Techland: Dead Island "probably" the best-selling new IP of 2011

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 21 December, 2011

Ships three million units worldwide.

Polish developer Techland reckons Dead Island is the best-selling new IP of 2011.

The co-op zombie kill 'em up is the best-selling Polish-developed game ever, Techland told Polish website giernik.pl.

"In this year there weren't a lot of big, new IP in games," Techland PR Tomasz Gawlikowski said.

"In the Autumn there was Dead Island and Rage. I don't remember any other new franchise, but there were a lot of big sequels. And Dead Island sold very, very well.

"I don't have accurate data but I think that we probably made the best-selling new IP in year 2011. Also Dead Island is the best-selling game in history of Polish game development."

Dead Island, which launched in September for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, was the surprise hit of 2011. It went straight in at number one in the UK chart in September, knocking Deus Ex: Human Revolution off top spot.

Its success was fuelled by an eye-catching announcement CGI trailer that showed a reverse-time account of a young girl on a tropical holiday island being torn away from her parents, become a zombie and eventually be flung out of a window.

The trailer went viral - and sparked movie company Lionsgate to option film rights from publisher Deep Silver to make a Dead Island film.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (47) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Nemesis2K #1 5 months ago

    I'm probably the most handsome person alive. I have no accurate data but I've shagged more birds than my mate. This article isn't news.
    Edited by Nemesis2K at 21/12/11 @ 15:42

  • BigDannyH #2 5 months ago

    Props for doing a new IP and I've heard it's a fun game but I hope the games market doesn't end up being totally driven by advertising. It was annoying that tat like Duke Nukem sold loads while other quality games were dying in the wilderness.

    We, as consumers, should learn from the music and film industries. Don't believe the hype!

  • God_Octo #3 5 months ago

    What about LA Noire? Hasn't that sold 4 million copies already?

  • GAmbrose #4 5 months ago

    Good luck to them, though it's not exactly the most ground breaking game ever.

  • Stranded87 #5 5 months ago

    The game was decent, but yeah its success is almost certainly more down to the trailer than the game itself. New IP's are always a good thing though.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #6 5 months ago

    I haven't played it yet but being a massive Left 4 Dead fan I of course kept an eye on it. Was hoping for a few more positive reviews but I'm sure they'll get it right next time. They certainly should be commended for releasing new IP.

  • Toothball #7 5 months ago

    I do hate the way the phrase 'IP' is no longer restricted to industry legal documents. When did the ownership of an idea start to matter more to gamers than lawyers?

  • Triggerhappytel #8 5 months ago

    Another mention for LA Noire. If Dead Island has only shipped 3 million then LAN has definitely sold more.

  • Retro_ #9 5 months ago

    A very decent Game and I didn't base my purchase on the trailer, I based it on the concept, which I liked. Dead Island is certainly better than the mediocre score EuroGamer awarded.

  • Doctor_What #10 5 months ago

    I've been thinking of picking this up to play online with a friend on the PS3. Is it worth a punt? I hear it's decent fun when you've got a friend playing too.

  • TazerFan #11 5 months ago

    Yeah...probably..

  • Spong #12 5 months ago

    Techland: "Our new game was brilliant"

    What else were they gonna say? That they thought it was a pile of half-baked crap and the people who bought it had shit for brains?

  • billy-beauts #13 5 months ago

    @Toothball How else would you describe a new game that has not been made before?

  • Alex_V #14 5 months ago

    Minecraft sold 4m.

  • Toothball #15 5 months ago

    @billy-beauts

    I would probably use the phrase "a new game". Alternatively if you want something more colourful, one of "original title", "fresh idea", "fledgling series" or "cutting-edge experience". All the things people used to say before 'IP' infected the gamer lexicon.

  • TelexStar #16 5 months ago

    @Stranded87 - "its success is almost certainly more down to the trailer than the game itself."

    That's a ridiculous thing to assume. Are you telling me that the majority of people who bought Dead Island, did so without reading any reviews or watching any gameplay footage? I'm sorry but I find that very hard to believe in this day and age. The less internet-connected people who bought the game because they saw it on a shop shelf, probably wouldn't have seen the trailer to begin with.

    I think it did well because it was a good game.

  • byakuya83 #17 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 13:34:06 08-05-2012

  • Lonewolf2002 #18 5 months ago

    @Alex_V

    And technically it has been released over time since 2009 (Alpha)2010 (beta) which people could purchase.

  • Garibaldi #19 5 months ago

    Excellent. I'm quite keen on a sequel.

  • Ryze #20 5 months ago

    Good for them. Not played it, but I had a clear awareness of it, and I remember its release window VERY CLEARLY thanks to the very strong MARKETING push it received.

    Certain other publishers could learn a lesson from this, as I reckon Dead Island's marketing strategy paid off well for them.

  • Shikasama #21 5 months ago

    This is rather cheeky. The 'IP' (name and character models) may have been new, but the game did absolutely nothing that hadn't been done before in hudnreds of other games.

    The only thing new about it was the clever trailer.

  • Shikasama #22 5 months ago

    @TelexStar

    You think the majortiy of people that buy games read reviews and actively track development? Really?

  • makeamazing #23 5 months ago

    Well there were some reviews that were overtly harsh, i mean Edge gave it a 4/10 i believe (or was it less i cannot remember...brains!!!)... and this game is no where near such a low score. EG gave it a 6, and though i think a little harsh, i can see reasons for that type of score. Personally there was more to love about this game, than dislike.

    If you love zombies/apocalyptic games, then i would heartily recommend it if you haven't already picked it up. Cant wait for a sequel to be honest.

  • Rajin #24 5 months ago

    Well people obviously haven't satiated their lust for zombie games by the looks of these numbers.

    Reminds me of quit a few post on ''the last of us'' that it was another ''generic'' zombie game of which ''we'' have had enough....

  • billy-beauts #25 5 months ago

    @Toothball The problem is that all those terms could be used to describe a sequel, except maybe "fledgling series" but I think that would be a bit strange because not all new IPs become series'.

  • Hellion83 #26 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012

  • Stompy #27 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 23:13:35 17-04-2012

  • LR100 #28 5 months ago

    Whilst I think L.A. Noire was probably the biggest selling new IP of 2011, I really enjoyed 2011. Sure, it was ragged around the edges and had bugs, but it was a good laugh with mates.

  • Tomo #29 5 months ago

    Not played it myself... was put off by the review scores. The comments in here seem pretty positive mind...

  • George-Roper #30 5 months ago

    Sublime game, especially in Co-Op.

    Yeah, it had issues but like Fallout 3 and its ilk, you can look past them when the game is so absorbing and fun. They really nailed it with the loot system, because that's what keeps players playing. Progression.

    Roll on Dead World, or whatever the sequel will be called. Pre-order as soon as I can.
    Edited by George-Roper at 21/12/11 @ 18:15

  • George-Roper #31 5 months ago

    @Shikasama

    This is rather cheeky. The 'IP' (name and character models) may have been new, but the game did absolutely nothing that hadn't been done before in hudnreds of other games.

    The only thing new about it was the clever trailer.

    Please.

    What, like its 'just another L4D'? Give me a break. Name me one other game that has all the features and elements of Dead Island, especially around multi-player.

  • Toothball #32 5 months ago

    @byakuya83 5

    It is shorter and more succinct, but in a creative industry is the ability to summarise someone's creative vision down to just two letter really a benefit?

    It's not the developers who prefer it that way, it's the legal department.

  • TelexStar #33 5 months ago

    @Shikasama - "You think the majortiy of people that buy games read reviews and actively track development? Really?
    "

    Sorry, that's not what I meant. I meant the majority of people who would have watched the trailer, would likely have seen at least a review score or read a review before buying. If you're savvy enough about games that you read gaming websites that showed that trailer, then I think those same people would generally check out a review score at least before buying a game. Your average joe on the street who walks into GAME to buy a game about zombies, probably doesn't bother with reviews but also probably wouldn't have seen the trailer either.

  • Toothball #34 5 months ago

    @billy-beauts

    They could refer to sequels, but generally there's more context in a given statement. Typically these days, when someone mentions 'IP' they have plans to churn out a few of them. It tends to give me the impression that the main goal of whatever they're pushing is to make money rather than to provide entertainment.

    The other thing that irks me about it is that it boils down any sort of creative work nearly the bare minimum number of letters, regardless of what went into imagining it. From a legal perspective there may be little difference, but to an artist and their audience the differences are what defines the work. If a similar approach were taken towards a game's visuals, games would all be black and white as that's technically all you need to distinguish something from nothing.

    For contrast, take Mario or Zelda. You never really think of them simply as another IP and I don't recall Nintendo referring to them as such, instead using 'series' or something similar. It still conveys familiarities between games without implying that they're just another item on a long bullet list of gaming contexts.

    Really though, it's a very minor quibble. I understand what they mean by it, but I'd rather they used a little bit of imagination when talking about the things they've done.

  • stryker1121 #35 5 months ago

    Dead Island needed more time in the oven, but it was still some of the most fun I had gaming this year. Iron out the bugs, give it some polish, and I'm in for a sequel first day. Take your time, Techland!
    Edited by stryker1121 at 21/12/11 @ 19:45

  • makeamazing #36 5 months ago

    Not played it myself... was put off by the review scores. The comments in here seem pretty positive mind...

    @Tomo - the problem is that many people have different needs/requirements of a game, the same can be said of reviewers. You can get a sense of what a game is like from a set/range of reviews, but in the case of Dead Island, i think some of the lower scores was a backlash because of their initial trailer.. people expected it to be something it wasnt. I also get the impression from some of the reviews i read (not talking about EG here), that some of the reviewers didnt even like Zombie based games.


    So you always have to take reviews with a pinch of salt, for me Dead Island was the stand out title of the year, just a whole lot of fun.

  • Snake_2011 #37 5 months ago

    LA Noire is the top selling new IP.

  • Lunatic4ever #38 5 months ago

    Sure feels like it was the only new IP

  • JHo #39 5 months ago

    I really enjoyed Dead Island up until the last "level" where because I'd taken the time to level my bitch up the enemies were insanely fast and difficult. I still completed the game with the Chinese babe but surprisingly had no desire to play the game through again.

    However...

    Dead Island incorporated the following traits/titles which "almost" brought it to genius in my opinion...

    Open World RPG Concept: Bethesda games like Fallout3 and Oblivion. Huge areas to explore with oodles of items, weapons, collectibles and "coin" or "bottlecaps" to collect for financial rewards. Not to mention the well implemented character progression system.

    Fast, Scary, Zombies: Left 4 Dead. Not your daddies Resident Evil game. Brutal combat when several "infected" rush you while you attempt to find high ground or a ladder to put some distance between you and them. Some actual white-knuckle moments where I was laughing afterwards at how well it affected me. Awesome.

    Gorgeous Graphics: The game really is beautiful on the Xbox 360. It very much reminded me of the original "Far Cry2" on 360. Huge, sunny, detailed environments with a solid frame rate and decent lighting and textures.

    I enjoyed Dead Island VERY much.

  • Mindstorm #40 5 months ago

    "the best-selling game in history of Polish game development" if true it'd be sad as that honour should belong to the Witcher 2

  • jogyourmind #41 5 months ago

    IP freely.

  • Skyclad #42 5 months ago

    It's good to see Dead Island sold well.

    True, it was a technical mess in the beginning.
    But bugs and glitches aside, Dead Island has a soul (pretty rare in the world of CoD, FIFA and AC). It has a big open world with tons of stuff to explore - and it becomes a challenge later on. Each character can be developed in many different ways and coop is just insane fun. True, the story is dull and the tone changes from serious to B movie too often, but the gameplay makes up for it. Just make sure to play with the immersive analogue settings.

    And come on, it is not a RE, L4D or Dead Rising clone.
    It takes more ideas from Borderlands than from those two games - but yes, there's zombies in it, so let's compare it to other zombie games ...

  • marty_k #43 5 months ago

    @Mindstorm The Witcher 2 sold about 1 million on PC alone, right? We'll see how it performs on 360 but it has potential to do reasonably well.

    That said, Dead Island is a cool game with a great concept. I'm happy for Techland. Well deserved!

  • Pokeyhat #44 5 months ago

    Simply a great game!

  • Blazewamp #45 5 months ago

    not been a gr8 year for big name new IP titles dead island was meh rage was just not good. LA noir was the only real shine that i can think of

  • ToAks #46 5 months ago

    a solid 9 out of 10 for me!, totally loved it!
    Reviews like 6-7 and below is totally out of its place and the reviewers who gave it that, lost my respect!.

    just about everyone at work bought the game(console versions) and there haven't been a single one who thought it was crap or mediocre.

    The online is crowded, never a problem to find users and the whole online system "blabla is near , do you want to connect" thing is fantastic., though one complaint and that is that it should've been possible to invite the player to your game.

    Sure the game is far from perfect, it has glitches and bugs but its fun and its long, it won't be over after 5 hours and thanks to the co-op it will live way beyond the normal campaign time.

    i really can't understand why people can give this game a 4, thats like.. IRONMAN 1,2 and THOR,Leisure larry,Hanna Montana, rouge warrior ratings... the JUNGLE section in Dead island alone is a 9,graphics is gorgeous in that section.

    Suprise hit of 2011, best new ip for me,.

    Get the game guys, its awesome, igore lame reviewers.

  • AntiRad #47 5 months ago

    A game I only rented, but one which I really enjoyed.

    My only issue with it was that it made me feel a bit 'travel sick' [for want of a better term] after an hour-or-so's play, when i'd have to stop. :/