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[Mibu no ookami]

Yeah I guess the way im looking at it is the Devs look alot more valuable right now. Sony have struggled to find a team that can do GAAS right, and there dudes did it on there first go.

Owning the IP is great and all, but it's the Devs who really made this happen.

Sony has struggled to find a team that can do GaaS right? How do you figure? This was their first major GaaS release.

What happens if Concord and Fairgames are big successes too?

 

[Heisenberg007]

Yeah I guess the way im looking at it is the Devs look alot more valuable right now. Sony have struggled to find a team that can do GAAS right, and there dudes did it on there first go.

Owning the IP is great and all, but it's the Devs who really made this happen.

True. But Sony will have first dibs on them. It's usually a part of their contract.

The only thing that's between Sony buying Arrowhead or not is Sony's willingness. I don't think they will have any problems though.

Sony bought HouseMarque after 2 months of launching Returnal, so we can expect some news by April/May. But I think Sony would also want to know how Arrowhead would support HD2 with content.

They'd be buying them for live-service games. Less point in being attracted to initial sales then. It will be the "live-service" elements they'd want to see Arrowhead handle successfully. So we may expect a few more months to be honest.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Fully aware how stuff works.

Your party analogy doesn't really work either as we all bought tickets, they know the capacity before and therefore tickets should be limited if everyone cant fit through the door at once. You dont keep selling tickets once your house is full.
Always best to have a pre party(beta) like normal people to gauge interest and see if your venue is big enough.

I wonder if that was the plan all along.

"Helldivers 2 is such a success, they can barely keep servers alive! Don't miss the hot new thing! Buy today!"

This story extends the FOMO period considerably.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Exhausted its sales a few years ago, reached maximum users on the native platform. Hmmmm i can see why this one might go multiplatform to increase brand awareness on rival consoles.

Stop port begging, Phil

 

[Gudji]

Holy shit this turned into a returnal thread real quick. Fantastic game btw.

 

[Die Namek Ability]

Lol? Sales have always been the ONLY real measure of success with commercial products, no matter what kind of PR fluff the marketing makes up.....
Give yourself a break, it seems you need it.

Last reply because I really don't want to go down this rabbit hole.

I never said sales don't matter, and I couldn't care less what PR BS is being pumped out. Sales are very important to the studios and publishers sure but reception, critical acclaim and being a good games is what matter to gamer so you keep playing sales charts ill keep playing games.

 

[Die Namek Ability]

Holy shit this turned into a returnal thread real quick. Fantastic game btw.

Sorry was just trying to make an observation, didn't expect folks to latch onto like a newborn on a tit

 

[nowhat]

It's the evolution of Resogun not a sequel

More like an evolution of Nex Machina. Which apparently was pretty much a flop (it was self-published by Housemarque, and nearly bankrupted the company), and that's a travesty - it's about the best twin-stick shooter out there.

 

[jm89]

Sony has struggled to find a team that can do GaaS right? How do you figure? This was their first major GaaS release.

What happens if Concord and Fairgames are big successes too?

Probably not just limited to GAAS but with multiplayer games. Sony have struggled for years to find something that sticks, and it's never worked out.

 

[BennyBlanco]

More like an evolution of Nex Machina. Which apparently was pretty much a flop (it was self-published by Housemarque, and nearly bankrupted the company), and that's a travesty - it's about the best twin-stick shooter out there.

Nex Machina rules but you should try Assault Android Cactus

 

[nowhat]

Nex Machina rules but you should try Assault Android Cactus

Thanks, I'll try that. Or add it to my ever-growing backlog, but at any rate I appreciate suggestions.

 

[Braag]

I think it could've done better if the game was in a better shape.
My group of friends pretty much rage quit when we didn't get ANY missions rewards, samples or medals for 3 big maps in a row.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Probably not just limited to GAAS but with multiplayer games. Sony have struggled for years to find something that sticks, and it's never worked out.

I mean that isn't really true either. MLB The Show and Gran Turismo 7 are wildly popular multiplayer games.

I think it's important to look at context. Sony multiplayer games struggled on the PS3, largely because the PS3 userbase was small and because PlayStation Network wasn't as matured as a service compared to Xbox Live. As a result of this single-player games thrived as usual on PlayStation and Sony doubled down on those games over multiplayer games, creating this identity that they're a single-player juggernaut.

That's largely changed to the point where more people play online on PlayStation than Xbox, but Sony hasn't really made many high profile multiplayer games since, because they had so much success with single player.

Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Insomniac have all made very well received multiplayer games. Sony caught a lot of flack for the idea of their primary studios making multiplayer games, but they've all dabbled in it in the past. Naughty Dog made Crash Team Racing and Jak X, they've also had online mp modes for both the last of us and uncharted. Guerrilla made Killzone and Insomniac made Sunset Overdrive and Resistance.

So again, Sony's first pure MP game out of the gate is a huge success and I don't think that's an aberration.

 

[Crispy Gamer]

This is impressive I wonder what the other gaas games look like, if Concord is truly coming this year they should really start ramping up marketing this spring. Side note on twitter Tim Dog is having a meltdown that Sony's first gaas game of the generation is having so much success what a weird thing to be upset about when it's also on PC at least we see a lot less console warring with this game and that's a breath of fresh air.

 

[Quixz]

Alas, servers are preventing me from bringing peach to the galaxy!!!

 

[leo-j]

They increased the server capacity and it still maxed out, it def was on the road to 500k today if they had the server capacity. We shall see if that doesn’t affect the game long term.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Alas, servers are preventing me from bringing peach to the galaxy!!!

 

[mckmas8808]

I was asking about your estimate. And Circana is only about US data. It wouldn't account for non-US sales.

Anyway, according to Steam, Starfield generated $235 million in revenue.

If we divide $235 million by $70, that's 3.35 million copies on Steam.

But not every region has the game for $70. I could buy it for $40, for example. So let's take the average price of $60 per copy, which puts the total number of copies sold around 3.91 million copies. Or 4 million as I said.

Now Helldivers 2 has broken Starfield's CCU count. If Starfield sold 4 million copies on Steam, it is safe to assume that Helldivers 2 also sold 4 million copies.

I was being conservative when I said 3 million.

I know intellectually everything you are saying is correct. But I just can't seem to allow myself to believe it's correct.

My brain won't allow me to agree with your post here.

 

[jm89]

They increased the server capacity and it still maxed out, it def was on the road to 500k today if they had the server capacity. We shall see if that doesn’t affect the game long term.

Was that a recent increase? Last increase they said was to 360k a week ago.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

They are literally out of democracy at the moment.

Double the irony is the fact that the game runs on Azure Playfab.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I agree Sony has a history of letting their studios have creative freedom. But you can't tell me Naughty Dog, Insomniac, and Guerilla games all having gaas games in development in recent years wasn't pushed by Sony execs. It wasn't an organic evolution of the studio like HD2 was for Arrowhead.

I'm still excited for Sony's upcoming gaas games. My expectations are just more grounded. Like I said, we will see soon enough

I get that it's easy to act like Sony parent is the big bad wolf, but these studios have their own management and their own decision making.

I gave Sony props for elevating Arrowhead to make HD2. Sony is the best publisher when it comes to building up their studios in the industry. I think Arrowhead is kind of a unicorn studio tho. And just because HD2 is amazing, it doesn't mean Sony can replicate it with its other gaas studios. Haven and Firewalk are brand new studios and Guerilla games and Sony's London studio have never developed a gaas game before. We will see soon enough with the likes of Concord and Fairgame

I think describing them as a unicorn makes it sound like they simply got lucky. Sony let them develop this game for 8 years. Most publishers wouldn't have. If this game released 2-3 years ago, it's probably a trainwreck instead of a runaway hit.

Most people compare Fairgames to Payday, but the biggest difference is that Fairgames has a much larger studio and more financial backing than Payday ever received. Payday 3 was made by a team of less than 50 people. Haven Studios has a staff over 150... So it might be their first game, but it has significantly more backing. Sony is bringing some big budget flare to GaaS and this is helping them separate themselves from the competition.

That's not to say that all of these games will be successful, but they'll probably stand out and be better perceived than your average game.

These studios have veteran leadership, so it's not like no one has worked on a game before. Haven is basically an offshoot of UbiSoft and Firewalk is an offshoot of Bungie.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

They are literally out of democracy at the moment.

Double the irony is the fact that the ganme runs on Azure Playfab.

So what you're saying is that Phil is responsible for this?

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

It has beat Starfield’s all-time CCU

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I get that it's easy to act like Sony parent is the big bad wolf, but these studios have their own management and their own decision making.



I think describing them as a unicorn makes it sound like they simply got lucky. Sony let them develop this game for 8 years. Most publishers wouldn't have. If this game released 2-3 years ago, it's probably a trainwreck instead of a runaway hit.

Most people compare Fairgames to Payday, but the biggest difference is that Fairgames has a much larger studio and more financial backing than Payday ever received. Payday 3 was made by a team of less than 50 people. Haven Studios has a staff over 150... So it might be their first game, but it has significantly more backing. Sony is bringing some big budget flare to GaaS and this is helping them separate themselves from the competition.

That's not to say that all of these games will be successful, but they'll probably stand out and be better perceived than your average game.

These studios have veteran leadership, so it's not like no one has worked on a game before. Haven is basically an offshoot of UbiSoft and Firewalk is an offshoot of Bungie.

Yeah a lot of these smaller studios rely on Sony's leadership, support, and guidance to elevate their games beyond what they have traditionally done.

Housemarque and Aarrowhead are prime examples. Sony likely provided critical feedback throughout the process, but trusted the dev team and vision for the game, and game them the necessary support to see it through.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

So what you're saying is that Phil is responsible for this?

WELL...

I think describing them as a unicorn makes it sound like they simply got lucky. Sony let them develop this game for 8 years. Most publishers wouldn't have. If this game released 2-3 years ago, it's probably a trainwreck instead of a runaway hit.

The game mechanics are clearly so smooth and engaging because HD2 is a product of long play tests and highly calibrated descisions based on those test. I bet the game was redesigned from the groun up a few times too to make it all work.

And Sony was happy to sign the bills and not to rush the studio.

So yeah, I think HD2 is not a product blind luck. HD2's success is a worthy award for both Arrowhead and Sony for the paitence and unwillingless to push the product on the market just for the sake of it.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

It has beat Starfield’s all-time CCU

This is…something for sure lmao

 

[STARSBarry]

Will it be possible to beat Halo Infinite or Starfield?

Hey dude might want to make an updated version of this meme now, its aged about as well as Halo Infinite and Starfield.

It has beat Starfield’s all-time CCU

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Will it be possible to beat Halo Infinite or Starfield?

 

[STARSBarry]

It has beat Starfield’s all-time CCU

 

[Buggy Loop]

This will probably help a lot. I betcha 500k soon.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

WELL...

The game mechanics are clearly so smooth and engaging because HD2 is a product of long play tests and highly calibrated descisions based on those test. I bet the game was redesigned from the groun up a few times too to make it all work.

And Sony was happy to sign the bills and not to rush the studio.

So yeah, I think HD2 is not a product blind luck. HD2's success is a worthy award for both Arrowhead and Sony for the paitence and unwillingless to push the product on the market just for the sake of it.

It just really goes to show how xbox fans desperately want this to be a fluke, ignoring that this isn't the first game they made or that sony let this incubate for 8 years... and honestly it's not just xbox fans it's people who don't want Sony to make GaaS.

I'll probably never play Helldivers, but if it keeps sony afloat financially so they can make God of War remake or Ghost of Tsushima 2... I'm all for it.

 

[Barakov]

It has beat Starfield’s all-time CCU

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

It had surpassed Destiny 2 now ….

 

[Nigel]

It’s on 300k now and the servers are dead lmao

 

[DrFigs]

Clearly the launch is having problems. But you can actually play. even w/ servers at capacity, it takes less than 5 minutes to get in. There have been way worse launches. Like overwatch 2. literally unplayable for a full week at launch on consoles. so it's not great, but it's not a total disaster imo.

 

[skit_data]

Saw that Benji-Sales tweet just now.

Pretty damn crazy. Really happy for the devs, this must be pretty surreal for them because I can't imagine they even in their wildest dreams imagined the game would be such a massive hit.

Edit: The humour of this game is so fucking perfect, it's like a mix of Starship Troopers and South Park. Hadn't seen this clip before but it's so damn funny i bursted out laughing out loud when I saw it in a trailer:

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

 

[Oddvintagechap]

I meeeean... it's about 3,000 away and still climbing in the middle of a Saturday. Unless you were being cheeky...

it’s kinda funny when someone says its not passing “x” and then the next day.. passes ”x”.

 

[Varteras]

it’s kinda funny when someone says its not passing “x” and then the next day.. passes ”x”.

Even funnier when it was mere minutes later. I know he didn't mean to sound like an ass or anything. It was still funny

 

[Thaedolus]

Was gonna try to get a couple matches in before date night and nada

 

[Traxtech]

Nex Machina rules but you should try Assault Android Cactus

AAC is fantastic!

 

[Varteras]

Was gonna try to get a couple matches in before date night and nada

Tell your hoe they can wait. Democracy won't. Keep pushing that login button, treasonous scum!

 

[clarky]

Well, thought i'd jump on for an hour or 2 at lunch and nope.

I'd have thought they'd have seen this coming what with the ramp up all week.

 

[Markio128]

Let me in ya feckers!

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

Returnal didn't sell well, end of story.

Hey Schemendrick, did you do this while posting that?
I'm not an expert but maybe it'll magically make what your saying come true.
Hey, it worked for Dorothy.

 

[T-0800]

I guess Arrowhead now need to find the time to fix the servers and advise Bungie.

 

[XXL]

It had surpassed Destiny 2 now ….

 

[Schmendrick]

Hey Schemendrick, did you do this while posting that?
I'm not an expert but maybe it'll magically make what your saying come true.
Hey, it worked for Dorothy.

If only we had numbers... Oh wait we do. Guess you must have missed that. Short attention span I guess?

Last reply because I really don't want to go down this rabbit hole.

I never said sales don't matter, and I couldn't care less what PR BS is being pumped out. Sales are very important to the studios and publishers sure but reception, critical acclaim and being a good games is what matter to gamer so you keep playing sales charts ill keep playing games.

So first you make false claims, get corrected, then you just change basic business definitions and now even move the goal posts and it's suddenly about "feelings".
A developer can't be paid with your feelings and the success of commercial products is measured in revenue, it's really not that hard to understand.

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

Stop port begging, Phil

Sure that's not Greenberg? You know how he likes to play dress up.
And Phil's thinner, but like unlike gamepass, hes showing growth.

 

[Imtjnotu]

Who has the steam numbers now because on my end I have a servers at capacity message lol