Remedy blames “very competitive window” for Wake figures, insists IP has “legs”

VG247: Remedy head of franchise Oskari Hakkinen has told VG247 that Alan Wake faced stiff opposition and “extremely aggressive marketing” from rival games in its May launch month, following last week’s NPD numbers showing low US sales for the thriller.

[FangBlade]

After 5 years of development, you cant blame no one but yourself.
Now stfu and go back to the drawing board.

[Celeras]

Drawing board isn't really necessary, they just chose their market wrong. This would have sold a lot better if it were on the Ps3.

[Conloles]

I blame not developing for PC, and being restricted to subpar power.

[Venatus-Deus]

A small 3rd party developer introducing a new IP that takes 5 years to develop that is only launched on one platform is not a good business model to follow.

Besides... I can't think of any good launch window in 2010, except right now. Hell, back end of 2009 was worst and 2011 looks better that 2010 for games.

[Active Reload]

People, people, people...MS had/has a say in how the franchise is handled. That SAY is...money.

[sikbeta]

@Conloles

Please, SHUT UP!

O-T

They can blame RDR but they can also blame themselves for killing the PC version, in fact I blame them for Screwing the Survival Horror Fans....

[Sitdown]

Can you explain your logic on that one please?

[captain-obvious]

sounds like a damage control to me

[NecrumSlavery]

This isn't a 360 fanbased genre, should it on PS3 and marketed the he'll our of it in Japan.

[Double Toasted]

I remember anything less than 2 million sold was considered a *flop*. But a certain console's exclusives could barely muster that, so now anything at 1 million is a *success*. Looks like AW is a *flop*, but remember what standards were lowered for who ;)

[jeseth]

They also mentioned how no PS3 owners support their exclusives.

I am surprised by how much 360 fanboys were talking out their @$$ and didn't buy the game that was better than every other PS3 exclusive this year.

Maybe if it was an FPS it would have sold more.

[lelo2play]

STFU with your stupid comment "This would have sold a lot better if it were on the Ps3". Just shows how ignorant you are.

In case you don't know, there are exclusive games that sold poorly on the PS3. Just take the example of the last 2 exclusives.... 3d dot game and Modnation Racers or older games like Heavenly Sword, and others. Now everybody could claim "They would have sold more if they were on the X360".

As for Alan Wake, it is a great game and i'm sad it did not sell that well. I hope they make Alan Wake 2.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

I don't know why people bash Alan Wake so much, but I thoroughly enjoyed the game.

Arguably it had no re-play value after you finish it like twice, so I promptly traded it in... with that said, the Limited Edition of this game was the best I have seen. It included a full developer commentary in game with a little video pop-up while you play. Hands-down the best!

I have a sealed LE in my glass case.

[Eddie20101]

Might have sold better on PS3 but it wouldn't have been any better than it is now, which is pretty average.

I've played it and it really isn't worth sixty bucks, glad I got it for forty bucks.

[moparful99]

I was excited to try this game because it looked great but after playing it I can say with all honesty that it was "meh". Combat was very uninspired. Using the flashlight as a tool to defeat your enemies intially was cool but wore thin very very quickly, as did the flares. even though the lighting was fantastic it just wasn't enough to carry the game. Then the mechanic of finding notes littered throughout the environment which gives you snippets of the future failed in building tension nor did it answer questions. I dunno I walked away after playing the first chapte feeling very dissatisfied with the whole experience. This is, in my opinion, the reason the game isn't selling well. Not because of the launch window.

[Archdemon]

I haven't played it myself. But from what I've seen I think It could have been so much more.

The flashlight should not be able to damage enemies. Scary/challenge factor increased by 1000000%.

[corneliuscrust]

The flashlight just lowers their defenses. The only things the flashlight can damage are the possessed inanimate objects

[M4ndat0ry_1nstall]

A "very competitive window" is only PART of the reason. Advertising (I have yet to see an AW ad on TV) and lack of interest (due to the length of development) as well as the fanbase, are the major reasons the sales were sub-par.

Remedy and MS didn't push this game enough.

But of course PS3 fanboys will completely forget the many high profile PS3 exclusives (at the time) have suffered a similar fate.

BUT BUT...PS3 exclusives have long legs.

[WrAiTh Sp3cTr3]

Your're right about advertising. I have never seen a commercial for AW. Crackdown 2 has more ads than AW.

[Corepred4]

"BUT BUT...PS3 exclusives have long legs"
funny thing is ps3 games actually do. funny how Remedy is trying to say the same thing now though, when everyone knows it doesn't. games on the xbox either explode at launch or fizzle out and die quickly.

[DigitalAnalog]

Sucker Punch Productions made inFamous on a "fairly-difficult" console to work upon with a team of 60 people.

Successful.

One Platform.

3 years in development.

Microsoft has no excuse, they're regarded as marketing-whores and they've failed to deliver on this one. From what I'v seen, they'll prefer to market 3rd party games like COD: MW MUCH more than this. A PC, to PS3 console choice would have been preferable in my opinion.

-End statement

[M4ndat0ry_1nstall]

So the PC and .....PS2? would of been a better choice of platform for Heavenly Sword? At least by your unless logic.

And how would the PS3 be a better platform for AW? You do know the best selling PS3 game is:

1. Multiplatform
2. FPS

...........!!

[DigitalAnalog]

"So the PC and .....PS2? would of been a better choice of platform for Heavenly Sword? At least by your unless logic."

Apparently, you seem to lost the grasp to the meaning of my comment. I
t would've been prefered that you would say the "Wii would've been a better choice of platform for Heavenly Sword" After all, it was supposed to be an Xbox exclusive, not to mention the console attatch-rate. But then you would see the flaw of that concept immediately as "core-games" do NOT sell that well on the system. Because of that I simply do not understand why you brought up the PS2, was it because it had a 100 million sales? The PS3 (which I recommended) has the lowest of all the console attach-rates nullifies your point.

"And how would the PS3 be a better platform for AW? You do know the best selling PS3 game is:

1. Multiplatform
2. FPS

Take a look at games like Heavy Rain. Despite the constant pre-bashing and underwhelming marketing, it sold very well to warrant another project exclusively for the PS3. Demon's Souls also sold VERY WELL at a time when big-hits like Uncharted 2 and MW2 was out, not to mention the inclusion of R&C. This article complains that Alan-Wake was hammered by RDR when the said PS3 exclusive was competing with a First-party title and an Juggernaut franchise. Another example would be the negativity from PS3 fans itself for the Yakuza 3 port. Yet, it sold well enough for an imminent sequel.

What has "multi-platform" and FPS (that sell well) on the PS3 has anything to do with my comment? I only brought the PS3 or PC up for the fact that if it did went "exclusive" on that direction, the franchise wouldn't be in this poor situation. In other words, there IS a market for a niche in the PS3 industry whether you like it or not.

-End statement

[NewZealander]

stop trolling, alan wake is actually very good, its a shame it hasn't sold better.

[BX81]

@FangBlade clearly you haven't played the game if this is your response. The time took to develop this game was well spent. They just didn't back it up with well marketing. I personally look forward to another game in the Wake series.

[PCnPS3Gamer]

id say this is a case of a game with no online and alot of gamers considered this a rental. also remedy could have pissed of some pc gamers that were gunna buy it for pc, even though they have a 360.....seems like these days a game has to have online to be popular. remedy could have implaced coop online zombie mood where u. where ur in the creepy forest a waves of scary shit comes at you and you gotta kill it together kinda like horde or firefight with a little twist ofcourse

[Independent_Charles]

i think Alan Wake is a very good game but with out marketing and lauching next to spegetti westwern game was suicide.

[Natsu X FairyTail]

Man , Fangblade you need to stfu. What does the number of years of dev have to do? the game was against a ROCKSTAR MULTIPLATFORM Game . Did you expect it to Sell more than a rockstar Game available on all consoles?

GET REAL

[NYC_Gamer]

stop making excuses and create better gameplay

[dizzleK]

theres nothing wrong with the gameplay, the average dope would rather just have another reskinned gta. "derp derp it's got alot of shootan in it!"

[raWfodog]

I would have thought that the 'average dope' would rather have another reskinned FPS. Halo, Gears, MW2, KZ3, Resistance, etc., all included.

[Chris399]

You get the occasional rare gem that isn't just another run-of-the-mill bullet/ testosterone fest.

Recently, I was VERY impressed with Raven/ ID's Wolfenstein. The ending was a bit of a let-down, but the game-play, atmosphere and semi open-worldness was really cool.

I might actually pick up Singularity when it drops in price (got Wolfenstein for $20 - on principle, as I'm not a "shooter" guy, that's the most I'll pay for an FPS).

[outrageous]

Bright Falls, Rock and Roll capital of America. One of many great moments in Alan Wake. Lots of game play in this clip. Just a small taste of some AW fun.

SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILER S

BTW...the vid does contain spoilers, so be aware for those who have yet to play it. Great game that needs to be played at night, with the lights off and the sound way up.

[outrageous]

SPOILERS***SPOILERS

Dr Hartman is one of the many memorable characters in Alan Wake. In this clip, Dr Hartman tries to convince AW that it's all a dream...lol. That the last 3 chapters and 6+ hours were a illusion. Of course AW doesn't believe him but plays along to plan his escape. At one point, Alan finds an answering machine with Alice ( AW wife ) talking with Dr Hartman about Alan and his memory loss...yes, it's that deep. Dr Hartman is actually involved in the whole thing and was working with the *SPOILER* kidnapper you meet in the previous chapter. Funny thing...the bandage Dr Hartman has on his nose was when AW punched him in the face in a previous chapter in the police station...something hard to do if you are DREAMING it all...lol. This is the very begging of chapter 4. There are so many great game play as well as psychological moments in the game it's hard to pick one clip. Later, when the doctor leaves, you make you escape but not before some great gameplay and interactions inside ( wonder what happens to the Doc??? ) as well as outside when good ole Barry shows up. Believe me...this game has it all.

BTW...the game is ( 6 chapters ) 12+++ hours. Saying it would take less is a sure sign you never played the game...lol

[mrcash]

If heavy rain sold well, I don't see why wake can't. I love heavy rain, but there's very little gameplay aside from from qte and the short investigating sequences. Wake's gameplay is better and the story quality is on the same level of hr, it wasn't marketed right.

[pinkyxyz]

ps3 gamers love all types of games, their is not a single genre that you can pinpoint on the system that represents that console like FPS does with the 360. beside FPS nearly every other genre sells better on the ps3. does that help answer your question?

[chakan]

And PS3 fans don't buy games...

[Anon1974]

In Canada, Alan Wake is still $70 everywhere. I'm not going to spend $70 on 8 hours of gameplay when I can get Demon's Souls for $40 or Red Dead for $50. There's just too many great games for less money.

I fully intend to pick up Alan Wake but I've waited 5 years for it. Another year until the price goes down isn't going to make any difference at this point.

[Hands Up For Games]

I would agree that Wake has the legs to push the sales of the IP further down the line months after release. Of course it would have come out the starting blocks a lot quicker if MS had decided to you know ... advertise the game on television.

We need more games like this breaking through, so if youve played it and enjoyed it tell your friends, the more people playing Wake, the more chance we have of seeing just WTF Bright Falls has in store for us in Series 2 :)!

[raWfodog]

They're just using this 'very competetive window' as an excuse. I'm not saying the game isn't good or bad (haven't played it yet) but they should have known better than to release it against such potential heavy hitters as Mario or something from Rockstar. They thought it would do good but now they have to justify the sales...

[Hands Up For Games]

Wake had its release date announced at E3. The others you mentioned were announced later, what were Remedy supposed to do, keep delaying it until no games were being released on that day?

Go buy the game, you can get it cheap now anyway (just in time for the free DLC), I highly recommend it :).

[raWfodog]

Release dates have been known to change to better position the title but maybe the fact that it was five years in development prompted them to stick to their annouced release date. Im sure its a good game (got good reviews) and hopefully it'll get better sales as time goes on. Which bears the question, why are games considered 'failures' if they don't sale 1 million+ in the first week or so?

[Hands Up For Games]

Fanboys my friend, they are trying to destroy our favourite past time, one game at a time.

Play the games, not the sales. I guarantee you'll get 10x more fun than any Fanboy ever could!

[raWfodog]

Okami (PS2) was one of the most original and fun games to play but looking at the sales you would think it was crap. Gamers, support original games or be doomed to sequels forever.

[Elven6]

Alan Wake had the date first months in advance, keep in mind that Red Dead Redemption was delayed maybe three or four times before they settled on May 18, it would have been gamble either way since there was no guarantee that Red Dead would actually meet the deadline until you were on the verge of release.

Now, Microsoft did move the release date up in Europe by a week which seems to have helped in sales their.

[mrcash]

I agree, I don't remember ever seeing a commercial about this game on TV, which is sad, as much time that went into this game. MS owes remedy that much. I honestly think it would have been a lot better on ps3.

[Newtype]

The fan base doesn't appreciate these type of games.

[wazzim]

Please, make up your mind. Is it a bad game or do you want it on PS3?

Guess Killzone sales show that the PS3 fanbase doesn't appreciate those type of games huh?

Get a 360/PS3 and start playing instead of trolling.

Disagree's? Guess some people love trolling too much.

[dustgavin]

"Guess Killzone sales show that the PS3 fanbase doesn't appreciate those type of games huh?"
http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...
2.33m sold to date. Cry some more.

[Venatus-Deus]

Really..?

2.33 million. Not bad for an 18 certificate game.

[lh_swe]

How are 2.3 mill in sales bad? How is being in 19th place bad or in any way indicative that people don't appreachiate it?

Alan Wake is a great games and one reason cannot be blamed for its sales but I do believe that its aimed at an older demographic and I do beleive the 360 fan base is a little younger (and this is NOT A BAD THING) but I do beleive it could have affected the sales it would have benefited from being released simultaneously on PC.

But everyone should stop playing sales and start playing games.

[dustgavin]

Actually, I was pointing out that Killzone 2 sales are good in response to the comment Wazzim made:
"Guess Killzone sales show that the PS3 fanbase doesn't appreciate those type of games huh?"

Sales do not make a game and people like Wazzim should not bring up other titles to defend Alan Wake.

[lh_swe]

I am soo sorry I meant that comment for wazzim, sorry!

[The Meerkat]

I quite liked it.
Nice story and graphics. Gamplay wasn't up there with the best but I feel the game as a whole worked because of the story.

+ it helps pass the time until Halo Reach.

[e-p-ayeaH]

Remedy needs to go to PlayStation i say.

It would solve many problems or just they just can return making multiplats

[Stuart5756]

If it had been multiplat or PS3 exclusive sales would have been a lot better!

[MGRogue2017]

What Remedy needs to do is go Multi-platform.

Hell, They should have gone that way with Alan Wake but it's too late now unless they want to try & port it over to the PS3.. but I don't see that happening as much as I would like for it to happen. :(

[Omega4]

Looks like the PS3 fanboys are finally admitting they want some Alan Wake

[nickjkl]

no we are saying people with ps3 like things other than shooting numerous enemies

[wazzim]

Isn't that the same, if they like other things, why wouldn't they love to have Alan Wake?

[sikbeta]

@Omega4

As a Survival Horror Fan I'd love to play it on my PS3, my last hope was the PC version, since there is no PC Version I can't play it, cos I'm not going to buy a console for just this Game, so I miss it...

[moparful99]

Nope. Played it, hated it, dont want it...

[dustgavin]

More like Alan Wake needs PS3 fans along with 360 fans. For all the bragging and talk of how amazing this game is you would have expected more 360 fans to purchase this game.

[Sez]

Actually all it needed was advertisement. Many people didn't even know about this game or how long of a production life it had. Plus the fact RDR and the halo reach beta out the same month killed it sales.

I brought the game first day. After letting my best friend hold the game after I was done with it. He loved it. Yet he didn't know anything about the game. He doesn't come to these sites to look up the latest news on what games are coming out. Sometimes he'll wait til I get a game and finish it and ask to hold it. Then come to me and say." why didn't you tell me about this game" or " when did it come out. I never saw a comercial for it". The lack of advertisement hurt it.

Edit: for the people that think it would have done better in ps3. NO it wouldn't have. Shooters sell just as much on the ps3 as they do on the 360. And the fact that Sony doesn't really advertise alot of thier games. Would have had the same fate. Sony relys on word of mouth to get their games out. MS should have done better with getting people aware of Alan wake. As opposed to just hope and wait for people to buy it.

[ipe]

than to act like alan is important exclusive without buying it.

And dont give me crap about ps3 owners dont buy games.

1.in 2009 total software sales
ps3-115 millions
360-103 millions

same thing in 2010. lol i remember quotes "alan ll outsell HR by millions"

[RadientFlux]

With game development picking the right time to release a game is like rolling a dice. This wasn't a first time a great game was overshadowed by being released around other great games and it won't be the last.

Thankfully developers are now starting to release their games for a longer period of time instead of releasing everything in the Fall.

Alan Wake just picked the wrong time to release the game, I'm sure sales would have been better if the game was release in June.

Hopefully word-of-mouth continues as I would like to see a sequel.

[2hoodz]

LOL

[jneul]

actually they released it on the wrong platform, it should have been released on the pc, even the pc users would have appreciated it more than the x3shooter base

[Newtype]

Was intended for PC as well, but got canned. Had a lot more content for it as well.

[NYC_Gamer]

it has nothing to do with it bein on 360 the game was just was overhyped and lacked in the gameplay area..c'mon lets stop with the excuses so i guess haze would have sold better on 360...yes that console love shooters but ones that offer gameplay look at that trash called section 8 it released on everything and still bomb'd

Edit@Letros
show me those old videos

[OSU_Gamer]

AW was a good game. Haze was terrible.

[Letros]

Except for the fact that the game was completely changed from its original concept due to it being on 360, did you ever see the original Intel Alan Wake videos?

[Chubear]

Haze was considered "teh worst FPS eva" because it went PS3 exclusive at the tail end of development. Had it gone 360 exclusive instead it would have been proclaimed as even better than KZ2 by you and your fellow haters lol

I laugh so hard at this new defence of "oh, AW was not advertised at all or well enough and people didn't know about it" PRICELESS!!! lol

Wow, gamers this gen are the dumbest of any gen in the past. Your loyalty to MS is outstanding.

[OSU_Gamer]

@Chubear

Haze metacritic score: 55.

Haze was considered the worst because it was hyped as the Halo Killer and then got a 55!!!.So stop speculating about how it would have been received by 360 fanboys. That's what makes you a dumb fanboy.

Even the PS3 supporting crowd on here said AW was a good game that should have been put on the PS3. How do you explain that?

I'm not a 360 fanboy. I will say it 100 times. The PS3 is by far the better system. I use it a lot more than my 360. So before you start making dumb assumptions, why don't YOU turn off your fanboy for a while.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

Alan Wake came out the same day as Red Dead did. I have the game, but I'm waiting for the 1st Episode of DLC to come out. The one thing I love about the game is you cannot fight everybody and your enemies can chase your ass down within seconds. The enemies are fast and you only get one glimpse of how many spawn around for a quick second. Be smart about using your ammo and flashlight. Besides that, AW is a good game. Just came out at the wrong time.

[Counter Strike]

Read Dead and Super MArio Galaxy are HuGe Games and Microsoft knew that so i dont know why they launch the game in that "window".

Plus no Tv ads...Stupid MS!

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

With SMG....it is not on xbox 360

[wicko]

Waiting on the PC version myself. Probably would have doubled sales figures (at the very least) had they released it on PC like they claimed they would.

[corneliuscrust]

...

[Fishy Fingers]

Focusing solely on a shooter/online centric demographic, binning the PC version after claiming to be the game to push the platform forward and way to much hype didn't help either.

[Syaz1]

remedy should reunite with rockstar, they make a perfect combo. come on rockstar, take out your wallet and gobble them up.

[Honest_gamer]

this game was truly an amazing experiance one of my best games this gen however what I found funny is the ps3 fans they claim ps3 games that don’t sell are amazing and sell in the long run but Alan wake they claim it failed in sales and won’t last long.....i find the contradictions stupid almost stupid in a funny way, cant wait till the DLC comes out for this game

[GigaGaia]

Wow, making excuses, this is pathetic. First the game wasn't that good. Second, if you blame the competition like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Red Dead Redemption, all you had to do was release it earlier in April or later in June.

After 5 years in development, I just can't believe that it wasn't ready in April. Most games are ready before the shipping time, they just want to piss you off by making you wait.

[BubblesDAVERAGE]

It would have sold more on ps3... ( troll comment right)

I played Alan Wake and do think a sequel is needed it was solid...was not great but solid...It is an okay game....If you haven't got it get it if u need a game to play till reach or madden

[2hoodz]

In the good Words of Chad (Ocho Cinco) Johnson !!!Child Please!!!

Lets be real, we all know that audience to some extinct dont exist. Plus the community was to busy playing Halo Reach, more than 2.7m participated. I dont hate nor support haterd, but anything that involved Halo gets first priority.

[BillOreilly]

played it for couple hours its one of the best games of this gen im buyin it when its around 30 new so more sales will come after people finish red dead i hope they get this not crackdown 2 (its great but alan wake is a gem it deserves the sales more)but id did release at a bad time with no tv comercials thats how the average 360 owner gets info a cod comercial or red dead or word of mouth which is spreading right now

[BillOreilly]

oh and its worth 60 but bills are really tight at the moment but buy new so the dev make a sequal

[J-Smith]

it might of not flopped if it was called *alan halo wake* LoL

i played it a bit, it was nothing special really

[DizzyDino]

and i loved this game. it was awesome. it is MY GOTY so far

[BeaArthur]

I think it was two fold. I do think the competitive window played a factor but I also think the lack of contact was an issue as well. Ten hour games with no multiplayer aren't going to cut it anymore.

[RadientFlux]

Ten hour games still work for me, Alan Wake's storyline easily made up for the lack of multi-player.

[BeaArthur]

Well yeah, some people are fine with it but for a lot of people you can get so much more content with the same $60 for another game. Especially in tough economic times. I used to buy a game like Alan Wake day 1 but now I'll either rent or wait for it to hit the bargain bin.

[DigitalAnalog]

I guarantee THAT would sell millions from that tagline ALONE!

-End statement

[ranmafandude]

i think it would have sold better.

[Nugundam0079]

I finally Finished Alan Wake..what an amazing experience..after finishing it I was kind of upset that this game wasnt getting the recognition it deserved..then i remembered what console i was playing it on..and the type of games owners of this console usually play...

seriously Xbox owners..please PLEASE for once put away your shooters and actually try games that are DIFFERENT! seriously your not giving other genres a chance! Alan Wake is a AWESOME game and your not allowing it to succeed because your too busy playing games that have NO substance and MEANING to them!

PUT AWAY THE SHOOTERS!

[ranmafandude]

the majority will just go back to modern warfare 2, halo 3, etc. a few will try this game but not many.

[Denethor_II]

Or just get a PS3? Assuming you like variety.

[Raoh]

1. not going multi platform

2. if competition was the problem, then you should have chose a better date.

3. ms did not promote. its time to worry when ms doesnt promote a game. ms promotes promotion and spend none on alan wake. remedy said they were too small a studio to afford to develop for 360 and pc so ms should have stepped up.

3a. ms probably was more concerned with beating the ps3 in red dead redemption sales.

4. wrong market. i'm sure there are plenty of rpg gamers and story driven gamers and adventure gamers on the 360 but it doesnt change that 360 is FPS country. call it a fanboy comment or not but fps's sell better on 360 and rpg's and adventure games sell better on ps3.

4a. with all the ps3 hate. the lack of promotion to anyone outside of the core audience on the ps3. the attacks of quicktime gameplay, heavy rain managed to succeed as a new ip.

[Folezicle]

Mate look at the NPDs that month and look what completely wiped out the competition in the core market. It wasn't an issue with the choice of console, it was more the timing. Blur was another another example of a game that did horrible, yet people were predicting to sell big. The game that sold second in the core market was UFC which sold nearly half of what Red Dead Redemption Sold. Did you guys go outside at all, I found Red Dead Redemption billboards, and a lot of advertisement on public transport

I am not saying we shouldn't share exclusives (in fact if it would get bot Xbots and Sony fan-boys to stop bragging and wining about exclusives, I would get everything to go multi-platform) but honestly games don't normally sell one and half million copies in the middle of the year that normally happens during Christmas. If you don't believe me look at the year before.
http://vgsales.wikia.com/wi...

Also I'm sorry If you want it on PS3 or Wii but it can't be since it was published by Microsoft (Which now own the rights to the Alan Wake universe), however it could of had a chance of coming to the PC, but Microsoft may have noticed that some of the gamers owning a PS3 actually want the game to the point where some of you might go buy an Xbox. Also in the past survival horror have done well sale on the 360 (and the PS3) like games such as F.E.A.R 2, Dead Space and Left 4 Dead 2, so why does Alan Wake not suit the audience. Is it because it is "too good" for the Xbox. I'm going to sound like some sort of Xbox fan-boy from this, but honestly I think both consoles are great, and I stress that if some kid wined about something not coming out 360, and reasoning its bad sales over something that has no evidence I would say a similar thing.

Now For some personal rebuttals:

@nickjkl @NewType: Well than the fan base (which includes me) would all not like MAG, Killzone or Alan Wake (Yes you shoot people in the game..) People who play 360 are individuals too, remember.

You kids got to base your opinion via facts and connections. Why do I even bother sometimes all I know is that i'll get some comments saying that i'm wrong because the PS3 in flawless.. Neither console is perfect.. Both are brilliant.

[Folezicle]

Also I expect in general a lot of games that did poorly in May to do a bit better in June as the Red Dead Redemption hype wears off

[DelbertGrady]

I think it could have legs. There's really only two very good choices out there if you like survival horror. Either Dead Space or Alan Wake. And they aren't even similar to each other.

[0oAngeluso0]

It's only been on the market for a couple of months and came out at a bad time to be honest. However, it was a truly remarkable game and something I haven't seen yet. If you look at Some games in the past, they don't find their audience or acclaim until the sequel comes out. Not sure why people tried to compare this game to Heavy Rain, they are both totally different genre's and both great games in their own way. I hope we get a long running Franchise.

[kevnb]

there were no other games like it released at the time. The game didn't interest many people period, would of done better on pc especially if microsoft didn't get a hold of it and gimp it. You think they would have known after max payne did better on pc, fools.

[jay2]

M$'s timing STANK, scrapping it on PC stank, removing the open world stank. The overall game didn't stink, it's VERY good, but could have been so much better had the oridgenal plans stayed in place.

[xxchicago33xx]

I think if Alan Wake stayed open world we all would be playing Deadly Premonition....I'm okay with them making it linear.

[ALWAKE]

The simple reason that the ps3 will always sell more games throughout the rest of this generation and the reason alan wake did not sell well is simple the xbox 360 does piracy the ps3 does not. Alan Wake is a single player only game which lead to all the modders which there are plenty of to just download it

[omi25p]

i bought alan wake on release and tbh i wasnt really expecting much, then having played it for about half an hour i realised how great the game is the story is fantastic its has the same kind of story fashion as lost did with the twists and turns all the way through. The gameplay is creepy and exciting the graphics are the best NIGHTTIME graphics ive seen in a video game, with the mixture of fog and the lighting it makes the game genuinly frightening at points. its on of my favorite game of the generation and i cant wait for the 2nd one.

Also it didnt sell much.. so because it didnt sell millions like other xbox exclusives means it flopped? i think for the second game if microsoft advertise it as much as they do everything else i think it will make a bucket load.

[xxchicago33xx]

I don't know, but I think a couple factors went into this game not selling a bagillion copies....since that has now become the barometer for success in video games this gen.

What I do know is, Alan Wake is easily my favorite game this generation across all platforms. Not very many games are capable of inducing the anxiety I felt while playing this game in a dark room.

I think the survival horror genre is not for everyone, it's a very niche audience why do you think Capcom took the RE series in the direction of 4 and 5? They wanted to reach a broader audience. This game is great to the fans of this genre and I think most people are stoked to see a 2nd game in the series

[sarshelyam]

...as much as I don't want to admit this, it lacks the polish of other games closely compared to the style.

I hate comparing it to Heavy Rain because they're completely different beasts, but that game was so beautiful, the character models are so highly polished that I came into Alan Wake expecting the same thing considering how long this one has been in development.

There's certainly nothing wrong with the gameplay. Some of the "mini-games" where you have to power up a generator are rather superfluous and simply (just hit A at the top), but overall the game had a great ambiance, the soundtrack was great, and I thought the voice-acting & narrative was superb. I simply felt, as an overall product, the game shipped without the extra few months that could have been used to get this game on par with its closest competition (if you can even call HR that game).

I should also state that I bought the LE at release and shelved it because there was simply too much that took priority on or around the release. Popped it in the 360 this weekend so it's still pretty fresh.

[krisprolls]

Maybe this IP has "legs", but it has no scenario and no originality (wow at the guy shooting monsters in the dark, it's so new it boggles my mind).

It could explain why it had no sales and no great review either.

[Folezicle]

You need to play the game before you say stuff like that.

[Eclipticus]

No scenario? what the hell does that mean, AW has one of the deepest worlds in games today.

No Originality? as opposed to FPS, where the only thing that changes are graphics, and its either nazis, or aliens you shoot at.

[Wolf873]

perhaps they decide to port it over to other systems. Still a good game though.

[Unicron]

Lot of damage control in here. Wow.

For ALL console owners - If you're going to talk up a title as the end all be all, please go out and support it with your $$ when it releases, kay?

[Nugundam0079]

Agreed! I bought it day one--but all the MS folks were hyping it to no end and then NO ONE BOUGHT it-I have all three consoles-if im going to hype a game you know DAMN WELL im going to buy it! im really sick and tired of the 360 crowd and all the noise they make about a game when it has a rival on the ps3 but when it comes down to brass tacks they'll stick to their beloved shooters and refuse to evolve--UG

[Eclipticus]

Alan Wake is in the same vein of bioshock. Great Story! great Visuals! Good action, if different. Everything makes sense in the game.

AW is GAME OF THE YEAR material. More people needs to realise there are more games better games than online fps.

I cant wait for the DLC and Alan Wake 2.

the book and soundtrack alone are worth the 10 extra bucks.

[Roper316]

I own both systems but am predominately a PS3 gamer, but I bought and have played through AW twice. It is a great game but I do agree when people say the market for this game is mostly on the PS3. This was the 1st 360 game I have bought since Star Ocean 4 released well over a year ago. Hopefully they are right and this game will have legs.

[-MD-]

Honestly they're right. Releasing the game the same day Red Dead Redemption, Split/Second and Prince of Persia released was a horrible decision. They should have pushed the date up or back 2 weeks to avoid those games.

[jalen247]

Excuses...excuses...Alan Wake would have sold more copies as a PS3 exclusive or multiplat (PC, PS3, 360)