XBLA: GamerBytes Analysis: The Top Downloaded XBLA Games Of 2008
Sales of Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare and Playstation Network titles are not released to the public. Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are quite happy to keep the exact number to themselves, only allowing the occasional list of top titles, and very rarely with any concrete numbers.
As part of this new year Sony and Microsoft have done a bit of showboating, releasing a Top 10 and Top 20 list based on the sales throughout the year for downloadable titles.
What has sold well? What kind of trends have we seen, and what can we expect from both parties in 2009? Here's the Xbox 360-specific chart and analysis:
Below is the Xbox Live Arcade Top 20 list, released by Major Nelson on his blog. This list is "based on full versions purchased" in 2008, according to Major:
1. Castle Crashers
2. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
3. Braid
4. A Kingdom for Keflings
5. UNO
6. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
7. Fable II Pub Games
8. Duke Nukem 3D
9. Bionic Commando: Rearmed
10. Worms
11. SOULCALIBUR
12. Portal: Still Alive
13. DOOM
14. 1942: Joint Strike
15. Bomberman Live
16. MEGA MAN 9
17. N+
18. Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
19. Marble Blast Ultra
20. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
All but one of the "Summer of Arcade" titles released during September made the Top 20 - Castle Crashers, despite the horrible net code problems, rose to the top, following with Geometry Wars 2 in 2nd place, Braid in 3rd, Fable II Pub Games in 7th place and Bionic Commando Rearmed in 9th.
It appears that Galaga Legions did not catch on as much as Pac Man Championship Edition did back in 2007. A shame, but hopefully the team at Namco Bandai will continue to bring new life to their classic catalog.
A huge surprise in A Kingdom of Keflings, making it to the 4th best selling Xbox Live Arcade title in just a month and a half. The huge amount of publicity it got from using Avatars did wonders for them - and certainly did better than NinjaBee's previous title - Band of Bugs.
Unlike the PlayStation Network list, Capcom jumped into the Top 10 with Bionic Commando Rearmed and Street Fighter II HD Remix. Surprisingly 1942: Joint Strike did better than Mega Man 9, which may be due to the trifecta of consoles it was released on, and Commando 3, which also included the Street Fighter II HD Beta.
While the very top of the list include the likes of Castle Crashers, Braid and Keflings, it's unfortunate to note how few new and completely original titles are on the rest of the list. 6 of the Top 20 games came out prior to 2008, 6 titles are ports of classic titles with little else added, and 7 were remakes or sequels to previously released titles. New and original titles such as Age Of Booty, Poker Smash,RooGoo, Shred Nebula and Golf: Tee It Up did not make the list.
Another sad fact is that not a single Sierra Online title made the list. Boogie Bunnies, Commanders: Attack of the Genos, Lost Cities, Assault Heroes 2, Aces of the Galaxy, Sea Life Safari and Gin Rummy all missed the list. It's a shame that one of the biggest supporters of the Xbox Live Arcade is completely gone and couldn't make the list.
At the same time, Activision didn't do all too well with their new titles either. Vigilante 8 Arcade didn't make it on the list, and also quite surprising was that Golf: Tee It Up isn't there - a title by HouseMarque, whose 2007 title Super Stardust HD made number 3 on that 2008 PSN list.
Hopefully Sierra's most promising titles, like The Incredible Machine Arcade and 3D Minigolf Adventures 2, still get released in 2009 under Activision. DOOM however, still going strong. A completely missed opportunity to release the sequel as well as Quake and Quake II. Now that ID Software are now with EA it will be interesting to see if they ever make it out.
While the PlayStation Network was filled with single player titles, the XBLA went in the other direction. 13 of the 20 top titles supported online play, and another 13 of the 20 supported local multiplayer - including Bionic Commando Rearmed and SoulCalibur which did not have online play. Only 4 titles were strictly single player experiences.
Finally, its also worth noting that three other big 2008 releases are not on that list - Penny Arcade Adventures, Rez HD and Ikaruga. Three high quality, highly publicized titles on Xbox Live Arcade, did not make the list.
There were stories earlier this year that claimed Penny Arcade Episode One had popped up as the third best selling title in the first 3 days of sales in 2008, behind Rez HD and Ikaruga. And yet, none of those games are here. I'm quite appalled by the lack of Rez HD to be quite honest. I recall Metal Slug 3 doing very well for itself too, but that is also missing from the list.
Looking ahead into 2009 the Xbox Live Arcade has a slew of exclusive titles coming out that should tickle everyone's fancy. Space Invaders Extreme and Arkanoid Live from Taito, Metal Slug 7 from SNK, Lode Runner and R-Type Dimensions from Tozai, Death Tank from Flat Games, Peggle Live, Darwinia+, Banjo-Tooie... the list keeps on going on.
But that's not enough. From various sources we can see that despite some quality games coming out from smaller developers, like RooGoo and Shred Nebula, they're not selling. They can't get their name out there, and nobody is taking the time to give these games a go.
Go and have a look at the US PlayStation blog - they have done a fantastic job allowing smaller developers, like the people behind high Velocity Bowling, PAIN, SuperSonic Automatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars and NovaStrike to speak directly to the community and give them a chance to convince the people. Interviews with Major Nelson are nice, but that's not enough.
With the recent events of poorly handled release dates and release acknowledgements with Xbox Live Arcade - Merv Griffin's Crosswords, PowerUp Forever and War World come to mind, it's no wonder people have little idea about what games are upcoming. I worry for games like Death Tank and Flock!, which at their current rate aren't getting their word out and unless their word of mouth is incredibly good, may have lower than expected sales.
Perhaps I'm rambling on a bit now, but Microsoft needs to find themselves an output to expand these developers and give them the limelight they most likely can't really afford nor understand how to go about it.
I would say double for the XNA Community Games, which are currently floundering in the sea of news from major internet publications, unless Major Nelson happens to post something about it, in which is the only way people tend to notice.
Bu things are looking great otherwise - just remember to keep up to date with everything that's coming out, because you just might miss some quality games this next year.
Comments
I guess it really depends on what the sales numbers are for titles outside of the top 20. I don't know what 21 was or what it sold...
I guess there's no reason for XBLA to not echo the retail market with the way its designed. Big name stuff, "classic rereleases" and so forth usually domination that too.
Posted by: Tony | January 5, 2009 8:29 PM
It's really no surprise that the biggest games of the group were the ones that had the biggest promotions (i.e the XBLA summer promotion was obviously a huge hit)
Also titles like Worms, UMK3 and MBU had price drops, which undoubtedly had people who were on the fence go through with those purchases.
And then of course, there were the titles that had released and/or upcoming big brother versions coming out; Soulcalibur, Pub Games, SSFIITHDR, Portal, Bionic Commando.
The ones that surprised me the most are some of the more niche titles. I loved Braid to death, but I would have never expected it to have the kind of legs to reach #3. Likewise with Keflings and N+.
Though somewhat disappointing, I'm not completely surprised that games like PAA and Rez HD didn't top the list. People who don't like PA probably weren't going to try the game out, especially being the first episode coming in at $20. And then games like Rez and Ikaruga were never huge sellers the previous times they were put on the market, so it's not all that unexpected in hindsight.
This list really isn't all that surprising, though somewhat disappointing with some of what didn't make it.
I do think that MS needs to make some kind of effort to do more promotions though for some of the really good titles.
Oh, and XNA needs some massive revamping too, if for nothing other than quality control. For every one Weapon of Choice and sin(surfing) there are about a dozen Fireplaces, Garrett the Slugs, and Dokee the Dog. These games are almost prime example on why no one takes the downloadable game services seriously, though XNA has arguably made the reputation of these services worse.
Posted by: MisterSmith | January 6, 2009 12:36 AM
Ikaruga was no. 1 in Japan. I'll try and remember to post the full list for you when I get on my 360 again, but I remember the top 3 were Ikaruga, Castle Crashers, Exelica, and Rez was pretty high up too.
Posted by: Jonnyram | January 6, 2009 12:57 AM
Ryan, if you read Major Nelson's post again, you'll see that he says "The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased." So it's not based on unique users for each game (like the Top Live Titles list).
Posted by: Brakara | January 6, 2009 8:37 AM
Thanks, Brakara, I think Major's comment might have been added later, cos me and Ryan were discussing it when it (maybe) wasn't there - I edited that bit of the post to make it clear.
Posted by: simonc | January 6, 2009 3:12 PM
"Another sad fact is that not a single Sierra Online title made the list."
Is it really sad? I bought a lot of XBLA games this year (almost 20) but no Sierra game. What they all have in common: They are looking cheap.
"Age Of Booty, Poker Smash,RooGoo, Shred Nebula"
Is there really a huge market for these games? I think GeoWars, Kingdom of Keflings, N+ and also Golf: Tee it up (although it isn't in the Top 20) prove that you can sell unique games if you make games people want to play. Shred Nebula may be a good offer for hardcore fans, but there are reasons similiar games didn't sell in the past.
In my opinion Major Nelson's Top 20 show: XBLA users are playing quality games. And this is good news. :)
Posted by: Nasreddin | January 7, 2009 12:39 AM
Quake 2 was released with Quake 4 on a bonus DVD, and it had 200 achievement points, I don't see what reason iD could have for not just slapping that sucker on LIVE. Unless that's the exact reason why they can't. I'm no expert at this stuff.
Posted by: Dennis | January 8, 2009 6:24 PM