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[Vital Tundra]

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.

Damn MK boxart is awful.

 

[Iceternal]

This isn't really surprising. By most accounts, Mankind Divided seems to be a decent sequel to a game people were excited about many years ago, but came a little too late. When you take too long to release a straight sequel, you generally need something special to reboot the excitement cycle so people care about it again. They took the audience for granted. Another reminder that entertainment isn't a necessity, so you gotta work hard to make people really want something.

Except that is not exactly what you were saying.If we have to compare every game with Witcher 3 then all games are not enough.

The game is fine and is more than enough.Maybe the marketing wasn't strong i dont know but the game itself is amazing.

Because Witcher 3 is a shining example of a perfect sequel.

But I could have considered other games like Assassin's Creed 2 that really managed to be overall better games in less than 5 years.

MD is a safe, unambitious sequel to a 5 year old game.

As soon as I saw the reveal trailer, I thought the game looked WAY too similar to HR. I was expecting at least a greatly different art direction, and not the golden look that fitted only the last game because of the Renaissance context.

 

[ZombieLPK]

Not surprising, I didn't go to buy Human Revolution until a couple days after launch, by which time I couldn't find a single X360 copy anywhere in central London, was sold out on Amazon.co.uk as well IIRC. Digital, lower review scores and the 5 year gap meant it never really stood a chance to beat HR at retail.

 

[Zojirushi]

Maybe everyone's waiting for the updated Director's Cut version next year?

I've always wondered if that shit will bite publishers in the ass someday. Inevitable "Complete" editions combined with price drops combined with day 1 technical problems?

How long can you do that until the last person has realized that buying day 1 might not be a great idea?

 

[Succinct Verbosity]

I imagine people were picking between this and No Man's Sky and NMS won out (on the ps4 at least).

 

[Revo_zero]

Maaan, i absolutely love MD. So much so im into New Game Plus already and revisting all the previous Deus Ex games again, yes even Invisible War

 

[pringles]

I remember marketing for HR being much stronger. MD was like.. "oh it releases tomorrow??". Not much hype.

Game is great though.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

DX3 had incredible amount of hype (remember the Icarus trailer)? It was similiar to Dark Souls 2 hype levels.

DX4 had like 1% of that hype... and that hype happened 1.5 year ago when it was unveiled!

Marketing for this game FAILED HARD.

 

[giant_frying_pan]

Human Revolution had much better (and more) marketing in the UK. Not really a shock.

 

[Kill3r7]

Love all the "but digital" posts already

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

On consoles yes. It is somewhere between 20%-30% depending on pre-order bonuses and the type of game.

 

[Carlius]

Too bad cause MD is a much much better game. They played ot safe and ita fine. Next game though....

 

[PlatypusDude]

Not that shocking since everyone I talked to who I told I was playing the new Deus Ex game were like, "Wait that came out?" The 5 year gap is also too long of a gap in between direct sequels. For games it feels like either try to release a sequel 2-4 years or let it simmer for 8+ years so Nostalgia can build for the franchise.

 

[Nirolak]

Interest seemed very low and the Steam numbers weren't astonishing for the type of game it is.

Square Enix seemed generally uninterested in promoting it either so I'm guessing they didn't expect much either.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

It does feel like after the delay from Feb they never readjusted their marketing strategy and just hoped they'd done enough to keep people interested for an extra 6 months.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

Well I didn't see a single bit of advertising for it in England.

 

[Dunkley]

DX3 had incredible amount of hype (remember the Icarus trailer)? It was similiar to Dark Souls 2 hype levels.

DX4 had like 1% of that hype... and that hype happened 1.5 year ago when it was unveiled!

Marketing for this game FAILED HARD.

I admit last I heard about Mankind Divided before release was when everybody was criticizing the whole augment-your-preorder type of thing back when it was first announced.

 

[Coxy100]

I've always wondered if that shit will bite publishers in the ass someday. Inevitable "Complete" editions combined with price drops combined with day 1 technical problems?

How long can you do that until the last person has realized that buying day 1 might not be a great idea?

Agreed.

I'm waiting for the 'complete' edition or the normal edition going under £30

 

[eXistor]

Great game, sad to see it doing...not so great. I have to admit I was constantly getting the title of the game wrong and the same-y cover doesn't help much to differentiate it from the previous game.

Also, a lot of people that bought the first one probably didn't like it much (it's not a pure action game after all) and simply don't have any interest in a sequel.

 

[leng jai]

Honestly MD isn't as good as I'd hoped. In fact, I was far more enamoured by Human Revolution and part of the reason is that MD took five years to come out and feels like it retains almost all the issues, especially when it comes to presentation. It's essentially more of the same, and not even clearly superior in many areas.

 

[Iceternal]

Honestly MD isn't as good as I'd hope. In fact, I was far more enamoured by Human Revolution and part of the reason is that MD took five years to come out and feels like it retains almost all the issues, especially when it comes to presentation. It's essentially more of the same, and not even clearly superior in many areas.

It kinda feels like an Assassin's Creed kind of sequel, but more polished

 

[Rexatality]

I've always wondered if that shit will bite publishers in the ass someday. Inevitable "Complete" editions combined with price drops combined with day 1 technical problems?

How long can you do that until the last person has realized that buying day 1 might not be a great idea?

A lot of people just don't want to wait 1-2 years for a complete edition for a game. So whether we like it or not, people will continue buying games day 1

 

[MrCompletely]

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?

I accidentally started installing Human Revolution when the Mankind Divided patch came out, they also look so similar in Steam grid view.

 

[Effect]

I can imagine that the time between the games that passed didn't help things combined with a lackluster marketing push. Mankind Divided is a much more improved game on all fronts and it's a shame it's not going to do better. I've always wondered though if Square Enix simply didn't want anything other then Final Fantasy to have the spotlight. It's not like they're pushing anything else in a big way save for that.

 

[MrCompletely]

One key difference here is that HR was riding on the hype of a classic PC franchise, and a sequel to one of the best games of all time, coming back to reclaim its glory.

You don't have this same dynamic with MD, modern Deus Ex is now a known quantity so that whole story of Deus Ex as a franchise coming back to life is not really an element of this release.

 

[ultratruman]

I had no idea this came out.

 

[Ruff]

I really want to play HR again but man, I can't stand that they added the Missing Link as a obligatory area now. I can't bloody stand that DLC and it just kills all the momentum in the game now.

 

[Ash735]

Should've kept the Gold Filter, it feels like the style in this game is really paired back compared to Human Revolution and as such many areas just look like generic other games.

 

[Future PhaZe]

marketing for HR was crazy

don't think I even saw a single commercial for this one

 

[DSix]

Also HR is a better game.

MD is like a sequel that should've released 2 years later, not 5. It doesn't feel new enough. The boxart is a pretty good representation of the symptom.

 

[Duxxy3]

I'm just waiting on a sale to buy it. I liked human revolution, but I bought it very cheap. Once MD hits $30, I'm scooping it up.

 

[MrCompletely]

I really want to play HR again but man, I can't stand that they added the Missing Link as a obligatory area now. I can't bloody stand that DLC and it just kills all the momentum in the game now.

I believe Missing Link is only baked into the main game in the directors cut version, the original version doesn't include it.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

I think it might have something to do with the fact that HR was the first DX game in basically forever and also landed at a time when the 360 and PS3 install base was at its prime.

Don't think it's so much the game's fault as it is a matter of circumstances.

 

[usp84]

Because Witcher 3 is a shining example of a perfect sequel.

But I could have considered other games like Assassin's Creed 2 that really managed to be overall better games in less than 5 years.

MD is a safe, unambitious sequel to a 5 year old game.

As soon as I saw the reveal trailer, I thought the game looked WAY too similar to HR. I was expecting at least a greatly different art direction, and not the golden look that fitted only the last game because of the Renaissance context.

Again the game turned out to be really good as most people who have actually played it say it is. The marketing is what caused these low sales in UK

 

[QaaQer]

Story was very weak and milquetoast (racism bad, m'kay), while doing nothing interesting gameplaywise. It just looked dull AF, almost as if it were a Sony first party game.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

Story was very weak and milquetoast (racism bad, m'kay), while doing nothing interesting gameplaywise. It just looked dull AF, almost as if it were a Sony first party game.

Looked or played dull? Have you played it? Because if you haven't, then it's a marketing fail. If you have played it, then it's a game fail.

IMO, game is anything but dull, and one of the most compelling games this year by far, but..opinions.

 

[Elios83]

Game is really good, I'm playing it right now.
But honestly marketing was very weak and sparse, graphics are not impressive enough to make even those not interested curious about it...and in the end the game is just HR part two 5 years later. They needed a new more interesting formula after all this time.

 

[QaaQer]

Looked or played dull? Have you played it? Because if you haven't, then it's a marketing fail. If you have played it, then it's a game fail.

IMO, game is anything but dull, and one of the most compelling games this year by far, but..opinions.

Looked.

I'm just stating my perception from the vid and discussion I've seen and heard, which is why I have zero interest in buying it.

 

[Bisnic]

Deus Ex was never that popular was it? A bit like System Shock 2, no? Great shooter/rpg game from the late 90s/early 00s, loved by its fans, but wasn't a huge hit, went off the radar for years before it resurface.

HR just came at the right time for 360/PS3 and had cool art/marketing. But once some people realized it wasn't just a Cyberpunk "traditional" FPS, I guess they kinda said "not gonna touch that franchise again"?

 

[Alo0oy]

I actually pre-ordered the game on PSN and already paid for it, I'm just not in the mood for it, I'm in the mood for gameplay-focused games so I've been replaying The Phantom Pain.

 

[Window]

I actually pre-ordered the game on PSN and already paid for it, I'm just not in the mood for it, I'm in the mood for gameplay-focused games so I've been replaying The Phantom Pain.

If you're going into this game for anything other than gameplay and exploration, you're most likely going to be disappointed.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

Looked.

I'm just stating my perception from the vid and discussion I've seen and heard, which is why I have zero interest in buying it.

Which is too bad, because the game is fantastic. It's at least as good as HR, so if you liked that, you'll like this.

Marketing super fail.

 

[FlyinJ]

I loved HR, but this one is even better. Feels a lot more open and sand-boxy with the single big hub.

Also, the world building is so much better... the locations outside of Prague are super varied and well art directed. Also they are almost mini-hubs in and of themselves, with side missions.

It's also huge. I'm about 20 hours in and only on mission 5. I have no idea what these people were talking about saying they completed it in 12 hours.

 

[Alo0oy]

If you're going into this game for anything other than gameplay and exploration, you're most likely going to be disappointed.

I know how Deus Ex is played, I'm just not in the mood for shallow dialog trees and endless dialog.

Nothing against Deus Ex, I actually like the franchise, which is precisely why I chose to postpone my first playthrough to when I'm in the mood for a game like it.

I stopped playing games for a few months, so now I'm in the mood for MGS5/Dark Souls or other gameplay heavy titles, not endless gameplay interruptions.

 

[Dryk]

As soon as I saw the reveal trailer, I thought the game looked WAY too similar to HR. I was expecting at least a greatly different art direction, and not the golden look that fitted only the last game because of the Renaissance context.

The actual hub is very blue. The problem is that the reveal trailer mostly takes place in an aug ghetto which uses the old art style to represent the old world.

If they played up the augs = black and gold, naturals = brown and blue thing in the trailer it probably would have seemed more distinct.

 

[Window]

I know how Deus Ex is played, I'm just not in the mood for shallow dialog trees and endless dialog.

Nothing against Deus Ex, I actually like the franchise, which is precisely why I chose to postpone my first playthrough to when I'm in the mood for a game like it.

I stopped playing games for a few months, so now I'm in the mood for MGS5/Dark Souls or other gameplay heavy titles, not endless gameplay interruptions.

The game does have that in abundance so fair enough.

 

[Yankee Ruin X]

Marketing for this game was nowhere near as good as it was for HR. HR put out that amazing trailer which generated an insane amount of hype for the game. The trailers for MD where nowhere near that level.

 

[Diancecht]

Steamspy says 265,040 owners. Seems a bit low?

 

[Brandon F]

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

Feeling the same, though I am still relatively early in so that may change. I was drawn into HR almost immediately whereas I am kind of forcing myself to stay motivated with MD.

 

[joebruin]

The game is pretty good so far. Hope it has legs.

 

[shintoki]

Damn shame, it's a great advance on the previous gameplay wise.