No More Heroes: not a bomb

by JC Fletcher { Feb 15th 2008 at 8:00PM }

Looks like all the anecdotal "I bought it!" evidence was accurate: Marvelous Interactive president Yasuhiro Wada announced on the company's website that No More Heroes has sold 100,000 copies in the U.S. Compare that to the 40,000 that shipped in Japan and it's clear that what once was a bomb is now kind of a hit for our favorite video game band, Grasshopper Manufacture. NPD doesn't seem to agree, reporting 65,000 copies sold in the U.S. in January. We don't know if Marvelous's numbers are from a different estimate or including February or what.

Marvelous is shipping 160,000 copies to Europe, as they expect even more demand. This may be the reason for the brief delay. Overall, they are shooting for 500,000 total sales. That may not sound huge by most game standards, but for a tiny company like Grasshopper, and for such a bizarre game, that's huge.

Gallery: No More Heroes

[Via NeoGAF]

Tags: action, grasshopper-manufacture, no-more-heroes, sales, suda51, ubisoft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tom @ Feb 15th 2008 8:16PM

I hope that as many people as possible buy this game, giving it more of a chance for a sequel, or similarly creative games. I (regretfully) haven't had the chance to play it yet, but form what I've seen and heard, it seems like a hit.

flameofdoom666 @ Feb 15th 2008 8:21PM

I own it, and it's fantastic!

Congrats Suda on your first success!

I also LOVE Killer 7, but that didn't fare as well.

James Kochalka @ Feb 15th 2008 8:53PM

Didn't Killer 7 sell 200,000 on the Gamecube? That's not so bad, considering most games sell even less.

flameofdoom666 @ Feb 16th 2008 1:36AM

It sold 69,000 I thought........

Chris @ Feb 15th 2008 8:55PM

Ugh. I'm still going through Galaxy and Corruption. I swear I'll buy this and Zack and Wiki! I want to support well made games from small producers!

ZenGaijin @ Feb 15th 2008 9:34PM

Capcom isn't a small developer but Kudos to you none the less.

Chris @ Feb 15th 2008 9:38PM

No, kudos to YOU for not being an asshole when I said something that wasn't accurate. :-)

surge89 @ Feb 15th 2008 11:04PM

Capcom is indeed not a small developer and have worked with Grasshopper, but they had nothing to do with No More Heroes. It was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Ubisoft in North America, and Marvelous Interactive in Japan. I'm not sure who's publishing it in Europe, but it seems it will be Marvelous Interactive judging from the post.

z3r0w1n9 @ Feb 16th 2008 2:54AM

@surge89: The "Capcom" comment was regarding parents mention of Zak and Wiki.

vidGuy @ Feb 15th 2008 8:56PM

I've enjoyed NMH and Z&W almost as much as SMG and Corruption. That is really a testament to great 3rd party games!

Roto13 @ Feb 15th 2008 9:08PM

The other day I had to flip a coin to decide whether to buy this or Zack and Wiki. :P I went for this. I'm loving it.

Mr Khan @ Feb 15th 2008 9:25PM

Sweet. Might convince him to put the sequel (whenever that be) on the Wii instead of the 360

Considering that 500k will net more profit here than it would there

Avoli @ Feb 15th 2008 9:37PM

I had to play the intro several times. It was too much of a blast, and gave a great feel of what's to come. By far this is one of my best purchases ever in gaming.

Croove55 @ Feb 15th 2008 9:51PM

YES! I'm really happy that Suda actually had some success with this game. It means a lot that such a great designer would finally get some deserved success. Congratulations, Suda!

Zack W. @ Feb 15th 2008 10:20PM

Good for them. That is awesome!

Perverted @ Feb 15th 2008 11:44PM

I completely forgot about this title............
The lack of the awesome over the top blood made me loose interest.....I doubt I'd be buying this as it seems like a watered down game and I can't imagine it being that great a hit.....
Sorry young grasshopper, you tried and it looked good but sadly you decided to make it not look so good....

Kogen @ Feb 16th 2008 12:59AM

It's to the point where I don't even want to visit this blog anymore. How about no more whoring the title? How much did they pay for this near daily advertising, anyway?

JC Fletcher @ Feb 16th 2008 1:10AM

What games do you like to hear about, Kogen?

Kogen @ Feb 16th 2008 1:39PM

I'm fine with any games, it's just way over done with this one. Repeating the same PR-style stuff over and over gets annoying even if the game is good.

Haohmaru @ Feb 17th 2008 10:35PM

It's getting so much coverage because it's an honest-to-goodness GREAT GAME. Stuff the crap about "PR-style advertising" and play the game if you haven't yet. This is one of the best games to have come out for the Wii so far, and in my opinion, it deserves every accolade and kind word this blog has given it.

flameofdoom666 @ Feb 16th 2008 1:37AM

Rising Star is publishing for Europe

flameofdoom666 @ Feb 16th 2008 1:37AM

Whoops! That was for 'surge89.'

Author X @ Feb 16th 2008 1:41AM

Yay! I finally got it earlier this week. I almost bought it off of eBay, which would have been cheaper (and easier, since I'm paying from an eBay sale), but decided buying it new would go further to support this game and bizzare, unique games in general. I'm glad they're getting plenty of support.

next-gen rules @ Feb 16th 2008 2:04AM

congrats on it selling well. so...people rallied around Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes. what's the next big(or small) title that gamers should rally around? Opoona, Apollo Justice, Okami, Band Mashups? etc. would be interesting to see what game is 'honored' next as the game to rally around and support.

Champion @ Feb 16th 2008 5:54AM

The jaggys are pretty.

kevin @ Feb 16th 2008 8:40AM

We rented this 2/14 and have been playing through it since then - gotta say it's on my buy list now. The story and over the top violence and fountains of blood are a nice change from the typical Wii title.

OTAM @ Feb 16th 2008 6:08PM

The fountains of blood are a good thing in the game,but when it comes to the 360 or PS3 the "mature" theme to every game is stale and over-used?

Uh-huh....

Haohmaru @ Feb 17th 2008 11:19AM

"Fountains of blood" are fine when it fits the game and when the game has some substance beyond "controversial violence FTW," both of which are true in NMH's case.

What gives me giggle fits is the typical PS3/360 fanboy response that Nintendo games are "4 kids lolz" due to their lack of over-the-top blood and gore.

schmix @ Feb 16th 2008 9:03AM

I heard a rumour that the french version of NMH will be uncut. As I live in Germany I wonder if my Wii would switch the game language automatically to german when I put in the french disc?That game needs red blood, a lot of it. What would Kill Bill be without the blood?

bockwurst @ Feb 16th 2008 9:47AM

That is just the European gamer's collective state of denial. There will be no uncensored PAL version for any country.

I have just seen death seen comparisions and now I am completely convinced that it was at no point designed without the violence in mind. Business decission. Someone's calculator told them it will sell more that way in Europe.

xtremuuuu @ Feb 16th 2008 11:22AM

I want this game soooo much! If only I didn't need SSBB and Zack & Wiki as well!

I envy you!

Antonio @ Feb 16th 2008 12:05PM

I ordered this using Wal-Marts $10 gift card for the whole Smash Bros. mixup. Should be arriving today. :D

Neil @ Feb 16th 2008 12:53PM

Since when is selling 100,000 copies of a game in the US considered "kind of a hit", am I missing something here?

vidGuy @ Feb 16th 2008 5:08PM

Big games sell millions. For example, Halo 3, Mario Galaxy, Brawl, etc sell at huge clips. Those developers scoff at 100k. However, those games have millions of dollars in developing and advertising. NMH is made by a small developer, is a niche title, and has next to no advertising. 100k-250k would make this game a hit.

Thus the phrase, "kind of a hit", since it's a relative statement.