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NPD Sales Results for March 2009
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
Nuclear Muffin
Banned
borghe said:
Simple, publishers are pigeon holing the Wii's userbase (Just like they have with all Nintendo consoles and handhelds since the N64) in an attempt to avoid developing games for Nintendo's platforms.
Whether it's kiddiness, low userbase size, "only Nintendo games sell" or "only old grannies have a Wii" it's the same old thing as before. It's just an excuse and it doesn't matter how well Nintendo's consoles sell, western developers will continue to always avoid putting their best effort on Nintendo's consoles.
Japanese developers don't seem to hold much of a grudge against Nintendo themselves though since the DS is getting healthy support, but the devs by and large want to work on the HD machines so they're obviously avoiding Wii development because they want to work with high powered consoles.
This generation is set now, you will never get a major franchise from a major western developer with full effort being put on its production on the Wii (And probably DS now) Hopefully we might still see some Japanese developers throw strong support (We're finally starting to see some form of shift with Dragon Quest 10 and Tales of Graces actually, along with Monster Hunter 3 and Crystal Bearers)
lowrider007
Licorice-flavoured booze?
Opiate said:
I know that publisher's don't care about 'relative to install base' figures but 'we' are not the publishers, we're geeks on a sales thread, and you can't honestly in you heart of hearts tell me that if there was 17 million PS3's in NA that those sales figures wouldn't be telling a completely different story then your kidding yourself.
The fact is KZ2 will ultimately sell millions WW and be a successful game.
Psychotext
Member
Plus, when you go down that road you can look at another game... one that sold 3.3m in 12 days to ~6.2m 360s. In comparison to 0.62m Killzone 2 sales in 37 days to ~7.2 PS3s.Opiate said:
But obviously, that one's a bit of a unique case.
Pennywise83
Banned
-18% in relation to what? The same period of the last year of -18% in relation with February results?
Agent Icebeezy said:
Indeed. This was one of my arguments for having a disc versus a code for Lost and Damned retail box. MS bombards the end user with a ton of advertising on the NXE for everything. Retail games, downloadable games, DLC, movies, xbox originals. It really is well done. Heck they even tie in events for new releases. They also tie events back into older games. With all the work MS does put into keeping the 360 end user current with games the system does really deserve having the highest share of software sales for multiplatform games. Sony is doing a better job now too with Pulse and to a lesser extent Qore, but it still doesn't hold a candle to NXE.
Well I missed all the actual discussion, but I wanted to throw out some thoughts:
No SFIV? Was it really that frontloaded?
I wouldn't freak out about no Chinatown Wars. It was released in late March, and many people were critical of the game from the beginning. Hopefully the reviews and word of mouth give it legs, it's easily one of the DS's best titles and deserves to be played.
Even though Pokemon Platinum was only out for a week, you still have to be impressed that RE5 beat it.
Halo Wars? Seriously? People knew it wasn't a FPS right?
No SFIV? Was it really that frontloaded?
I wouldn't freak out about no Chinatown Wars. It was released in late March, and many people were critical of the game from the beginning. Hopefully the reviews and word of mouth give it legs, it's easily one of the DS's best titles and deserves to be played.
Even though Pokemon Platinum was only out for a week, you still have to be impressed that RE5 beat it.
Halo Wars? Seriously? People knew it wasn't a FPS right?
30k a week for a DS game that isn't the pokeman's is respectable, and there are factors to consider before calling it a "bomb"
-The target demographic...I would be interested to see how many people have vs. how many "own" it as the people most likely to have a flash cart are who they are aiming at.
-DS and hell Nintendo system games in general are slow burners...this will have legs and probably have a decent number as time goes on.
Time will tell, I do expect a small to moderate amount of crow eating down the road.
-The target demographic...I would be interested to see how many people have vs. how many "own" it as the people most likely to have a flash cart are who they are aiming at.
-DS and hell Nintendo system games in general are slow burners...this will have legs and probably have a decent number as time goes on.
Time will tell, I do expect a small to moderate amount of crow eating down the road.
lowrider007 said:
Of course it would be different, I absolutely agree. I'm just tired of excuses.
We excuse the game sales because the install base is low.
We excuse the install base because the price is 400.
We excuse the price because the technology is so high tech. Sony has already lost billions of dollars keeping the PS3 at a competitive price.
And thus, no one is to blame. That bothers me, quite a bit.
It just depends how one defines "success." Will it make a profit? I suspect so. Will it allow for significant growth in this sector for Sony? Will it do well compared to similarly reviewed games with significant exposure? I think the answer to both of those questions is no.
heh, I think they aren't spectacular because 360-loving GAF (an observation, not a criticism) usually don't let them become spectacular. When those games failed most of GAF moved on. But typically when a PS3 or Wii game fails, they pretend to analyze and dissect the failure. Of course there is no real interest in why it failed, only to say that had the game been released on 360 it probably would have sold better.Grecco said:
Stoney Mason
Banned
I touched on this yesterday but pulled a couple of old quotes to sort of prove a point. RE 5 was one of the most bitched about demos in recent memory. Can we now stop the idea that demos in and of themsevles combined with internet impressions solely are some magical barometer of what a game will sell.
Dash Kappei said:
MWS Natural said:
Zabka said:
Sinister Hatter said:
Mrbob said:
Mrbob said:Find a new hobby?
Or maybe the industry should adapt to realize there may be an audience that thinks "hardcore game" doesn't have to mean cheesy violent shooter aimed at 13 year olds.
I'm not satisfied with the output on 360 or wii (I dont have a ps3)
The wii stuff aims too casual a lot of the time and the 360 stuff is considered hardcore simply because it's violent and aimed at young men? Bullshit.
Maybe I'm wrong though. There may not be a market for people like me. Every time I think a game looks interesting, no one else seems to care about it.
/me salutes De Blob.
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
gofreak said:
I don't particularly care for it either and I have a degree for marketing. I also happen to live in Gamestop from time to time and I'm very knowledgable. Its just that Microsoft bombards with the ads. I prefer the look of the XMB, nice, simple and elegant but there should be something to alert the PS3 collective of a hot new game coming out.
Johnny2Bags
Member
Grecco said:
LOL 50, matt hazard?? I agree with Fear and Star ocean However
Jibblypop pick up Mirrors edge. It is cheap now. I grabbed that and LBP and having fun with both.
Oh and yeah I got owned on my RE5 prediction. I underestimated the Capcom pull this gen. I still stand by the comment the game is shit for control, and don't plan to play the retail anytime soon.
Oh and yeah I got owned on my RE5 prediction. I underestimated the Capcom pull this gen. I still stand by the comment the game is shit for control, and don't plan to play the retail anytime soon.
Haunted
Member
Wait wait, are you saying that brand name has more sway than hardcore gamer's demo impressions?Stoney Mason said:
I'm shocked. Shocked, I say!
That said, I didn't buy the game due to the demo... but did enjoy the main game more than I thought I would (borrowed it from a friend).
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
Mrbob said:
I know, I was just looking at it because I'm about to play some Prince of Persia and I see Quanum of Solace, then behind it, Netflix, 1 vs 100, then Riddick, then Rainbow 6 Vegas 2. All of this cascaded in a way so that they are visible to the user. Its pretty brilliant actually.
Mrbob said:
Those two games are excellent. Sadly, I couldn't pick up Mirror's Edge because when I played the demo I couldn't read anything on the screen on my SDTV. It was a real shame. However I'm buying an HDTV in September so I will pick it up then.
Mirror's Edge sold poorly though, right? It kind of makes me think I'm right about there not being a market for the type of games i like.
Vinci said:
I'm a huge DS gamer as well. Also XBLA has been the savior of the xbox360 for me. If I was only playing the retail games, I wouldn't like it nearly as much.
He pays a german midget to change the avatar everytime a GAFer refreshes the pageBruceLeeRoy said:
Actually I don't like Madworld that muchZachack said:
The visual style is amazing, but everything else has been eh :/Why that game fails to sell? You could say demographics, but you have to be more specific, as with everyone in this thread. I remember posting a couple pages back asking where I stand if I don't like ultraviolent games geared towards teenage males or soccer moms. The point I was trying to make is that the market isn't that easy to segment, and there are many other (an almost infinite amount) of factors that can differentiate who buys what games. I guess you can put it like this: Adding components to a game that makes it more "hardcore" for lack of a better word, you are increasing potential sales for that particular portion of the market, but the appeal of markets similar to that one get decreased. My theory of the Wii userbase is that there is no clear demographic that dominates the console, but instead a very wide spread of different demographics that overlap when you describe them loosely (e.g. Casuals). Because of this I don't think any game that has a narrow appeal will sell well on the Wii, core or casual. And that is why games with at least a loose appeal to the different demographics are mega hits (e.g. Mario Kart, Wii Sports).
Would Madworld sell on PS3/360? Well maybe, but MadWorld would not have been MadWorld if it was on the PS3/360 so it's not really worth debating a hypothetical.
Would MadWorld be better on PS3/360? The gameplay is kind of shallow even with waggle, it would be the most boring shit on earth to play with a gamepad (IMO) :lol
(food analogy will be posted later)
Vinci said:
Well, in all fairness, we have yet to see what that new direction entails. It really only is the beginning a chaotic, ugly beginning, as many beginnings are, sadly. As much as I like to mock and rail against the third parties' inability to catch the Wii wave (and even the DS wave to a lesser extent) without making themselves look like fools, I think they will eventually figure out what that new direction is all about and develop more tasteful software for the Wii.
It would be a shame if the Wii was destined to be first and foremost the home of Ubisoftz games, but that simply won't go on forever. I don't think we've seen anything yet, only the tip of the tip of the iceberg, and it's called "competent Nintendo software". My gripe against the industry is merely that the process is so slow and painful. Absolutely baffling.
In the meantime, I agree with you: the DS and PC are the best platforms right now. And even on the DS, I don't have that many games. Yeah, on the freaking DS. I'm just picky and jaded like that.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Threi said:
har har har
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Somnid said:
If the Nintendo brand is comparable to Disney, then the Wii is Disneyland. When you go to Disneyland, and there's a part of the park sectioned off as'Non-Disney Disneyland', who the fuck wants to go in there? Sure, you might pop in to see a couple big non-Disney rides like 'Guitar Hero', but after the 3rd or 4th shovelware ride you want to get the hell out of there and back to the Disney rides.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
Kenka said:
And your contribution is?
Kilrogg said:
I'm talking about the market in general, not just the Wii itself. I hate that consoles are becoming PC-lites. It doesn't match my expectations for what a console is; all it does is make me go, 'Okay, so ... everything wants to be a PC, even though we already have those?' This is obviously popular with many gamers, but it's making me feel very distant from the console space. I have a PC gaming rig. Maybe many don't. I've always been a tiered gamer: PC for certain types of games and experiences, consoles for others, handhelds for portable gaming. The fact that the PC and console games are becoming so similar is mitigating any appreciation I might have for the consoles focusing on that end, meanwhile the console that is sticking - in some ways - with my perception of what a 'console experience' is, is getting the shaft when it comes to content.
In the end, the DS has become the best console this generation. For me, from my perspective. And outside of a few possible exceptions - Motion +, another Mario, Matsuno - I think it's going to be my primary console for quite some time.
I have stupid amounts of DS games. PC too.
Frencherman
Member
jetjevons said:
Without joking, this is one of the best comparisons I have ever read here!
mentalfloss
Banned
Grecco said:
It just goes to show how predictable the target market was before this generation. The good news is that this means less fan boyz.
Peronthious
Member
OldJadedGamer said:
The Bell tolls for thee.
Totally off-topic, but that would be Disney's California Adventure. It has several attractions that one would typically associate with the Disney theme park experience, but also has a good number of hastily themed variants of rides found at most any regional amusement park. I suspect most people don't go to DCA for those, but rather for the "true" Disney rides...
jetjevons said:
This implies a strength of brand power I haven't seen Nintendo accumulate.
Just 3-4 years ago, we were discussing the unstoppable power of the Playstation brand, and Nintendo was considered a dying competitor. With good reason: Sony had not skipped a beat in their entire time on the market, and Nintendo's last console sold ~20 million units worldwide.
How can that suddenly translate to 50 Million+ rabidly loyal fans who reject products made by any other company? How could their brand name possibly go from "dying" to "unstoppable force that smothers all comeptitors" in the span of 2 years? This doesn't seem logical, Jet.
I think the more logical explanation derives from your followup:
This seems more reasonable to me. It isn't that the Wii is comprised of 50 Million customers who are all rabidly loyal to Nintendo, it's that much of the playerbase has been driven off by poor quality products, which is what would happen on any system or, indeed, in any market. I think GTA:CW suffers because of the poor support that proceeded it in the 4-5 years before its launch on the DS. It's hard to argue that the West has given the system significant support. By contrast, consider the DS in Japan: the major support moved on to the DS much more rapidly, and in much more force (GTA:CW is an isolated example in the west, while virtually every major RPG moved on to the DS in Japan). The result? The user base came with them. In the west this support didn't happen, so a single game, no matter how big a franchise or how good, cannot turn the tide.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Forkball said:
I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually.
Sony doesn't know how to advertise their big games. It's sad for their first party developers because they don't get the exposure that they really should be getting. The Killzone 2 commercial was a cool tech demo showcasing the power of the engine, but it wasn't a good commercial. People are used to seeing computer generated commercials so I doubt anybody even knew it was in engine. It's strange too because I think I remember some pretty good adverts for the PS2. I think they've just lost focus of who they want to advertise to. All I can say is, "Infamous, good luck..."
They should port Star Ocean to PC so you could play it without feeling guilty. See, it's not HD gaming if it's on the PC!Vinci said:How did the Star Ocean ride do in Halo Land?
The only games on the Wii that are bombs are games that the faithful declare to be bombs, apparently because that's what they deserved. Every other game will get a delicious salad bar of excuses, lowered bars, and office parties, all smooshed together with the ranch dressing of fictional scenarios (like the one where a copy of a game sold 6 months after launch is worth the same to a publisher as one sold at launch).
- What's RE5's LTD so far counting both NA and Japan? It should be over 2 million now right? I wonder what Europe has done for the game. Capcom must be happy.
- I'm going to have to pick up The Show one of these days. Those sales are really good.
- Killzone 2's numbers are so disappointing. That game deserves better sales than that. It's fucking fantastic. There are so many ways to spin those numbers... Sony dropped the ball with the marketing. The bullet ad was cool, but it needed to show more. I think Infamous isn't going to do so well judging form the performance of 1st party PS3 titles in NA.
- MLB 2K9... Sucks for anyone who bought that.
- I'm going to have to pick up The Show one of these days. Those sales are really good.
- Killzone 2's numbers are so disappointing. That game deserves better sales than that. It's fucking fantastic. There are so many ways to spin those numbers... Sony dropped the ball with the marketing. The bullet ad was cool, but it needed to show more. I think Infamous isn't going to do so well judging form the performance of 1st party PS3 titles in NA.
- MLB 2K9... Sucks for anyone who bought that.
Bluemercury
Member
Well i bought madworld and house of the dead, and i might buy the conduit(if its good), so hope wii owners do the same for quality titles like those.....
Zachack said:
Did I accidentally kill your dog or something? I haven't said a damn thing truly negative about either system, the 360 or PS3, in this thread. You can keep imagining that I'm part of some conspiracy to see them both die, but you're sounding like more of a fanboy than I am at the moment.
I'm not going to apologize for owning a gaming PC and feeling that much of the content on the PS3 and 360 is either available for it or has superiors there.
As for Star Ocean: Never liked the series, wouldn't buy it in any case. I was making a joke. Relax, soldier.