Anthem

[Tobal]

Played some more as i'd heard you could unlock all the suits, which turned out to be true. Played with the interceptor, which is easily the worst suit, you get some lame unsatisfying frisbee attacks and no L1+R1(unless a have get a "drop" for it) then to base it around speed with the stamina of ranger and melee when the melee combat it really floaty and with zero weight to any of it (outside the ground pound) with little variation as you get only standing strike and an aerial ground pound... and they want to base an entire suit around that!! rubbish. Least they could have done is add a running and dodge melee attack.

Storm at least plays different, you can easily combo Ice and fire skills together to point it trivialises combat against elites 1v1, otherwise you can hover alot lot, longer than the suits which lets it hover in and out of cover instead of walking in and out of cover... again like the video posted earlier the only time you can fly without getting pounded is after your group have reduced the elite's and sentry cannons to nothing.

Also had to quit out of the last insect boss mission, we had 1 player afk with a ball of light on him... couldn't kick him from the menu's, just nothing i could do apart from blacklist him so i never run in to him again.

[Digfox]

Nobody said Monster or Borderlands sold better, the point is they sold in huge numbers and the likes of Monster Hunter World is one of Capcom best selling games in its history with over 10.7 million units sold in sales, not bad for a PVE game.

Of course not. It's was more [MENTION=345]Superman Falls[/MENTION] got a few rubbish examples thrown at him in jest when he made a fairly on-point observation in my view. For games like this I think it is fair to say PVP could increase sales. I do see this as more Destiny/The Division than the other games mentioned.

Where I will completely disagree with you though, is that if Anthem only sells just above 4 million (or in the region of) then it will have been a big flop. My guess is EA is projecting more like 10-15 million sales (EA increase sales projections for Anthem - ResetEra.) although as ever they have never mentioned what their internal targets are despite acknowledging they believe original estimates were too low.

[Tobal]

Embargos are up on the game content, repeat story a mission as a daily objective, world events (aka event timers in the open world), after you finish the story missions you get access 2 more strongholds(of 3, the other being the one in the demo) and once gets going something called Cataclysm will happen which is basically like Fortnite's seasonal map changes for a limited time, along a temporary extra strike like content linked to it. No Raids (yet).

Sounds like a real lack of content even compared to base destiny 1.

[eastyy]

Played the demo for about 20 min enough to get through one mission, definitely felt like an amalgamation of Warframe and Destiny though with more verticality and being able to fly.

I quite liked it felt like the weapons could pack more of a punch but the abilities and special weapons felt good, I am really hoping the missions give more variety and story though as the mission did feel a bit paint by numbers,...bummer was about halfway during the mission the sound cut out completely

[Team Andromeda]

Of course not. It's was more [MENTION=345]Superman Falls[/MENTION] got a few rubbish examples thrown at him in jest when he made a fairly on-point observation in my view.

I'll hardly call Diablo 3, Monster Hunter World, and Borderlands 2 rubbish examples, but more clear examples where games (even if using PVE) can sell and do very well . Also I don't get why you think why a game that sells 4 million units is a flop, nevermind when was the last time a EA game sold over 15 million units? I very much doubt given that most EA games don't sell in anywhere near that number (even if they have a PVP option) would have sent a sales goal, that high.

I would imagine EA will be looking at 3 to 4 million sales. Which if they can fix the bugs and get the severs right, they could hit. Game is ace fun when in a group, but needs to sort of the bug, the frame drops and I would to get rid of that horrible mid level load.

[dataDave]

Also I don't get why you think why a game that sells 4 million units is a flop.

He might not do, he's stating that EA probably will based off of their forecasts. If they rely upon it selling 250M copies and it 'only' sells about as much as GTA5 they will likely consider it a flop.

[Digfox]

I'll hardly call Diablo 3, Monster Hunter World, and Borderlands 2 rubbish examples, but more clear examples where games (even if using PVE) can sell and do very well.

They don't feel relevant. Diablo is a long revered solo, isometric ARPG that has never had PVP. Monster Hunter and Borderlands are co-op PVE games that although different have also never had PVP. That's why I suggested games like The Division and Destiny are much closer comparisons.

Also I don't get why you think why a game that sells 4 million units is a flop...

It's maths really. If you assume that the game sells around an average of $65 (so less price per unit for retail versus a percentage buying the $80 Legion version, but this is probably over generous as an average) you would make $195m revenue at 3m units, and $260m at 4m. Once costs have been taken into account; platform holder royalties i.e. 30% to Sony or MS etc, support and tax etc. You won't be breaking even.

Game budgets are notoriously hidden information but Destiny had $140m dev and marketing spend. Mass Effect: Andromeda around $75m. It's probably safe to assume EA aren't making this game for less than $40-50m.

You don't do revenue of over $5bn per annum as the second largest publisher on projects that return $100-200m. That's firmly in the ballpark of a middle-tier publisher. The trends now are for less projects, and those that you do are big selling live services where you need large player bases to support recurrent spending (microtransactions).

...nevermind when was the last time a EA game sold over 15 million units? I very much doubt given that most EA games don't sell in anywhere near that number (even if they have a PVP option) would have sent a sales goal, that high.

Historically EA do best on their sports titles. FIFA 2018 has sold 24m units. Obviously Madden (shares the same dev patterns, engine and UT modes) will probably do a 3-5m run on top of that. That said there are numerous examples of EA games that have sold large numbers and I'm not going back that far - no time for that. Battlefield 1 did 15m. Battlefield 4 is probably on more than 10m sales by now. Both Star Wars Battlefront games did over 10m sales each. It's worth noting that EA reported SW:BF2 having sold 'only' 9m to shareholders during the first 2 quarters, but they expected over 10m to have been sold.

Further examples are Titanfall 2, EA wanted to achieve 9 to 10m sales but were disappointed when it sold less (proj. 5-6m although v.likely heavy discounted). EA projected 6-9m for Mass Effect Andromeda, with 3m in the first quarter, but only achieved 2.5m and we know what happened after their disappointment. EA does also have some small budget stuff such as Unravel or FE in the mix too.

Therefore I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that EA probably expects 10m+ sales of Anthem.

He might not do, he's stating that EA probably will based off of their forecasts. If they rely upon it selling 250M copies and it 'only' sells about as much as GTA5 they will likely consider it a flop.

Absolutely. What I think doesn't matter, it's about EA's expectations.

------------

As an aside I played the demo last night (PS4 Pro after the DF results). Not sure what to make of it. Obviously the demo goes to great lengths to push you into a party but I powered on as a solo player and got my butt handed to me on the first mission. Shooting feels really impactful and I like the audio sound effects of the weapons even if they sound light to some.

Graphically impressive in places and I love the verticality of the game. Menu's are a mess imo. And controls aren't intuitive. It takes some effort to get used to jumping into flight or hover. I wonder if the jump controls could have been simplified. I get get Mass Effect vibes, but as if it is Iron Man edition.

I like aspects of it though.

[Team Andromeda]

He might not do, he's stating that EA probably will based off of their forecasts. If they rely upon it selling 250M copies and it 'only' sells about as much as GTA5 they will likely consider it a flop.

And since when as a single EA game ever sold 250 million copies? And if we compare any game to GTA 5 sales this or last gen, then its a flop even 'the mentioned' Destiny and The Divsion.

[Team Andromeda]

It's maths really.

Yes, but given we get so many sequels to games that sell around the 4 million mark, I think its safe to say that's a sweet point for a lot of developers, even EA.

Diablo is a long revered solo, isometric ARPG that has never had PVP. Monster Hunter and Borderlands are co-op PVE

All games mentioned were PVE online games, lets not dig up a game origins becasue many games can totally change over the years; just like how Phantasy Star, went from a fan revered traditional JRPG series into a PVE Online RPG.

Further examples are Titanfall 2, EA wanted to achieve 9 to 10m sales but were disappointed when it sold less (proj. 5-6m although v.likely heavy discounted).

And yet EA bought the developer and there's various job listings for a new game in the series. I would think given Anthem is a new IP launched late in a system life cycle, they're be hoping for 4 to 5 million and then make a big push with a sequel.

Historically EA do best on their sports titles. FIFA 2018 has sold 24m units.

So other than sports games, EA games don't tend to sell anywhere near the 15 million sales barrier.

[Asura]

I would be surprised if EA have committed studio-breaking funds to this. EA are still smarting over the enormous amount of money they committed to The Old Republic (which remains the most expensive game ever made, if I recall correctly).

The advantage of instanced looter shared-world games is that they can be built piece-by-piece, adding more and more content to a modest start.

[Digfox]

Yes, but given we get so many sequels to games that sell around the 4 million mark, I think its safe to say that's a sweet point for a lot of developers, even EA.

So other than sports games, EA games don't tend to sell anywhere near the 15 million sales barrier.

It's relative. 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'm not sure why you are fixated on 15m unit sold;is it because I said 'a guess of 10 to 15m for Anthem'? Either way you asked for an example last time EA sold a 15m copies of a game. It has done that on a number of occasions.

All games mentioned were PVE online games, lets not dig up a game origins becasue many games can totally change over the years; just like how Phantasy Star, went from a fan revered traditional JRPG series into a PVE Online RPG.

It was more the irrelevance of the response - if even half jokingly. Superman Fall's point was valid as PVP is likely to increase the potential audience of a game like Anthem. And then a load of successful PVE games games were stated as if they disproved his point. They did not.

And yet EA bought the developer and there's various job listings for a new game in the series. I would think given Anthem is a new IP launched late in a system life cycle, they're be hoping for 4 to 5 million and then make a big push with a sequel.

Nexon submitted a bid to buy Respawn Entertainment which triggered a legal clause for EA who had a first refusal option. Maybe EA wanted to acquire full rights for Titanfall, already had some equity, were already engaged on existing projects or EA wanted to keep the dev out of a rival and the talent was a good deal for the price. Some or all of this probably factored into the acquisition. Indeed now EA has full control I would imagine the studio has changed somewhat.

Who knows what this means for Titanfall, although the rumours are around a Titanfall Battle Royal and this Star Wars game. I would imagine these are good reasons for ramping up on staff numbers. Star Wars is probably EA's big hitter this holiday season.

I would be surprised if EA have committed studio-breaking funds to this. EA are still smarting over the enormous amount of money they committed to The Old Republic (which remains the most expensive game ever made, if I recall correctly).

The advantage of instanced looter shared-world games is that they can be built piece-by-piece, adding more and more content to a modest start.

Indeed. Although SW:TOR was rumoured to be nearly $250m. I think $40-75m isn't that far off a sensible guess for Anthem.

[Digfox]

...bummer was about halfway during the mission the sound cut out completely

Played this some more today and quite enjoyed it. I love the height of the world. Particularly as you dive down over the waterfall near the main city/hub. It's an awesome feeling. And the controls have begun to make a bit more sense.

That said I'd guess the demo isn't scaled for solo players at all. I can't get past that 2nd story mission. Just get destroyed by a constant stream of enemies. Freeplay was much easier with other players doing world events. The demo also disconnected me a couple of times (once to the dashboard) and I also had the sound cut out completely on freeplay - like [MENTION=3349]eastyy[/MENTION]. As soon as I closed the application my PS4 sound was working fine. I'm also not sure that I didn't lose out on XP although I like the way the game offers to resume expedition even when you have restarted the game.

Weapons seem visually boring but I wonder if that is because there is a limited set in the demo.

[Neon Ignition]

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

First impressions weren't great, I'm unsure if HDR is poorly set up but aside from that the fps hub is awful and if the game is 30fps throughout then sections feel like the pacing is off.

Then I got into the first mission and... really enjoyed it. The combat feels solid and fun, I'd like this feel if they ever make a fifth Mass Effect.

Then it stumbled more as it went on, the menus need an overhaul but more than anything... it gets old pretty quick. There's not that much to the gameplay loop, I played with others but you'd need people you know to get much out of it. Level design is very poor, shoot baddies then fly to the next marker repeat. It's effectively a third person Destiny but Destiny is definitely much better delivered. There's good here but I'd need reviews to show a quality game that goes beyond the demo quite a bit to skip other releases over it and if you skip this at launch it's hard to imagine it'll be worthwhile at all

[eastyy]

Well this happened

[Team Andromeda]

It's relative. 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. I guess the likes of Horizon Zero Dawn are flops and made a loss with less than 8 million sales?

It was more the irrelevance of the response

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

Respawn Entertainment which triggered a legal clause for EA who had a first refusal option. Maybe EA wanted to acquire full rights for Titanfall

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

Although SW:TOR was rumoured to be nearly $250m. I think $40-75m isn't that far off a sensible guess for Anthem

EA got burnt with APB too. I would imagine Anthem budget is the standard current gen of $30 to USA dollars