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NPD Sales Results for October 2013 [Up2: 3DS, 360, Pokemon Combined, GTAV]

3DS just outsold everything else combined. Should go third party.
The worst part is that people are absolutely naive when talking about this topic.

Going 3rd party like Sega involves a process of total bankruptcy and total restructure, it's not like they are going to be the same company, just publishing their games on other platforms.
 
The worst part is that people are absolutely naive when talking about this topic.

Going 3rd party like Sega involves a process of total bankruptcy and total restructure, it's not like they are going to be the same company, just publishing their games on other platforms.

I don't advocate the 3rd party idea, or even going multi-platform. And while I'm really glad to see the 3DS/2DS did so well in October (what will happen this month?!), I find their lack of efforts with the Wii U so far, really pathetic.

I own a Wii U. I think it's an awesome system (the Off-TV Play is my favorite feature). I just don't understand how a billion dollar corporation, has failed to effectively market/advertise their newest home console in their most important market.
 
Looking like Nintendo is going to have to merge their handheld and console into one device next gen.

Too much effort being spent on a device that doesn't appear to be viable...better to use their studio resources for one device instead.
 

Tookay

Member
That's what I was thinking. Nintendo may have been trying to stay low key until they had stuff to sell, but the result was their mindshare just shriveling up to the point that nobody even noticed when stuff actually came out.

The way to get people to notice would be aggressive advertisement, but I guess NCL went to a fortune teller who predicated grave misfortune if they ever promoted their releases. That or their marketing heads are all comical airheads who keep losing all the ads they make via a series of wacky hijinks.

I'd be willing to believe either story, mostly because they make me laugh. And slightly because the real explanation is too depressing to think about.

Heh, last year I was in the "Casual Gamer" boat, I had no idea about Nintendo Directs until I happened to check Siliconera this January. Come to think of it, the only things I heard about the WiiU before it launched was that it had a touchscreen gamepad controller, an energy efficient IBM chip possibly based on the Watson thing that was on Jeopardy, and you could scan your credit cards using a chip in the gamepad. What sold me on the WiiU was after I played Xenoblade last Winter and my preconceptions about what a "Nintendo game" had to be were shattered, they can thank IGN.com for reporting on Operation Rainfall otherwise I wouldn't have known about that game. So I'm one to say "The userbase should buy more games" when it was Mario and Zelda that I myself thought of when I saw the "Nintendo" brand on a console, last year. It has me thinking that when a casual gamer sees the "Nintendo" brand on a console, the 3DS for instance, they feel compelled to buy Nintendo games even though games such as Resident Evil and Splinter Cell were available, and maybe even people who would be interested in those games didn't know that it is possible to own a Nintendo console for games other than Nintendo's.

These are interesting impressions actually. It's so easy to get caught in this hardcore gamer feedback loop; since we're constantly "in the know," we lose sight of what the Average Joe knows or doesn't know. I think Nintendo has a real problem getting its message out there to the general consumer.
 
Party U < Batman U, I'm not kidding.

TW101 LTD < 25k
Doesn't help that much without Batman U. :(

Although, I guess John Harker's comment that both are under 10K. Party audience gone.
3DS just outsold everything else combined.
Setting aside the third party discussion, the 3DS - even with the launch of the budget 2DS and Pokemon, arguably the largest franchise the system will have - combined with the remaining NDS sales, still have TTM annualized sales rate well below Nintendo's historical norm.
 
You are kidding yourself if you think handheld market won't shrink further in next generations.

Competition from phones and tablets is only going to grow as the games on them mature.
We should reach market saturation of smartphones in the next few years (in the west), probably before the next Nintendo handheld is released, the smartphone/tablet market can't grow to infinity.

And the 3DS still sells 35.000.000 in the biggest hype-time of smartphone/tablets. (in the first two years)


The more important markets for smartphones are going to be China / India in the future, but Nintendo handhelds never relied on these markets.
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
Setting aside the third party discussion, the 3DS - even with the launch of the budget 2DS and Pokemon, arguably the largest franchise the system will have - combined with the remaining NDS sales, still have TTM annualized sales rate well below Nintendo's historical norm.

Well, again, we can't pretend smartphones and tablets didn't happen. Nevertheless, in this new landscape, 3DS seems to have found a sustainable level of sales. Which I find quite impressive, all things considered.
 
So Batman Wii U < 6.5K 11.7K, and Wii Party U even less than that. EDIT: oh for some reason I read 1%

Just Dance 2014 not charting.

Anyone still doubting that the "casual" audience have dissipated?
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
Well, again, we can't pretend smartphones and tablets didn't happen. Nevertheless, in this new landscape, 3DS seems to have found a sustainable level of sales. Which I find quite impressive, all things considered.
And the more kids with a 3DS, the more kids are likely to want a 3DS. Its entering its virtuous circle phase.

Zelda and Bravery Default should also open sales to an adult, old school gamers audience.

Good times ahead.
 
This month highlights for me how Nintendo collapsing is seriously toxic for many third parties. The Lego people, Sega, and many others.

Third parties need to get the fuck off Nintendo platforms. Well, anyone left.
Wait, where exactly are they (Lego, Sega) going to go? I'm sure they're selling more on PS360 each but is that enough? Why cut the Wii U out of the porting?

Unless you mean there's no reason to make Wii U exclusives like Sonic Lost World and presumably Lego City Undercover? Then yes, that should be obvious. If we don't get any more of them that would answer it.





I was resistant to the idea for a while, but it just seems more and more necessary for Nintendo to ditch the GamePad, sell a barebones Wii U console bundle for $199 w/ a Pro Controller with either Mario Kart 8 or 3D World pack-ins... Position the system as a low-end Nintendo box if they want to be able to save face and ride out the cycle with GCN or N64 numbers (depending how lucky they are).
While ditching the gamepad is looking more and more attractive if they can't get that cost down (so far the answer appears to be no), I'm not sure what message that would send if they were just another black box with a 360-looking controller. Wouldn't that just completely fail to distinguish them from their cheaper competition at all? Or are you saying that Mario Kart 8 + 3D World should be enough to finally distinguish them on software alone?






The worst part is that people are absolutely naive when talking about this topic.

Going 3rd party like Sega involves a process of total bankruptcy and total restructure, it's not like they are going to be the same company, just publishing their games on other platforms.
I think we need to separate the "Wii U is a horrible sales failure of a console" talk (which is truthfact) from the "Nintendo will go third party" talk (which is lol and should be laughed out of this thread).






You are kidding yourself if you think handheld market won't shrink further in next generations.

Competition from phones and tablets is only going to grow as the games on them mature.
Well that just makes it more likely that...
Looking like Nintendo is going to have to merge their handheld and console into one device next gen.

Too much effort being spent on a device that doesn't appear to be viable...better to use their studio resources for one device instead.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
So sub 11k for Wii Party U.

Wii _____ audience coming back in droves any millennia now.
 

Zen

Banned
Sega finally saves the Sonic franchise with Generations and then the series fucking dies :(

I want to buy a WiiU for Mario and the 2014 games, but I'm really worried that with these historically bad numbers and the total lack of marketing for the WiiU this year that Nintendo has already written it off and will release a new system in 2015...

The franchise isn't dead, Appearing on a dead platform is the issue. If the next Sonic game (that probably won't even bother having a WiiU version) flops then they might downgrade Sonic to 2D budget Digital games. It's not like Sonic and the Black Knight sold well either.

But seriously Sega needs to nail down the Sonic formula and also stop releasing a different 'Sonic: _____' every iteration. I guarantee you that Lost World even begin labeled Sonic Colors 2 would have helped sales.

They really need to start creating numbered sequels again.
 

AniHawk

Member
AC4 U = 1% total

similar deal to batman.

i did see target carry cod wii u, and they sold out of what little stock they had. best buy has wii u games in stock, but you have to print out a receipt and take it to customer service for them to retrieve it from the back room.
 

AniHawk

Member
The franchise isn't dead, Appearing on a dead platform is the issue. If the next Sonic game (that probably won't even bother having a WiiU version) flops then they might downgrade Sonic to 2D budget Digital games. It's not like Sonic and the Black Knight sold well either.

black knight sold around 440k in the us. it was one of the better selling sonic games this last generation.
 
The franchise isn't dead, Appearing on a dead platform is the issue. If the next Sonic game (that probably won't even bother having a WiiU version) flops then they might downgrade Sonic to 2D budget Digital games. It's not like Sonic and the Black Knight sold well either.

But seriously Sega needs to nail down the Sonic formula and also stop releasing a different 'Sonic: _____' every iteration. I guarantee you that Lost World even begin labeled Sonic Colors 2 would have helped sales.

They really need to start creating numbered sequels again.

Maybe they don't want to scare people by printing 3D Sonic 37 on cover.
 

Zalman

Member
3DS continues to dominate, and as expected, the 360 outsold the PS3, but the US is pretty much the only place where this is still happening.
 

Saty

Member
What about Scribblenauts Unmased Wii U? Unlimited was of the better sellers so it would be interesting to compare.
 

Zen

Banned
black knight sold around 440k in the us. it was one of the better selling sonic games this last generation.

It sold like half of Sonic 2006, at best. Sure it still 'sold' but it was the lowest seller, at least from the data I have seen.

I think it's an absurd notion to pin the failure of Lost World on the IP itself when we're seeing other (much larger) third party games selling nothing on the platform as well.

Batman < 650k
PS3 + 360 = 98.2%
WiiU = 1.8%

AC4 U = 1% total

The appeal of the platform is so niche that it's not even nabbing up as many of the traditional the 'Nintendo fans', so seeing the pool of 'Nintendo fans who also buy Sonic' shrink to nothing isn't super surprising to me. It's not like Lost World is Black Knight/06/Secret Rings level of bad, and in certainly didn't have that buzz going in. The WiiU platform is just completely Toxic for anything that isn't the corest of core Nintendo products.

Maybe they don't want to scare people by printing 3D Sonic 37 on cover.

They could just start by bringing some brand continuity back like they had during the Sonic Adventure days. Making a Sonic Generations 2 or Colors 2 would be a good move. If Sega decides to make another Sonic on the WiiU/3DS, it should probably just be as yet another version of the title they're developing on the PS3/Xbox 360/PS4/ONE or some strictly 2D retro affair that isn't Sonic 4 levels of unfaithful.
 

liger05

Member
Could watchdogs Wii u be cancelled?

Is it really worth Ubisoft putting this out. Its going to bomb, no doubt about it.
 
So Ubisoft support is dead along with Warner now. Also I echo the sentiment that I'm glad Wii Party U bombed. Hopefully Nintendo takes the hint that they've wasted a ton of dev resources on this and go for something new. Everyone besides Nintendo (and some fans I guess) saw the writing on the wall

Wii Party U/Wii Fit U/Wii Sports should be bundled into the system digitally as free apps.
 

AniHawk

Member
It sold like half of Sonic 2006, at best. Sure it still 'sold' but it was the lowest seller, at least from the data I have seen.

sonic 06 did 800k-900k across two platforms with a couple years tacked on there. black knight wound up doing pretty well for itself. it still outsold generations.
 
I'm pretty sure he's asking upon what basis Wii Party U with a less than 12K opening will do 100K LTD.
?

Me quoting and talking about Batman sales: "The game should probably end up 60.000 - 100.000 LTD, first month isn't that important."

He: "based on?"

Me: "The numbers of Arkham City Wii U"


I never talked about Wii Party U, which could sell 100.000 LTD to boot.
 

liger05

Member
So Ubisoft support is dead along with Warner now. Also I echo the sentiment that I'm glad Wii Party U bombed. Hopefully Nintendo takes the hint that they've wasted a ton of dev resources on this and go for something new.

Co sign. These type of games bombing are the only way Nintendo will wake up and realise that it not 2006/2007 anymore.

Remember all the shit EA got for pulling support for wii u. One look at how Ubisoft/Warner games have performed makes EA’s decision right.
 

Zen

Banned
sonic 06 did 800k-900k across two platforms with a couple years tacked on there. black knight wound up doing pretty well for itself. it still outsold generations.

Mind citing sources? Because that's way off of what I saw. Also are you citing NA only or WW?
 

Triton55

Member
While ditching the gamepad is looking more and more attractive if they can't get that cost down (so far the answer appears to be no), I'm not sure what message that would send if they were just another black box with a 360-looking controller. Wouldn't that just completely fail to distinguish them from their cheaper competition at all? Or are you saying that Mario Kart 8 + 3D World should be enough to finally distinguish them on software alone?

As of right now, the #1 reason to buy a Wii U would be the first party content. One of the biggest reasons not to buy a Wii U (along with brand image, competition, lack of 3rd party support etc etc) is obviously price. Meanwhile, the GamePad seems to have pretty low appeal to most consumers right now. That could change with some future software (Zelda U is the only potentially GamePad-centric game that comes to mind), but as of now, the benefit of significantly dropping the entry price would be greater than the benefit of losing uniqueness. But you're right, Nintendo wouldn't like looking the same as the other consoles.
 
At this point I think dropping the gamepad in an SKU ala 2DS is probably a wise course of action to get that price down to 199 as fast as possible. But, honestly it will probably introduce an entire new layer of confusion and Nintendo will have to start selling the Gamepad separately and who the hell wants to carry a bunch of those things. They would probably sell worse than the uPAd. They have yet to show a core game that has it integral to the game. Maybe Zelda was the game where that would be the case, but at best that game is 1-2 years off.
 

AniHawk

Member
Mind citing sources?

i don't but my sources might.

if you want a clearer picture, it goes a little something like this among console releases for sonic this gen. just talking us here.

1. secret rings
2. unleashed wii
3. colors
4. 06 360
5. 06 ps3
6. black knight
7. unleashed 360
8. unleashed ps3
9. generations 360
10. generations ps3

06 and secret rings sold really well because they were really early in the lifespan of each system. other games didn't sell that well on the ps3 and 360 because there was no fanbase for them, still isn't, and may never be.
 

L~A

Member
That's some pretty good numbers for the 3DS and Pokémon (not so much the Wii U, but heh, that's not really surprising.... hopefully November will be much better). Curious to see if the 3DS will reach 1 million during this holiday season.
 
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