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Forums - Nintendo - ZombiU Was "Not Even Close" to Profitable, No Plans for a Sequel

AndrewWK on 08 July 2013
okr said:
Unwritten gaming media law:
- When a game disappoints on a MS or Sony system or PC, it's rarely mentioned by the gaming media; when it's mentioned though, the disappointment is always the developer's or publisher's fault.
- When a game disappoints on a Nintendo system, it's often mentioned by the gaming media and always the system's or system owners' fault.


true but when a game dissapoints on the PS360 then there still are usually other games that succeeded. 



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KHlover on 08 July 2013
VGKing said:
Is anyone surprised?

That a game with as little content and bad graphics didn't manage to even make a small profit with close to 500k sales? Actually, yes. I am suprised.



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VGKing on 08 July 2013
KHlover said:
VGKing said:
Is anyone surprised?

That a game with as little content and bad graphics didn't manage to even make a small profit with close to 500k sales? Actually, yes. I am suprised.

Well it's a 3rd party zombie game created specifically for Wii U, which is a Nintendo console, notorious for poor selling 3rd party games and dominant Nintendo 1st party titles.



animegaming on 08 July 2013

to be honest this doesn't surprise me cause game budgets are getting bigger and now the Wii U is a new console this does not surprise me much i am honestly expecting to hear this more with the xbone and PS4



KHlover on 08 July 2013
VGKing said:
KHlover said:
VGKing said:
Is anyone surprised?

That a game with as little content and bad graphics didn't manage to even make a small profit with close to 500k sales? Actually, yes. I am suprised.

Well it's a 3rd party zombie game created specifically for Wii U, which is a Nintendo console, notorious for poor selling 3rd party games and dominant Nintendo 1st party titles.

With an attachment rate that is well above average, shy only of some of Nintendo's most successful franchises and Call of Duty games. Obviously the WiiU sold ~1,5Mil less than expected, but that only means they should have made a small profit instead of a bigger one. "Not even close to profitable" honestly is a shock to me.



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IsawYoshi on 08 July 2013

The IGN review score sure didn't help.



superchunk on 08 July 2013

Just keep it at $30 for the life of Wii U. It will become profitable over time. User base is just too small at launch.



Bienrico on 08 July 2013

Well, the game was pretty bad received by critics and gamers alike not only because of its gameplay but also the bugs, the ps2-graphics and clippings which clearly showed how rushed and half assed this game was. So next time, Mr. Guillemot, learn from your mistakes, and give us a better game.



Barozi on 08 July 2013
osed125 said:
Barozi said:

Read that source again. It says with promotion over $100m.
Marketing costs aren't included in the development budgets.

So what else is there ? Licensing costs for the engine/music and perhaps the voice actors and motion capture actors. That's a tiny bit of the budget.

I personally believe that marketing should be included in the total cost, because after all they have to recover that money as well. As for what is in the cost of games: http://www.notenoughshaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2.jpg

This is just an example for Gears of Wars back in 2006, the most important ones are Art/Design and Programming and Engineering.

Sure but the problem is that we have close to 0 official numbers on marketing budgets and on top of that it's called development budget for a reason. Marketing doesn't belong in there just as the rent for the office rooms.
Btw. movie budgets don't include advertising either.

That means that nearly everything is purely guessed and therefore incredibly unreliable.

Especially the image you posted earlier is completely off, since it lists games with the total budget and games with only the development budget.



animegaming on 08 July 2013
AndrewWK said:
okr said:
Unwritten gaming media law:
- When a game disappoints on a MS or Sony system or PC, it's rarely mentioned by the gaming media; when it's mentioned though, the disappointment is always the developer's or publisher's fault.
- When a game disappoints on a Nintendo system, it's often mentioned by the gaming media and always the system's or system owners' fault.


true but when a game dissapoints on the PS360 then there still are usually other games that succeeded. 


except the fact this was a launch title with no idea how well it i was going to sell at launch and got mix reviews cause of this i expect to hear this a lot more with titles like dead rising 3