Stiq Figures, April 7 - 13: Best opening numbers edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter.
If you're going to send me on a 30-plus hour adventure, you've gotta sell me on the time investment first. Creating an opening that compels players to press on is a challenge every development team faces, but it feels like one of those talents that often goes unpraised. Of course we expect to be drawn into our brand new games - after all, we paid the price of admission to be entertained! With the amount of mechanics and characters a game needs to introduce in its early hours though, it must be tough to decide what to start off with.
Commending Mass Effect 2 for its introduction might feel a little odd, given that most of its audience got well-acquainted with Commander Shepard's arsenal in the first leg of his/her trilogy. Still, ME2 wastes no time drawing players back into its universe before shattering the sense of security many associated with the Normandy. The moment the flame-engulfed ship's second-story door opened to the deafening vacuum of space, I was 100 percent ready to hand my life over for the following weeks.
Final Fantasy 8 had dense, on-the-nose tutorials for most of its combat, but its opening scene made up for it in my mind. As the camera zoomed above ocean waves and budding fields, cutting between a dramatic duel with bizarre swords and a girl with feathery wings, I was equal parts confused and enthralled. I had no idea what was happening, but if the answers were hidden somewhere in FF8's discs, I was resolved to find them.
Going from "meh" to "sold" is one of my favorite sort of gaming moments, and I think I get that most frequently from a team that nails their game's introductory moments. Tell me about the intros that instantly won you over in the comments below, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
[Image: EA]
Vita: 24,078 [DOWN] 939
3DS LL: 17,291 [DOWN] 5,656
PS4: 13,034 [DOWN] 367
PS3: 7,305 [DOWN] 3,566
3DS: 6,271 [DOWN] 2,820
Wii U: 5,512 [DOWN] 2,450
PSP: 2,027 [DOWN] 865
Vita TV: 1,220 [DOWN] 151
Xbox 360: 229 [DOWN] 47
