Author Topic: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread  (Read 100922 times)

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Offline Ian Sane

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #25 on: May 18, 2004, 07:14:13 AM »
Combining March and April's sales MGS has sold 146,734 copies.  Low sales don't surprise me though since I've never EVER seen an ad for it.  People only buy games they know exist.  Without advertising I expect a game to sell about as well as an album that doesn't get any radio play.  You got to feel sorry for Silicon Knights as both of their Cube games have sold poorly due to the sheer idiocy of their publishers.

Warioware deserved to sell like sh!t since it was a glorified port of the GBA game.  If they can't be bothered to make a new single player mode I can't be bothered to buy it.

And how the hell did Namco Museum top the GBA sales charts?  Wasn't that a LAUNCH title?!  Looking at those sales I've determined that the GBA userbase is made up of two types of people: Nintendo fans and f*cking morons.  All the non-Nintendo GBA games in that list are the absolute sh!ts.

Offline Perfect Cell

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #26 on: May 18, 2004, 08:51:02 AM »
I still dont understand why Nintendo did not give a single add for MGS... ITs like they wanted it to disapear or something

Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #27 on: May 18, 2004, 10:22:23 AM »
I saw the Metal Gear commercial... once.

ONCE.

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Offline joeamis

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #28 on: May 18, 2004, 10:49:52 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Perfect Cell
I still dont understand why Nintendo did not give a single add for MGS... ITs like they wanted it to disapear or something


Yea like they were upset with SK for becoming a 3rd party...
.

Offline Perfect Cell

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #29 on: May 18, 2004, 10:50:06 AM »
Yeah i blamed Nintendo for that... They give EA Sports Nintendo funded Advertisment, but not Konami and SK... IT could have sold so much more... I dont understand it...  Games like Custom Robo and Pokemon Colleseum are featured prominently but not MGS disapointing really

Anyways X-box beat Sony this month thats odd  

Offline Ian Sane

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #30 on: May 18, 2004, 11:30:27 AM »
I've noticed a scary trend.  Any Nintendo game rated 'M' sells poorly and often is poorly advertised.  Conker's Bad Day Fur, Eternal Darkness, and now MGS (although it was a Konami game Nintendo was directly involved and obviously would have benefited from good sales) all fall into that category.  Perfect Dark also was rated 'M' and sold poorly though I thought it was promoted very well.

So that's the reasoning for this?  Well I can think of two obvious posibilities:
1. Nintendo's userbase doesn't buy 'M' rated games.  Though Resident Evil sold well and it's rated 'M'.  Even if the userbase is mostly kids, kids LOVE 'M' rated games.  They think they're cool.  These games seem to have been missed by adult gamers as well.  I've encountered tons of older Cube owners that don't own ED merely because they didn't know anything about it.

2. Nintendo sucks at marketing mature titles.  This one seems pretty likely and it's triggered a conspiracy theory of sorts in my mind.  

What if Nintendo, consciencely or unconsciencely, deliberately tries to make their mature games fail to prove a point?  Sounds ridiculous I know but Nintendo has been very resistant to the changes made in the industry that have made adults the more lucrative market.  They don't really seem to like the idea of making mature games but there's a lot of pressure on them to do so.  They may want their mature efforts to fail so they have an excuse not to make them anymore.  When fans ask for more mature games Nintendo can say "Sorry.  We made those types of games and you didn't buy them." and then they never have to make any again.

I know the idea is really out there and only a group of complete morons would intentionally sabotage their own product and as a result lose money because of a stubborn refusal to change.  I don't really believe it myself but Nintendo's infamous stubborn nature makes it a good conspiracy theory.  It's like I don't think it's real but if it was it wouldn't be that surprising.

Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #31 on: May 18, 2004, 11:42:07 AM »
Let's have a BUY MGS/ED CAMPAIGN.
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Offline mouse_clicker

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #32 on: May 18, 2004, 11:49:17 AM »
Quote

1. Nintendo's userbase doesn't buy 'M' rated games.


No.

Quote

2. Nintendo sucks at marketing mature titles.


Yes. I don't know what led you to believe your first reason was anywhere near the truth, but your second one is the real culprit- Nintendo often refuses to acknowledge M rated games exist- Eternal Darkness could have sold extraordinarily if people had just known about it. I think Nintendo's gotten too used to their franchises selling on name alone since names like Mario and Zelda are huge. Hopefully their new VP of sales and marketing will change Nintendo in this way.

Also, Perfect Dark sold at least a million copies, I believe, which is not bad by any standards. In addition, both Resident Evil Remake and Resident Evil: 0 sold over a million copies worldwide. That means, and I could be wrong, the Gamecube has twice as many M rated games go platinum as the XBox.
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Offline ShyGuy

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #33 on: May 18, 2004, 12:05:44 PM »
Yeah, I only saw the TV ad once as well, and it barely shows the game (less than a second?) just that deranged kid sneaking around his therapists office...

BTW, does anyone know the sales figures on the Xbox port of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance sold?  Just to give some numbers to compare with.

Offline Avinash_Tyagi

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #34 on: May 18, 2004, 01:10:45 PM »
Actually the truth is nintendo sucks at non-game boy advertising, truthfully I've seen maybe two good GC commercials ever.

Offline CHEN

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #35 on: May 18, 2004, 02:04:15 PM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Ian Sane
I've noticed a scary trend.  Any Nintendo game rated 'M' sells poorly and often is poorly advertised.  Conker's Bad Day Fur, Eternal Darkness, and now MGS (although it was a Konami game Nintendo was directly involved and obviously would have benefited from good sales) all fall into that category.  Perfect Dark also was rated 'M' and sold poorly though I thought it was promoted very well.

So that's the reasoning for this?  Well I can think of two obvious posibilities:
1. Nintendo's userbase doesn't buy 'M' rated games.  Though Resident Evil sold well and it's rated 'M'.  Even if the userbase is mostly kids, kids LOVE 'M' rated games.  They think they're cool.  These games seem to have been missed by adult gamers as well.  I've encountered tons of older Cube owners that don't own ED merely because they didn't know anything about it.

Way to stereotype, buddy.

Quote

Originally posted by: Ian Sane
What if Nintendo, consciencely or unconsciencely, deliberately tries to make their mature games fail to prove a point?  Sounds ridiculous I know but Nintendo has been very resistant to the changes made in the industry that have made adults the more lucrative market.  They don't really seem to like the idea of making mature games but there's a lot of pressure on them to do so.  They may want their mature efforts to fail so they have an excuse not to make them anymore.  When fans ask for more mature games Nintendo can say "Sorry.  We made those types of games and you didn't buy them." and then they never have to make any again.

Yeah, that's why they're developing the new Legend of Zelda to fail, right?

Quote

Originally posted by: Ian Sane
I know the idea is really out there and only a group of complete morons would intentionally sabotage their own product and as a result lose money because of a stubborn refusal to change.  I don't really believe it myself but Nintendo's infamous stubborn nature makes it a good conspiracy theory.  It's like I don't think it's real but if it was it wouldn't be that surprising.

I never did understand that 'Nintendo is stubborn and needs to wake up' argument. I actually wanted to write more about this matter, but I'm tired and seriously need some sleep. Anyhoo, good night.  

Offline Ian Sane

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #36 on: May 18, 2004, 02:25:53 PM »
"Yeah, that's why they're developing the new Legend of Zelda to fail, right?"

Of course not.  My theory was just a scary "what if" scenario I thought of by letting my paranoia run wild.  It's obviously not to be taken seriously.  Though technically this new Zelda doesn't apply as it's very likely not going to be rated 'M'.

Offline The Omen

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #37 on: May 18, 2004, 05:58:40 PM »
Quote

In addition, both Resident Evil Remake and Resident Evil: 0 sold over a million copies worldwide. That means, and I could be wrong, the Gamecube has twice as many M rated games go platinum as the XBox.


That could very well be, Mouse. But its almost like "If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?"   Nobody will notice any subpar sales for the Xbox, even the M rated games which are supposedly the systems strong point.  Nintendo is under such a microscope that every little failing, or lack of sales record success, gets blown way up.  But RE4 will sell millions...thats an Omen assurance.
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Offline Darc Requiem

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #38 on: May 18, 2004, 06:29:28 PM »
Yeah Omen you are absolutely correct. Any good news relating to Nintendo gets little mention if not ignored completely. I am one the many to bemoan Nintendo's ridiculous stance in reference to on-line gaming. Yet the DS includes Wi-Fi and it barely gets any mention. I figured one of the bigger stories coming out of E3 would be that there is a Nintendo system that truly supports on-line play. But of course any positive Nintendo news gets the brush off. The weakest Nintendo e3 coverage has to go to Gameinformer....sad sad sad. Thats all I'm gonna say in reference to that. Anyway, as far as Twin Snakes sales go. I lay the blame squarely on Konami's shoulder's. True Nintendo is lacking when it comes to the marketing of "mature" games, but the fact of the matter is this: Nintendo provided the development team for Twin Snakes, funded the games development. All Konmai did was supervise the frickin cut scenes. Adverstising the game is on them. I mean its ludicrous to expect Nintendo to development and market 3rd party titles. I mean I can expect one or the other but not both. Thats just unreasonable.

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Offline mouse_clicker

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #39 on: May 18, 2004, 06:35:00 PM »
Quote

That could very well be, Mouse. But its almost like "If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?" Nobody will notice any subpar sales for the Xbox, even the M rated games which are supposedly the systems strong point. Nintendo is under such a microscope that every little failing, or lack of sales record success, gets blown way up. But RE4 will sell millions...thats an Omen assurance.


Unfortunately you're right- Nintendo is the company with the most history in the industry right now, so every mistake they make is magnified a thousand times, while other companies' mistakes go relatively unnoticed.
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Offline Perfect Cell

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #40 on: May 18, 2004, 06:38:23 PM »
I lay the blame squarely on Konami's shoulder's. True Nintendo is lacking when it comes to the marketing of "mature" games, but the fact of the matter is this: Nintendo provided the development team for Twin Snakes, funded the games development. All Konmai did was supervise the frickin cut scenes. Adverstising the game is on them.


Nintendo provides advertisement to third parties... FF Chrystal Chronicles. MVP Baseball, Prince of Persia...  Nintendo should have provided adverstisment to this game, because it could have benefited Nintendo..... Its no big loss for Konami... Btw. Konami doesnt advertisme much... not even on the PS2...  

Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #41 on: May 18, 2004, 06:41:47 PM »
Omen... The Omen... I GET IT!! HAHA

~~~~~

Nintendo needs to "wake up" in order to be in that OVERWHELMINGLY SUCCESSFUL #1 console position.  Sure, GameCube is successful, but not OVERWHELMINGLY SUCCESSFUL.

It still seems to be the odd-man-out, judging by those sales stats.  The fact that its only presence on the multiplatform chart is via Pokemon bothers me.

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Offline Ocarina Blue

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #42 on: May 18, 2004, 07:17:45 PM »
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Even if the userbase is mostly kids, kids LOVE 'M' rated games.


The problem is, that as far as I can tell, Nintendo´s fans (in relation to Sony and MS) tend to be a bit older, usually late-teens or adults, and I think the biggest markets for specifically ´M´ games are early and mid teenagers.

I remember an uncle of mine telling me about how he got nightmares after shooting people in Goldereye - older people tend to have a greater sense empathy, and pretending to kill people just doesn´t do it for them. Some ´M´ rated games like Resident Evil sell well because they are not necessarily focused on combat, but rather on a scary atmosphere instead.
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Offline KDR_11k

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #43 on: May 18, 2004, 08:56:46 PM »
According to some sales supervisors or gamedev association or something, only a tiny percentage of the million-sellers each year are M-rated. So it's not just Nintendo fans. Hell, why do you think did EA tone down Battlefield: Vietnam to not get an M-rating?

Oh, and Pokemon Colosseum DID outsell both Ninja Gaiden and MGSTTS. I don't know if NG and PC were out before those charts above, but in the EU/UK charts it clearly did.

Offline Darc Requiem

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #44 on: May 19, 2004, 10:32:10 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Perfect Cell
I lay the blame squarely on Konami's shoulder's. True Nintendo is lacking when it comes to the marketing of "mature" games, but the fact of the matter is this: Nintendo provided the development team for Twin Snakes, funded the games development. All Konmai did was supervise the frickin cut scenes. Adverstising the game is on them.


Nintendo provides advertisement to third parties... FF Chrystal Chronicles. MVP Baseball, Prince of Persia...  Nintendo should have provided adverstisment to this game, because it could have benefited Nintendo..... Its no big loss for Konami... Btw. Konami doesnt advertisme much... not even on the PS2...


Okay, did you not read my post?  Nintendo didn't not develop any of those titles. FF:CC was actually published by Nintendo so they advertised it so they could recoupe some on their investment. Plus they were really trying to push connectivity...but thats another post. Outside of FF:CC Nintendo didn't fund the dev. cost of any of the other titles. Nintendo paid for MGS:TT they provided the dev. team and funded its development. This means Nintendo saw too it that there was no way Konami could lose money on MGS:TT. Its KONAMI's job to capitalize on the situation and to advertise the game. If Konami would have developed the game I'd agree with you but think about what you are saying. I have to give Konami of Japan credit...at least they advertised the game and tried to ensure its success. Konami of America just didn't care.

Are you saying that Nintendo should pay a 3rd parties development cost, and pay the advertising. While the 3rd party pulls in all the cash from publishing duties? Is that what you saying. Thats nonsense. If thats the case they a better off just developing their own games and resigning themselves to a niche market. Its one thing to cut deals with 3rd parties, its another thing to foot the complete bill for their titles. I mean if Nintendo is going to have to do that. The should just open their war chest up, by a half dozen of the top third party developers and make them 2nd party developers. I mean at least with 2nd party developers you are supposed to fund development, publish, and advertise their titles.

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Offline Perfect Cell

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #45 on: May 19, 2004, 05:40:01 PM »
Im saying for certain cases, Nintendo should actually suck up the bill and pay for advertisment. Sony does it. They funded their own Prince of Persia commericals.  MGS was a game that could push Gamecube consoles, it only benefits them. Not Konami

Plus really, How many Konami commercials have you seen for any game?  

Offline Mario

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #46 on: May 19, 2004, 05:40:48 PM »
Quote

I have to give Konami of Japan credit...at least they advertised the game and tried to ensure its success. Konami of America just didn't care.

Strange, since MGS:TTS bombed harder in Japan than it did in the US.  

Offline mouse_clicker

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RE:New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #47 on: May 19, 2004, 05:50:11 PM »
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Im saying for certain cases, Nintendo should actually suck up the bill and pay for advertisment. Sony does it. They funded their own Prince of Persia commericals. MGS was a game that could push Gamecube consoles, it only benefits them. Not Konami

Plus really, How many Konami commercials have you seen for any game?


You're skipping the point, though. It was Konami's responsibility to advertise the game. They didn't. End of discussion.
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Offline WesDawg

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #48 on: May 19, 2004, 08:02:50 PM »
I like WarioWare NGC a lot. I didn't own the GBA one though. Finally got to play the multiplayer some these past weeks though, and its a blast. I don't know why people are ripping on it's single player. It was my first time playing through it and I liked it a lot. It's too bad it didn't sell.

Anyways, I think the most interesting thing in those sales figures is looking at the top game sellers. Fight Night 2004 (which I've never heard of) and NBA Ballers (another Sports game I've never heard of) dominate up there. A couple of Baseball games.  The ever present Halo (probably driven up a bit by the XBox price drop). It seems like if Nintendo really wants to peak out the sales charts they're best of to sell themselves as a Sports game company, something they weren't even back in the NES days I think.

Then theres a few franchises: Pokemon, RE, Hitman, and Splinter Cell. Seems like MGS could easily have been in that group. I don't really blame lack of advertising on that though. I don't know why they sold, but I ain't seen to many ads for those games. I'm guessing its word of mouth that sold 'em more than anything. I don't think advertising drives sales in this industry. Actually, I take that back, Ad's do work, but not TV Ads. Demo disks at stores, and big standup posters drive hype more than anything. At least that's how I've always felt. Cool posters at every EB across the country could have upped MGS:TT's sales I bet. A clever/slightly ambiguous magazine ad gets me way more excited than a fast paced TV commercial. Maybe I'm just weird though.

Offline jasonditz

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RE: New North American (NPD) Sales Thread
« Reply #49 on: May 19, 2004, 08:07:11 PM »
Fight Night is the new name for EA's Knockout Kings franchise.