During a recent visit to our local Best Buy, we noticed that the store had started loading up for the pending arrival of Bloodborne.
Despite a few signs still touting The Order:1886, the store and Sony are starting their big push for the game and it’s release on March 24th and looks to be a dark and gritty game that will showcase the power of the PlayStation 4 system. Sony appears ready to move on from The Order:1886 which has sold well but has received mixed reviews, some very unkind and has gone all in on their new game.
Now I do understand the nature of retail in the out with the old and in with the new and as such it makes sense to push Bloodborne, but at three different Best Buy stores, I had to look to find The Order: 1886. One had minimal signage showing the Collectors Edition was in stock, but the game itself was buried in a rack. The other two locales had it nowhere with the PS4 section, not on the endcaps, but on a standee near the Wii games and mixed with other titles. Not exactly prominently displayed. I could have found a copy of Knack easier buy going straight to the PS 4 section.
Once located, most stores had 2-6 copies available.
Some analysts say that Sony has been selling record numbers of their PS4 system despite any real AAA titles and as such look to see what effect a smash AAA title would have on the pacing of their unit sales.
While the game may not be the type of content designed for mass sales, the consumer loyalty of Sony fans is strong and will likely push sales for the game upon release. As for The Order:1886 Sony will happily sell as many of them as they can, but for now, they appear ready to move on from the game. Horror films are often not screened in advance for the press as they know they will be savaged by the critical media. This has changed a bit in recent years but case in point would be “When a Stranger Calls”. The 2006 remake by Sony’s Screen Gems line was kept from the review press and thanks to it’s PG-13 rating, opened at #1 and earned a decent profit for the study. Once word of mouth got out it fell quickly and the studio moved on to other things. Good, bad, or somewhere in between Sony appears happy with the sales for The Order:1886 but I do not think they can honestly say they are ok with the reviews. As such, it’s time to move on to Bloodborne and the company is pushing ahead with it and hoping for kinder reviews and strong sales.
Sony is known for not promoting their exclusives, outside of Uncharted, so it’s no surprise if they’re already turning their backs on The Order. I haven’t seen a single TV ad for the game….or for any other PS4 game, for that matter, aside from Destiny.
We had several for The Order but they all vanished about 10 days ago so that is what I find odd. I know the new stuff always gets pushed but I have not see a title with so much push behind it drop so fast from promotions so closely after release.
In other news, retailer changes promotional material to a game that is coming soon.
Yes and in related news, very odd for a game that is three weeks and change to have pretty much all promotions for the game in store and on media ended so fast. Usually a company would push both of them.
Have you seen this TV spot?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfFk-4tk2zA&app=desktop
They just started showing that in our markets Monday. It is nice to see it getting some attention but as the article mentions it is hard to find any in-store promotions for it anywhere.