Enslaved Made Namco's Sales Worse

[vansau]

Enslaved Made Namco's Sales Worse

Namco's sales numbers this year haven't been great so far, but with Enslaved's underperformance, it looks like the publisher will lose even more money.

Namco Bandai has revealed, via its fiscal report for the last six months ending in September, that 2010 hasn't been terribly kind to the company. Overall, the company recorded a total income of ¥173.5 billion ($2.13 billion), but it still sported a net loss of 1.93 billion ($23.8 million). While that may sound pretty bad, it's a far sight better than the ¥6.04 billion ($74.4 million) loss Namco sported last year. However, it doesn't sound like things are improving much for the publisher, either, since it recently revealed that several of its games, including the critically-lauded Enslaved: Odyssey to the West didn't sell nearly as well as the company hoped.

Here's how Namco Bandai originally though the games would sell:

<a href=http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_30?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dead+to+rights+retribution+ps3&x=0&y=0&sprefix=dead+to+rights+retribution+ps3>Dead to Rights Retribution: 700,000 units
<a href=http://www.amazon.com/Clash-Titans-Xbox-360/dp/B002W5GIBQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1289243971&sr=1-2>Clash of the Titans: 700,000 units
<a href=http://www.amazon.com/Enslaved-Odyssey-West-Xbox-360/dp/B00319DX4W/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1289244027&sr=1-1>Enslaved: Odyssey to the West: 1,000,000 units
<a href=http://www.amazon.com/Majin-Forsaken-Kingdom-Xbox-360/dp/B003BE6OZC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289244117&sr=8-2>Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom: 1,000,000 units
<a href=http://www.amazon.com/Splatterhouse-Playstation-3/dp/B001E7MMNG/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1289244148&sr=1-1>Splatterhouse: 1,000,000 units
<a href=http://www.amazon.com/Naruto-Shippuden-Ultimate-Ninja-Playstation-3/dp/B003BE6OZ2/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1289244185&sr=1-1>Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2: 700,000 units
<a href=http://www.amazon.com/Ben-10-Ultimate-Alien-Xbox-360/dp/B003LVCQE8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289244/272&sr=1-1>Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Cosmic Destruction: 700,000 units

Here's how it actually worked out: Dead to Rights moved 350,000 units, Clash of the Titans only sold 250,000 copies (because it was, you know, <a href=http://www.metacritic.com/search/all/clash+of+the+titans/results>horrible), and Enslaved sold 800,000 units. However, Naruto sold 1,000,000 units and Ben 10 sold 800,000.

As a result, Namco has pretty drastically reduced its sales expectation for its upcoming big-budget titles. Spatterhouse is now only expected to move around 350,00 copies, while it's believed that Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom sell only 300,000 units. Those are some pretty drastic forecast reductions; I guess we'll have to wait and see how the sales actually work out.

Source: Industry Gamers

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[DustyDrB]

Man, that sucks. I absolutely loved Enslaved. Hopefully, more people come around to it.

 

[Delock]

Damn it! This means the chances for a Tales game getting exported just dropped again! Are you happy now, general public/whosoever is currently reading this? You've made certain that Final Fantasy remains the face of JRPGdom rather than a better series (Legendia and ToS2 don't count).

Also, Enslaved so far has been rather good, if a little problematic with small little things (such as not letting me climb down and a few hiccups). It's sad to see it being out performed by licensed (ignore the fact that it's based off an old story that spawned Dragon Ball which went on to form DBZ) games.

 

[zombie711]

whoa whoa whoa, splatterhouse isnt out yet.

 

[cainx10a]

I like what I have seen so far with Enslaved: lovely character design and magnificent world design. But with Black Ops coming, and the fact that I bought New Vegas, Vanquish and Naruto, means I don't exactly have money for this one sadly.

 

[tk1989]

ive heard of like... 2-3 of those games. Maybe they need to focus on some advertising

 

[Lordmarkus]

Heh, gone are the days when a million copies sold was a smash hit.

 

[Delusibeta]

Honestly? Enslaved looked like a bomber, especially thanks to the lack of promotion about it. The licensed games did better because they had an in-built fanbase, new IPs does not.

 

[FredTheUndead]

Hey Bamco, you know what might actually sell fairly well if you market them right? THE FUCKING TALES GAMES. ESPECIALLY GRACES GODDAMN EVERY FUCKING ORGANIC LIFEWORM HAS A WII NOW WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU SELL IT I HATE YOU.

 

[TheEggplant]

And maybe publishers should take a second look at how they do everything when 800,000 units isn't enough. Seriously gaming is not that mainstream. There are more options for entertainment then ever before and expecting to get into a million homes is just over reaching.

 

[AvsJoe]

Low expectations lead to surprises.
High expectations lead to disappointments.

It may not be how the stock market works, but it's how I work.

I HATE YOU.

/rant?

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

Enslaved will probably become one of those hidden gem kind of games, but that's not going to help Namco/Bandai right now. Also whichever one of their analysts projected 700k for Clash of the Titans and Dead to Rights really needs to look into a new career.

 

[vanthebaron]

Naruto and Ben 10 only sold due to brand name recognition.

 

[A random person]

I suppose this will teach them a thing or two about their policy towards the Tales series then.

Seriously though, I never expected Enslaved to do all that well. Seemed a bit dull from what I knew.

 

[bojac6]

When was the last time there was a really great hit from Japan? I mean, Vanquish looks good, but it's not exactly triple A. I've heard that MGS 4 was a flop. Dead Rising didn't do great. I don't know, maybe I'm forgetting some, but it seems to me that the past few years have all been Western games.

This is ignoring Nintendo, of course. They tend to be the outlier.

 

[Colonel Alzheimer's]

I would have bought Enslaved if it was considerably longer/$20 cheaper. I'm surprised it sold that much, considering everything about it screamed rental.

 

[DustyDrB]

When I first about Enslaved and that it was a game where some bitchy woman straps a battle royale collar or some similarly sadistic SAW trap on your head and forces you to be her errand boy, the first thing I thought was, "Wow, what a statement on the current condition of the institution of marriage!", Then I looked at as a game and thought, "Yeah that doesn't sound like much fun at all." I mean, the entire game is f**king escort mission. Raise your hand if you like escort missions. Ok, now raise hand so we can verify you have a hand, yeah escort missions suck. Why would you make a game that's one protracted escort mission?

Apparently critics loved it, and I love it when the public rejects a bad game/movie/show that critics can't shut up about. It reminds me that there is indeed balance in the universe.

It doesn't really play like an escort mission. The only times she gets into trouble are scripted moments. Only one time I can remember actually has her in real danger (meaning you have to get to her fast or she dies). This isn't Dead Rising.