Movie tie-in beats expectations--and overcomes so-so reviews--to almost go triple platinum on the PC, PS3, PSP, 360, DS, and Wii.
To say Avatar has been successful would be an understatement. The film now boasts the highest box-office proceeds of all time ($2.72 billion and counting) and has set DVD and Blu-ray disc records (6.7 million copies sold in four days in the US and Canada). However, the game tie-in to director James Cameron's sci-fi epic didn't get the same critical acclaim as its big-screen counterpart, receiving middling scores from reviewers.
Luckily for Ubisoft, the tepid response from the press hasn't prevented the game from nearly going triple platinum. "The game Avatar performed ahead of our expectation in the quarter, notably on Wii, and ended up close to 2.7 million units sold in the full year, delivering a positive contribution for the company," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told analysts during a conference call yesterday. "The game continues to sell well, notably thanks to the launch of the movie DVD."
Despite robust sales of Avatar, Ubisoft still posted a loss for the 12 months ending March 31, 2010--although it reaped over $1 billion in sales. It may get a chance to make another game on the film franchise, though. Cameron has already announced plans for a sequel that will explore the oceans of the first film's setting, the untamed world Pandora. An extended version of the first Avatar will be rereleased in theaters this summer, likely giving sales of the game a boost as well.
I would never buy a game based on a movie licence. There have been very few good games made with them. Most have been epic failures. The only game I'd ever recommend made with a movie licence is the Chronicles of Riddick games. Those aren't just good movie games, but great stealth action games that any fan of that genre would love.
dont buy that for a second.... false news, just like fox news, nbc, abc and the rest of the junkie propaganda networks.
I have never understood how the movie of anything related to it can be making so much money. Somehow, I'm thinking they are using subliminal messaging again.... then again, we are accustomed to mediocrity.
@ Jeff_Semtex Okay, you think the movie was good...read any good books lately? I did not bash the movie because of the graphics, I bashed it because of the generic plot line and its predictability. You can say whatever about me, but it does not change the facts. By the way, if you cannot take a joke, since I was plainly over exaggerating, though I did not like the movie, why don't you post to my forum page instead of giving your rambling criticism. You are being just as rude as me if not worse. This is a forum, get use to the idea of people not agreeing with you and saying things you might not like. And I am not a idiot, and since disgust you, I will just say it: I do NOT think I am any better then anyone else and try taking your own advice and keep your crude comments to yourself, you hypocrite! (And that guy was right, its called America and its freedom of speech!)
It's interesting becasue despite having completed games like AC2 and Prototype and Gears of War 2 in the last 6 months my 13 year old really likes the game so......Point being no-one can class him as "casual"
I just remember when I told my cousin to give me a game for PS3, when I asked for Batman: Arkham Asylum, instead she gives an Iron Man game! I was really disappointed that day, that I will promise to buy myself the game and will become wise to spend it, not on those crappy games.
Is it true that a portion of the profits from the game and the movie go to the Democratic Party? :) That movie was so far to the left that Joe McCarthy was rolling over in his grave.
I'd like to thank the Academy, and of course all the ignorant mothers out there who went out and wasted their money on this wonderfully delightful assortment of crap that passes for a video game! Thank you so very much!
zeniftan the people who purchased this nonsence would not be here reading GS. It's all casual gamers and mom's buying games for their kids.
This's a sad day for the video games world. People, please stop buying rubbish games! You're sending the Publishers the wrong messages. It's like a guy telling a girl that he's really into that she's really ugly.
great movie and i was sure the game will sell a lot because of the feelling that the movie sends
Maybe now they won't throw their toys out of the pram because a crap game underperformed in sales. Turns out it sold three times as much as it deserved to.
@mbashour: could say the same about people buying "Gold editions, or game of the year editions," or any DLC whatsoever.. Maybe they should be executed too :|
we have no one to blame but the casuals(and their friends & family). I do not know ONE person that is seriously into games, that trusts a movie tie-in game. Not even if they REAAAAALLY liked the movie. Too bad this AGAIN tells Publishers that people will buy crap as long as you make it about something popular. Can't wait to see the next few years, and then they'll see there is more money in stuff like this, than new exciting IP's. THAT MAKES ME A SAAAAAAD PANDA
they're re-releasing avatar next summer, and get this: 6 extra minutes. that's it. they should just have it as a darwin gate. if someone buys a ticket, they should immediately be executed.
I got the YLOD when I started playing this game. Needless to say, the game is totally forgetable, and a waste of time, and money. + $180.00 to fix my playstation, for the third time
the thing with blockbuster films like this is that every little kiddy that see's the film wants the game and since mummy and daddy recognise the name of the game they buy it Hype>quality the same as all movie tie ins which is sad when quality games get overlooked for trashy milkage
It's possible a lot of people preordered the game not knowing wether it would suck or not.
No surprise, honestly. Sure most of us here are well informed gamers, but the fact is that millions of games are bought by little kids or by well-meaning parents as gifts. If the kids liked the movie, I'm sure the parents wanted to be nice and got them a game they recognized, no reviews needed. Mystery solved. =o)
games like CryoStasis or DeadSpace Extraction got "low sales", and then they buy this!! that's why the game industry becomes weak! ;) great developers who make promising games, was closed by publishers!! like Black Isle, BigHuge & Ensemble!
out of those 2.7mil copies sold, how many of them are actually still being played now, how many of them made it past the first section without barfing and giving up and how many of the owners of them still truly believe they bought a decent game? I'd be willing to bet it's an extremely small portion of people...
I didn't like the movie much either, slow predictable plot, bad acting, annoying 3D but beautiful special effects
I bet these sales mostly come from parents buying their younger kids games. Kids who don't really read about upcoming titles and rely on their parents to make their game decisions.
On a side note, this is exactly why a game like Modern Warfare 3 will sell millions even if it sucks.
An extended version of the first Avatar? Are you kidding me? I like the movie, but does it really need to be any longer? Besides, I think it will simply kill the magic. They should simply go for the sequel. As for the game, shame on you UbiSoft. After having the Man himself on-stage, talking so passionately about his baby long-time in the making project, and you guys deliver a half-baked title. Shame on you.
I'd have to say the movie was good but not as great as some say it is. I'll get around to the game eventually.
@TheDere: Ha ha, totally. Probably the same people who bought "Transmorphers" on DVD. On topic, how has this game sold 10x the amount of Demon's Souls? Sickening.
wasnt this game suppose to be pretty bad?, I sure didnt buy it........ then again , movie tie ins always sell well, regardless of quality, and developers , whose purpose as a business is to make money, will jump at the opportunity if given. That said, you would expect a good game from Ubisoft, given that they usually make pretty good games. I suppose its disappointing, when such a game got millions of sales, while many games which are much better will go unnoticed.
Also, Eddy Gordo from TEKKEN 6 and Chris Redfield from Resident Evil 5 have the same voices too.
The last movie Tie-in game I played that was any good (it was great actually) was LOTR: Return of the King. They did pretty much everything right in that game. Just parrying incoming arrows was a blast!
Kevin VanOrd invades Pandora in this video review for James Cameron's Avatar: The Game.
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