Here's hoping that a poor first outing for the Horseman doesn't necessarily mean Armageddon for his series.
Here's hoping that a poor first outing for the Horseman doesn't necessarily mean Armageddon for his series.
Reader Comments (91)
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 6:38PM mode7overworld said
Darksiders is probably my favorite game this generation. It's sad to think they might have to make concessions with the sequel, or worse yet, not make a sequel.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 6:41PM TheAngryIntern said
their Marketing couldn't have done a very good job, since I don't recall ever seeing an ad for the game
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 6:44PM Huey2k2 said
I wasn't really aware of any marketing for Darksiders.... Honestly I hadn't really heard of the game until about a week before it was released. I still ended up buying it and although I haven't finished the game (yet, I need to finish ME2 first) I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with the game. It's better than I expected.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:04PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said
I love this game and I think everyone should go out and buy it. The folks at Vigil crafted a great experience. One of the few games out there with puzzles that are actually hard to figure out.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:04PM ructus said
I never liked the look of the main character war, simply because he wears a hood, he'd be much cooler with that long hair flowing about, going flipping nuts when he does a special move for example, but its all covered, meh.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:05PM RobT said
I love God of Zelda. Seriously though this game is great and it would be a real shame that a studio as promising as Vigil would have their future prospects limited due to poor sales of such a good game. No has a right to complain about a lack of new IP if this is the outcome..
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:17PM KFelon said
It didn't help most review sites were not giving it very good scores. I'm glad I blindly bought it though, it has turned out to be pretty damn good.
It deserves a sequel dammit!
It deserves a sequel dammit!
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:43PM Odog4ever said
So I checked Metacritic.com a little bit after the game released and I just checked it again. It's sitting at an 83, which is an above average score. What site of NOTE gave it a bad score? The lowest scores are like 70, which is an average game.
The problem is there has NEVER been a Q1 this good before. This game was originally supposed to come out in September of '09. How do you think it would have faired then?
I don't care what THQ says the whiffed on the marketing. Mass Effect had ads on relevant websites and TV channels. They even bout a 2 minute commercial slot during the an NFL playoff game. That's how you do marketing THQ.
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The problem is there has NEVER been a Q1 this good before. This game was originally supposed to come out in September of '09. How do you think it would have faired then?
I don't care what THQ says the whiffed on the marketing. Mass Effect had ads on relevant websites and TV channels. They even bout a 2 minute commercial slot during the an NFL playoff game. That's how you do marketing THQ.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 8:02PM KFelon said
Ign gave it a lower score and I know those idiots on XPlay gave it a 2/5... Darksiders should be 85-90 it's a great game not an average one.
If it had come out September 2009 it may have faired even better with so many games that got pushed back to 2010. I agree Darksiders needed some real marketing.
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If it had come out September 2009 it may have faired even better with so many games that got pushed back to 2010. I agree Darksiders needed some real marketing.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 10:08AM MGarvey said
KFelon, IGN has a bass-ackards rating system. They review a game and score it in about 5 different categories, but when it comes up to the final score, they don't take the average. The final score comes from how they feel about the game. You can check it. I read a review for another game that got a 6.8 from them. When i did the math, the average of the scores came up to a 7.5. By giving a score for a game based upon how they "feel" I think that defeats the purpose of scoring. IMO, Darksiders should get an 11 where 10 is the highest score allowed but It doesn't work like that though.
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Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 10:13AM MGarvey said
Oh and 2/5 from XPlay?! Those ass-tards couldn't review a game correctly even if they coded the game themselves! G4 should be ashamed of what it has become...A lame copy of Spike. I miss the days of when there was excellent video game programming on that station! Cinematech...G4.com...Filter...Icons...
G-Phoria! The list goes on. Sometimes I wish that G4 would just go off the air! It's taking up valuable bandwidth!
Reply
G-Phoria! The list goes on. Sometimes I wish that G4 would just go off the air! It's taking up valuable bandwidth!
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:32PM (Unverified) said
My friend and I just bought it at Amazon for $40! They should re-check there sales after this sale(people just don't have money right after Christmas you know).
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:40PM Diodax said
I bought Darksiders just recently and I've been enjoying it so far, specially the similarities with the Zelda games. More people should play this game.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:45PM (Unverified) said
I bought this game expecting to shelve it once I got Mass Effect 2. Turns out ME2 is on the shelf while I play Darksiders. Much better game imho.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 7:52PM Jacksons said
Well cripes, I bought 4 games over the holidays. I won't be looking to buy another for quite a few months yet.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 8:00PM Randallmcginness said
I haven't played the game yet but had high hope for this game. The bright colorful apocalypse is a little strange but from the first 15 minutes of gameplay I saw, the game looks really fun. I would have prefered something not as colorful but will still pick this game up once I finish some other games (and heavy rain, once that comes out).
I hate how people compare games all the time. Just about at one point or another, one game copied from another game. Very rarely are games really innovative and do something new. Let's stop comparing things (especially reviewers) and just base the game on how the game actually is.
I hate how people compare games all the time. Just about at one point or another, one game copied from another game. Very rarely are games really innovative and do something new. Let's stop comparing things (especially reviewers) and just base the game on how the game actually is.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 8:25PM 8bitartist said
i hate comparing games. if you want to compare everything, then bring up in every FPS review how it rips off wolfenstein.
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Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 8:17PM 01 said
It was a good game that was a new IP...of course it didn't sell well.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 3:11AM Neuro said
Heavy marketing dollars? I guess the banner etched on the dark side of the Moon was costly then....
I love the game, I really hope there will be a sequel.
I love the game, I really hope there will be a sequel.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 8:44PM armageddon said
If killzone a crap game by nearly all accounts got a sequel (killzone 2) then Darksiders an awesome game should get one. Oh and the game came out last month, give it a little more time to sell analysts, come on, just cause it didn't sell as well as MW2 (a way over hyped game btw) doesn't mean it wont get a sequel.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 9:53PM Hoops said
I haven't heard of any discount for this. Bestbuy and EBgames both have the game at $59.99 still.
Maybe somebody had a limited sale on it, but so what? Mass Effect 2 is $44.99 at Toys R Us this week. Is that bust too?
Maybe somebody had a limited sale on it, but so what? Mass Effect 2 is $44.99 at Toys R Us this week. Is that bust too?
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 10:16PM Randallmcginness said
Amazon had it for $40 the other day... it was only a one day thing though
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Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 10:16PM (Unverified) said
hmmmm let's see. Horrible screen tearing scared quite a number of initial sales away. You have to release a stable product in order for it to sell. Companies have to stop releasing patches post release to fix things. Not everyone has a network connection to download patches.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 10:21PM (Unverified) said
I said it before, but I was saving up for Mass Effect 2. I'll probably buy this game later on, but I don't have as much disposable income right now.
From what my friends have told me, it is an awesome game. I don't doubt that, but this game should have came out in the summer.
From what my friends have told me, it is an awesome game. I don't doubt that, but this game should have came out in the summer.
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 10:23PM (Unverified) said
Who ever has read any of Joe Mad's comic work (Battlechasers) can totally agree that this was an animated comic. every ounce of it oozed Joe's style, and that is something I loved about it. I would like to know how it faired against Bayonetta sales wise. played the hell out of this one, and will keep going until I get all 1000 achievement points (something I rarely try.)
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 11:04PM (Unverified) said
Oi, i'll be picking Darksiders up as soon as i get some spare cash this year - hopefully September at the latest >
Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 11:39PM zero2dash said
Needs more Pachter. Who's this Greenwald character and why should I give a crap what he "estimates"?
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 1:56AM (Unverified) said
I read the reviews, and in a period with less games for me to play I would have picked it up. Unfortunately the general look of it didn't really appeal to me (none of the designs really popped out, and I didn't see any sections that seemed any way memorable (at least from the screen-shots and previews)), and more importantly I was torn on what I heard about the combat. Some people seemed to think it was overly complex, some thought it was deep and rewarding, and some thought it was just button mashy.
If I could have just got a general consensus that the combat was solid I would have been more likely to pick it up.
Interested in a sequel though. Specially with the idea of introducing other horsemen to play.
If I could have just got a general consensus that the combat was solid I would have been more likely to pick it up.
Interested in a sequel though. Specially with the idea of introducing other horsemen to play.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 2:09AM SolidSnakeEyes said
I loved this game, just platinum'd it. I really hope they still make a sequel. It was a lot more like Zelda than I expected.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 2:31AM SkyMasterson said
Like a few others have mentioned, I keep up to date on practically all games across every system/handheld and don't recall hearing about this.
It's getting so much praise, even David Jaffe said he loved it. I feel bad not supporting good developers like this but so many good-great games are coming out soon or have just come out, that its hard to pay $60 for a game I hadn't heard of until release day.
Too bad they didn't have the foresight to release a demo as that is free marketing right there, especially when the game is good.
Also I would take this analyst with a grain of salt, wtf does he know? Half a million sales the first month for a unknown IP? Thats pretty damn good if you ask me.
It's getting so much praise, even David Jaffe said he loved it. I feel bad not supporting good developers like this but so many good-great games are coming out soon or have just come out, that its hard to pay $60 for a game I hadn't heard of until release day.
Too bad they didn't have the foresight to release a demo as that is free marketing right there, especially when the game is good.
Also I would take this analyst with a grain of salt, wtf does he know? Half a million sales the first month for a unknown IP? Thats pretty damn good if you ask me.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 3:33AM sparkster said
I really wasn't aware that games need expensive marketing. I mean, I always thought gamers were the kind of people that use adblockers and don't watch TV anyway.
For me the process of game-buying would be:
- stumble upon it when reading a gaming website article about it (which could be considered advertising in a way)
- visit the project's website
- check for additional information on my own
- anticipating the release
- buy it
So basically when it got me interested, I'll look for advertisements (trailers and such) on my own and hype myself about it.
That's how I ended up buying Darksiders the day it was released and found it to be a great experience.
For me the process of game-buying would be:
- stumble upon it when reading a gaming website article about it (which could be considered advertising in a way)
- visit the project's website
- check for additional information on my own
- anticipating the release
- buy it
So basically when it got me interested, I'll look for advertisements (trailers and such) on my own and hype myself about it.
That's how I ended up buying Darksiders the day it was released and found it to be a great experience.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 3:53AM (Unverified) said
I feel like similar sentiments were declared about the initial lackluster sales of another quality game: Dead Space. If I'm not mistaken, Dead Space has a sequel in the works. Video games, I feel, shouldn't be treated like Hollywood cinema releases. A more apt comparison would be to that of a DVD release. Titles have time to gain an audience and word of mouth and, eventually, hopefully become profitable. But, I'm sure they have people with charts and graphs and such who could refute this.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 9:32AM jah75157 said
they spent tons on marketing? seriously? it came out and i didn't even know until i saw it on the shelf at target.
also bad time of the year for a game to come out, people are still playing x-mas gifts
also bad time of the year for a game to come out, people are still playing x-mas gifts
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 9:43AM mikepaul said
Some of us are waiting for a sale. Discounting is important. I didn't see this at $40 or less so I'm waiting, playing other stuff instead. Not good enough for the game companies? Darn...
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 10:18AM MGarvey said
I have to point this out. While I really didn't see a push on Joystiq for Darksiders, I did see a considerable amount of attention on other websites such at VG247. I remember them having interviews, photos diaries, the works on their website. I'm just saying that maybe this game wasn't that big on the radar for Joystiq, or enough palms weren't greased. Nobody may never know.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 10:43AM captplut9465 said
I played through the game in early January and loved most of it (being a Zelda and GoW fan). The problem was I barely knew anything about the title a couple of weeks before release aside from a forgettable gameplay video here and there on sites.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 11:11AM OMMad said
first of all Darksiders is pretty much even with Bayonetta as far as sales go [VGChartz].
second, a new IP that was so poorly marketed and released one month after Christmas pushing 900.000 units is hardly disappointing.
third, THQ needs a new marketing team.
last of all, that screenshot actually makes the game look good. i hate those closeups of War that show up whenever you search Darksiders in google. that screeny actually makes him look pretty badass.
second, a new IP that was so poorly marketed and released one month after Christmas pushing 900.000 units is hardly disappointing.
third, THQ needs a new marketing team.
last of all, that screenshot actually makes the game look good. i hate those closeups of War that show up whenever you search Darksiders in google. that screeny actually makes him look pretty badass.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 1:18PM RagingStormX said
Thats a shame...I choose Bayonetta over this game and now my next purchase is WKC.
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 1:23PM iceveiled said
Ah Darksiders. The Beyond Good & Evil of this decade.
Play this game people!
Play this game people!
Posted: Feb 3rd 2010 5:47PM (Unverified) said
I'm confused. Yesterday I see this article, and today I see a news story from IGN saying that it did sell over one million copies.
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/106/1066369p1.html
Guess the analyst was wrong...
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/106/1066369p1.html
Guess the analyst was wrong...
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