Max Payne 3 sold 440,000 units in US launch month

Weak debut for multiformat game delayed since 2009.

Sales of Rockstar and Take-Two's Max Payne 3 in its US launch month were 440,000 units, according to data from the NPD Group.

[Lovable]

That's pretty low for a "Rockstar" game. Then again, it's been a really slow month...

[Hisiru]

Ouch!

Max Payne 3 actually surprised me. It's really good game (but I had low expectations)

[xCaptainAmazing]

There are aspects of it I enjoyed, but it does not hold a candle to the previous games overall. I'm glad I only borrowed it from a friend because I didn't even finish it.

It's nowhere near a bad game, but a title you can easily skip. Way too many auto bullet time scenes and cutscenes in general. Let me be clear, I love good cutscenes and storytelling, but they overdid it. Not a single story element was explored while playing... there was a cutscene every minute.

Pacing was alright, but it was also infuriating because of this and near unplayable as a game. just rips you out way too often to be fun.

The emphasis on cover was really dumb I thought. Ruined the speed and craziness the action of the series was known for.

[LOGICWINS]

"There are aspects of it I enjoyed, but it does not hold a candle to the previous games overall."

WOW, talk about different strokes for different folks. I thought it was easily the best Max Payne game ever created. In past games Max was monotone for the most part(except for when he was like "NOOOOOOO!" when his wife died). In MP3, Max has far more emotional range this time time around. And the action setpieces don't even come close to anything in previous Max Payne games.

The part where he almost catches up to Fabiana and he kills like eight guys...in a boat...while the boat is 20 feet in the air! As an overall experience, I understand how you can prefer the New York grit of the past Max Payne games, but as an action game, Max Payne 3 blows most games on the market out of the water.

"The emphasis on cover was really dumb I thought. Ruined the speed and craziness the action of the series was known for."

The cover actually made the game less frustrating than past games in the franchise. In every Max Payne game your heavily outnumbered and outgunned. You don't think cover makes sense in this scenario? If there was no cover, the game would have been frustrating. Besides..your not forced to use the cover.

[ReservoirDog316]

@ Captain

Haha, just throwing it out there. If you spent most of your time in cover, you were playing it wrong. Cover is for reloading or picking off a few guys here or there. But that's it. It's made to be a run and gun game and that's when it's most fun.

It's kinda different from the previous 2 (that I loved) honestly but they could've just made the game in New Jersey and New York again and people would've called it safe and boring.

But as an action game, it's one of the best and most well controlled games ever.

[ABizzel1]

I didn't really enjoy the game, but that had nothing to do with the game itself. I just didn't enjoy much of anything about Max as a character, or any of the other characters for that matter.

For me Max Payne 3 was like watching a movie that you know has good acting and good writing, but you can't get past the fact that it's a movie you don't want to see.

Although I didn't care for the game, it definitely deserves more than 400,000 units sold. It's a good game, made by a great developer, and should be supported better than what it has so far.

[Soldierone]

@RDogs, I'm playing it on the hardest setting, its nearly impossible to run and gun at certain points lol You get out of cover and get owned unless you are in bullet time.

I'm not complaining though, it makes me strategize who to shoot and when more often.

[orange-skittle]

Best Max Payne created. Only complaint is the blurred double vision during cut scenes.

[Raf1k1]

That's a bit of a shame really because I really enjoyed the game and think it has quite a bit going for it. I wonder if it would have sold better had it still had the style of the old games.

[FriedGoat]

Yes, And if it were made by Remedy.

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

i loved the game BUT i think remedy's writing skills were missing.

also i never knew that the guy who played the original max payne made the max payne series and alan wake.

he is a talented writer.

[FriedGoat]

@spam
Indeed, I'm not entirely sure why I got these disagrees.
I think some uneducated n4g-ers don't know the history of Max Payne.

[ShoryukenII]

No it wouldn't have. Most of the people who bought it don't even know about the old style games and May was a very weak month (sales wise).

I think Starhawk sold less than 100k. I was sure that it was because this (much better advertised) game was releasing a weak later but it seems that people just weren't buying games that month.

[Mariusmssj]

May didn't stop Diablo 3 from breaking records xD but i do agree may has been quite a bad month for other games

[AgreeFairy]

I knew it would flop much like GTA5 will.

[NeoTribe]

Saying gta5 will flop is like saying the next cod blacks ops is gonna flop. Not happening.

[D3mons0ul]

Call of Duty can and should flop. People are getting tired of that shit.

[Soldierone]

COD Won't ever "flop" Sales may decline slowly, but it won't flop. All the slower people will still think its the cool thing to buy, before they realize their friends stopped buying it. Eventually Activision will stop the game before it flops for reals to save themselves from "ruining" the franchise. Then re-introduce it later.

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

LOL. you crazy.

[ChunkyLover53]

The sad fact is that we need new hardware, there was a reason we were on a 5 year console cycle, people are getting a bit tired of some of these types of games. I honestly don't know anyone that was asking for a Max Payne 3. Some of these companies don't know how to listen to their consumers.

How great would it be if LucasArts gave us Star Wars Battlefront 3? Or if Rockstar gave us Red Dead 2? Seems like we are always told what we want lately.

[Soldierone]

I agree. I feel last generation was better at it. You want more? We give you more. Today its like "we will get to it, but first here is another FPS!!!!"

I understand not wanting to milk a cow, but they all milk different cows anyways.....look at FPS games. You could release some medicore piece of crap, and get a sequel. If you release an absolutely awesome game that gets great reviews but doesn't sell like an FPS title, well too bad.

[josephayal]

nice sales, what a about a PS-VITA version?

[RankFTW]

Never going to happen.

[cfountain]

I'll buy it once the price drops. at this point in the gen the trend is pretty obvious. wait a few weeks-a month or two and you can find it for like $30-40bucks in most places.

just not worth it to rush out for these games anymore. Systems too. I'm still waiting to buy a 3DS and Vita because of how both handled their last ones. Obvious revisions and price drops are sure to come.

[trouble_bubble]

F#%* the sales police, I loved the game. All anyone plays anymore are sales.

[Fatty]

Given the state of unease about the economy, I'm not surprised people are holding back. I spend a lot on games every year and even I'm being more prudent with my purchases.

I also wonder if these poor numbers are like the old Burger King/McDonald's economic idea, where when one fast food place opens next to another, both stores end up with higher sales. With so few other titles released, then the primary question isn't "do I want Max Payne 3 or do I want Game X", which then might get more people to buy something rather than nothing, but instead is "Do I want Max Payne 3 at $60"

It's just a theory, but I think there might be some merit to it.

[WildStyles]

Game is great. Very surprising seeing how much they advertised it. It was all over the nba playoffs.

[kevnb]

that's what happens when you put your name on crap like la noire, the game where everyone's face moves around like thumb wars characters.

[ThatEnglishDude]

Genuinely surprised it hasn't done better. Then again, same release day as Diablo III couldn't have helped. Then again, Diablo III is just 1 platform. Strange.

[kevnb]

a large percentage of gamers have a pc that can run diablo 3, it scales down pretty far.

[GammaSix]

Thats too bad, since it was the best one

hopefully itll sell more over time

[Me-Time]

This is only for the US.

[Knushwood Butt]

I wouldn't hold your breath for the Japan sales...

[CrazyInsane]

I'm proud when i say i contributed in this number :D

[Ethereal]

Diablo 3 had alot to do with that. Sad, hopefully it continues to sell.

[ginsunuva]

What happened to that massive ad campaign? Did it somehow not work?

[J86blum]

Add one more to that list, im getting it this weekend as a birthday treat for myself. Plus with the carry over that goes into GTAV thats a nice touch.

[DwightOwen]

Title is misleading.

The "launch month" started on May 15 for consoles and May 29 for PC. We should wait to see what June's sales figures reveal before jumping to conclusions.

[MerkinMax]

"I'll walk"
"you'll walk with a limp!"

So badass, Max Payne is freaking epic.

[TheDivine]

Il get it but not for 60. I bought LA Noire (only paid 35 relatively new) and now the game with all dlc is available for under 20. Il get MP3 when its bundled or in the bargain bin. Id pay more if i had time for the MP but i dont lately and the Sp seems like a rental. Looks fantastic though im just too busy and too broke.

[StreetsofRage]

Don't care if this game sold just 1 and I was the only one. This game was one of the best this year.

[j4re]

I don't know what it is about this game. It looks great, plays great, has received glowing reviews pretty much across the board, and yet I just haven't been able to pull the trigger on purchasing it.

[PAYNEinc85]

Max Payne 3 had graphics from about 3 years ago. Thats about the time that the game started being made before being put on the back burner for a few years. By the time it came out the visuals looked pretty dated.

[beerkeg]

I bought it for pc, a hard copy as well as I didn't want to download 30gb. I don't live in the US though.

And I love the game, best game this year so far.

[ShaunCameron]

To be fair, Max Payne is a B-list franchise. And 3's opening-month #'s seem just about right.

Its seamless transition from cut-scene to gameplay is one of the things I enjoyed alongside the level designing. My only complaint is that for the 360 version, R* should have just made one disk for the entire single-player campaign and one disk for the multi-player campaign. I would have bought it in a heartbeat. That's all I could think of when I played the PS3 version.

[Hicken]

Remember when numbers like that used to be respectable?

[ShaunCameron]

That's what sky-high development costs will do to an IP.

[Lulz_Boat]

am i the only one that think 440.000 units in one months in US only is a great number??