The Soulsbourne Conspiracy of game design because sales *Spin-off from God of War 4*

[Prophecy2k]

Considering Dark Souls 3 was the 20th best selling game of 2016, behind a slew of >5m selling titles, and even ahead of Uncharted 4 (which is very likely to have sold >5m), I'd say that Soulsborne games are becoming less and less niche.

 

[Sigfried1977]

DS3 sold more than Uncharted 4? I thought that game did like 7+ million copies and was far and away the best selling Uncharted title. Then again, DS3 is a multi platform title, so why not.
Still, there really aren't that many of them. That'd be like saying the fps market was oversaturated as soon as we got a single shooter each year.

 

[chris1515]

Considering Dark Souls 3 was the 20th best selling game of 2016, behind a slew of >5m selling titles, and even ahead of Uncharted 4 (which is very likely to have sold >5m), I'd say that Soulsborne games are becoming less and less niche.

Uncharted 4 sold through over 8,7 millions the 21st december 2016. Maybe nearly 10 millions sold through now...

http://www.polygon.com/2017/1/4/14173168/playstation-4-sales-53-million-uncharted-4

One of those games, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, had sold more than 8.7 million copies as of Dec. 21.

 

[Silencerx98]

Considering Dark Souls 3 was the 20th best selling game of 2016, behind a slew of >5m selling titles, and even ahead of Uncharted 4 (which is very likely to have sold >5m), I'd say that Soulsborne games are becoming less and less niche.

Chris already beat me to prove you wrong, but what kind of weed are you on to even consider Dark Souls 3 outsold Uncharted 4?

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Chris already beat me to prove you wrong, but what kind of weed are you on to even consider Dark Souls 3 outsold Uncharted 4?

Good weed!

 

[Prophecy2k]

Chris already beat me to prove you wrong, but what kind of weed are you on to even consider Dark Souls 3 outsold Uncharted 4?

Chill dude. No need to accuse a brotha of being on weed. I was only relaying what I'd read on NeoGaf. The info. came from the ESA report, however, it seems there was some context missing that I'd not been aware of, i.e. the list is actually only for the US (so yeah I was misinformed).

The ESA list was as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
2. Battlefield 1
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Madden NFL 17
5. NBA 2K17
6. The Division
7. Overwatch
8. Minecraft
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
10. FIFA 17
11. Pokemon Sun
12. Pokemon Moon
13. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
14. Star Wars Battlefront
15. Final Fantasy XV
16. Titanfall 2
17. NBA 2K16
18. Rainbow Six Siege
19. Far Cry Primal
20. Dark Souls 3

Source: here.

So yeah, no Uncharted 4, but of course, this was for the US only; probably uses NPD data; probably doesn't count bundles (which U4 was heavily bundled) and probably doesn't also count digital sales either... so in the grand scheme of things is likely a pretty useless list.

 

[Silencerx98]

Chill dude. No need to accuse a brotha of being on weed. I was only relaying what I'd read on NeoGaf. The info. came from the ESA report, however, it seems there was some context missing that I'd not been aware of, i.e. the list is actually only for the US (so yeah I was misinformed).

The ESA list was as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
2. Battlefield 1
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Madden NFL 17
5. NBA 2K17
6. The Division
7. Overwatch
8. Minecraft
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
10. FIFA 17
11. Pokemon Sun
12. Pokemon Moon
13. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
14. Star Wars Battlefront
15. Final Fantasy XV
16. Titanfall 2
17. NBA 2K16
18. Rainbow Six Siege
19. Far Cry Primal
20. Dark Souls 3

Source: here.

So yeah, no Uncharted 4, but of course, this was for the US only; probably uses NPD data; probably doesn't count bundles (which U4 was heavily bundled) and probably doesn't also count digital sales either... so in the grand scheme of things is likely a pretty useless list.

Yes, bundles aren't included, but to skew results even further, Dark Souls 3 has digital sales counted, but not Uncharted 4. Many third party devs give out digital numbers to NPD now, but Sony and Microsoft, for instance, still hold on to their specific digital sales. For the record, digital sales today typically consists 30% of a game's total sales, so it's no small amount to scoff at.

No offense, but if you aren't sure how to properly interpret and analyze sales data, you shouldn't make such a bold claim. It only spreads misinformation even further.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Yes, bundles aren't included, but to skew results even further, Dark Souls 3 has digital sales counted, but not Uncharted 4. Many third party devs give out digital numbers to NPD now, but Sony and Microsoft, for instance, still hold on to their specific digital sales. For the record, digital sales today typically consists 30% of a game's total sales, so it's no small amount to scoff at.

No offense, but if you aren't sure how to properly interpret and analyze sales data, you shouldn't make such a bold claim. It only spreads misinformation even further.

Actually there's no indication of whether Bandai-Namco shares digital sales data. And that list doesn't give any insight into it (Blizzard, for example, doesn't share digital sales data for Overwatch). Back when DS3 released, NPD wasn't tracking digital sales. I did a quick look and didn't notice any NPD sales rankings (since they started tracking digital) that had a Bandai-Namco title in it to see whether NPD has digital sales data from them or not.

It's still unlikely that DS3 outsold UC4, however, considering that UC4 was purchased by some people regardless of whether they wanted it or not (included in the PS4 bundle during the holiday season). The fact that it was the primary bundle for PS4 at that time also means it'd be unlikely to rank higher than DS3 for NPD (bundled games aren't included in sales numbers).

Regards,
SB

 

[Prophecy2k]

No offense, but if you aren't sure how to properly interpret and analyze sales data, you shouldn't make such a bold claim. It only spreads misinformation even further.

No offence, but I wasn't making any bold claims. I was merely repeating something I'd read that ended up being second-hand and incorrect information. The point of my initial post wasn't even about Uncharted 4's sales. Rather it was about Dark Souls and how the game might not necessarily be considered niche, given its inclusion in a top 20 sales chart.

That the chart data was incomplete, and my assumption about U4's omission from that list was incorrect, is very much beside the point, didn't harm anyone, was quickly and graciously corrected, isn't at all tantamount to "spreading misinformation" and was simply an honest mistake that anyone could have made.

I think you, good sir, need to relax.

 

[Prophecy2k]

It's still unlikely that DS3 outsold UC4, however, considering that UC4 was purchased by some people regardless of whether they wanted it or not (included in the PS4 bundle during the holiday season). The fact that it was the primary bundle for PS4 at that time also means it'd be unlikely to rank higher than DS3 for NPD (bundled games aren't included in sales numbers).

Regards,
SB

Well, that's certainly one way to spin it, SB.

Sure it was the primary bundle, but it wasn't the only bundle. And given that U4 (at possibly 10+m unit sales) is both one of the most popular and critically acclaimed games on PS4, I think we can safely assume that the vast majority of people buying the bundle wanted the game also. In this particular case, I don't think the bundling somehow invalidates the bundled copies being considered as a sale.

 

[Prophecy2k]

Apologies folks, my bad for the odd tangent.

Mods please relocate my posts as appropriate.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

No offense, but if you aren't sure how to properly interpret and analyze sales data, you shouldn't make such a bold claim. It only spreads misinformation even further.

It was an honest mistake. There's nothing wrong with being wrong, especially when one's big enough to admit it and retract a statement.

No offence, but If you aren't sure how to engage in polite discussion and correct people gracefully, you shouldn't be posting in a civilised discussion forum.

 

[Silencerx98]

It was an honest mistake. There's nothing wrong with being wrong, especially when one's big enough to admit it and retract a statement.

No offence, but If you aren't sure how to engage in polite discussion and correct people gracefully, you shouldn't be posting in a civilised discussion forum.

Oh, took a mod two weeks to come back with a snarky response? I don't know how things work here, but in sales discussions, when someone makes outrageous claims, they deservedly get called out for. But this thread isn't the place for this, so best to get back on topic, right?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Oh, took a mod two weeks to come back with a snarky response?

Yeah. I read the line and then took a while to come up with a cutting retort. But it was worth it in the end. (Either that or I didn't read your post because I don't read everything, and replied when I came across it perusing as it merited a response)

I don't know how things work here, but in sales discussions, when someone makes outrageous claims, they deservedly get called out for.

When some makes an erroneous claim, they get corrected. Why is there any need for exaggerated responses to telling someone to not talk about something they're interested in? An awful lot of our discussion here is on stuff we aren't all experts on!

 

[iroboto]

Oh, took a mod two weeks to come back with a snarky response? I don't know how things work here, but in sales discussions, when someone makes outrageous claims, they deservedly get called out for. But this thread isn't the place for this, so best to get back on topic, right?

seems like you're triggered, but try not to be; this community isn't like GAF where things are hard and fast. Mods here give people plenty of time to sort things out themselves assuming everyone stays polite about it. Everyone here is generally just trying to be sensible, people drop wrong commentary all the time, no one is immune to it, but how we deal with when we are wrong (or when others are wrong) is what separates this forum from many of the other forums out there.

I mean really, you joined a little over 2 months ago. You triggered on a guy who has been here a decade. All i'm saying is that the people here are generally pretty chill, not to say there haven't been disagreements, but most heated debates don't get that sour.

 

[London Geezer]

GTFOH

Corrected that for you.