On Darksiders II Sales

GamesIndustry International has the NPD Group's estimate that Darksiders II sold just 247,000 units in the U.S. in August, saying it reflects how weak game sales have been lately that this still managed to place THQ's action/RPG sequel on the top ten bestseller list for the month. They were unable to get a comment on this from THQ, but have a reaction from analyst Micael Pachter who presumes the game has sold about a million units internationally by now, but that he doesn't think the game will be profitable, saying: "my understanding is that breakeven is greater than 2 million units, so it's not likely to get much higher than that."
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56.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 10, 2012, 19:43
Prez
 
56.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 10, 2012, 19:43
Sep 10, 2012, 19:43
 Prez
 
I got my m+k to work with Darksiders finally - I had to physically remove both my 360 gamepad and my MS Sidewinder from the PC - and I am enjoying the game much more (despite the little voice in my head saying it's almost criminal that you should have to jump through such hoops just to use the default PC control scheme). I'd even venture to call it great but for the aforementioned porting problems and the all-over-the-map difficulty. I could easily see buying and playing the hell out of the sequel but it pisses me off that, like the first, they still didn't port it well.

All in all it is an exciting series but to set themselves up for such failure by spending so much that they needed to make over $100,000,000 - or 2 million sales at $50 - just to break even (if idiot Pachter is to be believed) is just stupid. Somehow, however, I have a feeling that Pachter was way off, as his "projections" and "educated guesses" usually are.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
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55.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 10, 2012, 11:12
55.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 10, 2012, 11:12
Sep 10, 2012, 11:12
 
robdot wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 11:46:
i bought this and the journey collection at the same time. darksiders sat while the grandkids played flower and journey. i myself got way tired of the puzzles towards the end and just wanted to kill something. there is not enough action for todays market. i have lots of kids at my house and they dont want to solve puzzles. they will simply pull it out and play a different game. todays audience has an xbox, a ps3 , and ipod touch, etc. they are not gonna sit and try to figure out which lever to pull or portal to jump through.

You make a few references to yourselves then switch to kids then to todays audience. Why do I think that in this case only one of those is actually speaking a preference? I don't "have lots of kids at my house" but in my experience with kids, they generally like solving puzzles. Of course this game isn't aimed at ages 3-12 anyway so of course they will find some of them a little difficult.
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54.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 10, 2012, 10:58
54.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 10, 2012, 10:58
Sep 10, 2012, 10:58
 
i have lots of kids at my house and they dont want to solve puzzles.

Then you should be teaching them better. You should not be letting any children play "action games". Buy your kid an NES and let him play some real games for fucks sake.

Any kid with an iPad, xbox, ps3, etc has a TERRIBLE PARENT.
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53.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 17:43
Prez
 
53.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 17:43
Sep 9, 2012, 17:43
 Prez
 
As it happens I am playing Darksiders currently and I have to say it's a good game. I don't like using a controller for it though - my mouse only works on menus. The controller is okay but absolutely sucks balls for aiming, making some battles a chore. And as usual for me in games thatxhave them, the boss battles are far and away the absolute worst parts of the game. SOOOO annoying. Oooh - another sequence where I die multiple times while I try to figure out what the developer wants me to do! YAY!! \o/

And actually, a full-blown action RPG version of this game sounds pretty awesome.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
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52.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 17:23
52.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 17:23
Sep 9, 2012, 17:23
 
PHJF wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 12:54:
Jerykk wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 01:29:
PHJF wrote on Sep 8, 2012, 23:44:
The first game wasn't a sprawling mess filled with fluff content.

If by "fluff content," you mean "more of the same gameplay that you enjoyed in the first game," sure? Because that's what it was. Just more of the same. Same combat, same exploration, same platforming, same puzzle-solving. DS2 just had more of it and a lot of it was optional.

Fighting the same two enemies for twenty hours is the definition of fluff content. The game was longer than they had enough content to fill the time. Exploration in and of itself is fine, except when it leads to chests with a bunch of worthless items in them; I'd rather find a nice gorgon eye in God of War than 20x chests in Darksiders 2. Platforming was way over done this time around, especially given the shit camera and unresponsive controls.

"Same two enemies?" Aside from that being not actually true, DS2 has about as much enemy variety as DS1. Actually, I think it might actually have more. As for loot, there will always be items that are worthless to your particular build. That's how loot works. If you always found awesome items, it wouldn't be much of a loot system. If you find items you don't want, you can either sell them to help pay for items you do want or sacrifice them to make superior possessed weapons. As for platforming, seemed fine to me. I didn't have any problems traversing the environment and I didn't find any of it tedious or difficult to control. Then again, I enjoy platformers and I'm guessing you don't.
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51.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 15:57
51.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 15:57
Sep 9, 2012, 15:57
 
Dades wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 13:24:
No, that was Dark Souls.
durandal wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 13:34:
That's Dark Souls.
Heh, my mistake. Though it doesn't seem this port was any better.

durandal wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 13:34:
Also, Space Marine was "a complete mess" ??? I've never heard anyone had any problems with it.
Yeah, just check out all the forum posts about issues with v-sync and slow-motion; it seems the issue was made worse with a patch to add DLC. One of the mentioned solutions was changing the process affinity. The texture quality was terrible and it didn't take advantage of the PC at all. I enjoyed the game but it could have been so much better.

THQ is a real middle-of-the-road publisher and it relies more on marketing that it does on quality game production. I wouldn't be surprised to see it go under - it's stock price is 97% lower than it was 10yrs ago.
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
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50.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 13:34
50.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 13:34
Sep 9, 2012, 13:34
 
That's Dark Souls.

Also, Space Marine was "a complete mess" ??? I've never heard anyone had any problems with it.
In fact I heard quite opposite. (Even low spec PC could run the game smoothly while having screen full of enemies and explosions, etc.)

This comment was edited on Sep 9, 2012, 13:40.
49.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 13:24
49.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 13:24
Sep 9, 2012, 13:24
 
theyarecomingforyou wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 12:24:
Wasn't this the game where the developers openly admitted they didn't have a clue what they were doing with the PC port and that they wouldn't be bothering taking advantage of the platform at all? It really wasn't any surprise that the PC version was such a mess and that the game itself sold poorly.

THQ really needs to up the quality of their PC ports, as Space Marine was a complete mess as well (though the game itself was very fun).

No, that was Dark Souls.
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48.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 12:54
PHJF
 
48.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 12:54
Sep 9, 2012, 12:54
 PHJF
 
Jerykk wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 01:29:
PHJF wrote on Sep 8, 2012, 23:44:
The first game wasn't a sprawling mess filled with fluff content.

If by "fluff content," you mean "more of the same gameplay that you enjoyed in the first game," sure? Because that's what it was. Just more of the same. Same combat, same exploration, same platforming, same puzzle-solving. DS2 just had more of it and a lot of it was optional.

Fighting the same two enemies for twenty hours is the definition of fluff content. The game was longer than they had enough content to fill the time. Exploration in and of itself is fine, except when it leads to chests with a bunch of worthless items in them; I'd rather find a nice gorgon eye in God of War than 20x chests in Darksiders 2. Platforming was way over done this time around, especially given the shit camera and unresponsive controls.
Steam + PSN: PHJF
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47.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 12:24
47.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 12:24
Sep 9, 2012, 12:24
 
Wasn't this the game where the developers openly admitted they didn't have a clue what they were doing with the PC port and that they wouldn't be bothering taking advantage of the platform at all? It really wasn't any surprise that the PC version was such a mess and that the game itself sold poorly.

THQ really needs to up the quality of their PC ports, as Space Marine was a complete mess as well (though the game itself was very fun).
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
Avatar 22891
46.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 11:52
46.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 11:52
Sep 9, 2012, 11:52
 
Cpmartins wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 10:25:
Indeed they cannot. They can make better games than darksiders 2 though. And have. Many times over.

Oh come on! Even you have to admit that the most of (NOT ALL) indie titles are pretty short, shabby and shallow due to small budget.

Maybe you enjoyed some indie title better than Darksiders 2, but sadly I don't know any that I enjoyed that much.(Amnesia was great, but it didn't last 40 hours.)

By the way I don't regard Darksiders 2 as a masterpiece in gaming history or anything, Although I think the guys at Vigil did a tremendous job creating the game with this much contents.

Again, I respect the indie devs. But I sincerely hope that that is not the future of PC gaming.
45.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 11:48
45.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 11:48
Sep 9, 2012, 11:48
 
LurkerLito wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 10:48:
Jerykk wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 01:29:
If by "fluff content," you mean "more of the same gameplay that you enjoyed in the first game," sure? Because that's what it was. Just more of the same. Same combat, same exploration, same platforming, same puzzle-solving. DS2 just had more of it and a lot of it was optional.
I am pretty sure what turned many fans of DS1 to disliked DS2 was a complete change to the game play mechanics. While combat, and puzzles were the same, the game play changed from an action game with some RPG-ish elements to a full blown aRPG with inventory management, buying and selling, and grinding for levels. In DS1 War was powerful from start to finish, the RPG-ish elements were just improving his weapons and buying skills. In DS2, you now have to deal with levels, a skill tree, grabbing dropped weapons, selling them to make room for more, buying skills, improving possessed weapons, running into creatures far stronger than Death making him feel significantly weaker than War in the beginning.

While I like both games, the first one was better put together. It was a game where the story fit the game play and the game play mechanics matched. In DS2, the story fits the game play but the game play mechanics clash. DS1 War was powerful throughout the game even after he was stripped of his powers. In DS2, Death is weak and gets stronger, and his weapons sucked and have to be constantly replaced. For a supposed horseman of the apocalypse, it clashes with the story but is done that way to fit it to the aRPG game mechanics.

In other words, they took a Action game like Ninja Gaiden/Devil May Cry and made it more like Diablo.

Which is why I am interested in Darksiders 2.
When I saw the first one I didn't pay it much attention because after seeing a few gameplay videos I've written it off as some boring action adventure, but now that they have introduced an RPG system and an open world it makes the game much more interesting and I don't think I am the only one who thinks that way.

Still, cannot afford to buy games full price since I rarely finish them anymore, due to a lack of time. And then the interest fades. Hope it will be at least 50% off during the winter sale.
Now we donce.
44.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 11:46
44.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 11:46
Sep 9, 2012, 11:46
 
i bought this and the journey collection at the same time. darksiders sat while the grandkids played flower and journey. i myself got way tired of the puzzles towards the end and just wanted to kill something. there is not enough action for todays market. i have lots of kids at my house and they dont want to solve puzzles. they will simply pull it out and play a different game. todays audience has an xbox, a ps3 , and ipod touch, etc. they are not gonna sit and try to figure out which lever to pull or portal to jump through.
43.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 11:13
43.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 11:13
Sep 9, 2012, 11:13
 
If your story relies both on the basically useless NPD numbers and a quote from Michael Pachter who is arguably even more useless, I don't really think you get to call yourself a journalist.
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42.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 10:59
42.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 10:59
Sep 9, 2012, 10:59
 
I liked the first Darksiders better. Aside from the first one coming out of the blue and this one having some amount of expectation attached, I think most of the reason is the loot system.. Reminds me of Mass Effect 1 in a huge way. There's minimal incentive to go out of your way and find secrets (aside from the fun of doing it for its own sake) because you know that whatever is on the inside will be tuned to your level anyway, meaning any ol' chest you stumble across a couple of levels later will have better stuff.

This comment was edited on Sep 9, 2012, 11:08.
41.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 10:48
41.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 10:48
Sep 9, 2012, 10:48
 
Jerykk wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 01:29:
If by "fluff content," you mean "more of the same gameplay that you enjoyed in the first game," sure? Because that's what it was. Just more of the same. Same combat, same exploration, same platforming, same puzzle-solving. DS2 just had more of it and a lot of it was optional.
I am pretty sure what turned many fans of DS1 to disliked DS2 was a complete change to the game play mechanics. While combat, and puzzles were the same, the game play changed from an action game with some RPG-ish elements to a full blown aRPG with inventory management, buying and selling, and grinding for levels. In DS1 War was powerful from start to finish, the RPG-ish elements were just improving his weapons and buying skills. In DS2, you now have to deal with levels, a skill tree, grabbing dropped weapons, selling them to make room for more, buying skills, improving possessed weapons, running into creatures far stronger than Death making him feel significantly weaker than War in the beginning.

While I like both games, the first one was better put together. It was a game where the story fit the game play and the game play mechanics matched. In DS2, the story fits the game play but the game play mechanics clash. DS1 War was powerful throughout the game even after he was stripped of his powers. In DS2, Death is weak and gets stronger, and his weapons sucked and have to be constantly replaced. For a supposed horseman of the apocalypse, it clashes with the story but is done that way to fit it to the aRPG game mechanics.

In other words, they took a Action game like Ninja Gaiden/Devil May Cry and made it more like Diablo.
Avatar 56985
40.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 10:33
Prez
 
40.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 10:33
Sep 9, 2012, 10:33
 Prez
 
netnerd85 wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 07:01:
Prez wrote on Sep 8, 2012, 16:27:
The game is way over-priced on PC for how bad of a port it is. I also question the rationale of a company that would release a game that could only be profitable with 2 million units sold.
Games cost a lot to make because YOU as a game buyer DEMAND that they be made to a certain quality. That qaulity comes with a price.

Stop bitching about voice acting and animations and game will be cheaper to make.

I said not one word about voice acting or amimations, so you are just making shit up. All I want is the game to be ported with decent m+k controls, the basic graphics options, and minimal bugs. If that's asking a lot then yeah, I guess I'm demanding. I don't think it's asking too much myself. I certainly didn't ask them to release a game that was so expensive that they needed to sell a ridiculously high number of units just to break even. 2,000,000 units? Just to make their investment back? That's just frickin' insane.

This comment was edited on Sep 9, 2012, 10:38.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
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39.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 10:25
39.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 10:25
Sep 9, 2012, 10:25
 
Indeed they cannot. They can make better games than darksiders 2 though. And have. Many times over.
38.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 10:21
38.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 10:21
Sep 9, 2012, 10:21
 
I respect Indie devs and enjoyed quite a few, but cheap is cheap.
Indie can never make games like Darksiders 2.
37.
 
Re: On Darksiders II Sales
Sep 9, 2012, 07:39
37.
Re: On Darksiders II Sales Sep 9, 2012, 07:39
Sep 9, 2012, 07:39
 
netnerd85 wrote on Sep 9, 2012, 07:01:
Prez wrote on Sep 8, 2012, 16:27:
The game is way over-priced on PC for how bad of a port it is. I also question the rationale of a company that would release a game that could only be profitable with 2 million units sold.
Games cost a lot to make because YOU as a game buyer DEMAND that they be made to a certain quality. That qaulity comes with a price.

Stop bitching about voice acting and animations and game will be cheaper to make.
I think that demand is coming more from the console space than PC. One of the reasons indie games are doing so well, to escape flash over substance.
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