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[AHA-Lambda]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...but-human-revolution-sales-were-much-stronger

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided enters the UK chart at number one today, and rightfully so, but predecessor Human Revolution had a "much stronger" debut according to GfK Chart-Track. Then again, Human Revolution sold to a bigger audience in 2011, when PS3 and Xbox 360 had been out for several years.

I never asked for this.

Fwiw, Mankind Divided also had 3 days extra tracking than HR did back in the day.

 

[Kyonashi]

Yeah, I saw the numbers this morning and was surprised. Not that it did worse than HR, just at how low it was for what I consider a fairly big franchise.

Honestly I wonder how much of it is to do with how identical the consumer-facing imagery is to HR - the mainstream public will see no difference between this and the game that released five years ago, it might as well be a remaster.

EDIT: Seriously, look at these. It's like FIFA covers... Doesn't exactly shout that it's a brand new game.

 

[purseowner]

Well if the Boris brigade hadn't successfully 'augmented' the UK...

Spoiler

/s

 

[Mivey]

Yeah, I saw the numbers this morning and was surprised.

Honestly I wonder how much of it is to do with how identical the consumer-facing imagery is to HR - the mainstream public will see no difference between this and the game that released five years ago, it might as well be a remaster.

Yeah, they should have called it Deus Ex 2. That would have made it clear.

 

[wapplew]

Yeah, I saw the numbers this morning and was surprised.

Honestly I wonder how much of it is to do with how identical the consumer-facing imagery is to HR - the mainstream public will see no difference between this and the game that released five years ago, it might as well be a remaster.

This and KOF, I think underwhelming graphic hurt sales even with good reviews.

 

[Ushay]

Doesn't change the fact it is a much better game imo. Looking at charts only tells me gamers want the same generic experience over and over..

 

[Zafir]

Yeah, I saw the numbers this morning and was surprised.

Honestly I wonder how much of it is to do with how identical the consumer-facing imagery is to HR - the mainstream public will see no difference between this and the game that released five years ago, it might as well be a remaster.

Yeah I doubt it helped.

Not to mention, mere months before release, everyone I know, hell even I, totally forgot it was coming out. Which I think is a bit of a problem if people who follow the scene closely are forgetting your game releases.

I feel like in general they didn't market it as much.

 

[Atolm]

Lately, wrongfully or not I tend to evaluate a launch's sucess by how active the NeoGAF OT is and in this case it doesn't seem to be very active.

Which is a shame. I guess I'm also part of the problem since I'm done buying games day one. Deus Ex would have been a sure purchase from me just a few months ago.

 

[LewieP]

I'm utterly shocked that sales of a physical release in a popular series are lower today than they were in 2011.

Because I don't understand the games industry.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

I think we have to accept at this point gaming market has shrunk, at least in terms of the diversity of games bought. If you aren't a big hitter, you are going to struggle.

Shame about KOF though, least it means that I should be able to pick up for £30 in a few weeks.

 

[Lime]

Following Brexit, I guess the UK couldn't relate to segregation and isolationism

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Doesn't change the fact it is a much better game imo. Looking at charts only tells me gamers want the same generic experience over and over..

That's true, but we didn't need Deus Ex to tell us that. I'd say in general it's because there seems to have been much less marketing for this one. Doesn't feel like there's been anywhere near as much buzz about MD as there was HR.

 

[Arkanius]

Buying games physically in 2016.
Where are the SteamSpy stats?

By the way, the Human Revolution cover is so much better than Mankind Divided.

 

[dr_rus]

Doesn't change the fact it is a much better game imo. Looking at charts only tells me gamers want the same generic experience over and over..

Imo it's much worse than HR and while not a bad game it's not a good one either. Won't be surprised if it will sell less eventually.

 

[AnthonypUK]

I love the "launched to a bigger audience" excuse, we've had no problem seeing other games have record sales.

I'm just waiting for the "well if you include digital" excuse for the UK to be trotted out by someone, even though you can pick it up at retail £15 cheaper then digital. (£35($44) vs £50($65) )

 

[Raylan]

Yeah, I saw the numbers this morning and was surprised. Not that it did worse than HR, just at how low it was for what I consider a fairly big franchise.

Honestly I wonder how much of it is to do with how identical the consumer-facing imagery is to HR - the mainstream public will see no difference between this and the game that released five years ago, it might as well be a remaster.

EDIT: Seriously, look at these. It's like FIFA covers... Doesn't exactly shout that it's a brand new game.

I'm not a big Deus Ex fan, so looking at the pictures here, I'm not sure which one is the new one and which one is the old one. Guess the right one is the new game, because they main character is a bit more detailed, right?

 

[Drillary Clinton]

Following Brexit, I guess the UK couldn't relate to segregation and isolationism

HOHO!

 

[GlamFM]

GfK does not track digital I suppose?

Case closed?

 

[WadiumArcadium]

I was surprised how few people were playing it on my Friends list. Obviously that's only a small sample size, but compare that to No Man's Sky a fortnight or so earlier and it definitely seemed less popular.

 

[LewieP]

I love the "launched to a bigger audience" excuse, we've had no problem seeing other games have record sales.

I'm just waiting for the "well if you include digital" excuse for the UK to be trotted out by someone, even though you can pick it up at retail £15 cheaper then digital. (£35($44) vs £50($65) )

Good point until you replace your made up numbers with real numbers

Human Revolution was ~£22 at retail compared to £35 digitally.

Mankind Divided has been ~£26 at unauthorised retailers, £35+ at retail, and £40 on Steam.

 

[Oregano]

It's going to be a rough year for Square Enix's HD games division between this, Star Ocean, FFXV possibly underperforming(almost certain in Japan) and DQXI being delayed out of the fiscal year.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Love all the "but digital" posts already

Hasn't digital been consistently claimed as only bout 30% of sales?

 

[Katana_Strikes]

Personally I think its a much stronger game too. Not really feeling the new one as much sadly.

 

[Langdon Alger]

The main guy's sculpted beard and sunglasses don't fly in 2016. Looks embarrassingly dated now. Also the main guy's voice actor gives the worst performance I've heard in a AAA game in probably seven or eight years. It is a really good game overall though.

 

[Window]

Love all the "but digital" posts already

Hasn't digital been consistently claimed as only bout 30% of sales?

Only 30%? I don't see how that's a non-significant number.

While I very much like HR it was definitely more in line with modern linear campaign design philosophies than the original. MD on the other hand is a step in the right direction while still retaining and refining on HR's systems.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

Yeah, I saw the numbers this morning and was surprised. Not that it did worse than HR, just at how low it was for what I consider a fairly big franchise.

Honestly I wonder how much of it is to do with how identical the consumer-facing imagery is to HR - the mainstream public will see no difference between this and the game that released five years ago, it might as well be a remaster.

EDIT: Seriously, look at these. It's like FIFA covers... Doesn't exactly shout that it's a brand new game.

Yeah I doubt it helped.

Not to mention, mere months before release, everyone I know, hell even I, totally forgot it was coming out. Which I think is a bit of a problem if people who follow the scene closely are forgetting your game releases.

I feel like in general they didn't market it as much.

I agree with both of these. The fact I own the game and when I read the title to this thread I still had to pause and remember which was the sequel is an issue

It's also one of those where a week before the game came out it was "Oh yea Deus ex is apparently coming out"

 

[GlamFM]

Love all the "but digital" posts already

Hasn't digital been consistently claimed as only bout 30% of sales?

"only" bout 30%...

 

[BigTnaples]

Well that sucks. Amazing game. Get with the program Uk.

 

[IvanJ]

I kinda expected lower numbers, just judging by the pre-release price drops in online shops.
I saw Deus Ex reduced several times below average price, it was being sold as low as £34 on day zero.
For example, No Man's Sky was a great success first week, and online prices just kept increasing as launch approached, I think about £44 was the lowest available.


Not saying that this is some foolproof sales estimation method, but it often is indicative.

 

[Hasney]

Only 30%? I don't see how that's a non-significant number.

While I very much like HR it was definitely more in line with modern linear campaign design philosophies than the original. MD on the other hand is a step in the right direction while still retaining and refining on HR's systems.

"only" bout 30%...

30% worldwide. Unless the UK consumers are morons and like to be overcharged by going on UK digital stores, I'd expect that to be lower here.

 

[Social]

What a shame.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

"only" bout 30%...

Only 30%? I don't see how that's a non-significant number.

While I very much like HR it was definitely more in line with modern linear campaign design philosophies than the original. MD on the other hand is a step in the right direction while still retaining and refining on HR's systems.

Well it's hard to gauge from a purely descriptive phrase like "much stronger"
But I doubt digital made up the difference entirely here, and I'm saying that as someone who bought it on steam this time around

 

[AnthonypUK]

Good point until you replace your made up numbers with real numbers

Human Revolution was ~£22 at retail compared to £35 digitally.

Mankind Divided has been ~£26 at unauthorised retailers, £35+ at retail, and £40 on Steam.

The numbers in the statement are comparing XB360/PS3 with XONE/PS4 at retail since PC has no presence at retail.

As for PC, only 260k WW on steam spy, not pulling up any trees there.

 

[Iceternal]

Lack fo marketing campaign

They blew their load too early when the game was supposed to release on February.

That and the "augment your preorder" crap that killed the hype.

Also the Deus Ex Universe initiative is completely stupid and probably caused the issues with this game's story, making it inconsequential and unconclusive to be part of an "ongoing , games-spanning story" that just ends up jeopardizing the whole franchise, instead of focusing on making a single great game.

 

[Durante]

Well, that's sad. It's my favorite "AAA" game so far this year.

 

[brotkasten]

Yeah, I saw the numbers this morning and was surprised. Not that it did worse than HR, just at how low it was for what I consider a fairly big franchise.

Honestly I wonder how much of it is to do with how identical the consumer-facing imagery is to HR - the mainstream public will see no difference between this and the game that released five years ago, it might as well be a remaster.

EDIT: Seriously, look at these. It's like FIFA covers... Doesn't exactly shout that it's a brand new game.

The cover comparison sums it up for me. I'm not a Deus Ex fan, but I really, really liked Human Revolution. I played a stealth build and had a lot of fun with it (41 hrs, according to Steam).

But the moment I saw the first MD trailer, I immediately wrote the game off. As much as I liked HR, the trailer looked way too similar to HR and I didn't want to spend another 40 hrs with more of the same. Same vibe or tone, similar story beat. Which is not to say that I wanted them to change the tone and setting, but more that I had my fix and didn't need another one. "I already played this game", if you will.

I still want them to do well, because we don't have enough games in that setting and perhaps I'll play MD and enjoy it after all, even when it's a couple of years from now. But right now I couldn't be less interested.

 

[MrCookiepants]

HR had a lot of buzz around it with the cool CG trailers and such. This game came off too similar in its marketing and kinda flew under the radar because of it.

I bought the game and love the franchise, but even I admit to having known next to nothing about it until a few weeks ago.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

30% worldwide. Unless the UK consumers are morons and like to be overcharged by going on UK digital stores, I'd expect that to be lower here.

PC gamers in Europe (not sure about UK) are happily buying overpriced stuff on Steam even though retail copies are much cheaper. See how successful No Man's Sky was even though it's digital exclusive and much more expensive than retail AAA games.

Obviously, AAA publishers want people to buy overpriced digital stuff on consoles too!

 

[CrayToes]

Shame. It's a fucking good game.

 

[Maintenance]

Not really surprising, this game had zero hype among the people that I know. As a Deus Ex fan myself I skipped it and I even have Invisible War.

 

[SJRB]

DX:HR gained HUGE traction by releasing the demo/beta thingy.

 

[LewieP]

I also just remembered that lots of people across Europe ordered from the UK, because there was a retail release including some DLC (cant' remember which) that was only available in the UK.

 

[FunkyDealer]

Mankind Divided was marketed nowhere near as well as Human Revolution, which saw a tremendous amount of hype comparatively.

I'm sure the delay and silly pre-order nonsense they backtracked on didn't help either.

 

[Window]

Well it's hard to gauge from a purely descriptive phrase like "much stronger"
But I doubt digital made up the difference entirely here, and I'm saying that as someone who bought it on steam this time around

I don't doubt that MD has had a weaker launch overall (including online sales) but as you say its difficult to exactly say how much weaker. That doesn't change the fact that online sales do make up a significant portion of total sales and I don't understand why people are being dismissive of that. I doubt anyone here has any personal investment in the game's sales so its not like people are making excuses by saying "but digital".

 

[AHA-Lambda]

PC gamers in Europe (not sure about UK) are happily buying overpriced stuff on Steam even though retail copies are much cheaper. See how successful No Man's Sky was even though it's digital exclusive and much more expensive than retail AAA games.

Obviously, AAA publishers want people to buy overpriced digital stuff on consoles too!

The difference there is that NMS, you had to pay the full £40, like it or lump it

Other AAA games available at retail are cheaper. They're not the same scenario

 

[DrunkShogun]

It's basically non existing to any of my friends and I even skipped it because i have a decent backlog I'm working on. Didn't come across any promotion material so wouldn't be surprised if there's a lack of awareness for the game.

 

[kurahador]

Urghhh...why can't this game find success??? Marketing?

 

[Savantcore]

I forgot it was even coming out until like a month ago, and the only reason I've considered buying it so far is because my friend is a big fan and has been hyping it up himself. I'm not a big Deus Ex fan by any means, and I just wasn't feeling the hype.

I just picked up a couple of games for cheap and I'll do the same for this down the line.

 

[Gamezone]

Buying games physically in 2016.
Where are the SteamSpy stats?

By the way, the Human Revolution cover is so much better than Mankind Divided.

Edit : never mind

 

[Makareu]

I hope the sales are good. The game may lack some polish and the usual AAA spoon-fed gameplay / content, but 30h in, I am having a blast.

It is one of the few game with a very distinct and assumed style, and I'd hate to see it disapear.