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[GHG]

How is it wordplay exactly? All sales (or subscriptions) attributable to this game involve some sort of activation process happening, be it through Steam or through EGS/UbiConnect.

Also "significant" can mean anywhere from %30-100, it's really not that deep imo.

To be specific, what I mean by that is that you can't take "activations" to be indicative of sales (which some people are). So from a revenue perspective it makes things difficult to work out at this stage, we will need to wait until the financial results for the quarter to get a firm indication.

I also doubt they would go out of their way to specifically mention Steam unless it's yielded a result better than 50%. Like I've previously said, there's a huge reason they've gone running back to steam with their tails between their legs.

The push to try and force people to purchase their games via their own store and/or the EGS has failed and the consumer has spoken. This way it's better for everyone, you now have complete freedom of choice as to where you can purchase the game on PC.

 

[Topher]

To be specific, what I mean by that is that you can't take "activations" to be indicative of sales (which some people are). So from a revenue perspective it makes things difficult to work out at this stage, we will need to wait until the financial results for the quarter to get a firm indication.

I also doubt they would go out of their way to specifically mention Steam unless it's yielded a result better than 50%. Like I've previously said, there's a huge reason they've gone running back to steam with their tails between their legs.

The push to try and force people to purchase their games via their own store and/or the EGS has failed and the consumer has spoken. This way it's better for everyone, you now have complete freedom of choice as to where you can purchase the game on PC.

Definitely think activations include people like me playing via Ubi+. I think the only one referencing sales so far is that analyst with the charts above.

 

[Kacho]

How are they lying?

It's more about the media's tendency to frame things a certain way so they can push a narrative.

Chris Dring is perfect example of this. He kept implying Dragon Age Veilguard did well by using vague, soft language. I remember calling it out but I was told he was just stating facts, that's he's impartial, etc.

When EA announced the game bombed and layoffs were happening he revealed his bias.


Regarding Shadows retail performance, time will tell. I'm not believing anything good or bad until the earnings call.

 

[Astray]

To be specific, what I mean by that is that you can't take "activations" to be indicative of sales (which some people are). So from a revenue perspective it makes things difficult to work out at this stage, we will need to wait until the financial results for the quarter to get a firm indication.

I think they say it this way because buying UbiConnect keys from GMG etc, doesn't necessarily give you an activation key that you enter into the Ubiconnect client. Whereas with Steam, you can in theory buy a key and not redeem it immediately, or even resell it.

With Ubisoft, you click a redemption link and enter your Ubi credentials.

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/help/purchases-and-rewards/article/activating-your-ubisoft-game-from-green-man-gaming/000064579

 

[Black_Stride]

Kotaro

Man this game has kept the lights on for so many gaming websites.
Anyway to get the metrics of which threads have the most posts over the past like week or so.
I can almost guarantee the Assassins Creed Shadows threads have been pulling numbers.

 

[GHG]

I think they say it this way because buying UbiConnect keys from GMG etc, doesn't necessarily give you an activation key that you enter into the Ubiconnect client. Whereas with Steam, you can in theory buy a key and not redeem it immediately, or even resell it.

With Ubisoft, you click a redemption link and enter your Ubi credentials.

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/help/purchases-and-rewards/article/activating-your-ubisoft-game-from-green-man-gaming/000064579

There are no keys available for the Steam version of the game via 3rd party sellers.

Buy cheap Assassin's Creed Shadows CD Key 🏷️ Best Price | GG.deals

Compare Prices from 19 stores to find the Best Deals for Assassin's Creed Shadows Steam CD key. Buy the game 23% cheaper with GG.deals!

gg.deals

 

[Topher]

It's more about the media's tendency to frame things a certain way so they can push a narrative.

Chris Dring is perfect example of this. He kept implying Dragon Age Veilguard did well by using vague, soft language. I remember calling it out but I was told he was just stating facts, that's he's impartial, etc.

When EA announced the game bombed and layoffs were happening he revealed his bias.


Regarding Shadows retail performance, time will tell. I'm not believing anything good or bad until the earnings call.

Sure and I can see why people would hold that against him. I don’t think it makes sense to apply that to a larger group. Do you think VGC is lying in their reporting here?

 

[Astray]

There are no keys available for the Steam version of the game via 3rd party sellers.

Buy cheap Assassin's Creed Shadows CD Key 🏷️ Best Price | GG.deals

Compare Prices from 19 stores to find the Best Deals for Assassin's Creed Shadows Steam CD key. Buy the game 23% cheaper with GG.deals!

gg.deals

Yeah I'm talking about how Ubi handles their keys.

They (and Rockstar) don't do Steam keys on third party resellers, which makes sense when you think about it. It cuts down on leakage of keys to the the grayer side of the market.

 

[adamsapple]

Chris Dring is perfect example of this. He kept implying Dragon Age Veilguard did well by using vague, soft language. I remember calling it out but I was told he was just stating facts, that's he's impartial, etc.

When EA announced the game bombed and layoffs were happening he revealed his bias.


Regarding Shadows retail performance, time will tell. I'm not believing anything good or bad until the earnings call.

Not sure if that tweet is a good example, he's talking about the games critical reception, not sales.

People can like games in franchises that others didn't or that may have bombed commercially, that's not being impartial or a "spin" at all.

Now, if he was purposefully distorting sales reporting, that'd be a different matter.

 

[Kacho]

Sure and I can see why people would hold that against him. I don’t think it makes sense to apply that to a larger group. Do you think VGC is lying in their reporting here?

There’s still too much room for skepticism until we get solid data. I see it as noise for now.

 

[GHG]

Yeah I'm talking about how Ubi handles their keys.

They (and Rockstar) don't do Steam keys on third party resellers, which makes sense when you think about it. It cuts down on leakage of keys to the the grayer side of the market.

It's more due to the fact that even if you purchase the game via a different store (epic/steam), the purchase of the game still ultimately relies on and redeems via the Ubisoft and Rockstar stores respectively. The same also applies for most EA games.

The EGS is more transparent in the way that it handles this, there's an option to grab the key from the game tab and you can then go ahead and redeem that directly on the Ubisoft/Rockstar/EA launcher and bypass the EGS launcher entirely after the point of purchase if you wish.

 

[Kotaro]

I wonder if some people are not realizing this chart is cumulative sales of the game, not what the game sold incrementally each day so for some reason they think it is growing day after day…

Breaking sales out by day:

PS5
March 20: 420k
March 21: 168k
March 22: 123k (29% of launch day)

Steam
March 20: 214k
March 21: 44k
March 22: 30k (14% of launch day)

Good holds on PS5 but Steam seems to have dropped off a fair amount.

This is so bad

imagine getting outsold by Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Sells an Incredible 3 Million Copies in Just 24 Hours - IGN

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has got off to an incredible start with three million sales in 24 hours.

www.ign.com

 

[Doom85]

This is so bad

imagine getting outsold by Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Sells an Incredible 3 Million Copies in Just 24 Hours - IGN

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has got off to an incredible start with three million sales in 24 hours.

www.ign.com

Imagine taking the effort to search for and then necro-bumping that DBZ thread (a very obscure IP, yes, how could Assassin’s Creed lose to a DRAGONBALL game?! I mean, who’s read that manga or watched that anime, like, a handful of people?) while insisting you’re “totally chill” about all this.

 

[adamsapple]

This is so bad

imagine getting outsold by Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Sells an Incredible 3 Million Copies in Just 24 Hours - IGN

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has got off to an incredible start with three million sales in 24 hours.

www.ign.com

 

[Topher]

Imagine taking the effort to search for and then necro-bumping that DBZ thread (a very obscure IP, yes, how could Assassin’s Creed lose to a DRAGONBALL game?! I mean, who’s read that manga or watched that anime, like, a handful of people?) while insisting you’re “totally chill” about all this.

Seems he got warned about his nonsense.

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/dragon-ball-sparking-zero-surpasses-3-million-copies-sold-worldwide-within-24-hours-of-release.1676229/page-2#post-270238653

 

[Represent.]

This is so bad

imagine getting outsold by Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Sells an Incredible 3 Million Copies in Just 24 Hours - IGN

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has got off to an incredible start with three million sales in 24 hours.

www.ign.com

Im sure TORIYAMA's death had nothing to do with those numbers

 

[calico]

The argument I and others made was that Steam numbers are not necessarily an indicator of overall performance. AC is such an example. So we cannot always rely on Steam CCU to tell us how a game is performing overall.

It seems you could absolutely rely on the poor Steam numbers as an early indicator that Shadows was underperforming overall. People convincing themselves that the drop off from the last main entry in the franchise is fine for whatever reason is a different matter

 

[pudel]

Yeah I'm talking about how Ubi handles their keys.

They (and Rockstar) don't do Steam keys on third party resellers, which makes sense when you think about it. It cuts down on leakage of keys to the the grayer side of the market.

Dont think thats the main reason. While not giving out steam keys, but heavy discounted (around 30% ) keys for their own stores....they lead people directly into their stores. Huh...interesting.

 

[Radical_3d]

It is possible that the Ps5 pro did the heavy lifting due to its very impressive Ps5 pro upgrade.

Welp, Ubisoft has its fans after all. And this seems like a less crappy version or their formula, so it’s natural that it does well. Plus everybody was waiting the Japan Assassins. Happy that Ubi gets a second chance. Now please fix PSSR in Outlaws.

 

[Topher]

It seems you could absolutely rely on the poor Steam numbers as an early indicator that Shadows was underperforming overall. People convincing themselves that the drop off from the last main entry in the franchise is fine for whatever reason is a different matter

So Steam numbers are only reliable “early” now? This narrative seems to change hourly.

What does the drop off from Valhalla have to do with it?

 

[cormack12]

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage - IGN

IGN has reviewed an internal Ubisoft email in which staff were given context for Assassin's Creed Shadows' launch performance compared to other games in the series. Here's what we found out.

www.ign.com

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage​

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Sure and I can see why people would hold that against him. I don’t think it makes sense to apply that to a larger group. Do you think VGC is lying in their reporting here?

By the way, Topher, I just saw that IGN is corroborating VGC's report.

But a source from within Ubisoft, who revealed an internal email reviewed by IGN, has helped us better understand the game’s first weekend performance.

Here’s what we’ve found out: Shadows delivered the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the franchise’s history, behind only 2020’s Valhalla, which launched across the last and current generation of consoles and benefited from stay-at-home gaming fueled by the pandemic.

Shadows also marked Ubisoft’s best ever day-one launch on the PlayStation Store, suggesting particular success on PS5.

But what about PC, given Shadows launched on Steam as well as Ubisoft’s own digital store? According to Ubisoft’s internal communication, 27% of Shadows’ total “activations” were on PC. Ubisoft is telling employees that Steam “played a major role” in Shadows’ performance on PC, without revealing exact sell-through numbers. It says early results “are a strong validation of our decision to return to the platform.”

They also have some new info that touches on Ubi sales expectations for AC Shadows in relation to Valhalla's huge success (I'm highlighting that part of the text in bold).

Basically confirms what you, I, and others using common sense have pointed out. Valhalla was an anomaly and overperformed due to various factors, such as increased spending on gaming during the height of the pandemic and the game being a cross-gen launch title for current-gen consoles (XBS & PS5).

I also think it helped that Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed from November to December of that year, so Valhalla was one of the few big 3rd party games available to pick on current gen consoles alongside Black Ops Cold War and Borderlands 3 during the launch month. Oh and while not a 3rd party, Halo Infinite being delayed to 2021 might have also been a contributing factor for XBS new owners to considering picking Valhalla for their new and shiny systems.

It’s here that Ubisoft’s internal communication provides context on comparisons between Shadows’ launch and other games in the franchise. What’s clear is that Shadows is not doing as well as Valhalla did at launch, but Ubisoft is saying it’s not fair to compare the two, because Valhalla benefitted from the “perfect storm” of pandemic-fueled stay-at-home gaming and the launch of the Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5 in 2020.

“Valhalla launched under extraordinary conditions — in the middle of a global pandemic, with widespread lockdowns and brand-new console hardware,” the internal communication reads. “It was a perfect storm we may never see again. That’s why it’s more meaningful to compare Shadows to entries like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage — games released in more typical cycles. And in that frame, Shadows is already setting a new bar as illustrated above.”

Ubisoft also pointed out that Shadows released in March. Historically, Assassin’s Creed games launch just ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving window, which typically boosts sales. Meanwhile, Ubisoft ditched the early access period it normally charges extra for with its games. It’s also worth noting that Ubisoft’s own subscription offering is now available directly on Xbox, which affects sales on Microsoft’s console and muddies sales comparisons.

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage - IGN

IGN has reviewed an internal Ubisoft email in which staff were given context for Assassin's Creed Shadows' launch performance compared to other games in the series. Here's what we found out.

www.ign.com

 

[Kacho]

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage - IGN

IGN has reviewed an internal Ubisoft email in which staff were given context for Assassin's Creed Shadows' launch performance compared to other games in the series. Here's what we found out.

www.ign.com

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage​

loool...

 

[calico]

Chris Dring is perfect example of this.

His tweet from 16 hours ago seems heavy on spin and -at least as far as we know so far- misleading on the numbers too: "2m players of a $70".

Whether it's deliberate or just sloppy I couldn't say.

 

[Three]

To be specific, what I mean by that is that you can't take "activations" to be indicative of sales (which some people are). So from a revenue perspective it makes things difficult to work out at this stage, we will need to wait until the financial results for the quarter to get a firm indication.

I also doubt they would go out of their way to specifically mention Steam unless it's yielded a result better than 50%. Like I've previously said, there's a huge reason they've gone running back to steam with their tails between their legs.

The push to try and force people to purchase their games via their own store and/or the EGS has failed and the consumer has spoken. This way it's better for everyone, you now have complete freedom of choice as to where you can purchase the game on PC.

Activations likely includes Ubisoft+ subscribers who download it but Ubi+ doesn't have many subscribers so the majority of the 27% would be sales on PC stores and the largest portion of sales of the remaining 73% sales on the Playstation store.

 

[pudel]

By the way, Topher, I just saw that IGN is corroborating VGC's report.

IGN and VGC are basically one and the same company.

 

[calico]

So Steam numbers are only reliable “early” now?

What? 'Early indicator' doesn't mean an indicator which becomes unreliable later, it means the indicator was available early.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

IGN and VGC are basically one and the same company.

They aren't, but okay I guess?

 

[Kacho]

His tweet from 16 hours ago seems heavy on spin and -at least as far as we know so far- misleading on the numbers too: "2m players of a $70".

Whether it's deliberate or just sloppy I couldn't say.

He gets called out on this stuff all the time. Veilguard was just the most egregious example in recent memory.

 

[Topher]

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage - IGN

IGN has reviewed an internal Ubisoft email in which staff were given context for Assassin's Creed Shadows' launch performance compared to other games in the series. Here's what we found out.

www.ign.com

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage​

By the way, Topher, I just saw that IGN is corroborating VGC's report.



They also have some new info that touches on Ubi sales expectations for AC Shadows in relation to Valhalla's huge success (I'm highlighting that part of the text in bold).

Basically confirms what you, I, and others using common sense have pointed out. Valhalla was an anomaly and overperformed due to various factors, such as increased spending on gaming during the height of the pandemic and the game being a cross-gen launch title for current-gen consoles (XBS & PS5).

I also think it helped that Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed from November to December of that year, so Valhalla was one of the few big 3rd party games available to pick on current gen consoles alongside Black Ops Cold War and Borderlands 3 during the launch month. Oh and while not a 3rd party, Halo Infinite being delayed to 2021 might have also been a contributing factor for XBS new owners to considering picking Valhalla for their new and shiny systems.

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage - IGN

IGN has reviewed an internal Ubisoft email in which staff were given context for Assassin's Creed Shadows' launch performance compared to other games in the series. Here's what we found out.

www.ign.com

That’s really just common sense regarding Valhalla. It has already been pointed out here many times.

 

[MMaRsu]

This is so bad

imagine getting outsold by Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Sells an Incredible 3 Million Copies in Just 24 Hours - IGN

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has got off to an incredible start with three million sales in 24 hours.

www.ign.com

Your hate crusade is laughable

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage - IGN

IGN has reviewed an internal Ubisoft email in which staff were given context for Assassin's Creed Shadows' launch performance compared to other games in the series. Here's what we found out.

www.ign.com

Don't Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to the 'Perfect Storm' Valhalla Benefitted From, Ubisoft Internal Email Says, Compare It to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage​

loool...

How are they wrong? It launched crossgen during covid when next gen consoles were coming out.

It also came out during Holiday season. We have posted this multiple times over and over, yet you keep ignoring it? Why are you ignoring facts.

So what are you trying to say?

 

[Represent.]

loool...

"Valhalla launched under extraordinary conditions — in the middle of a global pandemic, with widespread lockdowns and brand-new console hardware," the internal communication reads. "It was a perfect storm we may never see again. That's why it's more meaningful to compare Shadows to entries like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage — games released in more typical cycles. And in that frame, Shadows is already setting a new bar as illustrated above."

It makes perfect sense. Carry on though...

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

That’s really just common sense regarding Valhalla. It has already been pointed out here many times.

And yet certain people ITT keep ignoring it. I wonder why...

 

[Topher]

What? 'Early indicator' doesn't mean an indicator which becomes unreliable later, it means the indicator was available early.

We know Shadows on console is outperforming Steam so I don’t know what point you are trying to make.

 

[Kacho]

 

[pudel]

They aren't, but okay I guess?

I mean they belong to the same mother company (Ziff Davis)...I would call that one company.

 

[MMaRsu]

Could you respond to questions or are you just gonna be obtuse and dense about facts when presented with them?

You are the one acting like the guy in question you posted.

"Dont believe the facts they are all lies"

 

[Represent.]

And yet certain people ITT keep ignoring it. I wonder why...

We know exactly why....

its this same group of people.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

I mean they belong to the same mother company (Ziff Davis)...I would call that one company.

Cris Dring has corroborated this report as well and he's not affiliated with IGN or VGC so drop this conspiracy BS.

 

[Kacho]

Could you respond to questions or are you just gonna be obtuse and dense about facts when presented with them?

You are the one acting like the guy in question you posted.

"Dont believe the facts they are all lies"

Funny how all this post launch "clarification" wasn't needed for Monster Hunter Wilds. Just honest to goodness sales numbers.

 

[MMaRsu]

Funny how all this post launch "clarification" wasn't needed for Monster Hunter Wilds. Just honest to goodness sales numbers.

So no you will not respond to facts, got it. On the old ignore list you go if you've no genuine interest in discussing the subject, just trolling.

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

So peaked just under 65k on Steam.

Doesn't seem like a particularly impressive number for a fully fledged 'AAA' title.

Is this game available on a Ubisoft subscription pass?

 

[pudel]

Cris Dring has corroborated this report as well and he's not affiliated with IGN or VGC so drop this conspiracy BS.

Sorry, youre right....mixed that up with VG247. I take everything back.

 

[Topher]

So peaked just under 65k on Steam.

Doesn't seem like a particularly impressive number for a fully fledged 'AAA' title.

Is this game available on a Ubisoft subscription pass?

Yes, it is on Ubisoft+. Not impressive on Steam but is doing better on consoles. Jury is still out on how well it is doing overall

 

[calico]

loool...

Ubisoft choosing to use their own inability to meet their release date as the narrative the media should push to explain the game's underperformance is amusing.

'I ate my own homework'

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

pudel No worries, dude. I appreciate you owning up to the mistake.

Btw, since I mentioned Chris Dring. He just uploaded the 1st episode of his new podcast where he said he'll briefly touch on AC Shadows launch.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

This is so bad

imagine getting outsold by Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Sells an Incredible 3 Million Copies in Just 24 Hours - IGN

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has got off to an incredible start with three million sales in 24 hours.

www.ign.com

So that's it? Evrything not selling 3M in 1 day is "so bad"?
Even Dragon Ball never managed those stats before lol..

 

[Topher]

pudel No worries, dude. I appreciate you owning up to the mistake.

Btw, since I mentioned Chris Dring. He just uploaded the 1st episode of his new podcast where he said he'll briefly touch on AC Shadows launch.

Guest appearance from Ubisoft? So maybe some new info.

 

[Topher]

So that's it? Evrything not selling 3M in 1 day is "so bad"?
Even Dragon Ball never managed those stats before lol..

He is using examples of games selling incredibly well to suggest Shadows is doing poorly. That is nothing but gaslighting

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Guest appearance from Ubisoft? So maybe some new info.

Hopefully, but I'm at work so I can't listen to the podcast at the moment.