Alan Wake 2 Seemingly Struggled To Make An Impact On Xbox In October

It’s because the gaming habits created by Microsoft pushing GamePass is that Xbox users will usually wait until any game they want releases on the service. It’s all you see now with every game… “I’ll wait until it’s on Gamepass… “

I really enjoyed the first Alan Wake on the xbox360.
Plenty of shooting action to get stuck into.
Alan Wake 2 and listened to those that played it and on this site as well.
I summed it up as a lot less action, more wandering around and investigating.

So I didn’t buy Alan Wake 2 if it had been like Alan Wake original on Xbox 360 then I would have purchased the game. The digital only thing didn’t bother me as I’m all digital anyway.

They can count me 100 times. It’s such an amazing game (easily my GoTY) and deserves more attention. Head and shoulders above the first game.

@Camble_Refuge there's that, but Game Pass also just gives people access to a lot more games so their backlog of games is probably bigger. Why pay full price for Alan Wake 2 when I have x numbers of Game Pass games I want to play, especially when AW2 will probably end up on sale in a few months, like every other game?

That's shocking - personally, it's the first time I've actually purchased a game for XBox all year

@Camble_Refuge though I would agree with that mentality for a lot of people, there’s a bit more to it than that. Alan Wake II did not rank among the top 150 titles on either PS5 or XBS.

I’m surprised it didn’t rank in the top 150 of either console. It got great reviews and it seems like so many people were looking forward to it. Maybe it’ll have legs and people will try it out later on.

I need just one of the three things below to happen before I play this game. Until then, zero interest.

1) physical copy is released
2) I find it on sale for $20 or less
3) gamepass

This would usually be a day one purchase but the last two years in gaming have been so ridiculous. My backlog includes GOW Ragnarok, Jedi Survivor, Resident Evil 4, Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Half Life Alyx and many more. Currently playing through Baldurs Gate 3. No point paying full price when you won't get to it for many months.

This is directly the result of Microsoft pushing Gamepass and making it the defacto method to play games on Xbox

This is going to be a running trend forward. And I could even see it result in less games releasing on Xbox. If there's not an agreeable Gamepass contract for the game then there's no point in a port due to expected poor sales.

That combined with the oversaturation of games people subscribed to gamepass have access to, it makes sense people aren't clamoring to spend $60 on a game. Especially when digital only releases were supposed to reduce game prices. But have done anything but.

It’s a very strange game, but I’m a bit surprised it has zero traction in USA. I’m almost done with it and I found the Alan parts to be pretty bad in comparison to Saga. This game definitely is not for everyone. It certainly would not crack my top 5 this year.

Why do people keep going on about gamepass it was the same for the PS5 didn’t make the top 150.
So there is more to it than just game pass.
The game was digital only and Alan Wake 2 is slightly a niche game as well.

People seem to be missing that it’s also not in top 150 on PS5 either. Can’t blame GamePass for that.

@InterceptorAlpha I sort of agree with you, but these big AAA games obviously aren’t going to be on GamePass day one or anytime soon so I don’t think they coincide with the theory of “waiting for GamePass”.

@Camble_Refuge yeah that's not true. I've bought plenty of games and will continue to do so, if they are on game pass or not, it's not like I'm holding out on buying a game with the hope it'll be on the service anytime in the future. If there is a game that's worth playing, I'll just go and buy it. Dead Space Remake, I knew it'll be included in the service and still bought it at release. In regards to Alan Wake 2, I wanted this game like 10 years ago, now I'm like "meh, I'll get it in a sale." So that's my two cents to your anti game pass rhetoric. But you do you and keep believing in those fairytales. ✌️

@FatalBubbles That was my point. If this is the growing trend you will see more AAA games skip out on Xbox releases.

Xbox already commands the smallest market share of any platform. Making it less appealing by the majority of users strictly playing Gamepass games will give those that don't already skip Xbox, another reason to.

It being 13 years after the initial game that didn't sell great might have something to so with it.

I like the original a lot but I think 99 out of 100 gamers today haven't touched it.

@InterceptorAlpha What I meant was, people will be more inclined to buy games they KNOW aren’t going to GamePass. I’m saying the opposite of you I think.

@InterceptorAlpha Spider-Man maybe but BG3 isn’t even in the Top 20 on PlayStation. Call of Duty MW III is actually the #1 game on both systems. Swap out Starfield and Spider-Man and the lists are pretty similar.

But sure…GamePass killed it.

That's sad news, but not at all surprising imo. No physical edition must have really hurt sales. There was no doubt some people who did not want to support digital only.

I will be buying it when they release a physical version, I enjoyed the original alan wake.

I think it's way off mark to blame gamepass for this when it has done equally bad on all platforms. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me in this instance.

@GameOverScreen Not too sure that I tagged you in my original comment, you took that very much to heart, but i am so very glad that you buy games and play games the way you want.. But, you go and have a look at 90% of the last comment sections for the whole of 2023 regarding game releases and the “I’ll wait until it’s on GamePass” comment is everywhere. So, you do you and I’ll keep my original opinion as it was, cause end of the day it’s an opinion, and amazingly I shared my opinion on a comments section. Gasp! 😱

Some really silly takes on Game Pass being the cause here.

That's a bit of an aside but Alan Wake 2 is an absolute masterpiece in gaming. The game itself is art. I preordered the deluxe edition on Xbox and will be buying a PC version soon as well.

P.S. I don't see Baldurs Gate 3 on those lists as well.

@Kaloudz Can’t see his comments now either so may have blocked me as well. Maybe GamePass ran him off too.

Wierd. I did my part and bought/played through the game.

@Camble_Refuge

It’s because the gaming habits created by Microsoft pushing GamePass is that Xbox users will usually wait until any game they want releases on the service

So how do you explain the same situation with the PS5 version then???....Total horseshit and spoken like a true (Sony) fanboy.

@Kaloudz

has my feed lagged or did you delete your comments? Or block me? 🤔

He does have form with blocking people if he looses an argument/debate😅, although I'm not sure if that's the case here.

@Sol4ris Err, I am commenting on an Xbox page, about the Xbox numbers.. I haven’t mentioned the Sony Numbers, that’s on you. I’m talking about the Xbox demograph waiting for games to be on GamePass. That ain’t Horseshit..

i tried watching alan wake two on twitch to get interested. i fell asleep and alan could never wake me up.

@Camble_Refuge

I haven’t mentioned the Sony Numbers, that’s on you. I’m talking about the Xbox demograph waiting for games to be on GamePass. That ain’t Horseshit

It is horseshit because your narrative of blaming GamePass falls flat on its face, when even on the console with almost double the install base AW2 still didn't make the ranks (sadly). Yep, horseshit.

@FatalBubbles same here. Sagas chapters and locale were more entertaining for me. I didn't really like the city chapters. It's also just outside my top 5 for the year.

Superb game ,and probably my game of the year ,guess there all waiting for it to appear on game pass ,the same will happen to baldurs gate 3 i guess.

@Kaloudz

All I know is I can see his comments when I'm logged out, but not when I'm logged in

Well friend, in that case consider yourself privileged enough to have been blocked😅😉.

I do plan on getting it...just got to much on my plate currently

@Kaloudz

I reckon the Max Payne remasters will be heavy hitters and do well for Remedy. That IP was pretty cool for its time

I love Remedy and those games are cult classics, mate👌... don't want anyone to hate me but my favourite Max Payne is 3 😁. The one developed by Rockstar.

Can’t see how Game Pass can be to blame when the game also apparently failed to make a big impact on PS5 too. It might just be because it launched so late in the month combined with lack of a physical disc edition.

I thought maybe with it's history and the nostalgia on Xbox that the players will want to support it but I guess not. Sure there's other factors that played a part but I guess that, it'll come to GamePass eventually mentality got the best of them on this one.

@Kaloudz

Haven't played 3 myself but it's on sale now on Xbox

If its a decent price, get it mate. Its pure Rockstar flair with nonstop action (in deadeye style motion of course😁) .

@Camble_Refuge "It’s because the gaming habits created by Microsoft pushing GamePass is that Xbox users will usually wait until any game they want releases on the service."

I'm definitely one of those people who generally say I'll wait until it's on Game Pass. The truth is, I have PS+ on my PS5, and GP on my XSX, as well as hundreds of owned games on PS5, XBX, Switch, and PC. I have a backlog that will last me a lifetime. I'm just not in a hurry to buy games at full price, when I know I won't likely touch them until much later in their life cycle. It also happens to work out nicely to avoid all the initial launch issues and bugs most games experience these days. I'm just being a smart consumer and have no shame in admitting that. My two cents...

I'd be tempted to say wait and see where it hits for November. Don't forget it launched right at the tail end of the month.

I hope Alan Wake 2 ends up being profitable- Remedy certainly deserves it.

The technical achievements and scaleability alone should be high commended for being viable all the way “down” to Series S.

I like that Remedy is pushing story-telling in video games. Some of it may be quirky, but I think that shows that Remedy can still have a little fun despite the horror aspect of the game.

It may not be as action-packed as other games, but I like that Remedy isn’t afraid of doing things differently. The detective work does require some “heavy lifting” as one would expect. It isn’t just highlight a few objects in a single scene and pressing A.

The story-changing mechanic does some neat things as well - it’s used for both story progression and as a way to find new secrets/world-building points.

Thematically, it isn’t afraid to make a person uncomfortable. I can think of a few instances where I thought to myself “wow, that’s messed up!”

Lastly, the audio is amazing. The way Remedy pulls you into a scene with ambient sounds from all around really works!

Right now is the eight best-selling game on Xbox.

Source: Xbox Store

@Camble_Refuge

But, you go and have a look at 90% of the last comment sections for the whole of 2023 regarding game releases and the “I’ll wait until it’s on GamePass”

But you surely can't think that the Xbox market matches the small group of people that post on gaming sites? The best-selling game on Xbox is Call of Duty Modern Warfare III since it launched. It's the same winner on PS5, but on Push Square nobody has bought the game. We are like the 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of the console market user base and there is zero correlation between us and what most people buy and play. That's why Sony fans believe that everyone is buying a PS for Spider-Man, when the reality is that they are playing Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA and sports. It's the same for Game Pass. People here think that it kills sales but the reality is that it boosts Xbox game sales overall.

The game came out on October 27th. It missed 26 days of October. If it released earlier the numbers would have been higher and thats just using basic knowledge of the situation. This must be a headline article, clickbait.

The Japanese translation of Alan Wake 1 was excellent. It was dubbed by professional voice actors and every detail was translated properly. Even the bonus book was translated in great detail. I love those days of Microsoft Japan.
Yeah, now I have to thank them for just translating the characters in a funny way.

Alan Wake 2 doesn't appeal to me at all, and I say that as someone who enjoyed the first one.

With gamepass, Microsoft rewards to buy games on sale on my wishlist and I don't usualy buy Games full price ,only exception are Nintendo Games since they rarely drop in Price. My backlog is full and my playtime is limited. I Will buy this game when the Price drop or if it comes to gamepass.

@Camble_Refuge Absolutely true. I can't count how many times I've seen people say "I never pay for games". Gamepass is great for developers that get a gamepass deal, those who don't have to compete with it.

How does that come? Oh wait, yeah, they didn't bring a Disc version!!!

I’ve been playing it on series x but just started couple days ago

@Camble_Refuge man I buy so many games on Xbox and mostly physical. I’m definitely in minority though

I bought it and l still playing, but I'm a bit disappointed. The "mind rooms" are annoying as hell and completely ruin the flow of the game. I like the style and progression but it feels more RPG and less FPS now. The first one had a great balance between the two and just seemed to flow better. I'm loving the story progression but kind of wished if waited for GP.

I didn't buy it because they have announced two dlcs coming next year. So Im waiting for an ultimate edition. I also heard there was some audio issues on release and thats a non negotiable for me.

@Banjo- people definite buy Playstation for exclusives. Yes people play COD, Fortnight, etc, but it’s the exclusive that sells the console. Even Phil Spencer said Playstation wins because has better games.

I'll be buying it over Christmas that's for sure!

I'll most likely be using Xmas monies to buy it, but may hold off as I have so many other (purchased, not GP) games still to play, so will wait til I'm ready to play it and bonus if by then it's reduced...

It's probably my age, but I like buying / 'owning' games if I like them!

It's on my list but I have a huge backlog, active games i'm playing, and "run up to christmas" is not time to be spending money games I'm not going to be playing for a while.

Interesting finger-pointing about Game Pass in an article that clearly states it didn't chart in the top 150 on either platform. It's snowing out today, must be game pass's fault too.

@Kaloudz it's game pass i tell you! spend full price on a game because i said so!

Personally i don't pay full price for a game, maybe GTA6, so the only new games i play, are on gamepass. The rest i buy at 50% discount at least, to play while i wait for another game to be discounted.

@CaptnTedo Totally agree with you.

I'd bet the problem is with advertising. Most people have no idea what Alan Wake is aside from those that played the first game. A shooter? RPG? Visual Novel? The name of the game doesn't give any info whatsoever, so the only way for the masses to consider buying it is through more exposure/advertising.