ANTHEM - failed Destiny clone from BioWare

[Mustawd]

Except one Russian.

let me guess:
he's the villain

Russians are awful. Makes sense.

 

[Pika-Cthulhu]

Motherfuckers be in here shitting up the chocolate thread, its over a month to easter and they already have that shit all over the stores. I wouldnt enjoy it year round, but theres something about the easter chocolate with its lighter more cocoa flavor thats quite festive so its nice to have the option to buy it a bit earlier, but usually I would wait and pick up the discount shit after easter when they cut the prices low.

 

[Dexter]

It is just not reasonable to expect good games from AAA companies in current year. They make games for share holders not gamers.

It's basically inevitable tho.

Problem is this - if you're someone like EA you have 2 option. You can make:
1. sprawling, story-focused single player games - each costs 100 million and nets you 300 million in lifetime sales, if it's reasonably successful
2. live service games that cost much less, are easier and faster to make (unless you're Bioware, wtf they were doing developing Anthem for nigh 7 years is beyond me) and they net you 300 million every fucking year

If you're a big publisher CEO and you go with the first model you probably don't stay a CEO for long. At your first board meeting everyone would ask if you're a corporate saboteur or just retarded.

As you said tho, who needs big Kwan publishers when you have amazing potato devs like CDPR, Warhorse or 4A.

The problem with this type of thinking is that these things are like half-decade fads and not something you build long-running franchises on: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...-goes-bankrupt-rip.121181/page-6#post-5575917

There's usually one or two top dogs like "World of Warcraft" or "League of Legends/DOTA2" or "MineCraft" or "DayZ/Rust/H1Z1" or "Fortnite/PUBG" and then there's like hundreds or potentially thousands of titles that try to ape said success and are either too late to the fad or don't come anywhere close to the success or profitability of the leaders in said fields and either end up being barely profitable or potentially cost a company millions of dollars or leads them into bankruptcy.

 

[cvv]

The problem with this type of thinking is that these things are like half-decade fads and not something you build long-running franchises

Exactly. But the problem with that is long-term thinking is strongly discouraged in the Kwan corporate culture. It's all about dat current quarter being the highest ever. Various get-rich-quick smash-and-grab schemes are richly rewarded. Therefore shit like lootboxes were bound to become utterly irresistible for Kwan publishers and they'll keep milking that tit till they bleed it dry or the gubrmint straight up bans it.

 

[Infinitron]

The good news: Anthem bombed.

The better news: So did everybody else, apparently.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-02-25-anthem-physical-sales-half-mass-effect-andromeda

Anthem's physical sales half Mass Effect Andromeda's

Anthem topped the UK boxed game sales chart during its first week of release, but with half the physical sales of BioWare's previous game Mass Effect Andromeda.

Without digital sales through EA's Origin service on PC, or download sales on PlayStation or Xbox, it's difficult to draw exact comparisons. But from the comparisons we can make, Anthem's sales do not paint a hugely positive picture.

Anthem only managing half the launch week sales of Andromeda is disappointing, as Andromeda only managed half the launch week sales of Mass Effect 3.

Again, we're talking boxed sales here - which will have dipped over time in favour of a growing number of people downloading their games digitally. But it seems near impossible Anthem made up that sales gap with Andromeda. The last Mass Effect game launched at the same time only two years ago and through the same methods (including EA Access, which offered an early trial).

As an online-only game, you might expect a higher number of digital sales - so let's compare Anthem to Destiny (as many already have). Well, Anthem sold roughly a quarter of Destiny 2's week one physical total from back in September 2017.

Just looking at 2019's release calendar so far, Anthem's opening weekend physical sales were lower than both Kingdom Hearts 3 and Resident Evil 2.

It's not hugely surprising. Anthem has had a tough road to release through a "rocky" beta and technical issues in early access. Early impressions have been mixed, while BioWare has rushed to patch some of Anthem's biggest problems for launch day. (On a more positive note, I've been enjoying Anthem's very BioWare-y lore).

Expect Eurogamer's review very soon.

No other new entries landed in the top 40 last week. The full top 10 looks like this:

1. Anthem
2. Far Cry: New Dawn
3. FIFA 19
4. Rootin' Pootin' Cowboy Fruitin' 2
5. Metro: Exodus
6. Forza Horizon 4
7. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
8. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
9. COD BLOPS 4
10. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 

[abija]

Can't decide who is more retarded, the devs releasing a technical mess after 6+ years working with that engine or the "journos" analysing UK BOXED game sales...

 

[cvv]

These stats have been borderline useless for a while now. I still remember when boxed copies were the majority, now it must be a very small and oppressed minority. And with publishers having absolutely no plans to disclose jack shit on a regular basis the time of sales data, however wonky, is gone forever.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

On console? I'd say boxes copies make up atleast half the sales still. And that's me being generous to digital.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

£35 on Amazon, this game is a turkey.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Didnt FO76 get something like 50% off on its 2nd or 3rd week? So Anthem manage to get there in a week?

 

[cvv]

On console? I'd say boxes copies make up atleast half the sales still. And that's me being generous to digital.

Physical sales overall were just 21% of the US market in 2017. It was 26% in 2016 so it could be like 15% last year. It's PC and consoles AND smartphones (this is a huge market) but it seems even on consoles physical copies are already a minority.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

You could probably apply to everything since the first Mass Effect. But this, and there previous two games feel like they've got it the worst.


If this was like a Dynasty Warriors game it'd be more like a Earth Defense Force game, and it'd be a hell of a lot more interesting than what they've made. The more I see of this, see some of these enemy encounters, the more I think EDF should have been the basic model for this game. You pick your jobs and shit on some mission select screen where you can quickly look at everything important, you get sent out into big EDF style stages jam packed with enemies and destrucable environments, you amass tons of crazy weapons and power armor parts. They want to do some hub area with some open environment thing that players can fuck around in as well...whatever.

Even more than before it's really sounding like they should have thought of ways around the loading screens. They had a real problem with running the player into tons of needless loading in Andromeda from what I saw of that game too.

I mean, there you go. Lost planet with the iron man suit.

The open world is unplayable, the de-sync is horrific. I'm wondering if it's because they're pairing me with yanks.

Also...

Pre-order cancels must be enormous.

Oh, I've wanted Capcom to do something like EDF ever since I played the Lost Planet demo back before the game was out.

But yeah, these are games it would have helped BioWare to remember (or even been aware of) when tackling this. Lost Planet 1 and 2 have the bosses this could have really used, (looking at a YouTube video of this games bosses, it's bosses are total shit) same goes with the multiplayer aspects of Lost Planet 2 where you can combine mechs and and have support weapons, and you've got stuff like that giant sand worm train stage in LP2 designed completely around multiplayer.

BioWare seems to have the same kind of problem Bethesda has, (as well as a number of developers) this weird tunnel vision where they're seemingly totally oblivious to anything anyone else is doing or has done beside the biggest titles. Everything BioWare seemingly wants to do in this game gameplay wise was already done better years before this even started development in the previously mentioned games, and other stuff like Vanquish, Outwars, and Starhawk. But apparently BioWare is too stupid to learn shit from stuff that came before them. Would have helped them to also look at the myriad of different mech related game to see if their was anything they did that could be incorporated into what they were going for. For what's seemingly meant to be a loot driven "RPG" based around power armor (even if it's a third person shooter) there seems to be little to nothing at all to do with the actual armor, and it sounds like there's only two sets of armor per class. What kind of fucking moron makes a loot based game and only puts two armor sets in when getting armor is seemingly meant to be such a big part of the game? BioWare. I wonder what the discussions were like when that idea first came up.

 

[Echo Mirage]

£35 on Amazon, this game is a turkey.

I always like to check the keysellers since they are the first to try and offload trash as quick as possible. As of right now they are starting to dip below the £35 they are asking for on Friday.

 

[Infinitron]

These stats have been borderline useless for a while now. I still remember when boxed copies were the majority, now it must be a very small and oppressed minority. And with publishers having absolutely no plans to disclose jack shit on a regular basis the time of sales data, however wonky, is gone forever.

Useless if you're interested in absolute numbers, but still useful for comparing relative sales success. For example, compare this with the physical sales of another game released this year.

My experience is that these UK numbers (Eurogamer posts them often) have usually been representative of games' overall performance.

 

[fantadomat]

Except one Russian.

let me guess:
he's the villain

Russians are awful. Makes sense.

Ahhhh Mexicans...
Loose a third of their land to murica - Russians are awful!

 

[abija]

Useless if you're interested in absolute numbers, but still useful for comparing relative sales success. For example, compare this with the physical sales of another game released this year.

You need to consider so many factors though (like Anthem being online only) the whole thing becomes quite pointless.

 

[cvv]

Useless if you're interested in absolute numbers, but still useful for comparing relative sales success. For example, compare this with the physical sales of another game released this year.

Yes but not comparisons with games from the same devs/series released years ago. Like "Anthem sales down by XX% compared to Andromeda".

 

[Dawkinsfan69]

U can play it for free if u have origin access

Also if u have origin access u can play JOHN MADDEN 2019

 

[imweasel]

I'd be surprised if EA doesn't pull the plug after this massive failure.

That said, the "Bioware Edmonton is being shut down, let's party!" thread would certainly be glorious.

 

[Mustawd]

Except one Russian.

let me guess:
he's the villain

Russians are awful. Makes sense.

Ahhhh Mexicans...
Loose a third of their land to murica - Russians are awful!

Pretty sure I don’t live inside a history book.

Let me rephrase: In 2019, Russians are awful. Bester I hope your country gets nuked this year.

 

[cvv]

Let me rephrase: In 2019, Russians are awful.

Only their gubrmint. Common Russians are a hoot.
Unlike Mexicans who are assholes on the ground level.

 

[Mustawd]

Let me rephrase: In 2019, Russians are awful.

Only their gubrmint. Common Russians are a hoot.
Unlike Mexicans who are assholes on the ground level.

I was talking about both.

 

[fantadomat]

Pretty sure I don’t live inside a history book.

No,you live in overpopulated shithole filled with ghettos! Even the most poor parts of Russia are paradise compared to Mexico.

 

[Mustawd]

Pretty sure I don’t live inside a history book.

No,you live in overpopulated shithole filled with ghettos! Even the most poor parts of Russia are paradise compared to Mexico.

Yes, every day I cry and wish I lived in Bulgaria.

Oh wait...

 

[rashiakas]

lol third wordlers...

 

[fantadomat]

lol third wordlers...

Second wordler here

 

[imweasel]

This thread right now: "my shithole country is better than your shithole country"