When Ninja Theory’s multi-platform title Enslaved was released, it failed to make a real impact on the sales charts, despite high review scores. To date, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has sold a little more than 460,000 copies, falling short of the publisher’s expectations. The sales performance of the action-adventure game has been blamed on the game’s release timing, according to Marketing VP Carlson Choi of Namco Bandai.
Talking to Siliconera, Choi stated that he thought it was a mistake to release Enslaved back in October last year due to the holiday season being filled with stellar titles. Choi said:
It really didn’t do what we anticipated. To be perfectly frank, I think as a company prior to us reforming this organisation, going to market, I think the game went to market at a very busy season. It launched in the midst of a busy holiday season. Last year, there were like 4000+ games for consoles. We didn’t do a good job finding the right time for it because when you look at the quality of the game it speaks for itself. An 80+ rated game is guaranteed a hit. We got DLC that came out that got 10 out of 10. Ultimately, I think that game had the quality needed to address the gamers.
Choi then promised:
I think it’s a matter of getting into the market at the right time, which is something you will see us do much better.
Despite the relatively low commercial success of Enslaved, the publisher had not ruled out a possibility of a sequel:
You tell me. Do you think gamers want more? I can assure you, a title like Enslaved, and every title we’ve worked on in the past, we’re going to re-examine them and say what is the potential for the game? We’ve been doing a lot of studies, consumer engagement, and community engagement… let’s put it this way one of these days stay tuned there will be more news to come.
Do you welcome the news of a possible sequel and were you impressed with Enslaved if you played it? Let us know in the comment section below.
