How has this game done financially?

[Busomjack]

I'm curious about how this game is doing from a business point of view. Has it sold well?

[Flouride]

I'm curious about how this game is doing from a business point of view. Has it sold well?

 

vgchartz.com only reported 30k sales on consoles in Europe for the first week. No idea though how accurate those numbers are and Europe is more of a pc games market anyways when it comes to rpgs.

USA pre-orders were about 100k total (65 for 360 and 35 for ps3) one week prior to release.

[Pidesco]

That's for the week ending on the 29th, apparently. Pretty impressive if those are numbers for just 2 days in Europe.

[fkldnhlsdngsfnhlsndlg]

While numbers like that sound disappointing, one also has to realise that a title like Alpha Protocol is fairly niche, and doing a million lifetime sales or so is quite a success. I have a feeling it'll be a bit of a slow burn, especially if price starts to drop a few months from now.

[thufirhawat333]

Also, Obsidian managed to make a cult game.

Not only is it a niche, it also doesn't follow the GoW, MW, etc. policy (Be beautiful, be as simple as a rock). And thank god, they didn't.

But as with all cult games, it takes time for the sales to go up. I'd wait a few months before stating anything.

Just as sea mentioned: it'll be a bit of a slow burn.

[Tagaziel]

I think it's generally reflected by forums - Alpha Protocol was at first bashed extensively for broken gameplay etc., but pretty soon, the same people started praising how addictive it is or how awesome characters, story and C&C are.

 

It's a slow burning game, yes.

[Flouride]

That's for the week ending on the 29th, apparently. Pretty impressive if those are numbers for just 2 days in Europe.

 

Well yeah, just not that many pre-orders apparently in Europe.

 

RDR still killing competion. I would imagine Alan Wake, UFC 2010 and Alpha Protocol will sell steady through out the summer after everyone who picked up RDR is done with the game.

 

Does anyone know if they are planning on releasing the game in Japan?

[Hassat Hunter]

Well, I don't know for consoles, but for the PC I couldn't even pre-order AP anywhere (Holland).

So, yeah, maybe that explains low pre-order amounts?

[Volourn]

"While numbers like that sound disappointing, one also has to realise that a title like Alpha Protocol is fairly niche,"

 

Define 'fairly niche'.

 

AP is a game developed by one of the premier Western RPGs, makers of the successful NWN2 and KOTOR2, and published by a well known company like Sega and as been pimped as being inspired by the super popular ME. That doesn't sound niche.

 

If those sales quoted are accurate, it's not impressive. If I were to wager how much AP sold, and how successful it'll be, I'm sure it'll okay. It won't be a top seller; but it'll do, solid business.

[Hurlshort]

As hard as it is to agree with Volourn, I'm pretty sure Sega wasn't setting out to publish AP as a niche product. Although I hope they weren't expecting KotOR or NWN numbers, that would be unrealistic.

 

I think we will know more in another month in terms of how successful AP is as a product.

[WorstUsernameEver]

"While numbers like that sound disappointing, one also has to realise that a title like Alpha Protocol is fairly niche,"

 

Define 'fairly niche'.

 

AP is a game developed by one of the premier Western RPGs, makers of the successful NWN2 and KOTOR2, and published by a well known company like Sega and as been pimped as being inspired by the super popular ME. That doesn't sound niche.

 

If those sales quoted are accurate, it's not impressive. If I were to wager how much AP sold, and how successful it'll be, I'm sure it'll okay. It won't be a top seller; but it'll do, solid business.

 

Spot on.

While the final product may turn out to be a 'cult hit', that's rarely the intention of publishers and developers alike, and considering how much Alpha Protocol was pushed by Sega before release (they even delayed it after it was finish to market it better)...

[Flouride]

"While numbers like that sound disappointing, one also has to realise that a title like Alpha Protocol is fairly niche,"

 

Define 'fairly niche'.

 

AP is a game developed by one of the premier Western RPGs, makers of the successful NWN2 and KOTOR2, and published by a well known company like Sega and as been pimped as being inspired by the super popular ME. That doesn't sound niche.

 

If those sales quoted are accurate, it's not impressive. If I were to wager how much AP sold, and how successful it'll be, I'm sure it'll okay. It won't be a top seller; but it'll do, solid business.

 

RPGs are fairly niche genre. Even more of a niche market on consoles (at least here in Europe). Sequels or popular settings such as Star Wars are an exception, you can label pretty much anything with Star Wars and people will buy it. Even such a huge title as Dragon Age sold "only" about 75k units on 360 on the first week. About 30k on PS3 few weeks later when they actually got the PS3 version to Europe.

 

Not everyone considers KOTOR2 a success. I know a plenty of people who think Obsidian ruined KOTOR with their sequel, which is just stupid. Do you think people like that are gonna buy another Obsidian game as a day 1 purchase?

 

Too bad we can't see the PC sales from Steam etc. I'm fairly certain those numbers would be more impressive.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Flouride

[Morgoth]

RPGs are not niche products. Final Fantasy, Neverwinter Nights, Kotor, Dragon Age, Mass Effect etc. prove otherwise.

[Altered Idol]

30,000 sales in two days on consoles isnt a bad return by a long shot.

 

It would have probably sold alot more had it not been released around the same time as RDR though I prefer AP by a long way.

 

I'd expect sales to pick up soon when people complete RDR or realise it isnt all its cracked up to be (RDR I mean).

 

Global sales after a quarter should give us a better indication. I certainly dont think it's a flop by any means

Edited June 5, 2010 by Altered Idol

[Hurlshort]

There are major releases every month, I really don't see how RDR affects AP at all. They are very different products. I can see the argument that the new Splinter Cell game might be an issue, as they are both spy games.

[Libertarian]

Despite being an awesome game, the game flopped in most reviews, so expect the majority to be sheep, which isn't unusual.

 

We're being delusional if we expect this to do very well. For a game getting bashed like this, 30k is a fairly solid # so far on consoles.

[Flouride]

There are major releases every month, I really don't see how RDR affects AP at all. They are very different products. I can see the argument that the new Splinter Cell game might be an issue, as they are both spy games.

 

Not only RDR, but Alan Wake and UFC2010 as well. The effect on sales ain't huge, but there is an effect for sure during the first few weeks when 4 more or less big titles are released in a matter of two weeks. Naturally as weeks go by it will eventually even out as people finish playing around with RDR / or whatever they bought and look for other games to play.

[Oner]

As an aside, since when is a boxing(?) games considered a big title?

[Flouride]

As an aside, since when is a boxing(?) games considered a big title?

 

Since it sold like 2 or 3 million copies last year. And it's MMA.

[Oner]

As an aside, since when is a boxing(?) games considered a big title?

Since it sold like 2 or 3 million copies last year. And it's MMA.

o_O

[Flouride]

As an aside, since when is a boxing(?) games considered a big title?

Since it sold like 2 or 3 million copies last year. And it's MMA.

o_O

 

Rechecked from vgchartz. About 2.6 million copies of 2009. 2010 sold ~ 600k copies on it's first week.

[Volourn]

"Not everyone considers KOTOR2 a success."

 

Irrelevant. I've heard people call DA a failure because it didnt sell as much as ME. *shrug*

 

Going by the numbers - and since this thread is discussing finances and preumsably that means hard numbers - , and not make believe stuff like quality, creativty, or anything else largely based on one's own opinion, that's what matters.

 

 

Like mentioned above, anyone who expects AP to sell blockbyuster type numbers is fooling themselevs. Conversely, anyone who thinks Sega or Obsidian would be satisifed with 'niche' type sales are being illogical.

 

AP is a major release. It may not be THE major release, but it definitely is one.

 

 

"RPGs are fairly niche genre."

 

So, are sports games generally, yet some do rathe well. So, are games absed on tv, comics, or movies.

 

The RPG 'niche' as it were is a rather large one - just ask anyone familiar with the success of DnD: a 'niche' for nerds, yet has been trucking along for decades.

[poetic obsidian]

A big part of the reason why it got those scathing reviews in America is because alpha protocol seems to be a niche game at its core.

 

Sure, the publisher might not have intended it to be that way, based on how they marketed it. And the developers gave it some shooter game elements possibly to bring in that mass effect 2 crowd.

 

But that backfired on them because so far, the people who went into the game expecting a Mass Effect 2 style action rpg-lite game, or a Fallout 3 style shooter, found the game to be severely lacking in things like flashy production values and shooter mechanics. While those who approached the game like an old school rpg (aka niche) had a more favorable impression.

 

This is why some suggested that Obsidian should have just gone all the way and made it a "pure" Rpg, and thus avoiding those unfavorable Mass Effect 2 comparisons. It's a niche rpg game at its core, and requires more patience, and thought than shooters which are designed to be as fluid and streamlined as possible.

[Flouride]

"Not everyone considers KOTOR2 a success."

 

Irrelevant. I've heard people call DA a failure because it didnt sell as much as ME. *shrug*

 

It's hardly irrelevant when lots of gamers think like that. At least on few finnish gaming sites pretty much every discussion about Obsidian turns into arguments about KOTOR2 vs KOTOR.

 

Salewise it was a success, there's no argument about that. I was talking about the image the game gave Obsidian. Since people still moan about the game being "unfinished". And no, that's not my personal opinion. For me KOTOR2>KOTOR.

[Nepenthe]

Despite being an awesome game, the game flopped in most reviews, so expect the majority to be sheep, which isn't unusual.

 

We're being delusional if we expect this to do very well. For a game getting bashed like this, 30k is a fairly solid # so far on consoles.

 

Interesting thing is that it's showing up on IGN's "most viewed" games - all others are major unreleased titles, RDR or in the 9s. Interest seems to exceed the lacklustre US mainstream gaming media reviews. We'll see.