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Remedy's top executives sold large quantities of their own stock last Wednesday before their new game Control has been released.

antti-la

Member
Control seems like Remedy's final straw. I sincerely hope it works out. I will buy the game. After development hell and mediocrity of Alan Wake and then trying to be revolutionary and betting everything on Quantum Break and falling short, I'm sure they are a bit short on money and spirits.

Still can't help to feel that Control is just AA title wanting to be AAA so bad. Rehashed QB assets and rather simple + kind of uninspired game-play videos just scream it. All the shortcomings seem to be masked with general weirdness, creating an illusion that there is a plot or a bigger story to this thing. And I really hope they have nailed the latter part well. I mean, it worked great for Alan Wake which was a very 6/10 if you purely look at the game-play.
 

DiscoJer

Member
If it's an Epic Games Store exclusive, then it means Epic has guaranteed a certain number of sales (which Epic would pay for if they don't meet), so it's doubtful it will be a financial loss. At least on PC
 

Pallas

Member
It’s a bit suspicious, are they expecting to be bought out?

Also, I know I’m clearly in the minority’s here but I actually enjoyed QB. :(
 
They've done a bad job marketing the game, when I did some research into it myself online I actually found the premise to be really interesting, they're not conveying that enough.

But the generic, small chested "strong female" protagonist isn't doing it any favors, that bullshit is so played out, such a contrast from Max Payne or Alan Wake.

I'm not just slamming it because it's female either, Quantum Break suffered the same problem of a generic protagonist and that one was male, Remedy games needs a strong, stand out protagonist.

But the fact that this time it's also the typical generic feminist friendly female protagonist is particularly egregious, gamers just don't like that shit, when are devs going to realize this?
 

xrnzaaas

Gold Member
The game a huge flop written all over it - horrible marketing (many people don't know about it, others aren't that hyped), pissing off people with Epic exclusivity, insane PC system requirements, poor performance on the consoles (based on the early feedback), bland main protagonist compared to Max Payne or Alan Wake. Oh and the publisher is pushing gender politics on top of that (only female streamers are allowed to showcase the game pre-release).

I still wish Remedy the best, hopefully this won't be the end of them if Control bombs hard.
 
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Zannegan

Member
They've done a bad job marketing the game, when I did some research into it myself online I actually found the premise to be really interesting, they're not conveying that enough.

But the generic, small chested "strong female" protagonist isn't doing it any favors, that bullshit is so played out, such a contrast from Max Payne or Alan Wake.

I'm not just slamming it because it's female either, Quantum Break suffered the same problem of a generic protagonist and that one was male, Remedy games needs a strong, stand out protagonist.

But the fact that this time it's also the typical generic feminist friendly female protagonist is particularly egregious, gamers just don't like that shit, when are devs going to realize this?
I'll agree that the marketing has been awful. I forgot the game was even coming out, and I was hyped for the premise. That said, I am totally down to play as a female everyman as opposed to one with a penis. I don't think that's the game's problem at all.

The idea that "us gamers" only wanna play busty barbies or else men of any description is pretty sad, and at best overly broad. In most games, if I'm going to play a female character, I'd honestly rather play a (fit) lady of average proportions than an OG Laura Croft type. All I can think with the other is how exhausting/uncomfortable it must be lugging all that baggage around. Lol. Plus, knowing that the designer on the other end is most likely a guy, it just feels like some dude puppeteering his favorite blowup doll through levels and constantly asking, "Isn't she hawt?"

Nah. The marketing is sexist, wrongheaded, and completely unappealing, but the main character looks cool, IMO. From what little I've seen of her, she makes me think of a Joanna Dark type after retiring from the field or something.
 
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Konamixx

Neo Member
A bit of clearification here, from a new member none the less :)

There wasn't a large quantity sold. Both sold aprox 5% of their holdings. At the same time there has been two cases of insider buys from one of the boardmembers.

This isn't Remedys final stand either. They have a healthy cash position, and no need for external money to produce their next game. They have easily funded Control (20-25MEUR budget) with publisher payments from 505 games and WFH payment from Smilegate.

As for Sony buying, it's doubtfull. The studio went public two years ago to become a more independent studio, and there are very few publicly listed studios that have been bought by bigger studios, the only one i can think of is DICE.
But i do believe something is up with Sony, most likely a exclusive deal for one of their upcoming games.

Also, pre orders are going OK, based on amount of reviews on PSN. I'm guesstimating sales are in the 80-90k range as of now (on PS4).
On amazon the XBO and PS4 version are in the top 10 sales of their category.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
I know there have been a few controversial moves made, the Epic store exclusivity, the move to PlayStation with DLC and content and the female streamer thing.... but the animosity towards it I see around is a bit too much IMO.
 
That explains the 505Games WomensEqualityDay stream promotion I commented on a few minutes ago.

Just cancel it if you have no faith in the game?
 

CrisPy2019

Member
Bested only by Kojima.
Unpopular opinion probably but id say that award goes to naughty dog.

Alot of average games. TLOU dropping to what 12? Fps on ps3 yet getting GOTY awards (when gameplay suffers that much then it's a bad game period.) And their fans even call them Naughty GODS loool.

Can't get more overrated than that imho.
 

Ogbert

Member
Wow! Grimey I hope thy get on his ass!!! That's not how you run a company and put faith in a brand. Definitely illegal insider trading type shit.

It’s not shady at all. Any buyer knows the situation, so that will have driven the price down.
 

FireFly

Member
So far Control seems to be reviewing similarly to Alan Wake and better than Quantum Break. Hardly the disaster people were predicting.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
I think people think Remedy are like Nintendo or Rockstar, when in reality they are more like Insomniac, Rebellion, or Ninja Theory(before they were bought) and have set their expectations way too high for their games.

I think it's reasonable to lump Remedy in with studios like Ninja Theory and Rebellion, although Insomniac is on a higher tier.

I think the issue comes from the fact that Remedy made two of the best action games ever, so people naturally set their sights high, even if their newer stuff isn't as good, they still made Max Payne.
 
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