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[mr_bishiuk]

The PS3 sold 2m games in April in total?
In GTA month? With the 360 selling 1.85m on one game alone?!

Surely not the software imbalance is not that stark?

 

[GameGamer]

Do we have the official Nintendo PR statement yet?

NPD = Nintendo Pr Department



.

 

[JEHUTYj]

What happened to "more than 2:1" for GTA4? Some people even said 3:1?

 

[turk128]

Damnit, no in character PR statements again. Luigi or Captain Falcon would have been great.

 

[rhino4evr]

What happened to "more than 2:1" for GTA4? Some people even said 3:1?

who cares about that. The news here is that both the 360 and PS3 did not have a significant upgrade in console sales. While Wii sold even more with Mario Kart. GTA4 is a hit of course, but it didn't do anything to "shift" the industry like so many predicted. Nintendo know "officially, officially" owns this console generation. MGS4 is not going to change things, and WiiFit will only further cement things. Next-gen fanboys cry.

 

[GameGamer]

The PS3 sold 2m games in April in total?
In GTA month? With the 360 selling 1.85m on one game alone?!

Surely not the software imbalance is not that stark?

Most people I know with PS3's use them for blu-ray only.

I use my PS3 for blu-ray. I hope that will change when Little Big Planet is released.

I think it's home theater people driving the PS3 sales. Not gamers.

 

[chico]

i did everyting i could. I have two 360s and one ps3 console @home...
i give up...the wii numbers are insane. congratulations nintendo!

 

[1-D_FTW]

I totally forgot it was NPD day yesterday and just thought GAF was having more problems when I logged in last night. God damn!

To those people rationalizing it's all about price, that doesn't explain all of it. I think there were at least 3 really good 360 sales the week of GTA4s launch. And the 360 Arcade (Which would have played GTA4 perfectly fine if money was an issue) is only 30 dollars more than Wii.

I do agree MS and Sony need prices cuts, however. Cause as this month clearly proved, they're in real danger of both becoming complete after thoughts (if they're not already) with the mainstream buyer. Desperation is needed.

 

[FabCam]

I don't get this whole "GTA month" thing. The game was out for 2 days in April and neither of those were week end days. I imagine that May will be the knock on effect month.

 

[mr_bishiuk]

I totally forgot it was NPD day yesterday and just thought GAF was having more problems when I logged in last night. God damn!

To those people rationalizing it's all about price, that doesn't explain all of it. I think there were at least 3 really good 360 sales the week of GTA4s launch. And the 360 Arcade (Which would have played GTA4 perfectly fine if money was an issue) is only 30 dollars more than Wii.

I do agree MS and Sony need prices cuts, however. Cause as this month clearly proved, they're in real danger of both becoming complete after thoughts (if they're not already) with the mainstream buyer. Desperation is needed.

"Complete after thoughts"

Bollox, many great games will come out on PS3 and 360 and in reality if any developer is going to treat a machine as an after thought its the Wii,

 

[Vagabundo]

To those people rationalizing it's all about price, that doesn't explain all of it. I think there were at least 3 really good 360 sales the week of GTA4s launch. And the 360 Arcade (Which would have played GTA4 perfectly fine if money was an issue) is only 30 dollars more than Wii.

This needs to be highlighted more. It is not really about price, it is about the market seeing something different a lower bar to entry. Too many buttons, too much fiddly shit. The Wii, the remote, the balance board allow you to have fun without the fiddly.

Sony and MS need to kick their designers in the Arse and get them moving.

 

[mr_bishiuk]

What happened to "more than 2:1" for GTA4? Some people even said 3:1?

Er MS said "almost 2:1" which is exactly what it was, they needed 66.6% they got 65%, and by all accouunts the 360 sku was undershipped (according to Shane Bettenhausen)

 

[flipping_heck]

Even though GTAIV was only only for a few days, there was huge buzz about the game and had great promotional campaign for it before the game was released, this 'should' have pushed consoles sales but in the end, it really didn't do much. Im sure in May things will increase a bit, but remember Wii Fit will destroy all!

 

[marc^o^]

I do agree MS and Sony need prices cuts.

Price cut don't solve all issues, ask the GC or the x360 in Europe. Wii is selling insanely thanks to its value proposition.

A x360 will remain a x360, no matter at what price it is sold. And what people want is a wii.

 

[borghe]

I don't get this whole "GTA month" thing. The game was out for 2 days in April and neither of those were week end days. I imagine that May will be the knock on effect month.

that's not how NPD works. NPD measures the whole week through sunday (to avoid exactly what you're saying). There was a whole week of GTA sales in this NPD.

I also can't believe that I missed that Wii had 3 of the the top 5 games of the money... err.. did I say money? I meant month.

I personally can't wait until next month when Wii surpasses 360's NA install base. Why? Not because I am a Nintendo fanboy, but because once and for all it will be cemented in cold hard rock that Wii is the "winner" of the generation. Not that I care about such things as I own all three systems, but typically once the places are set the system wars slow down a bit and people start to enjoy gaming a little more.

 

[FIREBABY]

Jesus. Ok this is just crazy. Who the hell buys that many consoles in a non holiday month? This is the same question I had last month. The Wii is just...just unstoppable. Honestly I've never seen anything like this. Just scary. Now I'm not going to jump on the "HD gaming is dead" train that so many others have. Why? Because as long as the software is still selling on said HD systems there is really nothing to be worried about. You don't have to push Wii console numbers to be success (although it would help). 360 has proven that and so has the PS3 to an extent. I will say this, the only thing that worries me is that MS and Sony will follow the same steps as Nintendo going into the next generation. Only making small steps in console development. And I'm sorry I like being blown away. Oh well what are you going to do? Wii didn't kill HD gaming....it just hasn't invented it yet. Wii HD 2010 believe. good job Nintendo.

 

[borghe]

Even though GTAIV was only only for a few days, there was huge buzz about the game and had great promotional campaign for it before the game was released, this 'should' have pushed consoles sales but in the end, it really didn't do much. Im sure in May things will increase a bit, but remember Wii Fit will destroy all!

I posted an analysis of this last night (in this thread). Basically GTA has officially turned into an institution. Once this happens, it stops selling utterly insane numbers and stops being a system seller. Institutions typically continue afterwards on their builtin userbase and level of relative familiarity.

I don't think it was real apparent that GTA was such a game before IV. I mean sales of SA and VC were beyond crazy. But yeah... at this point GTA has turned into another one of those "guaranteed 3m+, but no longer 7m+ tidal waves."

and this isn't meant as a knock. Mario, Zelda, Madden, Final Fantasy, etc are all examples of such games. It's possible (depending on how the next one sells) that Halo is even such a game now. About the only long running series to avoid becoming such a title and to still put up absolutely insane numbers with every sequel is Pokemon.

 

[JonnyBrad]

I don't get this whole "GTA month" thing. The game was out for 2 days in April and neither of those were week end days. I imagine that May will be the knock on effect month.

Npd counted to may 3rd. So five days. 3rd was also a Saturday.

 

[Mithos Yggdrasill]

Wow @ Nintendo

Wow. Very well made.

 

[mr_bishiuk]

Price cut don't solve all issues, ask the GC or the x360 in Europe. Wii is selling insanely thanks to its value proposition.

A x360 will remain a x360, no matter at what price it is sold. And what people want is a wii.

It does when your console is $350 to $400! What would a $249 360 pro or Ps3 @ $250 achieve sales wise?

 

[Talamius]

It does when your console is $350 to $400! What would a $249 360 pro or Ps3 @ $250 achieve sales wise?

To put it bluntly, not much. There would be a small bump, but nothing would come close to the Wii.

As has been stated several times, it's not about price now. It's about value. In the mainstream gamer's eyes, Wii is by far the top value.

 

[FabCam]

Npd counted to may 3rd. So five days. 3rd was also a Saturday.

OK, my bad. That's pretty bad sales then considering.

 

[IBuyEveryGame]

You see what you wish to see. By the time you see it, its a fact. Or is it?

The objects in your life are meant to convey information, period. What is the inner actuality that creates the experience, and what are your objects saying to you?

You are meant to see life clearly, but your judgements are skew. For you believe the facts as separate and apart from yourself, and in so doing accept no responsibility.

In game device terms, what does the Wii say to you. How do you feel when you play with your toys?

Your answers will always come from inside yourself.

 

[The-Switcher]

Really....if GTAIV couldn't help either HD system pass the Wii in monthly console sales, and instead LOWERED the sales numbers over last month...

Nothing will.

 

[norman603]

Interesting numbers,i expect GTA IV(360) to have really long legs.
Also May numbers will probably be higher,but i don't expect any miracles.

Maybe NPD thread can be more like Media Create-easier to read

 

[flipping_heck]

I posted an analysis of this last night (in this thread). Basically GTA has officially turned into an institution. Once this happens, it stops selling utterly insane numbers and stops being a system seller. Institutions typically continue afterwards on their builtin userbase and level of relative familiarity.

I don't think it was real apparent that GTA was such a game before IV. I mean sales of SA and VC were beyond crazy. But yeah... at this point GTA has turned into another one of those "guaranteed 3m+, but no longer 7m+ tidal waves."

and this isn't meant as a knock. Mario, Zelda, Madden, Final Fantasy, etc are all examples of such games. It's possible (depending on how the next one sells) that Halo is even such a game now. About the only long running series to avoid becoming such a title and to still put up absolutely insane numbers with every sequel is Pokemon.

Fair analysis and I agree with you, alot of the series's fanbase would continue to buy the next sequel or something but it would be hard-pressed to attract a wider market than what it has already installed.

But still, this is the first GTA game on HD consoles, you would think the consumers who loved the previous GTA games (but failed to make the HD jump) would lovingly go on the HD train. The GTA sales says to me that alot of the base has already made the jump and the rest are still waiting for the consoles to be cheaper before making that purchase. I smell a price cut soon

 

[Vagabundo]

You see what you wish to see. By the time you see it, its a fact. Or is it?

The objects in your life are meant to convey information, period. What is the inner actuality that creates the experience, and what are your objects saying to you?

You are meant to see life clearly, but your judgements are skew. For you believe the facts as separate and apart from yourself, and in so doing accept no responsibility.

In game device terms, what does the Wii say to you. How do you feel when you play with your toys?

Your answers will always come from inside yourself.

The Zen of Gaming.

 

[Pureauthor]

You see what you wish to see. By the time you see it, its a fact. Or is it?

The objects in your life are meant to convey information, period. What is the inner actuality that creates the experience, and what are your objects saying to you?

You are meant to see life clearly, but your judgements are skew. For you believe the facts as separate and apart from yourself, and in so doing accept no responsibility.

In game device terms, what does the Wii say to you. How do you feel when you play with your toys?

Your answers will always come from inside yourself.

The Wii does not really exist, does it?

 

[Kaervas]

Hope this hasn't been posted already.

 

[Fuu]

Vidcons delivers again! :lol

 

[SealSqueal]

Well, it's not like the Wii is getting any games outside of Nintendo's own stuff, and maybe a few rare little gems here and there.

It's amazing, you can create a console that becomes the market leader, even when released a year behind the 360, and you still can't get a third party game worth a shit. I personally think third parties are purposely doing this to try to stop Nintendo from a DS like dominance in the console side of things.

It's sad that companies can be so petty. As a Wii owner, it pisses me off to no end.

I hadn't really thought about it like that before. An interesting theory that just could be crazy enough to be true! You know though I honestly think that developers feel action games and the like belong on the two hi-def machines, whereas the genres that belong on the Wii Nintendo just does better, so they don't bother.

Plus the mass market doesn't care about the games on PS360 which should be obvious to anyone with half a brain.

Not completely true, there is plenty of sports games and others that people would gobble up, but you don't get as much from updating sports games to next-gen as you do for something like a shooter, so the price of entry isn't worth it yet. Which in a way is the same thing I guess haha.

 

[Open Source]

I'd say wait till May data before you claim that GTA didn't move any consoles. The people pre-ordering and buying it day 1 were likely the people who already had the consoles.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

My quickie observations:

1) PS3 and Xbox 360 sales are that way because most people who got the game already own these systems. The kinds that are OMG about new releases, especially in these economic times, are those who are financially well off and they would already own one of these machines. Anyone expecting May hardware sales miracles will be very disappointed. Unless you count the once again inevitable Wii domination thanks to Wii Fit.

2) The lack of a price drop is why sales are so shitty. My casual gaming friends are convinced there is going to be an Xbox 360 price drop this year that is going to take the system's price down at least $50. PS3 is too expensive also; they are waiting for another price drop. Wii's $250 price point is just right.

3) There are so many people that want a Wii but have yet to find one. Nintendo is going to have these insane sales all throughout the summer. I hope that demand slows to where everyone can get one and you can finally walk into a store at any given moment and pick one up. It is insane how it is into its second year and you still have to wait around for new shipments. Some indie gaming stores have Wiis available but it should be available everywhere.

 

[SealSqueal]

It'll definitely have legs, I was waiting for MGS4 to come as well myself. But seeing as we aren't getting a bundle in Australia and it is still an expensive machine I'll wait longer now. If Sony can hold out on a price drop then so can I!

 

[Haunted]

Oh, it appears I'm late to the party once agai... HOLY SHIT at the Wii numbers. Like, woah.

Hope this hasn't been posted already.

:lol wow

 

[borghe]

But still, this is the first GTA game on HD consoles, you would think the consumers who loved the previous GTA games (but failed to make the HD jump) would lovingly go on the HD train. The GTA sales says to me that alot of the base has already made the jump and the rest are still waiting for the consoles to be cheaper before making that purchase. I smell a price cut soon

the problem with this assessment is that you sound like you are assuming that all 7M+ sales of SA and 7M+ sales of GTA3 were made buy fans of the series or bought by people who became fans of the series. a brief anecdotal report to show the problem with this.

When I first started this job back in 2000, there was a lady who worked here who had 2 (hot) teenage girls. The girls were popular, had lots of friends, etc etc. Anyway, a bunch of their friends caught on to GTA3 and these girls asked their mom, my coworker, for it. She asked me what I thought of it.. I said it wasn't any worse than a violent rated R movie, and thus the girls got it.

Now what do you think the chances are that these girls are buying GTAIV? My guess is none to even noner.

And of course the second part to this equation is the institution theory. If it is an institution, it means that other similar impulse purchases such as my story become less and less frequent. That the game mainly sells to its (massive) builtin audience.

I also disagree with the assessment mentioned previously that GTA will have legs. I mean it will still sell to be sure... But I am seriously guessing it will have one MAYBE two more months in the top 10 and then it will fall out. I would be stunned if we saw another GTA:SA that hung around in the top 10 for quite a few months.

 

[Narcosis]

I also disagree with the assessment mentioned previously that GTA will have legs. I mean it will still sell to be sure... But I am seriously guessing it will have one MAYBE two more months in the top 10 and then it will fall out. I would be stunned if we saw another GTA:SA that hung around in the top 10 for quite a few months.

I'm gonna disagree here. I think GTA IV could easily be another Call of Duty 4 and show up on the top 10 month after month.

 

[IBuyEveryGame]

It's never about money. If you knew who you were, and believed that, you would create abundance for whatever you wish.

Money is the trigger for thought and to question integrity and beliefs about yourself.

What messages do you get from your objects?

How do you feel playing as Niko Bellic, you see.

You have come here, on your planet, to play with symbols of a physical nature, to then examine your creations, and shift your thoughts, if need be.

Your beliefs cause all of your anxiety, fears, and hardship. Your objects will faithfully show you that.

 

[King_Slender]

Kudos to Nintendo - I have a Wii and a DS but I still don't understand these numbers.

*hugs PS3 - "It's OK baby."

 

[Vaxadrin]

Everyone's shocked and flabbergasted, but this comes as no suprise, and it's not going to change anything, really. The developers and publishers aren't going to suddenly start putting their good games on the Wii, they're just going to give it more of the same. The only difference is, now those cheap shovelware games will sell even more, which leads to better funding for the PC/PS3/360 games.

 

[SealSqueal]

I'm gonna disagree here. I think GTA IV could easily be another Call of Duty 4 and show up on the top 10 month after month.

Me too, if you ask anyone three games they would buy with their new console over the next year even, you would be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't want GTAIV. This isn't some flash in the pan game, it is as synonymous with gaming as Mario is, nowadays.

 

[Philthy]

Can you imagine the sales for Wii if it had GTA4 as an exclusive?

It's called Wii Fit. Prepare for 12+ months of the same chart over and over.

 

[M3d10n]

When I first started this job back in 2000, there was a lady who worked here who had 2 (hot) teenage girls. The girls were popular, had lots of friends, etc etc. Anyway, a bunch of their friends caught on to GTA3 and these girls asked their mom, my coworker, for it. She asked me what I thought of it.. I said it wasn't any worse than a violent rated R movie, and thus the girls got it.

Now what do you think the chances are that these girls are buying GTAIV? My guess is none to even noner.

People seem to ignore the fact that a massive amount of kids got GTA3 bought for them. It was the ubiquitous game among preteens. They all wanted to play it, and girls like to play it almost as much as The Sims 2 (of course they usually ignore the plot and missions and just mess around on the game endlessly).

Neither the 360 nor the PS3 managed to properly tap into that demographics yet.

 

[FIREBABY]

Is it safe to say that in NA that Wii will be #1, MS #2, and Sony #3 for this generation? Wii will break pass 10 mil in the next month or so and its not going to slow down from the looks of it. Leaving MS and Sony going neck and neck month to month. Whatever edge Sony might have over MS in any month will be negated by the head start that 360 had.

 

[LCfiner]

It's one day later and i still can't get over these numbers.

I'm not too surprised by the Wii hardware sales or Mario Kart sales... But I'm really surprised to see both the 360 and PS3 drop to less than 200K units in GTA month.

I was expecting similar numbers to last month, but with the shorter 4 week reporting period. I wonder how the Canadian numbers (Canuck speaking over here) will look.

Oh, and I got my account activated ONE day after the NPD data came out. I wonder how many other juniors got accounts yesterday. hmm... a trap?

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Is it safe to say that in NA that Wii will be #1, MS #2, and Sony #3 for this generation? Wii will break pass 10 mil in the next month or so and its not going to slow down from the looks of it. Leaving MS and Sony going neck and neck month to month. Whatever edge Sony might have over MS in any month will be negated by the head start that 360 had.

Pretty much. PS3 would have to do much better than just keeping up or eking out 60-70,000 unit victories to bridge the gap.

 

[Raw64life]

Everything not in the thread title so far from various sources...

-----

April 08:

360 TOM CLANCY RAINBOW SIX VEGAS 2: ~105K

PSP GOD OF WAR CHAINS OLYMPUS: ~65K

NDS THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU: ~45K
NDS NINJA GAIDEN DRAGON SWORD ~25K

-----

Rough LTDs:

360 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE: ~4.0 million
360 TOM CLANCY RAINBOW SIX VEGAS: ~855K

WII SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAW: ~3.0 million
WII GUITAR HERO III: ~2.15 million

PSP GOD OF WAR CHAINS OLYMPUS: ~400K

-----

Hardware LTD:

PS2: ~42.0 million
NDS: ~19.5 million
PSP: ~11.5 million
360: ~10.1 million
Wii: ~9.5 million
PS3: ~4.2 million

-----

WII PLAY W/REMOTE - WTF:

February 07 - 371K
March 07 - 273K
April 07 - 249K
May 07 - 227K
June 07 - 293K
July 07 - 278K
August 07 - 257K
September 07 - 282K
October 07 - 240K
November 07 - 564K
December 07 - 1.1 million
January 08 - 298K
February 08 - 290K
March 08 - 410K
April 08 - 360K

LTD: ~5.5 million

For anyone who missed it.

 

[super-heated plasma]

At this point, those Sony and MS fanboys who hate the Wii may need to ask each other:



"Is the enemy of my enemy my friend.......or my enemy?"

 

[TekunoRobby]

And to think this is before WiiFit. :lol :lol :lol Nintendomination is absolutely guaranteed this Holiday (yet again).

Well I still have to pick up a PS3 but those GTAIV numbers are pretty disappointing. I was optimistic it would out pace the 360 and hopefully spurn further interest in supporting that platform. Oh well, I'll still have my precious MGS4!

 

[NintendosBooger]

I don't see why anyone's so surprised.

GTA was a hit last generation, and it still is, but it's not going to jump from one generation to the next as the industry-influencing franchise. We've seen it happen with the Super Mario games on Nintendo consoles --- great games, big sellers, but the new installments don't shake the industry like they did back in the golden era or play a significant role in the console wars.