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Nintendo software and hardware sales data from 1983 to present

Smellycat

Member
:/ The last 2 Prof layton games didn't crack the 1 million mark. I guess it is to be expected since the Last Specter sold over 1 million copy and that was on the DS, and the sales of the series have been going down with each game. :(
 
Hardware shipment are already available (more or less) for both Sony and Microsoft (and Sega too except MS, GG and maybe MD).
But this is not a thread meant for that.

Yeah I know that Hardware number exists but I'm more interested on the software numbers because I have not seen any information for SONY games. And yes I know this thread is not for comparing companies just was expressing my opinion.
 
What that chart shows is that it's in Nintendo best interest to never go third-party and try to create an healthy ecosystem for themselves.

They seem to be incapable of doing that.

If their software sales are proportional to their install base, when this generation is over, the sales of their console games will likely be around ten to twenty percent of what they would have been had they been released on PS4 and XBO and PC as well. What they gain from making their own hardware is truly dwarfed by what they lose out on due to the same decision.

I don't see why this is acceptable in the eyes of their shareholders.
 

Larogue

Member
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200x200px-ZC-85883079_Unsure-Larry-David.gif
 
They seem to be incapable of doing that.

If their software sales are proportional to their install base, when this generation is over, the sales of their console games will likely be around ten to twenty percent of what they would have been had they been released on PS4 and XBO and PC as well. What they gain from making their own hardware is truly dwarfed by what they lose out on due to the same decision.

I don't see why this is acceptable in the eyes of their shareholders.

lol sure, keep dreaming.:)
 

JoeM86

Member

7 years compared to 5 months.

Here's the comparative numbers

Not to mention they're comparing almost 7 years on sale to just a few months.

Just to compare properly: Mario Kart 8 has sold 3.49m as of September 2014, which is 5 months on sale. To compare, Mario Kart Wii at September 2008, also 5 months on sale, it had sold 9.53m (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2008/081031e.pdf)

Still a drop, but come on...if we're going to use figures to compare and spout gloom, can we at least use contextually valid figures?
 

Celine

Member
300 million-sellers is such an insane number.
It is but I guarantee you that the most impressive thing is that despite the huge number the average per game is more than 5M (of course bundling units help).

Nintendo average: 1539/306 = 5,03

Capcom average: 139/67= 2,07

They seem to be incapable of doing that.

If their software sales are proportional to their install base, when this generation is over, the sales of their console games will likely be around ten to twenty percent of what they would have been had they been released on PS4 and XBO and PC as well. What they gain from making their own hardware is truly dwarfed by what they lose out on due to the same decision.

I don't see why this is acceptable in the eyes of their shareholders.
It doesn't work that way.
The change from being a first party to being a third party is a huge one and you can guarantee the effects in the long term will be positive (of course the idea that NSMBU would have sold 20-40M being it on XBO,PS4 and PC is laughable).
Being a platform owner has its disadvantages (as we are seeing with WiiU) but also advantages.

I know that for an occasional witness it is easy to do the (proportional) equation bigger install base = bigger game sales but it's not so simple.
Nintendo ceasing (hardware) R&D operation will surely signal a downsizing of the company ambition and probably its demise as we know it.
 

Maxrunner

Member
Nah, look at the sales of the IPs which went back to Nintendo and the IPs that remained to Rare when Stamper bros decided to sell the company.
Yeah but they would have some IPS that would cater to a different audience like perfect dark, killer instinct and others that were made as Nintendo products.
 

TI82

Banned
Jesus, the wiiu is still only at just over 6 million sold?
There is no doubt that it will be remembered as Nintendo's "New Coke".

A combo of:

1. Yet another gimmick
2. Practically no support from anyone else
3. Overpriced
4. Niche games that only hard core ninty fans want

Means bad sales.
 

Duxxy3

Member
Wow, SNES software sold less than N64?
jBX8nGI.png

Total SNES software sales were very good though. SNES was the last system that got universal 3rd party support. Majority of the games I had on my SNES were not made by Nintendo.

SNES back then is basically what Playstation is today.
 

Celine

Member
Yeah but they would have some IPS that would cater to a different audience like perfect dark, killer instinct and others that were made as Nintendo products.
The only valuable IPs Rare has now is PD and BK.
BK isn't really needed by Nintendo and PD isn't a notable FPS anymore.
If Nintendo is interested in doing a FPS then they will simply foot the bill for a new FPS (as they did for Bayonetta 2) but I guarantee you that if Nintendo was really serious in doing a FPS themselves it would be a "weird" one, not just a copycat.

I'm not sure why you think it was really worth for Nintendo to pay $100M (or more) for Rare.
 

JoeM86

Member
If Nintendo is interested in doing a FPS then they will simply foot the bill for a new FPS (as they did for Bayonetta 2) but I guarantee you that if Nintendo was really serious in doing a FPS themselves it would be a "weird" one, not just a copycat.

Well they're doing a shooter now, third person mind-you, but hell I wouldn't be surprised if that had a first person option in the camera features.

But Splatoon truly shows how they'd do a take on the shooter genre.
 

Mael

Member
Hey looky here Metroid Prime sold even more than previously thought and the only Metroid games that are NOT million sellers are :
Metroid Prime Pinball
Metroid Other M.

Guess which one is the biggest failure.

Also Wow at the Tomodachi ranking on DS, that's in Japan alone!
 

Ridley327

Member
Hey looky here Metroid Prime sold even more than previously thought and the only Metroid games that are NOT million sellers are :
Metroid Prime Pinball
Metroid Other M.

Guess which one is the biggest failure.

Also Wow at the Tomodachi ranking on DS, that's in Japan alone!

You're forgetting about Zero Mission, which also didn't clear a million.

Now that one is a goddamned shame.
 

Jarlaxle

Member
It's sad seeing how few copies of Super Metroid (one of the best games of all time) actually sold.

I'm also disappointed to not see more sales for Skyward Sword. It had some issues but overall was a fantastic experience with some really amazing dungeons. It always feels like there are more Zelda fans out there than actually are.
 

Ridley327

Member
It's sad seeing how few copies of Super Metroid (one of the best games of all time) actually sold.

I'm also disappointed to not see more sales for Skyward Sword. It had some issues but overall was a fantastic experience with some really amazing dungeons. It always feels like there are more Zelda fans out there than actually are.

Skyward Sword needed to be released at least a year sooner than it did, and I feel like it should have been earlier than that. It got a big push from Nintendo, but it came way too damn late to have a big impact.
 

Eolz

Member
Surprised at some of these. No Metroid Zero Mission? And neither Endless Ocean game broke a million on Wii? Were the Rogue Squadron games not published by Nintendo on GC?

Didn't Zero Mission happen kind of late in the GBA's life, and with a design that not many liked back then? I love Endless Ocean (3 when?), but they could have never gotten close to a million seller. For Rogue Squadron, it's probably due to deals between LucasArts and Nintendo that they can't show the numbers.

Metroid rant/long post

Metroid has never been a huge seller for Nintendo, but has always been good for their hardcore audience
like F-Zero and some other IPs were
. They tried with Fusion, Prime 2/3, Hunters and Other M to add more story to it (more than just implicit things) to be more relevant and get a bigger audience. It didn't work.
They're being cautious about their next move with this series for a good reason, especially after the fan backlash for Other M (that more mainstream gamers actually liked). Miyamoto and some other executives talked in the past about this series will always have a future (unlike some series like StarFox, F-Zero, Pikmin, etc... where they don't know what to really do with), since it has a dedicated fanbase and get them some hardcore credit, even from those that don't buy their consoles. They also already talked about how they wanted to expand this universe with the other Hunters, the Federation and other stuff (teased in Prime 3 mainly), and Miyamoto already said they're working on ideas for both a 2D Metroid and a 3D Metroid (where he precised he preferred 3D Metroid to be like Prime
pretty obvious since he helped on this concept
), and the fact that Sakamoto doesn't work anymore on Metroid is probably a reason why it's taking longer than expected (same for the fact that they don't want to give it like that to an external developer).

Tl;dr: the series is in good hands, has a future (both for Prime and Super-esque games), they're just waiting for the right concept and time to reintroduce it and give it a good push.
Edit: Metroid is one of my favorite series ever, I get a lot of what you mean, but it's far from being dead really.

Yeah but they would have some IPS that would cater to a different audience like perfect dark, killer instinct and others that were made as Nintendo products.

That's what they were trying to do already on GC, Wii and WiiU, with the help of other developers (Eternal Darkness, Capcom 5, Geist, MadWorld, No More Heroes, Wonderful 101, Bayonetta, Devil's Third,
Fatal Frame
, and countless others), since they said they prefer the help of people knowing how to do this kind of stuff.
There's just one problem: people ask for that, but don't buy those games. And that's really a shame.
 

Mael

Member
You're forgetting about Zero Mission, which also didn't clear a million.

Now that one is a goddamned shame.
Actually you're right, I tend to forget the game even exists!
I guess there's a reason I bought it used....when I had a DS.

It's sad seeing how few copies of Super Metroid (one of the best games of all time) actually sold.

I'm also disappointed to not see more sales for Skyward Sword. It had some issues but overall was a fantastic experience with some really amazing dungeons. It always feels like there are more Zelda fans out there than actually are.

Zelda SS is more reflective of the neglect Nintendo showed to the Wii at the time of its release.
And Super Metroid really wasn't that popular at the time it came out so it's not that surprising.
The best Metroid products are indeed Metroid and Metroid Prime.
 
There are some surprises to me in the 3DS charts:

Kid Icarus Uprising 1.23.
We haven't heard much from this game even from Nintendo or the press after it's release. It's even out of print yet it passed the million.

Nintendogs & Cats 3.35.
No one talks about this one much. Of course it's a sharp decline from the DS days but one would think it could be a total sales disater. But it is not.

Fire Emblem: Awakening 1.41.
Everyone knows is the best selling of the series, im commenting about it because it's one of the most expensive games, rarely discounted and it could sell over 2 million when this gen of handhelds reaches it's end.

Mario Tennis 1.21.
Pretty much a no thrills by the numbers release. Yet a million seller.

Lego City Undercover 1.20. Much of the attention and marketting was poured towards the Wii U version.

Paper Mario Sticker Star 2.20
This one was torched (in relative terms) by everybody yet there sales are pretty close to the better received Dream Team.

Seriously lammenting the absence of Star Fox 3D since it was a fantastic remaster/remake.
 

Celine

Member
It's sad seeing how few copies of Super Metroid (one of the best games of all time) actually sold.
Not that few, perception of what a sales success was changed over time.
Developers went from selling a few thousand units of their games on computers to a few hundred thousands on Famicom thus flocked to the new console by Nintendo.
With each passing generation (and with increase in budget and marketing) the threshold to define a success increased.
We are to the point where almost only blockbusters are released at retails and need to sell at least 4-5 million to give a good return (4-5 million would be considered a mega hit during the nineties).

But for when Super Metroid was released the LTD is certainly good.
 

_machine

Member
Tl;dr: the series is in good hands, has a future (both for Prime and Super-esque games), they're just waiting for the right concept and time to reintroduce it and give it a good push.
Edit: Metroid is one of my favorite series ever, I get a lot of what you mean, but it's far from being dead really.
It's hard to say for any possible 2D-series, but it's not looking good for a Prime-esque game. It certainly has it's niche and even with a best attach-ratio for the series it might not even sell a million. You're also talking about a game that would most likely be rather expensive to produce and also it would probably need something freshen up the formula, which would again bring the costs up from MP3. You also to factor in that Retro can work on IP's that are more likely to be successful (like Donkey Kong and Mario Kart) and aid the production of other titles (Nintendo is still rather small to produce titles for the HD-era and they are increasing the cross-studio interaction to keep up with the demand).

The latest news weren't definitive by the way, just that they are looking into resurrecting the series:
Shinya Takahashi said:
So it has been a while since we released the last one and we're having discussions internally about what we can do next. So at this point we have two different types of Metroid games. We have the Prime style of Metroid game and we have the more traditional style of Metroid game. We feel that we do need to take care of both of these styles of play. And the hope is that at some point in the near future we'll be able to share something about them.

Basically, as it stands right now the risen costs of development and the poor sales of Wii U might have killed the chances of having a Prime-like game for the near future, so if we are to expect a Metroid title it'll more likely be a smaller 2D-game for the 3DS. The series as a whole is certainly not dead though; just that it isn't the right time for a niche title like that.
 
Worst Paper Mario selling the best by far :/

Nintendo abandoned they core audience with the Wii, just check the Wii chart and compare it with the previous generations.

Nah, only during 2008's Wii Music fiasco they only catered to soccer moms. At the beginning, they were so successful by appealing to everyone (hype was through the roof). Hence Twilight Princess is the best selling Zelda since OoT. Hardcore platformer DK Returns also still selling 6 mil in 2010. The list is also missing 3rd party titles. RE4 was up on par with other versions, iirc actually selling even better than GC, Red Steel, while crappy, still was an instant success aiming at the ,,core'' audience in early phases. No More Heroes was also Suda51's biggest success until Lolipop and stuff like CoD usually still sold okay on Wii too. And despite not always finding success, Nintendo funded tons of hardcore/niche titles, easily overshadowing that one Platinum deal they made for the new machine.

They only abandoned the core gamer with the WiiU (until the little too late 180 at last year's E3), because Nintendo themselves didn't understand what made the Wii successful. The Mario brand collapsed on that thing after they desperately rehashed what has worked with the support of the ,,blue ocean'' back then instead of offering a new generation of Mario gameplay, as any somewhat dedicated gamer would have expected and which was still the case on Wii with Galaxy. DK, while great and refreshing on Wii, was just another lazy rehash on the U, again trying to cash-in on what has once worked on the alleged casual machine. Now it ironically is the worst performing Retro title, lol.
Pure karma, such a lovely sight.
(Only Mario Kart 8 has shown actual effort and it's no wonder that it's on its way to probably be the best selling WiiU title at the end of the gen, already outselling 3D World)
 
Originally Posted by Refreshment.01
Nintendo abandoned they core audience with the Wii, just check the Wii chart and compare it with the previous generations.

Nah, only during 2008's...
Check the message again XD

That is one of the other myths Wii detractors like to spread around. The intention of the post was to have people actually compare the line ups of past generations against the Wii and see the facts for themselves.
 
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