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Embracer CEO talks about Saints Row’s underperformance and polarized fan reception
a multicultural team of v
Member
Well that shouldn't be too hard for the next one.
Punished Miku
Gold Member
It will be fascinating to watch all these Embracer games start to come out. They've seemed uniquely immune to any real financial concerns. Buy everyone, fund everything. Makes you wonder how long they will keep that up if multiple games start failing to meet expectations.
I wish them luck, but several studios that they've purchased had funding in the past and multiple chances but didn't quite ever land a sales hit. That's the whole reason many of them were up for sale in the first place.
I'm surprised to see this much public discussion of one game underperforming. The pressure will be on if it continues.
I wish them luck, but several studios that they've purchased had funding in the past and multiple chances but didn't quite ever land a sales hit. That's the whole reason many of them were up for sale in the first place.
I'm surprised to see this much public discussion of one game underperforming. The pressure will be on if it continues.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Chase certain cultural trends... and this will be the results more often than not.
Nope (yup). Definitely not related (not possibly more than 100% related at least). You are just cherry picking examples to fit your view (even though every cherry is interchangeable).
Real problem with this game is it did not go straight to subscription. That's where the profit would have been. Do better next time.
ssringo
Member
I mean, they did everything they could to make it fail.
- got rid of old characters
- new characters obviously designed for newer generations that probably weren't even fans of the originals
- bugs and glitches abound
- EGS exclusive (though they got a sack of cash for this so maybe came out ahead?)
Just piss off everybody and watch the cash roll in...
- got rid of old characters
- new characters obviously designed for newer generations that probably weren't even fans of the originals
- bugs and glitches abound
- EGS exclusive (though they got a sack of cash for this so maybe came out ahead?)
Just piss off everybody and watch the cash roll in...
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*Nightwing
Member
Making excuses and talking about everything under the sun besides the real problem:
semiconscious
Member
as clear a case of 'trying to please everyone & pleasing no one' as you might ever want to see (with gotham knights soon to follow)...
digoutyoursoul
Member
Personally I think they are fortunate to be getting the sales they have considering the state of the game
DeaDPo0L84
Member
This is BF2042 all over again to a certain extent. There's a reason these long standing franchises are popular with their fan bases. It doesn't mean you can't change small aspects of the game or improve upon the ones that came before but when you flat out don't improve upon shit and also change most of the foundation which made the franchise what it is what in the first place, you can get fucked.
Fatbody
Member
Not to be too depressing, but I wouldn’t hold your breath for a comeback/return to form for this series. Once you go down the road they went down there’s no coming back. It’s just a series of doubling, tripling, and quadrupling down on their “new vision.” Now of course they could be given a bigger budget and more development time next time around, which could prevent the kind of technical issues the reboot had, but the soul of of the originals is forever dead.
Honestly they should just make an attempt at a Red Faction BR game with next-gen GeoMod tech. That’s something the Zoomer audience that they wanted so badly might actually be interested in.
Honestly they should just make an attempt at a Red Faction BR game with next-gen GeoMod tech. That’s something the Zoomer audience that they wanted so badly might actually be interested in.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
When are they going to figure out, that what they chase is NOT the majority? Especially when it comes to purchasing power. It is a very, very fringe minority being artificially hoisted up by algorithms from bad actors.
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baphomet
Member
Saints Row is built entirely on chasing trends.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
I was trying to be a little subtle, initially.
Victor Omega
Member
When you chase pop culture trend but not fans. This is what happens
GnomeChimpsky
Member
Yeah well, next time maybe chase a trend that people are into and not this lame shit.
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FF:Enhanced_Reality
Member
You can tell from the trailers that this game didn't fit the series and wasn't going to go well. You don't have to be a genius. I miss the old Volition that brought us Red Faction and Summoner. I expected better of Embracer to be fair. I thought they'd look at that during development and be like what the fuck?
MatrixReloaded101
Member
Its simple, make a good game and market it well = the game should sell well
Make a crap/cash grab = don't expect it to sell well
Saints Row came out at the perfect time when not a lot of new games were available. It didn't do well because it wasn't a good game and gamers are not stupid, you got to deliver quality especially in a market were people have cheaper options like game pass and PS Plus Premium.
Make a crap/cash grab = don't expect it to sell well
Saints Row came out at the perfect time when not a lot of new games were available. It didn't do well because it wasn't a good game and gamers are not stupid, you got to deliver quality especially in a market were people have cheaper options like game pass and PS Plus Premium.
Kenneth Haight
Gold Member
Saints Rows impact on the industry
Mibu no ookami
Member
None of these companies have infinite monies.
Can they diversify risk in their portfolios? Sure, but at the end of the day, they won't and can't keep throwing good money after bad.
Can they diversify risk in their portfolios? Sure, but at the end of the day, they won't and can't keep throwing good money after bad.
LegendOfKage
Member
If this is how they're talking about the game to investors, which is generally what is happening here, I can only imagine how they're talking about this behind closed doors. I have to think some decision makers at volition are going to be held accountable for this.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
My take is that its underperforming because its probably the worst case of "Poochie the Dog" syndrome I can remember. Everything about the presentation from colour palette to character design comes over as designed by committee to be "now", which bumps really hard against its attempts at edgyness.
Its Steve Buscemi unironically saying "Greetings, fellow kids" the videogame! Who is that going to appeal to?
Sosokrates
Report me if I continue to console war
They made some really dumb decisions with the new saints row.
It would of done way better for a more realistic art style and story.
It would of done way better for a more realistic art style and story.
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Complistic
Member
Id be interested in an actual saints row game if they want to make one. I wasnt interested in whatever they're latest attempt was.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
As long as they can collect a check from Epic for timed exclusivity, and then maybe collect a check from Microsoft for Game Pass, they won’t care.
You don’t need gamers to buy your game anymore.
bitbydeath
Member
Seriously, how hard is that to do?
It could even come out looking like GTA3 but if it has similar gameplay and story details they’d make serious bank.
Lukaku's First Touch
Member
Go woke...you know the rest.
This is why companies should stay off Twitter, or social media in general.
MALpractice311
Member
So when you reboot a game and (a) your team consists of none of the original members, (b) you change the tone entirely, and (c) you actively crap on your pre-existing fanbase in favor of some nebulous Twitter-based audience that may or may not (probably not) exist, your game sells poorly? Shocking!
The only way to get out of this is to make a Saints Row 5, where in universe this game was a streaming TV show that the Saints (possibly Pierce) licensed to a Netflix-style service. It opens with the Boss and the Saints watching it in their massive home theater and they all hate it.
The Boss - "Where's the extreme violence?"
Pierce - "Where's the titties?"
Kinzie - "Where's the dongs?"
Johnny Gat - "Where's me?
Shaundi - "Student loans? Who, other than Kinzie and Oleg, went to college here?"
Pierce - "I got an honorary MBA. Does that count?"
The Boss - "Saints, call up our agents, social media reps, and lawyers. We got business to take care of."
Anyhoo, the agent and social media rep set up a big press conference to address the shitty response wherein they promise no longer ignore their long term fans and indicate that the Saints will do whatever it takes to stop production on season 2 of the show. Shortly thereafter, the lawyers deliver a laptop to the Netflix execs where the Boss demands they return the TV rights back to the Saints. The execs refuse and then the Boss dives out of a helicopter and massacres the TV Saints cast and crew while they were trying to film season 2. There's your intro mission. Boom. I'll take my check now, please.
The only way to get out of this is to make a Saints Row 5, where in universe this game was a streaming TV show that the Saints (possibly Pierce) licensed to a Netflix-style service. It opens with the Boss and the Saints watching it in their massive home theater and they all hate it.
The Boss - "Where's the extreme violence?"
Pierce - "Where's the titties?"
Kinzie - "Where's the dongs?"
Johnny Gat - "Where's me?
Shaundi - "Student loans? Who, other than Kinzie and Oleg, went to college here?"
Pierce - "I got an honorary MBA. Does that count?"
The Boss - "Saints, call up our agents, social media reps, and lawyers. We got business to take care of."
Anyhoo, the agent and social media rep set up a big press conference to address the shitty response wherein they promise no longer ignore their long term fans and indicate that the Saints will do whatever it takes to stop production on season 2 of the show. Shortly thereafter, the lawyers deliver a laptop to the Netflix execs where the Boss demands they return the TV rights back to the Saints. The execs refuse and then the Boss dives out of a helicopter and massacres the TV Saints cast and crew while they were trying to film season 2. There's your intro mission. Boom. I'll take my check now, please.
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TLZ
Banned
Which means, make a new game not named Saints Row, or a spin off at least, catering for these idiots. Leave Saints legacy alone.