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NPD Sales Results for February 2012 [Up 3: Kingdoms Of Amalur, Syndicate, Asura]

RpgN

Junior Member
FFXIII-2 improved on FFXIII in so many ways, it has become a decent game I had more fun on. It's a shame to see it sell this bad but I shouldn't be suprised considering how FFXIII was a disappointing game (even though I learned to love it as well).

At the same, I'm really not happy with the ending and how they left many things unexplained, important bits that they're planning to sell as DLC, novels and (maybe) FFXIII-3 is really low and a slap to the fans. It doesn't feel like they were trying to redeem themselves and give it their all.

I wonder if this teaches SE to stop milking the game and reconsider how to make DLC's? I doubt it :(

Also I'm afraid what this means for the franchise. They might make the games very western in response to FFXIII-2 performing bad and not trying to just deliver decent games.
 

Derrick01

Banned
why did syndicate bomb so bad; you'd think after all these years, there'd be demand?

There is demand. Just not for a FPS.

I'm going to laugh so hard when Paradox's Cartel, the game they're making in response to EA turning Syndicate into a generic FPS, outsells Syndicate even with it being PC only.
 
why did syndicate bomb so bad; you'd think after all these years, there'd be demand?

Old Syndicate fans not interested after a huge genre leap, and FPS fans who would appreciate the game from what I've seen of its excellent design and gameplay (dat UI!) are harder to woo out from under the huge shadows of MW3 and BF3 to try it.

What always separated RPG's from a lot of other games where the story telling. In the late 90's and early 00's a lot of people would always say FF 7,8,9,10 or other RPG was as good as any movie. What gave RPG's the head start when it came to story was that the gameplay was very start and stop so they could insert the cut-scenes without disrupting the flow.

But now all genres have caught up in terms of story telling and telling a story through gameplay. No one really says playing FF13 or any RPG was as good as any movie. Games like UnCharted have taken over that mantel.

FF hasn't been the leader in presentation for almost a decade and it hasn't been anything great in terms of gameplay either. Its a good RPG but the gimmick of excellent presentation and predominant gameplay for the genre is over. Other RPG's have better gameplay other genres have better presentation.

Stone Cold Truth. FFXIII's flaws and devisive design decisions were also under a harsher microscope due to JRPGs losing zeitgeist in the public eye shortly before its launch and FF/Square being the flagship for the entire genre again in the public eye.
 
FFXIII's problem is the linearity and how awful the game is. I tend to agree with the piss poor scores for it; and I'm not surprised it destroyed the brand's sales potential. 20 hours of "nothing" to get to gran pulse which really still wasn't even that open/fun..etc. I HATED FFXIII. I also didn't like combat and the loss of control over your characters in FFXIII. the paradigm system didn't do it for me.

until they unjapaify and mature-ise FF, with a cast like vanille/hope; I'm probably not going to bite

*FFXIII-2 also bombed in Japan no? So I think maybe the game didn't sell itself.
 

Road

Member
Your iPad doesn't like the highlight tag for some reason.

Was it fine every other month?
The SecondApps script hasn't been working well ever since GAF updated. It doesn't recognize the quick edit it too. If people still want to use that script, they should talk to the person who did it so he/she can update it.

Accurate. though it annoys me how not everything matches what I'm looking at. don't know where the disconnect comes from
Most of it comes from you looking at the actual figures and we looking at wild math rounding. For instance, PS3 sales can be between 347k and 374k. Almost thirty thousand units just because of rounding. (Someone already said it is lower than 360k, however.)

The rest that is on the OP, though, barring people reporting wrongly, have been directly sourced to NPD. FFXIII sold more than Amalur according to the NPD ranking, and Amalur sold 330k according to what NPD told Joystiq, so FFXIII-2 has sold at least 330k.

Are you looking at the chart combining all platforms and versions or just the chart by single platforms?
 
FFXIII's problem is the linearity and how awful the game is. I tend to agree with the piss poor scores for it; and I'm not surprised it destroyed the brand's sales potential. 20 hours of "nothing" to get to gran pulse which really still wasn't even that open/fun..etc. I HATED FFXIII. I also didn't like combat and the loss of control over your characters in FFXIII. the paradigm system didn't do it for me.

until they unjapaify and mature-ise FF, with a cast like vanille/hope; I'm probably not going to bite

*FFXIII-2 also bombed in Japan no? So I think maybe the game didn't sell itself.

It bombed when compared to FFXIII, it was at 775k when it dropped out of the top 20, but it's still in the top 50 in Japan so it's still selling. Between Japan and the US it's sold over 1 million units.
 

Petrae

Member
Question: how reliable is the 225K listed in the OP for Vita debut? I mean, I know that it is a PR math, I would just like to know how big is the range of possible mistake

It's extremely close to the raw number, actually. The original extrapolation of 218K was already within 10K, but this revised one is even closer. I cannot say much more than that, except to advise accepting the number as valid for your own analysis and the basis of discussion moving forward.
 
There is demand. Just not for a FPS.

I'm going to laugh so hard when Paradox's Cartel, the game they're making in response to EA turning Syndicate into a generic FPS, outsells Syndicate even with it being PC only.
We will see this pattern repeated with Xcom I believe. A few companies just jumped outside their minds with this "everything must be a fps to sell" nonsense.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
Sho_Nuff82 said:
We will see this pattern repeated with Xcom I believe.
Even if it had a chance - XCom FPS killed itself by being over 2 years late to the market and now in all likelihood shipping after the XCom game that all the original fans are clamoring for.
 

Mlatador

Banned
XX. Syndicate - 34K


8x3wpkxy.gif


There's still justice in this world!
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
We need to stop using XIV as a scapegoat.

Hardly anyone played it so hardly anyone could "hate" it.

6 Million people got FFXIII...and only 1 Million or so have come back so far.

FFX-2 & XII of course damaged the brand too but FFXIII did the most damage and XIII-2 hasn't fixed anything but just made the damage apparent.

To many people FFXIII told them that they are "over" JRPG's, even though it barely resembles the JRPG genre...but it's what it told them.

Those people need to be attracted to an FF once again, dunno how that's gonna happen!

Doesn't make sense to me. FFXIII sold more than XII. By your logic, should imply XII strengthened the brand.
 
They turned this:
http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/electronic-arts/syndicate/syndicate0526.gif[IMG]

into this:
[IMG]http://www.gamesaktuell.de/screenshots/667x375/2012/02/Syndicate-PC-Review-50.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

It has nothing to do with this. EA threw the game under the bus, for what reason I don't know, but the game is actually good.
 

Petrae

Member
360 will continue to be the next Wii for the next 12-18 months.

While it's a fair assumption that the 360 should remain at the top of the hardware chart (at least until WiiU hits), Microsoft is going to have a hard time competing with YOY numbers. I think that December was the start of this trend, and it should continue. The price drop could boost sales for a time, but my intuition tells me that the 360 winds up selling fewer units in 2012 than it did last year.
 

Curufinwe

Member
We need to stop using XIV as a scapegoat.

Hardly anyone played it so hardly anyone could "hate" it.

6 Million people got FFXIII...and only 1 Million or so have come back so far.

FFX-2 & XII of course damaged the brand too but FFXIII did the most damage and XIII-2 hasn't fixed anything but just made the damage apparent.

To many people FFXIII told them that they are "over" JRPG's, even though it barely resembles the JRPG genre...but it's what it told them.

Those people need to be attracted to an FF once again, dunno how that's gonna happen!

Claiming that FFXIII damaged the brand because the next Final Fantasy game sold less copies, while also claiming that FFXII "of course" damaged the brand even though the Final Fantasy game that came after it sold more copies, is a clear case of cognitive dissonance.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
The SecondApps script hasn't been working well ever since GAF updated. It doesn't recognize the quick edit it too. If people still want to use that script, they should talk to the person who did it so he/she can update it.


Most of it comes from you looking at the actual figures and we looking at wild math rounding. For instance, PS3 sales can be between 347k and 374k. Almost thirty thousand units just because of rounding. (Someone already said it is lower than 360k, however.)

The rest that is on the OP, though, barring people reporting wrongly, have been directly sourced to NPD. FFXIII sold more than Amalur according to the NPD ranking, and Amalur sold 330k according to what NPD told Joystiq, so FFXIII-2 has sold at least 330k.

Are you looking at the chart combining all platforms and versions or just the chart by single platforms?

All platforms. But some of the numbers are lower than what's here. Anyone else seeing that or am I crazy?
 

Kolgar

Member
Syndicate is a great shooter that is distinct enough from other FPSs and even Deus Ex.

Shaking my head at EA for the bad timing near Mass Effect 3 and no marketing.

Yes, EA sent this game to die.

And WTF at EA's policy of removing demos once the games hit retail? I have two friends that would love to check out the game, but now they can't--and I can't play with them--because EA took the damn demo down.

I'll think twice about buying my next EA game because of this.
 
Not to turn this into a FF thread, but FF12 was the first Final Fantasy since probably 7 to give me some hope for the future of the franchise.

Then I saw FF13 and said, "welp, there goes that"

That said, I don't think FF13's sales can be entirely attributed to how FF12 did or didn't do. It was the first FF in a new generation of platforms. I expect FF## for PS4/720/whatever to get more sales than FF13-2 for that reason.
 

Miles X

Member
While it's a fair assumption that the 360 should remain at the top of the hardware chart (at least until WiiU hits), Microsoft is going to have a hard time competing with YOY numbers. I think that December was the start of this trend, and it should continue. The price drop could boost sales for a time, but my intuition tells me that the 360 winds up selling fewer units in 2012 than it did last year.

MS seem pretty positive 2012 > 2011, of course it's early and they could turn out to be very wrong. Regardless they have aspirations for it and they have the best idea on whether they can achieve that or not. If it even comes close to last years sales that's a massive triumph imo.

7m in 2012 and they won't settle until 360 is the best selling home console in the US ever.
 

Mrbob

Member
Never gave a crap about the new Syndicate. Hey look another FPS game, wooweee. Might buy it when it is 5 dollars on an Origin sale, but no sooner.
 

Petrae

Member
MS seem pretty positive 2012 > 2011, of course it's early and they could turn out to be very wrong. Regardless they have aspirations for it and they have the best idea on whether they can achieve that or not. If it even comes close to last years sales that's a massive triumph imo.

7m in 2012 and they won't settle until 360 is the best selling home console in the US ever.

It's possible, of course, but when you start in a 24% hole, it's challenging to crawl out of that. March could be better, given that last year's number is more attainable and potential growth from Mass Effect 3 could help, but as the Kinect phenomenon fades a bit, I think that saturation starts to play a serious role.

2011 was a fantastic year for the 360, and I take nothing away from that. Repeating or besting those sakes results this year is going to be very difficult, even without issues like rising fuel prices and the debut of WiiU being considered.

It'll be fun to see what happens.
 

jvm

Gamasutra.
All platforms. But some of the numbers are lower than what's here. Anyone else seeing that or am I crazy?
On my Kindle Fire using the NeoGAF web app, the chart shows Xbox 360 as 262K, which is clearly the wrong number. Is that what you mean?
 
I don't want to support a company that won't give a masterpiece like XII a proper sequel treatment but will do that for a mediocre game like XIII.

This times a million. The mindset at Square is baffling. Seems like they've totally lost touch with what makes a great game.
 
I don't want to support a company that won't give a masterpiece like XII a proper sequel treatment but will do that for a mediocre game like XIII.

FF sequels have less to do with continuing the story and everything to do with using code at the end of a consoles life cycle to recoup ridiculous development time with code you have available.
 

Miles X

Member
It's possible, of course, but when you start in a 24% hole, it's challenging to crawl out of that. March could be better, given that last year's number is more attainable and potential growth from Mass Effect 3 could help, but as the Kinect phenomenon fades a bit, I think that saturation starts to play a serious role.

2011 was a fantastic year for the 360, and I take nothing away from that. Repeating or besting those sakes results this year is going to be very difficult, even without issues like rising fuel prices and the debut of WiiU being considered.

It'll be fun to see what happens.

I agree, they're going to have to be a bit more aware than they were last year (Dec not working out for them) if they're going to be persistant with this claim all year.

They're obviously not worried about the current YOY dips though, maybe they think a super cheap 360 can clear 2m+ in Nov + Dec
 
It's possible, of course, but when you start in a 24% hole, it's challenging to crawl out of that. March could be better, given that last year's number is more attainable and potential growth from Mass Effect 3 could help, but as the Kinect phenomenon fades a bit, I think that saturation starts to play a serious role.

2011 was a fantastic year for the 360, and I take nothing away from that. Repeating or besting those sakes results this year is going to be very difficult, even without issues like rising fuel prices and the debut of WiiU being considered.

It'll be fun to see what happens.

I'm hoping that releasing the Kinect kit on windows en masse recently will bring out better and better apps for the device.

~remains to be seen~
 

Petrae

Member
Cant believe Syndicate. I can believe Asura.

Right there with you. Asura's Wrath was known to be more of a niche title. Syndicate, even if the IP wasn't familiar to everyone, was still in the FPS wheelhouse.

No word on The Darkness II on my end. Snapshot only gives numbers for Top 10 Individual. Sorry.
 
Cant believe Syndicate. I can believe Asura.

Also, any numbers on the Darkness? Surely it cant be less than those?

There was a post earlier in the thread where someone said "D2 PS3/360=RE Revelations" which I assume means that both the combined PS3 and 360 sales of the Darkness 2 were around the same level as RE's sales.
 

UberTag

Member
I don't want to support a company that won't give a masterpiece like XII a proper sequel treatment but will do that for a mediocre game like XIII.
XIII-2 was also a "much better game" that still actively misrepresented itself to its customer base by shilling Lightning all over its packaging/advertising and adopting a "change the future" tagline for a game without a proper ending. They then rolled out a blatant campaign to nickel and dime the few customers they were able to keep with frivolous paid fan service DLC. They also nerfed the first game's battle system to remove almost all challenge and strategic depth and replaced it with a critter collectathon - most of which are fundamentally useless.

Frankly, I enjoyed a lot of things about XIII that Square Enix didn't feel were important to preserve. But it's oh so nice that exploration is back. Can't get that from other games... well except for all of those other Final Fantasies that did it better. Like XII.

Most games from EA partner program have bombed, Crysis 2 being the exception. I'm worried about Insomnia's Overstrike.
Given EA's lack of advertising muscle for all of their partner program titles, the concern for Overstrike is warranted. Most have been sent to die.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Paradox's Cartel? Tell me more.

There's not much to tell at this point we haven't even seen a gameplay video. But not long after this Syndicate was revealed Paradox took advantage of the outrage and announced Cartel, and that it would be a true Syndicate successor (though obviously in a different world).

Most games from EA partner program have bombed, Crysis 2 being the exception. I'm worried about Insomnia's Overstrike.

Syndicate is a true EA game though. They own the property but it was just being handled by an outside developer. Funny thing is Reckoning outsold Syndicate by a lot and that was an EA partners game with 0 advertising.
 
Frankly, I enjoyed a lot of things about XIII that Square Enix didn't feel were important to preserve. But it's oh so nice that exploration is back. Can't get that from other games... well except for all of those other Final Fantasies that did it better. Like XII.

Preach on brother amen. The desire by "fans" to have their precious item shops back never fails to confuse me. because nothing was more exciting than reaching the next town and discovering there was a weapon more powerful than the last town you did this in for a bit more coin. Always a huge surprise in the dozens upon dozens of jrpgs I played where it happens each and every time.

Anyway, I dropping the FF thing. Although it pains me, its a middle of the pack, nostolgia only series now.
 

~Kinggi~

Banned
Syndicate is a true EA game though. They own the property but it was just being handled by an outside developer. Funny thing is Reckoning outsold Syndicate by a lot and that was an EA partners game with 0 advertising.

I dont even know how the fuck that happened.
 

Mrbob

Member
Dat Skyrim affect perhaps helped boost Reckoning sales? At least Reckoning is something different than being another shooter. FPS games are a dime a dozen nowadays, regardless of quality.
 

GavinGT

Banned
Kids these days aren't going to buy a shooter with no competitive multiplayer. At least Valve was smart enough with Left 4 Dead to include one.

And, yes, Reckoning came out at just the right time to piggyback on Skyrim's success.
 
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