I wouldn't blame iOS gaming for that though. The fact is, casuals would rather look at Facebook than play games full stop. Even if smartphones didn't play games at all, they'd still be looking at Facebook on their commute rather than playing Uncharted on a Vita.
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NPD March 2012 Sales Results [Up3: ME3 Total, Binary Domain]
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
I wouldn't blame iOS gaming for that though. The fact is, casuals would rather look at Facebook than play games full stop. Even if smartphones didn't play games at all, they'd still be looking at Facebook on their commute rather than playing Uncharted on a Vita.
I don't know about good or bad, but either way the next few months are a pretty murky picture for the 3DS (and the industry in general). It's even more murky for the Vita because we have no way of knowing how much of its sales are launch spillover.
We're at a generational transition for consoles, and a developign product + a newly launched product for handhelds. thing is, we need more time to really pick up on developing trends.
Considering everything that goes with a retail price and the economy, the profit margin would likely be very small at $300 (I'd say about $10, maybe $15 at most), and it might not even sell all that well.
Oh. Wow, a 7% drop from that? Must have been pretty bad.
Define "significant." I'm thinking somewhere a PS2->XBox difference at best, but with that controller and a fully custom GPU, I think expecting a BOM similar to 360 is nuts.
H_Prestige
Banned
Because it's supposed to be the fastest selling system in the history of the entire universe. At least that's all I've been hearing lately, about how Nintendo "owned" all the haters and turned the system around. Funny how when the numbers come out it's not even beating the Vita. A fucking dead system with no future.
See, that right there is why no one takes you seriously. I don't know if you actually realize what you're doing. You can't make assumptions based on nothing and then analyze backwards to justify that assumption.
Cygnus X-1
Member
When you're not sure, silence is better than saying unnecessary things. Nothing will change if he takes a couple of months to prepare a roadmap. He needs to talk as CEO of all directors and make the point of Sony as a whole. And this is not easy nor fast.
Barely outselling the Vita while being $70 cheaper at the very least and with a more compelling library of games doesn't speak well for the 3DS.
SafeinSound
Member
Hahahaha, oh dear.
RukusProvider
Banned
Quickly heading towards a 52week low in a recoving market.
Investors want to see them take ownership of software and services. The market isn't about hardware. Sony refuses to get it.
I don't think it's wise to use the Vita as a reference point yet. Would the 3DS number be viewed differently if the Vita sold 160k (what I was personally expecting) instead of ~200k? No, cause that would be dumb.
Frankly, I don't see the Vita outselling the 3DS at any point in the near future, so making comparisons is a moot point.
Horse Armour
Member
Significant would be somewhere like 3x more powerful which I do not think Wii U will be anywhere near.
Pureauthor
Member
Did I miss something somewhere?
Couldn't assumptions that they'll make a lot of money on each Wii U sale at $300 also be considered "baseless?"
I was thinking 2-2.5x.
You are aware it is the fastest selling system ever (Or is that still the Wii?), and it is beating the Vita, right?
Cygnus X-1
Member
They are, but this doesn't mean that all is nice and good. Losing 830 millions $ is a big hit for Nintendo as well. And the outlook with such a strong yen is less then bright. They will have a hard time making big profits again with these conditions, as any other export-oriented japanese company.
Their strength is the +10.5 billions $ in the bank and 0 $ of debts. Sure they are in a better position than most other companies, but again, the outlook doesn't look great.
Irrelevant. Based on the rumored budget Nintendo will lose a lot of money unless it has massive legs.
Here's hoping.
No, because the post in question was "Microsoft is evidently making tons of money on the 360-Kinect combo at $299, therefore I can make an educated guess that a system of similar tech would also be profitable at $300 even considering the controller." That doesn't mean he's right or wrong, just that there's a clear logic being employed to come to that assumption.
Where does your assumption that Nintendo would only make $10 at most on a $300 console come from? and no, "Considering everything that goes with a retail price and the economy" tells us nothing and means nothing.
Well, DS after 15 month in the market (with 2 christmas) was at 5.11 millions units in the US (MArch 2006). 3DS Should now be beyond 5 millions in the US with only one christmas and 12 month in the market. Not so bad I guess.
TheNatural
My Member!
Not selling more than a system that's been out a year in your launch period doesn't speak well for the Vita actually. Launch month and the month after (especially launching towards the second half of a month) are supposed to be the two big months for a system. Following it with a bunch of barren months that will end when who knows what comes out, isn't wise either.
lwilliams3
Member
.. this is a joke post, right?
Horse Armour
Member
What is the rumoured budget of Kid Icarus?
Do we actually get R&D numbers from Nintendo? I don't remember if we do...
It makes complete sense, though. I cannot believe Nintendo hasn't tapped the horse/pony genre yet. It's basically free money.
I'm glad you are here to tell me and other experienced gamers that we just think we have fun with iOS games. If it weren't for you I would be delusional forever. Thank you sir.
H_Prestige
Banned
You're right, I thought it was less than vita this month. Instead it's barely outselling it, when it should be crushing it.
Well, Wii U doesn't have similar tech, so that point falls apart there. 2005 tech vs super customized 2008-2010 with 2-3x as much RAM, twice as much built-in flash, and a custom drive based on Blu-Ray tech. There's no reason to believe it'll have a 360-level BoM.
3DS is still barely below 4.75 million.
Let Vita move past its launch period before making comparisons.
MrFortyFive
Member
That is a good question. Just how much has Nintendo spent on Kid Icarus? (From what I've seen, there seems to be more marketing than for KI than most Nintendo games. Just anecdotal though)
H_Prestige
Banned
Why? Vita isn't like other systems that explode out of the gate due to hype. There is no hype, hardly anyone cares. Most people don't even know about it.
Everything about that system is designed to make it CHEAP (for Nintendo). That custom BD drive you mention isn't more expensive than a regular one. It's cheaper because it only has to read single layer discs and Nintendo isn't paying the licensing fees.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Cygnus X-1
Member
Facebook wouldn't have damaged the gaming industry without the iPhone. In the end, the iPhone is the device and facebook is the tool. Their combination is one of the problems.
But not the only one of course, since free downloadable iOS games sure have a significant effect. But after all, why aren't developers jumping entirely on iOS bandwagon? If that platform would be SO important as all these stupid analysts keep saying, why are developers not shifting their resources considerably? The reason is simple: it is not profitable enough. It isn't even more profitable that a single home system. It's not BY FAR!
In the end, what I'm stressing is that iDevices changed the way people use their free time and that's the real damage. But they didn't generate profits for the gaming industry: on the contrary, they're subtracting profits.
Said otherwise, games are not as popular like they were during last years. That's sad, but it's what's going on.
Systems sell more at launch. I don't know what to tell you, but that's how it's always been.
Back up. It's not necessarily that games are not as popular as they were, it's that people collectively aren't spending as much money on it. That's the real issue going on here.
I guess I don't know. It's just a rumor I heard. I spoke out of turn. Sorry.
Cygnus X-1
Member
:lol
Well, then the point is that the idea of fun changed during last years. But I wonder if this "fast food"-like gaming (always faster and faster. It already was fast with the DS actually) really is better than before.
Bah. It's possible I'm just getting too old.
Bruno MB
Member
The problem with these comparisons is that we will be also forced to compare 3DS sales in the future to NDS in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
There is no way a portable game makes looses selling around 1 million units, I would even say over 500k.
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Japan - 205k
US - 135
Europe - ?
Total - 340k (With Europe it should be around 400k)
bigtroyjon
Member
225K launch week and 40K-45K a week in the 2nd month where it's likely week 1 did quite a bit more than week 5. Weekly sales are now likely about 10% of what it did at launch.
R&D spending is included in the fiscal year raports.
Both the Vita and the 3DS are doing shitty. I've said as much.
TheNatural
My Member!
It was March, it's not shocking at this time of year, regardless of what the 360 or PS3 are doing, everything is down.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
I'm so interested to see how the Wii-U is going to fare. At this point I don't see the tablet screen as having that same initial wow factor that the Wii had. For all intensive purposes Nintendo should have still been in third place at the end of this console iteration. It has no more compelling software than the N64 or Gamecube ever did but Wii Sports and the "imagined" gameplay scenarios plus price just randomly combined to create lightning in a bottle. I just don't see that same thing happening with the Wii-U especially when Microsoft unveils the next system with some ridiculous over the top Kinect demo.
Cygnus X-1
Member
Well, it's a matter of point of view. Especially since we were considering the industry at a whole. A home system doing great doesn't mean the entire industry is doing the same. And Kinect had a big role in keeping the system healthy. It was a step further in comparison to the Wii Remote and thus people bought it. It was deserved.
I don't want to insist too much anyway. We'll see in the future what will happen and who was right. Trends are important, but not absolute after all.
The unstated side effect of what the Wii did is the increased popularity of many of Nintendo's core franchises. Mario Kart Wii has sold 32 million copies, you don't think that game would be a system seller for the WiiU like it has been for the 3DS?
My main issue with the WiiU right now is timing. Honestly, I think the system is coming too late.
I have a feeling that Nintendo is gonna have another Gamecube generation. They'll be very profitable etc etc
XOMTOR
Member
I think you made a great point here. Most people I see on their phones are spending their time on social networking activities like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the like as opposed to playing games.
My girlfriend for example has a few games on her phone but she hardly plays any of 'em. On her lunch break at work or downtime waiting for an appointment, the first thing she does is fire up Facebook, text, check email etc. If there's somehow nothing new on Facebook or no texts, Tweets or emails, she may play Angry Birds, Cut the Rope or the like but it's pretty rare.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
That is a great point but its ridiculous momentum was carried through with the more casual titles.
...okay.
If Nintendo did spend more money than they can make back on Kid Icarus, it's probably because they view it as an investment for the future, not just a one-off. It's a successful relaunch of a franchise with the potential to be very big for them, and positive word of mouth from the first game should mean future instalments perform very well from the get-go.
The anime shorts and marketing push make it clear that Nintendo want Kid Icarus to become a very big thing.
I don't typically like bringing up anecdotal evidence, and it doesn't really mean anything, but I know personally I use my iPhone all the time and take it with me everywhere.
I also haven't purchased an iPhone game in months.
Cygnus X-1
Member
I don't think so. It's the perfect time for something new. The market is ready, since it's declining. No competitors in sight. No new peripherals scheduled. Wii U with a price at or below 300$ and a decent line-up will probably be a success. Especially since the tablets are so crazily hyped now. The problem is that it will be very hard for Nintendo to outsell the Wii. I would add almost impossible.
I'm curious to see which changes have been done during an entire year of planning anyway.