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Ubisoft has disbanded the team behind Prince of Persia The Lost Crown. Game did not reach expectations and sequel was refused.

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
It's a good game, well made. What more do you want, not everything is going to sell 3 million copies.
To me thatā€™s biggest issue with current gaming industry. Every game needs to do crazy high sales or they go bust which god damn insane.

It makes devs hesitate to try something new because if those games donā€™t sale based on publishers stupid high expectations then they will lose their jobs.

The fact is some games no matter how good they are never going to have high sales numbers because they simply nicheā€¦..does that mean only ā€œmass appealā€ games should be made? Fuck no! That would make game industry so boring.
 
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SCB3

Member
To me thatā€™s biggest issue with current gaming industry. Every game needs to do crazy high sales or they go bust which god damn insane.

It makes devs hesitate to try something new because if those games donā€™t sale based on publishers stupid high expectations then they will lose their jobs.

The fact is some games no matter how good they are never going to have high sales numbers because they simply nicheā€¦..does mean only ā€œmass appealā€ games should be made? Fuck no! That would make game industry so boring.
The worst part is I thought we were past that mindest, remember when Square considered Tomb Raider 2013 to be a flop despite selling over 3 million as it expected 5 at at time where even Uncharted 2 didn't even get that

A shame as I liked this game a bit
 

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
Wow that sucks, it was a great game. A great Metroidvania. One of my favorites of the year. Would have loved a sequel. Guarantee it'll be better than the PoP remake.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted MemberĀ® Proā„¢
Not launching the game on the most popular PC platform probably had an effect, and decreased potential sales. There are statements in this thread about not buying it because it wasn't on Steam.

We just saw recent examples of games selling 65+ percent on PS5 and as little as 25 percent across PC...it came to Steam people still didn't buy it. What is the excuse for Silent Hill performing so much worse on PC?
 

pudel

Member
I think you're exactly right, they made a Prince of Persia game where the MC didn't look remotely Persian in appearance.
I mean in the OG Prince of Persia...the prince was a white guy with blonde hair, who was described as traveler from far lands.

Most PCMR gamers harbor the delusion that Steam release will save games, while extolling the virtues of cheap key sites and deep sales as a major benefit over consoles. They will never accept the fact for some games Steam simultaneous release is of zero benefit.
Just look into steam forum for every Ubi game....and you will see it matters for a lot of people. It is definitely an annoyance and a reason to say "Okay, thanks....I play something else". I cannot say if thats a huge factor, as a lot of Ubi games sold pretty well even with this annoyance. But now where times seems to be a bit harsher...all this anti-consumer behavior doesnt help at all, but make things only worse.

But you are also right that platform games are not really pc gamers favourite type of game....thats very true.
 
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RCX

Member
I liked it well enough. But Metroidvania as a genre feels very overdone to me these days. Takes an incredible game to really make me want to see it all the way through. Dont think I'd have been interested in revisting it with DLC and expansions.

Even after all these years I don't think anyone has topped SOTN.

The fact that some of this team once worked on Rayman sucks big time tho. I'll always hope for a genuine sequel to Legends but wouldnt really trust Ubi not to fuck it up these days.
 

Zacfoldor

Member
This is worse than MS closing Tango.

That being said, and I want to give ALL the credit to this wonderful team, but this was the rare amazing traditional game that just didn't hit it for me.

I think the game being too good is what really killed it for me, ironically. They made a masterpiece meant to be enjoyed like a full fledged AAA game. Something you can invest in with great combat and basically a huge and daunting map that really pushed the envelope for the type of enjoyment one could get out of a metroidvania.

That's why I couldn't finish it....

My favorite Metroidvania is Aria of Sorrow. I also love Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight. If you mixed in the most complicated and difficult elements from all 3, added some systems on top and made the combat similar to DMC at its most complex, you have this incredible game right here. Aria of Sorrow(remember my fav) on the other hand is a super simple game about farming souls and abilities that can be beat in a few hours.

I totally respect this huge awesome traditional game they made, but it isn't the cozy, easy, laid back metroidvania of my youth and was just like a game where I needed to git gud again and I wasn't feeling it at the time. I'd still give it a 9/10 and say it is one of the years best, during an amazing year...but fuck it's too hard and complex for me and I just finished Wukong, Elden Ring xpak twice, and beat Great Ape Vegeta last night for the first time in Sparking Zero.

Say what you want about the lost crown, but one thing it didn't do was fuck around.

Edit: All that said I bought this shit at full price. I supported this when it came out and I'm proud of that. Sorry team, you really did well. Ubisoft sucks.
 
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ap_puff

Member
Ubisoft management closing them actually makes me more interested in the game, will give it a look at 50% off
 

dmaul1114

Member
Bummer. Really enjoyed that game. The team that made it should try to stick together as an Indy and make a new Metroidvania IP. Or some other publisher that has IP good for the genre hire them to make one.
 

pudel

Member
The fact is some games no matter how good they are never going to have high sales numbers because they simply nicheā€¦..does that mean only ā€œmass appealā€ games should be made? Fuck no! That would make game industry so boring.
Niche games usually have a hardcore audience, who buy the niche games no matter what. And usually these devs/studios have way more realistic budgets and expectations and there is way more communication between the players and devs....they are doing pretty well imho.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
We just saw recent examples of games selling 65+ percent on PS5 and as little as 25 percent across PC...it came to Steam people still didn't buy it. What is the excuse for Silent Hill performing so much worse on PC?

I'm not talking about Silent Hill. I said it probably had an effect on this game. Do you agree?
 

PeteBull

Member
If we gamers don't buy games that are so highly rated by critics, it's our fault. I'm also afraid that AA suffers a lot from all these subscription services.
Dont expect small game like that, which still costs 50$ to sell in milions, bro. Its publisher's fault to not budget properly and have overinflated sales expectations.

Same way wilderbeast woman at 300lbs cant expect to get wifed up by high status guy(say doctor or a lawyer), but she will be lucky if even avg (5'9, 50k usd yearly salary) guy decides to commit to her, usually even that isnt the case, even if she has good personality that avg broke dude will just smash and dash if its slow tuesday ;)

TLDR: Even if game is solid its still niche af, it has to be properly budgeted or it will flop even with decent sales.
 

xBlueStonex

Member
I know the game reviewed well, but everything about it felt insanely cheap. Awful character designs and dated graphics were the two main things that made me give up after an hour or so.
 

Dane

Member
To me thatā€™s biggest issue with current gaming industry. Every game needs to do crazy high sales or they go bust which god damn insane.

It makes devs hesitate to try something new because if those games donā€™t sale based on publishers stupid high expectations then they will lose their jobs.

The fact is some games no matter how good they are never going to have high sales numbers because they simply nicheā€¦..does that mean only ā€œmass appealā€ games should be made? Fuck no! That would make game industry so boring.
It's a good game, well made. What more do you want, not everything is going to sell 3 million copies.
The issue is that the game had sold like 300k copies only according to Insider Gaming months ago, Ubisoft didn't help with their greedy insistence of not releasing on Steam. It also doesn't help that the price tag for a Metroidvania is too high, only Nintendo gets away with their exceptionalism.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
8.webp
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
The issue is that the game had sold like 300k copies only according to Insider Gaming months ago, Ubisoft didn't help with their greedy insistence of not releasing on Steam. It also doesn't help that the price tag for a Metroidvania is too high, only Nintendo gets away with their exceptionalism.
But you look at games like Unicorn Overlord which is Ogre battle style SRPG which super niche, its a new IP while releasing close to FFVIIRibirth and has no PC release.

And yet...
Unicorn-Overlord-Sales_09-23-24.jpg


Also this game almost hand no marketing, most of it comes from word of mouth when demo came out.
 
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Loboxxx

Member
Dont expect small game like that, which still costs 50$ to sell in milions, bro. Its publisher's fault to not budget properly and have overinflated sales expectations.

Same way wilderbeast woman at 300lbs cant expect to get wifed up by high status guy(say doctor or a lawyer), but she will be lucky if even avg (5'9, 50k usd yearly salary) guy decides to commit to her, usually even that isnt the case, even if she has good personality that avg broke dude will just smash and dash if its slow tuesday ;)

TLDR: Even if game is solid its still niche af, it has to be properly budgeted or it will flop even with decent sales.
I've looked at how many sales the game has had and it seems to have sold 2 million copies, which at ā‚¬50 is quite a lot for an AA. Hmm maybe you're partly right and it's a problem of expectations on UBi's part.
 

Dane

Member
But you look at games like Unicorn Overlord which is Ogre battle style SRPG which super nice, its a new IP while releasing close to FFVIIRibirth and has no PC release.

And yet...
Unicorn-Overlord-Sales_09-23-24.jpg


Also this game almost hand no marketing, most of it comes from word of mouth when demo came out.
Because Vanillaware built a great reputation over the years with the public, imagine that a good chunk of these sales came from people who bought their previous games, and they could have easily sold even more with a PC release.

Ubisoft on the other hand decided to take a slow path to pariah after Watch Dogs downgrade, by today they aren't even well seen by casuals, having a niche game whose majority of customers despise Ubisoft and pricing it at 50 bucks were stacking against The Lost Crown.
 

Astray

Member
It's also notable that this is a great AA game that people continually tell us they want, yet no one bought it.

People like the idea of AA games but are not willing to support them when they do come out.
 

ADiTAR

ידע זה כוח
Never really understood this complaint. Why does it matter if the character has the title of "Prince" or not? He'd be the same character either way.
The design would be different, it would look like a the Prince and not a... I dunno how to describe the protagonist. DEI committee design.
 

T4keD0wN

Member
The design would be different, it would look like a the Prince and not a... I dunno how to describe the protagonist. DEI committee design.
Princes often become kings eventually, the protagonist from the lost crown being named Sargon is probably not an accident. Its poetic that theyve made a protagonist inspired by a king in the end.
 
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The demo was perfectly adequate yet dull. The backgrounds and enemies were boring as fuck looking to me. It's not open world drivel but that doesn't mean I'll instantly like it or even buy it.
 

ADiTAR

ידע זה כוח
Princes often become kings eventually, the protagonist from the lost crown being named Sargon is probably not an accident.
Doesn't matter, it's how they showed the game, if they clued you in he's actually the prince (haven't played it but it's possible), than it would make more sense. Again, his design was off putting from the reveal.

People want to be excited for their beloved IPs, ubisoft is really trying hard to poop on it. Another case is the art style change for Mario+Rabbids, I just didn't want to play in that drab world after the first one was so colorful and fun.
 

Hookshot

Member
Even Metroid doesn't sell well compared to other Nintendo series, it's a genre that's not popular. Add in the complex combat and the tricky platforming and you've got two turn offs for your already unpopular game. The "hardcore" didn't show up for it and the masses didn't either.
 

Crayon

Member
PS3 quality graphics didnt help. If you are going to make a 2D game in 2023, and charge $50 for it, it cant look worse than most indie games.

Also, try and make 2D games more interesting. there is a reason why they died out. People found more freedom in 3D games. You can still make one but it has to be industry leading with new innovative mechanics and gameplay not possible in 3D games. Making a simple 2d sidescroller with awful graphics is not going to sell. especially at $50.

Put in more effort next time.

I feel bad saying it but just the description of a 2D platformer for that price guarantees I'm never going to look at this game.

You are on the money about the prevalence of 3D games. Did they loose a few things in the mid-nineties transition? Yes. Did a few of those things not return to this day? Yes. But the problem was and is that you can only do so much in 2D.
 

RAIDEN1

Member
This development goes in line with the saying: "These days, games are not allowed to fail".....look what happened to Alone in the Dark, the first entry in years, the "original" resident evil, yet it flopped, and now the franchise is back in the dark....Guardians of the Galaxy, no sequel anytime soon....Deus Ex, (that game needs a Crystal Dynamics like revival like Tomb Raider had...)
 
My favorite Metroidvania is Aria of Sorrow. I also love Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight. If you mixed in the most complicated and difficult elements from all 3, added some systems on top and made the combat similar to DMC at its most complex, you have this incredible game right here. Aria of Sorrow(remember my fav) on the other hand is a super simple game about farming souls and abilities that can be beat in a few hours.
The combat does look way too complex. Character Action level combat is the last thing I want in a metroidvania.
 

The Cockatrice

Gold Member
Ubisoft takes an L even when they make good games? Yeah, 2025 seems like it'll be the year they get bought by someone else. AC Shadows sales will be the deciding factor.
 

Fbh

Gold Member
Even Metroid doesn't sell well compared to other Nintendo series, it's a genre that's not popular. Add in the complex combat and the tricky platforming and you've got two turn offs for your already unpopular game. The "hardcore" didn't show up for it and the masses didn't either.

It's a game that tried to appeal to everyone and in turn ended up appealing to no one.
They thought the fact it's POP would attract older fans and the "modern" visual design and style would appeal to younger people.

In the end though zoomers didn't show up because they don't care about metroidvanias or PoP
And older fans didn't show up because they were put off by the visual design and style.
And the pricing probably didn't help with either group.

Never really understood this complaint. Why does it matter if the character has the title of "Prince" or not? He'd be the same character either way.

We can beat around the bush but it's less about the fact that the character doesn't have the title of prince and more about the fact the character looks like a Fortnite coded Killmonger instead of what you'd expect from Prince Of Persia.
 

KXVXII9X

Member
ouch.... This put a damper on my day. Ubisoft Montpellier was the best part of Ubisoft... Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is one of the most underrated games I can think of. Excellent Metroidvania with a great style and great combat and boss battles. They were also behind the Rayman games and Valiant Heart, which were also excellent. First Japan Studio, then TangoWorks, then Annapurna, and now this... All the studios/publishers who push out creative games seem to be going under.

Gamers will continue to say there aren't creative games or Ubisoft makes the same kind of slop but constantly trash on games like PoP: The Lost Crown and Mario and Rabbids. No one buys these games. I am already seeing so many odd comments here like how it shouldn't be priced at $50. The game was constantly on sale and generous with free updates and such. It was super polished and had a ton of content. People just kept making the same Prince of Wakanda jokes and ripping on the art style. I'm not even going to start on the people going on about "woke." You kind of people have sucked the joy out of gaming.
 
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