Assassin's Creed 2 pre-orders up 10 to 20% over original
by Randy Nelson 
{ Nov 3rd 2009 at 2:00AM } 
Judging by one analyst's estimation, Assassin's Creed 2 is set to escape from store shelves faster than its protagonist can outrun his pursuers. According to Mike Hickey of Janco Partners, pre-orders for the game are running 10 to 20 percent more than those of the original Assassin's Creed, which, as the firm pointed out to Gamasutra, greatly exceeded its initial sales forecast of 3 million units. (It sold 8 million.)
In other words, it looks like Ubisoft's going to make a killing off an assassin.
In other words, it looks like Ubisoft's going to make a killing off an assassin.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Longhorn @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:06AM
ITS NOT TRUE, its not true :'(
merobb @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:13AM
Ummm...duh?
Finito (PSN: Wretched_Walrus) @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:32AM
It's not so obvious to me. A lot of people were disappointed with the original despite the great sales. It didn't even get amazing scores (80 on metacritic) considering it was supposed to be a triple A game.
That ACII jumped over those hurdles and managed to earn more pre-orders probably has a lot to do with the double hidden blade. :P
merobb @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:38AM
I realize that, and I by no means considered the first game to be amazing. It was a really solid game, if a bit repetitive. But I think what's going to really be reeling the people in is the continuation of the story. Those that finished the first one no doubt have questions that they want answered and can't help but be intrigued. And if most people did anything like I did, I took the game over to my friends and got them hooked on it.
JACK @ Nov 3rd 2009 3:28AM
anything above 7 is not bad at all. Thats one of the reasons why a try to avoid game reviews, its just another gamers opinions. Assassins Creed could have been better though but cant wait for Assassins Creed 2.
JACK @ Nov 3rd 2009 3:29AM
Oops I meant to type 70, but it could be 7 out of 10 also, doesn't matter.
SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:58AM
People need to get over their disappointment with the original Assassin's Creed. What the hell do you think they do with sequels? Most of the time they try to improve on the faults of their previous attempts.
Unless you're Infinity Ward.
Then you just add faults.
PirateEmery @ Nov 3rd 2009 4:41AM
Agreed.
baby sea tuna @ Nov 3rd 2009 8:21AM
I'm confused, what faults were added between CoD 2 and CoD:MW? I assume you're not talking about the new one since it's not out yet and therefore you've never played it.
The Pie Pieper @ Nov 3rd 2009 9:18AM
I was with ya until the end. Remind me, how again did the most anticipated game of the year "add faults". Oh wait, please don’t tell me you are one of those cry baby PC owners.
Elette @ Nov 3rd 2009 9:56AM
Added faults: Perks
butaneko @ Nov 3rd 2009 10:02AM
Added faults: Pro-homophobic marketing campaigns
SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Nov 3rd 2009 12:31PM
Cry baby PC owners?
You're using a PC to write on Joystiq...
Anyways. No, I'm not planning to purchase MW2 on the PC. I had intended to pick up the PS3 version all along. My problem is with this trend of removing features from the PC version, I believe it will eventually hit console side as well. Maybe not with MW2, but as soon as Activision / IW realize how much control they really have they will be able to make Sony / Microsoft their bitches.
Why do I consider that a problem?
Because monopolies are the last thing the video game industry needs.
kkthx
Dreaded Fear @ Nov 3rd 2009 3:31PM
Why does IW and MW2 have to be brought up in every post? Looks like people have an unhealthy obsession with their hatred.
Crayfish @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:58AM
"make a killing off an assassin"
I see what you did there.
Mr Numeros @ Nov 3rd 2009 11:04AM
Yeah, good one Ludwig!
Wait, what?
Randy...
You're better than that.
Chris @ Nov 3rd 2009 6:26AM
Not touching it until I know its not a screen-tear and framerate mess.
ChomskyKnows @ Nov 3rd 2009 9:25AM
if you hate screen-tearing, you might as well just skip this entire generation of gaming. i can tolerate occasional framerate chugs, but I cannot believe no one has fixed rampant page tearing in games by now....it occurs in maybe half the games i own...most people see it, and it's a game-immersion-breaking experience, but they're not sure what it is or what it's called...sometimes it's a clear break/tear, sometimes it looks like digital static...once i point it out to people, they're like "oh yeah, i see that all the time."
Mazrael @ Nov 3rd 2009 9:45AM
Chomsky.. you should see Heavy Rain.. I saw it at EuroGamer Expo.. the first thing I saw were the screen tears, even the tears had tears. AVP dropped frames whenever players were in the same vicinity, it could drop to about 10fps..
(and to add to the main post) of all the games at EuroGamer, AC2 was grabbing the biggest crowd.. I heard one of the reps there, telling a guy how to play the game, he was clueless, so maybe a lot of gamers skipped AC..
Gilliand @ Nov 3rd 2009 4:17PM
I still don't even understand what a screen tear is, I think I know what it is but not exactly sure. For a long time I didn't understand what AA was, this can't be any worse, can it?
Jesus (PSN: Luttdawg) @ Nov 3rd 2009 7:34AM
I'm sure it will be fine and hope it is a lot better than the first for those invested in it, but I just don't care that much. I haven't played an ubisoft game I have really liked since Chaos Theory or XIII, man XIII was the shit!
baby sea tuna @ Nov 3rd 2009 8:19AM
I have some friends here at work that swear by XIII. Like, if they had the money, they'd bankroll a current-gen sequel. Personally, I've never played it so I can't relate. It always looked like a cel-shaded Goldeneye ripoff to me.
Jesus (PSN: Luttdawg) @ Nov 3rd 2009 9:41AM
A cel shaded Goldeneye ripoff is actually a pretty good description, but that still equals awesome. The sequeal was meant to come but it didn't sell well and so it never happened, but I have never met anyone who has played it who didn't think it was incredible. It was one of the only shooters last gen where the aiming felt half decent. Consoles do it well enough now (never as good as PC) but back then (with a few exceptions), first person aiming was a mess. XIII's multiplayer was my favourite of last gen with some awesome options and bots! Local multiplayer has never been so fun. The campaign was incredible with a great story too. Check it out if you have a gc, xbox or ps2 lying around. In my humble opinion it is the most underrated game of the last gen, it's that freakin' good!!!
Jason @ Nov 3rd 2009 8:52AM
It isn't really sound logic. AC was a new franchise, so fewer people were willing to take a chance and only bought it after the reviews looked solid.
ACII has an established fan base, so of course it will get more pre-orders. But that doesn't mean more total sales -- AC alienated quite a few of its original buyers due to its repetitive nature. So of the 8M original buyers, maybe only 6 still want the game, but a larger proportion of that group is willing to pre-order b/c they really enjoyed the first game and now trust the brand name alone.
Swagman @ Nov 3rd 2009 10:47AM
I think in the end, they will manage to surpass the 8 million sold from AC1.
Ubisoft clearly has a much better game in AC2, and I think once reviews show up to drive that point home, more people who were disappointed by the original, will come around. The averaged overall an 80% score at Metacritic, with 2/3 of the reviews clearly in favor of the game, but the 1/3 who were not, gave it extremely low scores. Almost without exception, every review in the 1/3 who were against Assassin's Creed, listed the extreme repetitive nature of the game as the reason for doling out the low score. Game Almighty.com pretty much summed up how every other negative review on the planet felt about AC1 in the following quote, "In short, Assassin’s Creed is two hours of a really good video game repeated ad nauseum for many more hours. It’s fun, but can get very boring."
Considering the love/hate relationship most gamers have with AC1, Ubi Montreal is most certainly aware of the issues facing them as they went into development of AC2. And based on everything they have shown of the game to date, those flaws have been addressed . . . and then some. And I think once the game review community starts passing out grades on the sequel, this is going to be reflected. While I am confident that there are going to be a handful of negative reviews surrounding AC2 (that is to be expected, as even the best games get them, as not everyone is going to agree 100% of the time), I feel that the overwhelming amount of reviews are going to rank AC2 with a 90% or higher score. AC2 is likely going to be named one of the biggest turnarounds in gaming, with the sequel being an order of magnitude better than the original, and is every bit the game that AC1 was promised to be (and then some), I think once that sinks in to the collective consciousness of the videogaming community, the high sells numbers will follow.
The higher than expect pre-sales numbers will get AC2 over the Christmas hump, but a reputation of being an awesome game is going to drive lifetime sells of the game to exceed the lifetime sells of AC1, as consumer confidence is restored to the franchise.
Mark @ Nov 3rd 2009 8:51AM
Meh.
butaneko @ Nov 3rd 2009 10:07AM
I imagine this holds true for any sequel to an original IP? I'm surprised it's not more than 10-20%. Deals like Amazon offering $10 off a future game purchase with the pre-order of AC2 doesn't hurt either. I thought the first one was really disappointing but there was enough to make me optimistic for a great sequel. I don't think I'll buy it at full price though.
thor79 @ Nov 3rd 2009 11:34AM
Not bothering with buying it now. Waiting until the PC version hits. For the release I'm renting it on the 360 though.
Dreaded Fear @ Nov 3rd 2009 3:33PM
In Canada, Gamestop has a "deal" if you pre-order, you can return the game in a week, and get a full refund. So it is pretty much renting the game for a week, for free. This could explain any rise in pre-orders in Canada at least.
calgaryalta @ Nov 3rd 2009 5:39PM
Cool I haven't heard this yet... I wanted the MAG Pre-Order beta invite deal but EBgames still hasn't received their codes. I didn't see anything in the store mentioning AC2.
Kristanna @ Nov 6th 2009 2:35AM
What’s so special about these Black and White versions? Ubi’s already confirmed that all the exclusive content will be made available as DLC over the course of time.
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