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NPD Sales Results for August 2013 [Up2: Tons of Nintendo Software]

Mory Dunz

Member
gta, fifa sept
pokemon, ass creed oct
2 console launches nov

also this years sales have been so bad up to now that npd's next year will probably look positive in comparison even if xbox and ps4 aren't doing so great relative to other system early life.

should have bought a few months ago when all that ms drm stuff was in full swing :p

And CoD.
 
Wait, falling sales of Madden and people barely buying at Gamestop is cause for investors to buy in.

I will never understand what drives people to buy a certain's stock apparently.

Their stock has about doubled this year. Consider that they have several ways of generating revenue. Also consider that in the event of continuing shrinking software sales, Gamestop will be in position to increase market share as other outlets no longer can compete for various reason.

In any market, during a contraction, any business that can weather the storm and come out ahead usually picks up market share as the weaker companies fold. Such companies generally have strong balance sheets and positive cash flow.

Also... investors are sometimes fickle.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Disney Infinity sales are a lot less than I thought.

It'll holiday explode. Similar sales curve to a just dance or early skylanders. Stuff the channel now and you do crazy holiday gift giving and discount/BER numbers once you can play with price after the first month
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Pokémon Y is 9th on Amazon.com, while Pokémon X is 10th. And we're still a month away from their release. Such a huge expectations is not common for any game, let alone handheld titles, since usually they sell more in the long term. They're coming. :D

The GTA5 PS3 bundle is 13th, it seems THIS will impact hardware sales. Certainly much more than the 12GB 199$ SKU.
 
So, we will not get nothing more? DS hardware, more precise 3DS number...

Well normally we would have a more precise number for 3DS, but...

New policy changes are afoot at NPD.
Unfortunately, they're getting even more serious about clamping down on public disclosure of information.

So we would probably have a more precise number for 3DS right now...but because of this, we might not get anything further this month.

Unless Creamsugar decides to return and give us something more precise, we might be out of luck.

Thank goodness for Creamsugar.
 

Bruno MB

Member
If Pikmin 3 sold 115k combined, then it did 10k eShop. That's n-line with their typical ratio id say.

Except for new Luigi, which looks to have done really well on eShop. That's promising

That's just 5,000 units more than what Lego City Undercover sold in its first month. I thought Pikmin 3 would have a better debut.
 

jvm

Gamasutra.
Wow... The Last of Us already out of the Top 10! I was hoping that game would have some legs on it. Oh well.
It should do well during the holiday season, when sales of PS3 hardware picks up and people are asking "what's a good game to get with this?"

It really should have decent word of mouth, at least from what I've seen.
 

fernoca

Member
I guess stores order quantities based on general interest/pre-orders? Or is it a case of Ubisoft shipping a small quantity based on expectations? I'm always curious how this works.
It's usually like that. Stores order games based on preorders and interest. A few developers have talked about how if fans want to support games they should preorder games instead of waiting for day one deals or boycotting retailers. "Worst" (to some at least) is that some retailers order games based on what Gamestop orders and hypes. Is why over the last years more retailers are jumping into preorder extras.

Many forget how back when Phoenix Wright was released, no stores wanted to carry the game and only Gamestop did based on the few preorders they had at first. When more and more people started asking about the game and Gamestop requested additional shipments, others decided to jump in.
 

donny2112

Member
New policy changes are afoot at NPD.
Unfortunately, they're getting even more serious about clamping down on public disclosure of information.

So does that mean less information to news outlets, then? Not sure how they could clamp down more, since they don't release numbers themselves outside of the monthly quotes from Anita Frazier.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
So does that mean less information to news outlets, then? Not sure how they could clamp down more, since they don't release numbers themselves outside of the monthly quotes from Anita Frazier.

Here's how it can become worse

NPD September 2013

Michael Pacther: "One game sold awesome, the rest goes from eh to bah"

Anita Frazier: "There's been a change compared to last year, and to last month. Consoles sold a certain amount. Next month we'll see something"
 
So does that mean less information to news outlets, then? Not sure how they could clamp down more, since they don't release numbers themselves outside of the monthly quotes from Anita Frazier.

It means that sources that usually result in some revealed NPD tidbits (like news from the frequently-posted Japanese source) might have been silenced or mostly-silenced by NPD.

It also means that NPD is interested in plugging the leaky ship. They're not going to be just complacent with people who leak private information.

I don't think we'll see in any change in the data that gets widely disseminated through channels like GamesIndustry International, IGN, Nintendo official PR, or Microsoft official PR. I'm talking about the extra stuff we get.

But we'll see. I'm not completely sure what effects NPD's changes have had on everything.
 

allan-bh

Member
I don't understand NPD, disclose some data will not cause them to lose subscribers. The only explanation that makes sense is if some companies asked them to keep the numbers secret.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
That's just 5,000 units more than what Lego City Undercover sold in its first month. I thought Pikmin 3 would have a better debut.

Yea. It's sad. Though games had more sales momentum even those few months ago.
I mean, Injustice did 4X Splinter Cell even. I think people were just more willing to invest in those early days. Now we probably have a lower 'time spent' per console in August/Semptember than we did Feb/March.
 

joedick

Member
That's just 5,000 units more than what Lego City Undercover sold in its first month. I thought Pikmin 3 would have a better debut.

I know, generally speaking, Pikmin 3 hasn't sold huge numbers, but shouldn't making the top 10 on a single console that doesn't have a large install base be considered pretty good?
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
I know, generally speaking, Pikmin 3 hasn't sold huge numbers, but shouldn't making the top 10 on a single console that doesn't have a large install base be considered pretty good?

It kind of depends where the top 10 is no?

I mean if it made Spot #2 and Spot #2 was 400 copies, that wouldn't be a good result.

That said, the Wii U is in a very deep hole at this point so from that perspective it's not horrible, but we're looking at it through that notably tinted lens.
 

Lumyst

Member
That's just 5,000 units more than what Lego City Undercover sold in its first month. I thought Pikmin 3 would have a better debut.

I am a little scared that if Nintendo's "other" games (non-tradtional IP games) don't sell enough, they'll be forced to make more and more of what does sell, the very tried and true of the tried and true, meaning less chances to see new things. I mean, it's good that Lego City is up there with a "Miyamoto game" in sales, in a way, but I'd wish that more Nintendo gamers would rally around a Miyamoto game the same way, say, Sony gamers would rally around a Santa Monica game. Maybe the audience is full of children or people who don't have a notion of pride for their platform or the creators of their platform. Yet if budgets are really increasing, and Nintendo can't even get enough sales for many of their own games on their own platform, it would really hurt. It would mean the WiiU is a money sink not only for the third parties who give it a try, but for Nintendo itself.
 

Alex

Member
So if we aggregate responses from Creamsugar / other insiders / other data I've collected:

1) Madden NFL 25 (360, PS3): >1 million - <1.15 million
2) Saints Row IV (360, PS3, PC): <450,000 (360 = 68%)
3) Disney Infinity (360, Wii, PS3, NWU, 3DS): ~294,000 (WII = 25.2%, WIU = 16.3%)
4) Splinter Cell: Blacklist (360, PS3, NWU, PC): <294,000 (360 = 70%, WIU = 1.6%)
5) Minecraft (360)
6) Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS): ~173,000 (17,000 digital, 190,000 total)
7) NCAA Football 14 (360, PS3)
8) Payday 2 (360, PS3)
9) Final Fantasy XIV Online (PS3, PC) (PS3 = <100,000, PC = <100,000)
10) Pikmin 3 (NWU): <110,000 (115,000 retail + digital)
XX) Tales of Xillia (PS3): >100,000

I'd imagine XIV was digital heavy considering the type of title and the heavy PC lean. I'm surprised their rebrand actually worked out as well as it did, I'm still getting queues weeks later and after copious server additions.
 

Lumyst

Member
Lol nope.

GBA micro was released without any major system sellers and during the start of the Nintendogs/MK/Animal Crossing explosion of the DS.

It has 2 years to sell 2.5 mil WW It'll make that in year at the worst

Well, as much as I think things like "Kids will be all over Disney Infinity, it's Skylanders with Disney characters!" and "The 2DS looks to be designed for kids, they should be all over that!" I've over the months developed a more neutral perspective on things after seeing so many of what I thought would do well or decent, bomb (sometimes catastrophically). The reality comes down to asking, "Are kids actually hyped up about this 2DS?" are there kids who really wanted the 3DS for a while but their parents kept on saying "No" due to the 3D warnings. In any case, the new $130 pricepoint of entry for the 3DS is what intrigues me more than whether or not it's something children are craving at a "must-have" level.
 
Well, as much as I think things like "Kids will be all over Disney Infinity, it's Skylanders with Disney characters!" and "The 2DS looks to be designed for kids, they should be all over that!" I've over the months developed a more neutral perspective on things after seeing so many of what I thought would do well or decent, bomb (sometimes catastrophically). The reality comes down to asking, "Are kids actually hyped up about this 2DS?" are there kids who really wanted the 3DS for a while but their parents kept on saying "No" due to the 3D warnings. In any case, the new $120 pricepoint of entry for the 3DS is what intrigues me more than whether or not it's something children are craving at a "must-have" level.
It's not the lack of 3D that's sealing the deal for wary parents, it is the price point. 130 compared to 200 is a much easier sell. Nintendo clearly wanted a cheap model of 3DS to replicate DS sales, and removing 3D was the most cost-effective way of getting it down there.
 
Well, as much as I think things like "Kids will be all over Disney Infinity, it's Skylanders with Disney characters!" and "The 2DS looks to be designed for kids, they should be all over that!" I've over the months developed a more neutral perspective on things after seeing so many of what I thought would do well or decent, bomb (sometimes catastrophically). The reality comes down to asking, "Are kids actually hyped up about this 2DS?" are there kids who really wanted the 3DS for a while but their parents kept on saying "No" due to the 3D warnings. In any case, the new $120 pricepoint of entry for the 3DS is what intrigues me more than whether or not it's something children are craving at a "must-have" level.

It's a matter of price and lack of viable competition in the dedicated market as well as new compelling software. These things will fly off the store shelves on Black Friday not because some 9yo is crazy hyped about it but because It's a cheap handheld that plays Pokemon and Mario.

2.5 mil WW is not a high bar for 2 years.
 
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