Wolverine PS5 Sales Estimates Are Somewhat Soft, But Here's Why I'm Not Worried – Push Square

Home
Gaming Connectz
Wolverine PS5 Sales Estimates Are Somewhat Soft, But Here's Why I'm Not Worried – Push Square

Guest
Login | Sign Up

Guest
Guest
Login or Sign Up
Remember: only predictions, for now
According to Ampere Analytics, tentpole Insomniac action game Marvel’s Wolverine sold about 2.16 million copies in September, making it the second best-selling PS5 game of the month, behind EA Sports FC 27. (Obviously.)
It looks like a soft number on the surface, especially when you consider this is accounting for around two full weeks of sales. (The title is likely to be frontloaded, partly due to its nature and also because it doesn’t have particularly glowing word of mouth behind it.)
However, the numbers are low compared to other estimates.
Alinea Analytics, for example, predicted the title had sold 1.9 million copies as of 17th September. It’s worth noting that Alinea attempts to aggregate global data, while Ampere focuses on 45 markets, including the US and UK.
Neither should be treated as official sources.
Nevertheless, it’s been reported that the game cost up to $300 million to make, with a hearty licensing fee to Disney included in that figure. That’s a big number to make back, then.
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube172k
And some have noted Sony’s silence as proof that the game’s failing to meet expectations. Most publishers will announce sales milestones, like Bandai Namco earlier today, confirming that Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has soared to one million units faster than any other game in the franchise.
However, I think it’s important to note that PlayStation has never been consistent with these kind of announcements. It confirmed record-breaking success for God of War Ragnarok earlier in the generation, but generally it reserves sales data for financial calls.
I think we’ll probably get a statement on Marvel’s Wolverine during the firm’s upcoming earning report in November, where it’ll likely give us a concrete number if it’s satisfied with the results.
The reality is that Marvel’s Wolverine was never going to sell as well as Marvel’s Spider-Man – compare the Box Office results of the respective franchises – although this clearly wasn’t a cheap project, so Sony will be looking for a respectactable return on its investment.
But while most games are frontloaded, there’ll still be plenty of opportunities for Sony to flog more copies of this gory foray. It could bundle the title over the holidays, for example, or look at targeted price promotions around Black Friday and the holidays.
I’m personally not overly concerned about the long-term success of the project – at the end of the day, these are just predictions, and we’ll know more once PlayStation breaks its silence in the coming weeks.
Marvel's Wolverine (PS5) - The Ultimate Wolverine Simulator
Review Marvel’s Wolverine (PS5) – The Ultimate Wolverine Simulator
Bloody nora, bub
Marvel's Wolverine Guide: 100% Collectibles Walkthrough
Guide Marvel’s Wolverine Guide: 100% Collectibles Walkthrough
The ultimate Wolverine PS5 collectibles resource
[source thegamebusiness.com]
About Sammy Barker

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.
Comments 130

Speaking of pointless waste of disappointments, we’ve not had September’s game of the month yet – so what’s happening with that?? 🙂

It's currently like the 26th best selling game in the psn charts here down under. Although as we all know that is normal for AAA games after being on top at launch. At two weeks old a AAA game is like ancient history.
Still it should turn a profit and that is what matters.

I think the hate this game has received is entirely undeserved, and much of it is spread by people who have not played it and have no intention of ever doing so.
The game is much better than many would have you believe, and I have no difficulty in recommending it. It is a fun action romp with fantastic performances…

I'm not sure if it's because I've got a few games on the go at the moment, but I'm struggling to keep chipping away at this. I'm not sure why, because it's a solid game and the story is decent enough, but it's just not Spider-Man levels of great.

Waiting for a Black Friday discount. And have been since its first trailer.

The game would have sold much better if they listened to the community more seriously and made the fart trails resemble the ones in the comics.

@Fiendish-Beaver I presume folk, if they want to buy a game but are rather on the fence, would probably watch a few gameplay walkthroughs…I know I do that – certainly preferable to spending £70 then regretting it 🙂

I imagine the holidays and avengers doomsday will help boost sales, but curious to see if it reaches the 6 million sales in a year goal

Not every game has to set records and reinvent the wheel gamers are just too fussy nowadays.

Why would you be “worried” regardless? Odd choice of words as someone with no financial stake in the matter.

@get2sammyb
"Worried"? Not worried for the studio?

Totally agree, @IronCrow86, that would seem to me to be the sensible thing to do, but I think all too often people listen to what others are saying (often without those others having played the game themselves) and go off internet think rather than thinking for themselves. Like you, if I am slightly unsure, or feel the need to know more, I actually watch gameplay and go from there…

@darthvirgin Exactly 💯

The most made for the modern audience game that i've played for a long time.

@Fiendish-Beaver @IronCrow86 Personally can’t ever imagine just watching someone else play a game as my first experience. I have watched let’s plays but only for games I’ve already played. I’m sure some people do it, but if it was widespread I think publishers would clamp down on lets plays.

why would you be worried you dont work for sony

If “cope” was an article

@IronCrow86 Rob is on holiday.

@get2sammyb Can't you do it?? Gotta say, this lackadaisical attitude is very unbecoming 🙃😄

The weaker review scores definitely didn’t help. Of course it was going to sell well out of the gate and will most likely turn a profit but the top end sales numbers for this game most certainly will be lessened by the weaker scores and rightfully so. A 7/10 from a proven team like insomniac for as expensive as this game was too make isn’t good enough when a US team like Sucker Punch can make Yotei for significantly less or in general with European and Japanese making better games like control resonant, kcd2, blood of dawnwalker and all of Capcom’s releases this year for far less money.

Its also £70, a lot of money for a pretty mid game with bad word of mouth which is a problem when there are a lot better games released at the same time that were £20 – £30 cheaper.
Also a alot of people who might only buy 2-3 games a year more than likely saw the price and went nope as they are about to buy GTA6, and you will be getting significantly more bang for your buck with that game with either version of it.

@Fiendish-Beaver Totally agree just played it now, it can be a challenge if you really want it to be it isn’t exactly an easy game nor is it hard (difficulty dependant) most of the complaints are totally undeserved it was just downed and drowned in backlash leading from the digital stuff and toxic nonsense picked out from the game causing people to avoid, don’t forget critic reviews either… Playstation have just been bashed and it’s audience are likely trying to be pushed away to send a message.
It’s funny because fans will scream and shout for single player experiences, feel good games, linear titles etc. Wolverine ain’t perfect yeah sure but if you’re blindly playing it to hate then I wouldn’t call yourself a gamer.

I’m not worried because people keep telling me they just bought it, then talk about how much they are enjoying it and then about how much they enjoyed it. Meaning they played it, finished it, and then used their own experience with the game to judge it.
@get2sammyb Nice article Sammy.

@Fiendish-Beaver lol no it’s fair. Have higher standards for a top tier AAA team like Insomnaic

@Midgar777 it’s fine and fine isn’t good enough when so many other games are doing far cooler more unique things.

@Mr-Cage no gamers just have higher standards from single player AAA studios and games especially this year.

@darthvirgin It'd be a huge concern for one of Sony's best studios if this completely bombed no?
They've already closed down multiple talented teams this gen.

I’m in the middle of a The Best There Is run. I think I’m enjoying it even more this time around than on my first run. And I really loved that first run.
@get2sammyb @Americansamurai1
Wasn’t there something in the Insomniac leak indicating that if the game didn’t sell 6m copies in it’s first year, Sony and Marvel reserved the right to terminate the X-Men deal?
I’m sure with the X-Men featuring so heavily in the new Avengers movie plus the holiday sales coming up they’ll definitely keep pushing this.
Wishful thinking maybe from someone desperate for a PlayStation X-Men franchise?

Get it on a deep sale….

@Fishmasterflex96 It always looked like a throw back hack and slash action game to me it will sell well because it's marvel and wolverine expecting every game coming out this year to be amazing is unrealistic even this one.
People probably hyped it up too much everything people thought looked amazing about the game before it's release is forgotten now

I can’t imagine paying more than $30-40 for a 15-hour linear AAA game.

@Mr-Cage except it’s not even a good hack and slash game. It’s not even on a level of say Ninja Gaiden 4. Yes not everything needs to be a 10/10 but a 7/10 from Insomniac is not good enough.

Estimated to have sold 1.9mil the first week and is now only on 2.16mil….ouch! Huge cope of this article aside, this is disastrous. Sony are lucky they have Phantom Blade Zero and GTA6 to save their asses. Just close Insomniac and Naughty Dog and save some money.

I don't need to watch much, @themightyant, usually less than 5 minutes. I am also blessed with a really poor memory, so chances of me remembering what I saw are always minimal… 😂

Absolutely, @Sunzy98. I played the game on the hardest difficulty, and it certainly has its moments where it is just that…hard! I loved the challenge of beating all the Nightmare Doors to max out the score too. I really enjoyed it, enjoyed the story, and did not mind at all that it was pretty linear. All round, I really enjoyed it…

@themightyant It is very wide spread… There hundreds of thousands of channels just dedicated to lets play/walkthroughs. Some channels have way over 14 million subscribers, and get millions of views across videos . That’s just the YouTube side of things. You still have sites like twitch and kick.
When publishers do clamp down like Atlus. They get lamb blast for it.

@GirlVersusGame These sets look glorious.
Did you order from Lego directly or from another store?
I ask because the store I ordered the Lego PS1 from knew nothing about the Astro set.

You should check out wolverine review from videogamedunkey quite funny

@GeoPlaysGames Except if you buy the disc game, of course, where you can save £20 off the PlayStation Store price.
I’m going to miss discs when they’re gone, for that reason.

I think it's a decent game. Just got the plat the other night. Hopefully more people will give it a shot

@Shepherd_Tallon The astro bot was only through LEGO insider and PlayStation direct. No other 3rd party seller got it.

@wilky that’s not even the issue with this game. Wolverine is just middling. People don’t have a problem buying great linear action games like 007, Pragmata, or resident evil requiem.

@Shepherd_Tallon Lego directly through Insider tab, I think it arrived yesterday I’m not sure. Someone was going through packages to let me know when it got there, mainly so I could see if it included the extra set. I’ve ordered sets before and the limited time set wasn’t included so I was fifty/fifty on that one too. I put my order in the moment it went live. Playstation Direct sold out first then Lego UK, followed by the rest of Europe. I hope they order more Astro sets, people really like the character and Lego still have the molds. You probably should have tried Lego Ireland for your region they are separate from Lego UK.

@Sunraku This is the confirmation I was looking for.
Thanks!

@GirlVersusGame Ah I was too trigger happy and ordered it from Smyths Ireland before waiting to see what Lego would offer directly.
I'll pick up the Astro set later when they sell it separately.

If you make a good game, gamers will come. And vice versa. If it isn't a good game, then the developers need to learn from it and avoid what didn't make it a good game.
We shouldn't be rooting for its success or failure. If it is a bad game that succeeds, then the next game will be bad as well. And vice versa.
My take on Wolverine (from what I've pieced together) is that it is more of a $70 interactive movie for a Marvel IP not really made for gamers.

@Stwert yeh same here, If a game I really want has a physical thats what I buy, I really dont know what to do when next gen rolls around with no ability to play my disc games, seems bonkers to me! Just gonna hold onto my 5 Pro like its gold dust for as long as possible.

I'm also not worried, but mostly because I don't care about this game. It's one of the most meh games to come out this year. Not great, not terrible, just meh.

Down playing 2.1M copies sold is wild

I pre-ordered Marvel’s Wolverine but haven't played it yet. I have done my best to keep away from spoilers. But I have read the game handholds you through the game, obviously I don't know how true this is. With a statement from Insomniac saying they are listening to the community I am hoping a lot of this handholding stuff is patched out by the time I play it. I have a big backlog and with all these brilliant games releasing I haven't got enough time to play them on release date, even though I buy them on release or have them on pre-order. I haven't touched Gear's of War E-day yet, obviously that's on my XSX I am gutted that it didn't release on the PS5. I could have brought Forza Horizon 6 but I am buying that for the PS5. I'll will probably buy Forza Horizon 6 on sale on XSX to add to all my other Forza Horizon games & achievements.

I bought this for 40€ the other day, physical.
Curious why they did that but I’m also not complaining about that insane price drop after…two weeks? One?

Sony needs to get its zing back in with games and gamers.
Remember the massive sales for Spider-Man, uncharted 4, last of us and god of war.
Where has that zing gone.
Zing back to the PS4 era Sony.

@Shepherd_Tallon To be fair doing it that way probably meant you did secure the console itself, it sold out really fast through Lego. It annoyed me because they gave me the option of buying five sets, that in my eyes enables scalpers. It would have sold out regardless, they only made it easier for the people who deserved both to end up with neither. Scalper sites are the number one target for DDoSing in December for a reason, no one likes them, but Ebay is just as bad. I’m not even going to look at those listings, I can already tell how bad they are, it’s the same with everything now.

"I'm totally not worried about it," but also, here's an entire article attempting to convince everyone it's no big deal. Lol
Ignoring any performance or quality issues with Wolverine, real or imagined, it's a fact the AAA game dev cycle is broken. Paying 500 people $100K+ a year for 6 years of development isn't really sustainable. Either teams need shrink or schedules do.

For me it was the linear style and the 20 hour length which aren't rumor it's fact. Not worth £70 and as I buy digital only so don't have the luxury of trading in it isn't worth it. Sale or Extra for me.

@Shepherd_Tallon yeah that was from the leaks

@Fishmasterflex96 007 was the reason why I passed on this game. I can’t believe that game reviewed as well as it did. It was a 15-hour game that spent like 5-6 hours on tutorial missions, and the combat was frankly quite dumb for what I was expecting out of a 007 game.
But you’re right tho. This game reviewed quite a bit worse than 007. So I passed on it to play other games in Sept instead, like Control (7/10 from me, and probably 3x the length of Wolverine)

@Fishmasterflex96
It’s not even on a level of say Ninja Gaiden 4.
Comparing with Ninja Gaiden 4 is like comparing apples to oranges. Both games has completely different design.

£70 for a game with middling at best reviews is just a ridiculous ask in today’s climate. Best to wait.

It probably has to do with marvel fatigue. I haven't heard much about the tokken fighting game since launch either. I think that game sold less than a 800k.

I don't foresee Insomniac suffering any layoffs or closure from Wolverine's lukewarm sales numbers. I can see the game getting a bit of a boost in sales when it receives it's first big sale.

@PuppetMaster the dude who I was responding too was the one that brought up hack and slash games. My point is that no matter how you paint it or pick what genre, Wolverine is middling to decent/good which is a problem when so many other games in the numerous subgenres do gameplay much better.

@wilky that’s what I mean. People will show up for quailty games even if they are shorter 15-20 hour linear games.

It's not a very good game, why would anyone expect it to sell well? Those numbers seem pretty positive for such a mid game.

Sony will be crawling back to VALVe soon, just like the rest of them.

If the sales were good, Sony would be sharing them already. Like they always do when sales are good.
Barely 2.2 m copies for over 90 m consoles is a disaster. Just like the game
I was so hyped when they showed the very first trailer, the bar scene and blades showing up. Looked so serious and adult.
Hype disappeared when more trailers arrived.
And disappeared completely after release reviews and gameplays.

As a huge Wolverine fan since his comic book origin I was really looking forward to this game, but I was never going to pay $70 for a 20 hour linear game. Or pay $70 for really any game. Or buy any game Day 1 b/c of all the patches and updates these days. I’m not paying $70 to do your quality assurance testing.
So I’m still looking forward to it. Black November is coming (let’s face it it’s not just Friday anymore). And it will go on PS+ Extra eventually.
I did preorder OoT for $60, the digital price for the physical foil cover copy. I think that’s longer though, 25 hours maybe. And supposedly 1 of the best reviewed games of all time, like 98/100 good. So I’m not opposed to spending money and buying day 1, but my brain needs to ok it all. OoT better not have a lot of patches and updates after 30 years. 😂

Do you think we'll get a "shipped" total, or worse, the dreaded "hours of engagement" number, rather than actual sales figures?

@Fiendish-Beaver
I'm also really enjoying Wolverine. It is a really fun game, with immaculate performance/visuals, which goes a long way with me.
I also like the story and character representations.
The combat could be a bit more 'precise' at times, but so far I am enjoying it at least as much as Onimusha, which is itself a great game.
All of the people I know to have played it have enjoyed it, and none have complained about these trails we hear so much about (I can certainly see that Insomniac have tried to represent the characters superhuman senses with them).
@themightyant
Usually a couple of trailers, a review from here, and 1 for performance (eg DF), or a decent demo, is enough for me. But, there have been occasions where I have looked up gameplay videos for a game I just haven't been 100% sure of.
I wouldn't say it's common, and I actually struggle to remember examples, but sometimes there have been games where there have been elements I have just needed to see in action.

I enjoyed the game, but I can see why others might not. I am sure Sony will be hoping to get some more sales from Black Friday onwards and will hope to get back at least the same amount of money invested over the next year. I expect any plans for a sequel or DLC have been canned, and the team will be moved onto Spider-Man 3, Venom, or another new project.
I can imagine Spider-Man 3 will be beefed up as a safe bet, and Venom will be scaled back or cancelled.

@VeganH no it’s cause Wolverine is middling

@get2sammyb I’m an avid gamer, and I buy most of Sony’s first party SP games at launch. I think if someone walked up to me and said “I’m worried about this studio I have no connection to beyond being a consumer”, I’d suggest they re-evaluate their priorities.

@DanteDevilHunter
I haven't seen the much talked about sense trails etc as being too much, and have left them on, but Insomniac have already added toggles in the options for just about everything I believe. My opinion having played the game is a 'storm in a teacup', but there are options there now.

@Fishmasterflex96
My point is that no matter how you paint it or pick what genre, Wolverine is middling to decent/good which is a problem when so many other games in the numerous subgenres do gameplay much better.
Again. That's like saying apples is better than oranges when they has different taste. So your point is moot, no matter what your personal opinion against Wolverine.

@GirlVersusGame It definitely sounds like a golden opportunity for scalpers. Especially in the run up to Christmas. I can’t think why Lego would do it that way.
With retailers? Sure.
But with individual buyers it seems foolish.

Totally agree, @Rich33. Right now it is in vogue to 💩 all over Sony due to the cessation of physical media and their poor first-party / Live Service issues, and whilst they are right to criticise Sony, I think Wolverine has been used as the stick with which to beat Sony. People who have not played the game, and have no intention of playing the game, are just parroting what others are saying on the internet, most of who have not played the game either. There really is not that many of us that have actually played the game that are gunning for it. It's not perfect, no game is, but it is nowhere near as bad as some would have you believe…

Ouch! Even as estimates go these numbers must be really underwhelming for Insomniac and Sony. They should make R&C or a new Resistance game next, at least it wouldn’t cost 300 million🤷‍♂️.

Wait, so we shouldn't worry about the multi-billion dollar company? Well wishes and positive vibes. Get well soon, Sony.

@Fiendish-Beaver
You really think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that Insomniac made a middling game when compared to their previous releases, and reviews, gamer sentiment just reflect that?
What you’re implying it’s borderline tinfoil hat conspiracy. You can like or even love the game, other people don’t, and feel differently. Not hard to understand.

@Fiendish-Beaver
I know what you mean, and I'm not really disagreeing, but I also think there are those that are regularly over critical of Sony games in general.
GOWR, and SM2, are (easily) 2 of my personal top 5 games this generation and just look at some of the silly comments seen when they launched eg Ragnarok was just a dlc.
Wolverine isn't Insomniacs best game, but I still think it is a great game, which has been unfairly criticised by some (often without playing it).
Oh, and I have no clue whatsoever where some of these 'times to complete' come from…. Do people simply rush through to the end without actually enjoying a game these days? You would think everyone was a wannabe speed runner!

@PuppetMaster it’s not moot when the reviews speak for themselves. Wolverine is a middling to decent game and that’s not good enough for insomniac and for a game that cost $300 million to make.

Again, totally agree, @Rich33. I played through the game once on the hardest difficulty, and aced all of the Nightmare Doors. I didn't unlock the Platinum, but I will the next time I feel like going through the game (I just have a lot to play right now, and so a second immediate playthrough was not what I wanted to do. I'll probably go through it again next year to mop up the Trophies that I missed).
I also loved Ragnarök and Spiderman 2. I also enjoyed Yotei more than the first game (which I also loved).
People just love to hate for some reason that is totally beyond me. I think it is fine to criticise a game that you have played and perhaps not entirely enjoyed, but I do think repeating what others are saying on the internet is kind of odd. I much prefer to form my own opinions…

@Rich33
Do people simply rush through to the end without actually enjoying a game these days? You would think everyone was a wannabe speed runner!
One of the biggest problem with a lot of gamers nowadays is they're rushing out to finish games as if someone pointed a gun to their head instead of slow it down and enjoy their journey with the game bit by bit.

No, @PSXB. Not in the slightest. I don’t think Wolverine is as good as Spiderman 2, but that does not mean that it is a bad game, which is how so many are portraying it (usually without having played it). However, the game has a 75 on Metacritic right now, and I cannot fathom for the life of me when 75 became a bad score. Middling, to me, is when a game scores a 6/10. Excellent is 9 and above. Great is an 8 and Good is 7/10. That, to me, means that Wolverine sits somewhere between Good and Great, which to me means that it is worth your time, and certainly does not deserve the hate that it is getting.
Plus, and I stand by this, I think that some of the ‘professional’ reviewers took a stance when reviewing the game based on how they felt about issues surrounding Sony right now. I think had the game released prior to the disc debacle, it would have been reviewed better by some. Obviously, I cannot prove that, I just don’t believe that everyone treated the game fairly. Equally, I would put absolutely no credence on the scores given by Users on Metacritic because you do not have to have played the game to leave a review, which is a major flaw with the system.
I am not suggesting for one minute that the game is perfect. No game is (although Baldur’s Gate 3 comes close). However, 7.5/10 means even with reviewers having beef with Sony, the game is still viewed as worth your time…

Here we are again with the sales hysteria 😂
This game is a system seller + brand positioning/ reinforcement

@Fishmasterflex96
it’s not moot when the reviews speak for themselves.
Which review cause there’s plenty of reviews out there who gave Wolverine a good score. User reviews at PS store at average 4.66 out of 5 score which means the majority of people who bought and played it are enjoying / loving the game. So, why should Insomniac only care with some reviews who doesn’t like the game? Your point is still moot.
Also “not good enough for Insomniac”? The game estimate sold between 1.9-2.1 million copies in just 3 days in the market and it’s still selling as we speak. I think you should wait Sony’s official report before claiming it’s not good enough for Insomniac.

@Fiendish-Beaver
I wasn't the greatest fan of GoT, but I really enjoyed GoY.
@PuppetMaster
Personally, I think that rushing a game is just silly, but each to their own I suppose. In any small to medium sized game I easily double (or treble) some of the supposed 'game lengths' I see these days.

@Fiendish-Beaver I think it's about the massive rise of the Game Awards. As the awards show got bigger, discussion about reviews became less about the reviews themselves and more about whether games get a high enough metacritic score to stand a chance of being eligible for GotY nominee at the Game Awards.
Sony had a very long streak in that regard:

I’m not worried. Hopefully soft sales get Sony making games that have lower budgets, shorter development times, and sell for a better price to consumers. If we’re being totally honest about it, most of the best games this generation launched with prices under $70. While I’m sure Wolverine is a fine game, it exposes that Sony has veered deeper into being a current gen version of what Activision and Ubisoft were two generations ago, and the media monoculture just isn’t what it was 5-10-ish years ago, so it’s not as sustainable a business model. Developing a good relationship with your base is how you do business in 2026.

Why do YOU care about what game sells how much? You're not a PS employee, are you?
….are you?

@Oram77 Considering the brand, the character and the system, yeah it kinda is wild that is what it could have sold

@Fiendish-Beaver Congrats? Still wasn't worth the 75 dollars with the taxes and the game is not what I hoped from Insomniac

Still comments about people hating on everything Sony now, that's not it. The game just looks mid and that's that, it would've been a hit in 2006 or something, plus the price made it worse. Trailers alone showed me 007 First Light would be a hit and I haven't even played it, same way Laufey will score far better I believe.

Sammy, a game can sell millions copies and review fantastically and can be a GOTY candidate and a company will STILL call a game a failure on "their" side.
I don't have faith in Sony, Microsoft or even Nintendo to know "success" these days.

@Grumblevolcano Man, no love for Little Big Planet 3 in 2014? Sony’s had a GotY tier game released every year until this one for 20-ish years. And even then, 2006 is sort of an anomaly. Sony’s been cranking out of a GotY tier game practically every year since the console came out.
2013: The Last of Us
2012: Journey
2011: Uncharted 3
2010: Heavy Rain
2009: Uncharted 2, Flower
2008: Little Big Planet
2007: Uncharted
I could go all the way back to 90’s if we want!

$70 for a mediocre game that was gangbanged by every other AAA game last month? No wonder it didn't sell as much as they expected.

@Hoff If Sony shuts down Insomniac and Naughty Dog they may as well just go out of business and that’d leave them with what? Just Santa Monica, Bungie, and Guerilla Studios left? All of which are also struggling with the live service push…🤦

@somnambulance I'm specifically talking about Geoff's show. The Game Awards GotY nominees for 2014 were Dragon Age Inquisition, Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls 2, Hearthstone and Shadow of Mordor.

A €305 million budget, plus the marketing costs, which let's be honest is millions. I've seen some analysts saying it needs to sell 6 million copies at full price before they break even. Maybe even more with the amount of physical copies they've sold(Sony apparently get around 65% from them)!
A lot of those physical copies will be going on ebay. By the time this game gets near 6 million it will be being heavily discounted.
I was really looking forward to this game, was going to be a day one buy. But the trailers made we wait for reviews from people who's opinions I trust. Now I'll wait for it to enter PS Plus.

@Fiendish-Beaver
That’s a lot of words to more or less overlook Wolverine’s shortcomings and blame the discourse around it on Sony’s recent actions 😉.
Since we speculate, I’ll have a go too, – When GOW Laufey launches and it’ll score a 90-93 on metacritic, the whole narrative around the overly harsh treatment of Wolverine will be well and truly buried. As it should be. Oh and Sony will pretend to listen on the physical debacle and just march on like is nobody’s business 😀.

It's just a very average game.

With a critical eye, I’m finding Wolverine pretty mediocre but I think it’s also been unfairly piled on, with most discussions I’ve seen around it (scent trails, linearity etc.) distracting from its real issues (bugs, development cost etc.). It also does a bunch of things really well and I’m having fun slicing up baddies as Wolverine, which is what most of the audience buying this is looking to do. Hopefully it sells just well enough to assuage Sony while also sending the message that they can probably do better.

I just can't get that 'hands-off' motorcycle section out of my head. It's wild that such a thing even exists, especially for a game of this budget and price.

People here act like they have vested interest in the game, lol. You all do realize you get nothing whether game makes it or not, right?

@Grumblevolcano Woof. That’s a weak year of nominees. Personally, I’d take Little Big Planet 3 over all of them. I’d argue 2014 is realistically one of the weakest years in gaming. I mean, a demo (PT) was definitely the best thing released that year by a country mile.

Do you remember when all these different sites were talking about how Ghost of Yotei probably didn’t do too well and then Sony finally spoke up and it did really big numbers?

I always regret reading comments on any wolverine news, it’s like there’s people being paid to just leave negative comments under them (they obviously aren’t but the fact that it’s so consistent is so weird, they’re ALWAYS there) and it’s so overwhelming that i don’t even bother defending the game i’m just gonna quietly enjoy it and ignore those people that never played it say how much it sucked

I'll hopefully get it for Christmas if it goes on sale.

To be fair, why would YOU be worried?

@get2sammyb "It'd be a huge concern for one of Sony's best studios if this completely bombed no?"
You're totally right. What rubbed people the wrong way is the tone of the article. I can see you were trying to present a balanced and nuanced perspective, but it ended up sounding overly defensive and corporate bootlicking.

@Rich33
Personally, I think that rushing a game is just silly, but each to their own I suppose.
Agreed. I can understand game reviewers doing it since it’s their job to finish as many games as they can. Or in the 2nd or 3rd playthrough for speedrun trophies or personal record. But outside that, there’s no urgency to quickly finish the 1st playthrough especially for games that require 10, 15, or above 20 hours to finish. By rushing down, not just people will feel burnout faster but they’ll turn video games from a fun hobby into a chore.

@PuppetMaster
Completely agree – and you are right, I was referring to a 1st playthrough, as opposed to a 2nd or 3rd.

unless it sells 4-5m+ copies in the first month, it will be considered a grave disappointment for sony. this game is as mainstream as it gets after all. the ps5 adoption rate is now TWICE what it was when spiderman 2 released and yet wolverine can barely muster half of those sales… that’s bad to be sure. it might barely squeeze a profit in the end, but sony is not in the business of peanut revenue. the risk won’t be worth it next time around. there is no way to sugarcoat this: the game was a critical disappointment and the sales reflect that. in part, this end result is due to superhero fatigue, in addition to the luckewarm reception from influencers and the game being objectively mediocre and in that 6/10 or 7/10 territory by most accounts. day’s gone wasn’t much worse and got its sequel pulled by sony without hesitation.

I mean 1.9 – 2.1 million x 70 is still a hefty chunk of change.

Just kinda looked bad to me. Like a game for someone who was hit in the head with a shovel recently. Modern games hold your hand but this one was just so over the top with it

when a game is negatively received by many it’s a problem. but when a game is glazed to hell and back, it’s not a problem.
toxic positivity at its finest

I’m not worried because I’m not an employee of the studio and don’t have a financial stake in Sony…
I am left wondering why you are concerned one way or the other.

I picked the Game up brand new for £57 (disk copy) and I really don’t understand why so many people hate this game? My only major criticism is, its a 3d fighting game, with very basic combat at the start but as you go though and upgrade and unlock new moves the fighting really starts to shine. Apart from that I’ve been really enjoying it and looking forward doing a Game+ run with all the moves unlocked from the start. I’d be more worried if I worked on Gears of War E-day, as according to the internet and the angry YouTubers (so must be true 😉) it has been a massive bomb.

Bundles games and targeted holiday sales won’t count towards the 6m figure needed to keep the marvel franchise license.

@somnambulance
Hopefully soft sales get Sony making games that have lower budgets, shorter development times, and sell for a better price to consumers
This is never as simple as “just make lower budget games”.
Games with lower budget doesn’t always translate to shorter development time. For example, Silksong took 7 years to finished and Mina the Holower took 6 years to finished. Meanwhile Wolverine took 5 years to finished despite the budget easily obliterated both games.
And games with cheaper price also doesn’t always translate to better sales numbers. For example; Puppeteer and Tearaway Unfolded both launch at $40 and Gravity Rush remastered launch at $30. But all of them was a flop despite they got very positive reviews.
If Sony start focusing on small-AA games then studios with hundreds of employees like ND, Insomniac, Guerilla, Sucker Punch, and Santa Monica would layoff probably 60-70% of their employees. Making small budget / AA games doesn’t need hundreds of people nor advanced mocap tech.
@OmegaStriver Yeah i remembered that. A lot of people, grifters and some commenters in here, they eat a big humble pie when the news dropped that Yotei sold well and exceeded Sony expectation.

lol my thoughts about this article are split themselves. On one hand, how is selling over 2 million in two weeks horrendous? I know it’s a marvel game, but especially considering the bad press and word of mouth you’d think it could be worse. Those games selling 5 million or whatever in a week are not the norm at all, and should not be looked at as the only worthwhile games.
On the other hand, Sammy, your writing here is the weirdest type of cope, where you are trying to provide context but using examples that don’t stick.
All this to say, it’s not doing gangbusters but it’s not doing terrible either. Unless I am missing something or the number is sounding better in my head than it actually is? I guess I’ll have to recall the early ghost of yotei trajectory as a more recent comparison in their lineup

It’s wolverine. All they had to do was make the game more raw and masculine. No hint of soft ethos plaguing western studios. Looking at their staff today I know that they are incapable of making a title like that. People surprised by this are the same people surprised by IPs that should be an easy sell which don’t get the targets that studios had in mind. The estimates aren’t bad by the way as there are always people whom are on auto intake mode whom see an IP name they know and will buy. Not everyone is plugged into the net all the time and aware of reviews from games.

I predicted this would be soft.
So will Not-God of War, mark these words.

@opo02 ghosts had a tiny budget compared to wolverine. Selling 5 million copies of wolverine still wouldn’t be break even. Sony will lose the marvel license after all is said and done. No amount of cope will change the facts.
What people seem to be ignoring is that Sony have absolutely destroyed the good will they had with gamers doing into this generation. It’s now starting to catch up with them. Record revenues obviously paint a slight different picture but that’s just a lagging indicator imo.
@Dogbreath I don’t think Sony will
Have one smash hit this generation. Or certainly not for the rest of the generation! It’s time for people to start being honest with themselves about the state of Sony.

I wonder if the Xbox website talk this much about sales of an exclusive game as push square does with Sony games. Anyways, I think over 2 millions copies in 2 weeks is a great number considering the bad press and competition from Capcom and Dawn Walker. The headline should have read "It was a Great Month for video games in September " instead of trying to minimize the achievement.

@PuppetMaster
Suckere Punch proved with GOY that it's entirely possible for studios to deliver a great current gen game without going crazy on the budget. And they achieved that with less than 300 employees, just below 240 actually over a 3 – 5 years period. Objectively it's a better game than Wolverine too.

@Littlebigmatador
I yet to see anything sales related for Gears E-day, so no. 🤷

@PSXB Yotei has plenty of empty looking fields and no over the top set pieces. And Yotei also a sequel that reused a lot of assets from Tsushima, which still took 5 years for SP to finished the game.
I say, objectively, both Yotei and Wolverine are good games. But to say one is better than the other is just not right considering they’re a completely different game. One is an open world samurai game that focus on grounded setting while the other is a linear superhero game with over the top action and set pieces. It’s apples and oranges.
Btw i never say it’s completely not possible to do AAA game with less budget and people. There’s case like Yotei or Alan Wake 2 but they’re an outlier not the norm. And each Sony studios has their own creative direction and goals. I don’t think one studio should mimic other studios working process, not when they have different creative direction.

@Fiendish-Beaver it’s not just in vogue. The backlash isn’t going anywhere unless Sony changes course on it’s all digital plans and starts to release good games again. They got way too aggressive with trying to force players into their planned monopolized ecosystem but it ain’t happening. People have way too many good options to settle for Sony’s greed and complacency and if they don’t realize it and start to respect and understand their customers again they’re toast.

Why would anyone worry about this unless they worked for Sony/Insomniac or were a shareholder?
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment…

Disappointment as Kingdom Hearts PS5 Pulls Back Platinum Trophies
Hello darkness my old friend

Sony Seemingly Ends VR Ambitions by Selling Patents to Meta
End of an era

Delta Force Celebrates Its Second Anniversary with New Season Reorientation
Gameplay tweaks, new maps, modes and even more content are coming to Delta Force

‘In No Way Do I Agree’: Vincent D’Onofrio Defends God of War Laufey Star from Online Hate
Daredevil costar speaks up

Poll: Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Essential Games for October 2026?
Plus or minus?
Game Profile
Title:
Marvel’s Wolverine
System:
PlayStation 5
Publisher:
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer:
Insomniac Games
Genre:
Action, Adventure
Players:
1
Release Date:
PlayStation 5
Reviews:
Marvel’s Wolverine (PS5) – The Ultimate Wolverine Simulator
Guide:
Marvel’s Wolverine Guide: 100% Collectibles Walkthrough
Buy Store Wallet Top Up: