There have been so, so many game “betas” over the last few years that were actually Gold master/shipping code, with no hope of any balance changes or bug fixing, which in effect a demo/promo for the retail release that it should be understandable why people have been wary of the tech issues the “demo” of Anthem.
Words should have meaning, and I think the tone of the conversation would have been much different (and more healthy) if BioWare had said “we are putting out a beta, and it’s going to a beta-ass beta like they used to be 5-10 years ago. Pardon our dust!”.
Instead, it looks like marketing got ahold of it, and to them beta=demo, what difference does it make what we call it?
I mean they kinda did with that NDAd one where they straight up said "we'll be turning shit off and on again at random, this is what you signed up for". Internet got mad they were having connection issues.
Most previews i’ve read using a better build have all been positive. I’d expect final reviews will depend a lot on content. The 3 stronghold thing could hurt them.
That said, 5-6 million is silly unless they mean the end of March. Destiny 2 sold almost 2 million in 2 weeks and it had a returning fan base and good reviews to boost it. Granted that was no PC. Mass Effect Andromeda sold 2.5 in their first quarter. DA:I sold 1.14 million in 1 week.
The other unknown is advertising. RDR2 and Destiny 2 had large marketing campaigns. I’ve not seen much around Anthem yet. The super bowl could have been a good opportunity to get eyeballs on it.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited February 2019
Well...The thing is digital sales make it hard to get complete numbers these days.
Like Activision said that more than 50% of D2 sales were digital.
That said I don't know if D2 was actually positive on launch. A lot of people were disappointed with the single player content from D1 and then the actual game release was a mess.
D2 had a few good weeks before everyone got through the honeymoon period and realized the game had regressed hard vs D1. Partially because it was way more friendly to new and casual players, which could be seen when the player base number dropped to below D1Y3 numbers during the expansion pass content. It looked and sold incredibly well upfront, but had really bad retention and sustain.
I’d assume post launch disappointment wouldn’t impact sales till later. But if digital sales of 50% put D2 at 4 million in 2 weeks, that still wouldn’t get EA to it’s 5-6 million by march.
This is the same crap they pulled with ME:A. They put estimated numbers so high, even with a great launch, they wouldn’t have hit them.
I'd expect it to do slightly worse than Destiny 2 for the first 4-6 weeks. Then depending on word of mouth start getting a wave of purchases for a few weeks on consoles but probably not on PC. The bad controls and performance will hurt things for a while.
I think they're being optimistic about PC sales overall.
Still not really doom and gloom, these games should have a long shelf life.
Edit: I know a few people who saw the release date spreadsheet and said, "fuck this game, I'll wait for a sale. " So I guess there's hope they can be won over eventually.
What seems crazy to me is that like I was watching King Golathion for a lil bit and he was like "I'll probably only get a hundred to two hundred game play hours out of anthem" and man gamers are crazy when that's seen as a negative? Like seriously?
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited February 2019
Honestly, I've been finding myself straying away from 200+ hour games and going back to you know games you could actually finish in 30-60.
Like I didn't mind them when they were like a once every few years thing like Elder Scrolls game or multiplayer I kept coming back to.
But like every game wants to sell that "service" angle now and I'm like I don't need every game to do that and I like stories actually having a beginning and an end.
What seems crazy to me is that like I was watching King Golathion for a lil bit and he was like "I'll probably only get a hundred to two hundred game play hours out of anthem" and man gamers are crazy when that's seen as a negative? Like seriously?
Well he plays games 50+ hours a week and it's his income stream. He also likes looter shooters a lot. His playtime is inflated because he's a streamer and will milk every drop out of the game.
Most people spend a few dozen hours and get bored.
Honestly, I've been finding myself straying away from 200+ hour games and going back to you know games you could actually finish in 30-60.
Like I didn't mind them when they were like a once every few years thing like Elder Scrolls game or multiplayer I kept coming back to.
But like every game wants to sell that "service" angle now and I'm like I don't need every game to do that and I like stories actually having a beginning and an end.
The thing is, like for me with multiplayer games especially console ones, I play them at or near release, run out of content/get bored because I'm a variety gamer, play something else and then when new content drops come back.
The idea that like a game could dominate your existence like Fortnite or something is crazy.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
I played on a PC with a Xbox one controller for the entire demo period and had basically zero issues doing so. It’s really good about switching between kbm and controller on the fly too. Would recommend playing this way if you don’t care too much about fine precision on aiming or being able to do quick 180’s, as the flying feels great with a analog stick
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited February 2019
So I know folks were interested and here are most of the presets for Anthem...I believe you can still edit them just won't be as indepth as traditional Bioware games.
Concerning the unstable beta, I was pretty shocked how well apex legends ran, compared to this. I mean it's a pretty different game, but it still might eat into anthem's numbers, since, if it takes off, it will take off right around anthem's release, and seems so damn polished already
Concerning the unstable beta, I was pretty shocked how well apex legends ran, compared to this. I mean it's a pretty different game, but it still might eat into anthem's numbers, since, if it takes off, it will take off right around anthem's release, and seems so damn polished already
Well, Apex came out of nowhere and was "done". They opted for the stealth drop so they might not have even had the pressure of "hit this date or else".
Anthem was a beta branched off from their build two months prior in a game that's been in development a long time and probably has pressure to just be done, judging from how everything worked out. It also was really a Beta as opposed to a Demo (words have meaning, Bioware!) and decidedly not done....so I don't think it's fair to compare the two.
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Well, Apex came out of nowhere and was "done". They opted for the stealth drop so they might not have even had the pressure of "hit this date or else".
Yes and no. I do not think it is happenstance that it dropped just before Anthem/Division 2 hit rather than just after. They're different games but all of them want a big ongoing time commitment from players.
What seems crazy to me is that like I was watching King Golathion for a lil bit and he was like "I'll probably only get a hundred to two hundred game play hours out of anthem" and man gamers are crazy when that's seen as a negative? Like seriously?
I mean, for the gamespace Anthem takes place in with the likes of Destiny, Diablo, Warframe, etc., people easily play those games for 500 hours+, so yeah, it could seem like "only" 100-200 hours is low content comparatively. That could definitely be negative for some, especially for someone who streams as their job as mentioned
I have 2000+ hours in Destiny 1, which is of course through various DLCs and years of content that was added. The question with Anthem is will it see the continued support and updates that will add more content to keep people coming back
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3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
Those sales figures are insane for a BioWare game. None of their games have gotten even close to that. I think Anthem will be lucky to break 1.5 million in the first quarter with the general unhappiness with BioWare right now.
I think we're overestimating how excited people are for the game because we're all excited. A lot, a lot of the takes I've seen around the internet have been "meh. it's a Destiny clone. maybe I'll grab it on sale." That's not necessarily bad, but I can't imagine a world in which it hits the sales targets EA is setting.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
I don't know I think everyone needs to calm down.
Its a "Bioware" game but its also not really a traditional Bioware game and a looter shooter at that.
Also like I said interest in a game can be hard to actually gauge just because of how the gaming community works.
Other thing is...like I said before, a lot of companies don't give out their real sales numbers and sales numbers themselves are really just big guesses because digital isn't counted and people mostly go by retail.
Like I'm not sure how realistic or unrealistic those numbers are. Just saying there are so many variables that everyone can wait a bit.
Those sales figures are insane for a BioWare game. None of their games have gotten even close to that. I think Anthem will be lucky to break 1.5 million in the first quarter with the general unhappiness with BioWare right now.
I think we're overestimating how excited people are for the game because we're all excited. A lot, a lot of the takes I've seen around the internet have been "meh. it's a Destiny clone. maybe I'll grab it on sale." That's not necessarily bad, but I can't imagine a world in which it hits the sales targets EA is setting.
Also, while the demo was good for some, I think that it was damaging for the game in the greater perspective. Hanging out in random Twitch streams for other games before/after the free demo weekend, anytime Anthem got mentioned most people were dunking on it (the demo instability, the $20 cosmetics thing, EA, etc.). Those appear to be the things the larger, well, the louder parts of the gaming community latched onto.
I think, it is important to consider the reach of streamers in 2019.
If BW/EA can deliver on this games launch, and streamers are effusive and enthusiastic about the game, and comment on how their concerns are addressed and what fun they are having, that is absolutely going to drive sales.
The opposite is also true.
So I think a lot of peoples "wait and see" isn't going to be weeks or months, it's going to be a few days of other people streaming.
If you are reading this add me.
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Those sales figures are insane for a BioWare game. None of their games have gotten even close to that. I think Anthem will be lucky to break 1.5 million in the first quarter with the general unhappiness with BioWare right now.
I think we're overestimating how excited people are for the game because we're all excited. A lot, a lot of the takes I've seen around the internet have been "meh. it's a Destiny clone. maybe I'll grab it on sale." That's not necessarily bad, but I can't imagine a world in which it hits the sales targets EA is setting.
Also, while the demo was good for some, I think that it was damaging for the game in the greater perspective. Hanging out in random Twitch streams for other games before/after the free demo weekend, anytime Anthem got mentioned most people were dunking on it (the demo instability, the $20 cosmetics thing, EA, etc.). Those appear to be the things the larger, well, the louder parts of the gaming community latched onto.
People have been shitting on anthem before anything actually came out. Like from the first announcement there has been a contingent of people shitting on the game. And things like the "twenty dollar" cosmetics are just assumption and bullshit, which is pretty much most of the negative stuff about the game. I wish it could succeed or fail on its own, but post Andromeda there is not an insignificant amount of people just flat out shitting on Anthem with very little info or fact.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited February 2019
Honestly, even with MEA while I do think the "My face is tired" memes had an effect...I think mediocre review scores were what did it in(and even then the game didn't sell terrible just not what EA wanted).
But I believe at the end of the day when you look past reddit, youtube and the stream monsters, a good game is a good game and reviews and first impressions are more important than whatever some guy who thinks pepe memes are hilarious thinks.
Now if Anthem has bad reviews then I could see trouble arising.
The Frostbite engine sucks for modeling people. So I don't mind presets, as I can't get much better with the customize options. You know it's bad when Mass Effect 3 had better character models than DA:I or ME:A.
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cptruggedI think it has something to do with free will.Registered Userregular
Those sales figures are insane for a BioWare game. None of their games have gotten even close to that. I think Anthem will be lucky to break 1.5 million in the first quarter with the general unhappiness with BioWare right now.
I think we're overestimating how excited people are for the game because we're all excited. A lot, a lot of the takes I've seen around the internet have been "meh. it's a Destiny clone. maybe I'll grab it on sale." That's not necessarily bad, but I can't imagine a world in which it hits the sales targets EA is setting.
Also, while the demo was good for some, I think that it was damaging for the game in the greater perspective. Hanging out in random Twitch streams for other games before/after the free demo weekend, anytime Anthem got mentioned most people were dunking on it (the demo instability, the $20 cosmetics thing, EA, etc.). Those appear to be the things the larger, well, the louder parts of the gaming community latched onto.
People have been shitting on anthem before anything actually came out. Like from the first announcement there has been a contingent of people shitting on the game. And things like the "twenty dollar" cosmetics are just assumption and bullshit, which is pretty much most of the negative stuff about the game. I wish it could succeed or fail on its own, but post Andromeda there is not an insignificant amount of people just flat out shitting on Anthem with very little info or fact.
Folks are fickle as fuck if one (or two if you didn't care for DA2) games among a nice solid list of A+ games kills all their good will. I mean damn.
The demo was fine. Could have used just a bit more polish if it really wanted to build a ton of hype to set it more apart from "Just Destiny Again". But I didn't care for MEA at all, an extreme disappointment in my favorite franchise. But I also got DA:I from them, which was god damn amazing. So I don't really see how I can say "The company makes shit games now!"
In the end, wether or not I play Anthem is completely up to if my close group of gaming buds buy in like we did with Destiny 2. And unfortunately not many are particularly enthused by this release.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited February 2019
The thing is even with MEA...people were still mad from ME3.
Which was even more silly cause your opinions on the ending aside that game was damn spectacular.
So I don't really see how I can say "The company makes shit games now!"
Well, because you're not a youtuber looking to get easy clicks by bandwagoning and dunking on a game's demo.
Me, I'm less concerned by technical issues since I'm sure the exploitative practice of grind has been keeping devs and QA buried with their faces to their monitors for the last few months.
I'm way more concerned by that three Strongholds number. That's kind of unavoidably a black mark. If your game doesn't have raids yet, isn't going to have PvP, and your only other option apart from wandering the map is a random Shaper event, your primary instanced dungeon content should have at least six maps, ideally more.
So I don't really see how I can say "The company makes shit games now!"
Well, because you're not a youtuber looking to get easy clicks by bandwagoning and dunking on a game's demo.
Me, I'm less concerned by technical issues since I'm sure the exploitative practice of grind has been keeping devs and QA buried with their faces to their monitors for the last few months.
I'm way more concerned by that three Strongholds number. That's kind of unavoidably a black mark. If your game doesn't have raids yet, isn't going to have PvP, and your only other option apart from wandering the map is a random Shaper event, your primary instanced dungeon content should have at least six maps, ideally more.
Yeah, that does seem a little low. Maybe the main story will be so robust that doing the Strongholds and world events will be secondary.
Hmm. Though that would be an odd choice with such a seeming focus on co-op multiplayer.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Yeah. I worry about that too.
Like D1 actually had pretty lackluster SP content when it first came out too. But it also had the Crucible to tide people over until its expansion.
Personally, I think the 6 million units is a sales manager's fever dream. As others said, it's reminicient of the overinflated expectations for ME:A and that had the benefit of a beloved franchise behind it.
Also, based on the demo, my feeling was the shooting mechanics are just unrefined enough that, despite being a good game, it won't retain as many players long term as some other games.
Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
I'll have to see what other things you can do at max level. Like me personally I enjoyed freeplay more than the stronghold in the demo, if only because in freeplay I was ahem free to do what I wanted, and there was a lot of variety even in the smaller area versus the main game.
Then again when I played RDR online I preferred the open world dicking around. I did notice occaisionally I'd get a notice on the freeplay map that a friend had started a contract (I assume these are like story mission prompts so I can go help them do something?) I wonder if you'll get a similar prompt if they start a legendary contract.
I mean of course I'd like to see more strongholds, tyrant mine is fun, the dialogue is zippy and the end boss is a nice combo of wave fight and big boss dodging that I think highlight the coop gameplay in athem. But until I see the main game I don't know what I'll be invested in doing the most of.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
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I mean they kinda did with that NDAd one where they straight up said "we'll be turning shit off and on again at random, this is what you signed up for". Internet got mad they were having connection issues.
That said, 5-6 million is silly unless they mean the end of March. Destiny 2 sold almost 2 million in 2 weeks and it had a returning fan base and good reviews to boost it. Granted that was no PC. Mass Effect Andromeda sold 2.5 in their first quarter. DA:I sold 1.14 million in 1 week.
The other unknown is advertising. RDR2 and Destiny 2 had large marketing campaigns. I’ve not seen much around Anthem yet. The super bowl could have been a good opportunity to get eyeballs on it.
Like Activision said that more than 50% of D2 sales were digital.
That said I don't know if D2 was actually positive on launch. A lot of people were disappointed with the single player content from D1 and then the actual game release was a mess.
This is the same crap they pulled with ME:A. They put estimated numbers so high, even with a great launch, they wouldn’t have hit them.
I think they're being optimistic about PC sales overall.
Still not really doom and gloom, these games should have a long shelf life.
Edit: I know a few people who saw the release date spreadsheet and said, "fuck this game, I'll wait for a sale. " So I guess there's hope they can be won over eventually.
pleasepaypreacher.net
Like I didn't mind them when they were like a once every few years thing like Elder Scrolls game or multiplayer I kept coming back to.
But like every game wants to sell that "service" angle now and I'm like I don't need every game to do that and I like stories actually having a beginning and an end.
Well he plays games 50+ hours a week and it's his income stream. He also likes looter shooters a lot. His playtime is inflated because he's a streamer and will milk every drop out of the game.
Most people spend a few dozen hours and get bored.
The thing is, like for me with multiplayer games especially console ones, I play them at or near release, run out of content/get bored because I'm a variety gamer, play something else and then when new content drops come back.
The idea that like a game could dominate your existence like Fortnite or something is crazy.
pleasepaypreacher.net
And once again it seems my black dude gets to choose from bald or light afro. One day there will be decent fade options...one day.
Edit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=2h-XZHtuels
Watching this actually seems you can't customize the presets...not a huge deal but still kind of sucks.
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
Considering how some people were treating grabbits, I don't think that'd extend his life expectancy
They’re like completely opposite genres...
Anthem was a beta branched off from their build two months prior in a game that's been in development a long time and probably has pressure to just be done, judging from how everything worked out. It also was really a Beta as opposed to a Demo (words have meaning, Bioware!) and decidedly not done....so I don't think it's fair to compare the two.
PSN: Bizazedo
CFN: Bizazedo (I don't think I suck, add me).
Yes and no. I do not think it is happenstance that it dropped just before Anthem/Division 2 hit rather than just after. They're different games but all of them want a big ongoing time commitment from players.
I mean, for the gamespace Anthem takes place in with the likes of Destiny, Diablo, Warframe, etc., people easily play those games for 500 hours+, so yeah, it could seem like "only" 100-200 hours is low content comparatively. That could definitely be negative for some, especially for someone who streams as their job as mentioned
I have 2000+ hours in Destiny 1, which is of course through various DLCs and years of content that was added. The question with Anthem is will it see the continued support and updates that will add more content to keep people coming back
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
I think we're overestimating how excited people are for the game because we're all excited. A lot, a lot of the takes I've seen around the internet have been "meh. it's a Destiny clone. maybe I'll grab it on sale." That's not necessarily bad, but I can't imagine a world in which it hits the sales targets EA is setting.
Its a "Bioware" game but its also not really a traditional Bioware game and a looter shooter at that.
Also like I said interest in a game can be hard to actually gauge just because of how the gaming community works.
Other thing is...like I said before, a lot of companies don't give out their real sales numbers and sales numbers themselves are really just big guesses because digital isn't counted and people mostly go by retail.
Like I'm not sure how realistic or unrealistic those numbers are. Just saying there are so many variables that everyone can wait a bit.
Also, while the demo was good for some, I think that it was damaging for the game in the greater perspective. Hanging out in random Twitch streams for other games before/after the free demo weekend, anytime Anthem got mentioned most people were dunking on it (the demo instability, the $20 cosmetics thing, EA, etc.). Those appear to be the things the larger, well, the louder parts of the gaming community latched onto.
If BW/EA can deliver on this games launch, and streamers are effusive and enthusiastic about the game, and comment on how their concerns are addressed and what fun they are having, that is absolutely going to drive sales.
The opposite is also true.
So I think a lot of peoples "wait and see" isn't going to be weeks or months, it's going to be a few days of other people streaming.
D3: HexDex#1281, PSN: DireOtter, Live: DireOtter
People have been shitting on anthem before anything actually came out. Like from the first announcement there has been a contingent of people shitting on the game. And things like the "twenty dollar" cosmetics are just assumption and bullshit, which is pretty much most of the negative stuff about the game. I wish it could succeed or fail on its own, but post Andromeda there is not an insignificant amount of people just flat out shitting on Anthem with very little info or fact.
pleasepaypreacher.net
But I believe at the end of the day when you look past reddit, youtube and the stream monsters, a good game is a good game and reviews and first impressions are more important than whatever some guy who thinks pepe memes are hilarious thinks.
Now if Anthem has bad reviews then I could see trouble arising.
Folks are fickle as fuck if one (or two if you didn't care for DA2) games among a nice solid list of A+ games kills all their good will. I mean damn.
The demo was fine. Could have used just a bit more polish if it really wanted to build a ton of hype to set it more apart from "Just Destiny Again". But I didn't care for MEA at all, an extreme disappointment in my favorite franchise. But I also got DA:I from them, which was god damn amazing. So I don't really see how I can say "The company makes shit games now!"
In the end, wether or not I play Anthem is completely up to if my close group of gaming buds buy in like we did with Destiny 2. And unfortunately not many are particularly enthused by this release.
Which was even more silly cause your opinions on the ending aside that game was damn spectacular.
Well, because you're not a youtuber looking to get easy clicks by bandwagoning and dunking on a game's demo.
Me, I'm less concerned by technical issues since I'm sure the exploitative practice of grind has been keeping devs and QA buried with their faces to their monitors for the last few months.
I'm way more concerned by that three Strongholds number. That's kind of unavoidably a black mark. If your game doesn't have raids yet, isn't going to have PvP, and your only other option apart from wandering the map is a random Shaper event, your primary instanced dungeon content should have at least six maps, ideally more.
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Origin: ShogunGunshow
Yeah, that does seem a little low. Maybe the main story will be so robust that doing the Strongholds and world events will be secondary.
Hmm. Though that would be an odd choice with such a seeming focus on co-op multiplayer.
Like D1 actually had pretty lackluster SP content when it first came out too. But it also had the Crucible to tide people over until its expansion.
Also, based on the demo, my feeling was the shooting mechanics are just unrefined enough that, despite being a good game, it won't retain as many players long term as some other games.
Then again when I played RDR online I preferred the open world dicking around. I did notice occaisionally I'd get a notice on the freeplay map that a friend had started a contract (I assume these are like story mission prompts so I can go help them do something?) I wonder if you'll get a similar prompt if they start a legendary contract.
I mean of course I'd like to see more strongholds, tyrant mine is fun, the dialogue is zippy and the end boss is a nice combo of wave fight and big boss dodging that I think highlight the coop gameplay in athem. But until I see the main game I don't know what I'll be invested in doing the most of.
pleasepaypreacher.net
They have been very tight-lipped about that.