Ninja Theory: We made no money on PS3 with Heavenly Sword

This is why multiplatforms will continue to be the norm:

Ninja Theory has told CVG that it made no money from Heavenly Sword - one of the biggest PS3 exclusives released in the launch era of the console.

"It's difficult. Heavenly Sword came out pretty early on the PS3, and we sold, I think, a million and a half copies, and that's still not enough as an independent studio to break even," said co-founder Tameem Antoniades.

"The publisher potentially breaks even at that point, but the developers don't," he added, and it's for this reason that the developer chose to go multi-platform with its latest upcoming quest, Enslaved.

"It's just that when so many people have Xbox - I mean over half the market or more has Xbox 360s - why limit yourself to one platform?" commented Antoniades.

www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=240867

I beat this game in four and a half hours and it has ZERO replay value so wtf were they expecting? I'm really surprised its still full price...silversix_

This is why multiplatforms will continue to be the norm:

Ninja Theory has told CVG that it made no money from Heavenly Sword - one of the biggest PS3 exclusives released in the launch era of the console.

"It's difficult. Heavenly Sword came out pretty early on the PS3, and we sold, I think, a million and a half copies, and that's still not enough as an independent studio to break even," said co-founder Tameem Antoniades.

"The publisher potentially breaks even at that point, but the developers don't," he added, and it's for this reason that the developer chose to go multi-platform with its latest upcoming quest, Enslaved.

"It's just that when so many people have Xbox - I mean over half the market or more has Xbox 360s - why limit yourself to one platform?" commented Antoniades.

www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=240867

RickGotti

indeed

The game was OK,but I really liked the characters.
King Bohan is still one of my favorite villains out there.

if a game sells a 1.5 million and the dev doesn't make money i think they must have a bad contractGunSmith1_basic

if a game sells a 1.5 million and the dev doesn't make money i think they must have a bad contractGunSmith1_basic

[QUOTE="GunSmith1_basic"]if a game sells a 1.5 million and the dev doesn't make money i think they must have a bad contractlocopatho

It sold like crap because 1) It came out when there was a small PS3 base 2) It had no multiplayer and was like 5-6 hrs long. Let's see......no replay value for single player and no online. That's why this game sold like crap. If it was that big of a deal to "need" the other consoles customers to make money then why is Mass Effect 2 only on X360 and not PS3? Because this myth that you need to be multiplatform is just that, a myth. Get a good game and you don't need to be multiplat.darthogre

I remember reading that around 300 000 or 500 000 copies sold were enough for a developer to start seeing profits, still 1.5 millions is a hell of a number, specially for a launch game, i find weird that they didn't win any money with it, is just probably an excuse to go multiplat.

"It's just that when so many people have Xbox - I mean over half the market or more has Xbox 360s - why limit yourself to one platform?" commented Antoniades.

RickGotti

OHHHHH BURRNNNNNNN

While I don't know what the development costs were for HS, selling 1.5 million and not turning a profit does seem plausible.

I think for the "average" game on the PS3/360, the breakeven point is around 500,000 sold. The example that I have seen used for this is Stuntman: Ignition, so I can see a game like HS having a much higher thersold to meet in order to breakeven. Still, I would have guessed that 1 million would have done it.

I have heard that Sony requires higher royalty payments than MS, but I don't have anything to back that up. It might have been mentioned here, at Gamespot, but I don't feel like searching for it.

Well, I think that is true for the most part. When Heavenly Sword came out, not as many people owned a PS3 as there are today. Yet it doesn't help that the game's length was not even an afternoon's worth and there was little to no reason to play it again. While I thought it was beautiful, the combat felt spot on, and the story wasn't all that bad. It just really wasn't worth the full retail price in the end and I had bought it at it's launch. Probably still wouldn't make a world a difference if there wasn't anyone available to buy it but Heavenly Sword just didn't have much going for it with the install base and it's poor value. Great game but man, wish there was more.

Hopefully Enslaved won't be a repeat even on multiple systems.

Umm this is a suprise to them? My 4 year old cousin could have told them that during development of the game. So many rooky mistakes (30FPS, no Jump?). Its obvious it would not have competed with DMC, or NG, or GOW for that matter. The game litterally had no promotion, and was released when Ps3 was in small number units. How this suprises them is beyond me, but judging from the rating of their games, its pretty obvious how they thick they are.

That game was released in the PS3's early days when it wasn't selling that well. If they released it now, I would think it would of sold a lot better perhaps.. They should re-release the game with more content like they did with Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1&2. Give it another try at least. Rather than discontinuing it all together.

As short as it was, I loved Heavenly Sword. The last boss fight against King Bohan was simply epic.

[QUOTE="donalbane"]I loved Heavenly Sword, and am sorry more people didn't enjoy it as much as I did. I will never get rid of it... I've replayed it several times. Still one of my top 5 PS3 games. Here's hoping Ninja Theory cleans up on their new game... I love what they do.Desmonic

[QUOTE="GunSmith1_basic"]if a game sells a 1.5 million and the dev doesn't make money i think they must have a bad contractlocopatho

LMAO @ all the 'it was short, it had a small install base, it had little marketing comments'. That isn't the point.

It could have been a steaming pile of poo. But according to the developers it sold 1.5 million and still didn't make much money.

Games that sell 1.5 million are in the very small minority of all games. The point he is making is that HD development is expensive. Too expensive to limit yourself to only half the HD install base.

Whether it could have sold more, or been a better game is irrelevant. It has already sold more than most games. Which tells you something about the costs to make games.

I loved it....should have made it on the 360 would have sold a lil better....great game I didn't mind the length

the game is great but i am surprised it even reached the 1 million mark ........ the game developers have way to high expectations.

the game is great but i am surprised it even reached the 1 million mark ........ the game developers have way to high expectations.

2mrw

never played it...always wanted to, though (didn't have a PS3 when it first came out). i may pick it up cheap during the dry spell of summer gaming.

on topic...yes, i think multiplats are the way to go. it just makes too much financial sense for the developers.

Shut up and make Heavenly Sword 2, damnit!

[QUOTE="2mrw"]

the game is great but i am surprised it even reached the 1 million mark ........ the game developers have way to high expectations.

blue_hazy_basic

the game is great but i am surprised it even reached the 1 million mark ........ the game developers have way to high expectations.

Launch titles have a smaller market to sell to, so they have to really good to make a profit. Heavenly Sword was a nice game, but it wasn't good enough to warrant a 60 dollar price tag. I have it and have yet to beat it due to it sucking, especially when all the newer games are so much better than it.

I don't think Enslaved will be much better to be honest, and wouldn't be surprised if they have the same issue despite being multi-plat. This game gives me a Fracture feeling all over again.

It is going to be interesting next generation when development costs are even higher.

What can we expect? This gen we saw a vast reduction in 3rd party exclusivity, 2nd party reductions next gen?

Consoles may reach a point were only the 1st party games are exclusives.

"It's just that when so many people have Xbox - I mean over half the market or more has Xbox 360s - why limit yourself to one platform?" commented Antoniades.

www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=240867

RickGotti

How can you sell 1.5 units and not make a profit? Gaming is getting way too serious. How much does a developer have to spend for a gamer to have fun?

Launch titles have a smaller market to sell to, so they have to really good to make a profit. Heavenly Sword was a nice game, but it wasn't good enough to warrant a 60 dollar price tag. I have it and have yet to beat it due to it sucking, especially when all the newer games are so much better than it.

I don't think Enslaved will be much better to be honest, and wouldn't be surprised if they have the same issue despite being multi-plat. This game gives me a Fracture feeling all over again.

Pug-Nasty

That's true, but they also have less competetion when they release early in a consoles life.

[QUOTE="RickGotti"]

"It's just that when so many people have Xbox - I mean over half the market or more has Xbox 360s - why limit yourself to one platform?" commented Antoniades.

www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=240867

SilentlyMad

A developer going multi-plat means that PC gaming is dying. Oh wait...