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N64 x PS1 Sales War in America

A

allan-bh

Member
I decided to create this thread because I hadn't realized until recently that N64 began very well in the U.S. outselling PS1 for several months in a row.

This news confirms this:

Nintendo 64 has remained the top-selling system in America for each of the eight months since its introduction (Sept. 29, 1996), according to TRSTS sales data gathered by NPD Research, Port Washington, NY.

From January 1 through April 30, 1997, independent sales data show the world's first and only 64-bit game machine is selling more than 60 percent ahead of its nearest rival, Sony's 32-bit PlayStation. Additionally, the industry's seven top-selling games are available exclusively for Nintendo 64.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/1997%3a+So+far%2c+the+year+of+Nintendo%3b+company+sales+up+156+percent%3b...-a019518838

8 months on lead is impressive. N64 seemed to be a console to threaten the dominance of Playstation, but the momentum ending and I understand that PS1 outsold N64 in overall 1997.

By reviewing the facts, what do you think happened to the N64 lose strength after a beautiful start and can't compete with the PS1 ?
 
M

Meier

Member
FF7 was the game that changed it all. It sold well but beyond that, the FMV commercials blew people away and changed perceptions of the system.
 
A

Azih

Member
Also the droughts, man the droughts. But damn the game at the end of the drought was some mind blowing tour de force of the kind that Nintendo just cannot make anymore.
 
L

Lightning Lord

Banned
Most likely the initial sales for the N64 came from the success of the NES and SNES. Then the games for PSone came out (such as FFVII), which turned the tables.
 
Y

Yawnier

Banned
Nintendo shot themselves in the foot by going with carts on the N64, instead of CDs. CDs were cheaper to manufacture and stored more data on them so it is no surprise that developers decided to make huge and influential games like FF7 and Metal Gear Solid console exclusive to the Playstation; which in result made many people flock to the system once they saw their buddies play those games.

(Yeah, the 64DD supported some form of an optical disc but it never made it's way over to America.)
 
D

DidntKnowJack

Member
People forget, but it wasn't until around 1998 that the Playstation really pulled away from the competition. Before that it was pretty even. Or at least a lot closer than what the end result would come to be.
 
T

ToxicAdam

Member
I owned the PS1 the entire generation, but I would buy an N64 on Black Friday. Rent all the games I wanted to play, then return the system after Christmas telling them that it was a X-mas gift I didn't want. Did that for 4 years in a row and was able to play/complete all the N64 games that were good.
 
C

Cheech

Member
allan-bh said:
By reviewing the facts, what do you think happened to the N64 lose strength after a beautiful start and can't compete with the PS1 ?
Click to expand...

Same thing that always happens to Nintendo. Other platform holders are more developer and publisher friendly.

When Nintendo's epitaph is written, that will be the most consistent failing of the company over the years.
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
DidntKnowJack said:
People forget, but it wasn't until around 1998 that the Playstation really pulled away from the competition. Before that it was pretty even.
Click to expand...

It wasn't even close. Saturn was blasting everyone from miles ahead.

Nights, Virtua Cop 2, Dragon Force, Albert Odyssey, Panzer Dragoon, Sega Rally, Clockwork Knight!!!!


Saturn was so good. =(
 
S

Synth_floyd

Banned
The N64 has been like every console since then. Proprietary media, lack of 3rd party releases and strong 1st party releases. They got lucky with the Wii but got unlucky with the Wii U.
 
M

Manmademan

Member
no software. Systems always tend to sell well at launch, especially a system that followed up something as well recieved as the SNES.

the problem was that third parties overwhelmingly favored the ps1, and games were cheaper. nintendos insistence on the cart format meant Ports weren't really possible for most games. then the ff7 media blitz hit, and it was all over.
 
C

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
N64 games were to expensive compared to the PSX offerings, and once it got easy to import and copy Psone games everybody had to own one. And CD as a medium just allowed for much more flexible pricing on games like the platinum series or the introduction of demos. Cartridges screwed Nintendo and the 64.
 
1

1st Course

Member
DidntKnowJack said:
People forget, but it wasn't until around 1998 that the Playstation really pulled away from the competition. Before that it was pretty even. Or at least a lot closer than what the end result would come to be.
Click to expand...

Nah N64 did well only in the US actually. PS1 sold in one year more than the entire N64 lifetime sales in Europe.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110722094946/http://scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html

N64 sold only 6.75 million units in EU and Australia apparently.
 
A

alstein

Member
worldrevolution said:
It wasn't even close. Saturn was blasting everyone from miles ahead.

Nights, Virtua Cop 2, Dragon Force, Albert Odyssey, Panzer Dragoon, Sega Rally, Clockwork Knight!!!!


Saturn was so good. =(
Click to expand...

The best system had the worst sales. Also was the easiest system to import games (just buy a cart) until the PS3 came along.
 
batman2million

batman2million

Member
I can't fathom how much of a Nintendo fan boy i was back in the day. Got a Ps1 as a gift and realized what i've been missing.

I played so many games on ps1 it was insane, yet the games i remember the most are on the n64.

Zelda OoT, MM
Goldeneye/ Perfect Dark
Rare games

Nintendo didn't have the large library that the PS1 had but they definitely had the quality.

Still, taught me to never side with a single company again. Just for the sake of fanboy-ism I was about to miss out on some of the best games ever.
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
alstein said:
The best system had the worst sales. Also was the easiest system to import games (just buy a cart) until the PS3 came along.
Click to expand...

And that controller..so good..and that version of SF Alpha..so good..

=(
 
L

lordmrw

Member
the N64 did not have a consistent slate of releases until the latter half of 1997; I lived through it and watched release dates like a hawk. By April people simply grew tired of 1 or 2 new games a month compared to the spate of games the PS One saw every month. By the end of 1997 the playstation also saw some extreme heavy hitters .
 
M

Manmademan

Member
alstein said:
The best system had the worst sales. Also was the easiest system to import games (just buy a cart) until the PS3 came along.
Click to expand...

eh...best system is really pushing it. the Saturn was $100 more expensive than the ps1, a nightmare to program for, and worse at 3D overall. It was better at 2D thanks to the RAM cart, but I can't say that tradeoff was really worth it at the time, with 3D being the next big thing.
 
prag16

prag16

Banned
ToxicAdam said:
I owned the PS1 the entire generation, but I would buy an N64 on Black Friday. Rent all the games I wanted to play, then return the system after Christmas telling them that it was a X-mas gift I didn't want. Did that for 4 years in a row and was able to play/complete all the N64 games that were good.
Click to expand...

Speechless.
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
McDougles said:
Dat massive spoiler.
Click to expand...

Psh, you wouldn't know back then. She's takin a nap in a pool.

edit: Honestly N64 was godlike too. It has Blast Corps. The end.

Saturn/PS1/N64 is probably my favorite holy trinity gen.
 
B

bobeth

Member
Games happened, in quantity and quality. Nintendo stuck to cartridges to keep their hardware cost down, so third parties fled to Sony...
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
As I understand it, it wasn't that the N64 began all that well or "lost strength", it was that the PS1 experienced miraculous growth late in life. It's one of the most backloaded systems of all time.
 
M

Manmademan

Member
Stumpokapow said:
As I understand it, it wasn't that the N64 began all that well or "lost strength", it was that the PS1 experienced miraculous growth late in life. It's one of the most backloaded systems of all time.
Click to expand...

ps3 will be a close second for this title I think. edit: hell might even be first. no way it doesn't sell more than 20 million over the next 3 years.
 
A

aaaaaa

Member
Part of it was because Sony charged significantly less for royalties than Nintendo. Nintendo was still charging around $20 per game, and Sony was charging around $9. Third parties fled.
 
F

friskykillface

Banned
Final fantasy VII really had a huge impact when I was growing up, everyone talked about that game and it brought lots of people into gaming

Even today I've heard random friends mention it and they only play madden/NBA and call of duty

Dat FFVII legacy



Lol I was the only one with N64 at the lunch table, I wanted PS1 but I chose N64
Wonder what could have been.

Perfect dark though B^)
 
C

cvxfreak

Member
I remember seeing data that indicated that N64 actually outsold SNES in the US in terms of LTD. It can be attributed to the growth of the market, of course. But N64 managed to, as a second place system, remain relevant and very popular, something that I argue didn't happen again until the PS3/360.
 
C

captmcblack

Member
N64 was the biggest thing when it came out - Mario 64, Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64...that's what everyone was playing. Even the software droughts didn't put a damper on the hardware moving.

That period of time from 1997 to 1998 though - FFVII, MGS, Tekken 3, Gran Turismo, and all the other games big and small that followed it - that was the killer for N64. PSX was cheaper, and had more games much more quickly. Nintendo was lucky to stay strong, thanks to one of its all-time strongest periods of 1st party development.
 
D.Lo

D.Lo

Member
Lots of nonsense here. The N64 was completely competitive (in the US only) for years.

It basically beat or was even with the PS1 1996, 1997 and 1998. It had the highest selling games each year by far, and sold more hardware in FY96 and 97.

The PS1's head start and then much, much longer legs meant overall it sold a lot more, but averaged over the initial 3 year period Nintendo won or was even in the US.

The biggest issue (apart from the obvious cartridges and third party relations) was that it was such a failure in Japan that Japanese companies completely quit making any games for it at all. Nintendo had never not known dominance in Japan, so they fell apart.

There's another issue too. NIntendo decided to put all their resources behind a new Japanese craze, and pulled a lot of promotional cash from the N64 to get behind that. It turns out it was a good call, the craze was called Pokemon.

ascii42 said:
Symphony of the Night as well, I believe.
Click to expand...
Nice game, but not significant sales wise.


DidntKnowJack said:
People forget, but it wasn't until around 1998 that the Playstation really pulled away from the competition. Before that it was pretty even. Or at least a lot closer than what the end result would come to be.
Click to expand...
Yep you got it.
 
W

WillyFive

Member
cvxfreak said:
I remember seeing data that indicated that N64 actually outsold SNES in the US in terms of LTD. It can be attributed to the growth of the market, of course. But N64 managed to, as a second place system, remain relevant and very popular, something that I argue didn't happen again until the PS3/360.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the PS2 generation was almost a monopoly.
 
S

slit

Member
Azih said:
Also the droughts, man the droughts. But damn the game at the end of the drought was some mind blowing tour de force of the kind that Nintendo just cannot make anymore.
Click to expand...

Not only the droughts, but the N64 only launched with 2 games in the U.S.

This is unheard of today.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
Stumpokapow said:
As I understand it, it wasn't that the N64 began all that well or "lost strength", it was that the PS1 experienced miraculous growth late in life. It's one of the most backloaded systems of all time.
Click to expand...

The N64 was also somewhat frontloaded. There was no way that Sony was going to be able to compete with Nintendo's built in reputation plus games like Mario 64, Wave Race, Shadows of the Empire and Mario Kart 64 all hitting within a very short period of time. They basically just had to weather that storm until the big titles that they had were ready for center stage. Luckily for them, and not so much for Nintendo, their games started to show up right around when Nintendo really started running into their software issues.
 
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