Enslaved Made Namco's Sales Worse

[Snotnarok]

I couldn't imagine why Enslaved sold poorly with the platforming being as hand holdy as it is. Then again coming from a company that made only one game previously that had NO jump (Heavenly Sword, a good game) I can see how they'd screw it up. Now they're making DMC which has a LOT of jumping...Sheeh that game is going to both look stupid and play stupid.

 

[RaikuFA]

I couldn't imagine why Enslaved sold poorly with the platforming being as hand holdy as it is.

your answer is in the tales fans. a lot of people who like tales and would like enslaved will avoid nambai games like the plague because of their treatment towards tales fans

 

[GiantRedButton]

I have a solution: XENOSAGA EP. IV: WIR MUSSEN DIE JUDEN AUSROTTEN. Or whatever German tagline they want to tack on. Seriously, those games were the dog's bollocks.

Those are names of Nietzsche bocks you know? not just random taglines XD

 

[Brain_Cleanser]

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.

The worst part is that many companies have offered to license the Tales series and localize it in NB's place. One of those companies was Atlus...

One of the best JRPG companies (who do excellent localizations) have offered to pay NB to release a game that they have no intention of releasing. If it bombs, NB still makes money.

They apparently hate their western fanbase so much that they will make bad business decisions if it means that they can avoid selling games to us...

No, Bamco's problem is, like a bunch of people have said, a complete and total lack of advertising.
I can count on one hand the number of ads for the new Naruto game on one hand.
Everything else? Zip.
/No Promotion/. These are multimillion dollar projects, and /nothing/, even with diminishing returns, companies still manage to get ads out, Bamco has /no excuse/. It's to the point where their name on a game is almost a curse now adays.
I wouldn't even have known Enslaved's Demo was out on PSN if not for word of mouth, no note on the "What's New" tab or anything on the PS3.

People can complain all they want about them ignoring fan bases and there for sales figures, but the fact is that there's an infinite number of bad business decisions going on at the people in charge of Bamco US and Japan, and they're really, really going to be paying for it.

Games are like movies. If you listen to people talk about movies, they tend to only talk about "Domestic" sales. Even if the international sales figures are terrible, it's still more money in your pocket.
Maybe if everyone stopped ignoring the PAL region. I'm not even IN the PAL region and I feel sorry for those guys. Most games come with all the languages on the disk now a days, I don't see why they have to wait for them. I know it's getting smaller and smaller (Vanquish being the one example I can think of, had a matter days between international releases), the point stands.

 

[RaikuFA]

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.

The worst part is that many companies have offered to license the Tales series and localize it in NB's place. One of those companies was Atlus...

One of the best JRPG companies (who do excellent localizations) have offered to pay NB to release a game that they have no intention of releasing. If it bombs, NB still makes money.

They apparently hate their western fanbase so much that they will make bad business decisions if it means that they can avoid selling games to us...

No, Bamco's problem is, like a bunch of people have said, a complete and total lack of advertising.
I can count on one hand the number of ads for the new Naruto game on one hand.
Everything else? Zip.
/No Promotion/. These are multimillion dollar projects, and /nothing/, even with diminishing returns, companies still manage to get ads out, Bamco has /no excuse/. It's to the point where their name on a game is almost a curse now adays.
I wouldn't even have known Enslaved's Demo was out on PSN if not for word of mouth, no note on the "What's New" tab or anything on the PS3.

People can complain all they want about them ignoring fan bases and there for sales figures, but the fact is that there's an infinite number of bad business decisions going on at the people in charge of Bamco US and Japan, and they're really, really going to be paying for it.

Games are like movies. If you listen to people talk about movies, they tend to only talk about "Domestic" sales. Even if the international sales figures are terrible, it's still more money in your pocket.
Maybe if everyone stopped ignoring the PAL region. I'm not even IN the PAL region and I feel sorry for those guys. Most games come with all the languages on the disk now a days, I don't see why they have to wait for them. I know it's getting smaller and smaller (Vanquish being the one example I can think of, had a matter days between international releases), the point stands.

no, just no. like me and everyone else has said, theyre doing poor buisness stradegys

 

[Atmos Duality]

The worst part is that many companies have offered to license the Tales series and localize it in NB's place. One of those companies was Atlus...

One of the best JRPG companies (who do excellent localizations) have offered to pay NB to release a game that they have no intention of releasing. If it bombs, NB still makes money.

They apparently hate their western fanbase so much that they will make bad business decisions if it means that they can avoid selling games to us...

Good God. I knew Namco Bandai had their heads shoved up a horse's ****, but I didn't know it was that bad.
Really? What the hell did they have to lose?

I loved Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss. They were fun, well-written and epically long. They featured actual characters with personality rather than the parade of blank-emotionless goons that Squeenix tries to pass off as title characters.

 

[Jumplion]

Wait a second. Are you trying to tell me that I can't make decisions for myself? That if I take a look at a game and decide that it doesn't look like something I'd enjoy, that I'm to discard that opinion in the face of a game critic? Do I look like the kind of person who will throw $60 at a game that doesn't sell itself to me as fun? Do I like I have $60 to throw at such a title?

I never said you couldn' formulate an opinion beforehand, it's just that your post was needlessly harsh against something you can't really make a full opinion on. If you look at a game and decide that it isn't something for you, that's perfectly fine, but going on to say "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," that just makes you come off as needlessly harsh and sour against something you haven't really experienced yet.

Saying "this game doesn't look like it's for me" is fine. Saying "this is a bad game/piece of shit game" only from what you've seen, when you haven't played it, is something else.

Regardless of the accuracy of my opinion, and I admit it's a first impression, I have to say I still have no interest in Enslaved. Regardless of how good your or your favorite critic finds it, I've found throughout my gaming life that a game that doesn't look like fun, it probably isn't. Do I care if you want to play it? Not really. Should you care that I don't? Nope, think with you're own mind. That's what I do and it's a strategy that serves me well.

That's perfectly fine, it's just that you shouldn't label a game "bad" or "shit" or any equivalent under those standards.

And I don't have a "favorite critic". I look at every review I can find, read what is consistently brought up, and deduce my purchase from that.

So, I'm not buying Enslaved. You should probably just accept that.

And I'm perfectly fine with that. What I will not accept is labeling a game as "bad" just because the concept doesn't appeal to you.

 

[Gamegodtre]

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.

well its now 20$ cheaper

A very quick glance to Google told me that the game is only $10 less than retail, used. Where have you seen it for $20 less?

at kmart were i work it dropped to 40 and its not on sale

 

[Gamegodtre]

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

no Naruto sold because of CyberConnect2 complete and utter love of the manga and keeping the game as close as possible to it while delivering a damn good fighter on top of it

that may be but brand name recognition also plays a factor. It the same reason we call band aids band aids and not "antibacterial adhisive strips".

no if your theory held true the following game would have sold like hotcakes the ps2 samurai champloo or the fullmetal alchemist games

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

The only games that look worth buying on that list are Enslaved and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.

Ninja Storm 2 is actually a pretty damn good fighting game, and it's one of the most beautiful cel shaded games ever. I don't even read or watch Naruto. This game and it's predecessor are surprisingly fun games.

Enslaved could've been worked on to make it longer than 6 hours. Great game, great story, too short.

Majin And The Forsaken Kingdom looks way too much like The Last Gaurdian to be a hit.

The other games on that last are self explanitory garbage.

They should be sending Tales of Vesperia (PS3 version) and Tales of Graces to the rest of the world.

 

[Something Amyss]

Misleading story considering that DTR sold less both in percentage and in total units.

The headline was specifically misleading. I followed the link wondering how Enslaved could have done that. It's interesting that they've revised their sales estimates, but yeah. Hardly Enslaved's doing. not alone.

 

[vanthebaron]

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

no Naruto sold because of CyberConnect2 complete and utter love of the manga and keeping the game as close as possible to it while delivering a damn good fighter on top of it

that may be but brand name recognition also plays a factor. It the same reason we call band aids band aids and not "antibacterial adhisive strips".

no if your theory held true the following game would have sold like hotcakes the ps2 samurai champloo or the fullmetal alchemist games

So you refuse to admit the a percentage was moved on the sole base that it was Naruto related. You say it's a good game and I'll take yor word for it but that doesn't change the fact that some kids made mommy and daddy buy it becuase it was Naruto related.

 

[Pandazooka]

Amidst the weeaboo chatter above, here's a humble user hoping Ace Combat doesn't die.

 

[VondeVon]

After that other article about how hard marketing work:

One glance at the game artwork up there makes me instantly unwilling to play it. The dude looks like a wrestler-level grunty meatsack and the woman's expression has 'fishwife' all over it. I don't think it's distance that makes his head explode, it's her incessant nagging.

At least, that's the impression I get.

 

[Gamegodtre]

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

no Naruto sold because of CyberConnect2 complete and utter love of the manga and keeping the game as close as possible to it while delivering a damn good fighter on top of it

that may be but brand name recognition also plays a factor. It the same reason we call band aids band aids and not "antibacterial adhisive strips".

no if your theory held true the following game would have sold like hotcakes the ps2 samurai champloo or the fullmetal alchemist games

So you refuse to admit the a percentage was moved on the sole base that it was Naruto related. You say it's a good game and I'll take yor word for it but that doesn't change the fact that some kids made mommy and daddy buy it becuase it was Naruto related.

well ill admit yes some was do to name recognition however to say little kids watch naruto, man kids have changed thought they only watch yugioh and pokemon, but anywho most people who bought probably werent little kids but the 20ish age at least thats what i saw from what ive run into on online matches. and mostly european

 

[HT_Black]

Serves them right, in my opinion. Enslaved was awful.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

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?

It's the best escort mission ever, because 99% of the game, she is well out of harm's way. Also, you tend to take point. She's following you, not her constantly walking forward and drawing enemies towards her like an idiot.

She didn't die once for me, and I played through on Hard the first time. She has a EMP blast when she's about to die that gives you more than enough time to get to her and save her.