The Ghost of Yotei game has become a hot topic among people with different opinions ever since it was announced that the game had sold 3.3 million copies. The number of sales was posted via the Game Awards’ official Twitter handle, and the comments ranged from very amusing arguments, to being hyped, to confusion. So what can we say about those figures—good, bad or mixed? And what’s more, why has there been a split among gamers over the title?
Firstly, the figure of 3.3 million copies sold can’t be taken lightly, especially for a game that has just been launched. For example, some social media users pointed out that the original Ghost of Tsushima took four months to sell 5 million copies whereas Yotei 3.3 million sales were done in just one month. That is definitely a solid start but still shows that stream of gamers who decided to switch to the sequel even when there were controversies around it. On the contrary, one group of people claims it is nothing but a mediocre number. A comment by TakoLukaMooka reads, “What a Useless number lmao hahahaha omfg just 3.3m? No wonder it kept hiding it number hahahahahaha.” Okay, they might have been looking forward to more but still, there are a good number of people playing!
Then you have the whole anti-woke faction which has been voicing their concerns about this game since it was announced. A user named zorobadass101 indirectly accused the anti-woke crowd that they can’t even come up with the anti-woke camp’s question; “Have any of those antiwoke losers play the game?? They keep throwing around the word woke but the game has nothing ‘ woke ‘ to it??” To be honest, that’s a very good question. The game does not really appear to have a political agenda but still, certain groups are boycotting or mischaracterizing it as something that it is not. User dloucks222 even mocked the anti-woke camp with “What happened maga??!! Thought there was a boycott with the ‘anti- woke’ crowd😂😂.” This implies that the boycott has not influenced sales to the extent that it is visible. It is quite funny how sometimes such situations arise and the controversy might add to the game’s sales figures.
What was I saying? Oh yes, sales figures. So, 3.3 million sounds amazing; however, the question is whether this is enough to cover the costs? User Hydra40104 asked, “So they getting close to breakin even?” which is a very valid concern. Game development for these high-profile projects certainly doesn’t come dirt cheap. When one considers the marketing, the development costs, and other factors, it is easy to believe that they might still be experiencing losses or only just starting to enjoy a small profit. However, if sales do not fall off, it is likely that they will reach the breakeven point sooner than one might think.
There is also a point to be made about the actual quality of the game, which appears to be the cause of the most polarized opinions expressed in the comments. Some gamers are simply loving it so much that one user HwangSeong96 declared “Game of the year 🏆”. Others, like CliveMatthews19 and Lil Rizky, have even been engaged in a rather heated debate about whether the plot of Yotei matches that of Tsu-shima. Clive asserted that “Yotei story <<< Tsushima story” and Jin was the main reason that the original game won awards, while Lil Rizky, on the other hand, opined that Yotei has better side quests and mid-sections, though the ending comes a little rushed. This is one of those classic arguments in gaming where everyone has a different opinion but nobody is ready to give in. Personally, I find it pretty amazing that they can get this passionate in their discussions – it just means that the game has gotten to them, whether it was positively or negatively.
Then there is a comparison to other Sony first party exclusives. User CliveMatthews19 also said that at the end of the year, Sony first-party games used to have more sales than multiplatform titles, citing examples like Spider-Man 2 and God of War Ragnarok. Thus, from this perspective, Yotei’s 3.3 million could be perceived as somewhat low; nevertheless, it is still far from being a loser in its own ecosystem. On the other hand, user TheNeoism made a clever move with the query: “Remind me again somebody how many console sales the PS5 has. Sounds like a certain brand may be inflating them numbers.” which, besides the conspiracy theories, does sound a little true since the console’s user base does play a part in the game sales.
In spite of all the noise, some gamers opted for the rational approach on their PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
