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[Xeke]

You're all so ridiculous and it finally shows. You're basically WV voters and the Wii is Obama.:lol :lol

 

[Slavik81]

Wow. it seems your definition of 'significant' greatly differs from mine. How games like Halo 3, Gears 1 and 2, GTA, Bioshock, and a slew of other huge releases somehow fell off your selective radar is, frankly, beyond baffling.

Announced.
You didn't read. Those were already announced by Dec 2006. Gears 2 is the only grey area, as it was all but announced by then, but was not officially confirmed until recently.
When I bought my 360, I expected them to keep announcing stuff at a similar rate as in their first year. I was very, very, wrong. No price drop announcement. No new games. Nothing. Instead of going on to develop more first-party games, their studios left.

Ninja Gaiden 2 was the only one announced later than Dec 2006.


EDIT: To clarify why only announced or unanticipated projects matter is because those are projects we didn't know were already ongoing. Each project is an injection of value into their platform. As such, the number of newly announced projects shows how much value they want to inject into their platform 6-36 months down the road.

I was upset to see that their announcements slowed to a trickle, because it meant that they were planning on milking the 360 for quick cash instead of making their platform more attractive to consumers and expanding their market share to make more money later in the generation.

Essentially, they gave first place up before the race even began.

 

[Son.Ralph.Funk]

GTA4 isn't attracting existing PS2 owners into this gen. They are either Wii only or still waiting on price drop.

Man, these numbers are depressing. It's becoming increasingly clear the market can't support two core gamer systems. Going into next gen, I hope Sony and MS join forces. Let it be:

Nintendo=casual and nintendo games

Sony/MS=real games

Nintendo games are far more "real" than anything on the competing consoles. Sorry..

 

[Future PhaZe]

Man, what drugs are people on here? Yeah the Wii is selling crazy style creating a difficult comparison against the PS3 and 360. Still games like Halo 3, GTA IV, COD4 sell like crazy on the those machines yet the doomsday cult is in full swing.

Even if this turns into a 75% Nintendo dominated generation in terms of consoles sold, publishers are likely to continue the majority of their investment in the PS3 and 360 where it seems like their efforts are turning high profits. They have been from near day one of the gen to now so where is all this ridiculous hyperbole coming from?

This massive Wii sell through still isn't doing much to change the Nintendo perception as 3 of the 4 top Wii games are Nintendo published and the 4th is a franchise that has sold crazy on the PS3 and 360. Same goes for the DS where both of the top ten are Nintendo titles.

I personally feel that publishers think there is a level playing field on the other consoles just as long as they side step the shadows and fallout of Halo and GTA releases. In contrast, getting into the Nintendo shadow is all encompassing and you require more important timing and product to make a significant dent.

End of the day the industry is crazy healthy. There is a gamer out there who is able to be bred for near any concept a developer can offer up. This is a more exciting time then has ever been had in gaming.

+1

 

[Kintaro]

Nintendo games are far more "real" than anything on the competing consoles. Sorry..

What the hell does this even mean?

 

[Xeke]

+1

What? Perception among "gamers"? Who gives a shit?:lol :lol

 

[Rice-Eater]

I also think it easily sells 750 K its first month.

It really sucks to say this as a big MGS fan, but even 750k seems like a pretty high guess. My own personal guess would have been 500-600k. I hope the hype and lack of great competition during the summer months will help bring it back to MGS/MGS2 levels.

 

[MisterHero]

Nintendo games are far more "real" than anything on the competing consoles. Sorry..

WORD LIFE yo

 

[Scalpel Knight]

This is the best NPD thread ever guys. Thanks.

 

[Sharp]

Nintendo games are far more "real" than anything on the competing consoles. Sorry..

...

 

[_Alkaline_]

Nintendo games are far more "real" than anything on the competing consoles. Sorry..

Yes.

Spoiler

No

 

[supermackem]

I really like the 360 is teh doomed yet ps3 isnt, even though it got outsold again this month. I cant work that one out. No doubt both will be dissapointed by the little bump from gta4.

 

[AstroLad]

WORD LIFE yo

 

[Scottlarock]

You laugh, but if those games aren't capable of moving PS3s then I'd consider the PS3 dead in the water. Both of those games are exclusives. It's not like Gears of War 2 is going to move 360s. I have a feeling that the HD consoles are saturated already and that's just sad.

I agree that gears might not move consoles, but HD consoles are not saturated. as more people move to HD, they will want a console to follow them. have you seen a wii displayed on a big HD TV? not pretty, which is what most new HDTV owners want to see. as HDTV sales go up, you will see PS360 sales go up.

 

[fernoca]

What the hell does this even mean?

Well, he was replying to the "concept" that squicken posted about:

Nintendo=casual and nintendo games

Sony/MS=real games

That Wii games are not real games, so Microsoft and Sony should join forces and make...(yep, you guessed right)...real games.

 

[Zerachiel]

Have you seen the 360 sales this month?
The first half of this year looks to be as pathetic as the first half of last year.

I'm a disallusioned Xbox fan because Microsoft hasn't actually announced anything surprising of real significance since I bought my 360 in December 2006. Two years ago.

Ok. They've done two things. They announced Ninja Gaiden 2 and added DivX support. But to keep their dominant market position, they needed 4x as many items just as important and as surprising as those. Instead they frittered away their head start and let their sales languish.

Sony might have been incompetent pre-launch (see: why I bought a 360 in December 2006), but ever since then they've done so much to improve their product. Can they make up for their idiocy? I doubt it, but at least they're improving their position.

That's more than I can say of Microsoft. If anyone's holding back gaming, it's Microsoft. They're letting both the Xbox 360 and Games For Windows hang out to dry.

I completely agree with your last sentence. If there are any problems with traditional hardcore gaming's sales, it's MS and Sony's fault for botching it, not Nintendo's for expanding the market. And hey, at least software is still doing gangbusters.

 

[DataBot]

Well, he was replying to the "concept" that squicken posted about:

And that Wii games are not real games, and Microsoft and Sony should join forces and make...(yep, you guessed right)...real games.

"Real" funny. :lol

 

[LowParry]

Nintendo games are far more "real" than anything on the competing consoles. Sorry..

"Real?" That makes zero sense.

 

[m3k]

:lol

 

[MisterHero]

Except Miyamoto is fur realz

 

[legend166]

I agree that gears might not move consoles, but HD consoles are not saturated. as more people move to HD, they will want a console to follow them. have you seen a wii displayed on a big HD TV? not pretty, which is what most new HDTV owners want to see. as HDTV sales go up, you will see PS360 sales go up.

HDTV sales have been going up ever since the 360 was released.

 

[quest]

I agree that gears might not move consoles, but HD consoles are not saturated. as more people move to HD, they will want a console to follow them. have you seen a wii displayed on a big HD TV? not pretty, which is what most new HDTV owners want to see. as HDTV sales go up, you will see PS360 sales go up.

Looks better than SD cable which is what most people have hooked up to that HD tv. Until the price drops both HD consoles will continue to limp. Sony has the big exclusive this summer to save it from sub 100k months like the 360 will be facing in the next few months with out a price drop.

 

[bannerboy]

This is the end of pure gaming as we know it, we cannot deny it

Nintendo is expanding the industry, not shrinking it, why can't people get that?

You said it yourself, Wii sales are driven mostly by Casual gamers. The 'Pure gaming' is doing just fine.

 

[Dalauz]

:lol :lol at these numbers

..and wifit isn't out yet

 

[Son.Ralph.Funk]

Yes.

fixed

 

[Xeke]

"Pure" gaming?:lol :lol :lol

Hillaryis44 is now GAF.

 

[Scottlarock]

I completely agree with your last sentence. If there are any problems with traditional hardcore gaming's sales, it's MS and Sony's fault for botching it, not Nintendo's for expanding the market. And hey, at least software is still doing gangbusters.

really? expanding the market does not mean the games I been playing everyday for the last ten years less enjoyable. it might have expanded the market, but the type of games I've enjoyed has not changed.

 

[Slavik81]

To clarify why only announced or unanticipated projects matter is because those are projects we didn't know were already ongoing. Each project is an injection of value into their platform. As such, the number of newly announced projects shows how much value they want to inject into their platform 6-36 months down the road.

I was upset to see that their announcements slowed to a trickle, because it meant that they were planning on milking the 360 for quick cash instead of making their platform more attractive to consumers and expanding their market share to make more money later in the generation.

Essentially, they gave up before the race even began.

really? expanding the market does not mean the games I been playing everyday for the last ten years less enjoyable. it might have expanded the market, but the type of games I've enjoyed has not changed.

I don't think he's saying that Microsoft or Sony should have gone Nintendo's route. He's saying they should have done a better job of going their own route. $599 was retarded, and is 2.5 years without a significant price drop. Both of those are doing more harm to your 'traditional gaming' than the Wii is.

 

[BlackGoku03]

Maybe the GTA IV hardware spike for the 360/PS3 won't be seen until next month? GTA IV came out at the end of the month... I don't know...


I'm struggling to see why the numbers are low. I thought it was a mistake at first.

However, I will say that lately, a lot of people have been buying consoles with GTA at my store. 360 and PS3.


Also, the tax stimulus didn't start pouring out until May 2nd.




That's gotta be it.


Right?

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

I didn't buy Okami on Wii because I bought it 20 months ago on PS2. I suspect I'm pretty typical of people who are interested in Okami.

IIRC, like 50k bought Okami the first month. I was one of them. Capcom should have given it some promotion both times.

 

[Eteric Rice]

I was mostly with you....



....until you went there.

A lot of Wii fans for some reason don't want to acknowledge (or they downplay) the fact that most of the "good" console games are on the next-gen consoles, most of the 3rd party attention and talent is going towards the next-gen consoles, and just as much innovation is happening on the next-gen consoles. And it is a fact that most developers (even Nintendo sometimes) just don't know what to do with the Wii controller, though they are getting better.

Also, you are right that the Wii is skewing more casual and the controller is a big draw. It's drawing in droves of people who would've never considered buying a console, especially at $250. For many people, it's become the equivalent of a board game - something you pull out once or twice a month to entertain friends and family.

However, you are dead wrong in your stance that it is a bad thing. All kinds of games from the Flash and Wii games that you so despise to the hardest of hardcore games are all part of the same industry, and it's only a good thing for all of us that the industry is expanding. It results in more types of experiences, not less, and that's only a good thing for us all. The rise of the blockbuster movie didn't result in the destruction of the indie movie. It made it possible for even more indie movies to be made. Similarly, the expansion of the industry has allowed not only for more AAA games, but also for more casual and indie games.

We have more gaming choices than ever before and you're acting like that is a bad thing?!? You seriously don't get it.

I pretty much disagree with everything you're saying. Things will probably start to change when the Wii catches up to the PS3 and 360 combined, which may not take very long at all.

At least in Japan, America probably not.

 

[MisterHero]

Maybe parents are more aware about what their children are playing since Hot Coffee happened.

...

Nah.

 

[Xeke]

really? expanding the market does not mean the games I been playing everyday for the last ten years less enjoyable. it might have expanded the market, but the type of games I've enjoyed has not changed.

News flash. The world doesn't care about you.

 

[DataBot]

Maybe the GTA IV hardware spike for the 360/PS3 won't be seen until next month? GTA IV came out at the end of the month... I don't know...


I'm struggling to see why the numbers are low. I thought it was a mistake at first.

However, I will say that lately, a lot of people have been buying consoles with GTA at my store. 360 and PS3.


Also, the tax stimulus didn't start pouring out until May 2nd.




That's gotta be it.


Right?

Buh dont spoil the fun..

 

[Pistolero]

That's just horrible. WTF is happening to videogames ? One can argue PS3 is still priced too high, but the 360 seems withing "normal" range ? These two consoles host one of the best games so far and the market plays deaf...sigh...

 

[Scottlarock]

:lol :lol at these numbers

Pure" gaming? :lol :lol :lol

I support banning multi - :lol smileys

 

[Owzers]

Announced.
You didn't read. Those were already announced by Dec 2006. Gears 2 is the only grey area, as it was all but announced by then, but was not officially confirmed until recently.
When I bought my 360, I expected them to keep announcing stuff at a similar rate as in their first year. I was very, very, wrong. No price drop announcement. No new games. Nothing. Instead of going on to develop more first-party games, their studios left.

Ninja Gaiden 2 was the only one announced later than Dec 2006.


EDIT: To clarify why only announced or unanticipated projects matter is because those are projects we didn't know were already ongoing. Each project is an injection of value into their platform. As such, the number of newly announced projects shows how much value they want to inject into their platform 6-36 months down the road.

I was upset to see that their announcements slowed to a trickle, because it meant that they were planning on milking the 360 for quick cash instead of making their platform more attractive to consumers and expanding their market share to make more money later in the generation.

Essentially, they gave first place up before the race even began.

I don't understand this though, considering the first place console is the one which hasn't even announced what's coming out THIS YEAR let alone next year. We know Microsoft's fall line-up now and it's going to be awesome.

 

[MisterHero]

That's just horrible. WTF is happening to videogames ? One can argue PS3 is still priced too high, but the 360 seems withing "normal" range ? These two consoles host one of the best game so far and still people prefer...sigh...

Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

Hail Sakurai

 

[Kagari]

Maybe the GTA IV hardware spike for the 360/PS3 won't be seen until next month? GTA IV came out at the end of the month... I don't know...


I'm struggling to see why the numbers are low. I thought it was a mistake at first.

However, I will say that lately, a lot of people have been buying consoles with GTA at my store. 360 and PS3.


Also, the tax stimulus didn't start pouring out until May 2nd.




That's gotta be it.


Right?

Who knows?

 

[Xeke]

I support banning multi - :lol smileys

I support banning ridiculous delusional posts.

 

[Zerachiel]

really? expanding the market does not mean the games I been playing everyday for the last ten years less enjoyable. it might have expanded the market, but the type of games I've enjoyed has not changed.

MS and Sony have continued to produce great software; this is the best generation in recent memory. What they haven't done is produce cheap enough consoles to get a lot of people onboard.

 

[quest]

That's just horrible. WTF is happening to videogames ? One can argue PS3 is still priced too high, but the 360 seems withing "normal" range ? These two consoles host one of the best game so far and still people prefer...sigh...

349 dollars is hardly normal range. Now if MS got off their collective asses and lowered the price to 249 for the pro and 179 for the arcade more normal pricing then we might see consistant 100k sales a week. The market has been sucked dry for those willing to buy 350+ dollar machines.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Any Okami numbers?

 

[DataBot]

Who cares?

FIXED.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

If I'm Sony, I pretty much switch gears and look to make this generation are profitable as I can in preparation for the next generation.

That is exactly what they are doing

Colin Sebastian - Lazard

Thanks for taking my question. I guess as a follow-up to Evan's third question, I was hoping you could maybe provide a little more detail on the linearity of sales of the PS3 on a quarterly basis, assuming that the production level is pretty stable at around 800,000 units a month, just looking at the implied guidance. And related to that, to achieve profitability in the game segment, is it necessary to maintain the current retail pricing?

Nobuyuki Oneda - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, we don't give the quarterly information, but I could give you some guidelines. The game business itself is pretty much the seasonally affected business. So therefore the second half of the fiscal year, we would sell more quantity than the first half. And the pricing itself, basically we don't disclose any pricing strategies for the coming year, but as I said that the... we don't aggressively adjust the price for the coming year. And to maintain the 10 million level of the quantity this year, I don't think that we really have to adjust the pricing so much.

Colin Sebastian - Lazard

Okay. But it sounds like on balance you are favoring the profitability over unit sales and market share, is that a fair characterization?

Nobuyuki Oneda - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes.

Colin Sebastian - Lazard

Allright, thank you.

 

[Vilix]

Maybe the GTA IV hardware spike for the 360/PS3 won't be seen until next month? GTA IV came out at the end of the month... I don't know...


I'm struggling to see why the numbers are low. I thought it was a mistake at first.

However, I will say that lately, a lot of people have been buying consoles with GTA at my store. 360 and PS3.


Also, the tax stimulus didn't start pouring out until May 2nd.




That's gotta be it.


Right?

Tax stimulous check unavaliable, could not buy next gen game/console?......................check

 

[Sean]

Metal Gear 4 is a different animal. It may be the most important exclusive game to come out this year besides Resistance 2. I don't think it's going to move a ton of PS3 units, but there will at least be some sort of bump. It won't matter because Wii Fit will be out by then, however. I think people are delusional if they don't think that Metal Gear 4 will at least contribute to a small bump. I also think it easily sells 750 K its first month.

:lol what?

I agree about MGS4 being a significant title, but you're saying Resistance 2 is a more important exclusive than SSBB, Mario Kart, Gears 2, Wii Fit, etc ? The first Resistance was only at 750k LTD (NPD) a few months ago. It's hardly a juggernaut system-selling franchise.

 

[Stormbringer]

"Get it guys ? Third party games DON'T sell well on Nintendo consoles ! Just look at the NPD top 10 !!!"

 

[brain_stew]

Its Anectodal evidence. The Reality is that its selling to all sorts of gamers. Not Just Casuals. Not Just Core. Thats why its so popular. It trancends genres and it won this gen. six months ago.

Fixed

 

[Slavik81]

I don't understand this though, considering the first place console is the one which hasn't even announced what's coming out THIS YEAR let alone next year. We know Microsoft's fall line-up now and it's going to be awesome.

You're right. That is an excellent point, and I certainly didn't forget that. The theory assumes that we have a reasonable understanding of when their projects are greenlit based on their announcement dates. Fortunately, Microsoft leaks like a sieve, and because of that, their announcement dates are forced to be relatively early. As such, it's roughly applicable to them.

It cannot be used to gauge Nintendo, as their announcements have no relation to their project schedules. Nearly nothing about their future commitment to the platform can really be determined by looking at their new announcements. There are rarely leaks, and so they can better keep projects secret to announce them at more opportune times and the correlation is lost.