GameDaily
The most popular weapon-based fighting game series on the planet returned and hundreds of thousands of copies sold in just a few days. We talk with Namco Bandai about the results.
by David Radd on Thursday, August 28, 2008
Fighting games are a tough sell these days. Unless you've got a well established franchise like Street Fighter or Dead or Alive or a popular anime series (like Naruto) it's hard to drum up any support for your game. Fortunately, for fighting game fans, sequels in established franchises are common if not frequent.
Enter SoulCalibur IV. The latest full-on fighting game is an incremental update in every sense of the word, not revolutionizing a system that's proven successful in the past. It's the first next-gen (really current gen) entry for the series, and that fact along with online play seem to have attracted consumers by the truckload.
We talked to Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Namco Bandai Games America, about transcending history and the world.
Thousands search for the Soul swords
According to the NPD, the two SKUs (PS3 & Xbox 360) for SoulCalibur IV ranked sixth and ninth overall for the month of July. Both versions of the game were the second best selling titles on their respective platforms behind NCAA Football 2009. SoulCalibur IV sold roughly 218,900 units on Xbox 360 and 155,800 on PS3, for a July total of roughly 375,000 units.
"The initial results have certainly been within our expectations," said Thorson. "If you look at the 'July period,' this really amounts to 3 days sales since the title launched on July 29th. Needless to say we're very pleased with how well SoulCalibur IV has sold out of the gate and are confident the game will continue to move significant numbers as the game is the top rated product that sets the standard for next generation fighting games."
Namco Bandai pulled out all of the stops for the North American release, including a Premium Edition featuring a book/comic, a tournament kit and exclusive customization content in special metal packaging. Additionally, the game included Star Wars characters Darth Vader and Yoda, drew in some consumers who would not of otherwise been interested in the game but fans of the Star Wars history. Namco Bandai already confirmed that two million copies of the game have shipped worldwide. With sales like that Soul Calibur IV might ended up as the best selling game in series' history.
"It's tricky to make direct comparisons between all the previous versions in the long standing series due to console exclusivity, differing installed bases and platform lifecycles," responded Thorson. "The closest comparison is to Soul Calibur II, the hit title from 2003, which was released for the Xbox, GameCube and PS2. We are achieving results on par with this mega hit title which went on to become the highest rated, and highest regarded fighting game of all time. Overall, the SoulCalibur franchise has sold well over 5 million units in the U.S. alone."
"With SoulCalibur II, we started a tradition of incorporating guest characters into the series and we wanted to take it to a new level in SoulCalibur IV," he added. "The development team wanted to do something special and include characters that are world-renowned; ones they wanted to play. The Star Wars characters were an obvious choice. Their inclusion helped expand the SoulCalibur audience and enhance the complete game experience."
Soul Calibur IV
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
The fourth entry in the classic weapons-based fighting series comes to Xbox 360. In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
Namco/Bandai
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Soul Calibur IV
- GenreFighter
- Release Date07/29/2008
- PublisherNamco Bandai
- DeveloperNamco Bandai
- ESRBT - Teen
Soul Calibur IV
- GenreFighter
- Release Date07/29/2008
- PublisherNamco Bandai
- DeveloperNamco
- ESRBT - Teen
