Hotline Miami has sold 130,000 copies, talks on Piracy and more
- Thread starter Pranay
- Start date
Meatvillain
Banned
The article is largely pretty positive about the number, thanks to the fact that Devolver are extremely pleased with the game's level of success. Cactus hasn't exactly shied away from the problems Hotline Miami has had, and has even proven understanding of people who pirate, providing a patch for them as well.
I don't think it's worth making villains of the people behind Hotline Miami for its bugs considering its humble beginnings, the way they have handled the issue and the otherwise extremely high quality of the game.
This.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
No it's not.
Majukun
Member
well if I buy a game and i'm not able to play a single minute of it because it crash every time i start a new game,i think that complaining about that is the minimum,even if we count that it's an indie.
Thanks for your insightful post. No what's not? It's not $700,000? It's not a lot of money for two guys?
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
It says 173MB on Gog.com
Reading Söderström's comments on the Pirate Bay torrent was enlightening. I don't condone Piracy of PC games in any way, but he has an extremely good attitude toward those who do Pirate and I would imagine, because of his acceptance and understanding, he made quite a few sales within that community.
It's too bad that game is not that great, because the developer is awesome. I look forward to their next title.
It's too bad that game is not that great, because the developer is awesome. I look forward to their next title.
On one hand, it's a great game that deserves to sell a lot more than it has. On the other hand, it was released in a ridiculously buggy state that was pretty much unacceptable in this day and age. Even several patches later the game simply isn't playable for a lot of people, and that's a real shame.
I enjoyed the game immensely, despite the frequent crashes, but it could have had a much better launch if those issues had been ironed out beforehand.
I enjoyed the game immensely, despite the frequent crashes, but it could have had a much better launch if those issues had been ironed out beforehand.
never crashed on me once
Krauser Kat
Member
fantastic fucking game. Bought once and got 3 other friends to pick up copies. 5-10 bucks this game is a steal. Now to A+ the rest of the missions. half down half to go.
SuperDowns
Banned
That's not a lot of money for an indie developer of 2-3 guys?
I think he may be saying that it's not 700,000 in profit?
KaiserBecks
Member
It definitely would've sold more if people stopped complaining. I'm glad I took the chance and didn't listen. Probably the best five bucks I've ever spent on a game.
walking fiend
Member
Article says that the most of the sales were during steam sales, which I believe the game was 50% off.
But with this economy, I would say even half of it is a good profit for a 2 person team; though not for a game that is as well received as HM.
A decent game with a fantastic soundtrack that is bugged to shit is worth complaining about. It's great that the dev's were able to fix most of the issues, but it should never have been released in such a state.
Ah, nice. Thanks for answering.
Majukun
Member
so people should be ok about buying a game that doesn't work?
i bought this game because i love the indie scene and i want to support good indie games,but that doesn't mean i should be ok with developers who release a buggy mess of a game
KaiserBecks
Member
And it isn't in such a state anymore, so stop complaining.
Where did I say that it's ok to buy a game that doesn't work? I said I'm glad that I didn't listen to those complaints, because the game worked for me. A lot of people love to exaggerate.
You get the ~$700,000 number if you take 130,000 X average sale price of $7.50 - 30% Steam cut. All very rough but it gives a ballpark idea of how these guys are doing. They were self-proclaimed "poor" before the game came out. Glad they're having some good success.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
Alright. I'll elaborate.
Jonatan has made more games in the past few years than THQ has ever released (*ahem* a little exaggeration *ahem*). That's a great triumph for an indie developer. Of course, this does not mean that the games just land on his lap and he throws it out. You can't just say $700,000 profit and not considering the time he spend making it. Yes, it's eventually money in his pocket but after being in the industry for quite some time and working on Hotline Miami for over a year, it's not "$700,000 profit". Do consider the fact that the game was on sale for $5 up until a few days ago. He stated that the sales were lower before Steam sale.
Yes, success story is good but they could've done much better. No developer stops after making one successful game. They expand, hire more people and spend money on their next title. When he is saying that his sales were not where he expected it, then you can tell he had a bigger goal in his mind that he failed to achieve.
Add that to the cost of living in Sweden and split it between two people, you got yourself a nice salary for next two or so years before you run out: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Sweden&displayCurrency=USD
Jonatan has made more games in the past few years than THQ has ever released (*ahem* a little exaggeration *ahem*). That's a great triumph for an indie developer. Of course, this does not mean that the games just land on his lap and he throws it out. You can't just say $700,000 profit and not considering the time he spend making it. Yes, it's eventually money in his pocket but after being in the industry for quite some time and working on Hotline Miami for over a year, it's not "$700,000 profit". Do consider the fact that the game was on sale for $5 up until a few days ago. He stated that the sales were lower before Steam sale.
Yes, success story is good but they could've done much better. No developer stops after making one successful game. They expand, hire more people and spend money on their next title. When he is saying that his sales were not where he expected it, then you can tell he had a bigger goal in his mind that he failed to achieve.
Add that to the cost of living in Sweden and split it between two people, you got yourself a nice salary for next two or so years before you run out: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Sweden&displayCurrency=USD
It doesn't work under Win 8.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
Most of the copies were sold at 4.99
Sweden has a ridiculous cost of living. That wouldn't even buy a home.
KaiserBecks
Member
I guess our definitions of a lot of money differ then. My definition of "a lot" is not predicated on how many houses one can buy with it. No, they're not filthy call of duty rich. But I assure you that's many years worth of your average salary in Sweden.
It has done better than they expected.
The article never says this, it only says "Before a Steam sale at the end of October sales were much lower". If it was at 70k before the sale, 70k could be considered "much lower" than 130k. Is there another source that says most were sold at $5?
Not bad, I don't think. Once the Mac version is done with the new patch (out soon, right?), that might give them another boost in sales, plus hopefully it'll get discounted in the Steam Xmas sale.
I've personally got at least 3 or 4 people to pick it up after I raved about it to them and have played it for like 9 hours already (and bought some of the music), so I like to think I did my part.
When the sequel/DLC comes out, they could package up the original with it for some extra sales... maybe do a Valve and let people gift an extra copy if they own it already.
I've personally got at least 3 or 4 people to pick it up after I raved about it to them and have played it for like 9 hours already (and bought some of the music), so I like to think I did my part.
When the sequel/DLC comes out, they could package up the original with it for some extra sales... maybe do a Valve and let people gift an extra copy if they own it already.
Well there's plenty of other things to complain about in the game, including other bugs. I really want to support the developer because it seems like they have good ideas, I just hope they make a better game next time.
It's great that despite the games many flaws, it was able to sell that much. Kudos to cactus.
That's a week's grocery shopping in Sweden. USA USA USA
70k hardly comes under much lower if the game has eventually reached 130k.
You're crazy. You think they made this game in one day?
They've already started development on their next game.