• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

NPD Sales Results for January 2014 [Up3: PS4/XB1 #1/#2 best selling; Poke/SM3DW/ALBW]

Aren't the costs due to marketing mostly?
Maybe among a few titles.

Asset production seems to be the most consistent driver of increased development cost. And that's understandable given the expectations of buyers. Unless development pipelines change drastically in the move to higher end tech I don't see it getting particularly cheaper.
 
The PS4 is doing fine. The difference is both MS and Nintendo decided to seriously mess up. You can't expect people to buy something they don't want just because.

But that doesn't explain why everybody's down, period. Fine MS and Nintendo messed up, and fine the PS4 isn't that easy to find, but last gen consoles are down, software sales are down, and it's really hard to believe that those who would've bought a next gen console outside of the PS4 if their favorite brand hadn't screwed up are all waiting for a PS4 to show up or that they can't bother to look for one (a friend of mine picked one up recently just by showing up to a GameStop when they opened).

I'm not a Nintendo fanboy trying to cover for the Wii U, I'm partial to Xbox but I'm not trying to cover for them (if the idiots hadn't looked too much into the future and try to recreate it now, imagine where they'll be...sigh) but I have to say one of two things is happening: all the casuals are moving to smartphones and tablets and all the hardcore are slowly moving to PC gaming, or gaming as a whole is just shrinking.

It's probably the former.
 

noobasuar

Banned
Seems more likely it'll force them to make homogenized sure fire hits or mobile games.

I feel like most developers have been making homogenized games for the past few years, and maybe that's why there's not as much excitement as there could be. People are getting bored of getting very, very similar games that just have different coats of paint over them.
 

heidern

Junior Member
Oh, if Sony said PS4+PS3 > All they were likely only referring to consoles since if they were including handhelds they would have said PS4+PS3+Vita > All
 

ascii42

Member
Yeah it is, but you have to think that most everyone that wanted one has one by now. It's hard to believe but it's been out for nearly 9 years.

So we could compare its sales this year to PS2 2009:
January 101,200
February 131,000
March 112,000
April 172,000
May 117,000
June 152,700
July 108,000
August 105,900
September 146,000
October 117,800
November 203,100
December 333,200

Tough comparison though, since the PS2 was $99 by that point, I believe, but it also had been competing against the next generation for 2-3 years. Impressive that it was able to sell over 100k every month.
 
For reference, these are the combined January hardware sales for Sony and Microsoft's platforms.

Code:
Year	'000s
2003	610	
2004	530	
2005	730	
2006	610	
2007	840	5 week month - normalised = 670K
2008	760	
2009	610	
2010	650	
2011	670	
2012	460	
2013	480	5 week month - normalised = 385K

(am missing any 5-week months?)

This January currently stands at ~430K excluding the 360 and PS3.
 
Do you think that Sony gaining such traction is going to make MS resort to desperate measures pretty soon? I mean just in my circle of friends at work you have the early adopters like me and a few others and we all jumped to PS4 from 360 but then all our other friends I work with are slowly making the jump to PS4 as well because we all want to play together so they have to get a PS4 to do that.

There are 17 people that I work with and every single one of us had a 360 last gen, going into this gen only 1 bought an Xbox One, 1 bought both a Xbox One and PS4 and me and 4 others bought a PS4 at launch. Since launch 6 more have bought PS4's and the rest are saving up to get one. That to me just seems crazy that so many of us have jumped ship just in my workplace but then it does make sense because we all want to play together so have to get what everyone else has got. I just wonder if this will be a similar situation for a lot of people though because if it is then MS could be in a lot of trouble here.

Network Effects are always a factor and if the PS4 gets a large early lead in the next year we will be seeing the tendency for it to keep it's lead because people want to play with their friends. This is one reason why the 360's head start helped it out so much against the PS3.
 

Eusis

Member
That's exactly where we're headed thanks to indies and digital distribution.
I wonder. It's sort of fixing the problem from the opposit end though, in that the indie scene grows more and more to fill the middle zone whereas almost the entire western big publisher scene moves away from that. Japan's better there though, but they'll also probably cling to the PS3 for an irrationally long time like they did PS2.
 

C4Lukins

Junior Member
I would be interested to see some percentages on the average drop of console sales that are not supply constrained from December to January in relation to XBOX One. Because it was widely avaiable both months, it is hard to use other launches as markers because typically launches are supply constrained. PS4 drop is not comparable, nor is the first few years of Wii, or at least the first year of 360. Probably the first year of PS3 as well. If anyone has those numbers I would love to see just how bad that Xbox One drop was in comparison.
 

Cheech

Member
Also: if anyone was wondering why today's Nintendo Direct seemed to focus on the 3DS. Nintendo realizes they have to save that thing (again). It's a terrible situation.

Yeah, even though the Xbox/PS discussion is entertaining, that is the thing people should really be concerned about.

That company is one more failed launch away from a hostile takeover by somebody who knows that the money to be made with those IPs is by putting them on Apple, Microsoft, and Sony devices. The days of marketing cruddy last gen hardware to grandmothers are over. They might be best served to spend their R&D war chest on health care devices and stuff only peripherally associated with gaming, because yes, the market does appear to be contracting to the point where it can no longer support 3 players.
 

DrWong

Member
I feel like most developers have been making homogenized games for the past few years, and maybe that's why there's not as much excitement as there could be. People are getting bored of getting very, very similar games that just have different coats of paint over them.

Bububub.. but new IP!?
 

jay

Member
Maybe among a few titles.

Asset production seems to be the most consistent driver of increased development cost. And that's understandable given the expectations of buyers. Unless development pipelines change drastically in the move to higher end tech I don't see it getting particularly cheaper.

The only reasonable solution is to keep making bigger games so the buyers have higher expectations.
 

NateDrake

Member
Do people not realize last gen was essentially 150 million install base, the wii had no AAA multiplat games from 2009+. The market shrink won't effect devs that developed for 360/Ps3

A lot of people bought into the PS360 generation thanks to CoD4. Not all those people will upgrade to the PS4/X1 any time soon, if at all. It is too soon to tell if the market is shrinking or not, but the X1 collapse in sales may not be a telling sign right now, but it isn't a great one either.
 
For reference, these are the combined January hardware sales for Sony and Microsoft's platforms.

Code:
Year	'000s
2003	610	
2004	530	
2005	730	
2006	610	
2007	840	5 week month
2008	760	
2009	610	
2010	650	
2011	670	
2012	460	
2013	480	5 week month

(am missing any 5-week months?)

This January currently stands at ~430K excluding the 360 and PS3.

That's the lowest ever....

ded market is ded /s
 
I'm absolutely shocked how quickly last gen has died off. I expected cross gen games for 18-24 months, but they are going to dry up very quickly with sales like these

Lest we forget: last gen is eight years old. It's frankly amazing anyone is still buying consoles that old, period, much less with actual replacements for them on the market.
 

Gorillaz

Member
One thing I hope does go on this gen is Japan actually giving a shit for console games. Might not be PS2 levels byt anything is better than nothing
 
What are you talking about "kinda worrying"? The industry is FUCKED.

this is why I am #dying at the people shitting on indie games. This is what you're getting from now on. Big budget productions will be few and far between.

This industry is absolutely LA bomba.

Let's say ps4 does amazing and outsells ps3. 90 million. Xbone will likely decline. Wii u is a corpse. The handheld market has collapsed.

HOW WE LOOKIN?

People can talk about titanfall all they want. It won't change the fact that the market overall is imploding.

This is, truly, the most troubling aspect of these numbers. All the inane fanboy banter aside, the industry is not looking too hot as a whole.
 

jay

Member
A lot of people bought into the PS360 generation thanks to CoD4. Not all those people will upgrade to the PS4/X1 any time soon, if at all. It is too soon to tell if the market is shrinking or not, but the X1 collapse in sales may not be a telling sign right now, but it isn't a great one either.

Not to mention some of the companies making those AAA games on the HD consoles, like Ubisoft, made money off the Wii.
 
That's the lowest ever....

ded market is ded /s
It will only be the lowest ever if the PS3 and 360 collectively sell less than 30K... :/

If they managed to sell combined somewhere in the realm of 170K then it's basically par for the course. Also normalising for the 5-week month, last year's number would be 385K.
 

maneil99

Member
A lot of people bought into the PS360 generation thanks to CoD4. Not all those people will upgrade to the PS4/X1 any time soon, if at all. It is too soon to tell if the market is shrinking or not, but the X1 collapse in sales may not be a telling sign right now, but it isn't a great one either.

I somehow doubt COD4 moved that many consoles, plus its not like these systems won't have their big games. X1 is still outpacing the 360 is it not
 

FiggyCal

Banned
Oh, if Sony said PS4+PS3 > All they were likely only referring to consoles since if they were including handhelds they would have said PS4+PS3+Vita > All

Combined sales of the PS4 and its predecessor, the PlayStation 3, surpassed all other platforms in January,

Their use of the word "platforms" makes it sound like PS4 + PS3 was greater than Xbox One + Xbox 360 and also greater still against Wii U + Wii (+3DS?).
 
The only reasonable solution is to keep making bigger games so the buyers have higher expectations.
It's not so much that the games are bigger more that the assets populating the world are becoming higher and higher quality with an expectation for more diversity among them.

You can waste days trying to get a simple asset populated corridor looking perfect.
 

The Hermit

Member
ps2 era sales were a better time for everything and included a wider variety of games at more affordable prices for both developers and consumers.

a lot of people think the PS4 will be the new PS2, but everything is too expensive and everything is too safe for that to happen.
 
Also: if anyone was wondering why today's Nintendo Direct seemed to focus on the 3DS. Nintendo realizes they have to save that thing (again). It's a terrible situation.
Honestly, what else can they do for the 3DS at this point? It already got new Pokemons and Monster Hunters, what else can they do?

What are you talking about "kinda worrying"? The industry is FUCKED.

this is why I am #dying at the people shitting on indie games. This is what you're getting from now on. Big budget productions will be few and far between.

This industry is absolutely LA bomba.

Let's say ps4 does amazing and outsells ps3. 90 million. Xbone will likely decline. Wii u is a corpse. The handheld market has collapsed.

HOW WE LOOKIN?

People can talk about titanfall all they want. It won't change the fact that the market overall is imploding.
The AAA market needed to pop anyway. It's gotten completely unreasonable, probably the biggest reason average dev costs are also so unreasonable.

I get a sneaking suspicion this is a parody post.
 

NateDrake

Member
Not to mention some of the companies making those AAA games on the HD consoles, like Ubisoft, made money off the Wii.

Exactly. The success of Just Dance 1 on Wii funded the development of Assassin's Creed.

I somehow doubt COD4 moved that many consoles, plus its not like these systems won't have their big games. X1 is still outpacing the 360 is it not

CoD4 was a major system-seller for the PS360 & now that franchise is in decline. Outpacing means nothing at this point because the X360 was limited in supply early on. The X1 is readily available at stores.
 
I feel like most developers have been making homogenized games for the past few years, and maybe that's why there's not as much excitement as there could be. People are getting bored of getting very, very similar games that just have different coats of paint over them.

Really? I would say that you're not looking hard enough. The Last of Us, Rayman Legends, Diablo 3, Ni No Kuni, DmC, Dragon's Crown, Puppeteer, GT6, FFXIV, GoW:A, ToX, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, Sly 4.

There's a lot of variety out there.
 

boiled goose

good with gravy
Honestly, what else can they do for the 3DS at this point? It already got new Pokemons and Monster Hunters, what else can they do?

games are there. they have to make the system itself more appealing.
Better online, better services, unified account, cheaper games, cheaper system, etc.
 

jaypah

Member
Just making an observation.

Oh, ok. Sounded funny like, "Oh, you were talking all that shit when you won the Super Bowl! Where you at now?!". Winners gloat, losers find scotch.

edit: I hope this lights a fire and MS takes a note from Sony and gets their shit in gear. Not from buying exclusives but from dumping money into development.
 
What are you talking about "kinda worrying"? The industry is FUCKED.

this is why I am #dying at the people shitting on indie games. This is what you're getting from now on. Big budget productions will be few and far between.

This industry is absolutely LA bomba.

Let's say ps4 does amazing and outsells ps3. 90 million. Xbone will likely decline. Wii u is a corpse. The handheld market has collapsed.

HOW WE LOOKIN?

People can talk about titanfall all they want. It won't change the fact that the market overall is imploding.

i have the answer!

ibbqxU3d5m07ZB.gif
 

ec0ec0

Member
Gaf help me, i am scared. I just read like the first 10-12 pages or so... i didnt like what i read about the 3ds in usa. The thing is that, before that, i didnt like those threads about 3ds sales in japan in the begining of the year so...

any news in the rest of the thread that i didnt read!? thanks :p
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
That's exactly where we're headed thanks to indies and digital distribution.

Biggest problem I see is that it's going to be a loooong time before indies start filling the enormous gap left by midtier games disappearing this last gen.

For me, at least, gaming is going to be a pretty boring place until that happens.
 
Oh god... I really wish I can find the Last of Us GIF where Joel is arrogant Sony who kills a bandit while saying Orbis will be $599.

You can almost make a song with these results. Like the Doublemint gum song. Double your framerate, double your resolution, it's the statement of the greatness of the Playstation 4.
 
Top Bottom