The Last of Us Part 1 Proves That Remakes Can Have a Soul — And Sales
The Last of Us Part 1 Proves That Remakes Can Have a Soul — And Sales
Plus: why PS5 owners pre-order games.
The Last of Us Part 1 is out this week on the PS5. Ahead of its launch I've been fortunate to play Naughty Dog's latest. I've also spent some quality time analysing how the game will sell, courtesy conversations with my sources in distribution and retail. Here's what you need to know.
The Last of Us Part 1 India sales analysis
For reference, The Last of Us Remastered on the PS4 as well as the original PS3 release have sold around 200,000 units life-time to date combined across both consoles. Both were heavily bundled with either console. This is a combination of grey market and official stock.
Safe to say a large chunk of these sales were official. At the time Sony had also invested in local replication of PS3 games, bringing the price down at launch from a then pricey Rs. 2,999 to Rs. 2,699.
At the time of The Last of Us' launch in June 2013, India had around 350,000 PS3s. Now the PS4 install base is around 550,000 units and the PS5 has sold over 60,000. All these figures are both grey and official sales combined.
Keep in mind that The Last of Us Part 1 is a Rs. 4,999 game, in line with Horizon Forbidden West and the upcoming God of War Ragnarok, which should deter those of us that paid Rs. 2,699 for the game on PS3 and Rs. 2,750 for the game on PS4. And that’s before it made it to PS Plus or had been heavily discounted in Sony’s many sales.
I’d speculate around 3,000 to 4,000 units would sell in the first month at retail. Basis of my conversations with my sources in distribution and retail, I’d suspect between 4,000 and 5,000 units made it at launch.
Given the positive reviews and an increase in demand in the lead up to the game’s September 2 release date, I won’t be surprised to see it double its first month’s sales by the end of the year. I’m expecting Sony to give the game its first price drop around that time when it has its end of year sales for Diwali and Christmas.
The Last of Us Part 1 India pre-order spike
That being said, the pre-orders for the game have spiked in the lead up to launch. Multiple retailers across the country have confirmed that demand for the game has increased drastically in the last few weeks.
“When pre-orders went up we had no demand,” says one Bengaluru-based retailer. “People were complaining about the price and having already played the game. Now the same people — and their friends — have pre-ordered.”
This behaviour seems prevalent across stores.
“I pre-ordered after seeing Naughty Dog tweet about how adaptive triggers work in the game,” says PS5 owner Rahul Singh. “I already finished the game on PS3 and PS4, but the use of DualSense made it a must buy.”
It seems that Sony’s captive audience of PS5 gamers in India is highly tuned in and aware of what content its putting out. Some at retail have started putting the pieces together.
“We saw a spike in pre-orders after the launch trailer came out,” says an Ahmedabad store manager. “Customers came in to pay the day after it landed on YouTube. Same behaviour with the new Saints Row game, we saw a sales increase after that game’s story trailer was revealed.”
It’s a possible behavioural shift which suggests Indian console gamers are a lot more invested in what is available to play over and above the usual mainstream successes like GTA 5 and FIFA. Furthermore, it’ll be interesting to see how developers and publishers take advantage of this in ways to drive sales.
What about The Last of Us Part 1 Firefly Edition for India?
Indian retailers have already been told that it's a US-only offering. However a recent tweet from Naughty Dog suggests it may not be as limited as previously revealed.
If it does make it, expect it later than its European release. Odd when you consider other publishers like CD Projekt Red and Ubisoft trot out their special variants like clockwork and well ahead of time. Useful when you consider how expensive these are and fans need that lead time to keep money aside for them.
It’s likely that logistics issues play a role in frequent delays for special versions. And in the case of Horizon Forbidden West’s Collector’s and Regalla Editions, an even longer delay due to necessary BIS approvals what with batteries being a part of them. Perhaps this is why Sony isn’t willing to let stores list the God of War Ragnarok Collector’s and Jotnar Edition for pre-order in India just yet.
The Last of Us Part 1 — how is it?
As for the game itself, it’s a refined experience. It’s evident from firing up the game for the first time. The PS3 version was visually competent albeit. Though there were some rough sections of play what with frame rate drops and pop-in as well as long loading times. The PS4 version sanded off these edges and threw an improved frame rate in to the mix.
With the game’s third outing, it’s obvious Naughty Dog went the extra mile. Outside of one brief load screen when you boot it up, it’s seamless. Be it the game’s sweeping vistas or miniscule facial animations, every single pixel absolutely shines on the PS5, complete with support for 1440p at a target of 60fps, dynamic 4K at 60fps, and 4K at 30fps. You can also play it at an unlocked frame rate if your screen supports Sony’s implementation of VRR.
From best-in-class haptics and adaptive trigger support to a welcome suite of accessibility options, Naughty Dog wasn’t kidding when it said this is a remake, not a remaster. Even the photo mode has been updated to include a point light system not too dissimilar to what the Sony-owned Insomniac has in its games.
This is before you account for the new Speedrun Mode complete with online leaderboards that should add to the game’s longevity and it’s prequel chapter, Left Behind.
All in all, The Last of Us Part 1 stands on its own as the definitive version of what was already a near perfect original release (at least until the PC version is out). It’s worth the price of admission even if you have finished the game before.
With the superlative Demon’s Souls remake for the PS5 and now The Last of Us Part 1, it makes me wonder how Sony could elevate the rest of its back catalogue and make them relevant at a time when big budget single-player affairs are being cast aside for more service-driven fare.
Other interesting insights from the Indian games market:
To celebrate India’s Independence Day, Activision revealed a new Call of Duty Mobile music video, a new dance routine for said music video, and a host of events that concluded on August 30. It’s refreshing to see the usually dormant publisher care about the Indian market.
In other Activision news, the publisher is dragging its heels on selecting an India distributor for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 that’s out later this year. What this means is, if you want the game on disc, you’ll probably need to visit your local import store and buy a grey market copy at an inflated price.
Valkyrie Elysium, Star Ocean: The Divine Force, Tactics: Ogre Reborn, and NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition won’t be making it to India sources tell me. This has to do with publisher Square Enix raising price and quantity for the Indian market. Much like Modern Warfare 2, you’ll be subject to buying a grey market copy if you want any of these in their physical form.
Xbox Series S India sales have hit a brick wall of Microsoft’s own making. Launched at Rs. 34,990, it was increased to Rs. 36,990 in June and now Rs. 37,990. Positioned as an affordable console, the India price is in striking distance of what you’d pay for a PS5 Digital Edition. This hike comes at a time when Microsoft would like you to think the Xbox Series X|S aren’t getting a price increase. Incidentally, the Xbox Series X also got a price bump from Rs. 49,990 to Rs. 52,990. While demand on the Xbox Series S has flatlined, the Xbox Series X is next to impossible to find in stores.
Sega and Atlus’ excellent Soul Hackers 2 skipped India as well. Hopefully it’s not a sign that the upcoming (and highly acclaimed) Persona 5 Royal remaster for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch are not making it to India.