"Darker" look prevails, Prince 2 outsells The Sands of time.

[Captain-N]

Check this link.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/575/575599p1.html?fromint=1

Although reviewers were less impressed by the second adventure of the Prince and many of us had issues with the rather uninspired "darker" look that killed much of the fairy-tale atmoshpeare that made The Sands of Time so special, the buyers has clearly spoken:
Prince of Persia 2: Warrior Within has sold twice as much as the first game which means that we can probably exclude the chance of the third outing taking the franchise back to its charming "arabian nights" roots. Kind of a shame that blood, thongs and gore manages to sell units like nothing else, no?

[nips]

Perhaps a stonger title affiliation and larger advertising budget prevailed... Not that I've played the new game, but who really expects a correlation between quality and sales?

[Concept]

Marketing executives?

It almost makes one feel peversely relieved that Beyond Good & Evil suffered at retail. Almost.

Think of what the sequel could have been like if it'd been a semi-success lke The Sands of Time.

[Spatial]

I got POP:WW for Chrimbo and while its a different game to the first ( and not quite as good ) I'm still enjoying it

My problem with the game is that its clearly been rushed to buggery, and the QA testing must have been pretty slack in parts.

Some great bugs so far include backtracking through a level after a save only to fall straight through the level, and when using the scenery camera to get a better view - it pulled out so far I could see the layout of the whole level

[jpred88]

Was their any news about which format sold the best? I remember SoT was released on the PS2 and GC months after the Xbox version which may have made a difference.

But still, game sales can't be used to determine decent games unfortunately.

[PeteJ]

As Nips says, I think WW sold more because of the hype and more people are aware of the franchise. I guess the darker look did play a part though, shame.

[Alf-Life]

Yeah, I for one noticed the advertising was much more prominant this year round - last year I saw the SOT ad a few times, but the average person would've been like wtf or 'poor Tomb Raider rip off' from it - the sands of time weren't explained properly in the 30 or so available seconds, while the WW ad has an opening FMV with a busty princess followed by some decent-looking in-game stuff marked "Actual gameplay".

It can also be argued that the first one established the [new 3d] series, and so people who maybe saw their friend play SOT or briefly saw a demo were more intrigued or tempted to buy this one.

Or... it could just be that the darker goth/rock look prevailed - I know for me there are themes and settings that just don't appeal whether it be in literature, film or gaming.

[Kotatsu Neko]

Bah, as usual you throw in a few polygonal breasts and some brain melting ROCK music and people lap it up.

Would be interesting to know what percentage of those sales were US... I suspect the vast majority.

I don't know anyone who has anything but utter contempt for what Ubi have done to this series. When you think back to what Ubi were - PoP1, BG&E, XIII... and now.... BG&E and XIII gone, Splinter Cell is being endlessly re-released, and PoP has been destroyed.

Respect, erased. Ubi, you suck.

[highlandcattle]

I loved XIII the ending was so open I was hoping for a second game

Warior Within sucks gone are the cool graphic effects and most of the platforming it's all fighting now ,against busty chicks

[nips]

Kotatsu Neko, I'd hold off before you jump to any conclusions... 1 year can see them going one way, another year could see them totally elsewhere. They may yet astound...

[gingerj]

The fact that i saw like a million adverts on the telly before christmas helped alot

[Spatial]

And that its not a PS2 exclusive for a few months this time around is sure to have helped a little bit too

[Robster]

I really feel sorry for the uneducated minions who think guts and gore make a good game, oh and a heavy rock soundtrack(which doesnt even suit the game at all)

[Number45]

There's always the [ridiculously small] possibility that Ubisoft will make the assumption that, now they have brand penetration, they could take a risk and regress to the style of the original.

I'm scared to even start this game, for fear that it will sully my memory of Sands of Time. >_<

[Robster]

I fear the lure of the old greenbacks will prove to much for Ubi soft( who I thought were developer of 2003 imo) and they will turn into the next EA.

I would love it if UBisoft tried to influence the casual gamer with the retro style of the original, chance would be a fine thing i think we can assume that its neve gonna happen unfortunatly mate