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[balohna]

I've got to second this. I mean the GBA came out in what? Summer of 2001 and the DS came out in late 2004. It was basically relevant for about 3 years.(And the DS was better at playing GBA games than the original GBA.)

2002 or so was when I first started going to video game forums, and I recall seeing NPD threads with GBA on top pretty consistently. It's weird looking back and seeing them introduce the DS while it was doing well, but at the time the DS was a gamble. They marketed it as a "third pillar" and it didn't do so hot in the first year, while GBA games continued to come out. It ended up paying off in the end, probably due to the DS Lite redesign and some strong titles in its second year and third years. At a certain point, it became silly for Nintendo to continue supporting the less powerful GBA while the DS was selling so well.

Who knows though, maybe if the DS hadn't come out the GBA would have been crushed by the PSP anyway.

 

[RMI]

What a horrible attach ratio, ~3.5.

probably doesn't count digital.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Nintendomination

 

[Yanikun]

And on that note, I personally think the 3DS at this point has a better library than the GBA.

Does the GBA even have an original Mario? I loved that machine but it was a bit like the SNES equivalent of the Vita.

 

[balohna]

Does the GBA even have an original Mario? I loved that machine but it was a bit like the SNES equivalent of the Vita.

It has a Wario Land and its version of Super Mario Bros 3 has unlockable new levels

Spoiler

via eCards.

 

[Captain Smoker]

probably doesn't count digital.

It counts digital sales of games which are also available at retail.

But it doesn't count eShop exclusive stuff.

 

[Rich!]

Does the GBA even have an original Mario? I loved that machine but it was a bit like the SNES equivalent of the Vita.

Nope. It had four ports, each one inferior to the original.

The only win the GBA has over the 3DS imo is a decent Castlevania, Metroid and a Wario Land. Oh and F Zero. Fix it, Nintendo!!!

 

[sixteen-bit]

Does the GBA even have an original Mario? I loved that machine but it was a bit like the SNES equivalent of the Vita.

It has better, an original Metroid.

 

[Duster]

It was weird when I discovered how poorly N64 sold relative to PS1. When I was a kid everyone had an N64. I don't remember any of my friends having Playstation.

At my secondary school far more people owned a PS1, it was definitely the cooler and cheaper system, although there were still a fair few N64 owners around.
Those N64 owners were extremely popular when we went to their houses to play Goldeneye or No Mercy whilst looking at Mario 64 and OoT with jealous eyes.
*sigh* The last great console war between two very different consoles.

On the flip side I knew far more people with a NES than a Master System even though UK sales figures suggest it should have been the other way around.

 

[guek]

Notto baddo atto oru.

nintendo needs another Yamauchi at the helm.

 

[Guevara]

It has better, an original Metroid.

And Zelda.

 

[RumblingRosco]

So if my math is right (it's probably not) Nintendo has sold over 4.16 billion pieces of software and over 654 million pieces of hardware.

 

[Madness]

These kinds of comparisons are a bit pointless. You're comparing a handheld system to a stand alone console, especially one quite cheaper.

The gaming industry isn't the same since the early 90's, there are more markets and players than ever before.

 

[frankie_baby]

its worth noting that the software may seem low but that doesn't include eshop only games and a lot of stuff that in past generations would have had a retail release is now digital only

 

[Captain Smoker]

So if my math is right (it's probably not) Nintendo has sold over 4.16 billion pieces of software and over 654 million pieces of hardware.

Even more, the Game & Watch series isn't listed.


Game & Watch
Domestically: 12.870.000
Overseas: 30.530.000

Total: 43.400.000


And maybe 4 million of the Color TV Series.

 

[Some Nobody]

It was weird when I discovered how poorly N64 sold relative to PS1. When I was a kid everyone had an N64. I don't remember any of my friends having Playstation.

In all fairness if I went by my friends, the 360 is an embarrassing, crashing failure. We tend to have friends that are like us.

And the main thing I learned from looking at this chart is that the DS was a fucking monster. So was the Wii, for that matter.

 

[balohna]

In all fairness if I went by my friends, the 360 is an embarrassing, crashing failure. We tend to have friends that are like us.

And the main thing I learned from looking at this chart is that the DS was a fucking monster. So was the Wii, for that matter.

Well, a lot of my friends had N64 but I was the only one out of my friends to have a GC. That said, all my friends did buy a PS3 even during the whole launch "no games" phase. So I guess that was a thing.

 

[Celine]

And Zelda.

and Mother.

 

[Kastrioti]

Almost a billion pieces of DS software, holy shit.

That caught my eye and the DS outselling the Game Boy and GBC combined. I knew it was a huge success but not that big.

 

[Guevara]

I know this is supposed to be a celebratory thread, but 3DS is underperforming Nintendo's expectations and the handheld market is shrinking surprisingly fast this gen.

Comparing a Nintendo handheld to a home console is kind of silly imo.

 

[cafemomo]

81 million for the GBA? :'D
Good numbers for the best handheld ever

 

[Scum]

3DS games @ £19.99 - £29.99 will help the software ratio immensely.

 

[JordanN]

I know this is supposed to be a celebratory thread, but 3DS is underperforming Nintendo's expectations and the handheld market is shrinking surprisingly fast this gen.

Comparing a Nintendo handheld to a home console is kind of silly imo.

I'm not even focused on the shrinking part, but I know all their handhelds have traditional sold more than their home consoles. So there really is nothing special about it.

 

[Captain Smoker]

I know this is supposed to be a celebratory thread, but 3DS is underperforming Nintendo's expectations and the handheld market is shrinking surprisingly fast this gen.

Comparing a Nintendo handheld to a home console is kind of silly imo.

This isn't a financial/sales comparison, it's just a "historical mark" to celebrate the 3DS.

 

[L.O.R.D]

the cool news for 3DS
#yearof3DS

anyway..is there a source for that ?

 

[mrmickfran]

Almost a billion pieces of DS software, holy shit.

Quite a monument. I think the PS2 was the only console that managed to surpass a billion software units sold.

 

[Lightning Lord]

Same here. Only one kid I knew had a PlayStation, and it was chipped.

Me and my mates all had N64 consoles and played games like Goldeneye to death. I was 11 at the time though - maybe younger kids had playstations in the UK at that time?

This is pretty much how it was for me as a kid, too--I only recall one of my friends owning a Playstation, while me and everyone else had N64s. Granted, I really enjoyed going over to his house, because he had some great RPGs like The Legend of Dragoon, Star Ocean 2, and Grandia (which is probably one of the big reasons why I'm so into RPGs today). But everyone else I knew was busy playing games like Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Mario 64, and even Mischief Makers.

 

[PotionBleue]

the cool news for 3DS
#yearof3DS

anyway..is there a source for that ?

Nintendo's quarterly result (3DS), Nintendo past documents, Aquamarine's secret source (Virtual Boy)

 

[Yawnier]

In between games like SM3DLand and FE: Awakening the 3DS is an awesome little handheld, well deserved I would say.

 

[ascii42]

Quite a monument. I think the PS2 was the only console that managed to surpass a billion software units sold.

Does anybody have PS1 software sales? I'd guess close to a billion for it as well.

 

[butman]

After this wonderful 2013 for 3DS it's very possible that beat DS at the end of his life.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Software attach ratios

GB/GBC - 4.5
GBA - 4.6
DS - 6.1
3DS - 3.5

Nintendo handhelds have never had particularly good tie ratios (even the DS is lower than most of their consoles), though 3DS is still lagging behind.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Software attach ratios

GB/GBC - 4.5
GBA - 4.6
DS - 6.1
3DS - 3.5

Nintendo handhelds have never had particularly good tie ratios (even the DS is lower than most of their consoles), though 3DS is still lagging behind.

Does the 3DS number include digital?

 

[Host Samurai]

The GB/GBC has been on the market forever. How long? 1990-98/99? When did the GBA come out? 2000/01?

 

[ZSaberLink]

It was weird when I discovered how poorly N64 sold relative to PS1. When I was a kid everyone had an N64. I don't remember any of my friends having Playstation.

Did you live in the US? If you look at the data Aquamarine posted a while back, the N64 had 2/3s of its sales in the US, about 21 million units out of the 32m.

 

[jcm]

Does anybody have PS1 software sales? I'd guess close to a billion for it as well.

791.8M for PS1 I was very wrong. Captain Smoker has the right numbers.

 

[Screamapillar]

N64 had also more years to sell more software.

Well, right. Not only that, but 3DS is just now hitting it's peak, particularly in America and Europe, so it will easily out-perform N64 software sales. It could pass that mark within 2014 if it stays on it's current trajectory. 3DS hasn't even seen it's third holiday sales season yet.

The real question is: Can 3DS match or even out-perform GBA hardware and software sales? That is the real test. If 3DS manages to end up with similar results to GBA by the end of it's lifespan, then I think it proves Nintendo's business model still works.

 

[sixteen-bit]

The GB/GBC has been on the market forever. How long? 1990-98/99? When did the GBA come out? 2000/01?

The Game Boy came out in 1989. Its true replacement, the GBC was on the market from 1998 through 2001. The GBA was released in Summer 2001.

 

[Captain Smoker]

791.8M for PS1

This is the number of released game titles, not their software sales.

 

[rjc571]

Even bigger news, the Wii U has passed the Atari 7800! http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MattMatthews/20090526/84050/Atari_7800_Sales_Figures_1986__1990.php

 

[L.O.R.D]

791.8M for PS1

wait ...what ? 791 M ?

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Easily. I can't hold all these games.

I'm playing SMT4 and some demons say "why can't I hold all these skills?" lol.

 

[Captain Smoker]

wait ...what ? 791 M ?

The real number is 962.000.000 software units (PS1).

But this is "cumulative production shipment", not actual recorded sales.


Anyway, real number is somewhere around this.

 

[Aquamarine]

7 years vs. 2 years


And yes, Software is another department than Hardware in this case.


Also: Handhelds have a lower tie ratio than consoles traditionally.

I did say that the 3DS had plenty of time to rectify this...although I added clarification that handhelds usually have lower tie ratios than consoles.

 

[Yanikun]

Software attach ratios

GB/GBC - 4.5
GBA - 4.6
DS - 6.1
3DS - 3.5

Nintendo handhelds have never had particularly good tie ratios (even the DS is lower than most of their consoles), though 3DS is still lagging behind.

I'd really like to know figures for digital-only games. If you look at the 3DS library on the shelves past the first-party games, it's pretty weak. But a lot of developers aren't bothering with retail anymore and are making their games for the eShop (Renegade Kid, Shin'en, VD-dev...), and even Nintendo has been making a few solid eShop games that would have been on the shelves in previous generations. It's kinda sad to think of all the great exclusive games that won't be counted in that software total.

 

[Principate]

Software attach ratios

GB/GBC - 4.5
GBA - 4.6
DS - 6.1
3DS - 3.5

Nintendo handhelds have never had particularly good tie ratios (even the DS is lower than most of their consoles), though 3DS is still lagging behind.

TBF your comparing end of lifetime attach ratio's to relatively early life. as far as most of the data I've seen the attach ratio tends to get better the older the system is.

 

[faridmon]

Amazing system. Deserves all the sales.

I wonder if it'll reach DS' magic numbers.

It won't reach the DS' Numbers.

That system was just too huge and Nintendo will not replicate that.

I'm playing SMT4 and some demons say "why can't I hold all these skills?" lol.

Us Europeans aren't laughing...

 

[GayForMaster]

Dem Wii U statistics.

 

[jcm]

This is the number of released game titles, not their software sales.

Oh, shit, is it really? I'm a dope.

 

[ZSaberLink]

I wonder whether the 3DS's software sales are lower just due to the number of years it has been out or something else.

Other reasons I can think of:
Digital sales (I would think Nintendo would include this in some metric)
Fewer third party retail titles (because of the e-shop, phones, the west's disinterest in portables and general problems in the Japanese game industry)
More ways of playing games (Smartphones, tablets, etc.)