NPD Results For October 2008 [Archive]

OldJadedGamer

11-13-2008, 04:37 PM

Credit of course goes to SonyCowBoy over at GAF who has never... ever been wrong about NPD numbers in the past:

Hardware Unit Sales Oct-08

Wii 803K
Nintendo DS 491K
Xbox 360 371K
PSP 193K
PlayStation 3 190K
PlayStation 2 136K

Top 10 SW
Publisher Release Date Rank # Units
360 FABLE II MICROSOFT (CORP) Oct-08 1 790K
WII FIT W/ BALANCE BOARD NINTENDO OF AMERICA May-08 2 487K
360 FALLOUT 3 BETHESDA SOFTWORKS Oct-08 3 375K
WII MARIO KART W/ WHEEL NINTENDO OF AMERICA Apr-08 4 290K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA Feb-07 5 282K
360 SAINTS ROW 2 THQ (CORP) Oct-08 6 270K
PS3 SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALS CONFRONTATION SONY (CORP) Oct-08 7 231K
PS3 LITTLE BIG PLANET SONY (CORP) Oct-08 8 215K
360 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE (CORP) Oct-08 9 202K
360 DEAD SPACE ELECTRONIC ARTS Oct-08 10 193K

jacob.armitage

11-13-2008, 04:38 PM

i really though LPB and Dead Space would have done better. Socom is pretty high considering the awful reviews. I'm sure LPB will see strong sales through the holidays though.

TheFlyingOrc

11-13-2008, 04:46 PM

i really though LPB and Dead Space would have done better. Socom is pretty high considering the awful reviews. I'm sure LPB will see strong sales through the holidays though.

I'd say further proof that most people buying PS3s are buying a BluRay player, and that, outside of message boards, most of those buying a PS3 are not "gamers", per se.

OldJadedGamer

11-13-2008, 04:49 PM

i really though LPB and Dead Space would have done better. Socom is pretty high considering the awful reviews. I'm sure LPB will see strong sales through the holidays though.

I didn't think LBP would pass 200k in it's first month so I'm glad I'm wrong but yes, it's a game that has legs and doesn't blow it's load all up front with the hardcores like say a game like MGS4 does.

Also, Sony pulled a "WiiPlay" with Socom bundling the game with the headset. Looking at the sales of the game, it looks like it worked.

And man... the 360 is the third party king.

hideouslywrinkled

11-13-2008, 05:06 PM

Yeah. I think LBP will do well over the holidays and, with the continuous new content, should have pretty long legs.

That 360 price drop seems to be working.

Telefrog

11-13-2008, 05:14 PM

That 360 price drop seems to be working.

Christ, is it ever. I can't wait to see the Nov and Dec sales numbers.

Disgustipated

11-13-2008, 05:25 PM

Man, the 360 is destroying the PS3 in sales. Also, look at those Fable II sales! Awesome. Fable II deserves it. And that's only 10 days worth of sales for Fable II as well..

Telefrog

11-13-2008, 05:30 PM

Also, where is Guitar Hero World Tour? Did the general public finally get tired of the franchise, or is it just a bad time for a $180 game? :D

Gorvi

11-13-2008, 05:36 PM

And the PS3 needs a price drop. When you can buy 2 360s for the price of 1 PS3, yeah, there's a problem.

Keep in mind with LBP, that's only a couple of days worth of sales, probably only 3-4.

OldJadedGamer

11-13-2008, 05:39 PM

Siraris

11-13-2008, 05:39 PM

The PS3 needs a lot more than a price drop.

Pretty sad when LBP gets outsold by a downloadable shooter with all sorts of issues.

Gorvi

11-13-2008, 05:40 PM

Motorstorm 2 was no where to be found in the top 10 so it looks like the first one sold because of the post launch goggles were still on. Interesting to see how Resistance 2 sells next month. I'm sure it will make the top 10 but how high?
That's disappointing as well since the demo was a shitload of fun. I've heard nothing but great things about the full game, it just wasn't in my budget with everything else coming out.

jacob.armitage

11-13-2008, 05:49 PM

And the PS3 needs a price drop. When you can buy 2 360s for the price of 1 PS3, yeah, there's a problem.

Keep in mind with LBP, that's only a couple of days worth of sales, probably only 3-4.

oh, your right! playing the beta kind of messed my memory up on the release date.

Urizen

11-13-2008, 06:04 PM

Since no one else will say it, congrats to Nintendo. Breaking the record they set last month for a non-holiday month console sales. Demand will outstrip supply once this season for the Wii, and Nintendo won't be able to snap historic sales figures in half by getting as much systems as they need to the retail channel...but that would only be a moral victory on top of an actual one at this point.

I think MS could have benefited from a Gears 2 bundle similar to Sony's MGS4 bundle. It's a shame they didn't. They'll be happy with their sales, though.

Sony looks like it's more concerned with Europe right now and will fight for the American gamer next year, which is fine.

Telefrog

11-13-2008, 06:09 PM

I think MS could have benefited from a Gears 2 bundle similar to Sony's MGS4 bundle. It's a shame they didn't. They'll be happy with their sales, though.

I don't think MS is particularly worried about that. :D

By the way, here are the NPD LTD (Lifetime To Date) numbers:

WII: 13,351,000
360: 11,613,000
PS3: 5,684,000

Ondo

11-13-2008, 06:18 PM

Sony looks like it's more concerned with Europe right now and will fight for the American gamer next year, which is fine.
While it's pretty rare to get solid European numbers, Gamasutra has an article here (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3841/the_mushroom_growth_plan_inside_.php) that lists and analyzes some from a Nintendo presentation.

rinichanraar

11-13-2008, 06:25 PM

Since no one else will say it, congrats to Nintendo. Breaking the record they set last month for a non-holiday month console sales.

I was thinking the same. I was surprised no one had commented on the ridiculous Wii sales, but maybe it's just become the norm and everyone's used to it by now. Even still, that's a lot of Wiis.

Iron Past

11-13-2008, 06:36 PM

jacob.armitage

11-13-2008, 06:37 PM

i love ninty and i love the wii but i'm so use to thier success that i generally just skip there numbers, but 800k is very, very impressive.

OldJadedGamer

11-13-2008, 06:46 PM

I was thinking the same. I was surprised no one had commented on the ridiculous Wii sales, but maybe it's just become the norm and everyone's used to it by now. Even still, that's a lot of Wiis.

To me, I've given up on the Wii because they have zero games that interest me this year at all. It seems that they no longer care about me as a customer so I no longer care about their sales. I put them in the same class as N*Sync and Britney Spears. They sell a shit ton but not to me or anyone I know. Out of all my gaming friends, not one single person I know bought a Wii game this entire year (save SSBM which came out in January).

While it's impressive that they are selling to my middle-aged sister and her two young children, it's not impressive at all that they have ignored me and my gaming dollar.

Kelegacy

11-13-2008, 06:58 PM

Motorstorm 2 was no where to be found in the top 10 so it looks like the first one sold because of the post launch goggles were still on. Interesting to see how Resistance 2 sells next month. I'm sure it will make the top 10 but how high?

Yeah, IMO the PS3 won't start selling too well until it hits $299. If it's bad this month... it's only going to get worse in November and December. In this bad economy, things like Blu-ray players really aren't that big of a draw when you are pinching pennies.

I don't know, Motorstorm was a great game that I loved thoroughly. I don't think the drought had EVERYTHING to do with it.

The cheapest 360 is $199, comes with 6 games and a MU, and you can buy a HDD for $20-30 from Microsoft, with their memory program I think. The cheapest PS3 is $400-500. Sony is really fucking up in the pricing of their system. Parents see a viable option with the cheaper-than-the-Wii Arcade unit, with many games included, and Sony is really left out in the cold, especially in this economy.

I hope the sales of the PS3 pick up, but man...the price of entry is WAY too staggering. And I own a PS3. I hope they drop the price soon, instead of just changing the amount of storage space and keeping the price the same. That's just not cutting it.

Whoever is behind that marketing genius needs to be fired.

Lutheran

11-13-2008, 07:03 PM

To me, I've given up on the Wii because they have zero games that interest me this year at all. It seems that they no longer care about me as a customer so I no longer care about their sales. I put them in the same class as N*Sync and Britney Spears. They sell a shit ton but not to me or anyone I know. Out of all my gaming friends, not one single person I know bought a Wii game this entire year (save SSBM which came out in January).

While it's impressive that they are selling to my middle-aged sister and her two young children, it's not impressive at all that they have ignored me and my gaming dollar.

So SSBB and Mario Kart and Lego Indiana Jone and Alone in the Dark and the upcoming Tomb Raider and Sonic Unleashed and Rock Band and Guitar Hero and all those good Wiiware games aren't aimed at you? I agree this is a weak year for them but they have seriously kicked a ton of ass with the Wii. And the DS as well. Next year will be huge , there are a lot of great games coming next year. That is all :)

OldJadedGamer

11-13-2008, 07:03 PM

I hope the sales of the PS3 pick up, but man...the price of entry is WAY too staggering. And I own a PS3. I hope they drop the price soon, instead of just changing the amount of storage space and keeping the price the same. That's just not cutting it.

Whoever is behind that marketing genius needs to be fired.

It's not marketing... it's the idiot that decided to put a Blu-ray in every box. Every single one of the PS3's problems up to and including the inability to drop the price can be blamed on the Blu-ray drive.

They decided long ago and winning the movie format battle was more important then winning the videogame software war. They have made their bed, and now they need to lay in it. I just hope they feel the gamble was worth it to them.

Kelegacy

11-13-2008, 07:05 PM

To me, I've given up on the Wii because they have zero games that interest me this year at all. It seems that they no longer care about me as a customer so I no longer care about their sales. I put them in the same class as N*Sync and Britney Spears. They sell a shit ton but not to me or anyone I know. Out of all my gaming friends, not one single person I know bought a Wii game this entire year (save SSBM which came out in January).

While it's impressive that they are selling to my middle-aged sister and her two young children, it's not impressive at all that they have ignored me and my gaming dollar.

I have to agree with you there completely.

The word for me is irrelevant. But if I had young kids I'd get them one. It's pretty much proven itself to be a great kids and non-gamers' toy. But as an adult gamer with different taste in games than the primary Wii library, there isn't much there to keep me interested.

I'd almost go as far as to say it's the most disappointing system I've ever owned or played in my 28 years of existence. But for the record I've never owned a Jaguar, 32X or CD-I.

KingGorilla

11-13-2008, 08:07 PM

Pretty sad when LBP gets outsold by a downloadable shooter with all sorts of issues.

With it getting pushed back, and equating to like 4 days of sales, I am surprised it made it to the top 10 with things like Fallout and Fable looming heavy.

But fuck me, even in a month without a single game of note, Nintendo does that? They sold almost as many balance boards as DS units.

Urizen

11-13-2008, 10:01 PM

I don't think MS is particularly worried about that. :D

By the way, here are the NPD LTD (Lifetime To Date) numbers:

WII: 13,351,000
360: 11,613,000
PS3: 5,684,000

I believe these are just US figures. Factor in the Canada effect, and the Wii looks more impressive.

To me, I've given up on the Wii because they have zero games that interest me this year at all. It seems that they no longer care about me as a customer so I no longer care about their sales. I put them in the same class as N*Sync and Britney Spears. They sell a shit ton but not to me or anyone I know. Out of all my gaming friends, not one single person I know bought a Wii game this entire year (save SSBM which came out in January).

While it's impressive that they are selling to my middle-aged sister and her two young children, it's not impressive at all that they have ignored me and my gaming dollar.

Which is fine, but I doubt you're wishing there were more releases that appealed to you on the 360 and PS3. The Wii being what it is probably isn't hurting your gaming habit and hobby even though it doesn't appeal to you. You've got two systems appealing to you - why do you want all three?

Secondly, I wasn't aware you watched the NPD figures because you wanted to feel better about the console that catered to your tastes. I thought it was because you had an interest in the business side of the industry and enjoyed seeing the market react to various news and announcements as well as watching trends emerge in consumer taste. I thought it was because you got a kick out of playing armchair analyst to the industry.

My bad.

cawblen

11-13-2008, 10:41 PM

Which is fine, but I doubt you're wishing there were more releases that appealed to you on the 360 and PS3. The Wii being what it is probably isn't hurting your gaming habit and hobby even though it doesn't appeal to you. You've got two systems appealing to you - why do you want all three?

i'm so happy that the Wii doesn't have any games that i care to play at the moment. I applaud those here that have multiple consoles and are able to purchase titles for all of them...my wallet cries at the thought of it.

Rune_74

11-13-2008, 10:59 PM

The wii is a dust collector in my house and I have kids!! what does that tell you? Just because it sells does not make it great.

Norse

11-13-2008, 11:11 PM

Keep in mind with LBP, that's only a couple of days worth of sales, probably only 3-4.

True, but the same goes for Fallout 3. I expected pre-orders for LBP to exceed 215K, but looks like I was wrong.

Ondo

11-13-2008, 11:24 PM

Also, where is Guitar Hero World Tour? Did the general public finally get tired of the franchise, or is it just a bad time for a $180 game? :D
I suspect the issue was too many different SKUs for any one to get a lot of sales. It came out for 4 platforms, each with 3 configurations - game only, with guitar, or the whole band kit. It'd be nice to see some combined sales numbers.

OldJadedGamer

11-14-2008, 12:35 AM

Secondly, I wasn't aware you watched the NPD figures because you wanted to feel better about the console that catered to your tastes. I thought it was because you had an interest in the business side of the industry and enjoyed seeing the market react to various news and announcements as well as watching trends emerge in consumer taste. I thought it was because you got a kick out of playing armchair analyst to the industry.

My bad.

You found me out... I only want to feel better about myself. Good detective work Sherlock.

Deunnero

11-14-2008, 06:28 AM

The wii is a dust collector in my house and I have kids!! what does that tell you? Just because it sells does not make it great.

Same thing in my house. My daughter used to play lots of Wii, but then she discovered the 360 with its almost unlimited "demo play" and was hooked. Several game purchases followed.

I need to unload the Wii (and it's components) during xmas time, and use the extra cash to buy a decent home theater.

Gorvi

11-14-2008, 06:36 AM

The wii is a dust collector in my house and I have kids!! what does that tell you? Just because it sells does not make it great.
Sales doesn't necassarily make anything great, that just means it's either marketed well or it's something a lot of people want. Sales ≠ quality.

The Wii, though, is a fine machine. We just haven't seen any real good releases for it since Spring. Heck, I can't think of when the next big release for the Wii even is in the US.

Telefrog

11-14-2008, 06:38 AM

Same thing in my house. My daughter used to play lots of Wii, but then she discovered the 360 with its almost unlimited "demo play" and was hooked. Several game purchases followed.

My kids now fire up the Wii once in a great while to play Smash Brothers. Other than that, it's a dust magnet.

Kelegacy

11-14-2008, 06:44 AM

The Wii, though, is a fine machine. We just haven't seen any real good releases for it since Spring. Heck, I can't think of when the next big release for the Wii even is in the US.

So it's a fine machine that hasn't had any great games released since the spring, and doesn't have anything in the near future that looks great either?

That's not MY definition of a fine gaming machine. :)

Gorvi

11-14-2008, 06:47 AM

So it's a fine machine that hasn't had any great games released since the spring, and doesn't have anything in the near future that looks great either?

That's not MY definition of a fine gaming machine. :)
Well, there's nothing wrong with the system itself. ;)

But yeah, the Wii desperately needs some new releases that are actual interesting games. It doesn't need them to sell, as we see every month, but it sure as hell needs it to keep the attention of the more traditional gamers who own the machine. We need more than a good WiiWare title every now and then.

roboninja

11-14-2008, 06:56 AM

Are we gamers so egocentric that we actually revile a system that does not cater to us?

Kelegacy

11-14-2008, 07:10 AM

Are we gamers so egocentric that we actually revile a system that does not cater to us?

I don't believe it's egocentricity, it's the feeling, for many gamers, that Nintendo, a company that has been synonymous with gaming for so long, a company who we grew up with, has abandoned them. They bought the Wii and found that it's not the machine they thought it would be.

I'm not surprised by the bitterness at all. This new machine of theirs seems to have no standards to speak of and that official Nintendo seal of quality is long gone or means diddly.

So, the machine many gamers THOUGHT would be another great Nintendo machine to play and own became a casual gaming machine for a different demographic to own.

JayVe

11-14-2008, 07:15 AM

To me, I've given up on the Wii because they have zero games that interest me this year at all.

I got SSBB, Mario Kart, No More Heroes, Wii Fit, Boom Blox, Blast Works, De Blob, and a LOT of WiiWare games this year. Different strokes for different folks.

Edit: Tales of Symphonia, Animal Crossing, Castlevania Judgement are still on tap for this year for me. Next year is Sin & Punishment 2, Punch Out, The Conduit and more.

roboninja

11-14-2008, 07:33 AM

Kelegacy

11-14-2008, 07:35 AM

I guess I can understand that. I simply have more games than I can play on the two platforms I own as it is.

Same here, but it's still fun to bitch.

Food Nipple

11-14-2008, 08:17 AM

More data from MTV's Multiplayer Blog:
(http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/11/14/guitar-hero-wii-sales/)
"Guitar Hero: World Tour,” across all platforms, sold 534,000 copies combined, according to NPD. The Wii version, however, sold best, accruing 183,000 copies sold. Comparatively, “Rock Band 2″ sold 363,000 copies on Xbox 360 alone in September.

If NPD’s top list extended further, the Wii version would have been 18 of 20.

JayVe

11-14-2008, 08:20 AM

More data from MTV's Multiplayer Blog:
(http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/11/14/guitar-hero-wii-sales/)

Awesome. Thanks for the link.

And can anyone recall if a Nintendo version of a multi-platform game ever outsold its competition since the Nintendo 64 and GameCube eras began? “Soul Calibur II” maybe? Anything else? This never happens.

Karmakin

11-14-2008, 08:28 AM

My co-workers who primarily play the Wii are very happy with it. Extremely happy. There's lots of games that to them are great, and it works for them very well. As I've said all along, it really appeals to the ex-gamer crowd, the 25-34 age bracket who used to play a ton of games, but kinda fell away from it, but wants to play a game every now and then.

divinechaos

11-14-2008, 08:41 AM

I want Rock Band 2 to do so well compared to GH:WT. God, I hate that game.

JayVe

11-14-2008, 08:52 AM

I want Rock Band 2 to do so well compared to GH:WT. God, I hate that game.

I purchased GH:WT for the guitar cause my Rock Band guitar broke. According to the bullet list on the back of the box, GH:WT sounded just like Rock Band. Yet... when I played it the game felt flat, as if it has no soul. I couldn't put my finger on it. So I kept the guitar, which is QUALITY, and traded in the game. Put the credit towards the Rock Band 2 disc and never looked back.

TheFlyingOrc

11-14-2008, 08:57 AM

I purchased GH:WT for the guitar cause my Rock Band guitar broke. According to the bullet list on the back of the box, GH:WT sounded just like Rock Band. Yet... when I played it the game felt flat, as if it has no soul. I couldn't put my finger on it. So I kept the guitar, which is QUALITY, and traded in the game. Put the credit towards the Rock Band 2 disc and never looked back.

I would never have predicted that Rock Band 2 would smash Guitar Hero like it appears it will.

I think at least one problem was calling it "World Tour", rather than calling it "GH4". It doesn't SOUND like a full release.

JayVe

11-14-2008, 08:59 AM

I would never have predicted that Rock Band 2 would smash Guitar Hero like it appears it will.

I think at least one problem was calling it "World Tour", rather than calling it "GH4". It doesn't SOUND like a full release.

Well, after my Rock Band 1 drums AND guitar broke down, I was very hesitant to give EA my money for the sequel. Yet Rock Band is a better game... but my Guitar Hero guitar feels amazingly solid.

Zero

11-14-2008, 09:04 AM

Well, after my Rock Band 1 drums AND guitar broke down, I was very hesitant to give EA my money for the sequel. Yet Rock Band is a better game... but my Guitar Hero guitar feels amazingly solid.

The RB2 guitar is much, much better than the RB1 version.

quidmonkey

11-14-2008, 09:46 AM

Go Wii Play!

What's crazy is that Wii outsold 360, PS3 and PS2 combined.

Food Nipple

11-14-2008, 10:15 AM

I would never have predicted that Rock Band 2 would smash Guitar Hero like it appears it will.

I think at least one problem was calling it "World Tour", rather than calling it "GH4". It doesn't SOUND like a full release.

It depends on your definition of "winning." Rock Band may have sold a lot of copies last month on 360, but those were all standalone discs. A lot of the GT:WT sales are probably the full bundle, so they may end up selling less copies, but each of those copies is selling for 3x as much.

Since no SKU of either Rock Band or Guitar Hero made the top 10, it's hard to tell which one sold more this month, what platforms they sold on, and if people are buying the big bundles or just the game.

JayVe

11-14-2008, 10:34 AM

What's crazy is that Wii outsold 360, PS3 and PS2 combined.
Damn. What a perspective!

Norse

11-14-2008, 10:37 AM

Damn. What a perspective!

Yeah, I've lost faith in humanity :)

quidmonkey

11-14-2008, 10:39 AM

Yeah, I've lost faith in humanity :)

Sweet! I lost faith in gaymers.

Haemorrhage

11-14-2008, 10:40 AM

It depends on your definition of "winning." Rock Band may have sold a lot of copies last month on 360, but those were all standalone discs. A lot of the GT:WT sales are probably the full bundle, so they may end up selling less copies, but each of those copies is selling for 3x as much.

Since no SKU of either Rock Band or Guitar Hero made the top 10, it's hard to tell which one sold more this month, what platforms they sold on, and if people are buying the big bundles or just the game.

I would have to disagree with you somewhat here Food. GH:WT probably sold plenty of stand alone copies to previous Rock Band owners. And even if the majority are full bundles, selling for 3x as much will not increase profits drastically over the standalone games after you factor in the cost of production of the guitar, drums and mic in each bundle.

Rock Bandit

11-14-2008, 10:43 AM

It depends on your definition of "winning." Rock Band may have sold a lot of copies last month on 360, but those were all standalone discs. A lot of the GT:WT sales are probably the full bundle, so they may end up selling less copies, but each of those copies is selling for 3x as much.

Since no SKU of either Rock Band or Guitar Hero made the top 10, it's hard to tell which one sold more this month, what platforms they sold on, and if people are buying the big bundles or just the game.

I do believe it will sell better than Rock Band but that's mostly due to name recognition amongst the casuals. They are (ironically) helped by the fact that people with RB drums and mics can pick up World Tour at a minimum hit to the wallet and living space where as if there was no instrument compatibility than people who already got themselves a Rock Band set-up would be hesitant to pick up yet another full band bundle.

They're definately not going to be able to put up GH3 numbers though.

Deunnero

11-14-2008, 11:02 AM

They're definately not going to be able to put up GH3 numbers though.

Holiday sales will be stellar. Especially for the 2-guitar bundles. It will be close.

TheFlyingOrc

11-14-2008, 11:11 AM

Holiday sales will be stellar. Especially for the 2-guitar bundles. It will be close.

Not with those early sales, it won't. Guitar Hero 3 sold over 8 million copies.

Deunnero

11-14-2008, 11:21 AM

Not with those early sales, it won't. Guitar Hero 3 sold over 8 million copies.

I was speaking in terms of xbox360 sales. Overall, it will be a tough sell to many, as they already have RB1, or RB2.

I think a lot of the newcomers (parents) who'll pick up an xbox in the next 45 days, will in fact pick up GH:WT (or the discounted RB1 bundle) at the same time.

Here around the office, the Wii is getting a lot of talk, but many can't find them, and surely won't see any soon. So the next alternative is not the $400 system with a pack-in, it's the $199 arcade + 2-3 games. Many of which have said that it'll be GH:WT bundle (for their kids :p) and either Gears or CoD for themselves.

If my workplace is any indication, that'll be a huge boost for MS, and it's partners and could easily represent a million sales (hardware+software) for the "non-gamer/casual" segment.

TheFlyingOrc

11-14-2008, 11:43 AM

I was speaking in terms of xbox360 sales. Overall, it will be a tough sell to many, as they already have RB1, or RB2.

I think a lot of the newcomers (parents) who'll pick up an xbox in the next 45 days, will in fact pick up GH:WT (or the discounted RB1 bundle) at the same time.

Here around the office, the Wii is getting a lot of talk, but many can't find them, and surely won't see any soon. So the next alternative is not the $400 system with a pack-in, it's the $199 arcade + 2-3 games. Many of which have said that it'll be GH:WT bundle (for their kids :p) and either Gears or CoD for themselves.

If my workplace is any indication, that'll be a huge boost for MS, and it's partners and could easily represent a million sales (hardware+software) for the "non-gamer/casual" segment.
Well, that's nice, but my point is that it looks like the gap between Guitar Hero and Rock Band is going to be far narrower this year than last year.

We can't pretend like Christmas presents aren't bought in October. Obviously November is better, but for a Guitar Hero game, those sales are pitiful.

Deadend

11-14-2008, 12:06 PM

GH:WT has 3 SKUs per console off the top of my head. That is quite a bit of spliting sales.

I am just happy to see Fable 2 up there, as Lionhead fucking delivered on it.

KSmitty

11-14-2008, 01:46 PM

I don't believe it's egocentricity, it's the feeling, for many gamers, that Nintendo, a company that has been synonymous with gaming for so long, a company who we grew up with, has abandoned them. They bought the Wii and found that it's not the machine they thought it would be.
Are these the same 22 million people that bought a Gamecube? Down from the
32 million that bought N64s? Gamers in general abandoned Nintendo when Sony entered the gaming scene. I really can't fault Nintendo for not going out of their way to cater to a market that has stopped supporting them for YEARS.

I'm not surprised by the bitterness at all. This new machine of theirs seems to have no standards to speak of and that official Nintendo seal of quality is long gone or means diddly.
I never understood this argument. How does bad games being on a system somehow undermine the integrity of a system as a whole? The PS2 is considered a fantastic system, the majority of its yearly releases were crap and were rated like crap. The system with the highest mass market appeal is going to get the most shovelware, this has been apparent for several console cycles.

So, the machine many gamers THOUGHT would be another great Nintendo machine to play and own became a casual gaming machine for a different demographic to own.
The same 22 million gamers that bought Gamecubes? Because if you were one of those GC owners you already have everything that the GC had over its entire lifecycle. A Mario, a Zelda, a Kart, a Smash, a Metroid, an Animal Crossing, a new Pikmin, a Pikmin redux, with a new Zelda and Mario on the way and thats not even counting some of the good 3rd party titles that are out for the system. This 'Casual/They forgot about Us/Its no longer a gamer machine' FUD is tiresome and most of all false. Nintendo is doing what it has always done PLUS going after the casual market. And you can bet good money that MS and Sony are trying to follow suit.

RandoM51

11-14-2008, 01:52 PM

I'd say further proof that most people buying PS3s are buying a BluRay player, and that, outside of message boards, most of those buying a PS3 are not "gamers", per se.

I'd say it is further proof that the ps3 has a significantly smaller install base in the US than either the Wii or the 360 at this point and that it is a miracle that they ever have a title on the top 10. I suspect if you were to compare those numbers as a percentage of install base that you would see ps3 owners buying plenty of software and by software I mean games.

With 13m 360 and 6m PS3 in the US, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the same game is usually going to sell fewer copies on the PS3. Indeed, you yourself have often used that to explain why the ps3 will not see certain titles or should not retain exclusivity of some titles. Seems rather curious that you roll out these numbers when they support your argument but ignore them when they don't. :)

Then again, I don't make a habit of trying to downplay the ps3 as a next gen console every chance I get so YMMV.

DarkDay

11-14-2008, 02:00 PM

If the ps3 was same price as the 360 I would own one, not 2 360's.

It needs to be 199 now, well last really...but ill take now too.

TheFlyingOrc

11-14-2008, 02:10 PM

Then again, I don't make a habit of trying to downplay the ps3 as a next gen console every chance I get so YMMV.
Yes. I do this. I do this because I find it entertaining. Explain to me how that allows you to feign some weird kind of moral superiority over me, please.

You do the blasted same thing in reverse, but you pretend as if that somehow makes you better than me. I'm going to continue to bash Sony, and you're going to continue to defend them.

And yes, the PS3s sales spike coincided almost exactly with BluRay winning the format war. If the 360s top billed game, talked about as THE reason to get the system this year, had only sold 200k-ish at launch, we'd mock it relentlessly.

OldJadedGamer

11-14-2008, 02:54 PM

If the ps3 was same price as the 360 I would own one, not 2 360's.

It needs to be 199 now, well last really...but ill take now too.

I bought mine for $220 and after buying it and playing around with it... I can honestly say that the machine is worth $250-$299 but not any more then that. It makes a great second system to add to your collection.

While the PS3 is a great system, I do believe it's destined to third place and have a GameCube esq following where it's more about quality then quantity with releases.

It's just too bad because I honestly believe that if they skipped on the Blu-ray and the system was released at $399 it would have been a huge run away hit up to par with the PS2. Again, they have no one but themselves to blame for where the unit is at today because they decided that the movie format battle was more important then the videogame war.

Telefrog

11-14-2008, 03:03 PM

GH:WT has 3 SKUs per console off the top of my head. That is quite a bit of spliting sales.

Number of Guitar Hero SKUs in last October's NPD Top Ten Sales list: Four.

Number this October: Zero.

:D

TheFlyingOrc

11-14-2008, 03:05 PM

Number of Guitar Hero SKUs in last October's NPD Top Ten Sales list: Four.

Number this October: Zero.

:D

As I said, I'm astounded and very happy that Rock Band might win this year. Viva la better game.

Telefrog

11-14-2008, 03:21 PM

By the way, I'd like to point out that Wii Music only sold 66,000 copies (http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/11/14/wii-music-sales-one-tenth-of-wii-fit/) which makes me damn happy. I called that. I knew Myamoto's lame ass non-rythm game would sell like crap.

It might have a "long tail" like other Nintendo titles, but not in NA.

Ondo

11-14-2008, 03:29 PM

So Gamasutra now has a list of the top 20 games from NPD here (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21117). It also groups together all SKUs of a game for the same platform - I think because of this it disagrees with Multiplayer, showing the 360 version of Guitar Hero selling better than the Wii version.

Also, Rock Band 2 for the PS3 is ahead of Guitar Hero for the PS3. It'll be interesting to see how Rock Band 2 for the Wii does when it's released.

Variable Gear

11-14-2008, 03:34 PM

MalReynolds

11-14-2008, 09:49 PM

i wanna see november ... thinks there gonna be alot of sales between gears and R2

Rock Bandit

11-15-2008, 02:55 AM

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201179.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2

The NPD Group, the US game-industry research firm of record, issues its best-seller lists based on SKUs (Stock-Keeping Units), retail shorthand for a single product. Each iteration of a game on a different platform is its own SKU, and every subconfiguration--bundles, special editions, and so on--is also a different SKU. With no less than 11 Guitar Hero World Tour and four Rock Band 2 configurations, the two games simply spread themselves too thin, SKU-wise, to make the cut.

Now, the release of the raw October NPD data allows for the tabulation of the two games' total sales. Unsurprisingly, Guitar Hero World Tour, available on four consoles, was the winner with just more than 534,000 units sold for the month. The most popular platform was the Xbox 360 (191,049 units), followed by the Wii (182,845), PlayStation 3 (96,657), and PlayStation 2 (63,462). Overall, the game generated $67.3 million in sales during the month.

Rock Band 2's second-place finish wasn't too shabby either, with sales split almost evenly amongst its two platforms. NPD reports that US retailers sold 238,128 units of the game during October, 119,569 being of the 360 variety and 118,559 bearing the PlayStation 3 mark. Its monthly haul stood at $26.7 million. The PS3 version of the game went on sale October 17, nearly a month after the 360 Rock Band 2. Wii and PlayStation 2 editions are expected next month.

So there you go, quantity trumps quality.

Ondo

11-15-2008, 03:08 AM

So there you go, quantity trumps quality.
That's a pessimistic view. Guitar Hero "won" this month because it came out for all four platforms this month. If you include last month's sales Rock Band 2 comes out ahead; if you look at first month on PS3 or Xbox 360 Rock Band comes out ahead. It sure looks to me like quality is winning.

JayVe

11-15-2008, 08:21 AM

How does bad games being on a system somehow undermine the integrity of a system as a whole? The PS2 is considered a fantastic system, the majority of its yearly releases were crap and were rated like crap. The system with the highest mass market appeal is going to get the most shovelware, this has been apparent for several console cycles.

Thanks for the common sense.