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[Stumpokapow]

I'm pretty curious actually on how NPD handles different skus, in all seriousness.

From leaked numbers we know that they track all the SKUs independently, but any time they report a "top <x>", they combine them. The exception is games with two different versions (IE Pokemon / Mega Man Star Force), which are reported separately all the time.

They also track hardware bundles and colours etc separately but only report the combined numbers to the public.

 

[Cornbread78]

In January 2008 a developer posted accurate, independently verified NPD numbers to Cheap Ass Gamer.

(As of January 2008, LTDs)
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops - 241,000
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus - 68,000

I have no private sources for NPD data.



1-10 are in the OP

11. Pokemon SoulSilver
12. Transformers WFC 360 (132k)
13. NSMB DS
14. CoD MW2 360
15. FIFA World Cup 360
16. FIFA World Cup PS3
17. Mario Kart Wii
18. Pokemon HeartGold
19. Toy Story 3 Wii
20. Wii Sports Resort (<100k)

Thank you! Is there any game list split up by system?

 

[B-Rad Lascelle]

Look at Konami's E3 press conference, do you really think it's hard to convince them to do anything. Who even runs Konami at this point? :lol

ONE MILLION TROOPS... run Konami.
And even they're not dumb enough to pitch laser tag as something creative & new.

 

[The Technomancer]

Unsurprisingly, third parties aren't nearly as consistent - the following VC titles have been bought/played enough to have Nintendo Channel data without (to my knowledge) a real sequel/franchise entry on Wii - ActRaiser, Breath of Fire II, Castlevania/Castlevania II/Super Castlevania (unless you count Judgment...), Columns, Contra III/Super C (though Contra 4 was on DS), Golden Axe (made for 360/PS3 instead, good choice), Gunstar Heroes, Military Madness, Ninja Gaiden (again, there is a DS entry), Shining Force, Street Fighter II (multiple versions), Streets of Rage 1/2/3, Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Toe Jam & Earl. And that doesn't even include any popular VC titles released since ~May 2008, since Nintendo stopped adding them to the Nintendo Channel.

Imagine if Nintendo bought out the license from Sega and handed it back to Camelot after they finish Golden Sun. *drools*

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Because those Halo fans decided to sit out Halo 3, Halo Wars and ODST?

You say this like the Halo series isn't still growing.

 

[Ridley327]

Heh, one GameFAQs member's theory on Peace Walker sales.



I'm pretty curious actually on how NPD handles different skus, in all seriousness.

That GameFAQs poster is certainly the product of his environment since the NPD already tracks regular and limited edition sales together. Not that it matters since the LE was produced in very limited numbers to begin with.

 

[slaughterking]

Heh, one GameFAQs member's theory on Peace Walker sales.



I'm pretty curious actually on how NPD handles different skus, in all seriousness.

All SKUs are combined. There usually comes an asterisk with these charts that says just that.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Thank you! Is there any game list split up by system?

None released, hasn't been for a very long time. Historically Wired is generally the first outlet to post per-platform top 10s if any get released.

 

[Ridley327]

In addition to that, the Big Boss Bundle wouldn't be counted as software since it's a PSP bundle. It'd go straight into hardware. Once again, this does not matter since the Big Boss Bundle was also produced in very limited numbers.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

You say this like the Halo series isn't still growing.

It is?

 

[Opiate]

Did Konami see it though?

Everyone (almost) expected PW to bomb very hard outside Japan but Konami expected 3 million sales worldwide. Even if it was wishful thinking you don't make statements like these to your shareholders.

This is my point, Chris. Why did Konami not see this, when (almost) everyone else did? Either they're simply stupid (which is possible, but they have been the second most profitable third party this generation) or they were fooled somehow in to believing that the unambiguous data I referred to earlier would magically trend in the other direction 6+ years in to the PSP's lifespan. I think the latter is significantly more likely, and the most likely explanation is that Sony is very persuasive. That may or may not include money hats.

As secondary points, it's probably worth mentioning that 1) Even 3 million copies would be a significant decline from previous entries in the series, and 2) This game is being sold at a lower margin than MGS4 was.

Finally, I want to point out that I don't throw the label "stupid" around lightly. Many times, when people here refer to companies as "stupid," it's mostly because that company isn't doing what that particular poster wants and they want to emphasize how any company that puts [Franchise X] on [Platform they don't own] is a stupid head and ph my gosh how can they not see how much better the game would be on [Platform they do own].

But in this case, I think the label is genuinely justified -- anyone who thought that Peace Walker would sell remotely in line with previous MGS entries was simply stupid. It was clearly going to underperform the second we learned the details at E3: the only question was just how badly it would underperform.

 

[jvm]

None released, hasn't been for a very long time. Historically Wired is generally the first outlet to post per-platform top 10s if any get released.

These used to come out with the top 20. That stopped a long time ago, and now only the top 20 comes through.

 

[MattyGrovesOrMe]

I have seen the future.

The PSP will continue to truck along, a little slow and sickly, but not dead. It will price drop against the 3DS launch, stimulating some sales. It will release a 4000 series incarnation, stimulating some interest. It will continue to be supported with new games, 1st party franchises, non-3D ports of 3DS some third party titles (mostly movie tie ins and other licensed games), and small publisher localization of Japanese hits. This continues for a few years.

At 8 years old, the PSP will be gardening in its backyard, when it's left shoulder button begins to tingle. There's momentary shooting pain through each of its buttons. The screen flickers. Fades to black. Massive Heart Attack. No chance of further survival.

Hopefully, it will have its will in order, leaving all its games to its offspring, PSP2, in fully playable form.

 

[Mrbob]

Wow Peace Walker ultra bomb not even in the top 20.

Where's GOTY Alan Wake

Ran out of couches?

 

[SlipperySlope]

Are they going to be porting Peace Walker to the 3DS?

 

[Ridley327]

No, but elements of the game (particularly the Extra Ops) are supposed to be featured in MGS3D.

 

[szaromir]

It is?

Halo 3 has on average 600k players a day 3 years after release, so it's much bigger than Halo 2. On top of that, 19M gamers have played the game to date. We could say Reach has a potential to exceed Halo 3's LTD sales, especially if MS pulls of a good marketing campaign.

 

[Lonely1]

Are they going to be porting Peace Walker to the 3DS?

Maybe is moneyhatted by Sony? Imo, a Wii version would have made sense. Couldn't had bombed harder (could it!?)

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Let it. If psp version tanks (like it already hasn't), then that just means the market wanted a home console version instead. Why not give the market what it wants?

Because that's not what Sony wants for the PSP. Unlike seemingly everyone else, they're not so quick to give up on their platform.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Heh, one GameFAQs member's theory on Peace Walker sales.



I'm pretty curious actually on how NPD handles different skus, in all seriousness.

What a profound misunderstanding of how the NPD works.

 

[FrankT]

40% Slim, 35% Arcade, 25% Pro/Elite Units for the month per Pachter;

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/07/xbox-360-slim-sales/

Considering they sold pretty much what they shipped for the two and half weeks that is about 180k for the month for the slim.

Had they managed to have it out full month with stock I'd say it would have pushed it over 50%, but it was a good combination as I suspected.

 

[Stumpokapow]

What a profound misunderstanding of how the NPD works.

That being said, at least he took a stab at it! His mental engagement is much higher than many people commenting on sales!

 

[Arrowgigantic]

Reposting my request for where Alan Wake falls on the list. They do go past 20, don't they?

 

[Mrbob]

Probably the highest percentage the arcade has sold in a long, long time.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Halo 3 has on average 600k players a day 3 years after release, so it's much bigger than Halo 2. On top of that, 19M gamers have played the game to date. We could say Reach has a potential to exceed Halo 3's LTD sales, especially if MS pulls of a good marketing campaign.

How many people are on Halo's servers now has little to nothing to do with growth of the franchise as a whole.

When I think "growth" I think ODST outselling Halo 3, which didn't happen. Since that didn't happen, I find the comment "still growing" a little specious, unless we're going to dink around and make "but ODST wasn't a mainline Halo!" comments.

Now, this isn't to say that Reach won't vastly outsell Halo 3, however to make that comment unabashed as if there was no basis for it pricked my ears a little.

 

[jetjevons]

Reposting my request for where Alan Wake falls on the list. They do go past 20, don't they?

It looks like Alan Wake is a pretty big failure, sadly.

 

[jvm]

40% Slim, 35% Arcade, 25% Pro/Elite Units for the month per Pachter;

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/07/xbox-360-slim-sales/

Considering they sold pretty much what they shipped for the two and half weeks that is about 180k for the month for the slim.

Prior to the Xbox 360 S, there was only the Arcade ($200) and the Elite ($300), right? Each of those was discounted by $50 immediately, correct? I just want to be sure I have that right.

 

[Mrbob]

Prior to the Xbox 360 S, there was only the Arcade ($200) and the Elite ($300), right? Each of those was discounted by $50 immediately, correct? I just want to be sure I have that right.

Yes and the arcade had some more blowouts.

Target was selling the arcade for $129.99 w/ a 30 dollar gift card.

 

[FrankT]

Prior to the Xbox 360 S, there was only the Arcade ($200) and the Elite ($300), right? Each of those was discounted by $50 immediately, correct? I just want to be sure I have that right.

Yea it really is just Arcade and Elite with the Slim. No pro to speak of anymore.

 

[Rainier]

How many people are on Halo's servers now has little to nothing to do with growth of the franchise as a whole.

When I think "growth" I think ODST outselling Halo 3, which didn't happen. Since that didn't happen, I find the comment "still growing" a little specious, unless we're going to dink around and make "but ODST wasn't a mainline Halo!" comments.

Now, this isn't to say that Reach won't vastly outsell Halo 3, however to make that comment unabashed as if there was no basis for it pricked my ears a little.

When you put it like that, you're correct. In related news, the Metal Gear series has now completely tanked.

 

[donny2112]

Probably the highest percentage the arcade has sold in a long, long time.

Actually should be the exact opposite. When jvm's done the analysis in the past, the Arcade usually has a strong percentage of sales in a month. 65% non-Arcade is probably pretty high historically.

 

[Redbeard]

Probably because Sony had a huge push with third-parties planned in 2009 (see E3 2009) and expected the PSPgo to boost sales, as well. That just didn't happen, though. The real question is why these companies aren't trying (and haven't been for a few years now) to salvage something by porting these games to the Wii. Maybe Sony wrote something into their contracts that there couldn't be a Wii port? Poisoning the water for Wii third-party support? I honestly don't know why they haven't been trying for years with PSP-to-Wii ports in the West.

Why exactly would the Wii be a better option? It's not a system that has proven to be viable for core third party efforts. Peace Walker would probably fare worse on the Wii than on the PSP.

The only real systems that would make sense for Peace Walker to be ported to are the PS3 and 360. I could see a significant boost to sales if it were on those platforms.

 

[slaughterking]

This is my point, Chris. Why did Konami not see this, when (almost) everyone else did? Either they're simply stupid (which is possible, but they have been the second most profitable third party this generation) or they were fooled somehow in to believing that the unambiguous data I referred to earlier would magically trend in the other direction 6+ years in to the PSP's lifespan. I think the latter is significantly more likely, and the most likely explanation is that Sony is very persuasive. That may or may not include money hats.

As secondary points, it's probably worth mentioning that 1) Even 3 million copies would be a significant decline from previous entries in the series, and 2) This game is being sold at a lower margin than MGS4 was.

Finally, I want to point out that I don't throw the label "stupid" around lightly. Many times, when people here refer to companies as "stupid," it's mostly because that company isn't doing what that particular poster wants and they want to emphasize how any company that puts [Franchise X] on [Platform they don't own] is a stupid head and ph my gosh how can they not see how much better the game would be on [Platform they do own].

But in this case, I think the label is genuinely justified -- anyone who thought that Peace Walker would sell remotely in line with previous MGS entries was simply stupid. It was clearly going to underperform the second we learned the details at E3: the only question was just how badly it would underperform.

The Konami exec only recently said he expected the game to sell 3 million units. At some point, closer to when the decision to make PW a PSP game was made, this figure may have been even a little higher.
And honestly, 3 million sold copies wouldn't be terrible. Yes, it would be lower than the homeconsole games, but with its short development time I can see why they would think the PSP was a viable option if they sincerely expected the game to sell that much. (that's ignoring the fact that a 3 million target is far from reality to begin with)
And Konami was obviously not confident enough in the games appeal to name it MGS 5 -- despite giving it the treatment of a mainline game. So Konami was obviously well aware of the fact that PW would never be as popular as a numbered game.
And finally, Konami may have had higher hopes for the Japanese market; so that Japan could make up for the missing sales in the west.

I mean...I absolutely agree that PW turned out to be a really bad business decision, but at some point the faith Konami had in the game was probably not all that unjustified.
And maybe Kojima was just not in the mood to develop a full fledged homeconsole MGS again. :lol

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Why exactly would the Wii be a better option? It's not a system that has proven to be viable for core third party efforts. Peace Walker would probably fare worse on the Wii than on the PSP.

The only real systems that would make sense for Peace Walker to be ported to are the PS3 and 360. I could see a significant boost to sales if it were on those platforms.

The boost comes from the input to transpose it to Wii (very little) vs. the same effort to do so with PS360 (much more).

 

[Mrbob]

Actually should be the exact opposite. When jvm's done the analysis in the past, the Arcade usually has a strong percentage of sales in a month. 65% non-Arcade is probably pretty high historically.

I'd love to see an official breakdown because I would be shocked if the arcade was pulling in 30 percent or more of units sold. I figured it would be closer to 15 to 20 at best, but I don't have hard data to look at.

 

[WillyFive]

Why exactly would the Wii be a better option? It's not a system that has proven to be viable for core third party efforts. Peace Walker would probably fare worse on the Wii than on the PSP.

That's ridiculous.

GTA for DS performed even worse on the PSP.

 

[szaromir]

How many people are on Halo's servers now has little to nothing to do with growth of the franchise as a whole.

When I think "growth" I think ODST outselling Halo 3, which didn't happen. Since that didn't happen, I find the comment "still growing" a little specious, inles we're going to dink around and make "but ODST wasn't a mainline Halo" comments.

Now, this isn't to say that Reach won't vastly outsell Halo 3, however to make that comment unabashed as if there was no basis for it pricked my ears a little.

Well, it's true that ODST was a much smaller success than 3 (5M people played it), however Wars and ODST were not main Halo games and had nowhere near marketing push of Halo 3 (even MS stated that they chose MW2 as the game to push for last Holiday season, not ODST). That said I don't think they were failures by any means, Halo series was sitting at 25M sold (shipped) as of January 2009 and it's at 34M now. Each main game in the series was bigger than the previous one and there are ~8M people who played Halo 3 but didn't buy it (or bought it used or rented, whatever), so they are familiar with the franchise and might be on launch this September for the next big entry.

Or people are sick of Halo and don't want it anymore, we'll see soon enough.

 

[Rainier]

Why exactly would the Wii be a better option? It's not a system that has proven to be viable for core third party efforts. Peace Walker would probably fare worse on the Wii than on the PSP.

I doubt this. A lot of people who only own a Wii's owned a PS2 last gen.

The only real systems that would make sense for Peace Walker to be ported to are the PS3 and 360. I could see a significant boost to sales if it were on those platforms.

For sure. It would end up being one of those PS360 games that would do better on the PS3.

 

[donny2112]

Why exactly would the Wii be a better option?

Who said anything about being a "better" option? Stop it with this "one or the other" crap. Both.

As to "why," because it should be pretty easy. Same generation level of powerful hardware. That's why there have been several PSP, PS2, and Wii games. The question is why any game that is Western focused would be PSP exclusive and not at least add in Wii.

It's not a system that has proven to be viable for core third party efforts.

Do you think that might change if viable core third party efforts came to the system in any kind of regular (and marketed) fashion? Hmm.

PS3 and 360

Sure, bring it there, too.

 

[Lonely1]

Why exactly would the Wii be a better option? It's not a system that has proven to be viable for core third party efforts. Peace Walker would probably fare worse on the Wii than on the PSP.

Based on what? No, even wii has healthier "core" third party sales than the PSP. Also, MGS is a bigger franchise than almost anything Wii third party. Now, would Ps3/360 owners buy an upscale PSP games? Not for full price I would think.

 

[JesseZao]

Based on what? No, even wii has healthier "core" third party sales than the PSP. Also, MGS is a bigger franchise than almost anything Wii third party. Now, would Ps3/360 fans buy an upscale PSP games? Not for full price I would think.

Maybe if they retooled the controls (even then $15 tops). Age of Zombies mini is annoying to play on a PS3 (have to use face buttons as second analog).

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

All joking aside, I think Konami simply thought that MGS was a software king and a mainline entry would do well no matter the platform, just as people thought the same for Tales (before it was strip mined to hell) and the Resident Evil series on GameCube (before Capcom panicked and announced a PS2 port).

 

[RBH]

Top 20 is up!

Someone might want to quote for the next page or something...

Wow, no Metal Gear in the Top 20 either.....

 

[Indyana]

Probably because Sony had a huge push with third-parties planned in 2009 (see E3 2009) and expected the PSPgo to boost sales, as well. That just didn't happen, though. The real question is why these companies aren't trying (and haven't been for a few years now) to salvage something by porting these games to the Wii. Maybe Sony wrote something into their contracts that there couldn't be a Wii port? Poisoning the water for Wii third-party support? I honestly don't know why they haven't been trying for years with PSP-to-Wii ports in the West.

The really weird thing is that no third party has tried to do a Wii port of a PSP game in the recent past. I understand that Sony has given them something, but how could Sony convince everyone?

And that's believing that Sony could buy all those games.

 

[Redbeard]

Who said anything about being a "better" option? Stop it with this "one or the other" crap. Both.

You specifically singled out the Wii.

That's ridiculous.

GTA for DS performed even worse on the PSP.

It depends on the situation, but GTA for DS and PSP both did poorly. It released second on the PSP, so it didn't get the early adopters the DS had, and it is generally expected that if you do a late port on another platform sales will be worse. This is just the way those sorts of scenarios naturally play out, though there can be exceptions given the circumstance (of which I think Peace Walker on the PS360 would be one of them)

The boost comes from the input to transpose it to Wii (very little) vs. the same effort to do so with PS360 (much more).

It depends. Transposing it to the PS360 with MGS4 next-gen visuals? Yes, that would be very costly. Transposing it to the PS360 in HD, 60 fps, and with slightly better texture and assets (similar to the God of War collection)? Pretty minimal cost for the port, and a much better audience for those sorts of games on the PS360.

I doubt this. A lot of people who only own a Wii's owned a PS2 last gen.

For sure. It would end up being one of those PS360 games that would do better on the PS3.

What segment of those PS2 owners last gen own a Wii this gen? That's the important question. And the answer to that question is the same sorts of people that are buying Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc. while ignoring The Conduit, MadWorld, No More Heroes, and eschewing third party ports of core franchise titles for PS360 versions.

Releasing only a Wii port would be an insanely stupid decision for a game like Peace Walker, but would make a lot of sense for the PS360.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

When I think "growth" I think ODST outselling Halo 3, which didn't happen. Since that didn't happen, I find the comment "still growing" a little specious, unless we're going to dink around and make "but ODST wasn't a mainline Halo!" comments.

I don't think not being a mainline Halo game had much to do with ODST not outselling Halo 3 (although it definitely had some effect). The main reason was probably that it didn't ship with a new multiplayer component (not counting Firefight), and multiplayer is what gives Halo its legs.

 

[donny2112]

You specifically singled out the Wii.

As getting ports from PSP, not instead of a PSP release. smh

 

[Vinci]

What segment of those PS2 owners last gen own a Wii this gen? That's the important question. And the answer to that question is the same sorts of people that are buying Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc. while ignoring The Conduit, MadWorld, No More Heroes, and eschewing third party ports of core franchise titles for PS360 versions.

I have a Wii. I don't own Conduit, MadWorld, or No More Heroes. Most 3rd party titles on the machine are worthless crap. That's the truth. I own many of the ones that weren't total crap, but the ones you mentioned? I can do without, though NMH is actually decent.

Releasing only a Wii port would be an insanely stupid decision for a game like Peace Walker, but would make a lot of sense for the PS360.

Both is the better option.

 

[Lonely1]

It depends. Transposing it to the PS360 with MGS4 next-gen visuals? Yes, that would be very costly. Transposing it to the PS360 in HD, 60 fps, and with slightly better texture and assets (similar to the God of War collection)? Pretty minimal cost for the port, and a much better audience for those sorts of games on the PS360.

That would killed the PSP version even more, unlike a Wii release. Also, GoW colection was a budget release, unlike this new expensive MGS mainline game...

Releasing only a Wii port would be an insanely stupid decision for a game like Peace Walker, but would make a lot of sense for the PS360.

Wii exclusive from the ground up? Eh, I will concede. But since you already have a PSP version...

What segment of those PS2 owners last gen own a Wii this gen? That's the important question. And the answer to that question is the same sorts of people that are buying Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc. while ignoring The Conduit, MadWorld, No More Heroes, and eschewing third party ports of core franchise titles for PS360 versions.

TConduit? MW? Anyway, MH3 sold decently for a niche, Japan only, franchise. I don't see a big western franchise on Wii bombing as bad as any recent PSP game has...

 

[jvm]

Hey, donny2112, is it time to do the hardware prediction thread results yet? :lol