mentallyinept
Banned
This article by Ben is on point.
States the facts, puts them in context, lightly extrapolates on their greater meaning. Well done.
Arstechnica: Dont read too much into the PS4s million day-one sales
- Thread starter Zombie James
- Start date
This article by Ben is on point.
States the facts, puts them in context, lightly extrapolates on their greater meaning. Well done.
feint_ruled
Member
Another day, another buzzkill article from our "enthusiast" press. Some of these guys are real skeletons at the feast, you get the impression they only enjoy bad news (a trait they share with journalism as a whole perhaps).
Aquamarine
Member
Precisely.
We know this is a nonsensical, fluff piece because it can be easily written from two different perspectives:
Arstechnica's perspective:
"PS4 sold great day one, but launch sales don't mean very much at all...we have to wait for results later in the year to see if the console actually sells well or not."
If you wanted to praise the PS4, you could phrase it like this:
"PS4 sold great day one. Because it has a good amount of early momentum and buzz all over the world, it's poised to sell well in the market."
The former is unnecessarily negative and cynical. It epitomizes the "glass half empty" distinction you discussed earlier. Even the title----"Don't read too much into the early success of the PS4"---sets the stage for a pessimistic article.
Unnecessary negativity and cynicism is downright annoying at launch. Clearly it's too early to know anything about the future of these consoles...so why not just praise their successes without trying to spin everything into some kind of controversy?
The same goes for any negativity towards future successes that the Xbox One has. Early sales praise should be uniform for sites that don't explicitly state a Microsoft or Sony bias (like Official Nintendo Magazine).
Callibretto
Member
they can't use the argument because they already made a point that launch sales number are irrelevant, which is their reason why PS4 higher launch sales than PS3 is not a big deal.
Yeah I don't get his point about the Wii U. I never remember it being supply constrained in any significant way. I don't know what Nintendo was saying, but I remember seeing several Wii U's in various stores in early December. If anything, the comparison to Wii U's numbers at the end of 2012 show just how impressive the PS4's first day sales are.
I'm starting to wonder if you are the author or something. This is some rather naive take on the critic the article is receiving.
This is from the same guy who said resolution doesn't matter. The site is called ars technica. Remember all those articles they made about GTA sales saying it doesn't matter by comparing it to other games and not the other iterations of the same franchise? no? Because it makes no sense. It's a dumb and useless argument to make.
This is downplaying an incredible feat. If nothing else it shows Sony has done a great job on manufacturing and supply & logistics side of things. Something which is rather rare for console launches. Instead we have an article saying future sales will be more telling. I mean no shit sherlock. And no, sales of Fall 2014 won't be that telling either if we follow this same line of thinking. We won't know for 'sure' until maybe near the end of the console cycle how they actually did because things change and can take these sales in different directions. But it doesn't mean these numbers should be downplayed. They imply sony had the best launch for a home console ever in their weakest region. It means their manufacturing as well as supply/logistics side is working really well. It shows games have been hungry for a new generation of hardware. It's all good news. Like I said earlier, unless he wants to make this same article every quarter from now it's meaningless as meaningless can get.
And his response on twitter was not based on legitimate anything. It's just whining about criticism his article is getting. Cry me a river. If you are afraid of critic then don't be in the field of journalism...or buy a dog like Bish would say. This fear of criticism and the inability to respond to them with a professional response is what's pathetic.
Uno Venova
Banned
No one who has seen how most US journalists have tried to water down all the strengths the PS4 has had since E3 should be surprised at this reporting.
He's saying the PS4 might not end up being market leader right? Which is fair enough, we haven't seen the xbox yet, but I wanted to see if other consoles that started off strong stayed strong, so..
Wii - (market leader) 1.25m in 42 days
360 - 0.9m in 39 days
PS3 - 1m shipped in 50 days
PS2 - (market leader) 500,000 in 24hrs
xbox - 550,000 in 1 week
gamecube - 500,000 in 1 week
Dreamcast - 372,000 in 4 days
so for the past two generations, the console that has started the strongest has remained the highest selling and market leader. Why he is comparing the 360 to the Dreamcast I have no idea.
Wii - (market leader) 1.25m in 42 days
360 - 0.9m in 39 days
PS3 - 1m shipped in 50 days
PS2 - (market leader) 500,000 in 24hrs
xbox - 550,000 in 1 week
gamecube - 500,000 in 1 week
Dreamcast - 372,000 in 4 days
so for the past two generations, the console that has started the strongest has remained the highest selling and market leader. Why he is comparing the 360 to the Dreamcast I have no idea.
Do you think that's going to stop them?
I think the problem is just that this article is uninformed and not really journalistic. To compare wii u and dreamcast with the ps4 is just strange. So the only point they make is that you don't know if it will be successful and they could easily make the same point for any product. But using wii u and dreamcast is really uninformed.
AyaisMUsikWhore
Member
Out of that entire wretched article.. This has to be the best comment on there
Thank you.
by ruefrak said:
Thank you.
Claude Kenni
Member
The idea that a large percentage of the media is downplaying the PS4 is just not accurate. When reports like the one of record day one sales come out literally dozens of publications spread the news.
The narrative that a majority of American pubs are blindly shilling for MS and desperately wish to minimize Sony's early success couldn't be more inaccurate.
Every single article that isn't positive enough about the PS4, valid premise or not, is discussed to death leading to a very skewed perception. People don't recall the dozens of articles with glowing praise because it's a lot easier to note the minority that don't.
It's leading to an unwarranted persecution complex where even valid articles that don't just congratulate are often being unfairly picked apart. Valid criticisms are fine but the rush to assert bias are wrong. That attitude, one that's become widespread here, is a toxic one that discourages critical thinking.
The narrative that a majority of American pubs are blindly shilling for MS and desperately wish to minimize Sony's early success couldn't be more inaccurate.
Every single article that isn't positive enough about the PS4, valid premise or not, is discussed to death leading to a very skewed perception. People don't recall the dozens of articles with glowing praise because it's a lot easier to note the minority that don't.
It's leading to an unwarranted persecution complex where even valid articles that don't just congratulate are often being unfairly picked apart. Valid criticisms are fine but the rush to assert bias are wrong. That attitude, one that's become widespread here, is a toxic one that discourages critical thinking.
Dreamcast broke Launch records. I am not for a single second saying that the PS4 will end up anything like the Dreamcast but I still do beleive in quite a big contraction in the "hardcore" gaming market overall. Record day 1 sales do not mean record year 2 sales, for example as history will show us over and over.
UberTag
Member
It's a real shame that they don't seem to realize that Sony employs a great number of Americans and Microsoft employs a great number of non-Americans. Taking some nationalist rah-rah stance to cheer for the homegrown Redmond-based team versus the evil Japanese conglomerate is just idiotic.
An entity is just that. It's an entity. Same reason I felt it trite when the Canadian press were championing the Vancouver Canucks as Canada's team when they played the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup final... this, despite the fact that the Bruins had a great number more Canadian players on their roster than Vancouver did.
Enthusiast press should be championing excellence in hardware & software design regardless of which company puts it out. Period. Even if Sony enjoys more success this upcoming gen than last they should at least take solace in the fact that most of the games that will be driving that success will be Western-developed.
They shouldn't be feeling threatened nor should they feel they need to "prop up the underdog" in the interest of competition - when, in fact, we know full well that's just BS because if the roles were reversed right now they'd be going for the jugular and declaring early victory for the Xbox One as it ascends to some plateau of PS2-level dominance.
People aren't calling out Arstechnica because they're posturing and playing the "marathon vs. sprint" card because that's right on the money. It IS a marathon. However, we're calling Arstechnica out because they're a bunch of hypocrites.
If anyone can do it, then why is ps4 the only console to ever do that? Anyways, I predict that the ps4 will stay ahead for the rest of the generation. They will even up the NA fight and the rest of the world is theirs anyways.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
This is just at a point now where like half of all gaming media outlets just need to shut up shop, walk away, and accept they ain't too bright or good at this whole "words about videogames" thing.
Twisting a "PS4 LAUNCH DAY SALES THE HIGHEST IN CONSOLE HISTORY" to "woah there, things could turn shit any day now!!" is so transparently fucking awful that when the writer gets to keep his job afterwards, how do I square that?
Twisting a "PS4 LAUNCH DAY SALES THE HIGHEST IN CONSOLE HISTORY" to "woah there, things could turn shit any day now!!" is so transparently fucking awful that when the writer gets to keep his job afterwards, how do I square that?
AyaisMUsikWhore
Member
Why doesn't Sony say shit about this? They should come out an literally shame every so called journalist for the obvious bias they have an at the same time, make them feel like how they make us feel when they throw us all into one basket accusing us of being "fanboyish" "irrational" and "insecure" when their bias articles are just as irrational and uninformative, fanboyish and insecure as well . I wonder how they will feel.
Sephiroth503
Member
What is with certain parts of the enthusiast press trying to piss on everyone's chips?
GAF would be a slightly happier and more relaxed place for all of us if we just didn't give sites and articles like this the hits they crave. If it's not these articles it's posting twitter comments from the Pantomime villains responding to our discussions of said articles.
GAF would be a slightly happier and more relaxed place for all of us if we just didn't give sites and articles like this the hits they crave. If it's not these articles it's posting twitter comments from the Pantomime villains responding to our discussions of said articles.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
I'm sure you've done a statistical analysis to come to that conclusion! Otherwise you'd be just like those who you claim have an unwarranted persecution complex.
The Arstechnica article is basically common sense. Nobody knows how exactly this generation will turn out in 5 years. It's too early to declare victory.
By the same token no one would had predicted the PS3 would have sold neck and neck with the Xbox 360 by the end of this generation. But somehow the PS3 eventually caught up even though it had a terrible start.
By the same token no one would had predicted the PS3 would have sold neck and neck with the Xbox 360 by the end of this generation. But somehow the PS3 eventually caught up even though it had a terrible start.
Basileus777
Member
But how is that an example of the point he's trying to make? The Wii was supply constrained for years and sold 100 million consoles and a ton of software. If anything it's a point against his argument.
You know, to me, the thought of that was absurd, impossible, but now... I does not sound crazy anymore, not at all.
For me, it is one of the following:
1 - Journos are pissed with the recent events, involving us(gamers) and the industry as a whole, and are just, even if not intentionally, "trolling".
2 - Good ol' patriotism.
Either way, it's ridiculous and I hope neither is the right one.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Somehow downplaying Sony's record breaking launch does nothing for me at this point.
It has the best games coming out by far as well so don't expect things to let up all that much. Sony nailed it with the games and their supply/sales speak for that. I don't think I need articles like this telling me something when I can see things clearly enough myself.
It has the best games coming out by far as well so don't expect things to let up all that much. Sony nailed it with the games and their supply/sales speak for that. I don't think I need articles like this telling me something when I can see things clearly enough myself.
I think your sarcasmmeter is broken.
CorporateClown
Member
My issue with the article isn't that it's shitting on Sony, it's that it shits on the entire industry. We've had to put up with doom and gloom articles over the past couple of years that paint the industry as inevitably failing. Finally, the PS4 releases and breaks all launch records. Does everyone celebrate that, even for a moment, there's a sign the industry isn't doomed? Nope, these "journalists" who make their living off the survival of this industry are too busy pissing on everything because it's not their console of choice/they're desperately seeking clicks/whatever. It's pathetic.
Amazing how they went from "599 u.s. dollars/people will buy the system even with no games" to incredible value with ps plus and outstanding exclusives.
ps3 OS is still caca, but I was willing to let it go.
Xilium
Member
While I agree with the premise that a great launch doesn't necessarily equate to great lifetime sales, it has been quite annoying seeing every single positive aspect of the PS4 leading up to (and now including) launch be downplayed by the media. The system had a record-breaking launch, just let the be the story and move on. There doesn't need to be a "but..." modifier to everything that Sony does right.
If only that were the case. Sadly, it's possible everywhere.
QuicheFontaine
Member
Selling 1 million consoles in one day in one region is "quite good".
Is that ok? Can I say that, or is that reading too much into it?
Is that ok? Can I say that, or is that reading too much into it?
gundamkyoukai
Member
There is a fair amount in that piece that is not factual at all .
It also does not look at certain other factor eg 3rd party support etc etc etc
I don't think anyone is declaring victory, much less with the launch of the Xbox One this weekend. However, i found incredible naive they try to downplay the biggest launch of a console in NA history. Even when people try to say they're not, initial launch sales ARE an indicator; they're an indicator of consumer interest; it's up to Sony and MS to keep that interest but it means that there's a marked and that it seems it's bigger than ever before.
It's an indicator of who will win this Gen, no? But i'm sure that if the PS4 would have sold less than 100K in day one, everyone will be calling the PS4 dead; so why we can be optimist and call the PS4 an (early) success with 1million sales in 24hrs?
If you look back, in any particular market the starting position seems to predict the end. PS2 started with better day 1 sales than the GC and XB and DC and led the generation. Ditto with Ps1. Ditto with NES. Anythime it was close like the SNES vs Genesis or 360 vs Wii vs PS3 it turned out to be more complicated.
Well sourced? It's mostly taking the same numbers than the GAf thread about it, without mentioning their caveats, and trying to play the devil's advocate.
This is the journalistic equivalent of drive-by posts saying "Well who cares about power, because the most powerful console never ended up being 1st when it comes to sales"
Ignoring context, mixing up barely comparable data and situations, no research, no analysis.
A well written piece could have been reflecting some research. Maybe contact HW manufacturers to learn more about initial shipments. Discuss how this is a testimony that Sony was much, much better prepared than the PS3 disaster (low stocks, delays) and that launching first in the US probably was a good strategy. Discuss how these numbers fly in the face of the "consoles are dead, tablets iPhone farmville lolz" narrative we've been hearing for months.
None of this would have prevented a "well this is just launch, people are hungry for a new console, so we'll see" cautionary comment.
And then, there's the butthurt twitter follow-up. Well guess what, game journalists, if your audience is getting more and more itchy about your half assed job, maybe there's a reason other than "lol, GAF".
Maybe it's time for some self-reflection because at the end of the day, it's the people you're so busy critizing who allow you to pay your bills. It's getting to a territory when there's more and more "let's talk about ourselves and how gamers are evil and don't know jack shit", more opinionated blog posts-like articles that aren't any better that the average posts you're complaining about.
Every time devs or HW manufacturers blatantly ignore their customers' feedback and try to belittle them or their issues, it doesn't go down quite well. You don't need to look far into the pasrt to see obvious examples of this. Some of you are going down the exact same path.