Back in May we found out that publisher Activision was sinking a whopping $500 million into Destiny, the ambitious new game from the makers of the Halo franchise, Bungie.
While an insane amount of coin, the number was an estimate of everything that would go into the longterm 10-year plan they are aiming for, which means multiple games and DLC and marketing and all that jazz. Still, there was a big question mark as to whether or not the risk would pay off or if the game would prove to be a big flop.
After it was officially released Tuesday, Activision is saying not only was it a successful launch, but that they’ve already sold that $500 million in sales to retailers.
Of the big announcement, Activision’s game publishing head Eric Hirshberg said:
“Since the beginning, we’ve been confident that our investment and belief in Destiny would pay off. But not many people believed we’d be able to say it did so on day one. We have more confidence than ever that Destiny will become one of the iconic franchises of this generation, and Activision’s next billion dollar brand.”
This all comes as a bit of a surprise to many, and for different reasons. While clearly beautiful to look at, gameplay we had seen for Destiny wasn’t all that remarkable looking. It appeared to be a Halo clone, which might be good for fans of Halo specifically, but not so good for those who had higher hopes for the next big thing from Bungie.
On top of that, at the time that Activision announced the number reviews for the game hadn’t really been published yet. Not that reviews necessarily make or break a game, but many people prefer to wait and see what the majority of game reviews are saying before committing to a purchase.
Another thing worth keeping in mind is that, again, this $500 million is what’s been sold to retailers. It’s not whatever the amount is that’s been made from actual purchases of the game by consumers.
All of that said, one thing is clear: Destiny is off to a strong start, and it appears all the marketing is paying off. It will be very interesting to see where things go now that it’s out and reviews, feedback, and word of mouth are starting to spread around.
In interested, you can grab the game on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS4 Digital, PS3, Xbox 360, or PS3 Digital now. There’s also a Limited Edition (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360), a digital Guardian Edition (PS4, PS3), and both a white PS4 and PS3 console bundle available.
Are you playing Destiny, and if so, what are your thoughts on it?
[Source: CNET]
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