one. The levels/chapters all look similar and uninspiring as well. It's worth playing, just not at full price.
 
I can tell you, Dark Ages is also a much smaller game compared to Eternal. Chapters are so short, there isn't much to them. People keep banging on about how much better it is than Eternal.. Yes it's fun, it plays great, but there is not much content. For the price of the game, it's shit value because it has half the content, they phoned it in with this one. The levels/chapters all look similar and uninspiring as well. It's worth playing, just not at full price.
This is just false.

Incorrect info.
 
Wait a minute:
  • Less than 1M sold
  • Claim 3 million players
  • That means 2M+ gamepass players
  • Campaign around 15 hours of playtime (no furthrer MP or replay value)
  • Most people would beat that in less than 2 months
So, Gamepass should generate as much revenue in the first two months since the game release enough to cover for Doom DA development costs right? And what they get from sales is the actual profits the game makes? How does this work actually, diven that all subscripion should "cover for all games"?

im talking in the context of Xbox/Game Pass.

when i say high profile games I'm taking AAA. Now, when you look at the math of a 200M dollar game aiming for a 30% profit margin we are taking around a range between 3.5 to 5 M copies sold.

so, why 5-10 M copies sold and 5-10M players reached on GP, 10-20M players reached in total?

easy: MS/Xbox's bullshit over the years.
They have been framing all their decisions (since 2016) as an strategy to make gaming more accesible and reach 3B players, GP and going Third Party as solutions for the "lack or growth" in the industry.

If Phil's master plan is working... their games should perform as i said....in reality their games have been performing even worse than on the 360 era.


in other words:

The Xbox strategy is not only not working, but it is also having a negative effect across the board.
Phil's 'master plan' and what a game needs to do to not be a commercial flop are two different things.
If Phil's plan was working then there wouldn't be any sales at all - gamepass would be big enough that they could pull the game from retail entirely and have it exclusive to gamepass. Obviously what MS wants and what the market actually is are two different things.
 
30 million people paid into it. Of course they pay bills. And many of them buy it as well later and get DLC.

[Edit] 29,999,999 if you don't count @Ass of Can Whooping


Exercise Grief GIF by NETFLIX
Work Out Spinning GIF by Peloton
 
Im playing it through Gamepass - its OK but nothing amazing.

Would have been pissed if I paid £80 for it (I would never pay that much for a game)
 
I am very disappointment in Doom, the tech/bones of the game feel like its still the 2018 game. The HDR is very flat, they went with this gray washed style on everything when it should be glowing red. The audio is flat, the music is soulless. I paid the $100 and I am disappointed.

It also does not help that Microsoft is shitting games out every month now. I am still playing Oblivion, I played Doom for 2 hours and went right back to Oblivion. I will finish Doom at some point this year but I have no idea when.

Avowed (did not get to start)
Indy (quit for Oblivion)
Oblivion (quit for Doom)
Doom (quit for Oblivion)
Death Stranding 2 (will play through until I am finished)
Tony Hawk 3+4 (will play some, wont finish)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Doom (maybe? I guess)
Metal Gear Solid 3
Borderlands 4
Ghost of Yōtei
 
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I can tell you, Dark Ages is also a much smaller game compared to Eternal. Chapters are so short, there isn't much to them. People keep banging on about how much better it is than Eternal.. Yes it's fun, it plays great, but there is not much content. For the price of the game, it's shit value because it has half the content, they phoned it in with this one. The levels/chapters all look similar and uninspiring as well. It's worth playing, just not at full price.
Didn't finish Eternal so I can't comment on the length of that game but its taken me 20 hours to run through the campaign on Nightmare. Plenty long enough for a single player FPS campaign and almost twice as long as it took me to run through 2016.

Short is not how I'd describe any of the levels, in fact I'd say some are a tad too long.
This is just false.

Incorrect info.
Yup.
 
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I gotta be honest.. forced RT may make it a tough sell.. lots of people rocking systems that don't handle it well.
 
Ricky Gervais Lol GIF


I've seen these criticisms pop-up a few times and it's obvious who hasn't played the game, only downloaded their opinions off the internet.

I saw a video circulating cesspools like 4chins and X showing a boss firing waves of very obviously telegraphed energy orbs with the widest parrying window of all time. Yeah, it looked like ass out of context, but the video failed to convey that it was an early game boss serving as an introduction to a demon who will later become a normal enemy type, which you will have to fight alongside other powerful enemies at the same time. There is an entire TV Tropes page dedicated to this.

Try having several of these bullet hells going on at once and see how long you last without some defensive options. There are scenarios in the last third of the game where you are essentially doing boss rushes while juggling dozens of other minor enemies trying to kill you. Shit gets truly HARD by the midpoint and is as pleasingly stressful as anything in Eternal.

As for the parrying criticism, there seems to be a failure of many people to grasp what The Dark Ages combat is all about. It's not meant to be that ultra sweaty, bunny hopping around the map experience that Eternal was. "Stand and Fight" is literally in the marketing communicating the change in direction:

MF0nUq8.jpeg


The Dark Ages is intended to be a correction to Eternal, making it more grounded like older Doom games while still maintaining the high stakes brought on by lots of enemies + low player health. The ebb and flow of the combat is frankly amazing once all of the elements click into place, striking just the right balance between being able to push forward while also having tools at your disposal (the shield, the parry) to avert frustration that would surely be caused by said high stakes.

I see a lot of people talking about how divisive The Dark Ages is going to be despite Eternal already being the highly divisive game in the series, and id Software knew something needed to be done to try to satisfy both camps of players.

I also don't get the "no one asked for this" criticism either. This is what Doom used to look like:

MaTT8D.gif


Nobody asked for glory kills, dashing, chainsaw as an ammo refill mechanic, or grapple hook shotguns either. But more / different mechanics are essential to keep a franchise which is now over 30 years old fresh.

How about giving it a try yourself on Game Pass and contribute to the 3 million strong player numbers?
That's what I never understood, every Doom game is significantly different from the other, except for Doom 2. It's the Doom 3 love-hate moment on both Eternal and Dark Ages, I remember some people joking that Eternal was a Devil May Cry FPS or Doom for ADHD kids.
 
This place is one big echo-chamber, most of the time completely out of touch with reality.
We see it over and over and people keep scratching their heads.

Gaf is basically like TheQuartering of the gaming community.

Another stupid take by this guy. Glad you got finally banned.
 
Wait a minute:
  • Less than 1M sold
  • Claim 3 million players
  • That means 2M+ gamepass players
  • Campaign around 15 hours of playtime (no furthrer MP or replay value)
  • Most people would beat that in less than 2 months
So, Gamepass should generate as much revenue in the first two months since the game release enough to cover for Doom DA development costs right? And what they get from sales is the actual profits the game makes? How does this work actually, diven that all subscripion should "cover for all games"?

If someone was already paying for GamePass for another title or reason, then the income generated through it is zero.
The only measurable benefit is new subs and retentions.

"Number of players" when the game is available on an already running subscription service is almost meaningless in terms of revenue generation!
Because let's face it, the bigger the pre-existing subscriber base then the bigger the number of players is likely to be, because its more people being able to try it out at no additional cost.
 
There are some good ideas here, and I'm all for a developer taking BIG swings and trying new things--HOWEVER the swings they took with The Dark Ages simply are not good ideas.

The open levels in particular are a massive mistake. It makes every level feel the same, like they just dumped a ton of random enemy combinations into these huge levels with no sense of pacing or escalation.

Difficulty and level-design/pacing are the two biggest pillars of what makes a game fun...and they totally botched both of them here.

On the plus side I think the arsenal is incredible. Lots of fantastic guns to play with. It's a shame that what the player is asked to do with such weaponry is completely boring.
 
Side note - I think there are some benefits to a service like GamePass, but the thing that makes me skeptical of this kind of service is how it encourages changes to the core design of a given game.

IE - GaaS is preferabel to MSFT when they are making money through GP because it keeps people subscribed...this was the idea with Halo Infinite...or Forza going forward as a platform.

When a game decidedly won't be GaaS, it benefits from appealing to the highest amount of players possible...and I think in the case of TDA this means they were told to tone down the difficult of Eternal and bring it more players. Eternal was almost character-action-esque in terms of what it demanded from the player, and how tight the gameplay was.

TDA in comparison feels blunt, unpolished, and less intelligent in almost every way.
 
Sorry for the off topic but.. Killjoy is banned? Can't say I'm surprised, but please don't perma him as I want to see him for the release of Marathon. It's going to be fun
 
Have you been living under a rock? They were happy with Hi-Fi Rush too, we saw what happened. Happy with Avowed too, dead silence now. Just 4 games mang…..NEVER believe Microsoft's PR.

Missing the forest through the trees. Ultimately, I'm pushing back against the claim that Doom Dark Ages first week performance was "really bad". I'm specifically referencing a measurable statement of fact, that this is the biggest Doom launch, and that it reached 3 million 7x faster than Eternal. I am admittedly making one assumption, that the team is looking at these metrics and not coming to the conclusion that they are "really bad". This is the weakest part of my argument and if you can show evidence that they aren't happy with the first week performance, then you got me.



I'll try something though, I'll crawl out from under this rock and take your advice. I'm going to not believe the post I referenced. Is it now reasonable for me to assume that the stated facts are fiction? Does any evidence point to this being made up? Is id down on their games performance? I feel like in order to say yes to any of these questions, you have to leave rationality at the door, and allow confirmation bias to take it's place. That's something I'm not comfortable with.
 
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