ZACK & WIKI! 300k Sold! BUY!!! $29.99 Now! IGN: 9.0! 1UP: 9.0! NP: 9.0! GS: 8.5!

[quote name='pete5883']Should I be able to get past 70% completion in each world my first go-around? Do I have to come back later or did I just miss some things?[/quote]

You can't get above 70% until you beat the main story line.
 
Just beat the bullshit airship level.
Is there a way to beat the stage without shooting off the hangar door beforehand they close it? Because I didn't, but the game insisted I hadn't screwed up and could still finish the level. Of course when I tried to fly out, I died. Which is BS. Also the game made it very clear that if I walked into any room with a pirate in it I would lose, but then threw that rule out the window at the end of the stage. Very annoying.
 
Finally beat the game last night. The second-to-last level was a total bear (I definitely needed an FAQ for that one ;) ), but the last level was very straightforward and relatively soothing as a result. I'm not sure what to make of the bolted-on "emotional" ending, but it was a fun ride. Dunno if I want to go back for the hidden treasures or get back to Super Mario Galaxy now.

And to pete5883, I think the rule is that you'll die if you get seen by one of the goons. Sneaking behind them (like when you
walk on the propeller and re-enter the airship
) is perfectly fine.

--R.J.
 
How funny. The thread title just recently removed the outdated $29.99 sale info, but the game now appears to have dropped MSRP to $29.99. Amazon, Best Buy, and Circuit City all sell it for that price now.
 
[quote name='pete5883']Just beat the bullshit airship level.
Is there a way to beat the stage without shooting off the hangar door beforehand they close it? Because I didn't, but the game insisted I hadn't screwed up and could still finish the level. Of course when I tried to fly out, I died. Which is BS. Also the game made it very clear that if I walked into any room with a pirate in it I would lose, but then threw that rule out the window at the end of the stage. Very annoying.
[/quote]

No, the game just plain fails there.

There are a few instances of bullshit aggravation but the airship has most of them.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']While the whole "Can the goon see me?" thing threw me through a loop, I can't see what your complaint about the door is/was.[/quote]

If you get to the end of the level without dealing with that door, you cannot win the level. The Hint Oracle, however, DOES NOT RECOGNIZE this as a no-win situation. Even the most BASIC testing should have picked this up.
 
Stupid Mad Science.
I didn't expect the game to care whether I was carrying something while invisible or not. Thus I had to go to the FAQ again. They could at least zoom in on the item I'm holding, so I know I'm being punished for holding something, instead of thinking that invisibility doesn't work.
 
I could care less. This game was very fun. I know I cheated with The second to last level. I also cheated in the Mad Scientist level. The airship place, it was dumb luck that I was blasting everything and happened to blast the door. Does anyone think this game will all of a sudden become rare like Wario Touch?
 
[quote name='vasco']The airship place, it was dumb luck that I was blasting everything and happened to blast the door.[/quote]Made sense, though. Why else would there be door controls inside the hangar? Also, I'm assuming we aren't using spoiler tags at this point?

[quote name='vasco']Does anyone think this game will all of a sudden become rare like Wario Touch?[/quote]...

Not this again...

[quote name='pete5883']Stupid Mad Science.
I didn't expect the game to care whether I was carrying something while invisible or not. Thus I had to go to the FAQ again. They could at least zoom in on the item I'm holding, so I know I'm being punished for holding something, instead of thinking that invisibility doesn't work.
[/quote]Seemed kinda obvious to me.
Invisible person + visible object = visible person.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Seemed kinda obvious to me.
Invisible person + visible object = visible person.
[/quote]
Or at least creepy ghost carrying object.
 
I picked this up two days ago at EB for $30 (-$26 in credit from MoH:Heroes 2 that I picked up for ~$27 at the TRU B2G1 sale ... and I normally don't trade my games in, so I really wasn't a fan), and at 8 hours in, I am loving this game. Thanks for all the hype in this thread!

Some of the puzzle elements have really stumped me, and I like it. ;-)

Also, Bonelich was really annoying me, particularly the sustained bell shaking part, but I finally got the rhythm to it and can nail it. I don't, however, think it was great design to have the margin of error so small with the shaking ... at first I was shaking it fairly fast and wouldn't get it ... as it just wasn't fast enough.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Seemed kinda obvious to me.
Invisible person + visible object = visible person.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I just didn't think, at the time, that the game would be that picky. If you want to get really picky, it's a statue. How am I supposed to know how much logic a living statue is capable of? All I know is, stepping within a purple section of the floor causes it to kill me.
 
Actually, I'd say the thing that bugged me the most was on the level with the broom-wielding snowman.
Why the fuck do I have to find a large mound of snow to toss on the ice? Why not - you know - the snow on the fucking ground? It would have been a lot easier if I had done the levels in a different order - I'd have known that you could turn goons into totems. Still, it was a little ridiculous.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Actually, I'd say the thing that bugged me the most was on the level with the broom-wielding snowman.
Why the fuck do I have to find a large mound of snow to toss on the ice?
[/QUOTE]
The snow's not the problem, it's the shovel to toss it with.

--R.J.
 
Never mind, brain fart.

In any event, I think the reason you needed a
huge pile of snow
was because
Jeeves wouldn't react to a small amount of snow; otherwise he'd be sweeping up snowflakes until the end of time.

--R.J.
 
Beat the game last night. Having insufficient instructions on how to use the anchor was not cool. I about half enjoyed it, but boy am I relieved to never have to play this game again.
 
[quote name='Zen Davis']Sales are out! 300k sold![/QUOTE]

I don't believe that for a second... it really sold 300K? Is that worldwide or just NA?
 
[quote name='Vinny']I don't believe that for a second... it really sold 300K? Is that worldwide or just NA?[/quote]
It's from Capcom's financial report. The Kotaku post doesn't say if it's worldwide or NA only, but I'm sure it's world wide.
 
People on other sites are using the numbers to prove how the game bombed, but personally I think those are awesome numbers. You have to put in perspective as to the sales numbers for other adventure games, and also remember that Zack and Wiki was an underdog from the start, and had very little advertising, along with a horrible name and kiddie appeal. All things considered, I think 300,000 is a success.
 
[quote name='Tybee']All that matters is that it's enough of a success to generate a sequel, and I think 300k does that.[/QUOTE]

I honestly don't think 300K is enough to garner a sequel... I'm guessing on average 500K is still the break even point (even if Wii is cheaper to develop for, the motion control R&D probably shoots costs back up a bit). And even if it was less, I doubt it's anywhere near 300K.

I mean, this is Capcom after all. They have huge franchises that always sell like crazy (RE, Street Fighter, DMC, Mega Man, etc.). I honestly doubt they'll be impressed by Z&W's sales... considering REUC is almost at a million copies already.
 
[quote name='Vinny']I honestly don't think 300K is enough to garner a sequel... I'm guessing on average 500K is still the break even point (even if Wii is cheaper to develop for, the motion control R&D probably shoots costs back up a bit). And even if it was less, I doubt it's anywhere near 300K.

I mean, this is Capcom after all. They have huge franchises that always sell like crazy (RE, Street Fighter, DMC, Mega Man, etc.). I honestly doubt they'll be impressed by Z&W's sales... considering REUC is almost at a million copies already.[/quote]300k is pretty good in the general sense (though it's nowhere near that in the US). I wouldn't be surprised by a sequel, nor would I be surprised if there wasn't one. It probably depends more on what their budget was and what their perceived added revenue for a sequel would be.
 
[quote name='Vinny']I don't believe that for a second... it really sold 300K? Is that worldwide or just NA?[/QUOTE]
(1) It's shipped, not sold.

(2) It's for Japan and North America only. Z&W was not released in Europe yet when those numbers were compiled.

[quote name='Vinny']I honestly don't think 300K is enough to garner a sequel... I'm guessing on average 500K is still the break even point (even if Wii is cheaper to develop for, the motion control R&D probably shoots costs back up a bit).[/quote]
A typical PS2 game breaks even at 50,000 copies. There's no way on earth that R&D for motion controls would eat 900% of the budget! :???:

A worst-case estimate would peg 100,000 copies for the break-even point, IMO.

[quote name='Vinny']And even if it was less, I doubt it's anywhere near 300K.[/quote]
I dunno, I hear it's doing much better in Europe (where point-and-click adventures have been more popular than in the States). I think a worldwide LTD of 200K wouldn't be unreasonable.

And for the record, Capcom does have a history of building franchises out of games with less-than-blockbuster starts: MegaMan, Phoenix Wright...

--R.J.
 
those are fantastic numbers, and with a small title like zack and wiki you have to think the 300k shipped is going to be fairly close to sold. I doubt the initial runs were greater than 100k, meaning they have gone back to press to meet demand and the sell through is going to be north of 250k.

For an original ip, in a "dead" genre on a system not yet known for great numbers for third parties, congrats capcom.
This easily could have been a 50k bomb.
I'd be shocked if capcom of all companies didn't pump out at least two more of these.
 
[quote name='rjung']
A typical PS2 game breaks even at 50,000 copies. There's no way on earth that R&D for motion controls would eat 900% of the budget! :???:

A worst-case estimate would peg 100,000 copies for the break-even point, IMO.

[/QUOTE]

It's only 50K? Are you serious?

EGM reported it was like 500K and that was only like a year or two ago. It couldn't have dropped that much, that quickly...:whistle2:k
 
[quote name='Vinny']
EGM reported it was like 500K and that was only like a year or two ago. It couldn't have dropped that much, that quickly...:whistle2:k[/QUOTE]

If that were true, tons of developers would have folded by now.
 
[quote name='Vinny']It's only 50K? Are you serious?

EGM reported it was like 500K and that was only like a year or two ago. It couldn't have dropped that much, that quickly...:whistle2:k[/quote]

500k is a lot of copies needed to break even. Not all games require huge budgets like Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy.
 
[quote name='Vinny']It's only 50K? Are you serious?[/quote]
Of course. I don't have a link offhand, but about a year ago, the Japanese financial group Nikkei worked out that the average PS2 game needed to sell 50,000 copies to break even, while the average PS3 game needed to sell 500,000 copies due to the greater expense of HD assets and whatnot.

Since the Wii is closer to the PS2 in regards to performance and graphics, it's not a stretch to say that a Wii game will break even around 50,000-100,000 copies sold -- and anything higher than that (200K+) would be considered pure profit.

I have no idea how Capcom's numbers are for Zack and Wiki, but if they sold 250,000 copies (out of the 300,000 copies shipped), and they noticed all the glowing reviews it got, I'm hoping they will be motivated to put in a bit more effort for a sequel and try to turn it into a franchise.

--R.J.
 
I'm stuck near the flaming treasure chest level (3rd mission or so). The darn skull head wants to shake the remote everytimes I see a "
 
Thanks, I finally got pass that part with like 20 tries.
[quote name='JEKKI']the squiggly ones are when u continuously shake the remote... like ringing a bell for supper or something[/quote]
 
I started playing this last night, and I'm already stuck on the 3rd mission (with the goblins and flaming chest). I put the mushrooms in the soup, but I can't figure out how to get the rod thing down from the pole. I thought I could throw a coconut at the gong, but no dice. Can somebody give me a hint? :D
 
[quote name='Mr. Anderson']I started playing this last night, and I'm already stuck on the 3rd mission (with the goblins and flaming chest). I put the mushrooms in the soup, but I can't figure out how to get the rod thing down from the pole. I thought I could throw a coconut at the gong, but no dice. Can somebody give me a hint? :D[/quote]

Sure...

See the snake?
It can transform into an item if you ring your bell
 
[quote name='MarioColbert']Sure...

See the snake?
It can transform into an item if you ring your bell
[/QUOTE]


Theres another way as well.
 
I'm trying to figure out how to ask this without coming off as a troll.

How in god's name can anyone like this godawful game where you can't even look at anything without being killed (as soon as I went into the goblin stage, they came and killed me), and are expected to know how every puzzle is solved the second you enter the stage? First stage after dying trying to look around the treasure room had me afraid to walk around, the collossi stage had me afraid to touch anything. I had to get it out of the house before I became tempted to ship it back with a bomb in it to whoever made the goddamn thing.

And it's not the puzzle/adventuring thing that pisses me off. I loved the Oddworld series. Hell, I don't even know how many times I died in Abe's Oddysey, but this game... the way it handles... everything. fuck it.
 
[quote name='VioletArrows']
How in god's name can anyone like this godawful game where you can't even look at anything without being killed (as soon as I went into the goblin stage, they came and killed me), and are expected to know how every puzzle is solved the second you enter the stage? First stage after dying trying to look around the treasure room had me afraid to walk around, the collossi stage had me afraid to touch anything. I had to get it out of the house before I became tempted to ship it back with a bomb in it to whoever made the goddamn thing.[/quote]
See, there's this super-secret technique that's absolutely essential.

Really, it's ultra-hidden.

You ready for it?

I'm gonna put it in spoiler tags.

It's called...

... panning the fucking camera.
 
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