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[Fantastical]

Revelations is not a "spinoff game".

It's not called Resident Evil 6 which basically makes it a spinoff for 99% of people despite the actual gameplay.

 

[timetokill]

Revelations is not a "spinoff game".

But therein lies part of the problem. I do wonder what its sales would have been like if it was called "Resident Evil 6"

 

[Metallix87]

Nintendo built the audience in NA on Mario and Mario Kart.

That's mostly irrelevant. Great software can sell, regardless of pre-conceived notions like this. I'm not sure why Resident Evil: Revelations didn't chart, but I would say it likely has decent legs, and if it managed to sell over 100k last month, it's well on its way to establishing an audience for these types of games in the region.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I'm very skeptical that the audience can be easily built on the 3DS, however. I feel that much of the audience we're talking about (Dudebro / early 20s males) are very averse to handheld and portable gaming. If there is one audience who seems particularly and emphatically tied to their 50'' Plasma TVs, it is the Dudebro audience.

That does not mean that building the audience would be impossible, just that it's a more difficult task for a system like the 3DS than it is for a system like the PS3.

I think getting 5 million+ PS360 owners to buy a new console just to play a psuedo-sequel with worse graphics and sloppy controls is a daunting task for any franchise, not just shooters. Especially with RE6 announced for this year.

But therein lies part of the problem. I do wonder what its sales would have been like if it was called "Resident Evil 6"

Probably about as good as GTA: Chinatown Wars. Basically where they are right now. Portability is not a selling point in and of itself for western core/dudebro/shooter/M-rated/whatever gamers. Product differentiation is the reason that Nintendo's franchises like Mario Kart and Mario 3D Land do well alongside their console counterparts selling tens of millions of copies. "Here's a console game, only worse" didn't work for the PSP, and I really don't think it's going to work for the 3DS and Vita in the US.

 

[mclaren777]

A lot of sales come from digital content. NPD is only tracking physical. Granted, physical is probably vastly larger than digital sales, but I'm sure Steam, XBL, and PSN help out a lot.

That still doesn't explain the ridiculous COD sales. I simply cannot understand how those games sell as well as they do. I get that it's an addiction (like gambling), but the whole situation still doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Synless]

I thought Vita would had hit the 475-500,000ish mark easily. Guess I was wrong.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Wait, so 221k is good for a major AAA first party console exclusive now?

So was too human a massive success then?

How much did you seriously expect the revival of Twisted Metal to do? The game is as hardcore as it gets for Sony. I'm sure it's exceeded their expectations. And a lot of ours.

 

[JordanLMiller]

I'd like to know how Rhythm Heaven Fever did. The DS one didn't do so great if I remember correctly.

 

[Nirolak]

That 218K number I came up assumed no PSP/PS2 sales (which is of course incorrect). After giving an assumption range including possible PSP/PS2 sales (218-230K), I believe Donny and the rest of the crew decided on using 225K for Vita sales.

Thanks.

Changing it a bit.

 

[demosthenes]

Vita, why you so low

 

[aznpxdd]

Poor Vita.

I still want one just for Lumines though.

 

[Petrichor]

How much did you seriously expect the revival of Twisted Metal to do? The game is as hardcore as it gets for Sony. I'm sure it's exceeded their expectations. And a lot of ours.

It was their big end of conference reveal two years ago at E3. The slot usually reserved for the halo / gears of war / god of war -size franchises.

 

[Kusagari]

I thought Vita would had hit the 475-500,000ish mark easily. Guess I was wrong.

You thought Vita was going to sell 100k more than 3DS?

What?

 

[frankie_baby]

I thought Vita would had hit the 475-500,000ish mark easily. Guess I was wrong.

you cant be serious surely?

 

[Syphon Filter]

Revelations is not a "spinoff game".

Yes it is.

 

[Fantastical]

That's mostly irrelevant. Great software can sell, regardless of pre-conceived notions like this. I'm not sure why Resident Evil: Revelations didn't chart, but I would say it likely has decent legs, and if it managed to sell over 100k last month, it's well on its way to establishing an audience for these types of games in the region.

Nintendo basically marketed the 3DS as a $169.99 Mario machine in the holiday season of 2011. I don't really see how that's irrelevant seeing as Mario and Mario Kart each probably sold more than RE:R this month.

Nintendo has got to advertise different types of games for the system. Kid Icarus sales will be interesting.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Wait, so 221k is good for a major AAA first party console exclusive now?

So was too human a massive success then?

Everything is relative.

221k is pretty good for what ISN'T a major AAA first party console game. It's a title developed by a start-up with very few employees, so the budget was likely to be fairly small.

I wouldn't be surprised if Twisted Metal was quite profitable given those sales.

Whereas Too Human had a rather lengthy dev cycle of longer than 5 years, IIRC, and had a pretty big team at Silicon Knights.

 

[mclem]

NPD Launch Months

GBA - 870K
PSP - 619K
NDS - 480K
3DS - ~400K
PSV - 220-230K

GBA > PSP > NDS > 3DS > PSV

How long were each of those periods?

(That said, launch systems are generally hugely frontloaded, aren't they?)

Edit: Ah, fast-moving thread! Yeah, already been answered

 

[Takao]

It was their big end of conference reveal two years ago at E3. The slot usually reserved for the halo / gears of war / god of war -size franchises.

But it's Twisted Metal. IIRC the highest selling entries in that franchise are around 1 million LTD in the US.

 

[Synless]

You thought Vita was going to sell 100k more than 3DS?

What?

Yeah, actually I did.

 

[Metallix87]

Nintendo basically marketed the 3DS as a $169.99 Mario machine in the holiday season of 2011. I don't really see how that's irrelevant seeing as Mario and Mario Kart each probably sold more than RE:R this month.

Nintendo has got to advertise different types of games for the system. Kid Icarus sales will be interesting.

I called it irrelevant because you're essentially saying that, by pushing their holiday lineup hard, Nintendo doomed Resident Evil, which I think is a pretty odd view of the situation. RER will likely have strong legs, as word-of-mouth spreads.

Kid Icarus will, indeed, be interesting to watch, sales-wise.

 

[frankie_baby]

How long were each of those periods?

(That said, launch systems are generally hugely frontloaded, aren't they?)

read back a few pages

 

[donny2112]

How long were each of those periods?

Looks pretty even to me, except for GBA. Vita had the First Edition Bundles come out on the 15th.

GBA - 20 or 27 days in launch month
NDS - 8 days in launch month
PSP - 10 days in launch month
3DS - 7 days in launch month
PSV - 11 days in launch month

.

 

[iKeepPlaying]

Wait, so Vita sold 225k units in 4 days and it is doomed?
What the hell I'm missing?

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Maybe I shouldnt be but FFXIII-2 is really surprising to me.

 

[BY2K]

Yes it is.

Not it's not.

It has a campaign like any Resident Evil game, it plays just like 4-5 (with a bit of change), it's part of the main story.

 

[newjeruse]

Wait, so 221k is good for a major AAA first party console exclusive now?

So was too human a massive success then?

Made by a team of 35 and not one commercial in the U.S. I'm honestly surprised it charted.

 

[Metallix87]

Wait, so Vita sold 225k units in 4 days and it is doomed?
What the hell I'm missing?

FEB sales are supposedly included.

 

[Adam Blade]

So how much did the PS3 sell? Is the PlayStation family™ in trouble?

 

[Syphon Filter]

Wait, so Vita sold 225k units in 4 days and it is doomed?
What the hell I'm missing?

 

[frankie_baby]

Wait, so Vita sold 221k units in 4 days and it is doomed?
What the hell I'm missing?

in 11 days (sort of) and its about half what the 3ds (not exactly brilliant) launch was

it also is pretty much showing that sonys 1.2 million pr is lies

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Not it's not.

It has a campaign like any Resident Evil game, it plays just like 4-5 (with a bit of change), it's part of the main story.

If it's not Resident Evil 6, to the public at large, it's a spin-off.

Looks like opening month was 1523k and and lifetime is 2600k+ (I don't think the lifetime figures include gold edition, someone with access can verify this for me).

That's much better than I thought, thanks.

 

[Mrbob]

Wait, so 221k is good for a major AAA first party console exclusive now?

So was too human a massive success then?

So when did Twisted Metal become a major AAA first party game? Don't project your inflated and naive expectations onto others.

Twisted Metal had no advertising. No excessive hype. It wasn't billed as the next big thing in gaming. It also cost a lot less to develop than Too Human so yes it is a massive success. Twisted Metal will be profitable. Probably is already.

 

[BassForever]

Poor Vita.

I still want one just for Lumines though.

Why not just get a PSP then if all you want is Lumines?

 

[Ridley327]

Not it's not.

It has a campaign like any Resident Evil game, it plays just like 4-5 (with a bit of change), it's part of the main story.

Did Code: Veronica run into these sorts of problems when they crapped out RE3 on the PS1? Because I don't think anyone debates C:V as not being a mainline entry these days.

 

[darkside31337]

Vita sales seem okay considering Sony didn't even feel like advertising the thing until it actually launched. Wonder what the FEB/3G/Wifi splits look like, shame we'll never know.

 

[Count Dookkake]

I thought Vita would had hit the 475-500,000ish mark easily. Guess I was wrong.

"hoped" is probably a better word than "thought."

 

[mclem]

It was their big end of conference reveal two years ago at E3. The slot usually reserved for the halo / gears of war / god of war -size franchises.

That was a hilariously pathetic end! I don't mean the TM announcement itself, that went well, but they just sort of closed it on the sight of an actor playing Sweet Tooth grimacing as the lights went dim.

 

[MikeE21286]

Ps3?

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

Wait, so Vita sold 225k units in 4 days and it is doomed?
What the hell I'm missing?

is that number good for you?

so I suppose we're back to shipped not sold theorem with Sony?

 

[Skiesofwonder]

Wait, so Vita sold 225k units in 4 days and it is doomed?
What the hell I'm missing?

PSV had 11 days (including FEB) and 3DS sold 400k in 7 days, then went on to do <200k until the pricedrop.

It's not hard to see the writing on the wall... Though I hope to be proven wrong.

 

[Rush2thestart]

Capcom seems to think its an offshoot:

Explaining that the side-by-side of The Mercenaries 3D and Revelations had gone smoothly and efficiently, Kawata also indicated that there would be more offshoot titles like these in the Resident Evil series alongside this year's Resident Evil 6, and he hoped they would surprise people.

"I hear that they're going to be releasing a Resident Evil 6," he joked, explaining that he couldn't say anything about it. "But in addition to that I hope that we can continue to do these offshoot titles and expand the IP more.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ne-we-japanese-developers-need-to-re-evaluate

 

[gkryhewy]

Yeah, actually I did.

Never confuse GAF hype with actual market potential.

 

[slayzz]

in 11 days (sort of) and its about half what the 3ds (not exactly brilliant) launch was

it also is pretty much showing that sonys 1.2 million pr is lies

what? how was that a sony pr lies? they said 1.2 million worldwide.

 

[Duxxy3]

Holy shit. Vita is dead right out of the gate.

Wow.

 

[Metallix87]

Capcom seems to think its an offshoot:



http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ne-we-japanese-developers-need-to-re-evaluate

And that's the answer to that. If Capcom isn't even willing to push Revelations as a mainline game, how can the average consumer be expected to consider it as such?

 

[Basch]

That still doesn't explain the ridiculous COD sales. I simply cannot understand how those games sell as well as they do. I get that it's an addiction (like gambling), but the whole situation still doesn't make sense to me.

Why do good shows get canceled (ignoring awful shows like Terra Nova that deserved to die)? Just as people aren't willing to commit to a complex and/or artistic show. "Gamers" aren't willing to commit to experience-intensive games where the focus is on singleplayer or deep gameplay mechanics. But, this is also what we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better. In reality, it comes down to marketing. When I say shooter, what's the first thing you think of? That's why Call of Duty sells.

Also, I was wrong about the digital sales. I think NPD includes them now... just not Steam. I completely forgot about their deal with EEDAR.

 

[Averon]

Twisted Metal was never a AAA franchise. Where are people getting this from?

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Did Code: Veronica run into these sorts of problems when they crapped out RE3 on the PS1? Because I don't think anyone debates C:V as not being a mainline entry these days.

It can be argued that Code Veronica didn't get a fair shake until it was ported from DC to PS2. Not unlike Liberty City/Vice City Stories.

Twisted Metal was never a AAA franchise. Where are people getting this from?

Before the news of Eat Sleep Play working on smaller games came about, there was a lot of talk about it being one of the more cherished Sony-published franchises. Relatively speaking, it's in the ballpark of Killzone 2, Resistance 3, and Infamous opening months from what I recall. Only Uncharted 2/3 and GT 5 were significantly more popular opening month in the US this generation.

 

[Synless]

"hoped" is probably a better word than "thought."

Agreed, but I am still surprised regardless. It's a top tier device that should have had more appeal than "221k".