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[SapientWolf]

I'm confused as to what all this doom and gloom is about. There was literally nothing noteworthy that came out in this months NPD. When sales go tick back up over the next couple months people will be clamoring that they don't need new consoles.

If there aren't any price drops this summer we haven't seen the bottom yet.

 

[Pranay]

Not a single new release in the top 10? Has that ever happened before?

Because the games which were released were on 31st ?

Before that their were no games which were released

 

[Deadly Joker]

Sony's given up even trying to spin.

People have been saying this for over 2 years now.

We know.

 

[Dabanton]

I'm confused as to what all this doom and gloom is about. There was literally nothing noteworthy that came out in this months NPD. When sales go tick back up over the next couple months people will be clamoring that they don't need new consoles.

Exactly way too many potentially good games coming out this year. Most of the 'big' games came out between oct-nov and i see most of them are still in the top 10.

 

[Miles X]

Pachters comments are interesting. Wonder if we'll see another unusually high February.

 

[Mpl90]

When has he ever been wrong?

3DS launch. So wrong.

 

[Nirolak]

Actibliz sold over 20 million skylanders WW to date, and yes there are a lot of supply constraints.

20 million toys to be specific.

Most of that falls in the accessories category.

 

[AndrewDean84xX]

Why don't we see numbers like we used to? Last month we never saw how much the 3DS sold.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

For those folks who are in favor of no new consoles until 2014 and beyond, good luck. We should've had a new console last year.

 

[jbug617]

I'm confused as to what all this doom and gloom is about. There was literally nothing noteworthy that came out in this months NPD. When sales go tick back up over the next couple months people will be clamoring that they don't need new consoles.

Honestly right now the only system seller I see are Halo 4 and Star Wars Kinect and that is probably due to them getting a special edition console.

 

[Dragon]

I know January isn't typically a month full of new releases, but the way February/March looks I really do question publishers. I have to think some of those games could take advantage of lack of competition and will suffer.

 

[Kazerei]

Looks like Michael Pachter is questioning the integrity of the NPD data:

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...12/02/sales-of-video-games-fall-in-january-/1

"I don't know if the NPD is getting faulty data, but these numbers make no sense."

I'm surprised too that sales are below 2004 levels, but calling out the NPD? Wow, Pachter.

 

[see5harp]

O jeez Sony PR really great this month with their pimping of a promotional sale...Play Days? O God.

 

[onipex]

Next Gen is needed soon for a healthy industry, 2012 might be a sad year for sales.

I don't think next gen and save the industry with the way it ( the industry) seems to reject methods to expand itself.

OT:

It's nice to see the 360 still holding up. I expected it to drop as much as the other consoles. The Wii is totally at the end of its life now, but the PS3 sales stay troubling.

 

[Ramblin]

All these calls for a new gen seem like a knee jerk reaction.

 

[Gravijah]

For those folks who are in favor of no new consoles until 2014 and beyond, good luck. We should've had a new console last year.

we got the 3ds and vita in 2011 that's good enough for me.

 

[mugurumakensei]

I'm surprised too that sales are below 2004 levels, but calling out the NPD? Wow, Pachter.

I'm thinking it's more that Iwata's right. We definitely need a new generation. Even 360 hardware sales are pretty pathetic.

 

[Nirolak]

All these calls for a new gen seem like a knee jerk reaction.

Sales have been falling year over year for a very long time now.

 

[Mr Swine]

Honestly right now the only system seller I see are Halo 4 and Star Wars Kinect and that is probably due to them getting a special edition console.

I still think sales will be a lot worse even with big hitters like this

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

20 million toys to be specific.
Most of that falls in the accessories category.

ow did not know that thanks for the clarification

 

[bigtroyjon]

I know, but then SM3DL should have easily charted above Zumba Fitness 2.

I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers between the two trackers are wildly different (at least compared to what we see in Japan).

If Rentrak includes bundled software, that would explain a few of the differences. I'm not trying to suggest that Rentrak should be considered reliable, just that the little data we get from each company makes it pretty much impossible to compare the two. Each needs to be considered on it's own merits.

(Plus I'm holding out hope that the weekly top 10 actually means something

 

[Dragon]

Sales have been falling year over year for a very long time now.

Yeah I don't see how ushering in a new gen where hardware prices are 300% more expensive than the current gen is going to help that at all.

 

[Deadly Joker]

If the Vita didn't exist, this would be the perfect year for Sony to release the PS4.

 

[SapientWolf]

Honestly right now the only system seller I see are Halo 4 and Star Wars Kinect and that is probably due to them getting a special edition console.

If Halo 3 and Reach weren't enough to make you jump in then you're probably fine skipping Halo 4. That should have been a next gen launch title.

 

[GavinGT]

270,000 360s sold in JANUARY is a bad month? What the fuck are you guys smoking?

Sales have been falling year over year for a very long time now.

Not for 360.

 

[Ramblin]

Sales have been falling year over year for a very long time now.

I imagine these tough economic times played a role in that.

 

[jbug617]

If Halo 3 and Reach weren't enough to make you jump in then you're probably fine skipping Halo 4. That should have been a next gen launch title.

It's more about people buying another 360 due to it being a special edition.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

Drop the prices..

Bloody Microsoft have not dropped the price in like 4 years... console should be $99 by now.

 

[nextgeneration]

270,000 360s sold in JANUARY is a bad month? What the fuck are you guys smoking?

That figure is fine. It's the ps3/wii numbers that are alarming, not 360.

 

[Mindman]

Iwata was right - the market is waiting for a new home console.

Definitely. This trend will continue until new consoles show up.

 

[AndrewDean84xX]

In all fairness, isn't January always low?

 

[Road]

If Rentrak includes bundled software, that would explain a few of the differences. I'm not trying to suggest that Rentrak should be considered reliable, just that the little data we get from each company makes it pretty much impossible to compare the two. Each needs to be considered on it's own merits.

(Plus I'm holding out hope that the weekly top 10 actually means something

I'm not trying to say Rentrak is less reliable than NPD at all. In fact, if i had to be, I'd bet on the opposite. =P

I agree it's not possible to make any good comparison. I'm just pointing out the discrepancies.

Edit: By the way, latest Rentrak weekly chart:

Video Game Sales Week of Jan 29-Feb 4

1 PS3 Final Fantasy XIII-2
2 X360 Final Fantasy XIII-2
3 X360 SoulCalibur V
4 PS3 SoulCalibur V
5 WII Just Dance 3
6 X360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
7 WII Zumba Fitness
8 3DS Mario Kart 7
9 X360 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
10 X360 NBA 2K12

 

[SapientWolf]

It's more about people buying another 360 due to it being a special edition.

Gotta catch em all.

All these calls for a new gen seem like a knee jerk reaction.

It's going to get to the point where iPhone games have comparable graphics to the home consoles. I'm not even going to talk about PC comparisons.

 

[Gravijah]

270,000 360s sold in JANUARY is a bad month? What the fuck are you guys smoking?

well, last year it was 381k.

 

[Duxxy3]

As long as nintendo doesn't fuck it up, the wii u is going to be freaking ENORMOUS.

 

[Hero]

270,000 360s sold in JANUARY is a bad month? What the fuck are you guys smoking?

If you compare to what consoles have sold in January previously, that is bad.

 

[DCharlie]

Iwata was right - the market is waiting for a new home console.

I think most people are waiting for a cheaper X360.

If the figures are true then people just aren't spending as times get tighter - throwing new console hardware infront of people in the next few years seems like a bad idea and Nintendo might just be about to stick their foot on a) Express golden escalator to WINSVILLE or b) poisonous rusty iron bear trap

I really think Iwata is looking at how the Wii is tanking and thinking "people want another Wii!" - it might be totally right, but i don't think it's a guarantee they'll get the Wii crowd returning en masse.

 

[Petrichor]

If Halo 3 and Reach weren't enough to make you jump in then you're probably fine skipping Halo 4. That should have been a next gen launch title.

So people didn't buy 360's for Call of Duty: MW and beyond because surely they'd have already bought it for COD2 and COD3?

Just because a game is a sequel doesn't mean that it can't be a system seller.

 

[GavinGT]

Last January actually had some big game releases, like Dead Space 2 and LBP 2.

Nothing of note came out this January.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

What came out in January?

And how could the Wii and PS3 drop off so much from December? It's likely that one of them barely scraped past 100k a month after selling a million units.

And the 360 price drop needs to happen like, yesterday. MS seems content to milk this as long as they are in front of the Wii and PS3, but it's not good for the industry health overall to have so few units moved in a major territory.

 

[Syphon Filter]

If Halo 3 and Reach weren't enough to make you jump in then you're probably fine skipping Halo 4. That should have been a next gen launch title.

launch is dumb ,why use your weapon riht away when you can sell no matter what initially.also halo 4 will move consoles,new owners who probably dont want the older ones and would just want to wait for it.

 

[Duxxy3]

If Halo 3 and Reach weren't enough to make you jump in then you're probably fine skipping Halo 4. That should have been a next gen launch title.

Agreed. Now is the time to start shifting big titles to next gen.

 

[bigtroyjon]

360 hardware the last 6 January's starting with 2007.

294K(5 week month)
230K
309K
332K
381K
270K

 

[Ramblin]

It's going to get to the point where iPhone games have comparable graphics to the home consoles. I'm not even going to talk about PC comparisons.

Those platforms evolve much quicker. I think we have to stop expecting consoles to evolve at the same pace.

 

[Petrae]

We need to be careful not to overreact to this relative sales crater. Consider that there weren't any new major game releases in January and that consumers may have spent the month paying down holiday shopping debt.

February looks stronger in hardware (Vita launch, 3DS temp price cut) and software (multiple major releases). If we see the negative YOY trend continue in spite of these factors, then the calls for new console hardware might be more justified.

For now, though, it's a horrible month... and we hope that February recovers considerably.

 

[GavinGT]

If you compare to what consoles have sold in January previously, that is bad.

One month of dropped sales isn't going to force Microsoft to put out a new system, not when sales have been increasing YoY for the last two years.

Plus, last January the 360 was still benefiting from the recent Kinect launch.

 

[Mpl90]

...Will Nintendo give its PR or not? What a big mystery!

 

[Captain Tuttle]

I think most people are waiting for a cheaper X360.

Exactly. How long has it been? 3 years? MS is obviously more concerned with profitability than marketshare.

 

[Busaiku]

One month of dropped sales isn't going to force Microsoft to put out a new system, not when sales have been increasing YoY for the last two years.

Plus, last January the 360 was still benefiting from the recent Kinect launch.

This is the second month 360's been down YoY.

 

[Hero]

I think most people are waiting for a cheaper X360.

If the figures are true then people just aren't spending as times get tighter - throwing new console hardware infront of people in the next few years seems like a bad idea and Nintendo might just be about to stick their foot on a) Express golden escalator to WINSVILLE or b) poisonous rusty iron bear trap

I really think Iwata is looking at how the Wii is tanking and thinking "people want another Wii!" - it might be totally right, but i don't think it's a guarantee they'll get the Wii crowd returning en masse.

If people are waiting for a cheaper Xbox 360 then they're extremely price sensitive and as such aren't going to be going out buying 60 dollar games brand new. People picking up the consoles this late or even later in the generation aren't going to be contributing a whole lot of anything.

New consoles and new hardware provide new games and new experiences which will drive development and create new games and get new excitement to the point where people will plunk down money for a new system.