The perfect Dark
Banned
Animal Crossing could be a release for 2015, maybe in May (AC DLC for Mario Kart8)
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Nintendo software and hardware sales data from 1983 to present
- Thread starter Celine
- Start date
Animal Crossing could be a release for 2015, maybe in May (AC DLC for Mario Kart8)
Jeez, Mario Party 8 at nearly 9 million. Nintendo must've banked hard off that one.
Nintendo has really good attach rates by industry standards but who are these 88 million people that bought a Wii and not Mario Galaxy.
I think it's interesting to see the Wii Kirbys so close. Epic Yarn was released a year earlier and has been heavily discounted for a while. RtDL was released while the Wii was already in sharp decline.
Nintendo has really good attach rates by industry standards but who are these 88 million people that bought a Wii and not Mario Galaxy.
I think it's interesting to see the Wii Kirbys so close. Epic Yarn was released a year earlier and has been heavily discounted for a while. RtDL was released while the Wii was already in sharp decline.
haha those are delusional people then
and I'm a bigtime Samus fan, but that doesn't mean I'm oblivious to what characters/games are more popular
lazybones18
Banned
Kid Icarus Uprising should be higher. Much higher
Cheaper than $200 should be the target for the 8Go model indeed.
I think Mario Kart is more desirable than ever. It is one of the best selling games of the year (best selling one on amazon.com) and it is a viral game among kids. Same with Smash, its presence on 3DS opened the franchise to new kids who now look at the Wii U version with envy, if 3DS owner kids I know are any indication.
The right games, such as MK8 and Smash, slowly make a system attractive. Are they enough? I don't know but I believe a succession of quality titles at an attractive entry price, will get people's attention in the coming years.
If Nintendo can afford to take their time and build a platform made of few dozens of first party gems, they will find a decent audience eventually.
Or they could decide to start over with a different system. I would pleasingly follow whatever system they release their games on. Knowing I believe sticking to Wii U offers the most chances to see them be the most prolific as an editor. After their false start they are getting good on it.
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
The Wii was not traditional gaming hardware. The audience was definitely not traditional. Traditional gamers played PS360 and PC, which is why sales of the PS4 and Xbone are going strong. Sony and MS are grabbing back the same audience which bought their previous consoles.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
Glad to see pretty much all Metroid titles have sold over 1m. Though it was sad to see that Zero Mission didn't make it over the hump, Echoes did, which is awesome.
gaming has traditionally brought in more and more people who weren't traditionally gamers before. that's why the industry grew at a steady (well, quick) pace from 1975 to 2011. and like i said, ignoring the wii and explaining it away with a wave of the hand ignores the family demographic that disappeared. it ignores what's happened in japan. it ignores what happened to handhelds. no, what's happening is that the traditional market is suddenly shrinking at an alarming rate, and it's consolidating around the most lucrative and predictable fanbase there is, which is bound to be bad for longterm health.
metalslimer
Member
No there isn't. Wii U could be 150 dollars and it would continue to sell terribly. At 99 dollars it still wouldn't reach Gamecube sales. It's very unlikely the Wii U with the gamepad ever goes below 199.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
The vast majority of that collapse, if not all of it is coming from Nintendo though.
Aren't XB1+PS4 sales ahead of PS360? Total PS360 sales are around 160-180 million iirc which may be tough to reach for PS4+XB1 but I don't see the decline being anything significant especially at this moment in time.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
I keep having this thought that since originally video game consoles were a product whose market penetration was made possible by the mass adoption of another consumer electronic a couple of decades prior (the television set), that maybe they should be reinvented as a product more suited to work with the massively adopted platforms of the present. I don't mean they should become an exclusive software platform for mobile devices and PCs, but that maybe the form of hardware they take should be drastically different.
Pretty sure the DS game bombed hard. One of the few Nintendo games that was heavily discounted after release.
there isn't one nintendo market. there are multiple things happening to nintendo in the places they were popular in. these were people that sony and microsoft could have and still might be able to capitalize on (i don't think anything is ever truly always gone). 'welp nintendo is back to normal!' ignores what that all entails. it's the loss of japan, it's the loss of the family market, and it's the loss of new gamers when in previous generations they stick around.
even if ps4 and xb1 are only stagnant over last generation (a big if - i think there's going to be a good 30-40 million drop from that 180 million number at least), that is a bad thing for companies already trying to squeeze every last dollar out of existing customers. and the more barriers they put up, the more people they put off.
People shocked that Nintendo doesn't bank heavily on that series are delusional. It's never been a big seller for Nintendo. Not saying they couldn't or shouldn't make another one, but despite Samus being a popular gaming icon, that series really doesn't have a lot of pull.
Yea I remember getting it for $5 from Best Buy around Christmas around 2-3 years ago.
None of this really means anything.
A lot of 3rd parties and indies were too lazy to support the Pro in the first place. Getting them to patch in the option now just isn't likely to happen. It sounds easy but it would just end up being a clusterfuck. At this point they'd just be fragmenting the audience and receiving complaints from an already confused customer base who can't play such and such game because they bought the cheap-o SKU.
That stinks! Same happened to Glory of Heracles to. DS was even less starved for rpgs than the GBA which surely didn't help.
It's kinda like when Shu insists the last guardian is still in active development, and what he really means is that it's an episodic TV show that requires an additional subscription fee on top of ps+ and the purchase of knack 2
Now this means something.
i'll keep your invaluable input in my heart of hearts.
The only place.
Refreshment.01
Member
That's to some extent what Nintendo does. The so lovely called "ginmicks" serve the purpose you talk about.
Btw, having handhelds and home consoles and like you said leaving aside the games as a "service" for multiple devices: What other form are you thinking?
Myself, i think the market expantion could happen with VR. Is something that fits the console model perfectly. Since VR requires substantial horse power the higher fidelity experiences can't be had in mobile devices and the type of inmersion is better experiemented in the confort of home.
The problem is that this 8th gen of consoles wasn't build around VR. But if Sony can cook something good enough, then there's their big brake. A console is more manageable than a PC since it's more simple to setup and the cost of entry for Morpheus will probably the be lower in comparsion to the Rift.
As for Nintendo they should ride the 3DS and Wii U longer than they traditionally do to give them time. Their next consoles should be either something unique or have a non stop stream of their best properties with zero droughts. Key franchises at launch day onwards.
The ps4 might actually poison the market for VR because of its lack of power in comparison to a high end pc and how it will necessitate lower resolutions and framerates (or much simpler visuals), hampering the appeal that many gamers think it could have on the mainstream. Lower resolutions and framerates are obviously horrible when it comes to the VR experience.
Proper VR experiences are currently a long time away from an acceptable mainstream price IMO. But this is off topic
If Nintendo did something like Netflix for their own system, no one would give a shit about any drought considering that we would have something like thousands of games available day 1.
And by Netflix I don't mean a streaming service, I mean total backward compatible access to the properties you already have a license for.
I mean ride the Virtual Console platform for all its worth :
Bought Super Mario Brow on the Virtual Console on the Wii?
You have access to it on 3DS/WiiU/etc...
Nintendo provides some of the VC on Android/iOS? You have access to SMB too.
Commit people who already have purchased on your platform so they don't feel like they're buying the same games over and over again (and I mean that literally).
The account system they have is nearly there but this is really what they're lacking.
Oh and VR is like 3D for Nintendo, they should really not pursue this since it's really going to turn into more of the same for them and that never worked that well for them anyway.
They should have ditched any idea of pursuing software inline with their SNES/N64/GC offering and closer to Wii/DS or at least understand why it worked so well where they failed so hard before.
Refreshment.01
Member
Your answer doesn't take into consideration one crucial fact: Google VR. Is there and it's runing on inferior hardware to the PS4.
The Wii was a success because it added an extra layer of inmersion to games thanks to its motion input method. It was succesful even if it was a generation behind the competition in terms of fidelity. It depends on Sony's execution and their ability to pick up the right type of software that don't compromise the experience even if they need to scale the ambition and visual complexity.
Even 6th generation era type of visuals are quite impresive through a VR headset.
No one suggested NIntendo to pursue VR, not when the other 2 competitors are in that boat and there's even a 3rd one with Facebook.
Nintendo has all the tools to achieve what you suggest, in fact that's what the mayority of core Nintendo fans want out of the company. The Wii U would be a good starting point for that kind of functionality.
The software focus of the ps4 is not conducive to a crowd that would accept wii like concessions
Pretty much agreed here, the market at large doesn't really care that much about improved graphical capabilities.
If that was the case, most of the growth wouldn't have been on DS/Wii last gen and it wouldn't be on mobile right now.
the very concerning part of this market though is the incredible drop in value that the customer is willing to pay.
Console gaming (especially midtier) survived on premium price and mechanics to mitigate the entry cost (used games going toward new games etc).
It's probably a little foolish to expect the market to come back to pay a premium for anything but top tier like now.
If the price of entry isn't prohibitive and the experience is THAT much better they don't need top of the shelf visuals to get a viable market.
They can do interesting things with the AR but they don't really care at this point and they currently lack the equipment for a good AR experience anyway.
I feel like AR has way more potential than VR considering the cost and everything but we'll see.
Exactly.
The real dumb part on their end was how they initially presented the VC as some kind of new platform and didn't follow through.
I mean the way they showed it for then Revolution, it would be another platform similar to how Wii could play Wii games and GC games.
Instead of making a simple and relatively painless platform, they ended with this Frankenstein service where every single game gets a new emulator for some reason.
If the VC actually took off the way they presented it, we could actually have a new platform for publishers to release new games that way.
Who's to say there's no indie that couldn't succeed this way?
the best they can hope that way is Kinect like success where the core crowd is actually apathetic at best about the new peripheral.
Or they can pull another Move...
Well that's pretty much like the last 2 years of the Wii, they didn't make any compelling software for it
so yeah it wasn't going anywhere.
Do you see the premier sony first party studios putting their focus on wii-like (and looking) software?
Calamari41
41 > 38
I think that Nintendo needs to move away from distinct "generations" period, similar to the way the PC market operates, and the rumored/hinted at "common OS" for future consoles could be exactly the ticket. That way their development studios just have to worry about making the best games they can without having to rush to meet a new console launch or grapple with a new architecture. And this would hopefully do a lot to eliminate or at least reduce the crippling software droughts.
You've got the handheld hardware which plays games at the rhetorical "low" graphics setting, while the home console plays games at the rhetorical "high" setting. Same games for both.
During what would normally be a clean-cut generational transition, Nintendo would be selling two home machines: the one they've been selling for X number of years, which puts out the same graphics it always has, and the new one, which puts out the next level of graphics. This would perhaps reduce blowout sales numbers during new console launches, but it would keep systems selling at an even level through the years and, more importantly, keeps the user base for new games sky high.
All of a sudden you've got launch titles that are available to everyone who already has a Nintendo system, be it a handheld or home console, and the newly released system has a massive catalogue ready to be enjoyed day one. Maybe you only have a year or two of support that crosses generations simply so as to not hold the newer console back, but this would all but eliminate the clockwork "new generation droughts."
This would mean smaller advancements between systems, perhaps, but the fundamental concept seems to work incredibly well for iOS/Android. To use the past decade of Nintendo systems as an example, imagine the Wii releasing as it did, but then the Wii 2 releases in 2010 which is at the PS3 level or a bit above, and then in 2014 the Wii 3 (pick whatever names you want, but you get the idea) releases even a bit below the PS4 level. All playing the same games but at the appropriate graphical fidelity. All games released can be purchased and played by anybody who owns one of those systems. Think Call of Duty for Nintendo OS would sell more than enough to justify the cost of the port in that case? I do.
You've got the handheld hardware which plays games at the rhetorical "low" graphics setting, while the home console plays games at the rhetorical "high" setting. Same games for both.
During what would normally be a clean-cut generational transition, Nintendo would be selling two home machines: the one they've been selling for X number of years, which puts out the same graphics it always has, and the new one, which puts out the next level of graphics. This would perhaps reduce blowout sales numbers during new console launches, but it would keep systems selling at an even level through the years and, more importantly, keeps the user base for new games sky high.
All of a sudden you've got launch titles that are available to everyone who already has a Nintendo system, be it a handheld or home console, and the newly released system has a massive catalogue ready to be enjoyed day one. Maybe you only have a year or two of support that crosses generations simply so as to not hold the newer console back, but this would all but eliminate the clockwork "new generation droughts."
This would mean smaller advancements between systems, perhaps, but the fundamental concept seems to work incredibly well for iOS/Android. To use the past decade of Nintendo systems as an example, imagine the Wii releasing as it did, but then the Wii 2 releases in 2010 which is at the PS3 level or a bit above, and then in 2014 the Wii 3 (pick whatever names you want, but you get the idea) releases even a bit below the PS4 level. All playing the same games but at the appropriate graphical fidelity. All games released can be purchased and played by anybody who owns one of those systems. Think Call of Duty for Nintendo OS would sell more than enough to justify the cost of the port in that case? I do.
balgajo
Member
Very curious about january NPD. I'm starting to think they will not meet the goal. It's sad because they were very conservative with their target.
Well if Nintendo's most talented and famous can, why not?
Is there something inherently disgraceful in making software for the an even bigger masses?
Iwata said it 1rst after all, if they wanted to succeed publishers(Nintendo included) needed to put their A team on Wii projects.
Spirit Icana
Member
Same thing happened to Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. (And we never got the other Fire Emblem DS game)
But then Awakening, the best selling Fire Emblem, happened on 3DS.
While Shadow Dragon was a remake of an old game, I think a number of people would agree one thing Shadow Dragon and Dark Dawn had in common was that there weren't very good compared to past installments. Mediocre. SD was lacking some features the recent games before it had, and Dark Dawn stripped out the Arena mode, was way easier, had unskippable lengthy tutorials the first two did not have, and djinn you could miss and not go back and acquire after a certain point (and other problems I personally had with it like graphics, the music and its sound quality, and the ridiculous story where we go on a quest for some feather because your friend is an idiot). And yeah, DS had a lot more RPGs available before these games came out, compared to the GBA.
I'd like to see Golden Sun get another game and not end with Dark Dawn, but I don't know if Camelot has what it takes to make it stand out in this day and age and with so much competition on handhelds and consoles.
And with Dark Dawn bombing, I don't know if NoA would be willing to localize another one as fast as they did with Dark Dawn (near simultaneous worldwide release). Dark Dawn even had the exposure at E3 that the first two did not have (that E3 trailer was very boring with boring music though).
But for nostalgic fans like me, I wish Sakurai would've given us Golden Sun fans a bone with the new Smash. The games did do very well with us kids back in the day. The original sold over 700k in North America alone.
balgajo
Member
Remember that kinect sold 20+ million units. I don't think all this people will buy a Xbox One.
Microsoft barely gave a fuck about their successfull billion dollar investment with a-level efforts and sony pretty well ignored their copycat attempt. I don't see naughty dog making the next wii sports either. But hey, I guess we will see.
The A-level effort was from the people of Harmonix not MSFT, Rare is nowhere near the best of what MSFT had as far as studios goes.
In the same way that EAD Tokyo gave us SMG and SMG2, I can totally see Naughty Dogs making something that make sense without falling in creepy Avatar shitfest.
If there's a will there's a way, if Sony is commited to the idea and manage its assets well there's no reason for it to fail.
Heck Naughty Dogs made Crash Bandicoot after all, it's not anything close to Uncharted as far as appeal goes.
Naughty dog is tied up for the next few years already, though, with some third person action titles.... Hence the doubt in my commentary. But again this is off topic regardless. Nintendo sold a lot of software and hardware by putting a (mostly) concerted focus with their top talent on expanding the market. I don't see that from *anyone* this generation in the traditional market, which is also why Marc o's hopeful statement about the wii u earlier also rings hollow. It's certainly got more family friendly content on it, but it's a failed core-focused product, complete with a standard dual analog pad as the default controller (which a touch screen does not change).
Spacejaws
Member
Huh never realised that the GC software sales don't include non nintendo games whereas the N64 data does (Shadows of the Empire, Rogue Squadron, Episode 1 Racer, Goldeneye etc)
Not too sure why the sales data has that difference.
All valid points and I think there is a strong emphasis on 'new gamers' sticking around. There had to be a ton of new gamers that were first exposed to the Wii and then later down the road picked up a 360 or PS3 and continued playing games on those systems. Now? They're completely in the iOS/Android ecosystems and most of them are likely satisfied with the offerings there. They aren't coming back in the foreseeable future.
Aquamarine
Member
nintendo published / distributed those star wars games in partnership with lucasarts...they aren't just random non-nintendo games.
and rare was pretty much 1st-party. maybe not technically...but for all intents and purposes, they acted like one for many years.
Refreshment.01
Member
i did adress the above in my post, i told you even 6th gen type of experiences are impressive when looked through VR. But the above is pretty easy to refute:
1) The peripheral can expand the market. It seems Morpheus will be the lowest barrier of entry for people interested in VR.
Fittingly you mentioned Kinect. Kinect did exactly something along this lines, it expanded MS market and was a very important factor in the 360 sales boom, after it realease it was the dominant console in America for many consecutive years.
It fell flat because you were getting basically copy cat ideas from Wii type games. Most of them were low quality ones compared to Nintendo's output in the motion segment. Another reason is that not every studio has the creativity and ability to create fun experiences that Nintendo does.
People like to say motion controls were a fad. What i do know is that even the innovator in this area stopped supporting the segment. Just look at the impressive numbers Wii Sports Resort put after 2009. That was the last ground bracking experience for motion gaming (that was adressed for a mass market) in a Nintendo console.
Note: i don't want the discussion to stear in Kinect territory btw.
2)Do you have experienced VR? A good portion of the "PS4 Crowd" would be flored by using it even with the visual downgrade. You are exchanging visual fidelity for an unprecedent amount of inmersion.
And VR can be adapted to the mayority of strong genres while maitaining the same main input method wit the DS4.
So far the impressions are encouraging, the headset seems to be confortable and is not having any non desireble secondary effects on the users.
blu
Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
I completely agree with the above. And why I think dropping the 'outliers' from the statistics does not help us one bit with understanding the picture.
Do people read the note section?
There isn t much to explain.
Apologies for the short response (I'm on mobile and working) but my simplest response here would be... Please read the assasin's creed unity digital foundry thread. Or any recent digital foundry thread. Or any game reveal thread where the game doesn't look as good as infamous or something.
JohnTinker
Limbaugh Parrot
There's no more hope for F-Zero or Advance Wars, is there?