It sounds like Dragon's Dogma 2 and Rise of the Ronin — both released on Friday of last week — have struggled to make an immediate impact in the UK. While we don't have the full sales charts just yet, GamesIndustry.biz's ever-knowledgeable Christopher Dring has outlined the relative success of the new releases, and it's fair to say that neither game has done well. At least, not at retail.
The latest weekly charts are topped by EA Sports FC 24, with Dragon's Dogma 2 in second place. However, according to Dring, Capcom's action RPG only "narrowly" outpaced Princess Peach Showtime in third, which itself "had a weak launch".
Meanwhile, Rise of the Ronin entered even further down in fifth, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Another new release, Alone in the Dark, ended up in sixth.
But as Dring says, we really need to examine digital sales data before claiming that any of these titles have been commercial flops. As of right now, though, it looks like Dragon's Dogma 2 and Rise of the Ronin haven't been able to connect on a mainstream level. Maybe that's not much of a surprise, but it'll be interesting to see how the games perform elsewhere.
Do you think it was a mistake launching both titles on the same day? Or is there simply not enough hype to go around? Await the full charts in the comments section below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 52
I brought both digitally and I am sure a lot of others did too. I can also imagine the sales for DD2 on PC were much higher than console. The concurrent players peaked on steam for DD2 at around 225,000 if that is any indication.
DD2 is definitely going to be a disappointment for Capcom with the VERY heavy marketing. Estimating 150-200 mil development cost.
ROTR will be slightly disappointing since it is aimed towards Asian Audiences and was more likely cheaper to make and it wasn't very heavily marketed overall outside of Japan and a few Asian cities. 100-120 cost imo.
Also, regarding Peach? It is rubbish. Peach deserved much better than a this. How it has scored above 70 is insane to me since any other game dev would've been lucky to get a Meta score of 65.
Glad to see helldivers 2 still in the top 10.
we have to stop with these physical only sales, its useless
@Kraaatos agreed but it's funny the PS side in my PS vs Xbox group loves to post these physical charts especially when they show a playstation game is doing well.
These articles becoming more and more irrelevant, since digital sales are way higher than physical sales nowadays.
I think word of mouth will bolster Ronin a bit over time. Players seem to really like it more than critics did.
@breakneck I recall reading that it had very high concurrent players in Stream. I think more and more people are leaning towards digital copies every year.
It’s not like any of the other games would have a higher percentage of physical sales. Certainly not FIFA. These long form single player games are, in fact, more likely to be collected physically I think, making them higher on this chart than they would be with digital counted. Possibly the only other game that might have a higher physical ratio is Princess Peach Showdown given the limited space on the switch for games.
@breakneck DD2 has already broken sales records for Capcom.
Definitely a mistake in the sense that there will be some crossover for people that like games with fantasy/combat/action and paying an extra £70 for something you aren't going to play right away isn't going to be massively viable for people, so they just pick the one
DD2 is also #2 in the UK Digital storefront on PS, which isn't bad, but it is definitely a shame it couldn't top EASports for the week, but then again it is fighting this weird narrative that people can't play it yet because it isn't optimised or because you can buy extra stuff that's in the game anyway for free 🙄
The game is giving me Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3 vibes, in the sense that it is so fun and immersive that I'm pretty much always thinking about what I'd like to try out next time I'm on it, and it is constantly whirring in the back of my mind throughout the day 😅 set pieces bigger than any other game of this generation, and yet they are not even set pieces, they are randomly occurring emersive gameplay.
It also might be a game that will be inherently harder if you play it later, for reasons I won't go into 😷🫢🐲
Dragon dogma is number 2 how is that weak🤔😏.come on dog.word up son
The good news is…they’ll both be reduced sooner than expected! 🙂
Capcom's Notes: "Push microtransactions a week after release"
I think MC plays a huge part than we realize, Elden Ring wasn't highly anticipated by mainstream but the rave reviews got every stranger preordering on a whim.
@thefourfoldroot1 Naah games like FIFA are rather mostly bought physically so they can sell it and buy the next each year.
The problem is that this is the UK. We’re in catastrophic meltdown levels of a cost of living crisis. This won’t get any better after a general election, in fact no matter who out of the two remarkably similar candidates gets in, austerity has been promised. Video game sales will be the last thing on people’s minds.
@breakneck Not entirely sure how you are coming to that conclusion. The game has a great meta critic score and physical sales have been in decline for years. So much so, that Sony’s 2nd quarter report of this financial year showed physical games accounting for just 4% of revenue vs digital game sales at 21%.
As mentioned by others, lots of people buy the disc for FIFA as they trade in each year for the next iteration. FIFA is also often bundled with hardware along with CoD.
The game had capcom’s most successful single player PC launch of all time on steam in terms of player numbers.
The game is definitely not going to be regarded as a “failure” by capcom.
I actually haven’t seen a need for the micro transactions in DD2. Finding enough stones just exploring. Haven’t had a problem with slow frames in the city or anywhere else. Have seen a lot of floating people, invisible walls (why?), griffons caught in ruins. Best is tossing small monsters around, it’s like a fantasy take on hot potato.
@breakneck Neither of those games cost anything remotely like that. Japanese studios pay their employees a fraction of what a studio like Insomniac games does.
Rise of the Ronin probably cost like $25m if I were to guess.
The Alone in the Dark IP must be stronger than I thought.
I have a little nostalgia for Alone in the Dark 2 but the preceding titles are so uninteresting that I've never really considered the series to be something worth looking into, especially with reviews like that recent title got.
Color me surprised.
Eh. I bought dragon’s dogma and showtime digitally so whatever the US sales are I probably won’t show on the charts.
This is the Top 10 btw:
1. EA Sports FC 24
2. Dragon's Dogma 2 - NEW
3. Princess Peach: Showtime! - NEW
4. Hogwarts Legacy
5. Rise of the Ronin - NEW
6. Alone in the Dark - NEW
7. Helldivers 2
8. Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
9. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
@ChrisDeku interesting that MK11 there but the sequel isn’t
FC24 has just went on sale for £20 so no doubt that played a part but the new games definitely seem to be underperforming, at least physically. I don't think Dogma was ever as big an IP as people made it out to be, then you've got the fact Ronin's graphics aren't appealing to the ooh! Shiny crowd. The same with Peach, it probably appeals more to young girls and women but like a lot of Nintendo games it'll probably still have some legs and hang around a lot longer than the other two.
The digital version of the game came with more stuff than the physical I'm sure as an incentive to buy digital. My guess is more bought digital than physical.
@Casco it's cheaper and people probably think they're the same game anyway
Ima preorder my copy of dragons dogma 2 this week.
I do think both of these games (RotR and DD2) will have some longevity as far as sales go. The fact they both dropped on the same day to a very similar demographic is not helping either game. Also, both have had some online backlash which should calm down in weeks to come as the word of mouth levels things out because it seems like most people who are actually playing the games are having a good time.
I personally want to play them both eventually, but didn’t buy either yet. And that’s on account of just too many backlog games to deal with right now.
I bought both rise of the ronin and dragons domga2, im enjoying rise of the ronin more actually, I read about fps in rise been awful, but its slightly mentioned about dogma2 in actual fact the fps dogma been dreadful is rampant, in rise its " once in awhile" I read somewhere the other day that this will be a days gone situation, people just hate on the game for no real reason other than a few shabby review outlets tought it was "ok"
Why is football always number 1?
Neither of these games was going to set the world on fire, though of the two my money was on DD2. I think it would have been smart of Sony in this case to release Rise of the Ronin simultaneously on PC. Hopefully the positive word of mouth from those playing it carries it to a place of profitability as it seems like Team Ninja has made an admirable open world debut.
I actually bought Dragon's Dogma 2 twice. A physical preorder and digitally. That's once for me and once for luck? 🤔 Hell, I've waited 12 years for the game, I'd buy it thrice.
34hrs in and I still haven't reached any other kingdoms yet. Thief, Mage and Mystic Spearhand classes have been awesome. I'm taking it nice and slow, no fast travel and plenty of roadside picnics to admire the landscape 😌 Probably I'd go as far to say it's my game of the decade already. I think only Elden Ring or the Elder Scrolls series rivals the feeling of legitimately feeling like you're exploring a world.
I reckon it's gonna build up some crazy sales in its lifetime, and well deserved! No doubt they're making a "Dark Arisen"-style DLC too. Just a shame they shat the bed when it comes to the performance, although I wouldn't let that put you off.
With the average player barely able to distinguish a PS5 controller from a Banana, I was never hopeful that they’d give Capcom a financial hammering over the unlocked frame rate, as the majority can’t even explain what VRR does and why it’s important.
That’s fair enough, if such issues don’t bother people and go over their heads, then fine, but sadly I suspect the game sold a lot more than I personally hoped it would.
I'm sure a fair bit bought digitally.
However, a great Many More are just tired of paying full price to be beta testers for unfinished games, throw in cringey nickel and dime Mtx predation and aged last Gen looking visuals. These were really the only two major releases we know about thw foreseeable future for playstation along with rebirth, and they largely ended up being as underwhelming as they seemed for various reasons.
I suspect many are waiting for the games to be satisfactorily optomized and/or a sale now.
@DennisReynolds I genuinely do not put any value in these sales charts anymore. Include digital sales as well or consider your reporting useless. I’ve genuinely no idea how this isn’t a thing by now.
@KundaliniRising333 aye, that’s another factor. The increase in price without increase in overall quality is hurting sales. This is not going to work long term, unless there’s more punishment for poor optimization.
@KundaliniRising333 The MTX are easily avoidable and can be ignored and while the character models aren't great the visuals of DD2 are fantastic with a beautiful dense world and amazing usage of RT GI. As i said the game has already broken records and Steam sales have been very high.
I'll wait for the game to be fixed or at least meet an acceptable standard. 2024 and we're still just accepting poor frame pacing and shady monetization practices. My backlog is monumental so absolutely no rush for any of these so will pick up after a deep deep sale.
@DennisReynolds I Googled what you said, the only results that come up are forum posts so you're lying. 220,000 player count on Steam hasn't broke records for Capcom either. Monster Hunter World was higher. This game isn't reaching 300,000 and it's not outselling Monster Hunter.
Like I said in another article, this is down to the performance issues and people waiting for patches. Also a lot of people have been put off by the MTX.
fc 24 was £8 on the store last week
@TruestoryYep https://www.ign.com/articles/dragons-dogma-2-breaks-capcom-steam-records-amid-microtransactions-furore
There's too many good games releasing within weeks of each other. Can't really buy em all so I'd say that's a contributing factor to poor sales along with the general cost of living these days.
I think the issue is that both games look dull as hell to the casual eye.
Personally, I’m still playing through February’s games so neither of these are even being considered.
Got Days Gone on PC for $12. Looks amazing maxed out.
I bought Alone in the dark on PSN and bought Princess peach physically.
Suprised alone in the dark is in the top 10 to be fair. I liked it but after the reviews and the fact the series had been dormant since 2008 (can't count illumination) made me think it would bomb
Most people buy digital anyway and I'd say DD is a bigger seller on PC then console...
I wouldn't have thought it will be a particularly big seller anyway as the original is pretty niche with A strong but small following.
Just going to guess that Dragon’s Dogma 2’s sales may have slowed down because of the whole MTX controversy. It went from being the next Baldur’s Gate/Elden Ring to absolutely reviled by the internet community. I’m not surprised Peach’s just ok on the sales charts. I don’t recall where the last Yoshi game landed or Captain Toad, but this is a game of a similar scope for the Nintendo fanbase. I bought the both of them anyway.
Pretty sure Alone in the Dark was already a questionable and niche title for most people before it launched to generally mixed reviews, so that one’s not a surprise, though I was rooting for it.
I would hazard to guess Rise of the Ronin’s sales will be viewed as a flop though. Sony sort of made this one look like “the next PlayStation game” when it looked more like a cross-section of Souls and Ubisoft and drew immediate comparisons to Ghost of Tsushima. It was a questionable one to slap the Sony budget on, in my opinion. I dunno.
The data presented by these physical charts means almost nothing. So yet another opportunity for all to engage in confirmation bias.
All three big games this week are very much "Looks cool but I'll wait for a sale"
Especially with how busy this year has been so far.
Really wanted to play DD2 & Ronin but still busy with Helldivers 2 & FF7 Rebirth last month...
I will pick up Ronin, every time I see gameplay vids it looks awesome. DD2 got away with way worse (e.g. broken performance &mtx) in reviews.
Oh I wonder why, let's see rise is $124 for the base game and dragon's is $108, most people are struggling to pay rent and basic necessities, and sales aren't good, no shiz sherlock.
Well. Too expensive and people have less money?
Ronin although not a bad game should never be £70...£40 is good.
DD2 is also over priced unless you grab a key on PC. I paid £35 and it was money well spent on an excellent video game...if you have the hardware?
Tap here to load 52 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...