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April 2012 NPD Sales Results [Up3: Best selling game sold less than 236K, Kid Icarus]
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
Mr. B Natural
Member
The 3ds's problem is moving both, which is why it already had a record breaking price cut (both in the quickest amount of time to get a price-cut and in the high amount that it was) AND they felt the need to go for the big guns software wise in releasing a Mario Game AND Mario Kart game so damn soon AND (I just learned today) they're releasing yet another mario game in august.
Nintendo is trying VERY hard, harder than they ever have, harder than anyone, ever, to get hardware and software up to snuff, to compensate for a general and unexpected lack of interest.
Aside from adding extra cost to the system which could have instead went to better hardware or even having the base system price lower, it caused huge confusion among consumers. Just my take on the situation.
I don't see any hard try so far this year.
I'm not so sure about that. From what I've heard (on other forums, so like, third-hand) software really isn't doing that well, other than the Mario games.
NoA works in mysterious ways.
Mr. B Natural
Member
They released their (and the entire industry's) two biggest IPs back to back for one christmas. People talk about how the 3ds is ahead of the Ds. Well, of course, what made the DS so large - New Super Mario, Mario Kart, Pokemon and Nintendogs. They already released 3 of those so far and how old is this system?
They use to, when they had the world at their fingertips, span those bad boys out. Take it easy, let NSMB sell multi-millions and unquestionably sell multi-million pieces of hardware three years after release.
It printed money for hardware and software.
It's like if Activision released two CODs in one christmas. That wouldn't be trying hard?
teruterubozu
Member
Gamers await Steam Sales. That's the only thing that matters these days.
Unless Apple releases a Apple TV/console. But then gaf could rationalize that it's not a true console and doesn't actually count.
It's May now, not December and the next big thing is in August. These are 7 almost empty months.
teruterubozu
Member
I can't see how any developer can be excited about creating a mid-tier console game in this environment.
Good. Because they shouldn't. It will only risk them being dissolved. Those guys need to go DD only, with a sub 10-15 dollar price, with a lean budget and reasonable sales goals.
The upside, you can still make the game pretty. And with reasonable sales goals, you don't have to homogenize like you're targeting 10 million sales. You can give the game personality, which will allow you to meet said reasonable sales goals.
Mr. B Natural
Member
You want them to release a NSMB, Mario Kart or Pokemon every 2 months? Because, ultimately, nothing else has the same impact and they know that. The rest is filler for decent profits, not system sellers, not multimillion longest-legs-in-the-industry hardware and software sellers.
And they haven't had empty months. They've been releasing their IP sequels and remakes out like candy for Halloween. Hell, they've brought back starfox and kid icarus of all things...already. But again, chump change. Moot. Where are the SMBs and where is my mario kart?Oh right, they already did. They've frontloaded the 3ds in hopes of regaining the ds steam, something nintendo does not typically do. It didn't happen.
Sales is rather a more important word which should take place during these months @ retail.
Stream sales are great but sucks for people like me who dont use DD much due to fup and stuff.
TBH most of the good games are being released on xbla and psn and doing well. I hope the console dev push towards more DD this gen, i am really satisfied with the content and discounts i get from psn+.
Binary Domain was available @ 18$ on psn+
KirbYuuYuu
Member
Trying hard does not equal oh hay lets just throw 4 Mario game games at US gamers. Trying hard would be doing what NCL is doing in Japan, which is not what they're doing.
April itself was completely devoid of anything worth of value, with May only getting the benefits of a color and yet another Mario game. Nintendo themselves isn't helping by withholding several titles as is, which is essentially what they did with the Wii.
I think crisis is also having a pretty big effect. I mean, last Holidays, in November, we've had some of the biggest numbers for some consoles during Black Friday. Then, 360 and PS3 saw little drops in December, and Wii just a very very little increase. Basically, the BF deals have attracted the potential customers for December. Only 3DS saw a big jump due to MK7 and the end of the year hype. Then, January saw a pretty big drop, then February, when there have been salaries, saw good numbers ( except for Wii, but well... ). Then March wasn't bad at all ( 5 weeks, I know )...and now a dreadful April. It seems that consumers are starting concentrating their spendings when there's money, while in the past we could see Wii randomly at 500k and more in April, to say.
However, thinking about it, 3DS could not do bad in June and July: remember that it did pretty well in September and October, the months just after the price cut, without big software, but just with the combo 3D Land and MK7 incoming. Probably there has been hype increasing with their releases approaching ( something which has happened in Europe, as reported by Iwata himself ), and August is NSMB2's month.
However, thinking about it, 3DS could not do bad in June and July: remember that it did pretty well in September and October, the months just after the price cut, without big software, but just with the combo 3D Land and MK7 incoming. Probably there has been hype increasing with their releases approaching ( something which has happened in Europe, as reported by Iwata himself ), and August is NSMB2's month.
Perhaps you're right. I'm having trouble putting my fingers on a source for this, though.
Mr. B Natural
Member
That's exactly what trying hard is: pushing big sellers up front and faster than ever. It may not be what you (or myself for that matter) want out of the system, but you and I are not the majority.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Mario kart for the ds sold 9 million copies in america. 20 million worldwide. About the same for NSMB. That's 40 million previous customers up front, dead center, pushing the hardware and software. Trying to get that ticker up and up and up like it did before.
And yes, this is a slow time of year for everyone, which USED to be dominated by COD and mario kart and nsmb. That was, clearly, what Nintendo intended. Now it didn't happen, but that doesn't mean they weren't trying desperately for it to happen. And if it did, much of Gaf would be congratulating them, and the issues you have with Nintendo would have been void.
A hundred dollar price cut for a 250 dollar system paired with 2 of the biggest sellers in gaming history for one christmas (amongst releasing the highest rated game of all time and other smaller things)...yeah, what are people not getting about this? Of course it's gonna cool down, that's what happens when you overheat. It is technically impossible for nintendo to keep up, they went full throttle with nearly all they had.
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
The selling points compared to what? A DS? A DSi? An iPhone? A PSP Vita?
The 3DS is a really good handheld games device. It's major flaw is it's battery life.
You're talking like the only thing it has going for it is 3D, but that's simply not true; it is a straight up upgrade to a DS in every feature except battery life, and has a lot of new stuff going for it in terms of features like OS level web browsing and friends notifications, AR stuff and Spotpass stuff.
It's not the one-trick pony you're presenting it as, any more than a Vita is just a touchpad on the back.
I don't think pokémon, or mario kart can be attributed as DS specific success, as they are Nintendo perennials.
DS's real big hitters were new franchises developed specifically for the DS; NSMB and Nintendogs as you've identified, but also Brain Training.
The titles that will make 3Ds 'rise to heaven' (if it does) are going to be titles that are developed as new 3Ds specific franchises, and Nintendo are in the same 'let's see what sticks' gameplay mode they were with the original DS with titles like Kid Icarus and Steel Diver.
KirbYuuYuu
Member
You don't understand at all. Nevermind that they're primarily relying on one IP overall to try to fix things, but the big problem here is that nintendo is failing to keep up the momentum after releasing such a big title. It doesn't really matter if they release a big hitter if they can't sustain that momentum. Why do you think the 3DS is still doing well in Japan and doing worse here and Europe? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that the same issue with the PSP?
TheNamelessOne
Member
Well these numbers should be a pretty strong indication that the next generation can't come soon enough.
The success of a platform is the sum of its parts, mostly its software. The 3DS (and Vita for that matter), by virtue of being new platforms, haven't built their libraries into self-sustenance yet. I'm reasonably confident Nintendo will be able to pull that off with their own software + whatever third parties bring out, not so much for the Vita (if there is a time where Sony needed to get their own first-party titles out of relative marginality, this is it)
Pretty much. Supposed saviors such as GTA and GOW did end up selling well in the west, but they didn't really improve the PSP's situation.
test_account
XP-39C²
Man, handhelds really seem to take a hit these days. The 3DS this month (around 100k?) reminds me of the PS2 to PS3 senario.
Why do you compare it to the DS? Honest question. The DS is a last gen platform, it's ultimately not what the 3DS is fighting against. The competitors of the 3DS are smartphones, iPods and (probably to a lesser degree, actually) also the Vita. It's just the reality of the situation. The gaming habits of people are changing and whether or not Nintendo will remain successful nevertheless remains to be seen.
What does the 3DS hardware offer that these plattforms don't? The OS level features are a joke compared to pretty much everything on the market. They are a gimmick, not a selling point. The hardware? Low-res screens, low-specs, no social media integration and it's not especially good-looking either.
The 3DS hardware has two advantages over its competitors: It's cheap and it's 3D. As important as the price is (and for a dedicated handheld gaming device price is the key), that's not a very good resume.
Of course, in the end software is the most important aspect. But software alone isn't always enough -- if the hardware isn't very appealing to the usual Joe then the software might suffer from it too. As important as the software is, recent Nintendo hardware always offered some unique features -- touch screen, motion controls, 3D, tablet controller -- for a reason. It's much easier to sell consoles if the hardware itself is already generating interest or makes unique software possible. In this regard, 3D turned out to be an utter failure. It's a feature that's neither generating enough interest nor does it improve games to a sufficient degree.
CosmicQueso
Member
Right... but a point no one's talking about is just the overall number of releases this year versus last.
The total number of products released across platforms is running a little over 160 this year through April versus over 230 last year (product meaning title on an individual platform).
It's a bit of a death spiral; the market's down so let's cut back on releases. Then the fewer releases brings the market lower. Then the market's lower, so cut back on releases... bad news.
Lower than 150k, not around 100k. It'll be at 140k probably.
The situation with the 3DS is Japan is getting constant releases while US/EU are getting the typical trickle drop method that does nothing to build sustainability while the hardware movers dont exist
Did you forget the GBA to DS scenario?
3DS is probably closer to 150k than it is to 100k.
And yeah, it seems that the perceived value of handhelds has dropped dramatically. I bet if Nintendo could have seen into the future, 3DS would be launching late 2013 without the 3D for <=$150. :/
Right now, I think Sony and Nintendo need to stop working against the perceived value and instead try to compromise. $100-130 for 3DS is just too low to be worth it for Nintendo, but $149 with SM3DL packed in, and games drop to $19-29? Suddenly it's a steal. I could see that raising sales at least 50%. Vita's a bit harder due to not having killer software, but $199 with an 8GB card included and games cut to $25-35 should be a nice help.
test_account
XP-39C²
Any more info on this? Just curious. All i see previously is that PS3 is over 150k, i didnt see any specific about the 3DS being around 140k.
Was the GBA as popular as the DS in its biggest day? Honest question.
There will probably be some bundling/pricedrop in the nearer future indeed.
No, but there's no reason to believe that 3DS's weekly average compared to last month dropped by that much. The only month 3DS was that low was May last year.
test_account
XP-39C²
I understand. Still low, but at least a bit better than 100k.
It's not quite that easy, though. There's a big difference in handheld gaming culture between Japan and the US/Europe. Gamers are regarding handhelds as a more than viable alternative to home consoles in Japan. The same isn't true for our part of the world: Most gamers actively look down on handhelds and would choose games on the big screen over handheld games any day.
When it comes down to it, that's also the reason why Japan gets constant releases: Japanese developers simply care a lot for handhelds.
It wouldn't be enough to release the games Japanese is getting also in the US in a timely fashion. After all, most of the "big games" Japan is getting, would be pretty small in the US. So, we would need games from Western developers. But those developers don't particularly care for handhelds; after all, their games are simply selling much better on consoles. A good example for this is REvelations, which all but bombed in the US.
The key audience for DS's great success in the US been the casual crowd and kids. The casual crowd moved on to different plattforms, and Nintendo is fighting a battle against the odds to win them back. The kids? Well, they can still count on them, I guess. But that won't be enough to replicate DS's success.
I think things will get better as the year goes on. May has Mario Tennis and a new color, so >200k should be expected. June has KH3D, so that might help keep it up a bit. July is pretty empty, but August will probably be a big turning point for the year.
test_account
XP-39C²
I hope so. I'm not huge on portable gaming myself, but i enjoy it when i take the time for it. So i hope there will be a market for dedicated (or primary) handheld gaming devices in the next years to come
This is also why lower prices may not really solve it, nevermind that they ignore inflation and raising game costs, I'm sure we can tell PS1-quality games are hard to rationalize at $30 versus GBC games, nevermind how PS2 quality is STILL justifiable at $40 or 50. Plus there's the point where if sales don't significantly increase with a lower price point, well, why lower? Given how well the DS and PSP did with $30 games I have a feeling dropping to $30 or $20 isn't going to do a damned thing.
The problem is getting people here to go to handhelds instead, if it can be done. Maybe the outright implosion of consoles would do it? But that'd probably be closer to the outright death of traditional gaming over here.
KH3D is actually July 31, so it won't really help the 3DS during that month. But between it and NSMB2, August is going to be a great month for the 3DS.
to be fair the DS is the most successful hw ever released in the game market... i don't really expect any other device to ever match its numbers
Horse Armour
Member
No it's not. PS2 is still higher by a few millions units.
Nintendos problem is its too slow sometimes or pigheaded. Black and White 2 should have been a 3DS title. None of this DS with 3DS Apps crap. Just like they need to stop this multi teired bullshit going on still selling DSi and DSi XL. Even more so now that they price cut them to be cheaper than 3DS again.
The 3DS has been an incredible fuck up by Nintendo
test_account
XP-39C²
I'm not expecting it either, but it is exactly DS' popularity that makes the difference very noticeable in this month's numbers, just like it was with PS2 to PS3 back in the days.
velvet_nitemare
Member
Seeing the numbers everything is doing, i wouldn't be so sure.
Eh, who knows. That may really just be fatigue from the generation wearing on, and the 3DS getting a healthy slate of games may help reinvigorate it at least to GBA levels. But you're going to need something big (or just a little of small important things) to shift things so the 3DS does really well beyond kids and niche core gamers here.
Synth_floyd
Banned
Nintendo missed the boat completely with the whole 3D feature and high launch price. They were able to generate good sales with a price cut and finally had some good games. They're selling well enough at this point that they should have momentum to get lots of 3rd party devs on board as well as continue the DS' reputation as the casual handheld but the Vita needs a serious shot in the arm or else no one will develop for it.
Game Freak is an independent company, and Nintendo doesn't try to force them into anything. I don't think Nintendo should really be blamed for that one unless you think they should have refused to publish it for DS.
Plus, it would be kinda strange for the first traditional Pokemon game for the 3DS to be a direct sequel to a previous game. Would generate more hype to kick it off with a new generation.