• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

In Japan, Knack 2 debuts at less than 1% of its predecessor

J

Jawbreaker

Member
Majora said:
There is literally no chance. Knack 2 has already come and gone in the UK. It tanked. Odyssey is not going to tank.
Click to expand...

You know how games sometimes have legs that keep going after its initial sprint on opening day/week? Knack 2 is the reverse of that: It's going to moonwalk its way to millions of sales once it climaxes in a few months.
 
L

lupinko

Member
eyeball_kid said:
Design-by-committee character that according to Cerny was created to appeal to everyone in the world, actually only appeals to a few people in the world. I am shocked!
Click to expand...

I dunno, Japan Studio designed the wonderful Kat and her wondrous world in GR, and that game's sequel flopped so hard that they're cutting the net features after only a year. :(
 
Stilton Disco

Stilton Disco

Member
This generation has been absolutely brutal to any game or franchise that doesn't make a good first impression.

I mean Knack is a bit of a case of of 'who cares?' despite its improvements with the sequel, but there's been a noticeable trend for games suffering for the sins of their disappointing previous instalments or shitty trailers, overly exposed dodgy sales tactics, poor ports on any system or just bad design, business or marketing decisions that was much less prevalent in previous generations.

For instance I'd say there's as big of a jump
In quality and critical praise between Watch Dogs 1 & 2 as there was between Assassins Creed 1 & 2, but that didn't prevent a massive slump in sales for the second WD game. Infact I'm pretty certain if Assassins Creed had been a franchise that began this generation, AC 2 would have died on its arse.

I guess it's just the wider reach of the internet and general lack of attention spans the general public experiences now compared to previously though. First impressions and hype mean far, far more than they ever have before.
 
U

Usobuko

Banned
Sony is better off funding exclusives with Japanese developers tbh.

Japan studio is just not very good at what it should be doing atm.
 
J

Jawbreaker

Member
lupinko said:
I dunno, Japan Studio designed the wonderful Kat and her wondrous world in GR, and that game's sequel flopped so hard that they're cutting the net features after only a year. :(
Click to expand...

Well, Japan was way more receptive to that game's art design given Gravity Rush 2 sold more than 100k copies there.
 
hemo memo

hemo memo

Gold Member
Jawbreaker said:
You know how games sometimes have legs that keep going after its initial sprint on opening day/week? Knack 2 is the reverse of that: It's going to moonwalk its way to millions of sales once it climaxes in a few months.
Click to expand...

Nah sales will actually decrease because of returns.
 
O

OrbitalBeard

Member
Usobuko said:
Sony is better off funding exclusives with Japanese developers tbh.

Japan studio is just not very good at what it should be doing atm.
Click to expand...

Japan Studio is great for Sony and full of talented developers. They just need to be creating more new IP. Gravity Rush never made sense for the West and Knack never made sense for anyone, really. It was fine as a launch title but it should have ended there. And this is to say nothing of the sequel's quality. The character is just not appealing whatsoever.
 
T

T.O.P

Banned
NinjaTehFish said:
HuzxNZ9.gif
Click to expand...

lmao
 
A

Aters

Member
Jawbreaker said:
Well, the game is not visually appealing in the least. It could be a 10/10 game and still bomb just based on how it looks.

Not surprising at all, but it is sad because the game is a fun, solid 7/10.
Click to expand...

We are talking about Japanese market here. most games here are not quite the looker.
 
C

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
After playing the absolutely magnificent demo of Knack 2, I daresay it is a game every PS4 owner should have in their collection. It is a crowning achievement, not only for Sony, but for Japanese video game development as a whole. It is one of the finest and most refined games to come out this generation, with stunning visual design and the most fluid combat since Bayonetta. Knack is a household brand by now, and there should be comics, cartoon series and merchandise galore for it. Sony, please hear our cry. We want lunchboxes, t-shirts, sweaters and coffee mugs with your new mascot.
 
F

fhqwhgads

Member
Of all the first party games Sony decides to actually back and support, they go with Knack. I will never understand what they see in it as a franchise other than "Maybe kids will like it?"
 
P

PeakPointMatrix

Member
Collingwood said:
Yeah. They are. I bought the first one for $9AU because I figured it couldn’t be THAT bad and got the second one free.

They’re both bad games. The check pointing in the first one even makes Gears of War checkpoints seem ok.
Click to expand...
How much of the second did you actually play? Sure, I could see the first one being very basic to many people. But the sequel added a lot of great combat and platforming into the mix, with a great amount of challenge to boot (if you picked very hard mode that is). I’m just curious why the second is as “bad” to you as the first when there are so many markedly improved aspects.

The checkpoint system in the second one addresses your main complaint from the first. Namely, they’ve planted a checkpoint at nearly every room/segment. But you would know this if you had played it?
 
K

klee123

Member
It still surprises me that SCEJ would green light this considering the reception of the first game. Did they really think the 400k sales in Japan from the pack in bundles were indicative of the games popularity?

What a waste of resources. I wonder if the green light of this was due to Cerny forcing SCEJ to turn this into a series.
 
S

Sgt. Kabukiman

Banned
Of course. Don't make sequels to mediocre launch titles that sold moderately well because they were the only thing available.

Also:
Knack 2 did not even chart in the top 30 of Famitsu with the lowest charting game on that list selling only 2601 units.
Click to expand...

I therefore deduce that Super Mario Odyssey will sell 1300 copies in its first week in Japan. It's science. Nintendo is doomed they should just cancel the game.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
lupinko said:
I dunno, Japan Studio designed the wonderful Kat and her wondrous world in GR, and that game's sequel flopped so hard that they're cutting the net features after only a year. :(
Click to expand...

Sony has issues marketing any game that's not a big-budget western game. This reminds me of the failure of the underrated Puppeteer.

Usobuko said:
Sony is better off funding exclusives with Japanese developers tbh.

Japan studio is just not very good at what it should be doing atm.
Click to expand...

Gravity Rush 2 is excellent. The Last Guardian is excellent. Apparently Knack 2 is a sharp improvement on the first game. They just need to focus on something that will have more global appeal. I wonder what Becker will have them focus on next.

Foffy said:
Japan has spoken.

The fact the first Knack was greenlit astounds me.
Click to expand...

It "astounds" you that a family-friendly platform-combat game was greenlit for a console launch? You mean like that's an incomprehensible thing to process?!
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Triggerhappytel said:
It "astounds" you that a family-friendly platform-combat game was greenlit for a console launch? You mean like that's an incomprehensible thing to process?!
Click to expand...

I think it's more of what Knack is. Like, even the character just looks like a focus tested character. There's a sheen of blandness in the entire aesthetic. And for a mascot game, that can more or less kill it. To be honest, I honestly thought the hook of the character was all of the objects they can render him with, which is to say he was more of a mascot for the technical power of the PS4, and little else.

I don't believe the genre is the problem, but the execution. I couldn't tell who Knack was for, but you state family-friendliness. I saw nothing wholesome and "for the whole family" in any part of the game except maybe the character, but this brings us right back to the blandness of Knack as a character and where he looks to just be designed to say "look what the PS4 can do!"

But what do they do with that? Nothing.
 
E

Egida

Neo Member
At this point hey should launch a mod to change the main character to some kind of marsupial. Maybe give him some magical powers for the turn to pieces stuff.
 
F

Foxxsoxx

Member
So weird that they made a sequel in the first place.

If your first game is bad then no matter how good the sequel is, it probably isn't going to sell nearly as well. Shame is that the game is much improved, but still likely isn't doing well at all.
 
C

Celine

Member
In Japan the original Knack is in the PS4 top 10 best selling game ever but only due to the forced bundling.
In reality no one (very few) care for the franchise.
It's nothing surprising.

PS4 top 10 best selling game in Japan:
HUuIJN5.jpg
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
Foffy said:
I think it's more of what Knack is. Like, even the character just looks like a focus tested character. There's a sheen of blandness in the entire aesthetic. And for a mascot game, that can more or less kill it. To be honest, I honestly thought the hook of the character was all of the objects they can render him with, which is to say he was more of a mascot for the technical power of the PS4, and little else.

I don't believe the genre is the problem, but the execution. I couldn't tell who Knack was for, but you state family-friendliness. I saw nothing wholesome and "for the whole family" in any part of the game except maybe the character, but this brings us right back to the blandness of Knack as a character and where he looks to just be designed to say "look what the PS4 can do!"

But what do they do with that? Nothing.
Click to expand...

Sure man; the character design in Knack is horrible across the board. But there's nothing wrong with the game's concept.

In terms of his design, he's obviously created that way to show off the PS4's physics processing when he falls apart or gets bigger, but it's really not a particularly impressive effect. I also really dislike how he has a really deep voice. Feels like if they wanted to make him kid-friendly he should speak more like Alvin & the Chipmunks, not fucking Brian Griffin.
 
D

Donniewahlberg

Banned
Knack has always been a bit of a stinker so it isn't really a shock. It leans aesthetically on nostalgia for mascot platformers that the gameplay type doesn't actually deliver, or at least that was my initial problem with the first game. Then just that what it was wasn't very good either.

However to try and add a positive, I do think Studio Japan in general are awesome and should continue on their current trajectory. They make or help foster games that add to playstation's unique catalogue, and I appreciate that they aren't games built form the ground up bent towards worldwide appeal. Now Knack bombing at home should put it to bed but I've really enjoyed a lot of the stuff they've had their fingers on the last 5 years. GR, Soul Sacrifice, Freedom Wars, Last Guardian, Bloodborne. Now there's the upcoming remake of SoTC and whatever comes next; they make stuff happen that I want to play. I think they're been a really special production group and in conjuction with others, dev studio. I wouldn't really want that to change, I don't see the appeal. All just imo of course.
 
BigEmil

BigEmil

Junior Member
Celine said:
In Japan the original Knack is in the PS4 top 10 best selling game ever but only due to the forced bundling.
In reality no one (very few) care for the franchise.
It's nothing surprising.

PS4 top 10 best selling game in Japan:
HUuIJN5.jpg
Click to expand...
On top of Knack being a day 1 launch title where PS4 hardly had any other games to buy

But damn DQ XI beat FFXV, well deserved Japan got good taste
 
B

black070

Member
Cerny and the team wanted to make a sequel so they did, its as simple as that.

Knack 2 is a very fun game, I enjoyed my time with it and no one could tell me otherwise - so personally I'm glad it was made.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bloomberg: It's Going to Get Even Harder to Buy a PlayStation 5 (chip shortage)
2 3 4
154
11K
PlayStaytion replied
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Scarlet announced for PS4 & Switch
2 3
116
18K
JunkerWoland replied
Splatoon 2 sold 671K in Japan in its first 3 days (physical) (Famitsu)
2 3 4 5 6
257
46K
RagnarokX replied
Pokemon Sun & Moon sold 1.9 million in first 3 days in Japan (Famitsu), down from X&Y
2 3 4
180
33K
Slamtastic replied
Rose and the Old Castle of Twilight |Import OT| roze to tasogare no kojou
7
3K
takoyaki replied
Top Bottom