Shadows of the Damned sold 24,000 copies, Child of Eden 34,000

Meanwhile, two games weirder than Zelda attracted far more exclusive audiences. Child of Eden, the NPD told Joystiq, sold approximately 34,000 units in its debut month, ranking at number 83. At the same time, Shadows of the Damned managed to sell 24,000 copies, combined, on PS3 and Xbox 360. Damn.

Some marketing would have helped Shadows of the Dammed.

Some content would have helped Child of Eden

Some marketing would have helped Shadows of the Dammed.

Shadows of the Damned looks really cool. What's more depressing though is that Duke Nukem Forever sold more than both of those games combined.

Shadows of the Damned looks really cool. What's more depressing though is that Duke Nukem Forever sold more than both of those games combined.

@natetodamax said:

Shadows of the Damned looks really cool. What's more depressing though is that Duke Nukem Forever sold more than both of those games combined.

I can name 10 people who bought Duke solely for owning a part of gaming history/as a joke. That might have inflated the numbers.

@Surkov said:

Some content would have helped Child of Eden

BOOM!

@Toxin066: I considered buying it for that very reason but then decided that I didn't want to pay $60 for a piece of garbage, no matter how legendary.

I wont buy either until they reach the bargain bin. 
Sorry.

I bought Shadows of the Damned yesterday. Such a shame that it sold so poorly; that game is awesome.

I blame myself for the poor sales of SotD. Please don't kill me Suda and Shinji!

I did my part by purchasing Shadows of the Damned.

Shadows of the Damned looked like a budget title that had mistakenly been marked as full price. 
 
Additional - Also, as a games retailer, when I asked customers about Shadows of the Damned, they all said they avoided it after reading Edge's honest review on it....which shocked me because I didn't know my customers were swayed easily by that sort of thing (I work in Asda's entertainment section for the record) Edge is really popular over here though (Scotland)
 
As for Child of Eden. LOL Kinnect.

What makes this more sad is the fact that Duke Nukem came in 2nd. A game that was universally paned by just about everyone.

I bought Duke Forever because I had a "guess the release-date" competition in 2004 and found the winner after all those years. Also Duke is #1 on the list, it's obvious that the digital sales took it past LA "play through once, achievement-hunt if so inclined, sell, realize it should have been a rental instead" Noire.

I guess Suda can't blame the Wii for this one...

I'm just waiting for a Shadows of the Damned price drop. I have a £25 amazon voucher so...

NPD number are never really accurate, but I figured the game wouldn't sell great. No one has even heard of this game aside from the hardcore gamers and Suda/Mikami fans. EA didn't market this one well.

I'm not surprised Child of Eden hasn't sold well, I know the cost/length argument is played out but I really think a lot of people aren't ready to spend full price on a 2 hour game, or however long it is.

I know nothing about Shadows of the Damned.

Say what you want about Duke reaching #2, at least it was something a little different.
 
Meanwhile, games like Medal of Honor (the bad reboot) are selling in the millions.
 
That's the real problem.

I have a feeling it (SotD) may pick up significantly through word-of-mouth down the line, when those 24K (me included) begin spouting how pretty awesome it is, and how it deserves a lil love! And revenue.

Don't get why they didn't market SotD. It certainly isn't for everyone, but it has an audience. The way they treated it, it seemed like they had no confidence it would even run properly. The game is plenty competent, if they pushed it just a little those numbers could have been much better.

Made 1.5 million....Doesn't seem that bad considering marketing costed zero dollars 

An actual title could have helped Shadows of the Damned: Unleashed Storm Rising. 
 
Seriously though, I can't say I'm too sad for Eden, as it's pretty much Rez and the only reason it would stand out is because it's one of the only reasons for the non-casual gamer to use the Kinect. 
  
I'm a little more sad for Shadows of the Damned because it looks legitimately unique and fun. Apparently still not a particularly compelling game though. I guess I can't say much about either game since I played neither.

SotD is a great game. It's just the world that's retarded.

That's what you get for not releasing it for PC.

@TheDudeOfGaming said:

That's what you get for not releasing it for PC.

That would have made me buy a copy as I'm away from my 360/PS3 right now but, even then, rarely those a multiplatform game on PC sell an equal amount of copies when compared t the consoles. Doubt it would have even double those figures.

Shadows of the Damned and Alice not selling were all EA's fault. I saw zero advertising be it on a site, TV or magazine. I was reminded that they came out from the Best Buy flyer that came to my house. I bought Alice:Madness Returns and while not a perfect game it's a shame it did not sell better.

@RE_Player92 said:

Shadows of the Damned and Alice not selling were all EA's fault. I saw zero advertising be it on a site, TV or magazine. I was reminded that they came out from the Best Buy flyer that came to my house. I bought Alice:Madness Returns and while not a perfect game it's a shame it did not sell better.

This. For all the talk about the EA Partners program, EA has proven to be a rather shitty partner when it comes to supporting the actual release of these games.

Are these worldwide numbers, or US only? I imagine both titles would have more of an appeal in Japan.

@JJOR64 said:

Some marketing would have helped Shadows of the Dammed.

Any marketing at all would have helped. Those trailers don't count!

@Khann said:

Are these worldwide numbers, or US only? I imagine both titles would have more of an appeal in Japan.

These are NPD sales numbers, which mean North America only.

Also, the games won't necessarily do better in Japan. No More Heroes absolutely tanked over there.

Some marketing would have helped Shadows of the Dammed.

@JJOR64 said:

Some marketing would have helped Shadows of the Dammed.

And a decent name and a decent cover.

Bought Shadows the day it came out. Haven't played it yet though.

Child of Eden just didn't look fun and the FMV looked silly. Shadow of the Damned looked maybe fun but not worth $60. The planet is awash in linear third person shooters. Seriously I have to hose them off my doorstep every morning. I'm not paying $60 for one. Didn't buy Duke either for obvious reasons. Luckily I've had MK and a few older games to play during this console dry spell.

This is why we can't have nice things...

Well here in Australia, Shadows of the Damned's problem was that it cost too damn much. I loved the game, but it'd be hard to convince people to spend more than they spent on AAA titles on a game with a title like that, haha.

@Metal_Mills said:

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/15/zelda-sold-well-in-june-child-of-eden-and-shadows-of-the-damned/

Meanwhile, two games weirder than Zelda attracted far more exclusive audiences. Child of Eden, the NPD told Joystiq, sold approximately 34,000 units in its debut month, ranking at number 83. At the same time, Shadows of the Damned managed to sell 24,000 copies, combined, on PS3 and Xbox 360. Damn.

Holy shit. Those are abysmal numbers for both games. Shadows of the damned looked pretty cool too.

They both seem terrible, but at least Shadows of the Damned seemed to have the mentality of a 15 year old boy compared to the Duke Nukem Forever mentality of a thirteen year old boy.

If no one knows your gme is coming out, or even out... they wont buy it.

Marketing... Catch It!

Shadows of the Damned was destined to be a cult game because the marketing was non-existant. Hope the team continues to make games though, because I thought it was great.

SOTD got like zero marketing. You do that, as a publisher, then act surprised that the game you made no effort to advertize sinks. Its like making a blockbuster movie and not even making a trailer for it. Game publishers are fucking dumb.

Shadows of the Damned? 
 
I have no interest.
 
Shadows of the Damned: The Tale of Garcia Hotspur - The Hotspur Chronicles, Part One? 
 
Take my money.

As much as I'd like to support stuff like Shadows of the Damned, it's just not 'Full Price' material. It's a bargain bin value. At best. I usually just end up offended by myself spending time on something that I enjoy less than other games in my library. I'd rather play more of those.

The same thing happened to Enslaved: Odyssey of the West when it first arrived.  I think it sold something like 40,000 units it's first month.  It was quickly reduced in price and has become somewhat of a cult hit.  The same might happen to Shadow of the Damned.   
 
However it's another sign that gamers don't really want something new.  They want what is familiar and comfortable. 

I think word of mouth will help SOTD.