Kienda

@DennisReynolds I know many are hoping the game didn’t fail, but all metrics point to the fact that Shadows under performed.

Reports are that it sold slightly less than Mirage, but with a much higher budget. As Ubisoft has previously said Mirage sold 5 million (the same figure touted for Shadows).

Looking at PS5 sales alone, we can see that Ghost of Yotei sold 2.5 million in 3 weeks on PS5.

AC: Shadows took 7 months to achieve that figure on PS5. And PS5 is over 50% of their sales. That isn’t good.

(Source: Alinea Analytics: https://alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/ghost-of-yotei-outsold-assassins)

Again, the budget of Yotei was far lower than Shadows, so the numbers alone of “5 million” is not anything to go by because it doesn’t speak of profits and losses.

Likewise, Steam Charts show that Shadows consistently has less concurrent players than Oddyssey and both Valhalla’s and Origins numbers are slightly lower but still similar to Shadows.

Another concern I personally have for Shadows is that it was a complete flop in Japan. And I think that in and of itself is a damning report because they billed themselves as being “historically accurate” and doing everything to respect Japanese culture. Yet, it was rejected by Japan, unlike many other Western games set in Japan or featuring Samurai/Ninjas, including Yotei.

For reference Valhalla sold 3x more in Japan.

None of this points to Shadows being a success. With any luck it broke even, but even that’s a failure in Ubisoft’s view.

Destiny: The Collection is £4.24 on the PlayStation Store for Black Friday (it’s Destiny 1 for PS4 with ALL the expansions).

Anyone looking to get into Destiny might want to start there. 😇

@Northern_munkey they didn’t make COD an Xbox exclusive is because when they bought Activision, part of appeasing the regulators was they signed a contract to release COD on all consoles including Nintendo for the next ten years (at least).

So the real story is: why is COD not in Switch yet.

My kids are both getting some Roblox in their stockings (£20 each, the most they’ve ever had).

While most of their friends only play Roblox/Minecraft, I’m making sure they also play other games so they are properly cultured in gaming.

@AccessibleDaydream I’m in a similar boat. I’ve just cancelled my sub.

They don’t honour loyal subs, they can have less of my money for a bit.

Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it is good.

Sorry for being negative. Hehe

I am one of the few who doesn’t own GTA5 because I’ve had little interest in it.

Back in the day I used to get every GTA with my brother, even staying up and queuing in ASDA at midnight to get the latest one on release and playing them into the morning. But the fun was always watching my brother play them. They were really his game and I was just the sidekick who played a little bit.

Maybe I should go play it with him…

I think it’s important that Sony tries to win back fans in Japan.

Apple sells cheaper in the US compared to here in Europe.

It’s not a problem to honour your home country a bit.

State of DLC and updates on games previously announced.

@dschons that’s good to know.

I bought it and returned it after a week (the only Sony product I ever returned) because the streaming was so stuttery. Yet my laptop streamed flawlessly.

The main use for me is in the house when someone else is using the main TV. So I was really disappointed, especially after expecting WiiU like streaming which is seamless.

I might rebuy and see if what you’re saying works for me now.

Everyone is complaining, but two of my kids favourite games (Stray / TABS) are up on PS+ and since transferring them over from Xbox where they played them there, so they are super happy to have them now on their PS5.

TABS is actually very fun. Good for couch coop also when doing battles against each other. And it’s a pick up and play game.

@CosmicJester same. I grew up on Tekken 3 and just thought this character was canon.

In fact, in future games I wondered where he had… Gon. 🥁 😅

Mine and my kids hopes for a new Garden Warfare game die by the day.

EA should care more about this franchise. Shame.

Great news. Game preservation should be a top priority (imho).

So, Anthem next? 😅

@SeaDaVie yeah, there is nothing to indicate that Ghost of Yotei is a flop. In fact, it looks to be making them money.

@Jey887 has the shift from physical to digital been that dramatic? I haven’t seen the reports that it’s outperforming Tsushima in Japan.

You are right that we don’t have the full picture here. And I’m not suggesting it’s a flop, I’m just saying that based on these figures alone it looks like it has underperformed compared to its predecessor.

Sucker Punch seems to be doing things right though. It has lower budgets for its games than most AAA’s so it makes its money back quicker. Most importantly, it delivers good games that feel finished at launch.

Thanks for the gaming memories, Tomonobu.

Some Context

The drop isn’t unusual. However, the fact it’s underperforming might be.

Ghost of Tsushima:
JP Week 1: 212,000
JP Week 2: 53,000

Final Fantasy 16:
JP Week 1: 336,000
JP Week 2: 38,000

Ghost of Yotei:
JP Week 1: 120,146
JP Week 2: 26,776

(For anyone wondering, Assassin’s Creed Shadows sold just 17,000 in the first week).

The 70-90% drop off on week two is nothing abnormal or alarming in Japan for a big release. Not all games do this, but many big games do.

However, you will note that this game has sold less than the original. That’s the biggest takeaway. Is it bad? Who knows.

It’s settled. Japan has the world’s most superior culture.

This is a massive disappointment. Like, huge.

If it sells well, then the hope for a new console game is dead. If it sells badly, then it’s even more dead.

Hyper Light Drifter was superb. It changed my view of indies.

It’s really sad they didn’t just make a proper sequel to it and kept things similar.

Rockstar doesn’t owe this muppet anything. It will be ready when it’s ready.

Stop giving this man oxygen.

I know I’m joining in with the clickbait and giving you more reason to write stories about his nonsense. But articles about him are just garbage, tabloid slop of the gaming world.

My kids are gonna be so happy with Goat Simulator 3.

@PegasusActual93 personally, I think the fact every culture has spirits and demons in them is a sign that they might be real. Japan being a key example.

@GirlVersusGame that’s a really interesting take. I personally wouldn’t dabble at all in it. I think there is a real battle between good and evil, light and dark, and that it takes place in the spiritual realm and “leaks out” into our reality. So it’s interesting to see from someone who actually dabbles that you understand there is good and bad.

@Oram77 the original Silent Hill freaked me out as a kid and that was just from watching my friend play it. There is no way I’m gonna play it by myself. Haha

Question: is 2 scarier than 1?

TLOU1 was about the limit of what I can handle horror wise. So if this is more scary, I don’t wanna start it.

I don’t think Kojima is joking (well, maybe he is about the award).

But he really believes in ghosts.

Death Stranding and this new game both give off weird vibes like he’s tapped into something spiritually. This new game far more so, like he’s delving deep into the horror.

It’s not good to dabble with the demonic. No matter how impressive that trailer was.

The blonde guy looks like a Team America character.

@nessisonett Miles Morales is currently on PS Plus.

My son was playing it the other day to my surprise.

@EfYI Oh, he was meaning that the people who don’t like the games are mentally stunted?

I read his comment and thought he was calling it a crap selection and that people who liked these games were mentally stunted.

You’re brave for replying directly to him, because he’s kinda scary and stuff…

Ah, screw it.

Hey @Danbottomburp what did you actually mean?

I know you don’t care, but, some of us really can’t move on with our day without knowing your opinion.

@AdamNovice basing this on my 10-13yr old kids and their school friends. It’s the next Frozen for sure.

As a parent, I actually thought the movie was great.

My kids are gonna laugh so much, and argue so much over this game. But I’m sure it will be a blast.

Day one purchase for our household.

The slightly derpy movements adds to the charm.

This game will be good.

@Oram77 agreed. Gameplay is king.

It’s funny because if a game looks bad but has great gameplay, it’s an amazing game. But when a game looks amazing but has mediocre gameplay, it’s a bad game.

Hmmm… it’s as if gamers prefer gameplay over graphics…

No, it can’t be that. Because developers keep releasing 30 fps games and prioritising graphics…

So now we know why the PS3 store is currently down…

The PS3 was so shocked at PS5 sneaking up behind it that it fainted.

It’s the last of the three consoles of that generation to still have a working store.

Even though the Wii and 360 sold similar numbers, the PS3 has proven to be a trooper.

I hope it lives for years to come.

I kind of think 60fps should be expected. And I hope it doesn’t just hit 60fps on occasion… 😅

It feels like Battlefield may finally be back to good form.

Gonna wait until full release though.

@Perturbator the age of butt cleavage. Which is just as great in my opinion.

@Bsb56 most gamers have a built-in one handed fight stick on them at all times.

@PuppetMaster she had a face? I must have been distracted…

Buying this for my daughter and she will love it.

However, I’m absolutely shocked this game doesn’t have cross play, especially as it’s also available on mobile.

It means kids can’t play together if one has on switch and the other on tablet. Or whatever. How dumb.

I repeat here, that 16 minutes of gameplay looks nothing like Horizon.

Just watch it and the similarities disappear very quickly.

I think it’s right for Sony to protect their IP, but outside of changing some mobs skins, that’s all Tencent needs to do to avoid this lawsuit.

That 16 minutes of gameplay looks nothing like Horizon.

The screenshot does. Maybe a few mobs do. But the core game is more Palworld/ARK than Horizon.

Not sure they have a case to get rid of the game. Maybe just reskin some mobs though?

Having dinosaurs in a survival horror game rather than zombies or grotesque monstrosities is a bonus in my mind.

I wish more developers used scary, but not horrifying stuff in games more often. Because I’m a wimp. 😅

@DennisReynolds I would argue the UK is doing the opposite in educating children.

We teach children about sex at the age of five onwards, and that cap is being removed by the government this month to make it so any child can learn. It’s far too young.

The UK has the lowest age for teaching about sex and the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe.

Italy has no mandatory sex education in schools and it seen as taboo by many. And it has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe (4x less than the UK).

The two are a correlation.

I’m not saying children shouldn’t be taught sex education. But when you hand out free condoms to minors and tell them to experiment. They will. And it is absolutely bonkers in my opinion.

My wife has always wanted us to go camping with the kids, so I’m not sure I can play this without being forced to buy a real camping setup.

Might be worth it…