Author Topic: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?  (Read 6197 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Rhoq

  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« on: January 06, 2004, 05:14:02 AM »
IGN has posted an article regarding Beyond Good & Evil doing poorly in sales on all 3 consoles. As a result, UbiSoft has decided to reduce the price to $19.99.

They also mention that EB Games has stopped carrying the GameCube version due to lackluster sales, but will continue to sell the PS2 and X-Box versions of the game.

Here is my question…How can a 2003 Game Of The Year contender be doing this badly? I could have sworn that I read somewhere that BG&E was selling fairly well on the ‘Cube and the X-Box, but poorly on the PS2. Every review I have read has been overwhelmingly positive. With the exception of the game being roughly 10 hours long, I have not seen any other complaints worth mentioning.

If BG&E is not selling, I think UbiSoft might to be blame. They are a great company and have been really turning out some impressive titles recently, but they need to advertise Beyond Good & Evil. I have seen commercials for the “Tom Clany’s” series of games. I have seen commercials for “Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time”. I have even seen “Rayman” commercials. Where are the advertisements for BG&E? How are the non-internet/non-magazine reading people really supposed to know about this game, without some sort advertising campaign?

I bought BG&E a day or two after it’s GameCube release last month. It quickly became my favorite game of this generation and quite possibly of all time. A game this beautiful and well designed needs to find it’s way into the home of every console owner that’s interested in owning it.

It’s a shame that it has been sent to the bargain bin in a matter of weeks following it’s release. Maybe now, the $19.99 price tag will help to generate some sort of interest in the game. I paid $39.99 for it a few weeks ago and I believe it was worth every penny. At 19.99, it truly is a steal.
 
PEACE--->Rhoq

Offline joshnickerson

  • Score: 2
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2004, 06:32:29 AM »
Probably the same thing that plauged the first two years of the Gamecube... lack of advertising.

Offline Pale

  • Staff Layton Hat Thief
  • Score: 4
    • View Profile
    • PaleHour
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2004, 07:58:30 AM »
People don't want interesting artistic games anymore.  They just want blood and sex....  This is the MTV generation of video games if you get my drift.
:: I was an active staffer forever ago, or was it yesterday. Time is an anomaly. Father of two boys.
---------------------
:: Grouvee :: Instagram

Offline Ian Sane

  • Champion for Urban Champion
  • Score: 1
    • View Profile
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2004, 08:14:20 AM »
Beyond Good & Evil is a new game with a new property that was released during the Christmas season and had virtually no advertising.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out what went wrong.  Regardless of how good a game is it won't sell if people don't know anything about it.

Offline The Omen

  • Forum Fascist
  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2004, 09:38:48 AM »
I dont want to sound like i have a vendetta against EB, but them discontinuing sales of games because they arent selling...idiotic.  Hey, EB, why not put BG&E on one of those monitors that you seem to keep 6 month old garbage like Star wars:Clone wars on?
"If a man comes to the door of poetry untouched by the madness of the muses, believing that technique alone will make him a great poet, he and his sane compositions never reach perfection, but are utterly eclipsed by the inspired madman." Socrates

Offline Cap

  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2004, 09:38:59 AM »
well i lucked out i guess. i've always been planning on buying this game, but i havent been able to afford it yet(damn christmas). now i can get it for the same price as a players choice title. maybe i'll have to wait a few weeks before buying all my games.  

Offline Kyosho

  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2004, 09:55:03 AM »
Quote

dont want to sound like i have a vendetta against EB, but them discontinuing sales of games because they arent selling...idiotic. Hey, EB, why not put BG&E on one of those monitors that you seem to keep 6 month old garbage like Star wars:Clone wars on?




it's probably because companies pay EB to have their games advertised on those videos.  EB really has nothing to do with the sales of the game.  Again, it's probably due to the lack of advertising.

Offline The Omen

  • Forum Fascist
  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2004, 11:24:59 AM »
Its advertising to a degree, of course.  But i'm talking about the TVs they have setup with games so you can try them out.  They have one TV for each system in the middle of the store.  I see little reason not to pump up a newly released game and instead keep old titles in the spotlight.
"If a man comes to the door of poetry untouched by the madness of the muses, believing that technique alone will make him a great poet, he and his sane compositions never reach perfection, but are utterly eclipsed by the inspired madman." Socrates

Offline mouse_clicker

  • Pod 6 is jerks!
  • Score: 3
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2004, 12:20:00 PM »
I think PaleZero hit the nail on the head, although lack of advertising is a factor as well. Look at Eternal Darkness! Just because something is good doesn't mean it'll sell- in fact, in recent times it seems to mean it won't sell.
"You know you're being too serious when Mouse tells you to lighten up... ^_^"<BR>-Bill

Offline Ian Sane

  • Champion for Urban Champion
  • Score: 1
    • View Profile
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2004, 12:32:58 PM »
"Look at Eternal Darkness! Just because something is good doesn't mean it'll sell- in fact, in recent times it seems to mean it won't sell."

Yeah but ED also got screwed over in advertising.  Same with Skies of Arcadia Legends.  Good games (Mario, Zelda, Metroid) that were advertised well have sold pretty well this generation.  I agree that just because something's good doesn't mean it will sell but when promoted correctly good games tend to sell pretty well.  I guess you could say that well marketed games are what sell well these days as opposed to good or bad titles.  While I can think of several crappy games with great marketing (Enter The Matrix) that sold well I can't think of a crappy game that was poorly marketed that sold well.

Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

  • HI I'M CRAZY
  • Score: 28
    • View Profile
    • Six Sided Video
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2004, 01:21:13 PM »
To keep the main points short as possible:  with regards to the new property, Ubi pulled a "Nintendo/Eternal Darkness" while they really should have pulled a "Microsoft/Halo."
:: Six Sided Video .com ~ Pietriots.com ::
PRO IS SERIOUS. GET SERIOUS.

Offline mouse_clicker

  • Pod 6 is jerks!
  • Score: 3
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2004, 01:41:43 PM »
Quote

Yeah but ED also got screwed over in advertising.


That's what I said- people generally want blood and guts, but lack of advertising also contributes to the problem, as with Eternal Darkness, which, despite having its fair share of violence, was very poorly advertised and hence sold very poorly.
"You know you're being too serious when Mouse tells you to lighten up... ^_^"<BR>-Bill

Offline nemo_83

  • Dream Master
  • Score: -1
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2004, 01:47:25 PM »
I read the reviews and decided I wanted it for Christmas.  So I got it, I played it; and now I want to desperatly get rid of it so I can spend my xmas money on something fun.  The main character looks like a generic Mtv VJ and the gameplay is boring.  You run around taking pictures until you beat the game the same day you opened it.  I'm deeming it the most overrated game in years.  Sure the details and such were well developed and well formulated, but the game is no fun to me.  The reason it didn't sell is because the game is so obviously uninspired (just look at the main character; she looks like a focus group of detached old white men designed her).  Plus the camera sucks on the same level of Sonic Adventure 2.  The game didn't even look interesting but I went on the reviews and discovered WW kicks this games butt all over the field and I spent months complaining about how easy and formulated Zelda was.  

As a result I have esentially given up 3d gaming.  Last year the only game that I had a blast playing through was a Sega game; Fzero and it like Metroid Prime was basically done by a bunch of drone programmers taking orders from the folks at Nintendo.  I had fun with Fzero but still it was nothing original.  I'm just gonna stick with the GBplayer and my trusty NES which has the original Zelda in it right now; and that is a game I can at least say is phenominal.
Life is like a hurricane-- here in Duckburg

Offline mouse_clicker

  • Pod 6 is jerks!
  • Score: 3
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #13 on: January 06, 2004, 01:49:33 PM »
Eh, nemo, your view isn't going to get much credence if you claim you've given up on 3D gaming altogether. I know it's just your opinion, but it's already a lost cause trying to convince anybody.
"You know you're being too serious when Mouse tells you to lighten up... ^_^"<BR>-Bill

Offline nemo_83

  • Dream Master
  • Score: -1
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2004, 02:03:35 PM »
I don't need 3d anymore (until something worth my time comes out).  I have the NES, SNES, and GB why would I need 3d.  The problem with 3d has been that the developers have become overwhelmed and are just rehashing old formulas.  They focus on the details and not the picture as a whole.  I think a lot of developers don't know how to work in 3d.  Mario and Castlevania are the two best examples of games that have had their gameplay changed when going to 3d.  The develpers are not able to focus on the subtle simplicities that make the old games so great with thier golden balance.  Now days most just cut and paste one gameplay aspect with a control setup and a gimick along with another collecting mission from their bottomless pit of used yet ambiguous enough use again goals and stories.
Life is like a hurricane-- here in Duckburg

Offline rpglover

  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2004, 02:04:02 PM »
i though bg&e was one of the best games of this year- the best thing going for it was its fantastic story- it kept my interest- and the gameplay was great (even though it does mimic zelda... but then again what's wrong with that?)

i just dont know why it is not selling well- i suggest the game very much- especially at its new price- you cant beat that price at all (20 bucks new)
i call the big one bitey.

Offline mouse_clicker

  • Pod 6 is jerks!
  • Score: 3
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #16 on: January 06, 2004, 02:10:14 PM »
You can't just generalize and say all 3D games suck, though- there's a lot of 2D games that suck, as well, but that doesn't mean I ignore the good ones. Obviously gameplay has to change when moving from two dimensions to three dimensions, but last I checked change was not synonymous with bad. Justbecause 3D games are different than 2D games doesn't mean they're worse. I agree that a lot of developers don't know how to get the best of 3D games, but that doesn't mean none of them do. Some of the best games, in my opinion, are 3D- Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Ico, Metroid Prime (I don't understand your problem with it), Jet Grind Radio, Eternal Darkness, Shenmue- hell, some of my favorites,  Doom, Wolfenstein, and SM64, pioneered 3D gaming. I can understand if you personally don't like 3D games for some reason or another, but you are definitely in the minority with that opinion, and shouldn't expect anyone to be persuaded to give up on 3D games.  
"You know you're being too serious when Mouse tells you to lighten up... ^_^"<BR>-Bill

Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

  • HI I'M CRAZY
  • Score: 28
    • View Profile
    • Six Sided Video
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2004, 02:26:35 PM »
Metroid Prime..... bad 3D?


HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH
:: Six Sided Video .com ~ Pietriots.com ::
PRO IS SERIOUS. GET SERIOUS.

Offline akdaman1

  • the forum idiot
  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #18 on: January 06, 2004, 03:16:15 PM »
Actually I remember Eternal Darkness having good advertising ( In Australia ) , I dont remeber what it showed but I remember seeing countless adds for ED.  
"We ride together, We die together, Bad boys 4 life....

NOW CAN YOU DIG DAT SUCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKAAAA

Offline ThePerm

  • predicted it first.
  • Score: 64
    • View Profile
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #19 on: January 06, 2004, 04:35:19 PM »
i think bg&E's sells will sore now with the price and all ...

it think it was jsut bad timing them releasing the game at such a vital period...people do know now however that ubisoft is a force to be reconed with.
NWR has permission to use any tentative mockup/artwork I post

Offline Baz

  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #20 on: January 06, 2004, 06:34:26 PM »
i also think alot of people didnt buy it due to its short lenth, i knew once i read a review or 2 that said it could be beaten in 10 hours or so i decided not to buy it and i was looking so forward to it. i just rented it and played it for a bit till it was beat i think alot of people felt this way to since i would rather spend my money on a game with a larger main quest and some replay value.
holla if you hear me

Offline WesDawg

  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #21 on: January 06, 2004, 07:02:31 PM »
I hadn't read any reviews, but there'd just been to many games come out in the last few months to keep up. I think BG&E just got lost under MKDD, ROTK, SSX3, PoP etc. Man, I wish they woulda given it a couple more months to develope and dropped it in the March lull. I bought it now though anyways. $20 is to good to beat. It was fun too. Different than most of the games coming out today. N-Philes has a nice review up.

Offline KDR_11k

  • boring person
  • Score: 28
    • View Profile
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #22 on: January 07, 2004, 04:32:58 AM »
The game didn't drop here yet. I'll wait until it does, 10 hours aren't worth 45 bucks.

Offline Oldskool

  • Maker of Fine Straitjackets since 1997
  • Score: 0
    • View Profile
RE:Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #23 on: January 07, 2004, 05:54:31 AM »
Gaming must be saved from the trap that music and TV fell into! We must unite and defeat the great evil!!!!!!!!!
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like victory!"

Proudly using my Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo D laptop.

Offline nitsu niflheim

  • Eye-Candy Andy
  • Score: 5
    • View Profile
RE: Where did UbiSoft go wrong with "Beyond Good & Evil"?
« Reply #24 on: January 07, 2004, 08:02:09 AM »
I have over 17 hours in the game.  This 10 hour crap is only for people who play the game with a strategy guide, or are so good at playing games they know where everything is and never do anything wrong.  I haven't finished the game yet, and there are things that do not need to be done that do add replay value, like running the races, photographing the wildlife.
Currently Reading:  Odd Apocalypse ~ Dean Koontz
Currently Watching:  ?