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Xbox One Exclusive D4 is selling like complete shit, please help me #SaveD4

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Q. I’ve never even heard of this game. What are you even talking about?
A. This is exactly the problem!

Q. Fine, what is D4?
A. D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die is an episodic mystery adventure game exclusive to the Xbox One. It was published by Microsoft and developed by Access Games. The game’s creator is Swery, the man behind the cult-hit Deadly Premonition. The game is a digital download and costs $15.

Q. What constitutes “selling like shit”?
A. According to the leaderboards, as of this very moment less than 10,000 people have bought and played this game worldwide.

Q. Whoa, that is bad. So why is the game selling so badly?
A. It was basically sent to die. It was unceremoniously dumped on the Xbox One’s store without a release date announced in advance. D4 has received essentially no marketing whatsoever. This leads me to believe that the publisher, Microsoft, lost faith in the product and told the team to halt production and just release whatever was finished. Sadly, this game will live or die on word-of-mouth alone. The game’s director, Swery, has stated that his team is not actively working on further episodes at this time and that the sales of Season One will determine if they are allowed to continue the story. Naturally, this episodic story ends on a cliffhanger.

Q. But is the game any good?
A. Yes. Unless you have a low tolerance for weird games from Japan. But it’s the good kind of weird, not the tentacle/loli/moe kind of weird. It might even be the best exclusive on Xbox One. And unlike Deadly Premonition, the good parts of the game aren't trapped behind tedious and tacked-on combat or driving.

Q. What is the game like? What do you do in it?
A. The gameplay is most analogous to something like a Telltale game or a David Cage game. You won’t be shooting dudes, you’ll be spend most of your time talking to characters and exploring the environment. The tone, however, is completely unique. Much like Deadly Premonition, it’s a game set in America, through the lens of a team located in Japan. The world and its inhabitants are quirky and interesting. It’s got a good mix of heartfelt character moments and avant-garde action. You play as David Young, a former Boston detective who can't get over the tragic death of his wife. The traumatic events surrounding her death left Young unable to recall those memories, but has given him the ability to travel through time. You'll spend the game exploring David's apartment and diving into the past in a desperate effort to change events that have already occurred. Oh, and the music is pretty cool.

Q. Does the game use the Kinect?
A. Yes, you can play the game with nothing but the Kinect. You can talk to witnesses using voice commands and push owls with your hand. The most creative use of the camera is the elaborate stunt sequences that’ll have you scrambling to mimic actions. Imagine if you had to act out the Resident Evil 4 Krauser fight in order to beat it.

Q. That sounds horrible; I hate using the Kinect. Can I just use a controller?
A. Thankfully yes! The standard controls work great!

Q. Is it really worth $15, though?
A. Yes. The game consists of a prologue and two episodes and should take you around five hours to beat, assuming you aren’t skipping all the conversations and side content. I’ve already spent more than double that amount of time trying to find every secret and collectable, not to mention unlocking all 78 achievements. A small amount of content can only be completed on subsequent playthroughs and there are numerous unlockables, such as alternate costumes for the main characters. The game will be getting free DLC costumes each week that tie into other video games for a little while too.

Q. But why buy the game when it’ll probably be free on Games with Gold in a few months?
A. Because then we’ll never get any more D4. Well never get an ending. But most importantly, the game is worth your money. We should be encouraging Japanese developers to continue to make quirky console games, especially Swery.

Q. But why even play the game when I can watch a playthrough online?
A. You really are the worst.

Q. I’m still just not sold on this.
A. Then look at this Giant Bomb Quick Look. This spoils a portion of the Prologue and the start of Episode One.

Oh, and Swery is awesome. Follow this man on Twitter, you won’t regret it. He’ll probably follow you, too.

Q. I just bought and played D4, and I liked it. Is there really any more I can do?
A. Tell someone about it. Use the official #XboxD4 hashtag on Twitter. Recommend the game to a friend. Discuss the game in GAF’s official thread. It has a pretty meager post count compared to most other releases this year.

Look, I’m trying to be realistic. We can tweet at Phil Spencer and other Microsoft employees and tell them how much we want them to fund more episodes all we want, but the bottom line is they care about the game's sales. No doubt it has to reach some unknown minimum threshold for them to even consider giving Access Games any more money. I’m grateful that Microsoft paid Swery to make and release D4 Season One. But it’s not enough, Swery and Access Games have made a good product and deserve to finish their story.

As you can tell, I feel strongly about this. So much so that I’m going to make buying D4 even easier for a lucky few. The first twenty members (that don’t already own D4) who post their gamertags here will be PM’ed an Xbox Live code for $10 to be used towards D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die. Don’t spend this on Minecraft skins or Destiny content. If I don’t see D4 on your profile after a couple of days, I’m calling you out. Seriously, don’t be that asshole who take's advantage of my kindness.

Buy this game already!

I love you all!
#SaveD4
 

Volotaire

Member
This thread's premise seems much too similar to an OT's purpose.

EDIT: oh it's a giveaway thread. That's really kind of you OP.
 

WarpathDC

Junior Member
I'm just waiting until next week when I get free 10 xbone dollars for preordering Forza from BB-then it shall be mine

and probably sit in my backlog
 

$h@d0w

Junior Member
Why does almost every other thread on gaf sound like a marketing campaign now?

It was like a shit ton of Shadow of Mordor threads last week now this shill.

Edit - totally agree with the other guy above, this is what OTs are for imo.
 

MetalDeer

Member
Really sorry to hear this. Although I guess it's not really all too surprising. I'd buy it, for sure. Hell, it looks right up my alley. But, uh.. I don't have an Xbox One, nor would I be able/want to get one any time soon.
 

Volotaire

Member
I really loved what I've played of D4 and encourage others to buy it because the world needs more games by guys like swery who throws convention to wind.

Shouldnt you leave that for the mods to decide?

Edited, I just realised it wasn't. Sorry if this was seen as backseatmodding.
 
I don't currently own an Xbox One but this is one of the first games I'm buying when I pick one up early next year. It looks awesome.
 

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Microsoft's handling of digital releases is so bizarre. They had it down on the 360 with a scheduled release day, increased to two days later. Now they just throw whatever at any time on XB1.
 

Finaj

Member
So who are the people that complain about lack of Japanese support and when it comes they don't buy it?

It's an unfortunate cycle:

Won't buy a X1 due to lack of Japanese support -> console won't get Japanese developers due to low sales -> rinse and repeat.
 

statham

Member
couple of things, Swervy responds to about everyone on twitter. two, I hope the leader-board is inaccurate, Three, make the prologue free, and each chapter $5

Doesn't look interesting. Sorry, but my time is limited. Not every game can be popular, even if the people behind it worked hard.
smh
 

drizzle

Axel Hertz
My gamertag is Rain One.

I don't even have an Xbox One, but I will buy the game for 5 dollars - I've been considering buying it for the full price through the website, even though I don't have an Xbox One.

If you give me 10 dollars, I most certainly will. However, my name won't be on the board for the game, as I wont be able to load it.

However, if there are more people on the thread that want - and will play the game, I'd rather you give it to them. Your call, Ninja.
 
I just don't think it appeals to a wider audience to get more sales. Admittedly I haven't played it but i don't enjoy these type of games. I do feel bad for swery though.

Edit: but I would try it out though. GT IS GDVersace.
 

Damaniel

Banned
I wouldn't buy an Xbox One just for this game, but if I were to buy a One, this would probably be the first game I buy.

Hopefully, if Microsoft really does leave it to die then Sony will pick it up later. Stopping development of a game before the plot is fully resolved is one of the biggest sins of video games, doubly so if the story and game are compelling.

EDIT: And thanks for putting your money where your mouth is. I didn't notice the giveaway at first, but it shows you're definitely passionate about the game.
 
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