April Console Sales Numbers

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

May be seeing some fallout from the 'Haze' problems over at Ubisoft. This one hurts the 360 fall lineup. Splinter Cell: Conviction has been totally scrapped and development will start from scratch. Release will likely not occur until 2010. Article content has been confirmed by Ubisoft.

http://360.kombo.com/article.php?artid=12912

Metal Gear Solid 4? Big deal, right? Look at the Xbox 360 line-up for 2008; it contains titles like Ninja Gaiden 2, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, Gears of War 2, and Splinter Cell Conviction. Oh, wait, one of those titles won't be hitting this year after all. It appears that 360 owners won't be enjoying an espionage experience this year with Splinter Cell Conviction because the title is being taken "back to the drawing board" by Ubisoft Montreal.

Well, this is according to a report in the latest issue of Xbox World 360 magazine anyways. As of now, Ubisoft hasn't officially released word on the state of the latest installment of the Splinter Cell title; however, the magazine is saying that it heard the title will now be ready for holiday season 2009 or as late as Spring 2010.

Splinter Cell Conviction has been development for a number of years, and was supposed to be the Metal Gear killer for Microsoft. According to XBW 360, it's probable that Conviction has simply become outdated by more recent Ubisoft titles, namely Assassin's Creed.

Luckily, Ubisoft's UbiDays event is due to take place in Paris next week, so we can hope for some concrete details surrounding this missing gem. Until then, get jealous of PS3 owners and Metal Gear Solid 4, because you're in for a long wait.

Developers of Killzone 2 confirm that delay to early 2009 was due to scheduling rather than any delays in the actual development problem. This would seem to ring pretty hollow IMO. If a game is 'all that', it doesn't matter how much competition there is. It will sell.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/...view/#comments

[Big Fo]

From kotaku.com -

Nintendo: Wii Has Highest Software Sales for First 18 Months

More games were purchased in the first 18 months of the Wii's life than any other console's first year and a half, Nintendo said today.

About 50 million games were sold for the Wii in its first 18 months, compared to about 42 million games in the first 18 months of the Playstation 2's life. The Xbox 360 came in at 30 million or so, the Xbox at roughly 28 million and finally the Playstation 3 at about 20 million.

Speaking to a gathering at the Electronic Gaming Summit, Cammie Dunaway, executive video president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, Dunaway used the numbers to launch into a talk about Nintendo's strategy for expanding the market.

Dunaway also showed a chart plotting out the first 18 months of each console's life. According to the chart, about 9.5 million Wii were sold in the first 18 months, 8.5 million PS2, 5.4 million Xbox 360, 5.2 million Xbox and 4.2 Playstation 3.

"While we appreciate the impact the Playstation 2 had on sales and the industry, perhaps we are even more impactful," Dunaway said, adding that there wasn't a single month in the Wii's first year and a half when Nintendo could meet demand.

Update: I just clarified with Nintendo: Those software sales numbers only include boxed games sold at retail and not virtual console or Wii Sports.

From those totals here's the tie-ratios for the first 18 months of each console:

Tie Ratio:
360: 5.77
Wii: 5.26
PS2: 4.94
PS3: 4.76

[MJ4H]

9.5 million Wii were sold in the first 18 months. Haha so I guess Wii is already plural!

I declare rulez.

[Big Fo]

Best selling games on the various platforms this month:

Originally Posted by http://www.interactive.org/top-ten.php?id=28

Top 20 Video Game Titles

1. Grand Theft Auto IV* (Xbox 360)
2. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
3. Grand Theft Auto IV* (PS3)
4. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii)
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
6. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3)
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (NDS)
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (NDS)
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii)
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare* (Xbox 360)
11. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
12. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2* (Xbox 360)
13. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 (PS2)
14. Game Party (Wii)
15. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock* (PS2)
16. New Super Mario Bros. (NDS)
17. Mario Kart DS (NDS)
18. Rock Band* (Xbox 360)
19. Mario Party DS (NDS)
20. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

Top 10 Wii Titles

1. Mario Kart Wii
2. Wii Play w/ Remote
3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
5. Game Party
6. Super Mario Galaxy
7. Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games
8. Carnival Games
9. Mario Party 8
10. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08

Top Xbox 360 Titles

1. Grand Theft Auto IV*
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare*
3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
4. Rock Band*
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock*
6. Army of Two
7. Major League Baseball 2K8
8. Halo 3*
9. Iron Man
10. Assassin's Creed*

Top PS2 Titles

1. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock*
3. MLB '08: The Show
4. God of War II
5. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
6. Rock Band*
7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
8. Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection
9. Iron Man
10. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy

Top 10 PS3 Titles

1. Grand Theft Auto IV*
2. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
4. MLB '08: The Show
5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2*
6. Rock Band*
7. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock*
8. Army of Two
9. Assassin's Creed*
10. Iron Man

Top 10 NDS Titles

1. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness
2. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
3. New Super Mario Bros.
4. Mario Kart DS
5. Mario Party DS
6. Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games
7. Imagine: Babyz
8. Pokemon Diamond Version
9. The World Ends With You
10. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day

Top 10 PSP Titles

1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
2. God of War: Chains of Olympus
3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
4. MLB '08: The Show
5. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
6. Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
7. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
8. Patapon
9. Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City
10. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas

* Includes Collector's, Limited, Legendary, and bundled editions

Imagine: Babyz outsold The World Ends With You. Weak.

[Cringer]

My life is fine as long as the PS3 and 360 do well enough for the good games to keep coming out on them, so I am not stuck with only the Wiicrap.

[Dekanth]

I just bought a 360, my first console in about 4-5 years. I picked up GTA4 and 3 older games for 20 bucks each: MLB 2k7, Project Gotham Racing 3 and NCAA football 2007 (last year's version). What other classics can I pick up on the cheap that are great?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Dekanth

I just bought a 360, my first console in about 4-5 years. I picked up GTA4 and 3 older games for 20 bucks each: MLB 2k7, Project Gotham Racing 3 and NCAA football 2007 (last year's version). What other classics can I pick up on the cheap that are great?

College Hoops 2k8. Best console sports game of the past year and it is now available at many places for under 20 dollars (14 at several places.)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

From those totals here's the tie-ratios for the first 18 months of each console:

Tie Ratio:
360: 5.77
Wii: 5.26
PS2: 4.94
PS3: 4.76

That 360 number is a bit surprising. It had been running between 6-7 for some time. The Wii and PS3 are right about where you expect them to be given that they came a year after the 360. The PS3 is going to run low until they can start moving more budget titles into the system. The Wii games have a pricing advantage of $10-20 over the 360/PS3. 360 has the advantage of a larger library due to the extra year in addition to more budget titles for new adopters. Dekanth's post above is a perfect example of how new purchasers snap up the old budget titles.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Infinite Discovery HD trailer is out. Game will be released September 2nd in the States and September 5th in Europe. It'll be interesting to see how well it sells in the U.S........

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/5501.html

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

College Hoops 2k8. Best console sports game of the past year and it is now available at many places for under 20 dollars (14 at several places.)

NBA 2K8 is pretty good as well. Saw it priced at $10 at Target the other day, though I don't know if that was temporary or permanent.

[Neon_Chaos]

I've been playing 2k8 at a friend's. I love it. Can't wait to get my own PS3.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

NBA 2K8 is pretty good as well. Saw it priced at $10 at Target the other day, though I don't know if that was temporary or permanent.

Agreed. Both are excellent games, but if I had to pick just one, I prefer College Hoop's gameplay.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Agreed. Both are excellent games, but if I had to pick just one, I prefer College Hoop's gameplay.

Yep, I'm obviously a big college b-ball fan, so I'd choose it over the NBA game as well. I think there's more stuff to do in the college game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Looks like the Bioshock to PS3 rumors were correct. A magazine in Europe has published the first screenshots of Bioshock for the PS3. It's expected to be released this fall.

http://www.gamereactor.se/nyheter/13...8%2C+omslaget/

Rumors also persist that Bioshock 2 will be a simultaneous release on the PS3/360 sometime next year.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

That 360 number is a bit surprising. It had been running between 6-7 for some time. The Wii and PS3 are right about where you expect them to be given that they came a year after the 360. The PS3 is going to run low until they can start moving more budget titles into the system. The Wii games have a pricing advantage of $10-20 over the 360/PS3. 360 has the advantage of a larger library due to the extra year in addition to more budget titles for new adopters. Dekanth's post above is a perfect example of how new purchasers snap up the old budget titles.

I think the 360 number is still around 7, this is just for the first 18 months of all four consoles, negating the head start of one year the 360 had.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Yeah, that one is similar to the IGN review. I've also seen a 6, 8, and 9 for the game. Judging from what I saw on the demo and from what I've heard from those who have already played it, sounds like a 6 or so is just about right. As I said, an average game. It's a shame, but everyone knew it wasn't going to be a very good game. There were far too many question marks. I think the developers just finally reached the point where they just decided to release it and move on to other things because it wasn't getting any better.

Where are your 8 and 9's? Gamerankings has 13 reviews up and the highest is a 6.5. Most are much lower with the tone bashing the game worse than the score. The average score is 57% which is pretty bad on gamerankings. Metacritic has a lower score. The highest reviews are from PS3 magazines.

[KWhit]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

That 360 number is a bit surprising. It had been running between 6-7 for some time. The Wii and PS3 are right about where you expect them to be given that they came a year after the 360. The PS3 is going to run low until they can start moving more budget titles into the system. The Wii games have a pricing advantage of $10-20 over the 360/PS3. 360 has the advantage of a larger library due to the extra year in addition to more budget titles for new adopters. Dekanth's post above is a perfect example of how new purchasers snap up the old budget titles.

How interesting that you poo-poo this as being due to the 360's head start and extra year.

This is the attach rate for the first 18 months of the console's lives - the head start had NOTHING to do with this. No way to spin this one - the 360's attach rate killed the PS3's over the same time period relative to the console's release date.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

I was disappointed in my purchase after the 12-month mark. I just hadn't seen quality games that I thought I would enjoy.

But over the past six months that's completely turned around. Some genres are still pretty weak, though, so I'd definitely take a look at the games available for the Wii if you tend to play games in only one or two genres.

If you like a lot of different genres or if you like innovative gameplay, then I think you'll be very happy with the purchase.

Being one of the resident Nintendo fanboys, I'm sure I'd be happy with the purchase. It's more about exercising a little fiscal restraint and one of those "do I get it now or later" not "do I get it at all".

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Best selling games on the various platforms this month:



Imagine: Babyz outsold The World Ends With You. Weak.

Those NDS numbers are very disappointing for TWEWY. Look at the list. A pair of Pokemon games not even part of the real franchise lead the pack- that's acceptable. But then, after that, you have some games that have been out a long time (MKDS and NSMB) and it's not as if there was a sudden boom of DS buying so you know those numbers are low.

SI

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Those NDS numbers are very disappointing for TWEWY. Look at the list. A pair of Pokemon games not even part of the real franchise lead the pack- that's acceptable. But then, after that, you have some games that have been out a long time (MKDS and NSMB) and it's not as if there was a sudden boom of DS buying so you know those numbers are low.

SI

The game sold 45,000 for the month, so part of that is just how well those particular titles sell months/years after coming out. I still wish it did better, I'm about halfway through the game and really enjoying it.

I just don't think Square-Enix pricing their DS games at $40 does them any favors, when most other games are $30 (with the occasional big Nintendo $35 game like Phantom Hourglass or Pokemon). People might pay the premium when Final Fantasy is written on the box but maybe not so much for a new IP.

In loosely-related news Square-Enix will be bringing over the Dragon Quest 4, 5, and 6 remakes, which is great news for me since I haven't played any of them but am a big fan of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker and DQ8.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167915

[sterlingice]

If I'm not mistaken, that will be the first time those of us stateside can get our hands on DQ 5 and 6. I played thru 1-3 when they came out for the Gameboy and they were good enough remakes. Better balance of the game, same basic story and plot, and a good translation (by the Pokemon translator).

SI

[Bee]

Originally Posted by KWhit

How interesting that you poo-poo this as being due to the 360's head start and extra year.

This is the attach rate for the first 18 months of the console's lives - the head start had NOTHING to do with this. No way to spin this one - the 360's attach rate killed the PS3's over the same time period relative to the console's release date.

I would think that the 360 being the first to be released would get the advantage of less competition. With the PS3 and Wii, you have people who own mulitple consoles and when new games come out their purchases are spread out over the various consoles. With the 360, they had a period of time where they didn't have the same competition for the gaming dollars and so there would have been a higher attachment rate because of lack of competition.

I need to sit down now because my head hurts from spinning.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Bee

I would think that the 360 being the first to be released would get the advantage of less competition. With the PS3 and Wii, you have people who own mulitple consoles and when new games come out their purchases are spread out over the various consoles. With the 360, they had a period of time where they didn't have the same competition for the gaming dollars and so there would have been a higher attachment rate because of lack of competition.

I need to sit down now because my head hurts from spinning.

Not even that so much. The 360 has a lot of good games that are much cheaper than the PS3/Wii games. As I mentioned, Dekanth's post where he said that he picked up one full priced title along with 3 budget titles is a great example of the advantage that the 360 holds over the other two consoles right now. Attach rate is not a price-conscious measure of sales. $10-20 games count just the same as $60 games. It's a simple fact that new console adopters are going to love the fact that they can get 2-3 games of good quality (Gears of War, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Halo 3 to name a few) for the same price as one full-priced title. That advantage will be somewhat negated as the PS3/Wii libraries grow, but there's no question that the head-start by the 360 gives it an advantage in that regard. The head-start definitely affects attach rate. People love cheap games. That's not spin, that's a fact.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Analyst discusses projected sales numbers for consoles in this generation..........

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9948454-52.html

No spring 2008 dashboard update for XBL. Microsoft to de-list XBL games that have lower than a 65% Metacritic score and have less than a 6% conversion rate. Quite a bit of angst over this by gamers as the point of XBL Marketplace was that unlimited shelf space was available. Gamers who have purchased these games and lose them during repairs will not be able to re-download them as they will not be available on XBL anymore.

MS also hopes to finally resolve the DRM issues where players must be connected to the internet to play certain games.

http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option...10620&Itemid=2

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Not even that so much. The 360 has a lot of good games that are much cheaper than the PS3/Wii games. As I mentioned, Dekanth's post where he said that he picked up one full priced title along with 3 budget titles is a great example of the advantage that the 360 holds over the other two consoles right now.

And once again you miss the point that the article compared the first 18 months of the 360 vs the first 18 months of the Wii vs the first 18 months of the PS3, not the last 18 calendar months...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

And once again you miss the point that the article compared the first 18 months of the 360 vs the first 18 months of the Wii vs the first 18 months of the PS3, not the last 18 calendar months...

And once again........you're right.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Great deal for those looking for a PS3. From June 1st through June 7th, Wal-Mart is offering a $100 gift card with any PS3 purchase. So you can pick up a 2nd controller and a full priced game with the gift card for the same price as you would normally pay for just a system with one controller.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Great deal for those looking for a PS3. From June 1st through June 7th, Wal-Mart is offering a $100 gift card with any PS3 purchase. So you can pick up a 2nd controller and a full priced game with the gift card for the same price as you would normally pay for just a system with one controller.

And is that whole window BEFORE the 80GB is back on the market?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Cringer

And is that whole window BEFORE the 80GB is back on the market?

Yep. My guess is that they're trying to clear some 40 GB before the other one comes out. 40 GB isn't going to sell particularly well for a few months after that.

[Cringer]

Oh, well that sucks. Nevermind that offer then.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Great deal for those looking for a PS3. From June 1st through June 7th, Wal-Mart is offering a $100 gift card with any PS3 purchase. So you can pick up a 2nd controller and a full priced game with the gift card for the same price as you would normally pay for just a system with one controller.

Link? Is this for the U.S. only?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Link? Is this for the U.S. only?

Yes, it's in the circular ad which comes out in the Sunday papers nationwide. Perhaps Canada may have one too, but the scanned ad being circulated is for U.S. Wal-Marts.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Looks like the Bioshock to PS3 rumors were correct. A magazine in Europe has published the first screenshots of Bioshock for the PS3. It's expected to be released this fall.

http://www.gamereactor.se/nyheter/13...8%2C+omslaget/

Rumors also persist that Bioshock 2 will be a simultaneous release on the PS3/360 sometime next year.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Atocep

(Penny Arcade cartoon)

Nice one

If the simultaneous release for the sequel actually occurs I'll be rather surprised that Microsoft didn't bust out the moneyhats to secure exclusivity/timed-exclusivity.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Nice one

If the simultaneous release for the sequel actually occurs I'll be rather surprised that Microsoft didn't bust out the moneyhats to secure exclusivity/timed-exclusivity.

Agreed. Microsoft has to be losing their head to allow the sequels to Mass Effect and Bioshock to both get away in the space of roughly 45 days. I'm guessing that some of this has to do with the multiplatform success of GTA IV. Developers are seeing dollar signs and most exclusives will likely only come from first-party owned developers at this point. That's not a good sign for Microsoft, as Nintendo and Sony both have much stronger in-house development.

I assume that Penny Arcade is referring to the blind fanboy loyalty on the more childish message boards. I haven't seen a criticism of Bioshock on this board at all.

[Eaglesfan27]

Heh, if 3rd party developers start going for the dollar signs (when haven't they?), it is also bad news for Sony as Square recently stated in an interview that they need to broaden their sales overseas (presumably referring to the USA) and their market in general. Maybe FFXIII will only be a timed exclusive after all.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Agreed. Microsoft has to be losing their head to allow the sequels to Mass Effect and Bioshock to both get away in the space of roughly 45 days. I'm guessing that some of this has to do with the multiplatform success of GTA IV. Developers are seeing dollar signs and most exclusives will likely only come from first-party owned developers at this point. That's not a good sign for Microsoft, as Nintendo and Sony both have much stronger in-house development.

I assume that Penny Arcade is referring to the blind fanboy loyalty on the more childish message boards. I haven't seen a criticism of Bioshock on this board at all.

Yeah I was laughing due to Sony-fans on other boards, not this one.

And actually Bioshock hasn't received anywhere near the kind of backlash that other critically acclaimed and commercially successful games like Halo 3 and Super Smash Bros. Brawl have in my experience. Even most people who feel that the game was somewhat overrated (myself included) tend to think it was at least pretty good.

[Philliesfan980]

Is it hard to find a 80 Gig these days?

[Big Fo]

I believe so, unless you want to buy used/refurbished.

A new 80 GB PS3 bundle (comes with the updated rumble controller and Metal Gear Solid 4) comes out on June 12.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Heh, if 3rd party developers start going for the dollar signs (when haven't they?), it is also bad news for Sony as Square recently stated in an interview that they need to broaden their sales overseas (presumably referring to the USA) and their market in general. Maybe FFXIII will only be a timed exclusive after all.

I think you missed my point. There's no question that each console would lose a few franchises here and there, but Sony and Nintendo both have the in-house development that would allow for numerous first party exclusives. Microsoft can't compete with the other two in regards to primary development in-house. It would create significant competitive advantages for Sony and Nintendo.

Also, I'd mention that HOW the developers are going for the money has changed. In the past 8-10 years, the third party developers often went for the money in the form of exclusive payouts from one console. The money was guaranteed, so they jumped all over that. They're now realizing that although up-front payouts are guaranteed, they could be sacrificing significant sales overall in any exclusive form.

I know that you're enjoying stoking the rumor fire by mentioning that FFXIII will be a timed exclusive, but that's simply not even close to true. FFXIII and FFXIII Versus will both be full PS3 exclusives and there's been no information whatsoever to indicate otherwise.

[Eaglesfan27]

You seriously overestimate Sony's 1st party success. Nintendo has by far the best first party development. What is Sony's biggest in-house hit? The Show? SOCOM? Microsoft's 1st party support isn't behind Sony's in star power with Halo and Gears of War 2. Also, isn't Fable2's developing studio owned by MS?

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Here is another article that details Square's previous statements about wanting to expand their market and also discusses their income being down. The article also states that Square has dated Infinite Undiscovery, an exclusive (timed?) 360 RPG, for September 2. Square also says this is the first in a line of games they will be releasing for the 360, yet they only have 1 other game announced for the 360 at this point.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6191525...stnews;title;3

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

You seriously overestimate Sony's 1st party success. Nintendo has by far the best first party development. What is Sony's biggest in-house hit? The Show? SOCOM? Microsoft's 1st party support isn't behind Sony's in star power with Halo and Gears of War 2. Also, isn't Fable2's developing studio owned by MS?

Gran Turismo and God of War are Sony's biggest first party games. The fact that GT hasn't gotten a proper release on the PS3, and God of War 3 is a year off, don't help.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Gran Turismo and God of War are Sony's biggest first party games. The fact that GT hasn't gotten a proper release on the PS3, and God of War 3 is a year off, don't help.

I forgot about those 2, I guess because they haven't been released yet. Thanks.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I believe so, unless you want to buy used/refurbished.

A new 80 GB PS3 bundle (comes with the updated rumble controller and Metal Gear Solid 4) comes out on June 12.

Thanks for the info. Do you know how much this bundle will be?

Anyone ever get a refurbished 80 gig model? As with anything used, I understand YMMV, but was hoping to hear a first hand experience. Because of MLB the Show, the blu-ray player, and the fact that the latest firmware will allow me to play divx/xvid files (as well as most other major codec files) I think I'm ready to jump. A refurbished model at gamestop is currently going for $449.

[Big Fo]

Sony first-party franchises that have been released on the PS3 and/or have an announced release (perhaps not an exhaustive list):

Gran Turismo
God of War
Ratchet and Clank
Resistance
Killzone
LittleBigPlanet
SOCOM
MLB The Show
whatever their average NBA series is called
Hot Shots Golf
WipeOut
SingStar
BUZZ!
Warhawk
Uncharted
whatever Team ICO is working on
Twisted Metal (rumored iirc)

Microsoft first-party franchises that have been released on the PS3 and/or have an announced release (perhaps not an exhaustive list):

Halo (Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo Chronicles, eventual Halo 4, etc.)
Gears of War
Ninja Gaiden
Fable 2
Viva Pinata
Banjo-Kazooie
Scene-It?
Perfect Dark
Project Gotham Racing (developer has since left Microsoft but MS still holds the name)
Mistwalker RPGs (Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey)
Mass Effect (sequel going multiplatform?)
Alan Wake
Too Human
Forza Motorsports
Kameo

I'd certainly take Sony's first-party stuff over Microsoft's but it might not be that much better for most people. Then again I don't enjoy dual-analog shooters so Resistance, SOCOM, Killzone, Perfect Dark, Gears, Halo, etc. mean nothing to me.

And just for the hell of it, Nintendo's first-party stuff (probably not an exhaustive list):

Wii _______ (Sports, Play, Music, Motorsports?)
EXCITE ______ (Bike, Truck)
Super Mario series
Paper Mario series
Mario Sports (soccer already out, baseball is coming, basketball was on the DS, tennis and golf games appeared on the Gamecube and portables, they have to be coming sometime)
Mario Party
Mario Kart
Dr. Mario (lol enough Mario games yet?)
Legend of Zelda
WarioWare
Brain Age, Big Brain Academy, etc.
Pokemon (mostly a handheld thing but the Wii did get that crappy Pokemon Battle Revolution game)
Metriod
Donkey Kong
Advance Wars/Battalion Wars
Endless Ocean
Fire Emblem
Super Smash Bros.
Wii Chess (out in Europe, sounds like a terrible product, play for free on the net or get Chessmaster on your PC/DS)

These four are unannounced in the West but were on Nintendo's official earnings report for this year in Japan:

Fatal Frame IV to be published by Nintendo
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Kirby
Animal Crossing

Not yet announced but you figure at least some of these are coming because Nintendo hasn't officially announced anything other than Mario Super Sluggers for the latter half of the year:

Pikmin
StarFox
F-Zero
1080 Snowboarding
Punch-Out!
WaveRace
Kid Icarus (lots of rumors this one is in development)

Then there's various stuff from the portables that I don't see getting a Wii release unless it's WiiWare like Picross and Tetris.

So it's all rather subjective but for me:

Nintendo first-party >>>>>> Sony first-party >> Microsoft first-party

Hopefully all three companies announce some cool stuff at E3 since none of the consoles have that many potentially great games coming out in the latter-half of the year.

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Thanks for the info. Do you know how much this bundle will be?

$500. Personally I'd suggest waiting for the bundle to come out instead of saving $50 buying a refurbished unit unless you have zero interest in Metal Gear Solid 4.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Sony first-party franchises that have been released on the PS3 and/or have an announced release (perhaps not an exhaustive list):

Gran Turismo
God of War
Ratchet and Clank
Resistance
Killzone
LittleBigPlanet
SOCOM
MLB The Show
whatever their average NBA series is called
Hot Shots Golf
WipeOut
SingStar
BUZZ!
Warhawk
Uncharted
whatever Team ICO is working on
Twisted Metal (rumored iirc)

Microsoft first-party franchises that have been released on the PS3 and/or have an announced release (perhaps not an exhaustive list):

Halo (Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo Chronicles, eventual Halo 4, etc.)
Gears of War
Ninja Gaiden
Fable 2
Viva Pinata
Banjo-Kazooie
Scene-It?
Perfect Dark
Project Gotham Racing (developer has since left Microsoft but MS still holds the name)
Mistwalker RPGs (Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey)
Mass Effect (sequel going multiplatform?)
Alan Wake
Too Human
Forza Motorsports
Kameo

I'd certainly take Sony's first-party stuff over Microsoft's but it might not be that much better for most people. Then again I don't enjoy dual-analog shooters so Resistance, SOCOM, Killzone, Perfect Dark, Gears, Halo, etc. mean nothing to me.

Obviously, Ninja Gaiden and Mass Effect do not belong in that list. Also, given that the Ninja Gaiden Xbox and PS3 version of the game sold a combined 400K units, it's not exactly a big seller. Out of the games that were listed under Microsoft, you've basically got two shooters (Halo, GOW) and two racers (PGR and Forza) and the rest of the franchises have pretty low sales figures. It's certainly not anywhere as diverse of a portfolio as Sony has in-house.

Here's the series numbers over 2.5M for the 360 franchises:

Halo - 22M
PGR - 6M
Gears of War - 5.7M
Forza - 5M
Fable - 2.5M

Here are the series numbers over 2.5M for the PS3 franchises:

GT - 50M
Twisted Metal - 8.5M
SOCOM - 8.5M
Ratchet and Clank - 8M
Singstar - 8M
Hot Shots Golf - 6M
Motorstorm - 3.5M
Resistance - 3M
Buzz! - 3M

[MJ4H]

I tried the demo of the new Ninja Gaiden game on DS yesterday and it was awesome.

[Big Fo]

Just saw this while browsing neoGAF, the reactions are hilarious. Everyone in the audience for Ellen's talk show got a Wii and Wii Fit.

Originally Posted by MattJones4Heisman

I tried the demo of the new Ninja Gaiden game on DS yesterday and it was awesome.

I've been meaning to try that game, heard mostly good things about it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting numbers that may eventually have an effect on the console market. Blu-ray player stand-alone sales will surpass DVD player sales in August 2008 according to retailers. Some retailers are already reporting that Blu-ray player demand now exceeds DVD player demand. Also, revenue from Blu-ray players now has surpassed DVD player revenue, which is usually a key indicator for companies to shift to the more profitable option.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/blu052608.htm