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UK: Middle-Earth: Shadow of War down 18% at retail

What caused Shadow of War to have one of the best UK retail holds this year?

Results are only viewable after voting.
N

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
This is actually one of the softest drops of the year, so a strong performance relative to the market.

It's also not impossible that it went flat or up with digital given the conservative retail drop.

For comparison, some other recent releases:

Uncharted: Down over 50%
Forza 7: 22% from Forza 6, 60% from Forza Horizon 3
Destiny 2: Down 58%
FIFA 18: Down 25%
The Evil Within 2: Down 75%

The follow-up to 2014’s Shadow of Mordor debuted at No.2 with sales decreasing 18 per cent compared to its predecessor.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/the-...ds-off-shadow-of-war-to-keep-top-spot/0188223
Click to expand...

Bruno MB said:
Code: 
[Week 41, 2017] MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF WAR (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE) ~ 82,000

PlayStation 4 ~ 50,000
Xbox One ~ 32,000

[Week 40, 2014] MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE) ~ 100,000

PlayStation 4 ~ 56,000
Xbox One ~ 41,000
PC ~ 3,000
Click to expand...
 
Mikey Jr.

Mikey Jr.

Member
Maybe UK is the problem? Not the whole gaming world?
Is there some sort of market explanation there? Are games the only thing being affected?
 
O

oti

Banned
Very soft drop, going by some other UK numbers this year. The first game was a surprise and the sequel delivered yet again.

I'd still love to know the break-even though. The marketing costs alone must've been astronomical relative to other WB games.
 
Z

Zukkoyaki

Member
It's very plausible, perhaps even likely, that digital made up for the mere 18% drop and then some. Glad it did well, it's a great game.
 
P

Par Score

Member
Wow.

That's one of the biggest successes of the year (comparatively).

Showing that once again GAF couldn't have it's finger further from the pulse of the wider market.
 
G

GeeTeeCee

Member
That's pretty good, all things considered.

Looking at the ridiculous number of games coming out in the next month or so, there's definitely going to be a few casualties along the way. SoW came out of the incoming storm relatively unscathed.
 
M

MUnited83

For you.
Considering how much digital sales have increased since the first title, there might not be a actual drop in total sales in the end.
 
C

CrichtonKicks

Member
Good numbers. Steam numbers seem to be starting off well too.

I'd be really curious to seem some kind of study on the do's and don'ts for launching a sequel this generation. Traditionally its assumed that new IPs are risky and sequels are a safe bet but it seems like a lot of publishers are really stumbling with how to effectively promote sequels to games that they had already successfully launched.
 
O

Orayn

Member
20% (equating to 20,000 copies) is to the point where increases in digital could actually cover the difference, right? I think that's roughly in line with what publishers have been saying about the digital vs. physical split since earlier in this generation.
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Member
Rap Trailer probably did the most harm. Regardless 18% isn't bad at all compared to the numbers we've been seeing for other (50-75%). Plus it's gonna cover that lost 18% easily with those loot boxes and digital.

Really surprised to see it doing so well, especially in October. WB marketing is on point.

Orayn said:
20% (equating to 20,000 copies) is to the point where increases in digital could actually cover the difference, right? I think that's roughly in line with what publishers have been saying about the digital vs. physical split since earlier in this generation.
Click to expand...

Yeah it the drop is under 20% it's more than likely covered by digital sales. I think some people said as high as 30% can be covered by digital.
After that it gets murky and unlikely.
 
N

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Orayn said:
20% (equating to 20,000 copies) is to the point where increases in digital could actually cover the difference, right? I think that's roughly in line with what publishers have been saying about the digital vs. physical split since earlier in this generation.
Click to expand...

On a global basis, digital has went from about 20% at the start of the generation to 40% now, so that kind of increase could cover the difference, yes.
 
H

Heckler456

Banned
Well, ya tried, lootbox-GAF.

Glad it's doing well. Didn't really feel the need to buy any lootboxes, and I'm well on my way to finishing the game without them, and still enjoying it.
 
R

RichiRamjag

Member
Makes sense. That nemesis system makes it one of the more unique games out there for me. I’d imagine digital accounts for some of that physical drop if not all.
 
O

oti

Banned
Jawmuncher said:
Rap Trailer probably did the most harm. Regardless 18% isn't bad at all compared to the numbers we've been seeing for other (50-75%). Plus it's gonna cover that lost 18% easily with those loot boxes and digital.

Really surprised to see it doing so well, especially in October. WB marketing is on point.



Yeah it the drop is under 20% it's more than likely covered by digital sales. I think some people said as high as 30% can be covered by digital.
After that it gets murky and unlikely.
Click to expand...

If that trailer did any harm at all.

LordOcidax said:
Incoming... But but digital. Digital Stores was already there when Shadow of Mordor was released.. also 360 and PS3.
Click to expand...

lol

Why are you salty digital sales are constantly going up?
 
K

Kill3r7

Member
LordOcidax said:
Incoming... But but digital. Digital Stores was already there when Shadow of Mordor was released.. also 360 and PS3.
Click to expand...

Not applicable as the game was nextgen only. The bigger question is why are we not seeing a bump at retail as the generation has progressed? There are unquestionably more PS4 and X1 owners today vs 3 years ago. Is digital outpacing userbase growth?
 
Yui's Empire

Yui's Empire

Member
Well from what I saw it's a deserved "success" if we consider the rise of the digital, the general decline in UK sales and the fact they'll definitely cash-in on those lootboxes that, despite all the outrage, don't seem to affect the overall experience tbh (while I do agree they shouldn't even be there in the first place). After letting it sit in my backlog the whole Nemesis stories thread motivated me to play the GOTY of the first game, and it hooked me hard. The battles against recurring enemies can get really tense. I'll definitely pick up the sequel once I'm done with this and Assassin's Creed: Origins on the Xbox One X.

I'm also seeing a lot of ads on TV in Italy, even during football (soccer for you US folks) matches. Last night we had the massive match between Inter and Milan, a very memorable 90 minutes and it featured some ads of this game before, at half-time and after the match (on Italian Sky). Not to mention my Facebook keeps getting ads for this game. The exposure seems pretty good and so do the reviews, glad it's doing well.
 
LordRaptor

LordRaptor

Member
anti-lootbox GAF:
NQjgc89.gif
 
S

shimon

Member
That's...not a big drop. Plus the money they are making from MTs = SoW is doing good.

I guess the "controversy" didn't really hurt? People don't mind loot boxes? I guess so.
 
C

Coxy100

Banned
shimon said:
That's...not a big drop. Plus the money they are making from MTs = SoW is doing good.

I guess the "controversy" didn't really hurt? People don't mind loot boxes? I guess so.
Click to expand...

Sadly not. Although if you check out amazon.co.uk PS4 reviews for the game a lot of people have complained on in there - the review stars are affected by it (but then the defence force has come out to counter it)
 
M

MUnited83

For you.
LordOcidax said:
Incoming... But but digital. Digital Stores was already there when Shadow of Mordor was released.. also 360 and PS3.
Click to expand...

Is it really that hard to actually think a bit?

Just about every sales and financials report has reported a higher and higher digital sales each year.
 
K

Kill3r7

Member
Coxy100 said:
Sadly not. Although if you check out amazon.co.uk PS4 reviews for the game a lot of people have complained on in there - the review stars are affected by it (but then the defence force has come out to counter it)
Click to expand...

It is a losing proposition anyhow. The market has shown us, over and over again, that they are fine with such practices.
 
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