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NPD Sales Results for October 2009

gkryhewy

Member
painful fart said:
Don´t laugh at the LOTR boost PS3 sales argument. I remember some Sony representative some years ago talking about how they saw a peak in PS3 sales at a time no game was released, they found out it was correlated to the blu-ray release of some Batman(IIRC) movie .

Not that I would expect a significant boost thanks to LOTR, but probably some.

As someone else has said, that ship has long since sailed. Blu-ray is at a different point in its life cycle, and *good* standalones will be 99 bucks or lower this holiday. PS3 is no longer the de facto basic BR player.
 

BigDug13

Member
It seems like borderlands blew up on 360 because of viral word of mouth amongst the live community. Don't think the same thing exists on ps3.

I'm really happy that it's doing well. I love the game and this seemingly new genre and top sales guarantees a sequel and possibly other games to expand the genre.
 
Htown said:
You do realize the Wii sells a lot of software, right?
A lot of Nintendo software . . . and a lot of shovelware. But the major 3rd parties continue to struggle outside of a few hits like EA Sports, etc.

I know . . . all the N-fans are gonna attack me now. But this is a business. But the failures of Mad World, Dead Space Extraction, etc. mean that the 3rd party publishers are not going to continue down that path. Blame them all you want for making crappy games . . . but even the ones that get pretty good or very good review don't sell too hot.
 
BigDug13 said:
It seems like borderlands blew up on 360 because of viral word of mouth amongst the live community. Don't think the same thing exists on ps3.

I'm really happy that it's doing well. I love the game and this seemingly new genre and top sales guarantees a sequel and possibly other games to expand the genre.
Good point. There is a much bigger xbox online community. So the great success of Uncharted 2 is not the only reason Borderlands was weak relative to the xbox 360 version.
 

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
word of mouth on the third party wii games you mention, at least among my circle of friends who play games, was toxic. MAD WORLD most of us found unbearable; NO MORE HEROES most of the people i know locally who play games was amusing for a short while, but quickly left behind; DEAD SPACE EXTRACTION is a rail-shooter, and to be blunt, i'm just not interested in rail-shooters.

it seems that nearly every big third party wii game that's supposed to be a metric for public interest comes with some caveat: the game is very shallow, the game is sometimes quite ugly and not well designed, it's in a genre most people have very little interest in, etc. and so on.

imagine if the sales of TIME CRISIS were used to gauge third party success on a different system. the idea is ludicrous.
 
Hopefully the next Ratchet game gets more time in the cooker and maybe a complete overhaul. The series is getting way too stale despite what reviewers say.

So yeah another example of the dog biting Insomniac so to speak.
 
marc^o^ said:
If you follow my point, PS3 reached a point where its price/value seems to please the core crowd, so that Sony is now less reliant on casuals to expand.

It was just a thought about a big blu-ray release coming which will get noticed on the market, though it now seems like I'm making a big theory about it :D . I'm not.

I just bought my mother an early Xmas gift. A Samsung Blu-ray with 2.0 and Netflix for $99 bucks. Blu-ray is not a reason to get a PS3 at all anymore now that standalone players are coming down to DVD player prices.

shinshero said:
Just wanted to add, MGS 4 sold a million in its first month in USA. The reason why NPD only tracked 750K was because the rest came from bundles. That game was truly a system seller.

NPD doesn't count bundles so technically, it didn't sell a million units it's first month. They don't count bundles because there is no way to prove that someone bought the system for the game. Remember with the MGS4 bundle, it came with a game, was the first ever system to have a rumble controller included and most important... was the last ever system Sony sold that had BC with the PS2. Even if you hated MGS4 with every breath you had, that was the system to buy if you wanted a PS3 at the time. I'm not saying that more than a few people bought the system for the game but it's all speculation. As you pointed out, on the record, MGS4 sold 750k in it's first month in the US according to NPD.
 

gerg

Member
speculawyer said:
A lot of Nintendo software . . . and a lot of shovelware. But the major 3rd parties continue to struggle outside of a few hits like EA Sports, etc.

I know . . . all the N-fans are gonna attack me now.

Except shovelware doesn't sell very well. Ubisoft has explicitly stated how it has had trouble finding success on the want with its Imagine series, perhaps the pinnacle of shovelware in the eyes of many.

But this is a business. But the failures of Mad World, Dead Space Extraction, etc. mean that the 3rd party publishers are not going to continue down that path. Blame them all you want for making crappy games . . . but even the ones that get pretty good or very good review don't sell too hot.

You can maintain that the Wii is not a good environment for games specifically aimed at the 18-35 male demographic (such as FPSs, etc.) and equally state that the Wii is a good environment for third-parties in general without entailing a contradiction. That is, third-party games do sell on the Wii, but not the games third parties want to make. The situation is simply too complex to quickly categorize as either "good" or "bad", as being healthy or otherwise.
 

EXGN

Member
BigDug13 said:
It seems like borderlands blew up on 360 because of viral word of mouth amongst the live community. Don't think the same thing exists on ps3.

I'm really happy that it's doing well. I love the game and this seemingly new genre and top sales guarantees a sequel and possibly other games to expand the genre.


I thought that too at first, but look at Demon's Souls. Zero marketing, it moved 150K+ on word of mouth from other PS3 users. I think XBL did help Borderlands, but the low PS3 Borderlands sales may have to do with the biggest game on PS3 releasing just one week earlier.
 

markatisu

Member
speculawyer said:
A lot of Nintendo software . . . and a lot of shovelware. But the major 3rd parties continue to struggle outside of a few hits like EA Sports, etc.

Well besides the fact you are factually wrong, we go through this every year. Ubisoft, SEGA, EA and THQ have all found success. We can go list wars if people really want

Shovelware does not sell, Ubisoft has said Imagine does not move well on the Wii, things like Gingerbread Man and Anubis are uber bombs

Things like Mad World and Dead Space Extraction get thrown around as why 3rd parties cannot succeed but games like De Blob, Sonic Unleashed and Force Unleashed (which leaked numbers showed did almost on even ground with the 360 counterpart) and Shaun White Snowboarding get dismissed

Keep up the one sided view GAF

gerg said:
That is, third-party games do sell on the Wii, but not the games third parties want to make. The situation is simply too complex to quickly categorize as either "good" or "bad", as being healthy or otherwise

This 100x
 
See, I told you I'd get attacked. :lol

markatisu said:
Well besides the fact you are factually wrong, we go through this every year. Ubisoft, SEGA, EA and THQ have all found success. We can go list wars if people really want

Sure. Take a look at the Amazon Top 100 for Wii games:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/14218901/ref=pd_ts_vg_nav

The Modern Warfare game (Reflex) is down at slot 35 while Modern Warfare became the fastest selling game of all time on the 360 & PS3.

But keep up with the denial. But really, if want to play the big action games, do yourself a favor and pick up an HD console. But if you would rather keep up the fanboy fight instead of actually play the big action titles, be my guest. Write lots of letters to EA, ATVI, and TTWO and try to get them to pay attention to the Wii with 'M' games. Keep that torch burning! :D


Shovelware does not sell, Ubisoft has said Imagine does not move well on the Wii, things like Gingerbread Man and Anubis are uber bombs
Shovelware does not have to sell big numbers. They cost near nothing to make. They sell a few copies and they are happy. If it wasn't profitable, they swould stop coming out. And it has slowed a bit.


Edit: I want to clarify . . . I don't think 3rd parties can't make money on the Wii. They can and do. But they do so by putting out music rhythm games, exercise games, cooking games, and kiddie games with licenses. But the hardcore gamer market of 'M' rated shooters and things like that is just not a big money maker so don't expect much in that category.
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
OldJadedGamer said:
I just bought my mother an early Xmas gift. A Samsung Blu-ray with 2.0 and Netflix for $99 bucks. Blu-ray is not a reason to get a PS3 at all anymore now that standalone players are coming down to DVD player prices.
Your mother doesn't need a console. Someone who wants to buy a HD console AND a Blu-Ray player will certainly prefer to have one single device. That's how most people think.
 

markatisu

Member
speculawyer said:
But keep up with the denial. But really, if want to play the big action games, do yourself a favor and pick up an HD console. But if you would rather keep up the fanboy fight instead of actually play the big action titles, be my guest. Write lots of letters to EA, ATVI, and TTWO and try to get them to pay attention to the Wii with 'M' games. Keep that torch burning! :D

Do you want to come over and play my 360 (username ISUmark) or PS3 (psn name markatisu)?

I think I know all too well what is available on each platform

Edit: I want to clarify . . . I don't think 3rd parties can't make money on the Wii. They can and do. But they do so by putting out music rhythm games, exercise games, cooking games, and kiddie games with licenses. But the hardcore gamer market of 'M' rated shooters and things like that is just not a big money maker so don't expect much in that category.

Thats not what was being argued, can you not read? The argument was that third party games do not sell on the Wii, only shovelware.
 

P90

Member
Mithos said:
No, it sells a lot of shovelware and bad spinoffs made wrong, where are all the "big-budget" games that supposedly would be made for the Wii since it has the "largest userbase" previously spoken of.
That was my intent by the previous post I made.

First, define "shovelware". And don't just list games that just don't fit your taste.

You are correct, there aren't many big budget third party games, save for the most important one.
 
markatisu said:
Do you want to come over and play my 360 (username ISUmark) or PS3 (psn name markatisu)?

I think I know all too well what is available on each platform

I won't come over, but I'll play online. :D (Speculawyer on both PSN & XBL).
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.

gerg

Member
speculawyer said:
Sure. Take a look at the Amazon Top 100 for Wii games:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/14218901/ref=pd_ts_vg_nav

The Modern Warfare game (Reflex) is down at slot 35 while Modern Warfare became the fastest selling game of all time on the 360 & PS3.

But keep up with the denial. But really, if want to play the big action games, do yourself a favor and pick up an HD console. But if you would rather keep up the fanboy fight instead of actually play the big action titles, be my guest. Write lots of letters to EA, ATVI, and TTWO and try to get them to pay attention to the Wii with 'M' games. Keep that torch burning! :D

Did you not read his post? Did you not read mine?

At the very least I admitted that M-rated games, generally, sell poorly on the Wii. (Although I imagine that there may be a market of around three million gamers for such titles.)

But don't ignore the fact that for the first half of 2009, software sales on the Wii accounted for a quarter of Ubisoft's income, more than either the 360 or the PS3 and almost as much as software sales on both of those platforms combined.

Unless I'm misrepresenting people, no one here is arguing that there is a strong market for M-rated games on the Wii. Nevertheless, it is incorrect to use the status of certain demographics as the sole metric as the health of a platform for third-party games.

Shovelware does not have to sell big numbers. They cost near nothing to make. They sell a few copies and they are happy. If it wasn't profitable, they swould stop coming out. And it has slowed a bit. But

I never said that shovelware has to sell a lot of copies to be profitable. I never said that the Wii's shovelware, in general, wasn't profitable. I just said that, considering that most shovelware sells very poorly, the "Wii's third-party software sales comprise mostly of shovelware" argument is rubbish.

Last December 40 individual Wii titles sold over a million copies. Shovelware does not sell a million copies.

Edit: I want to clarify . . . I don't think 3rd parties can't make money on the Wii. They can and do. But they do so by putting out music rhythm games, exercise games, cooking games, and kiddie games with licenses. But the hardcore gamer market of 'M' rated shooters and things like that is just not a big money maker so don't expect much in that category.

I may have spoken too soon, but if that's what you really mean you should probably say that in your original post, rather than simply stating "lol Wii third-party games don't sell lol".

And "kiddie games"? Really?
 
marc^o^ said:
Your mother doesn't need a console. Someone who wants to buy a HD console AND a Blu-Ray player will certainly prefer to have one single device. That's how most people think.

In general, convergence-device benefits are consistently most attractive to the most dedicated hobbyist purchasers who carefully research their options before purchasing. The BluRay benefit is a meaingful benefit to PS3 on the margins because for an informed buyer, a PS3 that includes that is a better deal than a 360 that doesn't but is sold for the same price, but "most people," as you say, don't plan these sorts of things out in advance and in detail.

If someone gets excited about the LotR BRDs, how likely they are to think forward, realize they'll want a video game console, weigh all their options including standalone players, PS3, etc., and come to an ultimate conclusion are relative to how much of a gadget/tech enthusiast they are. Your average non-enthusiast consumer will see the PS3's BluRay advantage when they go to shop for a game console, but never have it enter the picture when they go to shop for a BRD player, which is why listing something like the LotR BRDs as a future bump to PS3 sales is the kind of sad, desperate reach that the chalkboard was created to make fun of.

I mean, c'mon, the PS3 is actually priced correctly and getting steady flows of good software backed with a strong market positioning now, people don't need to make up fake "wait for" hits to play up its future performance anymore.
 
gerg said:
I may have spoken too soon, but if that's what you really mean you should probably say that in your original post, rather than simply stating "lol Wii third-party games don't sell lol".
Yeah, fair enough . . . I was not very clear in my original post. Sorry about that.

gerg said:
And "kiddie games"? Really?
This stuff. And it does sell. (and I know personally since I've bought some of it :lol ):
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5103A0KcqRL._SL160_SL125_.jpg
 
charlequin said:
In general, convergence-device benefits are consistently most attractive to the most dedicated hobbyist purchasers who carefully research their options before purchasing. The BluRay benefit is a meaingful benefit to PS3 on the margins because for an informed buyer, a PS3 that includes that is a better deal than a 360 that doesn't but is sold for the same price, but "most people," as you say, don't plan these sorts of things out in advance and in detail.

If someone gets excited about the LotR BRDs, how likely they are to think forward, realize they'll want a video game console, weigh all their options including standalone players, PS3, etc., and come to an ultimate conclusion are relative to how much of a gadget/tech enthusiast they are. Your average non-enthusiast consumer will see the PS3's BluRay advantage when they go to shop for a game console, but never have it enter the picture when they go to shop for a BRD player, which is why listing something like the LotR BRDs as a future bump to PS3 sales is the kind of sad, desperate reach that the chalkboard was created to make fun of.

I mean, c'mon, the PS3 is actually priced correctly and getting steady flows of good software backed with a strong market positioning now, people don't need to make up fake "wait for" hits to play up its future performance anymore.

This. Thanks for saving me the time to write it myself.
 

gerg

Member
speculawyer said:
This stuff. And it does sell. (and I know personally since I've bought some of it :lol ):
[images]

I don't think that that's indicative of the entire Wii market and the possibilities it offers for third-party developers. Moreover, I don't think that their sales are indicative of the sales of the shovelware on the Wii in general.
 

JJConrad

Sucks at viral marketing
schuelma said:
Using amazon rankings and comparing Reflex with MW2 is like two horrible analytical statements in one post.

I mean, really?
I think he was comparing Reflex to MW1 from two years ago. It makes much more sense then...
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
JJConrad said:
I think he was comparing Reflex to MW1 from two years ago. It makes much more sense then...


Ahh yes. My mistake.

Of course, that comparison still makes little sense to me.
 

JJConrad

Sucks at viral marketing
schuelma said:
Ahh yes. My mistake.

Of course, that comparison still makes little sense to me.
I don't know why. "Modern," "#35," "2 years," "Reflex".... it should be totally clear.



Perhaps this may help:

"speculawyer"
 

Danthrax

Batteries the CRISIS!
Rez said:
that's encouraging!

does anyone know what happened to Segata? You can't ban the Duke. That's absurd!

He called someone a dipshit early in this thread. It's okay, he'll be back again someday
soon
 
markatisu said:
Well besides the fact you are factually wrong, we go through this every year. Ubisoft, SEGA, EA and THQ have all found success. We can go list wars if people really want

Shovelware does not sell, Ubisoft has said Imagine does not move well on the Wii, things like Gingerbread Man and Anubis are uber bombs

Things like Mad World and Dead Space Extraction get thrown around as why 3rd parties cannot succeed but games like De Blob, Sonic Unleashed and Force Unleashed (which leaked numbers showed did almost on even ground with the 360 counterpart) and Shaun White Snowboarding get dismissed

Keep up the one sided view GAF

How many 3rd party Wii games have ever charted in the top 10? How many have sold more than 500k? Is the answer more than 5?
 

Danthrax

Batteries the CRISIS!
LiveFromKyoto said:
How many 3rd party Wii games have ever charted in the top 10? How many have sold more than 500k? Is the answer more than 5?

lots of lots of 3rd party games have sold over a million, let alone 500k, on Wii
 

Shiggy

Member
LiveFromKyoto said:
How many have sold more than 500k? Is the answer more than 5?

Yes, I can think of Resident Evil 4, EA Sports Active, Carnival Games, GH3, GH:WT and Call of Duty WoW out of my head.
 

border

Member
gerg said:
Except shovelware doesn't sell very well. Ubisoft has explicitly stated how it has had trouble finding success on the want with its Imagine series, perhaps the pinnacle of shovelware in the eyes of many.

gerg said:
But don't ignore the fact that for the first half of 2009, software sales on the Wii accounted for a quarter of Ubisoft's income, more than either the 360 or the PS3 and almost as much as software sales on both of those platforms combined.

Ubisoft released almost nothing but garbage for the Wii in 2009. I don't get how you can simultaneously claim that shovelware isn't selling and boast about Ubisoft's revenue.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
LiveFromKyoto said:
How many have sold more than 500k? Is the answer more than 5?



:lol :lol :lol :lol You have no clue whatsoever. The real number is over seven times what you guessed.
 

Xeke

Banned
LiveFromKyoto said:
How many 3rd party Wii games have ever charted in the top 10? How many have sold more than 500k? Is the answer more than 5?

How many third party Wii games even exist that compare to other 3rd party games? Find me a Wii third party game with the marketing push or budget of say...Gears of War, Assassins Creed, MW1 & 2, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Street Figher...I could go on forever.

I find it laughable every time that somebody tries to compare any third party Wii game to a respectable 3rd party game on the 360/PS3. Hell I'm willing to bet that the marketing and development cost of Gears of War was higher than the top 10 Wii third party games combined.

Lets put The Conduit and Mad World on the 360 and Gears and say Mass Effect on the Wii and see which games do better, are you kidding me people.:lol

I really just can't get over how some people think any Wii 3rd party effort is comparable to other 3rd party games.
 
Xeke said:
How many third party Wii games even exist that compare to other 3rd party games? Find me a Wii third party game with the marketing push or budget of say...Gears of War, Assassins Creed, MW1 & 2, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Street Figher...I could go on forever.

I find it laughable every time that somebody tries to compare any third party Wii game to a respectable 3rd party game on the 360/PS3. Hell I'm willing to bet that the marketing and development cost of Gears of War was higher than the top 10 Wii third party games combined.

Lets put The Conduit and Mad World on the 360 and Gears and say Mass Effect on the Wii and see which games do better, are you kidding me people.:lol

I really just can't get over how some people think any Wii 3rd party effort is comparable to other 3rd party games.

All of which is nintendo's fault for releasing backward hardware that can't support that type of game.
 

border

Member
Xeke said:
How many third party Wii games even exist that compare to other 3rd party games? Find me a Wii third party game with the marketing push or budget of say...Gears of War, Assassins Creed, MW1 & 2, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Street Figher...I could go on forever.
If Wii games must have a development and marketing budget the size of an HD game in order to be successful, then why even bother with the platform at all? I thought the point of its low specs was to contain spiraling budgets. If the Wii was meant to sell $50 million games, then it would have been built to be capable of running them.
 

Saiyar

Unconfirmed Member
Kagari said:
Anyone know how Demon's Souls did in comparison to other JRPGs from this generation in their first month?

I think it will be the second best first month for a JRPG after Lost Odyssey (~200k).
 

Deku

Banned
border said:
Ubisoft released almost nothing but garbage for the Wii in 2009. I don't get how you can simultaneously claim that shovelware isn't selling and boast about Ubisoft's revenue.

increased revenue doesn't equal profit or even success? They sure as heck released a lot of garbage, but probably none of them met expectations and sold. But having a lot of product out on the market that under-performs can still raise revenue.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
border said:
Ubisoft released almost nothing but garbage for the Wii in 2009. I don't get how you can simultaneously claim that shovelware isn't selling and boast about Ubisoft's revenue.

Regardless of the overall point, you definitely pinned gerg on this one.

January - September Ubisoft Wii releases
Wii Imagine Fashion Party 02/03/09 - not even listed on metacritic
Wii Six Flags Fun Park 03/03/09 - metacritic 43
Wii Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game 03/04/09 - metacritic 65
Wii Gold's Gym: Cardio Workout 03/25/09 - no metacritic ranking
Wii Vacation Sports 03/31/09 - no metacritic ranking
Wii Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 09/15/09 - metacritic 68
Wii Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up 09/22/09 - metacritic 66
Wii Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey 09/22/09 - no metacritic ranking
Wii The Price Is Right 2010 Edition 09/22/09 - no metacritic ranking
Wii Family Feud: 2010 Edition 09/29/09 - no metacritic ranking.

Non-junk:
Wii Tenchu: Shadow Assassins 02/05/09
Wii No More Heroes/Red Steel Bundle 03/19/09
Wii Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (Director's Cut) 03/24/09 -
Wii Dawn of Discovery 05/22/09

I think we can agree that even granting these are quality games, Ubisoft is making its Wii cash off, flatly, garbage.
 

Ulairi

Banned
border said:
If Wii games must have a development and marketing budget the size of an HD game in order to be successful, then why even bother with the platform at all? I thought the point of its low specs was to contain spiraling budgets. If the Wii was meant to sell $50 million games, then it would have been built to be capable of running them.


No. You're wrong. The Wii is built to sell big budget games that are well marketed. It is also built to sell games with smaller budgets. The difference is that people seem to ignore that if a game is built on a smaller budget then the sales needed to make a profit are much more modest. Why is it so hard to understand that?
 

percephone

Neo Member
LiveFromKyoto said:
How many 3rd party Wii games have ever charted in the top 10? How many have sold more than 500k? Is the answer more than 5?

More than you think. Top of my mind. RE4, Lego Star Wars, COD WaW, Rock Band, GH3 and DDR. Just to name 6

Beside, the top 10 are only the tip of the iceberg. Depending on the month, 70-90% of the sales aren't in the top 10.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
schuelma said:
:lol :lol :lol :lol You have no clue whatsoever. The real number is over seven times what you guessed.

Off the top of my head, US 500k+ Wii third party sellers (note I have no magic NPD numbers besides the leaks that are uncovered here, like that IGN LTD update a while ago)...

Guitar Hero 3
Guitar Hero 4
Guitar Hero Aerosmith
Rock Band
Rock Band 2
Rayman RR
Rayman RR2
Rayman RR3
Game Party
Game Party 2
Mario and Sonic
Carnival Games
Lego Star Wars
Lego Indiana Jones
Lego Batman
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil UC
EA Sports Active
Star Wars TFU
Star Wars wii exclusive clone wars
Deca Sports
MySims
Cooking Mama
Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty WaW
Tiger Woods 08
Tiger Woods 09
Tiger Woods 10
Madden 08
Madden 09
DDR... uh... one of them... maybe both, actually
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Shaun White
We Ski
Jillian Michaels Fitness
Nerf N Strike
Super Monkey Ball
EA Playground
Red Steel
Boom Blox (?maybe?)
MySims 2 (?maybe?)

... I think one of the High School Musical games had an LTD update released at one point and had it over 500k as well. I have no idea how many I'm missing, I'm sure a few of them.
 
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