Brütal Legend, DJ Hero Ring Up Disappointing Sales

[Cousin_IT]

Brutal legend suffers from narrowing itself in appeal to people who like rts/rpg hybrids in a purely heavy metal setting; & DJ Hero suffers from not being Guitar Hero. No surprises either failed to make amazing sales, not least considering many who have to save for games was probably waiting for Modern Warfare 2. Doesn't mean either will be ultimate commercial failures though. Even Cleopatra made its money back eventually.

Also: I fear I am one of the few who think the DJ Hero game looks intriguing. Turntables & decks certainly interest me more from a gameplay POV then a plastic banjo or coloured pressure pads; & I'd probably have more fun surfing the coloured lines to Chase & Status than Nirvana...if Activision ever support DJ Hero seriously & don't leave it with such a criminally small music catalog.

 

[Something Amyss]

Maybe this will discourage people from making shlock similar to Brutal Legend again.

I'd say that for DJ Hero, too, but we KNOW games like it won't be stopped.

 

[Alone Disciple]

Well, I for one would actually like to buy both. Theya re both on my will eventually buy list, but with Xmas just around the corner, I myself must save a little cash to buy presenst for family and friends.

It also doesn't help that there seems to be so many AAA titles for the Xbox and PS3 as of late, it's really hard to choose on what to spend on. How many people put aside their cash for MW2 or AC2 and Drake's Fortune 2. At $60 a pop, I really have to be choosy on what to drop money on. And with DJ Hero costing a minimum of $120, what do these companies expect at this time of year?

Most people these days have lower disposable income that they did 1 to 2 years ago. I dunno, maybe if the games out of the gate were priced at $49.99 for base games and DJ Hero starting at $79.99 or $89.99, I'd be more apt to buy them.

Lastly there's been some good DLC and indie games on XBLA lately that get my impulse of $10-15 like Panzer General and Shadow Complex.

 

[Random Argument Man]

This was posted on the Double fine blog. Can't help but think that it partly explains why the game wasn't a big hit with the typical HD console owner.

I had to pause this video 30 times because this kid is annoying... (I wish I could say something nicer).

He got one point. There's other games that were more hyped than Brütal Legend.

A few things tickled me about him though...

- I never got the "Because Jack Black is voicing the main character" argument. I'm not an Ozzy Osbourne fan, yet I don't take the game down. It's a voice and a few jokes from him. That's it.
- I guess this kid never learned "To don't judge a book by its cover". It works with video games too.
-Guitars that summons lightning is awesome. On the other hand, I'll quote an employee from Bungie...IT'S A FUCKING VIDEO GAME.
- Those glasses............

 

[Eric the Orange]

snip

Oh, man that's hilarious. I do hope that kid wasn't joking and that's serious. It's like a satire of what trolls are like.

 

[tomvw]

I enjoyed Brütal Legend, until it got all RTSy. I stopped playing at that point as I just wasn't enjoying myself. I bought the game expecting a Psychonauts type game, not some half-baked RTS.

 

[SaintWaldo]

I knew DJ Hero wasn't going to set anything on fire. It's a total niche. I was actually relieved when Activision walked expectations back a bit.

I'm actually contrarian enough to sometimes find comfort in not being on a bandwagon. Sales figures neither prevent the game from playing, nor prevent me from enjoying it. I'm simply reigning in my expectations for a sequel or a complete deluge of add-on content.

I thought the hype around Brutal Legend was more shrill and intense. By promising to fly higher, I feel that BL fell farther.

 

[Tony Harrison]

I think the release date of DJ Hero is awkward for such an expensive buy. It's hard to rationalise spending that much on impulse, and with christmas so close there will be many who are prepared/compelled to wait. I am going to buy it at some point, it looks like a really fun game (which is all I ask for).

As unpopular as Activision are, I'd rather they didn't fail on this one. DJ Hero is atleast a different take on the rhythm game. Just incase you didn't notice, Activision have also recently released a derivative sequel that has set sales records.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

i don't see how it did so bad considering the #10 only sold 6k more units, it just wasn't in the 10 is all

tho i do think the RTS aspects of it made it not sell as much

 

[warbaloon]

This was posted on the Double fine blog. Can't help but think that it partly explains why the game wasn't a big hit with the typical HD console owner.

you rage you lose, i lost in 30 seconds...i have a pretty good temper though

still watching it...oh god the pain...pain...why...must..kill 360 owners please it why children need to die...ok its over now sorry about that

i'd edit the above but its as close to a reaction video as im willing to get

 

[IHaveNoCoolness]

All I'm going to say is this:

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA for DJ Hero
That sucks for Brutal Legend
STOP BUYING WII FIT AND GO FOR A JOG!
Those sales for ODST just go to show anything with "Halo," on it will sell like hotcakes. If Halo Wars was called Army Men RTS it wouldn't have half the sales. Pretty sad how games today sell on labels and something original like Brutal Legend doesn't sell at all.

Brand names are important to consumers.

That's why McDonald's is successful, you know what you're getting from the experience before you get it before hand. It's the same reason people purchase name brand cleaning products or name brand food products. It's the same reason people line up for hours to see the new Twilight or Harry Potter movie. People just don't want to get ripped off. After looking at Brutal Legend and DJ Hero closely, I'm glad I didn't buy them.

I guess it is kind of sad, but it has nothing to do with games today. In fact it's always happened in video game history. Super Mario Bros. 2 is just one example. This has been going on for years. Yeah, it might be sad, but it has nothing to do with today's marketplace.... This has been going on for as long as there have been brand names.

 

[Vern]

Well I can honestly say that while I hoped the best for Brütal Legend, I'm glad I rented it instead of buying it. It was a pretty enjoyable game, but I completed it in five days after renting it. And two of those days I didn't play it at all. Sure I didn't 100% all of the song-gets, but I got all of the solos and finished the game. Not much replay after that, no sidequests aside from the hunter, and the story-line seemed pretty rushed. Fun game while it lasted, but it didn't have the endearing quality of Psychonauts, and for a Schafer game the story was pretty dumbed down. Better luck next time Tim.

It didn't really help that I don't like Jack Black.

 

[Simalacrum]

I'm pretty sure I know who we have to blame for this: IW and MW2. Seriously, that things taking everything out of the game, and it'll probably do the same to AC 2 (which is a shame)

Sad that Brutal Legend sold badly though... poor Tim Shafer, he had such high hopes for the game

 

[Lord Krunk]

I played DJ Hero for a while, and can understand why it failed. While it had an interesting control scheme, the playlist left much to be desired.

As for Brutal Legend, that's a shame. It seems Schafer is doomed to poor/mediocre sales when his games are far beyond.

 

[ThaBenMan]

. . . Hey, don't look at me - I bought my copy of Brutal Legend on release day. And I still have it, even though I was kinda dissapointed with it.

 

[Leroy Frederick]

Looking at the related videos of this kid, I think he's meant to be a bad version of yahtzee and he has a few entries of what games he thinks will suck, accompanied with random head/eye wear. He's getting some views though...

I wouldn't trust his judgement though, he has an entry called Madden NFL 2010 WILL SUCK, but I hear it's EA's best iteration yet!?

 

[Samurai Goomba]

HA!

Sounds like people found out the truth about the games (as in, DJ Hero sucks and Brutal Legend is really an RTS and not a totally Metal sandbox title), and the misleading ads didn't help at all.

And forget Tim Schafer. No, seriously. If anyone deserves a lucky break in the games industry, it's Lorne Lanning.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I had to pause this video 30 times because this kid is annoying... (I wish I could say something nicer).

He got one point. There's other games that were more hyped than Brütal Legend.

A few things tickled me about him though...

- I never got the "Because Jack Black is voicing the main character" argument. I'm not an Ozzy Osbourne fan, yet I don't take the game down. It's a voice and a few jokes from him. That's it.
- I guess this kid never learned "To don't judge a book by its cover". It works with video games too.
-Guitars that summons lightning is awesome. On the other hand, I'll quote an employee from Bungie...IT'S A FUCKING VIDEO GAME.
- Those glasses............

I actually thought he was doing this in the middle of shop class.