No it's a pretty shitty article all around. They're comparing launch figures in multiple territories over a span of a week, versus units sold in 24hrs in one region. Yet the later example handily outsold the former. Are they idiotic? The sales figures is even more impressive when compared like that.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Arstechnica: Dont read too much into the PS4s million day-one sales
- Thread starter Zombie James
- Start date
No it's a pretty shitty article all around. They're comparing launch figures in multiple territories over a span of a week, versus units sold in 24hrs in one region. Yet the later example handily outsold the former. Are they idiotic? The sales figures is even more impressive when compared like that.
D
Deleted member 20920
Unconfirmed Member
If it had been well sourced it would have considered the fact that the PS2 sold 980 000 units (not sure it was one or two days) during launch in Japan
We can critique an article and a journalist without thinking that he's being paid by MS. He is at the very least, an occasional hypocrite who has been inconsistent and writing tech articles that says that tech is not important.
Nealand Liquor
Member
I never bought into the fanboy conspiracy of "ZOMG media is BIASED!" type bullshit posts, buuuuuuut this current minimizing of the ps4 strengths and short term accomplishments is at the very least curious.
Zapperkhan
Member
Based on how long I had to wait to just play nfl 2k on demo units at a best buy, it wouldn't have surprised me.
That's Nintendo's initial shipment. Estimations put actual sales around 2M after over a month (end of 2012). Seriously.
And comparisons to iPhones? Really IGN?
This is a Console War son, no prisoners taken
boredandlazy
Member
Who cares that Sony just won the 100m sprint in world record time at the Olympics? It totally doesn't matter because other sprinters won it in much slower times years ago... Does that sound about right? Are some people really defending that type of logic in an article?
What a dumb argument. Sure, the generation will be decided by more than sales from one 24 hour period in a single region. However, considering the author it's pretty transparent what's going here.
What a dumb argument. Sure, the generation will be decided by more than sales from one 24 hour period in a single region. However, considering the author it's pretty transparent what's going here.
Neff
Member
Perhaps those criticising this article should realise that the record-breaking figures of PS4 could be indicative of factors other than it dominating the games industry forever. For one, it's the first big leap in tech over a generation that's lasted 8 years and has a long-nurtured, premium prestige attached to that. For another, the games industry is much bigger than it was at the time the last record breaking consoles were released. Will PS4 be a success? Undoubtedly. WIll it become the dominant platform? Probably. But these figures aren't indicative of that, because it's just the fucking launch. That's all this article is saying. It's nothing more than an objective look amid the zealous, militant euphoria. It's not pissing on PS4. It's pissing on people who recoil in terror at the suggestion PS4 hasn't yet 'won'.
When you get 3 articles making basically the same claim from 3 different outlets in the same day you start to raise an eyebrow or two. I'm seriously awaiting Joystiq, Kotaku and Gamespot's versions.
Baron_Calamity
Member
Its baffling to say the least. What exactly would any console have to do to impress them? The last time I saw anything like this was when the Dreamcast launched. Everyone in the press was saying to wait until the PS2 which in part killed the Dreamcast.At least then it made some sense since the industry was behind the PS2 to a significant degree. This time the gaming press hasn't done anything to back up their position that we should wait and buy a more expensive, less capable machine.
So first it was, "2m preorders world wide don't mean anything, people cancel those all the time. Lets wait for sales numbers." now its "yea they sold 1m first day in NA , but that doesn't mean anything lets wait for year 5 numbers."
sony has knocked it out of the park so far this gen. providing most gamers with what they wanted from next gen, while MS has went a totally different route. I keep seeing gaming journalists downplaying how well sony has stepped up their game for the start of this gen.
I keep seeing all the downplaying of what sony has done, either with the resolutiongate, spec comparisons, preorders, and now sales. I don't get it, just say wow sony has better specs, higher resolution, higher preorders, and now sold a crap ton of ps4s and leave it at that.
sony has knocked it out of the park so far this gen. providing most gamers with what they wanted from next gen, while MS has went a totally different route. I keep seeing gaming journalists downplaying how well sony has stepped up their game for the start of this gen.
I keep seeing all the downplaying of what sony has done, either with the resolutiongate, spec comparisons, preorders, and now sales. I don't get it, just say wow sony has better specs, higher resolution, higher preorders, and now sold a crap ton of ps4s and leave it at that.
This. The PS4 is the hottest thing around right now, publish a controversial piece that will get a guaranteed knee-jerk reaction out of fans, sit back, and count the hits.
You sound like you have a persecution complex yourself, which is even more impressive if you're not a gaming journalist and it's all by proxy.
Also, have a little perspective. Start by leaving your bubble and reviewing the past year of the gaming press, do a little reading between the lines, and maybe you'll see why people are wary of a superfluous article that amounts to telling fans to not be excited about the biggest console launch in gaming history.
ZedIndyLil
Member
Takes some balls to compare PS4 to Dreamcast. Numbers without context make for a dopey analysis.
QuicheFontaine
Member
Whoa there, expecting facts like that to be reported apparently makes you an overzealous and vocal Sony fanboy. Stop prematurely demanding that Sony be crowned winner of the gen.
biggersmaller
Banned
"Only time will tell."
I wouldn't bet on that philosophy. Anyone is a moron that assumes initial sales should be downplayed as an indicator of success. In tech, extremely high sales for a major launch proves a market beyond enthusiasts and generates a very important buzz during the holiday season. Nothing kills a system faster than a dearth of mind-share, and nothing helps it increase more than Grandma catching the news interviewing Target employees with the caption reading "1 million PS4 launch."
I wouldn't bet on that philosophy. Anyone is a moron that assumes initial sales should be downplayed as an indicator of success. In tech, extremely high sales for a major launch proves a market beyond enthusiasts and generates a very important buzz during the holiday season. Nothing kills a system faster than a dearth of mind-share, and nothing helps it increase more than Grandma catching the news interviewing Target employees with the caption reading "1 million PS4 launch."
Impeccable
Member
Arstechnica: Why Xbox One's roaring launch confirms console gaming isn't dead.
Byakuya769
Member
The funnier story to me is a professional journolist accusing people of being fanboys and being mad that their console of choice wasn't felated properly.
Some peoples entire lives revolve around how well thier console manufacturer of choice is doing. Like thier entire happiness or sadness depends on just this.
It's gotta be up there with some of the most pathetic things I've seen in my life.
Green Yoshi
Member
My suggestion:
Dont read too much Arstechnica. ;-)
Dont read too much Arstechnica. ;-)
I have done the opposite, and I've been struggling to comprehend how Sony's sale numbers are so high.
Has the console market spontaneously grown? The more I think about it, the more I think that Sony has just taken the lions share of market share. Nintendo's launch has almost no impact on sales, and Microsoft's Xbox One doesn't seem like it will be a ground shaker.
It'll be interesting to see how the XBONE sells.
Has the console market spontaneously grown? The more I think about it, the more I think that Sony has just taken the lions share of market share. Nintendo's launch has almost no impact on sales, and Microsoft's Xbox One doesn't seem like it will be a ground shaker.
It'll be interesting to see how the XBONE sells.
DigitalFirefly
Neo Member
1 million sold, 500 thousand broken.
People like what the PS4 is and the price....also marketing was all over the place.
More amusing that a journo should misspell 'fellated'.
I don't think anyone is under the illusion that Sony has "already won" just from that, and in general people agree with the basis of the article of this being a marathon not a sprint, the article starts going all murky when it starts comparing the sales figures of other launches that are either a few days, a week or a month compared to Sony's 24 hour figure. And bringing up the Wii U and Dreamcast when the situations surrounding said figures are vastly different (most notable 3rd party support).
I don't think any console manufacturer has had 1 million units on hand on day one, and sold just as many in the first day, it's a positive indication that there will be PS4's on the shelves but in a positive way for once.
Crimson_Gold
Member
Joke post? Joke post.
OT: ps4 has had a successful launch, there's no need to try to make any more or less of it than that.
I don't want to have Y2kev breathing on my neck for posting "conspiracy theories" but ever since 06 I've seen a distinct bias towards the xbox 360 by the media.
They praise every little thing it did right while downplaying everything the ps3 did. The ps3 had great games in 07 and most were dismissed by the media. Some were a real diamond in the rough (*cough* folklore *cough*).
This time you see the same thing. The media is against sony. It just is and no ammount of apologists can dissuade me from this conclusion. They're invested in seeing microsoft come out on top. From "DRM future is good for us", to "resolution doesn't matter", to "sales don't matter".
WHAT THE FUCK?
So, a system that is cheaper, has better specs and is more powerful and manage to sell a record breaking 1 million units in the country that had the xbox 360 as it's main console is something to ignore? It's not important? We shouldn't read to much into it?
Please write more doom and gloom articles while pushing forward a draconian future for me.
They praise every little thing it did right while downplaying everything the ps3 did. The ps3 had great games in 07 and most were dismissed by the media. Some were a real diamond in the rough (*cough* folklore *cough*).
This time you see the same thing. The media is against sony. It just is and no ammount of apologists can dissuade me from this conclusion. They're invested in seeing microsoft come out on top. From "DRM future is good for us", to "resolution doesn't matter", to "sales don't matter".
WHAT THE FUCK?
So, a system that is cheaper, has better specs and is more powerful and manage to sell a record breaking 1 million units in the country that had the xbox 360 as it's main console is something to ignore? It's not important? We shouldn't read to much into it?
Please write more doom and gloom articles while pushing forward a draconian future for me.
hopefully it is with you downplaying everything sony does while applauding microsoft for theirs.
joke post?
Bam Bam Baklava
Member
I think arstechnica are the philosophists of our time. Nothing matters in the end, we all die, the universe will cease to exist. Why care?
Version 3.0
Member
It's true that there's a somewhat tenuous link between launch sales and long-term sales.
It's true that these numbers, in a vacuum, don't mean much.
I would add that, when looking at console launch sales, you can clearly see a trend: they are becoming more and more front-loaded. We may see a lull for the early part of next year, as so much demand has been / will be filled this year.
However, there's more to consider. Anyone with a finger on the pulse of the industry could have told you that the Wii U did not have the excitement to generate post-launch sales. Likewise, we all knew (I think) that the Gamecube and Xbox were not going to derail the PS2 juggernaut, although we probably didn't realize the size of that juggernaut at the time.
And the PS4 clearly has a lot of excitement surrounding it. It's getting a lot of attention. Its launch numbers don't mean much on their own, but the positive buzz has paid off, and there's no reason to think the future is anything but great at this point.
It's true that these numbers, in a vacuum, don't mean much.
I would add that, when looking at console launch sales, you can clearly see a trend: they are becoming more and more front-loaded. We may see a lull for the early part of next year, as so much demand has been / will be filled this year.
However, there's more to consider. Anyone with a finger on the pulse of the industry could have told you that the Wii U did not have the excitement to generate post-launch sales. Likewise, we all knew (I think) that the Gamecube and Xbox were not going to derail the PS2 juggernaut, although we probably didn't realize the size of that juggernaut at the time.
And the PS4 clearly has a lot of excitement surrounding it. It's getting a lot of attention. Its launch numbers don't mean much on their own, but the positive buzz has paid off, and there's no reason to think the future is anything but great at this point.
Septimus Prime
Member
I really like Ars, but Kyle Orland is such a joke. Even Ben Kuchera is way the hell better.
Prince Vultan
Banned
Where do people who shit on particular pieces of electronics hardware so much that they have to be banned from discussion forums multiple times over because of it rank in relation to that, noobasuar?
Criticism is totally fine and those expressing criticism while giving thier reasons and explaining themselves is totally cool to me. What bothers me is people reading just the thread title and losing thier shit at some perceived attack at the ps4.
I would say a combination of pent up sales from the generation being 3 years late and core gamers consolidating around Sony. That and modern supply chain assembly factories from china that has vastly improved in last 8 years. The question is how many sales of MS/Nintendo can Sony make up. To keep numbers around this generation the PS4 will need to make up 80 million from Nintendo and lets say 30-40 million from MS.
Neff
Member
It's the timeless human propensity for 'them and us' animosity at play. We've done it over land, religion, sports, and now videogames of all things. I can accept it, it's part of all of us. What irks me is when people fail to identify it and revel in it. But civility is boring, I guess.
ps2 ended up having a huge lead by the time the other consoles launched. not to mention that it was the follow up system to the last gen winner. same thing happened with the 360 and it having a big lead by the time the ps3 launched. the ps3 was up to 200 dollars more expensive and it could not compete with all the 360 games already out. you can't use past gen's as an example for what's going to happen because this time the competitor and the last gen winner are launching the same month and the competitor is 100 dollars cheaper. i wouldn't say the 1mil launch already won it for sony but getting a good lead to start it off is going to help the system a lot.
Version 3.0
Member
Oh, God, please tell me we don't have to suffer through "how many of those were replacement units?" all gen in Sales-Age. The 360 set the record for failure rates, and "replacement units" were still, clearly, never statistically relevant.
One of the Ars staff is not happy with the opinions we're posing on their opinion article
Man, Arstechnica sure are touchy little buggers. If you don't fellate their articles just right, you have an agenda and a hidden bias