Support NeoGAF

[GDJustin]

Since it looks like Sales-Age might be coming to an end, I thought I should at least do my part to keep its spirit alive as long as possible. In an interview I conducted today I was told that Forza has sold over 725,000 copies worldwide as of last week. It was released at the very beginning of May.

Impressive. Higher than I expected, anyway.

 

[dillinger]

 

[thestopsign]

That is a lot higher than I would have expected. Atleast this is one of the few racing games that deserves high scores this Generation. To bad F Zero GX did badly. Even though the Franchise has never been all that popular. I think those are the 2 best racing games the Gen.

 

[byproduct]

Sounds like a sequel is assured.

 

[Kevtones]

Good numbers. Too bad I hate racing sims.

 

[sonycowboy]

Since it looks like Sales-Age might be coming to an end, I thought I should at least do my part to keep its spirit alive as long as possible. In an interview I conducted today I was told that Forza has sold over 725,000 copies worldwide as of last week. It was released at the very beginning of May.

Impressive. Higher than I expected, anyway.

OK. Just US & Europe. US is ~3 times European installed base.

So, that would mean ~540,000 units shipped in the US.

I can see a good 300k+ sales assuming a decent sell through and perhaps a good bit more. We'll see tomorrow.

 

[GDJustin]

Sounds like a sequel is assured.

Ah yeah, I almost forgot. This transpired, too:

I have to ask - can Forza officially be considered a franchise? Can you talk about the possibility of an appearence on new hardware?


All I can say today is: stay tuned…

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Great!

 

[sangreal]

full interview, stat!

 

[Monk]

In comparison how did Gran Turismo do in the same period of time?

 

[aaaaa0]

No longer Flopza? :lol

 

[Ryudo]

In comparison how did Gran Turismo do in the same period of time?

You would need to equalize the installed userbase for an apples to apples comparison, even then i would bet GT4 would have murdered it.

 

[Amir0x]

Despite the comparrisons to Gran Turismo, this can be considered nothing but a huge success for Microsoft. This guarantees 1+ million sales worldwide, and it'd be one of the few main Microsoft franchises to do that this gen. That's something they can bank up for the upcoming gen, and I bet they're very pleased. Depending on how they position themselves next-gen it can eventually develop the IP into a very formidable challenge to Gran Turismo in terms of market success.

 

[Barnimal]

forzzza sucks just as bad as gran snorismo. :lol

 

[Amir0x]

forzzza sucks just as bad as gran snorismo. :lol

Hm, could this be because sim racing isn't a genre you like, and NOT because they aren't phenomenal titles that excel at what they do?

 

[GDJustin]

full interview, stat!

http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=9905

 

[_Angelus_]

forzzza sucks just as bad as gran snorismo. :lol

Not really. Hey I was anti Forza like some of the others on this board since OutRun2 is more my cup of tea. But after renting Forza its worth buying,really worth buying.

 

[Gek54]

Forza is just too god damn good. No TFF Wheel, 30fps and weaker lighting, still this crow tastes like a thanksgiving feast. The structure is near perfect and nothing is better than allways being able to race against people all over the world. The physics, bloom lighting, damage, 8 cars on track, tire model, all the freakin options and scoreboards. This once white GT4 case has turned a shade of brown from the dust it has been collecting the last two months. I have not been this cracked out on a game since the original Gran Turismo. I hate the frame rate and no wheel but ill be damned if this isnt my GOTY ...BY FAR.

 

[radrelic]

Indeed, I've been having a blast with Forza ever since I've picked it up. Great game and can't wait for the sequel!

 

[_Angelus_]

Forza is just too god damn good. No TFF Wheel, 30fps and weaker lighting, still this crow tastes like a thanksgiving feast. The structure is near perfect and nothing is better than allways being able to race against people all over the world. The physics, bloom lighting, damage, 8 cars on track, tire model, all the freakin options and scoreboards. This once white GT4 case has turned a shade of brown from the dust it has been collecting the last two months. I have not been this cracked out on a game since the original Gran Turismo. I hate the frame rate and no wheel but ill be damned if this isnt my GOTY ...BY FAR.

Ok,who the hell highjacked his account?:lol

 

[thorns]

MS has certainly come a long way when it comes to first party.. I guess Shane Kim's strategy is paying off. Fable, Halo 2, Jade Empire and Forza have been both critical and commercial successes. Certainly far from Kakuto Chojin, Nightcaster, Azurik, Tao Feng, Oddworld, Blinx etc.. I think MGS (as a publisher) will be a major force within a few years.

 

[_Angelus_]

Gah!!! Blinx...don't bitch about Blinx,I liked the first Blinx game. Whenever I hear bad things being said about it I hang my head down. Then comes this incontrollable rash where I start to scratch my neck in a bit of rage,soon I have hair falling off my head,then I start to bleed from my niples.

GAH!!!

 

[monchi-kun]

congratulations mrs. Xbox...you have a healthy new baby franchise

this rivalry between Gran Turismo and FORZA is going to be GREAT for the genre and gamers

 

[byproduct]

MS has certainly come a long way when it comes to first party.. I guess Shane Kim's strategy is paying off. Fable, Halo 2, Jade Empire and Forza have been both critical and commercial successes. Certainly far from Kakuto Chojin, Nightcaster, Azurik, Tao Feng, Oddworld, Blinx etc.. I think MGS (as a publisher) will be a major force within a few years.

Hmmm Blinx 2 conspicuously missing from the recent games list

 

[SHOCKIE]

Good news,Looking forward to Floza 2.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Forza's now a pack-in here in Canada, so expect that to boost sales.

 

[PhatSaqs]

Forza is just too god damn good. No TFF Wheel, 30fps and weaker lighting, still this crow tastes like a thanksgiving feast. The structure is near perfect and nothing is better than allways being able to race against people all over the world. The physics, bloom lighting, damage, 8 cars on track, tire model, all the freakin options and scoreboards. This once white GT4 case has turned a shade of brown from the dust it has been collecting the last two months. I have not been this cracked out on a game since the original Gran Turismo. I hate the frame rate and no wheel but ill be damned if this isnt my GOTY ...BY FAR.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[mrmyth]

Forza is just too god damn good. No TFF Wheel, 30fps and weaker lighting, still this crow tastes like a thanksgiving feast. The structure is near perfect and nothing is better than allways being able to race against people all over the world. The physics, bloom lighting, damage, 8 cars on track, tire model, all the freakin options and scoreboards. This once white GT4 case has turned a shade of brown from the dust it has been collecting the last two months. I have not been this cracked out on a game since the original Gran Turismo. I hate the frame rate and no wheel but ill be damned if this isnt my GOTY ...BY FAR.

 

[TigerKnee]

Just thinking about Forza on the 360 makes me happy in my pants

 

[HokieJoe]

Forza is just too god damn good. No TFF Wheel, 30fps and weaker lighting, still this crow tastes like a thanksgiving feast. The structure is near perfect and nothing is better than allways being able to race against people all over the world. The physics, bloom lighting, damage, 8 cars on track, tire model, all the freakin options and scoreboards. This once white GT4 case has turned a shade of brown from the dust it has been collecting the last two months. I have not been this cracked out on a game since the original Gran Turismo. I hate the frame rate and no wheel but ill be damned if this isnt my GOTY ...BY FAR.

Hey Gek, we need to hook it on Live again sometime. I'll throw you an invite the next time I'm on.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Forza is just too god damn good. No TFF Wheel, 30fps and weaker lighting, still this crow tastes like a thanksgiving feast. The structure is near perfect and nothing is better than allways being able to race against people all over the world. The physics, bloom lighting, damage, 8 cars on track, tire model, all the freakin options and scoreboards. This once white GT4 case has turned a shade of brown from the dust it has been collecting the last two months. I have not been this cracked out on a game since the original Gran Turismo. I hate the frame rate and no wheel but ill be damned if this isnt my GOTY ...BY FAR.

Am I in bizarro world? Glad the game is doing well...it's definitely in the top 5 games I've played this year.

 

[Warm Machine]

Forza is as good as it gets right now. I was always pulling for it being a great game and I'm pleased it delivered.

 

[GashPrex]

Forza is just too god damn good. No TFF Wheel, 30fps and weaker lighting, still this crow tastes like a thanksgiving feast. The structure is near perfect and nothing is better than allways being able to race against people all over the world. The physics, bloom lighting, damage, 8 cars on track, tire model, all the freakin options and scoreboards. This once white GT4 case has turned a shade of brown from the dust it has been collecting the last two months. I have not been this cracked out on a game since the original Gran Turismo. I hate the frame rate and no wheel but ill be damned if this isnt my GOTY ...BY FAR.

 

[jarrod]

MS has certainly come a long way when it comes to first party.. I guess Shane Kim's strategy is paying off. Fable, Halo 2, Jade Empire and Forza have been both critical and commercial successes. Certainly far from Kakuto Chojin, Nightcaster, Azurik, Tao Feng, Oddworld, Blinx etc.. I think MGS (as a publisher) will be a major force within a few years.

I agree, but better coordination with Japan is still needed I think. Phantdom Dust could've really used the MGS push, and I don't like that Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and 99 Nights are still up the air as far as western release is concerned. MGS is looking to become a "blockbuster" publisher along the lines of Nintendo... to do that they'll need better worldwide coordination.

 

[Cold-Steel]

I agree, but better coordination with Japan is still needed I think. Phantdom Dust could've really used the MGS push, and I don't like that Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and 99 Nights are still up the air as far as western release is concerned. MGS is looking to become a "blockbuster" publisher along the lines of Nintendo... to do that they'll need better worldwide coordination.

If you ask me, I think they are going more for the SCEA-vibe.

Nintendo and Electronic Arts are leagues above Microsoft Game Studios.

 

[Warm Machine]

I agree, but better coordination with Japan is still needed I think. Phantdom Dust could've really used the MGS push, and I don't like that Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and 99 Nights are still up the air as far as western release is concerned. MGS is looking to become a "blockbuster" publisher along the lines of Nintendo... to do that they'll need better worldwide coordination.

I think Japan is a lost cause for them at the moment. The Xbox console is home to so many great games and the gaming public ignores the machine. MS was obviously hit in the face by this and probably doesn't even care much to fix it. Best they could do is to get Panasonic or someone to take their machine and brand it themselves.

Development wise North America and Europe is where the action is. The top selling games and top rated games are coming out of these places and japanese games continue to drop off in popularity.

The only thing a Japanese company generally has going for it is that their product can sell as well around the world but a Western company knows that an attempt to sell in Japan is near pointless.

 

[sol5377]

For the Japanese gamer, the Xbox was absolute crap for its first few years in terms of games they would like (and it still is for the most part). They've got drastically different tastes than us in the west and Microsoft was unable to cater to their needs. They seem to be trying harder this time around.

 

[jarrod]

If you ask me, I think they are going more for the SCEA-vibe.

Nintendo and Electronic Arts are leagues above Microsoft Game Studios.

Not at all. SCEA publishes a lot of stuff, a good amount of it being crap. MGS shutting down their sports division is a sign that they're going in the opposite direction here.

MGS wants to be more like Nintendo. Release fewer games that sell more, that's what they're striving for... and they off to a great start imo.

I think Japan is a lost cause for them at the moment. The Xbox console is home to so many great games and the gaming public ignores the machine. MS was obviously hit in the face by this and probably doesn't even care much to fix it. Best they could do is to get Panasonic or someone to take their machine and brand it themselves.

Development wise North America and Europe is where the action is. The top selling games and top rated games are coming out of these places and japanese games continue to drop off in popularity.

The only thing a Japanese company generally has going for it is that their product can sell as well around the world but a Western company knows that an attempt to sell in Japan is near pointless.

Er... my issue was less about Xbox's potential in Japan and more about MGS coordinating Eastern and Western R&D to be complimentary.

 

[Warm Machine]

And I'm saying that it is likely not in Microsoft's best interests to even have a Japanese development studio as the mindshare for the products it generates is so low as to be non existant. Push the games all you like in North America but the Xbox gamer is more westerized than easternized.

 

[jarrod]

And I'm saying that it is likely not in Microsoft's best interests to even have a Japanese development studio as the mindshare for the products it generates is so low as to be non existant. Push the games all you like in North America but the Xbox gamer is more westerized than easternized.

If Microsoft wants to be number one though, that will need to change. The Xbox 360 design and software projects are definitely a step in the right direction, I'm concerned with the level of coordination between MGS and MGS Japan. Those products have definite worldwide appeal, yet they're not yet slated for worldwide release... that just worries me.

 

[HokieJoe]

Honestly, I would forget the Japanese market altogether. I mean I would love for them to enjoy our Western games as much as so many Westerners enjoy theirs, but....

I would fight over other more populous Asian markets. I don't know though, maybe MS thinks that gaining a share of the Japanese market will help them in other Asian markets.

 

[Gek54]

50k out of 700k are online. Is this a normal ratio?

 

[KingV]

I used to be an almost entirely Japanese gamer, particularly Nintendo Published titles, but that has changed a lot this gen. For some reason I'm currently enjoying more and more western published games and am less and less excited about Japanese published games. I think a big part of this is that Nintendo, in my eyes has somewhat fallen off their high horse. They still make the best portable games known to man, and I'm pretty excited for the GC Fire Emblem, but their 3d Zelda, Mario, et al. games have grown kind of stale to me. Even Pikmin 2, which I liked a fair bit, just doesn't have the Nintendo "magic" I was accustomed to in the N64 era. If Nintendo is to video games what Disney is to movies, their newer games have been much more Atlantis than Alladin. I suspect on some level this is intentional on their part, as Nintendo remains committed to making their games accessible to all levels of gamers. Unfortunately for us older crowd, that accessibility comes with some concessions to making their games simpler to play, which in some cases makes them less appealing with the somewhat rarer diamond in the rough that kicks absolute ass no matter what your gaming tastes are.

 

[Monk]

You would need to equalize the installed userbase for an apples to apples comparison, even then i would bet GT4 would have murdered it.

I was talking about the original GT on ps one. If Forza is really a big leap as people make it out to be, it is possible that MS has a good answer to Sony's GT.

 

[FiRez]

50k out of 700k are online. Is this a normal ratio?

Thank god, you don't know the online ratio of Halo 2.

Bungie really dropped the ball making a subpar campaign, the best part of the game is only ejoyed by a "few".