NEO: The World Ends With You underperforms Square Enix's initial expectations
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Sounds like Steam propaganda to me. PC players around the world are happy that little guy Tim Epic is finally fighting for us and against oppressive corporations, like Valve and Apple. #FreeFortnite.
Yeah, I'm glad they had the presence of mind to not leave any major dangling sequel bait threads and just gave things a conclusive ending.
Would've been nice for this to sell well, but I'm legitimately okay with this being it for the series.
Not surprised at all. It wasn't marketed or at least not in the right places to have a growth in users from the first game. On top of that it has all the other inner working of a niche game starting with the fact it is a JRPG (even if more towards the action side) with the art style it has which immediately a section label as 'too anime' and write off without knowing what it is. Add to that the gameplay being hard to easily market to a larger audience and it being called 'Neo:The World Ends with You'; these all don't signify a mass market title.
I have been playing this on SwOLED and it's an absolute joy and a game I never thought would actually get made, much less at the level of quality it has.
Guess we won't be rushing to a third, if ever. But that's okay, I wasn't expecting a second.
Guess we won't be rushing to a third, if ever. But that's okay, I wasn't expecting a second.
I liked the DS game, is this any good? Shit SE you didn't even advertise the game, I didn't realize it was even out until way after the fact what did you expect lol!
THIS. Hopefully they'll realize getting moneyhatted by Epic is not worth it after this.
The first game was a one of a kind experience, truly one of my all-time favorites. I bought the sequel just to support that kind of creativity. I hear it's really good, actually, although maybe not an instant classic like the first one. Looking forward to playing it at some point. To anyone on the fence, please buy it. But I still recommend playing the original on the DS, if you can. The mobile version and the Switch version look decent, but that game really is at home on a dual screen.
It was honestly a miracle we ever got a sequel in the first place, even more so that it was really good.
But yeah, Square Enix didn't really push this game much, it just dropped and disappeared. It was always a niche title, but their lack of marketing really didn't help things.
But yeah, Square Enix didn't really push this game much, it just dropped and disappeared. It was always a niche title, but their lack of marketing really didn't help things.
I don't understand the release of this game.
You release it on just Switch and PC.
The PC version is delayed by months and then just released on the Epic store.
Zero marketing.
No Xbox or Playstation versions.
Its like it was set up to fail.
You release it on just Switch and PC.
The PC version is delayed by months and then just released on the Epic store.
Zero marketing.
No Xbox or Playstation versions.
Its like it was set up to fail.
Day 1 with the Switch version.
Is this indicative of SE's marketing/ release campaign again?
NEO: The World Ends with You
Only the possibility of you can change our fate A long-awaited new story in The World Ends with You series has finally arrived Rindo comes to the grim realization that his life is on the line when he is forced to compete in the so-called Reapers Game. Theres no telling how this tale will...
store.playstation.com
I think the game even charted in the NPD on PS at release. But I don't blame you for not noticing this version, it's not like Square shouted it at the rooftops.
Well at least you can play it on PS5 I guess.
Maybe I'll try the demo.
As someone who just sort of picked up knowledge of this game through osmosis from reading this place, it's got an awful name.
NEO: The World Ends With You
Is it a sequel to the first? A remake? Why is the original title now a subtitle. What's going on? I know they re-released the first on Switch, and for the longest time I thought NEO was just the Switch release of the first one.
Square's constant need to make the absolute worst titles in the entire industry well never not baffle me. Surely at some point, an actual adult with common sense tells them they've got to stop this stupidity.
NEO: The World Ends With You
Is it a sequel to the first? A remake? Why is the original title now a subtitle. What's going on? I know they re-released the first on Switch, and for the longest time I thought NEO was just the Switch release of the first one.
Square's constant need to make the absolute worst titles in the entire industry well never not baffle me. Surely at some point, an actual adult with common sense tells them they've got to stop this stupidity.
Why wouldn't it be $60? It is a full JRPG clocking at 40 hours long with voice acting and a ton of vocal songs that probably cost them a bit to produce. The production matches the price.
people saying "why'd you put it on the EGS" like it didn't make more money from that deal than it would have on Steam. PC gamers aren't going to save a direct sequel to a game that never came out on PC.
also weird people talk about lack of marketing, I received non-stop Facebook and Instagram ads for the game. but I guess I was the target audience and already interested in the game, I was basically a waste of their money, no point preaching to the choir.
also weird people talk about lack of marketing, I received non-stop Facebook and Instagram ads for the game. but I guess I was the target audience and already interested in the game, I was basically a waste of their money, no point preaching to the choir.
Isn't it a sequel to an older DS game? I'd be curious what there expectations were because they were probably too high lol
What's the point of taking in a huge check if your brand gets no sales on that platform which equals to zero growth as well?
It's a smart move if you think your game is going to fail. Otherwise, it's always better to release it on as many platforms as possible.
It's about risk allocation. Again, they have access to so much more internal and third party data to make a more informed decision than anyone of us. The game will eventually be out on Steam.
EGS isn't where you go to grow a franchise or sell many copies. That's been proven many times at this point. All other things equal, yes this game would have sold more if it was on Steam. That's not hard to understand so it's only natural for people to bring it up when discussing the reasons it underperformed.
Yup
It was also a terrible idea to name the game that way, but what else is new for Nomura's games; I stopped trying to make sense of KH's enhanced remakes, sequels, prequeI and interquels years ago. I keep mixing up NEO with the original's remake for the Switch, and I loved the DS original, so I can only imagine what the general public thought this was.
Well, the game did fail so I guess it was a smart move? The main audience for the game would be Switch users anyway.
THIS! This series is not a staple to wider audiences and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of folks think that NEO is a remake/remaster of the first game. The PlayStation version of NEO is the first in the series, the actual remaster of the first game never came. I also think this type of more niche game would be a good candidate for day 1 on Game Pass. And yes, don't make exclusive deals for PC storefronts when the title you are selling isn't exactly Final Fantasy.
Square-Enix makes these weird decisions all the time, I could name dozens of them.
Without specifically knowing otherwise, and keeping in mind Nomura's penchant for enhanced re-releases, I would have thought NEO was either the Switch remake itself, or a special edition with some added content. And I only specifically know otherwise because of Era. That's how bad they botched the naming and marketing.
Pricing hurt it more, to be honest. Even if you put it on Steam day 1, no one's gonna buy a cheap-looking sequel to a cult classic for 60 bucks with nonexistant regional pricing to boot.
With that said if their goal was to actually sell copies then yes, a late port exclusive to a controversial storefront isn't gonna help.
I think reviews were a big factor. It finished up on 82 on MC but when it launched it was in that dreaded orange zone. Gamers are pretty picky these days, so who's gonna buy a sequel to a niche DS game that didn't review super well?
It's one of my favourite games of the year, but I'm not surprised it didn't sell. The word of mouth was so limited, it had very little buzz online despite being a fantastic game.
It's one of my favourite games of the year, but I'm not surprised it didn't sell. The word of mouth was so limited, it had very little buzz online despite being a fantastic game.
Well at least PC won't be helping them at all considering they took a moneyhat for EGS and I highly doubt it sold anything there so you can count that out automatically.. So the only chance it had was on Consoles..
Because that 'preferred platform' is where most of the 'paid PC gamers' reside? I mean it wouldn't have stopped it from underperforming considering how lofty are square's expectations for a game but it surely would've sold much more. STEAM recently had a growth spurt when it comes to JRPGs with P4G, Monster Hunter Stories 2 and Tales of Arise.
The sequel came way too late, the originals gameplay relies heavily on touch controls so it didn't make sense to release a sequel now.
Also, the original had pretty low sales so it sounds like they have unreasonable expectations. Especially since they couldn't be bothered to even include it in their e3 show.
Also, the original had pretty low sales so it sounds like they have unreasonable expectations. Especially since they couldn't be bothered to even include it in their e3 show.
I never thought much about it but yeah, "NEO: The World Ends with You" isn't a good title. Just call it TWEWY II.
It's cool that SE gives their creatives freedom to do what they want, but there's also a point where a publisher needs to step in and be like "no".
Imo square's biggest mistake was not releasing the first game on PS4 and PC first to build some brand recognition there. Then there's poor marketing and name. Steam version would sell more copies but it's not unlikely it would still make less money than the EGS deal.
That's not a given.
And second, the point is to grow your brand. What's the point to get 1 million dollars upfront and kill your IP when you can make that money in 2 years and get actual customers. In fact, there's a chance with the second option that not only you'll make more, but actually get more people on board.
Crazy I know.
Nomura has far too much clout to be told "no" by anyone else in Square.
That didn't prevent Persona 4 Golden from selling. Nor did it prevent Nier Automata from selling.
I could keep going.
That really sucks. I bought it on release but even as a fan of the first game that was actively seeking news about the sequel, I hardly saw any marketing from SE or Nintendo. I don't know what they expected after they threw it out with no real push behind it. Unfortunately I guess this means the series is officially dead to SE.