Why didn't Killzone 2 do 1 million at launch? Underground Hype 14

Underground Hype is back like cooked crack. We're a little late but it's all good because we have a banger of a show for you this week. On the cast we have Quentyn, Adrian, Keem, Jason, and Michael, and despite the fact that some of us were in drunken zombie mode (aka ready to drool at the sight of a bed), we got excited for some interesting things that happened over the past week and a half in gaming and at GDC. We give our opinions about the OnLive gaming service, whether or not we think this could be the last generation of gaming as Michael Pachter thinks, why Killzone 2 could not outsell Halo Wars or The Lost and Damned, and a lot more, so hit the play button you see below.

[blackboyunltd]

aww here it goes

[GWAVE]

Sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales sales > actually playing video games, apparently.

Blame Microsoft. Nope, calling me a fanboy or a troll doesn't change the fact that this is the first generation of consoles EVER where gamers and the media cared so much about sales, and you can thank Microsoft's constant "we're ahead! we're ahead! Er, we're in second place!" ranting for that.

[Capt CHAOS]

???

[uxo22]

Stop right there, you can't blame Microsoft. Blame Sony and the PS3 fans that didn't buy the damn game. There was Halo3 like hype placed around this game. If it didn't sell 1 million on launch it's because its so-called supporters did not support it.

Besides, people were saying that this game had over a million in preorders. Are pre-orders not calculated into launch sells; Or was that just more hype?

So, lets stop blaming others for our misfortunes and take a look in the mirror. The people who agreed with you are probably the ones best fitting this category.

[GWAVE]

@ Capt CHAOS

"You mean that sales have never been the most important thing?"

Uhhh, not to gamers. I could care less what matters to business execs and board members.

@ uxo22

You totally missed the point. Good job.

[Dread]

what the hell does ms have to do with this!

and are u really sugesting that before ms sales did not matter!

wow

only in N4G

[joydestroy]

you know, reading some of the things people write in here is just great entertainment.

[CaseyRyback_CPO]

Halo3 hype = $30 million dollars in paid advertising. This is not standard. Unless KZ2 got the same(or any game) its not going to strike millions in the first 2 days. There were no Gears of War 2 cgi commercials ran 24/7 either. The advertising campaign was light at best.

If you can understand how a game like kz1 gets made into a sequel, Then you can understand how important it is to sell millions at day one. Its not, its something that Microsoft has injected into this gaming generation as a gloating point. If it was true, that games have to sell millions within the first two days or else, we wouldn't have any titles. Multiplats or exclusive. Its a myth to think that Naughty Dog/Insomniac/KojimaPro is all sitting and pulling their hair out for the first initial month release numbers, nope. They are working on more projects, because games sell over a lifetime.

I know 360 fans have little to do these days game wise on n4g just like last year, and like to pretend that sales mean game sequels. But Resistance 1 & 2, Uncharted 1 & 2, Motorstorm 1 & 2, LBP(3 deal game), Kz1&2 all say hello. You can directly blame MS for the idea that millions = sequels. Its just plain not true in some cases. Is rare going to go out of business because Banjo Kazooie sold less than 150k copies? Probably not.

The people on this site without any games to play would rather make sales more important than actual game quality, but eh.. no dice folks. KZ2 was a quality game, with second to none visuals that are literally impossible on the 360. Thats why there is still so much hate surrounding it. Yes, if you dont have a ps3. You missed out on a game that pushed gaming forward to a new level that the unreal engine cant hang with. Nothing wrong with that, you'll catch it when the ps3 has a price drop. No need to hate.

Pretty much, if Sony keeps creating games the way they do, and they are great AAA titles. Who cares if it sells 1 copy? I dont get any more/less benefit from sales, else I wouldn't be seeing Motorstorm2 or Resistance2, or Heavy Rain, or God of War, and Gran turismo. I do benefit from amazing titles that are impossible to play on any other device except a PS3. And thats what gets delivered, and thats what was delivered with KZ2.

I really do hope they can turn sales tracking into a game, you guys might have something to play one day. Maybe XNA it?

[Milky]

Official sales please or the article is the equivalent to a fairytale.

[eagle21]

So 2 days in Feb. and Top 5 NPD is bad?

[Sayai jin]

Right now no one really knows how many copies KZ2 sold to date. Honestly, if it sold less than 1 million would it take away the fact that this is a top notch game, arguably the best gfx to date. For those who are concerned with sales, it will sell a lot over time if it has not already.

@GWAVE- I understand what you are trying to say in general, but diehards are to blame not MS or Sony. You say you do not care about sales, but here is a recent from you-

`When Sony entered the video game market, it completely dominated right out of the gate for two generations (PS1, PS2), and even though they are flailing a bit with the PS3, it's a solid system with very solid sales. They entered the handheld market, and while they still are losing to the DS, they've managed to sell almost 50 million PSPs, something no non-Nintendo handheld has ever done.'

Lets just say that us gamers should be concerned with gaming and let the stock holders and game devs worry about sales.

game on...

[uxo22]

I thought I understood the point you were trying to make. By all means please do explain your point.

[RememberThe357]

Killzone 2 has not sold as much as we thought it would. It's sold well, but just not as good as we thought.

That is why we sit here giving Sony so much sh*t for not pushing their games. This is not to say that the game isn't selling well, just that Sony didn't push it very well at all (at least SCEA didn't).

It's like Casey said, games don't need to sell a million the first day, but a game like this should sell more then 300 thousand in two days.

The problem that I am having with Sony is that we are selling their games, not them. It is not my job to make sure their games sell, but they continue to ride their fans in hope that the hype we create will push sales.

How about putting some money behind an advertising campaign? I've said this before, but the NCAA men basketball tournament is on right now yet we see no Killzone 2 commercials. It's nearly the same freakin audience. Come on SCEA, you have to spend money to make money...

[cmrbe]

KZ2 is perhaps doing better than 85% of games that were released sales wise.

What i am saying is. Its not normal for a game to sell a million copies at launch. Very,very few games do. I doubt even GT3 or GT4 sold a million copies on day 1. What really matters is how many units sold overall.

[PS3istheshit]

microsoft sony wii
actually not wii cuz they didnt care about sales
they knew their graphics were cr@p but they put mario and all the unique games that were at least fun
i bought killzone 2 and i thought it was more than worth it
the campaign in that game and resistance 2 was awesome
how would sales affect me
it would only b good for online cuz there would be more ppl
if u ask me next gen games are too short
jak and daxter games took me about a year to beat
cuz i got stuck sumtimes and it was really challenging
i think adventure games are the best
ratchet and clank, jak and daxter, god of war, most ps2 games
and wat jack @$$ took away 2 player
me and my friends were trying to play the new midnight club, dragon ball z (i know but its a really fun game), and a lot of shooters
y would they take off split screen offline
dragon ball z budokai 3 is the funnest game ever in 2 player
i would trade online for offline multiplayer anyday
games need more hours of gameplay and at least offline multiplayer
i want next gen split screen!!!!
F sales!

[CrazzyMan]

People, probably fanboys, make TOO BIG deal about sales.

GOOD games should sell a lot, but in reality not all good games sell a lot, Ico and SotC are good examples of that. But this doesn`t make these games worse.

For me, the game can sell ONE copy, as long as that ONE copy is mine. =))

[pain777pas]

Playstation gamer are more diverse in there taste of games. Seriously I like Oblivion, LBP, Uncharted, Wipeout, SF4, Flower and KZ2. I haven't got it yet but definitely will eventually.

[chewy317]

IT DID DO 1 MILLION AT LAUNCH!!! =0 wtf is this guy smoking

[Tru_Blu]

I blame Mountain Dew. Aholes'

[ultimolu]

GWAVE is absolutely right. Back in the days, the only thing people cared about was the quality of the games. Now, it seems this generation is all about sales.

'Oh, a game flops hard because it didn't do x, y, and z sales'.

It's not even about the quality of the game anymore. >:\

[SiLeNt KNighT]

some of you guys have to be joking. simply look at the lineup of games on each console. if ps3 had no other good games Killzone 2 would have sold 4 million copies in the two days of feb. Don't try to cover up a lack of games for the 360 with..."Halo sells millions at launch". yeah well no sh!t, when theres no other games to play except for Halo, GeOW, and Viva Pinata those games SHOULD sell well. When i look at what games my friends are playing on the ps3 theres such a variety sometimes its hard to meet up with them.

[IaMs12]

I have the same problem as you looking at my friends list and seeing everyone has new games or different games thinking and deciding what in the heck i should play. I cant keep up with it too. I do wish Devs cared more about quality and not quantity. Because Quality can bring Quantity, at least my money.

Oh yah did i mention that i use a 360..

[Zeus Lee]

But many a Sony game have sold over a Million copies with below average Marketing campaigns,look at the amazing Little Big Planet for proof of this.

So anyways,they don't need the game to sell much more than 2 Million copies in order to make a significant profit and be truly satisfied with the entire project,judging by Little Big Planets continued performance of excellence at Retailers worldwide,it's safe to say Killzone 2 will join it in the 2 Million+ sold in about 3-4 months or so.

[HDgamer]

Do you have the total sales of the whole February? No? then shut up. It was sold only on the last 2 days, this month is almost done with so we'll get the real NPD numbers. But fanboys just to let you know, you can't play numbers.

[Alcon]

Well I have to agree with Zeus Lee on the fact that marketting was terrible. The only time I saw an advert for KZ2 was 2 weeks after its release!!, and you would be very lucky to be able to find it again on tv. There are no posters on the streets, to advertise the game or the pack console/game. While I often saw adverts on tv, for XBox/Wii games/consoles , and I've seen many adverts on street, for the Xbox,Wii and their games. But PS3 and its games are almost non existant.
Maybe they don't want to give to much money on marketing, but besides the people going on the net to inform themselves, no one knows this game is even out(some of my friends (who own a PS3) did not know anything about KZ2 either). So if Sony wants to sell its games in the millions, they should step up their marketting. But it seems they are happy to have their games sell 1 million the first month, and then gradualy and hopefully reach the 2 mill. It's like they don't want the games to sell crazy numbers. Personaly I don't care, but for them it's a bad strategy, and many people miss out on great games.

[RememberThe357]

With the advertising they have going now, there is no chance of that.

[Zeus Lee]

We're going to need The Lost and Damned numbers first before making such claims,there's a reason why they aren't announcing the numbers right now.

Hint;It's not doing as hot as they thought it would.

[blackboyunltd]

tlad already broke the xbl download record, so you know they crushed killzone 2

[ViceKingz]

the fact that is costed 20 bucks and was sold at the middle of February may be reasons why

[Saigon]

actually that is inncorrect...the game broke sales records not downloaded records on xbl...look at the articles related to that case and note the wording...also this was only claimed by one source...kataku...and everyone knows they have a hidden agenda against sony...

[crck]

It broke the record for revenue of dlc on xbl. Which means it outsold horse armor and other added content like the Fall Out 3 and Fable 2 stuff. At $20 a pop it costs at least twice as much as that other stuff. Not that big a deal in my book. As for sales, Metal Gear Solid 4 didn't even sell a million in its first month including PS3 bundles and it went on to sell 4 million plus worldwide in 8 months so really who gives a crap.

[Sevir04]

in Japan it sold 500K and in both the us and EU/uk they sold like 500k and 700k They in 3 days they sold 1.2 million, and that was including bundles. In stand alone sales MGS hit a million in the states in december as proved by NPD and gamasutra. so the whole time most people in the US were waiting for the 80g bundle to buy MGS4 and a ps3... in any case it's pretty safe to say KZ2 by now has sold in excess of 1.5 million. It's far more popular in the UK and EU,AUS pal region and has been consistent in being number one across teh board up until RE4HD remix was released for S3 and xbox 360 just over a week ago. and still it's remained in the top 5 across both regions for the week that followed. KZ2 debuted at the #5 best selling game in 2 days of sales.. It's safe to say that the opening week for the game in March was pretty much a strong sell through for a game like that I say March's NPD will likely show this game at Number 3/4 with RE4HD remix at 1 and 2 respectively.. i'm sure KZ2 has surpassed 2 million already. The game has got the praise and gameplay to show it. I'd say it's sold 1 million in week 1 alone across the world. In the US however, it'll be about a month or 2 before it hits a million

[brycespitler]

what u said are not facts
your expressing opinions

ppl dont seem to understand their are different ways of saying things
for example u could say to your gf "babe idk y but i dont like that shirt" or u can say, "b!tch u look fuccking ugly...wait why are u crying, i was just stating MY OPINION."

alot of ppl have lots of fun playing online with psn and do not have problems

i for one never have problems with psn....ppl are always on when i wanna play a certain game and i dont experience lag (except for mgo which isnt even psn based but p2p network konami made)

so get off your high hirse thinking your opinion is the end all of the worlds opinion...
your comment was not factual and based on an opinion that apparently other ppl dont agree with

so stop crying and go to the open zone with that trash

[DA_SHREDDER]

The reason why killzone hasn't sold as much as they wanted is because most online ps3 games have sucked. Socom, COD4, Battlefield, COD5, Turok, ATV vs. MX, Army of Two, Rainbow Six Vegas one and two and even alot of other games like need for speed, madden,nba live just had horrible online with features like voice chat missing, drop outs and the like.. I have alot of friends that actually bought every crappy game the ps3 had, and stopped with Killzone 2 because it was just expected to have crappy online.

[swiftshot93]

I am 100% certain your lying. Even if one or two of those games didnt have a good launch, they always ended up working perfectly.

COD4? LOL. I still play COD4 on PSN and its a charm. Most people have headsets, no lag for the most part, and matches are very easy and quick to join. Oh, I'm also playing RE5 co-op, that works perfect too.

PSN id: swiftshot93

[Time_Is_On_My_Side]

Lol, if PlayStation 3 sucks online than the PC/Mac platforms suck online.

[Breakfast]

...youd be blowin up everyday!

Its suck when people cant argue your points, so they just label you a fanboy to discredit you. Apparently it works too....until the person rationally fights back, lmao.

...oh well, the charms of n4g :)

[SoapShoes]

And I had to log in just to reply to this. It's complete bull. Warhawk and Killzone 2 are the only online games that play well? I must be the luckiest man in the world, because all of my other games besides those two that are online play great. Resistance 2 = 60 players with no lag.

Sure Socom and COD had horrible lag when they released, but those are only a few bad apples.

[HDgamer]

Da shredder you have 3 bubbles and you're a fanboy. Resistance 1 and 2 do not have lag at all. I would know when it comes to downloading with rapidshare while using cryptload which drains most of your bandwidth and still keep the game running at full speed with no lag. I was surprised, hey you can do the same test with bittorrent, same results. You have a large wall of text that is incoherent and filled with no proof what so ever to back it up. Get a life and play games not the consoles. You hate a game console so much that you're in a gamer zone lying through your teeth. Ooh you're going to take bubbles with your alternate accounts, against gamers instead of fanboys like yourself in the gamer zone.

You're not going to convince real gamers that whatever bull you're spinning is not going to reach them. You belong in the open zone. You said you used to be a ps3 guy now you're a 360 guy. Hmmm that screams fanboyism, Why not just have both? Why don't you have both, here's the most logical reason why. You're too much of a fanboy and a broke ignorant child to even contemplate the idea of playing exclusives on both systems. This just blows your mind, how ignorant and childish you can really be by lying and slandering worser than John McCain against Obama in the electoral campaign.

If you dress a pig, it's still a pig. You give a console to a fanboy who's loyalty to one game console then he's still a fanboy.

[YogiBear]

You need to work harder if you want to be a good bulls#*t salesman.

[swiftshot93]

It didnt do a million in America, but I remember stories here on N4G stating that KZ2 has passed the million mark in Europe in its first week.

Am I wrong?

[RememberThe357]

But wouldn't it be nice if we could get numbers for Europe all together?

I'm tired of everyone leaning on the NPD numbers.

[Zeus Lee]

"We're going to need The Lost and Damned numbers first before making such claims"

It's in English,so I don't see what went wrong on your side?

[Unicron]

Seriously... I have never seen "gamers" more interested in numbers in my entire life. This has been THE WORST console generation, as if sales somehow validate opinion on what is entertaining? Pretty sad... no, utterly pathetic.

If only people realized how few titles have reached 1, 2, 3 million copies sold and how few games released actually break even, not just this generation but EVERY generation.

Until I see the numbers, I'm not going to judge the "sales situation."

ALSO, LOL at people bringing up Lost & Damned. That's just as utterly asinine and stupid as people bringing up Wii Fit outselling Halo 3. Guess Wii Fit is just the better/more popular game fanboys.

[N4g_null]

Best comment so far. I'm ready for next gen or what ever is coming now. This is getting old.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Advertising
Misleading Demo
First Killzone SUCKED!
People don't like the PS3 because the media says it sucks.

[chewy317]

It did do 1 million at launch LOL!!! =0

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

I'm fully aware of that.

It sold and is selling quite well.

I just could be doing a lot better...based on the quality of the title.

[MainEventX]

As a PS3 fanboy I was wondering why Killzone 2 didnt' do a million at launch either, I guess some people praised it but never wanted to actually get the game. It might be Sony has alot of franchises people are saving money for and Microsoft only has Fable, Gears and Halo.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

So many things factored into this poor launch.

Nobody KNEW about Killzone 2!

Even if they saw the commercial, they had no idea what it was!

Fallout 3 sold like crack and so did ES4:Oblivion...despite very few people knowing what Fallout /or? the Elder Scrolls series' were. They had good advertising and a fair about of media spotlight.

I know Sony can't control the media...they don't own stock in Viacom...haha. They can, however, get a better PR department!

[Why dis]

People keep saying MSFT only has this and that but its Sony that only has two good games lol.

KZ2 only sold a million because no one gives a sh*t about KZ2 or KZ1. The game was used by Sony to boast PS3's power with a CGI trailer(2005) and fanboys used the game/trailer as a tool to praise PS3 and attack the 360(2005-2009).
The game was so hyped and the rabid PS3 fanboy movement so powerful the media had no choice but to hype it(score it high). Fanboys on forums painted a false picture about how popular the game was and the sales reflect that(average FPS with cool cover system and nice graphics).

[WIIIS1]

I'm constantly amazed at your complete lack of diplomacy or restraint when pontificating upon matters of truth and right. For that reason you will always face the same persecution that Martin Luther King did.

[sak500]

Sales sales sales sales.. so now you guys are crying cuz everyone in this gen is caring about sales. Ya so what about 100+ million ps2 sales you guys kept rubbing in our faces before the ps3 launched? Or how about MGS4 gonna sell millions and kill off 360, or kz2 breaking sales record of every 360 exclusive? Now it has also failed you are suddenly singing different tune.

Now that ps3 is 3rd in the console race the sales and any kind of numbers are just useless for you sony followers.

[Unicron]

Thank you for 1) generalizing and 2) proving how petty you are, again.

What's this "our" faces? Who is "our?" What is it with people aligning with consoles and taking sides over this crap? Are you for real? Oh no, someone on a message board said something stupid, then you say something stupid, round and round it goes.

Please, try to use your brain for two seconds and form a coherent argument.

[eagle21]

Xbox fans are delusional. Your broken games lost to PS3 exclusives.

Who won all the AIAS awards in 08 Including GOTY? Who won all the graphics awards? PS3

MGS4 has sold over 4.5 million and outscored every 360 exclusive winning Gamespot GOTY. Won best graphics at Spike.

Gamespot gave halo wars a 6.5 and Killzone 2 a 9. Ninja Blade is scoring pathetic and SO4 didn't crack NPD top 10. Killzone 2 was released in two days at the end of Feb. and top 5. 360 is trying to cover their bad software with FUD.

[blackboyunltd]

MGS4 has sold over 4.5 million and outscored every 360 exclusive winning Gamespot GOTY. Won best graphics at Spike.

Gamespot gave halo wars a 6.5 and Killzone 2 a 9. Ninja Blade is scoring pathetic and SO4 didn't crack NPD top 10. Killzone 2 was released in two days at the end of Feb. and top 5. 360 is trying to cover their bad software with FUD

360 is the go to console for multiplatform games

[SoapShoes]

Like Microsoft followers haven't been changing their tune either...

Remember all of the reasons why PS2 outsold the Xbox? They can't use those reasons now, because they apply to the 360.

"PS2 only sold better because it came out a year earlier"
"People only buy PS2 for one game"

[mrdxpr2]

i have a couple of reasons why i didnt buy it on february 27th..
1st. i didnt get payed until saturday night i bought the game on sunday 2 days later.

2nd. Bestbuy was packed i didnt want to go to gamestop

3rd.didnt have time....

ok now for the people that say this game sucks and ps3 sucks 2 and that 360 is the best ok u people are retarded little c*ck suckers.. my brother traded in hes 360 and all of hes games accesories everything that was for 360 and got a ps3 he is loving it he doesnt regret it at all... loves home, loves free online play, loves the great exclusive games ps3 has

i was happy when he got rid of hes 360 now i can sleep at night, i dont have to worry my house is gona burn down cause of that stupid 360... hes 360 broke on him and the other day it scratched gears 2 and hes Gold membership expired soo really he just had to get rid of that piece of crap.

[kewlkat007]

I know it's been a month...but I wonder are the sales on a negative/positive slope or maintaining?

Like I always say if your "Shooter" does not sell that well in the US, you can still be successful but you won't be playing with the Big Boys.

As some will say and I Agree, sales are sometimes, not reflective of Quality but it can be depending on the game. Same as, sh!tty games can sell plenty at the right price, hype and appeal. In the end Sales = Sequels. Why some may not care but I know some are hoping for great sales for their favorite franchises. As well as using it for fanboy arguments(when it suites them).

But what does it take for a game to Sell very well based on

Quality/
Delivering on Hype/
Mass Appeal/
Marketing/
Gamer Satisfaction/
Network Play/
Replay value/
Dev Support/

Sadly not many games will ever sell great based on these "packaged factors" but there are games that fall in the category. KZ2 happens to be one of them, which is why it's critiqued as.

[Spike47]

1) The only numbers or sales that any of you hating idiots have is NPD from 2 days of February.
2) Dont compare Halo 3's sales to Killzone 2' sales. Why? Killzone 2 had almost no damn marketing while Halo 3 was the second coming(ex. Mountain dew Halo, tv show specials,etc.)
3.) Quality>Sales.

[maverick1191]

thats the thing these days people buy games because of the name not because how it plays and that you could do halo in a barbie costume and it will sell well

[Spike47]

Every damn statement you people make is complete BS.

[redsquad]

Don't look at me: I bought two copies (one as a present for my sister)

[JD_Shadow]

Here we go...AGAIN! The FUD from these guys never seems to end. Not even putting out a podcast on a regular basis, and it always seems to be slamming Sony and Nintendo in some way and never saying one bad word about MS.

It's like that Avis commercial: Do you ever get the feeling that some people just stop trying?

[KingKionic]

well its going sell more then 2 milion in overall sales. shouldnt you guys be happy? :)

[Spike47]

LOL, pathetic.

[Phantom_T]

they had no choice but to score it high?
WRONG.
reviewers base score on there own experience with it.
weighing up the pro's and con's respectively.
people rely on reviewers to rate games before they invest,not consumers raving about a brand and force the score higher,i'd say otherwise the reviewers are incredibly unprofessional.
Try this quick and easy tutorial to better gaming enjoyment.
1) remove fanboy goggles
2) read reviews on game before buying
3) try game for yourself.
4) rate in your own opinion accordingly.

[free3sixty]

just accept that nobody cares about the PS3.. in europe you can get a PS3 for 300 euro, thats like 300 USD:. and still the 360 sells better in europe.

No pricecut would help sony.

Here in germany you can get a PS3 + PSP @ media markt for 399 euro.. thats like 250 euro for a PS3 and nobody wants it, lol.

[no-spin]

PS3 owners are not FPS crazy neither

[Phantom_T]

It's one of few war games without World War references.

[Lumbo]

Is it ?

As far as i am concerned the Helgast look stunningly like Wehrmacht Stormtroopers (+ glowing eyes) and the stationary MG's are all MG42.

[Tykis]

it did in europe... lol

[skatezero246]

I agree with you man, most people on here act like spoiled 8-10 year olds. I know exactly what you mean since I own a ps3 and have played rainbow six vegas 2 and call of duty 4 onlince and have experienced what you mentioned above. I wouldn't say it's crap though, going from ps2's online to playstaion network was a huge leap for sony but there are problems that still need to be adjusted

P.S have a bubble

[HDgamer]

You're full of lies. KZ2 has zero lag, its running on a dedicated server. Vegas 2 and COD4 which are multiplatforms are only running on p2p well except Vegas 2 on the pc and ps3 version allows dedicated servers. Having played both games for a very long time the online service is pretty good. Mics are used as frequently, occasionally you will get a few morons but hey thats online gaming. Most of you are just fanboys nitpicking a game console you don't even own nor have played games on. It's probably your relatives game console in the first place.

[skatezero246]

It came out Feb. 27 meaning the data is only showing how much it sold within it's first 48 hours, the reason why it didn't sell like Halo is because Sony didn't market it like crazy and most people who bought Killzone bought it themselves instead of begging mommy or daddy to get it for them Xbox-live is the proof most Halo fans are like 10-15 year olds havn't played one game where a lil kid was complaining because it was bed time or they were simply getting owned

The reason I mentioned Halo was because of countless articles claiming killzone 2 would be a halo killer and i'll say what I said in most of them posts there's never going to a game that kills another game it's the crappy developers that kill games

[skatezero246]

How am I lieing when thats all i use? I own both PS3 and a XBOX 360 I just refuse to pay for the online, I play xboxlive at my friends house. So what ever makes you sleep better buddy, if it makes you feel any better I can prove I have the games and the systems

And when did I ever mention of Killzone 2 lagging? the game runs flawlessly online so next time think before you jump the gun clown

[HDgamer]

You claimed you experienced everything that Da Shredder experienced. Either you were blindly agreeing or you just wanted to provide biased opinions. Plus live is only 50 for a year.

[JokesOnYou]

KZ2 was expected by many to do huge numbers, sony themselves have poured tons of cash over 4+ yrs into this game, they have set up KZ2 to be ther biggest exclusive so far and likely for quite some time for the ps3....this is why commercially KZ2 has underperformed SO FAR, sure it was only 2 days for NPD and a limited amount of data to this point, but my guess is sony would be screaming from the rooftops and there would be plenty of retail outlets noting strong KZ2 sales if they were in fact high, like we saw with games like most notably Gears2, COD4 and Halo3 of course.

In life there are always exceptions to the rule, sales IS IN FACT one of the most important indicators of quality. Did I say its the only one? NO but first of all when talking quality you have to remember it is subjective in nature, so for the sake of arguement quality is usually determined by what MOST *PERCEIVE as being likable, now the fact is for every *PERCEIVED great game or any product that was NOT a commercial success there are countless products in the same category/genre that were *perceived to be great and they sold accordingly. The same goes for products *perceived as bad, sales are almost always very poor with some exceptions of course.

To portray sales as insignificant for a product that is intended/created for the purpose of generating a profit is very foolish....you'll notice that the cries of "sales don't matter" come from *bitter folks who are attatched to the product in last place, notice I said bitter because it is possible to be in last place and still be successful in the sense that your business model is making a healthy profit, however if a company or those attatched to it are comfortable with those circumstances then they wouldn't react so bitterly to those who are focusing on its profits. Whats ironic is sales are important when referencing ps2 hardware, when looking at japans weekly sales, and basicly in any other case where ps sales look even decent.

Finally give the "why do gamers care so much about sales" tantrums a rest, yes your avg joe gamer doesn't care about sales, but this is n4g, we all follow every aspect of the industry and guess what this is a thread about KZ2's sales so its really silly and convenient to act so naive on n4g, especially in a thread about sales...btw those who also ask the naive question "who is they" or "why are you generalizing a whole community", well personally I agree basic "tit for tat" arguements are pointless but if you feel the need to make a worthwhile point thats what the comment section is intended for and generalizations happen based on each of our perception of what we see on n4g.

To summarize KZ2 is a great game, however imo a few things keep it from having that must have appeal, which is my explanation of why its not flying off the shelves so far, either way I believe over time it will sale its fair share. -I know, I know I could have just said that and not waisted my time, its alright I dont mind. lmfao

JOY

[JD_Shadow]

Look at it this way. If a masterpiece of a game comes out but no one knows it exists, then what do you think the sales of such a game will be? Now, if there is a game that sucks ass but it's touted as God's gift to gaming everywhere and is shoved down your throat everywhere you turn, you're going to be curious about what the hype is all about.

See where I'm going with this? Marketing is a KEY element on the sales of a game, and it shouldn't be a factor in determining quality at all because even the best games in the world can have sh!tty marketing and thus no one knows of the game.

Also, keep in mind that sales for many Sony games have not all come in one or two days. They come over time, which means that the games keep selling. We see this on LBP, where the sales have reached one million plus. Did it do that on day one? No, but it reached that number within a month or two. The flaw I'm trying to illustrate here is that not only are we looking at sales alone to determine if the game is any good or not, but we're also thinking that if the game doesn't sell out everywhere on the first day, then it is a flop. This, unfortunately, is the fault of the media for making us think like this.

Look at the very first Mega Man. It wasn't a very good first day seller, but look what happened to it: word of mouth made people curious, and it became such a hit that Capcom did a sequel that became a beast, and you know what happened to that franchise afterwards. But if everyone said "well, two days and we didn't sell a million copies, it failed", we would've never gotten such an icon introduced into gaming. I'm not sure where and why we introduced this new logic.

And why are we measuring sales NOW? Like everyone's been saying (and like these people who cherry pick their facts), it was only out for two days in February. Even if you factor in LAD and it's mysterious sales that everyone just KNOWS sold better somehow (I say it that way because we don't have the hard numbers yet these people seem to have information no one else has), the DLC was out longer during that month than KZ2, which is hardly fair. Even Halo Wars was out a bit longer during Feb. than KZ2. This makes this a moot point yet everyone who's trying to trash KZ2 seems to ignore that.

[JokesOnYou]

First off, while KZ2 certainly didn't recieve Halo3 type advertising it was more or less well known among avg gamers who pay the slightest attention to gaming, furthermore I doubt theres alot of gamers who own a ps3 or a pondering getting a ps3 who doesn't know about KZ2....sure there will be some but as usual on n4g its a overstatement to assume consumers willing to pay MORE for a "gaming" console (360's cheaper) are somehow unaware what exclusive games are available for it, especially when the game in question is THE GAME sony themselves have made a big deal about.

Marketing is definitely a factor but in the end the product has to stand on its own merits or the only thing a huge marketing budget will do ultimately is get your product "noticed" for better or worse, there are all types of products that get "hyped" from ad campaigns only to end up failing.

Whats this preaching about how something could end up having great sales in time...sure but you could say the same thing about most products even ones that are *perceived as medicore but most hyped products always receive alot of early speculation about its performance....I mean WHY are you guys acting as if this wasn't expected, maybe not you but general atmosphere on n4g among sony folks prior to KZ2's release seem to suggest very high sales were expected and I'm not talking about a few foolish extremist who talked as if it would outdo Halo3 in sales, I'm just saying most sony folks projected huge sales, and NO, trust me anybody commenting on n4g KNOWS it was only for 2 days, how could they not when its been mentioned every other post but I think if you're being honest those 2 days sales are underwhelming for what is sony biggest ps3 exclusive so far. I'm not bashing KZ2 at all but the headline is legit question about this game.

JOY

[Mindsucker]

Who for some one who seemingly has no interest in KILLZONE 2 you sure seem to have alot of emotion invested in it that is some major damage you have there.

and Not that I enjoy personally bashing people but you seem almost smart enough. If you are in fact older then 10, idolizing a fictional character " the Joker" is kind of well childish don't you think? I mean I think maybe you might have some development issues. Just my personal opinion Just like I am sure you have you personal opinions.

[JokesOnYou]

Why do you assume I have no interest in KZ2?...I bought the game day 1 and beat it in a few days, played my share of multiplayer. As I've stated in many other posts its a great game....so wtf are talking about, lmfao and btw way who said I idolize the Joker; NO, not that theres anything wrong with "liking" a charachter for a movie but actually I just thought up a silly name to join this site and I thought the avatar was appropriate, thats all, lolz or do you think everybody with an avatar has some sort of "meaningful" personal connection to it, lmfao your logic is very poor, you shouldn't assume so much about people you don't know.=

JOY

[PotNoodle]

Killzone 2:

Massive amounts of internet hype
Lacking advertisement campaign
Playstation 3's high entry cost
Sequel to a game that is considered a HUGE flop

Seriously, i knew people at college who didn't have a clue what killzone 2 was.

It is still apparently on around 1.5 - 1.7m. Which is actually good.

[destrosio]

maybe it's because the game wasn't so good, graphics aside?

........could be.

[commodore64]

ooops.

Did you just say what every gamer was thinking but was afraid to say out loud?

Bubbles for your bravery.
You'll need 'em, depending on how many sony fans chance upon your little gem.

[NegativeCreep427]

By your comment, anyone with even an inkling of the Killzone 2 experience can say that you have either not played the game or have played only a morsel of the SP and NONE of the MP...

...Or you could just be talking out of your A$$ to excite idiot fanboys like commodore64 up there. Just a guess...

@ commodore

"Bubbles for your bravery. You'll need 'em, depending on how many sony fans chance upon your little gem."

Little gem? Oh commodore you either seriously need to raise your standards or you are in serious need of a new boyfriend.

[WIIIS1]

Y'know, there was absolutely nothing in the demo (which I played 3 times over and got sick of) that suggests the game to be a standout, so I can't understand the fools here who were crying out stuff like "Yeah, back to my 150th replay of the demo!!". Judging by the sales figures, I guess I wasn't alone in my appraisal of the game based on the demo.

[STONEY4]

He probably played the crappy demo which was nothing like the rest of the game which was amazing.

[commodore64]

see what i mean, destrosio?

... negativecreep has just proved my point.

It must be mentioned that for every one like him that comments, there are ten others that just take your bubbles for simply stating a controversial possibility.

So yeah. Construct your comments carefully.
An angry mob is all too common on n4g.

:)

[Ninjamonkey82]

*Aint the days it used to be and sony is off to a slower start but as momentum gains wait see how much sells. It will blow your small minds.

[xg-ei8ht]

I don't understand SONY'S advertsing at all.

I don't even know who they have doing it.

I just know, i hardly see any adverts on TV.

But during other periods i must have seen LIPS ads so many times and nintendo advertises all the time as well. I'm in UK.

Point is, You have to advertise to bring gamers over to your system.

Otherwise what's the point.

Now, we are all gamers.

But without sales, there would be no games.

SALES = LIFE.

[FF7numbaone]

A lot poeple say sony's advertising sucks but it doesn't suck. They just dont advertising enough.

But I think its important that gamer know that companies like Ms,Sony and nintendo....advertising is a major expense.

[drsnobby]

It,s easy to say sales don,t matter if ur a gamer.if you were in the developers shoes sales matter.at the end of the day when a game sells well,the publisher and developer makes money.in return bigger budgets are aloted to bring quality games to the consumer.put ur self in the developers shoes.the developers have to pay bills to.

[Firstkn1ghT]

Love how the sony defense force is up in heat with their million and one excuses. Makes for some fun reading. :)

Fact is many gamers that believed the hype and bought the game were disappointed. The control was a mess, weak selection of weapons, weak variety of enemy, just a dull experience over all. The game is averaging 90.88% over all which is a great score but contrary to popular belief by the sony fans, it is NOT the best shooter on the market. It's not even close.

Could possibly be the most over rated game of all time.

[Lex Luthor]

I completely agree, no offence to sony fanboys but this game is seriously overated, at least H3's Mp has serious depth and playability.

All the issues you you mentioned were also the main gripes i had with the game. Especially how dull the multiplayer is when all people do is just spam grenades, rockets and spawn right next to enemies with spawn grenades. The game gets boring quick.

The only main thing K2 has going for it is graphics, apart from that there are much better single and multi player experiences elsewhere.

[SnukaTheMan]

For one thing its how many people will be playing the game online....you figure if 400K buy the game, Maybe 75% or even less will be playing the game online...You figure this game sold more in europe so you will be playing with many people with transcontinental lag. To bad people are on this website making excuses then playing the best game their system has.

[Spike47]

FirstKnight, FACT is that you are a hater and your comment was completely BS and opinion. This game got a 9.4 from IGN and so far all of the PS3 owners I know are happy with their purchase.

THE ONLY PEOPLE UNHAPPY WITH KILLZONE 2 ARE THE HATERS THAT DON'T EVEN OWN IT, LIKE YOU.

[JeffGUNZ]

Hey man, I know it gets annoying when people fight over video games and all that, but you can't count someones post as BS just because you don't agree with their opinion. KZ 2 scored 9.2 in meta-critic, it doesn't matter what IGN gave it, i mean wasn't there a site that scored it a 7, just to get attention. You have to go by the average. You said "all the PS3 owners i know are happy with their purchase", well that is opinion. Actually, it's hearsay, you can not speak on behalf of everyone that owns a PS3. Do some research, there is a couple of article on N4G that show MANY ps3 owners disappointed with KZ2, and another article with many posts dealing with a lack of longevity.

All I am saying is people have opinions, whether you agree with them or not, they are free to post them on this site and you can't belittle someone just because you disagree with it.

I played KZ2 many times at my brothers house, and it's great. The reason it doesn't sell well is because Sony has an awful marketing department. People got to stop attacking microsoft games, like halo, it's not their fault they can market well and spend money to advertise. People should only be mad at sony and their lack of marketing. Like I said, Sony needs to push their games, if they don't, they will never sell like gears and halo did for the 360.

[psycho360]

Well said Jeffgunz.. +bubbles

N4G lacks the rational thinking people like you. I dont think you would make spike, who seems like a 15 year old kid from his comments, understand that its a game he's talking about which will not mean anything in real life.

[Spike47]

It is up there with my FPS favorites such as Halo 1 and 2, COD4, and Battlefield Bad Company.

I can't beleive that a smart person like you thinks that Killzone 2's online hype means anything in the real world. Halo 3 was the second coming in advertising for a video game. Some people don't even know what Killzone 2 is, but if you mention Halo 3 a group of fans would form around you.

[Lord Vader]

Meh, the graphics are great, but the story was pretty forgettable with the same repetitive eneimies... about as engaging a story as COD:W@W...

What happened to the cover system in MP ???

4 years for a 9 hour campaign on BluRay with NO co-op ???

Who the F#@k designed these laggy-a$$ controls ???

Yeah, great graphics but at what cost ? Gimped features & gimped controls imho. Doesnt matter how much they advertize, it aint fun to play like Gears, Halo, & COD4. Hell, I'd rather replay Uncharted SP than KZ2.

Press X to respawn now.

lol

[bviperz]

I found out that it didn't sell a million the first day (or days, weeks, years, take your pick), I still feel the game is awesome. But that's just me.

[creatchee]

Let's blame who should be blamed: the game itself. I bought the game. I liked the game for about 35 in-game hours. But then I stopped. And my friends on the fence are asking me should I get it? I'm honest and tell them: it's a very good FPS, but it's not something you'll play a few months from now unless you COMPLETELY click with it. And you know what? I'm not alone. A lot of my friends who DID buy it at launch are back to their old standbys or new games. It's not because Killzone 2 isn't a good game - it just gets tired after a while.

Unfortunately, this is a problem for the average gamer who doesn't buy every big game that comes out. They want bang for the buck. We always complain about how GTAIV sucked and what now, but there's still a ton of people who play it because that is probably one of their 3-5 game purchases of the year.

We, the hardcore, do not make up the majority of the game-buying public. We forget that, or choose to ignore it.

[be_wrong]

if you would search :D you'll see that in uk it already ahd a 1.1 million pre orders so it already counts :)

[Allowen]

At the beginning when I bought it I did not like KZ2 but later on more cool looking stages and learning how to play better with the unusual controler I started to like it .

It is a really good game, in the end it was a bit better then what I was expecting ... anyways I still preffer FPS like a Bioshock , Metroid Primce 3 , Far Cry 1 , Resistance 1 &2 because all these games have some kind monster ...

I think that was the reason it did not sell much... all the propaganda showed red eyed soldiers and that is it ... no huge monsters like in Resistance or awesome light effect from super cool weapons/ skills like in Bioshock and I guess because it was too dark on most of the stages and ppl could not have a goiod feel about what the game was all about.

IF KZ2 had more boss fights and it was showed on the propagandas the game would probablly would have sold x2 more.
Anyways Call of Duty dont have major bosses and no monsters but still sells great.... go figure....

[FF7numbaone]

360 gamers are more likely to buy a 59.99 exclusive 360 games than the amount ps3 owners that are willing and able to buy ps3 59.99 exclusives games.

I dont know why but its the truth. Its like most of ps3 owners are budget shoppers. Which is why most ps3 exclusives will gradually sell over 2 million during there lifetime. Pretty sure Killzone 2 will sell better than most games at 39.99.

[HDgamer]

How is this fact when its based on your biased opinion which is subjective to change?

[FF7numbaone]

can you prove me wrong? instead of disagreeing try to prove me wrong. Thats very rude of you.

[Allowen]

I know quite a few friends that used all their cash avaiable to buy a PS3 and now they can only afford a game every 2 or 3 months :(

the console is still expensive for most ppl, many that ends buying a PS3 uses all cash they have and they can't keep buying new games all the time. Not that they don't want to.

[Ryuk]

Its like this...sony fans hype every game to high hell. And I mean EVERY game. It could be a psn demo and they'd still think i'll own the 360. But like most of the "sony fans" on this site, they are all talk and no action. Sony exclusive this, sony exclusive that. Why do you brag about how good a game is when your never gonna buy it? If Killzone 2 (the game they compared to crysis) sales disappointed.. just imagine the rest of your sony exclusives. -_- Cant wait till the disagrees start rollin in

[NegativeCreep427]

Unlike the Xbox 360's overall software sales revenue account, Sales for all of Sony's first-party entries for this generation were exceptional: Rachet and Clank F:ToD, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Uncharted 1, Killzone 2, among the PSN-exclusive titles.

When the entire consumer base of a particular console (The Xbox 360, in case you are not paying attention) has nothing but one particular title to bank on in regards to major, exclusive software in an annual period (I'm talking about Halo 3 for 2007 and Gears of War 2 for 2008, in case you idiots are still not paying attention) of course the initial sales numbers for those titles are going to be big.

Focus an entire consumer base of one particular console on ONE DAMN GAME, and of course it'll sell more than 6-figures within its initial launch week. That is all the hardcore Xbox 360 fanbase have! Playstation has more than just two DAMN I.Ps. What they hell are idiots like you Ryuk going to brag about now???

Ninja Blade??? LOL! Get your head out of your manhole-sized butt-hole and try to see what logic and reality can do for you.

Fanboys like Xbots with heads the size of F'n milk duds need to f*cking die!!! For the sake of all Humanity!!!

[Ryuk]

And you know what else is funny. When sony realized that their 3rd party multiplatform games were lacking in sales and graphics towards the 360 they came out with the "we're only focusing on first party software" excuse and just like that...all the sony fans all of a sudden started shouting "exclusive, exclusive, exclusive" only b/c sony said so. So that goes to show me that no matter what sony say, you fans will follow. I bet today that if sony say "we're switching all our focus to 3rd party devs" you fans will start making a list of multiplatform games to boast about lolz oh..and creep, the 360 is made up of more than just FPS... or have you forgotten which console has the most rpgs? And your right, ps3 exclusive sales are exceptional, they just pale in comparison towards the 360's.
So go head and wait for another VG Chartz article about 360 weekly sales in japan, say its dead, and commence the cycle of hype and no buy that you've sony fans been doing since day 1... but don't forget who's still in the lead. ^.^

[silverchode]

great game but the advertisment sucked.

[digitalpowershot]

Why do you guys don't get it? these were sales for 2days in the US, not in the whole world!
Just for the record: in Europe they reported 1,1 million pre-order copies!!!! so wtf! They sold at least 2-3million so far.

Killzone2 rocks man! Only xbots could state the opposite!
See you in Killzone2!

[timmyrulz]

All of the spin and excuses by the pr guru's on here aside, the game had a budget of 60 million dollars, so simple mathematics dictate that the game needs to sell in order to recoup this money.

Sales are the most important factor in the whole gaming community no matter how you try and deny this, more sales equated to better chances of sequels, new games etc been released on that console.

For the supposed king of FPS's 1 million is damn right poor, do you think infinity ward would have been happy with 1 million cod4 sales?

exactly

[Kornholic]

Killzone 2 actually did outsell Halo Wars and GTA IV DLC worldwide. Who cares about USA sales anyways ?

[chazjamie]

what is this bullshit. This is the propaganda machine which i love, official please. Killzone wasnt fun actually it was just very loud, edge was right fear is more fun. It made me realise all my ps3 games are just loud war games, thats why i was grateful for the stealth in mgs 4( The part where u have to the doc). that was bliss.

[Nexy]

SONY fanboys before Killzone 2 release: SALES WILL SHOOT THRU THE ROOF! KILLZONE 2 WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING etc.

SONY fanboys after the release: SALES DO NOT MEAN ANYTHING! IT'S MICROSOFT'S FAULT! etc.

You kids are simply amazing. :)

[Spike47]

the hype you see online means nothing.

[SprayandPreycom]

glad to see all the hype i had to read here for the past 3 months finally caught up with kz2 ...

[Mindsucker]

Well who would have guessed another random attack at Killzone 2 FROM analoghype. And Killzone 2 did out sell HALO WARS so WTF are they flamers talking about??

Not that it matters, they are both good games - and completely different, but Get your facts straight

[ultimolu]

We no longer focus on the quality of games anymore. It's allll about the sales now.

For the people who claimed 'Sony fanboys' said KZ2 sales will shoot through the roof, please show evidence of these comments.

I'm waiting because the reason why people hyped the game is because a)it completely surpassed KZ1, and b) they've been in the beta and played the demo.

I don't care about sales anymore. I would rather play games and enjoy the the way they are.

We don't even know the total amount of sales for KZ2 so this podcast needs to cool off the Haterade.

[collin1986]

you guys are going off two days of sales in the united staes,NPD stat tracking does the united states,killzone2 sold 750000 units day one worldwide so killzone2 is probably sitting close to two million,yeah gears and halo sold really good but majority of gears and halo sales were in the U.S but their worldwide sales werentanything to be happy about.Why isnt halo wars selling well outside the united states?

[collin1986]

What game does huge numbers? except,mgs4,gta series,gears,halo,gt,and im missing a few,but not alot of games get huge first day numbers.

[poeo]

Wii Fit has sold the most this gen i think. must be the best game also, so lets all go play it! guys..? where are you going?

[ThaGeNeCySt]

to play Wii Fit. DUH

[leeger]

Because Sony did not advertise it that much,

[Omegabalmung]

It doesnt matter if this game sold 1 or 100 mil copies, all what matters is that people had fun playing this game and thats all that should really matter to gamers.

[smurfie4]

Well whatever amount it sold i'm one of the owners.

[Lord Kesselroy]

I remember reading all the hyped up preorder sales figures for this game a month before the release. Every Sony fanboy site was saying 1+ million preorders in Europe alone.

Now we find that Killzone 2 is struggling to sell with just over one million copies sold, and it all but dropped off the cliff within two weeks of release.

Halo Wars and Left 4 Dead, both average titles on the 360 far outsold Killzone 2.

And wasn't this supposed to be the "Halo Killer" for the PS3? Yeah.

Yes people sales do matter. Game companies don't make games just for YOU. They make games for money, profit and perhaps even fun (after the first two goals are met). This is a business not a welfare industry.

Sony fanboys like to brag about their games, but they won't actually buy them.