Topic: Consoles Drive Game Sales

[WindyMan]

PC gaming is slowing down a bit, but consoles are picking up the slack.

Source: Press Release

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The NPD Group Reports Annual 2003 U.S. Video Game Industry Driven by Console Software Sales

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 2004--According to leading marketing information provider, The NPD Group, retail sales of U.S. video games, which includes portable and console hardware, software and accessories, remained largely unchanged over the previous year's record-breaking performance. The console industry saw sales figures fall 2.7 percent to $10 billion in 2003 compared to $10.3 billion in 2002.

The PC game software industry showed signs of slowing down, with revenues from retail sales down 14 percent, topping $1.2 billion in sales in 2003 versus $1.4 billion in 2002. The total console, portable and PC game industry was $11.2 billion, just 4 percent off the record $11.7 billion in 2002.

The driving force in sales was led by the console software and portable game software categories, which saw a record breaking $5.8 billion, an increase of 5.4 percent in overall sales when compared to $5.5 billion in 2002. Including PC games, total industry software sales were up 1.5 percent to $7 billion, from $6.9 billion in 2002. For 2003, console software, portable game hardware and portable game software saw unit sales increases of 14 percent, 15 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

The console hardware category saw the largest percentage reduction, with a 27 percent decline in dollar volume in 2003. However, portable hardware dollar volume was up 54 percent in 2003 to $750 million, from $490 million in 2002. Besides portable game accessories, which declined 11 percent in 2003, all other industry categories showed a markedly high increase in unit figures.

"The sales results are still quite impressive when you look at the overall industry performance during 2003," said Richard Ow, senior video games analyst, The NPD Group. "The market has seen price cuts from console manufacturers as well as declines in retail software prices. With manufacturers and software publishers dropping prices to vie for consumer dollars, $10 billion in sales for the year is far from disappointing."

According to Ow, the strong, diversified software titles introduced in the fourth quarter provided the market with the sales needed to break yet another industry record.

"Since a majority of the industry's growth comes from software sales, and because there are plenty of highly anticipated software titles across all platforms in 2004, we are expecting to see impressive sales figures," said Ow. "However, with the continued price gouging of both hardware and software categories, the industry's sales will be hard pressed to surpass 2003 through the remainder of the current hardware platform's life cycles."


2003 Top 10 Console Video Game Titles, Sorted By Units

RANK TITLE PLATFORM PUBLISHER RELEASE DATE
1 MADDEN NFL 2004 (PS2)     ELECTRONIC ARTS   AUG'03
2 POKEMON RUBY (GBA)   NINTENDO OF AMERICA   MAR'03
3 POKEMON SAPPHIRE (GBA)   NINTENDO OF AMERICA   MAR'03
4 NEED SPEED: UNDERGROUND (PS2)   ELECTRONIC ARTS   NOV'03
5 ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER (GCN)   NINTENDO OF AMERICA   MAR'03
6 GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY (PS2)   ROCKSTAR GAMES   OCT'02
7 MARIO KART: DOUBLE DASH (GCN)   NINTENDO OF AMERICA   NOV'03
8 TONY HAWK UNDERGROUND (PS2)   ACTIVISION   OCT'03
9 ENTER THE MATRIX (PS2)   ATARI   MAY'03
10 MEDAL OF HONOR: RISING SUN (PS2)   ELECTRONIC ARTS   NOV'03

Source: The NPD Group / NPD Funworld(R) / TRSTS(R)

[mouse_clicker]

Wow, Mario Kart was #7, and after only a month and a half of being available in 2003- that's mighty impressive.

[cubedcinder128]

Not to mention The Wind Waker beating Vice City, even if it was an older game (Vice City that is).  

[Rize]

Not a single XBox game in that list.  Poor microsoft.

[Ian Sane]

Does anyone else think it's just f*cking wrong for Need for Speed to outsell a ZELDA GAME?!  At least Madden has a large following but I've never regarded Need for Speed as a major series.  Of course just the fact that Enter the Matrix even made it into the top 100 let alone the top ten shows that the PS2 market is driven by f*cking morons.

I'm happy to see that it was the Xbox instead of the Cube that was absent from this year's top ten.  Maybe that will convince some of those braindead Japanese publishers *cough*Sega*cough* to stop releasing exclusives on that console over the Cube.  I think it's pretty significant that despite its troubles the two most hyped up Cube titles of the year cracked the top ten.

[mouse_clicker]

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Of course just the fact that Enter the Matrix even made it into the top 100 let alone the top ten shows that the PS2 market is driven by f*cking morons.

I think you've called it perfectly, Ian- most PS2 owners have no clue what they're buying.

[Ian Sane]

Imagine if they literally had no clue what they were buying.

"What the hell?  I thought this was Rez, man.  And I can't return this Matrix crap because I already opened it.  Damn."

It would explain a lot anyway.

What these lists really need though is to keep track of returns or trade-ins.  A game can sell huge in the first week only to be returned by half of the people who bought it.  The sales indicate it's a hit but the game could still be hated by those who foolishly bought it.  Once you've bought a game no matter what you can't indicate to the publisher to stop selling bad games.

[MattCrafty]

Most PS2 owners don't know what they're buying because they are sheep that just follow the crowd.

[AJBoma]

All things considered, Nintendo had a good year with an even better year expected in the '04.  Anyone know how much each of these games sold?  I'm especially interested in MKD, Pokemon(either one) and Madden 2004, but a full list would be nice.

Also, what about lists for 2002?

[ruby_onix]

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Imagine if they literally had no clue what they were buying.

I was in Toys R Us just yesterday. Some 20-ish guy picks up the Wind Waker. His girlfriend (or perhaps sister or something) said to him "You're getting him Zelda?" He says "Of course! Zelda rocks!" She says "But he has a PS2." He says "So?" She says "The PS2 doesn't play Nintendo games. You'd have to buy a Nintendo to play Zelda." He hangs his head and walks over to the PS2 rack.

I really wasn't sure what to think of it.

[Djunknown]

As always, when something even remotley good happens to Nintendo, the media elite stay very quiet. But they'll gladly tear them to bits against the Xbox. I'm normally don't believe in conspiracies, but c'mon, you can smell it for cripes sake! Its the smell of a consipiracy!!

When this year's DICE and GDC, roll around, I'm predicting a two-way battle between Nintendo and Sony. I could be wrong though, Knights of the Old Republic might pick up some hardware (as it should.)

[Flames_of_chaos]

well looks like people like the PC version of KOTOR than the xbox version. People are sheeps on the PS2 cause they just go for the major movie franchises or sports usually (wich can also be true on Xbox) and they usually dont know how to tell a difference from a crap game to a great game but alas its the mainstream these days and its sad.  

[bubba23]

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I was in Toys R Us just yesterday. Some 20-ish guy picks up the Wind Waker. His girlfriend (or perhaps sister or something) said to him "You're getting him Zelda?" He says "Of course! Zelda rocks!" She says "But he has a PS2." He says "So?" She says "The PS2 doesn't play Nintendo games. You'd have to buy a Nintendo to play Zelda." He hangs his head and walks over to the PS2 rack.

That rips some stereotypes to shreds.  

[Rancid Planet]

Ahem...let me turn juvenile for a moment.


NINTENDO Is the RUlerz!!!!111

Ther ain't know XBocks gamez in da top TEN!!!!!1111oneoneoneoneoneone



Ahh that felt great. No wonder the XBOX fanboys do that.  

[Ian Sane]

"I was in Toys R Us just yesterday. Some 20-ish guy picks up the Wind Waker. His girlfriend (or perhaps sister or something) said to him "You're getting him Zelda?" He says "Of course! Zelda rocks!" She says "But he has a PS2." He says "So?" She says "The PS2 doesn't play Nintendo games. You'd have to buy a Nintendo to play Zelda." He hangs his head and walks over to the PS2 rack."

That's pretty funny.  It reminds of pretty much every time I see a kid looking at Cube games with his parents.  Every time the kid will want a highly acclaimed tiitle (SSBM, Soul Calibur II) and immediately the parent will dismiss it and suggest something REALLY bad like the f*cking Scorpion King.  "Hey they have Pikmin!  I want that!"  "I've never heard of that.  What about this Spyro game?"  I mean seriously why do these parents give a f*ck about what their kid is playing if it's not an 'M' title?

Just today a family was looking at the used N64 game section and both kids wanted Star Fox 64 because they heard it was good.  The parents didn't know what it was about so I politely told them about it and that it was a really good game.  The dad is all like "Oh that sounds cool.  What do you know about this game?" and he pointed to some golf game that neither I or the clerk had even heard of.

I guess the point I'm making is that ignorant people are strangely attracted to the crappiest titles.

[Mario]

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Anyone know how much each of these games sold? I'm especially interested in MKD, Pokemon(either one) and Madden 2004, but a full list would be nice.

These are some totals i dug up for 2003, i guess i could dig up some more, maybe i will later. *lazy*

Need for Speed Underground PS2 = 1,491,026
Mario Kart: Double Dash GCN = 1,257,539
Tony Hawk Underground PS2 = 1,212,288
Medal of Honour Rising Sun PS2 = 1,007,673

There's no doubt that some of those titles will keep on selling though, but yeah, that's for 2003. Also, Mario Kart should be the number one selling game on GCN (overtaking SSBM, Super Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker) pretty soon if it keeps up this pace.

[Kyosho]

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I guess the point I'm making is that ignorant people are strangely attracted to the crappiest titles.

Some parents obviously are not gamers.  They aren't necessarily ignorant, they just look at the title of a game and usually based their judgement off that because they have nothing else to base it on e.g. extreme casual gamer.  That's also what the back of the box is for.  If everyone and their mother had read PGC or IGN, then all the bottom feeding companies would be weeded out causing a loss of employment but probably a better gaming world.

[WindyMan]

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Originally posted by: MattCrafty
Most PS2 owners don't know what they're buying because they are sheep that just follow the crowd.

Uh, they're not the sheep.  They are the crowd.

[KDR_11k]

Windyman: That's the problem, they're both, leaders and followers. Reinforced stupidity. And they say a perpetuum mobile is impossible...

[Pale]

You are right in saying that a lot of the NFS games were mediocre, but Underground was a completely different beast.  It is one of the most fun racing games I have every played.  Bare in mind you have to be a car freak to really enjoy it, but if you are into cars, DO NOT PASS IT BY!  Playing it with the logitech wheel is a dream.  Something the cube has been missing.  I think those sales numbers are worthy but I do agree that zelda should have sold more.

[mouse_clicker]

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Uh, they're not the sheep. They are the crowd.

Ever heard of the phrase The blind leading the blind?