Game News The Witcher sold more than one million copies

[Herbert West]

These days marketing is just as important as the quality of game itself, whether we like it or not.

Hellgate: London (1 million subscribers)

It certainly is at least as important, if not more!

 

[Hazelnut]

This argument is stupid since we know the Witcher was clearly promoted in the biggest gaming stores in Britain, so if you are at all interested in games you'll have seen it and the store itself is the best advertising you can get. Hazelnut is just making stuff up.

Ha ha ha. Gaming stores? I don't go into gaming stores, and no one I know does. No one's saying it was not promoted, I think they had a budget and targeted it well. Oh jeez, you need me to don't you, okay...

I mean PC World, Game.co.uk, HMV, Zavvi, Dixons, Blockbuster etc, anywhere where you'd have games sold - I've seen the Witcher in "current releases" in all of them, and apart from Game, there are only a few shelves for all PC games. I've seen the Witcher put in a special spot on the shelves in PC World regularly, and a big poster at the entrance of an HMV megastore (normally you'd get DVD releases, best-selling artists and I saw WoW and Halo). Unless they're blind anyone who looks at the PC games section in any of these shops would have seen the same as me.

Of course it wasn't advertised as hard as top 10 bestselling franchises like CoD, GTA, Halo etc but it was definitely in the "mainstream" for PC games, at least comparable to NWN2 which I haven't seen a single poster for. Fallout 3 and ME probably get a bit more coverage but it doesn't matter, gamers were made aware of the Witcher and if they had wanted to buy it in larger numbers they would have.

I'm sorry but selling a million with that kind of coverage is not any great achievement. You need to accept that people didn't like the idea of a Polish Action RPG with a stupid elf looking guy on the cover.

That's better, you're making some sense now. I don't agree with you though. You need to accept that selling a million copies of a Polish Action RPG from an unheard of studio with a stupid elf looking guy on the cover, with average review scores and a medium (big title) marketing effort is very impressive when the aim was to create a good game rather than pander to the masses in a (fast becoming) standard operating procedure of filling the next truck with cash.

Not stellar, but very good. In my opinion.

 

[Volourn]

"No, huge mistake by CD Projekt. The fact they used the Aurora engine limited TW's sales as the NWN engine itself was utterly shit, people remember the excellent mod community from that game and nothing else for a reason. CD Projekt tweaked Aurora to hell but they couldn't get rid of the hardcoded basics like too many loading times. I hope they can do their own thing next time."

You are an idiot. It doesn't matter if YOU like Aurora or not. There's no doubt the fact that TW used the Aurora which gave them a cinnection to BIO helped the marketing aspect. Most people remember they ahd fun with NWN, and enjoyed the game hence more sales for TW strictly because of that. The only people who bash Aurora are usually those who dislike BIO to begin with. L0L

Don't be an idiot. Dont' allow your error filled opinion on the awesomeness of Auora blind you to the facts that it helped TW.

Smart move on CDProjects' part.

GAME OVER.

 

[Lesifoere]

the awesomeness of Auora

The what now? I know you live in a little bubble-world of your very own, but that's pretty outlandish even coming from you.

 

[Volourn]

It's awesome. Fuckin' deal with it, Pea Brain. And, apparantly Codex's Cum of the Week CDP agree hence why they chose it for thier game!

 

[DraQ]

I believe that Volurnian limitless dumbfuckery can be a valuable asset on the codex, as I don't recall him ever asserting anything that wasn't patently false and downright retarded.

Inverse truth-meter/oracle anyone?

 

[Volourn]

"I don't recall him ever asserting anything that wasn't patently false and downright retarded"

O RLY? So, you disagree with me when I say FO1 is an awesome game? K.

 

[DraQ]

O RLY? So, you disagree with me when I say FO1 is an awesome game? K.

Wow. I always thought it *was* awesome, but now that you say it, it's clear that it must suck.

 

[Volourn]

KK.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

That's better, you're making some sense now. I don't agree with you though. You need to accept that selling a million copies of a Polish Action RPG from an unheard of studio with a stupid elf looking guy on the cover, with average review scores and a medium (big title) marketing effort is very impressive when the aim was to create a good game rather than pander to the masses in a (fast becoming) standard operating procedure of filling the next truck with cash.

... and if they'd sold those million copies in the West, I'd agree with you. If we're ignoring everything other than the "Western media campaign" then I propose we ignore all sales other than those that occured in the West too. According to Rondel The Witcher sold 250k copies in the US ("the West"). 250k in Poland (where there was a major marketing campaign and The Witcher is a well-known IP) and 350k in Russia.

A medium title game with a medium budget and a medium advertising campaign (in the West, we're ignoring the strong campaign in their major market of Poland which generated a quarter of all sales) makes 250k sales "in the West"? Meanwhile Call of Duty 4 with it's "big budget Western media" campaign makes 3 Million sales in the US alone (XBox version).

Compartively BioShock also broke the million sales mark on the PC (and sold another 2.2 Million on the Xbox) though they did have a "big budget" media campaign which included television advertising. However the large number of those million PC sales were generated "in the West".

In short, the market each game was advertised strongly in counted for most sales. It's no surprise that a Polish Action RPG with Polish language option based on a well-known Polish IP and an associated "big" marketing campaign in Poland, sells well in Poland (and Russia). And that a "medium-sized" marketing campaign in the US - consisting of close ties with gaming mags, creation of comics and associated other material to increase brand awareness - generates medium results in the US market (assuming Rondel's figures are right, 250k in the US isn't bad but it's certainly not stellar).

 

[Volourn]

GAME OVER, man, GAME OVER.

 

[Wyrmlord]

DU should dumbfuck! himself.

Embarassing.

You are not helping the Polish image. You may have more credibility with less zealotry.

 

[Lesifoere]

I'm not Polish, and I think DU's serial wankery about TW is a little ridiculous.

 

[Konjad]

Oh well, what is a big deal anyway. What does it change for you if 80% of sold Witchers was thanks to quality of the game or marketing? It just sold well because it is a good game and had a good marketing. Thanks to advertisements people knew there is that game, and thanks to quality they liked it.

Both attacking The Witcher because it has a advertisements and defending because it is a good game aren't very... you know, bright.

Today marketing is important not less than the game. Look at Oblivion. Most of the codex will agree with me it is a shit. But it sold very well. Guess why?

So, yes, The Witcher had a good hype in Poland (at least for polish standards), but does that mean it sold just because of that? If yes - why codex likes it? Doesn't make sense!

Even a good games need some hype, just to let people know they exist.

 

[Volourn]

I like how the Codex says TW sold well because it's good but then turn around and claim that games that sell better than TW is only because of marketing. Tools.

 

[Elwro]

For me the point is: when did you last hear of a good cRPG selling a million copies? Such facts are good for the whole genre.

 

[made]

I don't care why it sold well. What matters is that it did. Enough to hopefully warrant a sequel and send a sign to publishers that it's feasible to take chances with PC RPGs and not limit the genre to Oblivion-likes targeted at idiots and 12 year olds.

 

[Volourn]

"For me the point is: when did you last hear of a good cRPG selling a million copies?"

ME.

And, TW is not a good RPOG. It's not even a good game.



"I don't care why it sold well. What matters is that it did."

Diddn't sell espicially well in NA with only about 250k copies if what is said is accurate. Not that impressive. Game that truly sell well sell 1 mil in NA alone.

Europe is irrelevant.

 

[Elwro]

Maybe it's irrelevant for you, but imho without the Gothics, DivDiv and TW we'd have a lot fewer nice cRPGs to play in the 21st century.

 

[DefJam101]

I thought TW sold well because it's a well-known franchise/series in Poland?

Wouldn't it be like a Star Wars RPG being released over here? (KOTOR)

 

[Volourn]

"Gothics, DivDiv and TW"

G3 is ok. The other suck.

DD is just a crappy hack n slash that had potential for mor ebut blew it.

TW's only good part is the softcore porn.

Not exactly games to get excited over.

R00fles!

 

[Chefe]

ebut?

 

[Ausir]

Diddn't sell espicially well in NA with only about 250k copies if what is said is accurate. Not that impressive. Game that truly sell well sell 1 mil in NA alone.

Europe is irrelevant.

How exactly are sales in the US more relevant than sales in Europe?

 

[Volourn]

US/NA > Europe.

Game over.

 

[made]

The strong dollar makes the US an attractive market for foreign developers, obviously.

 

[Ausir]

US/NA > Europe.

Game over.

And which do you think they make more money on - a copy sold in Europe or a copy sold in the US?