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As long as I have been here, I have never seen an introductory game or system have a sales increase from the previous month whether it was only tracked for 1 day or 31 days in it's debut month. ( or week in MC threads ) I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but I can't recall an occurrence of it happening

It happens, but very, very rarely. If I recall, Mario Party on the Wii managed to do it. The Wii, DS and PS3 went up month 2, but they launched in November, so the Christmas bump put them over the top. Even then it's no guarantee: the Xbox, Gamecube and 360 all launched in Nov and hardware sales still fell in Dec.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Is 221K for Twisted Metal good or bad?

I thought so and replied twice earlier with a little bit of elaboration on what my personal expectations were:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35860608&postcount=596
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35860829&postcount=632

Some others seemed skeptical.

 

[Miles X]

Price cut @ E3?

I'd say it might be wiser to wait until the fall to get full impact over the holiday season.

 

[MechaX]

FFXIII-2 is not a bomba,350k is not that bad...

Again, when considering that XIII sold around a million during its first month, only managing to recapture less than a third of the audience is pretty bad.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

FFXIII-2 is not a bomba,350k is not that bad...so if it's in second place with 350k and Twisted Metal is 9th at 225K,that's around 300k for Amular? not bad but I would like to hear some comments from geirigh(Curt Schilling) to see if they are satisfied with those numbers...

I'd say 350K is pretty bad for their flagship title. After a clear backlash with 13, rather than moving on, they chose to let it continue and now it's showing in the sales that people are less interested...a lot less. This one decision to keep 13 alive could have a large effect on the future of the series.

I'm really surprised about it all. I'm sure they thought it would just be a quick cash in and thought the consequences would be minimal but I'm not so sure...

 

[Averon]

No matter what sales are initially for 13-2, it is a game designed to make money through DLC. It is very difficult to gauge how much more revenue / profit that brings in but it may indeed make as much money as X-2 and maybe even 13.


BTW When the second highest selling game this month sells 350k ish, doesn't that speak more about the state of the industry than on game quality?

BTW Part 2. After yesterday's patch, FFXIV is finally resurrected to a point where the game has become...gasp...very fun.

This is why I won't be buying 13-2 anytime soon. Feels like I'm buying a half finished product. The details about the ending I heard certainly don't help matters either. If 13-2 doesn't have a "Complete" edition with all (or most) of the DLC packed in, I doubt I'll purchase the game.

 

[jcm]

FFXIII-2 is not a bomba,350k is not that bad...so if it's in second place with 350k and Twisted Metal is 9th at 225K,that's around 300k for Amular? not bad but I would like to hear some comments from geirigh(Curt Schilling) to see if they are satisfied with those numbers...

Joystiq says 330k for Amalur.

 

[jbug617]

Is 221K for Twisted Metal good or bad?

I think that's pretty good for a niche game for a single console.

 

[Nirolak]

FFXIII-2 is not a bomba,350k is not that bad...so if it's in second place with 350k and Twisted Metal is 9th at 225K,that's around 300k for Amular? not bad but I would like to hear some comments from geirigh(Curt Schilling) to see if they are satisfied with those numbers...

Again, when considering that XIII sold around a million during its first month, only managing to recapture less than a third of the audience is pretty bad.

Final Fantasy XIII launch month: 1322.1K

I don't know how this can be considered anything but a tremendous disaster.

 

[LosDaddie]

In hindsight, the FF multiplat megaton was a non-event. Who'd have guessed it?

It was worth it for the reactions from SonyGAF, however.

Price cut @ E3?

Have to, and I think the pricecut may be bigger than some might expect.

 

[Nirolak]

Joystiq says 330k for Amalur.

Thanks.

 

[MeBecomingI]

I can see that happening.

Likewise... that would help ensure the 360 remains at the top. I would think $99? It sells extremely well right now, so I couldn't imagine when the price is cut down further. Massive, massive numbers. However, I think we might also see another PS3 price cut... maybe. You know, the other $50 they forgot to take off of the last price cut. Although with the Vita tanking, part of me wonders if Sony might be more inclined to keep the current PS3 price to help offset the Vita and just focus on bundling, hopefully at the same $249 price. Maybe they'll do both... price cut to $199 and bundle a few games for $250. Just some random thoughts.

At E3, I wouldn't doubt that we see Sony employ a bundle strategy with the Vita. Instead of dropping the price, they pack in Uncharted or LittleBigPlanet and a 4GB memory stick and sell it for $250 Wi-Fi and $300 Wi-Fi / 3G. However, unlike the PS3, they price just can't price hike the bundles. They need all the momentum as possible for the Vita... and games. A lot of big name games.

 

[pieatorium]

FFXIII-2 is not a bomba,350k is not that bad...so if it's in second place with 350k and Twisted Metal is 9th at 225K,that's around 300k for Amular? not bad but I would like to hear some comments from geirigh(Curt Schilling) to see if they are satisfied with those numbers...

It's a massive bomba, it's not just about how much it sold but compared to previous entries. When you have a 1.3 mill opening and follow it up with your next game doing 300k and the lowest opening for the mainline series in over 20 years, it's BOMBA. Even with lowered expectations from 13 being poorly recieved it is still bad.

 

[Nirolak]

To put this month's sales in perspective, Dante's Inferno sold 467.2K in its launch month, which was February 2010.

 

[jrDev]

Man, that Vita launch number is scary...Sony is going to have to provide huge incentives to publishers to develop for the thing. Japan seems to already be shunning it with their lukewarm "Nintendo Direct" announcements.

I wanna see if I can jump on the PSSuite bandwagon but I'll wait it and see if this service takes off (and a price drop for Vita)...I can't stress enough how sad this whole situation is.

Also, I hope RER picks up and sells decently monthly, this atleast needs to hit a million ww (300K NA). The game is what I loved so much about RE4... :-/

 

[pieatorium]

Have to, and I think the pricecut may be bigger than some might expect.

Would certainly make sense to put as much pressure in WiiU launch as they can.

 

[Jasper Avenue]

I honestly thought Kingdoms of Amalur was going to sell better. New IP but they pumped a ton of marketing into it.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

How big is the Alamur dev team? I was under the impression they were quite large. These numbers aren't exacty encouraging.

 

[Neuromancer]

I thought so and replied twice earlier with a little bit of elaboration on what my personal expectations were:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35860608&postcount=596
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35860829&postcount=632

Some others seemed skeptical.

I think that's pretty good for a niche game for a single console.

Thanks

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I'd say it might be wiser to wait until the fall to get full impact over the holiday season.

nah. they can enjoy decent sales now AND during the holiday season. waiting 7 months doesn't make sense at all. If they're going to do it, do it.

Though I'd suggest good bundles are a better idea. And to stop fucking gouging people on memory.

 

[MadmanUK]

Seems pretty low for Amalur especially as it's multi and was pushed pretty heavily.
Shitty name didn't help.

 

[donny2112]

As long as I have been here, I have never seen an introductory game or system have a sales increase from the previous month whether it was only tracked for 1 day or 31 days in it's debut month. ( or week in MC threads ) I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but I can't recall an occurrence of it happening

Ignoring Nov -> December, it's pretty rare, yes. Wii Sports Resort did it, for one, though.

WSR July 2009: 508K
WSR August 2009: 754K

Probably mostly long-tail games would have a chance of doing it, and not so much traditional/first day games.

 

[Stumpokapow]

To put this month's sales in perspective, Dante's Inferno sold 467.2K in its launch month, which was February 2010.

What angle were you taking with this?

The two most obvious reads of your post, to my mind, would be:
1) Amalur : Oblivion/Fable :: Dante : GoW
2) 2012 : 2010 :: Poop : Not Poop

 

[darkside31337]

Wow Syndicate did really terrible :/

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but from Joystiq:

In its first week of sales during the last week of February, 36,000 copies of Asura's Wrath ended up in gamers hands, NPD tells Joystiq. Bizarrely, despite Syndicate's business savvy nature, EA's big reboot came up approximately 2,000 copies short of matching the Capcom god destroyer, with just 34,000 copies sold at retail in February.

 

[Ricker]

Joystiq says 330k for Amalur.

Do these numbers included digital sales through Steam and the like? maybe it's closer to half a mil then...

 

[Nirolak]

What angle were you taking with this?

The two most obvious reads of your post, to my mind, would be:
1) Amalur : Oblivion/Fable :: Dante : GoW
2) 2012 : 2010 :: Poop : Not Poop

That even the best selling game this month is almost assuredly lower than what is a pretty unnotable title from February 2010.

So, 2.) more so.

 

[John Dunbar]

i think we can all agree that the next numbered Final Fantasy should go portable only, 3DS style.

 

[linko9]

Do these numbers included digital sales through Steam and the like? maybe it's closer to half a mil then...

Pretty sure it doesn't include this, and the game was doing rather well on steam.

 

[Nirolak]

Wow Syndicate did really terrible :/

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but from Joystiq:

In its first week of sales during the last week of February, 36,000 copies of Asura's Wrath ended up in gamers hands, NPD tells Joystiq. Bizarrely, despite Syndicate's business savvy nature, EA's big reboot came up approximately 2,000 copies short of matching the Capcom god destroyer, with just 34,000 copies sold at retail in February.

Thanks.

 

[jvm]

What angle were you taking with this?

The two most obvious reads of your post, to my mind, would be:
1) Amalur : Oblivion/Fable :: Dante : GoW
2) 2012 : 2010 :: Poop : Not Poop

If only I could find a way to slip this into my column.

(It made me laugh right out loud. Thanks. I needed it!)

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

Wow Syndicate did really terrible :/

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but from Joystiq:

In its first week of sales during the last week of February, 36,000 copies of Asura's Wrath ended up in gamers hands, NPD tells Joystiq. Bizarrely, despite Syndicate's business savvy nature, EA's big reboot came up approximately 2,000 copies short of matching the Capcom god destroyer, with just 34,000 copies sold at retail in February.

34k in NA and 11k in the UK is pretty horrific.

 

[ZZMitch]

Joystiq says 330k for Amalur.

With Steam it is probably above 400k, which seems like a good start to me!

 

[Dipswitch]

Syndicate numbers are abysmal. I'm not sure if it was the emphasis on co-op, the perception of a short, bland SP campaign or the fact that it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Shame really, because it looked interesting to me.

I'll grab it when it comes down in price.

 

[FGMPR]

These are some ugly numbers. Non-indie success seems to be a pretty exclusive club these days, sadly.

 

[jett]

Asura's Wrath a deserving bomba. Syndicate at least resembled a game.

 

[SafeinSound]

Those Syndicate numbers....

I mean, I know a TON of people had no idea the game was even coming out the week it was even released because there was literally zero marketing, and they had just announced the game like six months before release. What a shame.

 

[JJD]

Holy shit at Syndicate...

I think it would still bomb if it stayed true to the series, but I would never have guessed such low numbers.

That can't be good for Starbreeze... :-(

 

[Franklinator]

Wow, Syndicate bombed a lot harder than I thought it would

 

[mugurumakensei]

Wow Syndicate did really terrible :/

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but from Joystiq:

In its first week of sales during the last week of February, 36,000 copies of Asura's Wrath ended up in gamers hands, NPD tells Joystiq. Bizarrely, despite Syndicate's business savvy nature, EA's big reboot came up approximately 2,000 copies short of matching the Capcom god destroyer, with just 34,000 copies sold at retail in February.

At least, RE:R did better than asura's wrath.

 

[Cheech]

Holy shit at Syndicate...

I think it would still bomb if it stayed true to the series, but I would never have guessed such low numbers.

That can't be good for Starbreeze... :-(

I think the main issue with Syndicate was that the game sucked unless you played co-op. That was the buzz, anyway.

If you're going to have a multiplayer focused experience, great, but it has to work well when playing with anonymous internet idiots. Co-op? Yeah, no.

 

[SlipperySlope]

Sony's pr says it all. They launch new hardware, and not a word is given about US sales.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Wow Syndicate did really terrible :/

It's becoming more and more clear that "hey guys, it's an FPS!" isn't enough to ensure success these days. (Was it ever?)

That isn't meant as a slight against Syndicate in any way (I haven't played the game but I'm interested in it), I just think it's interesting considering that the decision to revisit the IP in an FPS was most likely one based primarily on business reasons.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Is Syndicate another resounding success for EA's Partner program?

It sounded like such a great idea but at this point a developer would really have to be a fool to sign up for it.

And did Amalur really have a lot of marketing or was it just they did a lot of community focused stuff?

 

[dejan]

Guess your cunning plan to take yet another beloved classic and turn it into a modern, visceral first-person-shooter "experience" didn't work out after all ... too fucking bad.

 

[Cheech]

Sony's pr says it all. They launch new hardware, and not a word is given about US sales.

I am pretty sure Taco Bell gave more away in my home city than actually sold, going by the number of units in the wild here. My Gamestop has a huge pile of the things in the back.

PSP Go 2.0.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Sony's pr says it all. They launch new hardware, and not a word is given about US sales.

outside of the combined worldwide sales, Sony's not said a peep about US or EU sales.

 

[JJD]

Also, I wonder if Capcom isn't considering more seriously a Revelaitons port to Vita now (I'm not port begging, please don't ban me!).

I mean, they can't be satisfied with how the game charted. What happened? 3DS is doing good, RE is a beloved series and the game was really hyped, I really don't understand why it didn't perform better...

I think the main issue with Syndicate was that the game sucked unless you played co-op. That was the buzz, anyway.

If you're going to have a multiplayer focused experience, great, but it has to work well when playing with anonymous internet idiots. Co-op? Yeah, no.

I was thinking of buying the game, mainly for co op as everyone noted that it was the only way to play it. But I don't think I'm going to find many people playing it 2, 3 months from now...maybe I should spend my money getting Amalur.

 

[Deadbeat]

34k in NA and 11k in the UK is pretty horrific.

Which means they need to do a price drop. cmon EA, make it 10 bucks right now.

Is Syndicate another resounding success for EA's Partner program?

What game actually has been a success at all in the EA Partner program? Bulletstorm didnt make a profit and it sold a ton more than this game.

 

[FGMPR]

It's becoming more and more clear that "hey guys, it's an FPS!" isn't enough to ensure success these days. (Was it ever?)

That isn't meant as a slight against Syndicate in any way (I haven't played the game but I'm interested in it), I just think it's interesting considering that the decision to revisit the IP in an FPS was most likely one based primarily on business reasons.

It's such a waste of an IP. A smaller, low budget PC exclusive that had stayed true to the previous games would have excited PC gamers, imo, and could of led to a pretty successful comeback for a beloved series. Of course, with a flop of this magnitude, the IP is probably as good as dead.

I'm going to laugh my arse off when Paradox's 'Cartel' outsells it significantly on about 1/100th the budget by doing what EA should of done in the first place.

 

[Criminal Upper]

Asura's Wrath - 36K

lolz