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[Chairman Yang]

I did not care for Borderlands at all, is Borderlands 2 even worth looking at if you disliked the first one? First one was bland, unimaginative mission design everywhere... endless worthless loot and questionable gunplay.

I love loot whore games, but Borderlands just felt like a really limited offline MMORPG, or 4-player MMORPG with guns. Is Borderlands 2 a vast enough improvement to give a shot?

Borderlands 2 is indeed a vast improvement. I hate loot games on principle, and Borderlands 1 didn't change that for me. But Borderlands 2 is a genuinely good shooter with pretty environments, varied AI, some surprisingly funny writing, and interesting quest design. The loot and progression elements do what they should--they layer lots of variety on top of already-solid gameplay, rather than substituting for gameplay.

That said, if you haven't already, make sure to get Dishonored and XCOM before anything else.

 

[Pranay]

I see some games from Q1/Q2 to be pushed to Q4

 

[Nirolak]

+234% means 3.34 times. I don't know what exactly was written by NPD, so Game Informer could be confused.

Also, Borderland was 546k across all platforms. It doesn't work with either.

It's also possible NPD is looking at revised numbers.

Yeah, I have no idea then.

 

[Man God]

Borderlands 2 is indeed a vast improvement. I hate loot games on principle, and Borderlands 1 didn't change that for me. But Borderlands 2 is a genuinely good shooter with pretty environments, varied AI, some surprisingly funny writing, and interesting quest design. The loot and progression elements do what they should--they layer lots of variety on top of already-solid gameplay, rather than substituting for gameplay.

That said, if you haven't already, make sure to get Dishonored and XCOM before anything else.

Honestly I think the writing is better in 1. 2 tends to take itself too seriously.

 

[speculawyer]

Ugh. The industry is still just struggling.

A big hit title like Borderlands 2 yet we still come in 24% below last year? ouch. (Yeah, OK, Gears was big still.)

New console generation can't come fast enough. I guess WiiU will have to provide the hype until Sony & MS come out with their new systems.


Well . . . I guess the moribund handheld market and uncounted digital distribution sales are part of the reason for the decline.

 

[Nirolak]

I don't follow this. Wasn't it a full month plus a few days in August for Madden?

Yeah, and this year's Madden had a higher first week than last year's Madden, with EA implying they expected it to maintain the growth throughout the season based on what they were seeing.

This implies that Madden this year likely performed better than Madden last year, which did 2.3 million in its first month.

 

[pestul]

Imagine if Sony or MS actually don't launch a nextgen console in 2013... imagine. Nah, too horrible to contemplate with this gen stinking out. *hugs WiiU pre-order*

 

[LQX]

Glad for Borderlands 2 especially seeing as how they did such an amazing job with the PC version.

And 360 selling like that is crazy. It might be the next PS2 once it hits like $99.

 

[Man God]

Yeah, and this year's Madden had a higher first week than last year's Madden, with EA implying they expected it to maintain the growth throughout the season based on what they were seeing.

This implies that Madden this year likely performed better than Madden last year, which did 2.3 million in its first month.

Might chart lower though due to increased digital sales.

 

[Tyrax]

still shocked there is no CoD on that list

 

[Road]

Yeah, I have no idea then.

All according to NPD's plan...


Madden 13 is apparently up 11% over last year: http://www.gamespot.com/news/npd-madden-nfl-13-tops-us-september-sales-6398137

And:

Hardware sales are up on an average sales per week basis compared to August for the NDS, 3DS, PS3, Vita and 360

 

[Kazerei]

still shocked there is no CoD on that list

The real kicker is that Battlefield 3 made it

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Glad for Borderlands 2 especially seeing as how they did such an amazing job with the PC version.

And 360 selling like that is crazy. It might be the next PS2 once it hits like $99.

I'm sure the PC version cracked 250k worldwide judging by Steam concurrent players.

 

[Mileena]

It did terrible in Japan, too; I'm pretty sure that DOA5 did better.

Gamers have poor taste.

 

[yon61]

Imagine if Sony or MS actually don't launch a nextgen console in 2013... imagine. Nah, too horrible to contemplate with this gen stinking out. *hugs WiiU pre-order*

PS4 is certainly not releasing in 2013, and the next Xbox has the possiblity of being pushed to 2014 also.

 

[Pranay]

Ugh. The industry is still just struggling.

A big hit title like Borderlands 2 yet we still come in 24% below last year? ouch. (Yeah, OK, Gears was big still.)

New console generation can't come fast enough. I guess WiiU will have to provide the hype until Sony & MS come out with their new systems.


Well . . . I guess the moribund handhel
d market and uncounted digital distribution sales are part of the reason for the decline.

Software is 14% down though

 

[terrisus]

No word on Wii or PS3 HW?

Well, Wii+PS3=281K

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

October is going to be pretty interesting:

RE6
B&W2
Dishonored
XCOM (though most of the sales will probably be on PC so it won't be counted that much)
Just Dance 4
Latest (and maybe last?) big Kinect games (DC3, Fable)
Skylanders 2
MoH: Warfighter

Really want to see how Medal of Honor and the Kinect stuff do. Doesn't seem to be much hype for any of those games and Kinect seems to be declining.

 

[1-D_FTW]

I'm sure the PC version cracked 250k worldwide judging by Steam concurrent players.

My Steam friends list was loaded with people who bought it (and few if any purchased through B&M). I suspect it did very well in the DD space on PC.

 

[MasterSheen]

I keep getting a sinking feeling DS will outsell 3DS next month.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

New console generation can't come fast enough. I guess WiiU will have to provide the hype until Sony & MS come out with their new systems.

Next-gen (as defined by MS and Sony, anyway) can wait until there's enough original and highly-polished software to back up the cost to consumers. I don't think prettier sequels will be enough to get a lot of current players to move up until they cannot deny the freshness of new experiences coupled with beefier hardware and more features.

 

[Baconsammy]

Imagine if Sony or MS actually don't launch a nextgen console in 2013... imagine. Nah, too horrible to contemplate with this gen stinking out. *hugs WiiU pre-order*

The bulk of the biggest games will be on the 360 and PS3 as long as the next Xbox and PS4 arent released. Not sure what having a new console with poor support nets you.

 

[Nirolak]

All according to NPD's plan...


Madden 13 is apparently up 11% over last year: http://www.gamespot.com/news/npd-madden-nfl-13-tops-us-september-sales-6398137

And:

Thanks. Updating.

 

[donny2112]

October is going to be pretty interesting:

RE6
B&W2
Dishonored
XCOM (though most of the sales will probably be on PC so it won't be counted that much)
Just Dance 4
Latest (and maybe last?) big Kinect games (DC3, Fable)
Skylanders 2
MoH: Warfighter

You forgot the top-selling game of the month in NBA 2K13. (Edit: Actually, probably not top-selling, unless it's a big increase from 2K12. Should sell a lot longer than RE6, though.)

 

[velvet_nitemare]

Next-gen (as defined by MS and Sony, anyway) can wait until there's enough original and highly-polished software to back up the cost to consumers. I don't think prettier sequels will be enough to get a lot of current players to move up until they cannot deny the freshness of new experiences coupled with beefier hardware and more features.

This gen is stale already, the 360 is 7 years old. We are overdue for new hardware. Wii U is a decent start, but i really want MS and Sony to announce their new hardware and release next year.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Lets go, Battlefield!

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

You forgot the top-selling game of the month in NBA 2K13.

I think that game is going to do really good numbers without much of a chance of disappointing. The other games could go either way. Will RE6 get hurt by its terrible critical reception? Will Just Dance be hurt by the decline of Wii and Kinect? Dishonored is a new IP launching in a declining market but is heavily praised so that will be interesting to watch. A lot of games that seem to have high ceilings for their sales numbers, but that also could disappoint.

 

[nhlducks35]

Come on Creamsugar, let's see those Vita numbers!

 

[Nirolak]

So, for officially given numbers, that gives us over 2.55 million for Madden.

I also added minimums for the 3DS and NDS to the OP as those were the only platforms we got official numbers for last month, but I'm sure you can speculate what other minimums must be.

 

[SolarPowered]

Soul Calibur also doesn't have a huge presence in Japanese arcades and does even worse on consoles there.

They do have a good reason for giving Harda and Tekken the money they do.

What is the good reason? It kinda doesn't make sense if the Soul series is more popular in America where the big console install bases are at.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Glad for Borderlands 2 especially seeing as how they did such an amazing job with the PC version.

And 360 selling like that is crazy. It might be the next PS2 once it hits like $99.

Interesting to see how it sells if it gets a price drop this year.

 

[Hero]

Awful, awful, awful numbers all around. Good on Borderlands 2 though.

Now that Pokemon Black/White 2 are out, Nintendo seriously needs to kill the DS in the west, ala the GBA. Hopefully there's no more big shipments and whatever is out there is the last of it and come the new year it's just 3DS and the 3DS XL it'll help.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

This top 10 list is why I am rapidly losing faith in this industry. I am not seeing how launching next generation consoles will help rekindle sales in the long run when everything is inevitably going to be so expensive. I am not surprised both fighters have failed this month with the direction the industry is heading in. So sad.....

 

[Nirolak]

Awful, awful, awful numbers all around. Good on Borderlands 2 though.

Well, to be fair, EA Sports is also performing incredibly well.

 

[Man God]

Awful, awful, awful numbers all around. Good on Borderlands 2 though.

Now that Pokemon Black/White 2 are out, Nintendo seriously needs to kill the DS in the west, ala the GBA. Hopefully there's no more big shipments and whatever is out there is the last of it and come the new year it's just 3DS and the 3DS XL it'll help.

They're killing the DS exactly like they killed the GBA. VERY...SLOWLY.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

This gen is stale already, the 360 is 7 years old. We are overdue for new hardware. Wii U is a decent start, but i really want MS and Sony to announce their new hardware and release next year.

Right, but for sales, my point was that new platforms aren't enough when it seems that the majority of big software makers aren't even ready to properly bring actually new next-gen games to next-gen consoles yet. I'm not talking about ones that are just new IPs with old existing gameplay in prettier wrappers or more graphically-upgraded sequels, anyway. I mean, there's very little in the way of big AAA third parties banging the drums of AAA next-gen software right now, so why are we expecting next-gen consoles to do so well out of the gate without stuff that feels actually next-gen-new? The jump, visually, isn't going to be as impressive as many expect, right at the start, just like at the start of X360 and PS3 in their first year or more. This is with a likely weak economy at the end of 2013 or middle of 2014, maybe even worse than it is now.

 

[Beth Cyra]

What is the good reason? It kinda doesn't make sense if the Soul series is more popular in America where the big console install bases are at.

Because your "more popular" is a relative statement.

Soul Calibur 5 still performed poorly all things considered and likely isn't going to make Namco Bandai a 100th of the revenue that TTT2 will in the end.

SC5's sales in the west even at it's best (meaning if it performed like 2/4) still would be hard pressed to tackle Tekken's overall numbers.

There is literally zero reason to pull funding from Harada and his team when they continue to drive people to the Arcade as well as they currently do.

 

[jcm]

LOL at Pachter trolling Nintendo again. He never fails.

The top 10 is no surprise and I'm ecstatic that Lego Batman 2 is doing so well.

Seems like Nintendo is trolling us with Sony-style deceptive and uninformative press releases. "Software up 89%? 3DS is killing it!"

 

[Kandinsky]

Kill your DS line already Nintendo wtf.

 

[Pranay]

Well, to be fair, EA Sports is also performing incredibly well.

I actually don't see how this month is aweful.
Both. The fighting game werent going to do good anyways

 

[Baconsammy]

People can claim the hardware numbers are bad, I guess. But to say the software numbers are bad is just complete inanity.

 

[grimshawish]

Kill your DS line already Nintendo wtf.

They know Pokemon is coming.

 

[Yopis]

The game does have quality though and the only real complaint that comes up is the graphics. There are 2 games on that list that need overhuals and yet they still sell well, I wonder why that is? People don't care about quality all that often if that did madden should not be on the list at all.

Did madden kill your family? Seems like it had a ton of updates this year. They even expanded the team size. Tekken is dead bro....never really liked the series anyway.
Last tekken release was trash also.

Maybe one day soul caliber can return to form.Nice job to gearbox don't like bord erlans at all but seems like fans were happy.

 

[Man God]

Isn't Soul Calibur by sales the second most popular fighting game franchise in the US?

I guess Marvel 3 might have taken its spot and you'd have to discount Smash Brothers but still no need to harsh on SC.

 

[Beth Cyra]

Isn't Soul Calibur by sales the second most popular fighting game franchise in the US?

I guess Marvel 3 might have taken its spot and you'd have to discount Smash Brothers but still no need to harsh on SC.

SC5 didn't do nearly as well as SC4, just as SC3 didn't do as well as SC2.

Not only that but Streeet Fighter/Smash/MK all easily out pace it as far as per title goes.

 

[Mooreberg]

This top 10 list is why I am rapidly losing faith in this industry. I am not seeing how launching next generation consoles will help rekindle sales in the long run when everything is inevitably going to be so expensive. I am not surprised both fighters have failed this month with the direction the industry is heading in. So sad.....

Other than DOA Ultimate (which I don't think ever had much standing in the tournament scene) they all waited way, way too long to include online modes. People moved on to other types of games.

 

[Hero]

Well, to be fair, EA Sports is also performing incredibly well.

Yeah, that's true. I don't remember the sports games' figures as well but EA is probably really happy with this month.

They're killing the DS exactly like they killed the GBA. VERY...SLOWLY.

I thought the GBA was killed really quickly. Was the GBA still getting major releases 18 months after the DS was out?

 

[Amir0x]

Borderlands 2 is indeed a vast improvement. I hate loot games on principle, and Borderlands 1 didn't change that for me. But Borderlands 2 is a genuinely good shooter with pretty environments, varied AI, some surprisingly funny writing, and interesting quest design. The loot and progression elements do what they should--they layer lots of variety on top of already-solid gameplay, rather than substituting for gameplay.

That said, if you haven't already, make sure to get Dishonored and XCOM before anything else.

Oh I already have both of those. Haven't got to try XCOM yet though, Dishonored is the shiz.

From everything people say about XCOM, it is like a dream come true. I can't wait to start that

I fear for its NPD, strategy games like this don't do well anymore though

 

[CrankyKong]

Nintendo should just kill 3ds
Nobody likes 3d anymore and just wanna buy regular ds

 

[Sandfox]

Kill your DS line already Nintendo wtf.

Its basically dead now that Pokemon is out.