Topic: Official DS Sales Thread

[Ian Sane]

I know Nintendogs is doing well but it's only one game.  We're trying to figure out why the DS isn't selling as well as the PSP in North America.  Someone mentioned all these sequels that were big on the GBA and was questioning why that isn't making a difference.  So I'm explaining why I think they aren't.

On the DS the touchscreen is everything.  Without it the DS is just a souped up GBA with hardware that is massively inferior to the PSP.  In Japan the touchscreen seems to be well received but in North America Nintendogs is the only really touchscreen-heavy game that is selling really well.  That's a problem.  There needs to be big touchscreen hits in North America to make the DS stand out.

[Deguello]

"Why buy a DS to play Castlevania or Mario Kart when I can play those games on the GBA which is much cheaper?"

You know Ian, for someone who chattered incessantly about Nintendo needing to embrace Online gameplay, you sure are quick to dismiss its addition.

Edit: On a side note, I really hate the NPD numbers.  By the end of this year they will only be receiving less than half of all returns from game sellers.  It would be pitiful to rely on their numbers as any sort of market measure.

[Stimutacs Addict]

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane
Traditional gamers are not going to be content to just play the same old stuff over again.

.. hence the revolution

[vudu]

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The big games for the North American audience are all sequels. Why buy a DS to play Castlevania or Mario Kart when I can play those games on the GBA which is much cheaper?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't YOU buy a DS to play Castlevania and Mario Kart?  Why don't you answer your own question?

[Ian Sane]

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't YOU buy a DS to play Castlevania and Mario Kart? Why don't you answer your own question?"

It's a rhetorical question.  I don't mean "I" literally.  Yeah I bought the DS for those games but I'm a hardcore game nut who is going to buy a Nintendo system the second games I'm interested in are released.  The average person doesn't buy a new system to play the same stuff they've played before.  The really big videogame hits that sell systems by the truckloads are always something new and difference (or perceived as such).  If Nintendo really wants to kick the PSP's ass they need a game that has that some sort of oomph that Pokemon had.

We're talking about people who still buy GBAs despite the fact that very few new games are still being made for it and that a new system with new games has come out that can play GBA games.  We're talking about the general public here who is largely ignorant.  They need something more than sequels to popular GBA games.  For most the GBA is probably still "good enough" so Nintendo needs to provide more incentive to switch over.

[vudu]

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We're talking about people who still buy GBAs despite the fact that very few new games are still being made for it and that a new system with new games has come out that can play GBA games. We're talking about the general public here who is largely ignorant.

Hey now, I recently purchased a Micro, so watch what you're saying.  

I understand your point, but these (big name sequels) are the the games that sell in large numbers.  Granted, a single huge sequel generally isn't going to be a system seller for most people, but if you get enough of them it becomes "well damn, now I have no choice but to buy this system in order to play all these awesome games".

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
Traditional gamers are not going to be content to just play the same old stuff over again.

So, in the top ten for last month we have: Call of Duty 2, Madden, Baseball, GTA, Mario kart, Animal Crossing, Need for Speed, Dead or Alive 4, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and a WWE game. The only original title is Nintendogs.

So which gamers aren't content to buy the same old games, again?

[Ian Sane]

"So which gamers aren't content to buy the same old games, again?"

How content are they to buy a new system though?  One issue that has been brought up is that the X360 and PS3 have no reason to exist because they just offer more of the same.  Well if most of its big games are just fancy GBA games the DS has no reason to exist.  The stylus is what justifies the DS.  Lord knows we didn't need a replacement for the GBA so soon.  It didn't even last five years.  So without new content what's the DS for?  We didn't need a new portable to have sequels to GBA games.  Without more big innovative games of high quality and mass appeal the DS looks more like what many suspected it was, a stop-gap to combat the PSP before the "real" next Gameboy arrives.  There certainly wasn't any demand for the DS prior to its debut which may play a part in sales.

Someone is probably going to mention that the "reason to exist factor" is why the Rev makes so much sense and that it makes no sense for me to be critical of it.  I think Nintendo's idea of innovating is good, I just don't like the execution.  I don't like how they feel they have to totally reinvent the controller to innovate or the whole blue ocean strategy to grab non-gamers.  But let's not go off topic.  Just a pre-emptive defense.

[Avinash_Tyagi]

Expect DS sales in the US to skyrocket in 2006, what with the launch of the Lite and Pokemon, not to mention that with the release of Pokemon expect the GBA sales to start phasing out.

[Mario]

I doubt Pokemon will be out in 2006, but we'll see..

[kirby_killer_dedede]

I'm sorry Ian, you fail.

Americans are the dumb yuppies that are the reason for EA's existence.  They woulld all simultaneously die the second EA announced Madden was skipping a year.

[jasonditz]

The PS2 lived on sequels for the first several years. All the major console-selling titles, Metal Gear Solid 2, Final Fantasy X, Grand Theft Auto 3, were all sequels. If the North American market was unwilling to buy a new system just for sequels, the PS2 would've never gotten off the ground.

[UncleBob]

<Ian>The big games for the North American audience are all sequels.</Ian>
<Ian>We're trying to figure out why the DS isn't selling as well as the PSP in North America. </Ian>

So, now, what are the original games on the PSP here in NA that helps explain why it's doing well?

[ShyGuy]

I noticed in the Reggie DICE conference videos at IGN, Nintendogs has 1.5 million sold in the US now.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Quote
Originally posted by: UncleBob
<Ian>The big games for the North American audience are all sequels.</Ian>
<Ian>We're trying to figure out why the DS isn't selling as well as the PSP in North America. </Ian>

So, now, what are the original games on the PSP here in NA that helps explain why it's doing well?

There are games for PSP? And they are sold in NA? How come nobody told me this?

[BranDonk Kong]

I'm part of the reason Call of Duty 2 is #2...I bought Nintendogs when it was released...then sold it after a couple weeks.

[wandering]

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How content are they to buy a new system though? One issue that has been brought up is that the X360 and PS3 have no reason to exist because they just offer more of the same. Well if most of its big games are just fancy GBA games the DS has no reason to exist.

Most of the DS's big games couldn't have been done on the GBA. Nintendogs and a bunch of other games needed the touchscreen. And the mike. And the 3d graphics. Mario Kart needed 3d graphics and online capabilities. Mario and Luigi needed 2 screens. Yeah, some games are just souped-up versions of games from the previous generation... but then, that happens with every system. In fact, the leap from GBA to DS is much, much larger than any previous Game Boy generational leap.

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Someone is probably going to mention that the "reason to exist factor" is why the Rev makes so much sense and that it makes no sense for me to be critical of it. I think Nintendo's idea of innovating is good, I just don't like the execution. I don't like how they feel they have to totally reinvent the controller to innovate or the whole blue ocean strategy to grab non-gamers. But let's not go off topic. Just a pre-emptive defense.

Yes, yes, we know: you want Nintendo to innovate, you just don't want them to do anything even remotley different.  

[Mario]

Sales data directly from Nintendo straight from that DS conference.

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Nintendogs (3 versions)
1,180,000 - Japan
5,000,000 - World Wide
first DS million seller

Animal Crossing DS
2,380,000 ordered, 2,170,000 shipped in Japan

Brain Training
1,800,000 shipped in Japan

Yawaraka Atamajuku
1,180,000 shipped in Japan

Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisetchi
over 1,000,000 sold in Japan

Mario Kart DS
1,210,000 shipped in Japan
a million seller in both the US and Europe each

Brain Training 2
1,540,000 shipped in Japan

7 million sellers in total. Other data:

Dare Demo Asobi Taizen
510,000 shipped in Japan

Eigo Zuke (English Training?)
570,000 shipped, 920,000 copies ordered in Japan

Sawaru Made in Wario
980,000 shipped in Japan, expected million seller

Super Mario 64 DS
930,000 shipped in Japan, expected million seller

Jump Superstars
540,000 shipped in Japan

[WuTangTurtle]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1

Quote
Originally posted by: UncleBob
<Ian>The big games for the North American audience are all sequels.</Ian>
<Ian>We're trying to figure out why the DS isn't selling as well as the PSP in North America. </Ian>

So, now, what are the original games on the PSP here in NA that helps explain why it's doing well?

There are games for PSP? And they are sold in NA? How come nobody told me this?

you must've been confused from the "portable cheese" and "Lobbing" PSP commercials and not realize that it is a dare i say it.......a game system.............ughhh it pains me to even call it that.

[PaLaDiN]

Can somebody explain Big Brain Academy to me? Is that just Brain Training 2? Is one for adults and the other for kids?

[jasonditz]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1

Quote
Originally posted by: UncleBob
<Ian>The big games for the North American audience are all sequels.</Ian>
<Ian>We're trying to figure out why the DS isn't selling as well as the PSP in North America. </Ian>

So, now, what are the original games on the PSP here in NA that helps explain why it's doing well?

There are games for PSP? And they are sold in NA? How come nobody told me this?

I think Walmart keeps them behind row after row of Spiderman UMDs.

[Mario]

Media Create Sales 6 Feb - 12 Feb

1. DS English Training (Nintendo, DS): 72,290 (424,214)
2. Train Your Brain 2 (Nintendo, DS): 70,407 (1,213,603)
3. Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo, DS): 57,335 (1,850,063)
4. Siren 2 (SCE, PS2): 49,780
5. Otona no DS Training (Nintendo, DS): 32,082 (1,520,843)
6. Machigae Museum (Namco, DS): 21,132
7. Tourist Trophy (SCE, PS2): 20,433 (80,087)
8. Monster Hunter Portable (Capcom, PSP): 20,126 (4,67,180)
9. Shin Onimusha (Capcom, PS2): 19,916 (295,721)
10. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo, DS): 18,304 (1,098,472)

1. PSP: 24,977 (310,253)
2. PS2: 23,383 (217,840)
3. DS: 10,223 (351,802)
4. GBASP: 5,405 (52,337)
5. GBMicro: 2,934 (32,588)
6. GC: 2,025 (30,577)
7. Xbox360: 1,288 (22,657)
8. GBA: 150 (1478)
9. Xbox: 84 (671)

This is getting painful.  

[Cap]

umd's must be selling quite well.....it doesnt look like the psps games are. i wonder how much sony makes off of umd sales?

[Artimus]

Wow, those really are bad shortages. Are the bracketed numbers the total this year? If so it's a biiiig embarassment that Sony cannot beat the DS despite the insane shortages.

AC will hit two million, which is great! And the poor 360 falls again.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Nintendogs hits the 2 MILLION mark in Europe!!!

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The phenomenal success of Nintendogs continues to go from strength to strength for Nintendo with the latest sales across Europe reaching 2 million.

Nintendogs has also made a massive impact across the globe, with sales in the US reaching 1.5 million and over 1 million in Japan.

4.5 million and counting (not including AUS, outher asian countries<+Russia> and anything below the US border)

5 million ww according to Mario's data