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Forums - Sales - What is your definition of a "bomb"?

Pineapple on 02 October 2011

It isn't as simple as a game that doesn't break even.

Take any 2D Mario Platformer. How many copies will the 3DS Mario platformer need to sell to go even, a million and a half? If it sells 3 million - making a good profit - that's a complete disaster for Nintendo. Yet, it still made a profit.

Beyond that, I don't have a definition that nobody else has said yes, so I'll just copy Rol's (which is the best one so far).

RolStoppable said:
A game that sells considerably less than expected.

Expectations of the publisher are what counts, not predictions of forum goers. While many times we don't get official word, we still have a good idea based on the marketing campaign for a particular game. If a company spent a lot of money on marketing, then they most certainly expected the game to sell big.


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forest-spirit on 02 October 2011
Pineapple said:

It isn't as simple as a game that doesn't break even.

Take any 2D Mario Platformer. How many copies will the 3DS Mario platformer need to sell to go even, a million and a half? If it sells 3 million - making a good profit - that's a complete disaster for Nintendo. Yet, it still made a profit.

Beyond that, I don't have a definition that nobody else has said yes, so I'll just copy Rol's (which is the best one so far).

RolStoppable said:
A game that sells considerably less than expected.

Expectations of the publisher are what counts, not predictions of forum goers. While many times we don't get official word, we still have a good idea based on the marketing campaign for a particular game. If a company spent a lot of money on marketing, then they most certainly expected the game to sell big.


^this.



Mad55 on 02 October 2011

If the publisher and developer don't profit.



SeXbox_360 on 02 October 2011

El Shaddai

I've never ever seen a game sell so bad.....even by niche standards.



Reasonable on 02 October 2011

A game failing drastically in sales vs expectations, terrible critical reception and against a backdrop of decent marketing/awareness in the media.

Weak sales for me isn't a bomb. Weak reviews alone isn't a bomb. And games you never heard of selling poorly aren't really bombs either.

At least for me.



Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...

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VGKing on 02 October 2011

Everything you listed are valid reasons for calling a game "a bomb"



VGKing on 02 October 2011

Resistance 3 is a bomb IMO.
It had good reviews and its the 3rd in the franchise yet sales were so low.



Silver-Tiger on 02 October 2011

A game that sells less than expected AND doesn't make profit is a bomb for me.

A game that sells less than expected can still make profit, so it isn't a bomb for me. A game that doesn't make profit can still sell millions (LA Noire comes to my mind) so it isn't a bomb for me. Only if both conditions come together I would call it a bomb.



updated: 14.01.2012

playing right now: Xenoblade Chronicles

Hype-o-meter, from least to most hyped:  the Last Story, Twisted Metal, Mass Effect 3, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Playstation ViTA

bet with Mordred11 that Rage will look better on Xbox 360.

Killiana1a on 03 October 2011

Any game that has the audacity to release the same day as a game made by Rockstar Games. I would include in my definition "the same week," but Nintendo has gone up against Rockstar Games before with Super Mario Galaxy 2 and held it's own.

TL;DR version = Alan Wake.



Reasonable on 03 October 2011
VGKing said:
Resistance 3 is a bomb IMO.
It had good reviews and its the 3rd in the franchise yet sales were so low.

Nah.  While the sales are disappointing they're not bad enough for a bomb and the title will probably break even or make a small profit if you look at Insomniac's cost profile.  It's a weak title but not bad enough for a bomb.  A bomb should be so huge you feel the effects like an explosion.  Resistance 3 is instead the gentle waft of a mild failure.

Now it it had sold say 50K week one then we'd be talking bomb.  But it's already close to 500 K and for an FPS it should crawl past 1M with that openning.



Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...