Support NeoGAF

[Ninja Dom]

Talk of the current situation with the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is carrying over here in the Nintendo full year fiscal results thread.

But have a look at these to see how many units of all other Nintendo consoles have sold with their software sales.

Source: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sales/hard_soft/index.html

 

[Visualante2]

Wii U potentially the first Nintendo system to fail to break 100 million software. The third parties simply aren't there.

 

[RaveofRavendale]

Also released today was this PDF, showing all Nintendo hardware sales since 1997: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/number_of_titles_e1403.pdf

 

[HORRORSHØW]

the SNES sold only 49 million?

 

[Frillen]

the SNES sold only 49 million?

Market was smaller back then compared to today.

 

[TheDrowningMan]

the SNES sold only 49 million?

Yep. It's interesting to look at NES through GameCube, because in raw numbers (not taking into account the inflated market that came post-PlayStation) the gen-on-gen decline was pretty close for each successive console. It's like, the industry grew but Nintendo's audience was isolated from that and just contracted each time. Taking Wii as an anomaly, if the Wii U gets to, say, 12m, it'll look spookily like a decades-old pattern has resumed.

 

[soulassssns]

Wii U potentially the first Nintendo system to fail to break 100 million software. The third parties simply aren't there.

Virtual Boy?


That image is showing total overall system sales for the previous ninty consoles/handhelds right? Do we have comparisons for sales for the 1st to 2nd years of those systems as well?

 

[Waluigilicious]

1. Will the 3DS outsell the GBA?
2. Will the Wii U outsell the Gamecube?

The Gamecube had a good software attach rate. Do the new figures include downloaded sales?

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

Wii U potentially the first Nintendo system to fail to break 100 million software. The third parties simply aren't there.

Smash Bros. and Mario Kart will sell 50 million each!

 

[cyberheater]

I really don't understand looking at those numbers why any company would develop for WiiU.

 

[fedexpeon]

So more than an avg of 10M decline each generation from NES-WiiU?*

*Wii is an outlier, and should not be used for forecasting...Which I guess Nintendo had been doing these past years for WiiU forecast, but that is hindsight I guess.
But now, the new data matches up with WiiU forecast sales for 2014-2015, more reasonable/humble number I guess.

 

[HUELEN10]

I really don't understand looking at those numbers why any company would develop for WiiU.

Less competition means possibly better sales with correctly-timed eShop exclusivity.

 

[Canis lupus]

the SNES sold only 49 million?

The Megadrive yo

Market was smaller back then compared to today.

Had nothing to do with that because Nes sold more

 

[Coolwhip]

gen 1: NES 62 million / Gameboy 118 million
gen 5: Wii 101 million / DS 154 million

Funny how these two generations have a lot in common.

 

[raven777]

Surprised at SNES sales figure. The market must have exploded in PS1/SS/N64 era.

 

[EhoaVash]

wow the attach rate to 3DS is quite low

 

[cyberheater]

Less competition means possibly better sales with correctly-timed eShop exclusivity.

Have you seen the attach rate for WiiU. It's pretty low.

 

[TheDrowningMan]

1. Will the 3DS outsell the GBA?
2. Will the Wii U outsell the Gamecube?

1. No.

2. Not a chance.

 

[D.Lo]

Famicom would surely be 100+ million if counting all the pirate hardware that was made. Most pirated chipset of all time.

 

[1st Course]

Dat Gamecube attach rate.

 

[jabuseika]

The Wii was an anomaly.

61.91 > 49.10 > 32.93 > 21.74 < 101.06 > 6.17

 

[Waluigilicious]

1. No.

2. Not a chance.

Personally if I had to bet on one happening I'd say Wii U has more of a chance. It still has Mario Kart and Smash Bros, and Double Dash plus Melee were what the Gamecube was pretty much about.

What does the 3DS even have left that is anywhere near that scale?

 

[Zeyphersan]

I've gone ahead and calculated the attach rates for comparison (sorry if someone else already posted while I was doing the math)

NES: 8.08
SNES: 7.72
N64: 6.83
GCN: 9.59
Wii: 8.86
Wii U: 5.23

GB/C: 4.22
GBA: 4.63
DS: 6.13
3DS: 3.76

 

[GardenSirens]

Wow, didn't know Wii U was doing that badly. I'd like to see the refreshed numbers once a proper Zelda is released.

 

[SmokyDave]

Looks like they'll have their worst selling console and handheld this gen.

3DS still rocking that poor attach rate. Less than four games per unit? Madness.

 

[Shiggy]

The decrease in software sales for both 3DS and Wii U is gigantic.

 

[Waluigilicious]

Looks like they'll have their worst selling console and handheld this gen.

3DS still rocking that poor attach rate. Less than four games per unit? Madness.

I have 37 3DS games. Really puts things into perspective. Crazy!

 

[mclem]

Attach rates are interesting here.

NES: 8.08
SNES: 7.72
N64: 6.83
GC: 9.59 (!)
Wii: 8.86
Wii U: 5.23


GB/GBC: 4.22 (Rather low. Reduced by people buying multiple systems for the family but sharing the same games?)
GBA: 4.63
DS: 6.13
3DS: 3.76

That Gamecube attach rate was ridiculous. Do we have any figures for Playstations, Xboxes and Sega systems through the years?


Edit: Poop, beaten to the same maths.

 

[mclem]

I really don't understand looking at those numbers why any company would develop for WiiU.

I really don't understand looking at these numbers why any company wouldn't develop for Gamecube. But, well, they didn't.

 

[nikatapi]

Looks like they'll have their worst selling console and handheld this gen.

3DS still rocking that poor attach rate. Less than four games per unit? Madness.

I guess used games also play their role, at least looking at myself and some of my friends. More than half my (20) retail games were bought as used.

 

[SmokyDave]

I have 37 3DS games. Really puts things into perspective. Crazy!

I don't even like the machine and I've got three times as many games as the average owner.

I suspect many of the purchasers are so young that they have to wait for birthdays and xmas to get new games.

I guess used games also play their role, at least looking at myself and some of my friends. More than half my (20) retail games were bought as used.

Nah, used games have always been around. The GB, GBA, and DS also had piracy to deal with.

 

[cyberheater]

I really don't understand looking at these numbers why any company wouldn't develop for Gamecube. But, well, they didn't.

Because PS2 had an attach rate over 6 with consoles sales in excess of 150 Million.

 

[Zeyphersan]

I guess used games also play their role, at least looking at myself and some of my friends. More than half my (20) retail games were bought as used.

But why now more than before? That 9.59 attach rate on the Gamecube is insanity.

 

[monome]

I really don't understand looking at those numbers why any company would develop for WiiU.

Maybe a company that has developped the hardware and wants to recoup with software sales?

 

[xandaca]

Jesus, if the Wii U's already been on the market two years and probably has two or three more, will it even break the 10m sold barrier?

 

[BlackBuzzard]

So Gameboy color is included in the Gameboy sales figure? I always considered it as a new handheld, not a revision. It looks like WiiU might actually become the worst selling Nintendo console, next to the virtual boy.

 

[cyberheater]

Maybe a company that has developped the hardware and wants to recoup with software sales?

Clearly I was referencing 3rd parties.

 

[MrCunningham]

the SNES sold only 49 million?

The original Nintendo had the whole market to itself. I think the Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive was estimated to have sold about 39 million units worldwide, and that took a bite out of SNES sales in many regions. The PC Engine/ TG-16 was estimated to have sold around 10 million units worldwide.



Those Wii-U numbers are so painful.

 

[nikatapi]

But why now more than before? That 9.59 attach rate on the Gamecube is insanity.

Yeah maybe i'm looking it from my perspective since it's the first console i bought used games for.

Gamecube was fucking awesome, it had so many great games and it still had most of the 3rd party games, so maybe coming from the N64 many of the owners didn't buy another console like ps2 or xbox.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Looks like they'll have their worst selling console and handheld this gen.

3DS still rocking that poor attach rate. Less than four games per unit? Madness.

That's £140 in games going by UK prices. Is it really that surprising?

 

[Some Nobody]

Man, I said what's happening with the Wii U would happen back in 2008 but no one would listen to me. Nintendo's going to have to be radical with whatever they do next.

 

[Canis lupus]

Jesus, if the Wii U's already been on the market two years and probably has two or three more, will it even break the 10m sold barrier?

They are forecasting 3.6m for the next FY, which is a highly optimistic number to me, Wii U should hit 10m by 2016.

 

[cyberheater]

Looks like they'll have their worst selling console and handheld this gen.

3DS still rocking that poor attach rate. Less than four games per unit? Madness.

30-40 quid for the software. It's hardly surprising.

 

[1st Course]

You can see a breakdown by region here

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1403.pdf

 

[Monty Mole]

the SNES sold only 49 million?

Back then consoles were for kids and only kids. The market has expanded since then as those kids (like me) have grown up and continue to play games, while new kids come on board.

 

[Joe_Incognito]

So what were looking at here is the most successful producer of video game products in the history of the business. Good to know.

 

[Yoroshiku]

So Gameboy color is included in the Gameboy sales figure? I always considered it as a new handheld, not a revision. It looks like WiiU might actually become the worst selling Nintendo console, next to the virtual boy.

Game Boy Color is to Game Boy what Nintendo DSi is to Nintendo DS.
Both of them had software that couldn't be played on the older models, yet both were formally not new hardware series.
I'd say it worked and both of them successfully extended the lifespan of their hardware series.

 

[impact]

30-40 quid for the software. It's hardly surprising.

Too true. I just got an XL and have no games because they're so overpriced. Even people in the BST thread want $30 for their used 3DS games -_-

 

[Some Nobody]

They are forecasting 3.6m for the next FY, which is a highly optimistic number to me, Wii U should hit 10m by 2016.

I thought their prediction was up to March 2015? In which case they'd hit it sometime in 2015 since 6.3+3.6 is just 100k away anyways.

If they make their next system in 2016, they'll probably end with 12m, 15m tops for the Wii U.

 

[Cheerilee]

Famicom
Japan - 19.35 million
America - 34.00 million
PAL - 8.56 million

Super Famicom
Japan - 17.17 million
America - 23.35 million
PAL - 8.58 million

N64
Japan - 5.54 million
America - 20.63 million
PAL - 6.75

GameCube
Japan - 4.04 million
America - 12.94 million
PAL - 4.77 million

The industry has been growing, but SNES got hurt by Sega Genesis stealing marketshare, primarily in America.

N64 got smashed by NCL's decision to give the middle finger to third parties and go with carts. NOA managed to salvage an SNES-level victory by appealing to Western developers.

Iwata was tasked by Yamauchi to win back Japanese third parties with the GameCube (Iwata was the head of planning before he became President), and he failed at that, but in the process he cut NOA's balls off and handed the American market over to Xbox. Right around the time that the American market was set to explode.