Eolz
Member
From Superdata talking with Gamesindustry:
Some really interesting quotes in there from various analysts, worth checking out the full link.
While The NPD Group is not ready to give its full assessment just yet, the firm did note to GamesIndustry.biz that digital promotions on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live were much more aggressive this year and may have impacted the retail channel. Digital aside, the sector that seemed to struggle the most is virtual reality, according to SuperData, which said VR has been the "biggest loser."
Thanks to "notably fewer units sold than expected due to a relatively fragmented title line-up and modest marketing effort," VR headsets are now expected to sell even fewer than previously thought. SuperData's revised forecast for 2016 calls for under 750k PlayStation VR units sold (their previous estimate was 2.6 million) with Google's Daydream selling just 261k (down from 450k). Previous estimates for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Gear VR remain unchanged at 450k, 355k and 2.3 million, respectively.
"PSVR had the best opportunity to benefit from the holidays but their supply inconsistencies and lack of marketing have put them behind their potential. They did not offer any first-party deals this weekend, restock bundles or market the device, pushing instead for the PS 4 Pro. They have also pointed out that VR looks even better on a Pro than a standard or slim PS 4, so the message to most gamers is: Get the Pro now, then the PSVR later. As a result, we won't see them break 1M shipments until well into the new year."
Llamas added that Sony may be deliberately limiting PSVR supply until it can do a better job with supporting the platform.
Looking at the non-VR games market, Nintendo may actually prove to be the biggest winner, thanks to updates both to Pokémon GO and selling out of its NES mini. "On mobile we recorded a spike in earnings as players made the most of the Thanksgiving special for Pokémon GO. The game's ability to stay in the forefront of people's minds as we approach the release date for Super Mario Run may prove beneficial for Nintendo, which has yet to make a convincing claim on the $38 billion mobile games market," said Joost van Dreunen.
Pachter also agreed that the "pace of the mix shift to digital full game downloads continues to be brisk," but we probably won't know whether digital sales fully made up for retail declines until we get the complete NPD report for 2016 sometime in January.
Some really interesting quotes in there from various analysts, worth checking out the full link.