Support NeoGAF

[Gator86]

When is it out?

I'm usually up to date on when video games are coming out but I have no idea about this one. Marketing has been so poor.

Three days from now.

Not the best of signs...

 

[Jake2by4]

Prey launched in a relatively quiet time.

Evil within and wolf are launching in the maelstrom of games that is the fall/winter season.

Also I don't think the game will be critically acclaimed either.

Beth has had a poor record of pushing games that aren't Fallout for skyrim related.

 

[FuriousOne]

I'm itching for a horror game in October, so based on good reviews and impressions I will pick this up.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

I think both this and wolfenstein 2 will bomb in October.

Both might have a long tail but realistically this month is a hard one to release in.

Wolfenstein 2 will not bomb. Has A huge marketing push, tons of glowing previews, the first game was a big surprise hit, and it has a ton of cultural relevance that has people buzzing. It's also in a far more popular genre than TEW2.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

This will be one to watch for legs. If it's as good as it seems like it's going to be, word of mouth may carry it decently far.

 

[RoboPlato]

I think it’ll do OK as the only high profile horror game launching in October but I agree it won’t be as large of a success as the first game. I expected to first game to bomb too.

 

[StereoVsn]

What the hell does this mean? The director of TEW2 was a creative lead on the original. He's been a part of the team probably since it's inception. I can understand some reservations about Mikami himself not directing, but why does it matter that the guy isn't Japanese?

Well, you see, Honor and Shame are a .... never mind .

I think that the game is going to bomb sales wise and will be mid to high 70s game critically. It's being released in the super busy Holiday sales time to great competition and with little marketing.

 

[Gator86]

Wolfenstein 2 will not bomb. Has A huge marketing push, tons of glowing previews, the first game was a big surprise hit, and it has a ton of cultural relevance that has people buzzing. It's also in a far more popular genre than TEW2.

Agreed. Wolf will probably be fine. TEW2 is probably fucked regardless of how good it is.

 

[butman]

Wait, there’s going to be a part 2?!?!

;P

Bethesda is terrible at marketing video games.

 

[Dio Brando]

In short, I think The Evil Within 2 is absolutely fucked.

When The Evil Within 1 Launched, it did so in a console era totally different to where we are now.
The slow cross gen period, It came, a tight Japanese action Horror game, and despite its many flaws delivered something that wasn't available at the time.

This was 2014 an era where Shadow of Mordor and Dragon Age inquisition were "games of the year".
(Shadow of war is another bomb in my eyes, but too boring to warrent a thread.)


But now it is 2017, the period from the end of 2016 to today is likely going to go down as one of the most fruitful of all of gaming. The generation took its time to get a foothold, but its here now.
The Landscape has changed.

This is what The Evil Within 2 is launching into.

even as someone that sorta hates the first game, i simply cannot agree with this. the bolded specially feels based on your opinion, not exactly facts. why is it a different era?
the dig at Mordor is strange, given it followed the popularity of batman games, with offering an innovative system, it's main attraction, and warranted the reviews.
there are countless games that had a first game that wasnt exactly good, but showed potential, and got better with a sequel. TEW 1 has fans, and the second, being basically a soft reboot in terms of motivation of the character(where there was none in the first), could very well solve the problems the first had, and attract both it's fans and even "haters" like me, that disliked the first.
If TEW2 is critically aclaimed, it wont fail because the first was bad or anything, but because of the sheer insanity of releasing it in October along with wolfenstein 2 and others, which is baffling of bethesda, to cannibalize the sales with their own games.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

I think both this and wolfenstein 2 will bomb in October.

Both might have a long tail but realistically this month is a hard one to release in.

Wolfenstein II will do better than The New Order, is my guess.

 

[Nirolak]

This will be one to watch for legs. If it's as good as it seems like it's going to be, word of mouth may carry it decently far.

The first one moved a lot at very cheap prices (similar to how Wolfenstein did), but average sale price will cause a difficult profitability situation even if it moves a lot of units in an absolute sense.

Generally a low ASP will result in them ultimately taking a new direction with the studio, similar to how Prey bombing caused Arkane Austin to start hiring Online Engineers and Dishonored 2's ho-hum sales are lining Dishonored 3 up to be a series reboot.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

I think it’ll do OK as the only high profile horror game launching in October but I agree it won’t be as large of a success as the first game. I expected to first game to bomb too.

It didn't, so by association neither would this game =p

 

[roytheone]

Bethesda's review policy is really biting them in the ass, especially since most of their games seem to be critically acclaimed. If you bring out a bunch of shit that will get panned by reviewers I can understand that you want to hide review scores as long as possible, but most of their games seem to score very well, so it just feels dumb.

 

[NEO0MJ]

I'll never understand why they're releasing these 2 games in the same month.

Same reason EA released Titanfall 2 and Battlefield One so close to each other.

 

[plagiarize]

I can't imagine it selling to anyone who didn't already play the first. And only a subset of those people. Obviously I'm one of them and many here are amongst those too... But that is how I think it's going to go.

I'm glad they made the game though.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Bethesda's review policy is really biting them in the ass, especially since most of their games seem to be critically acclaimed. If you bring out a bunch of shit that will get panned by reviewers I can understand that you want to hide review scores as long as possible, but most of their games seem to score very well, so it just feels dumb.

Funny enough seems they're actually sending out copies for this early. But yeah holding reviews off until launch isn't really all that great.

 

[Necron]

Well... I'm buying a copy.

Wait, there's a Knack 2!?

 

[PushingButtons]

I'm just about finished with TEW1 and it's been a pretty great game for the most part. The last couple chapters it shot down hill big time but not enough to great affect the overall product.

 

[Auroradawn]

Anyone can Remember what the Pre-order charts for TEW1 were in order to compare it to TEW2 , As of Today here is what I know

- 10th in Steam Top Seller
- 28th in Amazon Top Seller ( That includes Console accessories and PSN/XBL Cards )
- 39th in PSN Top Seller

I don't know what is Bethesda's expectations for this game , but I guess it won't fail to the degree of being Bombed

 

[Astral Dog]

Critical Hit? were are the reviews D:

 

[SprachBrooks]

Why make a sequel when you know it’ll bomb though?

 

[plagiarize]

Critical Hit? were are the reviews D:

It's a safe bet. The original got solid reviews. This one looks to have fixed the main problems with it.

 

[GavinUK86]

most recent bethesda games barely get any marketing and review high and sell low. it's kinda their thing. i think it'll sell enough for another game in the series, if that's what they want. maybe this one ends it all. we don't know. bethesda have some of the best studios and ip's in the industry right now. arkane, machinegames and id can't make a bad game. hopefully tango hit it out of the park with tew2.

 

[Fisty]

Got my preorder, but agree on the general lack of hype I'm seeing. Wolfenstein has been getting a big push and more visibility due to its subject matter, but TEW2 doesn't have that luxury. Hopefully Mikami is busy working on his next game and TEW series will just be a modest selling workhorse for Tango.

 

[DaaMaadNess]

Boy they don't need to market it, they already did it with the E3 trailer. More than enough

 

[DerekOfTheDykes]

I seem to recall everyone talking about how Evil Within was a disappointment and a sales bomb around release, and yet in the grand scheme of things didn't it end up selling like 3-4 million copies?

From what I've seen, horror games tend to not frontload as much of their sales as many games, and benefit strongly over time from good word of mouth. I'm sure Evil Within 2 won't top the charts this holiday season, but I'm confident that over the course of the next year or so it will do pretty well and justify Tango doing a third game if that's what they want to do (but not well enough for Bethesda to demand one).

I just don't like associating quiet marketing with sales bomb. This year in particular we've seen too many games launch far bigger than people expected (see the Yakuza series blowing up, Nier Automata, Nioh, etc). And if we can all celebrate over the milestones of Nier hitting 1 million and 1.5 million copies... that's still half what The Evil Within sold. I just think people underestimate how well the first game ended up selling over time.

Evil Within 2 will need to be a worse game than the first one to truly bomb. I do strongly believe that. It won't be a chart topper, but it will do well for itself.

EDIT: Just read in the other topic that Evil Within sold 5 million lifetime. Yeah, Evil Within 2 can do great if it can just hold those horror game legs for a while.

 

[James Scott]

Don’t know how well the first one sold, but it’s was a bit of a mess. Not sure this is guaranteed to be much better (critically at least) though it should at least be less of a technical mess

 

[TheMoon]

Yeah, you can really feel the difference in expectations Bethesda has for Wolfenstein 2 and The Evil Within 2 ever since both games were revealed at E3.

The latter has been very low key in promotion and coverage versus the former.

Mind, I'm not sure Wolfenstein will knock it out of the park either, but Bethesda's behavior suggests they expect The Evil Within 2 to tank instead of just being a modest seller.

But that focus seems super obvious since W2 "accidentally" taps right into the Zeitgeist, especially in the US right now, whereas TEW2 is just another horror video game releasing in October. If I had to assign marketing budgets, I'd do the same thing, just based on subject matter and genre. What do you hang TEW2 on? "Please buy A Good Video Game(tm)" vs "you're really pissed at all the Nazi shit going on? Well, gee, do we have the game for you!!!" Not sure where it suggests the expect it to tank.

 

[kc44135]

It too early to say anything with such certainty. As far as reviews go, I do believe it will score better than the original, as it seems to be a much more polished product. As for sales, it's worth noting that while there were many who were unhappy with the first game, there were just as many who genuinely loved the game. It was also a game with strong legs that started with unremarkable sales and went on to sell over 5 million (!) copies. a

I am concerned for this game, and I do think Bethesda's marketing is poor, but I don't know that it has necessarily doomed this game, or that it will "bomb". It's also worth noting that it's the only high-profile horror game coming out in the month when people eat that shit. Right now, it's too early to throw around such predictions with certainty. We just have to wait and see.

 

[Stygr]

I think the game can easily sell 1-2 million copies, and it might be ok for the franchise i think, the series is relatively new to the mainstream market and even Bethesda is not expecting 5 or more million copies.

RE7 is at 3,5+ million for comparison.

 

[kmax]

Didn't even realise that this was dropping so soon?

It's important to build momentum before release, and so far I've seen none.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

I seem to recall everyone talking about how Evil Within was a disappointment and a sales bomb around release, and yet in the grand scheme of things didn't it end up selling like 3-4 million copies?

From what I've seen, horror games tend to not frontload as much of their sales as many games, and benefit strongly over time from good word of mouth. I'm sure Evil Within 2 won't top the charts this holiday season, but I'm confident that over the course of the next year or so it will do pretty well and justify Tango doing a third game if that's what they want to do (but not well enough for Bethesda to demand one).

I just don't like associating quiet marketing with sales bomb. This year in particular we've seen too many games launch far bigger than people expected (see the Yakuza series blowing up, Nier Automata, Nioh, etc). And if we can all celebrate over the milestones of Nier hitting 1 million and 1.5 million copies... that's still half what The Evil Within sold. I just think people underestimate how well the first game ended up selling over time.

Evil Within 2 will need to be a worse game than the first one to truly bomb. I do strongly believe that. It won't be a chart topper, but it will do well for itself.

You can't really compare Yakuza or Nier to TEW though. Both those titles were coming off the backs of cult hits with not much sales but a lot of word of mouth and positive chatter. TEW is the opposite; a highly anticipated game that ended up disappointing relative to expectations.

 

[Astral Dog]

It's a safe bet. The original got solid reviews. This one looks to have fixed the main problems with it.

i hope so, but i mean the original had a mostly mixed response, the sequel seems more polished at least

 

[RecRoulette]

Loved the first one but have too much stuff to play through to buy this at launch. The stuff that they've shown looks amazing though.

Same has happened to a lot of games this year. If I'm not playing it immediately after I buy it, there's no reason to.

 

[Szadek]

It will probably take while till we get review, since Bethesda is a piece of shit, but you are probably right about how well it will sell.
Maybe it will sell long term, but tat remains to be seen.

 

[Obliterator]

Bethesda is a still in the business of single player narrative focused games. One of the few left in town actually that has that as the majority of their output.

And yeah Evil Within 2 is likely going to underperform at least out the gate

 

[ZeoVGM]

I honestly think it's going to do very well.

 

[burgerdog]

...are lining Dishonored 3 up to be a series reboot.

So you're saying there's a chance at a new Dishonored!?

 

[Alter_Fridge]

I've seen ads for the game on busses and bus stops here in Australia, places I wouldn't normally associate with seeing video game advertisements

 

[Nirolak]

But that focus seems super obvious since W2 "accidentally" taps right into the Zeitgeist, especially in the US right now, whereas TEW2 is just another horror video game releasing in October. If I had to assign marketing budgets, I'd do the same thing, just based on subject matter and genre. What do you hang TEW2 on? "Please buy A Good Video Game(tm)" vs "you're really pissed at all the Nazi shit going on? Well, gee, do we have the game for you!!!" Not sure where it suggests the expect it to tank.

Marketing spend is generally done as a percentage (ranging from 5-17%) of expected final sales.

If a publisher basically isn't talking about a game at all, it generally means they don't have much in the way of expectations for it.

 

[dugdug]

I'm not even confident it'll review that well. Sure doesn't look like Bethesda has any confidence in it.

 

[shimon]

Bethesda is terrible at marketing video games.

Still they've done some promotion for Wolf. TEW2 I've seen like zero.

I'm not sure about great reviews but I agree it will sell poorly.

When is it out?

I'm usually up to date on when video games are coming out but I have no idea about this one. Marketing has been so poor.

Didn't even realise that this was dropping so soon?

It's important to build momentum before release, and so far I've seen none.

Just to prove my point...

 

[J_Viper]

Um, how do you know it's going to be a critical hit?

I have it pre-ordering, so I'm hoping it's a knockout, but that's such a strange thing to assume.

 

[polyh3dron]

They’re just trying to conceal the shitty monetization schemes in the game before release.

 

[bizzarewars]

This is what happens when you let a western person direct a japanese game

Now That's What I Call Talking Out of My Ass

 

[TheMoon]

Didn't even realise that this was dropping so soon?

It's important to build momentum before release, and so far I've seen none.

when else would you expect an AAA horror game if not October?

 

[kc44135]

Also, I think y'all are underestimating how many people actually really enjoyed the original game. Not everyone views TEW2 as "the sequel to a disappointment" , y'know.

 

[TheMoon]

This is what happens when you let a western person direct a japanese game

This has nothing to do with anything, also wtf?!

 

[Stygr]

This is what happens when you let a western person direct a japanese game

This makes no sense, at all.