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NPD January 2013 Sales Results [Up7: Wii U 57K (CNET), Vita ~35K, PS3 201K]

T

Tobor

Member
I feel like Sony will be the one chasing an Oculus Rift style headset, while Nintendo focuses on a hybrid handheld/console.
 
chixdiggit

chixdiggit

Member
Kusagari said:
The Vita appeals to nobody but the most hardcore gamers - which is why it's loved by GAF and myself as well.

I have no idea what Sony was thinking with the thing. They probably don't know either.
Click to expand...

Spot on. The Vita is amazing and would be kicking ass in the charts if NeoGAF was the only demographic. Sadly, the same demographic it was catered to recognized it as a sales failure before it even launched.
 
E

ezekial45

Banned
I'm sorry to see those numbers for DmC. It's unfortunate if they turn out to be true. It was a good game.

If it has performed that badly, then it might reflect more on the franchise itself. So don't convince yourself that DMC5 is a sure thing. Cause it ain't.
 
W

WinFonda

Member
wow, that is depressingly low for a console the US, but i am not surprised. Wii U has so many issues, and there's no panacea that will rid it of all its problems.

sony should discontinue their handheld line and focus completely on their consoles in the future. would be a good move imo.
 
M

MechaX

Member
ezekial45 said:
I'm sorry to see those numbers for DmC. It's unfortunate if they turn out to be true. It was a good game.

If it has performed that badly, then it might reflect more on the franchise itself. So don't convince yourself that DMC5 is a sure thing.
Click to expand...

It was a game that was made for a new audience that didn't really want it at the expense of the old audience. It might not even reflect anything on the franchise at all either.
 
Clear

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
MikeE21286 said:
If you were a marketing director in charge of taking your marketing budget and re-investing into one of these consoles, which would you choose?
Click to expand...

Marketing isn't the problem.

Vita's problem is its perceived to be too expensive; Sony need to do what they did with PS3 and engineer it down to make a more appealing price-point. Do that, and sales will rise. This was proven by the spike in sales when it was discounted before Christmas.

You could argue that Wii-U would do better if it was cheaper and I'd agree, BUT, would point out that considering both Sony and MS are pushing out new platforms this year whilst most likely moving their existing platforms down into lower price-points... they have far bigger problems going forward.
 
M

metalslimer

Member
donny2112 said:
Unfortunately/Fortunately, they can. At this point with 3DS, they were forced into making hard decisions. About the only way I can see for them to meaningfully turn things around is to make another hard (possibly even harder) decision with Wii U. Changing the name after launch would be a hard choice. Swallowing huge, huge losses to sell hardware would be a hard choice. Don't see an easy choice helping much, at this point. Sink or swim.
Click to expand...

On the other hand, if that gambit fails they lose a billion dollars this year and continue to bleed money to the point where they would probably be forced to discontinue it to prevent that kind of loss again. They need to be aggressive, but I don't know if putting your entire system on the line would be worth it.
 
D

DeuceGamer

Member
AniHawk said:
i remember a thread on neogaf from about 10 years ago wondering if nintendo was creatively bankrupt. i didn't agree with it at the time, and i still don't think they were. but they are now.

there was a spark in the creation of the wii and the ds. touch handhelds hadn't ever really been done before- not for gaming, and not on such a grand scale. they threw in some other things too, but ran on the touch screen as the main selling point. and it worked. it worked because it sparked the imagination of people within nintendo. people who thought, why not a pet simulator? why not a collection of small brain exercises? these were demonstrations that were easy to understand, and probably weren't meant to become the 20m+ selling franchises they grew into. but the ideas came from a good place. they came from experimentation and imagination.

the same happened with the wii. yeah, motion control gaming had existed before this console, but no one ever gave it a serious shot on a grand scale. again, there was a spark of excitement and imagination. one rectangular device could mean so many different things: a sword, a bat, a tennis racket, a flashlight, a steering wheel, etc. it's a simple and appealing idea. to improve matters, it was seen as different from video games in the past. similar to how brain age was 'good for you', wii sports was also seen as good for you in that it got you up and moving around in your leisure time.

with the 3ds, they didn't have a good idea or a spark. they had messed around with 3d gaming a long time, but they never had the software to back it up. to this day, i'm left wondering why it was necessary, and the only answer i can come up with is that they were trying to bank on the 3d boom going on at the time. even during panic mode, they made no effort to showcase games that were not only obviously better with 3d, but were essentially impossible to replicate without it. their answer to its poor sales was to do what they did during the gamecube: lower the price, rush out some games, and rely on the tried and true above all else. to this day, there still isn't a breakout hit like nintendogs or brain age, and that rests entirely on the shoulders of the software manufacturers.

and finally there's the wii u. i think there's more you can do to promote the wii u than you could have with the 3ds. it's the same position though- nintendo took something that was popular, and slapped it on one of their systems hoping they could gain popularity through some sort of osmosis. again, no thought to actual software, or any spark of imagination. that's the deep, underlying problem with the console. nintendo doesn't really know what they have. this is outlined by their upcoming lineup and plan to save it through software like mario kart, mario, smash bros, and the same zelda game that failed to make the gamecube relevant. nowhere is there something groundbreaking or terribly unique.

i give them a year. that's a year to make this not an utter disaster, and bring it closer to the 3ds's level of failure. sony did it with ps3, and nintendo did it with the ds. the problem is parents won't buy a console for their kids to play mario. they'll buy a handheld for that. so nintendo will need to start appealing very strongly to everyone like they did the wii, and they'll have to do so when there's actually something worth advertising.

it's strange- the e3 2011 demo was actually a bunch of pretty easily-communicated ideas. and they botched that messaging in every market. show people switching from the game to their tablet so someone else can watch tv. that's one commercial. show someone using tvii with netflix, hulu, etc. that's another commercial. show a family playing games together. that's another commercial. the wii u launch commercials were like a weird mix of the kinect and gamecube launch commercials. loud and weird and stupid.

we're already seeing new bundles coming up. zombi u in the us, and monster hunter 3 in europe. those won't do anything at all, but we're starting to see nintendo get aggressive with the machine. for the short-term, we'll probably see even more bundles crop up. i think it's too late, and there will need to be a gigantic shift somewhere for people to take note, or some outstanding piece of software that no one saw coming and everyone has to have (wii fit u won't be that thing).
Click to expand...

Why is it so hard for them to realize this? Also, they need commercials on some of the main stream channels and not just Cartoon Network (which I rarely see it on anyway).

They need some new fresh blood, IMO. They really need to take a look at the way they are doing business and realize it's not working.
 
G

gkryhewy

Member
WinFonda said:
wow, that is depressingly low for a console the US, but i am not surprised. Wii U has so many issues, and there's no panacea that will rid it of all its problems.

sony should discontinue their handheld line and focus completely on their consoles in the future. would be a good move imo.
Click to expand...

Handhelds dead in US, consoles dead in Japan. What's a Sony to do?
 
Bruno MB

Bruno MB

Member
I just woke up and wow I still can believe what I am reading. 55,000 units sold in its third month, that thing is completely fucked up, one of the biggest bombs in history. I just can't see Nintendo turning this sinking ship around. I'm in complete shock right now.
 
D

DeaconKnowledge

Member
AniHawk said:
i remember a thread on neogaf from about 10 years ago wondering if nintendo was creatively bankrupt. i didn't agree with it at the time, and i still don't think they were. but they are now.

there was a spark in the creation of the wii and the ds. touch handhelds hadn't ever really been done before- not for gaming, and not on such a grand scale. they threw in some other things too, but ran on the touch screen as the main selling point. and it worked. it worked because it sparked the imagination of people within nintendo. people who thought, why not a pet simulator? why not a collection of small brain exercises? these were demonstrations that were easy to understand, and probably weren't meant to become the 20m+ selling franchises they grew into. but the ideas came from a good place. they came from experimentation and imagination.

the same happened with the wii. yeah, motion control gaming had existed before this console, but no one ever gave it a serious shot on a grand scale. again, there was a spark of excitement and imagination. one rectangular device could mean so many different things: a sword, a bat, a tennis racket, a flashlight, a steering wheel, etc. it's a simple and appealing idea. to improve matters, it was seen as different from video games in the past. similar to how brain age was 'good for you', wii sports was also seen as good for you in that it got you up and moving around in your leisure time.

with the 3ds, they didn't have a good idea or a spark. they had messed around with 3d gaming a long time, but they never had the software to back it up. to this day, i'm left wondering why it was necessary, and the only answer i can come up with is that they were trying to bank on the 3d boom going on at the time. even during panic mode, they made no effort to showcase games that were not only obviously better with 3d, but were essentially impossible to replicate without it. their answer to its poor sales was to do what they did during the gamecube: lower the price, rush out some games, and rely on the tried and true above all else. to this day, there still isn't a breakout hit like nintendogs or brain age, and that rests entirely on the shoulders of the software manufacturers.

and finally there's the wii u. i think there's more you can do to promote the wii u than you could have with the 3ds. it's the same position though- nintendo took something that was popular, and slapped it on one of their systems hoping they could gain popularity through some sort of osmosis. again, no thought to actual software, or any spark of imagination. that's the deep, underlying problem with the console. nintendo doesn't really know what they have. this is outlined by their upcoming lineup and plan to save it through software like mario kart, mario, smash bros, and the same zelda game that failed to make the gamecube relevant. nowhere is there something groundbreaking or terribly unique.

i give them a year. that's a year to make this not an utter disaster, and bring it closer to the 3ds's level of failure. sony did it with ps3, and nintendo did it with the ds. the problem is parents won't buy a console for their kids to play mario. they'll buy a handheld for that. so nintendo will need to start appealing very strongly to everyone like they did the wii, and they'll have to do so when there's actually something worth advertising.

it's strange- the e3 2011 demo was actually a bunch of pretty easily-communicated ideas. and they botched that messaging in every market. show people switching from the game to their tablet so someone else can watch tv. that's one commercial. show someone using tvii with netflix, hulu, etc. that's another commercial. show a family playing games together. that's another commercial. the wii u launch commercials were like a weird mix of the kinect and gamecube launch commercials. loud and weird and stupid.

we're already seeing new bundles coming up. zombi u in the us, and monster hunter 3 in europe. those won't do anything at all, but we're starting to see nintendo get aggressive with the machine. for the short-term, we'll probably see even more bundles crop up. i think it's too late, and there will need to be a gigantic shift somewhere for people to take note, or some outstanding piece of software that no one saw coming and everyone has to have (wii fit u won't be that thing).
Click to expand...
You and I don't normally see eye to eye but I think you really nailed it here.
 
S

Scum

Junior Member
AniHawk said:
i agree about the oculus rift. that tech also opens more doors to other virtual reality things the wii had dipped its toes into. if the or is extremely well-received, it won't have that cool-shiny-new effect the wii remote had. sort of a double-edged sword



i think japan is the problem. if america and europe had some say, they would suggest dropping the wii name, or at least not calling it the wii u. japan's also holding the purse strings on advertisement and interaction with third-parties. there's also continuing issues with regards to how games are pressed, the royalties developers receive, and how long the submission process can take. these are all things nintendo could have fixed in the last ten years, and still can, but haven't. it's one thing to play nice with atlus and get a fe x smt crossover in exchange for smt iv. it's another to have them do it without bribery.
Click to expand...

This, for me, is one of two things, that I've never liked about Nintendo. I enjoy the good shit they do, but it's such a shame that NCL just doesn't loosen the shackles on NoA and NoE. I know people are asking for Reggie's head, but I'm willing to bet he'd do a half decent job if he didn't have to keep reporting back to the Mothership before he could do anything.
 
V

Veelk

Banned
Why is everyone jumping on the 200k number? Do we have this confirmed or is this just a rumor, since the poster said he didn't want to link the forum he found it on?
 
M

MikeE21286

Member
Clear said:
Marketing isn't the problem.

Vita's problem is its perceived to be too expensive; Sony need to do what they did with PS3 and engineer it down to make a more appealing price-point. Do that, and sales will rise. This was proven by the spike in sales when it was discounted before Christmas.

You could argue that Wii-U would do better if it was cheaper and I'd agree, BUT, would point out that considering both Sony and MS are pushing out new platforms this year whilst most likely moving their existing platforms down into lower price-points... they have far bigger problems going forward.
Click to expand...

I should have asked you if you were a CEO
 
K

kswiston

Member
jj984jj said:
At the rate things are going for Wii U and Vita I wonder what kind of future the market has. Things are really going to change, and not all for the better.
Click to expand...

People still bought 280k 360s and at least 150k PS3s (Wii + PS3 should be somewhere around 250k units combined based on Microsoft's market share number and the console numbers we have). It's not like no one is interested in console gaming anymore when over 500k units of 6-7 year old consoles were purchased in the United States last month. They are just not interested in the Wii U or Vita for various reasons.
 
J

JordanLMiller

Member
cube444 said:
Has Nintendo addressed the 55K yet? Any spinning? Reggie say anything?
Click to expand...

There are no words.

Seriously though, what exactly is the plan here? What was being developed during the last two years of the Wii? Because it wasn't Wii games, and it apparently wasn't Wii U games either.
 
E

ezekial45

Banned
MechaX said:
It was a game that was made for a new audience that didn't really want it at the expense of the old audience. It might not even reflect anything on the franchise at all either.
Click to expand...

Of course it will. Not only was there an absence from the series for 5 years, fans and consumers got a game that caused a great deal of division and was mired in bad blood. Of course this is going to have an influence on the series.

If it didn't do well, then why should they invest in making another DMC game?

Dahbomb said:
Those DmC sales numbers are awful. I am now concerned about the future of the franchise.
Click to expand...

Well there were people that would rather have no DMC at all if DmC was the future. Looks like they'll get their wish.
 
M

mujun

Member
Clear said:
Marketing isn't the problem.

Vita's problem is its perceived to be too expensive; Sony need to do what they did with PS3 and engineer it down to make a more appealing price-point. Do that, and sales will rise. This was proven by the spike in sales when it was discounted before Christmas.

You could argue that Wii-U would do better if it was cheaper and I'd agree, BUT, would point out that considering both Sony and MS are pushing out new platforms this year whilst most likely moving their existing platforms down into lower price-points... they have far bigger problems going forward.
Click to expand...

I think the Vita's main problem is that most of the potential audience isn't interested in carrying around a bulky (when compared to phones) dedicated gaming machine.
 
K

Kusagari

Member
Vita's problem is not the price.

It's that the Vita is designed as a high tech handheld that can provide console like experiences. Something that nobody outside of GAF actually wants.

It doesn't help that its most loved games on GAF are the niche of the niche. Persona, Zero Escape and Gravity Rush aren't selling a system to the general public.

I said from day one, even when GAF was anointing the Vita as the new savior, that the whole thing reeked of PSP part 2. And it is, except without the bright start and prospering Japanese 3rd party support.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
Proxy said:
I'd rather Sony not fuck themselves over to save a handheld.
Click to expand...
Perhaps Sony would be "fucking themselves over" by NOT saving a handheld.
You do know that Sony is a Japanese company, right?
And that the Japanese, by and large, have abandoned console gaming for handhelds, right?

Here's a hard fact... Sony sells more portable game systems on a weekly basis than they do PS3s in Japan.
It just so happens that most of those portable systems are PSPs... NOT Vitas.

Provided that Sony is able to migrate those PSP purchasers over to the Vita... with aggressive marketing, pricing and software development... the Vita will begin to outsell the PS3 in Japan. And, undoubtedly the PS4 as well.
 
C

Cheebo

Banned
Tobor said:
I feel like Sony will be the one chasing an Oculus Rift style headset, while Nintendo focuses on a hybrid handheld/console.
Click to expand...
Yeah the days of Nintendo having two systems are clearly over. It'll be a handheld that you can plug into the tv of some kind.
 
Schnozberry

Schnozberry

Member
Bruno MB said:
I just woke up and wow I still can believe what I am reading. 55,000 units sold in its third month, that thing is completely fucked up, one of the biggest bombs in history. I just can't see Nintendo turning this sinking ship around. I'm in complete shock right now.
Click to expand...

And yet Nintendo will likely be fine. They have a lot of work to do, but I'll wait until their first party lineup and another holiday rolls around before I etch their gravestone. This isn't a Sega situation where they are out of money. At least yet.
 
B

Blueblur1

Member
Azure J said:
This reminds me, where the fuck is SEGA? Usually we'd have a Sonic game and something from the Dreamcast-turned-Public-Domain library by now on a new console.
Click to expand...

Sega isn't the same Sega anymore. Last June was when change was afoot. Since then they've been tightly focused on Sonic, Football Manager, Total War and Aliens (though one has to wonder what future the ALiens license has). When they do put out re-releases they do it only after a lot of polling (and presumably other research). They're set to deliver another major Sonic game this year or next. And there'll be more Football Manager and Total War games plus whatever RTS they decide to put Relic to work on.

Sega isn't out there spending a lot of money on new franchises and ideas nowadays. They're strictly playing it safe which is a smart move for them.
 
I

InsaneZero

Member
I think that ultimately Nintendo's survival in the modern age will not be solely dictated by pushing the envelope in hardware or by eye-catching gimmicks of the Wii. It will determined by how much they work towards improving relationships with developers, regardless of the changes that will entail internally.

If Nintendo has to give their western branches the freedom and authority to construct relationships with western third-party publishers and developers? Do it.

If Nintendo has to loosen up their publishing and licensing standards? Go for it.

As the Wii U is demonstrating right now, Nintendo can't hope for a lightning in a bottle to strike like the Wii did. What Nintendo can do however, is make sure that they're not completely left out in the cold.
 
M

metalslimer

Member
chubigans said:
Is this the first time there's no PR from Nintendo?
Click to expand...

There is legit nothing they can say. Hardware sales are horrendous, 3DS software sales are down, Wii U software sales are abysmal. Nothing is probably up YoY. At least during the PS3 hard times they can point to some stupid PS2 number.
 
D

donny2112

Member
metalslimer said:
On the other hand, if that gambit fails they lose a billion dollars this year and continue to bleed money to the point where they would probably be forced to discontinue it to prevent that kind of loss again. They need to be aggressive, but I don't know if putting your entire system on the line would be worth it.
Click to expand...

Is it less risky to sit back and do nothing? Is the cost of inaction not possibly even greater than that, long-term? That's what I mean by hard choices. It could be worse if they make a huge gamble and it fails, but it could also be the worst to sit back and do nothing.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
Aquamarine said:
CQWhYWJ.png


Even the Virtual Boy / Saturn were better, guys.
Click to expand...

tumblr_ljido9jn8q1qdvxjup1.gif
 
C

Coolwhip

Banned
InsaneZero said:
I think that ultimately Nintendo's survival in the modern age will not be solely dictated by pushing the envelope in hardware or by eye-catching gimmicks of the Wii. It will determined by how much they work towards improving relationships with developers, regardless of the changes that will entail internally.

If Nintendo has to give their western branches the freedom and authority to construct relationships with western third-party publishers and developers? Do it.

If Nintendo has to loosen up their publishing and licensing standards? Go for it.

As the Wii U is demonstrating right now, Nintendo can't hope for a lightning in a bottle to strike like the Wii did. What Nintendo can do however, is make sure that they're not completely left out in the cold.
Click to expand...

The 3DS isn't exactly embraced by western developers either, but the line up has become really impressive. So I don't think that is the main problem.
 
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