Mirror's Edge tanking at retail?

[lawblob]

1UP boss Simon Cox wrote a blog post yesterday recommending people buy Mirror's Edge. He also said the game appears to be underperforming at retail.

You see, Mirror's Edge is selling terribly in Europe, and the sales estimates here don't look much better (according to the generally-in-the-ballpark ********.com, the game has sold a total of 150,000 units). It might just be just bad timing (launching a new franchise in the middle of one of the most sequel-heavy holiday seasons I can remember was probably not the smartest decision in the world, but it worked for Assassin's Creed last year), or it might be that the reviews were oddly mixed (Edge magazine in the UK gave it 5/10), whereas here at 1UP, we gave it a sparkly 'A-'. So why do I care if Mirror's Edge flops? Because I just finished the game over the weekend, and it completely blew me away and I'd like to see another one (EA intends it to be a trilogy) because something this bold, ambitious and well-thought-out deserves to succeed.

Also, for what its worth, I have been watching / bidding on a number of used games on Ebay this week, and demand for Mirror's Edge is very soft. Used copies are already selling for < $40, which is an unusually quick drop in price for such a new and well reviewed game during this time of year, when demand for software should be extremely high.

What does this mean for new IP when both Dead Space and now apparently Mirror's Edge are underwhelming at retail?

[Stumpokapow]

haahahahah zgzhartz hahahahahaahaha generally in the ballpark hahaahahahahaha

[TheKingsCrown]

If you make a 7 hour game, the consumer will find out about it very quickly.

[Jaded Alyx]

generally-in-the-ballpark ********.com

What would that be?

[TheGreatDave]

God, you'd think he'd know better.

[RBH]

haahahahah zgzhartz hahahahahaahaha generally in the ballpark hahaahahahahaha

.

[Tntnnbltn]

and the sales estimates here don't look much better (according to the generally-in-the-ballpark ********.com, the game has sold a total of 150,000 units)

Don't worry, the generally-in-the-ballpark tntnnbltn.com estimates the game has sold 425,000 units.

[AndresON777]

They should have released it next year. Games like Army of Two and R6V2 were pretty much shit but they came out when there was nothing else to buy, and sold great.

[davepoobond]

do you shoot stuff in it?

[angelfly]

I'll wait until NPD before declaring it a bomb. Although even if it is 150k (lulz at the source) that isn't dreadfully terrible for a new IP like Mirror's Edge.

[mountain_duwe]

I'll rent it, because all reviews have said the game is short.

[McBacon]

do you shoot stuff in it?

I do - fuck that Achievement, I just blew dudes away. Punched a motherfucker off a building!!

[lawblob]

I do - fuck that Achievement, I just blew dudes away. Punched a motherfucker off a building!!

[UltimaPooh]

So in the coming years we can expect EA to return to their old rehashing selves?

To be fair though if you're gonna make a 6 hour game you should price it as a 6 hour game.

[border]

I think he's right. My Blockbuster Video doesn't even have a copy to rent, and I don't see any copies on the shelves at Best Buy (there's no indication it was ever even stocked).

[pr0cs]

They should have released it next year. Games like Army of Two and R6V2 were pretty much shit but they came out when there was nothing else to buy, and sold great.

I'll never understand the need to release so many good games 3 months from each other. If Mirrors Edge would have came out in June, July, August it would have sold a LOT better.
Instead they threw it to the wolves against games like Gears2, Fable, LBP, Resistance, etc etc.

Quite frankly I didn't enjoy the demo which likely hurt the game as well.

[lsslave]

1UP boss Simon Cox wrote a blog post yesterday recommending people buy Mirror's Edge. He also said the game appears to be underperforming at retail. Also, for what its worth, I have been watching / bidding on a number of used games on Ebay this week, and demand for Mirror's Edge is very soft. Used copies are already selling for < $40, which is an unusually quick drop in price for such a new and well reviewed game during this time of year, when demand for software should be extremely high. What does this mean for new IP when both Dead Space and now apparently Mirror's Edge are underwhelming at retail?

Well it says nothing for new IP, but how do you expect them to last against hyped up sequels, spring would have been better in a dryer period

Also, people like me who can't play first person games miss out on these new IPs

[eznark]

shocking

[grandjedi6]

[Kintaro]

I have no clue how many copies this sold, but publishers are going to have to realize that they can't get away with selling short (key word here), single player games for $60 for very much longer.

[Tieno]

If you make a 7 hour game, the consumer will find out about it very quickly.

It's not designed to just run through it once, you dufus. Even then, it's a unique experience and you just go really fast through the environments. It's not like it's a 6 hour WWII shooter.

[zesty]

I enjoyed the demo quite a bit. Hopefully I can nab this on the cheap in the near future.

[Diablos]

What isn't tanking in retail right now?

This global economic ditch we're all in is going to stop a lot of games from turning into successful series, I fear. :\

[SupahBlah]

I do - fuck that Achievement, I just blew dudes away. Punched a motherfucker off a building!!

Killing people (knocking them off buildings) doesn't stop you from getting that Achievement only killing with a gun does.

Its a short game, with tons of other games out and it didn't have the huge advertising behind it like Assassin's Creed did.

I played and finished it in two days with all my friends wanting to borrow my copy, they would much rather spend their money on Gears, Left 4 Dead or World at War even if they want to play it.

[SonicMegaDrive]

Figures.

It's one of the rare 3D action games I actually buy, and it tanks.

[mCACGj]

If you make a 7 hour game, the consumer will find out about it very quickly.

I am so tired of hearing about the short length of games. I enjoy short games, especially if they're new and fresh. Long games tend to drag on, I want to have a good experience without shit tacked on just to add length. That is when video games become shitty.

If there are good things to add, I'm all for it. If not, just don't put them in.

I know the whole money argument. If it's good enough, I will feel like it's worth my $60 and I'll want to play it again, or give it to a friend. Titanic would be great by length standards, but it's a boring piece of average cinema. The value I get from games isn't from how much time I spend in them, it's how much fun I have with them while I'm playing them.

[freddy]

I was interested in this game till I saw the 6 hours or so it took most people to finish. Maybe when it hits half price or less i'll buy it.

I think this game would have benefitted sales wise if it had been released on Wii as well.

[mightynine]

If you make a 7 hour game, the consumer will find out about it very quickly.

To be fair though if you're gonna make a 6 hour game you should price it as a 6 hour game.

Tell me, what's the formula for setting price based on length?

[grandjedi6]

What isn't tanking in retail right now? This global economic ditch we're all in is going to stop a lot of games from turning into successful series, I fear. :\

The videogame industry has proven to be pretty recession proof.

[lawblob]

I have no clue how many copies this sold, but publishers are going to have to realize that they can't get away with selling short (key word here), single player games for $60 for very much longer.

Thats pretty much what stopped me from buying it. I loved the demo, but once I heard the game could be finished in 5 hours, I put my wallet away.

[dark10x]

I'll rent it, because all reviews have said the game is short.

Thats pretty much what stopped me from buying it. I loved the demo, but once I heard the game could be finished in 5 hours, I put my wallet away.

The problem is, the game is not designed to be played through just one time. If you were playing one of the Megadrive Sonic the Hedgehog games, for instance, would you be content with playing through the stages just one time? Mirror's Edge is a game of technique and you are likely to perform much worse during your initial playthrough while playing each stage afterwards becomes more and more enjoyable. Each chapter is similar to a Zone in a Sonic game, basically. They did exactly what people have been wanting Sega to do with Sonic and released a game purely focused on its core mechanics without any padding. The time trials, speed runs, and just playing through the game again makes it very worthwhile.

It isn't perfect, of course, but it's a fantastic first effort and is well worth the money. If you enjoy the gameplay you will want to play through each stage many times. This isn't your typical linear action game, it's all about refining your technique and knowledge of each stage.

These complaints are precisely why developers insist of padding the shit out of a great game.

[David H Wong]

I'll rent it, because all reviews have said the game is short.

Yep. Just like Dead Space, that's my Game of the Year, but it took me two rentals to beat it. I loved it, I recommend it to friends, but they didn't get a sale out of me simply because it's insane to spend $60 on a game when you can play through it for $15 or less.

[shidoshi]

If you make a 7 hour game, the consumer will find out about it very quickly.

Yeah, I mean, nobody bought Resident Evil when they found out it was a 4~5 hour game, right! Who would be stupid enough to buy a game that short?

And man, that Super Mario Bros? I can easily get through it under an hour. Ridiculous that Nintendo would try to sell a game like that.

[Prime crotch]

Figures. It's one of the rare 3D action games I actually buy, and it tanks.

Don't worry the improved gun mechanics on the sequel will make it a huge hit.

[SolidSnakex]

Punched a motherfucker off a building!!

You can still do that and get that achievement/trophy. You just can't shoot people. I knocked several people off buildings on my way to getting that trophy.

[Ranger X]

So how many copies a new IP + being an original is supposed to sell anyways? We need to know that before saying Mirror's Edge is tanking or not.

What's funny now in this industry is that if you only make 150k in 2 weeks you're automatically receiving bad word of mouth. Wich is ridiculous. Nobody ever is expecting a new IP to rake in 500k+ and guess what -- they will never invest a 500k+ sales game budget into stuff like Mirror's Edge.

In short, the sales doesn't appear to be all that bad and i'm pretty sure EA is making some decent bling bling.

[SonicMegaDrive]

Don't worry the improved gun mechanics on the sequel will make it a huge hit.

Provided there is one, of course.

[Tieno]

You don't finish a fighting game by playing each opponent only once, do you? Or a racing game by just racing each track only once? Mirror's Edge is similar to that with its controls and its environments.

Most people would have probably loved if they'd put in some infinite spawning enemies.

[Bloodwake]

I was actually looking forward to playing this game over Thanksgiving, the demo was pretty good.

Then again, there's a lot of titles coming out this year, not all of them are going to get bought.

[Overture]

To be fair though if you're gonna make a 6 hour game you should price it as a 6 hour game.

In that case, perhaps I should have paid £200 for Fallout 3.

[goldenpp72]

Tell me, what's the formula for setting price based on length?

I dunno, how about 40 bucks? Banjo 3 is a 30+ hour game and it's 40 bucks, why is mirrors edge 60? The reason im not buying it right now is due to the length.

[lsslave]

"Ill Rent it"
"Its too short"

CHRIST PEOPLE >.< games are FINE when they are short, unless its an RPG it shouldn't be fucking epic >.<

How long does it take to beat an old Mario game? Those games are amazing for their own right

The point of a game is replayability! 1 20-30 hour pay through vs. 100 1 hour play throughs throughout my life, I know what I would take

One of the things that is killing the gaming industry for me is they are fluffing out their titles, I would rather a 6 hour game that never stops being fun compared to a 6 hour game with 14 hours of fluff >.<

[Shig]

Regardless of the source, I don't think it's a wild assertion to make.

I can't even recall seeing anyone on my friends list playing it, and that never happens with any decent-sized release. I think this is the odd game out on a lot of people's holiday gaming menus.

[Dark Octave]

I hope the game picks up if this is true.

EA took a huge gamble by releasing an experamental title that doesn't revolve around guns during the holiday season.

And if it does fail, I hope they realize that this is the reason why and not because of the game itself.

[Rollo Larson]

What isn't tanking in retail right now? This global economic ditch we're all in is going to stop a lot of games from turning into successful series, I fear. :\

a little tangent...i saw on cnn that the first thing people cut to maintain their budget in tough times is fast food. on that list, video games was nearly dead last

[McBacon]

Killing people (knocking them off buildings) doesn't stop you from getting that Achievement only killing with a gun does.

Shot a dude with a shotgun, he went flying backwards and got hit by a train! That should be an Achievement.

[Night_Trekker]

Yeah, I mean, nobody bought Resident Evil when they found out it was a 4~5 hour game, right! Who would be stupid enough to buy a game that short? And man, that Super Mario Bros? I can easily get through it under an hour. Ridiculous that Nintendo would try to sell a game like that.

RE was only 4-5 hours if you really knew what you were doing. Come on.

Your point is well taken, though.

[eznark]

What isn't tanking in retail right now? This global economic ditch we're all in is going to stop a lot of games from turning into successful series, I fear. :\

Wii Fit

[dskillzhtown]

I have no clue how many copies this sold, but publishers are going to have to realize that they can't get away with selling short (key word here), single player games for $60 for very much longer.

This. All games don't have to cost 60 bucks. If a game is short, why do you expect the consumer to pay 60 bucks for it? Especially a new IP, I would think they would introduce the IP at 40 or 50 to get people in.

The game seems like an exercise in trial and error and I hate that crap. Failing until I "get it right" isn't my kind of game.

[Fafalada]

So in the coming years we can expect EA to return to their old rehashing selves?

There's a reason why EA is doing things they are doing now, and it's not because they were bothered by "rehashing" reputation.