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Official April 2008 NPD thread of massive disappointment if you're not Nintendo

Sule

Member
donny2112 said:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f64/donny2112/Sales%20Numbers/US_PS360.png
Thank you very much. Well, it seems like the Wii is catching up slowly but the holiday months seem to give the ps360 combo a bigger boost which will delay the streamcrossing. I do think Wii will catch up and surpass their combined LTD, though. Going by the curent trend in the graph and taking into account the bigger boost ps360 will get from the holiday I think Q1, maybe early Q2, 2009 is when Wii will surpass their combined LTD? Very different picture from Japan where it's completely dominating the two and increasing it's lead.
 

Zerachiel

Member
kame-sennin said:
:lol I think you should rethink your position here. How will next gen really play out? What insentive does Sony or Microsoft have to increase the technology of their new machines when the PS360 are being dominated by vastly inferior technology. I'm not saying that MS and Sony won't launch more powerful machines - frankly, I don't know what they'll do - but I don't see how Wii will be adversly affected by an Xbox 720 with even higher resolution. This is the essence of disruption. MS/Sony's business model has failed to secure first place market share. Repeating it is likely to be ineffective, and thus their path is unclear.

But no matter which direction they choose, it's clear that this industry is no longer about the technological race (if it ever was). Thus, Nintendo can't be "too late" when it comes to HD. They'll integrate HD into their console when it becomes cost effective, but their priority is to come up with the next Nintendogs/Wii Sports/Wii Fit.

Edit: thanks DXB.

While the canard that PS360 isn't competing with Wii is false, it is true that they're catering to different niches within the same market. A lot of people care about graphics in their games, and those are fortunately the ones who are most likely to buy consoles and games. As long as this market continues to buy games at the rate that they are, there will be a console that caters to their tastes (of course, rapidly ballooning development costs may stunt technological advance as well, but that's a separate issue). Asking why MS or Sony would make a more technologically advance system is like asking why Nippon Ichi would continue to make quirky SRPG titles instead of brain training games or shooters: it's because there's a rabid niche there that you can always count on.
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
norinrad21 said:
Unlike those two companies, Nintendo has a luxury, an army of fans to call upon when needed, i can't say the same about the other two companies, even on during that strange year (1997/FF7) They were still making shitloads of money.

you have the mario generation coupled with the other great franchises and don't like me even get started on the pokemon and the new wii sports army who are all going to be supporting the company for another 20 years or so.

Nintendo facing extinction what an odd thing to say. :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

I threw up in my mouth a little
 

justchris

Member
Annoying Old Party Man said:
Also, what the general public views as "better" should never be the main criteria for judging a product.

The analogy with the ipod is somewhat relevant, i think. There are better products in the market in the same price range, but the public ignores it because it thinks the ipod is the "better" product, or because the public is satissfied with the ipod features as it is.

Actually though, that really is the best criteria for judging a technological product. At least, one that is actually being marketed to the general public (obviously it'd be different if you were making a military product, or a product for use in scientific research). Technology doesn't just expand in one direction, it expands in multiple directions at once. If the public doesn't latch onto a particular path, that doesn't mean that path is bad, it simply means it's not good enough yet.

The public isn't saying the PS360 aren't powerful and awesome, they're saying they're not powerful and awesome enough yet to really care about. Whereas the Wii is unique enough to care about.

Like your analogy: Blu ray really offers a better experience than a DVD, but the general public has not adopted it due to many factors, from price to unfamiliarity to not being different enough, etc etc.

But no, it really doesn't. It offers the same picture in high definition and more storage space. These are all great things, and certainly an improvement over what we have. But is it a good enough improvement to actually spend money on? The general public believes they can do better, and they're willing to stick with what they have until technology makes the necessary jumps. Meanwhile, streaming and downloading video is taking off like gangbusters, because it's a technology that is now good enough for the public to care about it. It existed before, and was better than what was out there, but it wasn't good enough to be significant yet.

In fact, the Wii is exactly the same. Motion sensing technology for games existed years before, but no one cared, because it just wasn't good enough at the time to be significant, so even if it was the better technological road to go down, people weren't yet willing to spend their money on it. Nintendo has improved that tech, and now it's good enough that the public will buy it, which will fund the next step in technological evolution. That next step will include improvements to motion sensing, but what we've got now has been determined good enough until something significantly better comes along.

Personally, i think that the Wii is perhaps one of the few consoles - if not the only one in history after the Atari perhaps- that is a market leader while not being the relatively objectively better gaming platform (there isn't necessarily a "better" this time). PS2, PSONE, SNES, NES, they were all the systems with the features and overall support which elevated them to the preferable choice for all gamers, from the casual one to the hardcore. And i find this fascinating, that Nintendo managed to turn the market upside down and shoot itself to the very top while doing exactly the same it has done over the last three generations , pushing unique interfaces and relying solely and exclusively to it's own products to sell their systems.

Neither SNES nor PS1 were objectively better, they were both up against consoles that had their own strengths and, from certain perspectives, could easily be considered 'better'. Using the word objective is a stretch in any circumstance though.
 
TheKingsCrown said:
If someone made a thoughtful, new IP on Wii like Uncharted for example, it really would have explosive potential because THERE ARE NO GAMES of this type yet on the Wii and the market is hungry for it.
Let's not push the boat out too far just yet. Wasn't NMH a new IP? The hungry people you talk about are more interested in buying Midway's Game Party and Guitar Hero 3.
 
Pancakes R Us said:
Let's not push the boat out too far just yet. Wasn't NMH a new IP? The hungry people you talk about are more interested in buying Midway's Game Party and Guitar Hero 3.

...yet NMH is Suda51s best selling game ever on any format...
 

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
MrNyarlathotep said:
...yet NMH is Suda51s best selling game ever on any format...

Exactly, that has to be stressed. No More Heroes was the highest selling suda game EVER, and it continues to sell pretty well.

The mind boggles on what the final sales tally will be like.
 
MrNyarlathotep said:
...yet NMH is Suda51s best selling game ever on any format...

You don't need the hyperbole to state your case though. A 500k worldwide seller, or even the 1 million for Red Steel or RE4, don't paint a picture of 'massive hunger', despite being healthy sales.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
TheKingsCrown said:
If someone made a thoughtful, new IP on Wii like Uncharted for example, it really would have explosive potential because THERE ARE NO GAMES of this type yet on the Wii and the market is hungry for it.

Dot dot dot Red Steel dot MadWorld dot Conduit dot
Elebits
dot dot dot.
 
bigmakstudios said:
And that's an accomplishment... how?

Well it's hardly a good choice to try and demonstrate that original third party IPs with good production values automatically bomba on the Wii, when it is grasshopper studios most successful game ever.

Sho_Nuff82 said:
You don't need the hyperbole to state your case though. A 500k worldwide seller, or even the 1 million for Red Steel or RE4, don't paint a picture of 'massive hunger', despite being healthy sales.

Not exactly sure what's hyperbolic about a factual statement, but hey.

Million sellers in 'traditional' genres (one of which on its third round of porting) don't exactly help the 'bu-bu-but wii only sells nintendo games and waggle party' propagandists cause however.
 
Zerachiel said:
While the canard that PS360 isn't competing with Wii is false, it is true that they're catering to different niches within the same market. A lot of people care about graphics in their games, and those are fortunately the ones who are most likely to buy consoles and games. As long as this market continues to buy games at the rate that they are, there will be a console that caters to their tastes (of course, rapidly ballooning development costs may stunt technological advance as well, but that's a separate issue). Asking why MS or Sony would make a more technologically advance system is like asking why Nippon Ichi would continue to make quirky SRPG titles instead of brain training games or shooters: it's because there's a rabid niche there that you can always count on.

Can a consumer niche support not one, but two, billion dollar consoles? I submit that it can not.

I'm not saying anyone's going to drop out, just that Sony/MS need to change their strategy between this gen and next
 
Hcoregamer00 said:
Exactly, that has to be stressed. No More Heroes was the highest selling suda game EVER, and it continues to sell pretty well.

The mind boggles on what the final sales tally will be like.

I think this game is also going to prove another of Iwata's points, that games don't have to sell the most units at their launch. Even hardcore games like NMH can have a long tail because there are new gamers buying the Wii constantly, as well current owners who are steadily becoming more avid gamers.

Sho_Nuff82 said:
You don't need the hyperbole to state your case though. A 500k worldwide seller, or even the 1 million for Red Steel or RE4, don't paint a picture of 'massive hunger', despite being healthy sales.

Considering the quality of Red Steel and the fact that RE4 Wii was the fourth version of the game available (after PC), I'd say that's pretty strong evidence of significant demand.
 
A remarkable set of figures this month. The Wii has apparently redefined what a system-seller is.

As for Nintendo...

consolewarstubbs.gif
 

J-Rzez

Member
Hwang Seong-Gyeong said:
PS3 deserves the failure Blu-Ray trojan horse + weak line up of games of exclusive. 360 has only dropped $50 in over 2+ years with MS nickel and diming you for everything they can from a $100 wi-fi adapter to $50 p2p online service plus it's the most defective console in god damn history.

No wonder they get steamrolled by the Wii, and god damn the Wii still sucks will it ever get a third party game that worth a damn? 12 digit friend codes?

If not for PC gaming I'd go all suicidal and bulemic, what a terrible gen.

I beg to differ. I've had some of the most fun I've had with gaming in years now. Uncharted is spectacular on all levels and sorely underrated by the media. Dead Rising and Ratchet have been sooo much fun as well, they really need to go further into their gameplay though. Resistance, Warhawk, and Chromehounds have been some of the best online gaming experiences to date for me, on the same level of awe I had with CS and even WoW. The use in dedicated servers on the consoles is just what the doctor ordered, and games like Resistance at the very least match the best PC gaming experience. Throw in DLC, easy friend's lists, and great DL games, there's not a thing disappointing about these 2 machines in the slightest.

And the future is even brighter on the HD machines. Killzone is putting up a fight for the best looking game, ever, on any platform. Resistance 2 looks to further it's core, which has set the bar for Console shooters. The only competition I see it having is strangely enough, and DL/boxed game SOCOM : Conf. Little Big Planet looks to be like it's going to set a new chapter in Videogame History. Lot's of people are really excited for gears 2 (not for me though). There's more than enough out there, I haven't been happier.

I agree with your feelings on the Wii. I just don't get it. It's not for me as a hardcore gamer. Their games are too simple, too casual, while not pushing the bar for visual and audio experiences. Perhaps it's that utter simplicity that's pushing this machine though. Perhaps it's the low cost (though overpriced in my eyes) of the machine. Or perhaps it's the misconception that the other 2 machines games aren't fun, just pretty, and need $4000 HDTV's to appreciate. Who knows.

But as long as Sony and MS keep in the direction they're headed, I'm happy. I become a dedicated PC gamer if they sadly stoop down to the almight Dollar/Pound/*insert currency here*.
 

Slavik81

Member
Tobor said:
And again, a "better" library is completely subjective. Better for whom? It's clear that at this point, a library that doesn't contain Wii Sports is inadequate to the consumer at large.
You say that, and then you go on to lump their entire consumer base into one group.
Japanese and American Wii owners are really, really different.

Hell, Japanese and American gamers are very, very different.
 
Leezard said:
He didn't sell more on the PS2.

No More Heroes isn't proof of a fervent hardcore fanbase on Wii simply because it exceeded sales expectations for Suda 51 developed games. How could you possibly determine what caused the difference in sales between No More Heroes for Wii and Killer 7 for PS2? It's not as if you're comparing simultaneous releases of the same game on the two platforms. These are entirely separate games with entirely different styles and gameplay. How could you say that No More Heroes would've sold less on PS2? And either way, it's not as if No More Heroes is a normal, hardcore game like a Grand Theft Auto title. There's no way you could extrapolate any sort of hardcore Wii owner trend from No More Heroes.
 

Epiphyte

Member
bigmakstudios said:
No More Heroes isn't proof of a fervent hardcore fanbase on Wii simply because it exceeded sales expectations for Suda 51 developed games. How could you possibly determine what caused the difference in sales between No More Heroes for Wii and Killer 7 for PS2? It's not as if you're comparing simultaneous releases of the same game on the two platforms. These are entirely separate games with entirely different styles and gameplay. How could you say that No More Heroes would've sold less on PS2? And either way, it's not as if No More Heroes is a normal, hardcore game like a Grand Theft Auto title. There's no way you could extrapolate any sort of hardcore Wii owner trend from No More Heroes.
Well, third parties haven't given us much to work with

A bunch of warmed over PS2 ports aren't the best pool from which to extrapolate either.

I suppose we may have to wait for MH3/Mad World to see what the audience is for hardcore IP on Wii.
 
Nintendo could sell a billion systems a month and still won't get me to purchase one. There is nothing compelling on the console for my tastes.
 

Deku

Banned
J-Rzez said:
I beg to differ. I've had some of the most fun I've had with gaming in years now. Uncharted is spectacular on all levels and sorely underrated by the media. Dead Rising and Ratchet have been sooo much fun as well, they really need to go further into their gameplay though. Resistance, Warhawk, and Chromehounds have been some of the best online gaming experiences to date for me, on the same level of awe I had with CS and even WoW. The use in dedicated servers on the consoles is just what the doctor ordered, and games like Resistance at the very least match the best PC gaming experience. Throw in DLC, easy friend's lists, and great DL games, there's not a thing disappointing about these 2 machines in the slightest.

And the future is even brighter on the HD machines. Killzone is putting up a fight for the best looking game, ever, on any platform. Resistance 2 looks to further it's core, which has set the bar for Console shooters. The only competition I see it having is strangely enough, and DL/boxed game SOCOM : Conf. Little Big Planet looks to be like it's going to set a new chapter in Videogame History. Lot's of people are really excited for gears 2 (not for me though). There's more than enough out there, I haven't been happier.

I agree with your feelings on the Wii. I just don't get it. It's not for me as a hardcore gamer. Their games are too simple, too casual, while not pushing the bar for visual and audio experiences. Perhaps it's that utter simplicity that's pushing this machine though. Perhaps it's the low cost (though overpriced in my eyes) of the machine. Or perhaps it's the misconception that the other 2 machines games aren't fun, just pretty, and need $4000 HDTV's to appreciate. Who knows.

But as long as Sony and MS keep in the direction they're headed, I'm happy. I become a dedicated PC gamer if they sadly stoop down to the almight Dollar/Pound/*insert currency here*.

HD machines make very poor substitutes for PC gaming, if you're actually honestly into PC games.

You should go into PC gaming now as you're missing out on quite a bit. Actually while you're at it, pick up portables as well.
 

Jammy

Banned
bigmakstudios said:
No More Heroes isn't proof of a fervent hardcore fanbase on Wii simply because it exceeded sales expectations for Suda 51 developed games. How could you possibly determine what caused the difference in sales between No More Heroes for Wii and Killer 7 for PS2? It's not as if you're comparing simultaneous releases of the same game on the two platforms. These are entirely separate games with entirely different styles and gameplay. How could you say that No More Heroes would've sold less on PS2? And either way, it's not as if No More Heroes is a normal, hardcore game like a Grand Theft Auto title. There's no way you could extrapolate any sort of hardcore Wii owner trend from No More Heroes.

It wasn't just Killer 7, it was Contact, Flower Sun and Rain, Blood+, etc.

Are you saying you HAVE to compare simultaneous releases on multiple platforms? If that were the case, PS3's third party numbers are poorer than Wii's. :lol

Everything from The Bigs, Harry Potter, and Call of Duty 3 to The Godfather, Guitar Hero III, Sonic, etc. has sold better on Wii with far lower production costs and advertising. And when there are exclusives (Mario and Sonic Olympics, Red Steel, Ghost Squad, RE: UC, Carnival Games, etc.) they all perform much better than expected, all of the above minus Ghost Squad being million sellers.

I believe there's less than five third party million sellers on PS3, and those are the givens like GTA IV, Assasin's Creed, Call of Duty 4, and maybe one or two others. But all of these are HUGE games with huge budgets that NEED to sell well in order to be profitable in the slightest bit. Which is nowhere near the same level that No More Heroes needs to do in order to make its developer happy.
 

~Kinggi~

Banned
Boggles my mind the success of the WII, since its literally the first mainstream "gaming" console that i have absolutely no interest in.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
J-Rzez said:
I agree with your feelings on the Wii. I just don't get it. It's not for me as a hardcore gamer. Their games are too simple, too casual, while not pushing the bar for visual and audio experiences. Perhaps it's that utter simplicity that's pushing this machine though. Perhaps it's the low cost (though overpriced in my eyes) of the machine. Or perhaps it's the misconception that the other 2 machines games aren't fun, just pretty, and need $4000 HDTV's to appreciate. Who knows.

Bitter tears. :lol
 

m14

Member
Don't see what all the fuss is about. PS3/360 owners get GTA4 and the Wii guys got... ...these numbers. No-one comes away empty handed this gen. Great stuff. :D
 

Jokeropia

Member
bigmakstudios said:
... why is the Wii selling so much?
Easy. People like you are in the minority among gamers and need to realize that your opinions are not absolute. Evidently this is a hard pill to swallow for you. Case in point:
bigmakstudios said:
The incessant sales disparity between consoles with well established libraries of games that appeal to people who actually like to play video games rather than consoles like Wii
Maybe you're just pissed that you suck at Wii Sports. (I really hate when people blame a game for their own incompetence. You don't have to like the game, but claiming that the controls are imprecise is BS.)
Annoying Old Party Man said:
since the second console is practicaly now cheaper than the first and (objectively) offers better value for it's money.
Wrong. People buy videogame consoles to have fun, not to get expensive technology for a comparitely low cost. For most people, Wii provides more fun than the other consoles.
SapientWolf said:
I'm not surprised about America and Japan, but I'm a little surprised about Europe.
Europe is as always a bit of a questionmark due to lack of data, but I'm betting on Wii's dominance in UK and 360's virtual nonexistence in mainland Europe to put the former ahead.
tahrikmili said:
Wii is just as techincally backwards as it is practically innovative. It's, for me, a marketing success I liken to the ipod - an inferior product with a clever gimmick that has managed to appeal to a great share of the market. That does not mean I have to like it, that does not mean I have to buy it. I haven't, and I never will. It may well have damaged gaming consoles' technical advancement forever.

The same goes for DS.
J-Rzez said:
I agree with your feelings on the Wii. I just don't get it. It's not for me as a hardcore gamer. Their games are too simple, too casual, while not pushing the bar for visual and audio experiences. Perhaps it's that utter simplicity that's pushing this machine though.
More whiners and bitter fanboys. :lol
 

PkunkFury

Member
m14 said:
Don't see what all the fuss is about. PS3/360 owners get GTA4 and the Wii guys got... ...these numbers. No-one comes away empty handed this gen. Great stuff. :D

Did you even read the OP?

Mariokart is the 2nd game on the list :\ and there's quite a few other Wii games up there. I don't think Wii owners are hurting

but a GTA Wii wouild be appreciated. Hopefully we will finally see something next year
 

Jammy

Banned
m14 said:
Don't see what all the fuss is about. PS3/360 owners get GTA4 and the Wii guys got... ...these numbers. No-one comes away empty handed this gen. Great stuff. :D

You're acting as if only Wii hardware sells. :lol The system sells huge quantities of games too.

-Mario Kart Wii sold more than a million in just a week, higher than PS3's best seller.
-SSBB sold another ~350,000.
-Guitar Hero III is now in the homes of more than 2 million people in the U.S.

There's a lot being played on Wii, not just one game. And WiiWare just debuted.
 

justchris

Member
I don't understand how someone can call themselves a gamer and have absolutely no interest whatsoever in the Wii. I mean, you don't have to think it's great or awesome, or even fun, but to have no interest at all? So what you're saying is, you're dedicated to a single particular niche genre, and that particular niche genre isn't on the Wii, so you don't like it? Cause I mostly play Sim, Strategy & RPG games, so as far as I'm concerned, all the current gen home consoles are pretty crap. (Love my DS sooooooo much.) But I can't honestly say I have no interest in the Wii, anymore than I could say that about the 360 or the PS3. I'm too much of a gamer not to at least be intrigued and hopeful.

Fuck, maybe I should just go back to my board games for some true hardcore action and forget this casual video gaming shit.
 

Sadist

Member
PkunkFury said:
Did you even read the OP?

Mariokart is the 2nd game on the list :\ and there's quite a few other Wii games up there. I don't think Wii owners are hurting

but a GTA Wii wouild be appreciated. Hopefully we will finally see something next year
Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen. I wish, but I am very sceptical.

bigmakstudios said:
Well said.
No.
 

donny2112

Member
Jokeropia said:
(I really hate when people blame a game for their own incompetence.)

It's Wii Sports's fault that I'm not good at its Tennis part. It has nothing to do with the fact that the one (two?) times I ever really tried to use a tennis racket with a tennis ball that I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. Why couldn't it have been a button press like in every other tennis game?

See? It's clearly Wii Tennis's fault.


On a serious note, I'd love to be able to do some of the way out things I've read about people doing with Wii Tennis (e.g. curving the ball so much that it comes in on the other side of the net almost parallel with the net), but I have too much other stuff to play. :(

Edit:
Jammy said:
The system sells huge quantities of games too.

The Wii likely sold more software this month than the 360 for the fifth straight month. It's blowing away the 360 at the same point in its lifespan.
 

m14

Member
PkunkFury said:
Did you even read the OP?

Mariokart is the 2nd game on the list :\ and there's quite a few other Wii games up there. I don't think Wii owners are hurting

but a GTA Wii wouild be appreciated. Hopefully we will finally see something next year

I'm sure there will be a GTA mini game compilation, that'll seem like a lot to some. Especially if a new Wiimote attachment is bundled with it. Think of the sales! :D
 

Sharp

Member
m14 said:
I'm sure there will be a GTA mini game compilation, that'll seem like a lot to some. Especially if a new Wiimote attachment is bundled with it. Think of the sales! :D
There are definitely enough minigames within GTA4 that that would probably work pretty well, but I don't think Rockstar would be willing to do it.
 

donny2112

Member
m14 said:

Take-Two is actually one of the better third-parties when it comes to selling games on the Wii, at the moment. One of the best parts is that they're smart enough to take their Wii profits and funnel it into more Wii development. I wouldn't be surprised if they tasked 2KPlay to port some of last gen's GTAs over just to try to capture some easy sales. If NOA wanted that, I'm sure Reggie could convince them to give it a shot. He's already been in a lot of talks with Take-Two about support.
 
m14 said:
Don't see what all the fuss is about. PS3/360 owners get GTA4 and the Wii guys got... ...these numbers. No-one comes away empty handed this gen. Great stuff. :D
*shrug* Or people who own more than one system get lots of good games and don't have to parse it down to teenage girl-style groups to satiate their own inability to look at situations beyond mild complexities.
 

Sadist

Member
donny2112 said:
Take-Two is actually one of the better third-parties when it comes to selling games on the Wii, at the moment. One of the best parts is that they're smart enough to take their Wii profits and funnel it into more Wii development. I wouldn't be surprised if they tasked 2KPlay to port some of last gen's GTAs over just to try to capture some easy sales. If NOA wanted that, I'm sure Reggie could convince them to give it a shot. He's already been in a lot of talks with Take-Two about support.
Yeah, I don't believe that. Rockstar laughed away the possibillity of GTA on Wii, because it didn't fit the demographic. Other games were more suitable. Yeah, they only look at the Manhunt 2 sales :')
 

m14

Member
ShockingAlberto said:
*shrug* Or people who own more than one system get lots of good games and don't have to parse it down to teenage girl-style groups to satiate their own inability to look at situations beyond mild complexities.
Yet they still manage to get under your skin...
 

Jammy

Banned
Sadist said:
Yeah, I don't believe that. Rockstar laughed away the possibillity of GTA on Wii, because it didn't fit the demographic. Other games were more suitable. Yeah, they only look at the Manhunt 2 sales :')

Manhunt 2 flopped on every system, though. :lol
 
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