Mad Jack

Why isn't Psychonauts selling well?

Recommended Posts

It only sold 12,595 units in May on the Xbox, less then Xbox Fable and that has been out for nine months. And since April it has only sold 719 PC copies. I just wanted to get your opinion as to why you think it didn't sell well. ;(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Man, I bought a PC copy. 719 total? Is that worldwide?

719??

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

To be honest though, I haven't followed the stuff on it, and I don't know that much about it... and their marketing dept. was really really vague. If I saw a commercial, I should get the gist, but I didn't.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Man, I bought a PC copy. 719 total? Is that worldwide?

719??

How do you define "worldwide" considering the damn game still hasn't been released in most countries, even english speaking ones like mine (New Zealand).

If Majesco want to sell more units, how about bloody releasing the game into more territories. :frusty:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

These type of things are the unexplained.

Every industry has gems that didn't sell and people never even heard of. The music industry has too many to mention, The Velvet Underground & Nico sold about seven copies when released, Nick Drake's albums are no different, but eventually they gained popularity. Maybe someday Psychonauts well sell as wanted, though the music industry is incredibly different.

Where I live about three people know what Rushmore or Bottle Rocket is, but Wes Anderson's other movies are somewhat well known which is very odd.

And we all know about Grim Fandango (I rant about it all the time) and many other great games that didn't get what they deserve.

The majority of people just don't like original things from obscured companies or people it seems unless they are extremely hyped. No one can explain it, we can all assume that it's a matter of taste, and if so, people are nitwits (for my taste, of course).

In other news; I just got my signed PS2 copy of Psychonauts. It says: I have been inside your head, (my real name, that I won't mention 'cause I'm paranoid). You sicken me! Get help! Love, Tim Schafer and the Double Fine staff. :tup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
How do you define "worldwide" considering the damn game still hasn't been released in most countries, even english speaking ones like mine (New Zealand).

OH MY GOD it has, why doesn't anyone listen to me?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

These are USA numbers only, and unless I'm threatedned with jail for four months, I am not revealing my source. But regardless, the point is it is a great game, it got good PR and marketing, got great reviews, stands out and still doesn't sell. Why?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
These are USA numbers only, and unless I'm threatedned with jail for four months, I am not revealing my source. But regardless, the point is it is a great game, it got good PR and marketing, got great reviews, stands out and still doesn't sell. Why?

I still disagree on the PR and marketing. The commercials told me NOTHING about the bloody game. That's NOT good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've heard some complaints about wacky distribution problems. Other than that, the bottom line is that people suck.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nobody's heard about this game except for you, me, and the rest of the Idle Thumbs jerks, that's the problem.

They show comercials for San Andreas on TV, but everybody fucking knows what san andreas is, damnit! I haven't even seen it in any front shelves or anything like that. It's like the game never existed.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, exposure is almost certainly the main factor at play -- or rather, the lack of it in ways that matter. Most people don't really know what Psychonauts is until they're actually told -- but when they are told that this is the game made by those responsible for Grim Fandango, and also the man behind Day of the Tentacle etc etc, they suddenly get this urge to go out and buy it. If Majesco were to put more funds into getting those facts out in the open, and also describing what makes the game so fun, it'd probably have a much better chance at selling well.

Hell, we all know it's a great game, and those that have played it know too. It's gotten gleaming reviews from most places, and I sincerely hope for Double Fine's sake that word of mouth allows the game to at least pick up a decent amount of sales in a similar way to Grim Fandango -- over time. Heck, people are continually discovering the latter for the first time even now -- I'm always having to help them out! Hopefully the same will happen with Psychonauts. Oh God, I hope. Can you seriously comprehend never seeing anything more from Double Fine?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
These are USA numbers only, and unless I'm threatedned with jail for four months, I am not revealing my source. But regardless, the point is it is a great game, it got good PR and marketing, got great reviews, stands out and still doesn't sell. Why?

Go to a Fry's or an EBGames and you will get your answer. I can't see the bloody game in any electronics or game store I go to.

By the way, I heard that Advent Rising tanked too. Hope that will not transfer Majesco into a Ubi$oft ;(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmm... of those of us here who live in North America, I wonder exactly how much a percentage of PC buyers we make up (I've got my copy!) ...

I think most of the problem is that no one will stock it. At my local EB (the only game store I can get to in under 45 minutes) I was able to pre-order it A WEEK AFTER RELEASE. I did this because I was checking in every day and they still didn't have it, so I slapped down my cash and two weeks later picked the damn thing up. I think they may have actually ordered a copy specifically for me, which tells you how reluctant they are to take a chance on this one. It was the same problem I ran into last November with Alien Hominid, but in that case I didn't get the game until about March.

Bottom line, gaming has become a bit TOO much of a serious industry, and none of the stores will stock the risky but good stuff.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The other day at work (a retailer called GameCrazy), two separate people came in and asked for Psychonauts strategy guides (of course, we didn't have any) since they were stuck. On the same day. It was amazing. That was literally the only time I've ever heard a customer ask about Psychonauts in any way. I've certainly never managed to sell a copy, that's for sure. Anyway, I helped them both out myself and one came back the next day to thank me. It made me feel warm and fuzzy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I can't really explain , I guess its not part of the popular crowd, makes no sense to me. I hope this doesn't stop double fine from making games ... if they can't I hope Tim schafer starts doing comics or books. The world must not be denied his wit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Kind of an argument for bypassing publishers in the future, like valve are sort of doing.

Obviously it doesn't work with an xbox game, but it's perfectly viable on the xbox360 with live and the HDD and everything.

Exposure would be good that way too, you might be reading some reviews or something on live and you could hit the "buy me now" button, and have the game on your computer within an hour.

Psychonauts doesn't have enough blood for our primitive american cousins.

There aren't any guns, what the hell is up with that?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I pre-ordered it... And cancelled two weeks after the release when they still hadn't shipped it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey brkl, go order it now and they will ship it for you, propably.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sorry, don't have any money to spare after having to buy new headphones. :(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Supposedly, the PS2 version came out in Canada on June 30th. I finally managed to dig up a copy yesterday. It was hiding in the corner of EB, bottom shelf, stacked sideways so you couldn't even see the cover. It was their only copy.

Sigh.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

PC Psychonauts never showed up where I live until about two weeks after it was supposed to have shipped, then only arriving at my local EB Games where I had been badgering the employees daily. I have no idea when it showed up at GameStop stores. But now, months after its reported release date, I see a few copies of it everywhere I go. Bestbuy, GameStop, EB Games, Walmart, everywhere seems to have a few to go around, though they never seem to move. Even when I cover up big ticket names like GTA: San Andreas and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.

Personally, I've never seen any of the TV ads, but the few I've seen on different websites definitely don't resonate at all. When I'm reading a few articles on IGN and I see "PSYCHONAUTS!" along with Raz swimming through the mental slip stream, it doesn't really make me want to rush out and buy a copy. It just makes me sad that they couldn't do something a little bit more engaging. I mean, that damn animation is on the intro screen to Majesco's website for P-nauts. How hard was it for them to make that ad? :(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmmm...

a couple of things:

Psychonauts is just too good! I mean it's probably one of the most engaging and adult games ever made! There is simply no big market for games of such calibre!

(Look at the best-selling games in the last years, they both had guns and indiscriminate violence, very mature :shifty:)

Games are still haven't reached a point where real word-of-mouth actually matters! People will have real discussions about going to the movies and books, because those are well established mediatypes where, when in a conversation you can assume the other person is mostly going to be able to relate (just read an article detailing Hollywood's big problem with word-of-mouth... ). So there's quite a ways to go there...

It is very unfortunate that unlike music, games age really badly, so I don't really see Psychonauts ever getting the audience it deserves. Hopefully this will not have devastating consequences for DoubleFine.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.