The Last Guardian's sales: Destined for Mediocrity

Will Powers from TPR writes: "Despite being an incredibly innovative game [ICO] in the sense of gameplay, musical scores, graphics, and story, the game largely fell under the radar for the mainstream market."

[ToastyMcNibbles]

its possible that the sales will start out slow but it will only increase more as time goes on...either way it wont stop me from buying this game day 1 and enjoying every last bit of it... this game has masterpiece written all over it

[UNCyrus]

One point I forgot to make in the article. Is that those first two games only had those sales on the PS2 which had a MUCH LARGER install base than the PS3 currently has. Trust me, I'd love to see The Last Guardian sell 2-3 million, I just don't see it happening right now in the current climate. But for sure it'll break 1 million this time around

[thereapersson]

Wii Sports & Wii Play are the best games ever made!

/sarcasm

[iamtehpwn]

PS3 gamers strongly support the console and it's game, and always buy the high quality exclusive games. If even inFamous can be a new IP on PS3 and break 1 million, than The Last Guardian will probably break 1-2 million as well.

[30sec]

The audience this game is geared towards will buy it. But Team Ico isn't Bungie, so all their games can do is move the medium forward as a storytelling art-form.

[DamonTheMoney]

Remember people, sales don't matter to us. They're only important for the company to make their money, and everybody here seems to think that if a game doesn't sell 1 million then it isn't a success and didn't turnover any money.

As long as this game has quality written all over it (and we know it does) then I couldn't care less how many people buy it. I could be the ONLY person in the world to spend my money on it for all I care.

A lot of you need to take the same stance on this, and stop worrying about things that don't affect you.

[Redempteur]

The difference this time is that the media actually care about this game .

all it needs is attention ( done at E3 ) and some ads correctly placed ..

maybe a demo too , but that would be difficult ...

[Kevin ButIer]

Its going to be a great classic and It will sell at least 2 M or more. Since when sales only matter the first two weeks or month of release?

Long Live to The Last Guardian

Lol im Pirate Patcher

[Cheeseknight28]

Use your brain and humor me for just a moment. How exactly do you expect Team Ico to keep making games if they don't sell? If this doesn't sell around a million copies, they can't make another game. It does matter to you if you are the only one to buy the game, because if you don't help a game sell you'll never see a sequel.

I just don't understand how people can't see this. Why do you think there isn't a true Okami sequel?

[happy_gilmore]

ico flopped big time. but shadow of colossus was still made.

this is sony we are talking about. no EA or Ubisoft. Sony cares about their fans. sony is pushing to make videogames more mature as an art form unlike ms churning out halo and gears for tweeners. that's why we have heavy rain, flower and stuff like this.

[GameGambits]

I heard an inside rumor that this games power level... it's OVER 9000!!!!!! :D

I'll be buying it day one. ;)

[DamonTheMoney]

Clearly you've never heard of the term "hyperbole". Obviously I'm not going to be the only person who buys the game, and Team Ico will undoubtedly make enough money to be successful (around 500,000 - 700,000 is considered commercially "successful", in case you didn't know). And there's no set number of sales to warrant a sequel, ESPECIALLY with SCE's games.

happy_gilmore said the rest.

[Saaking]

So? Ico and SOTC didn't sell that well yet they're some of the best games I've EVER played. Sales =/= quality. The game will be rated much higher than Call of Duty, Halo, or even GT5.

[Traveler]

It's too bad that some great games don't get the retail success that they deserve. Okami, Beyond Good & Evil and Shadow of The Colossus spring to mind. It's sad, because despite what some people say sales do matter. Developers need to feed their families and beyond even that I also feel that if a developer puts in the talent and hard work to create a great game they deserve to be rewarded accordingly, not just barely make a living.

[morganfell]

The Power Review...already has fulfilled it's destiny of mediocrity...

[NewZealander]

i want to know more about the game, but so far its the only exclusive on ps3 im interested in for 2010, so i hope its good.

[CrazzyMan]

Just like Valkyria Chronicles or Demon`s Soul, or Uncharted 2.

Bt the reality is that we live in world, where casual games have more appeal, than hardcore games or games, which we could consider as piece of art, like Ico or SotC.

Anyway, both VC and DS are on the way to 1M, so will and The Last Guardian sell over 1M, i`m pretty sure about that.

Anyway, this game is a MUST BUY. That`s all what should matter to a real GAMER.
http://www.gamersyde.com/st... - JUST WATCH THIS!

[Rampant]

"The game will be rated much higher...."

Ico: 90
SOTC: 91

Halo 3: 94
COD4: 94

yeah...... about that..

[gaffyh]

@Rampant - Yet despite that, ICO and Sotc are two of the best games ever made, and Halo 3 and COD4 are two of the most overhyped games ever made. Guess how I know that, because I played all 4 of these games myself, and didn't look at the Metascore at random.

[CWMR]

-Says who? It's subjective. Even if a bunch of reviewers thinks so, it's still subjective. For example, there are lots of times where the stuffy movie critics think a movie is great that I think just sucks, and movies that they criticize that I think are some of the best movies I have ever seen.

Edit: Halo 3 and MW2 are awesome games. Do you think I care that you don't like them? Like I said, it's subjective.-

[gaffyh]

@above - Do you think I care what you think? A random fanboy isn't going to change the minds of the 2.5 million Ico and SOTC owners that KNOW that these are two of the best games they've EVER played.

Argue all you want, COD4 and Halo 3 are extremely low on the list of best games ever. :)

[MONOLITHICIDE]

^^^^^exactly gaffyh, and rampant stfu, maybe you should play those games then maybe you would actually undertand why theyre so masterfull. I dont care for this article because ill be contributing to the sales for this game as i did for the other 2, and im glad i did, money well spent. people seriously need to open their eyes and smell the sh1t theyre eating cause theyre ruining gaming and ill be damned if i can only play mediocre fps, and one more thing just got Demon Souls for Christmas, AMAZINGG game and people werent kidding on how hard that game is, all i can say is DAMN!

[Raf1k1]

It would be great to see some advertising for this game around it's launch but I doubt we will.

I think we owe it to Team Ico to do what we can through word of mouth (I know I'll be telling people who come through my checkout about it). They've given us some of the most amazing games ever created and deserve massive sales.

[OmarJA-N4G]

Who gives a rat ass about sales? it'll be another GOTY like U2 & DS.

[GrandTheftZamboni]

As long as it sells two copies (divideby0's below and mine), I'm happy. But for Team Ico's sake, and gamers' who like quality games, I hope they sell millions.

[badz149]

and what makes it worst is the fact that it's about sales!(again!) if we are really gamers, why should we care so much about game sales? shouldn't we be more about the quality of the game? TLG is a game made buy the highly acclaimed ICO and SoTC devs! they have huge credibility on their name alone and to think that TLG is going to be amazing is just natural! I'm also hoping that the game I like will sell a gazillion copies but to argue about sales month before the game release like this game, which we don't even have the release date yet for god sake, is beyond STUPID! talking about anticipation, or what we want it to be is ok but sales?? what are you guys? investor?

[sikbeta]

Fumito Ueda Games are Masterpieces despite the sales

Who in his right mind will care about sales when is already known:

QUALITY > everything

[rezenu]

Oh dear, heaven forbid a game doesn't sell five million in one day. It's deemed a flop already.

I'm, sorry abut games for the PS3 are even spread out so sales are evenly spread out as well. Everyone has different tastes. Some games aren't for everyone.

Again, sales doesn't equal quality.

[Jaces]

What no guns?!

Meh, no buy for me. /s

[baum]

The argument of "PS2 had a bigger install base" is retarded. If install base was the only thing that mattered, shouldn't 3rd parties be supporting the Wii in droves instead of next-gen consoles? Their games have flopped on the Wii, which is why 360 and PS3 are their bread and butter. Many non-FPS games have sold better on PS3 than 360 despite 360s headstart. So no, install base does not correspond directly to game sales.

PS2 was one of the most pirated consoles in history, if not the most, which hit its game sales. Also, PS2 was owned by dozens of millions of casuals, making it irrelevant for hardcore games like ICO if the PS2 sold 100 million more or not. These games have a market, and just like MGS4 and FFXIII have sold pretty well, Last Guardian will sell as much as ICO and SOTC did.

I love it when somebody says "OMG GOW2 ONLY SOLD 2.5 MILLION ON 150 MILLION INSTALL BASE THEREFORE GOW3 WILL ONLY SELL HALF A MILLION AT BEST!!!11111111". It just confirms how mentally handicapped the fanboys of a particular business are (I'll let you guess the names), which only validates the decision NOT to sign-up for the competing service. What, to game against retards and listen to their pre-pubescent tweenager voices? No thanks.

Edit:

"HALO 3 AND CODMW2 SCORED BETTER THEREFORE THEIR BETTER" I had to LMFAO at this retarded argument. Seriously, Halo 3 and CODMW2 = $$$$$$, the companies that make those games couldn't afford to get bad ratings because the people that buys those games rely too much on review scores (Which is why you see them screaming in multiple threads AAA!!!!!!11 AAAa111111111!!!!!!! OMG ITS AAAaaaa111111111) rather than buying the games based on their actual content. Games like Last Guardian, Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, ICO, Demon's Soul, Odin's Sphere, etc... are usually bought by well informed gamers (and those that rely on word of mouth), which is why they sell slow, have long legs, and have a niche yet hardcore fanbase. Its userbase doesn't rely on a game being "AAA" which is why you see more honesty in these reviews, both from those that praise the games and those that plain don't get them (i.e. EDGE).

[Rampant]

I played all of them except COD and I would rate them:

Ico: 9
SOTC: 9.5
Halo 3: 10

See how that subjective opinion thing works now ;)

[mikeslemonade]

That's BS because this generation there's more generous reviewers who hand out 10s to every game.

[zoks310]

This game will be as epic as the Titanic or the Dark Knight movies, and it will only be on the PS3, you know the consoles that houses the best games of this gen outside of sales.

Sales did not earn Sony exclusives VGA's GOTY awards 2 years in a row, it was the quality and the labor of love that Sony devs put in the games.
A Sony exclusive will win GOTY in 2010 again mark my words. If you want to experience "next gen" you get a PS3 and invest in its exclusive titles, if you want to sit and count monies/profit/sales, then go apply for a job as a tax collector and stay out of gaming.

[edhe]

Dreamcast was a good console with great games, didn't sell well, got canned.

There's a lesson to this.

[Obama]

The sales will probably be 2 million or more, which is excellent for any kind of games. Btw, it just won best trailer from GT. This will be the most epic game in 2010 along with 2010. PS3 exclusives continue to shine in the coming year.

[chrisulloa]

Uncharted 2 hasn't even sold that much, what makes you think this will?

[nycredude]

Uncharted 2 HAS sold 2 million. FYI.

[3sq]

Uncharted 2 has sold 2.3 millions.

http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...

"what makes you think this will?" Say what? LOL

[Major_Tom]

Always, ALWAYS on the ball.

[chrisulloa]

LOL, I haven't looked on that list in a while. Took them long enough. It was probably that christmas / black friday boost.

[baum]

That's the point, isn't it? Ulloa getting owned left and right, as usual.

[tdrules]

I know I won't buy it if it doesn't sell 5 million as that means it's not good.

seriously, who cares how much it sells, this game will be INCREDIBLE

[Obama]

I agree. When SOC first came out the sales weren't that good. Nonethelss it's one of the best games ever made in human history. The presentation alone still looks a lot better than a lot of current gen games.

[saimcheeda]

this game will sell around 1.5-2 million but i dont care as long as its a great game, im guessing its gonna get 94+ review scores!

[divideby0]

the only sale that counts is MINE...

this game will be epic....developers know that...they know the market...guess what..they are OBVIOUSLY good with it...

move on...

[blind-reaper]

love the random disagrees I see here...

[Somnipotent]

flamebait title and article.

[Timesplitter14]

Not really. As a big fan of Team ICO, I think I can agree with the article. These games never sell so much.

[UNCyrus]

I love how all of the users of N4G read the articles before commenting...

/sarcasm

[shutupandplay]

Yeah, so? Both Ico and SOTC are regarded as masterpieces, lets see sales achieve that.

[knightdarkbox]

the next:

heavy rain ( aka movie rain) no doubt this game gonna sell like crap

mag: another flop in 2010 mark my words

uc2: base install of 30 m and only 2.0 m of salles after hype and marketing

the ps3 flop in exclusives.. only ps3fanboys blinds not know this ;)

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

You forgot to add Flopza 3 - 35 million install base and didn't even reach 1 million sales.

[3sq]

Well, 360 has more install base than PS3 but Flopza 3 of yours hasn't even reach 2 mill. That says a lot.

The 360 no real exclusives.. only xbots blindly think they have ;)

Edit: Flopza still not 2 mill. I love how bots use the word "around 2 mill" LOL

[Kamikaze135]

You guys miss out on so many games because it doesn't meet the 3m sale mark =X

[knightdarkbox]

the forza 3 sell around 2.0 m.. check the google for see the numbers

[Anorexorcist]

A pathetic troll wearing a badge of mediocrity (Nice Halo ODST Avatar) is always one of the first, if not THE first to come in here with disguised jealousy and mediocre grammar skills;

"the forza 3 sell around 2.0 m.. check the google for see the numbers"

Well you're a big boy. Why don't you provide us with the link to the forza 3 sales from the google for we can see the numbers? Back up your own claims. Do your own homework, son! Or are you just some pathetic little kid who loves to filibuster and just hates what he can't have?

[lh_swe]

Many exclusives haven't sold a gazillion copies on both sides of the pond but WHEN I ask does 1+ million constitute a flop. If you constitute critical appraisal + comparatively low sales a flop then basically many of the greatest games this gen and last are flops. Let me ask you this: Have you played any of Tim Shafers games before Brutal Legend? Fumito Ueda's games? Nix Quest? because basically all of those are flops in sales.

If you see the PS3 in a bad light because many of it's amazing games have sold bad of which it has a plenty (great games that is), I doubt your tainted eyes could ever see that. But then thats your issue but don't downplay thes games because they certainly don't deserve it, especially from someone who wouldn't even consider playing them based on immature prejudice.

[Traveler]

Both consoles have great games. You guys need to stop bickering so much.

[Kamikaze135]

You made fun of Uncharted 2 for selling 2 million yet say nothing about Forza selling 2 million with an even bigger install base? Lol...

[OmarJA-N4G]

Man the bots are getting more desperate everyday...

PS3 = GOTY Exclusives.

[CWMR]

-Oh really. So, you are saying that every PS3 exclusive gets GOTY? Or that a PS3 exclusive wins GOTY every year?

Sorry to burst your bubble, pal, but neither of those things is true.

I seriously can't believe how quickly you guys get arrogant after the PS3 has one good year. It's one year out of many. One year doesn't define a rule. Many PS3 exclusives are mediocre.-

[xcox]

and to the morons who use sales numbers to compensate for the lack of independent judgment, you really are experts in mediocrity

[weazel]

Ah!! A late christmas present. You're back so I can take all of your bubbles all over again. I loves me a repeat offender! (1 bubble by dec 31st!)

[lh_swe]

2 good years, 2008 was a close call but MGS4 took the prize in my mind. Then again it's up to preference (for the most part) but this year if you don't like at least some of the PS3's line-up I am sorry but that is your problem not mine and if that is the case then maybe you should get you head examined.

[kingdavid]

Heavy rain will be excellent.

This will be excellent.

[cyclindk]

This is a good sign then, because a lot of the best games on PS3 seem to sell "respectably," as opposed to ten million day one.

The less they sell, the better the game!

[PotNoodle]

Wow.. thats it, i'm not buying this game then!

[AliTheBrit19]

I'm ashamed to say I've never played Ico or Shadow of Colossus :(

But damn, The Last Guardian is looking really really good.

[peeps]

same, i remember playing the ico demo back in the day. i think cus of my age when these games came out i wasn't really interested, looking back now tho i really wanna give sotc a go cus now i bet i'd love it, but alast my launch ps3 died so no more bc for me :(

[dredgewalker]

Its not too late to try those games. I think they are gonna re-release those games in HD before the Last Guardian comes out like with what they did with God of War.

[infekt]

Dont think it will be in HD. I think they are just re-releasing the titles.

[happy_gilmore]

who cares if the game does not sell so well? ico was a flop but sony still made the go ahead to make a sequel. and shadow of the colossus did not sell failo number but ps3 owners still get a trico.

yeah, trico might flop but it's going to be one of the best games this gen.

poor bots, failo 3 sold a lot but all they got was anoverpriced DLC, ODLC, as a sequel..

[lh_swe]

I mean this game will undoubtedly be hyped as a spiritual succesor to one of the best games ever created and the power of word to mouth will can be stronger that you think, then only time will tell.

But one thing is certain this is a great game in the making and if the only downside of it will be the sales then so be it but then again if one judges a console based of the sales of its great games then it's time to get another hobby (...truth 2009 among others)

[Figboy]

i don't play sales. i play games.

i will be playing The Last Guardian when it releases.

i see he conveniently overlooked the fact that Ico's successor, Shadow of the Colossus, sold over 500,000 units and landed on the Playstation Greatest Hits line (reserved for games that sell 500,00o\0-1,000,000 or more).

but, whatever, people will continue to downplay Playstation 3 exclusives until the end of this generation, apparently.

as long as the quality is high and the developer is allowed to continue making quality games, i don't care how much it sells, and it's not my duty to care.

i do my part by buying the games i like and supporting the dev that way, and spreading word of mouth to those that share similar interests.

[divideby0]

dont these authors think how stupid their articles are ?
this could pass for a fanboyz blog..

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Wow this doom and gloom article is even earlier than usual. The only thing destined for mediocrity are "journalists" like this. Whatever point the article is making is irrelevant, and the gaming community can live without these topics. They contribute absolutely nothing.

[cliffbo]

as long as it makes profit and broadens the demographic, Sony will be happy and so will we.

[bjornbear]

i think thats enough for Team Ico =)

If it does sell badly, well, people are missing out. Their problem.

[Dugdug]

Main problem with PS2 was the Piracy. All of my friends had one and all were chipped and they bought pirate copies of ICO and SOTC. Sony has done well this time with PS3, so far it hasn't been possible to hack it. So imo Last Guardian should do much better than previous titles.

[peeps]

doesn't really matter. providing the ppl who enjoy this sort of game love it then it doesn't need to appeal to the mass market.

only problem is obv a game company needs sales in order to continue to make games

[Odreus]

no matter how much it sells. As long as I am happy ...

[knightdarkbox]

Sales are very important. More sales means more games of a specific platform..

more games selling = better chances dev will make games for it.

[OmarJA-N4G]

So how much units did Forza 3 sold? Fable 2? Mass Effect? Banjo? Lost Odyssey? Ninja Gaiden?

[Ashriel]

sony has lots of money so they can keep their first parties making exclusives.

[percephone]

Games sold per consoles (Wii, PS3 and 360) are about the same on all consoles.

On average one console owner buy one game per ~5 months in the US if you use NPD data.

More, One guy on NeoGAF, showed that 50 to 80% of the sales on a given month are outside of the published TOP 20. So you cannot base your estimate of the software sold on any system from the TOP 20 from NPD.

Using NPD of Oct 2009. That's the only one i have LTD software from all consoles.

Software LTD (NPD)

* PS3: 59 Millions
* Wii: 140 Millions
* 360: 143 Millions

Hardware LTD (NPD)

* PS3: 8.7m
* Wii: 21.5m
* 360: 16.2m

Months In Market

* PS3: 35 Months
* Wii: 35 Months
* 360: 47 Months

Formula: Software/Hardware/Month

PS3: .19 games per system per month
Wii: .18 games per system per month
360: .18 games per system per month

[labaronx]

Shadow Of The Colossus did'nt set the sales charts on fire but it was one of my favorite ps2 games.

Lets wait and see more of The Last Gaurdian, like actual gameplay, before we determine whose going to buy it or not

[sleepyazn]

While it might not sell millions, The Last Guardian will be remembered by gaming history just like Ico and SoTC.

[Solans Scott]

I'll buy a copy so you can add +1 to the projected sales figures.

[pippoppow]

Something with a headline like:

-The Last Guardian aother classic incoming
-Team ICO readying another classic
-Another great PS3 exclusive for 2010

Sales seems to be the last bastion of hope the naysayers have. Even though most exclusives sell over 1-2 mil

[bjornbear]

I wrong bs xD but in all honesty, it doesn't add anything new. we knew this, this is just stating the obvious, almost as poke, but i don't care.

It's got more GoTY potential than anything else that year IMO (other than OTHER PS3 exclusives...)

We all know Last Guardian won't sell like MW2 or The Sims

We also know Last Guardian will be more beautiful, memorable, touching, and awsum than big selling games...so, as far as i'm concerned, i don't care =)

[cereal_killa]

pippoppow Flame bait = Hits perfect example.... HHG. Sites like this are desperate for hits so they create useless flamebait titles to get on N4G.

[knightdarkbox]

The more games selling = better chances dev will make games for it. Why do think 360 is the lead for most of these games in this gen?

ps3 fanboys not care about the sales, because exclusives of ps3 sell like crap ;)

[Anorexorcist]

Why was the PS3 the undisputed winner in games and having "most games" this year if the PS3 owners don't buy those games and no profit or returns are likely?

If The Xbox 360 had "the more games selling", why didn't the devs focus more of their resources and profit models on the Xbox 360?

The funny thing is that if only two or three titles on the Xbox 360 sell so phenomenally in the 3+ million unit sale range, yet 10+ PS3 games each sell "ONLY" 1.5+ million unit sale range, you seem to still recognize that the Xbox 360 is still in the "lead for most of these games this gen"

PS3 titles have shown to have far longer sales ranges (or "longer legs" in laymen's terms.)

Sure Halo ODST and Halo 3 sold, what, 2 million copies or whatever on their opening days. But no less than a month after launch, those games fell completely off the major sales radars.

If this is all getting a little too complicated for you son, then just STFU and accept the fact you're a damn idiot who speaks through fanboyism and not through rationality.

[Aceluffy]

PS3 exclusives sell like crap ? Hmm...I don't know where you're from but wherever it is, if you buy CRAP (literally) then you're dumber than I thought.
Most multiplats are developed with 360 as the lead because it is easier to develop, any developer with PC knowledge can code for 360 quite effectively. Ok, you still with me ? PS3 with its cell processor is a new stuff for most developers, ok ? New stuff means they need more time to learn. So in time, cell will be the mainstream and 360 will no longer be a lead platform cause it will be inferior ( See FFXIII for further reference ).
I hope my post is not too complicated for you, oh yeah....on topic, I am fully aware that Last Guardian is never going to sell like MW2 or GT franchise but it also will never change the fact that it is a masterpiece with Fumito Ueda touch, play ICO or SOTC to know what I mean. So next time please think before posting, it will help you a lot by not making you look like an idiot.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

As most Sony's exclusives do. Nothing new here.

[MajestieBeast]

Ye cause we know blue dragon,lost oddesey or crackdown sold more then uncharted ohh wait... Square enix and namco were so happy with the sales of tales of vespersia and star ocean 4 that they didnt port it to the ps3 ohh wait they did! Go back to the openzone where you belong.

[bjornbear]

...

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Really? You picked Blue Dragon to compare with Uncharted 2??? EPIC FAIL!!

Sorry to burst your bubble but their are tons of games that sold better than the ps3's best game in Uncharted 2. Uncharted 2 is plain and simple a sales failure. That right there cements my original comment.

And there are to many sony fanboys in the open zone, it's scary in there.

[3sq]

"And there are to many sony fanboys in the open zone, it's scary in there."

And why are you scared? Is it because you are 360 fanboy? Or is it because of the facts they bring out? Well, scared you should be. I love seeing your scared face. ;)

[sparta76]

You can add
mass effect
l4d
lost plant
dead rising
fable
only games that sell over 5m is gears and halo.
Don't know why these 360 fanboys are quick too talk cr@p.
Mgs4 sold 5m..

[swiftshot93]

I would really like to see your rebuttal Halo 3 MLG....
Halo 3, Gears, Halo 3, Gears......

Is that all MS has published?

Mass Effect, Fable 2, Crackdown, Viva Pinata, Banjo, Halo Wars, Halo ODST, PGR 3, Forza 2/3.....

All of these game I listed sell on average about the same as PS3 exclusives. And then theres MGS4 which sold 5 million just like Gears. And a game to match your precious Halo 3 is arriving next year....GT5.

Uncharted is at 2.3 million copies sold after 2 months. If thats a sales flop than most of MS' exclusives are sales flops as well...

[Persistantthug]

Who told you that Uncharted 2 (2.3 million units in 2 months) was a "SALES FAILURE"?

Who in their right mind told you that, Halo3 MLG Pro?
Depending on your answer, that may save me from having to take away one of your bubble on the principle of saying something utterly stupid sounding.

[rezenu]

Wow, really?

I guess most people were right when they told me the fanboyism here on N4G is horrible.

[MajestieBeast]

If sales determined a good game we would all be playing halo,mario,wow,mw2 and wii(insert word here) would surely improve gaming /s

[Traveler]

Nice little jab there. I get it, but I don't agree. Halo is a great franchise; one of the best shooters without a doubt. Mario is also a great franchise for the most part, especially the original Mario games and Super Mario Galaxy (I didn't play it, but it received great reviews and sales).

The long and short of it is, some great games sell well and some don't.

[reintype]

If I did I would have had the Wii, DS, and my games would be Wii Play, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Nintendogs, Brain Age. Halo 3, ODST, MW2, etc. As it stands I never own any of these things.

Having a game that didn't sold well has never stopped me from enjoying it. I own Okami, Ico, Psychonauts, God Hand, Viewtiful Joe, Disgaea, Demon's Souls, Valkyria, Persona, etc. Games that have never sold a million units, but I love them more for it.

All I know is that I'm going to buy The Last Guardian, as well as Heavy Rain. If I'm the only person to do that, then so be it. Sorry, but I play games not sales.

[keysy420]

you cant compare last gen game sales to this gen game sale to try to get a comparison for games.
this gen you can sell 5 million game with a install base of 30 million. vrs last gen install base of 120 million. you see, this gen people buy more games when there arent other games out or those games are triple.
that is why you had that big push back of games this year. games that did well before came out when this gen was fresh and there for thrived from there not being any other games out. those games cant come out with a crowded season and still put up amaising numbers. so if the last guardian gets its own window it will be fine plus all those 700000 will buy this game plsu more.

[Traveler]

I think there is some truth to what you are saying.

[Platinum_k]

wow...

u are stupid.

u obviously never heard of quantity vs quality. maybe you have, but i bet you were to dumb to truely understand it.

enough said. these xbots are the dumbest people alive in the world. you can never get through to them even if it was right in front of their faces.

[Man_of_the_year]

"A last sidenote. The smartest thing that Team ICO could do to not only boost sales of this upcoming game, but also to increase publicity and hype building up to the release would be this: Give the original two games the same treatment that Sony Santa Monica gave God of War. If they re-released ICO and SotC in HD on one blu-ray disc, they would be exposing these games to another generation that otherwise wouldn’t have gotten to experience them because they’ve moved on from the previous cycle of consoles."

Or you could release it on the 360 as well. This will increase the amount of possible sales to a larger market. Since history shows time and time again that PS3 exclusives fail to generate the sales that they should, making this game a multiplat will ensure 2x the amount of sales. And since History also has shown us time and time again, 360 customer's actually BUY games.

If you are going to waste resources to remake ICO and SotC, then use those resources to create the 360 version. People are not going to buy a last gen game for a new gen console. Eg. Look at the GoW collection - 420,000 copies sold http://www.vgchartz.com/gam... . 2 games for the price of 1 and sales still couldn't hit the 1/2 million mark with a 30 million userbase. Don't waste money on the past look to the future where guarantee sales are there. Go multiplat and you will not only get the sales you want, but will also get the recognition and exposure you deserve.

[Wrathman]

o bravo man of the year.bubbles to you for an excellent and accurate post

[PirateThom]

Team ICO are a Sony first party studio.

Will Rare be releasing Viva Pinata on Wii?

[The Maxx]

I understand your point. However Pirate Tom is right, Team ICO is owned by Sony, so going multiplat i don't think is an option for Team ICO. This will come down to the game being a good game, and PS3 owners actually buying the game.

[weazel]

Honestly, you wait ages for one ignorant retard to show their faces, and then tonnes come at once. (Knightdarkbox,TheTruth,Man of the year). Line 'em up dunces and keep spouting that ignorant gibberish. I'll just keep popping those bubbles.

[Gago]

Ico sold poorly because it was virtually unheard of, almost zero marketing, and a short demo.

However only after did people realize that it was a masterpiece did they see what they missed. Ico later went of to sell 700K LTS.

SotC sold a million, not even counting europe.

Last Guardian will do atleast a million now that people realize that its a sequel and due to the fact there are is a huge fanbase following it.

[labaronx]

i could have sworn it was

[labaronx]

got it with "my ps2" a year after launch

[MajestieBeast]

@traveler i didnt even mean it as a jab to mario or halo i mean if we all bought the 3+ sellers what would happen to indie devs and other developers who make great games but dont get the credit for it.

[LastDays]

Wow this gen sucks. Only people from this gen will look at a game like last guardian and think about it's sales of all things

[PirateThom]

I doubt it will even reach a million, I'm almost certain Shadow of the Collossus didn't reach a million either.

It won't stop it being one of the best and most memorable games of this gen though.

[ApocalypseShadow]

those that bought beyond good and evil,psychonauts,okami,ico,sot c and will buy heavy rain,will buy the game.

those that buy only things like call of duty,halo,killzone,gears,resis tance etc....will NOT be buying it.

i prefer an all around gaming experience.so it's day one.but i pity the fools that are bashing it for not selling like the big guns.it should as those other games should have that i listed.

but my guess is that last guardian is a game funded by the great sales of the other sony products.if it wasn't,sony would be like microsoft and just fund games like gears and halo and kill off other games in production like they did with rare.

but sony is not like that.they continue to take risks.and for that,they will continue to get my money.

[MetalProxy]

Most of favorite music, movies, books, and GAMES dont, havent, and will not sell millions. The funny part is they still are making those type of odd ball stuff that I enjoy. One more thing is that it seams like the more popular something is the more that it sucks, seriously...sit back and think about that one.

[kanedaakira]

The most popular releases (of any format) are generally watered down to appeal to a larger demographic with a more generic feel to them. The more niche releases (the ones I like) don't compromise on their artistic flavour. Sales suffer as a result but the overall quality increases. Support the Devs that struggle for their art!!

[CWMR]

-You guys sound like the same kind of guys that think indie music is the only good music and anything more popular sucks. Well frankly I don't agree. Some popular stuff is good and some is bad. Some indie stuff is good and some just flat out sucks. You can't generalize the way you guys just did.

MGS4 and Uncharted 2 have done pretty well in sales, does that mean they suck? No. For that matter, Uncharted 2 will end up selling more than Uncharted 1, does that mean that it is worse than Uncharted 1?

I'm sorry, but your logic completely fails.

Most games that sell well do so for one reason: they are good games that appeal to the people that buy them.

People like to bring up games like Wii Fit and say "it has sold millions, but does that make it good"? Well...yes, it does. To the demographic that the game is made for it must have something appealing about it that makes them want to split with their hard earned cash.-

[tiamat5]

In a sane world Sony's games would have stomped all over the compitition and left them eating dust.But we live in a world were its okay to make 100 Mario games,Wii fit and Wii Sports are best sellers and Halo is the greatest game ever.I weep for this generation of games. It seems to mostly cater to the simple minded and the weak

[Blaster_Master]

Simple minded and weak? I prefer to call them retards.

[CWMR]

-Your fake gaming elitism is disgusting.-

[Rev Jesse Custer]

Is it possible we are now debating sales because the debate of which console has the best exclusive games ended this year?

[PirateThom]

For a certain group of "gamers", it's always been about sales. The thought of playing a game that doesn't have bangy shooty is beyond them anyway. They know who they are.

[TheTruth2009]

Look at the PS3 Fans. HILARIOUS.

It IS about sales. For your favorite developer to survive. Stop being a Fanboy and pay attention. I know it's tough, but you can try.

"The Last Guardian" might be a GREAT title with incredible visuals, awesome storyline, and amazing replayability. But it's a niche title that is being released with a much smaller install base that doesn't buy titles.

It's that simple.

Uncharted 2 was the best reviewed, most marketed, and best received title of the year. It was the banner title for the PS3 in the strongest sales months of the year. Yet, it still fell short on sales.

This is the reason that so many developers are fighting to go multiplatform. They need more revenue to make the next title from their studio. But Fanboys have taken over the industry and would lose their minds if "The Last Guardian" followed suit. They praise the developer to the highest high until the title goes to the competitor. Then, like Square Enix, they bludgeon them with criticism. Hypocrites.

PS3 will barely eclipse 32 million consoles when that title is released. And it won't go platinum. I promise. That's because it needs to be on multiple consoles to make a profit. This generation is different than the others. I've been trying to tell you PS3 Fans this, but you won't listen.

So get it through your skulls. Listen. And listen GOOD.
"The Last Guardian" will flop. No doubt.
But only because PS3 Fans won't support the developers the way they should.

They're too busy supporting the almighty Sony and its hardware.

"PS3 MOVED A MILLION CONSOLES!"

Pathetic.

P.S. Knightdarkbox has a point at the top of this page:

Heavy Rain: Niche Title. Flop.
The Last Guardian: Niche Title. Flop.
M.A.G.: New IP on PS3. Flop. GUARANTEED.

2010 is gonna be a rough one. Good luck PS3 Fans. You'll need it.

[The Iron Sheik]

All that typing and no one will ever read it.

[The Maxx]

I read it.

[Karooo]

the artice says even ico and colossus didnt sell on PS2 because no one will buy such games, are you retarded or what?

[Karooo]

by they dont buy games, fck most of the games have sold 2 million + in 2008 the situation was even worse, but attach ratio is actually high on PS3.

[mrmikew2018]

This was a good article, I would love to see games like the Last Guardian, Alan Wake and especially Heavy Rain push out crazy numbers, but it won't. It's foul to say this, but gamers nowadays like playing the same game, like Modern Warfare 2 and Halo.

[DigitalAnalog]

I will happily direct them to 2 games of what we can truly call "masterpieces" the entire gaming generation:

ICO

Shadow of the Colossus

Q: Bu bu, didn't ICO flopped?

A: Wasn't Shadow of the Colossus created to be better if not equally good. I really could not imagine what would happen if they actually sold more than 2 million.

-Go Figure!

[MasterOne]

Nuff said.

[The Iron Sheik]

The game will be amazing and will get great reviews. Who cares about the sales? Let the people who get paid to worry about that worry about it.

Don't you bots ever get tired of obsessing over other people's money? You think Fumito Ueda gives a s**t about how much money you make?

They don't really care about sales of course they just lost every other argument to the PS3 and this is all that is left.

[CWMR]

"You think Fumito Ueda gives a s**t about how much money you make?"

-No, but I guarantee you he cares about how much he makes.

The rest of your post is just fanboy blather.-

[The Iron Sheik]

I think he cares more about making a great unique game. if it was just about the money he would make a FPS.

[damnightmare]

The developers should care about both

The game will be great though, and I'm sure it'll sell at least more then 500k. Just look at Demon's Souls, I was surprised how much that sold and I'm glad that it has had it's success.

We as gamers should not care about sales other then to the extent of where the developers will go next. I sure as hell don't care about sales, as long as great games keep coming out.

You are just as much a fanboy though, you just got done saying how most PS3 exclusives are "mediocre" which I am finding hard to believe is what you really think and you are in the open zone just as we are lol

Bots always cling to the sales argument to justify how "good" a game is though. Seems to me both sides are retarded.

Either way this will be a great game.

[PISSIO]

Biggest flop of decade.

[Narutone66]

the wrong thread. The "Too Human" thread is in the xbox 360 section.

[Odreus]

What do you mean? Quality department or sales department? If you mean the quality department, than you are very wrong ...

[stuna1]

[cereal_killa]

You know I'm glad that sales don't determine GOTY if that was the case every year would be a Wii game. You Muppet's all are a bunch of mindless idiots SALES SALES SALES is that all you care about please tell me why that is, your not making the games, your not funding the games and you don't have any stock in these company's so what are you getting out of this but here you are talking about how great your games sells but you neglect to mention that only 2 games have really only sold big and everything else sells what you idiots call flops I cant wait till you fanboys reach puberty and grow up for once and realize that there is more to life than being an idiot.

[wingman32x]

I don't think this one will sell well either. It looks like a great game, so I hope I'm proven wrong.

[thief]

Well, I will be playing heavy Rain, Last guardian, Demon's souls and Uncharted, millions of other gamers will not be able to or choose not to play these games. Sucks to be them, really.

As long as all of these sell around 1.5 million on average, that will be enough to make them profitable.

[Akagi]

It's not all about money, you know.

[mrmikew2018]

Back in my day, it wasn't all about the money, it was all about making the best damn game possible. But now, it is. It's sad really, but what can you do?

[bjornbear]

buy the good games, not the games that are meant to sell...

[kornbeaner]

Why are sales always being talked about now-a-days? There are a bunch of games that have sold over a million that just blow, that are not even worthy of a rental let alone a sale. I grow very tried of these "Articles" why are these new age of "Gamers" so focused on the negative instead of the positive? I don't game to worry about the real world I game to escape it, Sales are not my concern as long as the game I purchased is well worth the price to me.

[ColossiSlayer]

It Should Read:
The Last Guardian's Quality: Destined for Greatness
ICO - The beginning of something special . . .
SOTC - The Greatest Game Ever Made & The "1st" PS3 Game...
TLG - Destined for Greatness...
Hell it may even be better than SOTC, if thats even possible without simply remaking, not remastering, remaking SOTC with all the Colossi that were left out and just bleeding edge yet artistic graphics, along with all the Bell's & Whistles of Next Gen games today, minus any online component at all other than recording, judging & comparing Colossi Battle Videos and Leaderboards for Time Attack Mode.

SOTC changed my life as a gamer, hell my name on here and my PSN is Colossislayer, my PS3 is named Wander and my PSP is named Agro...

[Odreus]

good to see another guy, who supports Team Ico games. Ive played SotC for one year, without playing other games. No other game could to something like that. (The Last Guardian could)

[Odreus]

If there wasn`t Team Ico, I would quit gaming. Did ICO sold as much as Halo, MGS, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy and so on? No! Did that stop Team ICO from making Shadow of the Colossus? (even better game for me) No! And I am confident that The Last Guardian will be even better than SotC, without seeing gameplay, story and so on. And it`s not my blind love for Team Ico games, it`s because I trust Team Ico and Fumito Uedas Vision. It has nothing to do with "Indie stuff" or something along those lines. What makes me sad is, that most people only care about Halo or CoD, they don`t allow themselve to try games like Okami, ICO, SotC or The Last Guardian. TLG is my most wanted game of 2010, next year it will be The Last Guardian for me ... I don`t even care about other games such as Halo Reach, Mass Effect 2 or Gran Turismo 5. If other stop to care about games like The Last Guardian, I can stop to care about Halo, CoD, Gran Turismo 5 and so on.

[ColossiSlayer]

You know what makes SOTC so special, remember the first time you got to the Secret Garden and it took you damn near 10 minutes to run across The Bridge...

[kornbeaner]

A tear in my eye. Real gamers like yourself is why I love the industry so much. enjoy the experience for what it brings to you and no one else. Priceless.

[Ashriel]

I love their games so much! <3 Really inspiring classics, The Last Guardian is among my most anticipated titles of 2010 as well

[SSCOOLCHEA]

dont waste your breathe on them..let celebrate there one game sales every 6 to 12 months .

[horndog]

Close but im afraid Flopzone 2 has already been awarded that title. This and UC2 are battling it out for 2nd.

[Aceluffy]

Said by a bot that doesn't even have a PS3.
Have you even played Killzone 2 and Uncharted 2 ?
It's very easy to proof, just PM me your PSN ID and then if I can see those two games in your trophy list, give me your e-mail address and then I'll send you some money via Paypal to compensate for all your trouble.
Of course to do all that you have to own a PS3 first, ok ?
If you can't do all that, please for the love of God just shut up, you're only making yourself looks very idiotic, safe your 2 bubbles for something else, ok ? Cheers

[Odreus]

Yes, oh the the memories ... and I remember that I tried to find the 17th colossi, even if there wasn`t one.

[silverchode]

probably

[LostCypher11]

Sales don't equal Quality. But Sales are good to help a Dev produce more quality Games. until they get like Infinity ward. and realize the game will sell regardless and Quality goes out the window.

[Ashriel]

If it doesn't reach a million, I will be dissapointed with PS3 fans and their "support of quality".

Obviously I will buy this game day one, I loved both ICO and SOTC :3

[ColossiSlayer]

In SOTC,
The 1st Time I grabbed a fish, found a turtle, finally found all those damn fruits & lizards, used special weapons, special masks and cloaks... The Queen Sword... Lord Emon's Cloak.
I can't wait for The Last Guardian, Day1Buy4Me no used sale, I might as well go to the Sony Store and purchase the game, if I can't directly from Ueda himself. He & Team ICO deserve every dollar and accolade they receive.
I wish I could put 64.79$ (plus phila. tax) in Uedas hand for a copy of The Last Guardian, call me what you want...

[deshon09]

shadow of the colossus in march it is one of the best game i have played

[EVILDEAD360]

Team Ico is one of my fave developers ever..and one of the biggest reasons I bought a PS3 Slim..the trailer for 'Guardian' is phenominal...and this is why this article means absolutely nothing..Team I looks to have raised the bar. What people don't realize is GOW3 will sell itself. The sales of 'collection' haven't even made a dent.

But I would shed a tear of joy next year if they announced an HD 'Shadow...'

The biggest flaw I see wth this new blogging generation is they use Metacritic to explain how a game was embraced years and years ago..

I owned and still can blow dust off of my ICO..it never had the install base or the coverage that Guardian will be gifted with come next year..if the mind blowing creature graphics are any indcation of in game engine..we are all in for a treat for the ages..

The masses won't buy a game just because a fan blogger said so..but marketing and the big shows like E3 will

Evil

[tiamat5]

It's amazing how when ever we are talking sales we always seem to conveniently gravitate away from Nintendo. Most games on the Wii barely pass the million mark, even most of their exclusives.Everyone is always ready to point out and predict Sony's faliure but as usual can't see the obvious flaws and faults in their own systems.That a fanboy for ya.

[foreverflame]

This game is gonna so flop fuc_king hard, $ony has no choice to just shutdown team ico studios aka the talentless hacks

[baum]

Fumito Ueda has more talent in a single fingernail than the whole teams of Bungie, Lionhead, Silicon Knights, Epic, ID Software, Bethesda, Bioware, Rare and Infinity Ward combined. ^You must enjoy generic garbage, I can see by your avatar.

The only ones up to his standards are Miyamoto, Will Wright, Nomura and Kojima. I would have said Sakaguchi, but he lost his touch.

[Aceluffy]

Of course you can see all that with your magic lime green crystal ball that can foresee the future. Did your magic ball also see 2010 as the last year for 360 ?
By the time this game releases, more people will have PS3, hence more customer and possible sale. Remember, PS3 just had its affordable price late in 2009, expect it to keep picking up sales in the future.
What you wish for Team ICO is really uncalled for, they are very talented developer who are very dedicated to creating unique and immersive gaming experience, why would you want it to be closed down ? So you're content with just FPS or TPS games that basically appeal to trigger happy gamers ? What's wrong with you ? More variety is always welcome, are you even a real gamer ?
Your fanboyism is really idiotic and borderline pathetic.

[Aleusia]

Translation: I ONLY LIKE THEM THERE AMERICAN SHOOTER GAMES FOR DOWN HOME HILLBILLIES LIKE MYSELF *SPIT* *TING!*

[PirateThom]

I've read some stupid things on here, but this takes the biscuit as single most ridiculous thing ever said.

Team ICO? Creators of Ico and Shadow of the Collossus are "talentless hacks"?

Christ, if they're talentless hacks, then the gaming industry is in major trouble because just about every dev is worse off than they are.

That said, you probably think Bungie and Infinity Ward are the greatest devs ever, which is laughable in its self.

[The Iron Sheik]

You like Halo. Why would anyone trust your opinion about what a good game is?

[fatstarr]

it will seell like a unique wii only game. ie madworld muramasa etc

but when is 170k sold a bad number

[Aleusia]

...Yet they complain about this place being so dominantly PS3. I really do wish we could kick them out..

[dredgewalker]

You have to be sympathetic to people who wants to play a game but can't since they don't own a PS3. If they did they'd be singing a different tune. They do sound like tsundere's and its funny how hard they try to bring down games that deliver.

[Aleusia]

I'm against 360 fanboys and sympathizers, im not gonna bother you or speak against you if you just own one and play some games on it.

I don't care about the owners, i fight back against 360 supporters, fanboys, sympathizers...garbage basically.

[dredgewalker]

It might not sell millions but it will still earn a lot of money. Its always stupid to think that selling a lot means quality. I play games not sales. As long as i get the quality that team ICO does then im a happy gamer. I guess the people who always base quality on sales play WiiFit a lot.

[kewlkat007]

It's usually the type of game that it is as to why some games don't sell well even if they are praised by that cult fanbase. These games are cult favorites.

When a very good game does not sell well I believe there is something wrong with the User-Base. Sometimes not so much the game, if a really good game based off reviews.

[deno]

Looks very promising. I just picked up shadow of the colossus.

[sam2236]

Yeah, because everyone wants more CoD, Killzone and Halo. No one plays proper games anymore.

[rubixCubos]

It is a sad indictment of the videogame industry that the guy that wrote this article is right.

SotC will do well to sell 1 million units, whereas Halo or MW or games with guns and shooting sell closer to 10 million during their lifetime.

And it is YOU American's that are largely to blame for that: always the lovers of violence and guns. The rest of Europe and especially Japan have better tastes.

[Darkfiber]

This game will sell more than past Team Ico games most likely. Word of mouth seems to have a big affect this generation since many more people seem to be playing games. Look at the sales of Demon's Souls and Borderlands because of word of mouth. Both sold significantly more than they expected to, and with more gamers growing up and being older than they were last generation, I'd say many people are looking for something more mature, and I don't mean boobies and blood.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Did anybody even read the WHOLE article? The Guy loves both games and talks about the first 2 didn't sell a ton. He thinks its a shame, and wants to see the 3rd one sell well. I thought it was a good article.

[UNCyrus]

thanks for actually reading my article man

[PS360PCROCKS]

You're welcome. I agree too that they should remaster the first 2 because I never played them but I have seen the tremendous respect they garner and would like to try them.

[Alcon Caper]

If it doesn't sell, it'll be the company's own damn fault. They have a record of making Ico and SOTC, both amazing games.

Just MARKET it for Gods sake.

[GeoramA]

But I don't give a **** and neither should any of you.

[nefertis]

I hate this sales arguement It cant tell me whether i like a game or not I never played last guardian and the author of this article haven't and the author predicting last guardian going to not sale how u figure that no knows how much this game is going to sell. I think this article is full of FAIL. Playbeyond.

[Bill Gates]

You stupid BABOONS will never know what it's like to get AAA after AAA game because you're all too busy playing CRAP games on a CRAP console....AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm back BABOONS, and that sucks for you...AHAHAHAHAHA

[Risque]

Sales are not a measure of quality and gamers are (by and large) tasteless. Nothing here surprises.

[HurstDarkStar]

people play Cod and halo because they're generally fun point blank theres no denying something that simple.why is the hate for popular titles, what is it because of jealousy ?do you kno why people haven't played ico titles? because they haven't been exposed to it how can you like something you never heard of!