Topic: Official Sales Thread

[BlackNMild2k1]

with only 3.2million sales in Japan, how can afford not to go mobile only?

[Mop it up]

Well they already announced the special edition of MH4, so most people who haven't bought it yet will probably wait for that.

[ShyGuy]

Yo, the NPD is here:

1. COD Ghost Dog
2. NBA 2K14
3. Battlefield 4
4. Assassin's Creed 4
5. Grand Theft Auto 5
6. Madden 25
7. Minecraft
8. FIFA 14
9. Lego Marvel Super Heroes
10. Tomb Raider

Props to Minecraft for being the only non-sequel, non-franchised to death game on the list.


In positive news, PS4 sales are being extrapolated as 286k and Xbone as 143k. NEXT GEN IS HERE - PREPARE THE TIDAL WAVE

[ymeegod]

And the PS4 still has supply issues to boot meaning the gap will most likely get larger.  MS shouldn't have priced it's console $100 more. 

Titanfall might help sell a few "1s" but Sony's still got Second Son as well so March's numbers should be interesting.
 

[Shaymin]

Given the amount of licensed crap Minecraft has, it won't be long until that's franchised to death as well.

[MagicCow64]

Scuttlebutt is: January WiiU = 50K. Ruh ro.

But, more interesting, there was a huge collapse for everything, besides the possibly supply constrained PS4. PS3 and Xbox 360 collapsing. Supposedly only one game sold above 100K for the month on any console, which hasn't happened in years.

Also, 3DS is rumored to be looking surprisingly unhealthy.

[Kytim89]

Scuttlebutt is: January WiiU = 50K. Ruh ro.

But, more interesting, there was a huge collapse for everything, besides the possibly supply constrained PS4. PS3 and Xbox 360 collapsing. Supposedly only one game sold above 100K for the month on any console, which hasn't happened in years.

Also, 3DS is rumored to be looking surprisingly unhealthy.

If this is true then the industry is heading for collapse.

[ShyGuy]

Extrapolation has revised PS4 estimate to 275k.

3DS I think will do okay through 2014, but will need a successor in late 2015.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Extrapolation has revised PS4 estimate to 275k.

3DS I think will do okay through 2014, but will need a successor in late 2015.

Wii U will also be needing a "successor" by end of 2015....

Right on schedule...

[BranDonk Kong]

Nintendo should refund everyone that bought a Wii U.

[Stratos]

Just do an ambassador program for the next console and offer Wii/U digital games at a steep discount for a few years.

[Ian Sane]

Why is the 3DS having problems?  Is the 2DS a huge bomb?  For a while it seemed like the 3DS was doing quite well.  You figure Pokémon alone would keep it afloat.  If both the 3DS and Wii U are in trouble Nintendo is screwed.

My fear that the videogame market is going to move to mobile free-to-pay dogshit and effectively steal our hobby out from under us is really nagging at me when I see these figures.  The thing is though, the PS3 and X360 are old.  The PS4 and XB1 don't have squat released for them yet.  The Wii U and Vita are jokes.  The 3DS is the only system right now I would expect to be selling well.  Things might do better as the new consoles expand their lineup over time.

[MagicCow64]

Why is the 3DS having problems?  Is the 2DS a huge bomb?  For a while it seemed like the 3DS was doing quite well.  You figure Pokémon alone would keep it afloat.  If both the 3DS and Wii U are in trouble Nintendo is screwed.

My fear that the videogame market is going to move to mobile free-to-pay dogshit and effectively steal our hobby out from under us is really nagging at me when I see these figures.  The thing is though, the PS3 and X360 are old.  The PS4 and XB1 don't have squat released for them yet.  The Wii U and Vita are jokes.  The 3DS is the only system right now I would expect to be selling well.  Things might do better as the new consoles expand their lineup over time.

It is surprising, especially with recent Pokemon and cheaper SKU. Looking at the bigger picture, I think the health of the videogame industry is following a path akin to climate change. People warned and warned that practices were unhealthy, that AAA game culture was destabilizing the financials, that players were moving to phones and tablets, etc. etc., but the endgame is always assumed to be in the future. I think what the January NPD tells us is that the future is now.

There was supposed to be all this pent-up demand for new consoles after the 7-8 year generation, and I think that was largely satisfied in the first two months of release. Even the PS4's numbers really aren't too impressive given all the fete and fireworks Sony PR was tossing out during the launch. And Xbone is a joke, there's stock absolutely everywhere; it might be duking it out with the WiiU soon in a perverse replay of the original Xbox/Gamecube days.

Looking at the release schedules for the next year, the major games are few and far between. Risk is getting sorted into fewer and fewer baskets.  I suspect what's happening is that a good chunk of those 150 million PS360 owners have moved on to social phone yibyabs, but will still pay attention when a GTAV or whatever is blitzing the media. But I bet they have little interest in upgrading to new consoles. Next few months will be interesting.

[rlse9]

It amazes me how well the Assassin's Creed titles sell when the prices drop so quickly...AC4 has only been out for 3 months and within the last week or so it was on sale for $30 on all of the consoles and appears to be destined to hit $20 before the snow melts here (which, to be fair, may be June at this pace).  Just seems to me to be like flushing money down the toilet to buy a game like that at full price near launch...

[Stratos]

OK, I have a new hope. A hope that the crowd is thinned out a good deal. I am a gamer. I like games. Full, meaty and substantial interactive experiences. Maybe this culling will allow our hobby to get back to its roots and and no longer be caught up in all of the glitter and fame it has recently been getting.


I just hope a few of the good companies weather through the rough patches here.

[Ian Sane]

OK, I have a new hope. A hope that the crowd is thinned out a good deal. I am a gamer. I like games. Full, meaty and substantial interactive experiences. Maybe this culling will allow our hobby to get back to its roots and and no longer be caught up in all of the glitter and fame it has recently been getting.

I just hope a few of the good companies weather through the rough patches here.

I think dedicated videogame systems will become a more hardcore enthusiast market but I also fear that the casual buck on the phones is too big to pass up and that we'll get left in the cold.  Most of our favourite companies have become big corporations and now they're going to scale down to just appeal to geeks?  No, they'll cut the geeks off and try to make a go with disposable mainstream fluff.  One thing that makes the situation a little more dire is that videogame systems weren't just popular with gamers but also children.  I fear children are moving with the casuals to phones and tablets and were the pre-Wii consoles going to sell as well as they did without kids playing them?  Not likely.

I'd like to think though that the  PS4 is outselling the other consoles because it deserves to.  It is as close to a straightforward videogame console you're going to get in 2014.  Both the other guys bundle in expensive controllers that barely get used.  Hmmmm, maybe people don't like that.  The XB1 is basically a underpowered PS4 with a mandatory Kinect purchase that results in a price increase of $100.  It's like Sony was savy enough to realize that the "wacky controller" routine last gen was a fad that ran its course and no one else did.  Both Nintendo and Microsoft are hampered by standard controllers that appeared to be included to appeal more to the casual market that has left dedicated videogame systems behind.

[Mop it up]

January's always a slow month, I'm not taking this to mean much yet.

I think one big problem is how expensive everything is. The Wii is the only system at $99.99, but everyone already has one of those (and the Mini is less desirable than the previous model). Most every other system is a lot more expensive. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are both still $199.99, or even higher for the better bundles. The XBONE is just ridiculous at $499.99, and I'm honestly surprised and disappointed that the PS3 is selling well at $399.99. The Wii U is still probably priced too high for its targeted market also. The 2DS should really be $99.99 to capture that children's/second system market.

Software prices are generally too high as well, especially on Wii U and 3DS.

[Kytim89]

January's always a slow month, I'm not taking this to mean much yet.

I think one big problem is how expensive everything is. The Wii is the only system at $99.99, but everyone already has one of those (and the Mini is less desirable than the previous model). Most every other system is a lot more expensive. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are both still $199.99, or even higher for the better bundles. The XBONE is just ridiculous at $499.99, and I'm honestly surprised and disappointed that the PS3 is selling well at $399.99. The Wii U is still probably priced too high for its targeted market also. The 2DS should really be $99.99 to capture that children's/second system market.

Software prices are generally too high as well, especially on Wii U and 3DS.

We have reached a point where Nintendo needs to offer deals on their eShop games. This is especially true for 3DS games. The issue is that the gaming industry is too expensive for everyone and this is why they are moving towards smartphones because it is cheaper.

[Phil]

with only 3.2million sales in Japan, how can afford not to go mobile only?

It's funny you two bring that up, as Capcom has stated that it was using the earned money from Monster Hunter 4 for mobile development. lol


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=726520

[MagicCow64]

It amazes me how well the Assassin's Creed titles sell when the prices drop so quickly...AC4 has only been out for 3 months and within the last week or so it was on sale for $30 on all of the consoles and appears to be destined to hit $20 before the snow melts here (which, to be fair, may be June at this pace).  Just seems to me to be like flushing money down the toilet to buy a game like that at full price near launch...

I saw a news item the other day about how ACIV is tracking 2 million behind ACIII, despite really positive reception and a year-larger install base for PS360.

[Stratos]

I think devs need to realize that games cannot and should not be annualized. AC may be a great series, but even the most hard core of fans can get fatigue after a few years.

[Mop it up]

Call of Duty doesn't seem to suffer from that problem, though in its case I think a large part of it is the online mode.

[Luigi Dude]

Call of Duty doesn't seem to suffer from that problem, though in its case I think a large part of it is the online mode.

Actually the newest Call of Duty is selling less then last years installment as well.  So even that franchise is starting to show signs of fatigue.

[Mop it up]

In that case, I wonder if people have started to pay attention to who develops the Call of Duty games. People seem to have started liking Treyarch's games better, so some may be waiting for next time. It could be the onset of franchise fatigue though, we'll see in November when the next game in the series comes out.

[BranDonk Kong]

Well Infinity Ward is largely (at least design-wise) not Infinity Ward anymore. BTW, Activision has put COD games on a 3-year cycle now, with 3 studios (Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Sledgehammer) working on one game each for 3 years.