The action-adventure video game Ghost of Yotei made by Sucker Punch Productions was the most downloaded PS game in Japan for October. Furthermore, it got the second spot in the US and European markets as per the recent reports. This extra-ordinary feat led to players’ heated arguments regarding the new installment’s performance as compared to the original Ghost of Tsushima.
The original tweet from Genki_JPN made references to the chart places and linked Ghost of Yotei‘s outstanding digital launch with these positions. Nevertheless, the debates in the replies uncover a much more complicated tale of different players’ readings of these numbers and what they think the franchise’s future will be.
There were users who immediately started debating sales numbers and making comparisons to the first game. User badguy974 attacked the sequel’s sales in a series of tweets, stating that the sales pipeline was labeled “almost flat” by the insiders but he took it as the actual sales were down even more than that if one considers the price increase from $60 to $70. The lack of a sales press release from Sony was treated as conclusive proof of sales shortage, and someone even commented, “no sony pr is all really need to know,” indicating that they were not surprised at all by the game’s commercial outcome.
In some threads, discussion became quite heated. User _ErrorReboot_ stated, “Any sequel should sell A LOT more than the original. The original had no hype and was a new IP. The second should ride the first game’s reputation and get massive hype. Fail.” This opinion was shared by a number of other users who were of the view that the sequel should have been a lot better than the first game considering the fanbase and brand awareness.
Not everyone, however, was prepared to accept the negativity. Several users defended the game against unfavorable reviews. The user CtrlAltBrian said, “as it has been spoken, so it is nice to hear and see. It was a fantastic game. In most aspects, I preferred it over the OG.” Another user afiq, very simply, stated “its a great game” along with a shrug emoji, implying that sales figures might not be the only parameter to assess quality.
There were even debates about methodology as users were disputing how to read the digital charts. Someone asked if being the number one game in Japan mattered at all if the total downloads were low, while another user replied that if the top game had only 10k downloads, then the next 2-20 games must have sold even less, thus making the number one position more important.
Moreover, the pandemic’s effect on sales was also mentioned when badguy974 remarked, “tsushima launched in covid which would force it’s digital sales much higher than normal, since people couldn’t leave their houses.” A valid point was made regarding comparing launch times with such different conditions; the first game came along when people were playing a lot because of the lockdown, while the sequel was released in a not so busy period with less gaming activity.
The question of physical versus digital sales became another point of contention particularly in Japan where traditionally physical sales have been the preferred way. A number of users referred to a claimed 40% decline in physical sales in Japan as sign that the game had done poorly in general, but others argued that the digital adoption rate has risen dramatically since the first game was released.
The most astonishing part of this discussion’s evolution was how fast the talk turned from congratulating the chart position to considering the very future of the franchise. A number of users were asking whether there will be a new Ghost game, with badguy974 quietly saying “i think the franchise is dead like so many sony franchises.” This does seem to be an extreme conclusion given that the game has just been able to top the charts in a major market but it does indicate how passionate and demanding the players are about the series and their expectations for its success.
The mixed feedback underscores an ongoing tug-of-war in gaming communities between becoming accustomed to quality consumer experiences and expecting commercially produced products that are on par with blockbusters. Critics were kind to Ghost of Yotei and a great part of the gaming community regarded it as a high-quality title, however, sales discussion still prevails over the dialogue. It’s such a rollercoaster of a situation how some people sometimes give these numbers so much importance as if everyone is playing the role of an amateur market analyst instead of just wanting decent games to play.
Considering the bigger picture, being first in Japan and second in other important markets does come across as subjectively a success if judged by the majority of standards. Nonetheless, the shadow of Tsushima’s legacy is still there and the gamers seem to have anticipated a dramatic shift in the opposite direction rather than what they see as status quo. Moreover, game price also adds a layer to the complexity of comparison as revenue could very well tell a different story than unit sales.
The intensity with which the debates are carried out on Xbox and other platforms shows how invested the community is in these discussions.
