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NPD Sales Results for April 2016 [Sony, MS, & Nintendo refuse to comment on hardware]

harSon

Banned
Its success is based on its content and addictive gameplay.
How could one of the most popular mp games on any system have faired badly on a console with the best online infrastructure and demographic.

I don't think you can make an argument where MS didn't royaly screw themselves by not seeing the writing on the wall.

Not sure that I can agree with Destiny's success being attributed to its content, especially towards the beginning of its existence lmao.

It'd be one thing if Sony had garnered console exclusivity, but Destiny is a 3rd party title that still sold well on Xbox - and that occurred without them spending a dollar on development or marketing. You have to ask yourself if the hundreds of millions of dollars it would have taken to develop and advertise Destiny would have been counterbalanced by its sales on a distant second console ecosystem. It probably would have been Titanfall 2.0
 
Gears 4 will be fine. It will likely sell lower than previous entries, sure, but that's to be expected given the context it's releasing under. And it will be overshadowed by CoD, BF and Titanfall, but it's not going to be a bomb like these other MS titles. It has solid name recognition, fans and is from a successful series.

Scalebound, Crackdown, Sea of Thieves etc. - that's another story. But Gears will be fine as long as people's expectations are reasonably informed.
 
giphy.gif
Amazing work
 

Ridley327

Member
Looks like it landed in the middle of my range from February's thread.



I maintain this is a very harsh genre for almost anyone to operate in given the way taste has went.

Bravely Default did over 160K and over 200K with digital, so that's a pretty large dive as well barring a huge uptake on digital, which I think Nintendo would have bragged about.

Given the Japanese results, I wouldn't hold my breath for a sequel.
Somewhere in the world, a softly spoken mrgrgr is uttered.
 
Gears 4 will be fine. It will likely sell lower than previous entries, sure, but that's to be expected given the context it's releasing under. And it will be overshadowed by CoD, BF and Titanfall, but it's not going to be a bomb like these other MS titles. It has solid name recognition, fans and is from a successful series.

Scalebound, Crackdown, Sea of Thieves etc. - that's another story. But Gears will be fine as long as people's expectations are reasonably informed.

Honestly after Halo 5 its safe to say no IP is invincible... I was one of the ppl who thought Halo was COD unbreakable
 

gcubed

Member
Just so that we can see the scale:



So, does the software charts include the bundle numbers? I'm thinking not, because CoD would be way higher with them included.

What this tells us:

R&C > 185k and <504k
QB > 105k and <175k, but since that 175k includes bundle, it's probably lower than that, perhaps between 105k and 150k.

ummm, since they said its below 150k with bundles, i'm pretty sure its safe to say that its below 150k ... where did you get 175k from?
 
Not sure that I can agree with Destiny's success being attributed to its content, especially towards the beginning of its existence lmao.

It'd be one thing if Sony had garnered console exclusivity, but Destiny is a 3rd party title that still sold well on Xbox - and that occurred without them spending a dollar on development or marketing. You have to ask yourself if the hundreds of millions of dollars it would have taken to develop and advertise Destiny would have been counterbalanced by its sales on a distant second console ecosystem. It probably would have been Titanfall 2.0

I mean I just don't see any scenario where Destiny isn't a massive game changer for them had they kept it. That dumb game still makes so much money off people and has to be one of the most lucrative MMO games right now. A big portion of my friends list are still "In Orbit".
 

Boke1879

Member
Yea man. I don't know why MS would green light a pure so experience. Their audience just doesn't seem to gravitate towards that. Where they go from here I don't know. Gears is the only thing I can see making a big splash but after halo regressing in sales who knows.
 
Gears 4 will be fine. It will likely sell lower than previous entries, sure, but that's to be expected given the context it's releasing under. And it will be overshadowed by CoD, BF and Titanfall, but it's not going to be a bomb like these other MS titles. It has solid name recognition, fans and is from a successful series.

Scalebound, Crackdown, Sea of Thieves etc. - that's another story. But Gears will be fine as long as people's expectations are reasonably informed.

I'm not arguing that it won't sell enough to recoup its costs I'm arguing it won't change the trend MS has and further diminish the power of their IP. I just don't see as a console where they go from here. It so different for Sony because the PS4 is a major tent pole in that company being able to survive but for MS the Xbox division isn't doing anything for them and they certainly don't need it. I just don't know if they are willing to make the massive monetary commitment necessary to start to turn things around.
 
Honestly after Halo 5 its safe to say no IP is invincible... I was one of the ppl who thought Halo was COD unbreakable

That's the context I'm talking about.

There's a vast spectrum between Halo 5 disappointing based on previous successes and what games like QB and SO are doing. The Gears situation will be closer to the former.

It's not going to open at 2 million like the previous mainline game did. But it will be fine with reasonable expectations (namely that not even Halo is selling as well as previous games).
 
So much that it has been said countless times they will.

The doom and gloom is real.

Plans change and visions turn bleak. World changes. It's the end.

Seriously. MS wants to sell consoles, of course they say everything is a ok. Would the company start to preach doom & gloom? Nope. It's for the others to read the signs. And the signs are there.
 

harSon

Banned
I think at this point, it's just important for Microsoft to build up its software portfolio and check boxes - regardless of whether the resulting games are massively profitable or not - until they can do a soft reboot with the release of Xbox 1.5.
 
Quantum Break is less than the first month Feb 2015 NPD for The Order: 1886 (~190k according to creamsugar).



Looks that way. Broad range. Here's hoping it's closer to the high.




Wow, if you go back and look at the NPD for after The Order launched, it was pointed out very very clearly that The Order was a huge BOMB sales wise. It was piled on pretty hard.


So if people think some users are picking on QB, they should go back and check what happened with The Order. Its obvious, they both bombed, at least in North America in their first month.
 

Kill3r7

Member
I'm not arguing that it won't sell enough to recoup its costs I'm arguing it won't change the trend MS has and further diminish the power of their IP. I just don't see as a console where they go from here. It so different for Sony because the PS4 is a major tent pole in that company being able to survive but for MS the Xbox division isn't doing anything for them and they certainly don't need it. I just don't know if they are willing to make the massive monetary commitment necessary to start to turn things around.

What's the end game? If you are the top dog in the console market you might sell 100-150 million units. How much money is that going to make you compared to the cost it takes to accomplish that feat? Now compare that number to other divisions within your company. I have owned every single Xbox console and will continue to support them as long as I am into gaming but I am not sure it has ever made sense for MS. The battle for the living room simply does not exist anymore.
 

harSon

Banned
I'm not arguing that it won't sell enough to recoup its costs I'm arguing it won't change the trend MS has and further diminish the power of their IP. I just don't see as a console where they go from here. It so different for Sony because the PS4 is a major tent pole in that company being able to survive but for MS the Xbox division isn't doing anything for them and they certainly don't need it. I just don't know if they are willing to make the massive monetary commitment necessary to start to turn things around.

I like how people can still say this in the face of a damn near confirmed console revision and possible new console.
 

BadWolf

Member
I'm not arguing that it won't sell enough to recoup its costs I'm arguing it won't change the trend MS has and further diminish the power of their IP. I just don't see as a console where they go from here. It so different for Sony because the PS4 is a major tent pole in that company being able to survive but for MS the Xbox division isn't doing anything for them and they certainly don't need it. I just don't know if they are willing to make the massive monetary commitment necessary to start to turn things around.

The thing is though, MS's success last gen was in large part due to Sony's own fuck ups.

When Sony doesn't fuck up and is on their A game then we get a PS2/PS4 situation.

And unlike Nintendo, who has their own audience, MS has always mostly aimed for the same crowd as Sony.
 
I like how people can still say this in the face of a damn near confirmed console revision and possible new console.

In what if... world these words mean something. In reality there's no such thing as "the new console is damn near confirmed possible". That's hope what's speaking, not reality. Reality is money, commerce and capitalism. Hope makes no bucks. Hope does not pay salaries.
 

MacTag

Banned
Bravely ended before it released in the west. It would have taken some exemplary sales in the west to resuscitate what SE had already killed with a bad/uninspired/cheap sequel.
Pretty much. As a sequel it makes a rather stark contrast to FE Fates in how to handle/mishandle a 3DS sequel. And the results fully reflect that.
 

wapplew

Member
The thing is though, MS's success last gen was in large part due to Sony's own fuck ups.

When Sony doesn't fuck up and is on their A game then we get a PS2/PS4 situation.

And unlike Nintendo, who has their own audience, MS has always mostly aimed for the same crowd as Sony.

As long as all big western third party release games on Xbox one, it will be fine, atleast better than OG Xbox.
 

Chris1

Member
As long as xbox division is profitable it'll stay around... It might not be the reason they entered the console business in the first place but it has it's benefits. From pushing their azure business to getting kids into their ecosystem.
 

maxiell

Member
Microsoft's audience loves and supports first person shooters, so they went and spent on a variety of third person shooters. There really are not enough FPS on the market right now for the audience and there is very little forthcoming on the first party side from any publisher.
 
As long as xbox division is profitable it'll stay around... It might not be the reason they entered the console business in the first place but it has it's benefits. From pushing their azure business to getting kids into their ecosystem.

For years there's been rumors that Xbox branch has made no money and has lost billions. These billions have been bleeding every year. MS was not succesful to create a brand to occupy everyone's living room. Now they aim for the PC space. People will not like Win 10 Store as long as there's Steam and such. Where does MS move from this point?

Future will be interesting.
 

Chris1

Member
For years there's been rumors that Xbox branch has made no money and has lost billions. These billions have been bleeding every year. MS was not succesful to create a brand to occupy everyone's living room. Now they aim for the PC space. People will not like Win 10 Store as long as there's Steam and such. Where does MS go from this point right now?

Future will be interesting.
Phil said in IGN unlocked few months ago the xbox division as a whole was profitable.

As long as they avoid another RROD situation they're fine I think
 
Phil said in IGN unlocked few months ago the xbox division as a whole was profitable.

As long as they avoid another RROD situation they're fine I think

I have my doubts about that. But I think we'll see what happens sooner than later.

Project financials are constantly being reviewed and companies are always willing to write the costs off if necessary. MS wouldn't hesitate to cancel a project if they thought it made financial sense.

Yeah. Look at Fable. MS cancelled the game after 75 million dollars.
 

Pastry

Banned
I like how people can still say this in the face of a damn near confirmed console revision and possible new console.

Project financials are constantly being reviewed and companies are always willing to write the costs off if necessary. MS wouldn't hesitate to cancel a project if they thought it made financial sense.
 
This is overblown.

Alan Wake humble bundle only sold 200k, between AW + AN there's 2.8M sales on steam according to steam spy

The humble bundle may be overblown, but I spent 3$ on AW + AN during one of the Steam sales.

That's hardly indicative of success, and is why it's so hard to judge sales based on Steam #s years later.
 

Shin-Ra

Junior Member
Maybe Silicon Studios move on and create another IP like they did when they went from 4 Heroes of Light to Bravely Default but there is also the fact that Bravely Second looks like it costed much less than Second to make with all the reused content so...

Any data about how the game performed in Europe?
It's time for SS to follow up 3DDGH with an Ocarina of Time inspired game!

I am worried that Gears 4 won't be big enough for their expectations and then that start slashing all their other projects (budget ect)
Judging by the quality of the 'Tomorrow' trailer, the budget's already tight, even for Gears.
 

Chris1

Member
I have my doubts about that. But I think we'll see what happens sooner than later.

doubts about the profitability? because I believe him. He was asked whether the console itself was profitable and Phil just dodged the question and went on about the xbox division as a whole being profitable. I just don't see him avoiding the original question only to respond with another lie.

If you mean doubts about whether the brand stays then dunno.. I think it will, it has its benefits for MS and it's not sinking money, no real reason to abandon it IMO.

The humble bundle may be overblown, but I spent 3$ on AW + AN during one of the Steam sales.

That's hardly indicative of success, and is why it's so hard to judge sales based on Steam #s years later.
Agree
 
Where does MS go from here? They have Gears 4 coming but it truly just feels like the same game that came before it. Crackdown could be great but I'm not sure it will be a massive IP. Even if they come out with a new system what games are they going to push it with. I feel like the well that is their IP is just getting drier and drier

Arent they focusing on a new system (imo)

They are a bit in trouble with sales and IPs no doubt. They tried to milk it and that they did

Won't have fable. Yo would assume they are reluctant on the forza and halo games now and how to handle them. You have to wonder how they even want to handle the xbox division and windows at this point as well
 

inherendo

Member
doubts about the profitability? because I believe him. He was asked whether the console itself was profitable and Phil just dodged the question and went on about the xbox division as a whole being profitable. I just don't see him avoiding the original question only to respond with another lie.

If you mean doubts about whether the brand stays then dunno.. I think it will, it has its benefits for MS and it's not sinking money, no real reason to abandon it IMO.

Agree
Sure it might be profitable, but are the margins good enough for Microsoft when all their other departments do so much better. Why waste resources here when that capital can be spent in much better investments. Ms is a huge company and when something is just ”profitable,” that sounds like they're not doing well enough to have a huge impact on ms bottom line.
 
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