
Rise of the Ronin attracted largely muted reviews at launch, but like so many games that are overlooked by critics, it’s garnered a cult following. Many now believe this release is underrated – especially after public opinion has soured on the title that overshadowed it, Dragon’s Dogma 2. The good news for creator Koei Tecmo is that it is its best-selling title to date.
That’s according to director Fumihiko Yasuda, who stopped short of sharing any specific sales numbers with Japanese publication Denfaminico Gamer. Considering the game only launched in March on a single platform, that’s actually an impressive result, and Koei Tecmo will feel positive about the future, which is likely to include a PC port and discounts.
Do you think Rise of the Ronin deserves this success? Were you impressed with the open world action game when it launched? Draw your sword in the comments section below.
[source news.denfaminicogamer.jp, via gamingbolt.com]
Comments 47
Push Square 6/10....
Thats sekiro
Give it another 6 months - 1 year and this will be one of those games that everyone claims is an "underrated gem". Glad to hear it did well, although I wouldn't say no to a Nioh 3.
@Kanji-Tatsumi Nioh 3, that would be a dream come true for me too!
@Kraaatos Hahahaha! Whoops! Rookie error — fixed! Thanks for spotting!
@Kanji-Tatsumi To be honest, I think it's already reached that status from what I see.
@Zeke68
That's because it is.
Nobody cares about sales except for fanboys.
People should care about quality for once instead of defending these crappy games we're littered with
Totally deserved. Way better open-world game than yet another Assassin's Creed or FFVII fanfiction.
Why has "public opinion soured on DD2"? I feel like I missed something...
I really enjoyed this game! It wasn’t to difficult but the story and the gameplay was so satisfying
Happy to see it doing well, they kind of needed a win after Wo Long sold poorly. And I think Nioh 2 hadn't done so hot either, which is a crying shame because that one's fantastic and a big improvement over the first.
So yeah, good to see Koei Tecmo on the up and up.
Nicely done. I'm looking forward to playing Rise of the Ronin, but I have a few games standing in the way first.
bbbbut eXcLuSiVeS aRe BaD tHo… 🤬
Really want to play this game hopefully get it for a B-day present in a few months
@Specky Or perhaps many people just disagree with you about the quality of the game. There is no one truth, not critical review scores, not sales numbers and not even user reviews. The truth is always somewhere in the middle, but what is clear is that game has managed to find a signifcant audience.
i'm considering buying it now that is on sale
Looking at NPD march & april where Rise of the Ronin at 5th and 11th, then at 5th in the first week release for UK while it still lingering at top 10-20 in Japan (it sold 113K copies as of May), i guess it's safe to assume the game either at 500K or pass those numbers.
But hey, congrats to KT. This is another success collaboration with Sony after Nioh 1 & 2 sold 7 million copies combine as of october 2022.
Sounds like BS to me. This already sold 3 million copies? Why haven’t they said actual sales?
The game doesn't really need to make a huge buzz around the internet for it to be successful enough. Considering that it's a new IP from Team Ninja, I'd say this is still great news. Congrats to the devs. Bought it earlier this month and was really having fun with it while taking a break from Nioh 2.
Very much a bog standard Ubi style open world but it has that comfort food style feel to it. I'm glad its done well.
Grr people need to go show dynasty warriors some love 😅
@colonelkilgore Good God, the rise of that narrative after Phil Spencer's hypocritical prattling is so irritating.
@Shad361 I don't think it's BS and possibly have to do with Sony as the publisher who's not yet let the developers say the official sales numbers for whatever reasons.
Like Helldivers 2 for example. Arrowhead never say the exact numbers and Sony themself only said "it's surpassing the record set by God of War Ragnarök in the same period after its release in 2022".
Or Stellar Blade where Shift Up only said it's selling well and surpassing their expectations despite we saw the game was no 1 at NPD april and 2nd best selling title in PS Store April.
@Ainu20
Just the same that this site and many other places/ gamers can give it a mediocre score.
It's the type of game I'd buy on sale. Tsushima I got on day 1.
They're immensely different in quality, it's clear as day. It selling lots of copies is good for the publisher and not a counter argument for the review score as it was presented
My point was that people always, for some goddamn reason, defend mediocrity instead of championing for better. Very strange
@Specky that's because we know that quality is subjective. I had the most fun with some games that are considered mediocre, but were awesome to play.
@Specky Well you can't exactly expect every game to be a masterpiece but the general consensus is the game is still good and that's enough for most people.
I’m glad it’s their best selling game. I enjoyed my 60+ hours with it, and got the platinum trophy. With that said, the further I got into the game the more I grew somewhat sour on it. The open world was great to be honest (I like the check list stuff) and I liked how the game was separated by regions and collectibles the more you progress so you weren’t constantly feeling overwhelmed. But it was the characters — the ungodly amount of them — and the inconsistent story that really turned me off on the game. I’m hoping they will take a more linear approach in the future, but considering the success this game has, I doubt that will be the case.
@Voltan mostly the game design. Very hit or miss where people either love the gameplay loop or absolutely hate it. Months after launch and it still has a Mixed Steam Rating.
@Specky It's not "clear as day". Quality is not a measurable fact in video games. People aren't defending mediocrity, they're defending something they've found value in.
And saying it's only good for the publisher is a bit reductive. If you enjoy something, you'd like to see its creators get rewarded by recognition and commercial success, that's only normal.
@Specky So you are really calling me "fanboy"? for liking a game that I think was 9.5/10??!!
I didn't read anything after "fanboy" but I'm sure you put all your braincells to work to come up with somethng witty.
I played Rise Of The Ronin on hardest difficulty from day one. Platinumed it in 6 days and played through most of the story on Midnight difficulty when I unlocked it.
How much have you played it to say I'm wrong to have my own opinion??!! I LOVE THE GAME!! Deal with it.
This is great news and well deserved. Ronin is by far my favourite game on the PS5. The way it recreates famous places, buildings, and figures from the Bakumatsu period in Japanese history is absolutely brilliant! The variety of weapons and fighting styles in this game is also incredible and actually spoiled my experience with Stellar Blade somewhat because it made the latter’s combat feel so dull and limited in comparison.
Unfortunately I feel a lot Ronin’s charm and finer details (such as the regional dialects spoken by the huge cast of characters in the game) will be under appreciated or go completely unnoticed by the players unless they’re Japanese or have a keen interest in Japan. Indeed, since watching the preview for the new Assassin’s Creed my respect for Team Ninja and what they achieved with Ronin has only grown.
But exclusive games on the PlayStation platform don't sell. 🤣
@Zeke68 Some people can't believe that your own opinion is not law and that you can love something that others find mediocre. We all have a different taste it's shocking to some.
I’m definitely getting this at some point but have only just started FF7 Rebirth which will keep me busy for quite a while.
Koei Tecmo have some games that are really underrated, like wild hearts, so much better than monster hunter in any aspect do you want and still dont are recognized as much. The same can be told about ninja gaiden, much better than souls games, hard games with actualy good gameplay instead of minecraft like characters that from put in their games. Ronin already a hidden gen of this generation.
@Zeke68
The context of the article is sales. You mention the bad review as if the sales are a counter argument. That's what my comment was about. I think people should be more critical towards our games instead of attacking people who criticise. No I'm not saying you're attacking, just in general.
You have all the power in the world to enjoy it as I'm sure I will too when I pick it up on sale.
@Ainu20
Maybe harsh as I'm interested in this game and will eventually pick it up, but if it looked any better I would've gotten day one.
Quality is definitely measurable though. The quality of voice acting, storytelling/ writing, animations, gamedesign (no boring fetch quests or typical other stuff). It's all measurable in comparison to other games.
If you gave me the option of this and Tsushima for the same price I'd go for Tsushima any day.
You can see the difference in budget. Tsushima has more style, the horse, walking/ running and fighting animations are top tier and more fluent. They're definitely not big, so of course I won't hate on it, but criticism should be fine. It's our own money.
@Voltan Because after the hype comes the honesty. The true review of a game is how it stands up after the commercial pandering, purchase bias and graphics craze's pass.
From what i understand DD2 is repetitive, disrespects your time (aka makes it boring) and performs badly. Story is apparently not great either and it wasn't an evolution of the series as it was more of the same.
Not saying it's bad, but those are the issues that creep up from what i heard and i can understand people getting disenchanted once the dust settles.
Just waiting for them to fix those framerate issues before I buy....
I playing it right now and having so much fun. Which they patched the performance and graphic a bit
7 out of 10....platinumed it ...can't remember the story really atall...gameplay average
Well deserved! It's a great game. Well-written and vastly customisable, with an excellent combat system and oddly cozy open world that respects the players time. This generation's Days Gone IMO.
It’s gonna be Days Gone all over again, people love it, but sites like this said it’s not god enough for a sequel
@Nem
Exactly, and by all reports from everyone I know.....It's a 0/10 and none will buy it nor play it....
@Nem I see. I never played it myself but I mostly remember the initial awe in the game's mechanics, the "immersive sim" kinda gameplay etc. But it makes sense that that alone can only keep you excited for so long.
It's an okay game. Nothing more. I just want a new Ninja Gaiden game.
That is because sword fights is fun. I don't have a PS5 to play the game, so I can't say if this is fun. But I like sword fighting games. Or any melee combat games.
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