December Console Sales Numbers

[MikeVic]

Isn't Guitar Hero 3 doing the best on the Wii compared to other consoles? The answer probably lies in marketing and a game that appeals to many people I guess.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by 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.

I'm not sure they really consider it much of a problem. Yeah, it fractured the install base initially, forcing early platform developers to eliminate hard drive requirements from their games, but on the upside it allowed MS to promote a game system that had an entry level price under the magical $300 barrier.

And now, with the market heavily favoring 360 owners with a hard drive, developers can go ahead and release games with hard drives as a requirement without crippling their potential customer base and MS reaps the windfall of incentives for customers to buy a 360 hard drive accessory at an inflated price compared to if they'd just bought the full-featured 360 in the first place.

I'm sure there's some negative feedback from customers that bought the core and arcade 360's, but that was their choice. And the beauty is, they can always buy the add-on hard drive - they're not stuck with a crippled system.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by 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/

Apparently, Square isn't sure what they are doing They went to great lengths to deny the "rumors" that the game will be out before the end of the year or that a demo will be out before the game.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_bl...stnews;title;2

[Eaglesfan27]

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

Apparently, this is very inaccurate as well. EB and Microsoft still have a strong partnership:
http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=1...ft+not+feuding

On Tuesday we reported a rumour that EB Australia and Microsoft were rather unhappy with each other. However, it turns out this rumour was not accurate.

The two gaming giants were supposedly at wits end with regards to $10 million worth of defective 360 consoles in EB's possession, which Microsoft would simply not take back. In addition, the extension of the 360 warranty to three years left EB unable to sell their extended warranties. Heartbreaking. Apparently, the lack of 360's on the shelves was a good sign of such difficulties between the companies, making it appear as if EB were close to simply dropping the 360 range.

As it turns out, this is simply false. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, chief executive at EB Games, Steven Wilson, has put the claims to bed. "It's 99 per cent bull**** really," said Wilson.

Last year the company did have many units replaced by Microsoft, but, Wilson claims that was an isolated incident caused by a 'hard drive batch problem'. "Even when we had the batch problem six months ago, we were talking about a couple of thousand units," Wilson said. "$10 million is 25,000 units - that's a ridiculous number."

While it is true Premium 360 units were hard to come by, Wilson says it is simply a result of the busy Christmas period. "If you go into our stores now you can't buy a Wii, you can't buy a DS, you can't buy a Pro 360, but you can buy an Elite or an Arcade 360," noted Wilson.

[dawgfan]

Bah, this thread is no place for facts EF27!

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Isn't Guitar Hero 3 doing the best on the Wii compared to other consoles? The answer probably lies in marketing and a game that appeals to many people I guess.

Well it sold the most on the PS2, there's still a ton of those out there. The Wii version is confirmed over a million sold just in the US iirc.

[wade moore]

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.

Hrm... two of the biggest games for N64 were Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.

Doesn't necessarily kill your point, but there were several successful 3rd party games for the N64.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

"If you go into our stores now you can't buy a Wii, you can't buy a DS, you can't buy a Pro 360, but you can buy an Elite or an Arcade 360," noted Wilson.

This is a lie. I guarantee you that I can walk 5 minutes to the closest EB Games store to me right now, in the middle of the Sydney CBD, and buy a Wii, DS, and a Pro 360 if I wanted to.

Or at least I could two weekends ago, which was the last time I was in an EB Games store and considered buying a Wii or DS.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Hrm... two of the biggest games for N64 were Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.

Doesn't necessarily kill your point, but there were several successful 3rd party games for the N64.

Rare made Goldeneye and Perfect Dark when they were owned by Nintendo. Later on the company was sold to Microsoft. So those were first-party games.

Taken from Wikipedia, bastion of truth that's never wrong: 12 of the 37 million sellers on the N64 were by third-parties and 5 of the 23 million sellers on Gamecube were third-party. Little over a year into the Wii's lifespan there are 17 million sellers, 5 from third-parties.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Rare made Goldeneye and Perfect Dark when they were owned by Nintendo. Later on the company was sold to Microsoft. So those were first-party games.

Taken from Wikipedia, bastion of truth that's never wrong: 12 of the 37 million sellers on the N64 were by third-parties and 5 of the 23 million sellers on Gamecube were third-party. Little over a year into the Wii's lifespan there are 17 million sellers, 5 from third-parties.

I stand corrected, forgot Rare was owned by Nintendo.

[General Mike]

Thanks Big Fo.

And as far as the N64 goes, sure there were some games I liked alot, mainly the THQ/AKI wrestling games that will never be topped, but 4 games doesn't make a case for 3rd party games.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Thanks Big Fo.

And as far as the N64 goes, sure there were some games I liked alot, mainly the THQ/AKI wrestling games that will never be topped, but 4 games doesn't make a case for 3rd party games.

When I looked up the list I was surprised to see so many wrestling games for the N64, I've never really been into pro wrestling and had a Playstation and then Dreamcast instead of the N64 though so that must be it.

Actually, one of EGM's rumors awhile back was that the N64 No Mercy game was going to be updated and made available via WiiWare.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Thanks Big Fo.

And as far as the N64 goes, sure there were some games I liked alot, mainly the THQ/AKI wrestling games that will never be topped, but 4 games doesn't make a case for 3rd party games.

Those were all amazing, I haven't bought a wrestling game in years, but I'm sure they'd be nowhere as good as Virtual Pro, or many of the american versions.

[Izulde]

I saw a bunch of Wiis at a video game store in the Louvre mall in Paris, but I wasn't going to buy one with that exchange rate.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Actually, one of EGM's rumors awhile back was that the N64 No Mercy game was going to be updated and made available via WiiWare.

That would make me buy a Wii.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting feud between Capcom and Euro retailers. PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 is being sold for 10 euros/pounds more than the 360 version. Capcom is blaming retailers for the price 'gouging'.

http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option...=8888&Itemid=2

Sony's gaming division posts an unexpected profit of $113 million in the '07 3rd quarter (Oct.-Dec. 2007) despite the price cuts on the PS3.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...re/0355361.htm

Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 is up and running, according to Marc Rein. Unfortunately, continued resistance by Microsoft to allow user-created content continues to delay the game's release.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/ar...interview.html

Microsoft marketing exec: "We've been talking to Blu-ray all along."

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=91500

Another article concerning EB Australia downplaying rumored problems with Microsoft.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztec...369215112.html

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 is up and running, according to Marc Rein. Unfortunately, continued resistance by Microsoft to allow user-created content continues to delay the game's release.

I love this fight. See, I like the fact that there is a ton of security on the Xbox for multiplayer gaming, greatly reducing cheats and hacks.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I love this fight. See, I like the fact that there is a ton of security on the Xbox for multiplayer gaming, greatly reducing cheats and hacks.

Specifically, what cheats and hacks are currently being used on the PS3 version? I've seen a lot of stuff about maps being created for the PS3, but haven't seen much else.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Specifically, what cheats and hacks are currently being used on the PS3 version? I've seen a lot of stuff about maps being created for the PS3, but haven't seen much else.

I know nothing about what is happening on the PS3, but you're naive if you think that cheats won't come out.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I know nothing about what is happening on the PS3, but you're naive if you think that cheats won't come out.

Oh, it's a given due to the open nature of the system. I was just curious what the specific problems, if any, have been thus far.

I personally play Warhawk for the reason that gstelmack cites. It's a closed architecture and there's no 'level-up' feature that gives another gamer more of an advantage in the game simply because they play more often (i.e. COD4).

[gstelmack]

My comment was that Microsoft is being taken to task for not wanting to open up a pretty secure system to outside data. I'm quite happy with the security they provide, and think it's a GOOD thing that they won't take open data from a PC blindly. Other games have allowed user-created content on the Xbox following Microsoft rules (Far Cry had a level editor built-in, for example, Forza allows custom-painted cars, etc).

I just wish that when people discuss this particular topic, they also discussed the security risks inherent in the topic. I rarely see that mentioned.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Interesting feud between Capcom and Euro retailers. PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 is being sold for 10 euros/pounds more than the 360 version. Capcom is blaming retailers for the price 'gouging'.

$100 for a PS3 game, Wii games are like $80-85. Europe sucks, I'd buy half as many games at those prices.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

120GB PS3 with Dual Shock 3 controllers confirmed during Gamestop conference call.........

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=24755

[Eaglesfan27]

Sony is blaming the "subprime problem" on a likely decrease in PS3 sales in the upcoming months in the US and are lowering their PS3 sales projections for the fiscal year from 11 million to 9.5 million:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6185359...stnews;title;0


Here is an excerpt:

Electronics giant Sony's PlayStation 3 may be "out of the woods," according to CEO Sir Howard Stringer, but currency woes mean that the company has had to slash its profits forecast for the financial year ending March 31.

According to Bloomberg, operating profit will be ¥410 billion (approximately $3.85 billion), below the five-percent margin that Sony had previously targeted. It is also significantly less than the ¥444.7 billion ($4.17 billion) previously estimated by an average of 19 analyst predictions by the Bloomberg news service.

The reasoning behind the cut is the stronger yen and softening US demand for Sony products due to the fallout from the subprime mortgage market. At a press briefing held in Tokyo, Sony chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda told reporters, "The subprime problem didn't have much impact on our year-end sales, but it may start affecting sales toward the spring. We cannot rule out the possibility that consumer spending in the US may be hit."

Bloomberg also later updated its story to state that Sony has also now abandoned Stringer's pledge to raise profitability to the highest level in nine years by the end of March. Oneda also added that an exchange-rate change of a single yen to the dollar affects Sony's operating profits by six billion yen a year.

Sony also cut its predicted PlayStation 3 sales figures to 9.5 million units by the end of March 2008, down from the 11-million-unit target it repeatedly touted last year. Sony had stuck steadfastly to the goal, saying as recently as last September that it was still on track to reach it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I just wish that when people discuss this particular topic, they also discussed the security risks inherent in the topic. I rarely see that mentioned.

My point was that we haven't heard of any security problems on the PS3 as a result of the UT3 architecture. However, I would think that the Xbox 360 might be a bit more open to those kinds of security breaches simply because it's designed to work with the Windows O/S, which has a bad history of leaving openings for hackers. In that sense, it's probably smart for MS to be a bit more cautious to keep the two separate.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

$100 for a PS3 game, Wii games are like $80-85. Europe sucks, I'd buy half as many games at those prices.

I don't think I'd buy any games at those prices. Maybe something like Guitar Hero still at $150, but not a normal game for $85.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Sony is blaming the "subprime problem" on a likely decrease in PS3 sales in the upcoming months in the US and are lowering their PS3 sales projections for the fiscal year from 11 million to 9.5 million:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6185359...stnews;title;0

It should be noted that Microsoft is expected to make similar adjustments to their forecast in the U.S. market for the upcoming quarter for the same reason. This is an industry situation, not a Sony situation.

The loss due to exchange rates affect Nintendo and Sony, but should not affect Microsoft.

[stevew]

What the hell is a dual shock 3?

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

However, I would think that the Xbox 360 might be a bit more open to those kinds of security breaches simply because it's designed to work with the Windows O/S, which has a bad history of leaving openings for hackers.

I'll stop right here, since this quote proves to me you have no freakin' clue what you are talking about when it comes to how these various consoles secure themselves against hacking and cheating, especially over their online services. I don't even know where to start on correcting your misconceptions. It's the whole "harder to program" thing all over again, and I'm not going down that rabbit hole AGAIN.

Microsoft has some fantastic security over its Live service, and I applaud them for sticking to it. I'll leave it at that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by stevew

What the hell is a dual shock 3?

Dual Shock 2 was the rumble controller for the PS2. Dual Shock 3 is basically the PS3 Sixaxis controller with rumble included. It's already being sold in Japan.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I'll stop right here, since this quote proves to me you have no freakin' clue what you are talking about when it comes to how these various consoles secure themselves against hacking and cheating, especially over their online services. I don't even know where to start on correcting your misconceptions. It's the whole "harder to program" thing all over again, and I'm not going down that rabbit hole AGAIN.

Microsoft has some fantastic security over its Live service, and I applaud them for sticking to it. I'll leave it at that.

So explain it. It's a discussion thread. I'm sure I'm not the only one that doesn't completely understand how the Live security setup works. My understanding is that MS is trying to get similar architectures on both the PC and 360 so they can allow cross-platform gameplay between the two.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Sony is blaming the "subprime problem" on a likely decrease in PS3 sales in the upcoming months in the US and are lowering their PS3 sales projections for the fiscal year from 11 million to 9.5 million:

I knew the PS3 was expensive, but I didn't realize people were taking out mortgages to buy them.

[Big Fo]

Rock Band Confirmed for Wii

Originally Posted by IGN

There's still no release date (let alone any word on instruments or how additional song content might work on the Wii), but we'll let you know as soon as more info presents itself.

It was suspected but now confirmed. Considering how well GH3 sold on the Wii it should have been there at launch. Lack of downloadable songs would be weak though, hopefully they find a good solution for that.

[MJ4H]

Not that I'll buy it, but cool.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Amazing stuff on EA's quarterly statement. They managed to set a record for revenue, yet they lost $33 million. They desparately need a management overhaul at EA to find a way to trim the fat. There's no reason that a company this big should lose money on record revenue and have a sports department with several major licenses that sells fewer games than the year before..........

http://pc.ign.com/articles/848/848965p1.html

EA Loses $33M on Record Q3 Revenue
Delays are announced for Battlefield: Bad Company and Mercenaries 2.
by Ryan Geddes

January 31, 2008 - Electronic Arts reported a net loss of $33 million in its third fiscal quarter, although the publisher's net revenue hit the $1.5 billion mark - the largest in EA's history and up 17 percent over the same period last year.

Those numbers were driven largely by sales of Need For Speed: Pro Street (the publisher's best-selling title of the quarter), FIFA 08, Rock Band, The Simpsons Game, Madden NFL 08, The Sims 2 Castaway and NBA Live 08.

The company also announced that Battlefield: Bad Company and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames have been delayed until EA's 2009 fiscal year, which begins in April and runs through March 2010. The latter game was scheduled for an August 2008 release, and the former was set for June.

On a conference call that accompanied EA's earnings statement, Riccitiello said both games are "looking great" but "need polish."

"This was a record revenue quarter for EA and the single biggest revenue quarter for any third party publisher in our industry," said EA CEO John Riccitiello. "While we are disappointed that two titles slipped out of the March quarter, Burnout Paradise is off to a terrific start and we are looking forward to the upcoming launches of Army of Two and FIFA Street 3."

Despite recent speculation by analysts that Will Wright's Spore has been delayed yet again, EA didn't directly address the upcoming games current release schedule, saying only that the ambitious sim will be released before this year's holiday season.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Japanese sales numbers for week ending Jan. 27th......

Wii - 74,544
PS3 - 34,363
PS2 - 11,364
X360 - 4,296

[Eaglesfan27]

Two other EA articles in which they said they are still having difficulties programming for the PS3. They claim other companies are as well:


http://kotaku.com/351346/playstation...lematic-for-ea


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32646

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Two other EA articles in which they said they are still having difficulties programming for the PS3. They claim other companies are as well:


http://kotaku.com/351346/playstation...lematic-for-ea


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32646

EA's in a bit of a pickle in that regard. They've had very little or no problems when they develop the game on a PS3 and port it over to the 360. Here's a quote from the EA exec:

"Games where we led development on the PS3 platform, like Burnout, which is doing very well on the market today, we had no issue at all,"

Unfortunately for them, most of their games that were recently release and soon to be released are being developed on the 360, so PS3 development is likely to still be an issue through this fall. The recent Burnout release is their first game to be developed on the PS3.

The other companies are no different in that regard. The quicker they start developing on the PS3, the better off they are going to be if they want to be a multiplatform developer.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some big first-day sales figures in Japan this week. Predictably, the 1st-party Wii title leads the pack.............

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - 500K (80% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 140K (60% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (360) - 30K (60% of stock available)

[Pumpy Tudors]

I am a little pissed off about the news that Mercenaries 2 has been delayed. The first game was phenomenal.

[CraigSca]

I couldn't care less if EA still has problems with the PS3 or if the PS3 tanks as long as they continue to make MLB:The Show every year. I pre-ordered mine and can't wait until the beginning of March .

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Some big first-day sales figures in Japan this week. Predictably, the 1st-party Wii title leads the pack.............

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - 500K (80% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 140K (60% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (360) - 30K (60% of stock available)

I love how Nintendo delayed the game a week to steal all the thunder from DMC4.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Rare made Goldeneye and Perfect Dark when they were owned by Nintendo. Later on the company was sold to Microsoft. So those were first-party games.

Taken from Wikipedia, bastion of truth that's never wrong: 12 of the 37 million sellers on the N64 were by third-parties and 5 of the 23 million sellers on Gamecube were third-party. Little over a year into the Wii's lifespan there are 17 million sellers, 5 from third-parties.

Technically, Rare was 2nd party at the time. Similar to Silicon Knights for the Gamecube. They were not owned by Nintendo but did have an exclusivity contract with them.

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Some big first-day sales figures in Japan this week. Predictably, the 1st-party Wiititle leads the pack.............

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - 500K (80% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 140K (60% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (360) - 30K (60% of stock available)

*snicker* Any chance you get, I guess...

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Rock Band Confirmed for Wii

It was suspected but now confirmed. Considering how well GH3 sold on the Wii it should have been there at launch. Lack of downloadable songs would be weak though, hopefully they find a good solution for that.

Awesome. Also, toward the downloadable songs- what's to keep them from creating a Wii channel dedicated to Rock Band. Hell, something like that is long overdue. Particularly if Nintendo comes out with a hard drive add on for the Wii. But, even if not, why wouldn't songs be downloadable on to SD cards?

SI

[sterlingice]

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.

The stats cited above from wiki are for global platform sales. Here's a list of US ones:

http://www.the-magicbox.com/charts.htm


Gamecube Platinum Titles: 5 3rd P, 11 N
1 Capcom (re4)
1 LucasArts (sw battlefront 2)
1 Namco (soulcalibur 2)
2 Sega (sonic collection, sonic adventure)
11 Nintendo

Wii Platinum Titles: 1 3rd P, 5 N
1 Activision (GH3)
5 Wii

SI

[MizzouRah]

Who gives two shits about sales in Japan?

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Who gives two shits about sales in Japan?

People who like games from Japanese companies.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

People who like games from Japanese companies.

Enlighten me.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Enlighten me.

Japan is a smaller part of the world's console and handheld game market than USA or Europe but a much larger proportion of the games are made in that country. Nintendo, Capcom, Square-Enix, Konami, some of the best developers are Japanese. These companies aren't completely insular and do take notice of games that are far more successful abroad that at home (Dead Rising, Trauma Center, etc.) but what works at home does have an effect on what Japanese companies decide to make next. Look at how much the PS3 outsells the 360 in Japan and how there's more PS3 exclusives being announced despite the 360 having sold millions more worldwide.

Even if I don't count Nintendo products, around half the games (for consoles and handhelds, all my PC games are made in USA/Europe) I buy are made in Japan so trends over there do affect the games I get to play down the road.