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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - anyone surprised by the slim week 1 sales for dragon quest swords?

tastyshovelware on 29 February 2008

ok, i know there are factors working against this game:


1. it's a dq spin-off and has little to do with the main series from any standpoint.
2. dq has always been more popular in japan than it is in america.
3. brawl is hitting shelves in 1 week (3 weeks from when dq hit shelves)

still, even with all this, im surprised it only managed to come in at #20 with 30,000 copies sold. it has the dq name afterall, i figured more fanboys would eat it up. look at sonic, he hasn't had a quality game on a home console for like 6 years and his games still sell like crazy.

anyway, anyone else at all surprised?


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misterd on 29 February 2008

My understanding is that unlike FF, DQ largely appeals to "hardcore/avid" gamers who 1) read reviews, and 2) are informed enough to know the difference between a "true" DQ game and a spin off.



mike_intellivision on 29 February 2008

Medicore reviews and timing (both before Brawl and a week-earlier-than dated release).

I plan to buy it when it falls to $30.

Mike from Morgantown



      


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Onyxmeth on 29 February 2008

I feel it sold exactly how it should have...poorly. It was a poorly made borefest based on every single review i've read and got what should come to any game as lazily put together as it was. Maybe Square-Enix will bring a real development studio up to the plate next time.



Tag: Became a freaking mod and a complete douche, coincidentally, at the same time.



Sky Render on 29 February 2008

It's a real pity that the game's gotten such a bad rap. It's quite a fun title, and not even close to as mediocre as reviews suggest. The battle system is a little bit on the "memorize each battle's patterns to avoid damage" side, but that's inherent in the rail shooter style. It's actually quite rare for a battle to be so over-the-top hard that you have to know exactly what the enemies are going to do, thanks to helpful on-screen indicators.

@Onyxmeth

 Don't you think it's just a bit unfair to say "this game must suck because all the reviewers say it sucks"?  That's a bit like saying "I don't like it because everybody tells me I don't like it".



Sky Render - Sanity is for the weak.

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ZenfoldorVGI on 29 February 2008
tastyshovelware said:
ok, i know there are factors working against this game:

1. it's a dq spin-off and has little to do with the main series from any standpoint.
2. dq has always been more popular in japan than it is in america.
3. brawl is hitting shelves in 1 week (3 weeks from when dq hit shelves)

still, even with all this, im surprised it only managed to come in at #20 with 30,000 copies sold. it has the dq name afterall, i figured more fanboys would eat it up. look at sonic, he hasn't had a quality game on a home console for like 6 years and his games still sell like crazy.

anyway, anyone else at all surprised?

Well, add:

4. Poor reviews from everyone.

 

I dunno about anyone else, but the only reason I didn't buy it, is because the reviews say it sucked. Most RPG fans are review whores, I've said this before, and it holds true here. Bad games targeted to a hardcore audience sell poorly. 



I don't need your console war.
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor.
You're power hungry, spinnin' stories, and bein' graphics whores.
I don't need your console war.

NO NO, NO NO NO.

ZenfoldorVGI on 29 February 2008
Sky Render said:

It's a real pity that the game's gotten such a bad rap. It's quite a fun title, and not even close to as mediocre as reviews suggest. The battle system is a little bit on the "memorize each battle's patterns to avoid damage" side, but that's inherent in the rail shooter style. It's actually quite rare for a battle to be so over-the-top hard that you have to know exactly what the enemies are going to do, thanks to helpful on-screen indicators.

@Onyxmeth

Don't you think it's just a bit unfair to say "this game must suck because all the reviewers say it sucks"? That's a bit like saying "I don't like it because everybody tells me I don't like it".


I'm just going by the reviews. I actually believe the game is proabably quite fun. I can't say for sure till I play it myself, but unfortunately with Brawl coming out, and the reviews as they stand, that won't be until the game is relatively cheap, and I'm bored, which will be quite a while I'd imagine.



I don't need your console war.
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor.
You're power hungry, spinnin' stories, and bein' graphics whores.
I don't need your console war.

NO NO, NO NO NO.

Sky Render on 29 February 2008

I can understand being hesitant to pay $50 for the game; unless you're very determined to get everything done, you're not going to get the same amount for your money's worth as you would for a mainstay DQ. There is no denying that the game is a spin-off, and thus not as complex as its full-scale bretheren. Once the price on the game drops to $30, I'm sure people will view it more favorably.



Sky Render - Sanity is for the weak.

yversen on 29 February 2008

I'm one of those lame Dragon Quest fans who bought it soley because it was Dragon Quest and I feel that brand needs all the support it can get. And I read the reviews and expected the worst... and was pleasantly surprised. I sort of look at it as a strange hybrid kind of like how puzzle quest is a hybrid. If nothing else it's as addictive as Wii Sports only with sword slashing and the bizarre Dragon Quest universe.



yversen on 29 February 2008

... as an additional note... DQ Monsters: Joker sold 37000 its first week and is at 300,000 now (though it had the christmas holidays to help).

And... Joker in Japan sold 1.5 million compared to 300 thousand in N/A... DQVIII sold almost 4 million in Japan and between 5-600 thousand in N/A.... DQ Swords sold 500,000 in Japan. So they can't be expecting too much from North America as it is.