Remedy defends poor Alan Wake sales
IP has "legs" to continue.
Alan Wake has the "legs" to continue despite poor sales, creator Remedy has insisted.
Alan Wake, which scored 7/10 in Eurogamer's review, sold just 145,000 units during the month of May in the US. The heavily marketed Xbox 360 exclusive finished eighth overall on the software chart. The game had been on sale for exactly two weeks when the numbers were collected.
"Overall we have been very pleased with the reception of Alan Wake with both the press and the fans alike," head of franchise development Oskari Hakkinen told VG247. "People compliment the story first and foremost, but love the characters, the combat and, of course, the setting.
"There is no doubt that Alan Wake hit the shelves during a very competitive launch window, with some games dominating with extremely aggressive marketing.
"However, we’ve always tried to stay unique and do something new and different in videogames."
So, what's next for Remedy? Alan Wake's poor sales suggest a sequel is unlikely. Remedy, however, is optimistic.
"This breath of fresh air for gamers seems to now be working to our advantage, as those that have already enjoyed Wake are clearly inspired to talk more about the game and tell their fellow gamers to try it also," Hakkinen said.
"The word of mouth phenomenon is very apparent with Alan Wake. There has been a growing interest in the title and it certainly seems to have legs to sustain."
Alan Wake wasn't the only game that suffered in May. Split/Second: Velocity notched just 86,000 sales during the two-week period. Worse were numbers for Bizarre and Activision's racer Blur, which sold 31,000 units. Even Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands struggled, managing to shift only 100,000 units across five platforms in two weeks.