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

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
theguy said:
Remember that we're in a damn recession. I was telling someone earlier that April marked the first month that I've not purchased a title in many, many years. Everything changed once it started costing over $60 a week to fill my gas tank. To expect one title starting at $60 to sell hardware priced from $300 at its cheapest, to over $500 in this economy is ridiculous. Those of you with your heads in the clouds had best stop watching CNBC where you'd think that everything's just rosey and pay attention to what's happening in the real world.

GTAIV will be kicking ass throughout the rest of the year but the 360 and PS3 aren't at the $150ish price point the PS2 was at when GTA:SA launched, nor are either anywhere near the install base of the PS2 when SA launched.
Yeah, I was kinda shocked when I dropped $55 on gas today. I'm just not used to it. I could imagine how that would affect people. Then, I remember that the wii sold 700K this month. So, yeah, it's multifactorial. Wii has attracted the interest of many but a game and a console still costs $300. I'm sure it hurts MS and Sony to just be in the 'higher bracket'. Put another way, it was a great move for Nintendo to limit tech and shoot for a low price since they always will be at an advantage.
 
Refusedtochange.jpg
 

Tiktaalik

Member
Those GTA4 sales actually look pretty dissapointing to me. I recall waaaay back when GTA4 was announced people talked about the exclusivity deals a lot, and these sales really show that Rockstar would have been unbelievably foolish if they were exclusive to one platform or there other.
 

Leonsito

Member
Abismal sales for PS3 and 360, I hope the hardware bump is in May.

I like a lot that Wii is kicking ass in sales, as it unmasks trolls here ( and it's not going to make the so called by gaf "real gaming" dying, don't fear) and gives money to my favorite games company, which had hard times with Gamecube.

That said, I'm going to continue playing GTAIV on my 360 :)
 

szaromir

Banned
Shadowlink123 said:
Mario Kart is selling well. Isn't GTA 4 supposed to help xbox or ps3 in sales?

guys GTA 4 came out in the end of the month, just wait until may NPD.
Halo 3 moved tons of consoles and was released in the last week, too. It's quite clear that GTA4 didn't help Sony and MS to match their expectations, especially given Aaron Greenberg's comments from a month ago.
 

theguy

Member
grandjedi6 said:
Video games are surprisingly an inelastic product. If recession was effecting the market it would effect the entire market, not just the 360 and PS3

Not true. It has impacted the entire market. Remember, you're only looking at the top-line info. The vg industry is still kicking ass, but it's far from recession proof.

Here's a scenario that plays well in this case:

My mom goes into a Gamestop to buy a PS3 for one of her grandchildren who asked for it b/c of GTAIV. She goes into the store, realizes she's going to have to drop over $500, essentially for one game, then decides against it. She calls my brother, who immediately tells her to buy a Wii with MK (he wants something for free, who wouldn't). She walks out spending $250 less and feels better about not having to spend so much money, and for a questionable M-rated title. The kid's happy, my mom's happy, my brother's happy, Nintendo's happy.
 

Finn

Member
I kind of can't comprehend this month's NPD. All I can say is :

CVS_ways_you_care.jpg


"It's just another ordinary miracle today."
 

FrankT

Member
Proelite said:
Pacter gets fired?


Well that 500k numbers seems way silly now that is for sure. His upgrade theory with GTA IV is out the window. His latest numbers (PS360) however are not really much worse, maybe even better, than GAF however.
 

Grecco

Member
thefro said:
I'm not surprised at GTA IV missing the super-insane sales... the advertising campaign on TV isn't nearly as strong as the last three. Granted the huge billboards in the big cities are really cool.

In this economic climate, HD consoles are a tough sell, so it'll take a while for 360/PS3 to pick up steam without a price drop.


The Delay killed all hype imo. Its what i said last month when people were claiming it would outsell MK 5 to 1.

Had it released in October it would have sold soo much better.
 

koam

Member
So how long till Rockstar ports over GTA4 to the Wii
from the PS2 version
?

Is WiiFit expected to outsell GTA4 in NA or will they only have 1m copies available?

I'm not surprised at GTA IV missing the super-insane sales... the advertising campaign on TV isn't nearly as strong as the last three

What are you kidding? I've seen the commercial about 15 times on TV yet i only watch TV about 4-5 hours a week. I think the advertisement for GTA4 was fine, I also don't think that GTA4s numbers are low either.
 

chespace

It's not actually trolling if you don't admit it
Great month for our industry. :D

Not sure why all the long faces. You think the success of Wii is going to change the fact that both 360 and PS3 will have a ton of excellent games for core gamers?

Is Wii stunting the mainstream growth of HD consoles? Probably, but there are lots of factors to consider... HD penetration being one of them.

But software publishers on 360 are making cash monies hand over fist -- that trend isn't going to stop any time soon, which means the games will just keep on coming.

Don't worry, be happy.
 

Concept17

Member
Proelite said:
Which is still 10 x better than anything that the wii can offer imo.

By far.

Funny thing just happened. I turned to see my daughter ripping apart my GTAIV map to pieces. Ohhhh the irony. :(
 
So when Wii Fit outsells GTA4 can we declare "real" videogaming dead as we know it? Cause what the fuck, 700k for the Wii again. Why the hell are people buying it.
 

Sharp

Member
grandjedi6 said:
What are you talking about? This month is, once again, a record breaking month.
It is indeed record-breaking. But it was expected to be a lot more record-breaking; the HD sector uniformly underperformed expectations. Last month saw nearly $1 billion in software sales; is April historically that much worse than March?
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
traynuvthawt said:
your favorite mod is too busy trolling the too human thread. that's right...a mod...trolling. setting a great example for the community. mod. trolling.

Uh, I don't see him trolling in there buddy.
 
Wasnt Microsoft talking about 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 sales margins? What happened to that?

People are treating these numbers like the stock market just crashed. Some poeple look like they are about to jump off their roofs to end it all.
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
omg rite said:
Dear duckroll (my new favorite mod):

Could idiots like this be banned for blatant trolling? Holy crap that's annoying.

Could you not backseat mod...?
 
I just realized, March was a 5 week tracking month. That helps explain the drops (not entirely, though), but it also means the Wii sold ~35k more per week than last month!
 
Rated-Rsuperstar said:
So when Wii Fit outsells GTA4 can we declare "real" videogaming dead as we know it? Cause what the fuck, 700k for the Wii again. Why the hell are people buying it.
Because they're having fun with it.
 

PARANO1A

Member
jordan0386 said:
Dont go there. Just.dont.go.there!
I wasn't being inflammatory - it's a genuine question, no doubt one all third parties making giant budget games are asking themselves after this one. And no doubt Sony/MS are considering this when paying for exclusivity.
 
dammitmattt said:
Why in the hell would you be glad that HD consoles focused on the hardcore gamer (aka us) aren't selling well?!?

Firstly, I don't share your point of view (the notion that hardcore gamers can't enjoy anything but the PS3/360 is not true) and secondly, you're misreading my post.
 

jjgames

Member
flipping_heck said:
Im guessing that Rockstar might take a look at the sales now and thinks they should lazy-port GTA games to the Wii.. its a weird thought.

Anyways, total congratulations Nintendo, superb wii sales with solid DS sales as well. The rest? go back to your sweatshops!

I think every 3rd party (especially the publicly traded ones) are going to feel pressure to start releasing more top-tier games on the Wii. There is just too big of an install base to ignore.

Every major 3rd party will announce some big budget Wii game by the end of this year. That is my prediction.
 

LJ11

Member
harSon said:
I'm going to stab Yamauchi if the jump from this generation to the next is simply the addition of a motion controller.

Sharpen your knives.

In all seriousness, MS/Sony can't afford to take huge hits to the bottom line when launching their next consoles, it's just not feasible. They're definitely going to hold back in order to keep costs in check. MS seems reluctant to take hits to the bottom line right now, and Sony wants to be profitable this fiscal year. They're definitely going to cut back in the future, no two ways about it.

HD crowd is tapped out at the current price points. Next month will be even more interesting.
 

Concept17

Member
Rated-Rsuperstar said:
So when Wii Fit outsells GTA4 can we declare "real" videogaming dead as we know it? Cause what the fuck, 700k for the Wii again. Why the hell are people buying it.

Yeah, aside from the recession, I really don't get it. At all. This should not be happening.
 

OverHeat

« generous god »
chespace said:
Great month for our industry. :D

Not sure why all the long faces. You think the success of Wii is going to change the fact that both 360 and PS3 will have a ton of excellent games for core gamers?

Is Wii stunting the mainstream growth of HD consoles? Probably, but there are lots of factors to consider... HD penetration being one of them.

But software publishers on 360 are making cash monies hand over fist -- that trend isn't going to stop any time soon, which means the games will just keep on coming.

Don't worry, be happy.

Listen to this men!!!
 

Dante

Member
chespace said:
Great month for our industry. :D

Not sure why all the long faces. You think the success of Wii is going to change the fact that both 360 and PS3 will have a ton of excellent games for core gamers?

Is Wii stunting the mainstream growth of HD consoles? Probably, but there are lots of factors to consider... HD penetration being one of them.

But software publishers on 360 are making cash monies hand over fist -- that trend isn't going to stop any time soon, which means the games will just keep on coming.

Don't worry, be happy.

You do make some great points.....It's just really shocking to see such disparity between the Wii and the competition in a month where GTA4 was released.
 

{Mike}

Banned
Nintendo :

fnerd3.jpg

WHat? We released a game console that is selling so much, yet is a dreamcast deluxe? HAHAHAHAH

Sony :
34pnukm.gif

Hey guys! Our console is last on the market, but so awesome! Ooopsss

Microsoft:
2ugynt5.gif

GTAIV is outselling PS3 50:1
 

Talamius

Member
user friendly said:
I feel fine. BD's are hot. How the fuck are 1080p's useless now? Meatstick!

Most games are 720p anyways ;P

I think Sony is more than content with whatever PS3 does, now that they won the movie format war. In fact, I think Sony is fine with Nintendo having the dominant console if it means they get to drag MS down with them. Everything they've done, from release schedules to PR to everything else, suggests they don't give a flying fuck about gaming marketshare, so long as Blu-Ray prospers.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Can't wait to see Nintendo sales next month, when Wii Fit gets released over here :D

I hope 3rd parties are taking very close watch at this NPD. Especially the 3rd parties that specialize in RPGs.
 

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
theguy said:
Not true. It has impacted the entire market. Remember, you're only looking at the top-line info. The vg industry is still kicking ass, but it's far from recession proof.

Here's a scenario that plays well in this case:

My mom goes into a Gamestop to buy a PS3 for one of her grandchildren who asked for it b/c of GTAIV. She goes into the store, realizes she's going to have to drop over $500, essentially for one game, then decides against it. She calls my brother, who immediately tells her to buy a Wii with MK (he wants something for free, who wouldn't). She walks out spending $250 less and feels better about not having to spend so much money, and for a questionable M-rated title. The kid's happy, my mom's happy, my brother's happy, Nintendo's happy.

If the slowing economy was actually hurting the video game market at all you would see slowed sales among the market as a whole. Even the 360/PS3's numbers aren't horrible in comparison to previous years. The cause of the Wii's success and the 360/PS3's lack of growth is due to factors other than the economy
 
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