Enslaved’s poor sales: it’s all your fault
We gave it 83% – a very good score – and it’s now being sold for sub-£25. So why haven’t you bought Enslaved yet?
Enslaved is a good game. This is not just Play’s opinion – it’s shared by the gaming press in general. It was scored 83% by our fair hand, and currently enjoys a Metacritic rating of 79 on PS3. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, this is actually a very good score.
The game was advertised up the hoo-ha, appearing all over television, in magazines and plastered over the back of websites both covering video games and things that aren’t video games. So it was warmly received by the press and it was advertised widely enough for those not interested in games to know about it.
It had some ‘Hollywood’ names attached to it – everybody’s favourite bloke-who-was-King-Kong, Andy Serkis, was joined by the writing talent of Alex Garland, a man who wrote a book that was turned into a film you’ll know about, as well as writing a couple of films you’ll know about (minus the book thing). So there was something lacking from most games in the shape of star power, even if it wasn’t Hollywood ‘A’ list.
But sales on PS3 have barely scraped beyond the 75,000 threshold (numbers here). It’s not the lowest number we’ve seen for a game, but it is a surprisingly small number for a game so well-received, so high profile and with such star power behind it.
So I’m just wondering: why haven’t you bought it? Why have you consigned an original property to the doldrums? Why have you given the suits at the top another excuse to avoid taking chances on new, interesting and exciting games? I’m not even saying Enslaved was all of those things – I’d go more down the route that it was an interesting and good-looking title that while it didn’t bring anything new to the table, did do what it set out to do with style and heart. But the gaming public’s reticence to purchase a game whose only real risk was being an unknown name… well, what does that say for the future of games that actually take risks? It’s not looking that bright.
This may seem like rather an aggressive article, blaming gamers across the world in a wholesale fashion for the apparent failure of a new IP. That’s because that’s what it is. The gaming press did their job, Namco Bandai did their job and Ninja Theory did their job. If this doesn’t end up being a slow-burner and sell the numbers it deserves to sell, you only have yourselves to blame if we face a console future of Nothing But Military Shooters. Seeing as Enslaved is now clocking in at about £25 and below in shops across the nation, you now have the perfect chance to redeem yourselves. Get on it.
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I did buy it. But I wouldn’t blame others for not buying it… it was too short. The only reason I bought it is because I know a website to sell games on, and was planning to sell it after I beat it. I did. It’s not a “GREAT” game, it’s a good game, and that to me is not worth keeping. It’s a rental. Blame the developers for not making a game WORTH $60…. but $30, yes.
If they want us to buy new IP’s, they need to make them with not only good ideas (Enslaved brought NOTHING new OR CHALLENGING to the table… it’s a WANNABE uncharted…..) but they need to make games with tons of FEATURES or a REPLAY VALUE. Compare HEAVY RAIN (a game you can play 3-4 times and enjoy…) to Enslaved (a game that is short, you play once, and will not want to play again because all the platforming and gaming moments are too easy….).
Again, it just wasn’t worth buying for most gamers (even those who wanted to play it…much cheaper to just rent it!). Sad to see, because I for one WANT to see new IP’s. I just think that a new IP better bring the heat if it wants to be BOUGHT. Look how Uncharted did. The first one didn’t even have an online…but it didn’t NEED it… because the one player was AMAZING, and it was a GOOD length. Enslaved couldn’t even keep up with the first uncharted in terms of total quality. So, Enslaved 2 (if you have the guts to make another Enslaved, Namco…), you better bring some real game, or don’t expect getting much sales just for being “different”.
OK, these are my reasons for not buying this game.
So fair enough the game is very good but reading the reviews it doesn’t seem like it’s a game that would appeal to the hardcore. Here’s why..
Games nowadays have so much content packed into them whether its collectables, co-operative or multiplayer these give the players alot of things to come back and replay the game. With Enslaved it just feels a single play through experience with limited collectables and very little in exploration which comes to be expected in many games.
Another reason as to why this game doesn’t appeal to me is because of the very linear path. Now you could counter this argument and say that alot of games such as the Call of Duty series is also but not in the way that Enslaved does. Enslaved basically nurses you through the game showing where every ledge is to grab hold off. Having this feeling doesn’t attract me in the right way, I feel put of and that it’s not targeting me.
So in conclusion, yes the game is great and to say different is out of the question but there are fall backs as to why people have not bought the game. For a single play through experience it seems not surprising that retailers have lowered the price of the game.
The PS3 users dont like ninja theory… ever since their boss left they have been a bunch of douch bags… first they claimed that enslaved was the next uncharted graphics wise…(blasphomy) then they dissed the PS3 by stating that it was impossible to work on…. and then they claimed they would not make heavenly sword 2…. and lastly they turned Dante into a LESS OF A BADASS THAN BEFORE* but honestly gow 3 only sold 3 mill in one year… games burn slowly on ps3
*Edited to keep it nice.
I didn’t buy it, but I really felt like getting it. The only problem I think is that it was released at the wrong time. I instead waited for games like Star Wars: The force Unleashed 2 and COD7. If it was released sometime in late November I would have definitely bought it.
not going to get enything (might get preowend) from NT for all the “heavenly sword” did not sell well (1.5mill is great you bitch) and we will not make number 2… so, i will not buy enslaved or the next dmc game. only preowend so the dont make eny money of me!
I could either buy fallout new vegas, the deepest and most well written game of this generation, or a linear derivative generic action game with barely a handful of characters and horrendous level design and gameplay… The reason enslaved doesn’t sell is because hardcore gamers have become more discerning, either offer a cool gameplay gimmick or depth. Military shooters are succesful because they are relatable, a fantasy game needs depth to stand out and enslaved doesn’t have any.
Much like the user above stated… Its short, I think I beat it in an afternoon and will likely never put this game back into a console.
However, there were also some big titles getting launched at the same time. Fallout: New Vegas, Fable III, Halo Reach and starwars just to name a few. A lot of ppl in these money tight times will more than likely have to pick 1 out of the 5-6 new released titles, and most of them will go for a game that they know will give them their monies worth.
Seriously, i’m sick of military first person shooters. i worry for the industry and i’m starting to dislike the gaming community, they simply refuse to buy anything other than copy and pasted crap like call of duty.
Enslaved has ‘sub-£20 within a month’ written all over it, so would probably explain why people haven’t been buying it — they’re just waiting for it to drop in price.
i brought it because i liked the demo. The story seemed good, but i sold it 3/4 of the way through because i got fed up of the game holding my hand (i.e telling me where to jump and not letting me work it out). On top of that was the combat, sure you can upgrade but only a few moves and pretty much the same enemies (not including the bosses) gets old quick.
I sort of liked it but i like a challenge from a adventure games and not having my hannd held all the way through.
I rented it but I would not buy it. It is a good game but after you beat it there is nothing to do, so it would have been a waste of money. I would have bought it if it had bonus modes or something to keep me going after
the game is not good. has week design, and it was released in a bad time.
seriously with castlevania, SWTFU2, Vanquish, 007 Blood Stone on the same month.
I played all those games, and I think just castlevania is worst than Enslaved.
Too many other good games these days. Also, games are insanely expensive, recession…and it seems more like a rental than a full purchase.
Played the demo, liked it, BUT it’s a downgrade from Heavenly Sword. I expected more from Ninja Theory with this. It seems they made the wrong turn going multiplat, something they should not have done in the first place.
I didn’t buy it because I don’t buy bad games. The plot sounds (and probably is) juvenile, the game is an eyesore, the combat looks too boring for words, and your character is a big shirtless guy named Monkey. Games that get bad sales get them for a reason, and justly deserve them.
The game industry is shooting itself in the foot with that “every game is worth $60 at launch” thing… I was not willing to pay $60 for this game and, knowing its price will drop in the next few months combined with the fact that I’m having more than enough games to play at the moment, I decided to wait a few months before buying Enslaved, quite confident I will be able to get it for half the launch price…
Now, if games were hard to find in stores after a few months or if prices didn’t drop, I might be forced to change my behavior…
The reason why it hasnt sold well, just look through these comments above and thats why because they are all waiting for the same old thing COD, Fallout, Medal of Honour ect. The thing is its a vicious circle game developers become unimaginative with thier games and gamers get used to it and want generic shooter 7, then said game company gets sick off it and wants to make a new game that no one will buy because they have all be instituionalised by thier previous crap.
Enslaved tells are great story, and a comical bond at times seeing character development between Monkey Trip and Pigsy it’s hard to hate them and some of the lines are well delivered.
The only thing that’s bad about the game is that it’s a bit easy but that’s not a big issue, when you consider half the games out now are just as easier if not more so. I played the game for the story. shame it didn’t do well, I wanted a second game. as for game length it was about 8-10 hours long not too bad, longer then modern warfare and modern warfare 2 and the latest game vanquish which only last 4 hours!!!!
some of the comments are hypocritical and ironic “THE TRUTH” It was capcom who changed Dante’s look not ninja theory ya nonce, do research and the game looks better then heavenly sword sounds like you’re butt hurt over it not being an exclusive game.
Zero says Monkey looks dumb, but what about Kratos? a man who is generic and god of war has one of the stupidest stories conceived. Even when he jumped off the cliff in the previous game they simply save him for convenience and cash, if they had a spine they would of killed him off, the only appeal is gore for the kids.
I think it’s a sad state in the gaming industry when all people buy is FPS and games that are gory that’s it, but hey mostly americans.
I beg to differ sir, the reason the game hasn’t sold sits entirely with the developers. Its simple marketing, the game is a new IP in a genre that isn’t very popular, you don’t release those in holiday season, look at darksiders and bayonetta two very similar games that sold a hell of a lot better. Me personally i didn’t pick it up cause its simply far to short and too easy for 60 dollars, developers need to stop doing this poop. I don’t want tagged on multiplayer with all my games, i just want value for money, ill reference bayonetta again, the game has soooooo many unlockables and things to do after you have completed the main game that its ridiculous.
To put it simply i don’t think enslaved deserved to sell well, yes it has gotten high ratings and all that jazz but in the current climate of video games you cannot sell me a 12 hour campaign and leave it at that when almost every other game is doing so much more. I have been playing gears of war 2 and fallout 3 since 2008 and street fighter 4 since early 2009 and those games cost the same as enslaved.
I want to play Enslaved, but the release date was near Castlevania Lord of Shadow… after some reviews and scores, LoS is way better, i love it.
Now that im done with LoS i gonna try Enslaved… maybe…
because $60 for a single player only game with 4 hours of fun is ruddy insane? In this day and age you cannot pump out a singe player only game with no replay value at all and expect people to plunge $60 down on it no matter how it looks, who its made by etc. Its not an acceptable standard. I wish that if your game was strictly a single player experience that it was priced at $40 or lower! What namco was charging for the game just isn’t acceptable perceived cost ratio.
Its my money and I’d rather buy something I actually want.
Why does this article even exist?
Why haven’t you accepted that theres other games people would rather bother with than another “ok” Ninja Theory game?
Thats the real question.
I was going to buy the game but then they ruined Devil May Cry and made Dante a pathetic twilight wannabe so now they can go ruddy themselves. I hope the new DMC flops even harder but people are so stupid that they will buy the game just because of the name.
The idiots with their “its the ps3 guyz who dont like it” need to STFU and think for a second .
For starters the game is selling better on ps3 .
The general public isnt aware of Ninja theory’s antics , interview and crap , nor do they roam comments section .
They didnt care about the game because , they saw the game is incredibly shorty , the demo showed a lackluster game , at least in the fighting mechanics and platform … and because it got released at a very bad period .
As for us us “hardcore” gamers , well yeah i’d like to think it’s “my fault” . The game is good in every area except the one that matters , the gameplay .
It’s laggy , clunky , full of button mashing and the platform is so automatised you can’t even fail unless on purpose .
So yeah of course i’m going to buy instead the likes of Castlevania and other games , instead of paying for a glorified movie .
Just admit it to yourselves “journalists” , you all backed the wrong horse , and for once the masses didnt fall for it .
You know why I didn’t buy it?
1. Saw the video and thought “hmm, this looks alot like heavenly sword. Heavenly sword was disappointing. This will probably won’t live up to the hype either.”
2. Made by Ninja Theory “Oh, you mean the guys that wined that we didn’t buy enough copies of Heavenly Sword? Ruddy giving them my money.”
3. I’m broke. I can only buy one game this season and that game would be…
4. COD Black Ops. Played almost all the COD games, but that’s because despite being rehashes, they’re also fun, and I have fond memories of playing MW and MW2 online with my friends.
5. I’m sure someone else will buy Enslave and sponsor those poor blokes at Ninja Theory (apperently not)
6. I don’t trust game journalists. They said Bioshock was game of the year. It wasn’t.
So, I could feel sorry for Ninja Theory and buy what appears to be another stab at making a game with Heavenly Sword’s art style, playing it and getting a £6 trade-in for it or I could buy Black ops where there’s a 50/50 chance I’ll end up playing it with my friends for the next year or so and get my moneys worth. Hmmm, decisions…
By the way, I don’t care about new or old IPs, I just want to play a game that I perceive as being FUN. Black ops looks fun. Enslaved looks like another over cinematic try-hard.
I played about 2 mins of the demo before my gf interrupted me and I haven’t had a chance to play it since.
It’s cuthroat in games sometimes and what i saw of this game didn’t inspire me because the art style was generic looking.
Since reading this article I went on YouTube in work and had a little look at the trailer and some screenshots.
Who was the visual director? The game lacks atmosphere because there is a conflict of styles. The textures/colors don’t stick to a consistent pallette. It could do with some grading across the board.
Don’t like the appearance of the lead character, don’t like the notion of being female lead’s slave.
Some aspects of the premise are cool. I do like daylight/forest post apocalyptic setting.
Close but no cigar. Vanquish got my euro this week and it looks bloody amazing.
The reason I didn’t get it is because I’m low on money and there were other games that took Priority over buy enslaved! games I’ve anticipated for far longer so its the release date that is to blame not the actual game :/
Some games are *musthaveondayofreleaseisitoutyetisitisit?* and some are “I’ll wait until that drops to under £20″
Enslaved is the latter.
Any game that looks like it will be fun for those gaming droughts, can usually be picked up for the right price, given time.
Hey I brought it, WTF can I do? lol
It’s actually on my “to buy” list. I’m just waiting for my goddamn salary. It’s still at least €50 here. if it were those delicious twenty five pouds I’d have already bought it.
..okay, and ninja theory pissed me off. but you can’t not enjoy a tasty hotdog because it’s made by the boston strangler. just don’t look him in the eyes.
I did this game, and i returned it to the shop because new IP doesn’t always mean new and exciting idea’s, it’s a game based on a chinese myth that borrows heavily form all other action games, im not saying other games havent done this, but people are much more inclined to spend their money on a well developed and Known IP than blow there money on a new IP that brings nothing new to the table. who are you to tell people how to spend there money……
I agree with Zero. I’ll never buy a game where the main character is named Monkey. I dont really care if it is based on an existing story or not. Just because the company took a risk on the property it doesnt mean that it was the right risk to take.
It’s not my fault if the game didn’t sell, it’s the game’s fault for being a giant piece of crap.
It’s so easy it might as well play itself, and it’s not fun to play whatsoever. It’s an insult to action games.
Shut up, it’s just a damn video game and gamers buy what they see fit. If you don’t like how things went, just accept it and stop your moaning because this article won’t force anyone to buy a game they never wanted. You speak of a future filled with shooters, you seem to forget that LBP was a huge success so don’t play that card, people just don’t like the game, live with it.
so i needed to say something here and call me a fanboy if you want but what im gonna say makes sense. ninja theory was talking big poop before this game came out about how it rivals uncharted and how they were peeved at the ps3 performance from heavenly sword. but almost 2 millon people bought heavenly sword including me. Then they were saying how they were gonna get the same performance out of the 360 as naughty dog got out of the 360 and ps3 fans dont want to hear that there system name or games are getting dragged through the mudd. what you get is no one buying your game. when the demo came the first and only thing that i cared about is does it match up and when it didnt oh well there goes my purchase.
ninja theory is a bunch of idiots for what they did.
I didn’t buy it because I can’t justify spending £30-£40 on a new game in the current economic environment, despite playing the demo on PSN and enjoying it.
Games like Enslaved while fun and relatively well-made just cannot be sold at full RRP and hope to catch people’s interest and investment. It’s too big an ask of the public in an age when games go down to £20 five weeks later (or less) for many releases, and in a recession where it costs £3.60 for a pint of beer and £4.20 to take the train or bus half a mile down the road. My point is not all of us who enjoy gaming have such a disposable income as to buy a game at RRP within weeks of launch even if we really wanted to.
My solution is to sell it online for download for £25 straight away, and for £20 IN STORES after a one to two week online exclusivity deal. This way people will have the option of getting it easily online for a bit extra, while consumers on the high street have incentive to support games shops by getting it on disc for a bit cheaper.
It’s a shame because say what you will about Ninja Theory and their comments about the PS3 and re-design of Dante, they represent the sort of precious few games developers whose output needs to be supported and encouraged, or any game that tries anything quirky or new (not that Enslaved has btw) will find it really hard to get funding.
I don’t know what to do. I’m not going to starve or cease to socialise for the sake of a games developer. Just let it be known that if I had the cash, I might have bought it. Just.
I am sorry but do wish to sound anymore self righteous? Now the game has no multiplayer and has only short time for game length so maybe thats a reason ? Or maybe they underestimated the sting they would get from DMC or wait maybe just because you guys liked it dont mean that its great game.
Your reviews are your opinion not the gospel we are allowed to choose for ourselves what we buy and dont start telling us we are wrong you seem to miss that games like fallout 3, bioshock and half life and heavy rain do sell. Even assasins creed and uncharted have sold as well so its not just military shooters.
also with no signs of expansion packs nor multiplayer and the game is only 8 hours. And people still got money problems so they may only want to buy games they know 100% they will enjoy and get long life out off.
So maybe people are getting fed up with short games, plus again no addon packs no multiplayer and none of the reviews said it was a genre changing and mind blowing experience thus whats the incentive to spend money on it?
Again No expansion packs nor multiplayer was probably another reason.
bought it last friday, spent a big part of the week-end playing it.
i’m a huge fan of uncharted 1 and 2, after a little hesitation, i bought it. apart some textures pop-ups during cut scenes, and some tearing, i’ve played about 70% of the game, and i’m really happy.
graphics are great and colorful, wonderful vistas (mountains from the top of windmill, for example), story is really cool and it keeps me wanting to play more and more.
ninja theory really tried to make it look big, huge, and they succeded in every aspect. the game is not perfect, but is REALLY good.
people are always complaining about this, about that.
no multiplayer: bad game. single player less then 10 hours: bad game.
main character is named monkey. so what ? play the game, you will understand why he isn’t named John or Peter or Jack.
there are dozens of excellent games out there, many are platinum.
every ps3 owner shoud buy as much platinum games as possible.why? because most of these games are HUGE games: uncharted 1 and 2, mgs, need for speed shift, etc etc. of course, we don’t like all styles of games, and we can’t buy every game in the world. but don’t call yourself a gamer if you don’t buy at least 1 platinum every 2 months. i did missed many good games, but whenever i see them at ridiculous prices, i don’t hesitate.
for example, i had played the demo, and really enjoy it, but never bought it, because i’m not rich. but since one week, it became platinum. so i bought it. because i know i will spend a good time playing it, no risk i will dislike it. the game was batman A Asylum. ok. i don’t have the time to play all those games, and i can only play a couple of hours a week. but it’s there, on the shelf. as soon as i finish enslaved, i will play Batman.
so people, gamers, stop crying because the game has no …., or …., and go and buy games. at least, wait until they’re platinum.
there’s only one way to support studios: buying their games.
a great movie released 2000 is still a great movie in 2010.
a great game released in 2008 is still a great game in 2010.
people, don’t be stubborn. think about those 20, 30 or even more excellent games released on ps3, many are exclusives, and think about the hundreadS of hours playing them and having fun, for a fraction of the full price.
and think about all those mini games you could buy on psn (for example zen pinball, hustle kings, trine, braid, etc, with the cash saved with cigarets , for example
so yeah, it’s sad, but i totally agree with the topic “enslaved’s poor sales it’s all your fault”
come on, ps3 owners: BUY GAMES, AND STOP WHINING. we’re not in decembre 2007 anymore. now, THERE ARE MANY GAMES READY TO BE PLAYED. GOOD GAMES.
Why the heck should I buy a game, that doesn’t appeals in the slightest do me. It is my good right as consumer to decide what i want to play and what not.
With so many Games coming in this period of the year someone has to take shitty numbers in sales. Also, etablished Franchises like H.A.W.X. 2 and Kane and Lynch 2 (the last one was a piece of crap) sold poorly. So what’s this rant here anyway?
For my Part it was not the short length or the missing multiplayer (heck, my favorite Game this Year is Vanquish so far) it was the poor game design that kept me away. I don’t want to play a eight to ten hour tutorial with no satisfying combat or platforming. And what i’ve seen so far, the Story is a cheap Matrix knock off. So, tell me, dear Ian Dransfield, why should i buy this game. Sure YOU rated it 83% out of 100%. But that doesn’t mean i have to see it the same way. For me, it is probably a 5/10 or even lower. I have to say, i just played it to chapter 10, and the returned it to the rental service, but i don’t think it will get better.
I blame you (the author) for being a jackass. The game didn’t do well because of developers charging us $60 for a freakin game when PC gets them for $50 or less. When games were cheaper and had more value to them, and things weren’t intentionally left out of them to resell back to us later, people were far more likely to take a chance on games such as this. But we live in a depression now, console games cost to much, and the game was too damn short and didn’t give you much for the $60 price tag. So f you for putting this on us, go f a horse and die.
You pretty much hit the nail on the head – “it didn’t bring anything new to the table”. Whilst you can get away with playing it safe in the shooter genre, in other genres you have to do something really special for people to show interest. By ‘special’ I don’t necessarily mean just something that’s done significantly better than its counterparts – it has to be something that truly astounds people. Heavy Rain was truly original, truly unique and was a risk, and yet it sold millions.
Looking back at previous stories, I think Ninja Theory was almost dead-certain that their game was going to be a multimillion seller. They clearly resent Sony a great deal, and evidently were certain that they’d make more money with this than they did Heavenly Sword because they went multiplatform – perhaps they should just swallow their pride and make a sequel. Heavenly Sword was a great game that shared the same cinematic excellence as Enslaved – that was a new IP that sold over a million units (and personally, it’s a game I prefer).
I knew it wouldnt sell well because:
no co op splitscreen or online
rumored to be short
too many good games coming out at the end of this year
these days players want money for value. if a game only lasts as long as its story campaign then its sadly not long enough these days.
Developers have to be switched onto this fact as there are a plefora of great games these days so its in there best intrest to pack full a game full of content.
look at ac brootherhood. this will sell really well this year ( i know its not a new ip). its jam packed full of features just like call of duty and halo.
look at borderlands, a new ip that launched near the sales monster of mw2. it did really well because it offered gamers so much value for money and still continues to do so.
its on my ‘to buy’ list but its below a few games.i do believe that its a good game,good idea,and a worthwhile buy for every gamer
Why I haven’t bought it:
1. Bad perfomance of the PS3 version
2. NT think Heavenly Sword sold not enough (1.5 Mill.)
3. Keep on telling the world how hard it is to develop for PS3
-> NT sry guys it’s 2010! You should know the tech by now!
4. UE3 -> less work, trying to maximise their profit
=> they weren’t trying their best.
5. They have DESTROYED Dante with the “new” dmc
6. They are using UE3 for dmc -.-
Conclusion:
Yes I know they develop games for a living, but imo it shouldn’t be so obvious that they only want our money. Art style looks about the same as Heavenly Sword, Graphics look worse imo, game is too short and sports repetitive gameplay.
I can’t see anything which has evolved since Heavenly Sword.
You should realize that games are expensive, and people don’t have loads of cash to drop on every title that comes out, regardless of the reviews it gets, or the amount of advertising that went into it.
Give us the money, and we’ll gladly buy it. Until then, keep your mouth shut, Ian.
I don’t know anything about this game, but based on this article I can tell why it failed: you don’t mention anything about the game itself, you just repeat that it has Hollywood “star power” behind it. Nobody cares about that.
“So I’m just wondering: why haven’t you bought it?”
Well I’m doing what any sensible person these day would do. Waiting for a drop in price. Well now you say it that way, maybe I won’t buy it at all
. The article implies that we’re all idiots for not buying this game. But really, saying that we didn’t buy it and that’s letting the FPS juggernaut win is poor form. I don’t play FPS at all. I barely have time to finish the games I do have. Like Monkey Island DLC, Scott Pilgrim vs the world, Kingdom hearts birth by sleep, FFXIII etc.
For a game to tempt some people out of their FPS or jRPG (my case) hidey-hole, it needs to be something really special and these days people own more than one platform (like a handheld as well as a big console) so have to prioritise spending. If the comments are to be judged, it’s no better than Heavenly Sword and I got that with PS3 bundle. Not everything that reviews well will necessarily make good sales, it’s a cruel world but there you go. I know and accept my tastes are for niche games so I’m not running around yelling why e.g. Valkyria Chronicles didn’t make great sales.
I really was looking forward to this game. Played the demo and all that changed. I could have picked it up for 39.00 and still passed on it. I found it to play less responsive then heavenly sword (which I actually liked allot) . I HATE the male (monkey)main character design and he enemies were repetitive and just boring in design as well. Does not seem that NT strength is in character design. I could overlook all of that if it was fun to play and to me it wasn’t. The fighting was dull but for me the worst part was the platforming. I love platforming in games but this game had none of what I like about platforming. You couldn’t fall everything was given there was no sense of danger. You could close your eyes and rotate the stick while pressing X and still jump safely. I wonder why it was in the game at all it added nothing except to remind you how great other games handle it. So for me I didn’t buy it because I was very disappointed and had no desire to play beyond the demo.
I blame the parents.
I played the Enslaved demo. It sucked. Later, I played the Vanquish demo. It rocked.
Guess which game I bought day one?
Ian, “game journalists” like you obviously don’t know anymore what it means to be a normal gamer out there. You totally lost connection.
You get most of the games you play delivered to your office – for free. Somehow you now believe that gamers can get as many games as they like. That’s not the case. While you play most of the new games “at work”, gamers often have to select one of several great games every month.
It’s totally understandable that gamers look at the value they get for their 60 bucks. Furthermore: gamers usually have other jobs than testing games for a living which reduces the time they can spend on gaming. We can’t just play every remotely decent title out there.
At the time Enslaved was released I went with Castlevania because…
- I like a challenge
- while Enslaved has interesting visuals, Castlevania appeals more to me
- Castlevania offers a 20 hour single-player campaign and lots of replayability through optional trials
- while the Enslaved demo impressed me visually, I really disliked how the game guides you on rails and doesn’t even let you fail on purpose (Castlevania is also very linear but still presents a challenge at every point). Also, the combat – again, as visually impressive as it looks – felt just lackluster and unsatisfying and the controls are way too unresponsive.
No matter how beautiful the game is or how well presented the story is: that’s just not enough when I find so many other things lacking with the it. Enslaved is close to being little more than a nice cgi movie and that’s just not worth 60$. People will buy the game if they think the price is justified.
I think that article shows something I observed for some time now. There’s quite a disconnection between normal gamers and game journalists. Some game journos really seem to have difficult time to comprehend that people who don’t test games for a living can’t play every game out there thats half decent. We don’t get most of the games sent to us for free, we have to decide which games we spend our money on. And most of us have jobs or studying to do while you game journos play all the new releases during their work day.
Also, while game journos probably enjoy short games because they can finish their reviews earlier and play the next game, we normal gamers take a closer look at the value a product offers us for our money.
What a pretentious and awful article. I’m going to buy Black Ops to spite the writer.
It looked pump.
Online retailers have really spoiled me with their sales. When I can get games like Assassin’s Creed 2 GOTY edition under €13, how can you expect me to pay full retail on any game, let alone Enslaved? I keep my games, I don’t re-sell them, so the more I pay for my games, the more I expect from them.
I played the demo and didn’t like the loose, almost automated, climbing controls. Then I heard that the game is really short and easy and the controls don’t get any better. So it flew straight to my “get when under €15″-pile.
Too short. Holds your hand. DmC effect.
Short. Linear. Simple. Simply not enough value for the £35 you have to pay; and maybe not enough for £25 even.
Short, linear, simple are not particularly bad things when only one, maybe two of them exist in one title.
Enslaved is nice, it is good, but for me it will be nothing more than a bargain bin purchase because it simply doesn’t offer enough.
For the same £35 at launch you can get games like ACII & AC: Brotherhood which offer great story, great gameplay, intense, addictive atmosphere, a great soundtrack, solid graphics, freedom…there’s 30+ hours of gameplay and now the latest iteration offers multiplayer in addition to what is more than worthy of a full blow sequel.
You say: “If this doesn’t end up being a slow-burner and sell the numbers it deserves to sell, you only have yourselves to blame if we face a console future of Nothing But Military Shooters.”
Well Assassin’s Creed for eg. done something new; and people supported that, but I don’t think people cover the successes of new stuff, particularly when they go mainstream; they just like to moan about the failure.
Excuse me? I think this article reflects the general arrogance of the media towards consumers. This doesn’t read like a valid criticism at all of the gaming community, rather it reads more like “wha wha wha, why didn’t you prove our overrated view right?”
I really hope the writer reads this post. Let me start by saying GET OVER YOURSELF.
It’s funny I don’t recall any kind of article written about okami, Ico or any of the other video game “masterpieces” that didn’t sell as well as expected. It quite frankly is offensive the free pass that ninja theory has been getting by the gaming press.
Enslaved sold exactly what it deserved to sell. It is an Action game trying to be a movie absolutely ridiculous if you think about it. Even directors action movies know that have a big opening you need one thing :- action. However you do it, explosions, guns, sex appeal, you have to draw in your audience.
In the case of video games the mechanism is gameplay. Average gameplay never deserves to sell well in any genre and in an action game is actually unforgivable. If this was an RPG, maybe it could be overlooked but this is a game that is supposed to be played by the same people who bought god of war, bayonetta and uncharted :- all games that in their own ways have tight combat, responsive controls and a fair amount of replay value. These are the mechanics that video games have been built on since the days of pong. It has to be fun and make you want to come back for more first and foremost.
Ninja theory have gone on the record to say they feel that that is not as important as story in games, something that up until really the ps2 generation was simply window dressing for a good game. Go ask nintendo if the think the story of Mario is what caused him to sell over 150 games to date, ask square if final fantasy would of lasted 20 + games if the story was the only thing drawing people in.
Nobody is knocking NT for trying to improve games story and narrative, we just want the underlying game to have the same level of care and attention.
But how dare you, think that just because you liked the game, it should be a must buy for everyone else? While I see your point in the idea that innovation in gaming is dying, if you think the NT approach is the way forward is smoking some of that good stuff.
Let me remind you that uncharted was a new IP this gen. So was infamous. So is bayonetta. All of which sold a hell lot better than enslaved. It’s not that gamers won’t support new IP’s. Hell, you can even look at the sales of You can’t even blame the recession, because in one week vanquish has managed to outsell enslaved and that is is also a new IP.
You can’t blame the time of year either because Batman AA was a new IP that came out the same time last year.
You can’t even blame the idea that enslaved was too different, because heavy rain, another story focused game has sold over a million copies this gen.
All these games have one thing in common that enslaved lacks :- a dedication to gameplay and replayabilty. Even heavy rain, moreso with move support has quite a polished gameplay system,. It differs by making it’s gameplay immersive and non intrusive so it actually feels like your watching a movie.
Enslaved is a game, that looks like a game, has been marketed as a game but is trying to be a movie. It isn’t going to work. It doesn’t matter how much it is marketed, how much praise is thrown on it by the gaming press, who have seem to forgotten that you are supposed to be a guide, not the upmost authority and how much it goes down in price. enslaved is a waste of time and money. When your game offers no reward for actually buying it over watching it being played by someone else, it deserves to fail.
I had enslaved. I picked it up at second hand store for damn near full price and traded it back in 2 days later. While it might seem like a breath of fresh air to someone who plays 100 different games a year, many of them devirative, to someone like me, who buys may 2 games every 3 months, it’s a waste of money when there are games out there who have just as interesting a story, tight fluid combat and months of replay value in the same genre. castlevaina springs to mind as one such example.
All in all. I personally think you are full of it. I haven’t even gone into enslaved’s technical issues, or the fact that I can have the same experience that enslaved is offering for far cheaper by going into a bookstore or cinema. You are simply wrong for thinking that because you can overlook enslaved’s flaws because you have a free copy. We should waste our hard earned cash to so the same.
Not to mention you need a damn reality check if you think just because something is well promoted in the media that people should automatically fall in line like sheep and buy it.
One more point I forgot to mention in my tl;dr post. See the one thing about trying to make games more like movies and books?
Well written books and great movies bomb all the time. It’s not an automatic guarantor of success to be well marketed and critically acclaimed.
Story over gameplay = rent don’t buy
Rather than respond to some of the boneheaded comments from outraged commenters, many of whom quite clearly haven’t even played Enslaved, I’ll just post that I agree completely with this article.
Although I will say that it wasn’t promoted particularly well going by the usual channels – my purchase of Enslaved, one of the freshest and most enjoyable games I’ve played in years against all the millions of substandard military shooters, was nothing more than a random purchase in a store. I bought Castlevania at the same time, and by God is it boring. Length is a very poor substitute for enjoyment.
“pearls before swine”
This whole “Please, love Ninja Theory’s games” madness went too far.
I didn’t buy it, and I am proud of it!
I can understand that people like the story,
but it’s a game, that means gameplay comes first…
glitchy-ass games with serious framerate issues,
terrible combat and NO replay value DO NOT DESERVE a high score,
it deserves to fail. =D
Even if the game would have received rave reviews, scored 10/10 everywhere and playing it would have felt like snorting pure cocaine while swimming in a pool filled with expensive wine and high class prostitutes I couln’t care less.
Who are you to decide what people spend their money on? Were you Enslaved by NT before writing this?
Ugh. This article is trash. Yes, a games journalist’s job is to provide to readers insight; Enslaved got fair reviews, and the company tried hard to make people aware of it. However, regardless of both of those, people didn’t bite. People were simply NOT interested. Think about this:
Developers are paid to make a good game.
Advertisers are paid to market a game well.
Journalists are paid to provide their opinions and provide interesting news stories for readers.
Readers aren’t paid to do jack squat. In fact, we’re paying the first two groups’ paychecks when we buy a game. We are losing money in order to make sure that the first two get theirs. When you start paying me to buy the games that i don’t want to own, then we can talk about it. Until then, eat me.