Support NeoGAF

[Agent Icebeezy]

Virtua Fighter 2 was the only million seller in the series, and VF4 sold under 500k on a userbase that was far, far larger than this.

I've been saying this. I guess people have to be shown to believe.

 

[jarrod]

Dreamcast was also supposed to have a 'Virtual Console' with Sega's past games and those of TG16's:

Perhaps some of the Gamecube titles with past NES/SNES/N64 games (like Animal Crossing, Zelda Compilation, etc.) were 'emulator' practice? Interesting how Sega and TG16's games joined with Nintendo's for the Virtual Console and not, say, the PS3 or Xbox 360.

As an aside, Famciom game downloading/storage/playback was one of the planned features for the 64DD and it's Radnet service. SEGA wasn't exactly the first one with this idea...

 

[jarrod]

Retailers only ordered 150k copies of VF5... it's not saving anything (Gundam Musou has a far better chance of that imo).

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Odysseus will never marry.

I actually love and respect my wife. She let me buy a $400 system when we were buying a house, I'll buy her a ~$200 system. I love this hobby too much not be happy to bring someone new into the fold, even if it's not my first choice of system. I have a hard time getting her to play 360 with me because she doesn't like the games I'll play, but I'm damn well going to play Wii with her regardless of what she buys - I'll be gaming with my wife and that trancends any console preference. I've been trying to get her to game with me for the nearly eight years we've been married.

Frankly, while I've never owned a Nintendo system before and can't say I'm a fan (yet), kudos to them for pulling it off.

Dr Phil Channel confirmed. This post brought a tear to my eye.

 

[VietBitter]

Odysseus will never marry.

I actually love and respect my wife. She let me buy a $400 system when we were buying a house, I'll buy her a ~$200 system. I love this hobby too much not be happy to bring someone new into the fold, even if it's not my first choice of system. I have a hard time getting her to play 360 with me because she doesn't like the games I'll play, but I'm damn well going to play Wii with her regardless of what she buys - I'll be gaming with my wife and that trancends any console preference. I've been trying to get her to game with me for the nearly eight years we've been married.

Frankly, while I've never owned a Nintendo system before and can't say I'm a fan (yet), kudos to them for pulling it off.

Another happy story and ending brought to you by Nintendo!

Nintendo consoles aren't made for kids they're made for the whole family!

 

[BrodiemanTTR]

Retailers only ordered 150k copies of VF5... it's not saving anything (Gundam Musou has a far better chance of that imo).

Oh lord, if VF5 only does about 80k and PS3 sales creep up to 25k. Imagine, if you can, the GAF insanity. The GAfsanity.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

See what?

That VF5 will come down from the heavens and smite all of the upstarts who doubt the PS3, silly!

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

That VF5 will come down from the heavens and smite all of the upstarts who doubt the PS3, silly!

doubt the PS3 in what way? Games? We know it will have some games. Sales in Japan? You need to look elsewhere then.

 

[Pureauthor]

<===== click

doubt the PS3 in what way? Games? We know it will have some games. Sales in Japan? You need to look elsewhere then.

 

[charlequin]

I dont think its a negative term when capitalized.

No, it still is. The abbreviation you're looking for is "JPN." The other one is a racial slur and really needs not to be used in any context whatseover on here.

Again, I did not say Wii will sell less than any console, other than the PS2's early numbers. I said that the existance of viable competition in a closed market like the gaming market, tends to spread out the dollars, and hence Wii won't sell as much as it would should the PS3 or 360 not exist.

Do you not understand that the entire basis of the Wii's plan for success involves gaming not being a closed market? If you're going to argue it'll do worse on that basis you have to actually make an argument for why there isn't a market of untapped purchasers who have no interest in 360 and PS3 but who will purchase Wii.

As far as prevalance of brand names, it's what keeps the industry alive. Would any of the system sell if not for the existence of strong franchises?

I'd like to think that after this generation gamers would actually have a more accurate understanding of branding, but so far it doesn't seem to be happening.

In short: brand name isn't used as a primary driver for purchase for the vast majority of consumers; it's used as a tie-breaker, influencing purchases in situations where otherwise similar options are presented. The purpose of brand is to convey a set of values and qualities simply: it reminds the customer that a product carries the positive qualities they've associated with previous products. The PS2 is a perfect example of utilizing brand recognition to sell: it was quite clearly the successor to the wildly successful PS1, it had an identical approach to the market, and even had a nearly unprecdedented level of backwards compatibility. It seemed obvious from just a glance that the positive qualities of the PS1 (primarily a broad, diverse selection of games with numerous excellent titles in every imaginable genre) would carry over because the PS2 was an offering in keeping with what the brand stood for.

The funny thing about this generation is how little everyone is actually leveraging their brand names. Microsoft is the only one who's really doing so -- Xbox 360 is actually missing some of the key elements of Xbox (hard drive and superior hardware performance) but the networking elements and strong Western developer support ensure that it is largely delivering a consistent experience with their last-gen system. Nintendo is clearly looking for the novelty of their new system to sell on its own (witness how the Nintendo branding is downplayed on all the Wii promotional materials) and Sony seems to have decided to go with the brand associations of Sony consumer electronics (expensive and "choice," but of high quality) rather than the PlayStation brand (mass-market, diverse, "for everyone") -- as a result both are going to sell based on what people observe about their current strategy, because neither is actually following the values that its "brand" historically conveys.

 

[jarrod]

Oh lord, if VF5 only does about 80k and PS3 sales creep up to 25k. Imagine, if you can, the GAF insanity. The GAfsanity.

Well, I expect it'll do a bit better than that (say 120k VF5 & 55k PS3)... but not really "saving" level better.

 

[Pope Benedict XVI]

Oh lord, if VF5 only does about 80k and PS3 sales creep up to 25k. Imagine, if you can, the GAF insanity. The GAfsanity.

You'd just have a lot of people saying "oh but no one ever seriously thought vf5 would make a difference..blah blah....that gundam game....blah blah ten year life cycle...FFXIII"

 

[Gio_CoD]

This debate about whether or not JAP is derogatory seems a little hypersensitive. Obviously the guy didn't mean it in a disparaging manner.

 

[1945er]

The funny thing about this generation is how little everyone is actually leveraging their brand names.

I think you make some very good points, but I think that Sony actually tried to leverage their strong Playstation brand, but failed. You already pointed out that the attributes that the Playstation brand stood for in its previous iterations are not apparent in the PS3, and that is the reason their 'lever' broke this time (at least it appears so for now). I am under the impression that they were overconfident in their appeal to the huge PS1/2 fanbase and they thought they could survive on brand loyalty for the first 6-9 months alone (Hence Reeves' qoute they could sell 5 million systems without games).
I still think that in 3 years from now, the PS3, with a fleshed out online service, some killer apps, and the new standard video playback format (speculative, i know) for 250-300 dollars would be something true to the playstation franchise. I suspect that this will be too little too late though, especially if MS pursues their tactic of shortening the generational cycle further.

Edit: Ok, it was Reeves and not Harrison.

 

[charlequin]

This debate about whether or not JAP is derogatory seems a little hypersensitive. Obviously the guy didn't mean it in a disparaging manner.

No one's blaming anyone for doing it or saying they meant it in a disparaging manner. My purpose is to point out that it's a slur and ask that people notice that and therefore refrain from using it.

 

[RaijinFY]

It's not Harrison who said that but Reeves...

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

This debate about whether or not JAP is derogatory seems a little hypersensitive. Obviously the guy didn't mean it in a disparaging manner.

I agree, but JPN does look a lot better and professional.

 

[charlequin]

I think you make some very good points, but I think that Sony actually tried to leverage their strong Playstation brand, but failed.

Yeah, I'd agree with this; I more or less meant "successfully leveraging."

I suspect that this will be too little too late though, especially if MS pursues their tactic of shortening the generational cycle further.

I don't think there's any evidence that Microsoft is doing that as a matter of principle; they tried to cut short the end of the most recent generation because they were invested in a console architecture that couldn't become profitable and they (as I think history will now show, wisely) wanted to get early-mover advantage against the PS3. If their strategy works out as well as I expect and they become the de facto HD console in the US, it'll be to their advantage to push back the start of a new generation, exactly the way Sony wanted to this time around.

 

[mj1108]

but dude.... nintendo

i mean, i'll rant and rave all day and night about how much the 360 sucks, but man...

just ignore your wife's wishes until she mentions it at least a couple hundred more times

Why aren't you banned? I made a similar statement in a PSP thread and got banned for it because they said they were cracking down on similar shit posts.

This is being quoted so hopefully one of them will see it and come to their senses.

 

[MrSardonic]

Oh lord, if VF5 only does about 80k and PS3 sales creep up to 25k. Imagine, if you can, the GAF insanity. The GAfsanity.

btw, you might have missed

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5478263&postcount=600

 

[Krowley]

In short: brand name isn't used as a primary driver for purchase for the vast majority of consumers; it's used as a tie-breaker, influencing purchases in situations where otherwise similar options are presented. The purpose of brand is to convey a set of values and qualities simply: it reminds the customer that a product carries the positive qualities they've associated with previous products. The PS2 is a perfect example of utilizing brand recognition to sell: it was quite clearly the successor to the wildly successful PS1, it had an identical approach to the market, and even had a nearly unprecdedented level of backwards compatibility. It seemed obvious from just a glance that the positive qualities of the PS1 (primarily a broad, diverse selection of games with numerous excellent titles in every imaginable genre) would carry over because the PS2 was an offering in keeping with what the brand stood for.

The funny thing about this generation is how little everyone is actually leveraging their brand names. Microsoft is the only one who's really doing so -- Xbox 360 is actually missing some of the key elements of Xbox (hard drive and superior hardware performance) but the networking elements and strong Western developer support ensure that it is largely delivering a consistent experience with their last-gen system. Nintendo is clearly looking for the novelty of their new system to sell on its own (witness how the Nintendo branding is downplayed on all the Wii promotional materials) and Sony seems to have decided to go with the brand associations of Sony consumer electronics (expensive and "choice," but of high quality) rather than the PlayStation brand (mass-market, diverse, "for everyone") -- as a result both are going to sell based on what people observe about their current strategy, because neither is actually following the values that its "brand" historically conveys.

Totally agree with this assessment...

Ps3 is clearly NOT the same kind of product that ps2 is... That's what's going on here. If sony had made another system that was designed to gather the ps2 audience, they would be selling much better right now. Ps3 is not really playstation 3... it's as much of a paradigm shift in terms of philosophy as the wii is for nintendo.

But there is one big difference... Nintendo needed to change their image, sony didn't... In many ways, ps3 is a riskier gamble than wii ever was... Nintendo didn't have nearly as much to lose.

 

[BrodiemanTTR]

btw, you might have missed

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5478263&postcount=600

No I saw it, thank you.

 

[donny2112]

Famitsu Jan 15-21

1. PS2 .hack//G.U. Vol. 3 123676 / NEW
2. NDS Wario: The Seven 87731 / NEW
3. PS2 Shining Force EXA 79449 / NEW
4. WII Wii Sports 63051 / 845241
5. NDS Pokemon Diamond/Pearl 49050 / 4624864
6. WII Wii Play 48770 / 741688
7. PS2 Dragon Shadow Spell 45548 / NEW
8. 360 Gears of War 33795 / NEW
9. NDS Brain Training 2 31984 / 3922009
10. NDS Etrian Odyssey 31702 / NEW
11. NDS General Knowledge Training 31309 / 1088596
12. NDS New Super Mario Bros. 29842 / 4016459
13. NDS Animal Crossing: Wild World 28351 / 3809240
14. WII Excite Truck 20939 / NEW
15. PSP MGS: Portable Ops 20843 / 289267
16. NDS Mario Kart DS 18493 / 1886684
17. NDS Mega Man Star Force Pegasus/Leo/Dragon 18398 / 315777
18. NDS Hoshi no Kirby DS 16967 / 839269
19. NDS English Training 16408 / 1601188
20. WII Wario Ware: Smooth Moves 15798 / 293456
21. WII Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 15302 / 368794
22. PS2 Yakuza (BEST) 15027 / 341868
23. NDS Kanji Brain 15002 / 251361
24. PSP Monster Hunter Portable (BEST) 14669 / 208895
25. NDS 1000 Healthy DS Recipes 13982 / 262215
26. NDS Brain Training 13800 / 3080395
27. NDS Tea Dog's Room DS 2 13778 / NEW
28. NDS Kanji Quiz DS 12287 / 405668
29. PSP Tales of the World 12182 / 187180
30. NDS Puyo Puyo! 12030 / 78075

 

[1945er]

I don't think there's any evidence that Microsoft is doing that as a matter of principle; they tried to cut short the end of the most recent generation because they were invested in a console architecture that couldn't become profitable and they (as I think history will now show, wisely) wanted to get early-mover advantage against the PS3. If their strategy works out as well as I expect and they become the de facto HD console in the US, it'll be to their advantage to push back the start of a new generation, exactly the way Sony wanted to this time around.

While the Xbox was a financial failure, it set them up nicely for this generation. They learned how to manufacture the hardware (and how not to), they got a brand established, they built a great console online environment and established a respectable software portfolio. I think the question is if they target market leadership or market dominance. With MS, is suspect the latter. They would leave some money on the table if they introduced the next console early, but it could be argued they would hurt Sony even more. If the PS3 starts to gain ground on the 360 and Sony stops losing ridicolous amounts of money on the hardware, that would be a nice time for a next generation for MS. I am sure they won't imitate Sony's strategy this gen and wait a year for the next generation. When I think about it, without taking MS into account, the PS3 would be a great system with a shiny future. They could have taken their time and introduced it as late as Q4 2007, the prospect of real next gen graphics would have been enough to give Nintendo a year head start.
When Xbox comes out on top, and they start next gen early, they will have a much bigger software support, even from japanese companies who won't give up the US and european markets. This could put Sony in a real tight spot, and I believe that MS is willing to eat up the cost for that.

 

[ziran]

Famitsu Jan 15-21

1. PS2 .hack//G.U. Vol. 3 123676 / NEW
2. NDS Wario: The Seven 87731 / NEW
3. PS2 Shining Force EXA 79449 / NEW
4. WII Wii Sports 63051 / 845241
5. NDS Pokemon Diamond/Pearl 49050 / 4624864
6. WII Wii Play 48770 / 741688
7. PS2 Dragon Shadow Spell 45548 / NEW
8. 360 Gears of War 33795 / NEW
9. NDS Brain Training 2 31984 / 3922009
10. NDS Etrian Odyssey 31702 / NEW
11. NDS General Knowledge Training 31309 / 1088596
12. NDS New Super Mario Bros. 29842 / 4016459
13. NDS Animal Crossing: Wild World 28351 / 3809240
14. WII Excite Truck 20939 / NEW
15. PSP MGS: Portable Ops 20843 / 289267
16. NDS Mario Kart DS 18493 / 1886684
17. NDS Mega Man Star Force Pegasus/Leo/Dragon 18398 / 315777
18. NDS Hoshi no Kirby DS 16967 / 839269
19. NDS English Training 16408 / 1601188
20. WII Wario Ware: Smooth Moves 15798 / 293456
21. WII Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 15302 / 368794
22. PS2 Yakuza (BEST) 15027 / 341868
23. NDS Kanji Brain 15002 / 251361
24. PSP Monster Hunter Portable (BEST) 14669 / 208895
25. NDS 1000 Healthy DS Recipes 13982 / 262215
26. NDS Brain Training 13800 / 3080395
27. NDS Tea Dog's Room DS 2 13778 / NEW
28. NDS Kanji Quiz DS 12287 / 405668
29. PSP Tales of the World 12182 / 187180
30. NDS Puyo Puyo! 12030 / 78075

thanks.

just noticed there's over 100k difference between mc's mkds numbers and famitsu's, not much in the scheme of things, but still interesting. zelda's sales are okay, but warioware will probably have longer legs, and end up outselling it.

 

[puck1337]

You'd just have a lot of people saying "oh but no one ever seriously thought vf5 would make a difference..blah blah....that gundam game....blah blah ten year life cycle...FFXIII"

I thought it would make a difference, until I saw the 150k shipped figure. VF is a huge franchise for a system that currently has a lack of them. I really truly expected that the PS3 would hit 100k the week that VF5 launched because it would finally give an excuse to buy the system to a lot of people who are currently on the fence.

 

[jmdajr]

DEFINITELY PRINTS MONEY

 

[max-pain]

Famitsu Jan 15-21

1. PS2 .hack//G.U. Vol. 3 123676 / NEW
2. NDS Wario: The Seven 87731 / NEW
3. PS2 Shining Force EXA 79449 / NEW
4. WII Wii Sports 63051 / 845241
5. NDS Pokemon Diamond/Pearl 49050 / 4624864
6. WII Wii Play 48770 / 741688
7. PS2 Dragon Shadow Spell 45548 / NEW
8. 360 Gears of War 33795 / NEW
9. NDS Brain Training 2 31984 / 3922009
10. NDS Etrian Odyssey 31702 / NEW
11. NDS General Knowledge Training 31309 / 1088596
12. NDS New Super Mario Bros. 29842 / 4016459
13. NDS Animal Crossing: Wild World 28351 / 3809240
14. WII Excite Truck 20939 / NEW
15. PSP MGS: Portable Ops 20843 / 289267
16. NDS Mario Kart DS 18493 / 1886684
17. NDS Mega Man Star Force Pegasus/Leo/Dragon 18398 / 315777
18. NDS Hoshi no Kirby DS 16967 / 839269
19. NDS English Training 16408 / 1601188
20. WII Wario Ware: Smooth Moves 15798 / 293456
21. WII Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 15302 / 368794
22. PS2 Yakuza (BEST) 15027 / 341868
23. NDS Kanji Brain 15002 / 251361
24. PSP Monster Hunter Portable (BEST) 14669 / 208895
25. NDS 1000 Healthy DS Recipes 13982 / 262215
26. NDS Brain Training 13800 / 3080395
27. NDS Tea Dog's Room DS 2 13778 / NEW
28. NDS Kanji Quiz DS 12287 / 405668
29. PSP Tales of the World 12182 / 187180
30. NDS Puyo Puyo! 12030 / 78075

PSP Monster Hunter Portable is around 870-880k with the original release.

 

[charlequin]

While the Xbox was a financial failure, it set them up nicely for this generation. They learned how to manufacture the hardware (and how not to), they got a brand established, they built a great console online environment and established a respectable software portfolio. I think the question is if they target market leadership or market dominance. With MS, is suspect the latter. They would leave some money on the table if they introduced the next console early, but it could be argued they would hurt Sony even more. If the PS3 starts to gain ground on the 360 and Sony stops losing ridicolous amounts of money on the hardware, that would be a nice time for a next generation for MS.

I don't know why everyone still seems to think that the PS3 is magically going to "turn it all around" four years into its life. If it winds up pulling up the lead at the end of 2007 then its die is cast, and Microsoft is going to stretch out the generation as long as possible. If it trudges to a successful place that's within earshot of Microsoft's position (whether above or below) Microsoft's best strategy will be to up the ante and try to snipe back, knowing that they can afford to lose out on marketshare to some degree since their plan has to have better profit margins than Sony's this time out. The only circumstance where it makes sense for MS to cut and run again is if Sony surges to a dominant lead out of the gate.

 

[1945er]

I don't know why everyone still seems to think that the PS3 is magically going to "turn it all around" four years into its life. If it winds up pulling up the lead at the end of 2007 then its die is cast, and Microsoft is going to stretch out the generation as long as possible. If it trudges to a successful place that's within earshot of Microsoft's position (whether above or below) Microsoft's best strategy will be to up the ante and try to snipe back, knowing that they can afford to lose out on marketshare to some degree since their plan has to have better profit margins than Sony's this time out. The only circumstance where it makes sense for MS to cut and run again is if Sony surges to a dominant lead out of the gate.

Sorry, I would like to reply to this but I don't fully understand what you are saying here. Especially not what you mean by "upping the ante and trying to snipe back". Just to clear one thing up, I don't expect the PS3 to 'turn it around' marketshare wise, but they will[\i] make some money with their console in a couple of years. I can not quite follow the reasoning behind your assertions.

 

[Link]

Why aren't you banned? I made a similar statement in a PSP thread and got banned for it because they said they were cracking down on similar shit posts.

This is being quoted so hopefully one of them will see it and come to their senses.

Relax. Odysseus is essentially the bizarro-Gahiggidy, and should be viewed as such.

 

[argon]

I find myself surprised every week by the PS3 sales. Riding off the wave of success that is the PS2, it's pretty hard to believe that the PS3 could be bombing like it is in Japan. Anecdotal reports from the States say that it isn't faring all that well over here either. If you're Sony, what do you do here? Drop the price? I think that's about all you can do now. You can't magically make good software just appear, so the only factor you can control is the price of the system. They would be wise to drop the 20 gig unit to the same price as the 360 premium, and lower the 60 gig price to 500 and try to market it seperately. Maybe include some sort of media player type software or productivity software,

I don't think it's as simple as just dropping the price. Although that would raise PS3 sales, it would put the crunch on Sony financially, and Microsoft/Nintendo could easily counter. Sony does not want to get into a pricing war with Microsoft because they know they would lose.

The PS3's price (really, its manufacturing cost reduction curve) is a strategic blunder that is going to haunt Sony this entire gen.

 

[enishi]

Famitsu Jan 15-21
23. NDS Kanji Brain 15002 / 251361
28. NDS Kanji Quiz DS 12287 / 405668

Just notice that the 2 Kanji games produced by Rocket Company have been sold 650k copies

That's amazing considering the budget they put in these 2 games. For such a small company, they may already earn more than 10 times of normal profit... Their chairman may be sitting in his room and watching the money-printing machine print money for him :lol

 

[duderon]

Just notice that the 2 Kanji games produced by Rocket Company have been sold 650k copies

That's amazing considering the budget they put in these 2 games. For such a small company, they may already earn more than 10 times of normal profit... Their chairman may be sitting in his room and watching the money-printing machine print money for him :lol

:lol

 

[cvxfreak]

Those Kanji software are pretty freakin awesome non-games. They actually help me become better at Japanese. Anyone who sees that as a bad thing needs to go screw themselves.

 

[Jokeropia]

While most people assumed that PS3 wouldn't be quite as strong as the PS2, I think very few dared to predict such a horrible start for it.

Wii is pretty much in the opposite situation. Most assumed that it would at the very least outperform Gamecube, but this goes way beyond that. Amazing how things can change.

 

[mj1108]

Just notice that the 2 Kanji games produced by Rocket Company have been sold 650k copies

That's amazing considering the budget they put in these 2 games. For such a small company, they may already earn more than 10 times of normal profit... Their chairman may be sitting in his room and watching the money-printing machine print money for him :lol

DS Dev kits = money printing machines confirmed

 

[nintendorly]

This debate about whether or not JAP is derogatory seems a little hypersensitive. Obviously the guy didn't mean it in a disparaging manner.

I totally agree. Just more political correctness gone overboard.

 

[PkunkFury]

Those Kanji software are pretty freakin awesome non-games. They actually help me become better at Japanese. Anyone who sees that as a bad thing needs to go screw themselves.

Which of these games would you say is best for a 3rd year collage student? Also, has a dictionary that looks up the kanji with handwriting been released for DS yet? I could really use some of this stuff studying

 

[Wyndstryker]

Just notice that the 2 Kanji games produced by Rocket Company have been sold 650k copies

That's amazing considering the budget they put in these 2 games. For such a small company, they may already earn more than 10 times of normal profit... Their chairman may be sitting in his room and watching the money-printing machine print money for him :lol

 

[Mashing]

$599 (would be better if the currency was US dollars--but I get where you're coming from)

:lol :lol

 

[Ynos Yrros]

VF5 was never really a system seller, TEKKEN might be, but it's sales also went down. Fighting games lost popularity. I also doubt that PS3 will EVER be able to outsell Wii in Japan.
Gaming in Japan changed, or as I'd like to call it: IT DIED. Europe will follow Japan's trends, Wii will be giant in Europe, PS3 and X360 - not so much. The last bastion is NA, I think that in NA people still want awesome graphics and hi end technology.

Let's see what will happen.

 

[Souldriver]

VF5 was never really a system seller, TEKKEN might be, but it's sales also went down. Fighting games lost popularity. I also doubt that PS3 will EVER be able to outsell Wii in Japan.
Gaming in Japan changed, or as I'd like to call it: IT DIED. Europe will follow Japan's trends, Wii will be giant in Europe, PS3 and X360 - not so much. The last bastion is NA, I think that in NA people still want awesome graphics and hi end technology.

Let's see what will happen.

God bless America!

 

[Link]

Gaming in Japan changed, or as I'd like to call it: IT DIED.

There's not a rolleyes big enough.

 

[Ynos Yrros]

God bless America!

Where everything is bigger!

Spoiler

I'm from Europe ;(

There's not a rolleyes big enough

I'm not saying it changed for the better or worse, I'm not the one to judge.

 

[BrodiemanTTR]

There's not a rolleyes big enough.

In before some massive gif.

 

[mre]

I'm not saying it changed for the better or worse, I'm not the one to judge.

Saying that gaming in Japan is dead isn't a judgemental statement indicating that it changed for the worse?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

By chance does anyone have that chart of 360 vs. Xbox lifetime on hand?

I see MrSardonic has provided it by now (this part of the response initially written before the 4AMEST 404 time), but here's a live one.

PS3 vs Wii is looking almost as bad as the PSP vs DS war

In early trends things seem even more Wii-tilted now than things were DS-tilted a few years back.

The PSP launched a week after the DS, and with much fewer units available. By the time it had been out 12 weeks, though, increased supply allowed it to outsell the DS a little each week, giving it 33% of the DS/PSP market and growing.

The PS3 launched three weeks before the Wii, though with much fewer units available. By the time it's been out 12 weeks, though, increased supply is allowing it to... sit on store shelves and get greatly outsold each week, giving 30% of the Wii/PS3 market and dropping.

I wasn't around for Sega's last console (so I could totally be wrong on this), but I suspect the Wii was very much influenced by the Dreamcast. As you said, the style is similiar. Don't both controllers hold memory?

Not exactly. Dreamcast had the VMU, which was more like an N64 Controller Pak with a screen. I guess one could compare it to the Wii remote's speaker in terms of giving more response, but that seems a bit of a stretch.

I'd never thought a lot about Dreamcast and Wii being similar, though I always thought there was some similarity between Dreamcast and GameCube, both being
the consoles of the remaining older players
with a strong first party
and a focus on affordability for consumers
and ease of development for developers
and four-player capable from the get-go.

 

[splattergnome]

There's not a rolleyes big enough.

 

[pollo]

Odysseus will never marry.

I actually love and respect my wife. She let me buy a $400 system when we were buying a house, I'll buy her a ~$200 system. I love this hobby too much not be happy to bring someone new into the fold, even if it's not my first choice of system. I have a hard time getting her to play 360 with me because she doesn't like the games I'll play, but I'm damn well going to play Wii with her regardless of what she buys - I'll be gaming with my wife and that trancends any console preference. I've been trying to get her to game with me for the nearly eight years we've been married.

Frankly, while I've never owned a Nintendo system before and can't say I'm a fan (yet), kudos to them for pulling it off.

WHAT WHAT WHAT?

GhaleonEB owning a nintendo console??

*head explodes*