There’s a lot I liked about the Order: 1886, the debut PlayStation 4 game from master of the PSP, Ready at Dawn. It’s still one of the best looking games available for any system right now, with a great, admittedly underexplored alternative universe. There’s also a lot about the game I didn’t like – like its lack of character, lack of player agency and humdrum gameplay. The game hasn’t sold as well as Sony or Ready at dawn are likely to admit. According to notoriously wishy-washy sales aggregator VGChartz, the game has sold through 870 000 copies world wide. Donning his PR mask, new company CEO Paul Sams says that the game’s sales are on their way to meeting sales expectations.
“While we would love to share with you how well The Order: 1886 has performed since it release, those are numbers that only Sony can divulge,” he said in an interview with Game Informer. “Suffice it to say, we are very proud of that game, and we are well on our way to achieving the sales performance that we sought,” he added.
I find that hard to believe, really. Still, it should hopefully be enough to set up a well-deserved sequel. While I had many, many issues with the game, I would love to see them fixed in a follow up. That was the plan all along, according to former head Ru Weerasuriya, now president and Chief creative chap
“We feel that The Order showcased the fruits of our labor on technology,” he told Gi.biz. “That was one of the biggest focuses for the team having come from PSP and jumping directly to PS4. The first game was more than anything a launch platform to build upon. And as I mentioned in the past, The Order was never written as a one-off story. There is a lot more to tell as you can see from the way the game ends. We of course have aspirations for the future of the IP and our involvement in its growth.”
Sams, former chief operating officer of Blizzard, is going to help Ready at Dawn grow its incredible engine, publish its own and others’ games and move to being a full multiplatform developer. While The Order: 1886 may have been a misstep, the company’s work on the PSP was outstanding – and I have no doubt we’ll be seeing good things from Ready at Dawn in the future.
Last Updated: June 9, 2015
Krabby Paddy
June 9, 2015 at 21:02
The sequel will need its “gameplay” to be a bit longer than 1886 seconds. I just feel that for R700+/ $60 you should get more than 10 hours of game play (at least 20hrs in my opinion). Doesn’t matter how good it looks or even plays. Most people aren’t loaded with cash and therefore want to get a little bit more entertainment time for their buck. If a game is too short, it simply becomes an unjustifiable expense for those who don’t have a lot of money to spend. If they wanted to showcase their labour on technology it seems they might have been better off making this into a movie and showing it in cinemas. Hopefully the sequel will be a massive improvement by actually providing more game play and be a decent length. It will then certainly sell a lot better.
Pieter Kruger
June 10, 2015 at 07:44
LOL!
Admiral Chief's Adventure
June 10, 2015 at 08:08
Man, I still giggle about that one quote:
“Ready at Dawn, finished before lunchtime”
oVg
June 10, 2015 at 09:37
Comment of the year.
oVg
June 10, 2015 at 09:31
I heard that they are starting other projects. That justifies me selling the game to BT games.
It was a beautifully executed game with stunning visuals, voice acting and old school cover shooting…
BUT It was as shallow as a Skyrim puddle.
I paid R799 day one for what turned out to be a 5 hour INTRO in a deep world with no exposition on the lore only to walk away with ZERO closure on the 3 main story branches and ZERO re-playability.
This should have been sold as episodic content for $30. The game failed. The Walking Dead is better.
Do not get me started on those POINTLESS!!! borders.
FoxOneZA
June 10, 2015 at 10:13
Sounds like Ryse, but even that had MP if you’re and online gamer.
Think of it more as a revenue franchise.
FoxOneZA
June 10, 2015 at 10:11
It’s good to have expectations, even if it’s a low one 😉