Why did this game sell less than the original?

Attackfrog277 · Jul 16, 2014 9:18 PM

Look at the sales figures for the trilogy.
Spyro 1:
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/6436/spyro-the-dragon/
5 million

Spyro 2:
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/6437/spyro-2-riptos-rage/
3.52 million

Spyro 3:
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/6439/spyro … he-dragon/
3.71 million

Compared to, say...Crash for instance which went up.
Crash 1:
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/406/crash-bandicoot/
6.82 million

Crash 2
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/407/crash- … ikes-back/
7.58 million

Crash 3
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/408/crash- … -3-warped/
7.13 million

Spyro seems to have gone on a sales decline since the first game for some reason.

Last edited by Attackfrog277 (Jul 16, 2014 9:20 PM)

Flapjacks · Jul 16, 2014 9:29 PM

Crash came out in 1996, Crash 2 in 1997, Crash 3 in 1998. Spyro 1 also came out in 1998, so it's safe to say that that was a peak in sales of PS1 games at the time. Since Spyro 2 and 3 came out closer to the end of the PS1's life, it's also safe to say that that is a reason (Spyro 3 came out after the PS2 was released, and Spyro 2 came out only a few months before the PS2's release.)

Stormy · Jul 16, 2014 9:40 PM

Hmm, that's really interesting. Definitely doesn't make a lot of sense on a surface level that the sequel to a popular, well-received game would have significantly worse sales.

I'm trying to come up with some theories, but I don't know if any of them really work.

One thing I noticed about these statistics is the percentage of sales from Europe increases with each Spyro game, whereas it declines with each Crash game. Maybe Spyro was marketed more in Europe and less in North America than Crash? I don't know if North America necessarily had more game-selling potential, though, so this is all pure speculation.

Attackfrog277 · Jul 17, 2014 2:27 AM

Flapjacks wrote:

Crash came out in 1996, Crash 2 in 1997, Crash 3 in 1998. Spyro 1 also came out in 1998, so it's safe to say that that was a peak in sales of PS1 games at the time. Since Spyro 2 and 3 came out closer to the end of the PS1's life, it's also safe to say that that is a reason (Spyro 3 came out after the PS2 was released, and Spyro 2 came out only a few months before the PS2's release.)

Thats actually a good possibility. If fact, that rings a bell about a video I watch about the frist Shantae game being release at the end of the gameboy colors life and being over- shadowed by newer games. Though It still explain why such a popular game would have been passed up by those anticipating the next-gen so badly

Stormy · Jul 17, 2014 2:51 AM

Flapjacks wrote:

Crash came out in 1996, Crash 2 in 1997, Crash 3 in 1998. Spyro 1 also came out in 1998, so it's safe to say that that was a peak in sales of PS1 games at the time. Since Spyro 2 and 3 came out closer to the end of the PS1's life, it's also safe to say that that is a reason (Spyro 3 came out after the PS2 was released, and Spyro 2 came out only a few months before the PS2's release.)

(Huh, I guess I missed this post.)

Wow, I didn't realize the PS2 was that old. You're probably right - I bet that had a lot to do with it.

LocoGuy107 · Oct 01, 2014 1:58 AM

I think it was more of the issue of the rise of pirates. The first game probably became so *bleep*-*bleep* (yes, I'm exaggerating with censored words) popular that everyone was willing to copy the next games so everyone else would get it for free. Something like that is hinted in this video, when it talks about the anti-piracy game breaks in Spyro 3:

Last edited by LocoGuy107 (Oct 01, 2014 1:59 AM)

Flapjacks · Oct 01, 2014 3:10 AM

I honestly doubt that, because piracy was much harder to do back then. Even now, pirating games on any console, including older ones, is still so inconvenient without emulation that it's rarely done. The only reason anti-piracy measures were put into the game is likely because it was a minor concern where the work would overall be worth it, even though it was worth it in a small amount.

UpDownLeftWrite · Oct 22, 2014 5:57 PM

Not sure if these sales are worldwide or not...but if they are, then one possible reason is because the games did NOT do well in Japan at all, as such the third game was cancelled for Japan, but if these figures are just for the US, then...magic voodoo powers???

Dark Intentions · Nov 21, 2015 9:26 PM

Recently while Googling cheats and at times guides for orb challenges I read that after its initial release Ripto's Rage was taken off the market temporarily to fix a programming error that prevented Idol Springs and Colossus from loading. So there was a lack of sales while it was absent from the shelves which would have affected its overall total.

Morgan · Nov 21, 2015 9:32 PM

Dark Intentions wrote:

Recently while Googling cheats and at times guides for orb challenges I read that after its initial release Ripto's Rage was taken off the market temporarily to fix a programming error that prevented Idol Springs and Colossus from loading. So there was a lack of sales while it was absent from the shelves which would have affected its overall total.

No, that was for the PlayStation Network version of the game.

Dark Intentions · Nov 23, 2015 8:24 AM

Playstation Network version?

#1 Jul 16, 2014 9:18 PM

Why did this game sell less than the original?

#2 Jul 16, 2014 9:29 PM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#3 Jul 16, 2014 9:40 PM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#4 Jul 17, 2014 2:27 AM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#5 Jul 17, 2014 2:51 AM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#6 Oct 01, 2014 1:58 AM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#7 Oct 01, 2014 3:10 AM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#8 Oct 22, 2014 5:57 PM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#9 Nov 21, 2015 9:26 PM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#10 Nov 21, 2015 9:32 PM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

#11 Nov 23, 2015 8:24 AM

Re: Why did this game sell less than the original?

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