Anthem

[fishbowlhead]

Please sign up for an EA account to play this Anthem demo. This is a console EA not a pc, I have a PSN account ta.

I’m going to go with, go suck a d**k.

Bye, had your chance, demo deleted.

[Neon Ignition]

Curiosity has me again, downloading the PC demo now...

[Digfox]

Spent the afternoon on the demo and I'll wait for reviews but I think it's a pass

Well this happened

It is a buggy mess, isn't it? I think it's safe to assume it isn't ready for launch. I've had disconnects, loss of XP, loss of sound, this weird bug where my screen goes inverted colours - so all yellow and pink on surrounding textures. The FPS part looks lovely in comparison but feels like you are moving in treacle.

I can see that mission variety or lack there of may be an issue although the R1 - arm missile never gets old. Would be funny if they replicated that scene from Iron Man 2 where War Machine tries to fire the Hammer Tech missile.

I would imagine any Publisher that sells 4 million units at full price is very happy. I guess the likes of Horizon Zero Dawn are flops and made a loss with less than 8 million sales?

I thought it my point was clear, but just to reiterate what I am pretty much certain of, is 4m sales of Anthem would be RIP for the series and not anywhere near good enough for EA for this sort of project. If you're a first party like Sony then you are going to have less pressure about sales or if you're a one person indie releasing your first game you'd be dancing to Vegas and the Bahamas with your new found wealth from 4m unit sales.

What, Monster Hunter World, Broadlands II are not PVE games?

I can't re-explain this so we're just not going to see eye to eye on this. [MENTION=345]Superman Falls[/MENTION] made a good point imo.

Yeah, but why would EA want to buy a loss making developer and IP? and one that doesn't make its own game engine

EA like most of the larger western publishers has a track record for acquiring studios and as mentioned there could be many reasons for acquiring Respawn. We know for a fact that EA WAS disappointed with Titanfall 2 sales given their CEO stated this is a shareholder call. But that alone isn't going to discount the purchasing of a developer.

For me the more pertinent question is how may the future direction of the studio change following the acquisition by EA. Given it now emerges confirmation that Respawn were responsible for choosing release date of Titanfall 2 (and not this internet popular meme of EA) it could also be plausible that EA believes the studio could be better managed under its full control.

[Neon Ignition]

Tried the PC version, plays the same as it's broadly ropey getting steady frame rates from it. Essentially it's something of a mess, the video settings are bugged to hell and despite several restarts and changes there was always something that was blatantly an issue with the game rather than the display settings. Definitely veer to console.

[teddymeow]

It looks nice but it's going to need to be played MP.

This means having a set-up where you can arrange a time to be online with mates to get the most out of it. Not always possible when you have young children and you have to keep stopping to run upstairs to deal with poo, drink, monsters etc.

Saved me £40.

[Digfox]

^ I did hope that they would have dynamic content that scales depending on whether you are solo or in a group, or at least be playable solo and their interviews seemed to confirm this way of thinking. However the demo isn't scaling at all, but hopefully is just because it's a demo.

[nonny]

It looks nice but it's going to need to be played MP.

This means having a set-up where you can arrange a time to be online with mates to get the most out of it. Not always possible when you have young children and you have to keep stopping to run upstairs to deal with poo, drink, monsters etc.

Saved me £40.

This is basically me right now, third kid due in April and no time guaranteed... Just pick my opportunities when they come. The one thing I've learnt is not to buy anything at launch... If you want to snag a bargain wait 3 months minimum and keep your eyes peeled for discounts.

[Team Andromeda]

what I am pretty much certain of, is 4m sales of Anthem would be RIP for the series and not anywhere near good enough for EA for this sort of project

I wouldn't agree with that myself.

EA like most of the larger western publishers has a track record for acquiring studios and as mentioned there could be many reasons for acquiring Respawn. We know for a fact that EA WAS disappointed with Titanfall 2 sales given their CEO stated this is a shareholder call. But that alone isn't going to discount the purchasing of a developer

I can't think of EA buying a lost making developer or IP and its not even like Respawn even offer EA a Midware game engine. I would imagine EA were disappointed with the sales of Titanfall II given the 1st game was exclusive to MS and had no story mode. The sequel 1st that single player issue and being multi one would have hoped for better sales

I would imagine thought the game sold well enought to make a profit

[Neon Ignition]

With Respawn, I guess it depends on what other fires they had cooking such as this FTP game that's coming out today as well as how Titanfall 2 may have struggled at retail but it was very well received so they may see them as a reasonable investment for other reasons. Bioware, they're generally in decline this gen so coming in with Anthem from the opposite end of the problem. That EA has had so many issues in this arena over the last few years should help Anthem and their expectations of it at least.

[fishbowlhead]

With Respawn, I guess it depends on what other fires they had cooking such as this FTP game that's coming out today as well as how Titanfall 2 may have struggled at retail but it was very well received so they may see them as a reasonable investment for other reasons. Bioware, they're generally in decline this gen so coming in with Anthem from the opposite end of the problem. That EA has had so many issues in this arena over the last few years should help Anthem and their expectations of it at least.

It’s this gens tragedy Titanfall 2 sales wise. By far the best FPS this gen by a country mile.

[Digfox]

I can't think of EA buying a lost making developer or IP and its not even like Respawn even offer EA a Midware game engine. I would imagine EA were disappointed with the sales of Titanfall II given the 1st game was exclusive to MS and had no story mode. The sequel 1st that single player issue and being multi one would have hoped for better sales

I would imagine thought the game sold well enought to make a profit

Both Titanfall games sold well enough to make a profit. Almost certainly. Just not enough for EA not to be dissapointed on the sequel's sales.

[Neon Ignition]

https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2019/Electronic-Arts-Reports-Q3-FY19-Financial-Results/default.aspx

EA have underperformed in the last quarter, looking forward they have said they're resting their eggs on Anthem, Apex Legends and in the back end of the year a new Plants vs Zombies entry as well as the next Need for Speed. Notably, EA has avoided mentioning Battlefield V's performance

https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1092907238073815041

Command and Conquer content didn't land either as expected but potentially, the relevant mention is:

https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1092910958131986434

EA expects Anthem to sell 5-6 million units, by 31 March

[Digfox]

But for one of the world's largest publishers I doubt 3 to 4m units sold would be acceptable. Indeed if Anthem sold that I suspect EA would put those resources onto something else.

I would imagine any Publisher that sells 4 million units at full price is very happy.

https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1092910958131986434

EA expects Anthem to sell 5-6 million units, by 31 March

[Team Andromeda]

Hardly 15 million, but never mind

[Digfox]

That's 5 to 6m in just the first 6 weeks. That's probably 1.5 to 3 times that lifetime.

PS. I said 10-15m probably the expectations from EA. And I'm not far off at all with that.