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Capcom, Grin's Bionic Commando Sells A Meager 27K in U.S.

sykoex said:
Just out of curiosity what's the time frame they're expecting to sell 1.5 million in?


What's the problem when both RE5 and SF4 over performed by so much? RE5 alone covered the sales BC was supposed to make.

I'm saying Nooooooo @ Dark Void's projected 2 million sales.

Yes, RE covered Bionics ass but what will cover Dark Voids when it bombs?

Dunno what they were thinking with these projects. Taking a chance on two new IP's is a big enough risk for any 3rd party, but 4?? With the money they dumped into this dark void they could have had an Eastern-developed Dead Rising 2 on sale right now lighting up the charts. As a Capcom fan I'm on suicide watch. I might have to go buy BC now, even though I have no desire to play it.

DiddyBop said:
another failure of the 59.99 standard. not every game is worth that price. they need to drop the price on this fast because i would really consider checking it out at the pricepoint of 29.99 or below.

Give it, like, two weeks.
 
DiddyBop said:
another failure of the 59.99 standard. not every game is worth that price. they need to drop the price on this fast because i would really consider checking it out at the pricepoint of 29.99 or below.

This post is so correct. Publishers really need to wake up and realize that games need to be shorter, more polished, and cheaper.


I would much rather have an uber polished "best of" Bionic Commando thats 4 hours for 29.99, than the mess that it currently is at 60.
 
I think Capcom forgot that BC's target demographic is poor and doesn't buy videogames unless they are 2 dollars at a garage sale.

That demographic I'm referencing is of course Hippies. That's what they were going for with the "Groovy" Dreadlocks and "Trippy"
Girlfriends soul in my Bionic Arm doood
angle.
 
Such a shame how the game turned out. I was hyped for it when I got my 360 in '07, and I tried to keep up with it in '08 with the Top Secret podcast and BC:R, but the marketing really fell through in '09, at least from my perspective. The multiplayer demo and mediocre reviews didn't help much. =(
 
UnluckyKate said:
I can't believe they really hopes to sell 2 millions copies of a new IP...

Not even Dead Rising or Lost Planet sold that much, and those were big hits!

W T F were they thinking. God knows how big the budget is on that.
 
Akia said:
I bet there's a lot more pressure on the devs of Capcom's Dark Void now. Its up to them to bail out Capcom US western outsourcing strategy. Causalities so far being: Bionic Commando and Age of Booty.

Final Fight Streetwise should also be added to that list. From SEGA though Golden Axe and Monkey Ball Adventure also should be on the list of western outsourcing strategies gone bad.
 
i dont know how they expected this game to sell similar to SF4. As a gamer, it was hard not to know that SF4 was being released, from all the constant commercials on Tv to in store advertisements. All in all im sure the BC budget wasn't as big as the BC budget because i had no idea when BC was coming out.

I also think that E3 does affect the sales of games that are released during that time period because everyone is hyped and talking about the blockbusters being released during winter 2009/ FY 2010 and tend to forget about the current, smaller games being released now.
 
bcwat.bmp


That made me stay away from full price.


If I can find it cheap for PC later on, I'll give it a try.
 
Kodiak said:
I would much rather have an uber polished "best of" Bionic Commando thats 4 hours for 29.99, than the mess that it currently is at 60.

But the game only takes 5-6 hours to complete. Any quality issues about the game are not about its length.

Personally I thought the game was well worth the $60, but they want to get all the sales they could at that price and then drop if necessary. Also, publishers don't discount immediately this because a cheaper game gives the impression of an inferior one. Message board denizens know the difference between games with AAA budgets and those without, but the general gaming public needn't know.
 
Andrew2 said:
Final Fight Streetwise should also be added to that list. From SEGA though Golden Axe and Monkey Ball Adventure also should be on the list of western outsourcing strategies gone bad.

I've been saying this for a while. The whole "resurrecting" of dead, mildly popular in it's day IP in the sake of these big budget titles needs to stop. I think after Golden Axe and now this we can finally close this embarrasing chapter in gaming.

The trend is similar to what the movie industry has been doing with TV shows (Dukes of Hazard, Land of the Lost) and older movies.

I knew BC would bomb, but I was hoping for more of just a simple failure, where they took a little loss or even broke even, but not make enough money to warrant a sequel or another project in this vain. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this bad of a bomb, though.

At least I won't have to live to see the day of Striders corpse being dug up and pissed on by a Western dev in similar fashion. May my favorite games of all time rest in peace where they deserve, thank you.
 
truly101 said:
Yikes at the Bionic Commando design. This isn't 1998 and nobody likes Korn anymore.

Lol yeah all I can think about is Korn, Deftones, and middle school every time I look at the box art.

Hell even Jonathan Davis and Chino lost the dreadlocks ages ago. Dreads were more of a 95' thing anyway. Even in 98 they were lame.
 
discoalucard said:
Indeed, hopefully history will view it as this generation's God Hand. The fact that this thread is trashing it when it should be championing it is a travesty.

Only real issues I have are the story (stupid but ignorable) and the load times. Too many people have no idea how to play this game and never bothered to learn. I think I died from radiation once and that's because I wasn't paying attention to the waypoint indicator. The game really isn't all that hard either.

Yeah, once you get the swinging down, it really isn't

Certainly hope it finds it's audience over time and in 6 months or so time, we start seeing the LTTP threads on GAF :D
 
Shig said:
Sony had a big first party release. It wasn't going to do well against that, demo or not.
Ehh. Surely the 98% of US PS3 owners who didn't pick up that first-party game could've been a fair target for any other publisher?
 
They expect 2M out of Dark Void? No effing way. 2.7M out of Lost Planet 2? Highly doubt it.

Looks like tough times ahead for Capcom. Good thing they have RE5, SF4, and Monster Hunter...
 
Really fun game, really bad main character design (just swap the ReArmed one).

Damnit, GAF! You'll buy it and you'll like it!
BAD GAF. BAD, BAD, GAF.
 
Pyrokai said:
Maybe if the main character didn't look like complete ASS, more people would have drawn to the title.

I mean, really? Is this REALLY who YOU would want to play as?

http://www.vgblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/29/BionicCommandoBoxArt.jpg/IMG][/QUOTE]

Supposedly the result of focus groups, even the character's name.
 
Buckethead said:
Really fun game, really bad main character design (just swap the ReArmed one).

Damnit, GAF! You'll buy it and you'll like it!
BAD GAF. BAD, BAD, GAF.

Can't wait to play through it again and use the Rearmed outfit...

And honestly I think that's the highest compliment I can give a game ...that I wanted to replay it immediately after I finished it. That's how I feel about BC3D
 
The game is 69.99$ here in Canada, all releases for the HD consoles are. I have trouble buying games I really want at that price point, never mind impulse purchases, which is what Bionic Commando would have been for me. The fact that there's in-game advertising that's kind of jarring and incongruous with the game itself is a huge turn off as well.

I'll likely scoop this out of a bargain bin, if I buy it at all. it's a shame that the PSN/XBLA Bionic Commando ended up being the more compelling experience between the two.
 
Wish GRIN/Capcom could have held off and released ReArmed like a month before BC3D. I'm fairly certain that year delay didn't help keeping the IP fresh in people's minds =/
 
That made me stay away from full price.

If I can find it cheap for PC later on, I'll give it a try.
The core mechanics are the best part of the game, though. A jump is absolutely necessary in this particular game. I've always argued against those that claimed it to be necessary in the 2D game, but in this case, it really does need it.

That said, my overall impressions of this game are poor. Looking back, it's probably the worst gaming purchase I've made this year. I feel bad just thinking about the game. The potential is off the charts, but they fumbled badly.
 
I enjoyed BC3D, but I can see why the game didn't sell. I know the reviews tore it up, but - Whatevs. It had it's moments, and I had fun with it.
 
got nothing to do with where its done (capcomJap or GRIN). I think the issue is the OMG hardcore dreadlock main dude on the box cover. :S Well, I think anyhow.
 
I actually liked the MP demo (and fully intended to buy the game based on it), but the onslaught of mediocre reviews slamming complaining about elementary design flaws = no chance in hell.
 
JoshuaJSlone said:
Ehh. Surely the 98% of US PS3 owners who didn't pick up that first-party game could've been a fair target for any other publisher?
Putting aside the silly implication that 98% of consumers are looking to buy at least one new release game every month...

Yeah, see UFC.
Zzoram said:
Is this the first Capcom game this generation to really bomb?
Zack & Wiki says wassup.

If you're looking for specifically 'next-gen' games, I'm sure MotoGP's sales haven't been anything to write home about.
 
B_Rik_Schitthaus said:
Ha'hay someone got the joke,
You are very observant Jocchan let me shake your hand
Sorry, my religion forbids me to shake hands. Just pretend I did
:)
 
I don't think there's any one deciding factor for these results. The biggest one I can think is a simple one. People just weren't that interested in a next gen Bionic Commando. Some games just aren't all that interesting right off the bat and this was one of them. <shrugs>.
 
this cost £30 at launch in UK (from play.com at least). same for SFIV..

(usually ps3 is £40 at least, rarely £35, sometimes £45 or £50)
 
I'd hope that Grin's BC Rearmed team is still intact because I really think it'd be nice to see a sidescrolling NES Strider remake (incorporating the arcade game's aesthetic and some of its signature abilities). Capcom needs to let these guys get busy on downloadable games all day long since they proved themselves well with Rearmed. Screw 3D retail release remakes of old franchises. Keep 'em the in the same view and general play style.
 
As I was saying in the NPD thread that it was under 30K, I was correct in comprehending IGNs statement.

This is a HUUUGE blow to Capcom. More than any game that never met expectations this generation. Their other games that underperformed sold 5 to 10 times over this failure.

Shig said:
.

Zack & Wiki says wassup.
You are CRAZY. Z&W isn't as much of a bomb as this you fool. ITs sold 35,000 in its first month on 1 platform no doubt. Compare that to this Massive bomb for PCPS360. Its over or close to 300K now worldwide which BC will never reach.
 
Red Scarlet said:
More like, a Bionic Commando game with jump button? No.

I'll give the game a try when it is cheap, but that turned me away from it initially.


How about its a 3D game so it can't always have connectable jumps/swings like it can in a 2D plane?
 
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