January 2009 Console Sales Numbers

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Wii 679.2K
DS 510.8K
360 309K
PS3 203.2K
PSP 172.3K
PS2 101.2K

"You serious, Clark?"

Earth to Sony executives. $100 price cut needed NOW. Without question, the executive decisions made by Sony in the first 3 years of the PS3 will be a case study in how you screw up a console launch. There's absolutely no reason why this console should still be selling at $399.

360 and Wii both had very good numbers for January. The 360 had its best January thus far.

[Big Fo]

Last January's numbers for comparison:

Nintendo Wii -- 274k
PlayStation 3 - 269k
PlayStation 2 - 264k
Nintendo DS -- 251k
Sony PSP ----- 230k
Xbox 360 ----- 230k

YoY change:

WII --- 147.9%
NDS -- 103.5%
360 --- 34.3%
PS3 --- (24.5%)
PSP --- (25.1%)
PS2 --- (61.7%)

LTD

DS ........28.052 mil
PSP ......... 14.513 mil
360......... 14.169 mil
PS3 ....... 6.997 mil
Wii .......... 18.219 mil
PS2 ......... 44.4 mil



Software:

WII FIT (WII) ..................................... 777K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE (WII).............. 415K
MARIO KART W/WHEEL (WII) ............. 292K
LEFT 4 DEAD (360) ............................. 243K
CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR* (360) ....235K
SKATE 2 (360).................... ..................... 199K
GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* (WII) ........... 155K
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS (DS) ................... 135K
MARIO KART DS (DS )................................ 132K
LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST (360) ...... 113K

               Jan-09           Jan-08         CHG   
Video Games     $1.33 Billion  $1.18 Billion 13%   
VG Hardware     $445.4 Million $380.3 Million 17%   
VG Software     $676.6 Million $614.7 Million 10%   
VG Accessories  $209.8 Million $188.3 Million 11% 

Originally Posted by NPD's Anita Frazier

Even in these tough economic times, the fact that total sales were able to realize a 13 percent increase in revenue (compared to Jan'07) speaks to the continued strength of video games as one of the leading entertainment industries in the U.S.

At this point in the console lifecycle, we would expect to see a greater percentage of total industry sales generated by software sales, but the continued strength in hardware sales is changing that scenario a bit. This will have a long-term positive impact on the industry as the user base expands. Software sales still increased 10 percent over last January, indicating that continued strong hardware sales are not occurring at the expense of software sales.

Only two of the top 10 games this month were new releases. The continued strength of games that have been in the market for some time clues us into just how many new consumers are coming into the industry. This broadening of the audience for gaming will help buoy the industry through these tough economic times, provided they have enough compelling content to keep them interested.

Accessory sales were up 11 percent over last year, and strong hardware sales usually are accompanied by strong accessory sales as consumers pick up additional peripherals to help them enjoy their gaming experiences.

Originally Posted by Nintendo PR

Nintendo Accounts for More Than Total Video Game Industry Growth in January Versus Last Year

Nintendo kicked off 2009 the same way it finished 2008: with a bang. While the video game industry grew by $150 million (12 percent) year-on-year, Nintendo's total sales grew by $300 million in January, offsetting declines on other platforms.

Sales of the Wii™ console in January were up 148 percent over January 2008, with nearly 680,000 units sold, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Since Wii launched in November 2006, it has sold more than 18 million units in the United States.

Sales of the Nintendo DS™ system in January were also up 99 percent over January 2008, and it once again was the top-selling portable system with more than 510,000 units sold. Since Nintendo DS launched in November 2004, it has sold more than 28 million units in the United States.

"Nintendo's significant contribution to January's industry growth validates our internal research showing that Nintendo continues to expand the gaming audience," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We are excited to see that consumers, new and existing, are choosing to entertain themselves in new ways with the diversity of our software lineup."

Similar momentum was witnessed in software sales, with 20 of the top 30 games of January made for Nintendo systems. Of those, five games made for Nintendo systems finished in the top 10 best-sellers of January. These games include Wii Fit™ at No. 1 with more than 777,000 sold, Wii Play™ at No. 2 with nearly 415,000 sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 3 with more than 292,000 sold, New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS at No. 7 with nearly 135,000 sold, and Mario Kart™ DS at No. 8 with more than 132,000 sold.

Originally Posted by Microsoft PR

January NPD results are in and Xbox 360 highlights include:

* Xbox 360 system sales hit 309,000, up 33 percent from a year
earlier, as holiday momentum carries into 2009

* Xbox 360 claimed five of the top 10 titles in January, with
more top-rated games available than on any other system

* Single biggest month ever for Xbox LIVE as record number of
new members joined in January; exclusive game add-ons extend
blockbuster experiences

Xbox 360 kicked off 2009 with a bang, posting record system sales for
January of 309,000 units (January NPD data), a 33 percent jump from a
year earlier. Sales were driven by Xbox 360's broad lineup of
blockbuster video games, as well as Xbox LIVE, which saw more new
members join than during any month in its history. The $199 Xbox 360
Arcade model also offers tremendous value for consumers looking to jump
into next-generation interactive entertainment.

Games on Xbox 360

Xbox 360 games claimed five spots in the January top 10, including "Left
4 Dead," "Call of Duty: World at War," "Skate 2," "Lord of the Rings:
Conquest," and "Gears of War 2" (January NPD data).

Sales of third-party games on Xbox 360 hit $139 million in January
(January NPD data), with Xbox 360 generating more life-to-date sales at
retail for third-party publishers than competing consoles. With 132
Xbox 360 titles rated 80 or higher on Metacritic, compared to 90 for PS3
and 42 for Wii (Metacritic data), it's no wonder that Xbox 360 owners
lead the industry in game purchases, having bought an average of 8.1
games each.

Xbox LIVE Records Highest Member Growth in History

January was also a banner month for Xbox LIVE as more people joined than
in any previous month in its history. A total of more than 17 million
people are now active members of the industry-leading service, which
features a vast selection of downloadable games, game add-ons, movies
and TV shows of any device connected to the TV.

Consumers Get More Entertainment on Xbox LIVE

* More than 1 million Xbox LIVE members now enjoying Netflix's
streaming video service

* Each household has watched an average of 16 movies over the
service

* Xbox 360 is the only place to get the complete storylines for
hit games like "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Fallout 3"

* "Fable II Knothole Island" and "Fallout 3 Operation:
Anchorage" were two of the top performers for game add-ons in the month
of January

* The "Halo Wars" demo, released on February 5, set a day-one
record for the most demo downloads on Xbox LIVE; with more than 2
million downloads in the first week, it was one of the top demo
downloads of all time on the service

* "The Lost and Damned" arrives February 17 for the
highest-rated game of all time, "Grand Theft Auto IV", only on Xbox LIVE

Sony's PR person either took the night off or figured it wasn't worth the effort

Wii and DS both smash the previous January record (I feel like I'm typing every time regardless of what month) of 490,000 PS2s sold in 2005.

It's overshadowed by Nintendo's products but solid sales continue for the 360 and its games. Left 4 Dead in particular has done well, outselling CoD: WaW and Gears of War 2 in the third month for those three games.

NSMB came out in 2006. Mario Kart DS came out in 2005. Just insane legs on those games. By comparison, Gears of War 2 came out in November and is out of the top ten likely never to be seen again. This is why I'm not playing New Super Mario Bros. 2 right now.

At the current pace, more Americans will own Wii Fit balance boards than PS3s by April or May. Not an apples to apples comparison, but crazy all the same.

This is the second straight month 20 of the top 30 best selling games have been on DS or Wii. Hopefully the platform top tens and overall top 20 come out soon as usual.

The PS2 looks to be bowing out after an awesome 8+ year run. There's always the potential $99 price drop to come though.

It being January, there weren't any big games released this month. Next month it'll be interesting to see how Street Fighter IV and Killzone 2 do.

Originally Posted by MBBF

Earth to Sony executives. $100 price cut needed NOW. Without question, the executive decisions made by Sony in the first 3 years of the PS3 will be a case study in how you screw up a console launch. There's absolutely no reason why this console should still be selling at $399.

The PS3 still costs $399 because Sony can't get the manufacturing price low enough. What's the point if they slash the price $100, see their sales become level with MS, and lose bunch of money on every console sold? Sony knows that it won't win this generation, they just need to try and make some money for the next few years (not just gaming, but overall the company has struggled lately) and learn from their mistakes with the PS4. You can bet the PS4 won't have an initial MSRP of $599.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

The PS3 still costs $399 because Sony can't get the manufacturing price low enough. What's the point if they slash the price $100, see their sales become level with MS, and lose bunch of money on every console sold? Sony knows that it won't win this generation, they just need to try and make some money for the next few years (not just gaming, but overall the company has struggled lately) and learn from their mistakes with the PS4. You can bet the PS4 won't have an initial MSRP of $599.

Ummmmm, yes that was kind of my point. Their bad decisions over the course of this console have set them up for the current failure. Also, looking at it as a certain loss is not a correct assumption. If you sell more units, there's more consumer to purchase the games that you're releasing (which is your major source of profit). Given that three big Sony releases (Killzone 2, The Show, InFamous) are on the way, it would behoove them to make that jump. The heavy drop in Blu-ray movie prices in recent weeks wouldn't hurt sales either. I disagree that sitting pat is the best move, but there's obviously no magic wand to make it all better either.

The PS4 won't be any higher than $399 and probably will be $299 on release. I agree totally.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Really nice deals over at Dell Home website per SlickDeals. 20% off of all consoles. Prices are after coupon.........

360 Arcade $159
360 Pro $239
360 Elite $319
PS3 80GB $320

20% off coupon = PLDWH47D$6BT2J

[Cringer]

I don't want to see a price drop on the PS3 yet. I just got mine in the fall, I need more time before a price drop so the wife won't complain.

[SackAttack]

Without trying to predict the rest of the year, since price cuts and such are a matter of timing and magnitude, I thought I'd list the exclusive software titles currently announced that I'd like to play on each system, moving forward from today:

PS3

Killzone 2
MLB 09: The Show
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
inFamous

360

Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Halo Wars
Splinter Cell: Conviction

Wii

MadWorld
Klonoa (Yes, I'm aware this is a port, but neither PS3 or 360 are getting it so )

Plenty of multiplatform stuff I'd like to play too, and not sure how my choice would fall between PS3 and 360, but that's the list of stuff I'd definitely like to pick up for a specific platform.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Without trying to predict the rest of the year, since price cuts and such are a matter of timing and magnitude, I thought I'd list the exclusive software titles currently announced that I'd like to play on each system, moving forward from today:

PS3

Killzone 2
MLB 09: The Show
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
inFamous

No God of War 3 or Gran Turismo 5? Perhaps you're just not a fan of those series.

Couple of new trailers available. A sick God of War III real-time trailer.......

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/...d-new-trailer/



And the first brief teaser of what is expected to be a flood of Killzone 2 PR..............

Killzone 2’s ten second TV teaser… | Three Speech: Semi-Official PlayStation Blog

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Cringer

I don't want to see a price drop on the PS3 yet. I just got mine in the fall, I need more time before a price drop so the wife won't complain.

Do you really think that will help?

[Cringer]

No.

[RainMaker]

Does anyone know when Dark Rain or whatever it's called is supposed to come out for the PS3?

[Calis]

Heavy Rain. I don't think there's anything near official yet but I've heard Q4 of this year mentioned. I'm sure they'd like a holiday release, but this is one I could see getting pushed back a fair amount.

I am for some reason I can't really explain very excited for Street Fighter 4 tomorrow. I'm terrible at fighting games, and I haven't really played one with any seriousness since Street Fighter 2, but this one is just intriguing me. It actually looks like it's not a convoluted mess of features added in, and an exercise in frustration of pulling off moves. I'm pretty excited to give it a whirl, and the early buzz couldn't be anymore positive.

[RainMaker]

That's disappointing. I thought they had a trailer for that game out almost 3 years ago. Just seems to be taking a really long time. The game does sound really unique and a change of pace from the endless first person shooters launched everyday.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

No God of War 3 or Gran Turismo 5? Perhaps you're just not a fan of those series.

Or perhaps you have a reading problem.

A) What's the release date on God of War III? GameStop says March 10, 2010. Gametrailers says March 10, 2010. Is that this year?

B) Do you really think GT5 will land this year? GameStop doesn't even have a page for that, and they're taking preorders for freaking Final Fantasy XIII, which doesn't HAVE a confirmed release date. Does that sound like it's imminent? This is, remember, Polyphony Digital we're talking about.

[twothree]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I thought I'd list the exclusive software titles currently announced that I'd like to play on each system...

PS3

MLB 09: The Show

This is probably the only one I am looking forward to getting. (Well, besides Pokemon Platinum for the DS.)

[Big Fo]

Nintendo has announced that the DSi will come out on April 5 for a price of $170. The initial colors offered will be blue and black.

On the same day Nintendo will be releasing Rhythm Heaven for DS which is supposedly really good.

Something interesting in the press release is that specific retail DSi only games are mentioned, which I hadn't heard about yet. With this along with rumors that the DSi has a faster processor and more memory than a regular DS, perhaps they're going for a GameBoy --> GameBoy Color transition.

I won't be buying one at launch but down the road I'm sure I will eventually if there's some quality DSi exclusives.

nintendo.com

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

For those that haven't seen it, the latest Killzone 2 HD advertisement. Entire commercial is game engine footage.......

PlayStation.Blog » Helghast in HD – Killzone 2 Ads Hit TV

[Kodos]

KZ2 looking good in preseason.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

KZ2 looking good in preseason.

[Big Fo]

I wonder how big KZ2 will be, whether it will sell a million or two or if it will be up there with the PS3's top sellers like Metal Gear Solid 4, Call of Duty 4, or Grand Theft Auto 4. The graphics are arguably the best ever on consoles and FPS seems to be PS3 owners' favorite genre.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I wonder how big KZ2 will be, whether it will sell a million or two or if it will be up there with the PS3's top sellers like Metal Gear Solid 4, Call of Duty 4, or Grand Theft Auto 4. The graphics are arguably the best ever on consoles and FPS seems to be PS3 owners' favorite genre.

I think it will get 1-2 million, but I don't think it will reach MGS4 levels (i.e. nearly 4M units).

[Kodos]

I do think they hit upon something good with the orange-eyed Helghans. One thing I couldn't get into with Halo was the enemies. They just didn't interest me. But the glowing orange eyes in Kill Zone look evil.

If only I had any gaming time these days.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I do think they hit upon something good with the orange-eyed Helghans. One thing I couldn't get into with Halo was the enemies. They just didn't interest me. But the glowing orange eyes in Kill Zone look evil.

They look like Stormtroopers, except worse due to the glowing eyes.

[Big Fo]

A chart showing trends in US software sales:



Someone on NeoGAF was nice enough to tally up numbers by counting pixels on the graph. As the graph says, this is January through September.

360 2007 28.0px => 21.5M
PS2 2007 43.0px => 33.1M
PS3 2007  7.0px =>  5.4M
Wii 2007 16.0px => 12.3M
GCN 2007  6.5px =>  5.0M
XBX 2007  7.5px =>  5.8M


360 2008  26.0px => 24.9M
PS2 2008 27.5px => 26.3M
PS3 2008 17.0px => 16.3M
Wii 2008 35.5px => 34.0M
NGC 2008  1.0px => 1.0M*
XBX 2008 1.5px => 1.4M*

Dramatic increases where you'd expect them. A bit surprising that 360 software didn't increase more from 2007 to 2008. PS2 is declining but still bringing in some sales.

[Big Fo]

Lifetime sales for a few well-known Square-Enix titles:

Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - (PSP)
Japan: 820,000
North America: 660,000
Europe: 480,000
Life-to-date: 1.96 million

Final Fantasy IV (DS)
Japan: 610,000
North America: 290,000
Europe: 180,000
Life-to-date: 1.08 million

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)
Japan: 310,000
North America: 220,000
Europe: 120,000
Life-to-date: 650,000

Dragon Quest IV (DS)
Japan: 1.19 million
North America: 110,000
Europe: 150,000
Life-to-date: 1.45 million

Dragon Quest just can't touch Final Fantasy. It should be the other way around

April - December 2008 sales for various SE titles released in the US:

Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360)
Japan: 120,000
North America: 200,000
Europe: 100,000
Asia and others: 20,000

Last Remnant (Xbox 360)
Japan: 160,000
North America: 190,000
Europe: 140,000

Chrono Trigger (DS)
Japan: 490,000
North America: 220,000

The 360 RPGs did better than I would have guessed in the States. It's a shame they lose out on so many Japanese sales by releasing games on that console.

It's just funny to me that 360 is the home console with by far the best RPG selection so far. You would think games like Tales of Vesperia, the Last Remnant, and Star Ocean 4 would have benefited by going multiplatform.

Chrono Trigger did alright in for being out a month and a half. I've said it before but the $39.99 pricing for DS games can't help much. I'll pay that for a really good 20-30+ hour RPG but people on the fence look at the price tag, see that nobody else charges that much for their games, not even Nintendo, and decide to get something else or wait for a sale.

[Big Fo]

Top 20, Top 10 by platform:

Top 20 Games Overall, January 2009

1. WII FIT WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA
2. WII PLAY W/ REMOTE WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA
3. MARIO KART W/WHEEL WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA
4. LEFT 4 DEAD 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS
5. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR* 360 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
6. SKATE 2 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS
7. GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* WII ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
8. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
9. MARIO KART DS NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
10. LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST 360 ELECTRONIC ARTS
11. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR PS3 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
12. GEARS OF WAR 2* 360 MICROSOFT
13. FALLOUT 3* 360 BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
14. JILLIAN MICHAELS FITNESS ULTIMATUM 2009 WII MAJESCO
15. LINK'S CROSSBOW TRAINING WII NINTENDO OF AMERICA
16. MY FITNESS COACH WII UBISOFT
17. ROCK BAND 2* 360 MTV GAMES/ELECTRONIC ARTS
18. GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* 360 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
19. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR WII ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
20. LEGO STAR WARS: COMPLETE SAGA WII LUCASARTS


Wii - 9
360 - 8
DS - 2
PS3 - 1

Top 10 Wii

1. WII WII FIT NINTENDO OF AMERICA
2. WII WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA
3. WII MARIO KART W/WHEEL NINTENDO OF AMERICA
4. WII GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5. WII JILLIAN MICHAELS FITNESS ULTIMATUM 2009 MAJESCO
6. WII LINK'S CROSSBOW TRAINING NINTENDO OF AMERICA
7. WII MY FITNESS COACH UBISOFT
8. WII CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
9. WII LEGO STAR WARS: COMPLETE SAGA LUCASARTS
10. WII SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL NINTENDO OF AMERICA

Top 10 Xbox 360

1. 360 LEFT 4 DEAD ELECTRONIC ARTS
2. 360 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
3. 360 SKATE 2 ELECTRONIC ARTS
4. 360 LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST ELECTRONIC ARTS
5. 360 GEARS OF WAR 2* MICROSOFT
6. 360 FALLOUT 3* BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
7. 360 ROCK BAND 2* MTV GAMES/ELECTRONIC ARTS
8. 360 GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
9. 360 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
10. 360 FABLE II* MICROSOFT

Top 10 PlayStation 2

1. PS2 GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2. PS2 MADDEN NFL 09 ELECTRONIC ARTS
3. PS2 GUITAR HERO AEROSMITH* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
4. PS2 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5. PS2 KINGDOM HEARTS RE: CHAIN OF MEMORIES SQUARE ENIX INC
6. PS2 WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2009 THQ
7. PS2 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
8. PS2 ROCK BAND 2 MTV GAMES/ELECTRONIC ARTS
9. PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
10. PS2 ROCK BAND* MTV GAMES/ELECTRONIC ARTS

Top 10 PlayStation 3

1. PS3 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2. PS3 SKATE 2 ELECTRONIC ARTS
3. PS3 LITTLE BIG PLANET SONY
4. PS3 MORTAL KOMBAT VS. DC UNIVERSE* MIDWAY
5. PS3 GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
6. PS3 LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST ELECTRONIC ARTS
7. PS3 MADDEN NFL 09* ELECTRONIC ARTS
8. PS3 FALLOUT 3* BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
9. PS3 RESISTANCE 2* SONY
10. PS3 ROCK BAND 2* MTV GAMES/ELECTRONIC ARTS

Top 10 Game Boy Advance

1. GBA UNO 52 DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
2. GBA BIG MUTHA TRUCKERS DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
3. GBA VALUE GAME BUNDLE 14.99 MULTIPLE VIDEO GAME MANUFACTURER
4. GBA PUPPY LUV: SPA & RESORT ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5. GBA ASTEROIDS/PONG/YARS DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
6. GBA VAN HELSING ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
7. GBA MADAGASCAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
8. GBA SONIC THE HEDGEHOG SEGA OF AMERICA
9. GBA SPYHUNTER/SUPERSPRINT DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
10. GBA PRINCESS NATASHA: STUDENT SECRET AGENT DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.

Top 10 Nintendo DS

1. NDS NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
2. NDS MARIO KART DS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
3. NDS CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
4. NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A DAY NINTENDO OF AMERICA
5. NDS MARIO PARTY NINTENDO OF AMERICA
6. NDS BRAIN AGE: TRAIN YOUR BRAIN IN MINUTES A DAY NINTENDO OF AMERICA
7. NDS SUPER MARIO 64 DS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
8. NDS KIRBY SUPER STAR ULTRA NINTENDO OF AMERICA
9. NDS PERSONAL TRAINER: COOKING NINTENDO OF AMERICA
10. NDS COOKING MAMA MAJESCO

Top 10 PSP

1. PSP MIDNIGHT CLUB: LA REMIX TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
2. PSP MADDEN NFL 09 ELECTRONIC ARTS
3. PSP GRAND THEFT AUTO: LIBERTY CITY STORIES TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
4. PSP LEGO BATMAN WARNER INTERACTIVE
5. PSP WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2009 THQ
6. PSP GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
7. PSP STAR OCEAN: SECOND EVOLUTION SQUARE ENIX INC
8. PSP NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERCOVER ELECTRONIC ARTS
9. PSP CRISIS CORE: FINAL FANTASY VII SQUARE ENIX INC
10. PSP WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2008 THQ

Top 10 Accessories

1. WII NUNCHUK CONTROLLER NINTENDO OF AMERICA
2. WII REMOTE CONTROLLER W/ JACKET NINTENDO OF AMERICA
3. PS3 DUALSHOCK 3 WIRELESS CONTROLLER SONY
4. WII REMOTE CONTROLLER NINTENDO OF AMERICA
5. 360 LIVE 12 MONTH GOLD CARD MICROSOFT
6. 360 LIVE 1600 POINT GAME CARD MICROSOFT
7. WII WHEEL GRIP NINTENDO OF AMERICA
8. WII CHARGE STATION NYKO
9. 360 LIVE 1 MONTH GOLD CARD MICROSOFT
10. 360 HEADSET MICROSOFT

*Includes limited, collectors', instrument bundles
wired.com

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Played Killzone 2 over the weekend. As has been reported, it's VERY impressive on the visual/sound front. I've also been extremely happy with the online play. The number of players already playing online is very good with very good online interface. Given the early year timing of this release with no major shooters coming in the near future, this one is going to have good community support for quite awhile.

I'm hoping to do the campaign this week.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

EA's CEO decided to open mouth, insert foot yet again. Got this via Dubious Quality......

EA CEO: Recession Is a 'Blessing' For Game Biz | Game | Life from Wired.com

LAS VEGAS -- Is the economic crisis that began last year actually a "blessing" for the videogame industry?

That's what John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, said Thursday at the DICE summit.

Riccitiello said that while big players like EA will be able to ride out the recession, others will not -- which will help to keep "junk" off shelves, he said.

"A lot of the riff-raff is going to go bankrupt," he said.

As Bill Harris correctly points out, EA's stock has gone from $50+ to $15 since Mr. Riccitiello took over the CEO position.

[RainMaker]

That's a pretty disgusting statement considering much of that "riff-raff" destroys most EA games. It's like McDonalds gloating that Spago is going out of business and calling it riff-raff.

[Big Fo]

It's funny because their quality has mostly improved for non-sports titles over the past few years, and even some of their sports games (FIFA, NHL, skate) have gotten better.

They didn't develop all of them in house but in the past few years they've published Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, Spore, Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Crysis, etc. Good games with new IPs instead of the licensed crap one might normally associate EA with. It's just their football and basketball games bring them down since that's what a lot of us care about most.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

It's funny because their quality has mostly improved for non-sports titles over the past few years, and even some of their sports games (FIFA, NHL, skate) have gotten better.

They didn't develop all of them in house but in the past few years they've published Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, Spore, Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Crysis, etc. Good games with new IPs instead of the licensed crap one might normally associate EA with. It's just their football and basketball games bring them down since that's what a lot of us care about most.

They have gotten a lot better, but I guess what I'm saying is that they don't make great games very often. Most of their games are in the 7-8 rating area, but they rarely get the 9's or 10's in my book. If I were to make a list of the best games I've played over the last couple years, I may only have one EA game out of the whole bunch.

I guess it just bothers me to see them call other companies "riff-raff" when they are the ones making the critically acclaimed games.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

They didn't develop all of them in house but in the past few years they've published Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, Spore, Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Crysis, etc. Good games with new IPs instead of the licensed crap one might normally associate EA with.

The problem is that Rock Band and Burnout Paradise were the only successful franchises out of the ones you listed. The rest of them were modest money-makers at best. How quickly we forget the comments from the same man a few months back saying that it wasn't worth it to develop new IP's because they don't sell as well as the old standards.

[RainMaker]

My favorite games over the past couple years.

College Hoops 2K8
Fallout 3
Grand Theft Auto IV
Bioshock
NBA 2K
Call of Duty 4

One of the only EA games I played a good amount of was Battlefield Bad Company, and that's mostly because many friends play it online too. I wouldn't classify it as a "great" game either.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

The problem is that Rock Band and Burnout Paradise were the only successful franchises out of the ones you listed.

In what universe is Spore, selling multi million, not successful?

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by Samdari

In what universe is Spore, selling multi million, not successful?

I am pretty sure I remember reading that despite the sales, Spore cost them so much to develop (evident by the fact they blamed it for dragging down several quarters before release) that even with 2+ million copies sold, it's at a overall loss.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Deattribution

I am pretty sure I remember reading that despite the sales, Spore cost them so much to develop (evident by the fact they blamed it for dragging down several quarters before release) that even with 2+ million copies sold, it's at a overall loss.

That's 100 million dollars. It had a 20 million budget to start. Worst case, that ended up being 40. There is no way that ends up being a loss.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by Samdari

That's 100 million dollars. It had a 20 million budget to start. Worst case, that ended up being 40. There is no way that ends up being a loss.

You seem to think it's a lot more simple than it is. It's not 100 million dollars, every copy isn't sold at 49.99, and even if it were, every copy isn't 50 dollars profit. It's about 30 at best, and the worst case on the budget was the rumored 80 million due to several delays. Throw in the marketing, distribution ect ect and you could be looking at 100 million in cost and only 60 million in income.

A lot of games now days need to sell 2 million just to break even.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Samdari

That's 100 million dollars. It had a 20 million budget to start. Worst case, that ended up being 40. There is no way that ends up being a loss.

The price you pay typically already encompasses markup both from the middleman and from the vendor. About half of that sticker price actually finds its way back to the publisher/developer.

Originally Posted by Deattribution

You seem to think it's a lot more simple than it is. It's not 100 million dollars, every copy isn't sold at 49.99, and even if it were, every copy isn't 50 dollars profit. It's about 30 at best, and the worst case on the budget was the rumored 80 million due to several delays. Throw in the marketing, distribution ect ect and you could be looking at 100 million in cost and only 60 million in income.

A lot of games now days need to sell 2 million just to break even.

Also, this. Marketing on PC games these days isn't as expensive as it used to be, I'd wager, with the consolidation of print outlets in which to run advertising, and the fact that you just don't see PC games advertised on TV much (WoW notwithstanding), but what the budget was 'supposed' to be doesn't encompass a game's final costs. You have production, you have packaging costs, you have cost overruns in development, all kinds of things.

It's not a simple industry.

[gstelmack]

Not to mention technical support costs, especially from the pirates (who never bought the game in the first place). One reason tech support on the PC is so expensive is, aside from the pirates, the fact that you also have to trouble-shoot the OS setup on the user's machine, any overclocking damage they may have done, whatever viruses they've downloaded through filesharing, horrible drivers out there, and the like, in addition to the actual bugs that may be in the code.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Deattribution

You seem to think it's a lot more simple than it is. It's not 100 million dollars, every copy isn't sold at 49.99, and even if it were, every copy isn't 50 dollars profit. It's about 30 at best, and the worst case on the budget was the rumored 80 million due to several delays. Throw in the marketing, distribution ect ect and you could be looking at 100 million in cost and only 60 million in income.

A lot of games now days need to sell 2 million just to break even.

I agree a lot do, but I don't think Spore did.

A lot of the costs in development these days involve content creation. GTA IV is a huge world, that needs to be designed, with art, music, sound, etc, writing of the story, mission design, etc.. Their budget was 100 million, and I bet 75 million of it was content creation. Spore essentially did not have content creation costs - they did not build a world. They almost assuredly spent more than others on programming and game design, as their game is unique, but I don't believe that 80 million dollar figure for a second. I doubt it hit 40.

As for the price, that 2 million dollar number was the first few months. I believe that only half of the $50 retail price gets back to them, but I also believe that they get they do not lower the price in the first few months of retail. If you find a game for less during the initial release period, the retailer is taking the hit, not the publisher. I bet they got 50 million in revenue from initial release.

I read an interesting article (which I can no longer find) about how big budget development costs were going to kill PC gaming. If a game needs to sell 2 million to break even, the industry is indeed in trouble.

[Deattribution]

They easily could of spent 80 million on what became about an 8 year development period. One where they scrapped the entire game concept and started over a few times. Right after they released the game they cut 600 jobs which they said would save them 50 million. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say at least 200 people were working on spore full time for at least 4 years, that right there is 60 to 80 million.

It was a lot more than just programming, they had to create and simplify development tools that everyone could use, they had to create AI that hadn't been done before (which in turn they are going to use on Sims 3) and then they had to make it all work together. Spore despite a rather simple game when you sit down and play it is in no way just a regular 20-30 million dollar game. EA poured the money into it because they did (and still kinda do) expect to make a lot of money via expansions and such. That is why they have 4 more spore games (expansions and wii games) set to come out in 2009 alone.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Deattribution

Spore is in no way just a regular 20-30 million dollar game.

You do realize that 3 years ago only one game had ever cost 10 million to develop? There is no such thing as a "regular" 20-30 million dollar game. This is really new territory. And, I think we are not being told the truth about these costs.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

and the fact that you just don't see PC games advertised on TV much (WoW notwithstanding)

FWIW, I remember seeing a ton of Spore commercials leading up to and shortly after the game was released.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by sabotai

FWIW, I remember seeing a ton of Spore commercials leading up to and shortly after the game was released.

Might've been a demographic thing. I didn't see a single Spore commercial. Maybe I wasn't watching the right channels.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by Samdari

You do realize that 3 years ago only one game had ever cost 10 million to develop? There is no such thing as a "regular" 20-30 million dollar game. This is really new territory. And, I think we are not being told the truth about these costs.

I'd love to know where you're getting this crazy information. Shenmue is one of the most expensive games ever created at an estimated 70 million and it was released in 1999. That's not counting FF, GTA3, Literally hundreds of games are well above the 10 million dollar and have been for years. Hell, ET in 1983 cost over 25 million just for the rights to create the game. You can call it lies about what they say budgets are, but Atari didn't lose almost 600 million and go bankrupt via rumors. Game companies aren't going bankrupt now days because they're losing money on 3 million dollar games either.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Might've been a demographic thing. I didn't see a single Spore commercial. Maybe I wasn't watching the right channels.

My TV is usually on ESPN, Comedy Central, History Channel or Discovery. Now that I think about, didn't the Discovery channel do like a 30 or 60 minute show centered around Spore?

Looked it up. "The Future is Wild". They took an older show and put clips of Spore and interviews about it into it. It was probably History Channel and Discovery where I saw all of those commercials.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by sabotai

My TV is usually on ESPN, Comedy Central, History Channel or Discovery. Now that I think about, didn't the Discovery channel do like a 30 or 60 minute show centered around Spore?

Looked it up. "The Future is Wild". They took an older show and put clips of Spore and interviews about it into it. It was probably History Channel and Discovery where I saw all of those commercials.

Yeah, see. History or Discovery wouldn't shock me.

ESPN? Uh...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

FYI......Good Fallout 3 deal over at Amazon. $35 for the PS3 version.

[spleen1015]

A little debate was sparked this morning between a friend and I.

I am looking to buy a 2nd 360, so that my son and I can play at the same time.

So, I am looking at which model I wanted to get. Do I want HDMI or just component? Which models have HDMI?

I thought the Elite model was the one with HDMI and the Pro model has component only. My friend says his brother bought a Pro and it has HDMI.

One of you guys know the truth! Give me the truth!

[fantom1979]

Looks like they all come with HDMI output, but only the elite comes with the cable

Xbox 360 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xbox.com | Xbox 360 - Which Console for You?

[spleen1015]

Sweet!

Thanks!