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[runningjoke]

Was the Assassin's Creed port profitable?

 

[test_account]

The PR way of saying:

"We can't rip-off the consumer on the WiiU, so they're out of sync with the future."

Out of curiousity, where is the rip-off part in that EA quote?

 

[PotionBleue]

Out of all the retail games on Wii U, It should be assumed that only NSMBU has turned a profit so far.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate probably has too. Port of a 3DS game, and the Wii U version sold quite well (380k at the moment according to VG Chartz).

 

[Acccent]

Yeah like Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed. They certainly stopped making games/expansions in those series because of poor sales.

AC is hugely profitable, FC3 not so much. Blood Dragon exists to generate more sales without having to recreate a whole game, the engine being there and all. Most of Ubisoft's money comes from AC and Just Dance.

 

[BigDug13]

Man Wii-U has a real problem on their hands. PS3 is a better buy at this point at $300 with 2 game bundle. Who wants to spend $350 for a box that only plays Nintendo games at barely above 360/PS3 graphics capabilities?

 

[Malvingt2]

I thought Zombie U was the most successful third party game on the Wii U, somebody was using its sales as an example of how things could be for a third party. If so...uh oh.

Japan hardly care about the game tho.. iirc..

 

[x-Lundz-x]

I think it is around 450k Word Wide..

If that is true and it's not even close? You would figure launch games on the Wii U would not have astronomical budgets but I guess not.

 

[Diablo Rosso]

Not good for third party games on the Wii U, though it was barely decent in the first place.

 

[8bits]

Wow...just wow. I really really want the Wii U to be a great console but it's not looking good. The fact that ZombieU wasn't even profitable isn't a good sign. I mean, if that game wasn't profitable, was any third party game profitable?

I know there is a lot of negative reaction to the lack of third party support on the Wii U but I think the two quotes in the OP really sum up the whole debate.

1. Third party titles aren't very (or at all) profitable.
2. There is a very small online community and Nintendo constantly rejects online multiplayer.

The lack of third party support is nothing more than the most basic of all business decisions. Out of every gaming company, I want Nintendo to succeed and the Wii U to be a fantastic console. Unfortunately, I don't see the Wii U being anything other than an offline first party console.

As an avid Nintendo fan it's hard to admit that I am more excited about the X1 and the PS4 than I am the Wii U.

 

[AkimbO_Arcana]

I blame everyone who hasn't bought a WiiU and more so those who did but didn't get the game. Great, great title. And it only works on WiiU.

 

[Drencrom]

"[Zombi U] was not profitable, he says. Not even close. As such, he says, there are no plans (or even desire) for a sequel."

Wasn't this like the most hyped and marketed game at launch? Jesus christ, no wonder thirdparties are avoiding the Wii U.

 

[Dictator93]

Maybe instead of investing in third parties Nintendo should invest in time travel.

They would probably be more successful.

 

[airmangataosenai]

I don't think I understand the question. Lego City sold well for when it released, as did Monster Hunter. Those are the only other "big" exclusives. Sonic Racing sold best on Wii U over any other version. I'm not saying the Wii U has a great ecosystem at all. I'm just saying that ZombiU needed to be more than a character-less tech demo.

Monster Hunter for Wii U moved around 60k units in it's launch month. Is that really some sort of smashing success now?

 

[Akira_83]

i loved ZombiU and its the best argument for the gamepad IMO but i would buy it again to play on PS3 in a heartbeat

the gamepad is not 100% essential and could just split the tv screen between inventory and looking over your shoulder it would work fine

the rest of the gamepad stuff like tapping on manhole covers and door planks was more annoying than anything

i bought my WiiU just for that one game, and have since sold it

would like to play through ZombiU again (this time on survivor mode) but wont rebuy a console just for that

 

[Dragon]

AC is hugely profitable, FC3 not so much. Blood Dragon exists to generate more sales without having to recreate a whole game, the engine being there and all. Most of Ubisoft's money comes from AC and Just Dance.

You missed my sarcasm. FC3 sold a shitload.

If that is true and it's not even close? You would figure launch games on the Wii U would not have astronomical budgets but I guess not.

I'd think the first game on a new platform would be pretty expensive.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Their poorly reviewed, rushed and lacking in content game sold badly.

Obviously this is the model for their potentially highly reviewed and bursting with content games.

 

[Terra]

Yes. The Wii U is a catastrophe and will be from start to finish.

Nothing new to see.

 

[kswiston]

Wonderful 101k sales

edit. Perhaps this will put some cold water on the constant suggestion that bundles are a solution to the WiiU's problems.

I wonder if that game will even manage 101k sales in a single territory.

 

[Somnid]

ZombiU definitely has that cult classic feel to it. Not super approachable, experimental, not well understood but very unique. It's definitely a case where people seem to be abandoning survival-horror for action.

 

[AngelsDontBurn]

This is really disappointing. I really enjoyed ZombiU and just hoped there'd be a sequel where all of the tiny mishaps were fixed and the game was better.

 

[Glorified G]

Most U.S gaming websites/mags wrongly trashed the game, 6/10-ed it. I wouldn't expect it to do well given that stink.

If Zombiu really was the highest selling third party launch games then explain the other titles got great reviews from the big sites and still sold poorly?

Some have to learn to except that if it isn't Mario, its not moving.

 

[Effect]

Check the scores, majority of the reviews were positive. Its such a weak excuse. Third party games on the systems don't sell.

Early on the first batch of reviews were negative and that was the narrative for a while. The positive reviews came out after that first wave. There was an entire thread about it when the game came out and people were concluding the negative reviews (based on their content) were based on how people were playing the game thinking or wanting the game to be shooter with some survival horror instead of accepting that the game was a survival horror game with shooting. It got to the point that the devs put an actual message inside of the game repeating that the game was a survival horror. One of the worst and first negative reviews (I think it was gamespot) had the reviewer only using the bat over and over again. None of the other weapons and just complaining about everything, some things that weren't even true. Some reviews made it clear they didn't even progress that far into the game. There just straight up lies in some reviews.

 

[Bisnic]

Was the Assassin's Creed port profitable?

i would guess that port barely sold better than old ports like Batman or ME3.

 

[lastflowers]

I just bought it for 18$. Ouch indeed for a next gen console. Also bought the Wii-U. Feel sorry for those that only will have a Wii-U as their nextgen console, unless they only like Nintendo games.

 

[cyberheater]

I was talking solely in regards to the Wii U version. I don't remember actual sale numbers but they were happy with it's performance. Sonic generally tends to do well on Nintendo consoles so I don't think they have much to worry about.

Yes but the developmental cost would have been spread across all the platforms. If it was WiiU only. I strongly suspect it wouldn't have been profitable.

 

[zroid]

ouch

 

[Ridley327]

Bought it with my Wii U, the game sold something like 500k, I wouldn't think that was "not even close" to being profitable. The development must have been a mess since this is not even close to being a triple A title.

A shame though, it's a great horror game.

It definitely had a difficult development history; it started out as a Rabbids spin-off before being turned into Killer Freaks from Outer Space, and then into the final game we have today.

 

[Ushojax]

Probably the best third party launch title I've ever played.

Whether it was ever going to succeed on a Nintendo platform, I don't know.

 

[Malvingt2]

If that is true and it's not even close? You would figure launch games on the Wii U would not have astronomical budgets but I guess not.

But ZombiU was a previously Killer Freaks so I dunno how much they spent to move from point A to B..

 

[Acccent]

You missed my sarcasm. FC3 sold a shitload.

I did not miss your sarcasm and that's why I explained that FC3 didn't make as much money as you seem to believe

 

[Kurtofan]

Hmmmm....

Joystiq - 4.5/5
Eurogamer - 90
G4 - 4/5
Quarter to Three - 4/5
Giant Bomb - 4/5

Yep, not a single good review anywhere.

Quarter to Three? Gamespot, IGN are more relevant and gave it bad reviews.

 

[guek]

:-(

 

[Kariodude]

Played it once and didn't find it fun or interesting enough to buy. Are launch titles ever really that profitable though? Seems like you should expect low sales on a new IP launching with a new console.

 

[sykoex]

They should make a pared down 3DS remake or sequel. 3DS could use more great horror/survival games.

 

[test_account]

You're being sarcastic, but it's true. The Last of Us took ZombiU's "enemies can attack you while you're rummaging through your backpack" thing and it doesn't work half as well. It really is a great use of the gamepad.

How doesnt it work half as well? The game is just active while you are in the inventory menu, kinda like Demon's Souls as someone else mentioned above here. Or am i missing something? Honest question.

 

[Slayven]

I think it is around 450k Word Wide..

So one for every Wii U brought world wide?

 

[Nilaul]

Well EA cant really compete with Nintendo single player offerings. Well they cant really compete with any companies single player offerings.

 

[Kurtofan]

"[Zombi U] was not profitable, he says. Not even close. As such, he says, there are no plans (or even desire) for a sequel."

Wasn't this like the most hyped and marketed game at launch? Jesus christ, no wonder thirdparties are avoiding the Wii U.

Hyped and marketed? Not really.

 

[Hoodbury]

At this point. I feel sorry for Sega and their up and coming exclusive games on WiiU. I hope they can afford it.

Don't feel bad for Sega, they will do alright I'm sure with their games. It's Platinum that I'm assuming we'll all be feeling bad for in the next few months.

 

[fart town usa]

Damn, what a disappointment. I love ZombiU and was so hoping to see what they could do with proper development time.

GOTY 2012 for me.

 

[cyberheater]

Their poorly reviewed, rushed and lacking in content game sold badly.

Obviously this is the model for their potentially highly reviewed and bursting with content games.

For WiiU. It was the highest profile 3rd party title. Even sold in bundles on the console. And it still tanked.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

was not profitable, he says. Not even close. As such, he says, there are no plans (or even desire) for a sequel.

Aw, man. Why not put a sequel out on the PS4/One?

Can't believe this. It was easily one of the most enjoyable and genuinely unique survival horror titles on the market, second only to State of Decay. No sequel is heartbreaking.

 

[John Harker]

lol there were alot of people here saying that ZombieU was profitable on the WiiU and that it was a succesful game.

guess they were talking out of their ass

Jeeze I've been commenting on posts like this for months. It sparked my rant on why quoting 'that banned site' even for arguments sake is not only stupid but downright damaging due to the false sense of success it gives for releases to people who seemingly only purchase successful games. Why do I even bother.

Again, the issue here is Nintendo. They've simply not manage to get anyone intrinsically interests into what the wii u offers, outside of the 700k or so people who wanted nsmbu

Edit: no 3rd party game is anywhere near 500k ww. Okay I think I'm just done talking about it ha

 

[IcyEyes]

Maybe if a single website reviewed the game well it would have sold. GameSpot giving it a 4 certainly did not help convince launch buyers in picking the title up.

I love Zombi U and wish a sequel comes to light one day.

Hmm ... ZombiU have a meta of 7.7 (out of 147 review) and let me say the gamespot scores are a jokes.
Anyway, I got what you mean: Gamestop is one of the most bigger website ...

 

[iamvin22]

Yves Guillemot, Chairman and CEO of Ubisoft, is typically one of the biggest proponents of new systems, but betting big on the Wii U didn't work out well for the company. ZombiU, one of the most popular launch titles for the system with players, was not profitable, he says. Not even close. As such, he says, there are no plans (or even desire) for a sequel.


yea....comments like that should make nintendo worry.

 

[Linkhero1]

Yes but the developmental cost would have been spread across all the platforms. If it was WiiU only. I strongly suspect it wouldn't have been profitable.

Probably. I'm not sure what the sale numbers looked like or what the cost of development was so I cannot comment further in that regards. My point still stands that Sonic does well on Nintendo consoles so there shouldn't be any issues with Sonic The Lost World or any other Sonic title being exclusive for the Wii U. We'll see this holiday how well it does.

 

[EhoaVash]

beside the UK, ZombiU had ZERO TV commercials

the only place that game was advertised was from people..talking about the wii u in general

even effing Batman Arkham City wii u port had a tv commercial, a year after it's release :I

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Don't worry guys, let's all pre-order Mariold and save Wii U.

 

[Jacksonlee]

i just dont like zombie games.

 

[Malvingt2]

So one for every Wii U brought world wide?

Nope... Japan didn't care about the game