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[JJConrad]

Love reading these, thanks for posting. I'm curious, though, what the hell is Activision doing with the Wii GH3? All of the retailers local to me have been sold out of it for the past few weeks with no restocks that I've noticed from my passing through the stores.

Good to see the PS3 selling a bit better. I wonder what the recent Blu-Ray news will do to console sales, and if it'll have any noticeable effect on software sales.

It's two things:

First, because the game requires addition hardware beyond just the game it takes longer to restock the game than normal. The Wii verson does not have a stand alone version to fall back on either.

Second, demand for GH3 has been far beyond that of GH2 last year. The PS2 version alone is ahead of GH2 last year, with the Wii and 360 version both keeping up too.

It left Activision in a position were they couldn't really have predicted the level of demand for the game and then can't quickly react to meet these levels. Don't feel sorry for them, or even be disappointed, they're still sell a ton of games.

I can tell you confidently that there have been many decent sized restocks of GHIII over the last few weeks. They sell out so fast that there doesn't appear to be any. They haven't been large enough or fast enough to satisfy the huge demand.

 

[kay]

It's two things:

First, because the game requires addition hardware beyond just the game it takes longer to restock the game than normal. The Wii verson does not have a stand alone version to fall back on either.

Second, demand for GH3 has been far beyond that of GH2 last year. The PS2 version alone is ahead of GH2 last year, with the Wii and 360 version both keeping up too.

It left Activision in a position were they couldn't really have predicted the level of demand for the game and then can't quickly react to meet these levels. Don't feel sorry for them, or even be disappointed, they're still sell a ton of games.

I can tell you confidently that there have been many decent sized restocks of GHIII over the last few weeks. They sell out so fast that there doesn't appear to be any. They haven't been large enough or fast enough to satisfy the huge demand.

No, the Wii version is the one that has mono sound, that is why it hasn't been restocked until it is fixed.

 

[JJConrad]

No, the Wii version is the one that has mono sound, that is why it hasn't been restocked until it is fixed.

no

 

[TheRipDizz]

Licensed games were oftentimes made by A-teams back then, nowadays companies have wizened up and realized they'll sell on the name alone.

Chip & Dales Rescue Rangers
Mickey Mania
Alladin
Taz
Duck Tales
TMNT: Arcade
TMNT IV: Turtles in Time
TMNT: Tournament Fighters
Marvel Super Heroes

were all genuinely good games.

Nowadays games like Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Harry Potter: OotP are rare exceptions.

Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion. :drool

Anyway point well made. Kudos.

 

[SapientWolf]

Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion. :drool

Anyway point well made. Kudos.

I was shocked when M.C. (McDonald's) Kids wasn't utter garbage. When I was older I found out that it was a Treasure game.

Anecdotally, is that Mario and Sonic game outselling Mario Galaxy? I'm starting to think that Wii owners will buy anything with Mario in it.

 

[TheRipDizz]

No chance that they sent them back to MS. People will buy anything in Christmas, even the terrible deal of the Halo 360.

To think that was Peter Moore's big "announcement" at E3. :lol Fucking retarded

 

[The Faceless Master]

To think that was Peter Moore's big "announcement" at E3. :lol Fucking retarded

the problem was they made way too many of them...

well, that and the extra cost...

and the premium came with 2 games...

yeah, they fucked up...

 

[HK-47]

I was shocked when M.C. (McDonald's) Kids wasn't utter garbage. When I was older I found out that it was a Treasure game.

Anecdotally, is that Mario and Sonic game outselling Mario Galaxy? I'm starting to think that Wii owners will buy anything with Mario in it.

No, SMG is kicking the shit out of it saleswise

And if you want a game that was pure corporate advertising but still good, check out Cool Spot

 

[TheRipDizz]

the problem was they made way too many of them...

well, that and the extra cost...

and the premium came with 2 games...

and they were ugly as all fuck, a face that only a Halo fanatic could love......maybe

yeah, they fucked up...

.

 

[TheRipDizz]

No, SMG is kicking the shit out of it saleswise

And if you want a game that was pure corporate advertising but still good, check out Cool Spot

I think Sonic is beating Mario in the UK. Could be wrong though.

 

[outunderthestars]

It's just odd that they have not tried to clear them out. Retailers cannot be happy to have to carry four different xbox 360 sku's.

 

[HK-47]

I think Sonic is beating Mario in the UK. Could be wrong though.

Possibly but this is US Retail Musing =)

Plus Mario has the lead here, in Japan, France, and Germany...I think it makes up for UK

 

[HK-47]

the problem was they made way too many of them...

well, that and the extra cost...

and the premium came with 2 games...

yeah, they fucked up...

My brother got one for his birthday...I still dont know why. But as long as I have access to a 360 until they get cheaper and I buy my own I dont care. I like the visor orange disc tray though

 

[TheRipDizz]

Possibly but this is US Retail Musing =)

Plus Mario has the lead here, in Japan, France, and Germany...I think it makes up for UK

Just saying.

It's deffinatly closer than it should be though.

 

[HK-47]

Just saying.

It's deffinatly closer than it should be though.

On a quality basis, yes, but there are far worse offenders. On the the basis of license power, I can see why

 

[_Alkaline_]

Lego Star Wars for Wii seems to be doing pretty well - 180k copies so far and it seems to still be selling quite well.

Activision totally dropped the ball with Guitar Hero III shipments.

 

[SapientWolf]

Lego Star Wars for Wii seems to be doing pretty well - 180k copies so far and it seems to still be selling quite well.

Activision totally dropped the ball with Guitar Hero III shipments.

The funny thing is that I still see stacks of GH2 in the aisle of BB, packed almost as high as the PS3s.

 

[speculawyer]

GameStop - OklahomaSo, after that week, we've been sold out of almost every system.
Used systems? Low supply or sold out in every category.
XBOX360? Sold out of every SKU. Yes, even arcades.
DS? Totally sold out.
PSP? Even the Star Wars packs are gone. Totally sold out.
Wii? fuhgetaboutit. We're even out of remotes, nunchuks, and Wii Play.
PS3? 80GB model nearly sold out but not quite, 40GB still highly available.
Guitar Hero? Eh. We have a 50/50 chance of having the version you need.
All of out raincheck Wiis have come in and have been collected btw.

Wow.

Sweeet. Should be an epic December NPD.

2008 looks like it will have great PS3 and 360 line-ups too. I gotta say that the Wii line-up looks pretty meager though if you are not interested in JRPGs or shovelware. Smash Bros will obviously be big but there isn't much to interest me. :-/

 

[ZealousD]

This is very interesting. I assumed to would take weeks before everyone who grabbed a rain check would get their Wii.

Do you have any idea how many of those you guys sold? Did you sell out of your whole rain check allotment?

We had 18 Wiis alloted to us for rainchecks. Our first shipment of raincheck Wiis included 5 for rainchecks and 4 to be sold normally. This was back in December, just a couple days after Christmas.

 

[Vyer]

Are you seriously comparing, say, the awesome cel-shaded Aladdin game for the Genesis, or the equally impressive Capcom-developed SNES version, both of which still hold up today as great platformers, to licensed shit from THQ, like Spongebob? The developer pedigree, and the budget required to make a good game, is vastly different, and the game quality reflects that.

I think you are looking at his point the wrong way. Do you think that the majority of those, say, 8-10 year olds who bought Aladdin or TMNT did so with plenty of magazine reviews, developer commentaries and preview videos researched beforehand?

The quality doesn't matter; the young kids now, or more importantly their parents, are buying for much the same reason the parents and young kids bought back then; it's the holidays, and they need a video game, and hey little Johnny loves him some Spongebob.

The kids just aren't as lucky because the market is so big now that likely they don't have the same quality. Like they could give a shit, though, or like Mom could give a shit either.

When we were 10 the majority of our moms didn't really care about developer track records or framerates either.

Or hell, maybe the kids are lucky - hell if I know - I don't play Surf's Up so maybe it's a good game. :lol

 

[ZealousD]

Licensed games were oftentimes made by A-teams back then, nowadays companies have wizened up and realized they'll sell on the name alone.

Chip & Dales Rescue Rangers
Mickey Mania
Alladin
Taz
Duck Tales
TMNT: Arcade
TMNT IV: Turtles in Time
TMNT: Tournament Fighters
Marvel Super Heroes

were all genuinely good games.

Nowadays games like Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Harry Potter: OotP are rare exceptions.

First of all, you've only named a handful of good licensed video games. Most licensed games back in the day were still shit. Kids that grow up in this generation are going to look back fondly upon stuff like...

Spiderman 2
Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Lego Star Wars
X-Men Legends
Dragonball Z (Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi series)
Star Wars Battlefront
James Bond: Everything or Nothing
King Kong
Simpsons Hit and Run

See? Even today, not all licensed games were shit, and there probably was just as much of a percentage of good to bad licensed games as there are today.

 

[HK-47]

First of all, you've only named a handful of good licensed video games. Most licensed games back in the day were still shit. Kids that grow up in this generation are going to look back fondly upon stuff like...

Spiderman 2
Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Lego Star Wars
X-Men Legends
Dragonball Z (Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi series)
Star Wars Battlefront
James Bond: Everything or Nothing
King Kong
Simpsons Hit and Run

See? Even today, not all licensed games were shit, and there probably was just as much of a percentage of good to bad licensed games as there are today.

Everyone know that Star Wars, LotR and Bond are licensed bastions of goodness...its not even worth mentioning them.

 

[Man God]

It should really be spun off into a different thread but I'd go as far to say that the average quality of a liscensed game has actually risen. Less completely unplayable games.

Capcom really schewed the averages in the 8/16 bit era, making the best damn Disney liscensed games possible.

Duck Tales 1+2
Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers
Darkwing Duck
all the way to the most excellent Mickey Mouse games

Konami I suppose can be lumped in as well with TMNT and Tiny Toons.

But the bad games from that era? Undescribably horrific.

 

[ZealousD]

Capcom really schewed the averages in the 8/16 bit era, making the best damn Disney liscensed games possible.

Duck Tales 1+2
Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers
Darkwing Duck
all the way to the most excellent Mickey Mouse games

Konami I suppose can be lumped in as well with TMNT and Tiny Toons.

But the bad games from that era? Undescribably horrific.

Sega was pretty good with licensed stuff too. The Mickey Mouse games, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, etc.

 

[speculawyer]

No, the Wii version is the one that has mono sound, that is why it hasn't been restocked until it is fixed.

LOL! If people continue buying why would they bother to fix it? They'll sell the mono.

 

[HK-47]

LOL! If people continue buying why would they bother to fix it? They'll sell the mono.

Cause they'll get pissed off and start class action lawsuits...like people are already doing

 

[Phife Dawg]

I think Sonic is beating Mario in the UK. Could be wrong though.

Bundles. The same reason Resistance and Motorstorm were high in the charts for so long and Viva Pinata made a "comeback". Chart track even mentioned it in the accompanying info.

 

[SapientWolf]

Cause they'll get pissed off and start class action lawsuits...like people are already doing

I would be surprised if the average Wii owner would notice if you pulled out the white RCA cable. The only winners in class action lawsuits are the lawyers.

 

[speculawyer]

Cause they'll get pissed off and start class action lawsuits...like people are already doing

Only if they said it was stereo.

Edit:And they say it . . . and did get sued. Doh!
http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/12/activision-sued.html