Support NeoGAF

[Majmun]

Sony bet on the right horse. It's a new thrilling IP. People seem to dig it.

The Ps4 version is going to vastly outsell the other versions. We've seen what happend with Watch Dogs. And the marketing for Destiny seems to be even more aggressive.

I'm totally expecting at least a 2:1 sales rate advantage for Ps4 compared to the Xbox One. The Ps4 is a much more popular console worldwide and the game is being promoted for the console. It's not really rocket science.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

That particular statement may be slightly hyperbolic for effect, but let's not pretend as if others do not same views I've stated. I'll stop posting in this thread though as my points have already been made. At this point everyone is just running in circles. I'm not sure why some are so defensive because of a viewpoint some share though. However, there's no need to derail this thread any further really.

Think of the music industry. Record labels typically push one song per artist at a time. If they have a big hit, they'll continue to push that song and give a limited release or request limited air space to the follow up, because they don't want consumers to be distracted. Once the first song starts slowing down in terms of airplay and downloads, then the label will abandon it and let it fall off the charts almost instantly while aggressively promoting the follow up that was previously neglected. Typically, hit songs don't fall from number one and then start slowly falling from 10-20-30-40-50 (and so on); they may fall to 20-30 and then disappear from the chart completely. For a current example, notice what is happening to Iggy Azalea's big hit Fancy vs. her new song Black Widow that's been out for awhile, but is only now being heavily promoted while Fancy is beginning its' free fall.

I believe that a similar thing is happening here. Sony wants a GTA V or COD level hit with Destiny and they don't want consumers to be distracted by anything else. Once Destiny sales plateau in the holidays, you'll see it get phased out and then see promotion for the other titles you claim are being neglected. It's also the reason that Watch Dogs was bumped last fall.

 

[Ricky_R]

That particular statement may be slightly hyperbolic for effect, but let's not pretend as if others do not share the same views I've stated. I'll stop posting in this thread though as my points have already been made. At this point everyone is just running in circles. I'm not sure why some are so defensive because of a viewpoint some share though. However, there's no need to derail this thread any further really.

I don't think you're actually derailing the thread. This particular discussion isn't detrimental to it and it can co-exist. I think.

Anyway, I think it's simple math. Destiny promises to be quite a big game, a game that can propel Sony and the PS4 even more. I think it's a great business decision to let DriveClub and LBP3 ride the Destiny wave by putting the most money into it because the Destiny's of the generation are what will make most people decide for or move over to the PS4.

Sony knows that they have the advantage in hardware, and even though the game will aim for parity, having a marketing and exclusive content deal, combined with having a more capable hardware and increased mind share all around will make most people think about getting the PS4 version (not always the case of course). They need to take advantage of that, specially this early when there's a lot of people still waiting to decide which console they're going with.

Bottomline, I understand why Sony is prioritizing in Destiny. DC and LBP3 would never give the PS4 the push that Destiny will.

 

[serversurfer]

Relying on solely Destiny instead of spreading the marketing around to some of the exclusives will lead to LESS sales for those games.

What? I just explained how advertising this way would likely lead to more sales for those games.

It doesn't matter whether you personally consider them system sellers, they should be promoted better than they are currently/

lol Me, personally? I bought a PS3 at launch because of LBP. No, I had no idea it would ever even exist, but I know Sony always nurture games like that. I couldn't give two shits about Destiny.

Spoiler

Okay, loot-whoring makes me give a single shit. Good thing D3 came out when it did.

For a game like Destiny, which is in a very popular genre, has amazing pedigree due to the developer, and just looks interesting, you are dealing with possibly a generation defining experience so early in the gen. It's not exclusive, obviously, so you have Sony planting a long-term seed to associate it with the PS brand.
Sony doesn't want you to even consider buying an X1 for this game. Hell, if you only have a PS3 and/or 360 they want you to buy a PS4 for it. That's why it's been so important for Sony to push the advertising of this game so heavily with that big PS4 logo at the end of the commercials.

As I was saying, it sounds like you could replace "Sony" with "Bungie" in that paragraph and it would still be equally true. They said that looking at Sony was like looking in to a mirror, and indicated that not only was the PS4 exactly what they were looking for when it came to a platform to run Destiny on, they were actively involved with ensuring it would become so.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

LBP 3 reveal trailer 4 million views
LittleBigPlanet 3 - Gamescom - Create and Share Trailer 3 million views

LBP is a recognizable franchise by now, and people are really underestimating it. While i have not played the games, and have no interest in them, they sell pretty well. People are saying that it will flop.

 

[Raist]

Relying on solely Destiny instead of spreading the marketing around to some of the exclusives will lead to LESS sales for those games.

Did you see Disney advertise Guardians of the Galaxy at the same time than Captain America: TWWS?

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Or something like this:

What is this?

Edit:

Of course they deleted it.

 

[serversurfer]

LBP 3 reveal trailer 4 million views
LittleBigPlanet 3 - Gamescom - Create and Share Trailer 3 million views

LBP is a recognizable franchise by now, and people are really underestimating it. While i have not played the games, and have no interest in them, they sell pretty well. People are saying that it will flop.

No one is saying it will flop. We're saying that the number of people willing to drop $400 just to play LBP will be dwarfed by the number of people willing to buy new hardware for Destiny. LBP will see good sales when it launches in November, because parents will buy it to go with the new system their kids have been clamoring for; the one with Destiny.

FPS games just rule the roost right now. I'm not particularly happy about it either, but that's life. I just hope games like Destiny propel the PS4 to 100-150M sales, so devs can afford to start making games like Carnage Heart and Tail of the Sun again.

 

[Rurunaki]

I don't get what is happening here. Destiny is bringing attention to the PS4, in fact, more and more people are choosing the PS4 as their lead platform this could only mean that the userbase is getting larger and would open up more sales for their exclusive games.

As for last gen ps3 owners, they already know that the Sony exclusives will keep coming out. Right now they're most likely happy that their platform of choice is getting attention from the big publishers.

It just makes sense that Sony is cuddling up with the big publishers, the same way Microsoft did last gen.

Both systems need first party exclusives and third party support ( WiiU T_T ) to thrive. This is why you see both companies market big 3rd party releases as if their exclusives.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

No one is saying it will flop. We're saying that the number of people willing to drop $400 just to play LBP will be dwarfed by the number of people willing to buy new hardware for Destiny. LBP will see good sales when it launches in November, because parents will buy it to go with the new system their kids have been clamoring for; the one with Destiny.

FPS games just rule the roost right now. I'm not particularly happy about it either, but that's life. I just hope games like Destiny propel the PS4 to 100-150M sales, so devs can afford to start making games like Carnage Heart and Tail of the Sun again.

Not in this thread, but in which game will flop this holiday thread. And how do you know that LBP is not a system seller. It´s very kid friendly game.

 

[tuna_love]

Sony bet on the right horse. It's a new thrilling IP. People seem to dig it.

The Ps4 version is going to vastly outsell the other versions. We've seen what happend with Watch Dogs. And the marketing for Destiny seems to be even more aggressive.

I'm totally expecting at least a 2:1 sales rate advantage for Ps4 compared to the Xbox One. The Ps4 is a much more popular console worldwide and the game is being promoted for the console. It's not really rocket science.

Wouldn't a more than 2:1 sales rate advantage be more realistic given the user ase of both. If they only get 2:1 there marketing didn't real do much. (world wide)

 

[serversurfer]

Not in this thread, but in which game will flop this holiday thread. And how do you know that LBP is not a system seller. It´s very kid friendly game.

Well, I don't know anything about that thread. I imagine LBP will sell reasonably well, and I imagine numerous concern trolls will pronounce it a flop upon doing so, and point to its lackluster sales as definitive proof PS4 haz no gamez.

Anyway, I was just responding to the suggestion that the commercials Sony are running this week should be less focused on Destiny and more focused on LBP, which is patently ridiculous, much as I wish it weren't.

 

[Amir0x]

After the PS3 debacle, the PS4 success and the Xbone debacle, I don't think anyone is going to be that foolish next generation. Lots of lessons will be learned.

You'd think, right? But frankly I think there is some hubris line that blinds companies after a certain point. You'd think after the PS3 lesson nobody would try to price their consoles over 400 and abuse their customers loyalty, but... then we had XBO

And it's not like PS3 was the first object lesson in overpriced game systems not working hehe...

 

[Gen X]

MS should've released a white console yesterday just for the sake of it, with the tagline "Xbox One, it's your destiny".

:v

 

[J-Skee]

I really hope Sony treats their actual first-party studios like this. When Driveclub finally comes out, they should send thank you tweet to Evolution just like they did for Bungie. Otherwise, if I were a first-party studio, I'd start questioning my value.

 

[Cole Slaw]

It just makes sense that Sony is cuddling up with the big publishers, the same way Microsoft did last gen.

It still amazes me that Activision gets so lucky at cultivating such amazing franchises. Bungie chose to partner with them due to the strength of their marketing acumen, and it turns out to be one of the safest bets of all time. It's almost like a self-reinforcing aura that Activision has. Some straight up Super Saiyan shit.

As an aside, partnering with Sony has vindicated the virtues of not putting all your eggs in one basket. I guess from their perspective, Microsoft can continue to have co-marketing with Call of Duty; they're happy just to stick to the age old principle of diversifying their stock. The bets are just all too harmoniously paying off in spades for Activision and Bungie, and Sony is probably feeling like an Apple investor circa 2011.

I wonder if EA, MS, and Respawn will still be able to get the last laugh by the end of this generation though. I mean, one must think that they're in this to compete for supremacy, or else how do they keep their place in the pecking order when it comes to generating game journalism hype?

 

[DOWN]

Pretty much. Sony obviously wanted a big new shooter to hang their banner around. Any advertising they do works to MS's benefit too. Plus the cosmetic DLC will come later anyway.

I wonder how much money MS will throw around for Destiny 2 or the DLC Expansions? They like to wrap CoD stuff up.

It's not to Microsoft's benefit for all marketing to only be allowed to feature the Playstation logo except. This deal is a big win for Sony. They are getting a whole lot of people getting hooked on the message that "The Ultimate Destiny Experience is on Playstation". Hard for many to discern that in marketing speak, that means it's on some unlisted consoles too.

 

[Gen X]

It's not to Microsoft's benefit for all marketing to only be allowed to feature the Playstation logo except. This deal is a big win for Sony. They are getting a whole lot of people getting hooked on the message that "The Ultimate Destiny Experience is on Playstation". Hard for many to discern that in marketing speak, that means it's on some unlisted consoles too.

Reminds me of how MS only acknowledged the Xbone version of Titanfall and not the 360, kinda and purposely staggered the release so people only assumed it was on next-gen.

 

[serversurfer]

I really hope Sony treats their actual first-party studios like this. When Driveclub finally comes out, they should send thank you tweet to Evolution just like they did for Bungie. Otherwise, if I were a first-party studio, I'd start questioning my value.

Really? Sony tweet to thank and congratulate pretty much every developer who releases anything on any of their platforms; first, second, or third party. Their own devs tweet each other regularly, offering congratulations and support.

Why do we suddenly have this narrative that Sony are mistreating their devs? =/

 

[ProfessorMoran]

LBP 3 reveal trailer 4 million views
LittleBigPlanet 3 - Gamescom - Create and Share Trailer 3 million views

LBP is a recognizable franchise by now, and people are really underestimating it. While i have not played the games, and have no interest in them, they sell pretty well. People are saying that it will flop.

The more destiny helps PS4 sales the better it'll be for lbp3.

 

[David___]

Pretty much. Sony obviously wanted a big new shooter to hang their banner around. Any advertising they do works to MS's benefit too. Plus the cosmetic DLC will come later anyway.

I wonder how much money MS will throw around for Destiny 2 or the DLC Expansions? They like to wrap CoD stuff up.

IIRC this is a long lasting contract/deal between Sony/Activision/Bungie.

 

[TheExecutive]

Ripped a page out of MS playbook from last gen. It's just as annoying as well.

 

[wmlk]

I see nothing wrong with this as long as it's not explicitly lying about being exclusive, like what MS does.

 

[QuantumZebra]

Nobody is able to.afford exclusivity for a game like destiny.

Yep. Look at the world ending over Tomb Raider's confusing "exclusivity"

 

[TomShoe]

I really hope Sony treats their actual first-party studios like this. When Driveclub finally comes out, they should send thank you tweet to Evolution just like they did for Bungie. Otherwise, if I were a first-party studio, I'd start questioning my value.

I was always under the impression that Sony treated it's first party studios very well.

- Naughty Dog is essentially given near full autonomy over whatever they decide to make. Sony has the final say but they do what ND wants to keep them happy. They don't even have to make TLoU 2 if they don't want to.

- Killzone is being allowed to work on an all-new IP.

- Numerous indie studios have lauded Sony for being so easy to work with.

All in all, you just don't see that same "Rare-ification" from Sony owned studios that you may see every once in awhile from an MS owned one.

IIRC this is a long lasting contract/deal between Sony/Activision/Bungie.

Sony, more likely than not, has right of first refusal for any future Destiny co-marketing deals. I think Activision has said they've settled into a nice little niche with Call of Duty being given to Xbox and Destiny being given to PlayStation. It's not like Microsoft can't push CoD just as hard.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

And I'd bet that it won't be 2.5:1 for the reasons I've stated before. The numbers will speak for themselves though. None of us can say for certain, until the numbers are released, but from what evidence we do have that does not appear to be the case.

What evidence is that? Retailer listings?! They're not reliable for calculating sales figures though, are they?

Another thing, I said on current-gen consoles I would not be surprised to see a ratio of 2.5:1. Considering the PS4 is - to the best of our knowledge - already outselling the Xbone at 2:1 and the game is being marketed solely as a PS release, do you really think this is unattainable?

At my Gamestop that was not the case and the 360 was by far the most popular version. It would be asinine for me or you to compare our personal experiences at a single Gamestop to the entire Destiny market especially when retailer charts are not showing the ratio our experiences suggested.

But you're basing your personal experience of one GameStop to market trends!

EDIT - I see Bish gave you a wrist-slap. Perhaps we'll just leave the conversation there for now.

I will say this, Sony is reallyyyy happy that Bungie separated from Microsoft and went multiplatform. It takes the pressure off them to try and make their own FPS games (no Resistance follow-up, Guerrilla supposedly moving onto an new RPG IP), and negates what was previously a huge Microsoft advantage.

Bungie being multiplat does not mean Halo ceases to exist though...?! Resistance was canned after sales took a sharp nosedive south, and Guerrilla are stretching their wings finally after being shackled to the same franchise for 10 years. I don't think Sony are suddenly going to stop worrying about making FPSs any more now that Bungie are no longer part of MS.

 

[GameSeeker]

Sony bet on the right horse. It's a new thrilling IP. People seem to dig it.

Sony did bet on the right horse. If you look at Amazon's list of best selling game items of 2014:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/2014/videogames/ref=zg_bsar_cal_mo#3

You can see that the Xbox One + Titanfall bundle is sitting at #41 and the PS4 + Destiny bundle is sitting at #46. The Destiny bundle will soon surpass the Titanfall bundle. While this is only one data point, it's a statistically valid data point, given Amazon's marketshare in the US.

Sony's bet on Destiny should continue to payoff through the 2014 Holiday season.

 

[Jackbooted]

Little bit of a necro bump here but with the backlash that Destiny is getting does anyone think that Sony will pull back a bit from pushing the game as hard and maybe focus more on Driveclub or something?

 

[Jawmuncher]

Little bit of a necro bump here but with the backlash that Destiny is getting does anyone think that Sony will pull back a bit from pushing the game as hard and maybe focus more on Driveclub or something?

Honestly no.
It's the only real thing they have to push since the only exclusives actually coming from them this holiday are Drive Club and LBP3. Obviously they'll push those hard to but they need it to make up for a weak 1st party line up. The Order being pushed back didn't help matters for their exclusive holiday titles to push the system. Since action titles are always the easiest sale to the masses.

 

[I-hate-u]

Little bit of a necro bump here but with the backlash that Destiny is getting does anyone think that Sony will pull back a bit from pushing the game as hard and maybe focus more on Driveclub or something?

Probably not for the fall,though I wonder if they will continue to feature Destiny (DLC) in all their conferences and shows next year like they did in the past 2 years since PS4 announcement.

 

[krypt0nian]

Little bit of a necro bump here but with the backlash that Destiny is getting does anyone think that Sony will pull back a bit from pushing the game as hard and maybe focus more on Driveclub or something?

It's sold crazy consoles. So no.

Flawed game but more fun that most anything out right now.

They did good.

 

[sense]

Little bit of a necro bump here but with the backlash that Destiny is getting does anyone think that Sony will pull back a bit from pushing the game as hard and maybe focus more on Driveclub or something?

they will push far cry 4 and gta 5 next

 

[hydruxo]

Little bit of a necro bump here but with the backlash that Destiny is getting does anyone think that Sony will pull back a bit from pushing the game as hard and maybe focus more on Driveclub or something?

There's no backlash. Seriously, I know some people on GAF don't like it but it sold like hot cakes and Sony isn't going to drop it's support for it. Don't let the vocal minority on the internet blind you.

 

[Square Triangle]

This method has worked REALLY well for Microsoft and the Call of Duty franchise.

 

[Biker19]

I would assume most people would know that it isn't a PS4 exclusive when they walk into a store and see advertising for both versions, but I guess the extra content will sway people too.

It's the same way with Microsoft advertising the COD series as a "Xbox exclusive."

This method has worked REALLY well for Microsoft and the Call of Duty franchise.

I bet PS4 hardware sales will get a substantial bump as well, those bundles are seemingly selling like hotcakes.

Sony really bet on the winning horse with this game.

Indeed, it did. The bundle (as well as the white PS4 alone) will definitely give Sony another million bump or two in worldwide sales.

 

[illmatic22]

Some place way too much stock on exclusives. Destiny's PS4 success is another example of that.

 

[mechphree]

My friend owns a XBOX and I told him he can buy Destiny and he responded " I thought it was exclusive to PS4". The average gaming consumer relates Destiny to PS4 because of the marketing. Same way many people relate Call of Duty to Xbox. Something similar happened as well with Watch Dogs too.

 

[impact]

So I can only assume they weren't able to afford actual exclusivity? Timed or otherwise. Sounds like they really wanted it too...

How crazy would this forum be right now if it was exclusive :lol

I imagine there would be a lot of people defending such a mediocre game.

 

[Biker19]

Sony's own internal development has been really weak
Besides TLOU, everything has been mediocre or poor

Makes no sense. It's multi-platform. What a weird thing to say. If they want to kickstart Christmas like he says, they should release some actual first party games. The console is almost 12 months old and been in r&d for 2 years before. You would think that they would have a games schedule that had started dropping some heavy hitters by now.

What a ridiculous statement. What makes it a first party title? it's a multiplatform game on two other consoles outside of your brand and it may also come to PC. Is it the marketing deal? If that's the case there's not that many "AAA" games that aren't first party titles. Is it a combination of that and the bundle? Titles like CoD and most likely Rise of the Tomb Raider will also have the exact same thing. Does this make them first party titles as well? At the end of the day they are multiplatform titles that can be played on many other platforms. Pump an actual exclusive instead of stating such nonsense.

It seems many of you forget the history of Playstation with PS1, PS2, & PS3.

Sony always starts out slow with 1st/2nd party exclusives on each of the platform's 1st year due to learning the strengths of newer hardware. After that, then they start churning them out constantly once they come to grips with each of the system's hardware.

 

[stryke]

My friend owns a XBOX and I told him he can buy Destiny and he responded " I thought it was exclusive to PS4". The average gaming consumer relates Destiny to PS4 because of the marketing. Same way many people relate Call of Duty to Xbox. Something similar happened as well with Watch Dogs too.

I don't think Destiny will be as lop sided as Watch Dogs was. Shooters still do very well on Xbox.

 

[Schweinehund]

Little bit of a necro bump here but with the backlash that Destiny is getting does anyone think that Sony will pull back a bit from pushing the game as hard and maybe focus more on Driveclub or something?

Maybe in Europe, but I doubt it in US. It seemed to sell well enough, but I'm personally disappointed that this was their strongest offering for late 2014, I didn't like Destiny as much as I hoped to when I played the beta. Here's to bloodborne.

 

[Revolutionary]

How crazy would this forum be right now if it was exclusive :lol

I imagine there would be a lot of people defending such a mediocre game.

77 regarded as mediocre... just smh.

 

[Biker19]

People in here acting like the average person doesn't know shit about video games, and I'm not buying it! I'd bet that very, very few people are going to actually believe Destiny is exclusive, no matter the deceptive marketing techniques, such as only showing Playstation logos during advertisements etc etc.

No one buys a $400 console and then a $60 game without doing a basic amount of research (except maybe the most naive and indifferent parent, I'll give you that one). This type of information is too easily obtained...Consumers aren't morons anymore. For example, Microsoft tried so hard to obfuscate the power difference between the PS4 and Xbone....who fell for that? Nobody falls for this shit. I'm sick of hearing about it!

The main reason why consumers didn't fall for anything Microsoft said was because of Microsoft was already in a bad spot with consumers on Xbox One as a whole, while kept trying to downplay PS4 as the more powerful console (when it truly was), & that PS4 was advertised as the more powerful console way before Microsoft started to care about power & multiplats all of a sudden.

Average consumers aren't like us who are "hardcore gamers." They don't go on sites like this or look up info on video games like you think that they do. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having reviews, or advertisements of systems & games on online or on TV.

 

[Apath]

77 regarded as mediocre... just smh.

77 is a mediocre score but in my opinion Destiny is not a mediocre game. It's just a case of people having different opinions.

Actually a 77 is the perfect score for a Bungie game. Never noticed that before.

 

[Revolutionary]

77 is a mediocre score but in my opinion Destiny is not a mediocre game. It's just a case of people having different opinions.

Actually a 77 is the perfect score for a Bungie game. Never noticed that before.

77 is not mediocre by any established or known metric. It's a problem with gaming reviews and I despise that they have such weight with a large majority of consumers.

That said, I agree it's an accurate score for the game, but it scares people off because, again, some people regard 77 as mediocre (or even "critically panned" in other threads) when it really shouldn't be.