We remember the lead up to The Division's launch like it was yesterday. The online shooter had a huge amount of hype behind it, with many claiming that it was fated to be the next big thing. It then released to solid reviews and plenty of sales. For a while, it's safe to say that The Division was a hit.
However, it wasn't too long until Ubisoft's blockbuster started to drop off the radar for multiple reasons. Its endgame content wasn't the strongest, its player-versus-player element had problems, and its post-launch DLC didn't exactly rekindle the game's popularity. Here we are six months down the line, and it feels like The Division has long since faded into the background. We've no doubt that it still has its fans, but generally speaking, it's seriously struggled to maintain a noticeable presence.
We doubt that Ubisoft cares too much though, as in a recent statement made by the company, it was quick to remind everyone that The Division remains 2016's best selling title. Will anything be able to top it in the next few months? We're not exactly sure. Upcoming releases such as Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1, and FIFA 17 are bound to sell stupidly well, but they've obviously got a lot more competition to deal with than The Division did back in March.
What are your thoughts on The Division? Do you still play it? Does it deserve its commercial success? Drop some loot in the comments section below.
[source gamespot.com]
Comments 30
I initially had a great time with the Division, but the grind became too much to keep up with, and it provided too little an incentive to keep going. I'm hoping the game's balance tweaking and new updates will motivate me to get back in there, as I'm not at all opposed to it.
I played through the story, solo, and really enjoyed it, just wish it had more story expansions.
Being reminded about Ubisofts sales really just confirms how little that give a crap about the audience they duped. Ubicrap will never duped the numbers they did over the division, too many burnt bridges and there hype will never be believed so blindly in the future. I hope for the gaming communities sake that any other game to be released this year topples Ubicraps mantle. It would be a real blight on the industry to see Ubicrap maintain that accolade of the most popular game of the year by sales. What should be pointed out is how quickly the the division became a dead game. Now those statistics in relation to its hype is staggering.
Must be hard for the Rainbow 6: Siege devs to see how the Division has shattered their sales. Everyone that I know that played the Division has long since stopped with a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, my friends who bought Siege however have almost all become hardcore players at this point.
I recently heard the game has a really high retention rate, so it's quite unfortunate it never really stood a chance; the messaging surrounding the game simply was too confusing and Ubi couldn't get the hype for it going.
Both games are cheap on PSN now (in PAL territories at least) and I think both will be well worth the current price of admission (about £20-£22). Even though the Division hasn't delivered on its promise, I think there's a lot of fun to be had. And in Siege you can apparently have as much fun as in the golden days of online console gaming.
Once I completed the story I didn't bother going back to it as shooting those bullet sponge enemies became a chore. The game was good but was overhyped, like most things these days.
I was bored of the game before it even came out.
The Division is a solid game. It lived up to what I wanted from the game and have enjoyed both the story and the Dark Zone which is intense. They are constanly working on the game and it improved with every patch. This is one of my most played games this year apart from ESO.
I've been playing Black Flag again, thanks to this week's sale ... man, so good!
That was THIS year? Jeez it honestly feels like way further back than that!
I enjoyed the game and played the story through but the bullet sponges killed it for my in the dark zones and haven't gone back since......great game tho
Would be nice to see how many units they've sold through. I didnt even notice it did well, dont know anyone who plays it.
The Division is the best selling game of 2016.
Now remove "selling" from that sentence and read it again. Is it true? No?
For me it isnt and thats all I care about. I am a gamer not an investor.
The game turned out to be as much, if not, more of a grind than Destiny. Plus all the issues they've had with the game's version of "raids".
Never played, never will.
I played through the main game solo and I haven't touched it since. The end boss was awful but other than that it was an okay game. Went into the dark zone once but I preferred the game as a solo agent.
I don't know a single person who owns this game, so this is quite a surprise for me to hear.
The fact that the best selling title of this year was that easily forgotten speaks volumes on how underwhelming the current gen gaming lineup has been.
@Rumple "and there hype will never be believed so blindly in the future." people said this after Watch Dogs in 2014. Then everyone bought the Division. Now everyone's gonna buy Watch Dogs 2. The hype cycle continues...
Just wait it will have that honor for about another month. Then Infinite Warfare or Battlefield 1 will take that crown.
Is it really? I barely recall the title in all honesty.
i really don't enjoy this game The missions seem really hard for no reason but to grind even in a full group
I'm surprised. I didn't think it was very good. Just very average, I finished the main story but it didn't hold my interest enough to continue beyond that.
@Rumple 'Ubicrap'. I'd LOVE to see a montage of you staying up late during the nights, as you scribble insulting names on pieces of paper, before throwing them away like some creatively-frustrated genius author. Then one day, you stub your toe whilst carrying boxes of your unfinished insult joke manuscripts to the fireplace. "Crap!" you shout, as you hop up and down... before a lightbulb appears. Struck by the inspirational hand of Poesis, you hurriedly write it down. "Eureka!!!" you scream, as you dance merrily in front of the fire like a joyful imp.
And on that day, the legend of Ubicrap was born.
I'll admit, I completely forgot the game existed (I played a bit on my friend's ps4 but it was very forgettable )
It's also the most forgettable game of 2016.
So.. Congratulations.
@Kage_88 wow talk about trying to hard, a wall of text about me using the word Ubicrap. The best part of your post was the assumption Ubicrap was my hard thought idea. Dear Mr Rage, Ubicrap is old mate, i'd love to reference the source for your pleasure to help u redirect your fail post, but that would also suggest I give a poo.
Please watch the language -Tasuki-
@Lolzified I fearfully agree, but my hope in humanity would have a better memory, ...... sigh who am I kidding.
@Kage_88 lol
Not my kind of game, so I never bought it.
It's really weird to me that this only came out 6 months ago. It feels more like a year ago. Anyway, while you can't argue with the facts that it sold a lot, more than any other game this year, it didn't seem to make much of a cultural impact. I mean, there are two metrics I go on: would my parents know what it was in I said the title and did my friends (not big gamers, most don't have a current gen console) talk about it? In both cases, my parents would have no idea at all what I'd mean if I said "The Division" and only one of my friends ever mentioned it.
Tap here to load 30 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...