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NPD Sales Results for May 2014 [Up1: Wii U Hardware]

kinoki

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
While the yearly top sellers show the situation since the beginning of this year, the hourly charts can show recent trends, what's happening right now.

However, don't worry, sir: I'm the first one saying that Amazon charts can give us a look to trends, but not certainties on numbers, and that they still need to be filtered, due to a core (and currently Sony) bias (i.e. core / Sony games doing better on Amazon than in reality). It's a tool that has to be used with caution.

Just add "-06" after 2014 in the address for monthly stats. Helpful. :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/2014-06/videogames/ref=zg_bs_tab_t_bsar

Up, June also has a 5 week tracking period so sales could be up rather significantly.

I knew they were tracking more weeks but sales per week is really what I'm interested in. Does it increase or decrease? (I'm guessing decrease.)
 

quest

Not Banned from OT
I get it, but shouldn't sales contraction be normal and cyclical? The market was pretty well saturated with PS360 due to their longer than normal life, and new hardware is just taking off. Couple that with the worst economic recession in decades during those years and it makes sense that numbers would decline.

I don't know. PS4 and Xbox One jumped out of the gate more aggressively than anything we've seen recently. I think that we've probably hit the bottom of the curve and things are about to start going the other way. But I could be wrong.

They started out great because of supply and pent up demand of a generation that went on way to long. Now that pent up demand has been met and well things are not very good. There will be a big contraction of the market the question is how big. It is just a combination of people moving to mobile gaming and a extra long generation killing momentum. These systems should of been out 1-2 years sooner before the market started to stagnate.
 

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
I feel similarly with these systems, consumers become a problem.

If you hear for quite a while that a system was a failure on google news or whatever, and then you see a small store presence befit a product on its way out, you're probably not eager to go out and buy it.

absolutely.. this is why (IMHO) people citing wii u numbers as "horrible" despite the 75-85% bump are sort of missing the point. I used a TV show analogy before and to continue with that.. Wii U is basically like COPS right now. It's ratings suck compared to prime time programming, the only people who watch it are people who watch COPS, and most people pass it off as a joke or absolute apathy.. But it's increase in viewership is still real and still has to be seen by producers as "hey, that's awesome!!"

this is the wii u in a nutshell. A Nintendo system for gamers who want to play Nintendo games. Of course for a major international electronics manufacturer that may not be a viable long term plan.. but those are the facts right now. What Nintendo needs to do at this point is continue restoring core gamer confidence in the brand (which a 75-85% bump indicates they are slowly doing) and have a rock. fucking. solid. plan for a follow up console that will hopefully be out by Holidays 2016.
 

robjoh

Member
this is the wii u in a nutshell. A Nintendo system for gamers who want to play Nintendo games. Of course for a major international electronics manufacturer that may not be a viable long term plan.. but those are the facts right now. What Nintendo needs to do at this point is continue restoring core gamer confidence in the brand (which a 75-85% bump indicates they are slowly doing) and have a rock. fucking. solid. plan for a follow up console that will hopefully be out by Holidays 2016.

Only way I can see that we get a new home console from Nintendo 2016 is either:
* that we get a new nintendo handheld in 2015.
or
* that we get a new console with the same base hardware as the handheld in 2016.
 
Sony has handled the slow release schedule well IMO. They are keeping that snowball rolling with things like Infamous, MLB, Watch Dogs promo, Indies like Transistor, Destiny Alpha, Destiny Special Edition Console, etc. And 2015 is shaping up to be an Avalanche for them.

Yup. This is what the people who think only exclusive AAA games count don't seem to realize. PS+ in particular seems to be a huge selling point with the free games. Third party multiplats like wolfenstein and watchdogs also seem to do well. The "ps4 has no games" thing doesn't seem rooted in any sort of reality for the masses.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
absolutely.. this is why (IMHO) people citing wii u numbers as "horrible" despite the 75-85% bump are sort of missing the point. I used a TV show analogy before and to continue with that.. Wii U is basically like COPS right now. It's ratings suck compared to prime time programming, the only people who watch it are people who watch COPS, and most people pass it off as a joke or absolute apathy.. But it's increase in viewership is still real and still has to be seen by producers as "hey, that's awesome!!"

this is the wii u in a nutshell. A Nintendo system for gamers who want to play Nintendo games. Of course for a major international electronics manufacturer that may not be a viable long term plan.. but those are the facts right now. What Nintendo needs to do at this point is continue restoring core gamer confidence in the brand (which a 75-85% bump indicates they are slowly doing) and have a rock. fucking. solid. plan for a follow up console that will hopefully be out by Holidays 2016.

Yeah at this point I think their best bet is using the Wii U to polish up existing series and try out new idea with their core audience, and then attempt to sell people on the next system based on the strength of their line-up and a better concept/proposition for the platform itself.

It's a really tough hill to climb no matter what, but I think their core competencies at this point are their best bet rather than chasing the audience they've long since lost to the iPhone, even if it's a much smaller pot to work with. Also I'd suggest being very mindful with the price considering that most of their audience will be buying this as a second platform or will be younger kids/families that want something cheaper anyway.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Yeah, I feel they largely won on being the default choice to play major multiplat games much more so than how they handled their exclusive line-up.

I expect them to do better this Fall than the Xbox One despite what's really a pretty abysmal showing from a first party game sales potential perspective.

Both are pretty bad though?

Xbox has SO, Halo and FH2
Sony has TLoU, Driveclube and LBP3

Arguably MS has the 'bigger' titles, but Sony also had two first party games out earlier in the year (Infamous and MLB) where MS had only Titanfall. So for the year they're pretty even, but MS are more stacked for Q4.
 

Interfectum

Member
Both are pretty bad though?

Xbox has SO, Halo and FH2
Sony has TLoU, Driveclube and LBP3

Arguably MS has the 'bigger' titles, but Sony also had two first party games out earlier in the year (Infamous and MLB) where MS had only Titanfall. So for the year they're pretty even, but MS are more stacked for Q4.

IMO the only MS exclusive that's going to make waves this fall is the Halo Collection. SO and FH2 aren't going to be huge system sellers. I think PS4 is poised to easily take Christmas without any real first party help.
 

prag16

Banned
Both are pretty bad though?

Xbox has SO, Halo and FH2
Sony has TLoU, Driveclube and LBP3

Arguably MS has the 'bigger' titles, but Sony also had two first party games out earlier in the year (Infamous and MLB) where MS had only Titanfall. So for the year they're pretty even, but MS are more stacked for Q4.

I'm not sure any of those will move much hardware though. It'll still be the big multiplats moving the hardware, which works in Sony's favor the way the landscape is laid out right now.

IMO the only MS exclusive that's going to make waves this fall is the Halo Collection. SO and FH2 aren't going to be huge system sellers. I think PS4 is poised to easily take Christmas without any real first party help.

Meh, perhaps Halo will move some units, but I'm just not sure about old games moving hardware. Just like I don't think TLoU will move much hardware either. Maybe it'll sway some previous 360-only owners.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Both are pretty bad though?

Xbox has SO, Halo and FH2
Sony has TLoU, Driveclube and LBP3

Arguably MS has the 'bigger' titles, but Sony also had two first party games out earlier in the year (Infamous and MLB) where MS had only Titanfall. So for the year they're pretty even, but MS are more stacked for Q4.

Yes, I think both are really not too great, though agree that Microsoft's Fall line-up is stronger.

That said I expect sales to be driven like 90%+ by the third party games out this Fall so determining what system to get will often fall to things like "What runs this better?" and "What platform do my friends own?".

This is why losing the momentum battle early can be painful, and I think it was good for Microsoft to act when they did (though ideally they'd have done it even sooner with the price).
 
Are these correct numbers? And perhaps already posted (searched, but did not find anything)? If I've screwed up, feel free to strangle me with my own hair cut:

https://twitter.com/thuway/status/478909148415807490

PS4- 197k
3DS- 97k
Xbox One- 77k
Wii U- 61k
360- 57k
PSV- 56k
PS3- 36k
Wii- 11k

I think it was posted already but it's a good reminder that the U.S. market may be heading in the same direction as Japan's market.
 

Interfectum

Member
Meh, perhaps Halo will move some units, but I'm just not sure about old games moving hardware. Just like I don't think TLoU will move much hardware either. Maybe it'll sway some previous 360-only owners.

That's what I'm thinking... I could see Halo being the tipping point for some 360 owners to make the jump. I don't think it'll be huge but it could move the needle a bit for XB1.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
That's what I'm thinking... I could see Halo being the tipping point for some 360 owners to make the jump. I don't think it'll be huge but it could move the needle a bit for XB1.

Right, I kind of view them as the 10% of customers or so who are swayed by one exclusive series they super love.

The biggest shooters this fall though, Destiny, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Battlefield: Hardline, and Far Cry 4, are all multiplatform.

Evolve even has a shot at being a big "smaller" (3+ million) title given the buzz and line size coming out of PAX East and E3, though that's a darkhorse.
 

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
It's a really tough hill to climb no matter what, but I think their core competencies at this point are their best bet rather than chasing the audience they've long since lost to the iPhone, even if it's a much smaller pot to work with. Also I'd suggest being very mindful with the price considering that most of their audience will be buying this as a second platform or will be younger kids/families that want something cheaper anyway.
if one thing can be said with certainty from their E3 presence... it's that they have now come to terms with being abandoned by the casual gamer. it took them way too long to admit to this, but this year's e3 was laser targeted at core gamers.. so kudos to them. let's hope it was enough in the long run.
 

Hanmik

Member
a bit late.. but.. I was bored at work..

wiiufail6kdk0.gif


xboxonefailijiyw.gif
 

Majmun

Member
Damn, the Ps4 outsold all the Nintendo machines combined. Outsold MS' consoles combined as well.

So much has changed in NA.
 

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
I think it was posted already but it's a good reminder that the U.S. market may be heading in the same direction as Japan's market.

I don't necessarily disagree with this. My disagreement comes from those saying that the markets are "dying" as in fading away.

PS2 era brought in a HUGE casual audience on the back of GTA and Guitar Hero. That audience peaked ~6 years later with Wii. Now a massive chunk of that casual audience is no longer playing consoles. Point and fact. People want to compare the current state of consoles to last gen but that's like trying to compare comic book sales from 2001 to 1991. Doing so you are only ever going to be depressed and feeling like the industry is dead.

The reality is that we are looking at a new era of consoles.. one where casual gamers don't have much interest (they've moved to mobile) and casual games don't really have a place on the consoles. Now this in and of itself is not bad. The problem is that the companies making console games are the same companies wanting to get their meal ticket punched in the mobile space. Fortunately indies have been there to show the light, that there is still money to be made.. and thus you still have your mostly homogenized AAA development and your new mid-tier indie developers.

Damn, the Ps4 outsold all the Nintendo machines combined. Outsold MS' consoles combined as well.

So much has changed in NA.

as much as I love to rag on the bone, even I'll be the first to admit that May wasn't anywhere near even footing. June will be interesting only if PS4 massively outsells xbone. xbone getting close or beating PS4 in June "should" be par for the course. July will be the first "interesting" NPD no matter what the outcome. If xbone stays close or even beats PS4 in July things could possibly be very heated this console gen. If PS4 still leads July by 33-50% the way the remainder of this gen will play out will be pretty much laid out as a historical fact.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Yeah at this point I think their best bet is using the Wii U to polish up existing series and try out new idea with their core audience, and then attempt to sell people on the next system based on the strength of their line-up and a better concept/proposition for the platform itself.

It's a really tough hill to climb no matter what, but I think their core competencies at this point are their best bet rather than chasing the audience they've long since lost to the iPhone, even if it's a much smaller pot to work with. Also I'd suggest being very mindful with the price considering that most of their audience will be buying this as a second platform or will be younger kids/families that want something cheaper anyway.

Exactly. Try and minimize losses while providing confidence to your existing userbase that next time will be better, what the absolutely failed at on the Wii at the end.
 

yuraya

Member
Terrible month for consoles. With so many games come out like child of light, transistor, watch dogs, wolfenstein, MLB. The PS4 still couldn't even crack 200k. Console gaming is dead. Tablet and mobile iz the future. RIP gaming industry.

Also didn't UBI say watch dogs sold 4 million in first 4 days? So the majority of sales are digital/europe than? Very shocking big numbers like that didn't push more hardware makes no sense.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Exactly. Try and minimize losses while providing confidence to your existing userbase that next time will be better, what the absolutely failed at on the Wii at the end.

On this note I'm kind of wondering when the 4DS is showing up. This E3 was pretty sparse for new game announcements, and they're the kind of niche titles we often see near the end of the cycle instead of the banner hardware drivers.

Like, I feel they should really try to avoid having almost no first party games for 1-2 years before launching the next handheld for similar reasons, even if the third party market is notably healthier on the 3DS than the Wii U.
 

Lemondish

Member
Newer markets will have little to no impact on the final LTD for both the XB1 and PS4. Both consoles will sell most of their LTD in Europe and NA(They may add a couple million to both consoles LTD).

A couple million?! You're talking about a new market that's made up of 20% of the world's population in one country with a diverse and growing middle class. I think a couple million is a ridiculously low expectation LTD.

If 5% of China's population buys a console, that's 65 million units. We'll obviously revisit this when both products launch properly there.
 

x-Lundz-x

Member
as much as I love to rag on the bone, even I'll be the first to admit that May wasn't anywhere near even footing. June will be interesting only if PS4 massively outsells xbone. xbone getting close or beating PS4 in June "should" be par for the course. July will be the first "interesting" NPD no matter what the outcome. If xbone stays close or even beats PS4 in July things could possibly be very heated this console gen. If PS4 still leads July by 33-50% the way the remainder of this gen will play out will be pretty much laid out as a historical fact.

While the price drop "should" have an increase in sales there are still no games dropping to have much of a difference. I honestly think even at price parity the only chance the XB1 has to come close to the PS4 sales is going to be November / December. By then they will have Halo and that really is the only driving factor I can see that will push sales beyond a slight bump from what they are now.
 

BigDug13

Member
Games like Call of Duty and big new IP's like Titanfall and Destiny all continue to be released as Cross Gen. Maybe when we start seeing that ending will we see the jump in console sales.

This generation is a first where we have so many titles keeping last gen releases. Nobody is being pushed to buy new consoles.
 

AniHawk

Member
The reality is that we are looking at a new era of consoles.. one where casual gamers don't have much interest (they've moved to mobile) and casual games don't really have a place on the consoles. Now this in and of itself is not bad. The problem is that the companies making console games are the same companies wanting to get their meal ticket punched in the mobile space. Fortunately indies have been there to show the light, that there is still money to be made.. and thus you still have your mostly homogenized AAA development and your new mid-tier indie developers.

the big issue that's been cropping up since last gen has been the closing of old mid-tier studios, and the games they've made being replaced by $10-$20 indie games. worse, the aaa-market has been doubled down on again and again. it wasn't enough to raise the price of these games, or to have customers spend more per title on dlc, but now they are being locked in to these games through paywall schemes. it's catering to an increasingly narrow segment of the market- one that can afford all those things, where the less lucrative parts are barely considered. the success of indie games comes as almost a necessary alternative to this just one market. outside of only a few examples, it's not like first-parties or third-parties are building their software lineups and strategies around these games (although microsoft has been historically better than the others about this sort of thing, to be honest).

it is bad that there will probably be a literal billion games sold at retail lost to other, newer, and different parts of the industry (compared to the previous generation). that's going to have an effect on how development for these current dedicated machines are treated. it has already with the more homogenized output, as you've noticed.
 
Anecdotal reports would suggest that the stock situation is utterly fucked again*. I'd say less than 10k.


*Seems to be backed up by a quick search of US online retailers.

Well, either that or its still selling. Sometimes you just gotta believe =)
I bought a second one in June and stores I visited said it was still selling well.
 
Console gaming is dead. Tablet and mobile iz the future. RIP gaming industry.

And yet, hardware is up mid double digit percentages in the month, and up single digit percentage year to date. IT'Z COMING BACK FROM TEH DEAD.

May literally accounts for less than 5% of annual hardware sales...
 

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
the big issue that's been cropping up since last gen has been the closing of old mid-tier studios, and the games they've made being replaced by $10-$20 indie games. worse, the aaa-market has been doubled down on again and again. it wasn't enough to raise the price of these games, or to have customers spend more per title on dlc, but now they are being locked in to these games through paywall schemes. it's catering to an increasingly narrow segment of the market- one that can afford all those things, where the less lucrative parts are barely considered. the success of indie games comes as almost a necessary alternative to this just one market. outside of only a few examples, it's not like first-parties or third-parties are building their software lineups and strategies around these games (although microsoft has been historically better than the others about this sort of thing, to be honest).

it is bad that there will probably be a literal billion games sold at retail lost to other, newer, and different parts of the industry (compared to the previous generation). that's going to have an effect on how development for these current dedicated machines are treated. it has already with the more homogenized output, as you've noticed.

what you're seeing start to happen though is that "indie" is going from flash game to unity/unreal/crytek as those engines become more affordable to license. Or stuff like No Man's Sky.

I mean you are right. And EA and Activision absolutely could not give two shits about a $750K developed game that sells through 250K copies worldwide. I really think that the "new" indie and the $20 game (and eventual $30 game, etc) will be there to pick up that slack.
 

AniHawk

Member
On this note I'm kind of wondering when the 4DS is showing up. This E3 was pretty sparse for new game announcements, and they're the kind of niche titles we often see near the end of the cycle instead of the banner hardware drivers.

Like, I feel they should really try to avoid having almost no first party games for 1-2 years before launching the next handheld for similar reasons, even if the third party market is notably healthier on the 3DS than the Wii U.

they're kind of throwing everything at the wall for the 3ds at this point. publishing fantasy life, localizing tomodachi, getting a pokemon gen 3 remake out. aside from codename steam, it comes across as trying really hard to manufacture a lineup when there really isn't one. the 3ds's successor may very well be two years away (although fall 2015 would be better).

best case scenario: they've been working on new handheld/console hardware since mid-2013 and plan to have their successor handheld out by fall 2015 with a decent amount of games (maybe a majora's mask remake or even better, a twilight princess remake), for launch. whatever their new console will be should be out by fall 2016 if it's a very different platform from the handheld. if it's basically a modified version of the handheld, then it should probably come out in march-june of 2016, if not at the same time.

worst case scenario: the 3ds limps along until it's actually five years old and all third-parties have stopped supporting it. the successor comes out and launches with a modified version of art academy. the console is still another year away, but at least there's still smt x fe coming out for the wii u, maybe.
 
Yes, I think both are really not too great, though agree that Microsoft's Fall line-up is stronger.

That said I expect sales to be driven like 90%+ by the third party games out this Fall so determining what system to get will often fall to things like "What runs this better?" and "What platform do my friends own?".

This is why losing the momentum battle early can be painful, and I think it was good for Microsoft to act when they did (though ideally they'd have done it even sooner with the price).

LBP3 even though it is cross gen is a smart holiday title for Sony though. It differentiates their console as a place for more people and types to play games much more than a Halo Collection and Sunset Overdrive. And people forget that LBP 1 and 2 sold 10+ million copies so that is a big brand regardless what GAF thinks about physics and such.
 
as much as I love to rag on the bone, even I'll be the first to admit that May wasn't anywhere near even footing. June will be interesting only if PS4 massively outsells xbone. xbone getting close or beating PS4 in June "should" be par for the course. July will be the first "interesting" NPD no matter what the outcome. If xbone stays close or even beats PS4 in July things could possibly be very heated this console gen. If PS4 still leads July by 33-50% the way the remainder of this gen will play out will be pretty much laid out as a historical fact.

'par for the course' in June would be xbone making up for its lack of sales in May, pressumably customers who delayed their purchase because of the sku announcement. Correcting for June being a 5 week month, that means xbone needs to sell 193k, to have a 2-month average consistent with April (115k). Any bump beyond that would be indication of xbone's future success at the new pricepoint. If its really high (ie. 300k) then its a game changer. If its modestly high (ie 220k) then that is dissapointing. I think June will be a telling month, no need to wait for July.
 

AniHawk

Member
what you're seeing start to happen though is that "indie" is going from flash game to unity/unreal/crytek as those engines become more affordable to license. Or stuff like No Man's Sky.

I mean you are right. And EA and Activision absolutely could not give two shits about a $750K developed game that sells through 250K copies worldwide. I really think that the "new" indie and the $20 game (and eventual $30 game, etc) will be there to pick up that slack.

i feel that the time for those indie games to be catered to in the console space should have been last gen though. right now, console releases are more or less a side benefit to also having a game out on steam- a platform that will not have to be replaced over time. you see it in kickstarters where making something for vita or wii u or ps4 is a stretch goal.

no man's sky looks very pretty, but i don't know how it steps outside the current aaa-market style of game where there's just a giant open world for multiplayer, especially if all that multiplayer content is locked behind a paywall. seeing that highlighted at the sony conference was kind of part of the problem. inside may look a lot like limbo, but that's something that showed a little more variety in the xbox one's lineup.

LBP3 even though it is cross gen is a smart holiday title for Sony though. It differentiates their console as a place for more people and types to play games much more than a Halo Collection and Sunset Overdrive. And people forget that LBP 1 and 2 sold 10+ million copies so that is a big brand regardless what GAF thinks about physics and such.

i am actually going to buy this game for my ps3 now. i had no idea it was a crossgen game.
 
Have the hardware numbers been released yet?

Here you go:

For a new page

Updated with even MORE accurate hardware numbers

-----------------------------
Hardware Monthly Sales
-----------------------------
PS4 ~ 197k
3DS ~ 97k
XB1 ~ 77k
Wii U ~ 61k
360 ~ 57k
PSV ~ 56k
PS3 ~ 36k
Wii ~ 11k
-----------------------------
Mario Kart 8 ~ 377k, 6.6% from bundles
-----------------------------
Watch Dogs Sales Breakdown

PS4 ~ 46%
XB1 ~ 29%
360 ~ 14%
PS3 ~ 11%

Total > 1.25M
-----------------------------
Minecraft PS3 89k
-----------------------------
Wolfenstein New Order

PS4 ~ 41%
XB1 ~ 38%
360 ~ 13%
PS3 ~ 8%
-----------------------------
BL2 Vita Standalone ~27k
-----------------------------
LTD's

DKC: Tropical Freeze [WiU] 258k
Lightening Returns FF [PS3] 135k [360] 71k
PVZ: Garden Warfare [XB1] 257k [360] 150k
FF10HD [PS3] 259k
South Park SoT [360] 279k [PS3] 228k
Titanfall [XB1] 969k [360] 559k
Dark Souls 2 [360] 212k [PS3] 209k
Infamous SS [PS4] 617k
MGSV: Ground Zeroes [Total] 357k [PS4] >179k

Bravely Default [3DS] ~258k
Yoshi's New Island [3DS] ~256k
Kirby Triple Deluxe [3DS] ~138k
FF10HD [Vita] ~75k
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
And yet, hardware is up mid double digit percentages in the month, and up single digit percentage year to date. IT'Z COMING BACK FROM TEH DEAD.

May literally accounts for less than 5% of annual hardware sales...

These numbers honestly don't even seem that bad when compared to last gen on the PS4/XB1 versus 360/PS3 front. I mean there's clearly been a large scale shift out from where the handheld audience and more casual Wii audience was toward platforms like iOS, but I don't think that's what's driving the people who are still making console games anyway.

The XB1 is an underperform, but there is an effective price cut next month that they announced this month so unless it does badly next month I don't think there's a major panic button moment here.
 

Opiate

Member
These numbers honestly don't even seem that bad when compared to last gen on the PS4/XB1 versus 360/PS3 front. I mean there's clearly been a large scale shift out from where the handheld audience and more casual Wii audience was toward platforms like iOS, but I don't think that's what's driving the people who are still making console games anyway.

The XB1 is an underperform, but there is an effective price cut next month that they announced this month so unless it does badly next month I don't think there's a major panic button moment here.

I agree, but what you're describing is a particular frame of reference. The console and handheld market is gradually contracting to "basically just the Playstation and Xbox home consoles." And even then, as you said, I'd describe it as "not bad" rather than actively good.

Obviously if you're a person who specifically enjoys the traditional PS/Xbox ecosystem with very little interest in anything else, then these losses are basically invisible to you. However, if you are a person who had a particular fondness for that anything else, then the contraction of the home console market is a pretty big deal to you. That portion of the market is no longer serving your interest very well.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
they're kind of throwing everything at the wall for the 3ds at this point. publishing fantasy life, localizing tomodachi, getting a pokemon gen 3 remake out. aside from codename steam, it comes across as trying really hard to manufacture a lineup when there really isn't one. the 3ds's successor may very well be two years away (although fall 2015 would be better).

best case scenario: they've been working on new handheld/console hardware since mid-2013 and plan to have their successor handheld out by fall 2015 with a decent amount of games (maybe a majora's mask remake or even better, a twilight princess remake), for launch. whatever their new console will be should be out by fall 2016 if it's a very different platform from the handheld. if it's basically a modified version of the handheld, then it should probably come out in march-june of 2016, if not at the same time.

worst case scenario: the 3ds limps along until it's actually five years old and all third-parties have stopped supporting it. the successor comes out and launches with a modified version of art academy. the console is still another year away, but at least there's still smt x fe coming out for the wii u, maybe.
Right, that the line-up consists almost entirely of vacuumed up third party titles and Project Steam outside of the long announced Smash Bros and the expected Pokemon filler title sticks out to me as a system where they're buying time with the line-up.

Now, they could go announce a bunch of things later, but the 3DS being a focus wasn't the impression I got out of E3.

LBP3 even though it is cross gen is a smart holiday title for Sony though. It differentiates their console as a place for more people and types to play games much more than a Halo Collection and Sunset Overdrive. And people forget that LBP 1 and 2 sold 10+ million copies so that is a big brand regardless what GAF thinks about physics and such.
I kind of feel that's a game that sells with systems as opposed to really selling systems itself, sort of like how LEGO and Skylanders tend to sell best wherever family gamers are at the moment.

Like I think people getting PS4s might pick it up for their kids given the average age of gamers has moved up quite a bit over the years, but I'm not sure that will be the core deciding point for them.

Of course my proposition is rather difficult to prove since the correlation would be there either way.
 

AniHawk

Member
I agree, but what you're describing is a particular frame of reference. The console and handheld market is gradually contracting to "basically just the Playstation and Xbox home consoles." And even then, as you said, I'd describe it as "not bad" rather than actively good.

Obviously if you're a person who specifically enjoys the traditional PS/Xbox ecosystem with very little interest in anything else, then these losses are basically invisible to you. However, if you are a person who had a particular fondness for anything else, then the contraction of the home console market is a pretty big deal to you. That portion of the market is no longer serving your interest very well.

it's not even the ps/xbox ecosystem, but a very specific part of that ecosystem. my favorite games on the ps2 were valkyrie profile 2, devil may cry, and dragon quest viii. the market hasn't been contracting on just outside these two platforms, but within them as well.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
I agree, but what you're describing is a particular frame of reference. The console and handheld market is gradually contracting to "basically just the Playstation and Xbox home consoles." And even then, as you said, I'd describe it as "not bad" rather than actively good.

Obviously if you're a person who specifically enjoys the traditional PS/Xbox ecosystem with very little interest in anything else, then these losses are basically invisible to you. However, if you are a person who had a particular fondness for that anything else, then the contraction of the home console market is a pretty big deal to you. That portion of the market is no longer serving your interest very well.

Oh absolutely. It's just that I think that problem is borderline intractable and that almost every publisher or even large scale independent developer has just moved on and starting making phone/tablet/browser/f2p online games if they still want that in that market.

Like even if we look at a studio like Netherrealm, they're making Mortal Kombat and Injustice for consoles, but also making a bunch of Batman and Injustice games for phones/tablets as the equivalent of what would used to be handheld titles.

Similarly we see Remedy and Insomniac making AAA games for Microsoft while simultaneously making iOS games.

Epic and Crytek's transformation from AAA console game makers to f2p PC/console and mobile developers has also been stark.
 
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