Why isn't Psychonauts selling well?

[Chris]

:shifty:

[netmonkey]

We did a lot of advertising for this game in all kinds of areas. TV, lots of print magazines, online, promotions, etc. We've also had a ton of demos out there too. The game is available at EB, GameStop, Toys R Us, WalMart and several other retailers (check out the sites online right now if you'd like).

Thanks for your note!

So, there you have it.

[Moosferatu]

It's possible that the whole "Psychonauts didn't sell" thing is a myth just like it was for Grim. I just watched the G4 program and Tim was saying that dispite what people say Grim actually more than broke even. He even got a royalty check from it. Of course, it probably wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that Psychonauts probably hasn't reached that point yet, but I'm guessing it'll probably end up going to same way as Grim. I for one have done my part and bought two copies of it.

[Moosferatu]

Also, despite Majesco's marketing campaign they probably don't need to sell all that many copies to break even. They only had to pay for about a year of developement, right? The first couple years was pretty much a free ride from Microsoft since they just dropped the game instead of trying to sell it.

[Udvarnoky]

But that could have been why they went for a huge marketing campaign which was supposedly "multimillion dollar." So, fuck.

[Jake]

It doesn't matter how much money you spend on advertising if you're not spending it to send out a compelling message that actually gets people interested in the game.

[loonyboi]

Psychonauts isn't selling because Majesco's done a pretty lousy job explaining what the hell the game is about.

I read every gaming mag, and I still haven't a clue. I mean, I know it's a platformer, and it's clearly a very original one, but the specifics of the gameplay have not been conveyed to me in ads I've seen in magazines or online.

[Lazarou]

Hmm, good point. I wouldn't have had a notion what Psychonauts was about if I hadn't stumbled across this place. And even then I had to have a bash on the demo to get an idea of what it played like. I knew it was going to be a laugh and well worth playing, I just didn't know what it was exactly. Even then it's hard to define the thing.

Advertising on the Tim Schafer name probably wasn't the best idea either. I'm enough of a geek to hear the name and think "ooh, Full throttle etc.", but I have quite a few mates who LOVED Grim Fandango and still wouldn't be able to place the name, the kind of people who'd love Psychonauts given half a chance. Guess I'll just have to educate 'em myself then

[Thrik]

Yeah, Jake's right. Majesco seem to have gotten one side of marketing a game right, and that's making sure to spend a lot on it and get it exposed in a lot of formats. Sadly, they seem to have totally missed the ball on making that advertising actually meaningful to the people viewing it.

[Udvarnoky]

It doesn't matter how much money you spend on advertising if you're not spending it to send out a compelling message that actually gets people interested in the game.

Agreed. I only meant that the huge amount Majesco spent on marketing is going to make it hard for Psychonauts to break even despite the short while they had to fund development.

[Mad Jack]

Psychonauts PC SKU has sold 3,862 copies since April, making 114,443 dollars in the US alone. Not sure the European numbers.

I have seen Psychonauts on tv and I have heard from marketing people that if you do a TV add campign you have to spend at least $6million to be slightly effective, and $10million to really make the game's presence well known. Lets us assume then that Majeco spent 6 million, the minimum, on TV and 1 million to finish the game, they need around 7 million to break even. So they need to sell bewtween 250,000 to 300,000 to break even.

It may do it. I am hoping it is a steady evergreen product.

[Udvarnoky]

The good news just keeps rolling in.

Why?

[Duncan]

argh

edit: I news posted this. thanks for the heads up.

[Steve]

This whole deal is depressing.

What's going to happen to Double Fine?

[nsps]

This thread is becoming a real laugh riot.

So, is there any model for word-of-mouth campaigns that we could start?

Maybe some of the existing Tim/Psychonauts sites could put stuff up about urging people to spread the word.

The problem is, I think most of us have already told game-playing friends, bought multiple copies and/or asked every store that sells any video game why they don't have it in stock. Doing more might simply be a nuisance. Any ideas?

[SoccerDude28]

This thread is becoming a real laugh riot.

So, is there any model for word-of-mouth campaigns that we could start?

Maybe some of the existing Tim/Psychonauts sites could put stuff up about urging people to spread the word.

The problem is, I think most of us have already told game-playing friends, bought multiple copies and/or asked every store that sells any video game why they don't have it in stock. Doing more might simply be a nuisance. Any ideas?

I tried to spread the gospel(sp?) on other forums, by informing people about the Excellent game Psychonauts, but all they talked about was:

OMFG PS3 pwns 360, BF2 IZ TEH ROXERZ, I-I 4 I_ O 3 pwns 4I_I_

Maybe Psychonauts is just too good for the world outside Idlethumbs.

[Duncan]

I did persuade my brother to get the PS2 version but he is understandably a little dissuaded by the fact that no one has any idea when the PAL version will be released.

[Twilo]

Or maybe...

..it's just...

..not that good.........

[baconian]

buRn him! WiTCCCH!! burNNn hiIm!!!

[Oath]

Or maybe...

..it's just...

..not that good.........

Heresy! I'm sure you're just being sarcastic (you better be), but I'll just disprove that point while I'm at it. Just look up Psychonauts on Game Rankings. Of games that have come out in the last three months, it's ranked number four (with two versions of GTA:SA ahead, so it's really at third!). That's quite a good indicator that the game in fact kicks ass.

Psychonauts for the Xbox has an average score of 91.3%, with the PC and PS2-versions trailing slightly. I'm not saying review scores are the most important thing in the world, just that they are of some use when compiled in the same manner as on Game Rankings.

[Twilo]

Doom 3 had a better score than that in its first 3 months.

[Oath]

Doom 3 had a better score than that in its first 3 months.

If I'm interpreting this correctly, all games start getting bad reviews after a while? Psychonauts has nearly nothing in common with Doom 3 and not all games get lower scores as the late reviews are turned in. Or were you saying that Doom 3 was a bad game that got good reviews due to hype and that the same holds true for Psychonauts?

I'm not buying that, if one of those two were your point.

Also, a lot of people actually liked Doom 3 (I didn't though).

[Twilo]

Well, psychonauts wasn't a game that I enjoyed terribly much. I'm probably in a minority here, but I'm sure it's not a minority of one, whether any of the rest of you care to admit it or not.

[Duncan]

Well, psychonauts wasn't a game that I enjoyed terribly much. I'm probably in a minority here, but I'm sure it's not a minority of one, whether any of the rest of you care to admit it or not.

I'm not sure why you're bringing this up other than to get it in that you didn't like Psychonauts. There's really nothing to suggest to prospective buyers that Psychonauts is a bad game, pretty much all the reviews suggest the exact opposite. There are plenty of reasons why it's not selling, but that it's a piece of shit I don't think is one of them.

[Twilo]

but that it's a piece of shit I don't think is one of them.

Your words, not mine.

I do like Psychonauts, it's worth the asking price, but it's not one of the best games I've played.

It's certainly no Beyond Good & Evil.