According to numbers procured by our friends at Joystiq, it looks like psychedelic onrails rhythm-action shooter Child of Eden (coming soon to the PS3) only sold 34,000 units in its first month of release in the United States. Considering the game has been hyped for two E3's in a row as one of Kinect's few killer apps, I think it's safe to say that those numbers are disappointing.
Worse still are the reported sales of my favorite game of June 2011, and one of my favorite games of the year, the hilarious and horrific Shadows of the Damned. That game reportedly only sold 24,000, and that's the PlayStation and the Xbox 360 versions combined. I really hope the game picks up steam over the coming months, but regardless of the game's future, this is a discouraging start to say the least.
Mini-rant time: for years, people claimed that third-party games didn't sell in big numbers because they were on the Wii. Ultra-violent new intellectual properties in the Japanese action/comedy genre like MadWorld and No More Heroes were often cited as proof of this theory, as were retail priced on-rails shooters like Dead Space: Extraction and Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles. It was always my opinion that games in those genres would have trouble selling on any console, especially the PS3 and 360, where player expectation is generally more high maintenance than on the Wii. The sales of Shadows of the Damned and Child of Eden are a sad indicator that I may have been right.
Jonathan Holmes is the most lovable Associate Editor on Destructoid. Catch him on videos, original editorials, and on back episodes of the Destructoid Show and MTV's Road Rules. Jonathan is a retro gamer's gamer.
Likes
Mega Man 2, Resident Evil, Katamari Damacy, Bit.Trip, Metal Slug 3
Meet the rest of the team
| BBcode help |
| [b]Bold text[/b] |
Bold text |
| [i]Italic text[/i] |
Italic text |
| [url]http://www.dtoid.com/[/url] |
http://www.dtoid.com |
| [url=http://www.dtoid.com/]Web link[/url] |
Web link |
|
| [img]http://www.example.com/robot.jpg[/img] |
 |
Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
108 comments | showing # 1 to 50
|
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
Comments policy
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?
Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!
Contest:
7:15 PM on 07.18.2011 | 
I bought CoE day 1, and will be picking up SotD as soon as my next paycheck comes in so that number is going to be 1 greater. :)
Luckily, I think as long as he breaks even Suda won't be disappointed to the point where he gives up on games. He just seems like the type of guy who's releasing games to entertain people first and be a millionaire second. Not saying I don't want him to be a millionaire, 'cause he deserves to be one. :)
Here's to better sales! (There's a beer glass raised in the air. You can't see it, but it's there.)
Oh and @Headerpic, I noticed they both have the same "ugh" expression...
I know it can cheapen the image of the game, but sometimes a lower $30-40 price point would be in a game's favor, just look at the original Katamari Damacy when it launched for $20 on ps2.
Why is it that we act all confused when awesome games without mainstream viability don't sell these days? In the mid 00s, publishers went strong at the mainstream market to make more profit. It was assumed that these people, the ones who didnt care much about gaming as a medium, would get pulled into gaming with these mainstream games and eventually open themselves up to all gaming had to offer. They never had to, publishers pushed out more and more mainstream stuff to the point that it killed anything that wasnt mainstream. This also drove up the cost of development as they were now making games mostly for people who respond mostly to all the shiny things extra money buys for a game.
You want to know why these games simply wont sell? Ask your grandma with a copy of Wii sports why, she'll give you the same basic answer as a CoD superfan.
Fuck, Shadows is awesome. Games liek that used to be abundant, now we're practically begging people to buy the few that come out so that they dont die outright.
As for child of Eden... well no shit. What 360 owner would care to play that? Regardless of "kinectivity" that games fans are primarily on the ps3 and PC. And I think at this point more than a few of us feel a little shafted we missed out on the experience in the first place.
Bought mine day 1, but I traded in LA Noire for it so I guess that tells people where my tastes lie.
I can understand why people were willing to buy DNF for the sheer novelty of it but I don't get how either of these games have sold next to nothing. I think beyond anything this (and singularity) just proves why companies really need to start pushing much more aggressive advertising on their new IPs instead of just looking at sales numbers on a game that had virtually no advertising.
Still though if that 34,000 number is correct, it's retarded that this would have sold better as a PC exclusive in a single day had it been part of the Steam Summer Sale.
SotD though... The fact that CoE is doing better on one platform should be all the proof you need to see that it's just meh... Seriously, the soundtrack is great, I like the game's atmosphere and characters, but not being able to skip past cutscenes, being forced to go through the tutorial 3 times, and the controls, I'll just say I'm glad I rented it... Getting more for my money out of EDF and CoE.
Shadows...enh. Honestly, I beat it once on Hard (it wasn't hard), and although I LOVED it, I would not recommend it as a purchase. The second time around is really repetitive, and with no New Game+ option OR extra costumes/abilities, it's really hard to justify to people to spend $60 on it, especially given how many good releases are on the horizon. This game screams for a New Game+.
So I kind of agree with your mini-rant, haha.
@Manthai
"Also, there are plenty of indie games on Steam that sell more than 24,000 copies."
I have to think that a large part of that is due to pricing. I bought Terraria for $7.50 for crying out loud!
Child of Eden is also worth buying, but not even in the same league as Shadows of the Damned.
I did buy Child of Eden though, surprised it didn't sell more given all the hype.
Child of Eden, while pretty, doesn't seem like my type of game, based on what I've seen. (Wasn't a big Rez fan.
As for Child of Eden it lost my purchase as soon as they decided to associate it with the $130 web cam and Wii Remote + Glowing Ball
Even one game with shooting harmonica-eating men and crow-suited people telling me to fuck myself gives me hope for the industry.
Strange games are strange in ANY platform, if they don't sell in one of them, they will not sell in any other, is that simple.
And remember my friends: EGGSBAWKS AND PLAYSTATIONZ OWNERZ ONLY PLAY CALL OF DUTY HUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRR
New IPs that lack extensive marketing campaigns should ship between the prices I previously mentioned. That is impulse buy area and both would have sold substantially well because of it. Get a fan base and when you create your inevitable sequel you can sell it for $59. Publishers are arrogantly stuck on the 60 dollar mark. They are hurting themselves and the overall industry because of it.
Wasn't kinect the "fastest selling" tech of all time? Then why aren't people buying the biggest(only) hyped game for it? Well, just goes to show nobody gives a fuck about this tired gimmick shit.
Shadow makes me think of Singularity in a lot of ways. Little advertising awareness. Short game. No replay value. Too easy to beat. If the game had been $40 at launch the numbers would have been better. The Cursed Crusade is being smart in that regard which means I may actually buy it right away.
I can' say the same about SotD, as although I did have a blast with it, ultimately it simply felt like another shooter. But you have to credit Suda51 for creating a unique world that is not made of brown and grey. If only they not made a shooter out of the premise and something along the line of, say, ICO, then it'd most likely receive better recognition from DTOID gamers.
Again @WHeaderpic do you guys NOT notice the "ugh" expressions!? It's genius! It's- nevermind.
After playing Deathsmiles twice and Rez HD three times, there was just no way in hell I was going to pick up Child of Eden at launch prices. I want it, and I'm sure it's great, but since I'll probably play it twice and forget about it again, that's not worth the $70+ it would cost me.
If you target such a niche market with a game that might be great, maybe you should make it downloadable and/or episodic? Now we just end up paying downloadable game prices for it anyway.