That is pretty awful.  Shame, too; I just recently tried out the demo version, and it's quite enjoyable.  I'll likely get myself a copy soon.  (Anyone got a cup of coffee for Herbert, though?  Seems a jolt of caffeine would do the boy a world of good.)

Sucks to hear about LittleBigPlanet, too.  What happened?  You'd think the marketing push alone would've resulted in bigger numbers.

To be honest, I think the article is right about LittleBigPlanet not being a good candidate for the front lines. From what I've read the game does sound like a hoot but those kind of games seem more like Nintendo's forte than Sony's. Like many of the posters on that site said, when they think PS3 they think of blowing crap up more than anything, much like the original XBox.

VC has "cult classic" written all over it to me so its surprise the numbers are so low on that one. It's the kind of game that makes a resurgence when it is no longer easy to find.

I'm pretty much expecting this to happen.  Once more people pick up the PS3 and start looking for good games, this one might be hard to find (although Wal-mart has a TON of copies).

Sony sold 378,000 PS3 systems during November.
Valkyria sold 33,000 for November.

So 1-in-10 who picked up the console bought that game along with it, which is a better ratio than I'd personally expect from an average joe Walmart shopper.

Uh... what?  Valkyria Chronicles' tie ratio would be over the entire base of PS3 consoles, not just the ones sold in November.  Are you saying that the only people who bought the game were brand new PS3 owners?  That's extremely unlikely.

I think Sony overestimated the appeal of user generated content.  Most people don't have the time to invest in creating their own levels.  Now, they might like to download the levels that other people create, but when all the best levels get moderated out of existence, what's the point?

I also think ALL software publishing companies need to check their heads on the $60 price point.  It may be fine for titles that appeal to the core gamer segements, but expanded audience titles aren't going to do so well at that price.  I bet Wii Music would have sold far better if it was a $20 title.  Pretty much anyone can see that there isn't $50 worth of value in that one.  While I don't think Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts will do well at any price, at least Microsoft was smart enough to start it at $40.  Sony should have done the same with LPB.  An actual demo instead of a closed beta would have been nice too.

Well, Angie, to quote yourself from the GotY thread:

Which is exactly the vibe I'm getting from watching videos of the game.
I've never actually played it, but just looking at it makes me go "wow, those graphics sure are pretty, shame it doesn't look much fun at all", which I'm willing to bet describes the impression most people have of this game.

But the thing is, the gameplay is subjective; I've seen an equal amount of people who praise it just as much as those who don't.  Besides, I'm not so sure that the masses are looking at something so nuanced as "gameplay" when it comes to their buying decision.  No, the issue here is that, despite the big marketing campaign and glowing media reviews (factors that can be crucial for driving sales), the game still managed to greatly under-perform.

Kotaku might have nailed it: that it's still a niche, debut IP with novel concepts, but involved neither rock music nor guns.

Existing PS3 ownership levels are still so very low, which buffers this terrible news about one of it's game titles.  PS3 console itself is what's selling horribly.

Putting LBP on a console which is all about niche debut IPs with novel concepts (the Wii) would have helped it sell better, even with graphic reductions.  Wii Fit is selling like crack cocaine at $90, and there's not 90 worth of value there, but they managed to get my money. 

At this point in time, games shouldn't be PS3 exclusive if they want to sell.

topic -----------------------------------------------------------------------> thread

Derailed like that locomotive falling into *Clayton Ravine in Back To The Future III.  My apologies.

*Sorry, Shonash Ravine.

33k units is a failure for any retail game, regardless of platform.  If it was a digital release, then it wouldn't seem so bad, but for a $60 boxed copy, that's a loss any way you slice it.  PS3 performed poorly in November because of Sony's refusal to reduce its price in this down economy.  Let's remember that the PS3 was outselling the 360 for most of the spring and summer before (a) MSFT cut price and (b) the economy tanked.

I humbly request for Adam to move all relevant LittleBigPlanet-related posts in this thread to the LBP thread here.  Again, apologies for the derailment.

This certainly sounds like a news-worthy bump:

Valkyria Chronicles DLC Coming in Spring:
http://blog.wired.com/games/2009/03/val … hroni.html

I've yet to start playing the game myself.  Waiting for that inevitable lull in the year to get fully invested into it. :)

I'm on Chapter 5 myself. It's a fun game, but yes, I haven't played it in a while so I'll have to get back on that soon. Hard mode = no Edelweiss? I can't imagine that. I'm sure in some of the later chapters, the tank seems absolutely crucial! To those who have finished the game, do you think it'll be much more difficult without the tank? How big of a role and/or advantage does it play in the main story?

I'll be the first to say that Chapter 7 will most likely be near impossible without the Edleweiss, as it was a key source of cover.  Also, the one where you have to "storm the beach" required the tank's smoke-bombs for cover.  I doubt anyone could make it through that one without it (would the lancers have smoke bombs then?). 

Not using the tank is going to force alot of us to think more strategically and/or pray that the lancers can actually hit their targets.  I finished the game (twice!) and would love a chance to go back and give it another shot.  Question:  does the Hard-ex mode (no tank) let you start from a New Game+? 

Again, I'll say that anyone with a PS3 NEEDS to own this game.  Please do us a favor and let Sega know that we'll buy good games!

Clip from the upcoming anime.  What think, VC fans?

http://kotaku.com/5182926/watch-the-val … me-trailer

liked the game, but this looks very generic to me. the expression of some of the new designs looks very different. i would rather have them do another game

Finally enlisted myself into Gallian Squad 7 - and I'm definitely having a great time.  Just completed Chapter 2, but I admit it was a really tough scrape for me; the defending of Bruhl's main gate was a nightmare that took me four tries.  Problem was.... keeping Alicia alive against the onslaught of Shocktroopers.  Success didn't come until I realized I could have her go AROUND the sandbags, and make a sprint up the hillside until the Edelweiss arrived, thereby avoiding making her a sitting duck.

I'm surprised at how lengthy the cutscenes are.  Not complaining, just taken aback at how the well the story and characterizations have been playing out so far.  Also glad to hear there's a superb ending waiting by the finish; should make the push to complete the game all the more worthwhile. :)

By the way, it's worth mentioning that Gamestop is starting their once-a-year Game Days sale tomorrow.  Valkyria Chronicles will be among the titles on sale, going for $29.99 brand new:

http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/g … ow-50-off/

I had a pretty easy time with Chapter 3 myself, though the.... Shocktrooper on the rooftop was an unpleasant surprise.  Yet again Alicia nearly bit the dust when I tried to use her for a head-on surprise attack; I should've sent up a Shocktrooper of my own instead to eliminate him.  (I'm damned lucky the game gives you the opportunity to continue moving after your turn; I made sure to get her ass back down that ladder fast. :p)  Went for total elimination before claiming the enemy base.

As far as Aika and Vyse go, I got 'em from the start.  I've enlisted Vyse; I love his slightly demented laugh of victory after a successful kill. :) 

And Ellet so reminds me of a co-worker of mine, it's scary.

Glad to see you aboard (and nice new avatar )!!  You think chapter 3's bad, wait until you hit 7! SPOILER use that damned tank for cover!

Yeah, I cried, but then again, I'm an emotional gamer.  I cry at everything ;P

Don't play Final Fantasy VII then.

j/k, couldn't resist

Wow, that makes you the mirror opposite of me.
Out of ALL the books I've read, games I've played and movies I've watched, only 1 ever managed to make me cry, although several have come close.

I dunno, I just never get that far for some reason.
I was really looking forward to Mistwalker's CryOn, although I never expected them to deliver on their promise of delivering an emotional scene every what, 15 minutes!?
Shame it got canned though...

Oh, the one movie that did make me cry is The Green Mile by the way, and it has managed to do so every time I watch it...

Ha, no kidding?  I think the earliest game to make me cry was Final Fantasy IV (II US).  It was after the final battle with Zeromus and Golbez wanted to go with FuSoYa.  You really felt for Cecil as he couldn't come to terms with who Golbez was.  When he finally turned around and said "Goodbye... brother!" I cried like a baby. Spoiler for those who have never played the game, but c'mon.  It's a good 15 years old.  Also, the SNES version pulled off that scene better than the DS so if you want to experience it the proper way it should be, there you go.

I took advantage of FFI&II for PSP for $10 each.  Even though I'll never play them, for $20 they make a nice addition to my collection.  Those of you with PSPs that haven't picked up Dracula X yet should definitely snap that one up for $10 -- so damn good.

I was thinking about picking up Drac X when I saw it there for when I do get a PSP but I'll probably never get one.

I attempted the element of surprise a number of times, but I just couldn't do it.  It was easy..... occupying the first two enemy base camps, but I was never fast enough to get to the third and final base before the enemy reinforcements were called upon.  Once that happened, I had to do a lot of on-the-fly improvising, since I had no idea what sort of attack formation that final camp had in store.  I was forced to go for total elimination, or near-total, anyway; a single enemy Shocktrooper was on the left side of the last camp. 

Yeah, it got pretty intense taking on that wave of reinforcements; I was forced to juggle Largo and the Edelweiss to take out the tanks, and the scouts and snipers to push my way past the rest of the enemy foot soldiers and blowing up the fuel canisters. (All of my Shocktroopers were too far behind to get in the action.)  I think I was damned lucky with this one; I ended up using all ten maximum turns, and I managed to occupy the last camp with just TWO command points left.  Freesia was definitely the heroine of this mission; she made the valiant final sprint to the flag, taking multiple shots from that one Shocktrooper.

Yeah, I remember having trouble with Mission 4 myself. (I'm on mission 5 now but it's been ages since playing). I pretty much did the same thing that Angela did, however, I don't think I used more than 8 turns. Perhaps I should turn it back on soon, but I have to find the time...never any time!

Aren't the maps a blast?  If Sega ever comes out with trophies or DLC for the game, I'm going to have to jump right back in head-first.

Here's a little tip I found while showing the game to my friends:  if you can get a shocktrooper behind a tank, have him/her go for the radiator.  I actually had Vyse take out a tank by himself in one turn!  Of course, he's at level 20 and had the best equipment... 

Also, don't forget about your snipers.  A few of the maps I found them to be almost crucial (I believe Mission 4 was one of them). If you have your sniper shoot the exploding barrels, then it should be easy enough for any one of your lancers or shocktroopers to take out the rest of the tank.  There's a tower right to your NE as soon as you start that gives him/her ample opportunities to just sit and shoot.

Angela, what are you thinking of the soundtrack?  Don't some of those tracks just get you pumped up for battle?!

I figured you would have seen this already...or maybe you have I have forgotten.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2009/03/val … hroni.html

But it is coming!

Also, as for the music, I enjoy it. There are some themes I'm not particularly fond of (at work so the titles elude me), but I swear, Beautiful Gallia is the most beautiful thing in that game's soundtrack. I could listen to that all day and never grow tired of it.

EDIT: Looks like it's coming April 16th!

http://playstation.joystiq.com/2009/04/ … pril-16th/

I think I have a pretty large unbalance in my class leveling up.  I've been ignoring the Sniper and Engineer classes, keeping them at a seemingly pitiful level 3 -- but I've been beefing up the Scouts and Shocktroopers, where I have them at level 7 and 5 respectively.  (The Lancers are at level 4.)  I've heard it's a generally good idea to have them all level up equally, but.... would you say I'm in okay shape with my current course?  Or should I start hitting up those Skirmishes to counterbalance?

I'm thinking I should start leveling up the Sniper class a little more, at least.  Nothing's more painful than a missed shot that seemed totally dead-on, but tell me: does leveling up actually improve their accuracy?  Or is that based on their weapons?

As I do with every Sakimoto score, I've been listening to and appreciating the soundtrack as I'm progressing through the game.  The event-driven and Book/menu themes are nicely performed, if somewhat unmemorable, but I am indeed loving all the battle themes I've heard so far.  Desperate Fight, Street Fighting, Hard Fight, and Defensive Fight, with the last two being my personal favorites.  Hard Fight uses that incredible Sakimoto trademark "echo-clashing" percussion that I dig, and I just love the enemy's turn theme in Defensive Fight.

Beautiful Gallia is indeed beautiful, but it plays second fiddle to the unforgettably epic Main Theme and its many variants; Europa At War, Title Main Theme, and Defeat are all great.

The accuracy is mostly based on their weapons, but as you level up each class it unlocks a new "potential" for the recruits.  If you level up one of the snipers far enough (she's the one in denim, pretty sure her name is Marina), she'll have a potential called "ultimate accuracy" or something like that where the aiming circle is literally a pinpoint no matter what weapon you use.  When I got her up there, I could decimate about half the troops on the map with her alone.  She's a loner though, so she does good if I just leave her on top of a building by herself.  The perfect sniper.

The engineers are definitely needed towards the later part of the game.  Their abilities to restock ammo and repair tanks are invaluable.  That being said, you could probably put them at the end of your list of groups to level. 

If you have her available, I whole-heartedly recommend Cherry (scout).  She has some decent potentials and some great one-liners. 

I know for her Undodgeable Shot potential she says "You're all like 'I'll duck!' and I'm all like 'whatever!'"  and whenever she kills someone she says "Like duh!" which my 3-year-old daughter quotes to this day.

Here's the online guide with potential lists:  IGN gamefaq

Couldn't agree with you more.  That one alone rivals some of Masashi Hamauzu's best, which is saying alot.

I've got Marina, so it looks like I'll have to get working on upping those Sniper levels.  It's easy to want to abuse the Snipers, I think - during Chapter 4, I must've used up a good number of CP consecutively to take down the enemy from afar.  Until I ran out of ammo per turn, that is..... which is why I guess I'd better start training the Engineers, too. :p

I think I have Cherry as well.  Gotta double-check that recruit list.  Still getting the hang at how all the different Potentials work, too.