Topic: Official DS Sales Thread

[Hocotate]

Adding the Street fighter costumes to Shin Onimusha was a good idea. It sold pretty decently.

[couchmonkey]

I've heard the English training game technically isn't part of the brain training series, although it doesn't make much difference...

I'm quite surprised at the success of all these "training" games.  It seems like Nintendo tried some titles like this on the Game Boy, but I never saw any of them take off.  If I had to admit being biased against a certain type of game, it would be these types...it's like homework in videogame form, blah!  Sports games take a close second.

Still, congratulations Nintendo.  It probably cost udner $1 million to make each of the Brain Training games and they're all million sellers now.

[Stimutacs Addict]

under $1million? try under $250,000.

...

no, you were probably more accurate

[Ian Sane]

Milking Brain Training probably isn't a bad idea for now.  Those games probably attract an audience far different then the typical gamer.  The people who bought a DS for Brain Training might only be interested in those types of games.  Stuff like Mario Kart isn't going to interest them.

Though Nintendo is going to need a different type of "non-game" to take off to keep the momentum going.  Eventually the novelty will wear off.  I think that's a problem with non-gamers in general.  They're not passionate about gaming so they'll get bored and lose interest far quicker.  They more or less have to be constantly distracted.  With a hardcore gamer, gaming is their main interest so you don't have to compete with other forms of entertainment as much.  But if someone only has a casual interest in games movies, books, music, etc are going to be stiffer competition for their attention.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Brain Training 1 & 2 both break 1 million
New Brain training 1/4 million in one week
*US Brain Training releases @ $19.99*
Animal Crossing & Mario Kart both break 1 million
SM64DS & Wario Ware have broken 1million

 

un-official #'s

hardware
NDS 106,000
PSP 30,000

total softwares sold this week (softwares from 3rd parties)
DS 710,000 (95,000)
PSP 78,000 (62,000)

[31 Flavas]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane

Though Nintendo is going to need a different type of "non-game" to take off to keep the momentum going.  Eventually the novelty will wear off.  I think that's a problem with non-gamers in general.  They're not passionate about gaming so they'll get bored and lose interest far quicker.

Ahh yes, Ian, the final authority on everything. "Non-gamers are not passionate" and you'd be one to know, right? "The novelty will wear off" where have I heard that one before... oh yea, about the DS!

You need to be more accepting of your fellow gamers and non gamers ian and lose the idea that "gaming" can only be done one way.  

[Ian Sane]

"'Non-gamers are not passionate' and you'd be one to know, right?"

I'm just basing that assumption on anything else I've been interested in that has had a boom period where non-fans took a casual interest in something.  Hell sometimes I've been in that group of non-fans.  Typically it doesn't last long.  It's a fad.  The casuals come in, enjoy themselves for a while, get bored, and leave.  Of course non-gamers aren't passionate about gaming.  By definition they are people not interested in gaming.  That's the group Nintendo is trying to grab.

[31 Flavas]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane

I'm just basing that assumption on anything else I've been interested in that has had a boom period where non-fans took a casual interest in something.

Sure you can point to lots fads that have puffed up then dissapeared. MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tamagotchi, Furby, Beanie Babies, Game Gear, Lynx, NES Power Glove, GBA-GCN link cable games, Hoola Hoops, Disco, Bell bottoms, BeeHive hairdo, etc... But there are just as many fads that have instead become common culture. I mean what about Elvis and his music and gyrations? Rock & Roll was essentially non-music back then. It was too different for traditonals to accept. Considered crap, by everyone but teenagers. Yet, now its common culture. What about Pokemon? That certainly was a fad game, back in the day. What about video games in general? Or the Personal Computer? Apple? Ipod? MP3? Nintendo? GameBoy? Anime?

So why are you so glum on Video Games aren't video games as we've known them? I think you're being just a bit to judgemental.

Quote
Of course non-gamers aren't passionate about gaming.  By definition they are people not interested in gaming. That's the group Nintendo is trying to grab.

By definition, really? Or do they just like different games? Rather like how there are "Gamers" and then there are "Nintendo gamers". Both are very passionate. I don't see why there can't be a third group who likes video games that are not traditional and become very passionate. No reason why each has to be mutually exclusive. I mean after all if you are a "Gamer" you can also be a "Nintendo gamer" and vice versa. So i'm sure there are plenty of "gamers" who will really be passionate about so called "non-games".  And I'm sure there will be "non-gamers" that discover "gaming". So I really don't think its necessary to be quite so dismissive, its win win either way.

 

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
I'm just basing that assumption on anything else I've been interested in that has had a boom period where non-fans took a casual interest in something.  Hell sometimes I've been in that group of non-fans.  Typically it doesn't last long.  It's a fad.  The casuals come in, enjoy themselves for a while, get bored, and leave.  Of course non-gamers aren't passionate about gaming.  By definition they are people not interested in gaming.  That's the group Nintendo is trying to grab.

You are basing your assumption on that fact that we're too stupid to realize you're just trying to cover the fact that you were dead wrong about Nintendo's strategy.

[Ian Sane]

My main example for my assumption is wrestling.  I'm a big wrestling fan.  In 1996 I knew very few people you watched wrestling.  In 1998 almost everyone I knew did.  By 2001 hardly anyone I knew was still interested.  It had a boom where all sorts of traditionally non-fans were watching wrestling.  The WWF in particular started promoting a type of wrestling that was very different then before and attracted a lot of non-fans.  But gradually the novelty wore off and a lot of those fans didn't stick around.  Those fans were never really that interested to begin with.  The WWF grabbed those fans by putting less emphasis on wrestling in the traditional sense but there was no real passion.  Once the newness wore off the casual fans weren't interested anymore.  It's an example of a cult interest becoming a mainstream fad.

I see a lot of simularities between Nitnendo's situation and that example.  Gaming is largely a cult interest and like the WWF Nintendo is trying to attract the mainstream audience with games that are different then the traditional design.

And I'm not wrong about Nintendo's strategy until it proves to be successful in North America.  We still have to see if Brain Training is a big hit over here.  We still have to see if this strategy is going to work on the Rev, which unlike the DS can't ride on the momentum of a market dominating predecessor.  I was wrong about the DS getting creamed by the PSP but that's not the same thing.

[BranDonk Kong]

Not to change the subject...but WWE is doing outstanding in the ratings nowadays. They've been #1 on cable since moving back to USA I believe, Smackdown is usually in the top 5 on Fridays. So...maybe the non-gamers will come to the DS, play a while, get bored and stop, then after a long time of non-gaming they'll pick up their DS, see the latest non-gamer-game, and start playing again. Thus the circle of life starts anew...someone cue the Elton John music. Basically, what I'm trying to say is Rey Mysterio's going to lose his title shot to Randy Orton at WWE No Way Out (I was at the RAW/Smackdown! Supershow this past Monday...second row seats, mmmmm!). I'm gonna go not play some games now...or am I?

[IceCold]

I don't think you can really relate wrestling to this situation.. it's a whole different dynamic. Wrestling has always been a boom-and-bust industry. Also, when the fans went away from wrestling, you're right that it was partly because of the novelty wearing off, but in many cases it's because the product itself worsened. I hate WWE TV shows these days because they focus too much on entertainment, and the little wrestling present is a lot worse nowdays. They push the wrong guys, and their storylines are just awful. It seems like they're desperately trying every week to get a high quarter-hour rating through shock value. Combine this all with horrifyingly distasteful skits and promos (JR surgery thing, exploiting Eddie for heat,  etc) and it's a mess.

And, Brandogg, in fact, since they moved to USA, the ratings were dipping and after the Homecoming they were dangerously low. That's why you see the McMahons more and more (another thing I dislike). The past month the ratings increased because of Edge as the new champion, their "live sex scene", the main event TLC with Flair, and because it's fresh after Cena's reign.

So how the hell does this relate to games again? Hmm.. Oh right. OK, so as I was saying, fans go away if the product is bad. I think that if Nintendo can keep its consistent quality, the nongamers who have been attracted will stay. I also think that the nongamers will try out "gamer games" and they might be pulled in to enjoy traditional games. They bought a DS with Nintendogs or Brain Training or whatever. Now they have an expensive system with only one or two games. So they would be inclined to try out some of the other offerings, and they could get hooked. I know my dad (who plays rarely since the NES era) started off with the minigames in SM64DS, and he tried Kirby and loved it. He plays some of my traditional games quite a bit these days, and it's all thanks to the DS.

[Mario]

DS 106,081
PSP 30,657
PS2 24,580
GBASP 5,946
GBM 3,042
GC 3,036
Xbox360 1,976
GBA 179
Xbox 128

[BlackNMild2k1]

just because the DS outsold every other platform combined, doesn't mean that it is out of the clear just yet... right? Mario....

[Mario]

Nowhere near in the clear, especially when you look at Nintendos other handhelds. The GBA / GBM are getting caught up to by GameCube, which has been dead for almost two years, yet the PS2 is still going strong. This is a startling example of the lifecycles of Sony systems vs Nintendo systems, and it's only a matter of time before DS dies down and PSP catches up. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

DS is just having it's moment, and when the DS Lite hits everyone will be pissed and never buy a Nintendo product again, that is if they haven't already forgotten about the DS by then, which means the Revolution is pretty much done for before it's even been released.

[Ian Sane]

"Not to change the subject...but WWE is doing outstanding in the ratings nowadays."

I doubt the ratings are as good as they were in 1998 and ratings aren't a measure of success in wrestling.  PPV buyrates and house show attendence are and those have been down for years.

"Also, when the fans went away from wrestling, you're right that it was partly because of the novelty wearing off, but in many cases it's because the product itself worsened."

The quality does play a part so it's not a perfect example.  Hell I love wrestling and I'm not watching any current wrestling shows right now.  I'm getting my fix entirely from catching up on old stuff I missed the first time around.  One thing that I hate about the WWE is the lack of wrestling, yet that is exactly what brought the mainstream fans in in the first place.  They brought non-fans in with sports entertainment and that's pretty much all that they're doing now.  If you're a non-fan that started watching in 1998 odds are the WWE is still doing the same sort of stuff that got you interested back then.  Only now it's stale and it's boring and you've found something else to do.

I really see gaming in the same light.  Gaming is a successful industry but it's still very cult.  Like being a wrestling fan, being a gamer carries somewhat of stigma to it and some people just form a negative opinion about you because of it.  It's very popular but it's never really accepted by the mainstream and I don't think that will permanently change.  Typically if your plan to attract the mainstream involves changing the product to get them interested you're not going to be able to sustain that interest because the basic fundamentals of the interest isn't what's attracting them but rather an alteration.  If you have to change gaming to get people to game then you're really not actually getting them to game per say.  Though it does depend on how drastic of a change it is and exactly what is being downplayed or removed to grab the non-fans.  I think the key to Nintendo permanently attracting the non-gamers is if those that buy Brain Training are also buying and loving Mario Kart, Castlevania, and Advance Wars.  They have to enjoy the games made for gamers as well.

[Cap]

those sales numbers are pretty supriing to me......i thought that sales for the ds might go down a bit with the ds lite being announced. i'm way too lazy to check if the ds lite was announced before the date those figures are for though.

the ratings for WWE are under half of what they were in 1997-98. i actually despise WWE at the moment. Crappy storylines and bad wrestling are destroying the product. they need to give their wrestlers more freedom on the mike and in the ring. TNA(on spike tv) is putting out a far superior product at the moment(at least in my opinion). The storylines are a little lacking, but thats due to the fact that they only have an hour of television time a week. supposedly they might me moving to thursdays and getting some more time which should help them out.

[vudu]

Don't you guys have a super-secret wrestling forum to discuss this on?

[Requiem of Darcness]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"Not to change the subject...but WWE is doing outstanding in the ratings nowadays."

I doubt the ratings are as good as they were in 1998 and ratings aren't a measure of success in wrestling.  PPV buyrates and house show attendence are and those have been down for years.

"Also, when the fans went away from wrestling, you're right that it was partly because of the novelty wearing off, but in many cases it's because the product itself worsened."

The quality does play a part so it's not a perfect example.  Hell I love wrestling and I'm not watching any current wrestling shows right now.  I'm getting my fix entirely from catching up on old stuff I missed the first time around.  One thing that I hate about the WWE is the lack of wrestling, yet that is exactly what brought the mainstream fans in in the first place.  They brought non-fans in with sports entertainment and that's pretty much all that they're doing now.  If you're a non-fan that started watching in 1998 odds are the WWE is still doing the same sort of stuff that got you interested back then.  Only now it's stale and it's boring and you've found something else to do.

I really see gaming in the same light.  Gaming is a successful industry but it's still very cult.  Like being a wrestling fan, being a gamer carries somewhat of stigma to it and some people just form a negative opinion about you because of it.  It's very popular but it's never really accepted by the mainstream and I don't think that will permanently change.  Typically if your plan to attract the mainstream involves changing the product to get them interested you're not going to be able to sustain that interest because the basic fundamentals of the interest isn't what's attracting them but rather an alteration.  If you have to change gaming to get people to game then you're really not actually getting them to game per say.  Though it does depend on how drastic of a change it is and exactly what is being downplayed or removed to grab the non-fans.  I think the key to Nintendo permanently attracting the non-gamers is if those that buy Brain Training are also buying and loving Mario Kart, Castlevania, and Advance Wars.  They have to enjoy the games made for gamers as well.

I know this is off topic, but Ian you should check ou NWA:TNA wrestling. If you want to see real wrestling its the only game in town. WWE is just trash right now.

[IceCold]

Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
Don't you guys have a super-secret wrestling forum to discuss this on?

No, Rick shut it down..

EDIT: And Requiem, Ian probably has seen TNA.. but I'd say he has the same problem as I do.. I badly wanted TNA to be the alternative to WWE that focused on wrestling and has solid performers, matches and storylines without stooping to WWE's entertainment stuff. But I don't watch TNA either these days.. And it's because they haven't become the promotion I wanted them to. Jeff Jarrett is a big reason for this; he's holding the whole roster back by wanting to protect himself while he isn't even that good. And another thing is that they aren't promoting the X-Division. It's far and away better than the heavyweight division, and I really like it, but TNA just doesn't seem to realise that and they don't give it the time it deserves..

[BranDonk Kong]

There's no way the ratings are uner half. They're at like 75-80%. They've been doing around 4-4.5 for the past couple months, and they've never gone higher than a 6.0, IIRC. Maybe if you factor in when WCW was around and they both did between 3 and 5 in the ratings, then all wrestling combined maybe did double what WWE does now. TNA sucks. I wanted it to be good, and it was good for a while, but it sucks now...even with Sting...because Sting sucks. They should make a WWE game for the DS, that could have potential. Supposedly TNA is making a console game, but their roster changes every 2 weeks, so it's gonna be tough.

[31 Flavas]

Quote
Originally posted by: Requiem of Darcness

I know this is off topic, but Ian you should check ou NWA:TNA wrestling.

TNA? Tits 'N Ass wrestling?

[Avinash_Tyagi]

Quote
The GBA / GBM are getting caught up to by GameCube, which has been dead for almost two years, yet the PS2 is still going strong

We all knew it was only a matter of time before the GBA just ran out of gas, it just lacks the qualuities needed to be a success

Quote
This is a startling example of the lifecycles of Sony systems vs Nintendo systems, and it's only a matter of time before DS dies down and PSP catches up. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

Thank god, I mean what was nintendo thinking, two screens, don't they realize people just want the shinier graphics.

Quote
DS is just having it's moment, and when the DS Lite hits everyone will be pissed and never buy a Nintendo product again, that is if they haven't already forgotten about the DS by then, which means the Revolution is pretty much done for before it's even been released.

Well duh, just look at the horrible micro sales, nintendo tried to milk their systems too much and its going to bite them with the DS lite.

[Caterkiller]

Once again Mario was being sarcastic, and someone doesn't catch it. And isn't the Micro like only for a limit of time or something? I know they won't be mass produced forever like the other 2 GBA models.  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Once again, someone doesn't catch the double-dose of sarcasm.
You got served.