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*Classic Sales-Age* APR-1994 w/ figures & graph: GEN down 53%! Super Metroid debuts..

S

Square2005

Banned
Okay I completed the chart early so I'm posting it b/c of AniHawk.
(BTW this takes about 30minutes to prepare for posting. Not including the hour it takes to prepare the data.)

For those that follow U.S. sales you know after the first quarter sales begin to slow, especially in April (that's why there are traditionally price drops in May). And it's no different this generation but Genesis took a harder fall than SNES, maybe the last minute release of Metroid kept SNES from dropping like Genesis...

Also the Christmas/Late-1993 titles are finally slowing while newer releases take their places.

APRIL 1994:
U.S. Figures Only

Code: 
1   GEN     NBA JAM ($55)	                                 Acclaim	144,614 / 843,037
2   GEN     World Series Baseball ($55)	                 Sega	  97,645 / 130,883
3   SNES   NBA JAM ($63)	                                 Acclaim	  75,544 / 478,288
4   SNES   Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB ($48)	 Nintendo	  71,681 / 115,103
5   SNES   Super Metroid ($58)	                                 Nintendo	  55,596 / NEW
6   GEN     NBA Showdown 94 ($56)	                 EA	  53,546 / 87,958
7   GEN     Sonic The Hedgehog 3 ($58)	                 Sega	  50,821 / 487,215
8   GEN     Mortal Kombat ($55)	                                 Acclaim	  26,881	
9   GEN     FIFA Soccer ($57)	                                 EA	  22,089	
10  GEN    NBA Action ($55)	                                 Sega	  22,062 / 31,960
11  GEN    Star Trek: The Next Generation ($57)	 Hasbro	  20,783 / 28,004
12  GEN	Aladdin ($50)	                                 Sega	  20,665	
13  GEN	NHL(PA) 94 ($55)	                                 EA	  16,968 / 122,323
14  SNES	MLB(PA) Baseball ($56)	                 EA	  15,621 / 21,202
15  SNES	Aladdin ($60)	                                 Capcom	  15,302	
16  SNES	Mortal Kombat ($60)	                                 Acclaim	  14,199	
17  GEN	Ms. Pac-man ($21)	                                 Midway	  13,996	
18  GEN	Eternal Champions ($60)	                 Sega	  13,896	
19  SNES	Super Mario All-Stars ($56)	                 Nintendo	  12,582	
20  GEN	Street Fighter II: Special Champion Ed ($61) Capcom	  12,347	
21  SNES	Super Mario Kart ($49)	                 Nintendo	  12,091	
22  SNES	Star Trek: The Next Generation ($73)	 Hasbro	  10,947 / NEW
23  GEN	Sonic Spinball ($44)	                                 Sega	  10,685	
24  GEN	X-Men ($49)	                                 Sega	  10,058	
25  NES	Dr. Mario ($20)	                                 Nintendo	    9,823	

                Sega Genesis ($122)	          129,930
                Super NES ($116)	          114,843
                NES ($51)	                            22,523
                Atari Jaguar ($250)	              2,246
                3DO Multiplayer ($486)             1,150
BTW Metroid was only out for 2 weeks in April...it'll get a boost next month, so don't be sad:).

Bundled SW Separated:
GEN w/ Sonic 2 67,636
SNES w/ SMW 65,711
SNES w/ SMK 24,075
NEW SNES w/ Zelda 3,370
NEW SNES w/ MP 521
NEW SNES w/ SF 1,667

I hope you guys appreciate the graph:
1994rivalrygraph2ao.png

Apparently Easter ended early for Sega. It looks like the MK, Sonic3, NBA JAM-hype has finally cooled. Now I think we're back to normal levels.
Teh 16-bit war is more like a war now.

Previous months:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106716 < MAR (look here to see how Super Metroid debuted in Japan [page 2] or visit E&N)
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106540 < FEB
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106330 < JAN
 
A

AniHawk

Member
:lol Super Metroid BOMBED! It couldn't even lift poor SNES sales! :lol

I doubt we'll ever see another Metroid ever again. Good riddance.
 
Red Scarlet

Red Scarlet

Member
Yeah, you should wait a week or so.

Super Metroid, eh? I can't wait to play it, I'm going to get the fastest console 100% time someday! I just know it.
 
R

Rlan

Member
Now, Spinball nosedived at this month, but still hanging in there :)

From the last topic - any chance of re-requesting the Spinball Numbers for NOV-DEC 1993? or are they impossible to get? Did NPD only start in 1994? Any rough estimates for the time? [like Total Sales data?]
 
E

evilromero

Member
Metroid is so ****ing hot. The image of picking the game up on release day is perfectly carved into my memory. It was a very overcast day. Ever since then games I bought on cloudy/rainy days ended up being fantastic (Mario 64, Beatle Adventure Racing and Wave Race 64 to name a few).
 
B

BorkBork

The Legend of BorkBork: BorkBorkity Borking
Star Trek TNG was a pretty shitty game. I can't believe I liked it back then.

Edit: $73?! I'm glad I didn't have money to buy games back then, just rent them. :lol
 
Red Scarlet

Red Scarlet

Member
I had to rent the game like 8 times then borrow it for a few weeks until I was able to get my own copy. And it was awesome every time, except for the last few missiles. Stupid Missile tank in Kraid's area.
 
S

Square2005

Banned
Rlan said:
Now, Spinball nosedived at this month, but still hanging in there :)

From the last topic - any chance of re-requesting the Spinball Numbers for NOV-DEC 1993? or are they impossible to get? Did NPD only start in 1994? Any rough estimates for the time? [like Total Sales data?]
Click to expand...

Okay if you want 1993 sales that badly (and I do to) try reading this PDF: http://bmgt3-notes.umd.edu/faculty/km/papers.nsf/225f2e46a850b27885256a560076708a/b73a0b92a8c3ab0d85256c8400632c92/$FILE/NETWORK%20VGAMES_Jan_2002.PDF

The writers have NPD sales b/w 1993-Aug/1995. E-mail this dude: vshankar@mays.tamu.edu <vshankar@mays.tamu.edu>

This is his newer address. He has the data so don't e-mail the other professor - he doesn't have it (I already asked him). Request very nicely to Dr. Shankar (he's a professor) to give you the NPD sales he used in his paper. If he sends it to you please e-mail them to me so I can revise them and be able to add LTDs to the charts (& Sonic Spinball!). He most likely has very old data so the numbers would seem too low. And Good Luck! I e-mailed him about five times already earlier this year and never received a response. Oh and if you wanna know more about him he has a website but it's never updated, here:http://www.venkyshankar.com/home/default.cfm

Anyone else want to try e-mailing him?
 
A

AniHawk

Member
evilromero said:
Metroid is so ****ing hot. The image of picking the game up on release day is perfectly carved into my memory. It was a very overcast day. Ever since then games I bought on cloudy/rainy days ended up being fantastic (Mario 64, Beatle Adventure Racing and Wave Race 64 to name a few).
Click to expand...

OoT was bought on a dark, cloudy night in November. Not sure what about that atmosphere that makes games that much more enjoyable.
 
R

ronito

Member
wow Super Metroid clocking in at just 55k. So sad, it really is one of the best games made. And will be the first thing I will buy on the virtual console. If only I could replace the lispy voice in the beginning. "The univerth ith at peath."

Also those NBA Jam games. Man, I shudder to remember.
 
C

CO_Andy

Member
If i had a time machine i would buy 100,000 copies of Super Metroid just to get another Yokoi-developed Metroid.
 
L

LanceStern

Banned
Man I was so sure Super Metroid would do well. Even with just 2 weeks it should've at least got over 100,000

Guess it'll be a sleeper hit. No more over 300k.

But it's cool that the SNES is getting back up there. It beat the Genesis this month!
 
S

Square2005

Banned
By comparison in Japan Metroid sold 503,000 in two weeks!
Nine times more...so the Metroid series will always be a Japanese favorite. They'll be demanding a 3D sequel for project reality in no time:D. Looking at these sales NoA might as well not even bother localizing future Metroid titles to the West and keep the series in Japan where it'll always sell tons more than over here.
 
D

Danthrax

Batteries the CRISIS!
Ha, Super Metroid debuted with just 3,000 more sales than Sonic 3, which has been out for months! Seems over for Nintendo -- its core brands just can't compete with Sega's.

And third parties are doing great on the Genny. NBA Jam sold twice as much this month on Genesis than SNES, same for Star Trek: TNG, and the superior version of Aladdin is still beating Nintendo's by 5,000 copies. With such significantly higher sales, third parties will have no choice but to switch all their support to Sega.

</monosega>
 
S

starship

psycho_snake's and The Black Brad Pitt's B*TCH
Square2005 said:
By comparison in Japan Metroid sold 503,000 in two weeks!
Nine times more...so the Metroid series will always be a Japanese favorite. They'll be demanding a 3D sequel for project reality in no time:D. Looking at these sales NoA might as well not even bother localizing future Metroid titles to the West and keep the series in Japan where it'll always sell tons more than over here.
Click to expand...
Yeah, NoA has no reason to localise future metroid titles, but thanks to Japanese gamers, we will see more Metroid games in the near future. I will import them.
 
Diseased Yak

Diseased Yak

Gold Member
Haha, NBA Jam... wow, I contributed to the SNES numbers for that game. I remember I didn't have a car (first year in college!) and woke my roommate up early to drive me down to wal-mart to buy the game. We played the shit outta that for weeks on end, when we weren't playing Madden on the 3DO...
 
S

soul creator

Member
man, I remember the first time I saw World Series Baseball where the batter takes up the whole screen...I was like "whoa". Best graphics evar
 
R

radcliff

Member
CO_Andy said:
If i had a time machine i would buy 100,000 copies of Super Metroid just to get another Yokoi-developed Metroid.
Click to expand...

Super Metroid was done by Yoshio Sakamoto. He's responsibile for all the 2D Metroid titles except for Metroid II which was done by Hiroyuki Kimura (who just recently produced New Super Mario Bros). Most recently, Sakamoto was been producing the Wario Ware titles.
 
D

Do The Mario

Unconfirmed Member
Victrix said:
These prices are ridiculous, I'm not paying $60 for console games
Click to expand...


Just wait until games come out on compact disc, my friend said they will be half the price of cart games panisonic are just ripping us off.


4995av.jpg
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
I can't believe you people care so much about how many copies a game sells, play and have fun.

I know I'll never bother caring about something as silly as sales figures for games and consoles.
 
A

AdmiralViscen

Banned
Fuzzy said:
I can't believe you people care so much about how many copies a game sells, play and have fun.

I know I'll never bother caring about something as silly as sales figures for games and consoles.
Click to expand...

A game that sells well is more likely to get a sequel for yout o play.

No one is taking these Classic topics seriously.
 
W

worldrunover

Member
Do The Mario said:
Just wait until games come out on compact disc, my friend said they will be half the price of cart games panisonic are just ripping us off.
Click to expand...

Pfft, Sony's dumb for going out on their own with a CD-based system. They'll never make it in a cart-dominated market!
 
S

Square2005

Banned
Why isn't anyone talking about the massive drop of Genny sales? Don't you think it's unusual (there were no shortages)!? Have we seen anything like this with
recent console sales
?
 
YourMaster

YourMaster

Member
CO_Andy said:
If i had a time machine i would buy 100,000 copies of Super Metroid just to get another Yokoi-developed Metroid.
Click to expand...
You won't need a time machine, with 6 million dollars you can accomplish that now!
 
U

Unison

Member
Zaxxon said:
SNES Aladdin > GEN Aladdin!

All you consumers are idiots!!!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree, but I'm impressed by the legs of the Aladdin games overall. The Disney licenses can't miss. Every game with Disney characters is worthwhile it seems.

I'm a little worried about the next one though. The Lion King? What the **** is that? It will never do well.
 
D

donny2112

Member
Square2005 said:
Why isn't anyone talking about the massive drop of Genny sales?
Click to expand...

Personally, I don't have a baseline to compare them to. It's been on the market for four years, but (through no fault of your own) we only have the last four months of sales. Maybe we should've been shocked at January-March Genesis sales, and for April, things finally got back to normal.

I am surprised about the general total lack of staying power for the gaming industry
back in 1994
. One game over 100K
, both major consoles selling at well below current NDS/PSP levels, which in turn are a huge drop from GBA levels
. Super Metroid (considered by some, one of the best games ever) selling a paltry 56K in its first month. Nintendo franchises selling like crap
compared to now
on their own system.

No wonder games
had
have to cost $60-$70. No one
was
is buying any!

Also, it's not unheard of for SEGA consoles to have big surges followed by massive drops (see Dreamcast)
 
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