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[Dysun]

I can't help but feel AAA Single player games are on their way out. This would be Bethesda's 3rd big single player game in a row to bomb.

I would agree that this is the biggest factor. Marketing, and the quality of the game and its first installment also play a part, but it seems like the bottom is falling out for these mid-tier single player games. I wish it weren't true

 

[Ahasverus]

South Park, AC, Mario and Wolfenstein are gonna sell millions.

This is 100% on Bethesda's marketing team, which has been awful for the past few releases.

 

[Auroradawn]

My Thoughts on why the game Performed like that in the launch window :

1- ) The Time of Release : In the games that gets released in 9 , 10 ,11 ( The month Before TEW2 , The Month After and the Current month ) , If you are given the choice to pick up between Shadow of War , AC Origins , Call of Duty WWII , Southpark , Mario , Pokemon , Wolfenstion and The Evil Within 2 , Then I guess TEW2 won't be the first choice for a lot of people , While TEW1 in 2014 competed only with COD AW and AC Unity and Far Cry 4 in the same Window

2-) No Demo : One of the biggest if not the biggest complain that Gamers had with the Original game was its performance on every platform released , So to redeem themselves , Bethesda should had released a demo for TEW2 in all platforms as a benchmark to show that this time everything will be smooth , but instead they left customers hesitated whether to buy it nor not fearing that they will get a similar bad experience like the last one

3-) Marketing : TEW1 had a propaganda of " Return of Survival horror Godfather" , " Return of Mikami " , " Resident Evil 4 True Sequel " , " The ideal game in Mikami's mind " and so on and as we all know , Name sells games While in TEW2 not only we didn't get a Proper marketing , but they stick with the failed RE7 marketing method of letting Famous Streamers and Youtubers do the work and Over-dependence on Word of mouth and we all know this method didn't return good results with RE7

Other than those , I don't see a MAJOR point that made the Sequel perform way less than the Original sales wise , I myself has some small complains about the Art style and the Story but they are minor ones compared to the above ones and it shouldn't had affected sales to that degree if not at all

 

[AstroNut325]

Devs/Pubs need to spread out their releases. Launching in October, November, and December is going to really tough forward with COD, Battlefield/Front, and other major 3rd party heavy hitters landing.

 

[Stimpack]

Hardly any marketing
crowded month
fist game was divisive

Not really surprising sadly.



It is said that the first game sold 5 million copies. If the number is accurate it's not really surprising they made a sequel.

I think you're exactly right.

 

[facetheslayer92]

Devs/Pubs need to spread out their releases. Launching in October, November, and December is going to really tough forward with COD, Battlefield/Front, and other major 3rd party heavy hitters landing.

Yea its insane more AAA single player games don’t release in September like they used to.

 

[PhantomThief]

Devs/Pubs need to spread out their releases. Launching in October, November, and December is going to really tough forward with COD, Battlefield/Front, and other major 3rd party heavy hitters landing.

Its always been this way. Pubs will never learn.

 

[Arion]

Really sad to see these types of single player games, without MT and loot boxes, perform poorly. At this point I can't even blame the publishers for putting that stuff in their games if it's the only way to make money.

 

[Kill3r7]

Devs/Pubs need to spread out their releases. Launching in October, November, and December is going to really tough forward with COD, Battlefield/Front, and other major 3rd party heavy hitters landing.

It is a horror game. An October release date is a no brainer from a marketing perspective. Also this year has been stacked with games.

 

[GeordieMark]

Devs/Pubs need to spread out their releases. Launching in October, November, and December is going to really tough forward with COD, Battlefield/Front, and other major 3rd party heavy hitters landing.

Yeah, a game like this should have been held back and released early next year. It has been sent out to die, hence the lack of marketing.

 

[Merchandise]

Couple of my friends who played the first on Xbox (I think it was a GWG?) said they're not getting this because $60 for a 12 hour game is too much.

 

[Jake2by4]

Couple of my friends who played the first on Xbox (I think it was a GWG?) said they're not getting this because $60 for a 12 hour game is too much.

Understandable but a shame. Game is worth 60 imo

 

[Kill3r7]

Couple of my friends who played the first on Xbox (I think it was a GWG?) said they're not getting this because $60 for a 12 hour game is too much.

The original has been on sale for around $5 several times. Games like this are a hard sell at $60.

 

[SomTervo]

Couple of my friends who played the first on Xbox (I think it was a GWG?) said they're not getting this because $60 for a 12 hour game is too much.

Uh I don't think a single estimate puts this game at 12 hours. It's a long and mostly open world game.

God damn marketing

 

[Arion]

I don't think marketing is entirely in the wrong here. Simply marketing the game more isn't going to guarantee more sales or more precisely enough sales to make profit. If they spend a lot of money marketing the game and it still doesn't sell then they make a way bigger loss. Ultimately, they are trying to hedge their bets. Linear horror games simply don't sell as much as open world RPGs so it makes sense to not spend too much on advertising.

 

[Shredderi]

I don't think marketing is entirely in the wrong here. Simply marketing the game more isn't going to guarantee more sales or more precisely enough sales to make profit. If they spend a lot of money marketing the game and it still doesn't sell then they make a way bigger loss. Ultimately, they are trying to hedge their bets. Linear horror games simply don't sell as much as open world RPGs so it makes sense to not spend too much on advertising.

Then why did they make a sequel at all if they were expecting it to sell bad? More marketing doesn't necessarily quarantee good sales, but next to no marketing at all quarantees lower sales.

 

[gdt]

Ho

Ly

Fuck



Simultaneously expected and crazy

 

[AstroNut325]

Couple of my friends who played the first on Xbox (I think it was a GWG?) said they're not getting this because $60 for a 12 hour game is too much.

I don't understand this. Why is $60 too much for 12 hours of entertainment? Do people just want bloat? No care for quality?

 

[Jackpot]

It's a real shame too. I was burnt out on open-world games but this is Silent Hill crossed with Resident Evil 4 done awesome.

 

[Matt]

Do we have digital numbers for TEW2?

I can tell you they aren't covering a 75% drop in retail sales. If it was a 10-20% drop, well then maybe it would have done about the same.

 

[LifeLike]

It's a real shame too. I was burnt out on open-world games but Silent Hill crossed with Resident Evil 4 is awesome.

Yes the game is really good, I'm far into chapter 3 on Nightmare and the game is a blast.

 

[joe2187]

It's not as good as the first game.

You're right, It's not as good as the first game...

It's 10xs better in every single way.

TEW2 is such a massive improvement on every facet of the bumbling mishandling of the first game.

 

[Astral Dog]

Its
OVER

 

[Astral Dog]

i would say i'm surprised but i would be lying. lol. i really don't understand how this even got a sequel if i'm being honest.

The first game was #1 Debut in Horror game Sales .it sold fairly well

 

[shimon]

If I didnt visit NeoGaf, I would not know this game released.

I didnt even know this was coming out. The marketing has been weak imo.

If it weren't for GAF I wouldn't have known it even existed

Never even heard of this game. Maybe an advert or two would help.

No surprising, I didn't even know it was out. It's possible I just completely missed everything, but I haven't seen any marketing for it at all.

Funny how many comments like that I've seen on the internet.

 

[Arion]

Then why did they make a sequel at all if they were expecting it to sell bad? More marketing doesn't necessarily quarantee good sales, but next to no marketing at all quarantees lower sales.

I'm guessing they expect the game to sell just enough to make a profit and they want to cultivate a new franchise. Spending more on marketing will increase the budget and their expected sales wouldn't be enough to cover it.

 

[oti]

Its
OVER

I'd like to see Mikami and Nintendo working on a new horror IP. 🤔
Sensible budget, Nintendo marketing prowess, all that jazz.

 

[Merchandise]

I don't understand this. Why is $60 too much for 12 hours of entertainment? Do people just want bloat? No care for quality?

You've got X budget. One game offers hundreds of hours of entertainment; one offers 12. Same price.

They need to experiment with dynamic pricing.

 

[wapplew]

Devs/Pubs need to spread out their releases. Launching in October, November, and December is going to really tough forward with COD, Battlefield/Front, and other major 3rd party heavy hitters landing.

Didn't help Prey in May.
Really no good time to release games when most games emphasized long engagement these day.
You not only compete with other games of the month, you also compete with games released long time ago for player's time and money.

 

[shimon]

And sales for SoW are apparently hugely down on SoM, too. How do you feel about that?

Hugely? Not really,it's down like 18% physical.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

- Crowded month
- General drop of sales
- Bethesda marketing sent to kill this game
- Lukewarm reception of the first game
- Just decent reviews


Is sad, because the game is actually quite good.

 

[WickedLaharl]

No pro support no buy

Blame Sony for not making pro support mandatory to pass cert.

 

[Duxxy3]

Damn shame. I thought the game was pretty good. I prefer the first one, but I thought the second had more mass appeal.

edit: Oh, and Bethesda's review policy is killing their own games. They are as much to blame as anyone else.

 

[Formosa]

I really like this type of horror games, and I was going to buy this game but didn't. Why? I think it's because Evil Within really doesn't stand out enough from RE and SH games.

 

[HeresSomeWeapons]

Everyone is quick to yell "marketing!" as the reason it's not selling well, but no one is talking about the lack of review copies. Maybe it's as simple as no one is willing to take a $60 dive after the shitshow that the first game was until they see some reviews.

 

[brawly]

Blame Sony for not making pro support mandatory to pass cert.

Uh, no? Go the extra mile, like everybody else.

Plus they already announced a XOX patch.

 

[MaximusPayne]

Couple of my friends who played the first on Xbox (I think it was a GWG?) said they're not getting this because $60 for a 12 hour game is too much.

I'm at Chapter 4 and have logged 5.5 hours. I doubt it's a 12 hour game for most gamers.

 

[Spooky Scary Skeleton]

I guess Bethesda spent this quarter’s entire marketing budget on Wolfenstein.

 

[Keinning]

I don't understand this. Why is $60 too much for 12 hours of entertainment? Do people just want bloat? No care for quality?

Not everyone has enough money to burn on quick singleplayer games with barely any replay value (not saying this is the case with TEW2, just in general)

Specially not when prices drop to half in two or three months. No way in hell i'm paying almost 300 reais for it and i'm interested. I can imagine people on the fence being way more patient than me

 

[black cobra]

I'm glad Dusk Golem said that because I feel it, too. I'm not sure about MGS3 though, it felt similar to 1 and 2 to me, too.

Basically TEW2 has a very 'Metal Gear' exposition. Very character driven 'one last mission' kind of vibe, where you're a specialist with personal and professional connection to the nightmarish mission context, who has been called in by a larger power and sent in alone to solve a difficult/impossible situation.

• The whole set up of a smaller linear mission then the game opens up is very MGS.
• The actual dialogue and direction is semi-hammy but semi-realistic like MGS.
• The way you deploy alone into a mission, but meet unique characters throughout who have a fixed, believable place in the world, feels very MGS
• The way you have a 'support network' of characters is very MGS
• The way the game is structured around tracking down multiple special creatures/bosses/characters is very MGS
• The way levels/areas are like little open zones is very MGS, and the way you traverse them while gradually accrueing better gear

And on top of it the actual telling of the adventure/story feels quite MGS-like.

Thank you for your answer. This sounds really cool. I was rather disappointed after beeing immensely hyped for the first entry.

 

[Neff]

this feels like Bayonetta where fans should be happy that they even got a sequel in the first place.

I am happy. The game is great.

But again like Bayonetta, its sequel is slightly disappointing and dumbed down compared to the exemplary original.

 

[rtcn63]

Thank you for your answer. This sounds really cool. I was rather disappointed after beeing immensely hyped for the first entry.

The writing in TEW2 is much, much worse than what I remember of any MGS. (Well, maybe not MGS2) Just watch some footage of the early chapters to see how at best generic and forgettable it is. They should've just kept it along the lines of the original- Seb wakes up at his KCPD desk one night, hearing his daughter calling out to him. For some reason, he's found himself in STEM. That's it. That's the setup. He just goes with it.

 

[detectiveconan1]

Shame it's doing so poorly. It's one of the best games I've played all year.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

I dont even know why people still put UK charts as some way of saying x or y game is doing badly, when it seems every game there is doing fucking terrible except Fifa.

That market is fucked forever.

It is true that bethesda marketing for this game was basically crp and sent to die sadly.

 

[Toe-Knee]

I was all in on this until I read that it was open world and the final nail was the lack of pro support.

 

[Obliterator]

I dont even know why people still put UK charts as some way of saying x or y game is doing badly, when it seems every game there is doing fucking terrible except Fifa.
.

UK and the US are very similar markets in terms of trends. If a game bombs in the UK it's more than likely it will in the US as well.

There are exceptions of course but by and large the markets are very similar

 

[silva1991]

Got a link? That seems incredibly high for a game that only seemed to sell moderately well around launch. It's only at 800k on Steam which would put its console sales incredibly high.


.

Dusk mentioned that number in his thread month ago. Don't know what's his source tho.

 

[Astral Dog]

I really like this type of horror games, and I was going to buy this game but didn't. Why? I think it's because Evil Within really doesn't stand out enough from RE and SH games.

Yeah too many Silent Hill esque games on the market

 

[Orochinagis]

Barely any marketing and there were external YT channels spoiling bosses and stuff so yep, I will wait for a cheap boundle on PS4, soon.

 

[J_Viper]

That's too bad, because the game seems neat.

Though, there is a spiteful part of me that feels a bomb is deserved for, once again, fucking up the PC port