Shadows of the Damned, Child of Eden come up short in June - Report

I came across an article where EA Media admitted that EA forced Suda and Mikami to give up on a complex storyline they had in mind.This game is fun for sure but its not what it could have been if Suda,Mikami,Guarani and Yamaoka had free hands. This game looks and feels like a compromise and i dont blame ppl who refused to buy it. Suda-san and Mikami-San,please never ever make a deal like this one with EA again.

What a shame for the team behind Shadows of the Damned. I'm really happy I bought it a few days after release at $60. Not only did I really enjoy it, but I can be happy knowing I'm one of the few who bought it to support Grasshopper Manufacture. I think the fault with DmD's poor sales falls on EA. They did absolutely nothing to advertise the game. If more people knew the people who made it, and knew it's roots with Resident Evil 4, I think a lot more people would have bought it. I never really liked EA as a publisher, and now I really don't like them. With DmD, I'm really not surprised it sold poorly because of no advertising, but I am surprised with Child of Eden's poor sales. I thought it would have sold A LOT more. Maybe make a bundle with the game and a new trans vibrator? That'll sell!

same here i cant stop playing it. its basically resident evil 4 in hell but you can run and gun and turn around while running its great. wait till you see the sushi fish and giant ram horserider boss. wow. if your on the fence trust us if you like horror, its a must buy.

Shadow of the Damned was awesome. I beat the game 100% in just a week and never got bored playing it. Also the games joke is very funny. IDK why it got bad sales though

both games scored very well, are really fun and alot of you didn't buy it. this is just so sad in every way. to those that did play it and bought it new, spread the word. shadows deserves better than this.

shadows of the damned is one of the best, coolest grindhouse esque games ive ever played. the problem is the gamers. you just rent it, buy it used or are too busy playing commercial games. if you dont support it, its not going to sell. the game plays like a dream and is really intense. its scoring very well also. people complain about horror games, then we get one and no one buys it or gets it second hand. there is not going to be a sequel and and those who dont support it only have yourselves to blame. your too busy playing FPS and missing all the story driven great games. so depressing.

Shock? Child of Eden would have sold better on the wii. Especially given the wii software drought.

Shadows of the Damned was fun. But I rented it and beat it once I found out there is no replay incentive, like no second playthrough feature. What's up with that Mikami??

Shadows of the Damned is a rental. Beat it down and take it back. Saving my money for Gears 3 and Arkham City.

I liked Shadows of the Damned but not many people are willing to pay $60 for 6-10 hour game with low replay value.

I think people are still busy playing games they bought in the 1st half and are also saving money for twice as many "must have" titles in the 2nd half of the year. It's unfortunate but it makes sense that digital titles are suffering, there's only so much time to play all the awesome games that are out.

two awesome didn't get the sales it deserved looks like gamers only buy games which are advertise to the death such a lame

If I hear this is what's wrong with the game industry one more time... You like what you like, I'll like what I like. You don't get to decide what is and is not a good game for someone else. Just because a title is unique or original in what it's doing doesn't mean that it's going to interest everyone or even a significant number of people. If you like it then buy it. Quit going around getting all upset when I don't buy a copy because you think it's good.

I agree with ekalbtwin. While I do think that the sales numbers were extremely low for both, and don't know how to completely account for that. There is also the possibility that maybe, the fault is in the game design. Let's start with Child of Eden. Looking at gameplay footage, you have no idea about what is going on, I didn't see demo kiosks in stores, also, the game has a bit of distinctive music style--Jpop, I think they should choose less cheesy sounds with more mass appeal and personality. I personally, didn't like the music, and don't really understand the gameplay. Shadows of the damned imo is a tongue-in-cheek game with a bad taste. It will appeal to people who like penis jokes, and lots of less than witty and immature dialogue. I also think that the game is satanic, it has that vibe that some heavy metal bands have: trying too hard to rock, and just look defiled, dirty, immoral, just trying to enjoy itself while having no sense of responsibility to the consequences. Which it's fine by me, to each its, own but when you make a cult game, don't expect it to sell it with mass appeal. Just do a better job at advertising it to the suggested audience.

Neither game had any advertising that caught my eye, so that is likely one reason they are not getting the sales numbers they want. It seems like both games were relying on the names of their creators to sell, but most gamers don't follow the industry closely enough to know the big names in this case.

Yikes! This is just so sad.

Got to say, with that sort of "Epic" boss fights, no wonder the damned sold this little.

@jonajacket no fair! Uncharted 3 is my most anticipated game this year (largely because I transitioned from PS2 to 3 last year and played the first 2 to where the 2nd became my all time favorite game), but for the PS Vita I'm really looking forward to Gravity which is completely new.

Sad _ _ ________ / /

This is what's wrong in the game industry.

Both games were too "out there" to expect great sales. It's a shame though, because unique concepts often make for great games. Maybe the marketing had something to do with it as well.

I haven't bought Shadow of the Damned yet, but I got Child of Eden on release. New IP that's good, but not selling doesn't shock me these days and it's not exactly an issue exclusive to the current generation. The average game consumer has always been this infuriating. They grumble and moan about sequels and a lack of originality, but look what happens to a great new title. Enjoy Modern Warfare 3, Halo 4 and Uncharted 3 you muppets, then cry about how bored you are. Disclaimer - I do play the big releases, e.g. I will buy MW3. Just not at the expense of strangling the medium.

Its a shame that shadows of the damned didnt sell well. Ive started my second playthrough on hard mode and its really fun. This is a great game, although extremely weird, the mechanics and story are pretty solid. Not to mention its f*ckin hilarious. Pick this one up if you are bored, u will miss out if u dont.

SoD didn't sell because it's just plain weird. The mainstream community is simply not interested in shooting goat heads in hell.

With all the info that was mentioned on gamespot and other gaming websites showed that Shadows of The Damned was going to be a very short game with barely any replay value, plus no marketing whatsoever makes it obvious that i wasn't going to sell well. Not everyone is willing to spend 60 bucks on sort games anymore.

And this is why there are no new IPs coming out that aren't first person shooters. A game like Homefront sold a million copies even with a 3 hour campaign. SOD was a game that brought together 3 of the greatest minds in gaming for a memorable experience.

wow that is a real shame s.o.d. is one of the best games that has come out this year

Well, that sucks! In Kuwait (where I'm from), Shadows of the Damned sold out in 3-4 days! I had to wait an extra week to get my hands on it!

I will get Shadows of the Damned when it is 20 dollars at Best Buy

Shadows of the Damned sold so few copies!? The game freaking owns!

I'm not surprised. These are both games that I was initially planning to purchase, and then decided not to(I rarely back out of planned purchases). Child of Eden just seemed different than I thought it would be. Shadow of the damned I will eventually buy however, when it drops in price. I think SOD will find a nice comfortable home when it releases on Live Demand.

those are pathitic numbers,as for Eden and other such kinect tittles i hope this becomes a trendy,MS needs to learn kinect ant all that its hyped up to be and invest in real games

Shadows of the Damned was fun to watch and listen to, but I didn't really have fun during the play portions.

think most people are waiting for a price drop for shadows of the damned before they start purchasing it, but it really is a great game, definitely worth a play through at least.

the typical story of underrated good games,

See this is how this industry is becoming. Something as new (as possible) of an idea comes along and bombs in sales numbers. Yet annual rehashes and everything with a 2 or 3 on the end still sell millions and millions. I dont get it.

The article doesnt even mention Alice: Madness Returns, an awesome game if you havent played it. Shame for all three. Shadows is great but seems like it could wind up a really niche title like the rest of Suda51s games.

These games should've got more sales than Duke Nukem.

this isn't fair both games are great

Guess you don't sell that much if you don't call your game "Resident Evil " in the box. This is sad...

waiting for both to drop in price. Eden looks like a $20 title. Really want SotD, but willing to wait.... I have too many games I'm catching up on to drop full price for a game to sit on my shelf.

I feel sad that these games didn't do well. I didn't exactly help - I wish I could have bought them but, y'know...money and stuff...

Games like resonance of fate(sega), vanquish(sega) and shadows of the damned(grasshoper/ea) are great games that miss out because of either less marketing or the fact that there arent enough copies to go around both fault of publisher(sega specifically). I mean you have to go out of your way just to find these games which always sucks. What all of these games have in common is that they are refreshingly different, which makes them really worth it. Duke Nukem tops the selling charts with a terrible game(not my judgement everyone i know says this) and these games disappear never to be heard again. It just sucks when games arent appreciated.

well iv seen litterally ZERO advertising for Shadows of the Damned, so thats probably why it is such low sales and Child of Eden doesnt really have a lot going for it, a game that lasts only an hour or maybe 2, and its full retail price, most xbla games last much longer than that for a far cheaper price, and a lot of them are just as good, if not better quality.......

I'm honestly glad Shadow's didn't do well as I like my mature games to be actually mature, as For Child of Eden Hopefully it can build up a better following on both systems as it is an excellent game from what I've seen.

I'm surprised that Child of Eden didn't do better. It was hand made for kinect. But right now is not the greatest time for videogame sales. As there is another looming financial crisis in the United States Aug 3 2011 is well things could go belly up in the U.S

I bought Shadows of the Damned, it's an awesome game this is really strange i though it will sell good but maybe it's low selling month.

Ouch, 24,000. I've been reading some good reviews about it too, though I only know about it because I frequently visit game sites and even then, I haven't heard much about it. I just don't think it was advertised well enough.

Part of the blame should go on the publishers for this one. I can't recall much advertising for either of these games at all. In fact, I had no clue when Shadow of the Damned was suppose to drop until maybe a month ago, and this article is the first time that I heard that Children of Eden was even released LOL Hard to sell stuff if you don't create some type of buzz for it.