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[Punished Miku]

I really don't get it, you mean to tell me that Ninja Gaiden black and Ninja Gaiden 2, two of the best character action games of all time sold less after all these years compared to ROTR ? How the fook is that even possible ?

I don't know if I should be sad about NG underperforming or happy about ROTR's success...

Just a totally different scale of industry now. Most companies never sold anything at 5 million, let alone 10 million. Zelda wasnt even huge until Breath of the Wild, nor 3D Mario. 1 million sales used to be a lot.

 

[Arsic]

Fuck. There goes my hope of a new ninja gaiden ever.

Gonna go cry myself to sleep.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

They're a business and they're forced to make responsible decisions in first place. Switching engine, having to learn how to use it and develop specific tools within the new engine costs a lot.
They know that these games tend to sell in the 2-5m units range if things go well.
They can't budget the game as a mega production that will sell 10m lifetime sales because it won't happen and it would hurt the studio with losses especially if things go wrong.
That's why most japanese developers do not target cutting edge graphics in first place. Many of them are still stucked in a PS3.5 era. Even From Software with all the success they have enjoyed is still sticking to their old technically limited engine.

This doesn't mean they can't improve things, Rise of the Ronin is a huge step up compared to Nioh and it can look stunning thanks to the great artistic direction. They could pull a Kojima and ask Sony to support them with a new engine but I doubt it will happen, they will probably be happy with Xdev helping them to improve their own tools.

The graphics are not the issue. ROTR looks good enough. It's the performance. The pop-in is the worst I have seen since playing on the PS2. The game had massive issue processing the open world. Traveling through the cities can be brutal. Which sucks because NPC's have great animations of daily tasks and the city layouts are fantastic. Then, in combat, enemies are stuck to very restricted areas or they bug out. Same thing with big battle scenes where the game should be able to process 15-20 enemies on screen but just can't

Of course it is a budgetary issue that makes it difficult to move off their game engine. I wish Team Ninja weren't owned by such a cheap publisher. Koei Tecmo makes mostly low budget AA or mobile games. Team Ninja is their only talented AAA studio. Unless the Katana engine is massively overhauled, this will just become a bigger issue as time goes on. Say what you will about Fromsoftware, their games always run smooth, especially Elden Ring

 

[fart town usa]

The game is effing awesome and any negatives I have stem from the fact that the game's narrative is too big for it's own good. I also respect the hell out of the game for factoring in so many characters, missions, content, etc. The narrative is probably much more rewarding for native Japanese, there's just too much stuff going on that I'm unaware of when it comes to Japanese history.

Anyone saying this game is shit should be roundly ignored. It's fine if you don't like it, that doesn't mean the game is shit though. There are plenty of games I loathe but I can at least see that they aren't terrible games, I just don't like them. Huge difference that more people should take the time to vocalize.

Hands down my GOTY for 2024 and nothing else has come close so far. I have roughly 105 hours into it and am just chipping away at my leisure. Game never feels boring to me and I do get nervous after a few days away that maybe it won't hit the spot. Nope, it does every time. Game is a certified banger all day. Reviews were way too harsh and were rushed due to Dragon's Dogma 2 releasing. Many were completely off base too, Ronin isn't a Souls-like in the slightest. It's a hybrid of genres but to me it's a JRPG and a good example of what FFXVI should have been.

 

[Shakka43]

Isn't this game PS5 only? It's obvious KT doesn't have any big sellers but still this is surprising. I imagine Dead or Alive 5 held the crown before this.

 

[username12]

I preferred when nobody really cared for Koei. I'll stick to Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

 

[demonstr8]

Matthew Perry-sama - I kneel.

 

[nial]

Anyways, I hope it does well for Koei.

Just calling them 'Koei' kinda irks me because Team Ninja came from Tecmo, lol.

 

[March Climber]

huh so you mean making games other than the 370th installment of Dynasty warriors will sell?

....I thought Dynasty Warriors Origins looked good

 

[nial]

Of course it is a budgetary issue that makes it difficult to move off their game engine. I wish Team Ninja weren't owned by such a cheap publisher.

I've realized that Koei Tecmo really likes to have other bigger publishers to fund their games instead. Stranger of Paradise for Square Enix, Buddy Mission Bond for Nintendo, and Rise of the Ronin for SIE are some recent examples.

 

[YukiOnna]

Just calling them 'Koei' kinda irks me because Team Ninja came from Tecmo, lol.

My t key is broken on this laptop so I have to find a capital t to copy and that's a pain and then writing "Koei tecmo" kills me inside

 

[Hrk69]

Good!

Time for Nioh 3 babyyy

 

[diffusionx]

but... ps5 doesnt have anything this year...

 

[hybrid_birth]

....I thought Dynasty Warriors Origins looked good

it looks good but really? You think they would change the genre or formula by now. Instead your once again going to be hacking and slashing a ton of enemies at once.

Idk i think if you played one then you played them all. im just not a fan.

 

[mckmas8808]

but... ps5 doesnt have anything this year...

Right!

 

[clarky]

I really don't get it, you mean to tell me that Ninja Gaiden black and Ninja Gaiden 2, two of the best character action games of all time sold less after all these years compared to ROTR ? How the fook is that even possible ?

I don't know if I should be sad about NG underperforming or happy about ROTR's success...

I couldn't believe it either but when you take a look i think the best selling Ninja Gaiden sold around 1.5 million copies. However if it makes you feel any better the series as a whole has sold around 9 million.

Ninja Gaiden for Series

VGChartz - extensive game chart coverage, including sales data, news, reviews, forums, & game database for PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch & PC

www.vgchartz.com

VGchartz i know but all sources say around the same.

 

[JaksGhost]

Just a totally different scale of industry now. Most companies never sold anything at 5 million, let alone 10 million. Zelda wasnt even huge until Breath of the Wild, nor 3D Mario. 1 million sales used to be a lot.

A million sold used to get you the Greatest Hits tag and a permanent price drop to $20-30. Now it gets you nothing but a congratulatory tweet.

 

[Klayzer]

And this is why I said nearly all instead of all lol.


Ever since the PS360 generation ended, I have put Tecmo Koei on their own separate ladder of graphical fidelity. So when comparing their games to themselves, RotR is their best looking game to date.

All of the Team Ninja gaiden games were good looking, with industry best gameplay. The last few releases graphical quality, has been head scratchers.