Borderlands 3 sales summary - 5 million sold in 5 days, 70% digital, Highest selling 2K title on PC

Ploid 6.0 · Sep 23, 2019

Monster Zero said:
I guess the same group that play Fortnite on PC also want to play Borderlands.

And or Fortnite players on PC aren't only Fortnite gamers. They probably even play Minecraft and know what GOG and EA Origin is, and they might do something crazy like get in on the free or $1 Gamepass deals getting a 3 year sub for $0 from Alienware.

Stop It · Sep 23, 2019

FairyEmpire said:
Borderlands is still a behemoth. They did spend obscene amounts of money into ads though, at one point it was everywhere (not to mention Fortnite).

I saw an advertisement for Borderlands 3 on a *bus stop*.

It was everywhere.

It'll be on my Christmas list unless if Microsoft does the good work and puts it on Game Pass by then.

I feel that the vast majority of people probably didn't even know about Borderlands 3 bring EGS only until they went to buy it. It certainly wouldn't have put most people off buying it either. However it may put some off using it to buy more games if the experience is bad.

However, as much as the complaints about EGS are valid, the impact of the complainants really does come across as the *dozens of us gif*. More people simply don't care than I care to like!

Scerick · Sep 23, 2019

Kyougar said:
Then read the press release. They are talking about the franchise as a whole and the bout about PC is additional information.

So what? You're making it sound like the EGS sales guarantee invalidates these numbers as if it somehow has any impact on PS4 and XO sales. Then we also have confirmation of it selling more to consumers on PC than Borderlands 2, invalidating your "sales guarantee" claim.

alexbull_uk · Sep 23, 2019

Congrats to them. I'm having a great time with it on PC. Probably will end up being my GOTY.

Kuga · Sep 23, 2019

I'm curious -- we don't have any actual PC sales numbers, right? The statement is very carefully worded.

admataY · Sep 23, 2019

There is no posting , like Cope posting

Phamit · Sep 23, 2019

oh it's just highest selling PC title after 5 days, not LTD. I wondered how BL2 PC numbers could have been so low. Well, still good. Weird wording in the title and the op

Falchion · Sep 23, 2019

Glad it's done really well. I waited a long time for new Borderlands and it's finally here and hasn't dissapointed. Hopefully we won't have to wait this long for the next one.

Dalik · Sep 23, 2019

daninthemix said:
Highest selling 2K title on PC, eh?

Once again, it's not. Read the thread

Turin Turambar said:
Well doh. A game that has been out a week isn't going to sell more than another game that has been available for years. You have to compare similar periods of time.

?
Highest selling means only one thing, which is not this.

Kyougar · Sep 23, 2019

Scerick said:
So what? You're making it sound like the EGS sales guarantee invalidates these numbers as if it somehow has any impact on PS4 and XO sales. Then we also have confirmation of it selling more to consumers on PC than borderlands 2, invalidating your "sales guarantee" claim.

WE DON'T KNOW the Sales Guarantee of Borderlands 3 and if it is already above the guarantee.
We only have the 2K press release, and yes it is a success for them, but that doesn't mean it is a success for Epic or any Launcher wars.
because 2K got the money for x amount of copies regardless how much EGS sold through to customers.

The argument is: is the Launcher a success. And we don't know that because Epic didn't make a press release on how successful the Blands 3 launch was FOR THEM.
2K doesn't care! they already got their money which automatically made it the best selling title for them on PC

scottbeowulf · Sep 23, 2019

I'm on console but I went digital too. I'll be playing Borderlands 3 for years, just like 2. I want it on my hard drive. I'm not gonna swap out a disc for years.

Deleted member 437 · Sep 23, 2019

They must be very happy with 5 Mil.

Congrats gearbox.

Cactuar · Sep 23, 2019

Preach.

ShinUltramanJ · Sep 23, 2019

Passing Assassin said:
As expected, people generally don't care which store it's on before purchasing a game they want.

They didn't have a choice.

Mars People · Sep 23, 2019

How is B3 on PC? Is it optimised well?
Is there cross play with consoles?

AshenOne · Sep 23, 2019

Gotdatmoney said:
What proof do you have that he is wrong if you're stating he's clearly incorrect?

Logically seems pretty plain to me that the average consumer wont skip a huge game for this reason.

What proof do you have that he is correct here? 2K isn't giving us the numbers and just telling us that its the highest selling 2K title in a five day period. 2K titles don't have really great launch periods recently either btw and Borderlands 2 was 2012. All recent EGS exclusives sold meh as compared if they were going to be sold on steam. THQ Nordic using numbers from metro last light on steam and saying that it sold 2.5 times more since way back then... these wordings to me seems like really hard trying to justify it them being money hatted and being made exclusive. Every EGS game sales announcement contains sales within strict periods of time. This tells me that they're desperate to justify an exclusive more than anything.

Once again. People are going to buy a game if they want to, no matter which store it is on.

I can only discuss the above ZHugex statement in context with EGS exclusives mind you and for the most part not much of the average consumer has bought these exclusives despite being them not on steam or on EGS exclusively like the image that statement is trying to portray. You'll only see if he's truly correct once the steam release hits for a game like Borderlands 3 and boy will you see it clearly when it comes to the average consumer. Steam has been vital part of PC gaming with its big feature set for many years, its not as easy as you think for the average consumer just to shift over to EGS.

Scerick · Sep 23, 2019

Kyougar said:
WE DON'T KNOW the Sales Guarantee of Borderlands 3 and if it is already above the guarantee.
We only have the 2K press release, and yes it is a success for them, but that doesn't mean it is a success for Epic or any Launcher wars.
because 2K got the money for x amount of copies regardless how much EGS sold through to customers.

The argument is: is the Launcher a success. And we don't know that because Epic didn't make a press release on how successful the Blands 3 launch was FOR THEM.
2K doesn't care! they already got their money which automatically made it the best selling title for them on PC

Actually the argument is that the game sold 50% faster in 5 days than Borderlands 2 to consumers and is the highest selling PC release for the Borderlands franchise in the same time period.

You're trying to downplay their numbers because they have an EGS deal which isn't fair or based on any factual information.

Kyougar · Sep 23, 2019

Scerick said:
Actually the argument is that the game sold 50% faster in 5 days than Borderlands 2 to consumers and is the highest selling PC release for the Borderlands franchise in the same time period.

You're trying to downplay their numbers because they have an EGS deal which isn't fair or based on any factual information.

Are you trolling? I already explained that the 50% number is for the franchise world wide.

Deleted member 23212 · Sep 23, 2019

AshenOne said:
There is clearly a difference between a game being the highest selling 2K title on PC and a game that was the highest 2K selling title on PC in a five day window. Is zHugex seriously misinterpreting this fact?

Seriously how fucking hard is to read there? Also he's clearly incorrect IMO when he says that people will buy anywhere, no matter the platform and nothing will change.

Its just 2K trying their best to justify an EGS exclusive title and declaring a great hit on their own lol.

Zhuge doesn't work for 2K.

Stall_19 · Sep 23, 2019

Gearbox pretty much needed this.

Ploid 6.0 · Sep 23, 2019

MillionIII said:
If it was on smartphones it would've sold better, lost sales.

So many games miss out sales by not being on Phones. Imagine how much Final Fantasy XII TZA, Monster Hunter World, and so many other games that are locked to one store would sale if they were also on other stores. I have no proof but it's a fact. I'm waiting to get FFXII TZA on another store, even though I already have it on PC (aka Steam, the only way to play it. Get serious about PC SE, and patch Nier Automata for crying out loud).

Deleted member 27751 · Sep 23, 2019

"Obviously not everyone cares about the launcher!" Yet I can't buy it anywhere else so 🤔

Bundy · Sep 23, 2019

Over 5 million in 5 days is huge. Mega hit. Congrats Gearbox.

AshenOne · Sep 23, 2019

Oheao said:
Zhuge doesn't work for 2K.

Yeah and? Did i say that? He is still intentionally or unintentionally misrepresenting facts here, declaring it 2K's biggest launch on PC.

Highest selling title on PC within the 5 day launch period and highest selling title on PC.

Massive difference between the two.

RestEerie · Sep 23, 2019

GameStop am cry....

Deleted member 56306 · Sep 23, 2019

ShinUltramanJ said:
They didn't have a choice.

They could have not bought it. Which is a valid choice. Not the one people want, but a choice nonetheless.

Kyougar · Sep 23, 2019

Tommcatt said:
They could have not bought it. Which is a valid choice. Not the one people want, but a choice nonetheless.

So the store DOES matter.

Deleted member 56306 · Sep 23, 2019

Kyougar said:
So the store DOES matter.

What?

Kyougar · Sep 23, 2019

Tommcatt said:
What?

If the customers choice is to not buy the game because of where it is sold, then the Store matters.

True Prophecy · Sep 23, 2019

I wonder how much money Randy will pay himself and not his team this time? Good for Gearbox but I fucking hate that it helps randy at the same time. Since the impressions are good ill give it a go down the line once im more tapped out on destiny content.

Though I guess Tim is right to keep buying exclusives though eh? pretty shit outcome in that regard IMO.

Bonestorm · Sep 23, 2019

So far and away my GOTY. Happy for the people that made it.

My favourite marketing for a game ever too. Perfect time from reveal to launch with fantastic events and trailers.

Scerick · Sep 23, 2019

True Prophecy said:
I wonder how much money Randy will pay himself and not his team this time? Good for Gearbox but I fucking hate that it helps randy at the same time. Since the impressions are good ill give it a go down the line once im more tapped out on destiny content.

Though I guess Tim is right to keep buying exclusives though eh? pretty shit outcome in that regard IMO.

If only we could remove Randy from the equation.

Deleted member 56306 · Sep 23, 2019

Kyougar said:
If the customers choice is to not buy the game because of where it is sold, then the Store matters.

I don't think I follow. People didn't care where it was they just bought the game.

LiQuid! · Sep 23, 2019

Have to chuckle at the people using this as fuel to say people don't care about the launcher. These numbers are so fudged you can't possibly take away anything meaningful about how well it sold on PC vs. had it not been EGS exclusive.

The numbers are conflated between console and PC sales and all references to its sales on PC are worded in a way that make them sound more impressive than they are (best selling 2k game on PC? What are we comparing it to, niche games like XCOM, or games that sold well on consoles like Bioshock? These aren't that impressive hurdles). Basically all any of this means is that BL3 in general sold well, which was inevitable since it's the long awaited follow up to a massively popular franchise. Anybody trying to use this as fuel to beat back on the EGS hate mob is buying into a lot of marketing word salad IMO.

The most noteworthy part of this whole thing is the amount of digital copies the game sold. 70% digital is a crazy number if that's anywhere even close to accurate and representative of console sales

Kilgore · Sep 23, 2019

Acquiescence said:
I just realised, The Lawnmower Man would be perfect on Switch.

Everything is perfect on switch

Schlorgan · Sep 23, 2019

Kilgore said:
Everything is perfect on switch

Not Saints Row The Third

Stixitnu · Sep 23, 2019

EGS puttin in that work

Cactuar · Sep 23, 2019

Linus815 said:
for big AAA titles, yeah.

https://www.pcgamer.com/thronebreaker-the-witcher-tales-hasnt-sold-as-well-as-cdpr-expected/

There are some pretty hilarious mental gymnastics going on in this thread.

Congrats to 2K, Epic, and all involved.

BigBlue · Sep 23, 2019

I'm glad the general gaming population realizes that downloading another client is as easy as.....well, downloading another client. Geezer this forum really blows the EGS stuff out of proportion...

Stop It · Sep 23, 2019

Ok so we have some numbers for Borderlands 2 but this is back of an envelope stuff so don't hate me.

As per my musing on the PC Era Discord.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...-shifts-1-5-million-copies-in-september-in-us

And the US market is approx 25% of the world market*

https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/top-100-countries-represent-99-6-81-5bn-global-games-market/

We know the following:

Borderlands 2 sold 1.5 million in 12 days in September 2012. Let's say around 30% total were PC. So that's 450k in 12 days. Let's say the games front loading means 66% of those sales were the first 5 days. That's 300k. US only for Borderlands 2. **

So depending on how many sales were contributed by the wider market, that's up to 1.2 million worldwide based on the assumption of equal sales for ROW.

So we have a range at least to work on for the sales of Borderlands 3 in the first 5 days of sale.

*A few years out but I imagine the percentages haven't changed a great deal.

**NPD were retail only so the rankings of 360, PS3 and PC wouldn't be completely accurate as most pc sales were digital.

noyram23 · Sep 23, 2019

Gotdatmoney said:
What proof do you have that he is wrong if you're stating he's clearly incorrect?

Logically seems pretty plain to me that the average consumer wont skip a huge game for this reason.

Yeah I feel like people saying otherwise are just in enthusiast bubble, average consumer doesn't care about launchers, platforms, and other small things when it comes to popular games and this is such low barrier of entry (just installing a launcher compare to buying a system).

TheGhost · Sep 23, 2019

GhostTrick said:
"Obvious semantics"
Not that obvious when you read the thread. Some people seemed to think it was already the highest selling pc title for 2K. Which it factually cant be.

As for your "well it proves that people dont care", how can you count missed sales ?
That's the entire point. No, BL3 wouldn't have bombed. Now did it hurt its growth ? It's highly possible.

Are they missed sales or did your brother in arms say fuck it and downloaded the epic launcher and get it anyway because this is BL3 we are talking about. That was always going to cause people to budge on their stances and Epic knows it.

Gotdatmoney · Sep 23, 2019

AshenOne said:
What proof do you have that he is correct here?

That's not how it works. You cant say someone is wrong and offer 0 explanation let alone proof as to why.

2K isn't giving us the numbers and just telling us that its the highest selling 2K title in a five day period. 2K titles don't have really great launch periods recently either btw

Every year NBA 2K has a massive launch.

All recent EGS exclusives sold meh as compared if they were going to be sold on steam.

We havent been getting numbers from Steam in a long while and Epic hasn't said anything about sales numbers. I dunno how anyone can actually claim these things.

This isn't to say anything about my thoughts on EGS as a whole but nothing concrete out there implies people wont just buy a game they want on the store fromt its available on. We could always just do a crazy thing and "ask" Zhuge what data his deduction is based on.

Linus815 · Sep 23, 2019

Cactuar said:
There are some pretty hilarious mental gymnastics going on in this thread.

Congrats to 2K, Epic, and all involved.

??
i linked an example where a smaller game underperformed and by the publishers admission, in part due to store exclusivity

big marketing monsters like Bl3 wont have this issue.

Cecil · Sep 23, 2019

BigBlue said:
I'm glad the general gaming population realizes that downloading another client is as easy as.....well, downloading another client. Geezer this forum really blows the EGS stuff out of proportion...

That's a very efficient way of dismissing the actual arguments people have made about their concerns and opinions about the subject.
I think you understand that the concerns are about other things the download and install time of a piece of client software.

Theswweet · Sep 23, 2019

NightShift said:
What do you mean? The game has some issues it has to patch out but it's not enough to hold out purchasing.

Constant crashes, corrupted save games, audiovisual bugs, UI bugs, etc. BL3 is a mess.

Schlorgan · Sep 23, 2019

The thing I find most funny about this is even if someone waits for the Steam version of BL3 or just buys the console version to spite Epic, Epic still gets some of their money since the game uses UE4.

Dalik · Sep 23, 2019

Schlorgan said:
The thing I find most funny about this is even if someone waits for the Steam version of BL3 or just buys the console version to spite Epic, Epic still gets some of their money since the game uses UE4.

Or maybe they want a decent platform with features instead of a barebone launcher? get the fuck out with this attitude.

Nacho · Sep 23, 2019

Kyougar said:
Because we don't know sold-through-to-customer numbers, only sell-in from 2K. And if you have a sales guarantee, you sold 1 million copies even if those copies were not completely sold-through to customers.

Borderlands 3 is a success for 2K, but we can't extrapolate ANYTHING out of it if it is "just another launcher" for the customers. Which got thrown around before anyone even tried to downplay the numbers.

I very much doubt that whatever sales guarantee from Epic exclusivity is reported as actual sales.

Schlorgan · Sep 23, 2019

Dalik said:
Or maybe they want a decent platform with features instead of a barebone launcher? get the fuck out with this attitude.

Borderlands 3 sales summary - 5 million sold in 5 days, 70% digital, Highest selling 2K title on PC

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