Topic: May NPD: Nintendo on Top Again

[WindyMan]

Wii, DS, Pokémon and Mario Party lead the way as the industry continues to grow.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=13621

 Here are the hardware sales figures for each system through the month of May:    

Nintendo DS - 423,150
 Wii - 338,278
 PlayStation Portable - 221,120
 PlayStation 2 - 187,765
 Xbox 360 - 154,932
 PlayStation 3 - 81,604
 Game Boy Advance - 80,554
 GameCube - 10,728    

Nintendo once again leads the hardware sales race in the United States, seeing its four systems responsible for 57% of all game hardware sold last month.  Though down slightly from the previous month, Wii and DS numbers are still blowing the competition away.  To put the sales figures into perspective, consider how much money Americans were spending on just Nintendo hardware last month: $55 million on the Nintendo DS and $84.6 million on Wii.  Such numbers may be the reason why the game industry saw a 67.2% increase of hardware sales in May compared to last year at the same time.    

So what about the top games for May?  Here's ten of them:    

Pokémon Diamond (DS) - 331k
 Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 314k
 Spider-Man 3 (PS2) - 249k
 Pokémon Pearl (DS) - 238k
 Wii Play (Wii) - 227k
 Forza Motorsport 2 (360) - 217k
 Guitar Hero 2 (360) - 184k
 Spider-Man 3 (360) - 140k
 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (360) - 138k
 Guitar Hero 2 (PS2) - 131k    

Nintendo games occupy four of the top five spots.  Pokémon Diamond has cooled off since its million-plus opening, but still holds the number one spot.  Pearl was not so lucky, slipping down to slot four.  Mario Party 8 picked up the slack, however, coming in ahead of the PS2 version of the game-of-the-movie, Spider-Man 3.  Overall game software sales are 33.2% higher than they were last year.    

Overall, the game industry saw growth at the rate of 48.7%, factoring for all hardware and all software.  There's no question the Wii and DS are the reason for such tremendous progress.  The hardware and software numbers make that as plain as day.  But how long can Nintendo keep that up?

[GoldenPhoenix]

Playstation 3 is beating GBA, it is obviously gaining momentum!

[TrueNerd]

When was the last time a PSP game showed up in those software charts? Or, why does it continue to move a steady amount of hardware but seemingly minimal software?  

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: TrueNerd
When was the last time a PSP game showed up in those software charts? Or, why does it continue to move a steady amount of hardware but seemingly minimal software?

My guess is that people are buying the PSP more for its other functions.

[Kairon]

Like pirating!

[Tigris Altaica]

I should have bought me some nintendo stock.

[WuTangTurtle]

you know I should feel bad for those 389k ppl that bought Spiderman 3, but at this point you should have heard about all the terrible reviews.  So shame on you.

[that Baby guy]

You know, Mario Party 8 came out at the very end of May, so that's some really fancy numbers for a very short time, including possible sell-outs somewhere.  Besides, they're only spending a couple hundred bucks on making each new entity in the series, so that's some huge profit right there.

Of course, I am speculating on the couple hundred bucks thing, but I know I'm right deep down in my heart.

Edit:  Also, I just saw news about GameStop posting new records for May, or something like that.  Prediction:  In 2008 or 2009, GS will suffer some massive problems, and wither quite a bit.  I think their practices are too underhanded, and eventually if there are any intelligent publishers out there, they are going to stop playing mouse to GS's Cat.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: WuTangTurtle
you know I should feel bad for those 389k ppl that bought Spiderman 3, but at this point you should have heard about all the terrible reviews.  So shame on you.

Actually I found Spider-man 3 to be quite enjoyable.

[Ian Sane]

"you know I should feel bad for those 389k ppl that bought Spiderman 3, but at this point you should have heard about all the terrible reviews. So shame on you."

I'll bet at least 350k of them don't even notice how much it sucks.  With licenced games sucking for over 20 years you figure the idiots buying this would catch on.  But they don't which suggests to me that they're so ignorant of good games that they don't notice how horrible those games are.  Just being able to make Spider-Man move with the controller probably is a complete thrill to them.

[SixthAngel]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"you know I should feel bad for those 389k ppl that bought Spiderman 3, but at this point you should have heard about all the terrible reviews. So shame on you."

I'll bet at least 350k of them don't even notice how much it sucks.  With licenced games sucking for over 20 years you figure the idiots buying this would catch on.  But they don't which suggests to me that they're so ignorant of good games that they don't notice how horrible those games are.  Just being able to make Spider-Man move with the controller probably is a complete thrill to them.

This is the ps2 Spiderman so you can't use motion control for a reason this bad game is selling well.

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane

With licenced games sucking for over 20 years you figure the idiots buying this would catch on.

I'll be buying my first true licensed game... I think EVER... soon with Harry Potter! Wish me luck guys!

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix

Actually I found Spider-man 3 to be quite enjoyable.

You like Spider Man 3, I love Far Cry! I'm not alone anymore!!!

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane

With licenced games sucking for over 20 years you figure the idiots buying this would catch on.

I'll be buying my first true licensed game... I think EVER... soon with Harry Potter! Wish me luck guys!

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix

Actually I found Spider-man 3 to be quite enjoyable.

You like Spider Man 3, I love Far Cry! I'm not alone anymore!!!

Hate to burst your bubble but Spider-man got slightly above average reviews, while Far Cry got crap out of 10.

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix

Actually I found Spider-man 3 to be quite enjoyable.

You like Spider Man 3, I love Far Cry! I'm not alone anymore!!!

Hate to burst your bubble but Spider-man got slightly above average reviews, while Far Cry got crap out of 10.

I hate you! I never liked you! I don't even know why I bothered! You're dead to me!!!

/runs away crying  

[Crimm]

The PSP beating the PS2 is notable.  

What does Nintendo do with the money bales they have?  Building their new East Coast office out of money would be a good start.

[IceCold]

Quote
I'll be buying my first true licensed game... I think EVER... soon with Harry Potter! Wish me luck guys!

No Goldeneye?

[WuTangTurtle]

I think the only movie licensed games I've bought or enjoyed were:

Goldeneye (N64)
Naruto
Terminator the arcade game (lightgun)
Demolition Man (SNES)

so in total thats 4 games in the last +20yrs.

And sadly when ppl say "slightly above average, it can and most likely means above 5 out of 10.

[TrueNerd]

Chronicles of Riddick was good. So was King Kong. I've never really played it, but some people consider Knights of the Old Republic to be one of the best games ever. And, I'm also currently enjoying the Godfather. Quality licensed games can happen, it's just that they usually blow.  

[that Baby guy]

I liked Alien Vs. Predator, The Simpsons, and TMNT TiT from the arcade.  They were great licensed games.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Let's see all the licensed games I've bought these last two generations are:

1. Harry Potter games (when they were super cheap)
2. King Kong
3. Spider-man 1-3
4. Superman Returns (I sold it within 3 days of getting it)
5. Star Trek Legacy
6. Godfather
7. Lego Star Wars and Battlefront games
8. Jaws Unleashed for PC

[Smoke39]

Tron 2.0 and Jedi Knight!

[Ian Sane]

"This is the ps2 Spiderman so you can't use motion control for a reason this bad game is selling well."

You can still make Spider-Man move with a PS2 controller.  You push a direction on the d-pad and away he goes.

Aside from Goldeneye the best licenced games I've ever played are any of Capcom's licenced beat-em-ups like The Punisher or Cadillacs and Dinosaurs.  Just awesome games.  Goldeneye though goes beyond just being good "for a licenced game".  It's just one of the best of all time, period.  The sad thing is because it's a licenced title it will probably never be widely available again, at least in it's pure form.  Hold on to your cartridge because I imagine years and years from now Goldeneye will be a huge collector's item.

[Arbok]

Quote
Originally posted by: TrueNerd
When was the last time a PSP game showed up in those software charts? Or, why does it continue to move a steady amount of hardware but seemingly minimal software?

Umm... well, cause no one else mentioned it: the PSP just had a price drop, so of course hardware is going to surge, regardless of software sales.

I think the real news here is the lack of surge in the 360, despite the Elite coming onto the market... in fact, it dropped compared to last month.