Dragon Age: The Veilguard's European Launch Sales Fall Short of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Hoping Astro bot returns to the top seller list during the holidays. Game deserves to sell a ton.

I'm really enjoying the game, has to be said. I'm over 130 hours in now. There are occasionally a few questionable bits of writing, perhaps, but I think that comes from not being able to be a dark or evil protagonist, which is a little disappointing. However I don't think the story really lends itself to that style of play anyway.

The only issue that I really have with the game is the truly unnecessary hints as to how to solve puzzles. The accompanying characters pipe-up all the time with hints even when the solution is absolutely flaming obvious!

You would think from all the discourse around the game that it was absolutely terrible, but it really isn't...

@Fiendish-Beaver GoW Ragnarok had the same issue with puzzles, and that eventually got patched. Maybe there’s hope for Veilguard.

@Fiendish-Beaver Unfortunately it's one of those games that became the new target of culture war. In a year or two I think more people will come around and like the game, same as TLOU Part 2.

@Fiendish-Beaver same here! I’ve recently played ME legendary, and I am of the opinion that BioWare has had a penchant for corny writing and dialogue for decades, even if DA cranks the dial on that a bit. That said the gameplay and exploration bits I feel were done pretty well in DAV and have been having a blast with build crafting despite the game’s warts

How is Hogwarts Legacy (21 months old) out selling two big new Nintendo Releases, a new Dragon Age and Silent Hill 2.

I honestly think DA:V is a really polished and well made game with a solid story and gameplay. It's a shame that games like this end up as a target. Veilguard, Rebirth and Alan Wake 2 deserve better success than they've received.

@Fiendish-Beaver it's a genuinely fun game. Really been enjoying my time with it too. I agree with a lot of the criticism I've heard but they feel blown out of proportion.

This is what happens when it takes you 10 years to make a sequel (and you release some duds in the meanwhile). People lose trust and interest.

wow, does this mean everybody on earth has finally now purchased Mario kart 8? haha

@MeanBeanEgg I'll never like TLoU2. Nothing to do with culture war nonsense, for me. I hated the narrative choices made and hated what was done to Ellie and Joel. The first game I treasure and adore.

@UltimateOtaku91
Dont know, but I really liked the game, so I am happy.

Have been really enjoying DAV.
Its not perfect, and so far (ive not completed it yet) Pushsquares 8/10 seems the right score, but the game is really quite good.

The hate this game got from a loud minority is shameful.

I got the platinum for DA:V the other day and loved my time with it. While there is some cringey dialogue, a lot of it is actually fantastic. Some is actually peak BioWare. It’s a shame this game got flack because it’s a solid game. It came out fully polished, with hardly any bugs. The combat is really fun and dynamic, and adds a lot of flexibility. The ending stretch is fantastic, with great story moments, and genuine consequences similar to Mass Effect 2’s suicide run. The companion quests are quite great and well developed over time. Side quests are good, and exploration is rewarding. There are so many positives for this game, even if people don’t like the writing or the characters. The overall package is wonderful. At its core it’s a good game. Yet STALKER 2 releases and everyone seems more forgiving of its issues (understandably so, considering the war), and I don’t get it. Oh well, I’m excited for that game as well.

@riceNpea yes. I wanted TLoU 2, not Ride to Hell Retribution 2, i.e. a lame revenge story that lacks all the components of TLoU 1 that raised it above its painfully average 3rd person shooter combat.

Same with DA:V - I wanted a gritty western RPG, not a game with Saturday morning cartoon dialogue aimed at 12 year old girls.

I have zero time for the those claiming the games are being attacked for culture war reasons. They are the ones turning it into a culture war issue, I’m merely pointing to objectively demonstrated design changes from previous titles.

Subjectively one can like or dislike those changes, but the fact they exist is objectively undeniable. Disliking those changes is not a culture war stance.

I shall buy my copy of Veilguard, once I get paid next week. I shall buy the Xbox version.

Only because I have all of the other Dragon Age games on Xbox.

I am not certain that Veilguard is going to be quite as good as Inquisition, but I want to play it, with an open mind, to find out.

The trailer was cartoonish, and the dialogue sounds cheesy, but the videos of actual gameplay look amazing.

And Hogwarts Legacy is still selling well, I see, over a year after release. Let’s hope that Veilguard is as good as Hogwarts.

Go woke go broke seems to be a thing

@ChimpMasta totally agree. People trying to make it part of a 'culture war', I really don't get how they can be so easily influenced. A bad story is a bad story. If they like it, that's fine, I don't point at some existential crisis as the only reason why they like it, though I disagree strongly.

So a multiplatform game has sold 21% less units across Europe than a PS5 exclusive which itself (unfortunately) underperformed.

Is the world now done pretending that Veilguard was a success, or do we have to wait until EA begrudgingly admits they lost over $100 million on it?

@riceNpea Okay? I'm talking in general more people seem to like TLOU Part 2 now, even the ones who hated it at first. I'm not talking about you specifically.

Love the game and platted it. I know about the hate with a particular companion storyline. I felt it was forced too. But, it's a game 😀 A rather good one.

Shame as its a great game, easily the best one since the first one..

I'm definitely not part of the "modern audience " and I think the game is fine. Sure, it's not like the other games in the series but I really don't mind the change. I'm only in chapter 1 as I'm waiting to finish Ys 9 first before I get into it but I wanted to support the devs so I bought it on release day.

@Nem This is a new entry to the series I think that response is a bit nonsense.

@somnambulance The dialogue and characterization is rather juvenile, they did away with a lot of the gore and pushed the art style in a distinctly Disney direction while the gameplay has shifted towards accessible ARPG fair. If anything, the marketing reflects the overall design choices quite well.

I opted to pick it up on Steam instead of PS to draw my own conclusions, and unfortunately refunded it for the above reasons. Modern Bioware just isn't for me.

I maybe wrong in this, @Matthewnh, but I think there is a way of using your character from Inquisition, or something similar, in Veilguard, so you are best to stick to the same platform. Maybe worth looking into it...

@Fiendish-Beaver

I get the feeling that many years have passed between the two games. I doubt that the Inquisitor plays any significant part in the events of the new game.

But perhaps there is a way to set out previous choices and backstory? Even for the sake of continuity. Some of the events of Inquisition must still have consequences, or else why bother?

But I agree, I shall stick with the same platform, once next week comes around.

@MeanBeanEgg you directly attributed people not liking TLoU2 to some culture war, so you were talking about me even if you were generalising. That's the thing with throwing out generalisations willy nilly as if it's the sole reason, you end up including a majority of people who don't fit into such a reductive narrative.

@Weez
Disneyish? You'd be quite happy for young kids to play it then?
Some of the dialogue imo was too nice, but thats a stretch lol
It wasn't about rainbows, princesses or primary colours.

@Fiendish-Beaver The discourse around Veilguard has been absolutely out of line. I enjoyed my time with it earning the plat.

@Michael2008ish The art style. Disney-ish, as in overly saturated and noticeably stylized - not my first choice for dark fantasy...

It wasn't about rainbows, no, which is what made the tone, characterization and general dialogue choices so frustrating. They where fundamentally at odds with the story (and series), undermining any actual sense of severity. I personally found it unengaging as a result, and found myself disliking characters in a short span of time. Rook included, largely due to the bland, toothless dialogue choices, at which point I figured it wasn't for me.

@weez
I could easily point out such problems with a hello lot of games.
But they're games mate. Entertainment. It entertained me for what it was.
If you'd like to create your ideas, I'm interested 😀

This game sold well enough because dragon age is a popular IP. Not surprised how it has done considering that most consumers blindly will buy a new release from [insert IP here]. As most people don’t do research or are in the know. I am one of those people whom don’t buy games or movies if they fail my standards, having the wrong ethos.

@Michael2008ish Sure thing, it's an opinion. It didn't entertain me, so I refunded it.

With 3 multi-plat titles and one PS exclusive under my belt, albeit in a more technical role, I'd like to think I've had a hand in creating something...

It should have done a lot better tbh. This game was inspiring to me. It made me come to terms with my inner feelings and now my bottom surgery is booked for next week! I hope Bioware continue down this path of quality writing to inspire my kids when they grow up.

@riceNpea you should play it one more time as I think you'd relate to both Lev's and Abby's biceps and I guess the male form in general.

If they didn't focus the writing on pandering to 1% of the global population, the game would be performing better. The recent election is a clear indication that most people don't care about that 1%

Wait a second, didn't you guys publish an article a while back stating that Dragon Age sales were keeping pace with Dragon's Dogma 2 and Rebirth? Now you're saying it sold less than those two? Which is it?

I bought it on release and sank a pleasant enough 20 or so hours into it, before downloading ‘Dragon Age: Inquisition’ to replay, I couldn’t go back to it after.

It’s just a very shallow, hollow shell of a game. It’s fun enough, but dated level design, lightbeam puzzle galore, and companions that range from blander than bare bread to actively annoying.

I didn’t unlock everyone, maybe the last two companions are great, or the story kicks up a gear, but what I played was aggressively mediocre.

@ATaco Clearly Rebirth and Dogma suddenly sold another few million in the past few days, right? 😂

@Weez
They are your creative ideas, along with the guys you work with.
But I think you were too harsh with the Disney comparison. There wasn't ever an option to be a cu.. in any meaningful way, but it was light entertainment.