It’s perhaps something of a surprise considering the subject matter, but Days Gone is a smash hit in Japan. The apocalyptic open worlder – which has topped the local sales charts for a second consecutive week, according to Famitsu – has now moved more physical copies than God of War, Detroit: Become Human, and The Last Guardian have managed within their respective lifespans. The title’s been available just two weeks.
It’s not just the Land of the Rising Sun where there the release is outpacing expectations: Deacon St. John’s inaugural outing has enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the summit of the UK sales charts, and is faring similarly strongly across continental Europe as well. We’re still waiting for official sales data from Sony, but we have to imagine it will put out a press release soon – all evidence suggests this has been a huge commercial hit.
[source gematsu.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 32
Cult classic for sure.
As I clear through my backlog, I can see this being a summer game to play through
We're definitely getting another Days Gone now I think. It's been too successful not to get a sequel.
Not bad for the game that 'ended the streak' as some people have said. For a studio that only did handheld games til this point this is a hell of an achievement. Props to the sonys marketing department too
@get2sammyb
I wonder why DG didn't do as good as in EU in the US store. Kind of puzzling.
@JJ2 It did do good on the US PS Store, it's just Mortal Kombat is an absolute juggernaut in America.
It doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Japan has more of a love affair with Zombies and so this always looked like it would be big in Japan. God of War may not of had the same appeal, based on western (Norse in this case) mythology and Detroit may also be a bit too 'western' and not gel with the Japanese love of Technology. Last Guardian, whilst I am a little surprised this has been eclipsed, that may well be a product of its 'timing' - both because it took so long to come out from its PS3 reveal and that more consoles are now in more homes.
The UK sales are not unsurprising either - look at the top 10 and very few games are 'new' and those that are - like MK11 - is just another Fighter after a long list of fighting games released in the past year. It doesn't take a lot of sales at this time of year to be number 1 and stay there for a month or more. The amount of sales in one month in the UK can be 1 day's sales in the UK for the big annual franchises like Fifa or CoD.
I am not belittling the sales of Days Gone but at some points in the year, what this game has sold in 3weeks in the UK wouldn't be enough to be the number 1 game at all - may only be good enough for 2nd or even 3rd. Its down to timing and the competition, especially with 'new' multi-platform AAA releases.
I of course would hope that Day's Gone doesn't end up as a 1 off. If any game could benefit from a new generation hardware, Days Gone certainly should. There is plenty of room to improve - not just in areas that better hardware could enable. In some ways it seems ambition was too much for Sony Bend but with the experience and what they have learned, a Sequel has plenty of areas that could be improved.
Definitely one of my top 5 ps4 and by looks of it definitely getting a sequel.. Especially with that secret ending
@playstation_king I haven't played the game, but does the secret ending say, "Stay tuned for episode 2 (currently in development), where all will be revealed"?
@Hengist Haha yeah something along those lines
wow 👍god.days of war is not done.word up son
Dang....that's amazing. I've only played maybe 8 hours but love it
@playstation_king that secret ending though I was like no way what's going on
This game has consumed all of my game time since release. It's got that Far Cry style game loop going for it, I'm a sucker for that style.
@get2sammyb Not your fault, but don't you think GoW needs something after it, maybe in parentheses, to distinguish it's sales from GoW on PS2? GoW (4), GoW (PS4), GoW (2018)?
Spiderman had 3 "first" movies in series come out and while people may call each of them simply Spiderman they are technically "Spiderman", "Amazing Spiderman" and "Spiderman: Homecoming". And their sequels are "Spiderman 2", "Amazing Spiderman 2" and "Spiderman: Far from Home".
Maybe we all know what you mean now, but what about in a few years when "God of War 2" releases? And maybe a 3rd. And people want to compare the trilogies?
Oh well, I suppose they can always ret on a subtitle on when they release the next sequel. Maybe call them GoW: Episode 4 and GoW Episode 5. Leaving Ascension as Episode 0 I suppose. Stupid game.
For it to beat God of War is bizarre, can only be poor taste, they do have a voracious appetite for crap mobile games you slap at.
I love this game! Everything can be tackled in a different way. The graphics are lovely! Story is a bit weak but zombie games are not know for it really (except the last us)
I don't usually buy a game on day release, but Days Gone hasn't disappointed me yet!
Just finished God of War so I can finally get stuck into this for some time, really good so far and I'm hoping for a Syphon Filter sequel at some point too 😉
Is days gone selling systems too, or just software? Either way, another wonderful achievement for DG.
@AlejandroMora - It's the exact opposite of a Cult Classic. Games that sell poorly and garner reputation over years are considered Cult Classics. Days Gone is not that game.
@get2sammyb
The good news is it means Bend gets to stay open for business a bit longer. I was nervous this game would bury them if it flopped. Fortunately some of the more ridiculous reviews didn't hurt sales.
@Shigurui i don't think it will do GoW or Spiderman numbers, also i was reffering to the type of games that resonate well with people but poor with critics.
Any bilingual Japanese care to tell me why the hype is real across the other pond? I think it's awesome and that the japanese market is utterly unpredictable (aside from the constants that have always existed that is) for Western releases. Keep it rollin. DG2 needs to exist
I honestly didn't think it'd sell as well as it is.
That's pretty remarkable!
I should play it more!
Oh that's right.
Still need gas...
Ugh.
@Nyne11Tyme Japan has a growing appetite for zombie apocalypse media lately and they have long loved motorcycles. Younger generation is really getting into things like walking dead (Negan in Tekken) and Norman Reedus is a superstar there now . So mix Resident Evil with Walking Deads Darryl character on a motocycle in and open world and you have a hit on your hands.
Pretty surprised at this. Of all the Western RPGs to fall in love with, this is the one. Not judging, just a little surprised. Biker culture in the U.S. is not what I’d think was of universal appeal. Shows what I know.
@Gumbopudding Word. Thank you for the insight. Some excellent whiskey as well.
@I_Like_It my day one purchases dont necessarily mean a day one play..or year one play for that matter. I base a day one purchases on studios that make/have made my favorite games. To help ensure their longevity (in my mind😄 lol). I 'can' like just about any genre of game if done right. I will say that almost all smaller projects Ive supported have turned out to be successful developers. Ive been burned a couple times but they were personal preference that ran against the majority usually...like Transistor for instance
@get2sammyb Weeks Gone?
@Danloaded This is Sony Bend you are talking about man:
1996 - Bubsy 3D (PSone)
1999 - Syphon Filter (PSone)
2000 - Syphon Filter 2 (PSone)
2001 - Syphon Filter 3 (PSone)
2004 - Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (PS2)
2006 - Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (PSP, PS2)
2007 - Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (PSP, PS2)
2009 - Resistance: Retribution (PSP)
2011 - Uncharted: Golden Abyss (PSVita)
2019 - Days Gone (PS4)
The only generation that they have missed was PS3 and that was Sony's decision not theirs.
I am surprised this game "only" had 60% positive reviews. There seem to be very little complaints from players. It does seem like a finely crafted game that doesn't follow AAA cash grab mechanics like many others, so I'm glad it is selling well.
I'll probably pick it up by the end of the year.
Single player? Wow that's an achievement to be proud of these days
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