Well consider that I'm still not really convinced the "casual" market is dead and buried for Nintendo or any other console manufacturer. Make the right software and people will come. That's been the MO forever now and any failure on Nintendo's front in this context will be their fault, not the market's.
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NPD March 2012 Sales Results [Up3: ME3 Total, Binary Domain]
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
Well consider that I'm still not really convinced the "casual" market is dead and buried for Nintendo or any other console manufacturer. Make the right software and people will come. That's been the MO forever now and any failure on Nintendo's front in this context will be their fault, not the market's.
lwilliams3
Member
Not that likely, as Nintendo will probably take drastic measures ASAP like for the 3DS if the Wii U is showing signs of tracking like the Gamecube.
Cygnus X-1
Member
You're right anyway. Mine is not evidence. It's just observation and drawing a trend. Who knows? The market keeps acting faster and faster, as the preferences of people. Maybe in just 1 year everything will change again.
That's also why developers do not act. Most of them still think the old way to make games is still the safest. The market, experts would say, is too volatile now.
Also interesting to see other features besides the controller. Even though the console was revealed almost a year ago we don't really know anything about it. That's why it's hard to make any predictions.
H_Prestige
Banned
Except unlike the 3DS, Wii U will actually have strong, direct competition. PS3, 360, PS4, and 720 are going to be tough to blow out of the water when you don't have the Wii Fit craze on your side.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't this the FIRST full month Vita has had on NPD?
Why wouldn't you expect Vita to either A) beat 3DS or B) come close to beating 3DS in sales when it's a brand new system?
Calling the 3DS's sales disappointing because you're comparing them to the sales of the brand new system is ludicrous.
I'm comparing to 360, which doesn't have a Blu-Ray drive period. Also, there's no blue laser in existence that can only read single-layer, so either the drive reads dual-layer or Nintendo payed more to make a laser do less.
The point I'm making is that this will cost more to make than the current 360. Nothing more. $299.99 is the minimum price, imo, and they won't be able to make a drastic cut from that price without a loss if it has a slow start. If Wii U doesn't take off, they'll be in huge trouble.
No they aren't. The console with 2D Mario always wins.
Guys, 3DS have had one of the best first years ever, with 4.5 millions sold, just behind Wii ( 5 millions ) and GBA ( over 6 millions ). And we all know that in US, the peak isn't reached in the first years, but later, much later even ( Wii reached its peak for December in 2009, or DS peaking for some months something like 6 years after its launch ). US consumers doesn't adopt to trends as quickly as Japan, we have datas showing this.
It's a combination of attraction a platform generates and line-up of games available on the platform. A console does better when more and more games of value are released. And I'm not even comparing it with the first 13 months of DS, which have been absolutely shitty, just 2.6 millions - 2.3 till October + 300k done in November. And DS itself is still selling something, not allowing 3DS to sell more. But Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 already did a good job in making people talk about the platform, and the fact the games are still selling costantly after Holidays is a good, very good sign for the future, especially with the upcoming games ( Animal Crossing, 2D MARIO - and this is the most important one, since it made the DS really start at the time, combined with Lite - ...I'd say even Epic Mickey ). In US, it's different than elsewhere. Right now, 3DS is doing fine. Not dominating like in Japan, absolutely, but it's doing fine, and had a massive Christmas for a new platform, too.
Will it reach or even outsell DS? Eeeeeh, it needs the software which made DS not only a big, big success, but a sort of a big aspect of US culture: games like BT, which can attract massive amount of people, Mario and Pokèmon won't be enough for this...and this E3 we'll see their new attempts, after Nintendogs ( which initially has been damaged by the high price of the device ). Without these breakout hits, even with all the possible Japanese support, the Pokemon games, Mario and all others, helping each other, or even the "Sony-like" releases selling with time, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for 3DS reaching DS numbers. It needs something which differentiate it from iDevices distinctly in mass audience's eyes.
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About Vita, I've discovered, let's say this, the reason of the 200k: not only it had 5 weeks just after launch, but last month there have been considered just 4 days ( from 22, the relase, to 25 ), so it was still in big effect the "launch hype". On the contrary, 3DS saw counted its first complete week in March 2011 ( from 27 March to 2 April ), and then it did 197k in its second month.
This consideration makes me fear more for next month, for Vita.
It's a combination of attraction a platform generates and line-up of games available on the platform. A console does better when more and more games of value are released. And I'm not even comparing it with the first 13 months of DS, which have been absolutely shitty, just 2.6 millions - 2.3 till October + 300k done in November. And DS itself is still selling something, not allowing 3DS to sell more. But Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 already did a good job in making people talk about the platform, and the fact the games are still selling costantly after Holidays is a good, very good sign for the future, especially with the upcoming games ( Animal Crossing, 2D MARIO - and this is the most important one, since it made the DS really start at the time, combined with Lite - ...I'd say even Epic Mickey ). In US, it's different than elsewhere. Right now, 3DS is doing fine. Not dominating like in Japan, absolutely, but it's doing fine, and had a massive Christmas for a new platform, too.
Will it reach or even outsell DS? Eeeeeh, it needs the software which made DS not only a big, big success, but a sort of a big aspect of US culture: games like BT, which can attract massive amount of people, Mario and Pokèmon won't be enough for this...and this E3 we'll see their new attempts, after Nintendogs ( which initially has been damaged by the high price of the device ). Without these breakout hits, even with all the possible Japanese support, the Pokemon games, Mario and all others, helping each other, or even the "Sony-like" releases selling with time, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for 3DS reaching DS numbers. It needs something which differentiate it from iDevices distinctly in mass audience's eyes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
About Vita, I've discovered, let's say this, the reason of the 200k: not only it had 5 weeks just after launch, but last month there have been considered just 4 days ( from 22, the relase, to 25 ), so it was still in big effect the "launch hype". On the contrary, 3DS saw counted its first complete week in March 2011 ( from 27 March to 2 April ), and then it did 197k in its second month.
This consideration makes me fear more for next month, for Vita.
Coming over a year late and at a higher price? Sony's been screwed on this twice.
H_Prestige
Banned
Not just Vita, it's also selling a lot less than 360/ps3. Those two have been on the market for 6 years.
Late to what? Do you think Wii U is going to invade onto ps4/720's turf? They made system good enough to handle this gen's games, only they're the ones who are late to the party and more expensive.
Are these totals or first months?
If they're first months...well, NGIII did less than 100k. PS3 and 360 combined.
Bruno MB
Member
First month.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Look at the Japanese sales in the same period, and compare the LTD sales of DS in both territories. 3DS has already had a price drop, a Christmas, and nearly half a dozen high profile exclusives in NA. For it to be only doing "okay" (without the Japanese Vita excuse of the PSP still being a viable platform) is kind of worrying. What is the next big 3DS release, Kingdom Hearts?
Oh, and to the guy that said that mobile users are only playing Angry Birds and fb, do you realize that OMGpop got 50 million downloads of Draw Something in 50 days? Sony and Nintendo have to start stealing some of these mobile exclusives.
This isn't just an Apple thing, it's Apple and Google.
Ok, now you know DAT BOMBA!
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Totally disagree. I see people playing Temple Run on their iPhones NON-STOP, I see stuff like Battleheart. Even more than Angry Birds actually, and then there's games you don't see but you know get played non-stop like Draw Something.
So, no, sorry, games are getting played through the roof on Smart Phones, not just Facebook (especially since a large percentage of people spend their commute without web access).
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Are you making the transitive argument that NSMB would have saved the Gamecube?
Neuromancer
Member
How did Raccoon City do so well?
It's exactly what most Western gamers were asking for. A RE game where you can run and shoot.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Roughly 2 million American RE fans on HD platforms, all CGI adverts. I can imagine WoM is terrible, it dropped like a stone in PAL/Japan.
Elginer
Member
It had the name Resident Evil in the title and it look you shoot people in the face. It was enough to make me get it and regret it. Sold it a week later for 35 bucks. Only paid 20 so I made a profit!
H_Prestige
Banned
If only Nintendo had known!
It does make you wonder!
But no seriously, maybe if GC had launched alongside the PS2 and put out 2D Mario et al right from the getgo it might have done something, but nothing was going to save the GC once the PS2 gained steam.
How can a thing drop when it hasn't even released?
In Japan, it comes out on the 26th XD
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
So? It's a handheld.
I'll also throw this argument out there that I think many on GAF will freak out about, but:
The general public is NOT clamoring for new systems right now.
Not even 2D Mario could've stopped the PS2. It was the heir apparent from the moment it was announced and Sony didn't make any stupid mistakes with it like they later did with the PS3. There was really nothing to be done but sit back and make more money than Sony anyway.
The blue laser in the Wii U disc drive will be fully capable of reading dual layer BDs. The only reason 25gb was ever mentioned by anyone is that it's probably the most common disc Nintendo will be pressing (let's be honest - how many uncompressed 1080p FMVs do you see Nintendo packing onto their games?)
With that said - it will be more expensive than your standard BD drive (which costs about somewhere between $30-50 to produce, I think) because it will be using a laptop drive form factor as well as a slot loader.
This is crazy talk. Mario Kart Wii has outsold all the Halos combined, and has sold more than every Call of Duty game this generation (even with 1 SKU vs multiple SKUs).
This may be true but only because the new systems don't exist right now. There's nothing to clamor about.
When there's a concrete new system with new exciting games, the hype will be there.
H_Prestige
Banned
So? They're all video game console competing in the same market. At least that was the argument I kept hearing back when DS was obliterating everything.
And when does the general public "clamor" for anything? If a company can convince people that they absolutely need this new toy, they will start lining up. There was never any mass clamoring for a dual screen handheld or motion controlled system. Or anything that was ever popular.
BassForever
Member
This may also be because the public hasn't seen these prospective new consoles, nor have they heard the rumors the way we have. At E3 if these two consoles were to by hypothetically revealed with "here's what the graphics will look like" people may get excited.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Well that's kinda true. Too busy spending their money on new tablets and smartphones because that's what they are preoccupied with.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Agreed. A combination of their iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone/Kindle Fire and their game system and they aren't seeing a need for something new.
I'm not sure how much different the new Kinect can be to get people to buy the new Xbox. The Wii U will draw some in with the tablet controller but, again, I'm not sure if that will convince many to buy the system. Nintendo is doing the right thing by effectively killing off the Wii well before the Wii U launch, though. Overall, though, better graphics on any system just isn't going to do it any more.
It won't be the graphics that do it. It has always been and will always be the software available to it (i.e. stuff you can't get anywhere else) that will push any platform.
Graphics, sound, etc etc are just bonuses to compelling software. If you put out a new system that has software the mass market wants en masse, the mass market will gravitate to it and purchase it.
That is exactly why Kinect is selling, whether people like it or not it provides a unique form of entertainment that can be replicated on a smartphone/tablet or other consoles.
I'm happy that MS is still kicking ass, not a fan of paying for LIVE but that system has gone through so many changes as they adapted to a changing marketplace while Sony has played catchup and Nintendo rode the waggle wave and then left their system to sink.
3DS launched last March...
TheNatural
My Member!
Things come in waves. If you think iWhatever is going to continue to be the wave into infinite, it's not going to happen. There's going to be a backlash against yearly updates of it at some point and things will stagnate like every other product in history.
And staying content with whats there now is a catch 22. There is nothing new to go for, so by default you could say no one wants a new system. That doesn't mean when something new comes out no one will want it, it's just not there yet.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/13/n...il/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Resident Evil Revelations 122k in March.
Resident Evil Revelations 122k in March.
Has to be a misinterpreted quote. They probably thought "sold to date" = sold in March.
Oh wow it actually went up from Feb? Might not be as big a bomba as we thought.
Bruno MB
Member
That would be encouraging if true.
CartridgeBlower
Member
Joystiq is also saying 8 of the Top 25 games were 3DS games. Not bad at all. Wow.
Mr. B Natural
Member
The great thing about seeing an inevitable decline and/or being desperate is that you don't have deal within the box of reality. Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony can throw things into the wind in hopes that they'll land in place and they don't have to confront their demons. Why not? Where they're standing is a sinking platform.
Pureauthor
Member
Contradict's creamsugar's info, and I'm inclined to trust creamsugar over this.