Support NeoGAF

[Synless]

I did my part with both Gears 3 and Resistance 3. R3 deserved some more sales, it was a pretty good game.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I didn't play the beta, was it really that bad?

Worse.

I wonder how they're going to handle it with future publisher partners, they went the multiplatform route but if EA or Activision thinks it isn't worth the risk they'll drop them like a rock but maybe they blame these sales on the fact that the game was only released on one platform.

And a Franchise that never should have gone past a second game. I'm sure that was a marketing decision though and not a developer one.

 

[Huff]

And a Franchise that never should have gone past a second game.

Pretty bold statement for never having played the third game.

 

[LuchaShaq]

And yet Insomniac thought the game was so toxic that they all but disowned it. The real world facts don't agree with you.

Sold well Reviewed well.

Again just angry forum trolls about the SINGLE player. The Multiplayer that was great and why the 2nd game was so successful was not basically gone from 3.

 

[Syphon Filter]

Sold well Reviewed well.

Again just angry forum trolls about the SINGLE player. The Multiplayer that was great and why the 2nd game was so successful was not basically gone from 3.

Multiplayer was a turd in R2.

 

[inky]

Multiplayer was a turd in R2.

I'm not a "competitive games guy", so maybe that's why I enjoyed it (I still despised the SP). I liked the idea of a clusterfuck of 40 ppl just killing each other. Still, the game as a whole was a turd and it might have done irreparable damage to the franchise going by this numbers.

 

[revolverjgw]

Poor Resistance 3. That game absolutely wailed. R2 must have done the brand some damage. The first game was alright, it had untapped potential. R3 built on it well with fun gunplay with tons of weapons, and fantastic aesthetics. I guess the series found its voice too late.

 

[MrPliskin]

They could have went 3rd party any time they wanted to, so any blame to be placed is on them.

The uphill climb is simple. New IP this late into the generation is a tough sell. They have no fanbase on the 360. They also lose any spotlight put on them from being a one system developer.

They could do it, but it just going to be tough.

I've been drinking but...


I pretty much hate anything you post with regards to R3. All your comments were FUD, ans your thoughts on it are factually incorrect. I'll get banned for being a dumbass drunk but whatever.

Honestly NPD is too importAnt to folks, we should be more focused on bad games that sell well, (aka Dead island). Travesty.

 

[fernoca]

And Resistance 2 is worse?

Sadly, many remember Resistance 2 because of this:

...more than the actual game.

Spoiler

The 'Google' stuff was added by whoever edited the pic

 

[Kintaro]

I've been drinking but...

I pretty much hate anything you post with regards to R3. All your comments were FUD, ans your thoughts on it are factually incorrect. I'll get banned for being a dumbass drunk but whatever.

Honestly NPD is too importAnt to folks, we should be more focused on bad games that sell well, (aka Dead island). Travesty.

I don't care? I'm not sure how I was factually incorrect? Admittedly, I suck playing FPS' on consoles, so YMMV there, but the SP was boring to me and the ending was pure, creamy shit. Also speaks volumes that the MP isn't fixed/great yet either (going by the OT).

It's performance speaks for itself.

Fun fact. Resistance 2's metacritic (love it or hate it) is higher than Resistance 3's. After some time, people figured out they hated Resistance 2. The same will happen to R3. Personally, both games were overrated.

Time to kill the series Sony.

 

[george_us]

I did my part with both Gears 3 and Resistance 3. R3 deserved some more sales, it was a pretty good game.

Sad that Resistance 3 didn't do so well. Probably the best overall shooter I've played this year.

It was a bland boring and forgetable shooter-by-the-numbers with a story so silly I lost brain cells following. When I'm actually happy to reach a vehicle section in an FPS that's usually a very bad sign.

And Resistance 2 is worse?

Resistance 2 had better shooting mechanics but the level design was god awful and a lot of the enemies were annoying as shit to deal with. R3 is MILES above the first two games in all departments.

 

[Nirolak]

I'm not a "competitive games guy", so maybe that's why I enjoyed it (I still despised the SP). I liked the idea of a clusterfuck of 40 ppl just killing each other. Still, the game as a whole was a turd and it might have done irreparable damage to the franchise going by this numbers.

I feel the series was salvageable, but they went about it the wrong way.

After Resistance 2, they had one primary strength: Brand awareness.

This meant that when Resistance 3 was announced, people were at least willing to give it a look. However, at that point, Insomniac needed to show them something that completely blew them away.

Since they didn't, they missed their window of opportunity and gave off the impression that it wouldn't be one of the absolute top games in the genre. They even got a rare second chance at E3 and managed to blow that as well. At that point I think Resistance 3 was kind of doomed to heavy decline, since there wasn't a large base of interested people to spread word of mouth excitement about the game.

 

[legend166]

Man, talk about a top heavy market.

 

[Massa]

I feel the series was salvageable, but they went about it the wrong way.

After Resistance 2, they had one primary strength: Brand awareness.

This meant that when Resistance 3 was announced, people were at least willing to give it a look. However, at that point, Insomniac needed to show them something that completely blew them away.

Since they didn't, they missed their window of opportunity and gave off the impression that it wouldn't be one of the absolute top games in the genre. They even got a rare second chance at E3 and managed to blow that as well. At that point I think Resistance 3 was kind of doomed to heavy decline, since there wasn't a large base of interested people to spread word of mouth excitement about the game.

Well, yeah. Probably one of the most unique things about the franchise was the coop mode in R2. They should've built on top of what they had there for R3.

I also wonder if the longer turnaround between R2 and R3 had much of an influence there. I remember Bioware justifying the 18-month cycle for Dragon Age 2 as necessary for the health of the franchise, that with a longer cycle they wouldn't be able to capitalize on the brand.

 

[NBtoaster]

Does Resistance 2 really get that much user hate? I know on gaf it does, but it's not really the impression I get on some other forums. The mp is still active too.

 

[SpecX]

Ouch, I didn't think R3 did that bad, but I can't say I helped it either. I loved R1 and felt it had so much potential and I loved the open beta for the multiplayer in R2. When I finally got my hands on R2, I hated it and couldn't believe what a horrible mess they created. This burned me for R3, but I'm willing to rent it and if I like, I'll buy.

 

[Nirolak]

Well, yeah. Probably one of the most unique things about the franchise was the coop mode in R2. They should've built on top of what they had there for R3.

I also wonder if the longer turnaround between R2 and R3 had much of an influence there. I remember Bioware justifying the 18-month cycle for Dragon Age 2 as necessary for the health of the franchise, that with a longer cycle they wouldn't be able to capitalize on the brand.

I understand why BioWare said that, but I think they're leaving out the key part of that statement.

They wanted Mass Effect and Dragon Age to be series in alternating fiscal years, meaning that if it didn't have a 1.5 year development cycle, it would have a 3.5 year development cycle, which would have been rather long.

For Resistance 3 however, I feel the main problem the time lapse caused was that standards went up more than they would have if they launched it in 2010, and the game's quality didn't increase enough to make people want it as much as Gears 3, Uncharted 3, Battlefield 3, or Modern Warfare 3.

Skyrim for example took three years since Fallout 3, but the quality improvement between the two games is extremely noticeable.

 

[AdventureRacing]

Man, talk about a top heavy market.

Just wait till next month, it's going to get much worse IMO. If you're not like in the top 20 games then god help you.

 

[Lostconfused]

I don't even want to think about how poorly Space Marine sold.

 

[Nirolak]

I don't even want to think about how poorly Space Marine sold.

Generally speaking that position would probably still be over 100K, but it definitely wasn't enough to continue the series: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448503

 

[a Master Ninja]

It seems my musings in the DEATH WATCH Thread were correct.

Insomniac is in trouble, and Overstrike won't save them.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Ah the never ending Resistance doom and gloom. Good thing Sony doesn't care and continues to make games anyway. Back in April Socom 4 only did around 180k it's first month. Yet you can pretty much guarantee there will be a Socom 5. Even with it's lower sales and constant fan backlash.

 

[Nirolak]

Ah the never ending Resistance doom and gloom. Good thing Sony doesn't care and continues to make games anyway. Back in April Socom 4 only did around 180k it's first month. Yet you can pretty much guarantee there will be a Socom 5. Even with it's lower sales and constant fan backlash.

Zipper already had layoffs though: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=430667

 

[Kyoufu]

Ah the never ending Resistance doom and gloom. Good thing Sony doesn't care and continues to make games anyway. Back in April Socom 4 only did around 180k it's first month. Yet you can pretty much guarantee there will be a Socom 5. Even with it's lower sales and constant fan backlash.

I really fucking hope not. Seriously, kill that shit already.

 

[Tron 2.0]

Ah the never ending Resistance doom and gloom. Good thing Sony doesn't care and continues to make games anyway. Back in April Socom 4 only did around 180k it's first month. Yet you can pretty much guarantee there will be a Socom 5. Even with it's lower sales and constant fan backlash.

How can you spin these numbers positively?

There may be more Resistance (in fact, we know there will be on the Vita), but that doesn't change the fact that those are bad, bad numbers.

Generally speaking that position would probably still be over 100K, but it definitely wasn't enough to continue the series: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448503

How is THQ still in business? They have to be constantly on the brink of collapse.

If I were a Japanese publisher looking to expand into Western games, I'd buy THQ in a heartbeat.

 

[Derrick01]

If I were a Japanese publisher looking to expand into Western games, I'd buy THQ in a heartbeat.

Why, so they can keep not making money in the west?

 

[SapientWolf]

How can you spin these numbers positively?

There may be more Resistance (in fact, we know there will be on the Vita), but that doesn't change the fact that those are bad, bad numbers.

How is THQ still in business? They have to be constantly on the brink of collapse.

If I were a Japanese publisher looking to expand into Western games, I'd buy THQ in a heartbeat.

If SR3 doesn't sell then I think that's a wrap. I hope they have an awesome demo planned.

 

[Nirolak]

How is THQ still in business? They have to be constantly on the brink of collapse.

If I were a Japanese publisher looking to expand into Western games, I'd buy THQ in a heartbeat.

They're almost out of cash and had to get a big credit line from Wells Fargo to keep going.

Why, so they can keep not making money in the west?

Buying THQ would be useful if you simultaneously shut down half their studios.

They actually have some rather profitable series. It's just that they have a lot of unprofitable series as well.

 

[EternalGamer]

As long as everyone at Insomniac is ok, I am kind of glad Resistance 3 failed, even though it is apparently a quality shooter. The market is becoming over saturated with these things. If a half dozen more big budget shooters tank then maybe devs can get funding for something else. That is the only way we are going to get beyond this rut.

 

[Kusagari]

If SR3 doesn't sell then I think that's a wrap. I hope they have an awesome demo planned.

I have no idea why they insist on putting the series in the middle of November. It would be the perfect January/February/March or summer series.

 

[SapientWolf]

I have no idea why they insist on putting the series in the middle of November. It would be the perfect January/February/March or summer series.

Because R* would probably eat their lunch. There's some pretty heavy GTA rumors for next year. If that's the case it's now or never.

 

[inky]

As long as everyone at Insomniac is ok, I am kind of glad Resistance 3 failed, even though it is apparently a quality shooter. The market is becoming over saturated with these things. If a half dozen more big budget shooters tank then maybe devs can get funding for something else. That is the only way we are going to get beyond this rut.

Hmmm, how many shooters that will not perform as intended are coming next year?

XCOM, Syndicate, Prey, Ghost Recon, Metro (maybe)... can't think of others. Whatever the case, as long as Halo, CoD and others keep selling the industry will keep trying to replicate that success.

 

[Nirolak]

Because R* would probably eat their lunch. There's some pretty heavy GTA rumors for next year. If that's the case it's now or never.

Rockstar's fiscal projections point to the game being April 2012 or later, so I think they still had a good window in Q1.

That said, THQ wants huge numbers from this game, so the window is less favorable to them in that regard.

 

[Tron 2.0]

They're almost out of cash and had to get a big credit line from Wells Fargo to keep going.

Well there you go.

Buying THQ would be useful if you simultaneously shut down half their studios.

They actually have some rather profitable series. It's just that they have a lot of unprofitable series as well.

If you close half of THQ's studios you have, what, three studios left?

 

[Nirolak]

Well there you go.

If you close half of THQ's studios you have, what, three studios left?

That's about the same number of studios Square Enix picked up when they bought Eidos.

However, due to the way THQ is structured, it'd almost make more sense to keep all the studios open and just shut down individual teams.

Like Relic's RTS division is quite profitable, but Space Marine was not.

Saints Row is a very profitable series (assuming you give it a good launch window), but the Red Faction/inSANE team isn't a great bet.

 

[Averon]

As long as everyone at Insomniac is ok, I am kind of glad Resistance 3 failed, even though it is apparently a quality shooter. The market is becoming over saturated with these things. If a half dozen more big budget shooters tank then maybe devs can get funding for something else. That is the only way we are going to get beyond this rut.

As long as CoD continue to post insanely massive numbers, other Pubs/Devs will continue to chase that pie.

 

[The Technomancer]

Oh how I long for a world in which 180k could be a decent opening month for a game, and that they had enough longevity that it could be a decent expectation for such a title to crack a million within a year or so.

 

[Tron 2.0]

That's about the same number of studios Square Enix picked up when they bought Eidos.

However, due to the way THQ is structured, it'd almost make more sense to keep all the studios open and just shut down individual teams.

Like Relic's RTS division is quite profitable, but Space Marine was not.

Saints Row is a very profitable series (assuming you give it a good launch window), but the Red Faction/inSANE team isn't a great bet.

I forget that most of the studios have multiple teams.

Do you know, is the Red Faction team solely devoted to inSANE? How is that game not coming out until 2013?

EDIT: They didn't ship Armageddon until the summer. I'm guessing that game bombed too.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

How can you spin these numbers positively?

There may be more Resistance (in fact, we know there will be on the Vita), but that doesn't change the fact that those are bad, bad numbers.

I can spin because I don't know how well the games performing worldwide or how much Insomniac spend to develop it. Would R3 have sold as much as the second game if it had been released in November where all games receive a boost due to holiday shopping? And unlike most people on this forum I enjoy the series and just roll my eyes at posts where people don't like a game and then declare the series should be killed because of it.

 

[Nirolak]

I forget that most of the studios have multiple teams.

Do you know, is the Red Faction team solely devoted to inSANE? How is that game not coming out until 2013?

EDIT: They didn't ship Armageddon until the summer. I'm guessing that game bombed too.

Red Faction did notably worse than Space Marine.

They also killed off the series and moved the team to inSANE, yeah: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=438755

As a side note, I put in the bottom part to appease Reilly, but yeah, the series is dead.

 

[ThisWreckage]

Didn't Insomniac decline being bought by Sony? If so, I can see that decision biting them on the ass big time. Overstrike does not have mass market appeal whatsoever. I hate to say this, but even though Sucker Punch has only made two games this generation, that purchase seems like a great decision in retrospect. If Overstrike bombs then you can bet your ass that Insomniac will reconsider a Sony offer.

 

[Violater]

Real question, why do PS3 exclusives not sell?

 

[DGRE]

That is a pacific ocean-sized gap between gears and resistance. Crazy.

 

[gatti-man]

It seems my musings in the DEATH WATCH Thread were correct.

Insomniac is in trouble, and Overstrike won't save them.

If MS bought Insomniac I wouldnt have to buy a Playstation 4. R&C, Resistance 1 and the co-op of 2 are some of the best gaming experiences Ive had on ps3. God of war 3 was a bore and Uncharted/MGS were games that basically played themselves. The only thing I would miss would be Killzone.

No co-op in R3 was such a blow to me I didnt pick the game up. That was so great Id love to see Isomniac make an entire game around co-op fps with rpg elements and crazy amounts of enemies. They really missed the boat on DLC there too.

Real question, why do PS3 exclusives not sell?

Because they dont have mass appeal? Uncharted, despite being a GAF favorite doesnt really get people psyched to buy it. Resistance has always suffered from a lack of main character itis, God of War is apparently a one trick pony done 3 times before if you count the psp version, GT5 was way too late to the game, Killzone I think has a hard time because of its ps2 roots and its mp is on the hardcore ish side.

On the other hand Halo and Gears both have noob friendly mp, and sp modes. They all have well defined heros and villains. Every iteration has been top shelf with minor quibles. Every iteration has received AAA budget advertising campaigns that were smartly designed.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Real question, why do PS3 exclusives not sell?

Sony doesn't invest in 100 million dollar marketing campaigns.

 

[ThisWreckage]

Real question, why do PS3 exclusives not sell?

They do. Microsoft exclusives tend to do enormous numbers the first several months and taper off whereas Sony exclusives sell more consistently. It's not like PS3 exclusives are flopping, they're just not doing massive numbers.

 

[Nirolak]

Real question, why do PS3 exclusives not sell?

It's a bit of a perception issue.

Sony has three series that sell really well: Gran Turismo, Uncharted, and God of War.

However, they release around 20 different series, so the other 17 doing poorly to moderately makes it look like their games never sell.

 

[Mrbob]

And a Franchise that never should have gone past a second game. I'm sure that was a marketing decision though and not a developer one.

Insomniac is independent. They can work on whatever they want. They chose to work on Resistance 3. Perhaps they wanted to fix the train wreck which was Resistance 2 and not leave a bad taste in gamers mouths.

How much it sells overall, I have no idea. The campaign is really fun, so if sales don't project out it isn't because the game is bad.

If MS bought Insomniac I wouldnt have to buy a Playstation 4. R&C, Resistance 1 and the co-op of 2 are some of the best gaming experiences Ive had on ps3. God of war 3 was a bore and Uncharted/MGS were games that basically played themselves. The only thing I would miss would be Killzone.

Does this post make any sense? Why would MS buy out Insomniac? Especially when the company is making a game on the 360 without being a first party acquisition. If anything Sony would have done so already, but it seems Insomniac wants to remain independent.

By the way you need to learn how to troll better. Too obvious.

 

[ThisWreckage]

Insomniac is independent. They can work on whatever they want. They chose to work on Resistance 3. Perhaps they wanted to fix the train wreck which was Resistance 2 and not leave a bad taste in gamers mouths.

How much it sells overall, I have no idea. The campaign is really fun, so if sales don't project out it isn't because the game is bad.




Does this post make any sense? Why would MS buy out Insomniac? Especially when the company is making a game on the 360 without being a first party acquisition. If anything Sony would have done so already, but it seems Insomniac wants to remain independent.

By the way you need to learn how to troll better.

They might want to remain independent, but if their games don't start to pick up sales wise they're going to be in a lot of trouble. Going third party is also a huge gamble. Now they have to make games that run on both the 360 and the PS3 and they don't have Sony paying for the marketing, etc.

 

[Tron 2.0]

I can spin because I don't know how well the games performing worldwide or how much Insomniac spend to develop it. Would R3 have sold as much as the second game if it had been released in November where all games receive a boost due to holiday shopping? And unlike most people on this forum I enjoy the series and just roll my eyes at posts where people don't like a game and then declare the series should be killed because of it.

Who knows? But they didn't release it in November, so it's not even a material question.

An employee of Insomniac posted in this thread that they're willing to bet the game will sell at least one million copies. I don't know if he or she is counting the inevitable bundling. But I find it hard to believe that anyone at Sony or Insomniac is going to look at 1,000,000 worldwide as a significant victory.

If the game goes on to have great legs or does amazing in Europe, all the better. But no one is looking at 180k for the month of September and feeling good about it.