January Console Sales Numbers (it begins?)

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Mario Kart Wii finally gets a release date, April 27.

hxxp://kotaku.com/366762/mario-kart-wii-hits-us-on-april-27

Hopefully the single-player is as good as the DS version and the multiplayer should be infinitely better since by all accounts snaking is dead. This has always been one of my favorite series and I'm glad we're getting it so soon.

With Smash Brothers in March, Mario Kart in April, and Wii Fit in May, Nintendo is firing most their big guns early in the year. WiiWare (original games, Nintendo's version of XBLA or PSN games) also launches in May. What they have for the rest of the year isn't all that impressive by comparison:

Disaster: Day of Crisis
Mario Baseball Stadium
Fatal Frame IV (Tecmo developing, Nintendo producing)
Wii Music
Kirby
Animal Crossing

Hopefully some big news out of E3 then.

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Actually, your post is misleading. NPD numbers still aren't out. It is unknown whether they will finish in 3rd, but Microsoft thinks they will this month.

Edit: They do have a point about when they have been in stock, they have outsold the PS3.

"in advance of the NPD numbers release"

I think the above makes it clear that NPD numbers haven't been released, no? There was nothing misleading about my post.

As for the MS comments about selling well when it's in stock, that's spin at it's finest. Microsoft is at fault for the shortage, whether it's intentional or not. I'd be floored if we didn't 'magically' see the supply problem go away a couple of weeks before the release of GTA4. If we don't see that happen, we can be pretty sure that the RROD concerns are the reason for the 'shortage'.

Should Nintendo start releasing statements just before the NPD numbers are released each month noting that they would have sold double the number of consoles that they did if they didn't have supply constraints? Hell no. Stuff like that only gets mentioned when your sales are a concern.

[Eaglesfan27]

Maybe I misread your post as it was still before my morning coffee, but I could have sworn the wording of your post was different before the edit. Shrug. In any case, all of the companies spin things, Sony included. In this case, we'll see if the spin is true if the 360 starts outselling the PS3 again when the supply issues are resolved in a month or so.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Maybe I misread your post as it was still before my morning coffee, but I could have sworn the wording of your post was different before the edit. Shrug. In any case, all of the companies spin things, Sony included. In this case, we'll see if the spin is true if the 360 starts outselling the PS3 again when the supply issues are resolved in a month or so.

Naw, I added the quote box for the article in my edit. You'll also notice that my edit occurred before your post. Morning coffee is a wonderful thing.

The sales numbers in PAL territories will be the main focus for the March numbers. They need much improved numbers over there as MS has stated that Europe, not the U.S., is the crucial battleground in 2008. I'm sure they're hoping that the price drop will cause a big boost in sales.

[Eaglesfan27]

Despite MBBF's posts to the contrary, EA exec tells Newsweek that the PS3 is not their lead platform and that they are going to remain platform agnostic:

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/level...-lead-sku.aspx

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Despite MBBF's posts to the contrary, EA exec tells Newsweek that the PS3 is not their lead platform and that they are going to remain platform agnostic:

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/level...-lead-sku.aspx

Certainly a very interesting non-response by EA there. Per the usual, instead of directly addressing the question that N'Gai asked (Will the PS3 become the primary development console to bring up the level of EA quality?), he danced around the issue by saying that all systems will get the proper amount of attention. In other words, "Every console is the most important console here at EA!"

It was a bit amusing that N'Gai took such an open shot at EA's quality control in his question. It apparently did not register with the EA representative. Also, you seemed to imply in your post that I was the only one who believed this to be the case. If that we're the case, would you then stretch that to include that N'Gai only asked the question to clear up my statements and mine alone? Hell no. Most of the industry and the media has long believed that EA will be moving to PS3 development in the coming months. I remain sure that they will move to a PS3 development house with the note that as of today, they aren't there yet.

I'll admit that I'm a bit surprised that they have taken this open stance given that the industry as a whole is moving to PS3 development to save development time and dollars on multiplatform games. With that said, this is EA we're talking about..........

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting blog about a programmer of the Atari version of Donkey Kong (16K cartridge). The reason I post it is because it shows a lot of the mistakes made by Atari as a company. Some have compared EA current-day to Atari in it's heyday and noted that EA can be seen making some of the same mistakes now in terms of bloated growth, lack of foresight in industry trends, and total lack of innovation/quality control. If nothing else, it's an extremely interesting read.

http://www.dadhacker.com/blog/?p=987

[Big Fo]

The numbers come out today, Microsoft is just doing a little pre-emptive damage control and it's definitely not the first time one of the three companies has done so. When GTA rolls around they'll have plenty of stock and probably have already had a price drop.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

The numbers come out today, Microsoft is just doing a little pre-emptive damage control and it's definitely not the first time one of the three companies has done so. When GTA rolls around they'll have plenty of stock and probably have already had a price drop.

Hey, those with the ability to remember what happened a year ago will remember that Jack Tretton (Sony exec) was feeding us this same line of B.S about shortages being the cause of their lackluster numbers in Europe. These claims of 'shortages' that get thrown around so much in recent years have to be taken with a HUGE grain of salt.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Pachter's NPD estimates for February (includes 'The Sim Exchange' estimates). Record February sales expected for the industry as a whole.............

February 2008 Video Game Sales Preview: Expect 27% Sales Growth

• We expect February U.S. retail video game console software sales data to be released after market close on Thursday, March 13. We forecast sales of $575 million, +27% compared to last year’s $454 million. For purposes of comparison, The simExchange prediction market forecasts overall software sales of $592 million.

• Our estimate reflects $485 million in sales contribution from new platforms (PS3, Wii, 360, PSP and DS) and current generation software sales of $90 million. We estimate sell-through of 300,000 Wii, 250,000 Xbox 360 and 260,000 PS3 consoles. For purposes of comparison, The simExchange prediction market forecasts 450,000 Wii, 285,000 Xbox 360 and 270,000 PS3 consoles sold in February. Our console sell-through forecasts reflect our belief that Wii, DS and Xbox 360 hardware continued to be supply constrained during the month. With the launch of several high-profile games in March, we expect supplies for the consoles to increase.

• Console software sales growth in 2007 was a robust 34%. In January, software sales were again strong and up 11% over January 2007, with the reporting period this year consisting of only four weeks compared to last year’s five week period. We expect robust sales in February, with the sector appearing highly recession resilient.

• We expect solid software sales growth for all of 2008, as the holiday lineup included high priced (and sold out) games like Guitar Hero III and Rock Band, and the line-up over the next several months is also quite strong. We recommend that investors accumulate Activision, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, THQ, and Ubisoft shares at current levels.

...

We expect February sales of $575 million (+27% compared to February 2007’s $454 million). We expect next generation software sales of $485 million and current-generation software sales of $90 million. We believe that PS2 software sales declined 28% year-over-year, as continued adoption of next generation consoles has reduced demand for current generation software. PS2 software sales decreased 24% in 2007 and were down 26% in January. The degree of PS2 software sales decline over the next several months will likely be highly correlated to next generation console sales, with year-over-year increases in next generation consoles purchases likely to accelerate declining demand for current generation software.

We expect February sales to be driven by Capcom’s Devil May Cry 4 (PS3, 360, PC), and to a lesser extent Microsoft’s Lost Odyssey (360) and THQ’s Frontlines: Fuel of War (360, PC), along with recent top selling releases Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Play, Activision’s Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero III, and Electronic Arts’ Rock Band. We note that there were 14 games that sold over 100,000 units in January, and we expect 14 in February (compared to 10 last year).

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

$19.99?

I have 30+, and I've only paid more than $15 for four of them. Two were $15.99, and the other two I bought at Best Buy yesterday because I got my discount + a $20 gift card for getting them, so my effective cost on a couple of Oscar-nominated films ended up being like $17.

$19.99? You're paying too much.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Agreed. Anyone who pays more than that for any Blu-ray movie is a lousy shopper. It takes very minimal effort to find BR movies for under $20.

Just snagged I Am Legend and Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow for $25.90 from Amazon.

I'm just sayin'...