March NPD - MadWorld Debuts With Sales of 66,000

Wow, this is just plain sad. First the news about GTA: Chinatown Wars poor DS sales and now this.

Not sure if we are that such a small market, or the 'hardcore' are just being hypocrites about buying 'core' games for the Wii.

Guess I should shush since I didn't buy this game anyway, nor am I that interested in it.

Wow, maybe the Wii is on its way downhill. I sure hope not.

I wouldn't read too much into those figures. Take House of the Dead: Overkill, for example. Everyone thought it bombed, but on April 7th, the VP of Sega of America claimed that the sales number met their expectations (and he was positive about Madworld's performance then as well). Just like with GTA:CW, where the analyst who first talked of those sales numbers was also said to be confident about future performance of the title (according to Gamespot). The key is that Nintendo buyers seem to have a more relaxed attitude towards buying video games. They don't rush to buy those titles the second they're released, but buy them later on. That means there's no huge sales spike immediately after the release, but not huge drop afterwards either. And you know what they say about "slow and steady"

I would do but it just isn't my type of game: i.e. really repetitive and over hyped. It just looks like it could get real boring real quick and I'm just not interested in throwing money at disc-based retail software on Wii any more. The Conduit and maybe Silent Hill will probably be my last big purchases - ok, maybe Ghostbusters too.

I didn't get madworld either, seems to be completely based around blood. I think people need to stop flapping on about hardcore vs casual gamers and just make some decent games.

thats really a bad start for sega because of the sales i own madworld but im risking to trade it back because i finished it and i could get bored with the game quickly

I have to agree with sentiments that judging first month sales for games probably makes less sense on the Wii and that developers need to take a long view and not expect to make the investment back right away -- unless the dev costs are significantly lower on the Wii than other platforms, which is quite possible.

If the publishers are saying their happy with the numbers, that's what counts.

Wow, this is just plain sad. First the news about GTA: Chinatown Wars poor DS sales and now this.
Just like GTA Chinatown Wars it was out of its depth. What I mean is, it is going up against Pokemon Platinum for sales on the DS alone. Plus 2D GTA was'nt ever that popular (seriously, hardly anyone cared for GTA until GTA 3 and then everyone cared for it).

To be honest MadWorld has done great for what it is and how it was priced (a lot of people feel they were shortchanged if they paid $50 for it).

The trouble is with dependency on long term sales is that they're diluted by second-hand trade. The reason why most publishers like to see big sales on Wii games is because once the initial interest has died down - and unless it's a Nintendo title - they're practically dead in the water.

I'd expect to see sales for both Mad World and HotD to level out between 150k-200k a piece which isn't bad, but not great either.

This isn't surprising and anyone who expected otherwise was being obtuse. It's a 'highly stylized' game which relies almost entirely on it's style to make up for not having a lot of content. It's a great game, but it obviously wasn't going to do well when it forced itself into only having a very niche audience (ask many core gamers and they'll express hesitance at it seeming short and repetitive). And just like Okami and God Hand, even though it's a good game you're naive if you think it would have sold well on the other systems.

Personally I think the once-Clover, now-Platinum Games needs to go back and study Viewtiful Joe, seriously hunt for what they did different in it. Something about it allowed it to be a big success despite being a very hard, very style-driven game. Something which was apparently missing from every other game they've made that allowed it to surpass a niche fanbase.

It certainly wasn't demographic from not being as violent as God Hand or Mad World, because Okami wasn't exactly an adults-only title. It can't be because it was easy, when half the reason it sold so well was because it was willing to kick your ass plus Mad World is pretty easy.

So what was? I dunno. I don't make these games, it isn't my job to know. But I sure hope Platinum games tries to figure it out.

It's not about core games. Madworld is a highly stylized and violent game, I've been saying for some time it won't sell big because it's designed with niche appeal. I often hear people say they don't want it because it's black and white and don't think that's a rare sentiment. Look at other highly stylized games, stuff like Okami, Psychonauts, etc, they all sold very little.

Then again Sega is pleased with the numbers and I guess they have more experience with Wii sales curves so who knows, it might sell more during the next few months. Any third parties determining sales for something like, say, a 3D GTA on the Wii with these numbers would be doing it wrong.

The trouble is with dependency on long term sales is that they're diluted by second-hand trade.

Well, that can be reduced by having long-term appeal (e.g. great multiplayer or long term singleplayer) but from what I heard MadWorld barely appeals through the length of its extremely short SP mode so tradeins might come much faster.

Personally I think the once-Clover, now-Platinum Games needs to go back and study Viewtiful Joe, seriously hunt for what they did different in it. Something about it allowed it to be a big success despite being a very hard, very style-driven game.

Wait, VJ was successful? Yeah, okay, it got sequels (which then quickly drove the series into the ground) but I thought it was more of an underground hit.

i want to get madworld,and its not because its hardcore or that theres a lot of blood and violence,well for that stuff too but i mostly like because of its style and execution

I want madworld, but im waiting for a 25-30 dollar price range like house of the dead

I'm tired of all these stories where a game didn't sell 6 or 7 digit numbers in the first 2 or 3 weeks of its life. Who cares? As long as the developer and publisher makes money off it in the long run, we'll more games.

This isn't a mature game. It's a raunchy, excessivly violent, blood soaked killing fest. Immature. Anyone who expected this game to sell millions is stupid.

Had every intention of picking it up, but didn't because i loathe paying for short games. Having seen it in Gamestation for 17 squid yesterday, it is now mine!
I'll start it after Majora's, or... I'll slide it in whilst drunk one night, lookin for a cheap n dirty thrill mmmmm blooood

Madworld is only about 5-7 hours long for some of you who are curious. Though that shouldn't keep you from picking up this magnificent, hardcore game exclusively for Wii.

People just don't know what they want, developers should just make the games they want to make instead of trying to cater to an unpredictable fan base.

This is a word of mouth sales type game anyway. This game will get a reputation over time and get some steadier long term sales. As others have said, though, it's also pretty niche. I know about one person who'd enjoy something like this.

I never got why people expected this to be the game to prove that the Wii has a large "core" base. MadWorld is a niche game.

And to clear a few things up: Viewtiful Joe DID sell well. It became a Players Choice title on the Game Cube, and also the PS2(I think, not sure on that one...). And Okami sold well over time(Which is why the PS2 version is a Player's Choice now). There was a post on the Capcom blog about that around the release of the Wii version.

id get this but the style of cartoon and black and white doesnt suit me

I cant see a game like MadWorld (3rd person action) having the same legs as a Boom Blox, or HotD...

I'm not suprised. Madworld is a hardcore game on a system that's been most successful with casual audiences, and it's violent and obscenity-filled on a familt-oriented system. Plus, it's in black and white. But still, given how much the many hardcore Wii owners bitch about not having enough hardcore games, you think it would sell at least a little more. Is the Wii hardcore audience really that limited, or are gamers just not that eager to support hardcore Wii games as they say they are?

I still need to pick this game up myself. Practically everyone on VC-Forums has it, and the ridiculous brand of violence sounds right up my alley.

What really surprised me is how little HotD: Overkill sold. It's audience isn't nearly as niche as Madworld's.

Well it is not like Nintendo does not want games for the core audience because they allowed games like No More Heroes, House of the Dead, and MadWorld on their console but those games are not games for the mainstream core audience. Besides it is not like a core game cannot sale on a Nintendo system. Perfect Dark and Goldeneye sold well on the N64. Resident Evil sold well on the GameCube. The thing is those games are mainstream core games.

I hope it moves up higher in sales, I'm glad to see it in the top 10 though.
Madworld kicks F~(%ing A$$, I love how they made it look like a comic with the blood being the only color, almost like Sin City. But the best part is swinging around a chainsaw with the Wii remote. I can't wait for No More Heroes 2.

In Sweden the game is 80$ in retail. The only reason i bought it there was that i had to wait a week or so ordering online. Superb game though. Especially the commentators and the end credits. Lol John di maggio.

Madworld isn't worth 50 bucks! It's way tooo short! Maybe I will rent it or something