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[Agent Icebeezy]

InFamous, unfortunately.

Can't wait for this, but I think that activision is going to throw the kitchen sink into advertising prototype so sony will need to put up their a game in marketing.

btw, I'm watching purple rain on television now on fuse and re5 is all over this shit.

 

[Stop It]

MadWorld < 70,000

You all suck (not the 70k who actually bought the game).

I'm afraid that the game was a niche product of a niche genre on a system that hasn't fostered the type of userbase that likes such games. A shame but not entirely unexpected.

 

[SPEA]

Supposedly, Chinawars bombed.

Take-Two's (TTWO) Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is dying on the shelves.

We noted earlier this week that analysts were split on how well the game would do when the NPD Group reported US videogame sales for March. Estimates ranged from 450,000 units sold on the high end to as low as only 200,000.

Now we have data, and the number is far worse than the most conservative estimates: 88,704.

(Industry sources provided us with the data -- not on the report -- and we've asked NPD for confirmation.)

The game is the latest in a hugely successful franchise and received a stunning 94 points on Metacritic, practically the videogame equivalent of winning multiple Oscars.

So how did Take-Two flub a sure thing? Chinatown Wars was built for the wrong console. The title -- whose gameplay centers around drug dealing, cold-blooded murder, and sex -- is only available on the Nintendo DS, who's primary audience is children. Parents refused to let their kids play, and the adult DS audience just isn't that big.

Take-Two reps tell us in a phone call that they remain confident in the long-term success of Chinatown Wars, and they note March was difficult for all videogame publishers, with sales down 17% across the industry.

Chinatown Wars may yet find life down the road, but all in all a rare misstep from Take-Two. And the winner here might actually be Sony (SNE): The Chinatown Wars disaster will likely scare other publishers away from making new adult-themed games for the Nintendo DS. Some may redirect efforts towards Sony's PSP, which targets a somewhat older crowd.

http://www.businessinsider.com/take-twos-grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars-bombs-2009-4

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

MadWorld < 70,000

Source?

Regardless,

 

[TheGreatDave]

Ouch Chinatown wars only did 89,000

GG DS owners. G FUCKING G.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Shiiiiiiit.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

MadWorld < 70,000

If true then my predictions during the last NPD thread were literally dead on!

Normally I'd say it did on par with what it was suppose to do but the game did have some decent advertising (I.E. There were actually commercials).

 

[Beer Monkey]

MadWorld was pretty average..

It's got some great buzz even if the sales aren't fantastic. This should push Sega to get it on PS3 and 360 ASAP. Let's face it, you don't really need waggle for this game. I've played it for an hour, the so-called motion controls added NOTHING.

 

[legend166]

Man, the video game community sucks so much.

 

[GarthVaderUK]

Supposedly, Chinawars bombed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/take-twos-grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars-bombs-2009-4

Yup, 89K according to NPD.

 

[Stop It]

Supposedly, Chinawars bombed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/take-twos-grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars-bombs-2009-4

88,704. 88,704. Fuck.

I am hoping to hell that there has been a mis-calc somewhere, that cannot be right, surely, because those are truly awful figures and the game deserves to sell much much more.

 

[Bizzyb]

MadWorld < 70,000

FFUUUUUUUU.gif

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

HOLY SHIT at China Town Wars sales! I can't say anything for this other then well wrong platform. Hopefully it has legs. I'll be purchasing it later on when it gets cheaper ($35 is a bit too much for me).

It's got some great buzz even if the sales aren't fantastic. This should push Sega to get it on PS3 and 360 ASAP. Let's face it, you don't really need waggle for this game. I've played it for an hour, the so-called motion controls added NOTHING.

But they were even worse off on the PS3 and 360...

 

[schuelma]

It's got some great buzz even if the sales aren't fantastic. This should push Sega to get it on PS3 and 360 ASAP. Let's face it, you don't really need waggle for this game. I've played it for an hour, the so-called motion controls added NOTHING.

and heeeeeere weeeeeee gooooooo

 

[Eteric Rice]

It's got some great buzz even if the sales aren't fantastic. This should push Sega to get it on PS3 and 360 ASAP. Let's face it, you don't really need waggle for this game. I've played it for an hour, the so-called motion controls added NOTHING.

Get.

The fuck.

OUT.

-_-

 

[Y2Kev]

Chinatown wars at 89k is a bit surprising.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Damn, and Chinatown Wars really is one of the best portable games I've played in a long time. While playing it I could only imagine how great a sequel for the DSi or next DS would be.

Why did you guys buy poo-poo like GTA4 and leave Good Games™ to rot.

Chinatown wars at 89k is a bit surprising.

hey good you changed your avatar. i was gonna say something since your old one was even worse than gta4! (wowow)

 

[gkryhewy]

The Chinatown Wars disaster will likely scare other publishers away from making new adult-themed games for the Nintendo DS. Some may redirect efforts towards Sony's PSP, which targets a somewhat older crowd.

Yeah, PSP software is just FLYING off the shelves.

 

[Bernbaum]

It's got some great buzz even if the sales aren't fantastic. This should push Sega to get it on PS3 and 360 ASAP. Let's face it, you don't really need waggle for this game. I've played it for an hour, the so-called motion controls added NOTHING.

And on page 17 we remove our 'Killzone 2 is teh fail' asshats for 'Waggle is teh fail' asshats.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Man, the video game community sucks so much.

Yes. Yes they do >:-(

 

[AniHawk]

Chinatown wars at 89k is a bit surprising.

Yeah, it's pretty high.

 

[Psychotext]

GTA sales sadden, but don't surprise me. I wouldn't say that the DS userbase is all kids... but I might say that the adult part of that userbase is more interested in Brain Training and Sudoku than a GTA game.

 

[Opiate]

Terrible sales for GTA:CW. This will indeed discourage efforts of this sort on the DS in the future.

Very poor news for "core" Nintendo gamers this month. It seems like Nintendo has almost entirely lost the 15-35 year old male demographic, but have soundly captured everything else.

 

[Gwanatu T]

Does every American own a copy of WiiPlay yet?

We all need to remember that WiiPlay is a remote with a $10 game. Seriously, this is the reason it sells like it does.

I'm terribly disappointed in Madworld and GTA Chinatown, but I certainly didn't help contribute to that anyway, so I really can't say much.

 

[Omar Ismail]

Well you grossly overestimate what people in game industry are ACTUALLY paid.

$73,000/year was the average in 2007.

So that's the average SALARY.

Rule of thumb is that the true cost of an employee is about 1.5 times their salary. This guy recommends budgeting $2 for every $1 of salary, so 2 times the salary.

Marketing costs vary WIDELY, but it's actually not crazy to see marketing costs reach 50%, 100% or 200% of development costs. This book recommends a 200% spend on marketing costs vs development.

 

[Grecco]

Id say damn at those GTA sales, but then id also realize that i havent bought it either. Trying to finish Chrono Trigger before i buy another DS game.

I could see it having longer legs though. So i wont panic just yet

 

[Stoney Mason]

Supposedly, Chinawars bombed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/take-twos-grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars-bombs-2009-4

Too bad. That will most likely be the last GTA we see on a Nintendo platform for awhile.

 

[Stop It]

Chinatown wars at 89k is a bit surprising.

A bit? I put the game down as selling 350k, this is what I expected for first day sales, let alone first month.

I honestly cannot believe those figures, what the hell went wrong? Surely with a userbase of the magnitude of the DS that at least some would have picked this up. I honestly feel for Rockstar Leeds here because they have crafted a game that suited DS to the ground and got literally sod all in return.

I know this is a tired phrase here but still: This is why we can't have nice things.

Yeah, it's pretty high.

Oh, I just plainly don't like you.

 

[Beer Monkey]

But they were even worse off on the PS3 and 360...

and heeeeeere weeeeeee gooooooo

Get.

The fuck.

OUT.

-_-

Uh, wow. Didn't know that was controversial. Can you explain in detail what would be bad with seeing Madworld ported to 360 and PS3? Do you hate to see Sega turn a profit?

If you are talking about the controls, they aren't even the kind of sensitive motion controls that we saw in RE4 (and which I loved). It's just a bunch of broad gestures; how are those so great compared to button presses or pad/stick motions?

And on page 17 we remove our 'Killzone 2 is teh fail' asshats for 'Waggle is teh fail' asshats.

I'm talking about a specific game. I'm not against waggle when it really adds something. I'm buying Motion+.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Terrible sales for GTA:CW. This will indeed discourage efforts of this sort on the DS in the future.

Very poor news for "core" Nintendo gamers this month. It seems like Nintendo has almost entirely lost the 15-35 year old male demographic, but have soundly captured everything else.

God I hope they can pull some of them back.

Fuuuuck.

 

[Alcibiades]

MadWorld and Chinatown Wars will be fine long-term as long as they can stay on the shelves...

Games like Boom Blox and de Blob have definitely shown that games don't need to make the Top 10 charts to be successful on Wii.

 

[Y2Kev]

hey good you changed your avatar. i was gonna say something since your old one was even worse than gta4! (wowow)

If you could see my face now it would be all puckered like i just sucked on a lemon

I can't see how 70k for MadWorld isn't a pretty big mess. Sega really put a lot behind it. Conduit is up next.

$73,000/year was the average in 2007.

So that's the average SALARY.

Rule of thumb is that the true cost of an employee is about 1.5 times their salary. This guy recommends budgeting $2 for every $1 of salary, so 2 times the salary.

Marketing costs vary WIDELY, but it's actually not crazy to see marketing costs reach 50%, 100% or 200% of development costs. This book recommends a 200% spend on marketing costs vs development.

You have way more programmers on a team than you do the people making higher salaries-- in this particular case, the quoted average for employees with less than 3 years experience (Guerrilla hired rapidly for KZ2) is 42k. Programmers and QA are probably the big part of the team, and testers average 26k.

 

[Kifimbo]

GTA: CW was the biggest DS game coming from the West. And it bombed. I'm not optimistic about the future of western development on that console.

 

[Nirolak]

Supposedly, Chinawars bombed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/take-twos-grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars-bombs-2009-4

That's really unfortunate.

Yeah, PSP software is just FLYING off the shelves.

Well, in all fairness, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories did sell about 2.8 million copies.

Sources (Unfortunately you have to add these as all three regions are reported separately): [1] [2] [3]

 

[Eteric Rice]

MadWorld and Chinatown Wars will be fine long-term as long as they can stay on the shelves...

Games like Boom Blox and de Blob have definitely shown that games don't need to make the Top 10 charts to be successful on Wii.

I hope so. The problem is that supposedly, Madworld's price is already dropping in some places.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

GTA sales sadden, but don't surprise me. I wouldn't say that the DS userbase is all kids... but I might say that the adult part of that userbase is more interested in Brain Training and Sudoku than a GTA game.

IMO it's more so due to the purchasing habits of those who own the DS. People prefer to buy their "epics", "multiplayer bashes", "and big titles" on consoles. The only people that get around that are core gamers which still isn't saying much as a game like TWEWY which sold 178,000 copies in America is considered "great".

 

[Calcaneus]

Wow, I didn't even know today was NPD day. But yeah, disappointing HW numbers all around and Madworld deserved better.

 

[Barrett2]

Perfect :lol

 

[Mirimar]

I hope so. The problem is that supposedly, Madworld's price is already dropping in some places.

Madworld's price dropping is a good thing, though. It'll let consumers pick it up for sub $20, maybe even lower.

 

[DMeisterJ]

Wow... Chinatown-bomba.

GTA:SAS plz R*

 

[neojubei]

Killzone 2 did better than I thought. Awesome game.

 

[Skenzin]

Bad month for Sony. At what point is Sony going to atleast pretend to meet consumers halfway. A $299 relaunch with Killzone2 and a massive media blitz could have done wonders for the system and it's image. Could have been a huge domino effect. At what point does Sony management realize that asking people to pay hundreds more of video game system to subsidize other divisions and massive 1st party development isnt going to fly in a competitive market. It's a vicious cycle.

heres the insanity: Sony spends hundred of millions on game development for games that arent selling because, nobody can afford the system because, They can't lower the price because, of the massive development costs they spend on.

Something is severely broken with Sony upper management. Sorry I had to vent.

 

[botticus]

GTA: CW was the biggest DS game coming from the West. And it bombed. I'm not optimistic about the future of western development on that console.

It would have helped if they hadn't avoided it for 5 years.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Why does Chinatown Wars appear to be doing so much better in the UK than the US (relatively speaking)?

 

[AniHawk]

Surely with a userbase of the magnitude of the DS that at least some would have picked this up.

This was the third GTA to hit a Nintendo system in ten years. I'm pretty sure the other two bombed as well. There's really no base for it on these things.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

I hope so. The problem is that supposedly, Madworld's price is already dropping in some places.

Only in UK.

This was the third GTA to hit a Nintendo system in ten years. I'm pretty sure the other two bombed as well. There's really no base for it on these things.

Pretty much. The purchasing habits on the DS and the userbase just really doesn't correlate well with the game at all. I know that I usually lean toward defending games that didn't sell well on certain platforms as people often point to "the wrong platform due to the userbase", but this is one time where I'll say it's true.

 

[Metroidvania]

Wow, somehow missed this.....

Hopefully the success of RE5 will mean another in the same general style, and not the entire series reboot that has been reported for RE6.

 

[JDSN]

Its a shame to see the Clover curse living on, its always the wrong audience in the wrong time.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

What is the ratio of RE5(X360) sold to the X360 userbase in NA versus ratio of RE5(PS3) sold to the PS3 userbase?

 

[MC Safety]

Ha I even tried to tone down the ridiculousness of the KZ2 one. Oh well.

You did a stellar job.

The check's in the mail, Brucie!

 

[Ysiadmihi]

MadWorld's sales aren't surprising. Disappointing, but there are enough problems with the game to limit it to a rental only for many people. The black and white style alone probably scared a good number of potential buyers off...

Chinatown Wars numbers *are* surprising, but I think it's almost deserved. The love for this game baffles me. Any other game/developer would have been ripped to shreds for forcing in gimmicky touch screen stuff in the most awkward places.