Ubisoft: Prince of Persia had 'slower take-off', Far Cry 2 ships 2.9m
by Ross Miller 
{ Jan 22nd 2009 at 1:45PM }
Unfortunately, a certain wisecracking acrobat didn't seem to meet expectations. According to the report, the above figures helped to "offset the impact of a slower take-off" for Prince of Persia and its 2.2 million shipped units for December. Yesterday's NPD stats put PoP's US sales at around 483K. Ubisoft has also confirmed a fiscal 2009 release window for Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction and a new Ghost Recon.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Zarim @ Jan 22nd 2009 1:53PM
I bought Prince of Persia, it was pretty fun. Haven't finished it yet though because my xbox decided the disc would look better with a nice circular ring scratched into it.
lasersanchez @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:02PM
Did you decide to move your console while the disc was spinning?
Zarim @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:53PM
Nope, it was just sitting there. My first xbox went bad the same way; it ate discs in about a week. After I get this one fixed/replaced I'll stop keeping it upright, I think.
Zarim @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:54PM
er, it ate about three discs in a week.
JXCgunrunna @ Jan 22nd 2009 6:41PM
...I just had an idea... stop putting disks in?
Jerry J @ Jan 22nd 2009 1:54PM
That's a shame about PoP. All the negative press about the whole Elika/not dying thing must have taken root, which is too bad because the game is gorgeous and a lot of fun.
Dirty @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:07PM
But he did it for love..... who could resist those nice white breastasis and those capri pants.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:20PM
In my case I haven't played it because I haven't got the time but I'm starting it today.I just got 100% completition in Dead Space.
After POP I have COD W@W and Fallout 3.
Poisoned Al @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:31PM
It was the quick time event combat bullshit that killed PoP for me. At one boss I got so fucking sick of chipping away at the heath only for it to return again after a lazy hack peace of non-gameplay.
The last quick time event that game saw wasn't "press X not to die" but "press eject to put in a better game"
tmacairjordan87 @ Jan 22nd 2009 1:58PM
Sigh, this article just reminds me that I have both PoP and Farcry 2 and have only played maybe an hour in both. Goddamn WoW takes up all my free time again (which is also why I haven't been on here that much lately).
WRE @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:00PM
So we have WoW to thank? ; )
RIP R.L. Causton - YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MISSED (PSN johnnynumber5) @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:03PM
You should have known better Tmac. Once I had kicked that habit a long time ago I vowed to never go back. It's like crack flavored heroin.
GundamWingEW @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:04PM
Lol thank god for world of warcraft
tmacairjordan87 @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:07PM
Yeah I know but WoTL is just so good, I couldn't resist anymore.
And Gundam, just for that I'm gonna post more like usual because I get immense enjoyment out of annoying you. If only we were lucky enough to have you get hooked on something because while I'm not much of a betting man, I'd be willing to bet far more people want you out of here than me.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:13PM
I still read Joystiq a lot, but don't post a lot anymore.
I have been very busy, but I want to make a return. I just started playing guitar in the bar a few months ago, and I don't have a lot of free time to play videogames (I have Gears 2, Dead Space, Banjo, Stranglehold, Beautiful Katamari, Condemned 2, Ninja Gaiden 2, Moon, WiiWare titles, Wario Land Wii... all bought in December, and I just have only finished Wario).
I really want to be an active member of this community again... maybe in the next couple of weeks.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:38PM
I have something as tedious as WOW that also sucks your life as quick or maybe twice as quick.
It's called a Job.
Is a fantastic MMO, you start every morning with a quest that is so important that you have to be in time or otherwise you lose your account.
Then you have to sit in front of a computer (Like WOW) and spent interminable hours doing a lot of boring sh*t (You know like killing 30 spiders of one type and 20 of another in Wow) after that it comes the MMO part its called lunch time.
In Lunch time is where you have to sit with other players that you probably or most probably hate but you can’t say anything or Pvp them because Mods = F*gs and they can terminate your account so the best is just to smile and pretend your life is perfect.
After that you repeat the same stuff you did before “Lunch Time” with the hopes that some day you might LVL UP but in this game that takes quite a lot of time. For example some people LVL Up in months and for some others are years. There are people who never lvl up but hey at least everyone gets their IRL reward at the end of the week.
You repeat that for 50 years and hopefully you’ll have enough loot to never play again because this game is so awesome only a fool would play it twice. If you don’t have enough loot after 50 years let’s say for an economical crisis etc etc you can always live with your children which kids are always going to hate you and you will be contemplating suicide everyday but don’t worry death will come to you anyway so why hurry you can always be annoying as hell I mean by the time you reach a total EXP of 75 years complaining about everything and being hateful is a right.
Jerk Face @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:53PM
Mr. ESC you win the Internet for the day.
Night Elve @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:07PM
@Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC.
+1 for you sir!
I'm playing the same game I'm only level 25 :(
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 22nd 2009 8:46PM
LVL 19 and I haven't finished the Tutorials but I'm still playing the game somehow.
WRE @ Jan 22nd 2009 1:59PM
Prince of Persia is very pretty and acrobatically pleasing, but playing it makes me sleepy. I'm not really sure why.
RIP R.L. Causton - YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MISSED (PSN johnnynumber5) @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:01PM
Perhaps because it's so boring and uneventful.
lasersanchez @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:03PM
... your mom's boring and uneventful!
Dirty @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:12PM
Oh snap
WRE @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:14PM
Damn Johnny, do you need some aloe vera for that BURN!?!?
LordChimp @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:04PM
I still want to pick up PoP soon since the art style looks delicious. As for Far Cry 2, I am sad to say I am one of the 2.9M that bought it. I was also very disappointed in the game. Looks amazing but the how repetitive it was turned me off.
Strategy_Panda (Pot & Spoon 4 Life) @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:22PM
same here
baby sea tuna @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:04PM
Really? I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. Then again, people bitched about how repetitive GTA was and I enjoyed the hell out of that too.
FeaturePreacher @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:07PM
Note to the producer Prince of Persia Ben Mattes:
Low difficulty in hardcore games deserves low sales of said game. I'll buy it once its $10 and just to get the trophies.
Dralthi @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:18PM
Agreed. This game deserved it's lower sales. They took what was fun and challenging in the 3 previous games and threw it out the window. I couldn't get over the crappy Saturday morning cartoon voice acting of the Prince either. It was like some 10-year-old boy wrote the dialog for that guy.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:21PM
Yep just forget about the fact that the game is "fun" because apparently the fun factor in a game isn't worth $60.
The Dark Wayne @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:21PM
inb4 Ludwig attacks
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:41PM
Is just me or people are reading your comment only because your avatar has boobies?
Vcize @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:20PM
Wait, he posted a comment?
The Dark Wayne @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:24PM
but now his avatar has less real boobs
: (
The Fatass of Afro Luffyness @ Jan 23rd 2009 7:10AM
I see someone likes buzzwords.
'Hardcore' games (no such damn thing) have been getting steadily less difficult since the N64/PS1 days. PoP is a triumph in it's own right - it's a beautiful game, and though it is pretty easy, it's also just a joy to play. Don't give me that 'sales should be based on difficulty' bullshit, because, honestly, it came off pretty elitist, and some of the best games I've played this generation weren't all that difficult.
dabamf @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:16PM
I'm part of the slower take-off I guess. I just picked up "Prince of Persia" (PS3) on Amazon this week, and they sent me the limited edition game with the bonus disc, all for $54.99. I think they're trying to get rid of those editions of the game, so if you order now maybe you can get the same benefit.
Deck @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:23PM
I love prince of persia. Haven't finished it yet, (Mainly due to my getting of Fallout 3) but its gorgeous and really a lot of fun. Though you end up doing it in chunks. I'll play through 3 levels of sorts, then take a break for awhile. Going back to it a few days later.
As for new releases, I know its "Fiscal 09" which ends before April 2010 right? But I would love to see those three titles come out next holiday or something. Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction and a new Ghost Recon... I would buy all three of those day one. That would be a nice release list for Ubisoft.
Also nice to see Far Cry 2 selling so many!
Psycho300x @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:34PM
Far cry 2 would have been much better if the game didn't repopulate with jackasses every time you turn around.....
Vidikron @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:39PM
Yeah, that's annoying. You can't drive half a mile without being pursued by jeeps. It would be nice if once you cleared out a check point it actually stayed clear for two days or so of in-game time. I really like the game, but that sort of stuff really make it tedious at times.
Psycho300x @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:49PM
Its really annoying, I feel like I should just be walking because Im going to have to get out of my jeep every 100 feet. Really bad dev choice to an otherwise pretty decent game.
iiijeremy @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:56PM
It's almost as if the developers were so busy building the African setting that they forgot someone would eventually be playing in said African setting and would be in need of interesting things to do. How many times am I supposed to drive the same Jeep through the same checkpoints and switch to the same mounted gun and kill the same guards before I'm in need of variety?
It seems like linearity in games is increasingly met with something far less than praise while open world games are given a virtual reach-around by the gaming community. Games like Far Cry 2 make me ask WHY?
Jerk Face @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:59PM
Yep! I love the shit out of the game and its immersive environment and enjoyable combat - but I hate the respawning guard posts more than anything. It's such a blemish on an otherwise fantastic game. I was able to get past it and enjoy the experience, but I could definitely see why others would be turned off by it.
Like Vidikron said - I mean, just ONE DAY would be awesome. You kill the dudes, let it take overnight for them to come back. That would even be enough. Instead an entire encampment of 50 surly APR soldiers can fall to your murder impulses, you drive around a corner for literally four seconds and if you head back they're all there fully armed and waiting to tea bag the shit out of your corpse.
It's so obviously a way to extend the game's length and it's a really unfortunate way to do so. Remember the opening scene when the reporter bribes the guards? Sure wish I could have done that a few times.
So for Far Cry 3? A little more RPG-like story that rewards multiple play throughs of a 12 hour game with the different characters. That would have been so tight!
arrrgh @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:41PM
GOOD. The new PoP sucked. Straight up.
Far Cry 2 gets surprisingly decent once you get the stealth suit and some decent weapon upgrades
Vidikron @ Jan 22nd 2009 2:46PM
So the stealth suit is worth the 40 diamonds (or whatever it is)?
Jerk Face @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:03PM
Stealth Suit - 45 diamonds
Dart Rifle - 20 diamonds
Silenced MP5 - 15 diamonds
Light grenade launcher - 20 diamonds
Finding the best way to play Far Cry 2 and discovering the satisfying gameplay and fantastic story hidden beneath all the bullshit?
Priceless.
Shmil @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:17PM
I prefer the IEDs to the light grenade launcher, I sneak in and plant a bomb on one side of the base and then move around to another side. There I start sniping until they find me at which point I blow up the bomb and start a fire to distract everyone. Move around and hide and the pick off the remaining guards.
Alex @ Jan 22nd 2009 4:43PM
I have the Silent MP5, Silent Makarov and the Dart Rifle.
I just wish that I could have a real sniper in the Special Weapons slot so I can blow barrels up from a distance.
baby sea tuna @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:08PM
Awesome, I'm one mission away from saving enough for the stealth camo. Glad to hear it's worth it.
ScottG13 @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:36PM
PoP was a HUGE disappointment. Beautiful, but bland.
Far Cry 2 is awesome, but missions start to drag. I look forward to an expansion or extension of FC2. A terrific take on a modern Western RPG.
Tom @ Jan 22nd 2009 3:59PM
Farcry has better numbers because it's packaged with Nvidia GFX cards as well. And over the xmas holidays the 280 and 260 went down in price and ton's were bought.