Was Dragon Age: Inquisition a commercial failure?

[Infinitron]

Is Austin still called Bioware, though? That's the old WAR-studio that made Tortanic, right?

Yes it is. I don't think they were ever involved with WAR, though. That was Mythic Entertainment, and they're dead. IIRC they were located in Virginia.

 

[tuluse]

Yes it is. I don't think they were ever involved with WAR, though. That was Mythic Entertainment, and they're dead. IIRC they were located in Virginia.

But they were also branded Bioware for a while weren't they?

 

[Infinitron]

But they were also branded Bioware for a while weren't they?

Yeah

 

[imweasel]

EA rebranded a bunch of studios after they bought Bioware. BioWare Mythic, BioWare Ireland, BioWare Victory, BioWare Sacramento and BioWare San Francisco all existed for a time.

After Dragon Turd 2 failed they started to divest those studios from the Bioware group. Now BioWare Edmonton, BioWare Austin and BioWare Montreal are the only Bioware branded studios.

 

[ZoddGuts]

Dragon Age re-confirmed to be bomba. Not being in the top 10 NPD sales for Dec.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=972713

 

[imweasel]

Dragon Age re-confirmed to be bomba. Not being in the top 10 NPD sales for Dec.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=972713

That definitely confirms that DA:I bombed hard.

RIP Dragon Age.

 

[Avellion]

Dragon Age re-confirmed to be bomba. Not being in the top 10 NPD sales for Dec.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=972713

I guess this goes to show that you dont need prestigious tastes to not find riding the bull to be any fun.

Any commoner, clearly doesnt find the concept of riding the bull all that appealing either.

 

[Space Satan]

Spoiler

That does it. Next Dragon Ahe will be a MMO, centered around some Thedas-wide sport event where you could build anything with blocks, fight various characters and the genre will be a FPS with cover and regeneration.

 

[Tehdagah]

Assassin's Creed Unity bombed too.

Far Cry will be Ubisoft's new cash cow.

Edit: I noticed FIFA 15 was released for 3DS and Wii, but not WiiU. Is EA boycotting the console?

 

[Jaesun]

Why do people still care about this fucking shit in now that the years of INCLINE is upon us?

 

[tuluse]

Why do people still care about this fucking shit in now that the years of INCLINE is upon us?

I'm addicted to drama.

If Bio failed hard it would be amazing.

 

[FuriousGamer87]

Why do people still care about this fucking shit in now that the years of INCLINE is upon us?

The same reason we play games.

It's entertaining.

 

[Night Goat]

Why do people still care about this fucking shit in now that the years of INCLINE is upon us?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

 

[Hepler's Vagina]

DAI they named it. And DIE it did.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Like I quoted in the other thread, if only 2.6 million dragons were slain, that's a telling sign if there are 10 of them to slay in each play through.

Its still strange, that the sales numbers are probably low, it means that 10/10 GOTY seems to play not that big of a role when it comes to sales. When you read comments, many people outside the Codex seem to like it, so word of mouth should be ok, and blame everything on DA2 - I don't know if the average buyer even remembers that. Maybe narrative driven single player party RPGs are really a much smaller niche then you'd expect.

 

[Jick Magger]

Like I quoted in the other thread, if only 2.6 million dragons were slain, that's a telling sign if there are 10 of them to slay in each play through.

Its still strange, that the sales numbers are probably low, it means that 10/10 GOTY seems to play not that big of a role when it comes to sales. When you read comments, many people outside the Codex seem to like it, so word of mouth should be ok, and blame everything on DA2 - I don't know if the average buyer even remembers that. Maybe narrative driven single player party RPGs are really a much smaller niche then you'd expect.

It's because 'Game of the Year' is an utterly meaningless title. It's an obvious attempt to emulate the legitimacy of other award ceremonies from across various media, while lacking any real form of pedigree or prestige. Producers can capitalize on Oscar-winning actors because normal people are familiar with what the Oscars are and how long it's been around. Do you honestly think your random passerby is gonna seriously weigh his purchasing options on a game because fucking Geoff Keighley gave it a game of the year award? Most of them probably don't even know who Geoff Keighley is. I only know him through the Dorito Pope debacle, I've never read any of his articles and I never intend to. Geoff Keighley fans might buy it, but not the casual audiences who's numbers are necessary to ensure the game's financial success.

 

[Azrael the cat]

I'm curious, does EA me make good sports games. I don't mean hardcore tactical or management sims, obviously. It's just that seeing those sports titles up in the top ten made me remember just how much those cash cows sell for games that seem to get zero coverage in the gaming press (hard to work analyses of plot, sexuality or romance into a sports game i guess). I know they get heavily advertised on TV, but joe casual doesn't buy the same game every single year, or even keep their system up to date (just ask Nintendo). And even if you started out casual, you wouldn't stay that way if you were playing the fuck out of each one as it came out, they're more like fighting games in that sense, you can't really stay casual due to the competitive nature of it. Can't just lead players through a cijematic experience and tell them how awesome they are, and even if you make an ultra easy one, players will master it and seek harder challenges.

I get that they've got the 'real rosters' shit tied down, but while I can see players getting that over a better game, it won't help it the game simply isn't in the ballpark.

I haven't played a sports title religiously since Lakers v Celtics and Lakers v Bulls back in the magic Johnson days (now there's a nickname that became unfortunate), so i don't really know. Anyone able to enlighten me?

 

[Azrael the cat]

It's because 'Game of the Year' is an utterly meaningless title. It's an obvious attempt to emulate the legitimacy of other award ceremonies from across various media, while lacking any real form of pedigree or prestige. Producers can capitalize on Oscar-winning actors because normal people are familiar with what the Oscars are and how long it's been around. Do you honestly think your random passerby is gonna seriously weigh his purchasing options on a game because fucking Geoff Keighley gave it a game of the year award? Most of them probably don't even know who Geoff Keighley is. I only know him through the Dorito Pope debacle, I've never read any of his articles and I never intend to. Geoff Keighley fans might buy it, but not the casual audiences who's numbers are necessary to ensure the game's financial success.

And even with the Oscars the average person knows to be at least a bit cynical. Sure, the average audience member will still be wowed by grandiose oscar bait over solid workmanship, but they know to only take it as the best of certain types of film, ie a solid 'worth checking this out' if you've missed it, but the limitations and politics are well known, and people expect other awards to be the same at absolute best.

 

[vonAchdorf]

And even with the Oscars the average person knows to be at least a bit cynical. Sure, the average audience member will still be wowed by grandiose oscar bait over solid workmanship, but they know to only take it as the best of certain types of film, ie a solid 'worth checking this out' if you've missed it, but the limitations and politics are well known, and people expect other awards to be the same at absolute best.

For movies, I think it's proven that there is no correlation between commercial and critical success, and not only because movie critics, like game critics, prefer different movies / games than the average populace of movie goers. I always thought that word-of-mouth is more important for movies (hence Thursday as opening day) though, than for games (especially single player games), but that might be wrong.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

And neither did Activision. Now, what do those games, and Skyrim, have in common? Open world.

For the longest time, the largest publishers have ignored the single player open world sandbox genre. My long-standing theory is that it's because they don't see it as a worthwhile return on investment. By their logic, if you're going to make a large game world with hundreds of hours of gameplay, make it an MMO (subscription-based or F2P). MMOs earn more money.

What?They even got two open-world series before Skyrim.

 

[Lhynn]

I'm curious, does EA me make good sports games. I don't mean hardcore tactical or management sims, obviously. It's just that seeing those sports titles up in the top ten made me remember just how much those cash cows sell for games that seem to get zero coverage in the gaming press (hard to work analyses of plot, sexuality or romance into a sports game i guess). I know they get heavily advertised on TV, but joe casual doesn't buy the same game every single year, or even keep their system up to date (just ask Nintendo). And even if you started out casual, you wouldn't stay that way if you were playing the fuck out of each one as it came out, they're more like fighting games in that sense, you can't really stay casual due to the competitive nature of it. Can't just lead players through a cijematic experience and tell them how awesome they are, and even if you make an ultra easy one, players will master it and seek harder challenges.

I get that they've got the 'real rosters' shit tied down, but while I can see players getting that over a better game, it won't help it the game simply isn't in the ballpark.

I haven't played a sports title religiously since Lakers v Celtics and Lakers v Bulls back in the magic Johnson days (now there's a nickname that became unfortunate), so i don't really know. Anyone able to enlighten me?

While soccer games are basically the same game with updated statistics for every player in the world thats in in a relatively important league or member of a national selection, they are not bad games. Every year the gameplay gets polished, graphics are improved, and usually an entertaining feature or two pop up. They are games that you can play with your real life friends, games that you can play competitively, etc. They are surprisingly deep with stuff like morale and team chemistry, etc.
Internet leagues are highly competitive and from what ive seen thoroughly entertaining if you are into that sort of shit. Games like Fifa and pro evolution soccer offer really good gameplay, while football manager offers much deeper tactical and strategical thinking, resource management etc. If i were to compare them to the dumbed down shit they release for other genres id say its not really a secret why they do so well and are played by so many people. That and soccer is a better sport than whatever kwans play or watch.

 

[Mustawd]

I'm curious, does EA me make good sports games. I don't mean hardcore tactical or management sims, obviously. It's just that seeing those sports titles up in the top ten made me remember just how much those cash cows sell for games that seem to get zero coverage in the gaming press (hard to work analyses of plot, sexuality or romance into a sports game i guess). I know they get heavily advertised on TV, but joe casual doesn't buy the same game every single year, or even keep their system up to date (just ask Nintendo). And even if you started out casual, you wouldn't stay that way if you were playing the fuck out of each one as it came out, they're more like fighting games in that sense, you can't really stay casual due to the competitive nature of it. Can't just lead players through a cijematic experience and tell them how awesome they are, and even if you make an ultra easy one, players will master it and seek harder challenges.

I get that they've got the 'real rosters' shit tied down, but while I can see players getting that over a better game, it won't help it the game simply isn't in the ballpark.

I haven't played a sports title religiously since Lakers v Celtics and Lakers v Bulls back in the magic Johnson days (now there's a nickname that became unfortunate), so i don't really know. Anyone able to enlighten me?

I tried picking Madden up after years of not playing since college. It had become so complicated I struggled to throw a first down on Normal Difficulty (or whatever stupid Madden label it is). Even then, the complexity was pretty much there back when and has been developed more and more as the NFL has gained popularity.

But I think the appeal of those games is that you can be both a casual and hardcore gamer and there's no diminishment of the experience.

Casual? Play with your casual friends or play on easy, and you'll st have a good time. Hardcore? Go to practice mode, memorize coverages, buy the hint books, get good at online play, etc.

 

[DalekFlay]

Glad to see it not in the top 10 for December. Reviewers can see a long quest list and pretty areas and hand out a 10 but that doesn't mean people will buy it. Good to hear.

Shame Bioware will probably say "this proves AAA RPGs are dead" like they've been ranting about for a decade.

 

[DeepOcean]

What is sad is that even if Bioware go under, the upper management, AKA, the clowns responsible for the sad state Bioware is today are with they ass stuffed with money now while EA uses Bioware carcass as some sort of marketing scheeme but that is how the world rolls, clowns like Gaider are worshipped as example of videogame writer while Obsidian has to do a World of Tanks rip off to survive.

 

[Roguey]

The Mills prophecy comes true again

In my opinion it's actually critics and hardcore gamers who respond more to pedigree than your average gamer. For years no one but the most serious gamer coudl actually tell you the difference between Bioware and Black Isle and routinely confused the two. People still do. I know lots of (casual adequateness) people who played New Vegas and not one of them knows what Obsidian is. On the other hand, Bioware could probably release a turd in a box and critics would give it high 8s and low 9s while the majority of the gaming comunity responds with apathy (unless the turd has Dragon Age or Mass Effect written on the box, in which case week 1 sales will be good, but that's it).