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Microsoft: Alan Wake Missed Sales Expectations, Next Remedy Game Has No Publisher Yet

M

MalboroRed

Banned
Nirolak said:
Just to clear this up, Uncharted 1 + 2 sold a bit less than 8 million units combined.

If we want to be more specific, it's about 3 million with Uncharted 1 (due to heavy bundling) and then 4.5 million for Uncharted 2.

It's definitely a franchise that stands strong on its own now, thanks to Sony's aggressive pushing to get it going, which is something Microsoft never did for Alan Wake.
Click to expand...

Microsoft was basically moving in the direction of incentivizing third-party publishers instead of relying on as much in-house game development/first-party published games, that said Alan Wake probably didn't sell enough to warrant a sequel in Microsoft's eyes.

Still it's such a shame Remedy made a decent game and ended up having to shop themselves around for a publisher again.
 
J

John Rabbit

Banned
"we'd love to work with remedy again [provided their next title has kinect support and some kind brand synergy with a snack food as opposed to batteries and a cellular provider]".

sucks, alan wake is a thoroughly solid title that deserves better.
 
M

MirageDwarf

Member
Fuck Microsoft. You keep pushing more shitty Fables. You don't deserve this gem anyway. Take 2, I'm looking at you. Pick this up, please.

One of my most favorite game experience. Gameplay is certainly hit or miss and repetitive but god damn, if you like it, it is awesome.

While playing, when first episode ended with awesome soundtrack of "In Dreams" or in episode 2 , the way camera pans out (and I was imagining Twin Peaks locations) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpjZPO9Dhu0&t=1m07s, it was absolute pleasure.

Some of the other mesmerizing gameplay moments:

"War" on the radio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiaElWRsaPQ
Rock concert gameplay - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-09plCa530&t=2m55s

I freaking love this game.
 
D

Dennis

Banned
Gee, Microsoft I wonder why the game failed.

All that negative PR your actions generated can't possibly have contributed, now can it?

I don't know how much I care what Remedy does know.

I remember all those years we got glimpses of what Alan Wake would me and then they release that!?
 
L

Lakitu

st5fu
Guerrillas in the Mist said:
Translation: Alan Wake 2 isn't a kinect game, so we're not interested.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. I'm starting to loathe Microsoft considering I'm a huge fan of the 360.
 
Z

zoukka

Member
The Broken Ska Record said:
Wasn't Alan Wake in development for quite a while, which combined with it's sub par sales ain't so good?
Click to expand...

Remedy broke somewhat even with it. Definately a disappointment still. Microsoft did a dumb thing for not delaying AW a bit and it launched with Red Dead Redemption in the US. That hurt.

Also they did the mistake of not adding any MP elements. If you make a short story heavy game with no MP, you just beg for it to be rented to death.

None of these mistakes won't be made again with AW2. They also are more familiar with their tech and only need to invest in the game development, not creating expensive custom tools.

I think they're fine.
 
S

spats

Member
Their next game could be a nice addition to the EA portfolio. They're a super talented developer but MS kinda screwed them halfway through the dev cycle to switch platforms. Even then they managed to come out with a critically acclaimed game.
 
T

Tron 2.0

Member
spats said:
Their next game could be a nice addition to the EA portfolio. They're a super talented developer but MS kinda screwed them halfway through the dev cycle to switch platforms. Even then they managed to come out with a critically acclaimed game.
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I don't remember this.
 
S

spats

Member
Tron 2.0 said:
I don't remember this.
Click to expand...

It was supposed to be an open world technical showpiece for the PC wasn't it? Then they were forced to cram it on an xbox. Look up some old demos perhaps.
 
A

Averon

Member
To be fair, how many thought RDR would become such a mega-hit that it would suck all the oxygen out of the room?
 
M

MirageDwarf

Member
zoukka said:
Remedy broke somewhat even with it. Definately a disappointment still. Microsoft did a dumb thing for not delaying AW a bit and it launched with Red Dead Redemption in the US. That hurt.

Also they did the mistake of not adding any MP elements. If you make a short story heavy game with no MP, you just beg for it to be rented to death.

None of these mistakes won't be made again with AW2. They also are more familiar with their tech and only need to invest in the game development, not creating expensive custom tools.

I think they're fine.
Click to expand...

Max Payne 2 was released in 2003. AW in 2010. That is almost 7 yrs without releasing any game. In current situation, AW2 is not happening anytime soon. It's risky. What is Remedy's source of money?
 
R

Rahxephon91

Banned
I did'nt know you had sales expectations for Alan Wake MS.

MirageDwarf said:
Max Payne 2 was released in 2003. AW in 2010. That is almost 7 yrs without releasing any game. In current situation, AW2 is not happening anytime soon. It's risky. What is Remedy's source of money?
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Aren't they a small team and did'nt they sell the Max Payne ip? Maybe they are running on fumes now.
 
F

Fezan

Member
Release ALAN wake on Steam.get additional sale.Go to rockstar and help them make Max payne 3 awesome.










I wish
 
C

chicken_ramen

Member
First they did everything they could to hurt sales, they limited it to 360 and launched on the same day as probably the biggest release of the year. To turn around and say things like this... if I were working for Remedy I'd be pretty cut up to be honest.
 
D

DatBreh

Banned
Averon said:
To be fair, how many thought RDR would become such a mega-hit that it would suck all the oxygen out of the room?
Click to expand...

It was quite clear months in advance that everyone was looking forward to RDR. People buy Rockstar games in droves if you havent noticed. I remember many discussions on gaming forums around the net as to why Alan Wake wasnt being pushed back.
 
T

Tron 2.0

Member
spats said:
It was supposed to be an open world technical showpiece for the PC wasn't it? Then they were forced to cram it on an xbox. Look up some old demos perhaps.
Click to expand...
I'm fairly sure it was always intended for console & PC.

Wiki:

The game was announced at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) for "the next generation of consoles and PCs", and was shown to the press behind closed doors in the form of a tech demo. In 2006, Remedy partnered with Microsoft Game Studios to publish the game exclusively for Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console and then-current Windows Vista PC operating system.
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Grinchy

Grinchy

Banned
AgentChris said:
They should have released Alan Wake in August with some marketing; Batman Arkham Asylum did great in that time period.
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I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about this shit, but this is something I've always wondered.

We see this happen all the time. During a slow period of game launches, one murky little gem gets a big push and we all go crazy for it. It's the same principle as the not-so-hot girl only going out with her fat friends so she becomes more desirable. I just don't know why more companies don't shoot for these slow periods and advertise heavily.
 
E

El-Suave

Member
Honestly, this is why I don't like Microsoft in any sort of leadership position. They're great when they have to make up ground though and they still are good in the XBLA space.
It all went downhill for me when Shane Kim announced they only planned to pursue games that guaranteed a certain (high) number of sales, when he was asked about a Crimson Skies game on 360 (I think it was on the Major Nelson podcast). Too many abandoned games that would be promising since then.
 
T

Tron 2.0

Member
Grinchy said:
I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about this shit, but this is something I've always wondered.

We see this happen all the time. During a slow period of game launches, one murky little gem gets a big push and we all go crazy for it. It's the same principle as the not-so-hot girl only going out with her fat friends so she becomes more desirable. I just don't know why more companies don't shoot for these slow periods and advertise heavily.
Click to expand...
I think it's because the odds are low that you're going to be that diamond in the rough.

A lot of retailers do 3/4 of their yearly business JUST in the fourth quarter. It's huge.
 
M

MirageDwarf

Member
Rahxephon91 said:
I did'nt know you had sales expectations for Alan Wake MS.


Aren't they a small team and did'nt they sell the Max Payne ip? Maybe they are running on fumes now.
Click to expand...

You're right, company sold Max Payne IP to Take 2 in 2002.

wikipedia said:
In 2002, Remedy sold all rights to Max Payne to Take-Two Interactive for US$10 million and 969,932 shares of stock.
Click to expand...
 
P

Phonomezer

Banned
Didn't sell well for two reasons:

- Rockstar and Take 2 decided it would be a good idea to move the release of Red Dead Redemption to the same day Alan Wake was releasing.

- Poor marketing.

What a shame, it was a great game.
 
O

Ozzykamikaze

Member
Everyone knows you have to make a bajillion dollars and not a penny less to not be shutdown.

I find this sad. Too bad they made Alan Wake and not Angry Birds, right?
 
C

Crimson-Legend

Banned
Wow, I remember how people were saying Alan Wake would crush Heavy Rain too...I actually place blame on the publisher for not enough advertisement
 
IoCaster

IoCaster

Member
This raises a couple of questions at least. What kind of publishing deal was in place? Remedy apparently got to retain ownership of the IP so how much of the dev costs did MS cover?

If MS sunk a bunch of money into the property, didn't get the rights to the IP and didn't make any profit from the deal it makes sense for them to hold off on any new commitment to another game.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
Honestly, I'm not surprised by this. I don't think 360 is suited for single player games, especially ones that massively story driven, it also didn't help that MS did nothing to promote it.

It would be great if Sony picked up Remedy, I think it is a much better fit for them than MS since Sony let their games mature and are willing to try something different. That last point is something that can't be said for MS, taking a look at their first party and third party published games it is two shooters, Forza, Fable and a ton of Kinect games. I don't know what Molyneux has on Bill Gates and how he keeps getting money from them to make games, but Alan Wake was a much better experience than Fable 2 or 3.
 
L

Lakitu

st5fu
The way I see it is Remedy go to another big publisher (someone like Bethesda or even EA) and continue Alan Wake (i.e. Mass Effect) or just create another new IP.
 
R

Riddick

Member
That'll teach developers never to trust Microsoft again. So not only the royally screwed Remedy and its loyal PC fans by canceling the PC version despite the promises to both but they now abandoned Remedy because of sales that were directly responsible about.

Jesus Christ...
 
M

M.D

Member
zomgbbqftw said:
Honestly, I'm not surprised by this. I don't think 360 is suited for single player games, especially ones that massively story driven, it also didn't help that MS did nothing to promote it.

It would be great if Sony picked up Remedy, I think it is a much better fit for them than MS since Sony let their games mature and are willing to try something different. That last point is something that can't be said for MS, taking a look at their first party and third party published games it is two shooters, Forza, Fable and a ton of Kinect games. I don't know what Molyneux has on Bill Gates and how he keeps getting money from them to make games, but Alan Wake was a much better experience than Fable 2 or 3.
Click to expand...

Fable 2 and 3 sold surprisingly well
 
C

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
zomgbbqftw said:
Honestly, I'm not surprised by this. I don't think 360 is suited for single player games, especially ones that massively story driven, it also didn't help that MS did nothing to promote it.
Click to expand...

Huh? Why wouldn't the 360 be just as suited for story-driven single player games as the PS3, Wii/Wii U or PC?

DiscoJer said:
I think Konami could do worse than picking this series up and somehow Silent Hilling it.
Click to expand...

No one would benefit from Konami turning Alan Wake into the same worthless shit as the Silent Hill franchise currently is
 
S

SmokyDave

Member
I hope Remedy are doing ok with Death Rally. It's a great game that's had some good free updates and I'd like to see them continue to pop out iOS games.
 
G

Guerrillas in the Mist

Member
Lakitu said:
The way I see it is Remedy go to another big publisher (someone like Bethesda or even EA) and continue Alan Wake (i.e. Mass Effect) or just create another new IP.
Click to expand...

Honestly, Eidos should of partnered with Ubisoft, then snapped up some good European developers like Remedy, and then formed a massive European/Canadian megadevelopment empire. That would give EA and Activision something to worry about.
 
L

Lakitu

st5fu
Maybe relevant to this thread or not...

Phil Spencer: All first-party MS titles in the future will come with Kinect support


Guerrillas in the Mist said:
Honestly, Eidos should of partnered with Ubisoft, then snapped up some good European developers like Remedy, and then formed a massive European/Canadian megadevelopment empire. That would give EA and Activision something to worry about.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that would have been interested. Shame it didn't happen. Still, they're doing some good stuff with Square-Enix right now. There are probably plenty of suitors for Remedy.
 
S

Speedymanic

Banned
zomgbbqftw said:
Honestly, I'm not surprised by this. I don't think 360 is suited for single player games, especially ones that massively story driven, it also didn't help that MS did nothing to promote it.
Click to expand...

While it didn't have a massive ad campaign, they did attempt to promote it...

kb6wd.png

GJms3.png

PirQw.jpg


They could have should have promoted it a whole lot more. MS have really become a joke this past couple of years, even more so after Kinect took off the way it did. :/
 
E

El-Suave

Member
Red Dead Redemption surely did cost them sales, especially since it's a long game - but 360 owners have shown they buy a lot of games and if I'm not mistaken it isn't unusual that two games that were released simultaneously or close to each other both do well on that platform. They keep telling us how incerdibly healthy the 360 environment is and I don't doubt that that's true.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
Combichristoffersen said:
Huh? Why wouldn't the 360 be just as suited for story-driven single player games as the PS3, Wii/Wii U or PC?
Click to expand...

It just isn't. Sony put a lot of money into single player games early in the console's life with games like Uncharted, Heavenly Sword and R&C, honestly the only multiplayer games worth having were Resistance then Warhawk a year later. Contrast this with MS who put a massive emphasis on multiplayer games and XBL.

Basically Sony built a large contingent of single player game fans with their early releases and MS did the same for multiplayer online games. I think it's part of the PS legacy to have core single player games too while MS built the Xbox brand around playing with your friends at home (four controllers with OG Xbox) and then online with XBL.

So, am I surprised when a single player, story driven game doesn't sell well on Xbox 360, no.
 
L

Lakitu

st5fu
IoCaster said:
?

I'm not sure why it would be relevant. Remedy is an independent studio and owns the Alan Wake IP.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know. It may be relevant because Alan Wake was a first-party exclusive and published by Microsoft. So if there had to be a sequel, it would need Kinect integration.
 
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