3 days before AC Shadows

[Skyfall_25]

Unknown Bohemian Peasant vs Legendary Black Samurai.


Who will win?

[EricHVela]

It's less about the protagonists and more about the game series.

KCD was solid. AC has become much less solid over its lifetime.

So, the question becomes: Does a solid start make KCD2 more appealing than a recent history of weaker games?

[Legato Bluesummers]

Considering their sales trajectory, warhorse had a ton of late traction, even selling 2 million copies this year alone. I think its safe to say the sequel will do really well. I finally got around to playing it and i was very impressed. I hope they continue to refine the various mechanics and add to them. Im looking forward to KCD2 more than any other game

[Honey Bun]

I feel like the AC games have been getting worse and worse. Black Flag is probably the best out of all of them.

[EricHVela]

Originally posted by Honey Bun:

I feel like the AC games have been getting worse and worse. Black Flag is probably the best out of all of them.

I was really enjoying AC4, but just before I finished the hideout, a corrupted save that was synchronized with Uplay (as it was called back then) ended that career. It took so long to get a boat ship, and I just can't seem to get through enough to get back on the high seas.

One autosave file only on PC is such a gamble when so many things can go wrong on PCs that consoles don't have to consider.

(At least, KCD has Saviour Schnapps and multiple autosaves. It seems to me that someone knows how to balance irrevocable consequences against risks of PC gaming, unlike Ubisoft back then.)

At this time, KCD2 is the most tempting for me to break my oath against pre-ordering anything ever. Some other recent games that still remain unpurchased started with high interest at their initial announcement, and I lost all interest before their releases the more I learned. KCD2 has been the opposite with initial meager interest that just kept growing. I still won't pre-order, but I'm confident that I will get the game.

[zpc]

Bohemian Peasant by a wide margin because he has nothing to do with Ubisoft.

[EricHVela]

If the two protagonists were facing each other (instead of focusing on the games):

I'm going to assume they're both at maximum skills.

I think it depends on whether the AC character will broadcast the attacks and will be able to block in different ways.

Whoever broadcasts the attacks has a disadvantage. Hank (Henry/Hal) does. It seems that Yasume does not. +1 to Yasume.

Whoever can block in multiple ways has an advantage. Hank can do that. It seems that Yasume does not. +1 to Hank.

Where is the battle happening? That plays into what each character can use during a fight.

Places to hide? +Yasume.

Chaotic battlefield? +Hank.

High ground? Conditional on the kind of high ground and weapon choice.

Yasume will likely be geared towards fighting NPCs that are less-abled and tin-foil, which Hank seems geared to NPCs with nearly the same capabilities as Hank and are tougher (at normal and higher difficulties). This kinda favors Hank if the two are on equal footing. Hank's advantage ends if Yasume can hide and quickly get out-of-reach.

Hank would have no experience against the fabled discipline of a samurai (which is what AC will likely lean toward). This is a big disadvantage for Hank.

So in a one-on-one fight, Hank is the less likely victor than Yasume, but Yasume won't have it easy.

(Canonically, Henry's nickname is Hal. Where I'm from, Hank is the more common nickname for Henry and Hal is the common nickname for Harold.)

[Carlos]

I kindda worry KCD2 will get drowned by all the buzz (probably mostly negative, but still) around Shadows. AC is a much, much bigger brand with much higher media profile.

[Sirius Black]

Look at the DA:Veilguard sells. The game is a woke trash, but many people bought it anyway because it has a label of Dragon Age. The same thing will happen to AC:Shadows. KC: Deliverance is a hardcore RPG and I would say it's niche. Not for everyone.

[EricHVela]

Originally posted by Carlos:

I kindda worry KCD2 will get drowned by all the buzz (probably mostly negative, but still) around Shadows. AC is a much, much bigger brand with much higher media profile.

Many times, a slow burn works better than a flash in the pan.

If someone can manage a long-lasting wildfire (BG3), that's the best one can hope, but what ignites that is completely unpredictable so far.

[Skyfall_25]

Originally posted by EricHVela:

If the two protagonists were facing each other (instead of focusing on the games):

I'm going to assume they're both at maximum skills.

I think it depends on whether the AC character will broadcast the attacks and will be able to block in different ways.

Whoever broadcasts the attacks has a disadvantage. Hank (Henry/Hal) does. It seems that Yasume does not. +1 to Yasume.

Whoever can block in multiple ways has an advantage. Hank can do that. It seems that Yasume does not. +1 to Hank.

Where is the battle happening? That plays into what each character can use during a fight.

Places to hide? +Yasume.

Chaotic battlefield? +Hank.

High ground? Conditional on the kind of high ground and weapon choice.

Yasume will likely be geared towards fighting NPCs that are less-abled and tin-foil, which Hank seems geared to NPCs with nearly the same capabilities as Hank and are tougher (at normal and higher difficulties). This kinda favors Hank if the two are on equal footing. Hank's advantage ends if Yasume can hide and quickly get out-of-reach.

Hank would have no experience against the fabled discipline of a samurai (which is what AC will likely lean toward). This is a big disadvantage for Hank.

So in a one-on-one fight, Hank is the less likely victor than Yasume, but Yasume won't have it easy.

(Canonically, Henry's nickname is Hal. Where I'm from, Hank is the more common nickname for Henry and Hal is the common nickname for Harold.)

I was actually trying to be dramatic and attempt something along the lines of a UFC fight announcement.

But your analysis was a joy to read.

[Skyfall_25]

Originally posted by zpc:

Bohemian Peasant by a wide margin because he has nothing to do with Ubisoft. :lunar2020ratinablanket:

Review wise (Gamer reviews not journos') KCD2 will be a hit. But in total number of unit's sold ACS will win. However considering Ubisofts financial situation, the game may still disappoint financially. Warhorse however has a clear winner on their hands.

[Skyfall_25]

Originally posted by Legato Bluesummers:

Considering their sales trajectory, warhorse had a ton of late traction, even selling 2 million copies this year alone. I think its safe to say the sequel will do really well. I finally got around to playing it and i was very impressed. I hope they continue to refine the various mechanics and add to them. Im looking forward to KCD2 more than any other game

Warhorse will make a lot of money on this. I see Space Marine 2 level of success at the minimum.

[Purpleetea]

Originally posted by Skyfall_25:

Originally posted by zpc:

Bohemian Peasant by a wide margin because he has nothing to do with Ubisoft. :lunar2020ratinablanket:

Review wise (Gamer reviews not journos') KCD2 will be a hit. But in total number of unit's sold ACS will win. However considering Ubisofts financial situation, the game may still disappoint financially. Warhorse however has a clear winner on their hands.

lol oh my sweet summer child. Imagine thinking shadows sell more over this :) There is no way in hell this will happen

[EricHVela]

Originally posted by Purpleetea:

Originally posted by Skyfall_25:

Review wise (Gamer reviews not journos') KCD2 will be a hit. But in total number of unit's sold ACS will win. However considering Ubisofts financial situation, the game may still disappoint financially. Warhorse however has a clear winner on their hands.

lol oh my sweet summer child. Imagine thinking shadows sell more over this :) There is no way in hell this will happen

I think the claim is made in good faith with some examples in the past 12+ months of bad games that sold really well. All that distributors want these days is to get games into people's hands since so many of the most severe critics don't show that they refunded (or couldn't refund).

Once a game starts to sell, it seems many people want to buy it even if it's a terrible game. Name dropping a series title is a great way to kick off those initial sales that start an avalanche. KCD has one existing game in its series. AC has plenty, even if many are mediocre or less than. That series name carries a lot of good will even if no longer deserved.

So, it's very possible that Shadows can outsell KCD2, but that is no measure of which game is better and is not a guarantee that Shadows will profit as well as KCD2, either.

[Legato Bluesummers]

Im kinda surprised warhorse isnt self publishing the sequel but even still, their margins should be a lot better than ubisofts monsterous bloat. I have long suspected ubisoft was lying to their shareholders bc in their financials they claim 80% or so of their profits come from their PC App, which doesnt sound right to me. Given the delay and amount of labor, even if ac shadows overperforms and outsells KCD2, the profit will be much lower. Im thinking KCD2 will hit 150k peak if not more