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[Goodacre0081]

Ranking the second April's of 6th, 7th, and 8th gen home consoles.

Wii - 714k
PS2 - 196k
Xbox One - 187k
PS3 - 187k
PS4 - 174k
Xbox 360 - 174k
Xbox - 127k
Gamecube - 101k
Wii U - 48k

Seems pretty normal actually, except the Wii and Wii U. Funny how they are at the extreme ends.

PS4 is the new 360 re-confirmed

 

[dragonzdogma]

Really? Not me. I like Bloodborne but I stopped playing it after a few days. I play to have fun, not to punish myself. I'll go back to it sometime soon.

punish yourself? Git GUD?
It's quite easy especially if you coop,
PM if you need a hunter friend,
I got 2 characters builds at different levels.

 

[Ushay]

My girlfriend got me an Xbox One as my birthday gift. So +1 from me! Now I need more friends, I don't know anyone that owns an Xbox One.

Feel free to add me, or check out the XBL/PSN threads. My tag - Ushae (Primarily on RPG's / Action, but enjoy a good multiplayer game occasionally)

While not mad (I'm 34, I have better things to be mad about) I still am a bit disappointed that the Xbone is so close in NA, especially when I think the PS4 is far and away the superior console. When it wins a month, it's even worse. The 360 deserved it's success, at least for the first half of the gen, but I sold my Xbone after only a few short months of owning it because it just didn't make enough sense to own both a PS4 as well, and I couldn't very well sell the system that plays multiplatforms the best. So I culled the weaker link. Last gen it was the opposite where my PS3 was the more ignored system for the first few years.

I know there is a lot more to the console than mere power, and I really liked the interface of the One once I became used to it, but it was sitting around unused for too long like my Wii U after a while. With 90% of games being multiplatform, power is actually what won out however.

I think its because the PS4 is so reminiscent of the early Xbox 360, with an abundant library of XBLA-style games thanks to the indies and the power of PS Plus. I just can't warrant 2 subscription services either, so the deeper service (at least as far as "freebies" is concerned) won out.

The short of it is I don't think the Xbone deserves any of it's success, not when there is a better alternative out there. For exclusives it might make a bit more sense and that's what talked me into a purchase (Sunset Overdrive) but as a primary system I don't understand it.

Sorry friend have to disagree, while I respect your thought process here. I think it does deserve the success it has achieved thus far (at least this year anyhow). There's little sense in making a 'list' of what makes it a good console, but I will say the software support and exclusive library is pretty good so far, they've made no silly mistakes in the pricing department either.

I'd argue the same for the Wii U and its assortment of excellent titles and I've iterated this several times as it always rings true for me personally. Software sells Hardware at the end of the day.

 

[Hans.Gruber]

People bought bloodborne early cuz of reviews....returned it after dying 30x before cleric beast. Told all their casual friends it's hard as fuck = no more charting.

This.

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

Happy Easter, Xbox.

You should have said 'Happy Easter Eggs-box'
Easter Eggs, see.

. . .I'll get my coat.

 

[Eggbok]

You should have said 'Happy Easter Eggs-box'
Easter Eggs, see.

. . .I'll get my coat.

This makes complete sense to me, it reminds me of something as well.

 

[ZhugeEX]

First off, congratulations Microsoft on the win.

Secondly, the NPD win IMO has more to do with pricing than actual system preference. Microsoft is consistently offering incredible bundles, trade in values, and scorched earth "promotions" - it's hard to not want to get in on one. Yes, Sony did one in March for Bloodborne, but the $175 trade in for April is nothing short of Black Friday material. Result? A win for the consumer.

If I were Microsoft, I'd outprice and out promotion Sony throughout the year. I'm sure they know this. The Cowboom deal today for a $209.00 Xbox One is a prime example of just how bloody this battle can get.

If I were Sony, I'd stay the course, and mantain profit margins. It's not worth crying over 10k worth of milk. However, they need to put all options on the table for a Fall promotion. They have a pretty big risk of losing their gain in North America if they play too safe.

Good post.

Why do I recognise your username?

 

[...Scatter...]

punish yourself? Git GUD?
It's quite easy especially if you coop,
PM if you need a hunter friend,
I got 2 characters builds at different levels.

I might take you up on that. I never tried the coop. It's the first game since the Nintendo days that made me feel like I need a strategy guide.

 

[myharlequin]

I dont know why this post is not full of gifs like when the PS4 started to win moth to moth


xboxreturnking.gif

philspencerkickingsony.gif

someFigthwithxboxwinning.gif

aTrainsWithPs4falling.gif


To be honest, I do not care about console war, but reading some comments make me think you dont want the Xbox One succed.

 

[thuway]

Good post.

Why do I recognise your username?

I am a Punished man that shall forever be mocked. I wear this Scarlett letter with humility. Thanks for your insight and graphs btw, I enjoy reading them.

 

[Vanillalite]

Rather meh hardware sales all around, but it does show the Xbox brand still holds sway in the US at least.

At any rate I think this hardly a big omg panic moment for Sony, but I do think this type of thing leads more credence to the idea that Sony can't ride that $400 price tag out forever like many thought.

 

[ZhugeEX]

I dont know why this post is not full of gifs like when the PS4 started to win moth to moth


xboxreturnking.gif

philspencerkickingsony.gif

someFigthwithxboxwinning.gif

aTrainsWithPs4falling.gif


To be honest, I do not care about console war, but reading some comments make me think you dont want the Xbox One succed.

Because if the Xbox succeeds, it means we're all going to die!

 

[lightning2k3]

Good post.

Why do I recognise your username?

Thuway flew too close to the sun and got burned. He was reborn a more humble bird.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

Wonder how much tax season has an effect on hardware sales. I imagine some folks came into some decent refund money, and given that the XB1 has been selling for cheaper and with better bundles than the PS4 I wouldn't be surprised if that helped them out some.

 

[ZhugeEX]

I am a Punished man that shall forever be mocked. I wear this Scarlett letter with humility. Thanks for your insight and graphs btw, I enjoy reading them.

Cheers.

But the reason I ask is because I swear there was a MS insider or something with the same/similar nsme as you. Is that you?

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

Really? Not me. I like Bloodborne but I stopped playing it after a few days. I play to have fun, not to punish myself. I'll go back to it sometime soon.

I hate the 'GIT GUD' line of thinking but I honestly can't imagine how any people find Bloodborne THAT hard. I mean there are hard fights but not until a fair way in to it. It does take practice and perseverance but challenge is a thing to be lauded in a sea of games that are 'press X to win'

It is made a fair bit easier by co-op too. My teenage boy has flown through parts of it by just using co-op for the bosses and he isn't even that patient and its hard work even getting him bother to learn controls etc. Pah. Teenagers.

TLDR 'GIT GUD', Lol.

 

[anexanhume]

For folks suggesting E3 price drops, I'd ask whether you believe that's ever happened before. I think the number of E3 price drops is almost nil. Model launches (Xbox 360 S) -- ok, but that's not a price drop, it's a value change.

Sony has tended to do price drops around GamesCom. Not sure what they're planning this year.

Microsoft -- well, their price cut history is kind of not clear. They've done a lot of seasonal deals and bundles (remember the college/school bundling a few summers ago?) and service packages (remember the "buy Live for two years, get console for $99"?). I don't see any precedent for a price drop announcement at E3.

Edit: Not to mention, with the exception of MGS3 bundle, I don't think there's any history of giant hardware sales movements in the summer months. If I were one of these companies, I'd lay low and suffer through June-July-August and then hit hard in September. See: Microsoft and Xbox/Halo history.

Yup. I'm expecting a September cut. I'm not sure if this holds water, but I think the idea of a price drop loses luster by the time the holidays roll around in the case of a $50 drop.

 

[thuway]

Cheers.

But the reason I ask is because I swear there was a MS insider or something with the same/similar nsme as you. Is that you?

I can answer you in PM, but I'd rather you not associate me as an insider because I am not. I'm a guy that got few bits of bobbs of information and got some really bad information at some point. Nothing more.

Anyway OT- could you perhaps do a chart where you calculate approximate console cost // and what sort of profit loss would be made by price cuts? EG If Sony drops price by a 100 dollars, what sort of projected profit loss could we see for the console versus component cost?

I'm really interested to see how these promotions affect the overall profit margins of these consoles and what sort of risk/reward we could see.

 

[jmdajr]

Hmmm.

 

[BrianRoyale]

I'm just bummed that Bloodborne fell off the top 10, I was hoping word of mouth would carry the game a bit longer. At least Sony was happy with the sales (and I think it was still #2 on PSN).

Congrats MS competition is only good for the consumer.

 

[jmdajr]

WiiU halfway to Gamecube numbers!

edit: Surprised to learn that the PS One outsold the Wii world wide. Wii had monster figures..and then a monster slide that bled into the WiiU.

 

[Welfare]

WiiU halfway to Gamecube numbers!

No. Still a long ways to go to even reach half.

 

[thuway]

I'm just bummed that Bloodborne fell off the top 10, I was hoping word of mouth would carry the game a bit longer. At least Sony was happy with the sales (and I think it was still #2 on PSN).

Congrats MS competition is only good for the consumer.

Internationally it seems to be doing quite well and it has broken Sony's own expectations. This is a Soul's game and for it to touch 2 million units + on a single console is remarkable.

 

[BeforeU]

While not mad (I'm 34, I have better things to be mad about) I still am a bit disappointed that the Xbone is so close in NA, especially when I think the PS4 is far and away the superior console. When it wins a month, it's even worse. The 360 deserved it's success, at least for the first half of the gen, but I sold my Xbone after only a few short months of owning it because it just didn't make enough sense to own both a PS4 as well, and I couldn't very well sell the system that plays multiplatforms the best. So I culled the weaker link. Last gen it was the opposite where my PS3 was the more ignored system for the first few years.

I know there is a lot more to the console than mere power, and I really liked the interface of the One once I became used to it, but it was sitting around unused for too long like my Wii U after a while. With 90% of games being multiplatform, power is actually what won out however.

I think its because the PS4 is so reminiscent of the early Xbox 360, with an abundant library of XBLA-style games thanks to the indies and the power of PS Plus. I just can't warrant 2 subscription services either, so the deeper service (at least as far as "freebies" is concerned) won out.

The short of it is I don't think the Xbone deserves any of it's success, not when there is a better alternative out there. For exclusives it might make a bit more sense and that's what talked me into a purchase (Sunset Overdrive) but as a primary system I don't understand it.

Is this real post?

 

[jmdajr]

No. Still a long ways to go to even reach half.

You are right...looking at units shipped.

 

[EGM1966]

Surprising result, not sure how that happened. Is the market in the US really that short sighted that a 50 dollar cut makes a difference?

It was - going by the results estimated in this thread - really close, like 13K difference. $50 dollars (more for some deals) only needs a fairly modest response from consumers to generate something like a 13K difference.

Also if you take issue with reveal, etc. out of it the XB1 isn't that bad. Exclusives aside it's a bit less powerful than PS4 and you can get most of the same games running fine on it (just not as fine as PS4).

It's not that hard to convince people to save $50 to $100 bucks and trade 1080p for 900p or a stable frame rate for some frame drops if they're not particularly swung by either consoles exclusives.

PS4 sales were okay given price/trends and a few deals helped XB1 slightly edge it. Hardly means anything one way or the other apart from confirming that the XB1 has to be decently cheaper than PS4 to maintain similar baseline sales (which was already clear from previous sales trends and performance).

 

[Orca]

Is this real post?

I guess Xbox One has no games is a thing now.

Loved that and the 'must be console warriors' post lol. This NPD has delivered, as expected.

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

Internationally it seems to be doing quite well and it has broken Sony's own expectations. This is a Soul's game and for it to touch 2 million units + on a single console is remarkable.

Yeah. I think (hope) when the dust settles Bloodborne will have done well for what it is.
It deserves to - it's an excellent game.

But it's never gonna sell in the sort of numbers of the more vanilla, crowd pleasing experiences of games like COD, Battlefield, Assassin's Creed, Halo, Forza and GT.

 

[shoreu]

Yeah. I think (hope) when the dust settles Bloodborne will have done well for what it is.
It deserves to - it's an excellent game.

But it's never gonna sell in the sort of numbers of the more vanilla, crowd pleasing experiences of games like COD, Battlefield, Assassin's Creed, Halo, Forza and GT.

I don't know that I'd call halo,forza, or Gt vanilla crowd pleasers

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

I don't know that I'd call halo,forza, or Gt vanilla crowd pleasers

They feel very much like games designed to appeal to as broad an audience as possible to me.

 

[TomShoe]

They feel very much like games designed to appeal to as broad an audience as possible to me.

Just like every other AAA game ._.

 

[Ashes2Bashers]

This is just the beginning , Halo and Gears are coming..

 

[hodayathink]

The actual take away is that everyone this month did numbers that are really not good for anyone. These are not monthly numbers we want to see for a console in its second year.

Except that these are literally the exact numbers we saw from the PS3 and 360 in their second year.

 

[omonimo]

I dont know why this post is not full of gifs like when the PS4 started to win moth to moth


xboxreturnking.gif

philspencerkickingsony.gif

someFigthwithxboxwinning.gif

aTrainsWithPs4falling.gif


To be honest, I do not care about console war, but reading some comments make me think you dont want the Xbox One succed.

Maybe because xbone won just some month and not month by month? My guess eh .

 

[Birgitte2004]

Agreed, I'm a primarily PC guy with a console preference for PS4, but it's hard to not get excited at Microsoft lighting up the sales charts.

I think this is the fundamental point of disagreement. Microsoft _didn't_ "light up the sales chart".

They sucked to victory, because Sony sucked worse.

If your point is really that more consumers is a good thing for AAA games, this was a terrible month.

 

[BadWolf]

So happy for MS, hope they continue to do well.

Spoiler

I need that PS4 price drop

 

[CrowDieSlow]

Some of you have addressed that an E3 price drop is unlikely because the price of the Arkham Knight bundle has already been announced. However, in the case of a $50-$100 price drop, would it be too much of a stretch for them to add on the season pass and/or a year of PS+ to make up the difference?

 

[Handy Fake]

We ought to have a monthly NPD list of those that have fallen in battle.

 

[Mechazawa]

I don't...really understand why the Xbox came in first, but that's pretty cool.

 

[Hugstable]

Cool to see Microsoft starting to have some good sales in NA overall, wonder how neck and neck the sales between the 2 consoles are overall? Kinda sucks that Bloodborne isn't there anymore, but awesome to see Dark Souls 2 on there, those games are deserving of sales and would be great to see the series keep continuing. This holiday season is gonna be interesting to see too if Microsoft is taking months like this, E3 is gonna be really fun to watch.

I dunno, I'm probably putting the cart before the horse here, but it kind of seems like the console warriorism is one of the few reasons the Xbox One is still selling. There's very little reason to buy an Xbox One other than prior allegiance. .

Maybe people enjoy the games and want to play Halo and future Gears of Wars games? Crazy I know. Gaming is about getting games that you may want to enjoy, not just getting the most powerful system and then wondering if you got a good value proposition. Plus there are probably tons of people who bought a PS4 early on that are starting to go for Xbox Ones now, I know that I myself am looking into getting one especially with the Gears 1 Remaster announced.

 

[CosmicQueso]

The actual take away is that everyone this month did numbers that are really not good for anyone. These are not monthly numbers we want to see for a console in its second year.

But it's the exact same number for PS4 & Xone at the same exact point in time for the PS3 & X360. So unless we all want to say the PS3 & X360 did numbers we didn't want to see at the same time...

Zhuge's charts show a very different story on the PS4 and Xone in the US than the doom and gloom posts.

If you want doom and gloom, look at dedicated handhelds. Plenty of that there. More doom and gloom can be found in the software release counts coming out for the Consoles. But PS4 & Xone hardware sales? They're doing just fine, and better than last gen.

Good to see the rapid uptake of the latest gen. Wish we could see the overall picture including digital.

So do publishers.

Thuway flew too close to the sun and got burned. He was reborn a more humble bird.

Sometimes I wish there was a wiki just to track GAF user histories

It's definitely true, but it is also worth noting that those 700+k Wii purchases have basically vanished. Those people appear to be lost at this point, rather than being transitioned to Sony and/or MS.

Absolutely... but the loss of that market has already been realized for some time. If you're looking total:total comparing the two gens, then yes of course dedicated gaming sales are off significantly. But it's not like this is still having an impact on the industry side, if you follow me. If you're looking at "does it get better or worse from where we are right now" then the PS4 & Xone hardware sales are incredibly encouraging.

 

[GitarooMan]

But it's the exact same number for PS4 & Xone at the same exact point in time for the PS3 & X360. So unless we all want to say the PS3 & X360 did numbers we didn't want to see at the same time...
.

It's definitely true, but it is also worth noting that those 700+k Wii purchases have basically vanished. Those people appear to be lost at this point, rather than being transitioned to Sony and/or MS.

 

[Inuhanyou]

I don't think that 13 thousand units is anything to really celebrate in a big manner, it was basically a tie in a low month for everyone than anything else.

On the other hand, people actually getting angry and super emotional over PS4 loosing a single month in one territory, i think probably need to go outside for a bit. Just because Sony looses a month in NPD doesn't mean the sky is falling around you, its not a war that you have to participate in by being a soldier, tying it to your own personal enjoyment of any console is completely ridiculous.

 

[QaaQer]

I can answer you in PM, but I'd rather you not associate me as an insider because I am not. I'm a guy that got few bits of bobbs of information and got some really bad information at some point. Nothing more.

Anyway OT- could you perhaps do a chart where you calculate approximate console cost // and what sort of profit loss would be made by price cuts? EG If Sony drops price by a 100 dollars, what sort of projected profit loss could we see for the console versus component cost?

I'm really interested to see how these promotions affect the overall profit margins of these consoles and what sort of risk/reward we could see.

I don't think we have anyone with accurate BOM info now that zomgbbq(?, never could remember his username) no longer works at bank X.

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

This.

I got a friend to shareplay my copy to show me what to do and after that im golden and its fabulous. (Before that I died all the time but was never frustrated as I knew where I was going wrong, my issue was with general direction and levelling)

 

[Inuhanyou]

So do publishers.



Sometimes I wish there was a wiki just to track GAF user histories

There is, its called "post/thread history"

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

But it's the exact same number for PS4 & Xone at the same exact point in time for the PS3 & X360. So unless we all want to say the PS3 & X360 did numbers we didn't want to see at the same time...

I think the thread title from then said it all: "NPD thread of massive disappointment if you're not Nintendo".
Even excluding Nintendo completely from the 2008 equivalent thread because reasons, the PS2 was still selling 120k and the PSP was still selling 190k.
PS3 and Vita sure aren't picking up that shortfall here.

Same deal if you look at the 2009 thread: PS2 and PSP were still relevant at 170k and 115k respectively, again a shortfall comparison to what Vita and PS3 are selling today.

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

Just like every other AAA game ._.

Yes. Not sure what kind of weird issue you are trying to make.
They are games designed to appeal to as broad a section of the mass market as possible. Broadly appealing whilst avoiding anything that is offensive, or may prove unpalatable.
Like the flavour vanilla.

I'm not criticizg your favourite game If that's what's bothering you.

 

[QaaQer]

If you want doom and gloom, look at dedicated handhelds. Plenty of that there. More doom and gloom can be found in the software release counts coming out for the Consoles. But PS4 & Xone hardware sales? They're doing just fine, and better than last gen.

It is odd because you'd think hardware and software would be in lockstep.

I'd love to know what the demographic breakdown is. I loved that little stat from Nintendo that broke down the age and sex of registered eshop users. I wish we had that from the other two and some info on who is actually buying these boxes.

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

It is odd because you'd think hardware and software would be in lockstep.

I'd love to know what the demographic breakdown is. I loved that little stat from Nintendo that broke down the age and sex of registered eshop users. I wish we had that from the other two and some info on who is actually buying these boxes.

We have this but its arguable how relevant its data remains.