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[Bishman]

Sheena at the tales.namco.com forums confirmed that ToS won't have any commercials.

We will not have TV commercials, but there will be online ads (and we already have lots of print ads - as our scavenger hunt contest members already know!)

Sheena

Does Nintendo or Namco have a real low expectation for this game? I am getting the Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes vibe, good game but no advertisement. There are plenty of ads in magazines and coverage online, but for this game to sell well, it needs an air time on TV. ToS should sell around 150k-200k.

 

[Wario64]

Welp, that about wraps it up for the Tales series for Americans

 

[Daxter Too]

No commercials = D00m3d?

 

[AniHawk]

I'm guessing Tales should beat SoAL's sales. Nothing to boast about though.

I'm also guessing that the PS2 version of ToS will be advertised in the US once this version fails.

 

[Bishman]

It seems in this day of gaming, you need a good review score, hype, and a good commercial.

 

[Grubdog]

I didn't think the PS2 version of ToS was being released outside of Japan.

 

[jarrod]

I'm also guessing that the PS2 version of ToS will be advertised in the US once this version fails.

The PS2 release is a waste of time, Symphonia would've been better served as a headlining PSP game imo (rather than Eternia). Tales Studio seems to have had trouble getting the game running up to speed on PS2, PSP (with it's more GC like architecture) probably would've been better in that regard also. :/

 

[AniHawk]

I didn't think the PS2 version of ToS was being released outside of Japan.

It will once Namco sees how poorly it did in the states. I'm thinking a repeat of Viewtiful Joe.

 

[Alcibiades]

Nintendo should just bite the bullet and spend their own money to advertise considering they count on 3rd parties to supply a steady rate of games since they have been slow this year...

Nintendo had a major release in March with Pokemon and then went pretty dry until June with Four Swords Adventure...

now the major release for July is Tales of Symphonia, and it's also GCN's biggest release until blockbuster event that is Pikmin 2 in late August (practically September)...

I hope word of mouth will carry this game ok if there isn't advertising on TV...

 

[jarrod]

Yep, both SCEA and Microsoft throw advertising money at good 3rd party stuff (VF4, Panzer Orta & Shinobi spring to mind, 3 Sega games funny enough). I bet TTS would've sold more than twice as much with some decent TV ads. Symphonia will be lucky to break 200k in the US now, where as with a decent ad campaign that figure would be easily assured.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Why do companies do this? (I'm looking at you, Konami!)

 

[BobbyRobby]

Nintendo should've published this game along with ToP for GBA, and given them both marketing campaigns.

 

[Soul4ger]

We have like 15 pre-orders for ToS, which is surprisingly high. It's like fifth most in the store, behind Halo 2 (like 200), GTA: San Andreas (48), Fable (24), and Doom III (20). I think it has the potential to do decently.

 

[drohne]

i don't think the american public at large is ready for tos' vile sausage-limbed munchkins. perhaps soften them up first with something slightly less objectionable.

...like sudeki.

 

[Link316]

ToS' a niche game, advertising on TV wouldn't do anything for it except waste money

 

[Socreges]

It seems in this day of gaming, you need a good review score, hype, and a good commercial.

If games like Driv3r are anything to go by, hype and promotion often make positive reviews, or the lack thereof, irrelevant.

 

[Mason]

Nintendo flat-out sucks at marketing. That's pretty much what it comes down to. They should be helping to really push these third party games and collaborations but they aren't.

 

[GaimeGuy]

OH YES, LET'S BLAME NINTENDO FOR NAMCO'S DECISION TO NOT MAKE TV ADS FOR TALES! THAT MAKES SENSE!

 

[Vargas]

I blame Nintendo for many things, why just this morning I blamed them for the lack of food in the fridge.

 

[GaimeGuy]

I blame Nintendo for many things, why just this morning I blamed them for the lack of food in the fridge.

Sadly, I can imagine this happening somewhere in the world...

 

[Link316]

helping 3rd parties advertise their games IS in Nintendo's best interest, but if they don't want to do it then that's their choice, the gaming industry would probably be very different right now if Sony didn't offer to help Square advertise FF7

 

[drohne]

sony actually published ffvii in the us.

 

[Alcibiades]

sony actually published ffvii in the us.

true, and Nintendo published Crystal Chronicles (which they did support with advertising)...

Nintendo did help Konami with The Twin Snakes, but I wonder if that had to do with consumer outcry after scouring internet forums (or the fact that they had worked on it themselves)...

 

[jarrod]

ToS' a niche game, advertising on TV wouldn't do anything for it except waste money

I bet Star Ocean 3 (a very similar game) does extremely well when Square Enix gives it a good television ad push this fall. Symphonia is only niche because Nintendo/Namco seem content to leave it that way... from a game design perspective many more big selling Nintendo games like Pikmin or Animal Crossing are more niche.

 

[belgurdo]

ToS' a niche game, advertising on TV wouldn't do anything for it except waste money

It wouldn't BE niche if Namco Hometek cared about their properties other than Tekken, Soul Caibur, and the odd shit action game they make in-house

 

[NotMSRP]

Tales of Destiny 1 & 2 weren't well received here. So I can see why Namco may be a bit conservative.

 

[belgurdo]

Tales of Destiny 1 & 2 weren't well received here. So I can see why Namco may be a bit conservative.

Then again Destiny had like 0 advertising and no hype from Namco (very odd considering the game released like a year after FFVII, and half of America was buzzed on RPGs), and it's obvious from the "localization" of Destiny II that Namco didn't give a shit and pretty much put all of their time towards hyping Tekken Tag and their in-house shooters. The Tales games probably would have done a lot better under the wing of, say, Atlus or Konami instead.

 

[AniHawk]

Link is one of the residents at Next Gen Gaming on GameFAQs. Ignore him.

 

[ironichaos]

Speaking of Link...Nintendo should've thrown him into Tales to achieve some Soul Caliber II-like sales.

j/k

Anyways, this is disappointing to hear. Nintendo and Namco...shame on you both for creating a great game and not letting people know about it.

 

[Auron]

No TV ads are lame. I've been playing this game since Wednesday, and anyone who enjoys RPG's owes it to themselves to buy this. IMO this is the best RPG this gen, right there with FFVII and Suikoden II! Word of mouth will sell this game with or without the TV ad support(though I don't understand Namco Hometek's lack of faith).

 

[Gahiggidy]

Somebody ought to start a petition.

 

[AniHawk]

Somebody ought to start a petition.

I think this calls for a mailing from Smapty.

 

[SolidSnakex]

ToS' a niche game, advertising on TV wouldn't do anything for it except waste money

It's niche, but NAMCO has a the benefit of a very fast paced battle system to work around with the ads if they wanted to. Splicing in that with the anime footage and they could definetly increase sales.

 

[Mashing]

It will once Namco sees how poorly it did in the states. I'm thinking a repeat of Viewtiful Joe.

You'd have a point, however, if it wasn't for the fact that Viewtiful Joe sold well... I hardly call 200k from a niche looking title as that to be dissapointing.

 

[etiolate]

Doesn't surprise me. Advertising would only help sales, but it would probally end up being seen as kiddy by people.

GAMING Industry is DOOMED.

Yet I am not sure why this reminds me of that. Maybe it's the driv3r hype/advertising that does. It's a niche game for should be a niche hobby.

 

[SolidSnakex]

You'd have a point, however, if it wasn't for the fact that Viewtiful Joe sold well... I hardly call 200k from a niche looking title as that to be dissapointing.

Well it probably won't have to worry about VJ numbers either considering VJ did have alot of marketing, by both Capcom and Nintendo. This seems like it'll have none. Unless Nintendo does one of those 3rd party compilation commercials, but I doubt that.

 

[Mashing]

Oh yes, don't get me wrong.. I think it's retarted that they won't be advertising it. If you spend as much money as you have making ToS (it doesn't look like a low budget title at all) it's foolish to sabatoge sales by not generating hype. I think that if it can manage about 200k sales, then Namco should be happy... very few rpgs manage to sell that much in the US (outside of huge franchise titles such as FF, star wars and Baldur's Gate series).

 

[SolidSnakex]

I'd say their best bet right now is for it to catch on like Disgaea which was also a game that didn't get any TV marketing (although it made sense for it not to getit because Atlus is a small company). That ended up selling based on word of mouth so maybe ToS can catch on like that.

 

[jarrod]

I'd say their best bet right now is for it to catch on like Disgaea which was also a game that didn't get any TV marketing (although it made sense for it not to getit because Atlus is a small company). That ended up selling based on word of mouth so maybe ToS can catch on like that.

Disgaea only managed around 120k iirc, and while exceeding Atlus USA's modest expectations, those numbers would probably be too low for Namco Hometek. If Symphonia performs at that level, it could be the last Tales game we get here. :/

edit-The only real WOM success story I can think of for US RPGs would be the Lunar Remake for PS1 probably. And even that saw a nice push from the media and some controversy over the Saturn cancelation. I'm not holding out much hope for Symphonia at all now, expect 75-150k in all likelihood. Probably in line with something like Harvest Moon AWL or Skies of Arcadia Legends.

 

[Alcibiades]

I think it will match A Wonderful Life in sales pretty quickly, and will get to 200,000 by the end of the year no matter what, but may do a good 350,000+ if it gets good reviews and word of mouth...

Since things are pretty bare until Pikmin 2, this will probably garner good sales just cause it's the 2nd "true" RPG on GCN...

 

[BuddyC]

Old Link > Link316

Spoiler

For those of you that don't get it, think Wesley Crusher. For those of you still lost, well, it's probably better that way.

 

[etiolate]

I wonder if Baiten Katos will get advertising? I think that would be a much easier to hype/sell game due to just the style and FMV.

 

[jarrod]

Since things are pretty bare until Pikmin 2, this will probably garner good sales just cause it's the 2nd "true" RPG on GCN...

2nd? What about Evolution Worlds and Summoner 2?

 

[Alcibiades]

2nd? What about Evolution Worlds and Summoner 2?

well, I meant visible (by being somewhat above average in profile), but yeah, those count, at least for sure Evolution Worlds...

Sega gave no exposure to Skies, but maybe players were turned off that it was a port...

 

[jarrod]

Sega gave no exposure to Skies, but maybe players were turned off that it was a port...

Yeah, SOAL probably would've done marginally better had it been an original title. As is though 90k+ for a crusty DC port isn't too bad really. In fact only big name Sega franchises like Sonic, Crazy Taxi, Shenmue or PSO have really managed better moving from DC to current platforms.

 

[Alcibiades]

Yeah, SOAL probably would've done marginally better had it been an original title. As is though 90k+ for a crusty DC port isn't too bad really. In fact only big name Sega franchises like Sonic, Crazy Taxi, Shenmue or PSO have really managed better moving from DC to current platforms.

well, I wouldn't call it a "crusty old port", but yeah, I think even people that hadn't played it thought it of lesser value (especially for $50, when you could find the DC one new for $20) simply cause it wasn't a new game...

 

[SolidSnakex]

Disgaea only managed around 120k iirc, and while exceeding Atlus USA's modest expectations, those numbers would probably be too low for Namco Hometek. If Symphonia performs at that level, it could be the last Tales game we get here. :/

Well I didn't mean for it to do the exact numbers that Disgaea did. Just for it to catch on like it did. But even if it sold as much as Disgaea it'd double what ToD2 did in the US (not sure about the original ToD but I doubt it did much better). NAMCO can't really expect much when they don't market it though.

 

[Dave Long]

C'mon... use common sense. TV advertising for what is essentially a hardcore gamer's RPG? You people are insane.

Twin Snakes I can understand people being frustrated about. The game should have been pushed hard. But not Tales... not in the US... not ever.

And they are marketing it... in every freaking video game publication where the people that are going to care are going to read about it. Same with online marketing. Why blow millions on a TV ad that won't help you at all because in general, most folks that know about RPGs aren't casual gamers/TV watchers?!

 

[SolidSnakex]

A hardcore gamers RPG is something like Dragon Warrior 7. A game that wasn't visually appealing and has gameplay that requires you to sit through several hours of playing before the game really opens up for you. Tales doesn't fall into this. It's pretty, and it's fun right from the start because of it's very interactive battle system. Also another reason you should want this game pushed is because if this doesn't sell well, as jarrod said, this is basically it. No more Tales games in the US. They've given up on the 2D ones already, so if its shown that people won't buy the 3D ones either, they just aren't going to bother with US releases for them anymore. Advertising the game would give it a much better chance of actually selling to alot of people, or atleast enough to please NAMCO.

 

[bheemer]

i wouldnt touch baiten chaos or any other card based rpg for that matter with a ten foot pole