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Hellblade 2's peak CCU outperformed Bleeding Edge and is still climbing on Steam

GooseMan69

Member
Ninja Theory are screwed. This is from 2 minutes ago. You know things are bad when Redfall and Hifi Rush have higher peak player counts....

GOMjZuwW8AMvMSs



Satya will show no mercy

Yeahhh it’s a bomba. That’s too bad. Really. Game could’ve been awesome.
 

StereoVsn

Member
nah, but sales wise it flopped according to remedy themselves. and we all know steam players dont buy games on epic out of some bizarre loyalty to a store.
That’s on Remedy and Epic. They didn’t release on the most popular PC platform AND didn’t release console physical version. So yeah, good luck.

Oh and Callisto had huge technical issues at launch, was $70 and a worse game than Dead Space Remake it was really based on.
 

Daneel Elijah

Gold Member
In a scale of fuck ups, is this or suicide squad a bigger monetary bomb?

I imagine suicide squad at least broke even.

This is basically a game pass exclusive launch so it is money lit on fire for 6 years to develope.
Suicide squad is a way worse bomb than Hellblade 2. At least people don't hate the studio for it, or wanted them to do something else. Ninja Theory did exacly what they wanted to do, and a sequel is pretty safe most of the time, unlike Suicide squad who was very different to the studio previous titles.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
In a scale of fuck ups, is this or suicide squad a bigger monetary bomb?

I imagine suicide squad at least broke even.

This is basically a game pass exclusive launch so it is money lit on fire for 6 years to develope.

Its a prestige piece for GamePass, which is fine even though its retail impact is going to be minimal. The problem is that the service its designed to upsell just isn't that demanded as it turns out.

Bottom line is they just don't have the growth they were looking for, which is a huge deal as everything hinges on subs underwriting development costs.
 

recursive

Member
That's just not the case. Video and sound difference are quite key to the game's experience. You also have feedback from the controller during combat along with the immersion of turning the lights off along with a pair of headphones. It's really not at all the same as watching a video, especially one with an annoying streamer talking. I'm sure the video watchers will have something to say about the gameplay experience, though.
I can put on some headphones and turn off the lights and watch a YouTube video. Plenty of no commentary ones too. If I need to hold a vibrator I can take my wife's. There is really nothing unique playing vs watching this walking simulator.
 
I can put on some headphones and turn off the lights and watch a YouTube video. Plenty of no commentary ones too. If I need to hold a vibrator I can take my wife's. There is really nothing unique playing vs watching this walking simulator.
You go do that. Video, please.
 

Kikorin

Member
Damn that's a disaster even considering is on Gamepass. These are average indie games number, but Hellblade 2 was seen as a big AAA game for Xbox for a long time (not from informed people, but it should have had some mainstream numbers at least).
 

Beechos

Member
All they had to do was add gameplay to this sequel to bring in the masses.
I'm surprised this game is such a bomb with how well the 1st one was recieved and praised, since this game is pretty much the same as part 1 with crazy gfx having played 1 1/2 hours so far.
 
The sad part is they had 7 years to improve on the gameplay of the first. Instead they regressed on gameplay. Honestly, I dunno what the fuck they were working on for this long. Yea, the graphics look great but don’t tell me everyone working at Ninja Theory was a sound engineer or graphics artist. What happened to the most important element of a game (the gameplay)?
 
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All they had to do was add gameplay to this sequel to bring in the masses.

Little known thing about Ninja Theory is they make most of their income is from being a support studio for other titles. They had a talented team of specialist combat designers who helped out not just on their own stuff like DmC and Heavenly Sword, but also other titles you probably had no idea Ninja Theory were even involved in. This team was disbanded when Disney pulled the plug on Disney Infinity 4.x which I think pre-dates this game going into full production.
 
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GoT was another awesome game grossly underrated by journos and an absolute success for PS and PC players. There's a total disconnect between hipster media and actual people who play videogames. You can't have a game like HB2 scoring the same as GoT or Stellar Blade, its a fucking joke.
It’s a travesty. Funny thing is that they aren’t doing these studios any favors by overrating these visual experience “games”. Majority of the people that play games aren’t falling for it and we can see that right now with Hellblade 2 bombing on Steam. If MS shuts down the studio which isn’t out of the realm of possibility, all Ninja Theory will have to show for it are some worthless awards and accolades that won’t pay the bills.
 
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semiconscious

Gold Member
No way this game has peaked on day one. I can't believe that. I won't believe that.
well, not sure what exactly would trigger a sudden resurgence in interest. 50% off sale, maybe?...

these types of immersive, theatrical games are stuck dealing with a major enemy: video walkthroughs. if the game doesn't seem to be fun to actually play, if rather all the energy poured into it is focused on creating an intense graphic/audio 'experience'? a well-recorded walkthrough might just do it for a number of potential players...
 

Midn1ght

Member
That's probably why they spent so long developing a 6 hour game,this thing should've been out 2 years ago if they weren't busy driving their fucking mopeds around the halls and chilling in their office hammocks apparently instead of....you know....working on the fucking game they are paid to make.

And I can't believe I got to use the word hammock in an office enviroment for a gaming studio....This industry is fucked.
To be fair, none of these images are from Ninja Theory so who knows...
They're all coming from other Xbox Studios though.

It's true that this is the general vibe they're trying to show in these in-house western tech studios videos for some reason. I think it's a mix a trying to "look cool" and an actual reality where bosses are afraid of any negative bad press or crunch accusation.

But as usual with people, give them an inch and they'll take a mile.
 

GudOlRub

Member
Super niche style of game gets niche game player numbers, in other news, water is wet.
Add to that the fact that the game is on gamepass, why would anyone spend 50$ on a 6 hour game with no replayability?
Those 3000 people are probably the hardcore fans of the first game, every other sensible person will give phil his 10$, play it on gamepass and move on with life.

Personally, for 10$ I absolutely loved it, it's a shit game, but it's a fantastic experience. 10/10 graphics, sound, music, and the story was pretty cool as well, don't really get what people are on about when they say it's shit or incomprehensible.
 

BbMajor7th

Member
I am so fucking done with the goofy adult daycare vibes in the tech industry.

You don't have to slave away in a cubicle under fluorescent light for 8 hours but jesus christ.
It's all on management and leadership at the end of the day. You can have all this goofy stuff if the team is focused, energized and has a clear sense of purpose. A lot of these companies have been overrun with folks from other sectors who heard how much profit video games were turning and fancied themselves a slice of the pie. They don't know games or development, so they focus all their energy on wacky initiatives that are supposed to 'supercharge' the production process but actually just reduce the place to a dysfunctional doss-house where even the talented folks are sitting around with their thumbs up their asses, because no-one around them has their shit together and there's nothing to do.
 

hinch7

Member
Super niche style of game gets niche game player numbers, in other news, water is wet.
Add to that the fact that the game is on gamepass, why would anyone spend 50$ on a 6 hour game with no replayability?
Those 3000 people are probably the hardcore fans of the first game, every other sensible person will give phil his 10$, play it on gamepass and move on with life.

Personally, for 10$ I absolutely loved it, it's a shit game, but it's a fantastic experience. 10/10 graphics, sound, music, and the story was pretty cool as well, don't really get what people are on about when they say it's shit or incomprehensible.
tenor.gif
 

NikuNashi

Member
Is it really a game? I watched a youtube walkthrough and experienced everything for free, I felt I missed nothing by only watching it and not pushing the left stick forward and occasionally pressing a button every three minutes.
 
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