Pachter troubled by poor Uncharted 2 sales – God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5?
Uncharted 2 is an absolute gem of a game. It looks fantastic, plays like a dream and is probably the best game on the PS3. It consequently gained great reviews and is winning end of year awards such as the VGA’s Game of the Year. However, sales are wholly unimpressive, and this is troubling king of the crystal ball Michael Pachter.
The first Uncharted game was good, but Uncharted 2 is brilliant, with naughty Dog improving on the original in every single way. Unfortunately, this hasn’t resulted in huge sales, and Uncharted 2 is currently failing against both its predecessor and the multi-platform goodness that is Modern Warfare 2.
Michael Pachter, industry analyst for NPD, told Critical Gamer:
Sales of Uncharted 2 fell precipitously in November, and other than pressure from Call of Duty, it’s really hard to fathom why. I’m sure that the game will get a boost from winning the VGA’s Game of the Year, but it’s only sold 650,000 in the U.S. so far, which is really shocking given its review scores. I expect God of War 3 to perform better, but am troubled by the relatively lackluster sales of Uncharted 2.
This is a worrying trend for Sony, as titles exclusive to the PS3 just don’t seem to shift in the quantity the quality of the game suggests should be the case. It happened with Killzone 2 and now Uncharted 2. If the same fate befalls the two system sellers due in 2010, God of War 3 and Gran Turismo 5, then I can’t see where Sony could go from there.
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December 14th, 2009
S’funny.
Only a little while ago today the resident PS3 PR drone was telling me low PS3 game sales were not a problem.
December 14th, 2009
It really doesn’t change how fantastic the game is. However, it could affect future content. I will never understand why people pick lackluster games over fantastic ones. It’s as though people LIKE settling for second-best.
December 14th, 2009
Saber_HAHAha
The point here is not how good or otherwise the game is.
The point is that low game sales hurt and they do have consequences.
December 14th, 2009
Yah, yah… I’m still not into all these sale fiascos…
Why in the good lord is “Ivan_PSP” one of the options for GOTY 2009?
More so, HOW DID HE GET 3 VOTES?!!?@#!
December 14th, 2009
4 now, he got my vote.
I don’t know why people are surprised, PS3 exclusives have never sold as well as the big third party multiplats. It was Sony strategy to spend huge amounts of money making great first party games to boost PS3 sales.
It may work for them, it may not. Probably too soon to tell.
December 15th, 2009
So why aren’t these games selling?
Could it be the lack of advertising? or something else along those lines?
I’m struggling to see whats holding these games back. (sales wise)
Didn’t UC2 win the goty awards?
December 15th, 2009
I don’t know why this game hasn’t sold more copies. It’s truly a gem. At least, it got the recognition that it deserves.
December 15th, 2009
Lack of multiplayer… only one platform… smaller fanbase… top six sellers on PS3 have a stronger online/shooter/multiplayer element… is it really any surprise? Strong reviews do not directly translate to greater sales. This game is a great single player experience, but not one you will be playing with your friends months from now online. Games like Uncharted are actually the type that I prefer, but I do not feel compelled to pay $50-$60 for it when I can rent it and get the plat for it in a week or two.
December 15th, 2009
CarlB’s hit it on the head.
December 15th, 2009
So what criteria a game has to be in order to get GOTY? Sales? Hype? Reviews?
I am thinking MAYBE hype.
December 15th, 2009
This year has seen the less growth in the gaming market than any other year in the past 20. I think it is fair to say that many titles could have done a lot better this year if not for the omnipresent economy anxiety. It doesn’t require best seller status to make profit, but it sure is nice. That games may not sell enough to cover development this year, is not surprising, but it is not indicative of an indefinite trend. Think in the now people.
CarlB is right, and I can tie it into the economy. Replay value multiplies the worth of that $60 purchase. While Uncharted 2 is worth a buy, a game with far more multiplayer, co-op, campaign variations, and overall length will appear to be more viable, and thus, can easily be chosen first. In richer times, this would not have been as apparent. Look at how well heavenly sword has sold, and it has about 6 hours of actual gameply, no online or co-op, no trophies. If it was released this year, it would not have had the same impact.
December 15th, 2009
@MisterX
Quality.
December 15th, 2009
The economy theory is complete rubbish as xbox exclusives have sold millions this year.
I blame the marketing of this game. The ad I saw was full of cheesy special effects. Why??? This game doesn’t need that. Just show the actual game footage with a message on the screen saying so.
December 15th, 2009
“Lack of multiplayer. This game is a great single player experience, but not one you will be playing with your friends months from now online.”
@CarlB
You do know that UC2 has multiplayer right? It’s actually quite good IMHO. Most reviews praise the multiplayer and is one of the reasons this game scored so high in reviews. Have you played the game at all? The quality of the game has nothing to do with it’s sales. If that were the case it would have sold alot more. The single player and multiplayer is excellent. To each their own, $60 well spent in my opinion.
December 15th, 2009
@CON
Xbox exclusives have sold well, but OVERALL the gaming market has has the lowest level of growth since it has been tracked. This was not a PS3 vs Xbox point, and I made it clear that even the good selling titles could have sold more.
December 15th, 2009
Okay, noted that there is a global recession, which obviously affects consumer purchases but comparing UC2 to the 2 million sales of Halo ODST in 24 hours you have to ask questions.
Personally I put it down to bad marketing i.e. the awful ad sony put out for the game was shameful. The graphics are one of the biggest selling points of this game yet they slap a load of cheesy special effects all over the ad, which will make ppl question what is real and what isn’t.
December 15th, 2009
not sure what ad you got but in NA we got the guys women thinking the game was a movie ad. I thought that was a great ad and it showed tons of in game footage.
December 15th, 2009
That sounds a lot better.
December 15th, 2009
The new ad campaign has been decent. I like the blu ray one with the grandma and grandson.
“With a stick”
December 15th, 2009
h**p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0q3qcLkw1A
h**p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38LXGpv078E
December 15th, 2009
the “Stick” one is a funny one.
I also like the one about the boyfriend not hooking up his PS3 to the PSN.
December 15th, 2009
“Whats wrong with him”
December 15th, 2009
@knighthawk,
“You do know that UC2 has multiplayer right?”
Yes. It’s online multiplayer, and especially incentives and complexity for it (ranking, unlocks, etc.), is lacking compared to games like MW2. This doesn’t mean it is “bad”, just lacking in comparison.
“Have you played the game at all?”
Yes, I got the plat for it in October after few weeks of gameplay and sent it back to GameFly.
“The quality of the game has nothing to do with it’s sales.”
Hence why I said, “Strong reviews do not directly translate to greater sales.”
December 15th, 2009
I think if they turn Uncharted into a first person shooter, strip it of it’s character and originality, and have it set in a “modern” environment, all the kids would like it more.
Then they can re-release it every year like clock work. The kids like that also.
December 15th, 2009
“Yes. It’s online multiplayer, and especially incentives and complexity for it (ranking, unlocks, etc.), is lacking compared to games like MW2. This doesn’t mean it is “badâ€, just lacking in comparison.”
I find it very off coming from someone who publicly says he’s not at all interested in online gaming. How long have you really played U2 online? I mean I know enough to get the two trophies, which equates to one game of each.
I was in the beta and can tell you from there that it is more fledged out mp than most games out there.
I think MW2 takes the cake as far as the shear amount of spec ops missions in comparison to the U2 co op missions but thats about it.
It would be like me having a negative thing to say about a rpg’s when we all know I don’t really care for the genre all that much.
December 15th, 2009
“Yes. It’s online multiplayer, and especially incentives and complexity for it (ranking, unlocks, etc.), is lacking compared to games like MW2. This doesn’t mean it is “badâ€, just lacking in comparison.â€
U2 actually offers more than MW2:
-Competitve mode (team deathmatch, CTF, etc)
-Co-op mode
-Horde/Survival mode
-Website support
-Home Space
-Twitter features
-being able to record your games
and they rank ups and unlocks are just as good, if not better, than MW2s.
December 15th, 2009
So why isn’t it selling?
December 15th, 2009
“I think if they turn Uncharted into a first person shooter, strip it of it’s character and originality, and have it set in a “modern†environment, all the kids would like it more.”
FPS are far more popular then anything else in America and most ppl go with what they are already used to which is why I think CoD won the FPS genre this Generation.
December 15th, 2009
“So why isn’t it selling?”
I can’t speak for the world, but I know several people that won’t even try it as they relate it too similar to Tomb Raider and they never really got into the platforming elements of that game.
Thats a sad assessment as I believe it’s mostly a shooter.
December 15th, 2009
There are too many choices on the PS3 this year.
Xbox has few choices so of course the good ones sell well.
It’s called common sense which is severely lacking in most people posting n these blogs.
December 15th, 2009
True, they held back too many titles for the time when PS3s weren’t costing them too much of a loss. Then they flooded their own market, when they really didn’t need to, the 360 wasn’t really competative for AAA exclusives this year, and they could have been far more conservative in doling out the titles.
I have so many games to play right now, that it is overwhelming me. I get anxiety looking at my pile, hell, I just finished Uncharted 2 for the first time a few days ago, heh.
December 15th, 2009
LOL @ ncaissie
You’ve got that right! Check out the total game sales figures for the 2 consoles for the whole year. Xbox won by a clear mile.
December 15th, 2009
nacissie is right in a way.
it is also true that the 360 install base in America is almost doubles the PS3s. which is why games sell more on the 360 than on the PS3
December 15th, 2009
It’s not just america. Take a look at the global game sales in general
December 15th, 2009
the 360 has a 6M-7M units lead globally also.
December 15th, 2009
No that lead is mainly in america yet global sales are better for xbox
December 15th, 2009
“global sales are better for xbox”
yes the American sells covers a big chunk of the total numbers
December 15th, 2009
So.. Lets see:
The game was released just a little over two months ago and in that time frame it sold almost 2 millions(I don’t believe in Vgchartz, and I can’t find the other source with almost two millions sales) And a month ago it was at 1million
http://kotaku.com/5403485/uncharted-2-crosses-the-1-million-sold-mark
Considering it is the end of the year with a lot of games coming out, and the PS3 already having a lot of exclusives this year, about a million per month is bad? How is that not selling?
For comparison, It took MGS4 one fiscal year to reach 4.75M while U2′s rate is less than half a year, if it keeps selling the same way as of right now.
http://www.konami.co.jp/en/ir/ir-data/meeting/2009/0514.pdf
December 15th, 2009
I plan to get a few of these titles when the price drops and I have more time. I’m probably not the only one. So sales in the first week doesn’t mean shit.
December 15th, 2009
Phranc, if you find the multiplayer in UC2 to be better than MW2, then so be it. I just mentioned it as ONE factor out of several that might account for it’s relative lack of sales.
December 15th, 2009
“yes the American sells covers a big chunk of the total numbers”
For the PS3 software and hardware numbers as well. It was the same for the PS2, except it outsold the XBox (and well before it was taken off the market).
December 15th, 2009
I will be buying GOW3 in the first week though.
December 15th, 2009
Well I said it before and I’ll say it again. I beleve it’s because of two reasons. One reason is because the polls say over and over that the PS3 is bought by older people. Older people usually are busy and don’t have much time for gaming. Second is because a good percentage of people bought it as a Bluray player with probably a little bit of gaming in mind. And yes I agree the economy arguement is rubish when you consider how much games the 360 and Wii are selling.
December 16th, 2009
Personally IMO I prefer stand alone blu-ray then all in one like ps3. If the drive become bad, I can’t play games or watch movie. I am guessing the cost to fix it will b like getting a new stand alone BR .
December 16th, 2009
LoL, Game of the Year “Ivan_PSP” cool. And yeah compare to Xbox 360. PS3 sucks at selling any game which is all Sony’s fault for not doing enough advertising. I hope this is a wake up call for them. And no God of War III or GT5 would do any better trust me i bet my life on it.
If every game Sony owns were on Xbox 360 as exclusive they would each pass 5 million in a year or less with no problem. Xbox would have outsold the Wii with our exclusives also they would have need the free online service and Blu-ray plus laptop HDD and free Wi-Fi. I wish people buy our games more.
And thanks Dave…
December 16th, 2009
¡O_o!
Why is Ivan_PSP nominated for Game of the Year? And where is Chuck Norris?
December 16th, 2009
“Personally IMO I prefer stand alone blu-ray then all in one like ps3. If the drive become bad, I can’t play games or watch movie. I am guessing the cost to fix it will b like getting a new stand alone BR .â€
I had the same thing while looking at new TVs. The new Sonys come with a free PS3 but what I would have preferred is a standalone BR player. All the graphics and processing power in the PS3 make it huge, require noisy fans, consume a huge amount of power and therefore give off a lot of heat.
I’m sure I’ll get a PS3 for games at some stage but as a BR player I’d prefer a standalone.
December 16th, 2009
I love the PS3 system. The PS3 is a beast of a machine. It only does everything. There’s nothing like it.
December 17th, 2009
sucks for uncharted 2. they dumped millions and millions making this game.
looks like one more money loser for sony…. ouch..
December 17th, 2009
holy crap!!! Uncharted 2 isn’t even on the NPD’s top 10 list for november anymore…ouch..
h**p://www.gamespot.com/news/6243569.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1
December 17th, 2009
oh…and halo ODST *is* still on that list…
double ouch..lmao..
December 17th, 2009
yet ODST is a shit game in comparison. ouch.
What would you prefer kev? A better game or higher sales?
December 17th, 2009
He’d prefer higher sales. I’d prefer playing the best campaign game I’ve ever ever played (U2) after MGS4.
ouch
December 17th, 2009
UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves already made Sony all the profit. So it was and still is highly successful for everyone especially us the PS3 owners.
December 18th, 2009
phranc – i have ODST..you don’t.
it’s certainly not a shit game…. if it was, it wouldn’t be being played by the masses of online gamers as it is, daily….
ouch! lmao..
oldschool – apparently the rest of the ps3 idiots didn’t get the memo about UC2. it’s already fallen out of the sales charts going into xmas…not good..lmao..
December 18th, 2009
phranc – “What would you prefer kev? A better game or higher sales?”
that’s why the ps3 sucks…you have to choose between quality or sales…
with the 360, most of their highest rated games are great sellers….
unlike the ps3 games…lmao..
December 18th, 2009
It might not sell well Kev. I honestly don’t care because I have the game and it IS easily the best game this year, also scoring the highest as a exclusive title.
…Is that an ouch?
December 18th, 2009
oldschool – “I honestly don’t care because I have the game and it IS easily the best game this year, also scoring the highest as a exclusive title.”
the best game on the ps3….since you don’t have a 360 or any 360 games to compare with…
FANBOYS FTW!!! lmao..
December 18th, 2009
Just proven how dumb you are Kev. Just randomely claiming I don’t have a 360? Had one since day of release, I bought it in Cyprus and I love the 360 so get out your own arse.
I thought you dealt in facts?
December 18th, 2009
OLDSCHOOL FTW!!! lmao…
December 18th, 2009
“phranc – i have ODST..you don’t.
it’s certainly not a shit game…. if it was, it wouldn’t be being played by the masses of online gamers as it is, daily….
ouch! lmao..”
Shit game in comparison like I originally said.
Answer me this question. What is Uncharted 2′s metacritc rating? What is Halo ODST’s metacritic rating?
please note. I asked you to answer a question without also having to have to admit you’re an idiot fanboy as well.
“phranc – “What would you prefer kev? A better game or higher sales?â€
that’s why the ps3 sucks…you have to choose between quality or sales…
with the 360, most of their highest rated games are great sellers….
unlike the ps3 games…lmao..”
You still didn’t answer the question. I believe even happy can agree with that.
“the best game on the ps3….since you don’t have a 360 or any 360 games to compare with…”
Best reviewed exclusive game period. Try and wiggle your way out of this and prove otherwise.
December 19th, 2009
He’ll just ignore you Phranc.
He goes on about how he only deals in facts but he claims constantly I don’t own or ain’t played a 360.
And when I ask if if he is a Xbox fanboy, he just insults your intelligence and finishes his sentence with a ‘ps3 fanboys are gay …lmao’
He’s a child lol.
December 21st, 2009
I think they should package it with a Wii remote. Hell, it worked for a couple of flash games didn’t it?
December 30th, 2009
phranc – “Best reviewed exclusive game period”
and Tony Hawk received 10 at Gamespot…. what’s your point…?
the fact is; sony needs their gamers buying more than one game per console to recoup losses….
congrats on your “best reviewed exclusive”, tho. it’s good for bragging rights, but nothing else, given the poor sales of the ps3 and it’s games….
oh well.