DayZ standalone alpha version sells over 730,000 copies

[Russ Boswell]

The original DayZ release was a modded version of Arma II, and although it had intense potential, it was ultimately labeled as an experience full of hacking, bugs, and glitching. Developers blamed a lot of these issues on the fact that the title was a mod of an existing game, and that the Arma II code did not allow them the true freedom to develop DayZ into what they'd originally envisioned.

This led to the creation of the DayZ standalone project, and we are now learning that just weeks after the release of the newest title, it has managed to sell over 730,000 copies.

The DayZ standalone is still incomplete, and is currently in an “alpha” stage, but that hasn't stopped gamers from purchasing early access to the post-apocalyptic showdown via Steam. The alpha saw 400,000 units sold in just the first week of its release, with 172,500 of those coming in the first 24 hours of going live. What makes this feat even more impressive is the fact that the DayZ standalone managed to steal and hold the top-spot for sales throughout the recent 2013 Steam Holiday event. It has sat comfortably in the pole position for two-weeks in a row, and even managed to attract more attention than some of the biggest sales of the season.

We saw gamers paying full price ($30) for an alpha-staged game, amidst huge price slashing on titles like Tomb Raider (Reg $49.99, discounted to $9.99) and Bioshock Infinite (Reg $39.99, discounted to $9.99).

But what makes DayZ such a must have title? According to its developers, it's due to the “unpredictability” of the game. It isn't like other end-of-days scenarios where you band together with friends and slash your way through hordes of zombies. DayZ is a truly terrifying experience that will test your survivability and moral compass. Not only will you be hunted by the undead, but other players may decide to steal your food or belongings, and you can become subject to things like illness and starvation.

You can grab the alpha version of the DayZ standalone right now on Steam.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/55200-dayz-standalone-alpha-version-sells-over-730000-copies.html

 

[treeski]

It does sound like a neat game. I wonder if it will have enough success to come to consoles in the future.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

I gotta pick this up....

 

[Ranger12]

Have logged about 31 hours so far. I must say it is rough at the moment but that is to be expected from a game in Alpha. I have had my inventory wiped as well as died from a broken animation but I have got to say it is the most fun I have had in a while online. The level of tension in-game is unlike any game I have played recently. Just seeing another player you don't know is enough to raise you're pulse and get you ready to shoot or run, or both. The level of detail is more realistic than most games and it can be very unforgiving if you get hurt. Hunger, thirst, infections, illnesses, loss of blood, falling, and even shooting up with the wrong blood type can kill you.
If you're thinking about getting you probably should because the price will only go up after the Alpha phase. If anyone is looking to run I am always down for some new allies ;D

 

[howzz1854]

I'll have to watch this game closely. recently payed State of Decay, started from when the game was only beta. was a great game none the less.

 

[IKROWNI]

It does sound like a neat game. I wonder if it will have enough success to come to consoles in the future.

Let's hope not! Consoles don't deserve games like dayz, arma, StarCraft, league of legends, world of Warcraft, and the likes.

Consoles are far to underpowered to play these titles at there full potential so if the game were developed for consoles they would be dumbed down to the console level. This would cause to much strain on the devs to make it available for the bad platforms causing in turn the pc version to be worse.

Just look at how the console fanboys went into a craze over how massive gta5 map was, while you can fit like 30 gta5 maps into the arma3 map. Aside from that the consoles can hardly fit that many people into server. Why play a game like dayz with only like 20 other survivors on a small map?

Let's just leave the consoles to keep rehashing co, halo, god of war until people wake up and stop buying an inferior gaming device and just get a pc.

 

[GhostRyder]

Im one of those 720k, its a great game even in its beta phase.

 

[Guest]

IKROWNI, obviously they wouldn't release it for last gen consoles. And clearly you are not informed enough about what the xbox one and ps4 can handle. Sure they might not get as good as a frame rate as a powerful pc, but they could easily run a game like dayz with around 50-60 fps, which is more than playable. Honestly this would create no strain on the developers, but create more revenue for them.

 

[Hexic]

It may create more revenue for the developers - yes, but it would (intentionally or not) harm the content itself via gameplay quality (not just graphically, if graphics are even being seriously compared then there's no point arguing with a console gamer) and it will stunt future development of the game, compared to what it could become as a pc-standalone.

I'm sorry, but it's common knowledge that when most hit games hit consoles from PC's, it starts lacking overall for all platforms, and the term 'easy mode' comes to mind alot.

How are you going to sell tons of copies of a difficult to play video game to a bunch of 9-14 year olds who are used to beating a game in 5 hours? You dumb it down, that's how.

 

[GeforcerFX]

It does sound like a neat game. I wonder if it will have enough success to come to consoles in the future.

Let's hope not! Consoles don't deserve games like dayz, arma, StarCraft, league of legends, world of Warcraft, and the likes.

Consoles are far to underpowered to play these titles at there full potential so if the game were developed for consoles they would be dumbed down to the console level. This would cause to much strain on the devs to make it available for the bad platforms causing in turn the pc version to be worse.

Just look at how the console fanboys went into a craze over how massive gta5 map was, while you can fit like 30 gta5 maps into the arma3 map. Aside from that the consoles can hardly fit that many people into server. Why play a game like dayz with only like 20 other survivors on a small map?

Let's just leave the consoles to keep rehashing co, halo, god of war until people wake up and stop buying an inferior gaming device and just get a pc.

Your aware the newest generation consoles are on par with a $800 dollar PC in performance right? they even USe PC hardware this generation, they would have no problem running Dayz which I got to run on my 9600m gt laptop without a single problem in 720p.

 

[xniax1]

730 copies sold when everyone knew it was going to be in alpha. Alpha means the game is no where near finished, but if you can't wait, here you go. That is very successful for a video game. DayZ won't ever go to a console, consoles ruin good gameplay.

go play call of duty

 

[Guest]

Your aware the newest generation consoles are on par with a $800 dollar PC in performance right? they even USe PC hardware this generation, they would have no problem running Dayz which I got to run on my 9600m gt laptop without a single problem in 720p.

They are much more in line with low-midranged, you can gather parts from PCpartpicker that outdoes the PS4 for a great price (Of course we don't run GDDR5 ram. That's assuming you need all the parts, most people with a PC can easily upgrade what they already have. Amd user could pick up the 8350 get 8 cores 4.0 GHZ. isn't the the GPU is on par with an HD 7870? mehh

 

[Guest]

The controls for this game are not meant for a game pad. There are way too many NOT to be put on a keyboard. Proprietary peripherals are a good way to limit what functionality you provide your customers. PS4 and XB1 did it wrong. If they were smart they would have went more the way of the Steam Machine, which can be upgraded and priced based on what parts/performance you can afford and still have a really nice console. I feel that them investing in making their hardware with such a static, already aging technology, is an obsolete method for providing gamers with hardware. This is last years way of doing it. This would cut down on any company's need to "dumb down" games that were originally built for high-end machines because the latest and greatest would be used for development, and options would be available to upgrade the console to run the finished products. I'm by no means of the "PC Master Race", or whatever you would call it, but my main gripe with consoles has been that they have always been a dated piece of crap hardware from the second they hit the shelves, with most often, NO CHANCE of critical components being upgraded for 3-4 years without wasting money on an entirely new console. This is a real waste. After a year, I become envious of my buddies twice as amazing graphics on their PC. I'm really interested to see what options will be available this year with the companies steam has vetted the OS out to that are actively building their versions of the console. It seems like the happy alternative to joining both the console gaming, and the PC gaming communities. For now, I use my current PC with Steam's Big Picture mode on my living room TV and it's a pretty great experience. DayZ in my living room is quite nice.

 

[LukeDJ]

That's all correct, and DayZ is a game much more suited to the PC than the consoles. @IKROWNI was being plain rude. Saying that a consoles are "inferior" and that the game would have to be "dumbed down" is exactly the sort of thing that gives us PC gamers a bad reputation and makes console gamers hate us.

EDIT: I see my previous comment has been removed (I must show more restraint with my passionate language )

 

[Jad Chaar]

I can't believe DayZ topped the charts even with awesome games (like Far Cry 3) being discounted so heavily (like the article implied).

 

[PC EliTiST]

I wouldn't be gettin this freakin boringm glitchy, cheating fest for a game even if it was free.

 

[Ahmed90]

I'm one of "172,500 of those coming in the first 24 hour" with 10 friends

DayZ is epic you never know what gonna happen
unlike other games like shooters etc.. you know you start the game do what you can to beat the other team gg game session is over do it again..
in DayZ you start the game session never know whats next you see a guy never know what will happen even your friends can turn into enemy in a sec (lol I know I force feed my friend some rotten food and laugh at him running around chernarus hospitals looking for medicine and finally die on the hospital stairs just for the lols )

 

[Guest]

Having played this , ramblers simulator, where there is not much to do but, walk, walk some more, pick some daisies... oh see what I did there ?

It needs more realism, I mean you spend all your time walking in the worlds most boring mod ever known to man. I know I know its now stand alone, but still, the zombies ran around chasing you frantically, it needed the Benny Hill theme tune.

It needs, thick socks, plasters, blisters, and areas you cant walk in trainers, only a decent boot. Ah to be the king of a rocky hill side.

Dull. Awful. I would rather buy paint drying vol 2, now with dlc of gloss paints, and the wallpaper drying mod. Its going to surpass dayz thats for sure.

 

[Hexic]

I do agree with your point in part, Luke - the hostilities are a two way street, and PC gamers aren't the kings of logic and 100% correct eithe. However I believe in retrospect to the PC gamers giving themselves a bad name, as consoles rose to fame, popularity, and ease of use, many players (primarily the younger generations) have lost appreciation for the PC in some aspects.

Remember your roots. All consoles are customized PCs with limited capacity and capabilities because they need to be quickly accessible and easy to pick up and go.

 

[NTAPRO]

730 copies sold when everyone knew it was going to be in alpha. Alpha means the game is no where near finished, but if you can't wait, here you go. That is very successful for a video game. DayZ won't ever go to a console, consoles ruin good gameplay.

go play call of duty

How do you explain all the non fps games that sells mltimillion copies then lol

 

[SirGCal]

I play quite a few alphas, but I haven't had to pay for them which is one reason I'm not in that group. Paying for the end product or at least close to it, sure, but... Now you have to pay to help alpha testing? Guess that's how it works if you throw the non-disclosure out the door. I'm excited for the title also but, seems like a $ grabbing scheme (need more to finish it?) or something. OK it's cheaper then full priced $50 but, do they get the final title also? One doesn't usually lead to the other due to the changes within the title during the process. Perhaps this is different. Either way, I usually wait for it to go on sale for $20 or less. I have plenty to test ATM though I do love scary titles. We'll see where it goes.