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[TheAtomicPile]

We'll see if the shills and blast-havers adopt this more broadly, but it looks like there is an emerging cope trend suggesting that the player counts are only dropping so quickly and so low because people are waiting for season 2.

You know, the thing that is at least 4 weeks away and has a decent chance of eventually driving away even more players with the wipe. Also, since player counts have consistently fallen, did people immediately start dropping off to wait for S2 once the game launched?

Marathon/Bungie shills remind me of AEW fans (knock-off, poor man's WWE for the uninitiated). There is always some absurd reason for the TV ratings to be so bad and the arenas to be so empty. At one point the ratings were bad because "people are busy watching Trump impeachment proceedings on CNN!" Then 75% of the arenas were empty because "the camera crew needs the empty space to work in the arena!'

 

[Mondai]

I rather watch AEW than current WWE

 

[Zacfoldor]

A legendarily cringe video that explains a lot of the discourse around Marathon...

I'll watch later, can't watch right now but I'll let everyone see my grok for summary hehe:

Video Title

"The Root Of My Anger About Marathon Spans 25 Years"

What It's About

Paul Tassi (long-time gaming journalist, big Destiny/Halo fan, and Bungie historian) drops a very personal, emotional monologue about why Bungie's new extraction-shooter game Marathon has left him genuinely upset and sad after 25+ years of loving their games.

He starts by saying the gunplay feels great and the art/aesthetic is cool… but that's not enough to fix what's missing for him.

His Core Story (the "25 years" part)

• Grew up on Halo (split-screen with friends, Halo 2/3 era, etc.)
• Destiny became the single most important game of his entire life — "Star Wars for video games" to him personally. He poured thousands of hours into it over 11 years, through all the highs and lows, right up to The Final Shape.
• Bungie has basically been part of his gaming identity since he was a kid.

Why Marathon Breaks His Heart

He's not mad it's "bad" — he's heartbroken because:

• It's a narrow, high-skill extraction shooter (think Tarkov-style with 6 characters and only 4 maps). He feels this only appeals to maybe 5% of the Destiny audience.
• Bungie spent 5–6 years and tons of resources on it while Destiny (the game millions of people actually play) has been getting starved — PvP teams pulled off, layoffs, content droughts, etc.
• To him, Marathon feels like Bungie abandoning the exact thing they're best at: big, expansive, story-rich games that have something for everyone (campaigns, raids, patrols, memorable characters, etc.).

He keeps coming back to one gut punch: "This is the first new Bungie game in nearly 30 years that I have zero interest in playing."

The "What If" He Keeps Repeating

He wishes they had taken all that time and talent and made either:

• A proper Destiny 3, or
• A Marathon that actually felt like a Bungie game (big PvE focus, story, raids, etc.) instead of a niche extraction shooter.

He's worried this choice could hurt Bungie long-term and that the studio is closing a door without opening a new one.

Tone

It's not a rage video — it's more like a sad, frustrated love letter from a lifelong fan who feels like the studio he grew up with has changed in a way that no longer speaks to him. He even says he expects people to tell him "it's not for you," but he still needed to say it out loud.

---

TL;DR: Paul Tassi is heartbroken because Marathon feels like Bungie finally making a game that doesn't feel like Bungie… after 25 years of them being the studio that defined his gaming life (especially through Halo and Destiny).

Damn I knew he hated it but not this much.

"This is the first new Bungie game in nearly 30 years that I have zero interest in playing."

From Taul this is damning. Does he actually say that in the video or is my grok hallucinating?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Marathon has a secret sauce

 

[Guilty_AI]

Marathon has a secret sauce

So secret not even the players are aware it exists

 

[StreetsofBeige]

BF3 is on sale for $1.99. Has 700 players playing, is outselling Marathon.

Huge drop in sales ranks. That -20% deal last week only moved the needle for a couple days, then dropped hard. Even a harder drop last few days after sale. Amazing.

Since it's a sales $$$ based chart, you even got weird F2P shit like War Robots and Infinity Nikki with 2000 or so CCU with higher sales. So it shows whatever unit and mtx sales it's getting is so low, even games with low daily CCU overall 24/7 (I checked Nikki and War Robots daily CCU peaks and it's only a few thousand here and there not even close to Marathon's 15k peaks), even the mtx in those games outguns all Marathon sales copies and mtx in total. Nuts.

So even as a business model, Marathon's mtx economy with gamers buying whatever mtx it sells is so bad nobody even wants to buy them to prop up revenue that way.

Another way to show how crazy it is, BF3 is ranked higher. It's only $2 on sale, but apples to apples it would have to sell 20 copies for every 1 copy of Marathon. Even though it's almost free, I dont think there can be that many copies of BF3 sold. You can tell because the online peak CCU last few days is about 700. It was about 80. The sale basically 10x the CCU. And at $2 that is enough to surpass Marathon.

 

[Merline]

Should PlayStation and Xbox change their plans on exclusive games?

Plus, we speak to leading influencer expert Jake Kulkowski, and have one final interview with Nightdive’s Larry Kuperman

www.thegamebusiness.com

According to Ampere, Marathon attracted over 2.2 million players during its launch month, with 1.1 million on PC, 660,000 on PS5 and 525,000 on Xbox.

 

[PodcastHostBryan]

While I think that the hating can be over done…


I also think the "you just have to find the super secret good parts of this game to realize how awesome it is" is dumb.

 

[ElFenomeno]

Having a blast reading coachmcguirk91 posts from last month. Aged like milk

 

[Zacfoldor]

I will also say the thread has been great so far but today is the best day of the thread. There was never a better time to jump in, lol.

Should PlayStation and Xbox change their plans on exclusive games?

Plus, we speak to leading influencer expert Jake Kulkowski, and have one final interview with Nightdive’s Larry Kuperman

www.thegamebusiness.com

Total Players: 2,285,000

Platform	Players	Percentage
PC	1,100,000	48.14%
PS5	660,000	28.88%
Xbox	525,000	22.98%

Let's say a game costs 39.99 and sold those numbers on those platforms. On Xbox and PC they had to pay 30% of revenue to rival stores. On PS5 they kept 100% of the revenue. How much revenue in total has the game made so far?

Summary:

• Total gross revenue (before cuts): $91,377,150
• Total revenue kept by the developer: $71,882,025

Remember these are estimates. They may be including the server slam when ended March 2nd. The server slam was across all devices so from the numbers they are showing and the way it is phrased I bet this includes server slam numbers and the above revenue totals are incorrect.

According to Ampere, Marathon attracted over 2.2 million players during its launch month, with 1.1 million on PC, 660,000 on PS5 and 525,000 on Xbox.

I'm thinking that includes the server slam. With they way they phrased it they would almost have to include server slam figures, no?

Any opinions?

 

[Johnny Concrete]

While I think that the hating can be over done…


I also think the "you just have to find the super secret good parts of this game to realize how awesome it is" is dumb.

You know, I love this game, but it's not that deep. They just cobbled together a whole lot of features from other extraction games and added some new twists here and there.

It's either you like it or you don't. I can definitely see a whole lot of players basically 'rage quitting and uninstalling'.

Also the ARC Raiders update didn't do their numbers any good.

 

[Timberwolf25]

Seeing the meltdowns from the shillers only adds to the entertainement of the falling CCU. Especially when they do everything they can to deny the reason(s) for it's failure, choosing instead to blame it on the haters, chuds, incels, people that don't like fun, normies, etc

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Should PlayStation and Xbox change their plans on exclusive games?

Plus, we speak to leading influencer expert Jake Kulkowski, and have one final interview with Nightdive’s Larry Kuperman

www.thegamebusiness.com

2.2 million for Early Access is pretty damn good. Season 2 will be the real test.

 

[Roman Empire]

Having a blast reading coachmcguirk91 posts from last month. Aged like milk

Well, he is a coach. His role is trying to be aspirational

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

A legendarily cringe video that explains a lot of the discourse around Marathon...

"explains a lot of"


Why the fuck media is so damn fucking retarded

Keep crying paul.... Pathetic

 

[Roman Empire]

"explains a lot of"


Why the fuck media is so damn fucking retarded

Keep crying paul.... Pathetic

Typical Taul Passi behavior. Expected nothing, and still get disappointed.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I will also say the thread has been great so far but today is the best day of the thread. There was never a better time to jump in, lol.

Total Players: 2,285,000

Platform	Players	Percentage
PC	1,100,000	48.14%
PS5	660,000	28.88%
Xbox	525,000	22.98%

Summary:

• Total gross revenue (before cuts): $91,377,150
• Total revenue kept by the developer: $71,882,025

Remember these are estimates. They may be including the server slam when ended March 2nd. The server slam was across all devices so from the numbers they are showing and the way it is phrased I bet this includes server slam numbers and the above revenue totals are incorrect.

I'm thinking that includes the server slam. With they way they phrased it they would almost have to include server slam figures, no?

Any opinions?

Players =/= sales units. A bunch of those sales will surely be PS and Xbox gamers home sharing.

Gamalytics still has Marathon Steam sales at 830k.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

They are feeling the heat

In a way, that's even better. So Reddit wants all CCU chat into a main mega thread? Great! Now there's no way of avoiding CCU!

 

[BigBeauford]

Marathon has a secret sauce

 

[StreetsofBeige]

WTF is an IA video?

 

[Odinnii]

This year has had it's share of bangers and successful new ip's yet there are still people out there trying to manufacture some narrative about "Gamers" hating everything.

Nah bro, your game is just trash.

 

[Zacfoldor]

This was from Alinea

The same company/info iirc that Taul pulled his original platform nods from:

Marathon has sold 1.2M copies across Steam, PS5, and Xbox

Marathon hasn't exactly made the splash Sony and Bungie wanted, even if the game underneath the surface is a masterwork of design. There’s a lot to love about Marathon – and the show ain’t over yet.

alineaanalytics.substack.com

They are just moving players around not gaining many new ones. Most Marathoners are also Destiny 2'rs. I think most D2 players feel like Taul which is why the game has been abandoned.

 

[Guilty_AI]

WTF is an IA video?

intelligenza artificiale

 

[Sgt.Asher]

Pretty soon the blast havers will have to coordinate time to have a blast.

 

[Moridianae]

The game simply doesn't resonate with people and it never really did. It got a little more of a punch because it's Bungie, but not that much as their name has been degraded.

I mean, the interest was never really there and I see the "it's gamers' fault" brigade has begun to come out on social media.

This whole thing isn't too dissimilar from Suicide Squad reveal, which was pretty much maligned or "meh" from Day 1.

Nothing really will change that at this point.

What did it get? I think it got two seasons before the budget was completely slashed, things came after I think(like new seasons or characters) but were far less meaty and then the game just went maintenance/offline mode.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

2 pm completed hour. Cryo day

Yesterday 10.4k, peak 15.2k. Peak +46% from 2 pm
Last Thurs 13.9k, peak 20.3k. Peak +46% from 2 pm as well!

Today 11.4k. Assuming +46% the peak tonight will be about 16.6k
Similarly, 11.4k today vs 10.4k yesterday = +9.5%. Yesterday 15.2k peak + 9.5% = 16.6k

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The game simply doesn't resonate with people and it never really did. It got a little more of a punch because it's Bungie, but not that much as their name has been degraded.

I mean, the interest was never really there and I see the "it's gamers' fault" brigade has begun to come out on social media.

This whole thing isn't too dissimilar from Suicide Squad reveal, which was pretty much maligned or "meh" from Day 1.

Nothing really will change that at this point.

What did it get? I think it got two seasons before the budget was completely slashed, things came after I think(like new seasons or characters) but were far less meaty and then the game just went maintenance/offline mode.

Right from the beginning this game had zero chance of being a giant hit for a million reasons. And that even excludes weird outliers like plagiarism which came later in the summer and that Bungie guy who looks like Phil Kessel wearing the green sweater and baseball cap looked miserable for an hour straight on the stream. Absolutely hilarious. You probably wont see anything like that again.

The only thing they could hope success would come is being the big Bungie brand known for Halo and Destiny. So any sci fi shooter fans would automatically gravitate over. Halo gamer --> Destiny --> Marathon

Other than that there's absolutely zero other factors that would prop up sales. Everything from the eye blinding art, little content, MM issues, a bad showcase last summer, stolen art, niche genre skewed to hardcore gaming, no SP or other MP modes, and even solo play was a Christmas tack on, where cryo and ranked modes still didnt even allow that. The game initially didnt even have prox chat yet if it released last Sept. And also the most microscopic and worst UI Ive seen in a shooter. Maybe for some convoluted PC strategy or military games you get crazy UI like that, but who wants to mess with that in a shooter? Nobody.

And worst of all the game cost a ton of money to make. As some other gaffers had mentioned, this is the kind of shooter an indie studio would make for cheap. How this game started dev in 2019 is crazy. Sony even delayed the game 6 months to help them out. And this is what came out in 2026.

 

[falconhoof]

2 pm completed hour. Cryo day

Yesterday 10.4k, peak 15.2k. Peak +46% from 2 pm
Last Thurs 13.9k, peak 20.3k. Peak +46% from 2 pm as well!

Today 11.4k. Assuming +46% the peak tonight will be about 16.6k
Similarly, 11.4k today vs 10.4k yesterday = +9.5%. Yesterday 15.2k peak + 9.5% = 16.6k

Number go up!

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Number go up!

Maybe they'll claw in all 700 BF3 gamers by end of day. lol

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

How this game started dev in 2019 is crazy.

Not that crazy to anyone who's been following them in D2. They take ludicrously long to do even the most minor things. They can take years to fix basic bugs, and that's not an exaggeration. (Except when said bugs benefit the player - then they conveniently get fixed within 24 hours).

 

[Signalis]

 

[calico]

Marathon bros can't get their story straight: one minute the numbers are low because right wingers (??) tanked it with a hate campaign, the next they're low because it's a niche genre. It's also simultaneously a niche genre and the hottest genre in the industry.

What if what Bungie chose to make just doesn't seem appealing to many people, and the vast majority of people who have tried it didn't find it enjoyable enough to stick with for long?

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

Random thought how I miss the days in the 90s and early 2000s when developers were just these out of reach companies making awesome games, such a prestigious job it seemed. You couldn't just tweet them, they couldn't just on a whim insult everyone and call them istd and phobes... It was such a special time especially in gaming.

I miss that, half of what ruins it for these idiots anymore in how they just can't keep their mouths shut and why? Because they make games and think they're special they can run their mouths?

Bungies reputation has just been shit lately, and half of it is their attitudes towards people and their views, just shut up and make games and maybe people won't be so excited for your failures.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Random thought how I miss the days in the 90s and early 2000s when developers were just these out of reach companies making awesome games, such a prestigious job it seemed. You couldn't just tweet them, they couldn't just on a whim insult everyone and call them istd and phobes... It was such a special time especially in gaming.

I miss that, half of what ruins it for these idiots anymore in how they just can't keep their mouths shut and why? Because they make games and think they're special they can run their mouths?

Bungies reputation has just been shit lately, and half of it is their attitudes towards people and their views, just shut up and make games and maybe people won't be so excited for your failures.

Devs back then often interacted directly with players tho. You can even find todd howard on old forums trying to sell TES Redguard

 

[Zacfoldor]

Not sure how accurate but this website was represented to me as accurate:

🪐 popularity.report : Lifetime stats and graphs for Destiny 2

Popular weapons, activities, player activity, leaderboards, live info (soon) and many more customisable stats from the entire history of Destiny 2.

popularity.report

It says only 23.13% of D2 players on steam and about 25% of players on PC in general. Just scroll down to platform distribution.

So if 70% of Marathon players are on PC and 75% of D2 players are on console, and D2 is already 100 points ahead of Marathon on steam revenue charts, then it stands to reason that Destiny 2 is making much more hay for Bungie than Marathon. Looks like it may glean from this data:

Primary cross-save platform of players that have played in the last month

 

[TheAtomicPile]

Devs back then often interacted directly with players tho. You can even find todd howard on old forums trying to sell TES Redguard

Don't forget Neogaf legend and occupier of all four spots on the Mt Rushmore of video game developers, Denis Dyack!

D

Thread 'Too Human – Stand and be counted'

Jun 25, 2008

I think it is time to draw the digital line. Too Human will be out in August and I think there is going to be a lot of trolls crying here. Either way when the game comes out this forum will likely be on fire. So in order to try to put it out some gasoline on this fire I will ask those interested to stand up and be counted.

I feel Too Human is a great game, likely to be better than most that will come out this year. I certainly feel it is the best game we have ever made. I also believe the press and gamers alike will believe this. This puts me in the “For” camp.

I know there are...

• Denis Dyack
• Replies: 1,996
• Forum: Forum Archive

• 
• 

 

[Alan Silvestro]

I could see them giving a Rook class 3rd person eventually. Probably too advantageous for a regular Runner.

It looks like an episode of My Little Pony.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Marathon bros can't get their story straight: one minute the numbers are low because right wingers (??) tanked it with a hate campaign, the next they're low because it's a niche genre. It's also simultaneously a niche genre and the hottest genre in the industry.

What if what Bungie chose to make just doesn't seem appealing to many people, and the vast majority of people who have tried it didn't find it enjoyable enough to stick with for long?

Season 1 is the worst Marathon will ever be

 

[TheLikou]

Why are putting an image of my parents having sex? This doesn't make sense.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Season 1 is the worst Marathon will ever be

Weird way to say there won't be a season 2

 

[Kilau]

Season 1 is the worst Marathon will ever be

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Weird way to say there won't be a season 2

From "DOA" to "There won't be a Season 2"

 

[Guilty_AI]

From "DOA" to "There won't be a Season 2"

From "mario 64 moment" to "it'll survive"

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

Devs back then often interacted directly with players tho. You can even find todd howard on old forums trying to sell TES Redguard

Actually yea I remember devs from Mythic and Everquest talking with players, but I still say just on a whole it wasn't that that common... But maybe a better way to iterate it is when they all just cared about games and making them good, no politics or agendas, just good games

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

From "mario 64 moment" to...

 

[CrustyBritches]

This shit will be 10K peak by the time season 2 drops, at best. Then it's straight to PS+/GP. Problem is nobody wants their MTX, and PS gamers hate this game because of Bluepoint getting killed, so it won't help.

 

[Plague Doctor]

Yeah, it's confirmed for me.

This game is destined to go the way of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

The slow slide into irrevelancy of 2 seasons before entering the death maintanence mode.

Edit. I was wrong. SSKTJL was just trash numbers from the start. Wow that game failed so much harder than I remembered it failing.

 

[falconhoof]

Yeah, it's confirmed for me.

This game is destined to go the way of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

The slow slide into irrevelancy of 2 seasons before entering the death maintanence mode.

Edit. I was wrong. SSKTJL was just trash numbers from the start. Wow that game failed so much harder than I remembered it failing.

Were you thinking of Avengers?

Though that barely made a mark either. 30k CCU then it face planted.

https://steamdb.info/app/997070/charts/#max

 

[Plague Doctor]

Were you thinking of Avengers?

Though that barely made a mark either. 30k CCU then it face planted.

https://steamdb.info/app/997070/charts/#max

Maybe. Idk. Yeah that one was terrible as well.

Fuck... the graveyard of GaaS failures is just brutal and there is so many of them.

Why do Pubs think they are going to beat the odds and make the next Fortnite, again?