13 Games That Won't Sell This Christmas: Were We Right?

All the way back in October of 2011 we made a prediction and picked 13 Games that we thought would get lost in the crowd this Christmas - If you missed that post you can read it here! Christmas is over now, and these are the results - were we right?

Did Bond sell his game?

Dark Souls

We thought that the gameplay was too punishing and there just weren't enough hardcore gamers to play it...

"People want fun from their games, not punishment! And this game hands it out in bucketloads.
That, and that only, is the reason I think Dark Souls will miss out - people aren't hardcore enough."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 3 (Week Ending 8th October)

Total Units Sold: 1.29 Million

This one was surprising. It had a strong debut in the UK and great reviews all round - and for good reason. Dark Souls may be punishing but it is undeniably a good game, and a surprise hit...

Right or Wrong: WRONG - Dark Souls actually sold quite well...and a sequel is on the table, but not yet confirmed.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time


We said:

"Let's face it, there's only one superhero people have got their eye on this winter, and it sure ain't old spidey. While I think EoT looks like it could be fun, it's never going to take the spotlight away from Arkham City."


Peak in UK Top 40: No. 39 (Week Ending 15th October)

Total Units Sold: Around 380,000

Just as we predicted - Spider-Man was never going to steal Arkham City's thunder, was it? But where we were wrong was that Edge of Time wasn't fun at all - it was repetitive and dull. Never Mind. Oh, and if you think 380,000 units doesn't sound that bad, take into account it was released on 5 platforms...yeah.

Right or Wrong: RIGHT - Edge of Time did poorly both commercially and critically.

X-Men: Destiny

We Said:

"X-Men shares Edge of Time's problems really, except X-Men has it worse. Why? Because where Spidey's game may be a bit of fun, X-Men Destiny looks like a repetitive, old-fashioned game that nobody's been too interested in since it was announced. That was harsh I know, but if you ask me - this one will be dead on arrival."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 18 (Week Ending 1st October)

Total Units Sold: Around 320,000

After a respectable debut in the top 40, X-Men quickly plummeted - hardly surprising due to the games poor reviews. Although we do feel bad for Silicon Knights (Developer) who had a lot of staff laid off shortly after the games release - our thoughts go out to them, and we hope they get back on their feet soon.

Right or Wrong: RIGHT - Now get started on Too Human 2!

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon


We Said:

"While this is a promising new direction for the Ace Combat series, I'm not sure if it'll be enough to divert the customers' attention away from the two big war games this year, Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 12 (Week Ending 15th October)

Total Units Sold: Around 780,000

After frankly quite a good debut in the UK at No. 12, Ace Combat quickly left the top 40. But it must have made the numbers up elsewhere because 780,000 isn't too bad. I think I'm going to have to say we were wrong on this one. It didn't sell loads, but it did okay.

Right or Wrong: WRONG - But only just!

Dead Rising 2: Off The Record

We Said:

"Cash cow were the first words that came to mind when I heard about this one. After the success of the first two DR games, and the downloadable ones that came out recently - what's the next step? Dead Rising 3 maybe? Nah, let's just release the second one again! Laziness surrounds this game, and so only the hardcore zombie fans are going to bother."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 14 (Week Ending 15th October)

Total Units Sold: Around 370,000

Another game which had an OK debut, before shooting out the charts! Off The Record was a weird decision for Capcom. I still find it difficult to understand why they did this instead of Dead Rising 3. Still at only 370,000 I think we were right about this one.

Right or Wrong: RIGHT - Get on with Dead Rising 3 and stop messing about!

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

We Said:

"This game, while having an interesting concept, is bound to fail. Why? Because it's going to have to have some great marketing for the kids to get excited, plus it's going to have to be pulled off well for the idea to work."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 9 (Week Ending 5th November)

Total Units Sold: 1.82 Million

Another surprisingly successful one. The marketing did work, and the concept worked well enough. I still have doubts whether 1.82 million is good enough for a 5-Platform release, but anything that breaks the 1 million mark I'd consider successful - so I have to say we were wrong on this one...

Right or Wrong: WRONG - I don't think we've seen the last of this one...

Goldeneye 007: Reloaded

We Said:

"Not only is this just an HD remake of a remake of a game that was released in the nineties, but also - when it comes to shooters - Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 are the ones people are interested in."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 16 (Week Ending 5th November)

Total Units Sold: Around 660,000

While this one didn't sell awfully it still didn't do great. It just didn't stand out as anything very special, and was (as we said before) just an HD version of a Wii remake of a nineties game. It may have been fun in the nineties, but isn't it time to move on?

Right or Wrong: RIGHT - It sold okay, but didn't do too well.

Need For Speed: The Run

We Said:

"I don't think people will bother with this one. The problem is, you have to be a big car fan to choose this over some of the other games coming out this winter. And no doubt a lot of car fans are going to be looking to Forza 4. So, I think this one will get lost in the crowds."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 7 (Week Ending 24th December)

Total Units Sold: 2.37 Million

Never doubt the power of a well-known brand. Despite average review scores and much more hyped games being released at the same time, Need For Speed pulled through and sold over 2 million copies - not too shabby.

Right or Wrong: WRONG - NFS lives on!

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

We Said:

"While UMVC3 does have a bit of a new look, with a bunch of other new features I'm not sure if it'll be enough."



Peak in UK Top 40: N/A

Total Units Sold: Around 70,000

Ouch! I thought it would be bad....but not this bad! Under 100,000 units sold! That's gotta hurt! Talk about a K.O....still with a Playstation Vita release on the horizon it might not be too late for this one...

Right or Wrong: RIGHT - Disappointing, as this is actually an alright game....never mind.

Kinectimals: Now With Bears

We Said:
"This ones going to go one of two ways - success or failure, there won't be an in-between. Either all the kids will have to have it and parents will rush out on launch night, or everyone's going to realise what a lazy excuse for a game this is."

Peak in UK Top 40: N/A

Total Units Sold: Around 130,000

This one was another bad one - at least in Retail. It was also released via DLC so there could have been more sales that way. But still, with little over 100K we were right about this one...

Right or Wrong: RIGHT - Maybe Kinectmals 2 will do better...

Rayman: Origins

We Said:

"As the first proper Rayman game in a while, and one that looks beautiful - I really hope that this sells. Whether it will is a different story. Rayman isn't as big a name as Mario and Sonic - especially to the new generation. So, this ones definitely in the danger zone."

Peak in UK Top 40: No. 19 (Week Ending 24th December)

Total Units Sold: Around 760,000

Not sure whether we were right or not. Rayman sure hasn't done well, but it hasn't done terrible - and seeming as we were wrong with Ace Combat, I suppose I better give this one to Rayman. I do hope this one sells more as it has beautiful graphics and is genuinely fun - if you haven't got it yet, give it a chance.

Right or Wrong: WRONG - It did OK!

Kirby: Mass Attack

We Said:

"With most of the portable gamers looking at the 3DS, which has games like Mariokart and Mario 3D Land out this Christmas, Kirby: Mass Attack will probably get lost."

Peak in UK Top 40: N/A

Total Units Sold: Around 650,000

I've got to say for a DS-Exclusive, I expected a lot worse. Let's not forget the DS is coming to the end of its life, and Kirby is not as big a brand name as the likes of Mario - So I'd say that 650K is fine, and say we were wrong about this one.

Right or Wrong: WRONG - I'm actually quite impressed!

Kirby's Return to Dreamland

We Said:

"Not many youngsters know who Kirby is, and the ones that do think he's some weird sewing thing."

Peak in UK Top 40: N/A

Total Units Sold: 1.01 Million

It was kind of unfair to have 2 Kirby games in our 13, we know. Plus, we were wrong again! As one of the only Wii-Exclusives of the holiday season, Kirby Wii ended up doing OK!

Right or Wrong: WRONG - Never deny the power of the weird pink blob!

How did we do?

6 Right!

7 Wrong!

Not amazing, we admit, with just under half right! Still, it was our first year - we'll try again next Christmas!

Posted in: Game Features, Games