Bionic Commando grappled only 27k sales in May
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jun 15th 2009 at 10:45AM } 
Terminator Salvation, also developed by (the allegedly downsized) Grin and released around the same time as BC, sold 43,000 units with exceptionally poor reviews. To really put things in perspective, Bionic Commando Rearmed -- the high-def remake of the classic game -- sold 130,000 copies during its first week late last year.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
WREturns @ Jun 15th 2009 10:49AM
Ouch!
Dirty @ Jun 15th 2009 10:51AM
Well isn't that just a kick in the balls. Honestly I forgot that it came out.
Jampirow @ Jun 15th 2009 12:26PM
Make that a Bionic kick to the balls.
chrisnick @ Jun 15th 2009 10:53AM
was gonna try this but chose infamous and prototype instead.
Hashbrown Hunter (OneGiantCluster.blogspot.com) @ Jun 15th 2009 11:41AM
Yeah the InFamous vs Prototype debate kinda overshadowed Bionic Commando's release. I was pretty interested in picking it up, especially after that awesome 1UP Show with the multiplayer.
...but I forgot.
Eh @ Jun 15th 2009 1:10PM
I was going to try this but there was no demo for PS3. This looks like a fun game but Im not going to gamble $60 on an unproven game without trying it first.
Do developers not understand how much $60 is? Im not going to throw away $60+tax on crap that looks good, for that much money I need to know that its good.
MrB @ Jun 15th 2009 2:22PM
The MP demo is the reason why I don't want to get it. It was that bad.
Alphathon @ Jun 15th 2009 2:33PM
Same as MrB. I player the demo on the 360, and wasn't impressed at all. It felt worthy of a pickup, but not as a full retail game, only as an arcade/psn title.
Cody @ Jun 15th 2009 2:56PM
"Do developers not understand how much $60 is?"
They very much DO understand how much $60 is. The bare minimal they can price a game at and hope to turn a profit one day off enough sales.
Blame Microsoft and Sony with their ridiculously financially taxing HD game development costs.
kentuckyfried @ Jun 15th 2009 5:25PM
The poor design choices noted in early reviews pretty much killed this game (weak weapons, not enough free-roaming using the bionic arm, etc).
I still wanted to pick it up, but I'm waiting for a price drop. Hopefully having gotten kicked in the balls so hard, this title will be receiving that discount shortly.
Eh @ Jun 15th 2009 5:34PM
If they understand how much $60 is then they should understand that most people wont just piss it away on things because the box art was nice. There needs to be a demo, and if they want that demo to help then the demo needs to be one of the best parts of the game rather than the worst most boring level.
If average games that are $60 cost the same to develop as superb games that are $60 then something is wrong. Either its all bullshit or they are paying every game employee the same as Kojima and Miyamoto regardless of their talent. My guess is that its all bullshit and that games cost $60 because everyone jumped on the bandwagon.
Eastman @ Jun 15th 2009 10:54AM
Well in all honesty the game was not very good, and with money being as tight as it is you can't just buy any old game you have to get one you know is guaranteed to be good, granted what that game may be is different for everyone but the principal still applies.
Seishino @ Jun 15th 2009 11:26AM
I had money, time, and a lot of excitement set aside for this game. Then I played that godawful Multiplayer demo.
I picked up Tiger Woods Wii + WiiMotePlus instead.
Ghen @ Jun 15th 2009 12:02PM
I bought the game and stopped playing on the level where you have to swing out over water a really long way across the "mines" ... couldn't find my way after looking around for a route to the next location for a half hour and the radiation instead of invisible walls was killing me time and time again, so I quit.
Prototype on the other hand is every game I've ever wanted to play in an open world fighter.
redjack @ Jun 15th 2009 12:30PM
"The moral of the story is to not do a re-visioning of a 20+ year-old IP that rides purely on nostalgia value and expect it to sell on that merit alone
NiGHTS 2 suffered the same fate, as is Punch-Out!! (though Punch-Out!! seems to be catching the long tail)"
Punch Out!! has more than nostalgia going for it. Reviewers may be whining that there's only one new fighter and only three circuits but the title defense definitely makes up for those initial seeming shortcomings. The varied delayed punches most of the further on fighters have really adds to the original gameplay. Or different takes on the usual timing strategies like King Hippo's or Aran Ryan's second go around.
The panning it for three circuits and one new fighter is really just reviewers being lazy with the game. If the other games were complete games when most fighters just had head swaps then this has those games hands down. I'm not noticing head swaps between the fighters and even the title defense fighters have model changes and most of their moves are new. And then there's Exhibition. Its just a blast to play.
Kdiggy @ Jun 15th 2009 2:03PM
Wii PunchOut is basically just Super PunchOut with one new fighter. The graphics look almost exactly the same.
redjack @ Jun 15th 2009 2:35PM
The graphics aren't even close and there's no basically the same as Super Punch Out to it. It goes back to the original gameplay and throws out the meter and different types of super punches that were available in Super. You haven't played the game if you're making that statement.
tmbacsa @ Jun 15th 2009 10:54AM
So did they learn that crap = crap sales (unless it's on the Wii or DS) and good = good sales (generally...)?
NaeemTHM @ Jun 15th 2009 11:02AM
No they didn't learn that at all. Terminator Salvation is abysmal and has BETTER sales than the above average Bionic Commando.
Moral: People like licensed shit
Mr Khan @ Jun 15th 2009 11:27AM
The moral of the story is to not do a re-visioning of a 20+ year-old IP that rides purely on nostalgia value and expect it to sell on that merit alone
NiGHTS 2 suffered the same fate, as is Punch-Out!! (though Punch-Out!! seems to be catching the long tail)
Duke @ Jun 15th 2009 11:33AM
Nostalgia didn't even make me have interest in this game. I guess some IP just loses its luster quicker than the makers realize. Hell, I would probably have been more interested in a title like 'Pac Man Sr'.
Levi @ Jun 15th 2009 12:03PM
Crap /= crap sales, and good /= good sales. Movie games are almost always crap, and yet they still sell far more than they should judging by the actual quality. Bionic Commando isn't crap, it had bad timing and a poor demo that was not representative of the full game. Dead Space was highly acclaimed and didn't sell well either (though it sold better than BC).
Also, nostalgia didn't get me to play this game. When it was first announced, I dismissed it as a crappy looking Spiderman ripoff. And I didn't even like the spiderman games. It was the ever improving trailers with some really cool looking action that got me to play it. Nostalgia is what got me to buy BC:R. That and my love for 2.5D and sidescrollers :D
Roto13 @ Jun 15th 2009 12:12PM
"as is Punch-Out!! (though Punch-Out!! seems to be catching the long tail)"
Punch-Out!! has that whole "being an awesome game" thing going for it, though.
Mr Khan @ Jun 15th 2009 1:24PM
Not saying anything about their respective quality. I loved me some NiGHTS 2, also. It's about sales
waves @ Jun 15th 2009 10:56AM
After playing the multiplayer only demo, I lost interest in this game. I tried and failed on 3 separate occasions to connect to any match (even leaving it to search for 1/2 hour). When I finally did get to play, the experience was poor. The guns seemed like toys, and the swinging mechanic was hard to learn in a deathmatch.
I think they could have made a much better impression releasing a single player demo. I wonder why they didn't....
DarkeSword @ Jun 15th 2009 11:29AM
They definitely would have. The multiplayer demo was a really poor advertisement for what turned out to be a pretty great game. I just finished it up yesterday, and I have to say that it was really really fun, and also kind of challenging.
adam.c.malcolm @ Jun 15th 2009 10:56AM
I think a lot of it has to do with the fiasco surrounding the people involved in making and promoting the title.
Ps3 fans over on the PSBlog have been exceptionally livid - with good reason - with Grin, Ben Judd, and John Diamonon over the lies and deceipt surrounding the trophy patch for BC:R. It was announced, promised...then consistently delayed, then cancelled altogether, but only after lying and treating the fans like crap for months and months on end. A lot of fans feel tricked, as BCR was supposed to be one of the first batch of trophy games for PSN.
This soured most PS3 fans, and most of then vowed never to purchase another Bionic Commando game again. Especially after putting up with Capcom's trite treatment of Ps3 and its fans.
Also consider the MANY delays BC has seen. People just lost interest. It was supposed to hit last November...and it was constantly delayed.
The whole "New Bionic Commando Era" is a good lesson for developers and publisher on how NOT TO handle a franchise and treat long time fans.
NaeemTHM @ Jun 15th 2009 11:04AM
If that wasn't bad enough, I hear the load times in Bionic Commando for the PS3 are a pain in the ass.
SaltyGary @ Jun 15th 2009 11:07AM
A couple of pissed of posters on a blog site aren't really going to affect sales in that manner.
Besides this site, the game wasn't promotted well and I didn't even realize it was released. Was at a couple stores this weekend and it wasn't even on the shelves.
linebeginstoblur @ Jun 15th 2009 11:07AM
The trophy thing upset me, but that's not the only reason we've been dying for a patch. The game has huge problems with freezing during saving, erasing the entire game save. They said they'd patch it.
Notice how, when they say they gave up on the patch, they "forget to mention" that they're ignoring an issue that SHOULD NOT be ignored.
wallywallas @ Jun 15th 2009 11:47AM
The honest-to-god reason i never felt like buying this?... The protagonists hair.
Yup, the hair. If i'm going to play as a guy with deusche hair, i pass.
Levi @ Jun 15th 2009 12:13PM
Wally - his hair is definitely douchey, but it doesn't make the game less fun. Plus, if you have BC:R (and you should if you are even considering this) you can unlock a version of the main character that looks like the old version, sans douchey hair. You get to play as him during a flashback to training for the arm, and I must say, the original model looks so much better than douchey hair model.
ZildjianKX @ Jun 15th 2009 1:35PM
Agreed. The lack of trophies after promising them to us has caused me not to even think about purchasing a Capcom game for awhile, let alone Bionic Commando. It would have also been nice if they fixed the save game corruption issue for BC:R...
What a deadbeat company, dropping support for a game as soon as it ships out the door.
I guess my overall feelings are that it serves them right.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Jun 15th 2009 10:56AM
smh....I was going to Gamefly the game until I seen the rating drop to like 5.3....then I just took it out my Q....
Internet Jesus @ Jun 15th 2009 10:57AM
Sad really... its a great game.
has its faults but its still a really fun game with a surprisingly good multiplayer.
Senecal @ Jun 15th 2009 10:56AM
I bought BC Re-armed on PSN and it was good, but they promised me trophies!! They disapointed me once and I'm in no hurry to have it done again. Capcom is great and all, but there is ALOT of games out right now, so BC will never likely hit the top of my gameQ.
Storm Eagle @ Jun 15th 2009 10:57AM
Old Bionic Commando = Good
New Bionic Commando = Bad
The End.
Rhamsey @ Jun 15th 2009 11:19AM
i dont know, i had a lot of fun with the demo for the new one, so it cant be that bad.
Levi @ Jun 15th 2009 10:57AM
Such a shame. Bad release timing. This game is really, really fun. It's true that it's not perfect, story is pretty lame, action starts out slow (presumably to get you used to the swinging), but the game just gets so ridiculously fun. I'm most of the way through it, and can easily say it's just been getting more and more fun since the beginning. It had the most fun boss battle I can remember playing in eons (that airlplane/helicopter thing, for those that have played it).
Everyone should give it a chance at least at some point. Whatever you do, don't judge it on the demo. The single player just gets so friggin fun.
NaeemTHM @ Jun 15th 2009 11:08AM
Couldn't have said it better myself. Please don't judge this game by sales figures or the horrid multiplayer. If you're a fan of games that actually CHALLENGE your skills, you owe it to yourself to at least give BC a rent.
j.howlett @ Jun 15th 2009 11:23AM
the challenge of it is the main reason i want it. i'm just not the type of player to go buy every game at release and i don't trade stuff in.
Teph @ Jun 15th 2009 4:37PM
Just going to reciprocate the guys above me's statements.
This game is great. I really love it. Yes, the story isn't strong, but I'm not sure where people get off on complaining that it's hard to swing.
I think the controls work quite well and I've never once gotten frustrated at the way the controls are setup or work in the game, and for me, that can absolutely kill a game.
Say what you will about a game, but something a dev must hold paramount for their game are two things:
Can I control my character well? (player controls)
Can I control the view of my character and the environment well? (camera controls)
If these two things are done right, the rest can be done on a much lower level of "polish" but still deliver a fun experience. And for me, I love this game because I never feel I get frustrated at the camera or controls. Swinging around feels great and the moves you unlock are quite satisfying.
So yeah, I enjoyed it.
Any yes, the biggest mistake they made was releasing that MP demo. It was absolute shit. It doesn't represent the single OR multiplayer well at all. I was very close to not getting the game because of it, but I'm glad I too the plunge anyway.
inu @ Jun 15th 2009 10:58AM
Too bad, the game is really fun. The gameplay is solid, the fanservice aplenty. The plot is cheesy enough to work.
Blackmagic1o0 @ Jun 15th 2009 10:58AM
well thats bad considering Lair and Haze sold way better
Kork @ Jun 15th 2009 11:00AM
I find this sad as well, as I've probably had more fun playing BC than any other game this year so far.
geddesmond2 @ Jun 15th 2009 11:01AM
This game should have sold way more than it did. It's a very good game and the problem is, people read into reviews to much. Review's are the opinion of 1 person who's writing the review and if there not in the mood for the game there reviewing, then there not gonna review it properly. Yeah the game's not highly story driven and it is a challenge to get used to the controll's but once you do then it really get's fun.
I asked some of my PSN friend's if they were gonna get it and all they said was "ah it got 6/10 here and eurogamer gave it this". I'm like WTF your not even gonna give it a try before you knock it
Levi @ Jun 15th 2009 12:21PM
That's because a solid, epic story is pretty much a requirement of any game nowadays to get a decent review, even for a game like Bionic Commando, that you would NEVER play for the story. I can sort of understand, because ithink a cheesy thin story can be executed well (BC:R).
Also, and this is a huge shame, when a game challenges the player more than average, it is looks down upon. BC requires you to learn a mechanic that isn't instantly comfortable, but it is that mechanic that provides some if the most fun gameplay I've seen this gen. The game is pretty difficult too, though I'm playing it on hard mode so I don't know how hard it is on medium.
I do think the reviews were a bit harsh though. I'm having infinitely more fun with Bionic Commando than other highly acclaimed recent releases.
sjs2626 @ Jun 15th 2009 1:02PM
@Levi
I don't know, Justin McElroy really seemed to like 50 Cent:BoTS, and you know how much of an epic story that had......
belovedconsole @ Jun 15th 2009 11:52PM
I'm not interested in a game that asks me to get used to it's controls for even 1/2 an hour. Give me that same game with an easy setting, where I don't die repeatedly, as one player evinced, and I'll show some interest. This game basically appeals to the hardcore, and that's great-- reading the comments, it's obvious that hardcore players have mastered the controls and the game feels good to them, just like it did to the hardcore playtesters. But this company obviously never looked at the big picture and said, what about the older players who want this experience but without the time or the frustration? An easy mode, reviewed favorably by a thirtysomething, would have sold this game tons-- because we get to experience an old 2d game, in 3d, at about the level we were proficient in, then (we used to be bad-ass, and have tons of time).
I loved the 2d rendition of BC, although at some point it got ridiculously hard and I simply couldn't play it, anymore. But in the early stages, it was well worth whatever I spent on it monetarily, no more than $20, and I spent a couple weekends with friends, the music kicked ass, the graphics and controls were awesome, it was priced right, and it was like my Commodore 64 became the hulk. Awesome. This? It's like my Commodore became schizophrenic. I felt like I needed to commit this thing.
FatalChaos @ Jun 15th 2009 11:01AM
When it comes to the PS3 portion of the sales with all the crap Capcom has done lately and the lack of a demo I don't see it getting a boost in sales anytime soon.