Ted Price interview (Ratchet over 1m WW, new IP possible)

[WrikaWrek]

You're not that bright are you? Perhaps they sold worst then Ratchet? Games that aren't charted don't all sell at the same constant value you know... And Ratchet DID chart, it just dropped eventually, obviously, but that doesn't mean it stopped selling...

I thought you had me on ignore?

 

[Metalmurphy]

I thought you had me on ignore?

I do, I still click this now and then though:

when I'm bored and looking for some laughs.

Why would you reply to me if you knew I had you on ignore anyway? :lol That obsessed?

 

[Stumpokapow]

You're not that bright are you? Perhaps they sold worst then Ratchet? Games that aren't charted don't all sell at the same constant value you know... And Ratchet DID chart, it just dropped eventually, obviously, but that doesn't mean it stopped selling...

No one is saying Ratchet sold 0 in Europe.

In fact no one is saying Ratchet sold less in Europe than in the US.

They're just saying that a few weeks of being in the middle of a few European countries charts is not exactly encouraging evidence pointing towards Ratchet somehow miraculously outselling the US version by a factor of more than 2:1.

 

[WrikaWrek]

I do, I still click this now and then though:

when I'm bored and looking for some laughs.

Oh ok. But yeah i find the notion that a game that debuts in 20s on European charts and performs badly on NPD, selling better than games that chart better, well funny.

Basically, if Ratchet has sold a million Uncharted which has shown quite good legs due to word of mouth, has to be at triple that.

Which it isn't.

 

[Metalmurphy]

No one is saying Ratchet sold 0 in Europe.

In fact no one is saying Ratchet sold less in Europe than in the US.

They're just saying that a few weeks of being in the middle of a few European countries charts is not exactly encouraging evidence pointing towards Ratchet somehow miraculously outselling the US version by a factor of more than 2:1.

Yet it's reason enough to start shouting "BS" and "Fucking liers!"?

 

[Jokeropia]

Fixed.

Not really. "Other" and "some of the other" have no logical distinction in this case, even if the latter is generally interpreted as a smaller amount. In either case, we have charts for all major PAL markets (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia) and some minor ones like Ireland, Finland and Denmark.

And Not charting != Selling zero.

To be a little more specific, the last games in a weekly top 10 or 20 in the biggest PAL markets generally sell a few thousand. (In that week.)

 

[kaching]

They are not estimations. They are extrapolations...

Maybe you should look up the definition of "extrapolation". It most certainly is an estimation.

The reason people are casting doubt is because Sony has a friggin history with shady numbers.

Don't hide behind a faceless generalization. This isn't "Sony", this is Ted Price. Why don't you fill us in on exactly what kind of history he has with shady anything.

Look, I know that Sales-Age is a time honored tradition for many of you but patching together sales from incomplete, estimated data isn't really any kind of valid or fair-minded way to question the integrity of someone's statements who doesn't have a track record of misleading people.

 

[Thunderbear]

Maybe I shoulda clarified. iirc, for the first two months, Ratchet had about 150k in the U.S. So you should be able to understand why it would be a bit surprising.

It's also good evidence why things aren't always what they seem, and why most people should scream too loudly about failures. It's just pointless. But I guess that's the enjoyment of NPD threads (that I stay out of).

I'm glad it sold well in the end, I loved it personally.

 

[Flakster99]

Even though this iteration of Ratchet was more of the same, and it's lack of difficulty was a serious downer, I enjoyed this version for the most part.

Next time Ted, concentrate less on graphical detail and wow'ing everyone with your variety in weapons, and give the game player a deeper challenge, and some sense of accomplishment.

Oh, incase my vote counts, yeah right, shelf Ratchet until whatever you come up with feels fresh and challenging, and give us a new IP please.

 

[smokeychan]

Best GIF ever! I'm waiting for them to make an album as unlockable DLC for their homespace.

Speculation on the production of new IPs was right in line with their recruitment music video we saw, but now it's confirmed from Ted Price

Spoiler

the PR man

.

Multiplayer: Why have you guys not made any of the handheld “Ratchet” games?

Price: That’s a good question. We considered that at one time. And we realized that to develop an additional engine for the PSP would not be the most efficient use of our technological expertise. Plus, we’re good at making big games. PSP games are really cool, but we wanted to look further than that. We’re tech geeks, man; we love new hardware.

Oh, snap. Insomniac Games equals definition of efficiency, confirmed.

 

[Elbrain]

Even though this iteration of Ratchet was more of the same, and it's lack of difficulty was a serious downer, I enjoyed this version for the most part.

Next time Ted, concentrate less on graphical detail and wow'ing everyone with your variety in weapons, and give the game player a deeper challenge, and some sense of accomplishment.

Oh, incase my vote counts, yeah right, shelf Ratchet until whatever you come up with feels fresh and challenging, and give us a new IP please.

Yeah the first go was a tad easy till the end but that is why challenge mode is there for and even then once you lvl the Ryno 4ever all the way up you win!

 

[Stumpokapow]

Yet it's reason enough to start shouting "BS" and "Fucking liers!"?

If you're referring to the moron troll, he was a moron troll. If you're referring to my posts, read them again.

Maybe you should look up the definition of "extrapolation". It most certainly is an estimation.

An extrapolation has an MOE/CI, an estimation does not. An extrapolation relies on a known data sample, an estimation can rely on either a known data sample or simply a heuristic.

In the case of the extrapolations we are talking about, they are accurate enough for all three major companies and virtually every publisher (save Codemasters which inexplicably uses VG CHARZTTZRZ periodically) to use over internal shipment numbers. This indicates that every major company accepts either on faith or based on information we do not have access to that the MOE/CIs are tight enough that the numbers are true.

This is even more true for Japanese retail tracking, which is better both in terms of data availability to us and data accuracy to begin with.

Look, I know that Sales-Age is a time honored tradition for many of you but patching together sales from incomplete, estimated data isn't really any kind of valid or fair-minded way to question the integrity of someone's statements who doesn't have a track record of misleading people.

We have complete NPD numbers for Ratchet, although they can't be posted. We have complete Japanese numbers within 10k for Ratchet. We have its entire European chart performance, and we have the rough (within a few thousand) lower limit to charts.

We also have the historical performance of every single title ever to indicate that the idea that a game sells 2x in Europe as it does in the US is highly unlikely barring cases where the game is Euro-developed, Euro-centric, or bundled.

These are shipped numbers. No one other than dolts are questioning Ted Price's integrity. I am stating that the numbers he is giving are true, they just don't mean what some people might assume them to mean. They are sales to retailers.

The one poster that isn't an idiot and questioned anyone's integrity was referring to Sony's practice of listing shipments in "shipments to an internal Sony warehouse" rather than "shipments to retailers". This was deceptive. They no longer do this. I think the poster that did do this is probably not a troll, or at least that wasn't his/her intention.

The fact that this number is shipments is not a knock against Ratchet. It's still an awesome milestone. We also know that Ratchet WILL sell a million units. That's great based on release date and userbase.

 

[Rody]

FUCK YEAH GO RATCHET!

Here is one for Ted!

http://i29.tinypic.com/2jfausx.gif

It looks like he's saying "Price kicks ass!"

 

[Loudninja]

hahahaa people are actually mad Ratchet sold over 1 million?:lol

 

[WinFonda]

Cool beans. Insomniac deserves it.

 

[LevelNth]

...they are accurate enough for all three major companies and virtually every publisher (save Codemasters which inexplicably uses VG CHARZTTZRZ periodically) to use over internal shipment numbers.

I can guarantee you they most certainly do not. In addition at best. Where did you even attain this notion?

And without any sort of Constant Probability, the 'extrapolations' laid out by companies such as NPD, compounded by the fact that they don't obtain samplings from all retailers in each individual reporting regions, are most certainly, at the end of the day, estimations.

 

[Oblivion]

Look, I know that Sales-Age is a time honored tradition for many of you but patching together sales from incomplete, estimated data isn't really any kind of valid or fair-minded way to question the integrity of someone's statements who doesn't have a track record of misleading people.

I'm not saying Ted was intentionally lying, but considering Sony is the publisher, and I imagine that they're the one that ship out all the copies and handles the distribution and all that other stuff, he might have gotten his info from them.

It's totally understandable that the higher ups would want to make their product look good. But when you have a colossal disparity, as is the case with *gasp* most Sony products, then you have to understand as well where some of us are coming from.

Also, there was a thread where some Sonyfan made talking about how Resistance was at 2 million sold WW at like 6 months or something. Despite proof to the contrary, people claimed that it was 100 thousand % factually correct. What happens? We come to find out that article wasn't even a press release but something that some journalist added on his own. To make matters worse, there were STILL people that were getting mad at those correcting it because it 'caused a lot of fighting' in that thread. So I hope you can understand why this sort of thing gets irritating.

Oh, and yes, this was said by Ted Price, so at least it's a smidge more credible than that other thread.

 

[shintoki]

Europe has Ratchet's back:lol

 

[kaching]

An extrapolation has an MOE/CI, an estimation does not. An extrapolation relies on a known data sample, an estimation can rely on either a known data sample or simply a heuristic.

None of which means an extrapolation isn't an estimate, it's just a type of estimate. I understand that you want to emphasize that an extrapolation has more merit than some types of estimation, but it's an estimation nonetheless prone to fallibility in the same way because it doesn't represent a value derived strictly from observed data. It's not to say that the extrapolations aren't generally accurate, but you can't say either that they are infallible and without blind spots.

I'm not saying Ted was intentionally lying, but considering Sony is the publisher, and I imagine that they're the one that ship out all the copies and handles the distribution and all that other stuff, he might have gotten his info from them.

Can you tell me where SCE has any kind of track record of misleading their valued business partners in internal communications, please? This isn't information Ted derived from a PR fluff piece sent out publically from Sony. There's a clear distinction in how the two things are handled.

 

[Pristine_Condition]

I'm not saying Ted was intentionally lying, but considering Sony is the publisher, and I imagine that they're the one that ship out all the copies and handles the distribution and all that other stuff, he might have gotten his info from them.

So Sony lied to Ted Price? And to keep up the deception, they'll presumably be mailing Insomniac a royalty check for more games than they actually sold, because they're such super-nice guys?

OOOOooooo K.

In other news, Sony is sending me a free gift because they are such nice guys. It's a cute magical miniature pony that shits delicious, ice-cold strawberry ice cream. Wow. Sony rules!

 

[Dr_Cogent]

Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction is one great game. My 4 year old son loves it as well and it has now become a reward of sorts. The Toxic Swarmers are called The Bugger Things

 

[mckmas8808]

hahahaa people are actually mad Ratchet sold over 1 million?:lol

The question is why are they so mad?

 

[K.Jack]

Nice!
:lol :lol :lol

Then his ass got lit up!

But yeah, um, about those new IP possibilities.... can we talk about those?

 

[UntoldDreams]

I'm not saying Ted was intentionally lying, but considering Sony is the publisher, and I imagine that they're the one that ship out all the copies and handles the distribution and all that other stuff, he might have gotten his info from them.

It's totally understandable that the higher ups would want to make their product look good. But when you have a colossal disparity, as is the case with *gasp* most Sony products, then you have to understand as well where some of us are coming from.

Also, there was a thread where some Sonyfan made talking about how Resistance was at 2 million sold WW at like 6 months or something. Despite proof to the contrary, people claimed that it was 100 thousand % factually correct. What happens? We come to find out that article wasn't even a press release but something that some journalist added on his own. To make matters worse, there were STILL people that were getting mad at those correcting it because it 'caused a lot of fighting' in that thread. So I hope you can understand why this sort of thing gets irritating.

Oh, and yes, this was said by Ted Price, so at least it's a smidge more credible than that other thread.

Whoah... This kind of post makes you look tinfoil hat crazy.

 

[beerbelly]

Alright enough of the stupid joking from me. I'm VERY happy this game sold better than we thought. I hope they can somehow make the game look more consistent next time. There were parts of the game looks superior to everything else out but other parts let me down a little.

 

[Elbrain]

The question is why are they so mad?

Hmm maybe they have a bug up their butts.

 

[kaching]

But yeah, um, about those new IP possibilities.... can we talk about those?

Sure, if Price wasn't being so cagey about it

They seem to have a soft spot for pirates, dig the scifi, got a decent sense of humor and like stuffing their games with a lot of different weapons and gadgets. Mayber their next IP should be an swashbuckling space pirates adventure, set in the third person, based loosely around Ice Pirates if not directly use the license. I'm a genius - cut me the royalty check now, js.

 

[Pistolero]

Jammy, Wrika Wrek...hum...

I still don't believe this game is anywhere near one million

Nobody oustide of the voices in your head give a damn about what you believe. Ted Price is not a PR. And if the CEO of Insomnica got numbers, they must be correct...

 

[Pistolero]

I'm not saying Ted was intentionally lying, but considering Sony is the publisher, and I imagine that they're the one that ship out all the copies and handles the distribution and all that other stuff, he might have gotten his info from them

Yeah, Sony PR lied to him. Fortunately for him, vigilant guys like yourself are here to help him see through the bullshit. As if Sony would blatantly lie about information geared towards their shareholders, investors, and partners. Paranoïa + fanboyism = GAF

 

[Jammy]

Yeah, Sony PR lied to him. Fortunately for him, vigilant guys like yourself are here to help him see through the bullshit. As if Sony would blatantly lie about information geared towards their shareholders, investors, and partners. Paranoïa + fanboyism = GAF

Sony doesn't lie. They spin.

 

[kaching]

Insomnica?

 

[Oblivion]

Can you tell me where SCE has any kind of track record of misleading their valued business partners in internal communications, please? This isn't information Ted derived from a PR fluff piece sent out publically from Sony. There's a clear distinction in how the two things are handled.

Whatever. Listen, I wasn't trying to insult Ted or anything, but the reality is the numbers are a far cry from what's sold to consumers.

Yeah, Sony PR lied to him. Fortunately for him, vigilant guys like yourself are here to help him see through the bullshit. As if Sony would blatantly lie about information geared towards their shareholders, investors, and partners. Paranoïa + fanboyism = GAF

You know, why stop at a mere million? Since solid info, and reasonable doubt obviously are heretical concepts in a Sony sales thread, you might as well celebrate that Ratchet is at 10 million already!

 

[Pai Pai Master]

This is hilarious.

So much anger at a good game selling well, most likely because it's on PS3 and it's not an angsty bald space marine FPS set in World War II. :lol

The game deserves far better, but I'm happy for Insomniac and everyone who loves Ratchet.

Whatever. Listen, I wasn't trying to insult Ted or anything, but the reality is the numbers are a far cry from what's sold to consumers.

So do you claim to have more solid figures than Ted Price himself?

 

[Loudninja]

The question is why are they so mad?

I have no idea.

 

[jiggle]

cool
sequel in 09 please

 

[Oblivion]

This is hilarious.

So much anger at a good game selling well, most likely because it's on PS3 and it's not an angsty bald space marine FPS set in World War II. :lol

I have no idea.

You guys are making me resort to my non-inside voice.

I'm fairly confident that most of us who are questioning this aren't doing it out of some blind console loyalty. Some of us legitimately enjoy checking out sales threads to see how games are doing. What we (or at least I) are getting mad at is the fact that some pro-Sony people here are ready to crucify anyone that questions the legitimacy of these numbers. If you're not willing to take third party info into account, then you might as well believe whatever the fuck you want.

And if you're going to resort to fanboy dickwaving, at least do it with something that has a slightly more legitimate chance of being believable, like MGS4 or GTA4.

So do you claim to have more solid figures than Ted Price himself?

He never clarified that it was sold to consumers or sold to retail. 99% is likely that it's sold to retailers.

Where is that jstevenson guy or whatever? I wonder if he could clarify anything.

 

[jakncoke]

The question is why are they so mad?

Sony can't do good in some ppl eyes for some reason. I think most of these ppl are still butt hurt when PS2 finished off the Dreamcast and them without a home, so they made a lifetime vendetta to downplay and hate on anything PS3.

 

[Kagari]

Sony can't do good in some ppl eyes for some reason. I think most of these ppl are still butt hurt when PS2 finished off the Dreamcast and them without a home, so they made a lifetime vendetta to downplay and hate on anything PS3.

I think you're on to something here...

but seriously, the trolling in this thread is laughable.

 

[InterMoniker]

You guys are making me resort to my non-inside voice.

I'm fairly confident that most of us who are questioning this aren't doing it out of some blind console loyalty. Some of us legitimately enjoy checking out sales threads to see how games are doing. What we (or at least I) are getting mad at is the fact that some pro-Sony people here are ready to crucify anyone that questions the legitimacy of these numbers. If you're not willing to take third party info into account, then you might as well believe whatever the fuck you want.

And if you're going to resort to fanboy dickwaving, at least do it with something that has a slightly more legitimate chance of being believable, like MGS4 or GTA4.



He never clarified that it was sold to consumers or sold to retail. 99% is likely that it's sold to retailers.

Where is that jstevenson guy or whatever? I wonder if he could clarify anything.

Wow :lol You are crazy.

I don't think Ted Price would lie about one of their games selling a million copies.

 

[jstevenson]

Where is that jstevenson guy or whatever? I wonder if he could clarify anything.

Eating popcorn and talking to Luke Smith about how much fun this thread is.

 

[Kagari]

Eating popcorn and talking to Luke Smith about how much fun this thread is.

 

[Tailzo]

awesome. i did my part.

Yeah me too. I'm hoping to see a new ip though.

 

[methane47]

Why all the insecurity here? The reason people are casting doubt is because Sony has a friggin history with shady numbers. The reason people let most PR from Nintendo and MS slide is because their numbers tend to match overall with what's been tracked by the likes of NPD, MC, etc.

If we're to believe this PR, then this would mean Ratchet would have around 600-700k of all its sales in Europe. It could very well be possible that Ted Price was referring to retailers, though.

What's particularly irritating is that people are so willing to ignore the facts, as if that will somehow make things become a reality.

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Nintendo Maybe.... Microsoft. i think not

 

[TAFKAA]

Sony can't do good in some ppl eyes for some reason. I think most of these ppl are still butt hurt when PS2 finished off the Dreamcast and them without a home, so they made a lifetime vendetta to downplay and hate on anything PS3.

This is the only real answer (and Nintendofanboys, for suffering two generations)

 

[monkeylite]

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008...rl-storytelling-and-resistance-on-a-handheld/

MTV: Is “Resistance” a series that, like “Ratchet,” where you could see the potential to someday have it on a handheld?

Price: Sure. I think that’s possible.

MTV: As a first-person shooter?

Price: I think “Killzone” demonstrated that it doesn’t have to be a first-person shooter. I think “Killzone: Liberation” was a fantastic game, but a very different game from the original. Anything is possible.

Hell yeah. I thought Killzone Liberation was a pretty good game and would love to see something similar from Insomniacs.

 

[Busty]

Eating popcorn and talking to Luke Smith about how much fun this thread is.

I'm not sure how much fun it'll be when WrikaWreck turns up at your offices demanding to audit your books.

 

[industrian]

I'm glad that R&C is doing so well. Keep up the good work Insomniac.

As a side note, it amazes me that people want the sales of a game or console to be low. They want the industry to do poorly. Amazing.

This.

 

[zoukka]

Next Ratchet should come as a PSN-update over ToD.

 

[Jacobi]

It's funny: People cheer for freaking RE:UC selling 1 million and freak out when Ratchet does it.

Anyway: Props to Insomniac, they deserve it. Resistance 2 hopefully beats it by HUDNREDS of percents.

 

[zoukka]

It's funny: People cheer for freaking RE:UC selling 1 million and freak out when Ratchet does it.

Anyway: Props to Insomniac, they deserve it. Resistance 2 hopefully beats it by HUDNREDS of percents.

Umbrella Chronicles did something new.

Spoiler

And it's on Wii lol