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Sorry, I can't hear what you're saying over my third play-through of the game. Also, I read this on CVG and it sounded like Pachter 'the Prick Factor' was only taking console sales into account. The main version of the game is still second on the best-seller list on Steam, and the Collector's Edition is fourth. EDIT: Bah, alright. In response to stuff like the length and whatnot, I'm aware that a lot of stuff was cut from the game. I love the game, but there are points where you can guess that stuff was cut from it, and even a mission that they demoed several times last year was missing. Not to mention that the story seems to have been shifted around a lot (since the canned mission they demoed originally took place a year after the end of the final game). Like I said though, I'm on my third play through and I'm thoroughly enjoying every moment still. | |
This makes me a bit a suspicious, because Mafia II was both short and unpolished. What the hell were they doing? Did the development team consist of 20 people? | |
What took them so long anyway? Researching stereotypical mobsters? Because if that's the case, they can fuhgeddaboudit! | |
"Delaying a game to make it better" Are you shitting me? The game feels like it was rushed. Don't get me wrong, I loved it but it definately didn't feel like a game that had been in development for 6 years. | |
Ok, now we need to get organized and make Mafia II the best selling game of all time. If we do that, maybe people will see how much of a tool this Patcher is and he'll be ignored from now on. It's worth the $60 to me to not hear from him again. | |
I hadn't even heard about this series until they started airing commercials and stuff :P | |
If this is what happens when a good non-mediocre game comes out we'll end up with a bunch of bland FPS's. Great work IGN. | |
I've played about half of it, and I like the world and environment and the storyline and the gameplay, but the game is quite shallow because even though there is this large and wonderful 1950s world, there is no reason to explore, no sidequests or other activities besides the main quest. I'm probably going back for a second playthrough after half a year has passed though, simply because I enjoy the setting and the music and the feel of it so much. | |
This game actually wasn't that long in game development. If you consider that they made also a game engine for this game (witch is not a easy task). Even if they don't make profit out of this game they still have a game engine that they can use or even sell to other company. | |
Possibly due to the long time it will have cost alot, but, overall, it seems to be received really, really well | |
Analyst mumbo jumbo if you ask me. I'm just onto my second play through and I'm still loving every second of it even though I die any time automatic machine guns enter a police chase. Fucking amazing game and it's still going to be sold for a while yet. | |
I'm guessing most of the lame scores are "low" because they compared it to Grand Theft Auto, and marked it down because of it. Just my two cents. The game is fun so far for me. | |
Saying you played through it three times is great and everything, but that means jack shit to them. You didn't buy the game each time, you could play it 500 times but it doesn't affect the profitability at all, which is what matters. | |
But judging from the Demo and what other people have said, the gameplay, and subsequently the engine, are the worst parts of the game. The aiming and controls were loose, and nothing else was particularly great, although the hand to hand combat was well animated. | |
I was responding to the claims of low scores - and quote me next time ;) Oh, and the averages were dragged down quite severely by a couple of reviews similar to Eurogamer's. 4/10 my arse. | |
Dang, sort of a disappointing Metacritic score, but not too far below the 8/10 I'd rate it. Good game. Definitely the most interesting collectibles I've ever seen. | |
Tool? This guy is THE definition of a troll. A well paid, educated troll, but still just a troll. He keeps bitching about the profits, about stock keeping units and sales. About "consoles are where the money is" and "shooters are the best selling genre of all time". Did this guy really forget what he is talking about? It's a game. Something to enjoy. Something to have fun(!!) with. "Talking about music is like Dancing about Architecture." - I guess same goes for games. Post scriptum: I did buy Mafia 2 for the PC. And yes, i'm on my third playthrough too. So F you, Pachter. | |
Doesn't help that it's already been cracked, either. | |
Really? That would be sad. I played the demo, liked it and considered picking it up. I thought the music and the atmosphere, the feeling was great, but if the rest isn't as good ... | |
I feel like I should probably know this, but I thought Rockstar made Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. Is Take-Two just the name of a branch of Rockstar? And don't give game developers any ideas, delaying a game to make it significantly better is a good idea, as it would sell better in the long run. Just because it didn't work in this game (so I'm told) doesn't mean it hasn't worked in others. | |
This game should have come out sooner, and we should have been on 3 by now. IMHO the first set up so much potential that it could have been the old school mafioso series to rival GTA, but unfortunately most of the target audience probably never even played or for that matter heard of the first, which btw was fantastic (excluding the fucking racing mission....GRRRRR!!!). I hope that as usual, Pachter is full of crap. I loved the first, looking forward to taking this one for a spin, and I'm eager already for a 3rd. | |
Take Two is the publisher and parent company of Rockstar and 2K games, among others. The first Mafia was sort of a sleeper hit, wasn't it? And if I'd had to pick a game that was unlikely to ever get a sequel, Mafia would have been high on the list. I think the problem with games that are a long time in development is that after a certain point they've got to reinvent the wheel because they've fallen behind, so as a previous poster has said, it's not as if they really had six years of full development that they were able to use. | |
I can't believe it took so long.. they cut so much from the game, its short, some chapters only have one mission. This must be why they cut finished parts of the game from release and are planning on selling assloads of DLC. Though the 2k forums are exploding in rage from gamers over it's length, lack of content such as side missions, and being sold "free ride" as DLC if you don't have the ps3 version.
Be warned: They put the most exciting mission from the game in the demo. | |
Games with a long development time don't make as much money? I think StarCraft II has something to say about that. | |
Thats what all my friends do, compare this to GTA, and because of that they say its a "shitty" game. I think its a great game. The one thing that bothers me is the lack of side missions, but thats really about it. | |
To put it mildly, I'm skeptical of leaving any portion of the games industry in the hands of financial analysts. Spend too much time listening to the bean-counters and pie-chart-makers, soon every company ends up looking like Activision under Bobby Kotick. | |
Meh... I was underwhelmed with the game. Should've rented. Ah well. $60 isn't that much of a big deal, and I'll still probably finish it... but yeah, I can understand why it wouldn't sell that well. I'm telling my friends to rent before they buy, because I can't see myself playing for more than a couple more days, if that. | |
Or because the game left a large portion of players unimpressed. I rented the game, finished it, and I will forget about it completely in a couple of weeks, or maybe even sooner. | |
Mafia 2 is br 2k, LA Noire is by Take Two. You just switched from talking about one to talking anout the other abruptly. I think Pachtner got confused, and thought they were the same company. That said, Mafia 2 seems good to me. And Pachner has been proven wrong many, many yimes before. | |
I read a review that said the game can be clocked in around 7 hours. I was interested in buying it, but when Mafia 2 costs around $120 dollars where I live, and I can finish it in 7 hours, then it gets added to my rental list, instead of my purchase list. | |
Woah, I don't think that's true. Enemy of the State, Murphy's Law, Balls and Beans, The Wild ones and Room Service are all great fun especially; there are plenty of shootouts in the game, and other stand-out moments that are more character-driven. I wish they'd had more stealth missions though; one of which being the GC '09 demo which was cut - it look really atmospheric. It was one of the 'story-driven side missions' that were either cut or integrated into the main narrative.
He's saying it's harder for them to make a meaningful profit, not that they don't make the same amount of money overall. | |
The profitability of StarCraft II comes from the millions of fans of an established franchise. Thus, Blizzard could work on it for over a decade after the release of the original and still make one hell of a profit. | |
How can a game in development for this long be this shitty? Sorry Woodsey, but I played it, and I hated it. | |
Perhaps they should have delayed it longer so they could have added an extra 10 hours or so into the gameplay. | |
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Mafia II Unlikely to Turn a Profit
Analyst Michael Pachter believes that Mafia II will lose money because it was in development for way too long.
Delaying a game to make it better is a good practice for gamers, but it might not be all that great for publishers. After analysts recently criticized Take-Two for another believed delay to L.A. Noire, Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter is taking a shot at the company for what he sees as a failure with Mafia II.
Mafia II was in development for a reported six years, and has a Metacritic score in the mid-70s. As much as we hate games being based on review scores alone, Pachter confirms that they likely have a strong affect. He says: "Mafia II's average Metacritic score of 74 is well below expectations, and consumer interest appears to be waning, as the game's position has dropped in many best-seller lists in its first week. With six years in development, we believe the game is unlikely to achieve profitability."
Take-Two is known for delaying its titles for quality issues, and this turned out to be a great idea with strong seller Red Dead Redemption. Still, analysts such as Pachter say that a game can't just be great, it has to make a profit too. Pachter points out that "game delays have become the norm at Take-Two," and he also expects L.A. Noire to be delayed and checks off Max Payne 3 as another problem title.
If these two games also receive a less-than positive reception, they could drag Take-Two into the depths of unprofitability. "It is important to note that both games have been in development for longer than five years, making their break-even hurdles significantly higher than a typical game," Pachter says. "We believe that the company must focus on streamlining its development process and providing better visibility on future game releases."
The company still has the Grand Theft Auto card to play, but Pachter doesn't expect a new GTA to show up until holiday 2011 at the earliest. Maybe Take-Two knows what it's doing, and maybe it doesn't, but the constant delays are surely annoying lots of investors.
Source: Gamasutra
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