Heavenly Sword did not make devs any money on the PS3
Ninja Theory is the studio responsible for Heavenly Sword back a couple years ago for the PS3. The game received decent review scores, with a Metacritic average of 79. However, it seems like the game did not earn the studio any money.
It’s a risky business releasing a game during the launch area of a new console. Heavenly Sword released as an exclusive title for the PS3 back in late 2007 when the number of consoles were low.
The game managed to sell about a million-and-a-half copies at retail. Not too bad, but not as spectacular as other launch area titles such as Resistance Fall of Man, which sold nearly 4 million copies.
According to CVG, co-founder Tameem Antoniades indicated that the sales for the game were not enough for an independent studio to break even.
Antoniades states:
It’s difficult. Heavenly Sword came out pretty early on the PS3, and we sold, I think, a million and a half copies, and that’s still not enough as an independent studio to break even
Apparently, the publisher (Sony) breaks even at that point, but its difficult for developers to do so. This is one of the primary reasons why Ninja Theory’s next title, Enslaved will be multiplatform across the Xbox 360 and PS3. Also, the fact Namco Bandai will be publishing the game probably has something to do with it as well.
Antoniades makes a good point by stating, “half the market or more has Xbox 360s – why limit yourself to one platform?†I’m sure many independent studios and developers out there have been asking the same thing for all of the consoles.
For those hoping for a Heavenly Sword sequel, don’t expect Ninja Theory to be making it. According to rumors, Sony axed Heavenly Sword 2 after months of development by Ninja Theory. Allegedly, Sony felt that the sequel would not be “commercially viable.†However, since Sony retains the IP and any of the work done so far, one can hope that the company will wrangle another developer to finish the sequel eventually.
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March 31st, 2010
Pardon my French, but Ninja Theory are full of shit.
The game sold 1.4 million copies. For a new IP at a time of a systems launch, that;s not bad at all. Also the game was short and had no online component.
My bet is that Enslaved sells a little over 1 million across both PS3 and 360. It’s not worth it. HS2 would have sold a lot better.
March 31st, 2010
It’s straight up nit picking when they say 1.5 million and you say 1.4… lol
March 31st, 2010
I remember this game was on the face of every gaming mag out then with triple page spreads even. the marketing for this game was intense. But even with that, somehow it didn’t appeal to me as much as MGS4 did on face value.
March 31st, 2010
“The game sold 1.4 million copies. For a new IP at a time of a systems launch, that;s not bad at all. Also the game was short and had no online component.”
Uncharted launched at the same time (late ’07, about a year after launch) and sold over twice as much. It was a new IP that was also short and had no online component.
March 31st, 2010
At least God of War III did really well. It’s first week it managed to sell a little less than a third of what Halo 3 did in the same time, which really isn’t bad at all considering that is 1.1 million.
March 31st, 2010
carlB
yeah i read that, 700,000 in america, 400,000 in europe and 100,000 in japan. pretty good. i wonder whats its sold now? i am thinking about buying a 360 for left for dead 2, alan wake and halo reach. i dont know if i will doh because ive still got a load of games to finish on ps3 and that takes a chunk out of my wallet, so ill prob be bankrupt with two game consoles lol
March 31st, 2010
1.4 million copies for a brand new IP at launch is pretty good.
I had my eyes on this game at first but I tried a demo of it and i didn’t really like it too much.
March 31st, 2010
1.5 million is not bad at all. Like BJ said. The game was under six hours. It’s biggest problem imo was its inconsistency. You’d have great fighting, then it would switch off to her ding bat sister for a shooting gallery. If the game was a 12 hour game like GOW3, then the side BS could be tolerated.
@Carlb
Uncharted was at least twice as long, and a better game altogether. It also got a sales boost after U2 came out because that game put the original back on the radar.
Also, it’s endearing that you need to compare GOW3 to Halo 3. Especially when it’s a well known fact that the first two Kratos adventures barely broke 3 million sold each.
Still, if you ask me, I’d take a GOW over any shooter, even a UT game, and thats saying something.
March 31st, 2010
“it’s endearing that you need to compare GOW3 to Halo 3.”
Yes, I thought it was pretty neat as well considering the God of War franchise launched on a console that sold 5 times as much as the one that Halo launched on, and that’s saying something.
March 31st, 2010
” 700,000 in america, 400,000 in europe and 100,000 in japan.”
Does this count the pre orders?
March 31st, 2010
Not really. MP games sell like that. It’s a well known fact. Apples and Oranges. What would you rather play?
March 31st, 2010
“I had my eyes on this game at first but I tried a demo of it and i didn’t really like it too much.”
didnt you said you love Hack n Slash games, but for some reason you never got into GoW and didnt like the Heavenly Sword demo…..
March 31st, 2010
1.5 Million is great for a new IP coming out during the 1st year of the console.
but since CarlB wants to compare games…..lets talk about Too Human:
-In development for 10 years
-has one of the highest development cost to date at over 80 Million plus.
-horrible reviews
-sold less than 1 million
-came out during the 3rd year of the console
-was heavily advertised
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
GoW and Heavenly sword are more action than hack and slash.
I have the first GoW on PS2 and it beat it, but its not something i would particularly choose over other games. I plan on eventually buying the GoW Collection and GoW3 when it comes down in price alot lmao.
Funny thing about Heavenly sword is as long as its been around the price has not dropped much at all
March 31st, 2010
If Carlb needs to make a comparison, Lets compare Microsoft’s flagship series to Sony’s flagship series. Of course we need to wait until GT5 comes out to do that. Although both games “Demo’s (GT5P,ODST) sold comparable.
March 31st, 2010
Crackdown sold as many copies as Heavenly Sword, which is a sold number for a new IP
March 31st, 2010
sold = solid
March 31st, 2010
Here are some MS games that haven’t sold as much or close to Heavenly Swords numbers.
-Crackdown 1.6M (inflated due to Halo 3 beta)
-Blue Dragon .6M
-Lost Odyssey .8M
-Too Human .7M
-Viva Pinata 1.6 (Sat morning cartoon)
March 31st, 2010
@Fahkin
I disagree with you on GOW, but opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and everyone else’s stinks.
“Funny thing about Heavenly sword is as long as its been around the price has not dropped much at all”
Actually…It’s under $30 now.
March 31st, 2010
GoW is more hack n Slash than anything else, the only ‘action’ part of the game are the QTEs and the CGIs
March 31st, 2010
@phranc and Roca
Well since someone pee’d in your wheeties this morning let me clarify what I am talking about.
Hack and Slash games LIKE Dyntasy Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Ninety Nine Nights.
Better?
Oh and BTW Roca
I have my PS3 set up right now. Whats your PSN ID again?
March 31st, 2010
@FahKin
PSN ID: D-Roca
whats yours?
March 31st, 2010
““half the market or more has Xbox 360s – why limit yourself to one platform?— I fully agree. In the current market, with neither console dominating particularly to release a game as an exclusive doesn’t make any sense for a games developer – only Sony & MS gain from that.
March 31st, 2010
Sooooo thats why they tasted so bad….;)
As far as the Genre GOW belongs in. It’s the same genre as:
-Devil Map Cry (series)
-Conan
-Beowulf
-Bayonetta
-Heavenly Sword
-Ninja Gaiden (3D series)
-Onimusha (series)
-Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Genre names are confusing. Especially when you get into action/adventure..because..seriously..Most games ARE action adventure regardless of genre.
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
cool. I will add you in a few minutes. I don’t remmeber my PSN ID off the top of my head… lmao.. can tell im not on it much
I will be ale to find out in a few minutes… I have to update the PS3 to 3.15 before i can do anything.. im on 3.01 as of right now though
March 31st, 2010
lol, tomorrow you are going to have to update to 3.21
March 31st, 2010
@phranc
LMAO… I hope whomever did it didn’t have asparagrass for dinner last night.. Eeeewww lmao
Hack and Slash is just a sub genre of Action games. Ive heard of people talk about Beat em’ ups, which are the same thing lmao
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
A friend of mine is going to be very upset tomorrow…
He doesn’t have a PC at home and has Linux on his PS3. He had no idea about the 3.21 update and how it will basically screw him over. I told him about it last night and he was very unhappy.
He is totally addicted to Metal gear Online so he is going to have to update in order to continue playing.
March 31st, 2010
I had just gotten CoD:WaW on friday. But I got it on 360.
I’m starting to wish I got it on PS3 lmao.. But only cause I don’t have a gold account right now. I could at least be killing some zombies with some of the nut cases here on the blorge.
Also just checking the games I can acquire trophies for lmao.. I only have 3 games, but 0 trophies
Lumines Supernova, Demon’s Souls, Uncharted.
The only reason I don’t have any trophies is cause I didn’t spend much time on Lumines lmao… So much different on a larger screen. if it was on PSP i would have done had them all by now lmao
March 31st, 2010
take at look at the genre that dominated each of the past 5 generation
-NES/Sega Master System = Side-Scroller/Platformer, Arcade games
-SNES/Genesis = Beat’em up/Fighting games
-PS1/N64 = RPGs
-PS2/GC/XBox = Action/Adventure games
-PS3/360 = Shooters
March 31st, 2010
tell you friend to back-up all his saved files before he uppdate just in case.
3 games?? thats a lonely PS3 lol
March 31st, 2010
I did like the game Heavenly Sword.
March 31st, 2010
You don’t have trophies for Uncharted?
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
well those are the only ones I own that has trophies…
I mentioned before I also own Folklore, MGS4, Valkyria chronicles, and Resistance.
Unfortunately for PSfanboys trophies did not come standard when the PS3 first came out lmao…
Some games were given trophies via update, like Uncharted
Some games still don’t have them but definately should have them. Like MGS4
Oh and when i checked the trophies i did it online, which said 0. Appearently I actually have 3 bronze lol. Which are from Lumines
March 31st, 2010
@phranc
nope. I didn’t play it as much. I got as far as the submarine. I had just finished that part and i stopped playing…
March 31st, 2010
didnt like Uncharted and Demon’s Souls?
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
Uncharted was ok. Reminds me too much of Tomb raider though. I got kinda tired of tomb raider years ago lmao. Just wasn’t really in the mood for it at the time.
Demon’s Souls is great. Just difficult lmao
March 31st, 2010
I think the submarine is charpter 3 or 4, you should definitely finish uncharted, its a great game.
also if you dont have Gold, you should pick up some of your online games for the PS3…ncaissie and I needed some help yesterday after we were getting owned in MW2 and WaW.
I think WaW is $19.99 at gamestop right now
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
What do you think about CoD:WaW?
I want to play it online. I haven’t opened it yet and I could always take it back to gamestop and try to get it on PS3 lmao
March 31st, 2010
its a great game all around, the SP mode is not that short (like MW 1 & 2) and the MP are always a blast. Nazi Zombies is the most fun I have had in a online game this gen.
March 31st, 2010
I just picked up Brutal legend for $20 at EB.
I liked the demo and you can’t complain at $20
March 31st, 2010
“What do you think about CoD:WaW?”
Fun game. Co-op and Nazi’s are a blast.
I did have fun getting my ass kicked in MW2 last night.
The co-op Roca and I played was a lot of fun. I found it hard to shoot back with all the blood in your face though.
March 31st, 2010
Actually I was debating the 1.4 vs 1.5… typo. I was trying to say that HS2 would have been in their best interest.
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
Yeah, thats when I got it. They are having their game days sale again and I decided to pick it up for 360… But it kinda sucks t hat im not on gold lmao
and I heard Nazi Zombies is a blast
I had updated the PS3, which didn’t take long
I am trying to configure the network now… cause i kept getting dropped all the time… One of those infamous PS3 vs Linsys router problems
March 31st, 2010
I don’t allow Activision products in my household.
My daughter bought ZuZu pets. I screamed at her and threw it in the trash. “Honey we don’t support that SOB Kottick in this house!”, I yelled as I through the game in the trash. She cried a little, but once I explained how evil Kottick is, she agreed.
March 31st, 2010
^Ha! Early Aprils fools
I don’t actually have a daughter, or any kids for that matter.
…but I seriously don’t like Actvision.
March 31st, 2010
@BJ
I was about to say…lol you almost got me though
March 31st, 2010
@Barnabe
LMAO
thats just messed up. It’s a kid and they don’t know any better lol.
While I don’t agree with some of the shit activision has done i will still play some of their games, like call of Duty.
Hearing about how much the new map pack costs and all is fucking ridiculas though
March 31st, 2010
lmao
didn’t see that one until AFTER i posted lol
March 31st, 2010
HA! I should have let it go a little longer, but I didn’t want anyone to think that was actually true. I don’t dislike Activsion THAT much lol.
Also Carl B, The first uncharted sold similarly to HS. Uncharted got bumps in sales from being bundled, trophies, and the sequel.
March 31st, 2010
“I don’t allow Activision products in my household.
My daughter bought ZuZu pets. I screamed at her and threw it in the trash. “Honey we don’t support that SOB Kottick in this house!â€, I yelled as I through the game in the trash. She cried a little, but once I explained how evil Kottick is, she agreed.”
LMAO
March 31st, 2010
“lmao
didn’t see that one until AFTER i posted lol”
Me too. But it is not the first?
March 31st, 2010
@ncaissie
it was an early april fools joke.
So i’m trying to DL and install the fucking update to Metal gear online when it cuts off on me halfway… which had already taken at least 20 mins to get that far to begin with…. damn DLing shit on PS3 sucks lmao
March 31st, 2010
I hated MGO, the game is too tactical for a online game…I guess it just not for me.
FaHkin…all these games just dropped in price just in case you might be interested
-Killzone 2
-Infamous 2
-LittleBigPlanet GOTY Edition
-Resistance 2
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
Didn’t really like Resistance 1…
Never played Killzone 1
Played the demo of Little big planet… don’t think it was the right type of game for me lmao… My girlfriend liked it though.
Definately want infamous. played the demo and loved every second of it.
March 31st, 2010
FKSP,
Konomi killed MGO IMO. The things they make you go through with the ID and downloads is ridiculous.
I’m a huge MGS fan and I’ve beaten every game (except PSP), but I gave up on MGO a long time ago.
March 31st, 2010
Infamous 2?
ohh. April Fools?
March 31st, 2010
@phranc
i purposely ignored the infamous 2 thing lmao
@barnabe
I never played MGO before. I recently got a new co worker at my job and he is also a gamer. He talks about MGO alot and that made me decide to check it out. I’ve been itching for some online multiplayer action anyway lol.
This updating shit is killing me though… its a huge download appearently. when it errors on me 50% through its abad thing lol. I’m at 45% again though. Gonna get lunch and see where it is when i get back lol.
From what I hear konami also doesn’t take care of the US servers like they do the Japanese servers.
I heard there is alot of lagswitchers on MGO on the US servers but you can avoid them. I was told that Konami doesn’t do shit about them either unless you have video proof, but once they take action they ban your entire console from the MGO servers. Ouch! lol oh well. if you cheat in multiplayer you deserve to get banned.
March 31st, 2010
oh yeah.. Just to add to that list of games that haven’t sold as well as Heavenly Sword.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox 360) 1.16M
March 31st, 2010
“Infamous 2?”
good catch, that was my mistake though lol
March 31st, 2010
MGO is that as user friendly as other games…
March 31st, 2010
come back from lunch and its at 92%
@phranc
i even forgot about sc: double agent lol. splinter cell lost its apeal to me during 1, with its absurd difficulty… If you kill everyone, how can someone find a body? I mean.. everyone is dead after all.
98%….
@Roca
some of the MGS games were often frustrating to control.. it usually took me awhile to get used to it. I love the MGS games though.
100%!
cant wait to give it a try
March 31st, 2010
what I meant to say is that MGO is not as user friend (gameplay wise) as other games because you will die alot before you can really enjoy the online game. This is not like COD that the only thing you need to know is how to shoot.
you will see what I mean when you play it, I hope you like it though
March 31st, 2010
“Viva Pinata (Sat morning cartoon)”
LMAOOOO
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
I hope I like it too lol..
I should be able to get in a few kills at least lmao
March 31st, 2010
“@phranc
i even forgot about sc: double agent lol. splinter cell lost its apeal to me during 1, with its absurd difficulty… If you kill everyone, how can someone find a body? I mean.. everyone is dead after all. ”
It was joystiq were I read that the developer were saying they changed the formula to make it more user friendly to appeal to a larger audience.
It sounds to me like they will lose their core audience by doing so, but if it means sales, ubisoft is happy.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/ubisoft-on-making-splinter-cell-for-a-broader-audience/
March 31st, 2010
I’m downloading the God of War 3 demo… gonna take awhile but I want to check it out.
Just checking out PSN store now for the hell of it… I see they are starting to put up more demos but it still sucks that games like Pain have no demo. I noticed some of the Pixel junk games have a demo so i am going to check them out.
At least on Xbox 360 everything has a demo lol.
The PS one classics selection is getting quite nice… Still missing some great games though.
Needs Tomba 1 and 2.
This is ridiculas right here. Tomb raider 1 is $10 but 2 and 3 are $5 each lol
Jet Moto is an interesting one lmao… I am honestly surpsied that the series never made it into the PS2 era… As good as they were gtting on PS1, the jump in power on the PS2 would have made for a better experience.
March 31st, 2010
PixelJunk Mosnter is really good if you like tower defense games.
March 31st, 2010
@phranc
don’t get me wrong here… for free I would check out the demo. I saw a short preview of it and some of the new things they did were really interesting to me. I didn’t get to check out the demo though cause it’s for Gold members only and I currently only have Silver.
Come to think of it.. i could always create a new account just to get the free gold trial.. then try to Dl it LMAO… i’m brilliant!
March 31st, 2010
“Come to think of it.. i could always create a new account just to get the free gold trial.. then try to Dl it LMAO”
I know many people who do the same lol.
March 31st, 2010
Tower Defense games can be fun. There was one on xbox i was checking out recently. Defense grid… that one was pretty sweet
March 31st, 2010
if you liked Geometric Wars the try the Demo for Super Stardust HD
March 31st, 2010
@Roca
its just a friggin demo… they really should just let it be free for everyone… MS is just friggin petty like that.
Sure they revolutionized online console gaming with Live…
But damn…
1) locking out some demos
2) High live price
3) Weekly deals on games and DLC on live, but only for Gold members
4) Can’t watch Netflix without Gold, when PS3 is free and now Wii has it too, which is also for free.
Sure i will go back on live eventually… But I wont be doing that until I can afford to buy a 12 month card. You can get them on Amazon for $40, which is a much better deal than buying them through Xbox or places like Gamestop.
March 31st, 2010
this is my main issue when I have thoughts about getting a 360, I refuse to pay for online.
its like Phranc alrady said, they are basically charging you so you can use you internet (that you are already paying via a ISP) and use it to host your own games….big scam by MS
March 31st, 2010
The only thing that turned me off from Pixel Junk Monsters was the difficulty.
I would have liked to be able to save in between waves, so if I got my ass handed to me I could try something different in that wave. Unless you are watching youtube videos there’s no way of know whats coming next and how to prepare, and trial and error straight up blows when you have to go through 10 levels you beat with ease just to try and figure out level 11.
March 31st, 2010
“The only thing that turned me off from Pixel Junk Monsters was the difficulty”
lmaoo…yeah it was way to hard at first, but the have patched it now, you can choose the difficulty:
-Casual
-Normal
-Hard
March 31st, 2010
@Phranc
“there’s no way of know whats coming next and how to prepare”
you can see whats coming next at the bottom of the screen
March 31st, 2010
“you can see whats coming next at the bottom of the screen”
yeah but thats during the wave.
March 31st, 2010
You guys forget that it cost more to make a game on the PS3 then it does on the 360. Factor that into your logic.
March 31st, 2010
I recall Namco saying that they need to sell 500K to make a profit.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162509.html
I don’t know how much Heavenly Sword cost to develop and can’t seem to find it anywhere.
March 31st, 2010
“You guys forget that it cost more to make a game on the PS3 then it does on the 360. Factor that into your logic.”
Only when they are first learning to develop for it.
Just like any software development it gets easier with time. I’m sure they know what they are doing by now.
March 31st, 2010
***GameStop’s new product purchased in fiscal 2009***
“Nintendo took the top spot, with 23 percent of GameStop’s “new product purchases” in fiscal year 2009. Sony trailed in second place by only five less points at 17 percent, while MIcrosoft, EA, and Activision picked up 12, 12, and 11 percent (respectively)”
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/31/nintendo-accounts-for-nearly-25-of-gamestops-new-product-purch/
March 31st, 2010
They’ve done a decent job with the PS One classics. They tend to drudge up some old crappy obscure games, while missing some great classics though.
March 31st, 2010
FF9 should be up this weekend
March 31st, 2010
FKSP,
Which weapon would you recommend upgrading for Fang? I’m looking for the best choice pre Gilgamesh.
Gaebolg or Pandora Spear?
Also I upgraded Belladonna to Marlboro. I’ve also leveled up Hope’s Vidohunir quite a bit.
I’m holding out for Lionhear for Light. Haven’t looked into Snow or Sazh yet.
March 31st, 2010
The Japanese store still has a ton more than we do. Our’s is getting there.
FF VII-IX is a great start. Tactics is also up. They should also put up the Anthology and the other double release.
MGS, RE, Tomb Raider are also good choices.
March 31st, 2010
Third party developers are starting to get more used to developing for the Ps3. Most third party games now look equal or better than the Xbox360 version of the same games.
March 31st, 2010
Dante’s Inferno arrived today
it only cost me $22
March 31st, 2010
Nice. I picked up Star Ocean for $35 that day. Mine came last week. I’m going to play through GoW 1st though.
March 31st, 2010
I have WAW and MW2 if you want another person to get owned with. If you need another send me an invite.
PSN- Wylie77
I’m in the central time zone and don’t usually go online until 8 or 9 o’clock though.
March 31st, 2010
Here is a Wii game that actually seems worth checking out.
http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=7636
It’s an RPG called The Last Story
Actually looks pretty sweet. Might be worth following till it comes out. See what kind of game it shapes up to be
March 31st, 2010
I thought the video of monster hunter tri on the wii over at game trailers looked pretty good for a wii game.
April 1st, 2010
“Also Carl B, The first uncharted sold similarly to HS. Uncharted got bumps in sales from being bundled, trophies, and the sequel.”
Actually, within the first 6 weeks of sales, Uncharted had already nearly doubled the sales of Heavenly Sword and maintained that lead well before being bundled, trophies, or the sequel came out.
April 1st, 2010
@phranc
I actually got the demo for monster hunters tri last friday when i went to gamestop.
I will probably end up checking it out today. I will let you know what i think
April 1st, 2010
Uncharted benefited from being praise by the critics, was 2007 PS3 GOTY, came out during the holidays, set the bar in graphics at that time and was reviewed better than Heavenly Sword. Sony also advertised Uncharted more
April 2nd, 2010
Yes. So Uncharted was simply a much better game than Heavenly Sword. No mystery there, and nothing to do with it being a new IP, as they both were.