Red Steel 2 Not So Sharp with Just 50,000 Units Sold

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Red Steel 2 Not So Sharp with Just 50,000 Units Sold



Following the NPD results for March, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter remarked in his post-NPD note that Ubisoft's Red Steel 2 for Wii sold just 50,000 units for the month. He had originally estimated that the game would sell under 100,000 units, and he remarked that this is "a difficult debut that is typical of first person shooters on the Wii."

Indeed, the Wii has had a tough time supporting more mature third-party titles in general, and certainly most people in the Wii audience are not looking for shooters. The first Red Steel benefited a bit from the hype surrounding the launch of the Wii itself and it ultimately went on to sell over a million units. Red Steel 2 has been mostly well received by critics, garnering a Metacritic score of 81 thanks to its improved controls with Wii MotionPlus and stylized art direction, but if sales don't pick up in the next several months, the odds are that the franchise is dead.

Creative Director Jason Vandenberghe said in February, "It was clear from the beginning we had to succeed. It was absolutely crucial. It was obvious that, if Red Steel 2 came out and it was not well-received by the fans, we were done. There would be no Red Steel 3. There would be no point in continuing that: once is an offense, twice is a pattern."

Although 50,000 is certainly low, the one thing we'd say for Wii titles is that they don't follow the typical launch pattern of games on the Xbox 360 or PS3. The sales tend to build more steadily over time, and if Ubisoft continues to support the game with marketing, it's possible that Red Steel 2 could still put up respectable numbers in the end... we're not holding our breath though.

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/red- ... nits-sold/