• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

South Park: The Stick of Truth needs to sell 2 million copies to break even

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
HAHAHAHAHAHA, WHAT THE FUCK?

THQ will focus now on breaking even on a title-by-title basis by releasing low-cost triple-A titles, such as Obsidian Entertainment's South Park: The Stick of Truth, which will release next March.

South Park requires a relatively smaller investment than other titles due to its simple animation. That project's break-even point is also 2 million units, though the publisher believes it can sell well above that, THQ told Pachter.

Gamasutra via RPG Codex

yes, THQ. You deserved your fate. Wise business decisions all around.

lock if old, I found nothing
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Basically every THQ game does.

UFC did, Homefront did, Space Marine did.

I think we can just assume this bar for their games.
 

Torraz

Member
I hope Obsodian has a bit of a cash buffer if this is a full price retail game.

Would not buy this except for ultra cheap at a steam sale. I doubt this will live up to Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege 3.
 

wrowa

Member
Why are people even surprised? Today's game development is expensive, that's not what I'd call a secret...
 

Theman2k

Member
The game looks amazing in the simple aspect that it looks exactly like the tv show.
The big question here is: "will be fun ?", from a story perspective i have entire faith in matt and trey.

But the gameplay is the question here.
 

remnant

Banned
Why is this a shock? A full development studio working on multiple platforms. 2 million across 2 platforms seem slightly below average.

Honestly how much do you people think it costs to make a profit off a game?
 

DTKT

Member
Isn't the South Park name widely recognized outside the game industry?

I can't see why they couldn't sell over 2mill with that name alone.
 

Emitan

Member
Not really interested in South Park anymore, but I love Obsidian, but there's too many games I want this year. :/

2013 Steam Sale will save it?

D:
 

linko9

Member
So a game with a "small investment" has to sell 2 million copies? The industry is really in a bad place.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Isn't the South Park name widely recognized outside the game industry?

I can't see why they couldn't sell over 2mill with that name alone.


Yeah, on that note I tend to be far more concerned about games like Darksiders 2.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Isn't this a 50 dollar retail title?

They are fucked.

Yes because it's a full big budget release. It's not a tower defense game or anything.

Though I don't know how it got THIS big budget. Did Matt and Trey charge them out the ass to use the South Park name or something?
 
So a game with a "small investment" has to sell 2 million copies? The industry is really in a bad place.

No, this likely has to do with licensing. Look at something like Rayman Origins for an example of a game that is really a small investment. It actually turned a profit for UBI even though people though that it tanked.
 

Saiyar

Unconfirmed Member
2 million sales to break even suggests around about $40 million in costs. I am amazed that much is considered a smaller investment.
 

Forever

Banned
Man what.

This was supposed to be a sure thing; modest investment, small risk. What exactly was the budget on this and why?
 

sflufan

Banned
This is the dumbest fucking industry in existence. If it were a biological organism, it would be too stupid to live.
 

Socreges

Banned
The irony here is that South Park's art design came from being incredibly easy and cheap to animate.

I don't understand how it's so costly to make. Parker/Stone must get some money from THQ for the license and some royalties on each copy sold?
 
Yes because it's a full big budget release. It's not a tower defense game or anything.

Though I don't know how it got THIS big budget. Did Matt and Trey charge them out the ass to use the South Park name or something?

It takes a lot of work to create crappy graphics.
 

linko9

Member
No, this likely has to do with licensing. Look at something like Rayman Origins for an example of a game that is really a small investment. It actually turned a profit for UBI even though people though that it tanked.

I'm assuming they took all of the expenses, including licensing fees, into what they term their "small investment." If you spend money on the game, in whatever form, that's part of the monetary investment in that game, which they have termed "small." To be fair, that surely speaks more to delusion on their part than to the inherent difficulty in making a profitable game.
 
Top Bottom