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NPD Sales Results for December 2014 [Up2: Nintendo Sales Notes]

Sean

Banned
Joke post? Wii U's 2015 line up looks incredible.

He's right imo, Nintendo released their two biggest games (Mario Kart and Smash) in 2014. This year they only have Zelda when it comes to heavy hitters and that releases the tail end of the year.

Kirby, Splatoon, Yoshi's, Devil's Third aren't gonna light the world on fire.
 
He's right imo, Nintendo released their two biggest games (Mario Kart and Smash) in 2014. This year they only have Zelda when it comes to heavy hitters and that releases the tail end of the year.

Kirby, Splatoon, Yoshi's, Devil's Third aren't gonna light the world on fire.

Mario Maker is going to be huge.
 

Sean

Banned
Mario Maker is going to be huge.

That one I could see selling respectably depending on how Nintendo promotes it, no way it matches sales of Mario Kart or Smash though.

I believe Nov/Dec 2014 will be the absolute peak of Wii U hardware sales, the 2015 lineup is solid but seems more aimed at keeping existing owners happy rather than selling systems.
 

Mory Dunz

Member
Joke post? Wii U's 2015 line up looks incredible.

He's right imo, Nintendo released their two biggest games (Mario Kart and Smash) in 2014. This year they only have Zelda when it comes to heavy hitters and that releases the tail end of the year.

Kirby, Splatoon, Yoshi's, Devil's Third aren't gonna light the world on fire.
Maybe you guys should clarify if you mean quality titles or sales potential.


Mario Maker is going to be huge.

...Oh. Um.
 

Fdkn

Member
I love how the theory of people liking the game is still not even considered.

"it didn't bomb because marketing but it sucks, really"
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Go figure. More gaming bubble-ism. By far my biggest pet peeve about the community right now.

I think there's a tendency among quite a few posters to:

1.) View it as impossible that lots of people like games that they don't like, or even games that have lower-ish (70's range) metacritic scores (assuming that the game isn't in a niche they like).

2.) View things they don't like that are really popular as a transient bubble on the verge of bursting, and see anything that even remotely points to that as confirmation of their view even if the evidence as a whole points otherwise.

Like the reason we have the same games at the top of the NPD year end charts or even the top of the mobile grossing charts year in and year out is that tons and tons of people love these games, even if they're disliked or even despised on the forum.

The world isn't just full of uninformed sheeple who can't figure out what they like and just buy the shiniest thing in the room, no matter how much people would like to explain away differences in the market versus their preferences that way. Otherwise every publisher would just use a gigantic marketing budget and there'd never be a single bomb in the industry.
 

donny2112

Member
Mario Maker is going to be huge.

It's not a mainline Mario game. It has a lot of creative potential, but games where the users have to make their own levels usually don't sell gangbusters out of the gate. I'm not expecting much hardware movement from its release, then. It really does come down to Zelda in terms of surefire sellers. That's why a pricedrop (historically a great pusher of hardware) is going to be so important this year for Wii U to keep some level of momentum going through to Zelda's release.
 

ethomaz

Banned
GAF or the internet in general usually doesn't mean the whole world.

You really can't beat great marketing.
The game is really fun and great.... it is not marketing that is selling it but people that want to have fun together.
 

A_Gorilla

Banned
DAT Destiny.

The hating here in GAF is not working.

You'd think the fact that OT for Destiny HERE ON GAF is already up to number 15 (soon to be 16) would get those lackwits to stop their "lol no one likes Destiny!" crap.

Alas, they tend to dodge the issue whenever its brought up.
 

Serenity

Member
Two of the most important months in the entire year, one of which we're certain was by a significant amount (November). That said, it's obvious that neither console is in any trouble. Both are selling fantastic.

What makes November and December any more important than any other month. The sales in Janurary and June still count which is why Ps4 still sold more consoles overall in 2014. You don't win the game because you scored more points in the final minutes you the winner is who has more points overall. People are taking this holiday victory and pretending the rest of the year didn't happen and ignoring total sales in the US.


Love for driveclub, bayonetta also not working.

I get what you all are trying to say but more people on GAF do like Destiny more than these games if you actually follow the OTs. In fact I would say that the largest OTs probably mirrors the yearly top 10 software in NPD pretty well. So GAF does represent the market pretty well yall are just focusing on a vocal minority and calling them out.
 

allan-bh

Member
i've had a change of heart towards destiny

roughly 1 million for its first december is great for a new ip like this...way above my personal expectations for the title

the "destiny won't have legs because it's a bad game" criticism is overblown, in my opinion

In fact, pretty solid sales.

Another hit for Activision. Good for them since CoD is dropping every year.
 
I'm going to just add in addition to what Niro and other me have said, a pet peeve is the use of the word marketing to mean nothing more than advertising/promotion.

Destiny has been successful because of marketing is actually a reasonable statement, if one considers that marketing encompasses a whole lot more than slapping up posters and writing copy.
 

ethomaz

Banned
What makes November and December any more important than any other month. The sales in Janurary and June still count which is why Ps4 still sold more consoles overall in 2014. You don't win the game because you scored more points in the final minutes you the winner is who has more points overall. People are taking this holiday victory and pretending the rest of the year didn't happen and ignoring total sales in the US.
This.

The gap increased from 2013 to 2014... if MS wants to have a real victory they needs to make this gap decreased from 2014 to 2015.
 

donny2112

Member
sometimes we come across that phenomenon

not every title has large digital margins

Size of the game killed that possibility for me (and the GCN adapter bundle was too good to pass up). Trying to get by without needing any external storage, so 16 GB games are sort of "out" as an option. :lol
 
What makes November and December any more important than any other month. The sales in Janurary and June still count which is why Ps4 still sold more consoles overall in 2014. You don't win the game because you scored more points in the final minutes you the winner is who has more points overall. People are taking this holiday victory and pretending the rest of the year didn't happen and ignoring total sales in the US.

All the guy said was that neither console is in trouble.
 
Good games, but in terms of market appeal is far from a incredible line up.

Mario Kart 8 & Smash Bros Wii U will still continue to drive sales though along with those new quality games. This is purposely designed this way by Nintendo. After the Mario Kart 8 DLC this May, you can bet Smash Bros DLC is coming this year after that as well.

Combine that with the inevitable Wii U price cut right about the holiday season with Zelda.
 
What makes November and December any more important than any other month. The sales in Janurary and June still count which is why Ps4 still sold more consoles overall in 2014. You don't win the game because you scored more points in the final minutes you the winner is who has more points overall. People are taking this holiday victory and pretending the rest of the year didn't happen and ignoring total sales in the US.

Because more people buy games at a higher rate than at any other time during the year? I'm not saying any other month the ps4 won isn't important or doesn't "count." I'm saying there's no question as which two months are the most significant.

Implying otherwise is almost like bragging that you beat team A in the regular season, and have the superior win loss record and team stats, but not caring that you lost the superbowl.
 

RBK

Banned
The game is really fun and great.... it is not marketing that is selling it but people that want to have fun together.

I would be lying if I say I didn't enjoy playing the story missions, strikes, and PVP with friends for the 1st month within release. Got to level 25 before I just got tired of the constant grinding for gear and the unbalanced PVP.
 

allan-bh

Member
People are taking this holiday victory and pretending the rest of the year didn't happen and ignoring total sales in the US.

I don't think people are pretending the rest of the year didn't happen, it' just that Xbox One beat PS4 by more than 600k in nov+dec is a big deal and a great comeback for Microsoft.

Before holidays no one would consider even a small win for Xbox One, the general consensus was that PS4 would extend their lead considerably.

Then price cut and Assassin's Creed bundle happened and the rest is history.
 

allan-bh

Member
Mario Kart 8 & Smash Bros Wii U will still continue to drive sales though along with those new quality games. This is purposely designed this way by Nintendo. After the Mario Kart 8 DLC this May, you can bet Smash Bros DLC is coming this year after that as well.

Combine that with the inevitable Wii U price cut right about the holiday season with Zelda.

yeah, I don't know. I will not be surprised if 2014 was the peak year for Wii U.
 

donny2112

Member
yeah, I don't know. I will not be surprised if 2014 was the peak year for Wii U.

$100 price drop in May along with multi-colored consoles in themed with Splatoon, Mario, and Zelda. People don't tend to double-dip for consoles like handhelds, but that might pull in some more sales. :lol
 
Because more people buy games at a higher rate than at any other time during the year? I'm not saying any other month the ps4 won isn't important or doesn't "count." I'm saying there's no question as which two months are the most significant.

Implying otherwise is almost like bragging that you beat team A in the regular season, and have the superior win loss record and team stats, but not caring that you lost the superbowl.

That analogy doesn't work terribly well since winning the Super Bowl makes you the undisputed number 1, whereas Microsoft won the Holidays and they are still firmly number 2 in the US, and worldwide.
 

ZSaberLink

Media Create Maven
$100 price drop in May along with multi-colored consoles in themed with Splatoon, Mario, and Zelda. People don't tend to double-dip for consoles like handhelds, but that might pull in some more sales. :lol

Typically going off big releases don't consoles actually perform better at least the first beginning of the next year? Like I'd assume the console could actually do a bit better than the first half of 2014 (at least up until May), considering there are more titles and all. I still think the price is a huge detriment to the console as it's more expensive than any other console Nintendo has released.
 
You'd think the fact that OT for Destiny HERE ON GAF is already up to number 15 (soon to be 16) would get those lackwits to stop their "lol no one likes Destiny!" crap.

Alas, they tend to dodge the issue whenever its brought up.

yo seriously though, not only have the Destiny OTs just kept on going, recently it's been speeding up

wtf?
 

Donrule01

Banned
Sucks not seeing Dragon Age on any of the software lists. Love the game as do my friends. I wonder what total sales across all platforms are close too?
 
The turn around to still not have any conceivable chance at hitting GCN numbers, which Iwata said would be a failure in the past. "Turn around" is a very liberally used phrase these days ;)

Considering that the system was PS Vita levels of dead a few months ago, I'd still say it is a turnaround. Hell, Dreamcast numbers would be a turnaround.

bayo 1 did 200k in the us on the 360 after 18 months. it did 150k on the ps3 in that same time. 135k after three months isn't that bad.

That REALLY puts things into perspective.

To be fair to 360 and PS3 sales, the Bayonetta pedigree was not a thing at the time the original game came out. By the time people bought it for being a good game, it was already able to be purchased easily used. Bayo2 is riding on the hype of Bayo 1's quality, and its own expectation which is completely deserved btw.

Outside of video game forums few people know of Bayonetta 1. It also didn't help because, well let's point out the giant elephant in the room, the people that played Bayonetta 1 a few years back likely don't own a Wii U.
 

Massa

Member
In fact, pretty solid sales.

Another hit for Activision. Good for them since CoD is dropping every year.

Didn't AW reverse the drop for December at least? I think with good quality games they can get the series back on track, and the fact that they're now on a 3 year-cycle bodes well for that.
 
Didn't AW reverse the drop for December at least? I think with good quality games they can get the series back on track, and the fact that they're now on a 3 year-cycle bodes well for that.

while call of duty advanced warfare's december 2014 sold more than cod ghosts in december 2013, it's still trailing ghosts by more than a million at retail.


however, you have to take into consideration that cod aw digital share is higher than ghosts, likely a good deal higher.
 

Javin98

Banned
The last NPD thread makes this thread look like the thread with the most rational discussions on Neogaf ;) Too bad this thread has been slowing down :(

Anyway, back on topic, really nice to see the PS4 and X1 selling above 1 million in December.
Fuck you, "consoles are dead" naysayers.
The gap between the two, while much smaller than in November was still larger than what I predicted. $349 with games really seems like it's doing wonders for the X1. Still, I expect the PS4 to take the lead again in January despite the price of the X1 back at $349.
 

nib95

Banned
Love for driveclub, bayonetta also not working.

Driveclub is actually selling above expectations according to Evo, at least globally. Leader boards have 700k or so people on them, so it can't have done too badly. Regarding Bayonetta, I think it's just somewhat of a niche title in it's overall presentation and quirky style, so the degree of praise it gets still isn't enough to crack bigger numbers in sales. But it's always hard to tell with these sorts of things.
 

allan-bh

Member
January NPD thread may be huge if PS4 wins after Microsoft drop the price again. And it has a good chance of winning because Xbox One sales probably collapsed between january 04 and 15.
 

freefornow

Member
i've had a change of heart towards destiny

roughly 1 million for its first december is great for a new ip like this...way above my personal expectations for the title

Can we get pie breakdown across platforms? (for december)
Do you pie? Or does that require cream?
 

Chobel

Member
January NPD thread may be huge if PS4 wins after Microsoft drop the price again. And it has a good chance of winning because Xbox One sales probably collapsed between january 04 and 15.

I'm thinking January NPD will be more "console gaming is dying" posts than anything. I'm expecting everything to sell below 200K.
 

A_Gorilla

Banned
January NPD thread may be huge if PS4 wins after Microsoft drop the price again. And it has a good chance of winning because Xbox One sales probably collapsed between january 04 and 15.

I'm thinking PS4 winning is a given for Jan.

If the PS4 somehow wins February though...
 
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