Analyst: Uncharted 2 Sold Poorly in November

[Greg Tito]

Analyst: Uncharted 2 Sold Poorly in November

Analyst Michael Pachter claims that Uncharted 2 sales did not fare well in November, perhaps due to MW2 and Dragon Age.

In an interview with Critical Gamer [http://www.criticalgamer.co.uk/2009/12/14/michael-pachter-%E2%80%93-uncharted-2-sales-lacklustre/%22], Michael Pachter stated that he was perplexed as to why Uncharted 2 did not sell many copies. He claimed that the title has only sold 650k units in the U.S. so far, a big drop off from the first Uncharted which has sold over 2.5 million copies. Pachter also reiterated his prediction that Microsoft will introduce a tiered pricing system for its Xbox Live service in 2010. Michael Pachter is an analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities.

"Sales of Uncharted 2 fell precipitously in November, and other than pressure from Call of Duty, it's really hard to fathom why," Pachter said. "I'm sure that the game will get a boost from winning the VGA's Game of the Year, but it's only sold 650,000 in the U.S. so far, which is really shocking given its review scores. I expect God of War 3 to perform better, but am troubled by the relatively lackluster sales of Uncharted 2."

Also in the interview, Pachter reinforced his forecast that online gaming services will try to garner more revenue, with Microsoft at the top of the list. From the interview [http://www.criticalgamer.co.uk/2009/12/14/pachter-predicts-xbox-live-tiered-payments/]:

I think that Xbox Live subscriptions will be tiered in the future, and expect a modest increase to the Gold subscription. It's currently $50 per year for Gold, and the subscription includes online gaming, Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Netflix, photo sharing, video chat, and a few other features. I could see Microsoft changing the Gold tier back to what it was (essentially online gaming and a few chat features), and charging more for a premium tier with the other features. My guess is that we'll see Gold go to $60 per year, and the premium tier go to $100.

While the opinions of one financial analyst tracking the videogame industry is hardly set in stone, Pachter has been known to be right in the past like when he guessed in June 2008 that Netflix and Microsoft would be partners He's also made some wildly wrong predictions, such as claiming that the industry as a whole was "recession proof [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/pachter-we-now-see-just-how-wrong-we-were/]."

Source: Critical Gamer

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[Cherry Cola]

What? How could Uncharted 2 sell that little? I... I don't get it. Even with the hype of MW2... I really hate hype right now.

Using Gold and Premium for the 360 seems like a pretty basic idea. It will probably be met with a lot of hate, but it's not too big of a deal.

 

[DrunkWithPower]

I wonder if the whole "3rd person" mode on MW2 swayed people into buying it over Uncharted 2. Probably not but that is my guess.

 

[Abedeus]

Maybe because it wasn't released on more than on 1 system.

 

[Jared]

Maybe because it wasn't released on more than on 1 system.

Definetly did it for me...

Plus, as it mentioned I had other things draining my attention the month of November...been Borderlands DLC & Dragon Age

 

[T'Generalissimo]

I find it hard to believe that Microsoft would increase the price of Gold and remove a lot of the features; one or the other I could see, but both together seems like too much of an obvious middle finger to the customer.

Actually, thinking about it, they'll probably just hike the price on Gold up dramatically and introduce another tier between Gold and Silver, Gold Basic or something, so it's less obvious what they've done.

 

[SamElliot'sMustache]

I'm actually glad that Uncharted 2 sold less than expected, what with it being a sequel to a derivative, overrated action game pretending to be one of those cheap knockoff-of-Indiana Jones movies, since maybe it means audiences are demanding more than just basic competence for their money. And getting Game of the Year was an insult to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age, and even Borderlands (which I didn't like that much, but at least it was interesting, and tried to push some new ideas).

 

[ItsAPaul]

Good, my faith in people not caring what reviewers say is restored. I'm not a fan of Indiana Jones ripoffs where the main character is evil (hence I never play Tomb Raider either).

 

[Talendra]

It is hardly surprising really. Those who wanted it straight away bought it when it was released in October. Those buying it for Christmas more than likely would wait till December, and that is the month I expect it's sales to pick up. If it doesn't, that is when I will be surprised at it's not as good as expected sales. At the moment it does not seem strange at all really.

 

[sephiroth1991]

really that's kida wierd that it sold only that much.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Uncharted 2 winning Game of the Year this year makes about as much sense as Gamespot including Nathan Drake on the "Greatest Video Game Heroes of all time" battle-royale feature a while ago, when he'd only been in the one 'average at best' game (hardly the only 'questionable' selection in that feature though).

Apparently platform exclusive titles for which there is not already a slavering fanbase or a massive hype campaign don't sell as well as multi-platform titles with both of those things? Who knew!

 

[malestrithe]

The game is still going to be a successful game. It is going to sell more than a million units by the time people stop giving a shit about it, maybe even more than that.

Secondly, who listens to analysists anyway? They are always proven wrong.

 

[pha kin su pah]

Release in October, MW2 + AC2 + DA released in November, coupled with a "not so strong fanbase on an exclusive console", results are to be somewhat expected.

It is hardly surprising really. Those who wanted it straight away bought it when it was released in October. Those buying it for Christmas more than likely would wait till December, and that is the month I expect it's sales to pick up. If it doesn't, that is when I will be surprised at it's not as good as expected sales. At the moment it does not seem strange at all really.

I'd have to agree that sales should pick up around December.

That aside still is a little dissappointing, as to me Uncharted 2 and Batman AA were the only contenders for the title.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I would say it's a combination of Assassins Creed 2, Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Many people who were only planning on buying "one game" this "season" probably waited for their favorite of those three. Uncharted 2 REALLY should have come out in September, when timing was considerably more friendly.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

I find it hard to believe that Microsoft would increase the price of Gold and remove a lot of the features; one or the other I could see, but both together seems like too much of an obvious middle finger to the customer.

Actually, thinking about it, they'll probably just hike the price on Gold up dramatically and introduce another tier between Gold and Silver, Gold Basic or something, so it's less obvious what they've done.

seriously that surprises you that they'd pull a dick move like that? you should pay more attention to what they've done over the past 20 years and then it might not be such a shock

as for Uncharted 2 not selling as well, i think it's because of a bunch of games coming out around then and people only wanting to buy one game and not having a lot of money. i think it will be a big christmas seller tho

 

[IamQ]

Of course it hasn't sold much. It was released in October, the same month that held Tekken 6, Borderlands, Brutal Legend and Dragon Age: Origins.

Then November came with the nuke containing MW2, Assassins Creed 2 and Left 4 Dead 2.

Concidering all of these releases, 650,000 units in the U.S alone is pretty good.

 

[Enderrr]

Dragon Age deserves game of the year, that or Batman: Arkham Asylum anyway.