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NPD Sales Results for December 2009

w3stfa11

Member
Stumpokapow said:
The VG Sales Wiki, by the way, has been a fantastic resource for quick lookups of old data for years. It used to use its own domain but it migrated to Wikia. I`m sure some GAFfer maintains it but I have no idea who. Whoever it is, thanks a million, your work is great.

It's great to hear it's been a useful resource. I'm w3stfa11, the creator and admin on the Video Game Sales Wiki. Just to clarify, it's always been hosted by Wikia since its creation in April 2008. Any other vgsales site is not associated with this one.

Unfortunately, I've become busy in real life and have no time free to continue doing research to add and organize content on the wiki. I'm hoping that, due to its wiki nature, other gamers will contribute to it in the future.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
w3stfa11 said:
It's great to hear it's been a useful resource. I'm w3stfa11, the creator and admin on the Video Game Sales Wiki. Just to clarify, it's always been hosted by Wikia since its creation in April 2008. Any other vgsales site is not associated with this one.

I thought I remembered there being a standalone domain, but I guess not after a quick google search. Honestly, I always remember finding it by googling video game sales! :p Thanks very much for the work you put into it, and please feel free to post in any sales threads here because we all like posts by intelligent knowledgeable contributors!
 
AniHawk said:
It's a Simpsons quote and I butchered it.

Is the real thing. And he doesn't say "hey hey," he laughs.

I'm so sorry.


I caught the reference I just checked the thread too late :lol Ah, well.
 

Opiate

Member
Another note: I believe that this year, the DS has a strong chance to surpass the PS2 as the best selling console in the US ever. It's currently 6.4M behind. Last year, it shortened the gap by ~9M units.

It may not: it depends on how much the DS slows down, which at this point I'm just kind of assuming it has to do. Regardless, the DS is clearly going to catch it at some point. December 2010 is my guess.
 

Hero

Member
Opiate said:
Another note: I believe the DS has a strong chance to surpass the PS2 as the best selling console in the US ever. It's currently 6.4M behind. Last year, it shortened the gap by ~9M units.

It may not: it depends on how much the DS slows down, which at this point I'm just kind of assuming it has to do. Regardless, the DS is clearly going to catch it at some point. December 2010 is my guess.

Dude, the only way the DS dies is if Nintendo releases DS2. And even then people will buy DS for at least half a year.
 

Fredescu

Member
kame-sennin said:
I think it was. If you go back to threads around the time Reggie was making his bet (or Media Create threads right before the first sales data came in), a lot of gafers were suggesting that NSMB would only do as well as Galaxy. NSMB DS was dismissed as an example because it was on a handheld. I remember a lot of gaffers bristling at the idea of NSMB Wii doing much better than Galaxy; there are even some bitter tears in this thread.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=379274

In the first 100 posts, there are two mentions of 2D limiting the appeal, which both get shot down with references to NSMB. There is one mention of it doing the same as Galaxy. There is even a quote: "people have some crazy expectations on this new Mario because it's 2D" which I think is representative of the majority opinion at the time. I'm not going to try and claim that no one thought it would do the same as Galaxy, but to suggest it's a sacred cow is to suggest that it was the prevailing opinion, which I don't see evidence of.

I'm not seeing the bitter tears in this thread about it either, and while I skimmed a few posts I have read every page.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
so, a few undiscussed questions

- zelda st; over/under 500k? my guess, slightly over
- saboteur; over/under 100k? my guess, slightly over
- crystal bearers over/under 50k? my guess, slightly over
 

mujun

Member
How is Uncharted 2 over a million in the U.S when it was 537k in it's first month and didn't make the top twenty last month or this month?
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
mujun said:
How is Uncharted 2 over a million in the U.S when it was 537k in it's first month and didn't make the top twenty last month or this month?

1) it's not over a million in the us as has been noted repeatedly
2) #20 this month would probably be around 300-400k so it could be over a million despite not making the top 20 last month or this month
 

user_nat

THE WORDS! They'll drift away without the _!
mujun said:
How is Uncharted 2 over a million in the U.S when it was 537k in it's first month and didn't make the top twenty last month or this month?
They may have been including Canada in that 950k.
But it's possible anyhow, it was apparently at 650k in November, so 300k more is possible in December.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Opiate said:
Another note: I believe that this year, the DS has a strong chance to surpass the PS2 as the best selling console in the US ever. It's currently 6.4M behind. Last year, it shortened the gap by ~9M units.

It may not: it depends on how much the DS slows down, which at this point I'm just kind of assuming it has to do. Regardless, the DS is clearly going to catch it at some point. December 2010 is my guess.

Has anyone not known the DS beating PS2 records is just a matter of time at this point?

Isn't the DS expected to pass the PS2 WW record this year?
 

mujun

Member
Stumpokapow said:
1) it's not over a million in the us as has been noted repeatedly
2) #20 this month would probably be around 300-400k so it could be over a million despite not making the top 20 last month or this month

That's what I thought but then saw people saying congrats because it had eclipsed a million.

Thanks.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Well, looking "closely," every game I wanted to do well did terrible, so I'm too disappointed to discuss right now. im afraid for the industry right now, (minus a few key players, of course, but "few" is the scary word). at least it helps me make a certain big job decision. anyhoot, i'm out. as long as NMH2 is awesome it's all good I guess!
 

Fredescu

Member
BowieZ said:
I would argue that Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario suffered in a few of these categories and that's why their sales suffered in kind, although invariably their sales would have been stronger released today with Wii's greater install base.
"Appeals to wide audiences" is the main difference between them I think. The gameplay in SPM and SMG is a little too complicated to have 15m+ megahit appeal.
 

donny2112

Member
mboojigga said:
software attach ratio (a record 8.8).

I'd really like to know what record Microsoft keeps referring to with that tie ratio. It's been behind PS2, launch-aligned, basically since the Arcade went to $199 in Sep-08. PS2 was at something like 10 for a tie ratio by this point.
 

DarkPanda

Member
Regulus Tera said:
You know what's funny? I still haven't bought Mario Kart Wii.

I want to, I just keep postponing it for whatever reasons. I wonder if there are people like myself all around.

I still haven't. Ironically, it's because my friend has it, so I just play it over at his place. I do want to get my own copy, but somehow I just never get around to it.

Flachmatuch said:
"Gobbling up the pie" would mean that they're taking away customers from MS and Sony. They're not doing that, it's just that they're growing their own half of the pie and the rest of the market is not.

Actually, I would argue that they are stealing customers away from MS and Sony: the very same "casual" demographic that people seem to vilify but provided the bulk of the PS2's install base last generation. The people that don't follow gaming news, buy a console just because every one else has one, and buy only a handful of games a year, most of which tend to be big-budget, highly marketed games that people talk about. This gen they're all on the Wii, buying Mario Kart, Wii Fit, and NSMB Wii because those are the word-of-mouth games this gen for the console they have. MS and Sony are lacking this kind of audience, and as a result are limited to the so-called "hardcore" customer who buys high-profile FPS-es by the dozen, but can't and won't support the breadth of titles that the PS2 audience did.
 

mujun

Member
Wii is a beast (captain obvious!), I can't help resenting it though, surely it has some negative effect on the health of HD gaming.
 
AniHawk said:
It's a Simpsons quote and I butchered it.

Is the real thing. And he doesn't say "hey hey," he laughs.

I'm so sorry.

Ahhhh man and here I was so excited.

Trevelyan said:
Wait, BLR, you're also in Reno?! Holy shit, we need to do something, I didn't think there was anyone in this place. :lol :lol

Back on topic, good numbers for all. Pretty happy to see Uncharted 2 cross the million mark. Now i must go back to playing.

:lol We definitely should bro.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
donny2112 said:
I'd really like to know what record Microsoft keeps referring to with that tie ratio. It's been behind PS2, launch-aligned, basically since the Arcade went to $199 in Sep-08. PS2 was at something like 10 for a tie ratio by this point.

they mean monthly software tie ratio as in

software sold dec 2009 : hardware sold dec 2009
 

BowieZ

Banned
Fredescu said:
"Appeals to wide audiences" is the main difference between them I think. The gameplay in SPM and SMG is a little too complicated to have 15m+ megahit appeal.
Yeah, exactly, but also Super Paper Mario's advertising was comparatively NIL, right? In fact, don't most Mario games' sales tend to reflect the broadness of their advertising?


I just don't see which third party games have actually satisfied all the categories that mega-hit first party Nintendo titles satisfy but which (unlike those Nintendo titles) have failed/come up short profit-wise.

And, if there are indeed none, why it's such a "risk" for them to put out a goddamn game that does satisfy all the important categories which indicate success.


And if they lack well cultivated and familiar IPs, then they should do so -- cultivate familiar IPs -- by taking weak sales from the 'first-attempt' games on the chin, and build better sequels, like they do for PS3/360.
 
Stumpokapow said:
so, a few undiscussed questions

- zelda st; over/under 500k? my guess, slightly over
- saboteur; over/under 100k? my guess, slightly over
- crystal bearers over/under 50k? my guess, slightly over

I'd guess around 600k for Spirit Tracks. I'm figuring it was probably pretty close to making the Top 10.

The other two are more difficult to gauge, but I think you're probably right on their sales.
 

Slavik81

Member
Flachmatuch said:
"Gobbling up the pie" would mean that they're taking away customers from MS and Sony. They're not doing that, it's just that they're growing their own half of the pie and the rest of the market is not.
If you ignore Nintendo, the industry is completely stagnant. Through the PS2 era, the industry was growing. That suggests to me that Nintendo is in fact, eating the rest of the game industry's lunch.

Flachmatuch said:
Obviously. The point is whether it's growing by taking away the market of its competitors - and it's not. It's the traditional part of the industry that's doing really badly, because of lots of bad business decisions and bad market structures. Nothing whatsoever to do with Nintendo. It's not even just about not making use of the new casual market - it's about fucking up their own.
Nothing as bad as the Dreamcast yet...
 

EDarkness

Member
mujun said:
Wii is a beast (captain obvious!), I can't help resenting it though, surely it has some negative effect on the health of HD gaming.

Not at all. The real funny part of this whole scenario is that companies are jumping off the Wii ship instead of on. No problems for the HD twins. :D
 

Firestorm

Member
mujun said:
That's what I thought but then saw people saying congrats because it had eclipsed a million.

Thanks.
Read the press release closely. They specifically said "North America" which means it probably sold around 50k in Canada pushing it over 1 million.
 

Snipes424

Member
Chuck Norris said:
So, I find it interesting that Microsoft only gained a credible lead during the month it went on a console banning streak

Nah, I think it had a lot more to do with the fact that MW2 was advertised as a 360 exclusive, there was no PS3 logo in sight on any commercial I saw.
 
imtehman said:
might want to edit that.
It's a perfectly legitimate observation, and I can't think of any other major factors that would've led to this see-saw battle since Slim's release and into the Holidays
 

imtehman

Banned
Chuck Norris said:
It's a perfectly legitimate observation, and I can't think of any other major factors that would've led to this see-saw battle since Slim's release and into the Holidays

i only say this because ppl got banned during last month's npd for suggesting what you said.
 
imtehman said:
i only say this because ppl got banned during last month's npd for suggesting what you said.
It was baseless then and could've simply looked like sore losers making an excuse. What it looked like was that PS3 gained momentum and lost it quickly... With more perspective now, it looks more like Microsoft gained some quick momentum and now it's levelled out. But what caused that?

I don't see why it should be such a sore subject now when it's perfectly feasible that with so many banned consoles they could be an attributing factor to sales
 

donny2112

Member
grandjedi6 said:
And the "Wii's top 10 excluding Nintendo games" is an incredibly low threshold to pass.

PS3 isn't a sales juggernaut, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire Top 10 for Wii's third-party games would make the Top 10 for PS3's third-party games. Again, hardly a strong accomplishment, since PS3 isn't a sales juggernaut, but somewhat better than "an incredibly low threshold," I'd think. :p
 
Chuck Norris said:
It's a perfectly legitimate observation, and I can't think of any other major factors that would've led to this see-saw battle since Slim's release and into the Holidays

A lot of other people thought so too last month. I would say to ask them but they aren't around anymore.
 
Holy shit I just got to see the numbers.


WTF at those Wii and DS numbers. That is absolutely insaaaaane. Probably the most surprising numbers ever in an NPD thread for me.

WTF!!
 
OldJadedGamer said:
A lot of other people thought so too last month. I would say to ask them but they aren't around anymore.
Okay, I'll drop it unless a mod gives the okay

Son of Godzilla said:
Yea. What caused the 360 to be sold in November. Real fucking mystery.
Well you'd think most of MW2's immediate fanbase already owns the system already
 

Slavik81

Member
Son of Godzilla said:
No, it suggests that through the PS2 era kids were turning six. Guess what, they still are. And MS and Sony's consoles are hilariously inadequate family devices compared to the Wii and DS.
Right... which is why is why Nintendo has been capturing some of the market that the PS2 had last generation. And hence has stolen some market that Sony previously had.

I suppose you could argue that Sony abandoned that market, but there's not much of a difference. Regardless of whether it's because Sony made a particularly bad product for that market, or because Nintendo made a particularly good one, the result is the same. Trying to differentiate between the two devolves into a 'what if?' game.

And I don't think it's just six-year-olds, either. The audience the Wii's pulled away is broader than that.
 

mujun

Member
Chuck Norris said:
Okay, I'll drop it unless a mod gives the okay


Well you'd think most of MW2's immediate fanbase already owns the system already

There's no way they'd buy one in anticipation of 2010 releases, quality of the existing service or because of it's cheap price...
 

Fredescu

Member
Chuck Norris said:
Well you'd think most of MW2's immediate fanbase already owns the system already
It's on track to outsell Halo 3 and become the highest selling 360 game, so obviously not.

Edit: Who am I kidding, it probably already has. Halo 3 was at 8 million last we knew right? The 360 version of MW2 is at ~6 million in the US alone. I'm sure there have been two million sales everywhere else to make up for that.
 

pulga

Banned
are you serious

I don't see anything ever topping Wii's latest and greatest sale record.

So happy about M&L! Such a fun game.
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
mujun said:
That's what I thought but then saw people saying congrats because it had eclipsed a million.

Thanks.
At the end of December, it was 950K NPD, which is just US. It was over 1M in NA which also includes Canada. I thought their PR was fairly clear on that.

Also, since it's been two weeks since then, by now it could even be over 1M in US alone.
 

mujun

Member
Lord Error said:
At the end of December, it was 950K NPD, which is just US. It was over 1M in NA which also includes Canada. I thought their PR was fairly clear on that.

Also, since it's been two weeks since then, by now it could even be over 1M in US alone.

I didn't read the PR, looked at NPD's and read comments which seemed to give me conflicting opinions. Stumpokapow cleared things up for me which is pretty much all I wanted.
 
Slavik81 said:
Right... which is why is why Nintendo has been capturing some of the market that the PS2 had last generation. And hence has stolen some market that Sony previously had.

I suppose you could argue that Sony abandoned that market, but there's not much of a difference. Regardless of whether it's because Sony made a particularly bad product for that market, or because Nintendo made a particularly good one, the result is the same. Trying to differentiate between the two devolves into a 'what if?' game.

And I don't think it's just six-year-olds, either. The audience the Wii's pulled away is broader than that.
It was a joke. If the competition is completely stagnant where before it wasn't they lost an obvious source of new consumers.

And yes, it's obviously a broadly appealling machine, but holy fuck compared to the competition the Wii is such an easy sell to like... 70% of the world? More? It's such a joke in hindsight. What idiot thought either the 360 or PS3 would be competitive outside of the standard young male demo. Or more importantly what idiot forgot the outside was important. Sure, Nintendo has made it crushingly so, but last I checked most people lived in social units.

Edit: Who am I kidding, it probably already has. Halo 3 was at 8 million last we knew right? The 360 version of MW2 is at ~6 million in the US alone. I'm sure there have been two million sales everywhere else to make up for that.
That 8 million was mid-2008 I think. It's probably close to that in US alone. Still, MW2 is doing... better.
 
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