PoE Sales Analysis Thread

[ArchAngel]

Are you guys that blinded with your dislike of the game that you can't think rationally anymore? (Well, that has been the case in this discussion so far, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.) Of course they're not going to piss of a large segment of their (future) customer base:

http://www.gamewatcher.com/interviews/pillars-of-eternity-interview/12162

GameWatcher: In terms of additional content for the game, will you be heading down the DLC pack route, which is something Paradox as a publisher is known for, or will you be concentrating on larger expansions?

Josh Sawyer: No, we want to do a traditional expansion, and we’re in the early stages of planning for that right now. Part of the Kickstarter campaign was a full expansion, so we’re definitely doing a Tales of the Sword Coast style campaign. We’re still in the early stages of design for that right now, though. What I would say about additional content other than that, is that I would like to see any gameplay tweaks and changes we make in an expansion get rolled into a free patch. So if you don’t want to buy an expansion, you get all the same gameplay benefits without the extra story.

I doubt fixes for that abortion called Stronghold are going to come with free patch.

 

[imweasel]

According to the Steamspy guy, Pillars of Eternity is a good example of a game that hasn't "sunk like a rock": https://twitter.com/Steam_Spy/status/586971699293265924

This is getting pretty ridiculous, guys.

Indeed, two weeks after release, remind me WHEN was released and its actual position on Steam sales chart NOW.

Where do you expect it to be two months after release? Dragonfall: DC sank like a rock ONE DAY after its release. I remember us going "inb4 bankruptcy", but somehow, HBS are doing all right and even expanding. I think Obsidian's gonna be fine, man.

EDIT: Here's the post: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...fall-directors-cut.90165/page-38#post-3495584

♪Strawmanitron, Strawmanitron,
Does whatever a straw man maker can
Builds a straw man, any size,
Defends Sawyerism with irellevant cries
Look Out!
Here comes the Strawmanitron! ♫​

But seriously, it probably had a lot to do with the fact that everybody who had the Dragonfall expansion got Dragonfall DC for FREE. Look at the players total on Steamspy, over half of the people who own the game haven't even started it up once. I personally haven't played the DC either, only the expansion.

How accurate is Steam Spy?

It is fine as an indication, although the error margin is not very accurate.

 

[Immortal]

Witcher 3 has a higher metacritic score and sold better which empirically means it's a better game and that potato's can design better then Josh Sawyer.

U Mad?

 

[dragonul09]

Witcher 3 has a higher metacritic score and sold better which empirically means it's a better game and that potato's can design better then Josh Sawyer.

U Mad?

Sarcasm aside,it is better,even the first Witcher is better than this snore fest and that game had some serious problems in the combat department.

 

[Eyestabber]

Pah, my disdain for PoE doesn't reach the point of saying Potato-Truck-Simulator is better than PoE. It isn't. At least PoE characters can make a U-turn. \o/

 

[Immortal]

At least PoE characters can make a U-turn. \o/

They start off shitty and end shitty?

 

[Infinitron]

PoE is on sale for 10% off on GOG. Just pointing this out because I believe it's the first time the game has been on sale. I imagine there'll be something similar on Steam very soon.

 

[Sensuki]

Second time. It was on sale shortly after release $3 off or something.

 

[Immortal]

I got it for 50% off through some kickstarter deal..

 

[Ninjerk]

Can backers still buy cheaper copies?

 

[Sensuki]

Nope. Just checked, sometime between now and when I last looked (April) they removed it.

 

[Zeronet]

25% off on steam.

 

[Infinitron]

BTW, PoE Hero Edition is currently the 363rd best selling game ever on GOG (out of ~1000)

Following the GOG summer sale, it's now climbed to the 338th place.

Steam stats later today

 

[Infinitron]

Following the end of the Steam sale, the number of owners on Steamspy is ~430,000. A gain of around 60,000. Divinity is at ~870,000 and Wasteland 2 is at ~460,000. The game's maximum discount was 33%.

 

[One-and-a-half-Ivan]

We'll see final "after sale" numbers in a couple of hours (steamspy updates around 00:00 Moscow time).

 

[Bonerbill]

Or you guys could have just checked out the summer sale second. Of course these numbers may not be accurate compared to the final number

Steamspy.com/sale

 

[Abu Antar]

Steamspy also takes samples every day, so numbers change.

 

[One-and-a-half-Ivan]

Pretty close to 440000
http://clip2net.com/s/3jH9KOB

 

[Infinitron]

And Wasteland 2 is almost at 480,000 and Divinity almost at 880,000.

 

[agris]

Why was D:OS so successful compared to WL2 and PoE?

 

[tuluse]

Why was D:OS so successful compared to WL2 and PoE?

Polish and moment-to-moment fun.

It's also been out a while longer, don't be surprised if WL2 and PoE are closer to 600-700k by the time they've been out as long as D:OS especially with expansions and director's cuts coming.

 

[Abu Antar]

Why was D:OS so successful compared to WL2 and PoE?

Better marketing push? Worked well for the European market. Good updates. Graphics that appeal to the larger masses? Online play?

Wasteland 2 looks hideous and a lot of people complain that Pillars of Eternity has 2D graphics. RtwP might not appeal to a lot of people these days? I can see many reasons as to why it did better. On the other hand, D: OS has been out for 9 months longer than PoE.

 

[agris]

Both of you are probably right to various degrees. I didn't realize the time gap between D:OS and the other two was so great. That plus being traditional fantasy plus the art style were probably the largest contributors to their success. I don't have a good feel for their marketing strategy in Europe vs. US, especially in contrast to PoE and WL2. I expect Paradox knows European video game marketing strategy though.

 

[Roguey]

Congrats to Obsidian for surpassing Wasteland 2's pre-summer sale numbers within three months. Now try to overtake its post-sale numbers within the next three.

 

[WalkinDude]

D:OS also came out during a time when no other releases were really going on. Summer may seem like a poor time for the big guns but for something one of these AA devs puts out it's pretty perfect if the product is at least decent and just dominates the meh market. at least thats what appears to be the case