Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Monaco's Xbox Live Delay Contributed To Disappointing Sales
As you might recall, Monaco: What's Yours is Mine ran into some last minute problems for its Xbox Live release. Developer Andy Schatz opened up about the issues he faced and their impact on sales on Microsoft's platform.
According to Schatz (in response to questions on Reddit), the title was struck with an online play bug that could not be reproduced on devkits. He states that when patches were submitted to fix the problem, which only appeared on retail consoles, they were "blind."
Two were needed, and at that point Microsoft had removed the patch fees for Arcade titles. The result was an intended simultaneous multiplatform release became fractured, quelling buzz for the Xbox version.
Schatz also cites Monaco's demo as not being compelling enough to incentivize purchases. Unfortunately, he feels that the extra effort made to bring the title to Xbox Live was wasted. Schatz says he is "disappointed in Xbox sales" even though the majority of revenue was anticipated from PC users.
[Source: Reddit]
Our Take
The most important thing to take away from this is the value of simultaneous multiplatform launches. Staggered releases can hurt sales on the platforms later in the cycle.
We recently saw Ubisoft drastically shift its strategy with Rayman Legends because its initial platform, Wii U, isn't strong enough to carry it as an exclusive. We'll also be looking at DuckTales Remastered to see how it performs on Xbox Live a month after the PSN release.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
