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NPD Sales Results for March 2014 [Up4: FFX/X-2 HD]
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
theprodigy
Member
if we're including all platforms, I'm pretty sure it has to be 360's 2.7 million
GoofsterStud
Member
If it's all Titanfall it's still worthless to third parties. That's the catch-22.
Papacheeks
Banned
I'm not sure but what I do know is that they are releasing in Japan in July and 26 other countries in September, I'm gonna put 2 and 2 together and say, yes they had issues with those countries for Localization.
Especially since they officially said so back in August.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/18/5521622/xbox-one-launch-26-new-countries-september-2014
And here is them admitting to the issues bringing their Console to different country's with Language barriers:
http://kotaku.com/dont-worry-japan-microsoft-is-still-into-you-1353115652
Those on top of the other's people have posted with the price, inferrior hardware, Kinect, and bad PR from last year are what is keeping MS from being in the position Playstation is in right now.
SwiftDeath
Member
We have this
But I assume that's LTD in the US, I think it would be hard to determine how much more XB1 sold software wise than PS4 this month due to the multiplats selling better on PS4 generally
I would think with the numbers TF posted [~1.05 - 1.1M XB1] versus something like ISS which was 440k < ISS < 500k, XB1 software handily outsold PS4 this month at retail [and probably digitally too I think]
Hmm we got total X360 software sales for the month?
I am well aware of the offical PR reasons given out for the contraction from 21 to 13 regions for XB1's launch but I provided a clear example that flies in the face of MS's official PR on it so I don't know what you want me to say
kinoki
Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
If we place Titanfall and Infamous on the exclusive side we have to subtract 500k from Sony's and 1m from Microsoft's total software sales. If, even with a 500k disadvantage, Xbox comes first it is truely impressive.
Aquamarine
Member
Microsoft PR:
"With Xbox One and Xbox 360 combined, the Xbox platform sold the most games across all console platforms with 4.1 million games sold. Xbox One sold 1.4 million games in March and Xbox 360 sold 2.7 million, totaling 49 percent of the total software market share (Xbox 360 and Xbox One combined). "
SwiftDeath
Member
Hmm before I respond with counterpoints, I'll ask if you could clarify what you mean by the bolded?
Ah I had um forgotten about that. Let's just ignore what I said and carry on
So probably X360 >XB1, XB1 > PS4. Wonder how software on PS3 did
Also less than 350k software sales on XB1 in March outside of TF, that's interesting
Or put another way TF was 75% of XB1 software sales in March, other 3rd party games have to be less than 25% of XB1's March software sales [especially considering the 1st party games have to sell too]
Codeblew
Member
It is money tied up that could be gaining interest or being used to buy products that move off the shelf faster. Plus, it takes up space in the stockroom at the stores and storage in the warehouses.
So Xbox had almost 50% of the software sales last month? That's insane. That with Sonys console sales pretty much prove console gaming is not dying down.
Papacheeks
Banned
No man your good. Don't take my reponse the wrong way I was just saying I don't know 100%, I'm just saying that the evidence has been out there, and that the Original post from Time Magazine failed to even acknowledge it.
Your good, you seem to understand what I'm laying down, I 'm just saying I am not 100% sure on all of it, that's why I couldn't really answer your question.
We good!
Xbox One has some problems.
1. Price - Can be overcome with price cuts.
2. Power - I think price fixes this at some point. People just won't care.
3. Pay wall for apps - People are wise to this now and know it's bad. The console is instantly unappealing because of it. Don't change this, they have one arm tied behind their back,
4. Games - Easily overcome.
5. Kinect - There is no major compelling reason to have this packed in. Sold separately for Fitness, Dance, party games, voice control, only option of automatic sign in, yeah absolutely, Those are not enough to make it standard and it's useless for core gaming, release a SKU without it and sell it separately. No, I don't believe for one second Kinect being standard means it gets more attention, limited is limited whatever way you slice it.
E3 2014, they could fix all five of those problems. Will they ?
1. Price - Can be overcome with price cuts.
2. Power - I think price fixes this at some point. People just won't care.
3. Pay wall for apps - People are wise to this now and know it's bad. The console is instantly unappealing because of it. Don't change this, they have one arm tied behind their back,
4. Games - Easily overcome.
5. Kinect - There is no major compelling reason to have this packed in. Sold separately for Fitness, Dance, party games, voice control, only option of automatic sign in, yeah absolutely, Those are not enough to make it standard and it's useless for core gaming, release a SKU without it and sell it separately. No, I don't believe for one second Kinect being standard means it gets more attention, limited is limited whatever way you slice it.
E3 2014, they could fix all five of those problems. Will they ?
SwiftDeath
Member
No worries bud
I just dislike not answering people and felt I missed what we were discussing
Basically TF gave a boost for Xbox sales. Some may disagree but I think MS would have had a terrible month if TF wasn't out. When I say catch up, I mean to the competition (Sony). Of course it's a long (really long) uphill battle for them but this is a step in the right direction.
Quadraphonic
Member
6: Complete obliteration of good will. People to this day still think it doesn't play used games, OR don't trust they won't re-enable that policy. You can't fix that in a single E3.
WHAT ???
SwiftDeath
Member
Hmm to start with you are certainly correct that it is almost entirely assured MS would've had a terrible month if TF wasn't out [or even perhaps if TF was on Sony platforms as well] however if you take into account that March was 5 weeks of tracking versus the 4 weeks in February [I prefer to use days of tracking but whatever] then XB1 sold less per week [or per day] in March then they did in February. Now apparently it's usual for sales to soften for March compared to February but considering how important TF seemed to be for MS's first half of 2014, I have to assume March numbers are disappointing to MS.
The real test will be April numbers as both XB1 and PS4 will likely be down from March numbers [unless April is normally higher than March?] and as such we can see how demand is for both consoles after TF
I think everyone would agree with that The problem is people were expecting it to push it over the ps4 not come a tad under being even.
but software sales do show that software is what is pushing the xbone.
1st party studio investments
Allow more indie devs to ID@Xbox (I finally got approved!!)
Let 343 work on something new
Who is trumpeting anything? Was the 360 a failure? Is the Xbone floundering like the WiiU or the Vita?
The system could tank over the next few months, but realistically speaking when A+B is roughly comparable to last gen's A+B+C at the same point in time, I think things are doing reasonably well at this point all things considered. I think it would be unrealistic to expect a complete blowout in sales for any one side or to continually dwarf all previous sales (like the Wii did). It should level out and have more natural peaks and valleys going forward depending on pricing, software, potential periphrials(?), and general availability (should be less of an issue going forward).
Barring anything unseen, the PS4 will remain ahead and should continue to do well this year. The Xbone may or may not continue to do well this year. Everyone will be reflecting upon this come December.
OK - this a question for the mods. Chartz data is used by brokers + some funds, I know this since i've seen the reports on my desk citing them. The collective analysis of NeoGAF on NPD, MC and PAL charts would be valuable. Including the prediction threads. Why doesn't GAF attempt to package this up and sell it or at least market it? As a consensus estimate on performance it's valuable. With the quality of moderation here the numbers are also rarely affected by astroturfing either.
Cirekiller
Member
1. If they were to invest in first party studios now (they obviously hadn't invested in any new studios besides a couple prior to Xbone 1 launch) they will not see the fruits of the investment for at least 2-4 years depending on the size of the project. How will that help them if by the time these games are even announced Sony has all their first party lineups ready to go?
2. Thats great and all but at best this puts them at parity with the PS4...and there may still be some bad blood between them and some indies (Blow for instance) while Sony has been building relationships for at LEAST a year now if not more.
3. Not going to happen, 343 was built from the ground up to be a Halo-making machine. MS will never let them make anything else as long as Halo continues to be a cash cow.
All they have to do is make a bunch of hot-selling games, marginalize the peripheral they built the entire console around, and eat a billion dollars? No problem.
SwiftDeath
Member
That is interesting as well as a bit disappointing in a way.
I think the real problem would be trying to aggregate the neogaf analysis as it were. I always view neogaf as a stone's throw away from an unruly mob. Working together in that sense would be challenging I would imagine
1st party studio investments is something for the long run, they should have done that last gen
Indie games won't do much for the mass market, even if developers come to xbone finally after MS did everything to scare them away
And one studio won't save the xbox just by developing something new
Games will be a huge problem as their true first party output isn't very impressive when you take away the moneyhatted exclusives.
Jinfash
needs 2 extra inches
geordiemp
Member
To be fair it is, MS have deep pockets and can do another dead rising three, titanfall or other game - the bigger the multiplat the more it costs them...
They approach games due in next 6-9 months and ask how much ....then decide...
So its not a such hurdle in the sense that its not hard to think of a solution, but it may be costly.
dead rising isn't the same. MS funded the game. its the same as if they got one of their own studios to make a halo.
1. Sounds like something they should have done prior to now right?
2. That is the same thing as the first. they should have seen this coming, just look at pc indies have blown up. they thought they were going to be able to dictate things this gen and they greatly overestimated their hand.
3. 343 was build to make halo, but if 343 starts showing halo fatigue, they need to let them do something else to get the creative juices flowing over there. just like sony with ND they could force them to keep churning out uncharted every 2 years, but they let them do something different with TLoU. it helps the devs think outside the box a little.
Whoa!
I don't want to keep defending their numbers, but looking at the list of companies that use chartz pro: Sony, Nielson, Bloomberg, Forbes, Square Enix...
Unless they're lying about who subscribes to their service... maybe they're not totally making their numbers up? I know they're wrong a lot and I don't personally put stock in their numbers, but I don't have a problem with the service they provide for free.
SwiftDeath
Member
I'm not entirely convinced MS can "moneyhat" many games going forward considering the general trends and current install bases. MS can however fund games that would otherwise not be made. So hopefully that rumored Platinum game comes to fruition
Chartzz doesn't exist to provide numbers to people for free. They exist to sell more "specified data" to companies and analysts. Numbers going forward are made up, but generally they tend to edit their older numbers to accuracy. I feel safe in assuming they are lying about companies that use Chartz pro
ShockingAlberto
Member
Stealing our games?!
SwiftDeath
Member
I don't follow? Things like Dead Rising 3 and Bayonetta 2 are only beneficial/positive to gamers as they wouldn't be made otherwise without platform holders funding them
From Aquamarine, earlier in the thread:
I'm assuming those are from physical sales only, via NPD.
Aggregation is an issue and the realisation from the industry that GAF matters on an investor level would probably lead to more astroturfing but I firmly believe this community has shown great street smarts on calling such nonsense out, not least the mods.
Say GAF provides a monthly summary feed. Even if free all it does is raise the profile of the board. As a crowd source data point for the core gamer you will never beat this forum IMO. On a pure sales analysis POV there are ppl here that totally embarrass industry analysts.
Palette Swap
Member
Ideally, set up two crowd funding campaigns:
- one to keep the exclusivity.
- the other to go multiplat.
Whichever one ends up with the most money gets whatever funding the other one had.
The one dollar auction applied to console wars.
SwiftDeath
Member
Yes so it's worthwhile to indicate that's US only not WW as Sony's previous statement of 20.5M software and 7M hardware sales indicate a 2.93 WW tie ratio for the PS4 which I guess suggests the ROTW has higher than a 2.93 tie ratio to compensate for the USs
I think he's more referring to games like Plants Vs Zombies, Titanfall, Peggle 2 and the long list of games that Microsoft buys exclusivity to. Games that would have come to other consoles otherwise.
Edit: Or not. Ignore me.
ShockingAlberto
Member
It was in reference to an old Bayonetta 2 thread where someone loudly insisted Nintendo was stealing games from gamers. It was not to be taken seriously, apologies for the confusion.
RyanPierre
Member
I think it depends on whether it damaged the brand for enough people such that it could negatively impact sales of the next MGS game. But I get the feeling most people buying an MGS game follow gaming news enough to know what they're getting into, so that amount of revenue was probably worth it.
theprodigy
Member
surely you haven't already forgotten the "Nintendo stealing our games" line
Do you have a link for this thread? It sounds glorious.
SwiftDeath
Member
I did not spend much time in the Bayonetta 2 thread. It was uh less than enlightening so forgive my lack of insight into the reference and carry on
ShockingAlberto
Member
There have been so many just like that in tone, I wouldn't know where to begin looking for it.
SwiftDeath
Member
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=491152
Not sure where in that 138 page thread though....