14 DAY TRIAL // Alan Wake did not sell very well in the United States, according to the NPD numbers made available last month. Unfortunately for Remedy, their latest release managed to move only around 145,000 copies, a disappointing figure for the biggest Xbox 360 exclusive to come out this year. In spite of all this, the developers still think their new intellectual property can take off and allow Microsoft to recoup its investment in time.
“Overall we have been very pleased with the reception of Alan Wake with both the press and the fans alike. People compliment the story first and foremost, but love the characters, the combat and, of course, the setting. There is no doubt that Alan Wake hit the shelves during a very competitive launch window, with some games dominating with extremely aggressive marketing. However, we've always tried to stay unique and do something new and different in videogames,” Oskari Hakkinen, head of franchise at Remedy, said in an interview for VG247.
Furthermore, Hakkinen declared that there was a growing interest in Alan Wake and that the title would “have legs” to increase its sales as gamers started to talk about how good it really was. “This breath of fresh air for gamers seems to now be working to our advantage, as those that have already enjoyed Wake are clearly inspired to talk more about the game and tell their fellow gamers to try it also,” Hakkinen told VG247. “The word-of-mouth phenomenon is very apparent with Alan Wake.”
This means, however, that a sequel for Alan Wake is still not guaranteed. Remedy has said in the past that it would be very happy to work on a follow-up to their latest game, but that Microsoft had not given the green light at the time. It seems that Microsoft wants Remedy to produce more downloadable content for Alan Wake for the time being, with a decision about Alan Wake 2 to come in the future.