Analyst Reverses Course On Bully Sequel, Says "Sorry" to Take Two

January 15, 2007

Say what you want, Michael Pachter is a stand-up guy.

In a recent, widely-quoted story, the Wedbush-Morgan analyst told GamePolitics that he did not expect sales numbers for Rockstar's Bully to merit a sequel. Newly-released figures from the NPD Group, however, now show strong Bully sales during the holiday season. Based on those numbers, Pachter has done a public 180 on his opinion of the controversial game:

(Bully) sold over double my expectations in December, and Take Two told me the game is selling slightly better in Europe. That means it's probably over one million units, with a few more to go.

Given the very high rating that the game received and its potential for expansion to other platforms, it is realistic to think a sequel could generate two million units in sales. That is generally suffucient to justify a sequel. I'm not competent to discuss whether it can be built using the GTA 4 engine, so it's premature to guess how much a sequel would cost, but if the company thinks it can sell two million units of Bully 2, it will probably produce a sequel.

Please make sure you print my apology to Take Two - I have been consistently wrong about this title. I thought it would be stupid, and it was fun; I thought it would get poor reviews, and it got solid 90s; and I thought it would bomb, while it now appears to be a million unit seller. As a result, I did not expect a sequel, while now I have to acknowledge that a sequel is a possibility. I never hesitate to take credit when I'm right, and I never hide from my mistakes.

GP: We originally ran this on Saturday, January 13th, but we're bumping it into the weekday coverage because we think it is an important story.

Posted in Controversial Games People Video Game Industry/Economics

Comments

Submitted by ZippyDSMlee (not verified) on Mon, 01/15/2007 - 07:51.

OMG,somone has the balls to admit hes wrong!
I am wrong almsot all the time ,however I got over it and merely want to converse over the subject I am talking about.

Submitted by PS3 Game Geek » Analyst apologizes to Take-Two, wants (not verified) on Thu, 01/18/2007 - 15:31.

[...] While Bully was a slight departure from the established GTA franchise that Take Two Interactive are known for, it was received very well. By critics, by consumers, even by analyst Michael Pachter. He will be the topic for this post. See, initially, he was quoted as saying that sales of Bully won’t merit a sequel. How would you like those words cooked, Pachter, before we force them back into your mouth? Nah, we won’t do that, because you apologized like a human being. [...]

Submitted by Analyst apologizes to Take-Two, wants Bully sequel » P (not verified) on Thu, 01/18/2007 - 15:31.

Submitted by x(wai)x (not verified) on Sun, 01/14/2007 - 17:54.

It's always refreshing to see someone stand up and admit when they're wrong. Too many people either refuse to see evidence that contradicts their beliefs or do a complete 180 and pretend that was the view they held all along because they simply can't bear to admit they might have been wrong. I have to give Pachter credit here.

Submitted by sugreev2001 (not verified) on Tue, 01/16/2007 - 16:31.

It's so good to see that my favourite videogame developer,Take-two,finally rising from the controversy last year and make a bundle.I also loved Bully,almost as much as any GTA series and I'm now really hoping to see a sequel.And last but not least,it's sure is nice to see a journalist actually making an effort to apologize for his boorish behaviour.

Submitted by Games Asylum » The Quote Boat (not verified) on Sat, 01/20/2007 - 13:31.

[...] » I’m growing to like Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. He does love to comment on the games industry, and he doesn’t care if he’s wrong. A couple of weeks ago his thought that there wouldn’t be a sequel to Bully spread over the internet like something stupid. Then, last week, he took it back. “I have been consistently wrong about this title,” he told GamePolitics.com. He could also have said, “Analysts are a bit pointless,” but didn’t. [...]

Submitted by kurisu7885 (not verified) on Sun, 01/14/2007 - 11:10.

I figured that wasn't the case.

Submitted by Jabrwock on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 20:28.

I just wanted to point out that Pachter is NOT a columnist. He is a financial analyst for Wedbush Morgan who specializes in the video game industry

Technically a columnist for financial stuff. He *is* writing his opinion about Bully's future. Granted it's backed up by expertise and better knowledge than your average columnist, so more like an "expert columnist". ;)

-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...

Submitted by gamepolitics on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 19:43.

Since a couple people mentioned Pachter as a "columnist," I just wanted to point out that Pachter is NOT a columnist. He is a financial analyst for Wedbush Morgan who specializes in the video game industry...

Submitted by Parallax Abstraction (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 18:27.

No, what would have been kind of Pachter was not to make a prediction out of nothing and speak as if it was fact. Perhaps he should do more research before condemning a product to failure. I admit that he apologized to Take-Two which is more than a lot of analysts would do, but what do you think is going to be seen by and remembered by more people? It'll be the initial prediction. An apology is good, but next time maybe he should think before he speaks. The people who work so hard on these games deserve at least that I think.

Submitted by Kobra (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 18:29.

I thought that Bully would've been crappy, but then I played it at a friend's house and immediately wanted to own a copy of it.

Submitted by mikemil828 (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 18:45.

It's nice of him to admit his mistakes, but that he is always this wrong to the point that even the CIA gets more things right than he does, doesn't bode well for his career as an analyst

Submitted by Gabriel Celesta (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 18:10.

Well, actually, to be honest, I, like Pachter, once thought Bully would be a lousy game too.

We've seen people bitch and moan about games because of their violent content... only to turn out to be total disappointments (NARC, 25 to Life, 50 Cent: Bulletproof... I'm looking at you guys!)

But then I find out Bully getting a great deal of respect. Who'da thunk it?

(Then again, I thought God Hand looked like a retarded game, but whatever...)

Submitted by Tyetheczar (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 17:16.

Well, he's talking about his statement about the sales, oy. No rant on the content, oy. No no.

Submitted by Brokenscope (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 15:02.

Mmm pork wings.

Submitted by Sam (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 15:02.

That was nice. He admitted he was wrong, apologized to Rockstar, and in the end, was, in my eyes, very fair.

Why can't there be more columnists like this?

Submitted by Jabrwock on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 14:39.

It's good to see columnists who can admit they're wrong. Now if only O'Reilly could get off his high horse... then again, I think pigs will be genetically merged with chickens long before that...

-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...

Submitted by -Jes- (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 14:45.

Jabr, O'Reilly getting a clue is as likely as JT supporting anything started by the gaming industry.

Submitted by MrKenyon (not verified) on Sat, 01/13/2007 - 14:31.

Well, that was awful kind of him. Can no one else imagine a Rockstar rep standing behind him while he says this, armed with a baseball bat?

But, yeah, I'll be surprised if Rockstar doesn't take advantage of the Bully series by busting out a sequel.

Submitted by Analyst apologizes to Take-Two, wants Bully sequel | Mrongos (not verified) on Wed, 01/17/2007 - 11:16.

Submitted by liljimmyhopkins (not verified) on Thu, 06/28/2007 - 15:14.

dude i had a brilliant idea they should have field trips in bully!!!!!

Submitted by liljimmyhopkins (not verified) on Thu, 06/28/2007 - 15:00.

so r they going to make a bully 2? i want this yes or no thing over with!

Submitted by liljimmyhopkins (not verified) on Thu, 06/28/2007 - 15:09.

they should have it for all playstations xbox has its games so make bully 2 for ps2 psp and ps3 because if you have it on ps3 it will be a very famous game because ps3 is famous you should make it on psp becauese it will be a portable game for once and ps2 bacause if psp and ps3 cost too much you should also make it on ps2 that way you will get a lot more money

Submitted by cody hopkins (not verified) on Mon, 09/24/2007 - 21:10.

if they do have a bully 2 i think they should allow you to go out for sports or somthing and let you pick watever classes you want to take.

Submitted by cody hopkins (not verified) on Mon, 09/24/2007 - 21:12.

one of the main reasons i liked bully is because the main charachter has my last name and i would like to see that on the back of jerseys. LOL

Submitted by Jimmy Hopkins (not verified) on Sun, 05/04/2008 - 00:02.

Losers

Shout box

Andrew Eisen: That article is over five years old, Uncharted. A fun blast from the past though.02/12/2012 - 10:47pm

Uncharted NES: Critics: 'Left Behind' game glorifies violence- http://tinyurl.com/wu64s02/12/2012 - 4:34pm

Zen: I felt Brutal Legends was a funny & beautiful look at the world of rock from Double Fines point of view. The only parts I wasn't hot for were the RTS bits as it felt forced. Otherwise fantastic.02/12/2012 - 1:34pm

DorthLous: Passed 1.5M$. And I'd also say that Brutal Legend is far from being a bad game. I just think it was a few levels under what people expected from the people working on the project.02/11/2012 - 8:25am

Technogeek: Brutal Legend wasn't bad so much as "marketing had no idea how the game actually played", causing it to suffer accordingly.02/10/2012 - 10:38pm

RedMage: It looks the CIA's website has been DDOS'ed. Anon?02/10/2012 - 7:52pm

RedMage: Brutal Legend.02/10/2012 - 7:52pm

ddrfr33k: Has anything Tim Schafer ever made been of crap caliber? I'm struggling to think of one...02/10/2012 - 7:37pm

Guamish: I think it is in good hands. Tim did a game for the GDC award show and that was fun for how short it was.02/10/2012 - 12:22pm

Andrew Eisen: It'll be tragic if the game ultimately sucks.02/10/2012 - 12:17pm

james_fudge: $1.3 million02/10/2012 - 11:32am

Uncharted NES: Germany Says It Won't Sign ACTA [Update: ... Yet]- http://tinyurl.com/7r2twrg02/10/2012 - 11:21am

Andrew Eisen: Damn. Double Fine's Kickstarter fund has already passed a million dollars.02/09/2012 - 8:16pm

Andrew Eisen: Audrey didn't quote the sassy parts. Here's IGN's article: http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1218359p1.html And here's my original post: http://tinyurl.com/7y68a3902/09/2012 - 7:50pm

james_fudge: I hope you some said something sassy! Where's the link?02/09/2012 - 7:46pm

Andrew Eisen: Hey, neat. IGN quoted a blog I had writen only two hours earlier. I certainly timed that one pretty well.02/09/2012 - 7:38pm

Andrew Eisen: Toki Tori has been added to the Humble Bundle for Android.02/09/2012 - 5:11pm

james_fudge: Thanks for the heads-up DorthLous02/09/2012 - 4:33pm

DorthLous: Will do, my apologies.02/09/2012 - 4:14pm

Andrew Eisen: I appreciate the heads up but please keep typo alerts to the specific article's comments or PMs.02/09/2012 - 3:33pm

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