Octopath Traveler making waves on Amazon. Why?

werezompire · Jul 5, 2018

OuterLimits said:
Eh. For a system only at a year and a half, the rpg library is pretty decent. Stuff like Xenoblade, Disgaea, Ys, Setsuna, Lost Sphear, The Lost Child, Battle Chasers, Skyrim, and some indie games.

Seriously. After 1.5 years in North America, the PlayStation 1's RPG library was pretty much Beyond the Beyond, Suikoden 1, and a butchered localization of Persona 1. Wild Arms 1 came out a little later and FF7 finally hit at around the 2 year mark. All this from what is commonly considered one of the best systems for RPGs of all-time.

Most consoles have really weak RPG libraries for the first couple of years. That the Switch is doing as good as it is in this genre already is impressive.

take look on ebay 3 days after Octopath release and you will see many copies from people who thought it would be for them but ultimately are not willing to play a retro pixel Jrpg for 60-80hours. They presented the game as if it was from Nintendo since the Switch reveal and many people will buy everything Nintendo puts out, regardless of price or style. Hell, if the price was really a factor, Nintendo wouldn´t have sold as many Switches as they did...

Mario Tennis was also a bestseller on Amazon and a few days later ebay got flooded with used copies, same for Tropical Freeze...many people also know that Switch physical copies are sold out on Amazon shortly after release and that´s also a factor to consider why there are so many pre orders.

Nobody's buying a $60 turn-based RPG with retro-pixel-based visuals and not knowing what they're getting into. Doubly so given that there's been 2 big demos for the game already - one of which lets you play the start of the game for 3 hours.

And ebay is flooded with used copies for every major release a few days after launch. That's just how used copies work.

Deleted member 10737 · Jul 5, 2018

Dphex said:
take look on ebay 3 days after Octopath release and you will see many copies from people who thought it would be for them but ultimately are not willing to play a retro pixel Jrpg for 60-80hours. They presented the game as if it was from Nintendo since the Switch reveal and many people will buy everything Nintendo puts out, regardless of price or style. Hell, if the price was really a factor, Nintendo wouldn´t have sold as many Switches as they did...

that happens for any game. few days after release second hand copies turn up. what makes you single out octopath in this regard, or think it will have an exceptionally high number of second hand copies flood the market? people aren't that loose with their money, most people who are buying it know what they're getting themselves into.
it makes sense if a game turns out to be shit or misadvertised for it to have a lot of second hand copies from disappointed buyers flood the market, but i don't see why that would happen for octopath

werezompire said:
Seriously. After 1.5 years in North America, the PlayStation 1's RPG library was pretty much Beyond the Beyond, Suikoden 1, and a butchered port of Persona 1

wasn't persona 1 originally made for ps1?

Kouriozan · Jul 5, 2018

Octopath is a pearl, a chance to experience good old Square JRPG, and it's totally going to deserve its success.

foxuzamaki · Jul 5, 2018

Saucer said:
It's no surprise when the Switch had Zelda, Skyrim, Xeno, Disagea and a host indie rpg's in the launch window.

You want to sell a genre on a platform, build a genre fanbase on a platform.

The fact that nintendo chose to show this game, SMTV and xenoblade 2 as the 1st games ever to be shown for the system says alot of what games they want forbthe system

werezompire · Jul 5, 2018

mazi said:
wasn't persona 1 originally made for ps1?

Whoops, I meant butchered localization. Among other things, they outright removed a huge portion of the game in the North American release (there are 2 main story paths & in the NA PS1 release, they removed 1 of them).

Deleted member 10737 · Jul 5, 2018

werezompire said:
Whoops, I meant butchered localization. Among other things, they outright removed a huge portion of the game in the North American release (there are 2 main story paths & in the NA PS1 release, they removed 1 of them).

oh yeah, i played the psp remaster but i know it had a questionable localization when it first came out

Batatina · Jul 5, 2018

The Switch isn't swimming in RPGs, and especially such tailor-made and good looking ones. I have it pre-ordered for months.

CeroMiedo · Jul 5, 2018

Dphex said:
yeah, it had many games released but how many of these are new (non port, non "already known" indie) games? Mario Tennis, Pocket Rumble? which leads up to the "Octopath making waves on Amazon"

no, i am not.

let me tell you in another way:
when there isn´t much new to play people are looking also into games that they normally wouldn´t play, especially if the next arrivals of really new (non port, non indie) games are when? in the fall/winter? then, many people are like "60$ whatever, i want something new(!) to play on the system" especially if people already played the other releases on other systems, then it is easier to justify an exclusive game for full price because it´s only available on this system

take look on ebay 3 days after Octopath release and you will see many copies from people who thought it would be for them but ultimately are not willing to play a retro pixel Jrpg for 60-80hours. They presented the game as if it was from Nintendo since the Switch reveal and many people will buy everything Nintendo puts out, regardless of price or style. Hell, if the price was really a factor, Nintendo wouldn´t have sold as many Switches as they did...

Mario Tennis was also a bestseller on Amazon and a few days later ebay got flooded with used copies, same for Tropical Freeze...many people also know that Switch physical copies are sold out on Amazon shortly after release and that´s also a factor to consider why there are so many pre orders.

The game will sell really well, that´s for sure, if it´s real interest or "the thirst", no one can tell, that´s also for sure

This post is giving me cancer, ugh

test_account · Jul 5, 2018

I'm not that surprised by it considering that Bravely Default sold pretty decent from what i remember. But its nice to see that looks like Octopath Traveler will also be a success :) Looks like a very solid game.

Saucer said:
This is why MS/Sony are tripping over themselves and offering publishers money hand over fist to get marketing rights on multiplats. If a game is not marketed to a certain platform it nearly becomes invisible to said platform in comparison (Destiny on XB1 compared to PS4 for instance).

Yep, it can be a smart business move, which is why Nintendo made a deal with Square Enix to make Octopath Traveler exclusive to the Switch (no idea if they were tripping over themself though, but maybe? :P). Octopath Traveler is published and handled by Nintendo in the west, so its a 1st party title here. It also seems like Nintendo is threating it like one as well. If it was a multiplatform title, i think theres a chance that it could have made less of a noise.

CeroMiedo said:
This post is giving me cancer, ugh

Wouldnt a counter arguement to his points be better instead?

CeroMiedo · Jul 5, 2018

test_account said:
Wouldnt a counter arguement to his points be better instead?

Why should I?

Deleted member 10737 · Jul 5, 2018

test_account said:
Wouldnt a counter arguement to his points be better instead?

there's no logical counter argument to "people will see pixels and return it in 3 days"

test_account · Jul 5, 2018

CeroMiedo said:
Why should I?

mazi said:
there's no logical counter argument to "people will see pixels and retuen it in 3 days"

I didnt read his/her post to be honest, i just think it would be more productive to respond to the points instead of saying that one get cancer :/

Marukoban · Jul 5, 2018

I'm not as optimistic as most people in this thread.
I think this is probably going to do better than BD, but not by much.
Hopefully I'm wrong though, since the success of this game will bring more of similar style JRPG to Switch and probably other platforms too.

CeroMiedo · Jul 5, 2018

test_account said:
I didnt read his/her post to be honest

Then please read it, read into the situation before you quote a total stranger

ILikeFeet · Jul 5, 2018

werezompire said:
Switch owners are starving because they're spending their food budget on more games.

Food $200
Data $150
Rent $800
Games $3,600
Utility $150
someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying

Łazy · Jul 5, 2018

Sammy Samusu said:
I remember some people complaining about this game not being worthy of a $60 price tag, but looks like the GP are seeing value in it.

Are you shooketh by its early success?

Not at all. I was certain the game would meet at least a moderate success.

And btw, 5 people being (wrongly) annoyed at the price really don't say much about the success of a game.

CRIMSON-XIII · Jul 5, 2018

ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
1. Exclusive games get a ton of hype if they look really good.
2. There hasn't been a big budget game that's looked like this in a while.

Would expect it to sell between 2m-3m if it gets above an 85 on Metacritic.

yeah i feel like this game is selling at least a million worldwide.

test_account · Jul 5, 2018

CeroMiedo said:
Then please read it, read into the situation before you quote a total stranger

The point doesnt really matter that much, it was more about "joking" about getting cancer that i reacted to, which made me comment in the first place. I read the post now and i would still have commented the same. I agree that the point about returning the game after 3 days is kinda silly though.

Opa-Pa · Jul 5, 2018

ILikeFeet said:
Food $200
Data $150
Rent $800
Games $3,600
Utility $150
someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying

You are an idiot and your family will die due to your games fetish.

Deleted member 40102 · Jul 5, 2018

CeroMiedo said:
This post is giving me cancer, ugh

Lol why tho? That is his take on the subject doesnt need to fulfill your opinion to feel good about it.

Gosh alot of people here need to chill honestly , those gave devs wont pay you shit you dont need to be mad about others opinions and be super devnsive grow up please.

Plum · Jul 5, 2018

Opa-Pa said:
You are an idiot and your family will die due to your games fetish.

Deleted member 10737 · Jul 5, 2018

ILikeFeet said:
Food $200
Data $150
Rent $800
Games $3,600
Utility $150
someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying

put the 150 towards games too. water and electricity are overrated, and you'll always find a socket somewhere to charge your switch

Plum · Jul 5, 2018

mazi said:
put the 150 towards games too. water and electricity are overrated, and you'll always find a socket somewhere to charge your switch

Who needs rent anyway when, with the power of the Nintendo Switch™, you can play Anytime, Anywhere, with Anyone™!

Bazry · Jul 5, 2018

Up to 13th in UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-PC-Video-Games/zgbs/videogames

Deleted member 10737 · Jul 5, 2018

Plum said:
Who needs rent anyway when, with the power of the Nintendo Switch™, you can play Anytime, Anywhere, with Anyone™!

and data. single player games are better, and you can spend the time you waste on the internet playing all the games you can buy with your rent money

Nathan.exe · Jul 5, 2018

werezompire said:
I'm really rooting for the game and hope that it brings a lot of turn-based JRPG fans to the system who a month later will be looking for more turn-based RPGs to buy. ;)

Dark Cloud · Jul 5, 2018

Bazry said:
Up to 13th in UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-PC-Video-Games/zgbs/videogames

Not good enough.

Disclaimer · Jul 5, 2018

Fionel said:
The producer of this game, Asano Tomoya, is the same producer for the two Bravely Default games. While I really liked those two games, the most disappointment aspect for both projects is how they over-recycled contents to increase their play times. I can't help but be apprehensive that Octopath Traveler would tread the same path.

Octopath may have Asano, but it's being developed by Acquire, a completely different studio from the one that made Bravely, and one with over 20 years of experience.

Dogui said:
This is a Bravely Default tier budget game, which was $40 back then. Classic Jrpg with beautiful visuals and "next back to the old school jrpg" kind of hype, in the same "early on the console" situation. Only $20 more expensive. Just saying.

It's clearly a higher budget game than Bravely Default, a 3DS game with substantial recycled content. Pixel art doesn't equate to cheapness. FFXV's decade-long budget isn't the arbitrary benchmark for what JRPG can by full-priced. Gamers in general are already used to paying $60 for much less than the 50-100 hours we know Octopath can entail.

Deleted member 176 · Jul 5, 2018

The game can sell itself on a screenshot and has a really good demo available. It's also coming out on a system that doesn't have much else going on at the moment.

silva1991 · Jul 5, 2018

I can see it selling a million. People expecting 2-3m will be disappointed.

tomofthepops · Jul 5, 2018

Aters said:
What else is coming out this month? It should be top five everywhere.

Yeah I wish SE can make game like this... oh wait.

Yeah I'm not super hype on it but I'm picking it up because there's pretty much nothing else coming out at the moment.

Amnixia · Jul 5, 2018

Lots of people like RPGs, Switch (and software) still sells well.

Not surprised and hyped for next week <3.

Alex840 · Jul 5, 2018

Doesn't surprise me. I'm buying it and it's mot typically my type of game.

The Switch software output has been pretty poor in 2018.

Deleted member 8593 · Jul 5, 2018

I don't know man. They should have rebooted and given it to someone else to finish to add some more value to it.

Ahzrei · Jul 5, 2018

This news makes me really happy.

Octopath is my #1 hype game right now. That demo was simply magical for me. I felt like a kid again, playing final fantasy for the first time. Absolutely priceless experience.

If the full game lives up to that first demo, I think Octopath could be a really special game for a lot of people. I'm glad to see some early hype for it, I hope it sells well. I want to see more $60 games like this.

Deleted member 36622 · Jul 5, 2018

It's one of the biggest releases on Switch this summer and it's a love letter to old JRPGs, so well deserved.

Deleted member 36622 · Jul 5, 2018

Alex840 said:
Doesn't surprise me. I'm buying it and it's mot typically my type of game.

The Switch software output has been pretty poor in 2018.

What? June has been incredible, and July also is crazy.

Edigar · Jul 5, 2018

What would be a good number for this game?

2 milliom ww?

Soap · Jul 5, 2018

I would love for this to do well. These kind of games are what I want on Switch. I like ports, but those weird little games the DS line got need to carry on.

Aters · Jul 5, 2018

Disclaimer said:
Octopath may have Asano, but it's being developed by Acquire, a completely different studio from the one that made Bravely, and one with over 20 years of experience.

20 years of experience of what? Expertise in JRPG? They hardly made any JRPG before. High quality games? Their last game is Akiba's Beat.

BlueManifest · Jul 5, 2018

Edigar said:
What would be a good number for this game?

2 milliom ww?

Yes, hoping it sells as much as xenoblade 2 atleast it's close to 1.5 million

Deleted member 7051 · Jul 5, 2018

Funnily enough demos only stop people buying bad games, not good ones.

Adder · Jul 5, 2018

Simple:
- Switch, contrary to what some people believes -including Nintendo-, is a hardcore gamer coinsole, so games -specially exclusives- aimed at that audience sell well. That is the most important factor I feel. The attach rate on Switch games is quite good. Hopefully Nintendo focuses on that audience, but i doubt it.
- Great marketing and promotion: demos, several Direct appearences...
- Nostalgia factor due to art style.
- Quality game.
- AFAIK is the first remarkable traditional turned-based RPG on Switch. we have had niche stuff -I am Setsuna, Romancing Saga...-, but nothing major.

Pancakes R Us · Jul 5, 2018

This game has flown under my radar because I'm not really into RPGs. Good luck to S-E. Hopefully this turns out a great success and encourages more games.

Braaier · Jul 5, 2018

Got my copy preordered! Gotta finish strange journey before I dive into this though

Mr. Shakedown · Jul 5, 2018

Demo was excellent and people are excited to play the full game. I don't think it's any more complicated than that.

Deleted member 36622 · Jul 5, 2018

Edigar said:
What would be a good number for this game?

2 milliom ww?

Over 1 mln would be already a success.

People praised Persona 5 for months for reaching 2 mln, and also Xenoblade Chronicles 2 selling more than 1 mln in just 2 months was a shocker, JRPGs usually don't sell much but i hope there is a big audience for these games on Switch, cause that's one of the genre that can really shine on the system.

Piscus · Jul 5, 2018

Up to #2 on US Amazon. Also, I'm liking how many Swith games are top sellers at the moment. The first non-Switch game is Shenmue 1&2 for PS4... at number 29.

Y2Kev · Jul 5, 2018

Isn't it because it's almost out and nothing else is coming out soon so buying activity is lower on the daily/weekly/hourly charts?

Dogui · Jul 5, 2018

Disclaimer said:
It's clearly a higher budget game than Bravely Default, a 3DS game with substantial recycled content. Pixel art doesn't equate to cheapness. FFXV's decade-long budget isn't the arbitrary benchmark for what JRPG can by full-priced. Gamers in general are already used to paying $60 for much less than the 50-100 hours we know Octopath can entail.

So, you don't expect recycled content in Octopath? People still didn't played the complete game and Bravely Default only shows the recycled stuff in the second half.

I mean, yeah, dungeon design in BD is really limited, being basically just labyrinths. Sorta like a FFIV like dungeon. Any indication of Octopath being different? Are we expecting no pallete swap enemies, or maybe not the same enemies everywhere? As a game that looks like SaGa stuff, are we expecting a really big world so that the same location isn't visited in the main quest atleast 3 times?

A game structured similarly as SaGa or Live a Live or Rudra is bound to have tons of recycled content by definition.

BD also had tons of voice action, CGs and the ost looks far from being cheap midi like stuff. It certainly looked a lot bigger than it was for it's first hours. Are you expecting a Persona 5 or Nier Automata level of budget for this game?

Are you people really insisting in this pixel art = cheapness strawman? I never said that lol I know this is probably the number 1 cliche argument against the game but i'm not using it.

Anyway, if you find $60 for this product fair as a price and want to downplay the $40 game in a similar situation, more power to you. Aside the fact that SE is bound to be greedy as a big publisher, they will probably deliver similar experiences and we can expect atleast 3 games by the Octopath team in Switch's life, which is probably really good news.

Octopath Traveler making waves on Amazon. Why?

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