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[Primethius]

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2017/10/13...ell-more-than-50-percent-versus-original.html

U.S. physical game sales of "Destiny 2" declined more than 50 percent in the month of September versus the 2014 release of "Destiny," according to NPD sell-through data sourced by three Wall Street analyst reports.

Destiny 1 sold <2.7 million retail. This would put Destiny 2 retail at <1.35 million.


Credit goes to Welfare for the numbers.

 

[Poster#1]

I didn't expect that much decline...

 

[Vinc]

2014 was a pretty bad year where less-than-incredible games ended up selling a LOT more than they normally would. Subsequent years have been really, really, really good for entertainment as a whole. I think everyone's standards are higher these days, and these 2014 games are no longer deemed worth people's time these days, with SO much great stuff out there. Ebbs and flows, as always. Destiny 2 is a far superior game to the original, and I'm enjoying it a lot. It's doing fine, and the next one can probably do better than this.

 

[Kyoufu]

I wonder how much of that percentage is digital sales.

 

[SFenton]

I suspect that Activision is not happy with the drop but that these are still profitable numbers so far.

I also suspect that if this continues, future entries' budgets will not get to balloon as D2's did.

 

[Theorry]

I wonder how much of that percentage is digital sales.

Usual 30%. But could be higher for Destiny i have a feeling.

 

[Geist-]

There's some actual competition now, so I'm not surprised.

 

[Snwaters]

Granted, this doesn't include digittal sales, or folks waiting for PC. Still, considering the state of the game right now, not surprising. The last game made people wary, and word f mouth can sink a game.

 

[AmayaPapaya]

I thought the game kept its fanbase? Guess there was a lot more people disappointed and burnt out than they thought.

 

[KillLaCam]

I like Destiny but there's so much good stuff coming out this year. Plus D2 didn't have all of the hype that the first one did

 

[Trojan]

I suspect that Activision is not happy with the drop but that these are still profitable numbers so far.

I also suspect that if this continues, future entries' budgets will not get to balloon as D2's did.

Link? Didn't know D2's budget was an outlier.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

Still waiting for those digital numbers. I am sure it did worse then D1 overall, but I think digital sales are going to surprise some people.

 

[Niceguydan8]

Obviously digital will offset that to an extent, but I can't imagine that it's >50% of total sales.

Color me surprised. I did not expect to see this sort of report for Destiny 2 in the US at least.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

Still waiting for those digital numbers. I am sure it did worse then D1 overall, but I think digital sales are going to surprise some people.

.

 

[Wollan]

It's an online-focused, as-a-Service title. Makes sense to buy this digitally. Console buying habits has changed drastically since Destiny 1. Still expecting less though.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

Usual 30%. But could be higher for Destiny.

For a game like Destiny, it's almost a certainty. Probably more like 40-50%. This is totally tales from my ass, but it seems likely.

 

[Liliana Eileen]

There's some actual competition now, so I'm not surprised.

Yep. Good for people voting with their wallet.

 

[nekkid]

People acting like D1 didn’t sell digitally...

 

[OfficerRaichu15]

I’m thinking it’ll be 30% Digital imo.
Not good for that though.

 

[Get_craycray]

The fact that Destiny 2 had 1.3m CCU only a few days after launch, a record for the franchise, shows how successful the game is.

https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/918936661295337472

 

[Nirolak]

Obviously digital will offset that to an extent, but I can't imagine that it's >50% of total sales.

For Honor was back in February at 52%. Don't know if Destiny 2 will be.

 

[NimbusD]

Imagine pc will be taking a huge chunk of that.

 

[chrisPjelly]

Yikes, but not entirely unexpected. Destiny 1 was literally No Man's Sky before No Man's Sky in terms of "this isn't the game I asked for", and most of the people who are buying Destiny 2 are people who enjoyed what they managed to mold the game into by the end of the DLC releases

 

[Eggbok]

Off topic but I just realized Shadow of Mordor, Destiny and Evil Within all came out in 2014 and their sequels all just came out.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

2014 was a pretty bad year where less-than-incredible games ended up selling a LOT more than they normally would.

Being arguably the most hyped new IP ever while also being year one of a new console generation helped.

 

[Syf]

Will have to wait for the next ActiBlizz quarterly to hopefully get a more complete picture. Less than a month away.

 

[Sulik2]

Destiny 2 was the first retail game I bought Digital on PS4. I got so tired of moving my disc 1 for the 18 months I played the first game. I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

[Smokey_Run]

Anecdotal and all, but 8/10 were disc based in my group for D1, 10/10 were digital for D2.

Destiny 2 was the first retail game I bought Digital on PS4. I got so tired of moving my disc 1 for the 18 months I played the first game. I'm sure I'm not alone.

This was me + the need to be there as soon as it unlocked.

 

[napata]

People acting like D1 didn't sell digitally...

Yeah it's weird people keep acting as if digital just started being relevant. D1 probably sold a great deal digital aswell.

 

[Gator86]

I think D2 is a tremendous improvement on the first game and is also a really good game on its own. That said, zero sympathy if sales are down a significant amount after the blazing middle finger that was launch Destiny 1. Customers do remember sometimes...

Curious to see what the numbers do wind up being.

 

[Megatron]

A little surprising because d1 had great legs. I figured some of those late buyers would have jumped in earlier this time.

 

[Strangelove77]

I'm sure their digital sales numbers will be fine.
I'm sure it sold less than the first Destiny though. The first game "suckered" a bunch of people into buying it.

I wonder how the reception to Destiny 2 on consoles will impact the pc sales.
I wonder if double dippers will still double dip.

 

[razgriz417]

I'm one of the ones that did digital this time around because and I wouldn't be trading it in and wanted to be lazy lol. I'm sure the digital attach rate went up but I don't expect it higher than maybe a bit higher than the usual

 

[kirblar]

People waiting for PC is a big part of this I think.

 

[Deku Tree]

I’m sure digital is down too. It’s a shame because D2 is a much better game.

D1 benefitted from the hype. D2 was suffered from the D1 dissappointment.

Hopefully sales have legs that benefit from word of mouth.

 

[Kolx]

Digital and PC release. How do they work.

I'm sure digital is down too. It's a shame because D2 is a much better game.

D1 benefitted from the hype. D2 was suffered from the D1 dissappointment.

The percentage of digital to physical is definitely up. Digital is has been growing in the last few years and there's no reason a game like Destiny wouldn't benefit from that.

 

[Shredderi]

At the same time I expected it but largely because of biased reasons, but at the same time I am kind of surprised by the decline. Publishers don't set up their games to decline with the next title, they always want growth so I can't see activision being too happy about this. I mean it will turn profit obviously but that's a pretty hefty decline. Digital will offset some of that but it's not like there wasn't digital in 2014 as well. I don't know if this is because of all the other good games we've had this year, or because a lot of the people who played the first one got burned or because they just didn't see enough "new" in this one. If Bungie does make a third one I hope learn the right lessons.

 

[RedAssedApe]

Did it do worse than Watch Dogs > Watch Dogs 2 in that regard?

 

[w0s]

Not that surprised. Everyone's waiting on GOTY.

 

[Kyoufu]

People acting like D1 didn’t sell digitally...

It did, but digital sales percentages were lower in 2014. Digital sales have grown since then across the board, so I'm not sure what your point is.

What people are really forgetting here is that D2 is also coming to PC, which probably resulted in some opting to wait for that version instead.

 

[farisr]

While I have no doubt in my mind there's a significant decline in overall sales too due to Destiny 1 having an unknown factor, being a super hyped game by the creators of Halo, in 2014 (which was not a generally strong year for videogames) while folks knew what they were getting into with Destiny 2 and had pretty much made up their mid.

Keep in mind Destiny 1 was a cross-gen release on two older platforms with high install bases which favored physical sales much more than the current gen systems do at this point in time.

And a personal anecdote, I have been a proponent of "physical at any time possible" but bought Destiny 2 digitally because I know what kind of game it is.

But still, no doubt in my mind it had a significant decline in sales compared to the first.

 

[Strakt]

Didn't the game have 1.3 million concurrent users a couple days after launch? I'm guessing a lot of people went digital

 

[funkystudent]

"but digital"


Sequel to disappointing game sells dramatically less isnt a new trend.

Watch Dogs 1 to 2
Assassins Creed Unity to Sydicate
COD Ghosts to Advanced Warfare
Halo 4 to 5
Gran Turismo 5 to 6

...Could go on.


My own experience is a lot of my friends bought into D1's hype. Felt burnt. Didnt buy 2

 

[silva1991]

Way more games to play these days, especially on PS4.

I definitely think it'll sell very well on pc. Probably better than most think honestly. There's genuinely gonna be a lot of players that didn't touch the first one because they are pc only players, but are gonna get destiny 2.

Not with PUBG around. It's the new hot online thing for PC users especially.

 

[Trickster]

People waiting for PC is a big part of this I think.

I definitely think it'll sell very well on pc. Probably better than most think honestly. There's genuinely gonna be a lot of players that didn't touch the first one because they are pc only players, but are gonna get destiny 2.

 

[Bronetta]

Off topic but I just realized Shadow of Mordor, Destiny and Evil Within all came out in 2014 and their sequels all just came out.

And Wolfenstein.

 

[Arthimura]

I think it's because of all the hype the Destiny 1 had. It was like "Next-gen MMO spiritual sucessor of Halo, it will kill WoW and every other MMO".

Now everyone knows what to expect, people who liked it will buy it, who don't, won't buy it.

 

[Jumeira]

It's an online-focused, as-a-Service title. Makes sense to buy this digitally. Console buying habits has changed drastically since Destiny 1. Still expecting less though.

One of the biggest disappointments this gen in terms of offerings from Bungie. Im still waiting for thier Halo type game, not this online service fps.

 

[Anth0ny]

Wow, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite really cut those legs out from underneath destiny.

 

[gatti-man]

Yikes, but not entirely unexpected. Destiny 1 was literally No Man's Sky before No Man's Sky in terms of "this isn't the game I asked for", and most of the people who are buying Destiny 2 are people who enjoyed what they managed to mold the game into by the end of the DLC releases

Wow really?