Anthem (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

[Hero-of-Time]

16 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

I expect a lot of people are holding off on buying Anthem until later in it's life. I know I'm waiting until it has it's "Taken King" moment.

Yeah, that would make more sense. Wait until more fixes are done, more content has arrived and the price has dropped. 

I wonder if Destiny has had an effect on this game? Many were burned ( myself included ) with those games and I have to imagine a fair few gamers are taking a more wait and see approach with Anthem due to their experience with Destiny.

[Sheikah]

Here's the thing: [emoji3] 

 

Man, that's brutal. [emoji14]    

 

Man, the community really thrives on negativitiy and hatred doesn't it. Played a few more hours last night. Had a great time [emoji813] As with pretty much every single other game as service, the launch was rocky. And as with every other game as service, it'll get better, the haters will vanish to their next target, and the community and game will grow from there.   

 

Lighten up man, that image is pretty funny. Also: 

 

Reviews for this game will be out of date in a month. Just as they are for most of these types of games. Hell even Splatoon had to be re-reviewed on IGN because the game had changed so much since release. So yeah, if you want a review of day 1 then the metacritic is great, otherwise it’s useless.

Bit of an assumption there, you have no idea if the game's problems will be gone in a month. In fact I would be gobsmacked if they were. From the sounds of things the game is also flawed on a fundamental level in terms of quests involving menial tasks and the like, to the point it can't just be easily patched. If this game doesn't sustain a player base (which looks likely) then I wouldn't expect the game to be supported as long as something like Destiny was. 

 

Cue lots of gamers saying "We won!" Did anyone really think a new IP would sell more than a Mass Effect game? 

 

But what about the sales of Anthem (new IP) versus Destiny (new IP)? Selling only 10% of Destiny sounds very low. Much lower than I expected.

[Glen-i]

11 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Cue lots of gamers saying "We won!"

Did anyone really think a new IP would sell more than a Mass Effect game?

Splatoon says Hi! And that was on a failing console to boot.

No-one really wins from this, you know. Especially if EA is your boss. If this doesn't pick up soon, Bioware could be in serious risk here.

[Hero-of-Time]

Despite the low sales Anthem still topped the UK charts.

Quote

Anthem topped the UK boxed game sales chart during its first week of release, but with half the physical sales of BioWare's previous game Mass Effect Andromeda.

Without digital sales through EA's Origin service on PC, or download sales on PlayStation or Xbox, it's difficult to draw exact comparisons. But from the comparisons we can make, Anthem's sales do not paint a hugely positive picture.

Anthem only managing half the launch week sales of Andromeda is disappointing, as Andromeda only managed half the launch week sales of Mass Effect 3.

The EA game performed best on PS4, accounting for 54 per cent of sales. 40 per cent came on Xbox One, with the remainder on PC.

The game sold comfortably more than last week's big new games, including Far Cry: New Dawn and Metro Exodus. But it isn't the fastest-selling game of the year, that is a position currently held by Resident Evil 2 and then Kingdom Hearts III.

Of course, as an online-focused game, it's likely Anthem performed well as a download release. The charts data does not currently factor in digital sales, making any meaningful analysis impossible.

 

[bob]

Only 6% on PC! That's mad.

[Sheikah]

Only 6% on PC! That's mad.

Those figures don't include digital sales through Origin on PC, which I suspect is how many PC gamers purchased it (think early access to the game was tied to that). Still, the sales are not good.

[Happenstance]

50 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

57 minutes ago, bob said:

Only 6% on PC! That's mad.

 Still, the sales are not good.

Wahey! Now all our work to create this conspiracy to destroy Bioware, a beloved developer, is complete!

[Fierce_LiNk]

I know nothing about this game and will openly say that I can't even be bothered to get excited by it.

But, there's a part of me that wants to see it make the greatest comeback of 2019 and succeed. 

It probably maybe definitely won't, but I need a new game to believe in. It's the underdog. Ok, maybe EA aren't ever really underdogs, but still. 

I want to believe. 

[Shorty]

Remember when games were made because companies had a great idea for a game, not because bigwigs decided they wanted a slice of pie from a particular market. And those developers knew they could make something great, and they worked on it until they knew it was done and then they released it?

Remember Mass Effect?

[Happenstance]

33 minutes ago, Shorty said:

Remember when games were made because companies had a great idea for a game, not because bigwigs decided they wanted a slice of pie from a particular market. And those developers knew they could make something great, and they worked on it until they knew it was done and then they released it?

Remember Mass Effect?

[Shorty]

[Ganepark32]

1 hour ago, Shorty said:

Remember when games were made because companies had a great idea for a game, not because bigwigs decided they wanted a slice of pie from a particular market. And those developers knew they could make something great, and they worked on it until they knew it was done and then they released it?

Remember Mass Effect?

Funnily enough, I've looked out my copy of the Mass Effect Trilogy so that I can get all the DLC downloaded and play through it all again (albeit this time on the PS3 as I don't have my 360 more). It's been too long since I've played them through and I just want some top tier BioWare at the moment, so great characters, great gameplay and story and a game that functions as it should do (though the PS3 port of the original is ropey from what I remember of playing it a few years back).

I do wonder that if Anthem doesn't meet sales targets whether EA will finally give the go ahead on a re-release of the trilogy for the PS4 and Xbox One. I realise this is derailing this thread but I don't get why EA, a company all about making as much money as possible, is just leaving cash on the table with doing it.

Anyway, my day is sorted. Can't wait to jump back into those games.

[Happenstance]

2 hours ago, Ganepark32 said:

Funnily enough, I've looked out my copy of the Mass Effect Trilogy so that I can get all the DLC downloaded and play through it all again (albeit this time on the PS3 as I don't have my 360 more). It's been too long since I've played them through and I just want some top tier BioWare at the moment, so great characters, great gameplay and story and a game that functions as it should do (though the PS3 port of the original is ropey from what I remember of playing it a few years back).

I do wonder that if Anthem doesn't meet sales targets whether EA will finally give the go ahead on a re-release of the trilogy for the PS4 and Xbox One. I realise this is derailing this thread but I don't get why EA, a company all about making as much money as possible, is just leaving cash on the table with doing it.

Anyway, my day is sorted. Can't wait to jump back into those games.

I played through them recently on PS3 and they don't play too badly.

[Ronnie]

Wow this thread was dead in the year or two before release, no one seemed to care about this game, but now it's one of the most active on the board. That's what bad publicity does I guess.

Anyway, had a blast last night. I'm taking the campaign really slowly so only did 1 main mission. The cutscenes, voice acting and facial animations are absolutely top notch.

Did some freeplay and some side contract stuff. Ran into some other players and we took down a titan together (after half an hour of trying). The gunplay and flying/hovering feel so good. Stumbled on a random cave under water, found a diary left behind by some poor guy who'd gotten himself trapped there.

Eventually wandered into a dungeon type thing, probably too high level for me. Somehow managed to survive what I thought was the only big combat chamber in there, nearly died about 5 or 6 times, felt triumphant that I'd cleared the enemies out and got some nice loot... then realised it kept going into (at least) another big chamber filled with enemies. So I turned around and ran out like a little girl.

After an hour and a half of freeplay I ran into a 45 second loading screen to get back to Fort Tarsis. It was awful. 45 seconds of my life I won't get back.

[Hero-of-Time]

6 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Wow this thread was dead in the year or two before release, no one seemed to care about this game, but now it's one of the most active on the board. 

Given the sales of the game in the UK, I think that's still the case.  

[Ronnie]

9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Given the sales of the game in the UK, I think that's still the case.  

New IP in "Sells half of a Mass Effect game" shocker

I'm pleased to see the bad publicity is making everyone want to dive in and shit on the game though, without having played it. Community on point as always.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Ronnie

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Ronnie said:

New IP in "Sells half of a Mass Effect game" shocker

As stated numerous times already, Destiny done fine at launch and that was also a new IP created by a studio with a certain amount of prestige. To sell less than Mass Effect Andromeda, a Mass Effect game that reviewed badly and was technical mess at launch, is pretty rough. I imagine there are plenty of examples of new IPs selling stupidly well at launch.

[Shorty]

If the game was a 9/10, it would've broken sales records, if you don't believe that and are trying to blame it on being a new IP, you're in denial. There was a lot of expectation and a lot of buzz behind this game. Plenty of people following it with high hopes. Not only did people know what they wanted, but they were shown exactly what kind of game this could be. Most of them were unhappy with Destiny 2 and had already tried and failed to fill that hole with Division etc., it was perfectly poised to reap in millions and millions of players, if it had been executed properly.

[Hero-of-Time]

16 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I'm pleased to see the bad publicity is making everyone want to dive in and shit on the game though, without having played it. Community on point as always.

I'll have to reply to this separately due to you adding it to your post. 

All people are doing is having a conversation around the release of the game. I can't remember any point where I have said that the game is a piece of junk or words to that effect. As Jim Sterling mentioned in his video yesterday, the conversation around this game seems to be more interesting than the game itself. I mean if the game was received well and broke records then there would certainly be conversations being had about this.

Another point is that there are a lot people who have played the game ( youtubers, reviewers, general gamers etc. ) that  are speaking negatively about it, so it's not just a case of this...

 

[Ronnie]

13 minutes ago, Shorty said:

There was a lot of expectation and a lot of buzz behind this game.

There was almost zero activity on this thread in the past year or two. Now everyone's diving in here to shit on a game they haven't played. YouTubers stoking the fires, trying to get as many clicks as possible, it's the same old bullshit that accompanies any big release that doesn't live up to ridiculous expectations. Happens in the film industry with huge highly anticipated releases as well, mentioning no names.

13 minutes ago, Shorty said:

If the game was a 9/10, it would've broken sales records

I don't believe that in the slightest. EA + Bioware (after ME3 and MEA) + $60 Game as service is a recipe for disaster among the community.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Ronnie

[Ronnie]

6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Another point is that there are a lot people who have played the game ( youtubers, reviewers, general gamers etc. ) that  are speaking negatively about it, so it's not just a case of this...

And just as many saying they don't see what all the fuss is about, the game is really fun and they're having a great time. But as Greg Miller suggested in his tweet from a few days ago, you say something like that in the middle of a gamer crusade against the game, you get torn to pieces. Fran on Kinda Funny talked about how much he was loving the game in the latest Gamescast and it's one of the most downvoted videos they've done, with comments full of abuse towards him.

6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I mean if the game was received well and broke records then there would certainly be conversations being had about this.

Really, you honestly think so? To this extent? The community thrives on negativity. You see countless examples of gamers wanting games to fail, especially EA ones.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Ronnie

[Shorty]

This board has generally been quiet, and we've learned to manage expectations. Anthem didn't show off very much at all so there wasn't a lot to talk about, that doesn't mean we weren't all hopeful. As I say there was a gap in the market that many of us want filling. It was a regularly occurring conversation in the Whatsapp group and PS party chats of people I play Overwatch with, which is almost entirely comprised of the group we built to play Destiny with.

I'm also saying this as exactly the kind of person this game was aimed at. I gave Destiny something stupid like nearly 2000 hours of my life, logged in constantly for events, bought all the DLC and season passes, pre-ordered the ultimate edition of D2 as soon as I could. So I was ready to pounce on this the moment the demo landed. But the demo crashed both times I tried to load a level, and it was downhill from there.

 

[Deathjam]

At work so I don't really have the time (or the will) to do a long write up but I have been playing on PS4 if that wasn't obvious and have completed the main story and have reached lvl 26/27 can't remember. Enjoyed what I have experienced but there were bugs along that journey. Everyone knows the issues so I wont go into them but I didn't experience anything that hampered my progress. Biggest one is missing out on a cut scene but I managed to see it when I repeated the mission with my girlfriend whom is also enjoying it.

Moment to moment gameplay is awesome. It's the Mass effect 3 multiplayer, just massively expanded. Its a shame I could have this a few years ago but whatever. It's here now and because I enjoy the gameplay so much, the 'honeymoon' period for me is lasting a long while. I do remember a time when gameplay was king and forget everything else but expectations are so much higher now and a lot more is expected from companies like Bioware.

The (somewhat valid) negativity surrounding the game is a bit of a bummer with the Origin Premier Access probably playing a major part. I think it was a pretty big mistake considering the issues still present in the game (which I am sure they must have known about prior to release to get such a quick turn around) with reviews probably being more favourable if the day 1 patch was taken into account for the entire duration of a reviewers game play.

There is an element of disappointment in me though, with the expected heights for this game not being reached, but I don't feel as disappointed as I did with Destiny 2 or No Man's Sky. And seeing as I gave those a chance to improve, I will do the same for Anthem, I just hope EA will too.

[Hero-of-Time]

12 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

And just as many saying they don't see what all the fuss is about, the game is really fun and they're having a great time. But as Greg Miller suggested in his tweet from a few days ago, you say something like that in the middle of a gamer crusade against the game, you get torn to pieces.

Really, you honestly think so? To this extent? The community thrives on negativity. You see countless examples of gamers wanting games to fail, especially EA ones.

Is anyone on here tearing you to pieces for enjoying the game? I don't think so. A few of us have even wished you well and are happy you are getting enjoyment out of it. You seem really upset about people talking about the game in a negative light. Again, i'll ask you the question that I asked the other day: Does it hamper your own enjoyment if someone dislikes a game that you enjoy?  There were so many outlets that ripped Kingdom Hearts III apart ( Jim Sterling was one of them ) but I didn't care at all and in fact seen the funny side of it. I LOVE the game and that's all that matters to me and it should be the same for you.

 

Edited February 26, 2019 by Hero-of-Time

[Ronnie]

19 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Is anyone on here tearing you to pieces for enjoying the game? I don't think so. A few of us have even wished you well and are happy you are getting enjoyment out of it. You seem really upset about people talking about the game in a negative light. Again, i'll ask you the question that I asked the other day: Does it hamper your own enjoyment if someone dislikes a game that you enjoy?  There were so many outlets that ripped Kingdom Hearts III apart ( Jim Sterling was one of them ) but I didn't care at all and in fact seen the funny side of it. I LOVE the game and that's all that matters to me and it should be the same for you.

That's fine for a one-and-done game like Kingdom Hearts. It doesn't matter if a game you absolutely loved got a 1/10 everywhere else because it's a story driven adventure that only depends on your enjoyment. Anthem is a live game that lives or dies by reviews and online reaction. So yes, when people tear it apart online, unjustifiably, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon in that very video game community king of way, without even playing it, it does annoy me, because it impacts how much support this game is going to get in the future. It's doubly annoying when the developers and producers at Bioware have been a shining example on how to talk to a gaming community. It's been incredible, I don't know how they get any work done when they're constantly replying to tweets and engaging with the community.

I'm very grateful for the well wishes, but I'm talking less about this board in particular and more on the YouTubers who feed off and line their pockets thanks to controversy.

Glad you're enjoying your time with it @Deathjam, nice to see someone else on this thread who's playing it and can actually give a first hand account of it. Completely agree, the moment to moment gameplay is awesome. I'm only level 4, can't wait to dive back in tonight.

To try and shift the conversation to the game itself, the devs revealed the 90 day roadmap last week, with new content coming each month to make up Act 1: https://www.polygon.com/2019/2/23/18237461/anthem-updates-roadmap-act-i-pc-ps4-xbox-one