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NPD Sales Results for May 2007
- Thread starter sonycowboy
- Start date
At first I thought it was Emma Watson. I was like "WAT WAT HARRY POTTER 5 ???".
Hum.
And I'm a bit disappointed that we're not hardly discussing about all the 3rd party devs of the Universe all leaving Sony just right now because they haven't sold more than 100k this month again.
I'll believe it when I see it, because so far all signs are indicating PS3 won't reach GC sales. It could struggle to reach a LTD of 15 million ww, which was unthinkable a year ago!Merovingian said:
Based on what we're seeing, I think 360 is going to sell around the same as the Xbox, and be the dominant console for those who want a more hardcore, traditional experience with HD visuals, while PS3 is going to end up in no mans land relying on its 1st Party titles, which, sales wise, aren't as strong as Nintendo's imo (meaning, on a reduced, non dominant, installed base, Sony's 1st Party titles won't have the pull of Nintendo's franchises).
Here's the thing, why will PS3 sales increase when most consumers (those who can actually make a difference in sales) are seeing very little difference between it and 360? What kind of gaming experiences, not specific titles, will PS3 be getting which 360 is guaranteed not to have?
From the perspective of the hardcore, key titles on 360 are selling well, but they are generally very specific and don't paint a broad enough picture to guarantee major support in every genre. Also, I question the 'success' these titles are having. To me, it seems a backwards step to have much larger budgets and significantly reduced sales (compared to similar titles last gen), as we're seeing happen with many games and genres. Declining interest in many traditional styles of gaming seems to be something many developers have been totally oblivious to, yet it's probably been the most obvious thing happening in the industry over the last few years.Mrbob said:
Also, MS has made a dreadful job of expanding their audience. It's dead in Japan and isn't selling well in Europe outside of the UK. Without these markets many 3rd Parties will probably look elsewhere; limiting your sales to the US and UK is stupid. IMO, MS has completely blown any chance they had at making the console a mass market success in the way PS2 was. This is a shame, because they had the opportunity, and knew what they wanted, they just lacked the insight. They stuck to the plan of hoping everybody becomes a hardcore gamer, which was dumb.
EDIT-
Do you honestly believe good 3rd Party developed titles specifically made for Wii, simliar to GRAW, DR, LP or GoW in quality, will bomb?Luckyman said:
vanguardian1
poor, homeless and tasteless
By the end of the year, the PS3 will have 1 game I want, the 360 will have 2, the Wii will have 8 or more. And yes I am a "core" gamer. Also, the more money I spend on hardware is that much less I can spend on games. So why should I try to invest in a PS3 or 360 if I don't have sufficient reason to get them?
I only say this to emphasize not all "core gamers" are happy with the PS3 and 360's current situation, nothing more.
I only say this to emphasize not all "core gamers" are happy with the PS3 and 360's current situation, nothing more.
What? I never heard about any development problems with the Cube. I always thought it died because gamers stigmatized it as kiddy before it was even released.Hatorade said:
If the PS3 didn't have MGS4 and FF13 still sitting under its belt, I'd entirely expect it to top out around -2025 million sales right now. Because it still has 'em though, I'd guess that sales will be around 35 million. I was a big Nintendo fan during the N64 years though, and learned that to most people "brand loyalty" doesn't really mean shit.
speculawyer
Member
MrPing1000 said:
That one is not delusional, it is just a funny slam on the Wii. It acknowledges that the Wii is selling well, but denegrates it as a weak non-HD capable last gen machine.
(Yeah, I know it can do 480p . . . guess what, the PS2 and xbox 1 could do 480p too.)
Starchasing
Member
speculawyer said:
How is that Nintendo stock doing?
Those signs you are talking about are some numbers that look similar. They say nothing.ziran said:
Take europe (without the UK). The xbox was dead after the first few month, the GC was the clear winner (which was mostly because of the 479 Euro price tag).
Half a year later the xbox was $249 bundled with 2 games and that holiday season it beat the GC already, slowly but pretty clearly beating it in total numbers in the years to follow.
Did the early high price hurt it? Probably, yeah, I would have bought an xbox if had known how fast it dropped, but I bought a GC instead. But still in the long run with the dedication to win, the xbox beat the GC.
I think one big story in the numbers is that XBox 360's Game of the Month Club phenomenon (that 360 owners buy at least one new title en mass at a rate of about once every four to six weeks) has been less dominant for two months now. Forza 2 has done well, and I realize it was only out for a short time, but it got clobbered by Mario Party 8 (which was available for about the same number of days), Pokemon, a controller bundle, and a month-old licensed PS2 game. Any theories on why?
I think the 360 audience is beginning to be distracted. The Game Of The Month Club is driven by the incredible advertising opportunities of XBox Live, the consistent release of attractive games, and by the limited game selection (compared to something like the PS2). On that last point I'm merely saying that 360 was a young system with a still-developing library, and early adapters were hungry for games and leapt on each big release like a pack of hyenas.
The advertising potential of Live hasn't diminished, and the rate of release of games hasn't slowed much (not much to write home about in April, but Forza 2 is definitely a worthy title). What changed? A combination of: Competition finally arriving from the other two manufacturers (some 360 owners are buying into Wii and PS3 and catching up on those catalogs), new owners are exploring the back catalog rather than leaping onto the new releases like early adopters did, and others are spending more time with the games they have and feel less drive to pick up something new every few weeks.
In sum, the 360's unique software sales pattern of one huge game dominating each month's NPD may be coming to an end. It was a product of circumstances, not an inherent property of the 360 itself. 360's attach rate is still high, it's weathering the competition from the other consoles well, but sales will be more evenly distributed through the catalog as time goes on (with the exception of the true AAA games the console still has coming).
I think the 360 audience is beginning to be distracted. The Game Of The Month Club is driven by the incredible advertising opportunities of XBox Live, the consistent release of attractive games, and by the limited game selection (compared to something like the PS2). On that last point I'm merely saying that 360 was a young system with a still-developing library, and early adapters were hungry for games and leapt on each big release like a pack of hyenas.
The advertising potential of Live hasn't diminished, and the rate of release of games hasn't slowed much (not much to write home about in April, but Forza 2 is definitely a worthy title). What changed? A combination of: Competition finally arriving from the other two manufacturers (some 360 owners are buying into Wii and PS3 and catching up on those catalogs), new owners are exploring the back catalog rather than leaping onto the new releases like early adopters did, and others are spending more time with the games they have and feel less drive to pick up something new every few weeks.
In sum, the 360's unique software sales pattern of one huge game dominating each month's NPD may be coming to an end. It was a product of circumstances, not an inherent property of the 360 itself. 360's attach rate is still high, it's weathering the competition from the other consoles well, but sales will be more evenly distributed through the catalog as time goes on (with the exception of the true AAA games the console still has coming).
AdmiralViscen
Banned
quetz67 said:
Unlike Cube, Wii is a moving target. PS3 will probably (not surely) escape from its sales doldrums someday, but that doesn't equate to surpassing Wii, or even 360.
TheKingsCrown
Banned
Want to make a business with me?The Sphinx said:
I said the 360 userbase is getting distracted. You seem to be agreeing with me. And I never said Forza sold "just" anything; I didn't use the word "just" at all. Why the vitriol?besada said:
EDIT: I mean, I say right in the first paragraph that it was only out for a few days AND that it sold well. You don't need to point out to me something I said myself.
AdmiralViscen
Banned
quetz67 said:
A GC with a hype wave is not a GC.
GC was selling just okay in Europe when XBox was selling poorly. It's easy to surpass just ok sales. Wii is the fastest selling console ever, in shortage for over 8 months now.
Obviously Wii's success doesn't mean PS3 failure.
Joust Williams
Member
I hope all these new sales don't amplify the "Wii isn't this game on Wii" chants. That's the most worrisome thing.
AdmiralViscen
Banned
Joust Williams said:
It's truly frightening.
Of course, it will also lead to a rise in "why isn't this game getting next gen treatment" in all new Wii announcements. Like Rygar.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
It's hilarious to me. But not funny Haha, Funny-oh shit, they just ****ed up 10 years of goodwill and are trying to make people hate them, yrros ynos, err, I meant, Sorry Sony.Jirotrom said:
But give it a few years, everybody will be back to hating Nintendo and wishing for their downfall.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
I dont th ink Microsoft can e ven w ait until the fall to d rop price. They need an immediate price drop or Nintendo is going to wrap up NA very quickly.
Bungalow Bob
Banned
PSP is in no way analoguous to Wii.Yoboman said:
PSP sold only 146K in its 7th month in the US - Wii just sold 132% better in its 7th month. Software wise, the gap is even bigger. Wii is also doing much better than PSP in Japan and Europe.
Even compared to PS2, Wii has started off better in terms of both hardware and software sales.
As I've done before, I'll stick my neck out and lay claim to that piece of writing. If anyone has any comments on the Gamasutra piece, feel free to let me know, since I may be doing a piece similar to this each month.h0l211 said:
I'd like to think it's a hair more than your usual rundown of the NPD numbers, but that's just me.
As mentioned, the focus on Halo 3 will probably have something to do with it, but overall you definitely have a point, because last months 360 sw sales were also softer than usual, to the extent Wii sw sales probably came close, yet its installed base was around half.The Sphinx said:
Like you said, I wonder how surprising this is, because isn't it likely the kind of consumers 360 are, they are prone to the latest thing, and 360 is seeing more than its fair share of more of the same. I believe most owners are focused on the big titles for the rest of the year, and have plenty of sw to play to keep them going. I think this is ultimately what happens when your hardware sales are sluggish.
EDIT-
Generally, I'd say we look at what's happened in the past.Vagabundo said:
Whichever way you slice it PS3 sales are catastrophically bad, especially considering its LTD. Even at $600 it should've managed 1.5 million relatively quickly and easily in NA, given the success of PS2, but the competition from 360 and Wii has been too strong.
AdmiralViscen
Banned
Vagabundo said:
Sales. Sales will affect the number of games released in the future.
Region-FreeWii
Member
Ramenman said:
Damn, now that you mention it, I wish it was Emma Watson in that gif.
Edit: and that's all that i have to contribute to this thread.
super funk
Member
Vagabundo said:
Someone needs to post the Anihawk Graph of Failure Chart. Patent pending.
dammitmattt
Banned
The Sphinx said:
That is simply not true because the top 360 games the last few months have just really had bad timing. Guitar Hero 2, Spider-Man 3, and Forza 2 all came out during the very last week of the month, and the only big new title with more than a week of sales, GRAW2, sold 400k back in March.
Guitar Hero 2 - 672k sold
Spider-Man 3 - 257k sold
Forza 2 - 217k reported, actuals are closer to 400k now
Every single month this year has seen at least one 360 game released that has had very strong sales:
January - Lost Planet
February - Crackdown
March - GRAW2, Guitar Hero 2
April - Spider-Man 3
May - Forza 2
June is a weaker month all-around for the 360 and the top-selling game will probably still be Forza 2, followed by Guitar Hero 2, while DiRT and The Darkness should get some decent sales, but starting in July with NCAA 2008, the trend will continue for the rest of the year. I really don't think there is anything slowing down the 360 "Game of the Month Club" at this point.
The same thing is happening with Nintendo now, too, so it's just not a 360 thing. We saw big month one sales for Wario Ware, Super Paper Mario, Mario Party 8, and more, without a whole lot of legs from anything not named Wii Play. Hint - it's how the video game industry has always worked!
i'd be really curious to see how a AAA shooter with a great control scheme would sell on wii.
to overgeneralize - there are probably three types of people with wiis: nintendo game fans, "new market" folk enticed by wii sports, and gamers enticed by the possibilities of the remote. the first two groups are unlikely to buy GeoW Wii - the third group might, but we don't really know how big that group is yet because Nintendo is selling to the first two, and third parties are targeting the second group with new ip, and dumping various other stuff on the system that isn't really high quality enough to be a big seller to any group.
the 360 has carved out a very profitable niche for itself already, and is going to continue to make tons of cash catering to these folk. if the market ends up saturated with hardcore multiplayer games there will be some big failures, but there's already a profit model that works for blockbuster hd games that isn't going anywhere.
to overgeneralize - there are probably three types of people with wiis: nintendo game fans, "new market" folk enticed by wii sports, and gamers enticed by the possibilities of the remote. the first two groups are unlikely to buy GeoW Wii - the third group might, but we don't really know how big that group is yet because Nintendo is selling to the first two, and third parties are targeting the second group with new ip, and dumping various other stuff on the system that isn't really high quality enough to be a big seller to any group.
the 360 has carved out a very profitable niche for itself already, and is going to continue to make tons of cash catering to these folk. if the market ends up saturated with hardcore multiplayer games there will be some big failures, but there's already a profit model that works for blockbuster hd games that isn't going anywhere.
Open Source
Banned
Again, it is pointless to say who's winning in May. After the smoke clears from the holiday season, we will know who the winners are this gen. MS will have made their price cut and brought out their big exclusives. PS3 will have at least one huge title and maybe will cut the price enough to get back into the game. You can't declare a winner before the real armies have even arrived.
Until then, MS and Sony are in his boat.
Until then, MS and Sony are in his boat.
dammitmattt
Banned
jvm said:
I like the analysis, although it's nothing that hasn't been repeated ad nauseum on these boards at this point, but seriously, who wants to wade through the shit here?!? I say keep it coming, because no one else in the press seems to be doing it.
Thanks for the kind comment.dammitmattt said:
You're right that if you read NeoGAF you've probably seen some of these comments. For the record, I didn't have time to read GAF last night because we got home at midnight (eastern) and I put this together between then and 4AM. So what you see is my independent stuff, but I have absolutely no doubt that similar things are somewhere in the previous 19 pages of this thread.
And, as you say, wading through hundreds of posts to find the best dozen or so is not for everyone.
Most press reports appear to be restatement of the trends noted by the NPD report itself and not based on a longer period of observation. The goal here is to do something different.