No Bully sequel, judging by the numbers
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 4th 2007 at 11:35AM }
Despite a strong first month in sales (estimated at 250,000 units worldwide) that was backed by critical acclaim, Bully's popularity at retail has quickly dwindled. Wedbush Morgan Securities Managing Director of Research Michael Pachter projects Bully will peak around 800,000 units sold; generating roughly $24 million in revenue. While that might sound rich, Pachter calls it a wash for Take-Two. "I would NOT expect a sequel," Pachter emphasized to GamePolitics.If Jimmy Hopkins' video game career is indeed one and done then it would go against Rockstar's standard practice (presumably encouraged by Take-Two). The developer has always molded its titles into series; The Warriors being the only Rockstar game that has yet to be revisited* (sequels to Manhunt & Red Dead Revolver are in the works). At the very least, we would expect Bully to be ported to PSP.
*A PSP port of The Warriors is in the works.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick Flavor @ Jan 4th 2007 11:39AM
I don't think Bully is portable to the PSP.
pete @ Jan 4th 2007 11:48AM
if gta can be thrown on the psp they should no problem with this one.
Aleks @ Jan 4th 2007 11:50AM
Ah! You're wrong! Rockstar is having a "The Warrior" port/sequel/expansion made for the PSP! It was announced a couple of months ago.
moofree @ Jan 4th 2007 11:52AM
I want a new Space Station Silicon Valley game.
Razorback @ Jan 4th 2007 11:53AM
From the same company, I would like to see a sequel to both Bully and Manhunt on the next-gen systems. Of course, I would like to see death scenes for the guns in Manhunt.
Zelos @ Jan 4th 2007 11:55AM
Is the first rush of sales followed by a rapid drop a sign of a lack of word of mouth effect? I know I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, I managed 2 hours before getting bored.
Pika @ Jan 4th 2007 11:56AM
Did Rockstar ever make a sequel to Oni? I loved that an don't recall them ever making that into a series.
moofree @ Jan 4th 2007 12:02PM
Oni was a Bungie game, rockstar just published the PS2 version.
But yes, an Oni sequel would be awesome :)
Jellodyne @ Jan 4th 2007 12:03PM
They put it out on a dead platform. Bring Bully to 360 and we'll buy it.
Artimus @ Jan 4th 2007 12:06PM
If you sell 800,000 copies and that doesn't justify a sequel then something is seriously wrong with your business model.
Ben Friesen @ Jan 4th 2007 12:13PM
Definitely a lack of WoM for this game - though until I hear that there's not going to be a sequel directly from Rockstar, I'm going to take this with a grain of salt.
Besides, the game broke even, and that's more than you can say for most games - besides, it's a whole lot cheaper to make a sequel to a game than it is to make the original. Once a company has an IP that doesn't tank, they usually hold onto it. If nothing else, we'll see some ports for it that'll push sh profit up too.
Adam @ Jan 4th 2007 12:08PM
Maybe they should bring it to next gen consoles then :/
Meno @ Jan 4th 2007 12:15PM
Bully was a wonderful game and it is a shame it didn't well, but I don't think I'd want to revisit it again. I'm not looking for Bully: The College years, or Bully: Jimmy Get's a Job. I think it is satisfying to have an original game conclude, and move on to something else...
HOWEVER, the idea of a manhunt sequal made me squirm a little with delite, since this is the first I've heard of it. I've never played a game like Manhunt, and it's sequal is probably the only place I'll feel that again. Also... Manhunt on PS3 FTW.
nick @ Jan 4th 2007 12:55PM
It probably cost a lot to produce and I'm sure they spent a lot on marketing.
My trouble with Rockstar is this. They make great games. Many of which are or were exclusive to Sony platforms. When they finally did release Grand Theft Auto on the Xbox, it was slightly better, and it would have been my preferred platform. Thing is, I had already bought the PS2 version, and was not going to buy it again. So now I just assume wait, hold off on any PS2 purchases, and hope that someday certain (major) titles will appear on a Microsoft platform. I already know the next Grand Theft will eventually appear there.
I'm sorta done with PS2 games anyway.
Jason @ Jan 4th 2007 12:40PM
Jellodyne hit the nail on the head. They're expecting game sales (for undoubtedly a great game) to keep going up but its competing with next-gen titles.
We gamers can be fickle creatures...we like our textures and our high-def tvs :)
RobotRock @ Jan 4th 2007 1:32PM
Man I would love Bully: The College years!
There are 2 big negatives I can say about Bully. 1: it felt like it wasn't playing to American sensibilities. It seemed more UK based if anything. Most Americans did not go to a boarding school and the only knowledge of what a prefect is comes from Harry Potter.
Take that setting and apply it to college and it makes may make more sense to Americans.
and 2: The target audience (14-24-or so) is the group least likely to "get it." This is a game for people who are not currently in school to look back and go "I wish my school was like/not like that". I can't imagine 6 hours of real school and then another few in Bullworth.
dantebk @ Jan 4th 2007 1:07PM
I loved Bully so much that I would play again if they re-released it again for 360 so I could get the achievement points.
I don't know if I'd want to see a sequel. It's hard to imagine how it could be good, it was such a perfect sort of closed world story. However, Rockstar makes great games, so if they have an idea for a sequel, I will trust in its awesomeness.
Hak Foo @ Jan 4th 2007 1:08PM
Wasn't Rockstar responsible for Table Tennis?
razer @ Jan 4th 2007 1:22PM
Wait a min? Did he say a sequel to Manhunt is coming?? YES!! I loved that game and is by far the most gruesom I've ever played. Bring it on!! More head chopping please :)
KevMa @ Jan 4th 2007 2:29PM
Well yea it didn't do well, the game never looked anything different then GTA except they used a model of a young school boy. The game was over-hyped from the start, am I the only one who seen this, I doubt it.
Manhunter @ Jan 4th 2007 1:37PM
They need to make a Manhunt 2 game/sequel for the PS3. Manhunt I think was just as good if not better than GTA. But of course I hope they dont loosen up on the gore and stuff becuase of the enhanced graphics like Konami did with Silent Hill 2 when it came to the PS2.
refinedsugar @ Jan 4th 2007 1:55PM
I might have given Bully a chance if they hadn't cancelled the xbox release, but in hindsight it seems like a good business move on their part considering that the ps2 version isn't doing extremely hot. If Bully isn't going to take off on the ps2 it's definitely not going to sell better on a platform with a smaller install base.
Joe @ Jan 4th 2007 2:12PM
There was a State of Emergency sequel?
Bub @ Jan 4th 2007 1:58PM
This game, while gorgeous and atmospheric made grevious errors: "Go get the papers from her locker for me!"
So you go and get them; if you have a stink-bomb, you plant it. If you don't, the game FORCES you to go get one-- even though your only goal is to get the papers. Never mind the ridiculous camera issues, or everything being tied to time. It just wasn't fun. In fact, it felt too much like school. The atmosphere, the graphics, the music-- all great. I would have liked to have been submerged in that, at my own pace-- but as usual, Rockstar is brilliant at some things yet dead misses others; I felt like I was back in 1985 with the incidents mentioned above.
Rockstar should take their cues from the likes of Ratchet and Clank, Kingdom Hearts, and even Star Wars Legos-- where game progression can be made difficult if the player desires, but where average players can still enjoy a linear, involving experience. Rockstar failed that on this game (unlike their successful San Andreas, which had a more elective quality to missions, and the player was more in control of the script).
josh @ Jan 4th 2007 3:07PM
yeah, table tennis never had sequel, and i loved that game
baby sea tuna @ Jan 4th 2007 3:08PM
"17. Wasn't Rockstar responsible for Table Tennis?
Posted at 1:08PM on Jan 4th 2007 by Hak Foo 0 stars"
Hey, don't be doggin Table Tennis. It's a very solid (although a bit shallow) game.
As for Bully, not every good game requires a sequel. Rockstar has nothing to be ashamed of by not trying to drive another IP into the ground by bringing out 35 different iterations, re-hashes, and ports.
Phillip @ Jan 4th 2007 3:32PM
yeah, if they had actually released it on something other than the PS2 I would have probably bought it, but they canceled all other versions and I got rid of my PS2.
eugaet @ Jan 4th 2007 6:23PM
Agree with #27...I really wanted that game, but I don't own a PS2. If it had been released on the PC or GC, I would have bought it.
misterDNA @ Jan 9th 2007 2:42PM
*"Thrasher: Skate and Destroy" (PlayStation)
Another Rockstar game with no sequel.
® @ Jan 4th 2007 6:48PM
A Manhunt sequel? Hell yeah!! They really need to start work on a Warriors sequel, though. That would be great.
samik @ Jan 5th 2007 12:23AM
Talk of how they should have brought it to the 360 is rubbish...the game would have cost much less to develop for the PS2 and sold far more..the PS2 has 100m sold vs 6m 360 (of which a lot have overheated and conked off already). Besides if you want it so much buy a PS3...if you bought a 360 be happy with poor copies of old PS franchises (Forza, Saint's row) or the umpteenth alien shooting game
Phillip @ Jan 5th 2007 7:49AM
#30 that is brilliant lets buy a 600.00 console so I can play a last gen game. Because there sure as hell isn't anything worth playing on it that is exclusive to the PS3 yet. If I really wanted to play that game I could buy a ps2 for 100.00 but I'm not going to get a ps2 again or a ps3 just to play a few ps2 games.
Leggo @ Jan 5th 2007 3:38PM
What #30 doesn't get is that gamers are MUCH more receptive to new IPs at the start of a console cycle than towards the end of it. Do you honestly think games like Kameo or Luigi's Mansion or Azurik would sell at all if they weren't the harbingers of a new generation of games?
Rockstar dropped the ball, plain and simple, unless they're polishing up a 360 version of Bully (which is looking more and more unlikely at this point). Games like Bully have done PHENOMENALLY well on the 360. Look at Saints Row and Oblivion. Both are living open world titles you could get lost in for hours at a time. Even Dead Rising, to a degree.
Instead, they release it on a platform whose owners are essentially fasting from games so they can even think of affording the next iteration of the platform. That's about as smart as opening a Burger King in the Middle East during Rhamadan.