Alan Wake Actually Sold Quite Well

The Wooster

King Snap
Jul 15, 2008
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Alan Wake Actually Sold Quite Well


It turns out Alan Wake's reputation for being a commercial flop is undeserved. Nearly a million digital copies were downloaded, none of which added to the NDP sales figures. Whoops.

The current NPD sales figures for Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake [http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Wake-Xbox-360/dp/B0010AYJXI] stand at 330k units, a paltry figure given its five-year-plus development cycle, the mountain of hype it received prior to release and its very positive critical reception [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/reviews/1690-Alan-Wake-Video-Review]. According to the scholars over at Industrygamers, however, that figure should be closer to 1.5 million.

Last holiday season, Microsoft launched a bundle that included the new slim 360, a physical copy of Forza Motorsport 3 and a coupon for a digital copy of Alan Wake. It held a similar promotion this year, offering a digital copy of Halo Reach with the bundle. Strangely, while Halo Reach's digital downloads were added to its overall sales figures, Alan Wake's weren't.

"Unfortunately we can't share numbers with you ... The Wake bundles are substantial, in fact about half of the story - the untold story if you like," said Remedy's head of franchise development, Oskari Häkkinen. "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."

It's also worth noting that according to Torrent Freak [http://torrentfreak.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-most-pirated-game-of-2010-101228/], Alan Wake was the second most pirated 360 title in 2010, with an estimated 1.1 million downloads. 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.

Unfortunately, the damage seems to have already been done. Alan Wake's reputation as a flop killed the much anticipated PC port dead in its tracks, and there's still no confirmation of an Alan Wake 2 - worrying, considering the obvious sequel hook in the game's ending. A standalone digital follow-up, which is neither DLC nor a true sequel, is in the works for the 360. We'll have more information on that when it's revealed on December 10th at the Spike VGAs.

Source: Industrygamers [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/xbox-360s-alan-wake-actually-sold-close-to-15-million/]


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D Moness

Left the building
Sep 16, 2010
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Such a shame for an interesting game. Yeah it isn't a great game but it was really fun to play. One of the few games i bought the deluxe version of and never regretted it.

To bad the low sales meant it killed the franchise.
 

Beautiful End

New member
Feb 15, 2011
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Well, the game IS interesting. It's like reading a mystery/suspense book. Some people would be drawn back from this, though, especially those used to something like Bioshock or Silent Hill or even Resident Evil where they handle Horror in a more dynamic way. The game requires patience and dedication and the willingness to understand it. But regardless of that, the game was good! I never understood why people always claim it sucks. Regardless of the sales numbers, it's a good game.
 

DanielBrown

Dangerzone!
Dec 3, 2010
3,838
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I bought it after a lot of hesitation when I found it really cheap, but didn't get very far before I got tired of it. Gonna give it a go again when I run out of other games to play. Who knows how long that'll take though.
 

Trishbot

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May 10, 2011
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I'll be honest; I had problems with Alan Wake. The combat never clicked with me (Alan felt so sluggish and unresponsive, enemy hordes loved to combo hit me in groups, it was hard running from fights, etc.), enemies were rather bland and unmemorable (unless you like floating pieces of scrap metal), and the environments were mostly the same foggy, dark, barren woods.

... But I LOVED the story, I loved the setting, I loved the clever ways the game played with reality and fiction, especially in the finale and the DLC.

I definitely want more, I would pay gladly for more, and I hope and expect there to be more.

And that cliffhanger ending certain hasn't helped matters.

C'mon, Remedy and Microsoft. Make it happen.
 

Kopikatsu

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May 27, 2010
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Fawxy said:
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.
 

robert01

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Jul 22, 2011
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I myself don't have an XBOX but my friends that played said that it was a decent game.
 

Waaghpowa

Needs more Dakka
Apr 13, 2010
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And it would've sold better if people could get it for PC as many were anticipating. I was one of those people who were excited when the PC version was announced, and pissed off when they canceled it.
 

XT inc

Senior Member
Jul 29, 2009
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I feel bad for doing this to them, but I rented that game. I loved it a lot, with the running and the flashlight gun play. It had some problems, as it was a bit to linear and once you knew its deal some of the magic went away.

Not to mention they hype for it had me thinking it was an epic silent hill meats grand theft auto deal.

Hard to say, but it was one of the best rentals I ever played, had I bought it though it would have just sat on my shelf to die after under a week of play.
 

Dfskelleton

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Apr 6, 2010
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Alan Wake is one of those games that is really cool when you're playing it, but afterwards it's kind of ehhh...
I still don't know what the plot was about towards the second half. Something about
ghost poets and witches and alternate dimensions and tornadoes, and for some reason it acted as if there was some huge plot twist 3/4 of the way in, but I never noticed one. I've played the game twice, paid perfect attention, and I still don't see what the big twist was.
Still, it was a step in the right direction, and if the hinted sequel is made, hopefully it will patch up a few of the games issues and turn it from an okay game to a great one.
 

Catalyst6

Dapper Fellow
Apr 21, 2010
1,362
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I bought it and I was pretty fond of it, the lack of popularity made me sluggish about it but it still is one of the few games that I really got into. I even edited the TvTropes page on it, god help me.

That being said, it wasn't without its flaws, it did get pretty linear and kind of boring at times. Plus, while the DLC was somewhat interesting, it was a total ***** move to put more of the ending into DLC that basically punished people for buying it early. Because screw you guys, trying to support the game and all that crap. 30$ for your "ending", bam.

I'd really like to see another one, though. Hell, they're coming out with Luigi's Mansion 2, so there must be SOME chance for AW2.
 

Dfskelleton

New member
Apr 6, 2010
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Trishbot said:
I'll be honest; I had problems with Alan Wake. The combat never clicked with me (Alan felt so sluggish and unresponsive, enemy hordes loved to combo hit me in groups, it was hard running from fights, etc.), enemies were rather bland and unmemorable (unless you like floating pieces of scrap metal), and the environments were mostly the same foggy, dark, barren woods.

... But I LOVED the story, I loved the setting, I loved the clever ways the game played with reality and fiction, especially in the finale and the DLC.

I definitely want more, I would pay gladly for more, and I hope and expect there to be more.

And that cliffhanger ending certain hasn't helped matters.

C'mon, Remedy and Microsoft. Make it happen.
I've been wondering, is the second DLC any good? I played the first one, and I really don't remember what happened, besides a boss fight with a bunch of floating televisions.
 

ThatDarnCoyote

New member
Dec 3, 2011
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If the game was essentially given away as a promo item in a bundle, does it really count as a "sale"?

Since we're talking about sales figures as a measure of a game's popularity, for purposes of sequel development and the like, someone getting the game in a console bundle doesn't seem very indicative of consumer preference.

I'd be interested to know if they did a survey of XBL and PSN data to see what trophies and achievements players unlocked. That would be a better measure of how players liked the game, rather than coupon-based download figures.
 

D Moness

Left the building
Sep 16, 2010
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j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
Ultimately, this just reinforced my notion that most gamers are shit.
Yeah a lot of people scream they ant something new/different and when something different gets released it just gets ignored. In the end they do complain all the games are the same. There are just a lot of hypocrites in the world.

It is a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation.

ThatDarnCoyote said:
I'd be interested to know if they did a survey of XBL and PSN data to see what trophies and achievements players unlocked. That would be a better measure of how players liked the game, rather than coupon-based download figures.
Make that XBL only, since Alan Wake is a x-box exclusive. Nice idea btw at least you can see how many gamers finished the game
 

Yopaz

Sarcastic overlord
Jun 3, 2009
6,092
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It's good to see this game actually peaked a million sales. I thought it was pretty good. Great concept, atmosphere and story. Execution could have been better, but I want a sequel and I hope it will get one. I also hope that the sequel will find its way to PC.
 

Coldster

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Oct 29, 2010
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I heard they were making a sequel, that would be fantastic. Alan Wake stand as one of my favourite games of all time and I hope that it doesn't just stay on 360, PS3 and maybe even PC gamers should be able to enjoy this masterpiece. Go Remedy!
 

DexterNorgam

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Jul 16, 2011
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I read in game informer that a sequel was in the works, It included a screenshot that I cant find which showed Wake (in an unfamiliar outfit) outside a gas station in the desert, trusty flashlight in one hand and a powerdrill, i think, in the other. Here's hoping, Alan Wake was one of the best games of that year.