I would strongly disagree with that statement. Not a single person I know who bought Halo 3 bought it for the brand, they bought it because they heard it was better than Halo 2, they loved Halo 2's multiplayer and so they bought Halo 3 for the multiplayer, it is a very solid experience and the knew what to expect. If the game had been called Ijaki 7 but had the same exact gameplay, they would have picked it up regardless. Due to this, I don't know of many who would switch from the much loved multiplayer in the FPS Halo games to a RTS game on the Xbox360. Due to this I think initial sales will greatly disappoint those who think that the Halo brand carries over to any genre of video games.
Also, when was the last time a RTS was bundled with a console? They are much to complex a genre for a bundle, bundled games are almost always ones that can be picked up and played easily by just about anyone.
Due to this I stick with my statement that this game should be below 140DKP.
Unless the game shows to be a major disappointment just before release - which I don't believe will happen, even if the game is not that good, if the marketing is even half-competent - it will easily sell a million in its initial rush of 2-3 months, then another in the form of bundles, Platinums etc. The 5 million people who already bought Halo 3 didn't do it for competitive multiplayer, they bought it for the brand.
This stock is due in again for a drop, it has slowly risen back to its pre-correction levels. The following post illustrate why this should be below 140DKP: Comment 1, Comment 2, Comment 3 (Comment 3 gives a further list of post that have reasons as to why this should be at around 140DKP or less).
Due to all the reasons given in the above comments, this should be at or below 140DKP.
For console players the C&C series might not be as popular or well known but C&C is one of the premier PC franchises, any person who plays PC game has either played games in the C&C series or heard of the C&C series. Saying it is not as famous as Halo is almost like saying Starcraft, AoE, or Warcraft is not as famous as Halo. If Halo Wars comes to the PC it will probably end up like when Microsoft released Halo 1 and Halo 2 for the PC, they felt dated compared to other PC shooters that were coming out at the time, and if Halo Wars is released on the PC I see the same thing happening.
Does anyone know if halo wars will come to the PC? If it ever comes, would it likely outsell PC classics like the recent CC3 and Mideast Conflict? http://www.thesimexchange.com/stock.php?id=23
thats predicted to sell over 1.6 million... and its nothing as famous as Halo.
Companies, especially video game companies, tend to over-promise and under-deliver (take Molyneux for example). Due to this I expect to Microsoft to repeat that this game is the one to solve the RTS problem on consoles, but once the game is actually released people see that it was mostly hype and that this game has little beyond a few gimmicks (Halo related at that) and tired gameplay (maybe fun, but by the time it is released quite dull and repetitive).
Ensemble Studios is a great developer, but after AoE III was a bit disappointing, I don't think they can reach their AoE II or AoM levels at the moment, also they are being asked to create a Xbox360 game when all they have created so far are PC games. Due to this I think they will develop this game with that mindset and not realize what makes the Xbox360 crowd different from the PC crowd and consequently will create controls and an interface that don't work well with consoles.
Also, I do not believe that the Halo brand will help this game all that much, especially if it turns out to be only average or below average. Many of the people I know who bought Halo only like the particular style of play that the Halo FPSs are known for, they don't so much care about the brand as the gameplay. Due to this it doesn't seem likely that many people will pick this game up based solely on the Halo brand, especially once they realize it is a RTS, a genre that is much slower paced the FPSs and many therefore put off the people who like twitch games.
From all this I don't see Halo Wars selling over 1.4 million copies or 140DKP, over its lifetime (especially seeing how it will start to face increasing competition from brands and franchises that have become more relevant in the intervening time).
@Kemkle33, i agree 100% it's going to depend big time on the controls! I have no idea how it would work without a mouse (i play Warcraft3, can't imagine RTS without mouse)....but hey, it's the 21st centry, i hope they can come up with something great!! :)
I don't think it's fair to compare this game to C&C 3. Halo Wars is being built from the ground up with the 360 controller in mind. I expect that the game itself will not be as complex as a PC RTS, and we'll be seeing something more akin to EA's LotR:Battle for Middle Earth games.
3
I would strongly disagree with that statement. Not a single person I know who bought Halo 3 bought it for the brand, they bought it because they heard it was better than Halo 2, they loved Halo 2's multiplayer and so they bought Halo 3 for the multiplayer, it is a very solid experience and the knew what to expect. If the game had been called Ijaki 7 but had the same exact gameplay, they would have picked it up regardless. Due to this, I don't know of many who would switch from the much loved multiplayer in the FPS Halo games to a RTS game on the Xbox360. Due to this I think initial sales will greatly disappoint those who think that the Halo brand carries over to any genre of video games.
Also, when was the last time a RTS was bundled with a console? They are much to complex a genre for a bundle, bundled games are almost always ones that can be picked up and played easily by just about anyone.
Due to this I stick with my statement that this game should be below 140DKP.