The Last of Us: Part II is the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive ever with more than four million copies shipped to players around the world in just three days. That incredibly impressive statistic will have only risen in the near two weeks since, but here's another phenomenal fact for you. Naughty Dog's latest masterpiece sold more copies in the UK than the entirety of each week's top 10 for June combined.
This means that Sony became the UK's biggest publisher last month as continued sales of The Last of Us Remastered, Marvel's Spider-Man, Days Gone, Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War helped to boost the Japanese giant up the charts. Sony-published titles made up 29% of all physical sales across the United Kingdom and 37% of the total revenue. 1.24 million copies of boxed games were sold during the month of June, making it the second-biggest month for sales this year. When you take into account just how well The Last of Us: Part II, that's some seriously impressive reading.
Are you one of the many PS4 owners playing the game right now? Let us know in the comments below.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 104
Thoroughly deserved, I’m nearing towards the end of my first play through, and all I can say is what a game! One of the best games I have ever played!
Looks like those “i’m not buying this trash” type people did good job slowing this one down 👍🏻
But, but the guys over at The Quartering told me this game would fail....
This is only proof of what a large marketing budget, buying reviews, going after critics both professional & social (YouTubers/Influencers), a previously established reputation and false advertising can achieve. It's sales fell apart a couple of weeks after release and this will be reflected in July's sales and it's lifetime sales. It will not outsell Horizon, God of War, Spider-Man et al regarding lifetime figures and many places stopped accepting trade in's. At my GAME under order from management we simply have to tell customers we have too many pre-owned copies and can't accept it. If all the returned copies had been accepted we would have sold a total of two copies in June.
Finished it, loved it, haters be damned.
@TheDude89 Yeah, okay mate. Two copies sold.
🤦
@TheDude89 You have a good imagination.
@TheDude89 where is your GAME?
Impressive but it is worth stating that it's also been the most marketed and hyped up game of the year so far. The rest of the top 10 are old games, which says a lot.
Hopefully the game will continue to sell well over the next few months/years as the other top exclusives have mostly done.
Awesome and well deserved, I'm quite literally half way through playing it a second time and I'm still loving it. I've been replaying the original and I'd say the sequel is a big improvement in pretty much every department and that game is still great.
I do wish I could forget it though so that I could play it again completely fresh.
Game of the generation for me
@roe I think Animal Crossing got a similar heavy push, but yeah, obviously it's been promoted like crazy!
@crazykcarter Stick with it, some of the later levels are incredible and the combat really gets great once you unlock more of the arsenal.
THIS IS NOT MASTERPIECE !!
20 hours in, I like the first one story better since it's not as dark as this one, but the gameplay is really great, it's like horror games when encountering the infected and like stealth games when encountering the human enemy.
The seraphite is better enemy than the wlf since they're using stealth too, fighting with them is like playing a (very deadly) games of cat and mouse.
Finished it... It deserves every single sale. Amazing game.
I think it improved on the first game in every area besides the story. It is a bit of a let down, however you spin it. Nobody had to defend the first game as much as this... there's no smoke without fire, people held the first game in such high regard I suppose it would've been impossible to live up to it.
@Jacko11 - Where would be the common sense in me telling you the exact location of where I work?
@get2sammyb - It's a fact. You can accept it or not.
@get2sammyb ignore him mate it's obvious he is here for his own hate agenda. Rational discussion with someone with this mindset is not possible. Also Game is not even open yet lol.
@TheDude89 Dude go to the Quatering comment section you fit right in there.
For me the gameplay and graphics look amazing. It will never beat the story of the first game. People wanted to continue to experience the bond between Joel and Ellie. But instead we got characters that most people will not even remember because they do not serve any other purpose except for casualties.
Also why no article about how the sales went down by 80% after the initial burst? This is lower than ANY other PS exclusive this generation.
Also why market the scene where Joel tells Ellie "Do you think I will let you do this alone?" Where in the actual game Jesse tells her that in this exact moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II5UsqP2JAk at the 2:19 mark. That is false advertising NOT clever positioning.
I definitely want to experience the gameplay only and the environments but not at the price tag of 60$.
@Jacko11 He ain't got no Game lol
Finished it yesterday. It's harrowing, exhilarating, funny, sad, tortuous, nasty and spiteful and it's amazing. It's a stunning achievement and shows how adult and mature video games can be. Hell, it's better written and acted than most films !
@snowstorm2574 GAME reopened a number of their stores in June. As did many other high street retailers.
@snowstorm2574 At what point have I not been rational and why are you assuming that a proper conversation can not take place? You are the one who has thrown the insults around and made assumptions.
@carlos82 I'm actually enjoying the second go through more. Ng+ on hard, spotting the narrative threads weave in and out, understanding the characters motivations from the outset. Its pretty sublime.
best game ever played
@TheDude89 Not insult at all dude its factual. Game here in Birmingham has been closed maybe you got special treatment. Just because you hate the game theres no need to force that opinion on others I loved it and so did many others. So deal with the fact it sold incredible numbers even with leaks and lies. And paid reviews come on lol.
At the marina, day 3,excellent so far, still don't know what all the fuss is about. Haven't read any articles, I'm still spoiler free.
One of the generations best. ND are masters of their craft and despite your feeling on the direction of the story, you can't deny how beautiful the game is. All the small details and world building that ND made were great. Do yourself a favor and play the game for yourself someday, even if you pick it up months later on the cheap. Don't let the internet hive mind dictate how you feel about something
Naughty Dog, do a new IP if you wish but please give us Part 3. Loved every minute of Part2 (except the opening chapter).
Well deserved. Even if you've got beef with the way the story pans out, you can't deny that the actual game is very high standard indeed.
I am so tired of seeing people bashing this on YT I had my doubts (lots of em) going into this game but after the first 3 hours i was hooked and by the end I fell in love with the game. Easily as good as the first so while I was hesitant prior to caving in and buying it it was well worth it. Gorgeous game I just started a second playthrough
@snowstorm2574 how is it factual to claim I have a hate agenda, where is your demonstrable evidence?
Push Square has rules on links but simply using this amazing thing called 'Google' you find plenty of sites providing actual, reliable sources that Youtubers were threatened with legal action and it's been common knowledge - and former employee's from many sites like IGN have publicly stated - reviews are brought.
It sold a lot of copies in June. Sony may have shipped four or five million copies for June but it's sales will and have fallen.
Just because you're GAME in Birmingham is closed doesn't mean every GAME in the UK was.
Two weeks after its release people still feel the urge to underline defects of the game even if they still have to play it. This is a record too.
@get2sammyb You Know If Sony Were Smart They Would Bundle Both Games With The PS5 Right Along With a PS5 Enhancement Patch.
@TheDude89 Well your first comment is my proof. The fact that you said it sold 2 copies was obvious you wasnt being factual or truthful. And also saying the reviews are paid for is the second piece of evidence. Show my one game where sales dont drop over time.
@Zuljaras The bond between Joel and Ellie is constantly present in the game, explicitly and implicitly, until the very last second of it.
And now that I've beaten the game I finally read the Fextralife review you said was "good" because they rated the game 5.8... I read it 30 minutes ago and I'm still laughing 😂
@TheDude89 While I think we can say with certainty that the sales will be down to the huge marketing, I don't think you can anecdotally take your situation and extrapolate it to make such a confident prediction.
You would have to make the assumption that the gamers at your GAME are an accurate representation of gamers in general. Personally I haven't even been in a game in years.
All the people I know have really enjoyed the game, but I won't use that anecdotal evidence to make an assumption that it will outsell other first party titles.
Really only time will tell on this, but it would be interesting to get more data to understand the trend better.
@andreoni79 I just watched that video and I could understand his point of view even if I didn't agree with it. Until the end when it fell off a cliff with the ridiculous value and price point nonsense, mainly because it doesn't have multiplayer and somehow says its too long in parts but scores it less because its not long enough. I mean pick a side please, then after that the absurd part about 20,000 people cheering a certain characters death, which itself tells you all you need to know about his audience
It's the longest non-openworld game ever and I'm shocked at its length, I wasn't expecting this. I'm 39hrs in and still not sure I'm nearing the end, yeah I'm the explore thoroughly type of gamer but still, it's really long. £55 well spent!
All publicity is good publicity, and that’s something that the people who wanted to see this game fail clearly don’t understand. Whether someone was hyped for the game and spoke about it online, or offended and enraged by it but did the same, they were still talking about The Last of Us: Part II.
It being such a hot topic only fueled more curiosity for the game.
The review bombs in stark contrast with the stellar critic scores only resulted in more news articles published about the game and more attention to it. Combine that with the strong foundation and love for the original game, along with heavy marketing and you have a sales juggernaut.
The Last of Us: Part II WILL outsell the original if an enhanced PS5 version is sold at retail. You can take that to the bank.
Yeah but sales have dropped 80% since the first week. And I imagine they will continue to plummet. And deservedly so.
@carlos82 He also writes that the "solid but unimportant gameplay" is the same as TLOU but here it's clearly improved in any aspect, especially the IA. It will be a dream if all the upcoming PS5 stealth/shooter games in 3rd person will have the same mechanic!
@snowstorm2574 I work at my GAME, you don't, so, actually it isn't a lie and you are flat out wrong. While it's natural for a game to have sales decline most triple aaa hyped titles don't see their sales fall of a cliff. It's already been covered that the game saw a second week sales drop of 80%, worse than Days Gone, GoW, Horizon and Spider-Man. That is just in the UK. In Japan the drop was bigger, around 85%. Again, simply use google and you will find all this information and accurate, trusted sources (no the sales drop info does not come from vgchartz before you or anyone else gets smart).
A simple five minute search of youtube and google will provide all the information regarding the way's various publishers can buy reviews. If you do your homework you'll find credible, reliable sources and there are plenty of people who worked in the industry that have spoken publicly about it. Not sure why you're denying an issue that's already been admitted to by the people who worked in the industry, such blatant stupidity is beyond me.
Again, Google. 80% drop in second week sales or higher.
@TheDude89 Or that people can poke through the lies. 😆
The game is about forgiveness and how the lack of it leads people into areas where violence is inevitable. It is interesting that you have to show Naughty Dog some forgiveness for the creative choices they made for this sequel and do your best to follow where you are trying to take you.
It is a scary time for creativity at the moment with huge internet backlashes held for every major release. The new set of Star Wars books and Hunger Games prequel have been lambasted online before any of that material has been seen. This cannot be a healthy state of affairs.
ND's story does have parallels with real life and they should be applauded for what they have tried to do. If you don't like it then fine - but the vindictive backlash they have received really is like life imitating art. Some people have made no attempt to even try to understand what ND tried but have got angry at not getting TLOU2 they wanted.
Have we got to the point where we only want to be told the stories that tell the stories we want to be told. If so that would be a shame.
@TheDude89 uncharted 4 had a 78% decrease in its second week and digital sales aren’t even counted in these dropped sales figures (I shouldn’t have to tell you that there would have been many more digital sales for this game for obvious reasons but I feel I probably do - with many people not willing or able to go into stores to buy this game there would’ve been many more digital copies sold).
Stop trying to distort the truth to fit your false narrative.
Regarding the sales drop of 80% that I've been seeing, afaik it's not that uncommon, and drops of varying sizes happened to many of Sony's titles this gen. Spidey had a 40-41% drop, yet it stands at 15 million copies rn, God of War had a 60% drop, and it's over 10m now. Days Gone was a notable downplayed example, with a drop below 40%, and while official numbers have never been shared, it's estimated to have sold about 5-6 million copies, if not more.
Most tellingly, Uncharted 4 sold over 2.7m copies in its launch week, and witnessed a nearly as big drop of 78%, yet by December it reached over 8.7m copies - eclipsing Uncharted 3's lifetime sales. Not to mention it ranks among Sony's best selling games alongside the og TLOU, at around 16-20 million copies.
So, while the 80% drop of TLOU2 could be a sign that it got hit, it should be also remembered that most people who wanted to get the game already got it, which is about 4m in physical copies iirc. So I dunno, I would wait a few more months before I'd declare it to be the game's commercial downfall.
@RazielReaper. Good use of facts, seeing all the YouTube ‘content creators’ slate this game to get hits is so obvious. Yet they completely omit that films, dvds, albums etc drop sharply after their release. They’re desperate to prove that this game has failed.
The Haters lost...AGAIN Glad it did well but of course it would because the first one was the best game last Gen on any Console
@TheDude89 You do realize that Game don't except returns if the seal has been broken right or the packaging removed? That's how i know you're bullsh*ting because you can't return the game if you have played it, if they said it was faulty Game would just give them another copy. Also if they traded in the game it wouldn't impact sales at all as the game has to be sold to be traded in. Just to point though my Game barely has any used copies and the game is selling well, even CEX barely have any used copies in.
@East76landS I hate that guy, he makes up bullsh*t all the time and he knows its bullsh*t as well. I remember how he made out Captain Marvel last year would be the biggest Marvel flop ever, the film made over a billion, sure i don't like the film but he was obsessed with hating it.
Not surprised. What a masterpiece. This is what a game should look like.
@TheDude89
What a game, what a masterpiece, get over it buddy boy. Write whatever you like if it's going to make you feel better. I'm going to start the game over again because I love it.
I won't touch this game. The storyline sounds so poor that I just don't wanna bother, I don't care how much it sells.
@premko1
THIS IS SPARTAAAA!!
@TheDude89 " buying reviews"
You people are unintentionally funny. Keep it up.
I platinumed this game a few days ago after a 37 hours first run and another 21 hours cleanup run for remaining trophies. I loved the game and the story but I hated "Abby". Guess it's because she looks like our bitch-sour neighbour. She just seemed so depressing the entire game I wished I could just had the chance to kill her every second when she is on the screen.
So this would be 10/10 without her, now it's more a 7/8 out of 10 if I stretch it... (Her character REALLY dragged the game down for me!!)
Hopefully Naughty Dog leaves Last Of Us behind from now, especially Abby. New IP would be dope with the same production values that this game has.
*ND wanted us to feel the hate with this game - Mission accomplished - I hate Abby.
It's an incredible game! For me it's way better than the first one. I love it!
@Medic_Alert That's fair. I think for me I prefer it to the first one but can appreciate why many many people see the sequel as inferior. I really enjoyed the first one but by the time I did play it there had been too much hype and at times I didn't think it lived up to it. Probably didn't play it at the right time or the right way.
For Part II I was onboard from Day One and have been looking forward to it. The game actually surpassed my expectations and is has joined an exclusive list (in my eyes anyway) of 10/10 games, the others being RDR2, The Witcher 3 and Persona 5.
In terms of length, it felt long BUT once I finished I wished there was more. I generally prefer open world games so 30 hours or so is nothing but of course in more linear games you don't have fetch quests or more 'filler' tasks to complete. It's why when you first get to Seattle you should really enjoy exploring and take your time as that's as relaxing as the game ever gets!
@Zeke68 Nah, I didn't hate Abby. Not saying I liked her (especially compared to our girl Ellie) but hate? Not for me. If she reminded you of someone though then fair enough!
I hope there is a Part III, turn it into a goddamn trilogy. Maybe play as Lev at some point or solely, you'd be up for that surely?
😉
@Medic_Alert The suposed openness of the game which was exaggerated in my opinion, I was expecting more areas like this but that wasn't the case. It's still an amazingly crafted game though.
I played on Moderate and kept everything else the same. You definitely feel that ammo and other resources are scarce early on when compared to latter on but the game itself becomes harder with the number of enemies you have to face and also types of infected.
On a second run through I'd play on a harder setting by maybe tweak the enemy AI or make resources more readily available. Definitely tempted to set up the auto-ping when you're close to a collectible or resource.
Great sales numbers but that has not translated into people enjoying the game in those same numbers.
@Zuljaras It's good to read something that makes sense once in a while!
@KingPev You're not much of a movie-goer then right?
@RazielReaper I guess it's too early to judge either way. I hated how Sony and ND handled this whole affair, with the wrong copyright strikes, questioning review pages that didn't give a 10/10, the crunch, misleading trailers, story right out of a college essay, etc. still I don't want it to fail just for being butthurt. ND took a risk - which is rare these days in any form of media, so I give them that, but they also need to take now whatever comes next.
Also I cannot see part III honestly. I just watched that bit from 2017 were real life Ellie and Joel were giving an emotional guitar play as promo. The hype was unreal, it was heart-touching. What kind of promo would we expect for part III? Abby-bodydouble doing a workout routine to "eye of the tiger" while someone is running trained dogs through a parcour int he background?
I just don't see the chemistry or the magic of any of the surviving characters being able to carry such a huge marketing campaign like Joel and Ellie did.
But yeah, seems like I'm alone with my opinion.
@Medic_Alert People may and will have different opinions but I personally took offense by the way they inserted Joel into that trailer and actually aged him to make it look like they will both go on an adventure in this game together.
If they wanted to hide the plot they could just have not shown Joel at all, make a completely different trailer that's not consisting of altered scenes from the actual game or show footage of the flashbacks.
This WAS misleading. If people get the impression the game is about an adventure of Ellie and Joel because even the Devs make it look like this and this is the reason why you buy it, of course you will feel betrayed when you realize the truth. I think this is a case for the court and personally I'm glad that some a-hole leaked the footage pre-release so I could save my 60 bucks.
I replayed TLOU I lately though. Still one of my absolute favorite games ever and I'm perfectly fine with it not having any sequel!
I am a neutral party on this, i got spoiled by leak but i don't care i will enjoy the stories, even so, and more of the graphic and game play especially, and also i don't give a damn of LGBT or SJW stuff although i despise them or even oppose them in real life. But i will buy this games anyway because we all now this just games anyway and pure fantasy.
@Dijon That's probably the best way to go about things!
@Medic_Alert How people enjoy their stories is very subjective. If I like something, I want more of the same, most people function like that. It's fine to have surprising elements in a story, a new stunning character, a plot twist. I love things like that. But I don't like having taken away the ONE THING I would have bought a product for without warning or even being tricked into believing I would get A and then get B.
But again, it's very subjective how people "digest" things like that and I can see and understand that some people like what TLOU II did with it's story.
Yes I saved my money, but watched the entire game being played on life stream, so I am aware of the absolutely stunning graphics, the similar-to-the-first-game but well refined combat, the awesome environments and also the whole story, character development, pacing issues and all cutscenes.
Also the moral behind someones actions is also very subjective. I feel that Joel that what he did to surivive and ultimately take care of someone else, which is - to me - something very noble. Also he rescued his child from being murdered. I can relate to that. Holding a grudge over 4 years and becoming a cold killing machine that seems to enjoy this horrific world is not.
I do enjoy seeing where other people are coming from and it's a breeze of fresh air to not get namecalled immediately because I didn't like TLOU II. Thank you for that.
edit: sorry its a bit mixed up, being on mobile
@Medic_Alert
I haven't played it but I see a lot of people saying Abby is the best, better than Joel, better even than Ellie. It's sad.
🤯
@Medic_Alert
Yes. I was about to enter a discussion about it. My bad. Kind of futile.
I'm glad you enjoy the game.
@Medic_Alert
Ha sorry PushSquare.
I see my comment got deleted?
I talked about spoilers but didnt mean it. Sorry about that
@Jacko11 oh God please don't speak negative about the game too much toxic people talking crap about it on every post and they harassing and threatening the actors and crew especially Laura bailey
@Exlee300p still sold 4 million copies in 3 days beating spider man
@Taylorzombie Don't fall for that. Everyone agrees that attacking actors about a fictional role with death threats is awful and not justifiable in any way or form. She just brought those six threats forward so they can be thrown in the pot with everyone not liking the game. It's The Last Jedi all over again. A few people attacked Rose Tico actress and she quit her social media about it. So what. If you're in the public eye you also get all the weirdos, but it doesn't mean that everyone who disliked TLOU II want's Laura Baileys kids dead...
@Scollurio Well, for what it's worth, I agree with you on some of it. ND's reputation as one of the worst crunching studios in Santa Monica should never be overlooked, no matter how much one loves their games and especially their. And as much as I personally adore TLOU2, you can definitely see the scars of a stressful, disjoint production on it.
While it's not completely unwarranted imo, I also agree that the Sony-ND went with the copyrighting was a 'little' overboard, though at the same time I can't really blame them that much given how offensively negative the reactions to the leaks were. And I don't mean the legitimate concerns and discussion about the nature of the direction, but more about the bigoted comments and videos that frankly, were disgusting. Neil can be a massive, pretentious a-hole, but I can't really blame him or his team about trying to stop the leaks especially in light of some of the toxic comments. The handling was poor and included wrong targets, but seeing your work getting mangled like that long before its release and already in the final stages of development is definitely demoralizing. Still no excuse for crunch periods, and never will be.
As for the misleading trailers... Mmmmm, I find there is less justification for the Q4 2019 trailer, though I personally don't mind it too much. Given that some leaks already began back then, I wonder if it was an early attempt to throw off suspicion. I understand people feeling off about that ordeal, but I have to admit it didn't bother me a whole lot.
As for the story trailer, well, I understand this one too. It was meant to throw the leaks into a state of confusion. Though at the same time it doesn't really hurt my enjoyment or appreciation of the game, but that's just me; I don't find it too bothersome due to the circumstances surrounding the game and because, ultimately I don't feel particularly misled by the final product. Thankfully it's also far from the worst misleading trailer that I've seen, so there is that I guess.
Finally, yeh, I don't really want a Part III. It's unnecessary for what I consider a complete saga, though some spin-off that ramps up the horror factor would be nice imo. The Infected are a glorious monster faction, and having a more horror-focused game about them would be fun.
Commercially I think the game will do fine. Maybe not as successful as it was expected, but good enough.
The trailers were misleading to hide the plot and the twists so the gamer / player would be surprised. It’s an old trick, film trailers do it all the time. Jeez some people would struggle with MGS2 as the trailers for that hid raiden!
Naught dog has crunch, so does every major studio building up to release day. If people won’t buy games from studios that crunch you won’t have many games to play! Sucks but that’s the nature of the industry.
Sony DMCA’d that’s to be expected. They spent 7 years and 100 million developing the game and someone leaked their hard work a month before release date. If you were a business and your product got leaked you’d sit back and go “yeah that’s fine?”
@RazielReaper Thank you for your in-depth answer and I can agree to almost everything you said. Especially about that part that it seems we'd both love more stories, other stories in the same universe, because it's lore-rich and the infected enemies are awesome gameplay-wise. I just wished they'd done that with part II and left Joel's and Ellies legacy alone.
I think another factor that plays into people being so pissed about being "mislead" is that nowadays it seems EVERYTHING is forged, from the news, the ads and we're slowly drifting to the extremes. Some thing is either THE BEST THING in the world or the WORST ever. No more middle ground. That said I've enjoyed your reply and it feels got when a normal conversation doesnt immediately derail into a hatefest!
@Thelegend159 The problem with those strikes was that they hit COUNTLESS channels, potentially endangering the livelihood of even smaller Youtubers in times of Corona without them even showing the leaks, just discussing/reacting to them, without giving away detail. Also, legally, it's not a matter of copyright if you're talking about leaked information.
If my product got leaked I'd release a press statement and if my product wouldn't go completely against the expectations of 80% of my customers I wouldn't even need to lie in that statement to still get them to buy my stuff.
@get2sammyb What part of what he said is is imagination? Sales have dropped off 80% in Europe and 85% in Japan. They did use false advertising. Naughty Dog admitted it. There is plenty of proof stores are not accepting returns. Finally yes critics are bought off tacitly. It is not with straight cash but access. Critics get free games and early review and preview code as well as perks. This is a fact. We also know that if good reviews aren't given for big Triple A games critics and websites risk blacklisting. There is proof of this. Are you actually denying this? There was just a story about how a Sony rep called a Vice reviewer about their low TLOU 2 review. Telling them they were wrong. The website dualshockers was also blacklisted. Layman gamers have also been blacklisted for reviews. Also I've noticed this site hasn't run any of the stories of Sony and Naughty Dog's crap behavior or late. Like using Muso Ltd to give illegal copyright strikes to youtubers who were discussing the leaks. Or on the false advertising TLOUS 2 used to trick people into buying the game. So please explain where how what he and I said is wrong.
@Exlee300p Unfortunately hardly anyone dares to speak up in the fear to bite the hand that feeds them, but yes I have too been following all of that really closely. Did you notice how that IGN-writer on Twitter started namecalling and later had to apologize to that one guy because he, as a journalist, didn't even know about that copyright striking affair? Sad state of journalism (of any sort) we have right now.
@Scollurio so harassing them cause you hate the story is ok?
@Scollurio Likewise. Part of why I took the time to break down the sales news was because I was so sick of those back-and-forth hostile debates about the game. Honestly all this negativity in general has been tiring. I want to talk about the game, about its highs and faults, but most of the time it's either people refusing to acknowledge issues within the game, or people refusing to notice its good parts. And this game in particular has been so tiring from the moment the leaks dropped. Hell, even before that. Some justified reasons, others... not so much.
Also I have to admit that as much as I love TLOU2, I too personally would have preferred TLOU to be a thematic series with TLOU2 following a new set of characters. TLOU is a masterclass of world-building, there is so, SO much left to do with it. The fact that the series has only been set in the States with a passing mention to Canada/Mexico only reinforces the setting's potential.
Also I definitely agree with your final point. The media just feels so controlled, carefully calculated and disregarding, and influential voices within it encourage extreme viewpoints.
And again, likewise! It's refreshing to just talk about stuff and discuss it.
(mild spoiler below)
Whether the reviews were paid off or not, they were bang on the money regardless. This is a masterpiece of video gaming and story telling. There are some very upsetting events and the player is forced to play as an initially hated character for a long time. Despite, or because of that, it works and reaches new heights for video gaming as an immersive story telling medium.
It's also simply an excellent adventure game with some stunning scenary and awesome battles vs. the infected.
@TheArt Nice to see someone else is taking their time. I took 48 hours and 40 minutes to complete it. Missed 7 collectibles in total. Loved exploring each location and loved every minute of the game.
@Eldritch I'm about 41hrs now and I must say I'm quite surprised people finished in less than 30hrs. So far I've left just 1 safe unopened and with collectibles I don't know if I've missed some but I've picked up a lot. The graphics, gameplay, combat is so lovely I don't see why it should be rush. Most people just succumb to internet pressure.
@TheArt Yeah, enjoy it at your own pace. As I said to a friend of mine, who completed it in around 24 hours, you only ever get to play this game for the first time once, so why rush it? PS. If you're going for the platinum do yourself a favour. Make sure to make a manual save in the last chapter. As the chapter select system is a bit iffy.
@Eldritch Thanks for the advice. Platting it wouldn't be soon though as I have a lot of games waiting in line for plats: Dishonored 2 & DotO, HZD, GOW, LA Noire and some others.
Don’t own a PS5/4. Going to buy a copy next week. F the haters.
@1_W1NG3D_4NG3L it's not a good system at all. Also not being shown which you have and which are missing doesn't help. Thankfully I only had 7 missing collectibles. I think if I'd had many more I'd have given up and just replayed. Having to sit through two loading screens on every chapter would have me tearing my hair out eventually. But like you say, a really fantastic game.
@Taylorzombie Im not harassing anyone.
Good thinking. Easier than my method. I made a list of all the items I had, whilst in the last chapters, then used a process of elimination to work out where I needed to go. I'll suggest your method to my friend. Certainly saves a lot of time watching a loading screen.
@Medic_Alert Good points and I do get where you are coming from. It seems things have calmed down a bit and proper discussion is possible. Of course I don't have ownership about anyones fiction. Im just wondering how the series will continue - if at all. I feel that more damage has done than good, but again, that's totally subjective.
And yes, Joel was no good guy. Abby's father was no good guy either, both had understandable and maybe even good intentions and did what they saw as necessary.
Sitll, saving your child and also killing a random strange kid in the hope to cure everyone are BOTH more relatable and complex motives than just pure revenge. I'd have loved if they explored the Joel Abby relationship more. Maybe give Abby somewhat of a more complex mind after Joel saved her and her people, seeing that he also has a good side, just like her.
The game tries so hard to make us believe no one is a hero and forgiveness is stronger than revenge, the only one that doesn't get this message is Abby though. This feels like so many missed opportunities.
But again, not trying to pull anyone over "to my side" but after having binged "The Expanse" on Amazon just a few days ago it again was so crystal clear to me how badly the characters are written in TLOU II, comparatively.
TLOU II is a masterpiece in worldcrafting, sets and gameplay mechancis, no doubt about that.
This is not the place to discuss spoilers. Again, please use the correct article: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/06/talking_point_the_last_of_us_2_spoilers_discussion
Quite rightly so game is mad lol , got the steel book version with the drawings book, ive gotten in to getting the steel books recently bought Jericho for xbox360 off ebay it is awsum looking , the darkness 2 steel book ive got for ps3 is really well done , darkness for ps5? The mind boggles. Great to hear this gsme sold well, Last of us part 3!
Yes, yes I am playing it. And don't hate me for liking it
@gollumb82 YOU CAN`T HANDLE THE TRUTH !!!
The game is good, not great !
@premko1
"In my opinion" the game is good, not great.
There, fixed it for you
@RazielReaper You're also comparing a 4th installment of a game to a highly highly antcipated sophomore outing.
TLOU2 should be selling gang busters still but it isn't. It's having to play defense on its handling of beloved characters and story direction.
I think for a lot of people, the 6 years of waiting mixed with pre-orders lead this to be a sunken cost. No matter how it turned out they had already decided they were going to love it or at least be understanding to its shortcomings and give it a favorable rating.
@SolomonGrundy Don't see a reason not to compare given how both titles were highly anticipated and acclaimed but still divisive and controversial (to varying degrees obv) among fans. And both experienced a noticeable dive in sales post-launch, yet U4 is now at about 20 million copies sold worldwide, if not more.
Also to my understanding TLOU2 actually became the 4th best selling PS4-only title in the US according to latest NPD report, so seems like it's still selling well even after the hype and controversy died down. ¯(ツ)/¯
@RazielReaper so which is your argument is it selling well or is it in a slump?
You're currently arguing, best selling ever, huge drop but still huge sales numbers, but just like other ND titles it's having a large loss in numbers week on week.
My point is that a large slump for U4 was after a trilogy of games, people may fatigue from the series even if they're fans. Especially when all the games are pretty similar. TLOU2 is coming off 6 years if tremendous hype and is only a second outing in the franchise. Imo it shouldn't be slumping like it has.
@SolomonGrundy Uncharted 4 came out about 4.5 years after Uncharted 3, the last original mainline outing. I wouldn't say it's fatigue, since there was craving for another Uncharted as well as the next big exclusive for the PS4 after Bloodborne ended the original drought. The drop in the second week could be the result of other things, among them exhausting its launch sales (which as noted above iirc, is nothing unusual) and the launch of other high-profile games or sleeper hits like Doom and Overwatch which could eat at competition.
TLOU2 is a more unpredictable beast. It had a much higher launch weekend at 4 million copies and a slightly higher second week drop, which can be attributed to it having the aforementioned sale exhaustion or the amount of controversies attached to its name, maybe even some of the criticisms that mechanically it doesn't improve the first game enough - idk. Either way I believe it's too early to judge the sales until we see if Sony either releases sales figures or remains silent by the end of the year; but it should be reminded that a drop in second week sales, even sharp ones like this, are not that uncommon post-launch, but we'll see in the long-run how significant it was.
Also, you reignited a month-old discussion, so if I'm inconsistent rn, it's because of that.
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