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Undertale at nearly 1 million copies sold (SteamSpy)
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
I hate that shit and this game is no meme game. it's hilarious and touching.
Excellent sales, really glad to see a standout success like this, although it shows what an established audience makes. The sales make more sense when you consider how successful the Homestuck game kickstarter is.
Undertale (my inability to play/enjoy it) is my most disappointing gaming experience of 2015, but there's some nice stuff there.
Undertale (my inability to play/enjoy it) is my most disappointing gaming experience of 2015, but there's some nice stuff there.
$50k is 'just $50k'. what a strange world we live in
Baron von Loathsome
Member
Okay, what's with all the bundle jokes? Did I miss something?
No it doesn't. If the game had an established audience it would have had its' KS be far more successful. A game with an established audience doesn't get just 2000 backers.
Panthalassic
Member
It's my 2015 GOTY and tied for my GOAT game. I got my copy as a birthday present but ended up buying 5 other copies as gifts for others (4 during the time it was on sale) and the soundtrack for myself.
Well deserved and congrats Toby.
Well deserved and congrats Toby.
If you played it you're inducted to the cult.
That doesn't seem far from reality to be honest.
Rocket League is at 2.5 million copies on Steam and that's pretty much just gameplay. We can all rest easy now!
Weltall Zero
Member
My favorite part of the Undertale cult is the free gift bag your receive on the way out after every virgin sacrifice.
A certain contingent of people tend to downplay successful PC games by spouting "It's been bundled so these numbers are meaningless", "It's easy to hit [x sales] when you have such a large userbase", "PC gamers only buy games when they're deeply discounted" and other falsehoods.
lover your avatar, little buddy.
HandsomeCharles
Member
I think it's because typically when steamspy figures are referenced, people always point out that it does not equate to sales on Steam, just the number of active copies. Therefore, if people bought games in something like a humble bundle for £1, or mass purchased in a 90% off sale event, the estimated revenue for a particular title may be skewed and not be actually as high as everyone thinks.
But Undertale hasn't been in any bundles, and only had a 20% sale, so I think they're just poking fun.
Fleet_of_Foot
Member
I want to buy this but I only have a Mac. It runs on Mac but in the notes it says "NOT El Capitan" which is what I'm running. What's up with that?
Weltall Zero
Member
The post you quoted is kind of clear about it (bolded for emphasis):
I would assume global sales of Shovel Knight should be quite higher considering it's on pretty much all platforms under the sun, and in fact it has perks on pretty much every platform but Steam (3D and Streetpass Arena on 3DS, Kratos on Sony platforms, Battletoads on XBox, and multiplayer on Wii U).
It kind of is if you're a game dev!
apparently there are bugs Toby can't seem to get fixed on Mac. i think he was working on them but it's not easy, i guess.
HandsomeCharles
Member
It's an issue with GameMaker. The application doesn't run properly. However, I was able to get it running (Though truth be told I can't remember if I'm on Yosemite or EC) by using the advice in this thread. Remember you can always refund it if it doesn't work!
axisofweevils
Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
No, but the game is so popular, it has created memes. Also see: Portal's "The cake is a lie!" for an example of this in action.
I think he meant
50K game dev budget is very low. So yeah when he said "just 50k"
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
It's gotten worse since Steam opened the floodgates, but there's been a fairly steady flood of 2D indie RPGs for the past decade most of which don't do very well. The general rules for success are the same: make a quality game, have unique selling points, treat development as a business (analyze the market, do marketing, price competitively, etc.). With our upcoming game, beyond our usual tactics, we're trying to outgun other indie RPGs - although I know of a few attempts, I can't think of a single turn-based indie RPG that has successfully pulled off the Chrono Trigger + Lunar: Eternal Blue-style of late 16-bit tech (high quality art & animation, battles directly on maps, CD audio & cutscenes). I don't know if it'll be worth all the extra work (and man, it's a ton of extra work), but I hope so. We're also doing PS4/Vita in addition to Steam so our eggs aren't all in one basket.
As far as Undertale goes, although I think colorful characters & story are the primary cause, I can think of several other factors contributing to its massive success:
Creator had an existing fan base via Homestuck
Kickstarter helped build awareness
Meta aspects
High quality music & writing
Highly accessible gameplay
Replay value + secrets encourage social media sharing
Emulated Earthbound's tone without coming off as a copycat
Generally creating a spiral effect where success created more success
"Don't kill anyone" is a strong unique selling point that is rarely seen in non-stealth games
In any case, we rarely see an indie game achieve this much success so quickly. It's an interesting case study.
Exterminieren
Banned
I think people vastly overestimate the Homestuck connection. This game launched with relatively tepid sales (didn't I hear that it sold around 3,000 copies on opening day or something?), but it picked up word of mouth and just snowballed.
I'd be surprised if any meaningful percentage of people connect the finished product with Homestuck at all.
I'd be surprised if any meaningful percentage of people connect the finished product with Homestuck at all.
Dragon Puncher
Member
Well done Toby Fox, you made one of the funniest and most interesting games I have ever played.
Yabberwocky
Member
That number wouldn't even count the copies brought through the Undertale webstore, goddamn! Congrats to Toby!
InfiniteNine
Rolling Girl
The only thing I know about Homestuck really is that Toby likes/worked on it and he made a version of Megalovania for it.
Yeah, its start was pretty slow. I think I played through it two weeks after it got released and there were like 20,000 copies sold according to steamspy.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
Should be interesting to see if he tries to franchise this like that Five Nights at Fred's chap.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
From SteamSpy:
39k sales after 2 weeks (aka at end of launch window)
224k sales after 1.5 months
337k sales after 2 months
503k sales after 3 months
901k sales after 4 months (big boost from Steam Christmas sale)
979k sales now (under 5 months)
39k sales at $10 a piece in 2 weeks is by no means tepid for a small indie game, but it really exploded from word of mouth.
Really don't see that happening. It took him 2 years to finish Undertale after the Kickstarter finished. Plus, the developer doesn't seem like the type to spam releases or just focus on one series.
What did he mean by this?
Member
2015s Five Nights at Freddys
aka Phenomenal indie success story.
The power of Youtube playthrough coverage on indies can never be underestimated.
Sure the game reviewed well and was oozing personality, but plenty of games do that every year.
aka Phenomenal indie success story.
The power of Youtube playthrough coverage on indies can never be underestimated.
Sure the game reviewed well and was oozing personality, but plenty of games do that every year.
OminoMichelin
Member
Youtube coverage rarely translates to sales. The game sold itself through word of mouth for the most part.
Good job Toby!
I didn't expect this game to sell this well, but it's well deserved.
There are a lot of things regarding jRPG design that bothered me (like relying on menus, grinding for exp and dealing with choices), but I never thought they could be changed until I played this game... everything works so well...the solutions it had for every problem i had with those games were not only unique but awesome as well
The characters are really nice too, and it was one of the most fulfilling experiences i've ever had in gaming
I didn't expect this game to sell this well, but it's well deserved.
There are a lot of things regarding jRPG design that bothered me (like relying on menus, grinding for exp and dealing with choices), but I never thought they could be changed until I played this game... everything works so well...the solutions it had for every problem i had with those games were not only unique but awesome as well
The characters are really nice too, and it was one of the most fulfilling experiences i've ever had in gaming
The only problem is that it kinda ruined every RPG I play because of that "every JRPG you play goes the genocide route" thing
I'm pretty sure that isn't correct at all.
we know from the kickstarter that he planned a game somehow connected to UT. He's has been calling it a "game shrouded in darkness"
MisterCTwo
Member
Undertale is such a fantastic game. A true joy to play. This success is so well deserved.
Shambalakan
Member
Well deserved. one of the best experiences of my life!
Shadow Hog
Member
I'm not following what this has to do with Undertale. Wrong thread?
So I guess this basically means I'm not getting a copy of cosmic star heroine? That would make me pretty sad. If I was to get this game I would really prefer physical. Would it be possible for you guys to work something out to print more copies just based off the success so far?
timmyp53
Member
ooops. sorry guys.
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