Ben-DutkaThere were plenty of great games last year, and several unbelievable PlayStation 3 exclusives.
But which of those exclusives topped the retail list in 2010? Was it Quantic Dream's masterful Heavy Rain , which topped 1.5 million copies, shattering the initial prediction of 300,000? Or might it be MAG , which topped 1 million later in the year as Zipper Interactive continued to make the online experience better and better…? It couldn't really be Gran Turismo 5 , could it? The game was only available for a few weeks in 2010. No, the answer is the epic God of War III . Yes, according to the annual numbers , GoWIII ranked third on the overall software sales list for the PS3, right behind Call of Duty: Black Ops and Madden NFL 11 . GoWIII raked in $33 million in sales and amazingly, despite the fact it didn't launch until December, GT5 did make the list (in at #7). We don't have the total sales numbers for GoWIII but it topped Final Fantasy XIII .
And let's not forget that FFXIII sold 1 million units on the PS3 in North America alone, so… The bottom line is that several great titles last year were richly rewarded, and we like to see that.
Related Game(s): God of War III
God of war 3 deserved this forsure. Was one hell of a ride and killing things never felt better. Haha ^^
It probably cost more than that just to make GOWIII.
Funny you should mention FFXIII, I don't think it even hit a million worldwide on 360.
I think you're right: an article here a while back told us that a Sony source claimed GOW3 cost 40 million and some odd dollars.
I recall reading that GoWIII cost roughly $46 million to make. Factoring that in, and the quality of the game, it's a little disappointing.
@ Lawless
True words, sir. For the money, GoW3 should have been a bigger game than Castlevania and it wasn't. Not one moment of backtracking at all in Castlevania and it was about 5 hours longer. Better puzzles(Baba's music box was fantastic!), more diverse combat (enemies don't just stand and let you pound on them), better voice acting, and a HUGE bestiary. Not to mention all of the hidden items/areas/challenges that add to replay. I give Castlevania the win last year.
Last edited by PorkChopGamer on 2/8/2011 8:06:27 AM
At last we agree on something Porkchop, GOWIII didn't quite deliver for me either. It had its great moments (chiefly the beginning and the final battle) but in between there wasn't really anything to separate itself from the last two except maybe that it was noticeably more claustrophobic. Still a high quality production though.
Lawless may have meant the amount of money made was disappointing though.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 2/8/2011 9:35:55 AM
@world and porkchop, not sure I would say I liked Castlevania more, but definitely agree with your GOWIII analysis. I'm a HUGE GOW fan, and while I really enjoyed it a lot and there was lots of great, memorable moments, on the whole GOWIII didn't quite deliver the knockout punch I'd been hoping for. I chalk it up to the fact that the game was being developed from the ground up for new hardware, and the fact that all of the awesome dramatic tension had been used up in the earlier games. In part 3, Kratos has a plan to wipe out the gods, and well, that's what he does. A nice game with stellar production values, but not nearly the most entertaining in the series or genre.
I wthink you're right about my miunderstanding os Lawless' comment and I think dragged him down in 'my 'cone of ignorance' looking at the thumbs down. Sorry, Lawless.
Disappointing in both ways. It was a high quality game, that I feel should have earned more, but in retrospect, I realise that GoWIII could have been much better.
I expect GoW4 will really flesh out and be a bigger better experience.
Similar to what GoW2 did for the first GoW.
God of War III is the most epic game i played in 2010. but still, hands down. my number #1 game is Uncharted 2. and possibly the only game that will top U2 is U3.
First of all, how dare you mention FF in a GoW article. May Kratos rampage through the corridors of SE office building.
As for FF, what is WRONG with SE?
Let me get this straigh SE, you kill Vercingetorix and you get: *slash!* "It ends here!"
Uh, WHAT ends here?? What the hell is Lightning going on about? Oh wait, let me check my almanac to see what she's so angry about this time… *read read* *scratch head*
*look around for a different game*
GoWIII had none of that. The story was co – he – rent
33 million is it. This game deserves so much more. Where are all the loyal Sony fans who should be eating up these quality titles. I blame it on the fact that Sony has such a great diversity in their exclusive lineup that we just can't get to them all. Of course, that's not a bad thing.
But worthy of blame huh =D?
Lol
$33million?
That has to be the profit figure, not revenue. If they sold a million copies at $60 (retail) that's $60 million sales revenue. Considering that they probably see about $15-20 per game sold, if they sold only 2-3 million, they'd clear their costs. If you figure another 2-3 million copies sold, that would nail $33million profit.
With those figures I guess it's true that a significant share of PS3's are used as Bluray players only. 🙁
No, it's poor advertising and product placement. Pretty simple.
Ignitus, you need to pay attention to the industry more. The PS3's software sales grew significantly in the same period Wii and 360 game sales were stagnant or declining. Does that mean that a significant proportion of those consoles are used to watch DVDs instead of playing games?
Gow 3 was amazing I just wish it had been about 5 times longer!
I haven't had a ps 3 in about 6 months and I feel like I've missed so much. I've got a new one now. Any recommendations that are must plays for the last 6 months?
Mass Effect 2 is pretty good if you like sci fi. Castlevania (despite the low scores) really shouldn't be missed.
Wow. That's pretty amazing. I say this because for some reason I thought that Uncharted 2 was would've built up its numbers told be the best selling. Well good for Sony and Santa Monica. When a company produces something good that people want,it shows and it gives them motivation to continue creating bigger and better.
Lets see what they gives us next.
GT5, LBP2
@ shadowscorpio,
I think that they are only factoring in games that were released in 2010, which discludes U2:AT. I believe I read somewhere that it had broken the 5 million copies barrier, which is a very good number.
LBP2 if you're into platforming and creating. GT5 if you're into racing. For action/adventure titles, I'd recommend Castlevania, Enslaved and Majin. 😉
I just hope Yakuza 3 would have sold better in North America and Europe.
Yakuza 3 is better than FF13 or GOW3 in my Opinion.
Agreed. I remember when I hit my first 20 hours in Yakuza 3 and I had only done about 12% of what there is to do to in the game. I couldn't help but smile. Great game.
Just wait because Yakuza 4 is going to blow your mind.Much better story as good as Yakuza 1 and 2.City will be more multi layered.
Not cutting anything like Yakuza 1 and 2.
People grab a ps2 and go play Yakuza 2,
Yakuza 1 in Japanese.These games are ps2 classics or gaming classics which should not be missed in your lifetime.
Kratos,Nathan Drake,Solid Snake,Cloud Strife don't even come close to the Epic Kiryu Kazuma in Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2 in Japanese.
Last edited by Kiryu on 2/8/2011 10:38:33 AM
lol, You would expect GT5 to do better than it did. Oh well, I'm happy for GOW3, best game in 2010 besides Heavy Rain.
Gran Turismo 5 came out in Nov and sold 5.5 million in first 12 days.By the next 5 months it will sell even more than God of war 3.
What about Socom?
surprised GT5 is so far down the list.
the most anticipated game in the history of the industry!
yea only had a month worth of sales in 2010, but come on this is GT were talking about!
the series that has sold over 55M units!!!!!
anyway, further proof sales does not indicate quality.
GOW3 sucked, and still brought in the big bucks!
i just hope sony dont turn this into the new COD, i hope we dont see a new GOW for a while, i want to see stig and co work on a new game, heavenly sword would be my pick but we all know thats never going to happen, so hopefully a new IP something different, something truly unique that we have not seen before, like heavy rain.
Last edited by ___________ on 2/8/2011 1:24:02 AM
Well, that's good to know. Now, if I remember correctly, both GT5 and FFXIII sold in excess of 5 million copies, which means that GoWIII had to have sold more than that. That's a very respectable figure, regardless of what it is, and I think that it shows that more people are flocking to the exclusives. Can't wait to see what tops the sales this year, in terms of exclusives. My guess is the obvious: Uncharted 3, although I'm hoping that SOCOM, inFamous 2 and Resistance 3 all manage to pull down good numbers as well.
Peace.
Those titles wold 5 million worldwide. GOW3 just sold more in the United States, but it certainly wouldn't have outsold GT5 in Europe or Final Fantasy in Japan.
Well i thought gran turismo sold 5 million copies. So it really was "shipped" not sold. Not hatin on GT5 though. gt is my fav game next to heavy rain! I even have the wheel <3
Gow3 was alright, why they rush the no#1 or two exclusive of there own franchise is a huge mystery to me. For some reason, gt5 got a huge pass, dc universe (i don't know for sure), probably took somewhere 4 to 5 years with a budget of 50 million.
Castlevania, has similar fighting mechanics, it blows gow3 away, not graphicly mind you, in terms of plush varied environments, the fact that it's literally 15 to 20 hours long for an action 3rd person game that didn't resemble gears or uncharted, is a shocker for me.
Ff13, got gow3 beat, in terms of overall variety of graphics, background settings, varied bosses, plush menu screens, extra stuff to do once you've beaten the game that you couldn't do before you've beaten it. What gets me is, why didn't they make an anime series out of this? To me, it sure plays like one.
Again, gow3 is a good game mind you, but what if they had a longer release window, like 2012 1st quarter release date. That shadowico ps3 exclusive game (lat guardian) is getting an extension on there's. Could you imagine if this was almost twice as long as gow2 but with better or the same graphics and the had the same play mechanics?
By the way, besides last guardian and infamous 2 having (maybe) a 2012 release date, what other exclusives could the have for next year, i wonder?
inFamous 2 is coming this year.
Ugh. I couldn't finish FF13. I am loathe to even consider finishing it. IDK why I haven't sold it yet. This is the only RPG I didn't finish. Pretty but terrible.
Uh, 10+hr, providing you're smashing through the story only, in action games don't do very well. It feels dragged out. I ain't hating on Castlevania, mind you :P, but the reviews spoke for themselves/itself(Haven't had an english education in a long minute). Seriously though, I plan on buying C:LoS… When it hits $30, or something.
The ending lick balls.
You know, $33-million may not seem like a lot to people but I'm sure Sony isn't disappointed. After all, this is a SINGLE PLAYER ONLY game. Everyone and everything's all about multi-player these days, hence Call of Duty being on top every single year. God of War gave an amazing single-player experience and the developers decided to not water down the experience with a much unneeded MP mode. Trust me… third place for a single player game is INCREDIBLE!
ultimate?? castlevania is easily 15 to 20 hours long. That's not me just talking, that's ign, gamespot, youtube reviewers, and a few other gaming websites.
It's not dragged out too me. The ending is killer, and the fact that a sequel is in the works is almost stunning to me.
GOW 3 was bloody great. Every PS3 user should have it in their collection.
What surprised me is that it sold more than Red Dead Redemption.
You know… I have a phys ed major, and although I understand and appreciate many aspects to American football, I simply do NOT understand America's fettish with the sport. The ONLY time I even watch is for the Superbowl, and even then, the Canadian version is better (12 players, 3 downs, 110 yard long field). But that's besides the point.
I just cannot get into a game that plays for 5 seconds at a time, then breaks for 30+ seconds before playing again… They even let the clock tick away while nothing is happening. What a effed up sport that is!
I dunno, I get that there's some appeal, but how is a sport like that more popular than a FIFA or NHL game? It's just……. so……. slow…… I wasn't even paying attention at the end of the Superbowl.
Of course, I'm biased… I played soccer in university and on various provincial premier leagues… and I'm Canadian, so a fast-paced sport like hockey will always come first.
But still…. I'm sorry…. but I just don't get it. (And yes, I thoroughly understand the rules and many of the plays and strategies in football)
Don't worry about it, we can't possibly understand how anyone could be even slightly interested in soccer.
Yeah, how anyone could be interested in the worlds most critically acclaimed sport is beyond most Americans. :p
i kid i kid… at least America MADE the World Cup, right? Stupid Canadian soccer politics….
But here's the fundamental difference… I understand football very thoroughly. What do you know about soccer? 'o.0' I get why football is fun, and I get that it's got enough depth to warrant interest. But to the extent that Superbowl is the marketing giant it is… or that it sells the second most videogames…. yeah… i don't get that kidn of popularity.
P.s. When do you suppose they'll put football in the olympics? I don't mean that too sarcastically. Triathlon didn't even get there until 2000. There's lots of sports still not there.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 2/8/2011 8:11:36 AM
American Football's nice if you enjoy dressing up.
…oh and don't forget your make-up!
Wow WorldEndsWithMe I wish I had never read that.
I thought football was king until my wife turned me on to hockey. Now the five second plays vs 40 second play setups kind of bore me.