Analysts Predict Poor Figures for Dead Space, THQ, and more

[Shawn Zipay]

The NPD sales figures for September are not yet released, but that certainly isn't stopping some analysts from predicting doom and gloom for the month.

For weeks analysts have been predicting that the year after year figures would pale in comparison to the figures reached in 2007 when Halo 3's release heavily influenced the Xbox 360's strong sales.

According to Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners, hardware sales my be down just a few single digit percentage points, but software sales may hit double digit reductions when compared to 2007.

Doug Creutz of the Cowen Group set his sights on EA's Dead Space. He cites that a niche market appeal may be the game's downfall, despite the high praise and critical acclaim for the title.

THQ has also come under Creutz's critical eye. With the recent departure of Jack Sorensen from the company, THQ may be withholding information from the public of potential financial issues. He says that the company needs a huge release and that Saint's Row 2 may be their "critical release."

However, as a whole, the analysts predict that the fourth quarter of 2008 will see growth of around 15% or more when compared to 2007's figures.

Source

[MrKLM]

Re: Analysts Predict Poor Figures for Dead Space, THQ, and more

hmm after talking with some of the developers I doubt that this game will have problems from early reviews as well the game is getting high marks while that means nothing its coming in near halloween and has that end of the year holiday boost on sales i think itwill do fine

[Shawn Zipay]

Re: Analysts Predict Poor Figures for Dead Space, THQ, and more

hmm after talking with some of the developers I doubt that this game will have problems from early reviews as well the game is getting high marks while that means nothing its coming in near halloween and has that end of the year holiday boost on sales i think itwill do fine

Yes, but...

He cites that a niche market appeal may be the game's downfall, despite the high praise and critical acclaim for the title.

So it'll get high review scores, but because of its high violence and gore content, and third-person survival horror genre, the analysts say that it won't have the mass appeal of other games that appeal to a broader audience.

[[MyIS]Tim]

Re: Analysts Predict Poor Figures for Dead Space, THQ, and more

i for one am looking forward to it
its sounds and looks intense

who can forget those dogs jumping through the window in redident evil
that game did great and hits the same market

[TheEn|gma]

Re: Analysts Predict Poor Figures for Dead Space, THQ, and more

Niche market? Meh it appeal's to Resi fans, Silent Hill and Doom. Don't forget how well Bioshock sold and that game brought a lot of casual gamers into the genre. It'll sell, I don't think it'll sell amazingly well, on account of being SP only. Which is a shame because EA have tried something different which is a fresh approach for them and I want it to sell welllll!

I prefer Paypal EA, cheers.