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[thismeinteil]

Let's not act like TLOU2 didn't have a drop off. We're talking about a game that launched near the end of PS4's lifetime, when 100M+ consoles were on the market, and yet it sold less than GOW'18 which came out on a 80M install base.

We're also talking about a gen where pretty much all of Sony 1st party games were selling gangbusters. It was the sequel to the biggest 1st party game on PS3, minus GT, that was much bigger than GOW3. It even started out selling faster than GOW'18, yet took 2 years to hit 10M, while GOW'18 took a year to hit the same number.

Was it a complete failure? No. But let's not be blind to its obvious underperformance.

 

[TGO]

TLOU 2 sold 9.9m copies at the end of Feb 2022, which makes it less than 2 years.

You don't compare the overall sales figure while ignoring the time the game was released and how it achieved those numbers. The fact that The Last of Us Part II is probably around 15m sales at this point without the massive bundle that the first game received is impressive.

I wasn't comparing it to a game released 2 months ago and it's not my fault ND or Sony hasn't released sales figures for it despite as you assumingly say it has pass miles stones that other games have done and they've celebrated.
Like GOW Ragnarok which has already sold 15 million.
The Callisto Protocol has sold 2mill as of 3 weeks after it was released and was confirmed a flop in that time period, it probably has sold a lot more since then
But everyone quotes that 2mill number and until they announce differently that will remain it's life time sales.
So why should we assume differently for TLOU2 when there is no reason why they wouldn't release sales unless there is nothing to report.
Because?

 

[Flutta]

The Last of Us Remaster has around 20 different bundles in 8 years.

People fail to acknowledge that the numbers were inflated.

People also fail to acknowledge that one game is more beloved than the other. Streamers where playing TLOU had millions of views, especially for that first hour of that game. EVERYONE was saying positive things about it, shit spreads like wildfire and one thing led to another "WoW this game is amazing OMG" which then translates to "I loved that game so much, I will buy it again", TLOU became a cash cow for Sony to milk. It's very hard to do that to a game that did NOT have the same reception or endorsement.

 

[arkhamguy123]

Spider-Man 2018 - 22 million copies sold.
Spider-Man 2 - 6 million copies sold.

That's a major drop off

Well I see your point but Spider-Man 2 hasn't been out for 3 and a half years. Most games that aren't GTA or Red Dead Redemption are at or very near their final lifetime sales after 3.5 years.

 

[brenobnfm]

It was a much worse game, that's expected.

 

[Arsic]

That kid would’ve died from that.

 

[Represent.]

That kid would’ve died from that.

yeah i didnt realize how brutal that was lmao
looks much worse on loop in gif form

 

[TGO]

The Last of Us Remaster has around 20 different bundles in 8 years.

People fail to acknowledge that the numbers were inflated.

Well the numbers are gonna be even more inflated because the PS4 Remaster was selling the most during the TV Shows run.

 

[Vlodril]

I wonder if it's stupidity , ignorance or just people trying to confirm their bias through extreme mental gymnastics. I guess it doesn't matter but still.

 

[yurinka]

When TLOU first released that game left a mark, almost like how U2 took the gaming world by storm. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. It was the best thing that came out of PlayStation studios so ofcrouse a remaster would sell gangbusters. Can't say the same thing about TLOU2 with that awful leak that pissed alof of people off and everything got confirmed when the game released. A controversial of epic proportions surrounded that game. It was a warzone basically. That shit leaves a sour taste in people's mouths.

What i'm trying to say is. TLOU is loved, Part 2 is hated. It will not sell the same amount.

The people have spoken!

That your personal opinion, but I wasn't talking about personal opinions, I was talking abot factual sales data.

I was highlighting that the OP and thread title is wrong because TLOU2 on its known tracked data (a couple years) already outsould the 9 years of TLOU1. We can't compare the remasters or PC ports because the TLOU2 ones still aren't released.

The comparision in the OP is nonsensical and unfair.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

After a remaster then remake it’ll be about equal. See it is needed!

 

[DForce]

People also fail to acknowledge that one game is more beloved than the other. Streamers where playing TLOU had millions of views, especially for that first hour of that game. EVERYONE was saying positive things about it, shit spreads like wildfire and one thing led to another "WoW this game is amazing OMG" which then translates to "I loved that game so much, I will buy it again", TLOU became a cash cow for Sony to milk. It's very hard to do that to a game that did NOT have the same reception or endorsement.

People know one game is more beloved than the other. Neil even said many people are going to hate the second game. What you're saying has nothing to do as to why the sales are much higher. The first game was bundled for 6+ years. There's a reason why Mat and Zhuge always mention bundles when TLOU remastered sales are mentioned.

 

[DForce]

Well the numbers are gonna be even more inflated because the PS4 Remaster was selling the most during the TV Shows run.

The most? TLOU 2 sold better than the remaster during the TV show.

 

[thismeinteil]

People know one game is more beloved than the other. Neil even said many people are going to hate the second game. What you're saying has nothing to do as to why the sales are much higher. The first game was bundled for 6+ years. There's a reason why Mat and Zhuge always mention bundles when TLOU remastered sales are mentioned.

Yea, it was bundled because it's an actual system seller. There are plenty of bundled games that don't hit 18M+ in sales.

Sony could have bundled the shit out of TLOU2, as well, but they chose not to. Wonder why.

 

[ckaneo]

Even if we assumed dates made sense and this comparison was valid

TLOU2 made 447 million revenue

TLOU1 made 402 million revenue.

In fact, if you look at the chart this information came from TLOU1 probably has the worst revenue numbers out of every game on the list. Which means the only reason it's sales are at 18 million were because of bundles or steep sales. They practically gave the game away.

Are we really gonna obsess over the copies sony gave away?

 

[DForce]

I wasn't comparing it to a game released 2 months ago and it's not my fault ND or Sony hasn't released sales figures for it despite as you assumingly say it has pass miles stones that other games have done and they've celebrated.
Like GOW Ragnarok which has already sold 15 million.

I know you weren't comparing it to a game that was released two months ago. I'm talking about people who are comparing two sales figures when they're not even comparable. I corrected you by saying 10 million sales is not 3 years and it's actually just under 2.

The Callisto Protocol has sold 2mill as of 3 weeks after it was released and was confirmed a flop in that time period, it probably has sold a lot more since then
But everyone quotes that 2mill number and until they announce differently that will remain it's life time sales.
So why should we assume differently for TLOU2 when there is no reason why they wouldn't release sales unless there is nothing to report.
Because?

Neil said the game was profitable from day one.
He then announced that the game sold over 10 million copies.
Earlier this year, he said it was extremely successful.

How often do developers from Callisto Protocol say the game was extremely successful?

People said TLOU 2 underperformed because they didn't announce sales data. Guess what happened? They announced it sold over 10 million copies and people still said it underperformed. If they provide another sales update, they're going to do the same thing.

 

[ZVWQP-9B8TM-VH9CT]

too much still

 

[DeepSpace5D]

It’s a silly comparison. We’re talking about the remaster of the original which was on sale for a way longer period of time.

TLoU: Part II is like the PS3 version of the original; one sku on its originally released hardware gen. It hasn’t received its remastered port yet for the new console gen, like TLoU received to boost its sales. The remaster is finally coming to PS5 early next year and now it will be for sale on two different console gens, like the original was given to get to its high sales numbers.

And even then TLoU: Part II would need a PS4 version, a PS5 version, an eventual PS6 version, and a PC version to be on a level playing field as far as availability goes compared to the original. The first game has gotten a ton of ports to help its numbers out, let’s be honest.

 

[KungFucius]

Well of course TLOU is superior to part 2. Better characters, better story. It is what it is.

How does this drive people who liked part 1 to not buy part 2 though?

 

[j0hnnix]

Days Gone is there. Why no sequel Sony??

They are trying to ride it hard like Jim rides his vespa.

 

[DForce]

Yea, it was bundled because it's an actual system seller. There are plenty of bundled games that don't hit 18M+ in sales.

Sony could have bundled the shit out of TLOU2, as well, but they chose not to. Wonder why.

Sony released a limited edition PS4 Pro bundle and it sold out.

They couldn't bundle the shit out of The Last of Us Part II because the PS4 was at the end of its life cycle They shipped 4.5 million units in 2020

If we compare that to God of War, they shipped over 2.3 million bundles from April 2018 - Nov 2019. This data excludes Europe and it could be in the millions.

God of War 2018 Europe Total up to end of November 2019, no bundle/disc separation
Sell in

Region	Disc Retail	Bundled	Digital	Total
SIEA	3,883,481	2,111,893	2,197,235	8,192,609
SIEE	No Data	No Data	1,372,905	5,431,271
SIEJA	855,983	283,537	571,162	1,710,682
Total	NA	NA	4,141,302	15,334,562

Sell through

Region	Disc Retail	Bundled	Digital	Total
SIEA	3,775,865	2,062,202	2,197,235	8,035,302
SIEE	No data	No Data	1,372,905	5,077,596
SIEJA	855,983	283,537	571,162	1,710,682
Total	NA	NA	4,141,302	14,823,580

 

[HeWhoWalks]

How does this drive people who liked part 1 to not buy part 2 though?

It doesn't. People just use their personal disdain for the game to concoct narratives that don't jive with the data, words from developers, and its lack of a Remastered version.

As more grounded folks have said — this comparison is silly and uses outdated info to attempt a connection that simply doesn't work.

 

[StealthGoblin]

Once the Part 2 remaster has launched on PS5 and PC, and a few years have gone by, that would be a fair comparison.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Source

Lord willing, Silent Hill 2 remake shall surpass all of these, AND MORE.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I think a lot of very specific things about TLOU2.

But even so

This is a bit leading, isn't it? ROFL. Releasing ten years ago, + a remaster, + a remake, over a CHAZ-era game?

I bet Devil May Cry 2 sold more than TLOU2, too.

 

[Jetpac]

We gonna pretend this wasn’t released at the tail end of the PS3 (with an insanely huge customer base). Got a PS4 remaster and a PS5 remaster???

Of course the original sold more

 

[M1chl]

Based

 

[TGO]

The most? TLOU 2 sold better than the remaster during the TV show.

I'm not too sure what sales you saw and I could be missing remembering but TLOUR was in the top 5 and TLOU2 was in the teens
And the Remake was lower during that period
So I don't know what numbers you got and if they different, but that's what I remember and people was going on about the Remake being out sold by the Remaster

I know you weren't comparing it to a game that was released two months ago. I'm talking about people who are comparing two sales figures when they're not even comparable. I corrected you by saying 10 million sales is not 3 years and it's actually just under 2.

Yeah but you did with that comparison

Neil said the game was profitable from day one.
He then announced that the game sold over 10 million copies.
Earlier this year, he said it was extremely successful.

How often do developers from Callisto Protocol say the game was extremely successful?

People said TLOU 2 underperformed because they didn't announce sales data. Guess what happened? They announced it sold over 10 million copies and people still said it underperformed. If they provide another sales update, they're going to do the same thing.

I don't think that would be the case if it's sold as much as you believe

 

[RJMacready73]

Game out for less time than it's predecessor sells less copies in woke shocker....

 

[arkhamguy123]

It’s honestly not mind blowing through. The first one was more groundbreaking and certainly much more crowd pleasing and mass audience friendly (a rare case where that’s actually a compliment and confers superiority). It also had a smash launch on PS3 then another with PS4. the second one was very polarizing and nihilistic

It’s no shock the first one did better. It will be an interesting investment question for Sony however as I’m sure they didn’t spend like 5x as much money to sell less copies

 

[KaiserBecks]

Another Deacon St. Redneck in this day and age?

It's Sons of Anarchy meets The Walking Dead, and that's not even including the Open World angle which we got here!

 

[Flutta]

People know one game is more beloved than the other. Neil even said many people are going to hate the second game. What you're saying has nothing to do as to why the sales are much higher. The first game was bundled for 6+ years. There's a reason why Mat and Zhuge always mention bundles when TLOU remastered sales are mentioned.

Ofcourse it does...... that's the reason why TLOU2 will not come close to the numbers of the first game. Lets make it simple, which game has a higher chance of selling more one that is beloved or hated?

You seem to miss my point. Don't tell me you are one of those that dismiss game sales that are bundled with a console?

 

[Azelover]

It's to be expected. They took a lot of risks with Part II..

Obviouly it will continue to sell over time. It's a huge success..

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[Moses85]

Man, this is a pretty awful comparison/thread.

Its