Alan Wake Actually Sold Quite Well

[Use_Imagination_here]

Hoping for a sequel. I enjoyd alan wake, especially the plot even though it was pretty poorly executed. And the combat was much more fun than most shooters these days, and it was nice to see something new being tried.

But honestly I kind of expected more from the company that made max payne.

 

[Serfix]

"At the end of the day, we all love to follow charts, but the most important thing for Remedy really is about knowing how many people we reach and entertain - not necessarily what a measure or sales chart says."

I really like that sentence and ofc atm I'm proud to be Finnish just because they try to entertain as many as they can.

 

[ThatDarnCoyote]

It really doesn't matter how or why they bought it, it was still bought so it counts as a purchase. They're not going to go back and discredit the sales from people who bought a copy to give to someone else, are they?

You're right that it doesn't matter for the raw sales numbers. But if we're looking at sales figures as a way of measuring how popular a game was, and how much demand there would be for a sequel, there is a difference.

Someone who buys Alan Wake by itself clearly wanted Alan Wake. People who download Alan Wake because it came bundled with the console they wanted aren't necessarily interested enough that they would buy a sequel. That makes it riskier to greenlight a sequel, especially to a game with such a troubled development history.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"Don't be tricked into thinking pirates have good taste though, the most pirated 360 game of 2010 was EA's ham-fisted God of War knock-off Dante's Inferno."

Hmmm. Or maybe the pirates PAY for games worth it, and just pirate junk that they'd normally not buy? Just suggesting... :O

 

[Yokai]

Gee, it would've sol even better if they'd actually released it for PC like they said they would...
That was a business decision I really didn't understand. Rockstar was smart and ported LA Noire to the PC--I really don't see why Remedy didn't do the same with this game. Without any sort of judgement about users of certain consoles, I think this type of game does better on the PC in general.

 

[Something Amyss]

You heard them folks, download that spin-off three times each. We can't let this franchise die!!! Together m'brothers! *puts on Braveheart warpaint* For Alan Wake! For Bright Falls!! For Remedy!!!! ... I couldn't afford the horse.

Downloads don't count, apparently.

The problem for me is that if you give people a copy of the game, you can't really consider it a sold copy. Also, people may have not bought the system for the Alan Wake game at all, but for the Forza 3 game.

And yet, the numbers counted for other games in the same situation.

 

[Mictarmite]

I really liked Alan Wake, and hope it gets a sequel, and things are looking pretty decent for that but... it sounds like Microsoft were practically giving it away, it reminds me of that original xbox bundle which had Halo and Midtown Madness (3 i think), i don't think many bought it for the latter.

 

[Eveonline100]

I really, REALLY don't understand why digital downloads aren't included in many games' overall sales figures. If I bought a game for $49.99 at a retail store, or bought a game for $49.99 on Steam, why wouldn't the latter be counted? Doesn't make sense to me.

More on topic, I hope Alan Wake gets a sequel. Damn good game.

Probably because Steam doesn't publish sales figures, so nobody really knows the exact numbers unless they do the math. Even then, it's still more of an estimate.

better question why doesn't steam publish its sales firgure then.

 

[dibblywibbles]

a fun game that deserved better than it got. the dlc was a bit chintzy but I bought them while on sale(50% off). I never thought of it as a flop because I own it and a few friends picked it up as well.That usually means it was a game worth playing because my taste in music and media is impeccable(haha). All I know is me and my homeboy alan had great fun wandering around in the dark flashlighting evil trash and bulldozers.

 

[Deathninja19]

Well hopefully with this numbers bump Remedy may make a full sequel. God I loved this game.

 

[Kopikatsu]

I really, REALLY don't understand why digital downloads aren't included in many games' overall sales figures. If I bought a game for $49.99 at a retail store, or bought a game for $49.99 on Steam, why wouldn't the latter be counted? Doesn't make sense to me.

More on topic, I hope Alan Wake gets a sequel. Damn good game.

Probably because Steam doesn't publish sales figures, so nobody really knows the exact numbers unless they do the math. Even then, it's still more of an estimate.

better question why doesn't steam publish its sales firgure then.

Newell said he doesn't believe in them.

I think it's just that Steam doesn't want the indie devs knowing how well their game is selling or something. =x

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

I heard that Alan Wake only got good once you bought the DLC. So I never used my digital download. No way they're pulling me into that scam.

I'm just going to play my multiplayer shooters. I've been told that that one new map pack has a really interesting map in it.

 

[Darkmantle]

I heard that Alan Wake only got good once you bought the DLC. So I never used my digital download. No way they're pulling me into that scam.

I'm just going to play my multiplayer shooters. I've been told that that one new map pack has a really interesting map in it.

honestly man, I thought it got WORSE after the DLC I played through alan wake 2 or 3 times, then only played through the DLC once

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Yay. Loved Alan Wake to bits.

Glad it didn't do as poorly as I thought.

 

[Baresark]

snip

It really doesn't matter how or why they bought it, it was still bought so it counts as a purchase. They're not going to go back and discredit the sales from people who bought a copy to give to someone else, are they?

It does matter though. Getting a complimentary copy of the game, even if the they get paid for it, doesn't measure up to any amount demand. I'm not saying people didn't buy the bundle because it came with Alan Wake, I'm simply saying there is no way to tell if those people wanted that game, Forze 3, or if they were in the market for a 360 and a bundle was available. The only thing you can be sure of is that people bought the bundle because they wanted a 360.

And yet, the numbers counted for other games in the same situation.

I definitely never said that. They don't count for any game in that situation. Not for Forza 3 or any other bundled game.

I think you guys misunderstand. I'm not saying Alan Wake wasn't an awesome game. I wanted to play it but I do not own a 360. It's one of those exclusives I wish I had access to.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

Well, that sucks. I really wanted to play that game (enough that I would actually have been willing to go through the trouble of getting it to run on my shitty laptop), but if they're never going to release the PC version I can't really do anything to support them (I don't own a 360).

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

The problem for me is that if you give people a copy of the game, you can't really consider it a sold copy. Also, people may have not bought the system for the Alan Wake game at all, but for the Forza 3 game.

The problem is that there is no way to turn this into a metric for how much Alan Wake sold. And... for 5 years of development time, that is still shit numbers. They only put 1 year into each COD at this point and it sells exponentially better.

It really doesn't matter how or why they bought it, it was still bought so it counts as a purchase. They're not going to go back and discredit the sales from people who bought a copy to give to someone else, are they?

I would disagree. If it counted as a purchase then that would mean that Remedy would've gotten paid would it not? Also keep in mind that it's entirely possible that not everyone who bought a 360 with this bundle even downloaded Alan Wake.

See it does matter how the game was purchased if your dealing with sales. Alan Wake's sale isn't rung in anywhere on a cash register or shown on any receipt if you bought the bundle.

 

[Fearzone]

So, like, why is there a press release about that now?

Whatever.