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NPD June 2012 Results [Up1: Microsoft/Nintendo Hardware, Lego Batman 2, Lollipop]

Did everything magically change by full release? No? Didn't think so.

I'm not trolling it, I'm just expressing joy that the only game I've truly hated didn't sell well.

Are you fucking kidding me. You played the demo and are dancing like a madman that the game didn't sell well? This is probably one of the more pathetic things I've seen said around here.
 
Is the Super Mario 3D Land bundle still available? I thought it was just for the holidays.

EDIT: And Mario Tennis didn't reach 130k? I know it will sell for a long time but still pretty bad.
 

FoneBone

Member
It also apparently wasn't marketed very well, but the (type of) platform is probably the bigger problem.

I know the marketing was lacking, but the performance in Japan and Europe (where there seems to have been considerably more advertising) suggests it wouldn't have made that much of a difference.
 
Also this isn't meant to knock the DS's library because I think it is fantastic and very varied, but I feel like a lot of revenue coming from it and from the Wii were from parents picking up cheap games to play on the Wii with a lot of shovelwhare getting exposure because of the cheapness. The iOS market in my opinion has destroyed the shovelwhare market. This is why Ubisoft had to quickly change gears with and found a lot of successes elsewhere and why THQ collapsed. Their licensed and shovelwhare emporium fell apart a lot faster than they imagined.

I agree, but honestly, that's been true for the entire life of the industry; the market leader caters to the budget / casual gamers. I think a big difference this gen, specifically with the Wii, is that the quality of games available at low prices on that market leading platform was significantly lower than it's ever been. The Wii had no Player's Choice line of cheap quality games, and although a great library is available for the Wii, it was buried under the largest avalanche of shovelware a console has ever seen.

And I agree, that market has moved on to iOS, or phones in general. Shovelware finally priced right. Nobody feels burned if a $1 game isn't very good.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
And I agree, that market has moved on to iOS, or phones in general. Shovelware finally priced right. Nobody feels burned if a $1 game isn't very good.

There's also a quality versus quantity argument--it's easier to polish your game when you don't need to be quite as aware of scope/content amount/length issues, and you don't need to be quite as aware of scope/content amount/length issues when you're selling for $1.
 
I almost think we don't need these NPD threads anymore. With the state of digital distributions, they're bordering on irrelevance. I guess the hardware numbers are still relevant at least.
 
It also apparently wasn't marketed very well,
If by "very well" you mean "at all" then yes. Announcing RE6 right before release wasn't the smartest move either, but when Capcom USA puts less investment behind marketing than they did for stuff like MHFU or TVC, you know things are going to be bad.

Oh well, at least it outsold Dragon's Dogma. :)
 

Road

Member
I almost think we don't need these NPD threads anymore. With the state of digital distributions, they're bordering on irrelevance. I guess the hardware numbers are still relevant at least.

It's really sad that, in Japan, we have two trackers fighting to see which makes info (with actual sales numbers) publicly available first, while in the US we have this, well, mess.
 
I don't get why NPD is so expensive or secretive. Is it really that expensive to get these sales numbers vs Japan? I know its a bigger market, but the amount you need for an NPD subscription is insane. I don't see why they can't release the top 10 and hardware sales anymore. NPD really is fucking pathetic in comparison.
 

Skiesofwonder

Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
I am amazed that Star Fox 64 3D did so well. And did Pilot Wings Resort seriously not even break 130K? :/
 

donny2112

Member
I don't see why they can't release the top 10 and hardware sales anymore.

Possible reasons:
* They're teamed up with Chart-Track now, which is absolutely fanatical about protecting their data from unauthorized distribution. Chart-Track almost never gives hardware, and up until a few years ago, their Top 40 was combined platform only. (Famitsu is in the same group with NPD/Chart-Track, which is concerning.)
* There was a public outcry when hardware was going to be dropped a few years ago, but the Big 3 said it was okay, so NPD kept it coming. Sony later pulled out of that (anyone still trying to say it wasn't Sony is delusional), which gave NPD the excuse to stop hardware results altogether.
* NPD has always been about releasing as little possible data as they can to the public. Any excuse they can get, they will take to release less useful data for free. Therefore, this could just be a boiling pot/frog analogy with them releasing less and less over the years.
 
Someone mentioned it as a joke, but I almost wish the industry would drop NPD in favor of ******** just to see NPD squirm and have to release free data. It would actually be worth it to me to see them burn a little.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Someone mentioned it as a joke, but I almost wish the industry would drop NPD in favor of ******** just to see NPD squirm and have to release free data. It would actually be worth it to me to see them burn a little.

Square Enix was doing it, remember that slide from its financial presentation some years ago? XD

Ah, something I noticed from Vita top 20: Lego Batman is absent. Not in top 20, lower than Katamari which is lower than 20k. So, we know Lego Batman 2 on Vita should be around 15k. Still, cream, could you give us one of your mathematical rebus ( like you did at the old Sales-Age times with the Japanese hardware) about Lego Batman 2 SKUs?
 
Question: who tracks movie and music sales data and why is it so much easier to get those than video games? I believe even DVD and Blu Ray sales are given out.
 
I guess the actual situation is more responsible for the lack of interest in NPD threads than NPD not giving info; I mean, let's say they gave all numbers, who would be interested in pathetic sales of software and hardware? Gaming market is 'really' bad; sure there are digital sales, but retail makes the bulk of console sales by far anyway, unless one were to believe PC digital sales would compensate for it
 
If by "very well" you mean "at all" then yes. Announcing RE6 right before release wasn't the smartest move either, but when Capcom USA puts less investment behind marketing than they did for stuff like MHFU or TVC, you know things are going to be bad.

Oh well, at least it outsold Dragon's Dogma. :)
Dragon's Dogma failed to crack 150K on NPD on 2 platforms?

Much bigger bomb, considering relative budgets.
 

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
It's the kind've game that should've been dumped in a landfill and burnt.

zLOgt.gif


that's...pretty radical mate
 

AniHawk

Member
And that ignores the burgeoning digital market on consoles, which is surely much stronger today than 05-6.

the flipside is that consoles now are considerably more expensive than they used to be, and so is software. the money is probably going to less places now even though more is being spent.
 
A second column has gone up. Read it here:

Good article, as usual.

I'm not sure I agree about the 360 being the most "core" system at the moment. Pre-Kinect, most definitely, but not now. I think they owe their #1 spot to the expansion beyond the core demographic, while Sony's bid for that (Move) didn't catch on. Casual gamers aren't gone, they're just mostly gone.

A bit of backseat editing:

- which may be essentially what the revenue at retail essentially represents today -
 
The 3DS being the only system up is a somewhat good sign.

Isn't it priced much lower this year though?

the flipside is that consoles now are considerably more expensive than they used to be, and so is software. the money is probably going to less places now even though more is being spent.

Hardware maybe, I dont really see it on software. The standard price may have raised $10, but it seems there are more sales than ever these days.
 

Pociask

Member
I feel like this is relevant:

For several years, consumers have been rapidly switching from print to digital for reading novels, a sign of the growing strength of the e-book for narrative, straightforward storytelling.

Over all, digital books kept up their explosive growth in 2011, the survey confirmed. Publishers’ net revenue from sales of e-books more than doubled last year, reaching $2.07 billion, up from $869 million in 2010. E-books accounted for 15.5 percent of publishers’ revenues.

But as digital revenue grew, print sales suffered, dropping to $11.1 billion in 2011 from $12.1 billion in 2010.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/survey-shows-growing-strength-of-e-books/

The digital transition is happening - if I was an NPD subscriber, I'd be furious that they haven't been able to track online sales monthly, and include that in their retail report. Their report is literally becoming less accurate with each passing day.
 
How much did DOA:D sell? NGS+ is the 2nd port of the game, DOA:D was basically a new game.
Both games are pretty much 90%+ recycled material. If you want to call DOAD "new" (given it's basically DOA4's combat engine plus fighters/stages/storyline from DOA1-4), then NGS+ is only the first port of NGS (which was a remake of NG/B).
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Both games are pretty much 90%+ recycled material. If you want to call DOAD "new" (given it's basically DOA4's combat engine plus fighters/stages/storyline from DOA1-4), then NGS+ is only the first port of NGS (which was a remake of NG/B).
Isnt NGS+ the exact same game just ported over with some touch controls? DOA:D is not just a straight port from another game, so i would call it basically a new game indeed even if it is much materials from previous DOA games. I'm pretty confident that it took more resources to make DOA:D than just porting an excisting game. But how much did the games sell?

What we know at least is that Hayashi was dissapointed with the DOA:D sales. He didnt specify if he ment worldwide or in one specific region though. I havnt heard any comments on NGS+ expectations in comparison.
 
Isnt NGS+ the exact same game just ported over with some touch controls? DOA:D is not just a straight port from another game, so i would call it basically a new game indeed even if it is much materials from previous DOA games. I'm pretty confident that it took more resources to make DOA:D than just porting an excisting game. But how much did the games sell?
Sure, I'm not calling DOAD a port. But then NGS+ isn't a 2nd port either.
 
After seeing that software revenue graph, I now think the odds of a 360 price cut this year are slim to none. No point sacrificing their hardware margins to chase after the types of consumers who probably won't spend any real money on new software when the software ecosystem on the console is still doing good.

360 software revenue will probably end up positive yoy based on the huge stuff coming in the second half.

I do expect them to continue to have weekly sales on hardware(as they did constantly in the first half) and have huge promotions on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season. But no official reduction of the MSRP.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Sure, I'm not calling DOAD a port. But then NGS+ isn't a 2nd port either.
As far as the game goes, isnt it? It isnt a 2nd straight port right over, but Sigma is already an enhanced port from Ninja Gaiden on Xbox 1, so NGS+ is basically the the 3rd release of that game, at least from what i know.
 

Kusagari

Member
It would be curious to see how high that 3DS bar would have been if the NDS wasn't around.

I understand Nintendo are making a much bigger profit with the NDS, but at what point does it become a burden (read: PSP)?

After Black/White 2, they'll probably begin to kill it off for good.
 
The digital transition is happening - if I was an NPD subscriber, I'd be furious that they haven't been able to track online sales monthly, and include that in their retail report. Their report is literally becoming less accurate with each passing day.

If you were a subscriber, you'd see their efforts to track digital sales. They do have some, although I understand they're based on polling data, not hard figures. So far, digital services are not being very forthcoming with information.
 
It would be curious to see how high that 3DS bar would have been if the NDS wasn't around.

I understand Nintendo are making a much bigger profit with the NDS, but at what point does it become a burden (read: PSP)?

I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were them. It's just the nature of the market here. Japan always drops the old system as soon as the successor is out, but in the US the transition always takes a long time. I'd say keep on serving that budget market. Today's DS buyer may be a 3DS buyer in a few years. As long as the systems are healthy, then a long transition is healthy, too. It's only when a system needs life support that it's worth considering killing the old one. I don't think the 3DS qualifies.
 
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