Some people around here hate it when this is pointed out, but as the days pass and more games come out (new franchises or established ones) for the X360, it seems more relevant to bring this into discussion because it's becoming a serious trend. I don't know when this started, but as of lately it seems all that sells on the 360 are games with competitive multiplayer.

Remember we're talking about the 360 here, it's a console with over 20 million units sold in USA alone, multi-million sellers are no stranger to it and they shouldn't be, especially when the games are critically acclaimed/hyped/heavily-advertised. Take notice, I'm not saying every game that doesn't sell as it "should" on the 360 is selling better on the competition (the P word), but actually it wouldn't take great effort comparing installed bases to determine that it could certainly be the case, including all games that don't have some sort of competitive multiplayer.

For this exercise I will take ONLY NA numbers, the X360's turf. I want you to take a look at how the "major" releases of this year that include no competitive multiplayer have done on the X360.

Title                                      NA Sales       Metascore

Darksiders                             0.41m            83

Bayonetta                             0.27m            90

Mass Effect 2                        1.24m             96

Final Fantasy XIII                  0.72m            82

Just Cause 2                         0.17m             81

Army of Two: The 40th Day   0.31m            73

Dante's Inferno                     0.32m            73

Tom Clancy's SSC*                  0.47m            86

Metro 2033                          0.10m               77

*Tom Clancy's SSC doesn't have a proper multi-player mode. 

 Games released in 2010 with competitive multiplayer

Battlefield BC2                      1.34m              88

Bioshock 2                            0.79m              88

Aliens vs Predator                0.43m              64

And for the sake of comparison...

Call of Duty MW2 (ONLY 2010 sales)       1.15m

Notes

*It's all about Mass Effect 2, although the game does have the shooter-element it certainly lacks any kind of multiplayer mode. However, given the anticipation and critical reception the game had, it actually underwhelms in the sales department. Much bigger installed base than in late 2007 compared to the first game and it's not likely to surpass it by a few thousands if it ever does.

*Metro 2033 was released just a week after another FPS called Battlefield BC2, it wasn't a world-turning game by any means either. I think it's safe to say it wouldn't have done that much better with the addition of MP given the circunstances, but c'mon a 77-meta game could've a used a little help from MP nonetheless. Tough luck.

*A 64-meta game like AVP can do 400K+ just on character popularity alone, gee...but the multiplayer aspect of it certainly helped this one, just look at Army of Two, a sequel to a best-seller, higher installed-base but much lower sales.

*Splinter Cell: Conviction is another highly anticipated game since last year's E3, it's part of a critically acclaimed and recognized franchise. It actually got the reviewers on the right mood. Sales tell a different story. IMO, very bad decision not to include competitive multiplayer, an excellent game as this one shouldn't need it but that's exactly what I'm analyzing here: for the 360 owner, it matters. A lot. SCC would've done a lot better with a nice comp. mutliplayer mode, it's almost a fact by now.

*Critically acclaimed games like Bayonetta only 270K? Darksiders 400K? a renown franchise sequel FFXIII 700K (less than Bioshock 2, and that's just comparing it with games this year). With an installed base of over 20 million units that's just inexcusable, something is definitely wrong here. However I look at it, the common theme is lack of competitive multiplayer in those games. 

So what's next? Alan Wake, another major exhibit at last year's E3 with 5 years of development and the whole hype train behind it. Not surprisingly, it's getting the good word from the media. However, the game has no multiplayer at all. A couple of weeks for its release and it’s hard to find it on gamestop top pre-ordered games. Oh but you'll certainly find this one: Red Dead Redemption. Amazingly, Alan Wake releases the same day as RDR, another fatal mistake by the publisher. Boy, I wonder if Alan Wake can make Splinter Cell Conviction numbers, it'll be certainly a feat if it does!

Discuss and keep it civil.