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NPD Sales Results for March 2016

Bolivar687

Banned
Lack of decisions
Hey, let's go out, maybe we could... Or... Well, let's stay at home. What's on TV?
MS can't decide if they go for numbers or profit, every second week it's a new truth. Incremental is great, it isn't, don't ask me.
Talking for the sake of talking. MS had such great PR once. Aggressive, funny, bigheaded. This gen their best gag was digging a holein the desert. That was cool. You were so cool once.

The problem is they thought the humble, apologetic, "why can't we all just get along," Phil Spencer would be a big PR win for them, despite the old adage that "Nice Guys Finish Last."

I hate to break it to them but gamers are more attracted to bad boys, like Shuhei Yoshida, Adam Boyes, and, most of all, Kaz Hirai.
 

sense

Member
Out of curiosity, MS does tend to bundle a lot more games with their systems compared to Sony from what I have noticed so does that somehow translate to it having a better attach rate?
 
Thought about buying SFV.

Heard it was half baked, no arcade mode/campaign, bad net code, and unfinished/not all characters in the game.

Decided it was a no-buy based on reviews and word of mouth. I would buy a "full" game though.

I wonder how much Sony paid for console exclusivity.
I think they help fund the game and not for console exclusivity.

I’d say game should be more complete towards the end of the year. Core gameplay is really good, once they finish it, fans will fall in love with it IMO.
 

gamz

Member
Minecraft still selling like gangbusters on the 360. Man, the game just keeps going and going. You might as well just make the 360 a cheap Minecraft machine.

And it sold more on the PS4 then the Xbox One. Wow.
 
Phil Spencer kinda sucks at PR though. He's so incredibly transparent with it. I guess it only really works if you wear a "I believe in Phil Spencer" badge.
 

gamz

Member
The problem is they thought the humble, apologetic, "why can't we all just get along," Phil Spencer would be a big PR win for them, despite the old adage that "Nice Guys Finish Last."

I hate to break it to them but gamers are more attracted to bad boys, like Shuhei Yoshida, Adam Boyes, and, most of all, Kaz Hirai.

And yet more threads are created about Spencer then the others you mentioned. It's probably because he's more accessible on social media. I guess?
 
And yet more threads are created about Spencer then the others you mentioned. It's probably because he's more accessible on social media. I guess?

The things Phil says are often news-worthy.

If anything, Shu is probably better at "PR" than Phil, in the sense that Shu never slips out of his natural personality, but never slips into WWS President mode whenever he's on social media.

Shuhei never, ever, ever talks about the nuances of his actual job unless he's interviewed about it, and the only person who ever grills Shu on first-party stuff is Colin Moriarty. He don't even do teases like "whew, that E3 meeting was awesome. Can't wait for E3!"

And other SIE execs of note are not on social media, so yeah.
 

gamz

Member
The things Phil says are often news-worthy.

If anything, Shu is probably better at "PR" than Phil, in the sense that Shu never slips out of his natural personality, but never slips into WWS President mode whenever he's on social media.

Shuhei never, ever, ever talks about the nuances of his actual job unless he's interviewed about it, and the only person who ever grills Shu on first-party stuff is Colin Moriarty. He don't even do teases like "whew, that E3 meeting was awesome. Can't wait for E3!"

And other SIE execs of note are not on social media, so yeah.

Sure. I appreciate Phil reaching out to the community as much as he does. Don't get the hate for him. That's just odd.
 

Bolivar687

Banned
And yet more threads are created about Spencer then the others you mentioned. It's probably because he's more accessible on social media. I guess?

Sure, gamers will create a thread about him, go to the movies, reach out to him on social media, maybe even have a drink. But hopping on a motorcycle, buying a new console, a spontaneous trip to the Caymans, or purchasing a yearly subscription?

Handsome as he is, gamers don't want a petty boy stumbling all over himself to apologize or bore them to tears about ethical business practices. Gamers want the raw, disheveled masculinity of a Tokyo alpha male.
 

LowerLevel

Member
I'm sure, but I'm still surprised. Is this a first?

Honestly I don't think so. I believe it selling well on 360 is normal but the current Gen system numbers I'm not sure of. I'm wondering if MS is making a profit yet from all sellers? Have they sold the $3 billion, or whatever it was, back yet...
 

gamz

Member
Sure, gamers will create a thread about him, go to the movies, reach out to him on social media, maybe even have a drink. But hopping on a motorcycle, buying a new console, a spontaneous trip to the Caymans, or purchasing a yearly subscription?

Handsome as he is, gamers don't want a petty boy stumbling all over himself to apologize or bore them to tears about ethical business practices. Gamers want the raw, disheveled masculinity of a Tokyo alpha male.

lol
 
Microsoft don't compete for second place and conceding their two strongest markets last gen, US and UK to PlayStation when they were top sounds like a disaster to me. Also doing worse in mainland Europe, that is embarrassing, you don't have the excuse of Japan there, Europe should be a good market for them.

Seeing what their plan is going forward at E3 will be interesting. Do they do a soft relaunch of sorts and start caring more about other markets like Europe, limp on with a cheap Xbox One and consumer push to gain momentum for a new Xbox.

My only issue with Xbox 1.5 rumours is that I dont believe that Xbox has the brand power to pull it off anywhere but the US. Even Sony will struggle in developing markets and Europe with that.

If there is a Soft relaunch, they are effectively abandoning the ROTW market. People already barely buy Xboxes outside of the UK, and the ones they do are normally heavily discounted, even compared to the US. No way people are going to upgrade.
 

gamz

Member
Honestly I don't think so. I believe it selling well on 360 is normal but the current Gen system numbers I'm not sure of. I'm wondering if MS is making a profit yet from all sellers? Have they sold the $3 billion, or whatever it was, back yet...

I meant PS4 over Xbox One for the month.

That 2.5B they bought it for well end up being a complete steal.
 

gamz

Member
My only issue with Xbox 1.5 rumours is that I dont believe that Xbox has the brand power to pull it off anywhere but the US. Even Sony will struggle in developing markets and Europe with that.

If there is a Soft relaunch, they are effectively abandoning the ROTW market. People already barely buy Xboxes outside of the UK. No way people are going to upgrade.

All they need is the US. People will upgrade.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Sure. I appreciate Phil reaching out to the community as much as he does. Don't get the hate for him. That's just odd.

I do not think there is any hate at all. I think people understand he is a company exec/PR guy, and not our good buddy/pal like certain people try to paint him, lol. He is the new Xbox mascot. :)
 

LowerLevel

Member
I meant PS4 over Xbox One for the month.

That 2.5B they bought it for well end up being a complete steal.

Yeah, not sure on the ps4/Xbox one front.

And as a primarily xbot, I even thought it was a foolish move back then. I would have thought spending that and a bit more to get a TakeTwo or Ubi or something else would have been better. That's why I'm not a business man LOL
 

Rymuth

Member
Phil Spencer kinda sucks at PR though. He's so incredibly transparent with it. I guess it only really works if you wear a "I believe in Phil Spencer" badge.
Forgot which site said this but, to paraphrase, "phil's words are getting increasingly hollow"

There is only so many times you can scream "I love GAEMZ" amidst the onslaught of studios closing, cancelled games, flip flopping on issues and stances before people catch on.
 

jayu26

Member
Yeah, not sure on the ps4/Xbox one front.

And as a primarily xbot, I even thought it was a foolish move back then. I would have thought spending that and a bit more to get a TakeTwo or Ubi or something else would have been better. That's why I'm not a business man LOL
As an Xbot (I'm using that in a joking/endearing manner) you also fail to realize that they can't buy things that are not for sale. They were able to get Minecraft/Mojang because it was up for sale.

Ubi is currently fighting hard to stop a hostile take over. GTAV has alone generated 3 billion in sales. It would cost them a lot more than 2.5 billion to buy Take Two.
 

blakep267

Member
I see it more as a prestige thing.
Strategical value at best (to be proven).
In money itself, Minecraft will never recoup.

eh, i think they will, depending on the longevity of MC. In 2013 Mojang made 320 mill in revenue(not counting other costs), mainly from the game. If it gets expanded to theme parks, movies etc it'll make it back eventually
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
How many copies have to be sold to make 2.5 billion$?
Those sold before the deal was made are already lost of course.

Just the game, between 200-250 million copies at $20 a piece (adjusted for $10 system licensing). With merchandising, etc., they will make it back.

I am sure they have other plans for the franchise however. I feel they want this to be branded like a virtual LEGO. However, LEGO is virtual with their highly successful games, so how much can MSFT shape this as a brand (other merchandising growth), is yet to be determined. Judging by their past ventures with situations like this... I would not hold my breath.
 

Lemondish

Member
For MS, this is underwhelming or mediocre at best. No reason for panic, but it's frustrating and demotivating. And that's the impression I get. It reminds me of relationship fatigue. As Xbox is a very male console, symptoms are comparable.

We're really reaching at this point, aren't we.
 

ethomaz

Banned
I don't like to use Amazon to compare software numbers ( just look at Zelda and The Division difference in numbers while they are neck and neck on Amazon) . Sometimes it is useful to see "general trends" in the market.
Amazon have two Division versions on the ranking vs one Zelda.

It is more accurate with single platform games like R&C and QB.
 

darkinstinct

...lacks reading comprehension.
I see it more as a prestige thing.
Strategical value at best (to be proven).
In money itself, Minecraft will never recoup.

Too bad for you, they recouped it late last year. It's not only about game sales when you have merchandising worth $750 million a year.
 

ethomaz

Banned
I read all the conversation about Xbone vs 360.

I won't call disaster.

But anybody using the Xbone is ahead 360 in IS right is fooling yourself about the big picture... Xbone in no way will reach 360 numbers in US... over 40m is out of question.

What you see now if something about this generation being way more front loaded than last generation and Xbone won't hold this lead.

WW 360 > Xbone this year
UR 360 > Xbone next year

That will happen unless any kind of miracle happens to Xbone.
 

gamz

Member
I read all the conversation about Xbone vs 360.

I won't call disaster.

But anybody using the Xbone is ahead 360 in IS right is fooling yourself about the big picture... Xbone in no way will reach 360 numbers in US... over 40m is out of question.

What you see now if something about this generation being way more front loaded than last generation and Xbone won't hold this lead.

WW 360 > Xbone this year
UR 360 > Xbone next year

That will happen unless any kind of miracle happens to Xbone.

Well, lets be honest this generation isn't going to be as long. I mean Sony and MS are already (if reports are true) upgrading in year 3.

I think the generational common stats indicators are changing.
 

Elandyll

Banned
I see it more as a prestige thing.
Strategical value at best (to be proven).
In money itself, Minecraft will never recoup.
Honestly I think the goal is (was?) to leverage the IP for Mobile and to launch Foretaleza/ Hololens.

Not sure if that is still in the books though...
 

Shin-Ra

Junior Member
Ratchet is going to be a big success.
Best selling Sony Interactive Entertainment published game on PlayStation history.

PS: Microsoft, I'm looking for a PR job.
Too straightforward, can't be misinterpreted as something better than it is.

And yet more threads are created about Spencer then the others you mentioned. It's probably because he's more accessible on social media. I guess?
All they need is the US. People will upgrade.
Phil499.gif
 

gamz

Member
Honestly I think the goal is (was?) to leverage the IP for Mobile and to launch Foretaleza/ Hololens.

Not sure if that is still in the books though...

That was never the case. MS has put it on more platforms then it ever was before. They bought it because it's not just a game but a platform. This rakes in the kids learning to code for the first time and MS is front and center. It's used for Education now. Probably one of the only games that parents encourage their kids to play because it helps in creativity.
 
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