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[Mr. B Natural]

Seems like a short-sighted comparison. A COD launch would eclipse absolutely every console launch. Unless, you're expecting the next MS and Sony consoles to sell 8 million units each in launch month.

What game exactly do you think MS is going to be pushing with their new console?
And I'm certain you missed the point of the post you quoted.

 

[Ridley327]

Wow at AC3. America FUCK YEAH worked nicely for Ubisoft.

If nothing else, Ubisoft should be commended for how well they run their advertising campaigns. Even utter shit like Red Steel got to a million with how good their ads were.

 

[Rush2thestart]

What game exactly do you think MS is going to be pushing with their new console?
And I'm certain you missed the point of the post you quoted.

They can push the next COD all they want on the next Xbox but people will be skipping class for the last gen versions. The next COD Xbox would be lucky to break 1 million in the first month of release.

 

[Tallshortman]

Wow at AC3. America FUCK YEAH worked nicely for Ubisoft.

Eh they should be commended for their PR campaign, like it or not Americans love America.

Also, wow at the lower than predicted Halo 4 numbers and almost on par with Halo AC3 numbers. While AC3 wasn't well polished and main story left something to be desired, I appreciated the ambition of it and very much enjoyed it overall.

Lastly, very glad to see NFS:MW doing even better than hot pursuit, was really worried about the sales of this game. Criterion deserves these good numbers. Hopefully this gives EA more confidence to let them do a burnout game although their NFS games are practically burnout games reskinned.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Demographics are an important part of userbase though.

Even these days we see huge splits between the PS3 and 360 on games like Borderlands despite the series starting out on both platforms at the same time.

To win over all that support, they have to make it seem more compelling to heavily support their platform for every genre and subgenre than to really sink as much into the Xbox 3 and PS4 versions as possible.

I would propose that the 3DS off the bat had much more appeal to the major handheld demographics in Japan than the Wii U does, which is why we haven't seen a huge universal flood of Japanese games onto the system, but for companies that primarily focus on Japan these days like Namco Bandai, we have.

That's essentially an impossible standard though. I think you're setting the bar too high if that bar is more potential on your own system than multiplatform elsewhere. That's a bar no one will ever meet at this point worldwide, Microsoft and Sony included. What Nintendo needs to do is prove Wii U to be a sizable enough marketplace to be included, not be the overwhelmingly largest marketplace.

Also, Namco Bandai's sort of a bad example for Japan focused 3rd parties given their announced products so far. Games like Tekken and a casual arcade game are easily identified as targeted worldwide products, with far more western that national potential. If they'd announced stuff like Gundam and Taiko upfront you'd have a point, but Namco Bandai in effect is an example that runs counter to what you're saying.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

They are doing because of Vita

Doesn't change the fact that they are masking PS3 sales numbers.

 

[AdventureRacing]

With Game Boy ideologies, you mean a machine just to play games? I don't know how many people would consider it, despite the possible very low price. It's true associating your image with the iPad is bad, but IMHO just going back to be just a games machine, in times like this where media / social integrations are felt as needed, would be equally bad.

I completely disagree with this and i think this sort of thinking has helped lead nintendo into the position they are in. People who want to be connected to social/media integrations already have themselves a smartphone. This is a device that people will have on them essentially at all times. They don't need their gaming device to provide these same things (albeit far less effectively) when they already have another device that does the same.

Also kids, which are the main demographic for the 3DS, aren't interested in that stuff at all and frankly the parents paying for it won't be either (some kids may want that stuff but again smartphones and tablets are just a better option).

IMO nintendos focus needs to be on keeping the HW price down by trimming the fat where possible. Software prices also need to be variable. The focus of these devices needs to be purely on games because frankly everything else smartphones and tablets already do better.

There is going to be a pretty sizable contraction for *all* console makers for the 8th generation, in my opinion. None of them are going to sell as well as this generation's hardware.

I disagree with this and i'm entirely sure what it is based on. The PS3 and 360 continue to show very strong sales even with the 360 going into what it's 8th year or something? Dedicated handheld devices are being forced into a niche by smartphones and tablets. Consoles aren't facing nearly as much pressure and imo there isn't something that outright replaces them like with handhelds.

Depending on what MS/sony show for next gen i can definitely see them both improving. We'll see, i'm not sure all the doom and gloom is warranted for home consoles. This gen has been by far the biggest ever for home consoles and they are still selling really well.

 

[Pociask]

I wonder if AC3 is the start of a new era...

We've had the World War II video game era. Then the Modern Warfare era. Now, prepare for the glorious ascendance of Revolutionary War era games! I for one welcome our musket wielding overlords.

 

[Nirolak]

I think its skyrim, looking at the numbers.

BTW looking at the sales, would it be a right indication that the console owners are floaty and genreally buy and sell and trade quickly [based on whole gen] [also looking at the indication of yearly games] and most pc games which do well are genreally big wrpg , mmo , free to play mp where the game userbase grows gradually in long run and most pc players genreally play one or two game for a long period of time and invest on it.

Though i wonder if that is changing as well in console side at the late gen where many users are still playing bf3 , borderlands 2 etc due to DLC etc and mincraft aswell

Yeah, I would say the best performers on the PC side are titles that fit the "games as a service" model, and that yes, that's starting to become notably more important on consoles as well.

However, the side effect of this is that a "game as a service" game often takes up a lot more of a person's time since it has a ton of content and updates for them to use, so you have less games selling well, but the ones that do have extremely large sales and tend to make a lot of additional revenue after launch.

free 2 play on console next-generation should be interesting, since that is one way to try and get past the barrier of "I spent all my money on CoD DLC and am not going to buy a new $60 game now".

That's essentially an impossible standard though. I think you're setting the bar too high if that bar is more potential on your own system than multiplatform elsewhere. That's a bar no one will ever meet at this point worldwide, Microsoft and Sony included. What Nintendo needs to do is prove Wii U to be a sizable enough marketplace to be included, not be the overwhelmingly largest marketplace.

Also, Namco Bandai's sort of a bad example for Japan focused 3rd parties given their announced products so far. Games like Tekken and a casual arcade game are easily identified as targeted worldwide products, with far more western that national potential. If they'd announced stuff like Gundam and Taiko upfront you'd have a point, but Namco Bandai in effect is an example that runs counter to what you're saying.

Oh, I thought by saying it was like the 3DS analogy that you meant it would suffocate the other platforms in the market (like the 3DS helped kill the Vita).

Then yes, I agree, what they need to do is convince companies it's enough to be included.

can you add the ps3 sales range in the op?

As long as it is sourceable, I'm definitely willing.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

This gen has been by far the biggest ever for home consoles and they are still selling really well.

This gen was also by far the largest for handhelds and indeed DS is still somehow selling really well too. PS360 doing okay now is no guarantee for PS4/Durango doing better, or even as well really.

 

[NintendoGal]

Not sure if I'll get laughed at, but after finally having a chance to look at the hardware numbers, it's amazing to me that Nintendo can sell so many units (from my perspective) of 4 different types of things all at the same time. Yes, sure MS beat them by quantity in some regards, but geez, across 4 game playing devices is very amazing in my eyes.

 

[Panajev2001a]

No, not bad at all.

People think because it didn't replicate the insanity of the Wii launch that it means it was an instant failure, which is incorrect.

To be fair, tons of people over the years have called and still call PS3 a failure for that very reason, because PS2 lit the sales charts on fire and held 1st place... It was not really right IMHO to say this for PS3 and it is not right for the Wii U.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

To be fair, tons of people over the years have called and still call PS3 a failure for that very reason, because PS2 lit the sales charts on fire and held 1st place... It was not really right IMHO to say this for PS3 and it is not right for the Wii U.

Systems will always be compared to the company's system that came out before it and it will be judged by that success/failure. Regardless of company.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Oh, I thought by saying it was like the 3DS analogy that you meant it would suffocate the other platforms in the market (like the 3DS helped kill the Vita).

Then yes, I agree, what they need to do is convince companies it's enough to be included.

No, I just meant in terms of the hardware design ideology itself. They basically made a PS3+Wii with an added hook (2nd screen!) much like 3DS was a PSP+DS with an added hook (3D screen!). I definitely think the circumstances surrouding both are way different though.

I'd also agree the setup is more attractive off the bat for more nationally focused Japanese 3rd parties thanks to that (where it does actually have the potential to prove a bigger base than "multiplatform elsewhere"), but I also wouldn't characterize Wii U as an unattractive worldwide destination for those 3rd parties either. If it was, Wii U wouldn't be getting games like Ninja Gaiden or Tekken.

 

[Nirolak]

I'd also agree the setup is more attractive off the bat for more nationally focused Japanese 3rd parties thanks to that (where it does actually have the potential to prove a bigger base than "multiplatform elsewhere"), but I also wouldn't characterize Wii U as an unattractive worldwide destination for those 3rd parties either. If it was, Wii U wouldn't be getting games like Ninja Gaiden or Tekken.

I can definitely see your base concept here, but Tekken kind of fell off a cliff (with the latest debuting below 100K), as did Ninja Gaiden 3.

However, in the mind of the publishers, they might have still seen them as notable Western franchises when they greenlit the Wii U versions, so it would be hard to discard them solely on sales.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Systems will always be compared to the company's system that came out before it and it will be judged by that success/failure. Regardless of company.

While true, PS3 was a clear failure out the gates compared to just about anything (not just PS2), while Wii U is reasonably close to Wii and comfortably outperforming other HD launches. Not matching or exceeding Wii doesn't necessairly equate to the failure end of the spectrum, which is a standard some seem unwilling to apply here.

 

[Skiesofwonder]

Still no ZombiU numbers? :/

 

[AgentP]

While true, PS3 was a clear failure out the gates compared to just about anything (not just PS2), while Wii U is reasonably close to Wii and comfortably outperforming other HD launches. Not matching or exceeding Wii doesn't necessairly equate to the failure end of the spectrum, which is a standard some seem unwilling to apply here.

Don't play his game. He is just setting the goals to make the 360 look good and everything else look bad.

The only things that matters to a company is long term profitability, not launch numbers compared to a previous system.

 

[test_account]

If we look at it from that perspective, I think we can actually set the bar at <50K unless NPD changed their reporting sku format

Yeah, based on the leaderboard entries for Black Ops 2 WiiU after 3-4 days (which was about 7500), i think it is pretty safe to say that it sold under 50k. Of course not everyone plays COD online, but i think most people do, at least trying it one time.

Possibly both? Wii U hasn't gotten equivalent out-of-the-gate support there, though some of that may be due to NCL secrecy about their 2013 lineup.

I think that the 3rd parties play the biggest factor in the developement choices, but depending on which intensives the 3rd parties get, this could affect the choice that their making. Yeah, we will see how it goes with the WiiU indeed.

 

[allan-bh]

AC III the real winner of the month.

 

[AdventureRacing]

This gen was also by far the largest for handhelds and indeed DS is still somehow selling really well too. PS360 doing okay now is no guarantee for PS4/Durango doing better, or even as well really.

The DS isn't still selling really well, certainly not when compared to PS3/360 (also ignoring that the PSP has been dead for a long time). I'm not saying home consoles selling well this gen and now guarantees that their follow up consoles will sell better. I just don't see the evidence that the PS4/720 are going to suddenly drop off. The PS3/360 continue to perform great and the factors that led to handheld gaming declining are nowhere near as relevant to home consoles.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Don't play his game. He is just setting the goals to make the 360 look good and everything else look bad.

What are you talking about? I'm a multi-system owner, I don't care it is a universal thing that has nothing to do with what system you are talking about. If the next Xbox comes out and sells less than the 360 did then everyone here will give it a hard time and they should. You get grief if you go backwards and not forwards.

Take your comments to the system wars sticky.

 

[Tashi]

I'm not sure how I feel about the Halo numbers. Obviously would have loved to see a number higher than 3.3 but considering it came out just a week before Black Ops 2, I'm leaning towards thinking these numbers are actually pretty good and not cause for alarm. We'll have to see its legs though. Sadly it seems like Microsoft has stopped the marketing campaign, I haven't seen an ad for Halo 4 in weeks either online or on tv.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

I can definitely see your base concept here, but Tekken kind of fell off a cliff (with the latest debuting below 100K), as did Ninja Gaiden 3.

However, in the mind of the publishers, they might have still seen them as notable Western franchises when they greenlit the Wii U versions, so it would be hard to discard them solely on sales.

Tekken and NG also fell off a cliff in Japan though. Even in their dimisnihed states both are still far from nationally focused brands. I'd also argue casual focused fare like Family Party or Tank! are more western targeted.

At this point, for the JP 3rd parties with announced Wii U games I'd class each of their libraries as this for primary focus:

Capcom: 100% Japan focused
D3 Publisher: 100% Western focused
Namco Bandai: 100% Western focused
Sega: 100% Western focused (and developed!)
Square Enix: 100% Japan focused
Tecmo Koei: 75% Japan focused, 25% Western focused


I think the best case for Wii U support is Nintendo proving "best" for Japan and "reasonable" worldwide. If they can do that, I expect they'll be able to get included for JP multiplatform stuff and also allow Nintendo to target desirable exclusives.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Still no ZombiU numbers? :/

It did a bit less than Mario Wii U.

Do you really want to know them?

 

[Mrbob]

Sony has their head up their ass about making the Vita console quality on the go. If they transitioned the device right now to playing all the same games you can get on iOS and Android, but with the benefit of a real control scheme sales would go up. Maybe not a blockbuster status, but higher than they are right now. I know I'd buy more digital iOS games on Vita if I could use them with "real" controls

It doesn't mean Sony has to give up on the 40 dollar retail game either. Just slide in more lower cost digital content and make this the main focus. It's amazing to me how barren the Playsation Store for Vita is, relatively speaking, versus iOS and Android.

 

[Skiesofwonder]

It did a bit less than Mario Wii U.

Do you really want to know them?

A bit? Considering NSMBU sold 273k, anything close to that would be amazing! I'm assuming it did less then 100k though. But yes, I would love to know them.

 

[chixdiggit]

I'm guessing not good. I got it for $15 at the MS store on Black Friday and feel I paid $10 too much for it.

Funny, I got it for $15 as well but feel I way under payed for the game. It's one of my top 5 games this year.

 

[see5harp]

Still no statement from Sony? Come on give us something to laugh at.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Funny, I got it for $15 as well but feel I way under payed for the game. It's one of my top 5 games this year.

I got it to play online with my best friend and he bought it too. We were so bored with it after playing it online that we both decided to trade it in the next day. Maybe it is multiplayer only that sucks but I feel I wasted my money.

 

[confuziz]

Still no statement from Sony? Come on give us something to laugh at.

You just answered your own question.

 

[see5harp]

You just answered your own question.

I would think it would be worse to not make a statement after the biggest shopping month of the year.

 

[Tratorn]

Still no statement from Sony? Come on give us something to laugh at.

There is nothing to laugh, if you mean the ps3. And we already know that the vita is 210-225k, so you can laugh about that if you want, but PS3 has good numbers.

 

[Doodis]

Funny, I got it for $15 as well but feel I way under payed for the game. It's one of my top 5 games this year.

Agreed. I'm kind of amazed this game is so polarizing. I got it and Need For Speed over Black Friday, and for me, NFS is a mess compared to Forza. I know they're two different kinds of driving games, but I have no desire to take Forza out of my tray to play NFS.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I should note that I'm playing single player almost exclusively, so that probably factors into my opinion.

 

[see5harp]

There is nothing to laugh, if you mean the ps3. And we already know that the vita is 210-225k, so you can laugh about that if you want, but PS3 has good numbers.

The numbers are decent for PS3. Most of the time when people laugh it's because of the wording of the press release. It's the always sunny outlook that people are laughing about, it's not important whether they are getting outsold (it's been years so that's not new).

 

[ffdgh]

Wow at AC3. Go Ubi!

 

[EagleEyes]

There is nothing to laugh, if you mean the ps3. And we already know that the vita is 210-225k, so you can laugh about that if you want, but PS3 has good numbers.

PS3 did good but when its direct competition did much better its hard to come up with anything decent to say in a press release especially considering all of its first party titles this holiday season bombed hard.

 

[airmangataosenai]

I wonder if AC3 is the start of a new era...

We've had the World War II video game era. Then the Modern Warfare era. Now, prepare for the glorious ascendance of Revolutionary War era games! I for one welcome our musket wielding overlords.

I certainly am looking forwward to further exploration of this and similar 18th/19th century settings. A Civil War game maybe? Fuck yeah!

 

[Father_Brain]

And we already know that the vita is 210-225K

In fact, we don't. It might actually be under 200K; the wording was "second-highest month since launch," as opposed to "highest month since launch" or "second-highest month to date."

 

[Kyou]

It did a bit less than Mario Wii U.

Do you really want to know them?

it did a bit less than 60% saturation? That's wonderful!

 

[Crawl]

CoD is definitely in decline on PC, here is some screens taken two weeks after launch on Blops 1 and MW3 player base: https://twitter.com/CODView/status/139153531503521792

and you compare that with blops 2 right now which is peaking around 30-40k for multiplayer on the steam stats.

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

Wow at AC3. America FUCK YEAH worked nicely for Ubisoft.

Yeah, they kept shoving Conor into these historical events for no reason but to pander to the American crowd lol.

 

[schwabdizzle]

Nintendo technically won in hardware sales.

 

[Pranay]

AC 3 was co marketed by Sony.

I guess we know where the marketing money went

 

[Nirolak]

In fact, we don't. It might actually be under 200K; the wording was "second-highest month since launch," as opposed to "highest month since launch" or "second-highest month to date."

We'll likely find out at some point, but it's not unheard of to use "since" inclusively, in that it would be "since the system came out" instead of "since the first month of sales were reported".

 

[Crawl]

So AC3 did 3 mil at US retail alone? Sorry if this is a noob question but does this include online retailers such as amazon? If AC3 did 3 mil at US retail alone, that is damn impressive.

 

[metalslimer]

We'll likely find out at some point, but it's not unheard of to use "since" inclusively, in that it would be "since the system came out" instead of "since the first month of sales were reported".

Yeah I'd be more likely to believe the 210-225 because as pessimistic as I am about Vita's sales, I don't think there is any way it could have done so little the first 3 weeks of the month when CoD and AC both launched and commercials were playing constantly.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

Not sure if releasing AC3 during an election year was coincidence or not, but it likely worked out for them.

 

[LuchaShaq]

Kinda bummed by AC 3 since I found Ezio/rome/italy/constantinople so much more interesting than Connor and the caricatures of the founding fathers.

 

[Leon S. Kennedy]

It did a bit less than Mario Wii U.

Do you really want to know them?

I'm curious to know. I bought a copy and its one of my favorite games of the year.