The PS3 and 360 aren't hurting for good games, and I'm sure most gamers still have plenty of older and cheaper (not to mention better) games to sink their teeth into.
Although not bad, the reviews still weren't as good as those of many titles of the past 6-8 months.
Bionic may be decent, but the plot and voice-acting have been universally criticised as dumb and poor respectively... For me, "Mostly-enjoyable" gameplay isn't enough to warrant buying a game full price.
And let's look at the current competition on PS3 and 360: Infamous, Prototype, Ghostbusters. Infamous and Bionic Commando somewhat fulfill the same craving for action, and aside from nostalgia, I don't see what could prompt a PS3 owner to choose Spencer over Cole. Same goes for Prototype.
And if you do take nostalgia into account, proton packs trumps sausage arm. When it comes down to it, for the same price, I can pick either BC or a Ghostbusters bundle from Amazon (here in France) containing the PS3 game and the movie on Blu-Ray. A no-brainer.
I think there was another game whose sales should have been mentioned in this comparison: Bionic Commando Rearmed sold 130,000 in its first week. Let's have more of THAT, please.
This may as well have been a brand new IP, with a terrible demo, and came out at the same time roughly as Prototype and Infamous. Both much better games.
@MooglesInMyFace: SF was retail, and sold over 800k in one month on both HD consoles combined. There was a news story recently saying that BC:Rearmed sold 130k. Mega Man 9 reportedly sold well, but you're right, we don't have numbers on those.
@pslong9: Dude you're seriously not trying to say that Bionic Commando has the same nostalgic glint as STREET FIGHTER, are you? As for Mega Man, that's arguably not even nostalgia... that series has a steady release schedule year in and year out.
@Mokon: Mega Man has had a steady release schedule that has, for the most part, flown just below the radar for over a decade now.
For me and other gamers my age who love the NES games more than any of the others, Mega Man 9, done in the beloved 8 bit style, was the very definition of nostalgia. Nostalgia done right, to boot. It made every 20-30 something I know practically swoon.
The game is actually a solid game, i bet, most people complaining about it just wanted another FPS, which it's not. It's not the greatest game in the world... but i doubt if quality of the game equates to sales as the article points out (read the article folks before posting), terminator is most likely garbage but sold more... but even terminator's sales were low considering the licensing fee's i bet they had to pay...
game sales are slowing down, $60 is way too much and in all honesty the jump from last gen to current gen should've seen prices go down, not up... the wii proved this is the way to go and now the people are speaking with their wallets...
The crappy part of this is the potential that Bionic Commando's sales could convince publishers that they should continue to pack all their major releases into the Christmas shopping window.
@Vaegrin: Seeing as other big titles have fared well outside the Christmas shopping frenzy? Nah, won't happen. Bionic Commando suffered from a poor reworking which alienates fans, a terrible multi-player only demo which only showcased frustration, and limiting environments in a era of go anywhere 3-D action games. Likewise, any goodwill and publicity built from the Rearmed NES revival was likely lost given the length of time from its release to the disc's own.
The game was just sub-par at every level. It gave you this awesome device which you think would make you want to explore the world but as soon as you do you get killed by invisible pockets of radiation.
Then the enemies were uber fucking annoying to take down the story was just laughable and all the characters were assholes.
@BlackBlood64: I hope you're not implying that because a character has a hairstyle you don't like that the game didn't sell well.
Economy people. You're still trying to charge $60 for new games when people can barely afford food and gas.
You'd either better have a massive reason for people to buy the game, or it's going to see numbers like this.
I doubt even Infamous or Prototype (as much as they're being hyped around) are even seeing stellar sales. Although I haven't seen any numbers, so could be wrong.
@99-Luft-Balloons: I'm not condemning anything, and, quite frankly, don't give two shits if it's Infamous, INfamous, INFAMOUS, inFAMOUS, InFaMoUs, or Shut Your Pie Hole.
@99-Luft-Balloons: oH, SO YOU MEAN IT'S INfamous, RIGHT? i THINK i TYPED IT RIGHT GUYS!
@Fallible.: I have to agree with fallible on this one, however I think it's more than that.
Bad games have sold decently in the past. This one was based on a retro game, that many people may not be familiar with. I, for example, have not played the original and never really plan to. I'm 21, and it may not have been my time or whatever, but it doesn't interest me in the least.
@MrBionic: I believe Infamous sold over 300,000 copies it's first month out. Which is pretty solid.
It was in the Kotaku news story that also said UFC sold over 1million (across both platforms) in it's first month.
@MrBionic: or maybe it had to do with the game being horribly mediocre and terrible design decisions like the "fallout" barrier in the game, or the horrible checkpoint system or the fact that they expected you to find every secret in one run flawlessly but as you said it could also be attributed to what you said.
@Trevor Green: Like I said, there are a lot of factors. Some people don't buy it because they played the demo and hated it. Some people don't buy it because their friends told them not to. Some people didn't buy it because it didn't register on their radar, and they aren't O/C gaming site fanatics :D. Some people didn't buy it because they have limited funds and it wasn't the title they could commit to.
I've already admitted it was disingenuous to blame it all on the economy, but it IS a factor, whether we like it or not. In a good economy, more people will simply buy more games, whether they are 'bad' or not.
@MrBionic: It's not just the economy. Even before it cratered we saw this sort of ghettoization of the vast majority of games. Like a game is either a huge million+ seller or it disappears into the abyss. There's no middle ground here, not even in the mild extent it existed last generation. And with games costing so much more to make, completely outpacing the growth in audience, games have to hit that million+ a lot more.
Releasing at a lower price is a possible solution, but last year MS tried that with Viva Pinata 2 and B&K Nuts and Bolts and both failed. I think part of the problem is that even with a cheaper game you have to put in a full cost marketing effort.
I think a big part of the problem is much harder to untangle: nowadays games have such incredible value, what's the point of buying more? Millions of people play Call of Duty 4 (a 2007 game) every single night. 75% of my game time goes to SFIV (15-25 hours a week). If I was smart I'd just stop buying games... but I am not smart.
@MrBionic: Infamous sold 180,00 in 5 days, pretty damn good. But that's besides the point.
No matter what anyone says about gaming being recession proof, I think the fact that so many people are downright broke has finally effected game sales. I know I"m not in the same position I was last year at this time--plenty of disposable income and the willingness to try games on a whim-- rather than being extremely careful like I am now with my gaming purchases.
$60 is alot of money for a game.( Hell, even when I did have money to throw around I thought %60 was steep.) And if it's not a AAA game, there is no way in hell I"m going to spend that kind of money. The last game I bought was Infamous, and that was well worth it. But games like this or say Ghostbusters look good, but aren't good enough for me to spend so much money on. These companies need to realize people don't have the kind of money they once did, and not every game needs to be the same price point. And this goes with older games as well. There are so many older games that still charge full price, and there really is no excuse for this. Look at Valkryia Chronicles for the PS3. That's an excellent example. A six month old game gets a 50% price reduction and Sega says sales went up 400%!!
@MrBionic: Well, based on your posts I hate you too, please go away... I have a feeling that's as likely as UFC going away, but hey nobody ever gets everything they want.
@MrBionic: if i may throw my dingy hat in here... i for one, was very psyched for BC. i downloaded Rearmed, played the hell out of it. loved every second of it. but the demo didn't make me feel the same way at all. combine that with the fact that Steam has unbelievable weekend sales, beer (or insert mind altering substance) isn't free, dates aren't cheap, and i'm damn sure used to eating... it creates a highly competitive market for my spending dollars.
and if you're going to make me pick between spending money to get laid, and spending money to stay at home, you better have a damn good reason as to why i'm touching myself instead of utilizing one of my female companions for such a thing. not to say it hasn't happened... fallout 3, and left 4 dead launching side by side made me celibate for a month.
@MrBionic: when you find a girl that is down to go jack in the box, and scarf some 99 cent tacos, and will view that as an acceptable, romantic, and pants loosening date then by all means... please pass along phone number. till then, feel sorry for me, and all single male gamers everywhere, for having to make the choice of game vs girl on so many lonely nights.
I know all about being a lonely single gamer making the choice of game vs. girl/guy, and it's BECAUSE I know about it, that I don't want to touch you 'dingy' hat, or, in my case, sock.
@Strife Fox †: if it was as good as i heard, it definitey wouldve helped. i was never planning on buying the game, but things can change, and demos help that process.
@Strife Fox †: I was thinking we could try to find a way to blame the Wii for a hardcore games sales failure.
But seriously, as "hyped" as this game was, I didn't hear a lot of people online getting excited about it. Perhaps the hair and lack of demo was part of that.
@99-Luft-Balloons: I have never understood the logic in putting out a demo that doesn't showcase all the strengths of your game. Most do - but every once in a while, a demo comes out that just makes you go "But this game is garbage. Why would I buy this?"
Dead Space, Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising (maybe it has something to do with "Dead" being in the title) are the best examples of shit demos. If I had gone on demos alone, I would have missed out on 3 great titles.
What is the difference between per-day tracking and per-week tracking? I believe that a 4 week month is always tracked at 28 days (and a 5 week month 35 days, natch).
Im still suprised people were that excited by punch out, theres a reason why it was awesome on nintendo and if ninty couldnt pony up a million to get mike in the game, then I ain't buying.
@anduin1: I bet EA locked up his virtual rights with Fight Night Round 4. And I doubt Nintendo would try to buy him out JUST for Punch-Out regardless of the nostalgia and "OMG" factor.
06/15/09
Although not bad, the reviews still weren't as good as those of many titles of the past 6-8 months.
Bionic may be decent, but the plot and voice-acting have been universally criticised as dumb and poor respectively... For me, "Mostly-enjoyable" gameplay isn't enough to warrant buying a game full price.
And let's look at the current competition on PS3 and 360: Infamous, Prototype, Ghostbusters. Infamous and Bionic Commando somewhat fulfill the same craving for action, and aside from nostalgia, I don't see what could prompt a PS3 owner to choose Spencer over Cole. Same goes for Prototype.
And if you do take nostalgia into account, proton packs trumps sausage arm. When it comes down to it, for the same price, I can pick either BC or a Ghostbusters bundle from Amazon (here in France) containing the PS3 game and the movie on Blu-Ray. A no-brainer.
06/15/09
It's still an issue though. Even a $10 drop on ALL games will help, I'm convinced of it.
CONVINCED!!!
Also, selfish.
06/15/09
06/15/09
This may as well have been a brand new IP, with a terrible demo, and came out at the same time roughly as Prototype and Infamous. Both much better games.
And in Canada, its a 70$ title.
06/15/09
Street Fighter, BC:Rearmed and Mega Man 9 beg to differ.
06/15/09
All three of those are on download services like XBLA and PSN so we don't really have any clue how well they sold.
06/15/09
06/15/09
As for BC:Rearmed, it was a $10 game.
06/15/09
For me and other gamers my age who love the NES games more than any of the others, Mega Man 9, done in the beloved 8 bit style, was the very definition of nostalgia. Nostalgia done right, to boot. It made every 20-30 something I know practically swoon.
Geez.
06/15/09
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The game is actually a solid game, i bet, most people complaining about it just wanted another FPS, which it's not. It's not the greatest game in the world... but i doubt if quality of the game equates to sales as the article points out (read the article folks before posting), terminator is most likely garbage but sold more... but even terminator's sales were low considering the licensing fee's i bet they had to pay...
game sales are slowing down, $60 is way too much and in all honesty the jump from last gen to current gen should've seen prices go down, not up... the wii proved this is the way to go and now the people are speaking with their wallets...
06/15/09
06/15/09
Bionic Arm - 340 points
Machine Gun - 260 points
Grenades - 260 points
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Then the enemies were uber fucking annoying to take down the story was just laughable and all the characters were assholes.
@BlackBlood64: I hope you're not implying that because a character has a hairstyle you don't like that the game didn't sell well.
06/15/09
------The joke------
------Your head-----
06/15/09
06/15/09
You'd either better have a massive reason for people to buy the game, or it's going to see numbers like this.
I doubt even Infamous or Prototype (as much as they're being hyped around) are even seeing stellar sales. Although I haven't seen any numbers, so could be wrong.
06/15/09
You put way too much effort into that thought....it just comes down to dreadlocks
06/15/09
06/15/09
lemme repeat:
inFAMOUS
one more time:
inFAMOUS
Not:
Infamous
but.....
inFAMOUS!
geez get the CAPS right before you start condemning its future
06/15/09
06/15/09
I SAID IT WAS
inFAMOUS
inFAMOUS
inFAMOUS
GET IT RIGHT FUCK!
06/15/09
06/15/09
infraMOUSE- a tiny rodent crimebuster with nightvision
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06/15/09
@Fallible.: I have to agree with fallible on this one, however I think it's more than that.
Bad games have sold decently in the past. This one was based on a retro game, that many people may not be familiar with. I, for example, have not played the original and never really plan to. I'm 21, and it may not have been my time or whatever, but it doesn't interest me in the least.
@MrBionic: I believe Infamous sold over 300,000 copies it's first month out. Which is pretty solid.
It was in the Kotaku news story that also said UFC sold over 1million (across both platforms) in it's first month.
06/15/09
Goddamn UFC though. I hate that stuff. Make it go away!!
06/15/09
06/15/09
I've already admitted it was disingenuous to blame it all on the economy, but it IS a factor, whether we like it or not. In a good economy, more people will simply buy more games, whether they are 'bad' or not.
06/15/09
Releasing at a lower price is a possible solution, but last year MS tried that with Viva Pinata 2 and B&K Nuts and Bolts and both failed. I think part of the problem is that even with a cheaper game you have to put in a full cost marketing effort.
I think a big part of the problem is much harder to untangle: nowadays games have such incredible value, what's the point of buying more? Millions of people play Call of Duty 4 (a 2007 game) every single night. 75% of my game time goes to SFIV (15-25 hours a week). If I was smart I'd just stop buying games... but I am not smart.
06/15/09
Yet I bought Prototype.....you'd think I'd learn by now. Protoype has rental written all over it.
06/15/09
No matter what anyone says about gaming being recession proof, I think the fact that so many people are downright broke has finally effected game sales. I know I"m not in the same position I was last year at this time--plenty of disposable income and the willingness to try games on a whim-- rather than being extremely careful like I am now with my gaming purchases.
$60 is alot of money for a game.( Hell, even when I did have money to throw around I thought %60 was steep.) And if it's not a AAA game, there is no way in hell I"m going to spend that kind of money. The last game I bought was Infamous, and that was well worth it. But games like this or say Ghostbusters look good, but aren't good enough for me to spend so much money on. These companies need to realize people don't have the kind of money they once did, and not every game needs to be the same price point. And this goes with older games as well. There are so many older games that still charge full price, and there really is no excuse for this. Look at Valkryia Chronicles for the PS3. That's an excellent example. A six month old game gets a 50% price reduction and Sega says sales went up 400%!!
06/15/09
*shakes head*
06/15/09
06/15/09
06/15/09
06/15/09
and if you're going to make me pick between spending money to get laid, and spending money to stay at home, you better have a damn good reason as to why i'm touching myself instead of utilizing one of my female companions for such a thing. not to say it hasn't happened... fallout 3, and left 4 dead launching side by side made me celibate for a month.
06/15/09
After reading that, you're going to have to excuse me for staying as far away from you 'dingy' hat as possible.
06/15/09
06/15/09
I know all about being a lonely single gamer making the choice of game vs. girl/guy, and it's BECAUSE I know about it, that I don't want to touch you 'dingy' hat, or, in my case, sock.
...
Yah.
06/15/09
06/15/09
yep.. definitely the hair.
06/15/09
The hair, and maybe the lack of a demo for PS3 owners?
06/15/09
06/15/09
But seriously, as "hyped" as this game was, I didn't hear a lot of people online getting excited about it. Perhaps the hair and lack of demo was part of that.
06/15/09
THE DEMO WAS A PIECE OF SHIT!
06/15/09
06/15/09
Dead Space, Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising (maybe it has something to do with "Dead" being in the title) are the best examples of shit demos. If I had gone on demos alone, I would have missed out on 3 great titles.
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