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[kame-sennin]

great numbers for the Wii. Cannot be the DK effect can it? If not, blimey, didn't know a franchise like that could move some units

Last year, NSMB Wii moved 4 million Wii consoles in the U.S. (I know this is a Japan sales thread, but the record breaking factor is relevant to the discussion). We can assume it brought in a lot of people who were dying to have a 2D platformer on a home console. This year, I think the Wii is selling to people who want a 2D platformer, but won't buy a console for just one game. Therefore, DKCR (and perhaps All-stars as well) is multiplying the selling power of NSMB Wii and pushing people off the fence. The software sales of either game don't seem to justify the sales bump if considered separately, and as you said, there's no other game that could be driving sales.

 

[Chris1964]

I'm sure the relaunch of Wii Sports Resort / Motion+ and the Red Wii are responsible for many new Wii owners.

 

[Kevtones]

Love to see DKCR doing well. Game is phenomenal.

 

[Turrican3]

If Sony is sincere about making the PS3 a motion control console that can be taken seriously, then they need to start making Move a default inclusion with the system, much like Nintendo needs to make the Classic Controller Pro a default inclusion to stop confusing consumers with different bundles and what-not.

As much as I love the Wii platform (and the whole wiimote/nunchuck concept itself) it's hard for me to deny that this peculiar control scheme is far from being well exploited, even by Nintendo.

Now, imagine what kind of miserable efforts we could have had if wiimote/nunchuck wasn't the default controller!

So, in short: I believe Nintendo made the right move (no pun intended ) keeping Classic Controllers optional.

 

[Road]

This December couldn't be worse for PS3.

Of course it could. =P

First four weeks of December:

2008 - 138,111
2007 - 197,102
2010 - 197,385 <---
2006 - 229,431
2009 - 416,512

It is a bad holiday season anyway. Eight weeks of (November+December) / YTD ratio:

2010 - 20.6%
2008 - 24.7%
2007 - 31.8%
2009 - 32.6%

 

[Augemitbutter]

I'm more shocked that the Saturn outsold the N64.

you should be more shocked about the PCE. it was/is the cooler console, but that's just glorious :lol

 

[Celine]

you should be more shocked about the PCE. it was/is the cooler console, but that's just glorious :lol

I've always thought that Saturn inherited PCEngine otaku fanbase.

 

[perfectchaos007]

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the DS according to Famitsu"
-Nintendo

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the PSP according to Media Create"
-Sony

It must be nice to be able to choose which sales tracking company to go by in Japan since they are both equally reliable.

 

[d+pad]

PS3 has pulled ahead the Saturn to become the best selling loser home console in Japan:

PS3 - 6.01
SAT - 5.90
PCE - 5.84
N64 - 5.54
NGC - 4.02
GEN - 3.58
DC - 2.80
360 - 1.41
3DO - 0.72
XBX - 0.50

(Millions of units, sell-through or shipment data: http://gamedatamuseum.web.fc2.com/hardhistory.htm

Wow, I honestly never knew the Saturn sold that well in Japan. Also, I thought the PCE sold more than that. Interesting!

 

[cw_sasuke]

Wow, I honestly never knew the Saturn sold that well in Japan. Also, I thought the PCE sold more than that. Interesting!

There is a reason why DQ7 was once planned for the Saturn.

 

[Celine]

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the DS according to Famitsu"
-Nintendo

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the PSP according to Media Create"
-Sony

It must be nice to be able to choose which sales tracking company to go by in Japan since they are both equally reliable.

Dengeki will declare the winner :lol

EDIT:

There is a reason why DQ7 was once planned for the Saturn.

DQVII was never planned for Saturn.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Dengeki will declare the winner :lol

who?

 

[Allan Holdsworth]

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the DS according to Famitsu"
-Nintendo

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the PSP according to Media Create"
-Sony

It must be nice to be able to choose which sales tracking company to go by in Japan since they are both equally reliable.

One week left for Media Create.

 

[duckroll]

Wada and Kitase are tactical geniuses. They probably already have an escape plan, since they predicted what the Square Enix HQ will look like, 3 years from now in T3B:

 

[Regulus Tera]

Wada and Kitase are tactical geniuses. They probably already have an escape plan, since they predicted what the Square Enix HQ will look like, 3 years from now in T3B:

Golden Parachutes for everyone!

 

[kame-sennin]

I'm sure the relaunch of Wii Sports Resort / Motion+ and the Red Wii are responsible for many new Wii owners.

Definitely, but software is always the primary sales driver. Looking at the last year of the system, NSMBW and DKCR are the only games that could really be moving consoles.

 

[Busaiku]

In Japan yes, but worldwide I'm pretty sure the Prime series has sold more than 4-5 million combined. Not to say DKCR can't sell even more.

Metroid Prime managed to do "over 2 million" (likely the shipment). Metroid Prime 3 did 1.31 million (shipment) as of March 2008, I can't imagine it being much higher. Echoes was less than Corruption, and Trilogy wasn't much at all.
I can't imagine the series being at 5 million.

 

[Chris1964]

Definitely, but software is always the primary sales driver. Looking at the last year of the system, NSMBW and DKCR are the only games that could really be moving consoles.

Wii Sports Resort is a game and the Red Wii has the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. pre-installed.

 

[Chris1964]

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the DS according to Famitsu"
-Nintendo

"The best selling game system of 2010 in Japan is the PSP according to Media Create"
-Sony

It must be nice to be able to choose which sales tracking company to go by in Japan since they are both equally reliable.

It's not about reliability. They are tracking different periods. If Media Create followed Famitsu these would be the YTD numbers:

NDS: 2.952.535
PSP: 2.935.452

 

[kame-sennin]

Wii Sports Resort is a game and the Red Wii has the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. pre-installed.

I forgot about that, thanks for the correction. I think that still supports my point that DKCR, as well as All-stars, are combining with NSMBW to bring in 2D platforming fans who wouldn't buy a console for NSMBW alone. The key here is that, if you look at DKCR sales in a vacuum, there's no way they're strong enough to explain the Wii's performance. And yet, it's the biggest game on the platform this week. There has to be a multiplier effect, and it only makes sense that DKCR is enhancing the hardware moving power of the other 2D platformers on the console. It's kind of like Captain Planet.

I'm sure Wii Sports Resort is helping as well, but it was clear in the weeks following its release in 2009 that it doesn't have the selling strength of NSMBW or the original Wii Sports (which is a pretty high standard).

 

[perfectchaos007]

One week left for Media Create.

I'm sorry but the DS won't outsell the PSP by 27,000+ units the week after Christmas.

 

[duckroll]

I'm sorry but the DS won't outsell the PSP by 27,000+ units the week after Christmas.

It might. It might not. It'll be really close either way.

 

[Chris1964]

I'm sorry but the DS won't outsell the PSP by 27,000+ units the week after Christmas.

Don't make statements that might backfire. Maybe it won't, maybe it will. You can't know.

 

[Kenka]

Don't make statements that might backfire. Maybe it won't, maybe it will. You can't know.

Lors of crows were eaten back at MHP3 launch, indeed. But we can agree that this gap is difficult to close. Let's see what the DS has up its sleeves.

 

[nextgeneration]

Wow at the performance of wii in December. I thought ps3 was going to take the ytd sales over wii, but I guess not. Amazing psp sales as well. Monster Hunter is just a monster. :lol

 

[donny2112]

They almost kept pace this year with the Wii in Japan.

The Wii has been crippled and dying in Japan for a couple of years now.

Looking at the last year of the system, NSMBW and DKCR are the only games that could really be moving consoles.

Wii Fit Plus continues to sell systems.

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

Last year, NSMB Wii moved 4 million Wii consoles in the U.S. (I know this is a Japan sales thread, but the record breaking factor is relevant to the discussion). We can assume it brought in a lot of people who were dying to have a 2D platformer on a home console. This year, I think the Wii is selling to people who want a 2D platformer, but won't buy a console for just one game. Therefore, DKCR (and perhaps All-stars as well) is multiplying the selling power of NSMB Wii and pushing people off the fence. The software sales of either game don't seem to justify the sales bump if considered separately, and as you said, there's no other game that could be driving sales.

sounds pretty plausible, mate. All in all I'm very happy for DK, this means more 2D platforms, yeahh

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

All hail Donkey Kong

Agreed. I never ceased to be amazed at how Nintendo games sell so well at Christmas.

 

[duckroll]

Lors of crows were eaten back at MHP3 launch, indeed. But we can agree that this gap is difficult to close. Let's see what the DS has up its sleeves.

I don't really think there's much of a gap, nor that it is hard to close. The DS and PSP are both selling well in the holiday season, and 27k isn't a big gap at all. The fact that the gap isn't bigger, considering MHP3's release, is sort of surprising actually.

 

[Takao]

I just realized, that Ape Escape PS3 game super bombed. I realize it was a Move game so that isn't surprising. It just makes me wonder how big the franchise once was *hint*Chris*hint.

 

[slaughterking]

Not very big, but some games did pretty reasonable numbers.

http://garaph.info/gamesearch.php?t...d1=&sltd2=&gameid=&orderby=&res1=&res2=&opt=1

 

[Chris1964]

Media Create

Game 1: [ALL] Software Sales 2009 (All Publishers) {2008.12.29} - 2.797.057 / 68.556.398
Game 2: [ALL] Software Sales 2010 (All Publishers) {2010.01.04} - 1.766.699 / 63.616.785


------------------------------------------------
|    |       Game 1       |       Game 2       |
|----|---------|----------|---------|----------|
|Week|  Weekly |    LTD   |  Weekly |    LTD   |
|----|---------|----------|---------|----------|
|  1 |2.797.057| 2.797.057|1.766.699| 1.766.699|
|  2 |1.209.711| 4.006.768|1.195.503| 2.962.202|
|  3 |1.114.565| 5.121.333|  961.643| 3.923.845|
|  4 |  940.943| 6.062.276|1.932.790| 5.856.635|
|  5 |1.378.293| 7.440.569|1.217.094| 7.073.729|
|  6 |  896.998| 8.337.567|  976.672| 8.050.401|
|  7 |1.167.144| 9.504.711|  935.583| 8.985.984|
|  8 |1.067.665|10.572.376|1.144.290|10.130.274|
|  9 |1.467.549|12.039.925|1.095.707|11.225.981|
| 10 |1.288.366|13.328.291|  922.882|12.148.863|
| 11 |  953.587|14.281.878|1.227.612|13.376.475|
| 12 |1.078.598|15.360.476|1.447.298|14.823.773|
| 13 |1.051.816|16.412.292|1.048.568|15.872.341|
| 14 |  790.499|17.202.791|  674.803|16.547.144|
| 15 |  671.208|17.873.999|  584.454|17.131.598|
| 16 |  703.770|18.577.769|  661.111|17.792.709|
| 17 |  825.335|19.403.104|1.916.602|19.709.311|
| 18 |1.078.877|20.481.981|1.071.699|20.781.010|
| 19 |  864.912|21.346.893|  630.889|21.411.899|
| 20 |  567.267|21.914.160|  739.831|22.151.730|
| 21 |  573.589|22.487.749|1.121.885|23.273.615|
| 22 |1.224.865|23.712.614|  674.082|23.947.697|
| 23 |  701.587|24.414.201|  729.218|24.676.915|
| 24 |  556.694|24.970.895|  617.269|25.294.184|
| 25 |  621.673|25.592.568|  967.422|26.261.606|
| 26 |1.082.099|26.674.667|1.306.705|27.568.311|
| 27 |  835.473|27.510.140|1.125.460|28.693.771|
| 28 |2.891.934|30.402.074|1.239.750|29.933.521|
| 29 |1.254.521|31.656.595|  954.520|30.888.041|
| 30 |1.026.466|32.683.061|1.444.713|32.332.754|
| 31 |1.593.748|34.276.809|  973.222|33.305.976|
| 32 |1.476.314|35.753.123|  941.960|34.247.936|
| 33 |1.183.723|36.936.846|  881.604|35.129.540|
| 34 |  800.909|37.737.755|  909.161|36.038.701|
| 35 |  848.940|38.586.695|  712.936|36.751.637|
| 36 |  933.631|39.520.326|  678.266|37.429.903|
| 37 |2.068.093|41.588.419|3.196.673|40.626.576|
| 38 |1.624.686|43.213.105|1.540.856|42.167.432|
| 39 |  901.145|44.114.250|1.346.096|43.513.528|
| 40 |1.774.446|45.888.696|1.127.543|44.641.071|
| 41 |1.101.866|46.990.562|  838.752|45.479.823|
| 42 |1.004.733|47.995.295|1.051.689|46.531.512|
| 43 |  849.885|48.845.180|1.286.742|47.818.254|
| 44 |1.292.657|50.137.837|  736.923|48.555.177|
| 45 |1.094.545|51.232.382|  828.892|49.384.069|
| 46 |  940.357|52.172.739|  910.229|50.294.298|
| 47 |  754.473|52.927.212|1.479.110|51.773.408|
| 48 |1.103.204|54.030.416|3.276.244|55.049.652|
| 49 |2.723.462|56.753.878|2.223.541|57.273.193|
| 50 |2.165.545|58.919.423|2.838.151|60.111.344|
| 51 |3.945.539|62.864.962|3.505.441|63.616.785|
| 52 |3.267.504|66.132.466|         |          |
| 53 |2.423.932|68.556.398|         |          |
------------------------------------------------

 

[Chris1964]

Not very big, but some games did pretty reasonable numbers.

http://garaph.info/gamesearch.php?t...d1=&sltd2=&gameid=&orderby=&res1=&res2=&opt=1

As usually PS1 entry was the big seller

{1999.06.21 - 1999.12.26} 0140. [PS1] Ape Escape (SCE) {1999.06.24} - 70.683 / 293.566
{2000.07.03 - 2002.12.29} 0192. [PS1] Ape Escape [Playstation the Best] (SCE) {2000.07.06} - 0 / 208.614
{2001.07.02 - 2002.03.31} 0352. [PS2] Ape Escape 2001 (SCE) {2001.07.05} - 20.133 / 129.857
{2002.07.15 - 2002.12.29} 0165. [PS2] Ape Escape 2 (SCE) {2002.07.18} - 83.328 / 269.368
{2002.09.30 - 2002.10.27} 1468. [PS2] Ape Escape 2001 [Playstation 2 the Best] (SCE) {2002.10.03} - 3.061 / 9.022
{2002.12.02 - 2004.12.26} 0277. [PS2] Ape Escape 2 [Playstation 2 the Best] (SCE) {2002.12.05} - 0 / 167.835
{2004.06.28 - 2004.12.26} 0382. [PS2] Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed (SCE) {2004.07.01} - 37.457 / 122.963
{2004.12.27 - 2005.12.25} 0085. [PSP] Ape Escape: Academy (SCE) {2004.12.30} - 22.999 / 127.679
{2005.03.07 - 2005.12.25} 0685. [PS2] Ape Escape 2 [Playstation 2 the Best Reprint] (SCE) {2005.03.10} - 0 / 57.397
{2005.03.14 - 2005.12.25} 0099. [PSP] Ape Escape: On the Loose (SCE) {2005.03.17} - 24.816 / 113.443
{2005.07.11 - 2006.04.02} 0212. [PS2] Ape Escape 3 (SCE) {2005.07.14} - 92.646 / 212.721
{2005.10.31 - 2006.12.31} 0609. [PS2] Ape Escape 3 [Playstation 2 the Best] (SCE) {2005.11.02} - 4.984 / 68.002
{2005.12.12 - 2006.12.31} 0215. [PSP] Ape Escape: Academy 2 (SCE) {2005.12.15} - 0 / 49.072
{2006.07.10 - 2006.12.31} 0361. [PS2] Ape Escape: Million Monkeys (SCE) {2006.07.13} - 55.376 / 128.563
{2006.12.04 - 2007.12.30} 0174. [PSP] Ape Escape: Racer (SCE) {2006.12.07} - 9.595 / 63.563
{2007.07.23 - 2008.12.28} 0154. [PSP] Ape Escape: Big Monkey Mission (SCE) {2007.07.26} - 12.703 / 74.785
{2008.12.08 - 2009.12.27} 0453. [PSP] Ape Escape: Big Monkey Mission [PSP the Best] (SCE) {2008.12.11} - 0 / 10.987
{2009.03.16 - 2009.12.27} 0222. [PSP] Ape Escape: Piposaru Senki (SCE) {2009.03.19} - 15.992 / 45.851

 

[Takao]

Those numbers aren't great, and shows more of the SCEJ power of franchise destruction. But the mainline entries do decent numbers (the drop from Ape Escape to Ape Escape 2 wasn't that large when the budget releases are added, though the drop from AE2 to AE3 is large), would it happen to be SCEJ's second biggest active franchise?

I wonder if franchise fatigue (there's a tonne of spinoffs in that chart), or lack of quality is the cause for the decline.

 

[Chris1964]

Hot Shots Golf is Sony's second biggest active franchise in Japan after Gran Turismo.

 

[Wazzim]

Hot Shots Golf is Sony's second biggest active franchise in Japan after Gran Turismo.

And even GT gets medicore sales :/

 

[AniHawk]

I'm sorry but the DS won't outsell the PSP by 27,000+ units the week after Christmas.

You're not sorry.

 

[kame-sennin]

Wii Fit Plus continues to sell systems.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Wii Fit Plus been hanging out lower in the chart than NSMBW? Am I missing bundle sales? Either way, to clarify my point, I understand that Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit sell consoles. I'm not dismissing that because those games have always been system sellers. But my original response to Anasui Kishibe was an attempt to explain why Wii sales are so strong given the dearth of new software and/or old games surging up the charts. If say, NSMBW was in the top five, then it would be clear that the game was pushing hardware sales all by itself for the second year in a row, but that's not happening. Wii doesn't have any BIG selling titles this season and their old system sellers are hanging out lower in the chart. My belief is that a combination of games must be responsible for Wii's impressive sales. Considering the pent up demand for 2D platformers, DKCR, NSMBW and All-stars are probably responsible for that surge.

You could argue that WSR and Wii Fit Plus were pushing sales through their combined strength, but neither game caused a major hardware surge* when they were released and selling really well. NSMBW on the other hand caused the hardware to break records in Nintendo's biggest region, so it's a good candidate to look at when trying to explain the Wii's current success.

*I know someone will catch this if my memory is wrong here.

 

[FINALFANTASYDOG]

Just of note : I think it's very likely PSP hardware sales are semi-supply constrained(which is kinda ridiculous) I see it completely sold out in my area in Tokyo and retailer blogs in the country-side are reporting large amounts of customer inquiries about it.

 

[BishopLamont]

I'm sorry but the DS won't outsell the PSP by 27,000+ units the week after Christmas.

Are you confusing this week with the week after? Coz this week is still a huge one, DS outsold the PSP by 44k this time last year. The PSP will probably take it since their sales are much closer this year but you can't be sure.

 

[Datschge]

kame-sennin, the christmas period is the time for family related sales. Nintendo traditionally does very well targeting that kind of sales. Such sales are also by far not as reliant on recent games but also boost popular older games. Here again Nintendo traditionally does very well with their focus on evergreen titles. We just happen to see this effect again for like I guess the 25th time or so now.

 

[donny2112]

My belief is that a combination of games must be responsible for Wii's impressive sales.

December is responsible for Wii's impressive sales. A good catalog lineup is supporting that, though, definitely.

Edit:
Datschge said basically the same thing above.

Considering the pent up demand for 2D platformers,

I don't see it.

Are 2-D platformers more friendly to people who aren't used to games or haven't played in a while? Sure.
Pent-up demand? The people usually associated with the surge that came along with NSMBWii aren't those who will be "frothing at the mouth" for any games, 2-D platformers or not.

You could argue that WSR and Wii Fit Plus were pushing sales through their combined strength, but neither game caused a major hardware surge* when they were released and selling really well.

You're falling into the "initial sales are most meaningful" trap.

It's tailed off the last six months, but Wii Fit and then Wii Fit Plus were absolutely significant sales drivers for Wii for most of their lifetimes. Nintendo has put out data indicating the same thing before in their reports.

Note:
I'm not trying to say that there's a "hard" correlation between weekly Wii HW sales and Wii Fit/Plus sales, but there is definitely a market out there of people who consisyently buy those two items together. i.e. system seller.

NSMBW on the other hand caused the hardware to break records in Nintendo's biggest region, so it's a good candidate to look at when trying to explain the Wii's current success.

Did it make an impact? Sure.
Was it the main driver? No way. December 2009 was the first December for Wii in the U.S. that it wasn't supply-constrained, it had had a $50 price drop three months earlier, and Wal-Mart was offering a $50 gift card on every Wii purchased. All of those were more important than NSMB Wii's release to the 3.81m sold that month.

 

[kame-sennin]

kame-sennin, the christmas period is the time for family related sales. Nintendo traditionally does very well targeting that kind of sales. Such sales are also by far not as reliant on recent games but also boost popular older games. Here again Nintendo traditionally does very well with their focus on evergreen titles. We just happen to see this effect again for like I guess the 25th time or so now.

I'm aware. But it's not like Nintendo has magic fairy dust that makes their games sell well at Christmas. They have done well because they have strong all-ages software. During the Gamecube era, they did well during the holidays, but they did not reach the heights they currently enjoy because the software appeal was weaker. The question is, which game(s) are driving sales this year. With no clear cut mega-seller, I'm arguing that it's a combination of games. And based on reasons I outlined previously, I think those games would be their 2D platformer library.

December is responsible for Wii's impressive sales. A good catalog lineup is supporting that, though, definitely.

The catalog is what enables the surge. If you don't have the right catalog, you don't get the sales surge. No company is immune to that logic.

I don't see it.

Are 2-D platformers more friendly to people who aren't used to games or haven't played in a while? Sure.
Pent-up demand? The people usually associated with the surge that came along with NSMBWii aren't those who will be "frothing at the mouth" for any games, 2-D platformers or not.

I think we're using a different definition of "pent up demand". NSMBW sold over 16 million units WW and is on its way to breaking 20 mil ltd. When you contrast those sales with the dearth of AAA 2D platformers in the last ten years, I think it's fair to say there's pent up demand. Frankly, I'm a little shocked to see anyone argue otherwise. Just because most NSMBW players aren't hardcore or lining up to buy the game on day one, doesn't mean there isn't strong demand for the game.

You're falling into the "initial sales are most meaningful" trap.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f64/donny2112/Sales Numbers/WiiFitvsWii-1.png

It's tailed off the last six months, but Wii Fit and then Wii Fit Plus were absolutely significant sales drivers for Wii for most of their lifetimes. Nintendo has put out data indicating the same thing before in their reports.

Note:
I'm not trying to say that there's a "hard" correlation between weekly Wii HW sales and Wii Fit/Plus sales, but there is definitely a market out there of people who consisyently buy those two items together. i.e. system seller.

I was definitely wrong about Wii Fit Plus not causing a hardware surge, thanks for posting the chart (although I never claimed Wii Fit did not push hardware, nor would I). I think I got it confused with Wii Sports Resort, which as far as I know didn't push hardware the way Iwata had hoped. However, even if I'm misremembering WSR as well, there's still the issue of chart placement. DKCR is much higher on the charts than any of the other games we're discussing and yet we all agree that it isn't driving Wii sales on its own. I think that of all the back catalog games that are likely helping push sales, it's the games that are similar to DKCR that are combining to make an impact. It's just a hypothesis, but it seems like the simplest explanation.

Did it make an impact? Sure.
Was it the main driver? No way. December 2009 was the first December for Wii in the U.S. that it wasn't supply-constrained, it had had a $50 price drop three months earlier, and Wal-Mart was offering a $50 gift card on every Wii purchased. All of those were more important than NSMB Wii's release to the 3.81m sold that month.

I really respect you as a poster, but this is madness. Software drives hardware. The price drop in the U.S. had a minimal impact on that month's sales and everyone on gaf was surprised. Sales didn't begin to pick up until a few weeks after NSMBW dropped. You might argue that the price drop had a bigger impact during Christmas, but that doesn't explain why it was so ineffective in the months prior. We've seen price drops that have a marginal effect on hardware before, so it's not too surprising that the same thing happened to the Wii after such a moderate drop and a crummy software year.

Further, the idea that a $50 price drop and a lack of supply constraints lead to the biggest monthly sales in the history of the video game industry for a three year-old console is madness. You forget that Wii had poor sales all year prior to NSMBW. If supply constraints were the cause of Wii's success in Christmas of 09, it would have sold better all year. And it certainly wouldn't have sold worse month on month than it did during the years when it was actually constrained. No, the supply situation was resolved long before December 2009.

NSMBW is obviously the killer app. When you release a game from a record breaking franchise and consequently get record breaking hardware sales, it is not a coincidence. Software sells hardware. And it's not like we're dealing with an unknown quantity here. This is 2D mario, the franchise that made the NES, drove the SNES, and helped to launch the DS into the stratosphere. Four years after its release, NSMB DS is still the first game many people buy when picking up a DS. 2D Mario has got to be in the top 3 biggest system sellers of all time, when the Wii finally gets a version does it really make sense to attribute the record breaking hardware sales that ensue to a Walmart deal?

 

[AniHawk]

40. / 48. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}

5 years later, and probably the last time we'll see this game on a weekly chart, or close to it.

 

[donny2112]

Just because most NSMBW players aren't hardcore or lining up to buy the game on day one, doesn't mean there isn't strong demand for the game.

Just because there's strong demand, doesn't mean it was all pent-up to begin with. Latent demand may be a better term. :lol

I really respect you as a poster, but this is madness. Software drives hardware.

In Japan, we can clearly see that. Such is not the same in the U.S. Now, you have to have the software in the U.S., too, but it is not a "huge spike followed by prolonged sales" like it is in Japan.

Exercise:
Excluding handhelds (which are much more "impulse" buy prices), find significant spikes in U.S. hardware sales due to software. Not November. Not December. Not with a price drop. Not with a hardware redesign.

We've gone over this for years in the NPD threads. U.S. is much more a "plan to buy it so get the hardware early or both later" country than Japan's "buy it Day 1 and get the hardware, too."

The software has to be there, but individual titles are not the clear drivers like they are in Japan.

Onto December 2009 specifically, this was the first non-supply constrained December for the Wii ever in the U.S. The system sold a November record of 2.04m in Fall 2008, and I hope you're not going to try to tell me it was due to Wii Music and Animal Crossing. December is always way bigger than November when supply is available, but the December 2008 total was "only" 2.15m. That was clearly recognized as purely supply-constrained.

Toss in the first ever price cut for Wii and an extra $50 off at Wal-Mart for the whole month, and it should be pretty clear that Wii was going to sell record levels that month with or without NSMB. 3.81m? Probably not. But most of those sales was not due to the single game of NSMB Wii.

The price drop in the U.S. had a minimal impact on that month's sales and everyone on gaf was surprised.

O.O

My first post in that thread was surprise at the Wii sales for the month. The price drop was the last week of September. Average weekly sales before the price drop were ~44K. The week of the price drop, it went to ~287K. There was lots of surprise in that thread at the immediate impact of the price drop on Wii.

Further, the idea that a $50 price drop and a lack of supply constraints lead to the biggest monthly sales in the history of the video game industry for a three year-old console is madness.

This is the Wii in the U.S. we're talking about. It was sold out for ~2.5 years from launch. Makes that "3 year old console" stuff a little null and void. :lol

If supply constraints were the cause of Wii's success in Christmas of 09, it would have sold better all year.

It did sell better until the supply evened out around March. Then it started selling PS2+ levels before a price drop following the lack of significant uptick in sales following Wii Sports Resort's release.

No, the supply situation was resolved long before December 2009.

Yes, but this was the first December without supply constraint. Yes, that makes a difference for such a gifted item as the Wii in a country where Q4 typically = Q1-Q3 combined.

When you release a game from a record breaking franchise and consequently get record breaking hardware sales, it is not a coincidence.

Hopefully after reading the previous responses, you don't still hold to that, at least not as tightly. Causal fallacy and all that. NSMB Wii certainly helped. No doubt there. It's just that in the U.S., price and availabilty (for the first time in December since launch) would likely have been much more the driving factors for the month's tally.

 

[Chris1964]

5 years later, and probably the last time we'll see this game on a weekly chart, or close to it.

It was in top 50 26 weeks this year. I don't see why it will suddenly drop out.

2010 01 {2010.01.04 - 2010.01.10} 27. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 02 {2010.01.11 - 2010.01.17} 32. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 03 {2010.01.18 - 2010.01.24} 44. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 04 {2010.01.25 - 2010.01.31} 48. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 05 {2010.02.01 - 2010.02.07} 44. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 13 {2010.03.29 - 2010.04.04} 44. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 14 {2010.04.05 - 2010.04.11} 44. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 17 {2010.04.26 - 2010.05.02} 40. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08} - 0 / 3.617.391
2010 18 {2010.05.03 - 2010.05.09} 21. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 19 {2010.05.10 - 2010.05.16} 29. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 20 {2010.05.17 - 2010.05.23} 43. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 21 {2010.05.24 - 2010.05.30} 43. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 22 {2010.05.31 - 2010.06.06} 40. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08} - 0 / 3.630.713
2010 23 {2010.06.07 - 2010.06.13} 43. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 24 {2010.06.14 - 2010.06.20} 43. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 32 {2010.08.09 - 2010.08.15} 45. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 33 {2010.08.16 - 2010.08.22} 38. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 34 {2010.08.23 - 2010.08.29} 39. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 35 {2010.08.30 - 2010.09.05} 46. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 38 {2010.09.20 - 2010.09.26} 41. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 39 {2010.09.27 - 2010.10.03} 47. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 40 {2010.10.04 - 2010.10.10} 48. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 41 {2010.10.11 - 2010.10.17} 41. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 48 {2010.11.29 - 2010.12.05} 50. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 50 {2010.12.13 - 2010.12.19} 48. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}
2010 51 {2010.12.20 - 2010.12.26} 40. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) {2005.12.08}

Edit: When Mario Kart 3DS comes out you can bet you will see big bumps for MKWii and MKDS the weeks before its launch.

 

[Busaiku]

5 years later, and probably the last time we'll see this game on a weekly chart, or close to it.

It will probably be up next week.

 

[cvxfreak]

Just of note : I think it's very likely PSP hardware sales are semi-supply constrained(which is kinda ridiculous) I see it completely sold out in my area in Tokyo and retailer blogs in the country-side are reporting large amounts of customer inquiries about it.

In all seriousness, I did see the PSP sold out at a small number of big Tokyo shops like Shibuya Tsutaya recently. So this is definitely something to think about.

 

[perfectchaos007]

You're not sorry.

You're right, but I'll gladly accept a week ban if I'm wrong since I made such a confident statement that could ultimately backfire. If it does backfire, then I deserve some sort of ramification. Then I WILL be sorry

Is that cool with you duckroll? I don't think this is a ban bet since the only person in jeopardy is myself

 

[AniHawk]

No, don't do it. We need Ron Paul in a New Years hat.