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NPD Sales Results for December 2007

Thunder Monkey said:
We'll have to see how things play out, but I don't see either point being relevant until 2009 at the earliest.

Developers will either jump on the bandwagon, or lose buckets of potential profit with their sloppy endeavors. Right now to count on the Ps3 to do anymore then GCN numbers is foolhardy. The safest bet right now for 3rd parties is 360 and Wii development. If that means a larger number of exclusive software between the two then so be it.

The PS3 is only a factor because of the ease in PS3 and 360 portage, and the PS2. Without those two factors (one largely overstated) the PS3 wouldn't have had the support it did.

The Wii will get support, or developers will leave money on the table.

Except developing for the 360 means PC - PS3 ports, which equals much better sales overall (not that the PC portion helps much). The idea that developers will jump on the Wii bandwagon is unsubstantiated and due to the low power of the console, unpredictable userbase and no portability between platforms, I don't expect much to change over this generation.

As PS3 fans relentlessly chant that hardware sales will change dramatically, Wii fans sound exactly the same with their "but third parties will come around!" claim.
 

Fredescu

Member
IronicallyTwisted said:
Obviously I meant quality. And I still maintain PS3 07 > Wii 07, PS3 08 > Wii 08.
07 is much of a muchness in my opinion, both systems had great games of about the same amount, and the difference is down to taste. The only people that seem to be making grand statements about a lineup they haven't played yet are PS3 fans though. That reminds me of 07, when Lair and Heavenly Sword were on every AAA list before they were out.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Sho_Nuff82 said:
One of these things is not like the other. One of these things is ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FUCKING DOLLARS.

Christ. EA/Harmonix are rolling in the Rock Band money, with Wii and PS2 thrown in the mix theyre going to be close to $300 million in revenue before the end of the quarter. I've played the game and its fun and all but wow. Totally blew away my expectations, and it doesn't look like it's slowing down.
Yeah, it's insane. The 360 SKU alone is $132m in sales.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Robert R1 said:
When it doubt "it's doing well in Europe!" Numbers?
It's been hanging on the charts, and has actually lifted a bit in recent weeks. The December NPD shows it should have pretty good legs here as well.
 

Iksenpets

Banned
I'd really like the see the Rock Band PS2 numbers. It seemed to be sort of silently released, and was a blatantly inferior version of the game, but I'm interested to see how far the PS2's userbase carried it.
 
Fredescu said:
07 is much of a muchness in my opinion, both systems had great games of about the same amount, and the difference is down to taste. The only people that seem to be making grand statements about a lineup they haven't played yet are PS3 fans though. That reminds me of 07, when Lair and Heavenly Sword were on every AAA list before they were out.

I can only post my own opinion, i'm not claiming to be the grand master of lineup matches. I'd hardly call myself a PS3 fan, i'm just tired of the unanimous Wii love around here than can never be brought into question. Its not the definate winner in sales-age or game-age and I find it strange so many people think otherwise.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
IronicallyTwisted said:
I can only post my own opinion, i'm not claiming to be the grand master of lineup matches. I'd hardly call myself a PS3 fan, i'm just tired of the unanimous Wii love around here than can never be brought into question. Its not the definate winner in sales-age or game-age and I find it strange so many people think otherwise.

Yeah, I find it strange that the fastest selling console is history is considered the winner in Sales Age.
 

dude

dude
My two cents:
DS: Amazing, but we've come to expect that:lol
Wii: Awesome sales, I really thought we'll see a higher number because of hoarding though...
360: I really didn't think it'll come this close to Wii! very good sales.
PS3: Not breaking 800K is not good, they're not horrible sales, but it's still the only console to not break the million. I think even a price cut won't help it that much, once the media has labeled you a failure, it's a hard image to shake off...
Also, Sony, look at those PS2 sales, see them? They're nice, huh? Don't mess with fucking BW compatibility, kthxbye.
 
No PS3 games in December top 10 software.

No PS3 games in annual top 10 software.

I don't care the reasons, if I'm a PS3 developer that has me VERY concerned.
 

Odysseus

Banned
turning the focus on 2008, the early questions are will nintendo have anything on the shelves for january, is the 360 premium/elite "shortage" real or exaggerated, and will the ps3 maintain some, uh, momen.. will they be any closer to start 2008 than they were in 2007?
 

USD

Member
LTTP, wow, didn't know that call of duty sold so much. That and Guitar Hero III makes it an overwhelming victory for Activision 2007.
 

Fredescu

Member
IronicallyTwisted said:
My point is its dubious to name the Wii the "winner" considering its frontloaded strategy and meek games library. If anything it appears to be another gamecube, with Nintendo pushing all the top games and third party support running in the other direction.
Demographics is the number one reason it's not another Gamecube. Like the DS, it's popular among those who aren't traditional gamers. I agree that it could be doing better on the traditional gamer front.
 
schuelma said:
Yeah, I find it strange that the fastest selling console is history is considered the winner in Sales Age.

I think its rather obvious I was talking about the generation as a whole, though it is easier to pick apart someones statement when you cast it in your own light.
 

jgwhiteus

Member
IronicallyTwisted said:
Taste indeed, but on a forum full of hardcore gamers its a safer horse to bet on.

My point is its dubious to name the Wii the "winner" considering its frontloaded strategy and meek games library. If anything it appears to be another gamecube, with Nintendo pushing all the top games and third party support running in the other direction.

The fact that its outselling the other consoles doesn't mean much to me as a gamer, and the fact that the 360 has superior software sales will mean a hell of alot to developers.

Well, it's been said before, but the 360's software sales successes tend to be of a very specific type - M-rated, massively budgeted "hardcore" games with lots of advertising and hype, etc. For those types of games, there've certainly been more than a number of million sellers, and that won't stop anytime soon.

But the games industry isn't solely composed of those types of games. There are puzzle games, family games, platformers, (j)RPGs, etc. Those really haven't had a presence on the charts for the 360. The PS2 was a great success because it straddled both the hardcore and family/casual demographic and also had space for jRPGs, puzzlers, etc. It also sold consistently well in every territory. But right now the market's split between the "hardcore" on the 360 (and to a lesser extent PS3), where the U.S. is the strongest market, and family/casual on Wii, which sells relatively well in all territories. So I don't think it's clear that all developers will look at the 360's "superior" software sales quite the same way.

I actually think SMG's extremely strong sales are a good sign for third-party publishers (even if it is a first-party title), because it shows that a traditional game can sell well on the Wii. GHIII and M&S are both multi-million third-party sellers, but could be categorized as "casual" games or "mini-games", which the Wii already has far too many of. But SMG is a traditional video game platformer. Last month it outsold the first 5 months of SMSunshine's sales; maybe this NPD will take it to a year of Sunshine's sales in just two months? I think it shows that a sizable portion of the Wii userbase is willing to buy a traditional video game (even though it just happens to be one of the highest-rated of all time).

And even if the Wii doesn't get a deluge of "AAA" exclusives, I think for certain types of games third-party publishers wil take a lesson from EA/Activision and at least try porting their games to Wii as best they can. Almost anyone looking at Rock Band's sales vs. GHIII's can see a huge lost opportunity by not targeting the Wii's userbase. I think publishers/developers were afraid before that Wii owners wouldn't buy anything besides Wii Sports, but the past few months have put that concern aside. Now it's their job to create titles that will take away attention from Nintendo's first-party efforts, and GHIII was a nice place to start.
 
IronicallyTwisted said:
Except developing for the 360 means PC - PS3 ports, which equals much better sales overall (not that the PC portion helps much). The idea that developers will jump on the Wii bandwagon is unsubstantiated and due to the low power of the console, unpredictable userbase and no portability between platforms, I don't expect much to change over this generation.

As PS3 fans relentlessly chant that hardware sales will change dramatically, Wii fans sound exactly the same with their "but third parties will come around!" claim.
And GH3 is a fluke?

When I see those sales I say out of the current consoles (360, PS3, and Wii) two are obviously stronger brands. Two have a respectable 3rd party environment, and developers would have to be stupid to choose a console with less then half the userbase of the other two just because they can port their new pretty engines to it.

Even with the span of the shitty 3rd party content the Wii has had 3rd party software performs better.
 

Sean

Banned
Any Scene It numbers? That leaked Microsoft memo said it did better than their expectations and they seem to have a sequel planned for it already.

Ratchet numbers would be nice too.
 

Iksenpets

Banned
Thunder Monkey said:
And GH3 is a fluke?

When I see those sales I say out of the current consoles (360, PS3, and Wii) two are obviously stronger brands. Two have a respectable 3rd party environment, and developers would have to be stupid to choose a console with less then half the userbase of the other two just because they can port their new pretty engines to it.

Even with the span of the shitty 3rd party content the Wii has had 3rd party software performs better.


GH3 is big among casual gamers. That just proves that a casual game with a strong brand name can do well on the Wii. The only third party hardcore game I can think of that's done really well was RE4, and to a lesser extent, Umbrella Chronicles, which I would assume comes from all the long term Nintendo fans who became fans of the series in the Gamecube years. And has there been any really successful new IP on the Wii?
 
jgwhiteus said:
Well, it's been said before, but the 360's software sales successes tend to be of a very specific type - M-rated, massively budgeted "hardcore" games with lots of advertising and hype, etc. For those types of games, there've certainly been more than a number of million sellers, and that won't stop anytime soon.

But the games industry isn't solely composed of those types of games. There are puzzle games, family games, platformers, (j)RPGs, etc. Those really haven't had a presence on the charts for the 360. The PS2 was a great success because it straddled both the hardcore and family/casual demographic and also had space for jRPGs, puzzlers, etc. It also sold consistently well in every territory. But right now the market's split between the "hardcore" on the 360 (and to a lesser extent PS3), where the U.S. is the strongest market, and family/casual on Wii, which sells relatively well in all territories. So I don't think it's clear that all developers will look at the 360's "superior" software sales quite the same way.

I actually think SMG's extremely strong sales are a good sign for third-party publishers (even if it is a first-party title), because it shows that a traditional game can sell well on the Wii. GHIII and M&S are both multi-million third-party sellers, but could be categorized as "casual" games or "mini-games", which the Wii already has far too many of. But SMG is a traditional video game platformer. Last month it outsold the first 5 months of SMSunshine's sales; maybe this NPD will take it to a year of Sunshine's sales in just two months? I think it shows that a sizable portion of the Wii userbase is willing to buy a traditional video game (even though it just happens to be one of the highest-rated of all time).

And even if the Wii doesn't get a deluge of "AAA" exclusives, I think for certain types of games third-party publishers wil take a lesson from EA/Activision and at least try porting their games to Wii as best they can. Almost anyone looking at Rock Band's sales vs. GHIII's can see a huge lost opportunity by not targeting the Wii's userbase. I think publishers/developers were afraid before that Wii owners wouldn't buy anything besides Wii Sports, but the past few months have put that concern aside. Now it's their job to create titles that will take away attention from Nintendo's first-party efforts, and GHIII was a nice place to start.

Yes, we were joking about the limited 360 demographic a page back, and I certainly agree there is no PS2 of this generation that captures all audiences. I don't know how relevant Super Mario Galaxy is as a beacon of light for third parties considering its a Mario game which could very well just be selling to Nintendo fanatics as it always has. GH3 is still selling better on the 360, and its not a traditional game anyway. In fact, its pretty much the perfect game for the Wii audience.

I think one of the reasons Rock Band was left off the Wii for the time being was because of the games online focus, which Wii owners lack. It would have sold better than the PS3 version, though it would also require a much heftier software revision to get the game running on the Wii's hardware.

Whats selling on the system now are cheap mini game collaborations and Nintendo releases. The fact remains that big development studios are working on the 360 and co. which would indicate the head honchos at these publishing companies agree with me.

Thunder Monkey said:
And GH3 is a fluke?

When I see those sales I say out of the current consoles (360, PS3, and Wii) two are obviously stronger brands. Two have a respectable 3rd party environment, and developers would have to be stupid to choose a console with less then half the userbase of the other two just because they can port their new pretty engines to it.

Even with the span of the shitty 3rd party content the Wii has had 3rd party software performs better.

Guitar Hero 3 is a casual game for a casual audience. Its also a sequel of a sequel to a PS2 game which was widely popular. I can't imagine a worse example to prove your point. Where are all the new IP's breaking into the market on the system like the 360?
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Iksenpets said:
GH3 is big among casual gamers. That just proves that a casual game with a strong brand name can do well on the Wii. The only third party hardcore game I can think of that's done really well was RE4, and to a lesser extent, Umbrella Chronicles, which I would assume comes from all the long term Nintendo fans who became fans of the series in the Gamecube years. And has there been any really successful new IP on the Wii?


I ask this every month in response to these type of posts, and no one ever seems to be able to answer me. Let's see if you can do it

-What "traditional" game on the Wii has sold a lot worse than it deserved to?
 
Wow. I was so very wrong in how many Wii units were going to sell. For once, Nintendo was telling us the truth about not having enough units. And here I was, thinking they'd been hording the systems all year. Ah well. Can't be right, all the time I guess. I'll just take "Most of the Time".

Anyways...

December was freaking awesome for everyone. The PS3 did extremely well, all things considered. The Wii was very nice sales and the 360 just as good. The PSP and DS...man....beasts. Now if only the PSP could sell the software to match the hardware sales.....
 

Jirotrom

Member
DS is fucking unstoppable.... it really sucks that the PSP and Wii were both supply constrained, shit even the DS was supply constrained I would have been interested in what they could have sold.
 

Grecco

Member
IronicallyTwisted said:
Whats selling on the system now are cheap mini game collaborations and Nintendo releases. The fact remains that big development studios are working on the 360 and co. which would indicate the head honchos at these publishing companies agree with me.


Someone tell EA this. Because im pretty sure Boogie bombed. Or alternatively tell Capcom that RE4/UC is a mini game collaboration. Or Ubisoft on Red Steel, or Square soft on DQ Swords.
 

WoolyNinja

Member
Worldwide the PS3 is sitting pretty. If you look at the PS2 #'s... the US makes up less than 1/4 (less than 45mil) of the 200mil+ PS2's sold.

The PS3 is already doing well worldwide for it's first year. US sales aren't as big a deal as most want to believe. It's a big world out there, and companies know that.
 
schuelma said:
I ask this every month in response to these type of posts, and no one ever seems to be able to answer me. Let's see if you can do it

-What "traditional" game on the Wii has sold a lot worse than it deserved to?

Zack and Wiki. Metroid Prime 3.
 

Uncooked

Banned
Nice hardware sales for Nintendo and Microsoft. 360 software is crazy. I see DS's selling like crazy but not much in terms of software, is there a lot of great games out there, because I am thinking about getting one but keep backing off.
 

Lightning

Banned
What the hell is wrong with the PS3 software?

The 360 sells 3x more because it has 3x the userbase and a very well established FPS game userbase I might add. I think over 500k for COD4 PS3 version is acceptable, Uncharted's sales are alright without being anything to brag about. Overall, it was a ok month for the PS3. A good way to finish off what was an absolutely shit year for Sony. Thinking back when the fucking GBA was outselling it and it was below 80k in the US and 10k in Japan...

Things can only improve in 08 and Sony need to lower the price as $400 is still too expensive.
 

Grecco

Member
IronicallyTwisted said:
Zack and Wiki. Metroid Prime 3.


Prime will end up being the best selling one of the trilogy. And not Zack and Wiki was never going to sell well. Even on the mighty Xbox.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
IronicallyTwisted said:
Whats selling on the system now are cheap mini game collaborations and Nintendo releases. The fact remains that big development studios are working on the 360 and co. which would indicate the head honchos at these publishing companies agree with me.


What category do the Resident Evil games fall into?
 

jman2050

Member
WoolyNinja said:
Worldwide the PS3 is sitting pretty. If you look at the PS2 #'s... the US makes up less than 1/4 (less than 45mil) of the 200mil+ PS2's sold.

The PS3 is already doing well worldwide for it's first year. US sales aren't as big a deal as most want to believe. It's a big world out there, and companies know that.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA



....




....







....








HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
 

Fredescu

Member
Uncooked said:
I see DS's selling like crazy but not much in terms of software, is there a lot of great games out there, because I am thinking about getting one but keep backing off.
It has a huge traditional gaming library. It all depends on your tastes of course though.
 

pr0cs

Member
WoolyNinja said:
Worldwide the PS3 is sitting pretty.
Maybe you're seeing something I'm not but the difference I'm seeing in these number pretty much makes the entire continent of Europe irrelevant in relation to PS3 vs 360.
 
Grecco said:
Prime will end up being the best selling one of the trilogy. And not Zack and Wiki was never going to sell well. Even on the mighty Xbox.

Stop bullet dodging. Both undersold considering their quality, period.

schuelma said:
What category do the Resident Evil games fall into?

I'd go with "port" and "sub par rail shooter". Where is the real next Resident Evil game going again?
 
Threi said:
Super Mario Galaxy officially doesn't count for Wii software anymore.

That being said not a single real Wii game in the top 10.

Wii owners really don't buy any sort of software for the system.

So SMG has reached nongame status? Great! Congratulations Nintendo! You've got yet another nongame for one of your systems. :lol

On another note, when I first started visiting this site a number of months ago, the NPD threads were always filled with lots of funny gifs. What happened? Are they not allowed anymore? They were my favourite threads on all the internetz.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
IronicallyTwisted said:
Zack and Wiki. Metroid Prime 3.


Zack and Wiki was going to bomb on whatever platform it was on. But ok, from a games perspective, then sure.

MP..I'd say its doing what it should be expected to do. It will beat MP2 and approach 1.
 
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