|
Around here, whether it's RPGamer's IRC channel or message forums, the debate can sometimes be pretty intense. People like to argue. They like to prove their points. Unfortunately, sometimes these points aren't grounded in the reality of what's actually going on. This tends to be particularly troublesome when a favored tactic rears its ugly head: the attempt to score a few cheap points by labeling a game "a bomb." Whether it's a game the debater doesn't like, or just that the debater wants to feel superior for liking the game, it's commonplace to just throw around that a particular game just flat out bombed. Or even that an entire company's strategy has bombed, when an extra dose of surrealism is called for by the argument.
So, let's set a few things straight, shall we?
Xenosaga did not bomb. It did not bomb in America, nor did it bomb in Japan. Episode I sold just barely under a million copies between just the United States and Japan; that number easily exceeds a million when one factors in the other regions in which the game saw release. Were Americans so sophisticated that they were able to appreciate the complexities of its philosophically-moored plot more than the Japanese? Not really, if one considers that Episode I's Japanese sales were 93% those of the American sales. Xenosaga Episode II, by the way, didn't bomb, either. While its sales were considerably less than those of its predecessor, the game was still more commercially popular than many RPGs, moving around 250,000 copies in Japan and almost 200,000 in America.
Baten Kaitos didn't bomb -- though it seems popular to ascribe that trait to Monolith Soft's games, and I've heard it referenced time and time again with regards to this game. While its sales were low in Japan, coming in at around 80,000, Baten Kaitos more than doubled that amount when it came to America. The end result is that its combined American and Japanese sales easily rivaled those of games such as Phantom Brave, Shadow Hearts 2, and Digital Devil Saga, among many, many others.
Neither Phantasy Star Online for the GameCube, nor Sega's GameCube support in general, bombed. Episode I & II for the GameCube has pulled in about 400,000 copies between America and Japan. The Xbox version, in case anyone was wondering, nabbed less than a third of that. Nor was it a mistake for Sega in general to support the GameCube; six of Sega's ten best-selling post-Dreamcast titles were located on the GameCube. And to broaden the look to non-RPGs, whether it's Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Mega Collection, Sonic Heroes, or Super Monkey Ball, Sega's multiplatorm releases consistently pulled better numbers on the GameCube. Let's not get too hasty in declaring Sega to be royally ticked at Nintendo while heading into the next console generation.
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus did not bomb. Yes, the game faced widespread critical revulsion, and it was popular at the time of its Japanese release to describe scores of disgusted gamers returning it to retailers en masse. The game still pulled in over 460,000 in sales; these are the kind of bomb sales most companies would love to have. Even if the game performs atrociously when it hits North American shores, its worldwide total is guaranteed to go well beyond half a million. Not bad, Mr. Valentine. Not bad at all.
The list goes on and on, but I'm certain the trend is apparent with the evidence presented. So the next time you're engaged in a minor debate with a random RPG fan and he claims that you, surely, must be wrong because the game you're debating bombed, take it with a grain of salt. And if you're feeling so inclined to drop the B-word yourself, you might be better off staying your hand unless you know the actual numbers involved.
|
RSS feed
iTunes