Support NeoGAF

[Matlock]

An awesome game!

Critical acclaim!

A decent marketing push!

Then Psi-Ops came out.

...22k sold on PS2, 34k sold on Xbox.


This reminds me of Prince of Persia somewhat...and really, it's amazing. Somehow a game gets hype up the hoo-hah, winds up being positively awesome, and...fails miserably out the gate. Hopefully the pricecut+MKDA helps push a few copies, and hopefully the title gets a sequel (much like PoP did) to try to flesh out the franchise and expand the fanbase.

Hopefully.

But why...why did the gamers abandon this title?

 

[AniHawk]

Riddick, FSW, and others came out.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

The POP franchise has been handled poorly over the years. It's hard to get excited about anything POP related to be honest. I'm sure many people who remember the endless awful ports and sequels were hesitant to invest in even a rental of this UBI offering.

 

[Kuroyume]

Name like Psi-Ops from MIDWAY... generic looking...

It needed more flair...

 

[BuddyC]

...except PoP got a sequel.

 

[crawlingpeter]

wait, MK is included with it @ $30?

edit: on xbox

 

[open_mouth_]

a better name and edgier content would've probably led to more sales. Plus, midway hasn't been known for quality in recent years.

 

[Matlock]

wait, MK is included with it @ $30?

edit: on xbox

On both consoles, at EB. Yes.

 

[evil ways]

I never even saw a single ad on TV for it, still didn't stop me from buying it and enjoying it a lot.

 

[TTP]

If I weren't involved in videogaming for job other than for just personal pleasure I would have honestly passed over Psi-Ops. But then the review code arrived, and it was a shock.

 

[FortNinety]

Yes, I have to say it, but the game is about as generic looking as it comes, even for mainstream tastes.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I never even saw a single ad on TV for it, still didn't stop me from buying it and enjoying it a lot.

This is the main thing. It's very hard to get a game to sell now without marketing campaigns. If they'd done some marketing I think it could've atleast cleared 100k on one of the platforms if not both.

 

[Izzy]

Psi Ops' failure makes POP look like Super Mario 64.

 

[Crazymoogle]

From what I played of the demo, the controls just weren't strong enough to make me want to buy the full game.

If you just want to know why great games are abandoned in general, though, don't ask me. Gitaroo Man was my 2002 GOTY and that game has sales numbers that would make most publishers wake at night screaming.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Freespace 2, possibly the best space sim to ever come out, never been surpassed. Sold like 20,000 copies or something, it was abysmal.

 

[DJ Sl4m]

Some people look at the publishing company (casuals, who don't know developer names), getting E.A. to publish the game would probably increase sales ten fold.

As sick as that sounds..........

 

[Justin]

Freespace 2, possibly the best space sim to ever come out, never been surpassed. Sold like 20,000 copies or something, it was abysmal.

But Derik Smart will change all of that!!!!111

 

[MrAngryFace]

we must take him out of the picture!

 

[Kwokuen]

 

[aoi tsuki]

The numbers you're seeing in these games are moreso for hardcore gamers and serious fans of established series (like in PoP's case). They're (we're) the ones eyeing these games well before release, not the gaming majority who walk into Walmart looking for something good.

 

[fennec fox]

Whiplash sold me way less and you don't see me crying about it. Much.

 

[dark10x]

I kinda feel bad.

I actually think Psi-Ops is pretty darn fun...but I didn't pick it up. Basically, it was bad timing...

By the time I would have considered it, the Circuit City sale hit and I just went nuts. I ended up with 27 games from CC...

Therefore, there was no reason to grab Psi-Ops just yet. I will buy it eventually, though...

 

[Drexon]

I never even heard about Psi-ops until liiike 2-3 weeks ago, and the vids I saw of it didn't really impress me.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Freespace 2, possibly the best space sim to ever come out, never been surpassed. Sold like 20,000 copies or something, it was abysmal.

Divide that by four and you get Gitaroo Man's japanese sales numbers.

 

[Che]

Do you honestly guys think that the stupid kid that buys games based on pompous TV ads and covers will buy Psi-Ops? Driv3r looks better to its tiny little stupid brain.

 

[FitzOfRage]

I thought it was established that POP actually did pretty well over time, even though it didn't make a huge splash immediately( and that's the reason it got a sequel, not because they were taking a chance on a low seller).

 

[ge-man]

The problem is that the consumer is too shallow these days. This is why sequels and licenses do very well against orginial titles. Outside of that, certain genres and styles are more appealing to the general consumer, which I think is the main reason that classic genres like shumps,fighters, and platformers have fallen off while war based games and sports titles continue to have strength.

The one solution that comes to mind is better consumer education, but the casual market is barely impacted by online and magazine reviews. That's too much involvement when compared to the level of interest casual gamers actually have.

 

[Link316]

didn't buy it cause I already have too many unopened games to play, companies gotta cut down on the releases and stop flooding the market

 

[ge-man]

didn't buy it cause I already have too many unopened games to play, companies gotta cut down on the releases and stop flooding the market

Huh, I thought the release time was very good. I wish more games where coming this time of year as oppossed to everything under the sun dropping in November.

 

[crawlingpeter]

On both consoles, at EB. Yes.

i take it youre talking about B&M, since ebgames.com only shows the ps2 version with a free copy of MK.