December Console Sales Numbers

[Big Fo]

A few bits of sales news-

Wii Tie Ratio at 8:1 in December

While Nintendo's console certainly flourished in December, perhaps signaling the beginning of solid tie ratios to come, it should be noted that Wii's life-to-date software to hardware tie ratio is at 4.64, compared to 4.26 on PlayStation 3 (despite a much smaller installed base) and 7.0 on Xbox 360, according to NPD data.

Keep in mind that the 360 has been out a year longer and it's tie ratio as of December 2006 was 5.1

Here's some NPD total software figures I saw on neoGAF:

Total software sales for December:
Wii - 10,948,500
360 - 9,777,600
PS3 - 4,019,904

Total software sales life to date:
360 - 63,873,600
Wii - 34,194,016
PS3 - 13,844,148

Total 360 software sales as of 31 December 2006 - 22,950,000
(Hardware: 4.5 million, Tie Ratio: 5.1)

Also from the NPD report, out of the top 100 games last month 20 were on the Wii (15 third party games even) and 18 for the 360. The other systems weren't posted.

Interesting stuff IMO.

Article on Sony possibly discontinuing the 80 GB PS3

Well, this is interesting. We just heard from The NPD Group who told us, "In the last quarter (when both were on the market), the 80GB sold more units than the 40GB." When pressed for a more exact breakdown of the sales data between the two SKUs, NPD said they could not provide that. It's certainly a surprise to us, however, that the more expensive 80GB would have sold more than 40GB, which many have attributed the PS3 sales spike to.

People really seem to prefer the more fully-featured versions of both the 360 and the PS3. The pack-in games for the Pro and the 80 GB can't hurt either.

For the poster who said his store had a ton of 60 GB PS3's, are they still $500?

[IMetTrentGreen]

Check out these Resistance 2 screens. The first one was OK, I'm not a huge FPS person, but damn.

hxxp://kotaku.com/photogallery/resistance2/1000577003

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by IMetTrentGreen

Check out these Resistance 2 screens. The first one was OK, I'm not a huge FPS person, but damn.

hxxp://kotaku.com/photogallery/resistance2/1000577003

Good looking screen shots are a dime a dozen. If it looks that good while at 60 FPS, then we'll talk.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New info concerning some new game releases. Valve has confirmed that Left 4 Dead is now a multiplatform game for the 360 and PS3.

http://n4g.com/News-104665.aspx

Surfer Girl mentioned in her latest blog entry that both Lost Planet 2 and Dead Rising 2 are also now both multiplatform for the 360 and PS3.

Sony is expected sometime this week to comment on 80GB PS3 discontinuation and discuss any future consoles or pricing changes.

Also, rumors are swirling that Nintendo is having trouble creating enough discs for Super Smash Bros. Brawl to even meet pre-order numbers. The problems with the disc production apparantly is the main culprit behind the delay of the game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

More info on possible next more for Sony regarding the PS3:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/28/s...odel-with-dua/

[CraigSca]

I'm not sure why anyone would care (at this point) about a 120 or 160MB PS3. They're always upgradeable if space becomes a problem, but are people clamoring for more hard disk space right now/this year? I don't get it...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I'm not sure why anyone would care (at this point) about a 120 or 160MB PS3. They're always upgradeable if space becomes a problem, but are people clamoring for more hard disk space right now/this year? I don't get it...

Two points:

1. The move to more HDD space at the same price as a 80 GB machine is a move to show that there's more value for the same price point. I agree with you that people would rather see the same machine with a price cut, but unfortunately, you or I aren't in charge.

2. The move to a larger HDD is also a move to prepare for the upcoming movie/TV show download system that will be available later this year for the PS3. A HDD of that size is needed for that kind of service. An agreement with TiVo to use the PS3 as a DVR is also rumored as a possibility.

[wade moore]

Tivo and the PS3 teaming up is probably the only thing that would get me to buy a PS3 at this point (not because I have a distaste for the PS3, but because I have a 360 already and see no reason with my habits to have them both).

[Daimyo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

An agreement with TiVo to use the PS3 as a DVR is also rumored as a possibility.

Actually I believe Sony already has an agreement with Tivo from several years back to use the Tivo software on Sony devices. The re-discovery of that was what kicked off the Tivo on PS3 rumors.

[BrianD]

How much do you think the constantly changing configurations are scaring customers away? The impression I get is that if I wait a couple of months, I'll get a bigger machine (with possible improvements) for the same money. When you are fighting for market position, I wouldn't want to do things that encourage customers to wait. If I just bought a PS3, I would much prefer to see it get cheaper in the future rather than see it go away completely.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by BrianD

How much do you think the constantly changing configurations are scaring customers away? The impression I get is that if I wait a couple of months, I'll get a bigger machine (with possible improvements) for the same money. When you are fighting for market position, I wouldn't want to do things that encourage customers to wait. If I just bought a PS3, I would much prefer to see it get cheaper in the future rather than see it go away completely.

I think you're correct at some level. Some people will just keep waiting for the next low price point or better model as long as MS and Sony continue on with this SKU war every 6 months. It's a bit overblown at some level because both the 360 and PS3 are upgradable, though the 360 HDD will cost more than its PS3 counterpart simply due to the MS propriatary format. I think that price drop rumors have also been used by companies to hurt the other console's short-term sales (i.e. continue to float price drop rumors so people hold off on their purchase as you said).

I forgot to note it in the post, but the new PS3 SKU's from this point forward will all have bundled Dual Shock 3 controllers, which is also a small improvement over the old SKU.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

Actually I believe Sony already has an agreement with Tivo from several years back to use the Tivo software on Sony devices. The re-discovery of that was what kicked off the Tivo on PS3 rumors.

That's correct, though the talk has increased now that the PS3 finally will have a HDD big enough to support HDTV recordings. It really wasn't much of an option with the previous models.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by BrianD

How much do you think the constantly changing configurations are scaring customers away? The impression I get is that if I wait a couple of months, I'll get a bigger machine (with possible improvements) for the same money. When you are fighting for market position, I wouldn't want to do things that encourage customers to wait. If I just bought a PS3, I would much prefer to see it get cheaper in the future rather than see it go away completely.

I agree - the SKU du jour gets confusing very quickly.

[Fidatelo]

MS and Sony have both really annoyed me with the multiple SKU's thing this generation. I really hope that low sales of the "base" units, and maybe some research indicating consumer backlash of some sort, puts an end to this next time. Probably wishful thinking though.

[Kodos]

One of the nice things about consoles in the past was that there was very little difference between a launch console and one from 3 years after launch. Now, with the different SKUs, they are making consoles a pain in the ass like computers that constantly need a better graphics card.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

One of the nice things about consoles in the past was that there was very little difference between a launch console and one from 3 years after launch. Now, with the different SKUs, they are making consoles a pain in the ass like computers that constantly need a better graphics card.

Thankfully, the only major modification is HDD size. RAM, computer chips and graphics chips remain the same through all of the models as far as what they do. Part of the reason that I like console gaming is that I don't have to modify anything. Just stick in the game and play. I'm cautiously optimistic that the current and future consoles will steer clear of the PC issues simply because it's cheaper to build a standardized system.

[Kodos]

But losing backwards compatibility is a major change (downgrade). I was able to get a used 60 GB PS3, but it was annoying that I couldn't buy just any version to get everything that I wanted.

[twothree]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

...the new PS3 SKU's from this point forward will all have bundled Dual Shock 3 controllers

Now if they would just put back in hardware emulation of the PS2, I might consider buying a PS3. After a price drop or two, of course.

[stevew]

What makes the 80 gig w/ software emulation BC different than the 40 gig w/o BC. I assume they removed another chip of some sort?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by stevew

What makes the 80 gig w/ software emulation BC different than the 40 gig w/o BC. I assume they removed another chip of some sort?

40 GB also removed the built-in memory card slots and has the 65nm processor.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by stevew

What makes the 80 gig w/ software emulation BC different than the 40 gig w/o BC. I assume they removed another chip of some sort?

Two chipsets are internal to the 20 GB and the 60 GB - the Graphics Synthesizer and the Emotion Engine.

One of those is internal to the 80 GB - the Graphics Synthesizer. Thus, software emulation is still possible.

The 40 GB lacks either of those chipsets. Hence, no PS2 BC is possible.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

That's correct, though the talk has increased now that the PS3 finally will have a HDD big enough to support HDTV recordings. It really wasn't much of an option with the previous models.

120 or 160 GB isn't really enough for much HDTV recording unless they want to compress the crap out of it. I have a 250 GB HD-DVR and it only gets about 30 hours of HDTV recordings if the quality is set to a good compression rate (i.e. bad picture quality.)

Edit: I think this is another Sony mistake as they should be focused on lowering the price of all of their models, not increasing the storage capacity while keeping the cost the same.

[Kodos]

Yeah, this isn't going to start making PS3s fly off the shelf.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Edit: I think this is another Sony mistake as they should be focused on lowering the price of all of their models, not increasing the storage capacity while keeping the cost the same.

I agree. I'd prefer that they'd keep the price lower and just allow those that want to upgrade their HDD to do it on their own. It's actually cheaper to upgrade the HDD on your own for the most part. Let the user add their own value to a base unit if they really want it that badly.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

120 or 160 GB isn't really enough for much HDTV recording unless they want to compress the crap out of it. I have a 250 GB HD-DVR and it only gets about 30 hours of HDTV recordings if the quality is set to a good compression rate (i.e. bad picture quality.)

If only the cable box folks would figure this out. The Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVRs that Time Warner and others are using have a 160 GB drive, and the new 8550 they are getting ready to ship as an upgrade ALSO has a 160 GB drive. At least TIVO and DirecTV seem to understand this...

[Eaglesfan27]

Bad edit on my part as I was distracted. I meant to say I get about 30 hours of high quality recording with the 250 GB HD-DVR. If I turn the recording quality to low, I can get more hours.

[stevew]

I have the vip722 from Dish, and it holds a shitload of HD content(55 hours). Something like a 500gig HDD. 1xx gig hard drives really aren't going to cut it.

[Daimyo]

I'm surprised the cableco HDDVRs let you adjust quality... The Tivo's just record the mpeg2 stream without any transcoding (similar to what the DirectTV Tivos used to do) so you get exactly the same quality it was broadcast in.... transcoding HD content is extremely processor intensive. Are you sure that setting isn't only used for SD content?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

I'm surprised the cableco HDDVRs let you adjust quality... The Tivo's just record the mpeg2 stream without any transcoding (similar to what the DirectTV Tivos used to do) so you get exactly the same quality it was broadcast in.... transcoding HD content is extremely processor intensive. Are you sure that setting isn't only used for SD content?

I'm talking about a modded DirecTV HR20. It's possible it's only used for the SD content, but I don't think so.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by stevew

I have the vip722 from Dish, and it holds a shitload of HD content(55 hours). Something like a 500gig HDD. 1xx gig hard drives really aren't going to cut it.

I think a lot of people would upgrade their PS3 HDD if the TiVo deal ever came to pass. You can get some pretty large HDD's at a good price. Downloadable movies/TV shows this summer may also necessitate an upgrade.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Square lead developer confirms that FFXIII will be released before the end of calendar year 2008. A demo of the fighting system is also expected before the game release............

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/27/ff...-release-date/

EB Australia is refusing to sell 360's due to high defect rate. EB Australia currently has over $10 million worth of Xbox 360 consoles that Microsoft refuses to take back. Microsoft is refusing to comment. EB Australia is the leading video game retailer in the $1 billion/year Austrailian market............

http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=1...ective+360%27s

[CraigSca]

I don't get how a PS3 would work like a DVR - wouldn't it require some kind of input from your dish or cable?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

EB Australia is refusing to sell 360's due to high defect rate. EB Australia currently has over $10 million worth of Xbox 360 consoles that Microsoft refuses to take back. Microsoft is refusing to comment. EB Australia is the leading video game retailer in the $1 billion/year Austrailian market............

http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=1...ective+360%27s

Just to nitpick, I think you're misrepresenting a bit here..

EB Australia is not refusing to sell 360's due to the high defect rate based on the article. They are considering refusing to sell 360's because Microsoft will not take back the defective 360's that EB Australia has on hand. The best I can tell is these are defective 360's from before the 3-year warranty was added that customers brought back and EB Australia replaced with their own warranty.

They're also mad that they can't milk customers for $85 per customer for an extended warranty since MS is now offering a 3 year manufacter warranty - OH NOES POOR EB AUSTRALIA!

[Daimyo]

If EB Australia sold their own extended warranties on those defective 360s why should Microsoft take them back?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Just to nitpick, I think you're misrepresenting a bit here..

EB Australia is not refusing to sell 360's due to the high defect rate based on the article. They are considering refusing to sell 360's because Microsoft will not take back the defective 360's that EB Australia has on hand. The best I can tell is these are defective 360's from before the 3-year warranty was added that customers brought back and EB Australia replaced with their own warranty.

They're also mad that they can't milk customers for $85 per customer for an extended warranty since MS is now offering a 3 year manufacter warranty - OH NOES POOR EB AUSTRALIA!

Both companies were being short-sighted in this case. Microsoft knowingly released a console that had some major flaws in the interest of getting out early and gaining market share (which they've done thus far). EB (and other retailers) have used these extended warranties to milk tons of profits out of customers fully knowing that the products would hold up for the most part. The 360's failure rate single-handedly wrecked that profit stream.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Both companies were being short-sighted in this case. Microsoft knowingly released a console that had some major flaws in the interest of getting out early and gaining market share (which they've done thus far). EB (and other retailers) have used these extended warranties to milk tons of profits out of customers fully knowing that the products would hold up for the most part. The 360's failure rate single-handedly wrecked that profit stream.

Agreed - like I said, I was being nitpicky. If MS took the bad units back my impression is this wouldn't be an issue. So it's really not the failure rate itself, but that EB Australia is eating a lot of the negative of that failure rate.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Agreed - like I said, I was being nitpicky. If MS took the bad units back my impression is this wouldn't be an issue. So it's really not the failure rate itself, but that EB Australia is eating a lot of the negative of that failure rate.

The bad part is that, since MS likely won't take the blame, the consumers are eventually going to be the ones that pay for the mistakes of these two companies. Extended warranties for video game consoles will likely be increased across the board when the next generation of consoles is release. The retail outlets will want to cover themselves from similar losses. It's a win-win for the retailers. If there is an increase in returns next generation on any consoles, they'll be better prepared to cover it. If all of the consoles perform well, the retail outlets pocket a bigger profit on the warranties. It's somewhat disgusting to be honest.

[Big Fo]

Here's some confirmation of some long-suspected Wii games coming from Nintendo.

Animal Crossing, Kirby On Wii This Year

Other games listed for a Japanese release in 2008 are Mario Kart Wii (in the spring), Wii Music, Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball, and Disaster: Day of Crisis: In other words, the same games that we've been hearing about forever. They're sure to have many new games this year as well, but those announcements won't appear for a while.

I've never played the Animal Crossing series but hopefully Disaster: DoC and the Kirby game turn out well.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Nintendo responds to third-party developer concerns. They acknowledge that there is a problem, but they believe it's only temporary. The response is likely related to rumors that Nintendo is receiving a lot of heat from third-party developers over the lackluster sales of highly-rated third party games.........

http://www.developmag.com/news/29142...rties-concerns

'We believe the situation will change,' says Japanese giant

Nintendo has responded to worries that only first party titles are selling on the Wii, saying that it believes the situation is only temporary.

According to the company's third-quarter report meeting transcription, translated by Develop, the problem is simply one of the Wii still being a young system - and that, as such, Nintendo's internal teams currently have an significant advantage.

"When we develop new hardware at Nintendo, we do so as a collaboration between the hardware development teams and the software development teams. Our software sales percentage is currently high because our internal teams teams know the Wii's special characteristics best, and they started development quite a bit before the Wii's release.

However, we believe that eventually that will change," said the firm.

"If you look at the data for our third quarter you'll see that, out of the 14 Wii titles that shipped over a million units, 11 of those were our titles. However, if you look at the 50 titles that shipped over a million units on DS, only 28 of those are ours.

"We identified the same thing in the DS' first period, and the situation continues to change little by little. For the Wii too, we believe that as time passes, the proportion of high-selling titles that come from our licensees will increase."

EA can now be considered an equal opportunity screw-up. First, it was the frame rate issues on the PS3 sports titles last year (reportedly remedied this year). Now, 360 Arcade and Core owners that purchase the new Burnout game will not be able to play any of the online modes, which are a substantial portion of the game.

http://www.videogamer.com/news/30-01-2008-7383.html

[wade moore]

Oh man, Burnout MP would be awesome. The only time I've played Burnout was when a bunch of buddies got together and played Burnout 2 for like 4 hours seeing who could get the highest scoring crashes.

that wase awesome.

[stevew]

I'm tentatively holding out hope for Animal Crossing, and Wii Fit. Or Wii Sports 2, or Mario Bowling, or hell.....just a fun game. Otherwise it's this close to heading to Ebay. Galaxy looks good, but after work, I just want to kick back and play games, not have to make all manner of controller motions, etc.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by stevew

Galaxy looks good, but after work, I just want to kick back and play games, not have to make all manner of controller motions, etc.

Wow. I'm not sure what to say when shaking your hand or pointing a remote every now and then is considered too much effort.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Nintendo responds to third-party developer concerns. They acknowledge that there is a problem, but they believe it's only temporary. The response is likely related to rumors that Nintendo is receiving a lot of heat from third-party developers over the lackluster sales of highly-rated third party games.........

http://www.developmag.com/news/29142...rties-concerns

This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

Wow. I'm not sure what to say when shaking your hand or pointing a remote every now and then is considered too much effort.

I was kind of thinking that, too. Along those lines, I actually find kicking back and playing with the Wii controllers more relaxing since you don't have to have both of your hands together in the middle on one controller. I can kick back into a lot more comfortable positions with the two separate hands. Just my opinion.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by General Mike

This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

I'd agree with that. Nintendo is their own worst enemy. Their first-party games are so successful that their fans tend to save their money for the 8-10 first-party games each year and it often leaves the third-party games out in the cold. I'm not sure there's much that Nintendo can do as a company to aleviate the problem.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony and Activision heads comment on their perception that in-game advertising may not be all that effective and may even hurt game sales. They believe that gamers are turned off by games with in-game advertising.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7c50fce-c...077b07658.html

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

EA can now be considered an equal opportunity screw-up. First, it was the frame rate issues on the PS3 sports titles last year (reportedly remedied this year). Now, 360 Arcade and Core owners that purchase the new Burnout game will not be able to play any of the online modes, which are a substantial portion of the game.

http://www.videogamer.com/news/30-01-2008-7383.html

Well, that was a decision those people made when they bought 360's without a hard drive. They can always buy a hard drive to get full functionality.

What percentage of 360 owners don't have hard drives anyway? I suspect it's low enough that most developers will be willing to release games that require hard drive support.

I don't consider this a screw-up by EA...

[BrianD]

Actually, it is more of a Microsoft screw up. It is no surprise that the HD adoption rate would be high enough to make game developers assume its existence, so Microsoft shouldn't have bothered with the HD-less version of the system.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

120 or 160 GB isn't really enough for much HDTV recording unless they want to compress the crap out of it. I have a 250 GB HD-DVR and it only gets about 30 hours of HDTV recordings if the quality is set to a good compression rate (i.e. bad picture quality.)

My 360 Elite only has 120Gb but has been fine for HD movies/shows so far, yeah I delete things after I watch them but you're fine to download them again if they're purchased so thats not a real problem imho.

To me Sony should focus on lowering the price, they've all but won the format war leaving BluRay dominant - put the price low enough and people will buy the system to use as a bluray player (same as they did PS-2 and DVD). Incidentally from what I've heard its actually one of the best BluRay players available ...

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by General Mike

This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

I agree it's been a problem, but surely there is a fair bit Nintendo can do. Every big Nintendo release there is a ton of advertising, and I know all about Nintendo's big releases on the Wii without even researching. If Nintendo helped out advertising some of these games they same way they do their own, surely it would help things?

I guess it comes down to how much money Nintendo is willing to use to support their 3rd party projects.