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NPD Sales Results for March 2013 [Up5: BioShock Infinite]

D

Darryl

Banned
NBtoaster said:
People can stop saying games are Wii U's problem now. It had no retail software last month and sold 66k. It had 4 games this month and sold a whopping 2k more.
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no because most gamers won't settle for something that they kinda sorta maybe want. it needs games that people want and a lot of them, along with future titles coming out that they want as well. it is not in that position right now.

Randolph Freelander said:
This is a long way of saying that those 4 games mattered last month and will next month and the numbers won't change much. And the big hitters that people are counting on to shift some systems are already doing it right now, and it's also not meaning much. These big games are known properties. One of them could certainly become a game changer and really move some units, I won't say none of them can. But barring some revolution, they won't lead to a tsunami. A gradually rising tide, perhaps.
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you live in bubble world filled with hardcore gamers in a world that is primarily filled with casuals. perfect information distribution does not exist in this market. average joes do not know that Smash is coming out right now. that's completely insane.
 
J

jmizzal

Member
shinra-bansho said:
But does NSMBU? That's the million Wii U question.
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Well WiiU in its first 2 months sold more then 360 and PS3

distantmantra said:
So you're saying that unique titles mean absolutely nothing for the Wii U, and that "more of the same" is the only saving grace?
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What unique titles? A Lego game, and enhanced Monster Hunter game thats also on 3DS, a late port of NFS, The Walking Dead SI, Spider Man, none of those are unique at all.

Really what new IP is going to be a huge system system seller? The last one that did that was Wii Sport

First ever HD Mario Kart, Smash Bros and 3D Mario is not more of the same
 
R

Randolph Freelander

Member
Darryl said:
you live in bubble world filled with hardcore gamers in a world that is primarily filled with casuals. perfect information distribution does not exist in this market. average joes do not know that Smash is coming out right now. that's completely insane.
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Actually, I tend to ignore all of you hardcore gamers that are always talking about games moving the needle (and they never do). There's a reason monthly console numbers are generally and predictably flat from month to month until the holidays, and there's a reason those numbers also climb relatively predictably in those holiday months. It's all trends, games impact it certainly, but it's the cumulative effect more than a single month spike. Pull the numbers. Eliminate price reductions, special edition bundles, you'll note that if there ever are spikes, they are decidedly small and short-lived. Momentum changes, however, are typically longer lasting.

And give average Joes a bit more credit. They know Smash Brothers was on N64, GameCube, Wii. They know it's going to be on Wii U, and they can use the internet to find out when and to also research other games. You don't have to be supposedly hardcore to be "in the know" about game libraries, current and future.
 
S

shinra-bansho

Member
Father_Brain said:
It would probably be selling sub-Vita numbers without NSMBU, much like even GC would have been lucky to sell 5m worldwide without Mario/Zelda.
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It is essentially doing sub-Vita numbers, post-Launch.

Weekly sales in post-launch months for PSV and Wii U.
ADusQcJ.png


I didn't include launch month, as averaging is relatively meaningless (they weren't on the market for the whole of their respective months), but for reference purposes:
PSV (Feb) = 225K
WIU (Nov) = 425K

It's probably also worth noting that the PSV's 2nd Month was March, while Wii U's was December.

This is actually the second time, launch aligned, the PSV's weekly sales have been better than Wii U's.
jmizzal said:
Well WiiU in its first 2 months sold more then 360 and PS3
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Now do 5 months.
 
J

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
RukusProvider said:
That's actually quite impressive they sold that many stand alone Kinect units...Thanks for that info. Quite a rare gem.
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At least Im fairly certain that's standalone I can dig into it tomorrow


As for the above nfsu question, the vita versiom has like 100k on Wii u, Hell it outsold it this month too
 
M

Mashing

Member
Metal Gear?! said:
Yes of course releasing an even more expensive system will make them competitive.

And if the expanded market that propelled the Wii and PS2 to success is truly gone, then every new system is dead in the water, full stop.
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The only thing 3rd parties give a crap about anymore is power. Look at the Wii, it was dominating at one point and it got crappy 3rd party content. Atleast if Nintendo's specs were on par they'd actually get some 3rd party support for once (or 3rd parties would have to come up with new excuses).

As for your second point, time will tell. It's possible they have indeed moved on.
 
D

Darryl

Banned
Randolph Freelander said:
Actually, I tend to ignore all of you hardcore gamers that are always talking about games moving the needle (and they never do). There's a reason monthly console numbers are generally and predictably flat from month to month until the holidays, and there's a reason those numbers also climb relatively predictably in those holiday months. It's all trends, games impact it certainly, but it's the cumulative effect more than a single month spike. Pull the numbers. Eliminate price reductions, special edition bundles, you'll note that if there ever are spikes, they are decidedly small and short-lived. Momentum changes, however, are typically longer lasting.

And give average Joes a bit more credit. They know Smash Brothers was on N64, GameCube, Wii. They know it's going to be on Wii U, and they can use the internet to find out when and to also research other games. You don't have to be supposedly hardcore to be "in the know" about game libraries, current and future.
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i think i just had a hard time understanding what you were saying. maybe we don't fully disagree. i agree that the major impact of the games coming out will be reflected over a larger period. i think that NSMBU will have a huge impact when you look at it historically rather than the first month. i just absolutely disagree that those numbers are being reflected at the current moment. it makes no sense, the customer base just does not know yet.

i don't agree that customers actively think about this stuff. smash bros doesn't sit at the front of the average persons mind on the day to day. it sits in the back of their mind until something triggers it, like a friend telling them about it or an advertisement.
 
P

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
The lego game did better than I expected...but I can't tell if it's actually good or I am just perceiving it as such given the other wiiu news.
 
P

Poimandres

Member
Speevy said:
Kind of OT/shameful, but is Bioshock Infinite worth buying if you haven't played through the other games?
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I'm going to go with definitely yes! The games aren't related, and if you're partial to first person shooters you should find it entertaining at the very least.
 
K

KillerTravis

Banned
Eh nfsu is just a port of a game that was released months ago, even with some improvements nothing surprising there really. Wii u sales are abysmall but at least lego city sold more than 100k.
 
R

Randolph Freelander

Member
Darryl said:
i think i just had a hard time understanding what you were saying. maybe we don't fully disagree. i agree that the major impact of the games coming out will be reflected over a larger period. i think that NSMBU will have a huge impact when you look at it historically rather than the first month. i just absolutely disagree that those numbers are being reflected at the current moment. it makes no sense, the customer base just does not know yet.

i don't agree that customers actively think about this stuff. smash bros doesn't sit at the front of the average persons mind on the day to day. it sits in the back of their mind until something triggers it, like a friend telling them about it or an advertisement.
Click to expand...

There's enough non-holiday data points with major releases. Everyone says "game A" will move systems. Release month comes along. Sales are flat. The game does great. The console does its typical number. Pretty much every single time. MGS4 month for PS3 was a actually an exception, I think the number shifted up that month by what, maybe 100K? And there was a special MGS4 bundle. And the next month, that bump was gone. Halo 3, another exception. Slight bump. And bundles. And then... gone. Make no mistake, MGS4 and Halo 3 and GTA4 and all kinds of games moved crazy amounts of systems. But they did so over a longer term, because people know.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong and the numbers don't say what I think they say, or rather didn't say what I thought they said, because I don't have it in front of me. Let's wait on that next big release and see what happens. I predict people will be like "well, it will be the next one."
 
A

ambientmystic

Member
John Harker said:
He's being generous with NFSU being "10k", by the way.... Wowzer.

And Lego is the #2 title launch behind NSMBU in Wii u now. I'd say that's a successnstory , when you need to find one here...
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10k number was generous? How much lower was it lol? 5k? Would've been nice to get a range lol.

John Harker said:
At least Im fairly certain that's standalone I can dig into it tomorrow


As for the above nfsu question, the vita versiom has like 100k on Wii u, Hell it outsold it this month too
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NFS sold 100k more on the Vita vs Wii U ? Shiet.

Thanks for the remarks by the way John.
 
M

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
So, 3DS at 230k? It's still up YOY, even if not as much as before. That's a start, I think. Curious for next months.
Wii U is embarassing :lol
 
B

B.O.O.M

Member
John Harker said:
At least Im fairly certain that's standalone I can dig into it tomorrow


As for the above nfsu question, the vita versiom has like 100k on Wii u, Hell it outsold it this month too
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hooly shit...that's not too shabby at all 0_o Much better than I imagined. Thanks for the info

ascii42 said:
Probably, but I recently bought the Vita version, so it's got legs (relatively speaking)
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lol it's a definite purchase for me as well in the future
 
F

fallagin

Member
I'm not too surprised that twd survival instincts chated. Sucks for telltale though, it Sullys the brand an by extension their game(s)
 
D

Darryl

Banned
Randolph Freelander said:
There's enough non-holiday data points with major releases. Everyone says "game A" will move systems. Release month comes along. Sales are flat. The game does great. The console does its typical number. Pretty much every single time. MGS4 month for PS3 was a actually an exception, I think the number shifted up that month by what, maybe 100K? And there was a special MGS4 bundle. And the next month, that bump was gone. Halo 3, another exception. Slight bump. And bundles. And then... gone. Make no mistake, MGS4 and Halo 3 and GTA4 and all kinds of games moved crazy amounts of systems. But they did so over a longer term, because people know.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong and the numbers don't say what I think they say, or rather didn't say what I thought they said, because I don't have it in front of me. Let's wait on that next big release and see what happens. I predict people will be like "well, it will be the next one."
Click to expand...

the only part i disagree with you over is that information about wii u is fully distributed and the future value that title will bring to customers is being accurately reflected in sales at this moment. i do agree that the true console-selling value of titles is reflected over a period of time, i just say that the value largely hits after it appears on the console. stuff like nsmb:u and wii fit will move slow at first, but will add value to the console and generate sales over a long distributed period of time.
 
S

Sissel

Member
Can someone post that cartoon picture/"meme" of the dog saying "Everything is Fine. Everything is okay" as his house burns down and he proceeds to catch on fire lol.
 
L

liger05

Member
100k for Lego City isn't bad at all. Nfs u bombed so hard everywhere. Wii u below vita and kinect is just awful. The console is in massive trouble.
 
R

Randolph Freelander

Member
Darryl said:
the only part i disagree with you over is that information about wii u is fully distributed and the future value that title will bring to customers is being accurately reflected in sales at this moment. i do agree that the true console-selling value of titles is reflected over a period of time, i just say that the value largely hits after it appears on the console. stuff like nsmb:u and wii fit will move slow at first, but will add value to the console and generate sales over a long distributed period of time.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.
 
S

shinra-bansho

Member
Randolph Freelander said:
I have never subscribed to the theory that a game release provides a meaningful single month boost in NPD. It certainly may do so in Japan in the week-to-week, but as near as I figure it from looking at historical numbers, it seems to be more of a bias built into the numbers over a longer term both leading up to the release and, particularly if it's a game changer, in the months and even years following the release. There certainly can be a slight uptick in the month directly attributable to a game, but it seems more often than not the bigger shifts in a given month are due to bundles, price reductions, and obviously holiday shopping at the end of the year.

That is to say, people are not typically buying consoles the very day the game they want gets released. They find an excuse to buy it before, or they buy it that day, or they delay and buy it at some point later, and that some point can indeed be months or years after the release, particularly if they weren't aware of it at the time or the system wasn't in their budget.

This is a long way of saying that those 4 games mattered last month and will next month and the numbers won't change much. And the big hitters that people are counting on to shift some systems are already doing it right now, and it's also not meaning much. These big games are known properties. One of them could certainly become a game changer and really move some units, I won't say none of them can. But barring some revolution, they won't lead to a tsunami. A gradually rising tide, perhaps.

If Nintendo is to change the fortunes of the Wii U, they're going to need to move the demand line with something akin to the phenomena of Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc. Not those games. They're known. But games that simply capture the moment in a way that not many anticipated, certainly to the degree to which they catapulted the Wii into the stratosphere. The problem is those games are like a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, you never know when or where it's ever gonna strike. (And this is why Nintendo needs Marty McFly.)
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I missed this post before, but it bears repeating, as I think it's right on the money.

Will some people buy the system for Mario Kart U, 3D Mario, Super Smash Bros, Zelda? Sure. Are some of the people who would buy the system for those titles, already buying it for those eventual titles. Most definitely.

But a dramatic reversal of fortune, due to those titles, still seems unlikely.

If one wants to use the PS3 to draw analogies (even though I think the analogy is wholly flawed for numerous reasons), they can note that I don't think the PS3's seminal turning point was the release of Final Fantasy XIII or Metal Gear Solid 4. It was the release of the PS3 Slim and finally hitting a $299 price point.

The Wii U doesn't need The Legend of Zelda, it needs something to create a value proposition to some sort of market base, beyond the Nintendo core fan-base.

For whom will those titles create a sufficiently strong value proposition to buy the system?

If the answer is the same market as those currently buying the system, then as noted the needle isn't going to move. And related to that, if one considers price the issue: For whom will a price drop to $X modify the value proposition enough to spur purchase? And if one considers advertising is the issue: To whom will better targeted advertising actually drive sales? Etc.
 
J

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Eh I don't think EA has invested enough at this point to consider their late ports enough of a failed risk to quit the console entirely. I've said this before... Money talks. Things are bad now but if the system gets momentum after s price drop and a slew of first parties, a stable enough market will continue to receive titles, at the least ports.

This is a business, and EA and Acti do it best. They won't leave money on the table... If Nintendo can build a big enough table, that is.
 
M

megabytecr

Member
Nintendo used the Wii name for Wii U to take advantage of the succes of the Wii but it ultimately hurt them.

Also no marketing and as a launch console, not much games and a price barrier.

No Wii U Sports 2. As predictable and critized as that would be and as great as Nintendo Land is, I think both titles should have been released on launch day.

So Nintendo this is fixable just

Release Wii U Sports 2 with a push in marketing, and release other major Nintendo software. The price will eventually come down to mass market range. Try to fix the Wii U name confusion with the best strategy possible.
 
R

rdrr gnr

Member
John Harker said:
Eh I don't think EA has invested enough at this point to consider their late ports enough of a failed risk to quit the console entirely. I've said this before... Money talks. Things are bad now but if the system gets momentum after s price drop and a slew of first parties, a stable enough market will continue to receive titles, at the least ports.

This is a business, and EA and Acti do it best. They won't leave money on the table... If Nintendo can build a big enough table, that is.
Click to expand...
By the time Nintendo's table is that big -- games will be built from the ground up for next-gen consoles.
 
B

big youth

Member
Content is a major factor, and to think otherwise is hilarious to me.

But the biggest factor is marketing. Most people need to be told they want Wii U, and the rest need to be told Wii U exists. in NA I'd wager ~40% of the population doesn't know Wii has a successor.

Iwata has said their major advertising will coincide with major game releases, but I think they've already missed 2 big opportunities in NA. 1 was to make commercials advertising Wii TV (universal remote, sport scores, Netflix, etc), and 2 was Lego City Undercover. It's a Nintendo published game so I'm baffled they didn't make a push with ads and a hardware bundle. throw in a Lego skin to make your Wii U look like it's made of legos, maybe a real lego version of Chase, an exclusive in game vehicle, stuff like that. It'd be a cheap yet attractive bundle that would more than pay for itself, even with a major advertising campaign. Show the humor of the game, show the value of the bundle, etc.
 
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