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January 1995 *Classic Sales-Age* U.S. TOP40 & HW (SNES>GEN!)

255832404_924271d6d5_o.png


255832402_6621414a4b_o.png

SNES pulls ahead of GEN this Jan. thanks to DKC!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116454 < December 1994
 

heidern

Junior Member
That's a nice looking top 40. :)

You work fast too. :)

Oh, and seeing only one game over 100K really shows how much smaller the industry was back then. Although, I always thought that SNES games were more expensive than Genesis games, yet they seem to be about the same.
 

Flakster99

Member
Pretty sweet chart there. A lot of good, quality games in that list. Games I was playing at the time; Final Fantasy III for the umpteenth time, Donkey Kong Country, Mortal Kombat II and The Lion King - SNES. NHL '95 - Genesis.

And at the time, system wars, at least in my circle of friends, didn't exist. We as a group owned ALL consoles that were released at the time, so our energies were spent elsewhere, mostly in beating each other's brains out in head to head competition, etc. We were spoiled. :)
 

Galactic Fork

A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
Man, I had no idea the SNES/Genesis war was so close! Of course the Genesis had a 2 year head start. But they were neck and neck right up to 95. I'm pretty sure I had both by this time.

Damn, DKC sold more than it probably should have.
 

lamotia

Member
another one of those great threads. thanks man, I really appreciate it. I have one question though - where do you get the info for those charts? I really want to get into console history.
 

ghibli99

Member
GreenGlowingGoo said:
Damn, DKC sold more than it probably should have.
And what should it have sold?

Sorry, I don't understand statements like this. It's like you wish it had sold worse just because some think it's an overrated game.
 
jj984jj said:
Wow, what did you use to make the charts? Can Excel do that?

Excel 2007.

EDIT: Guys try and keep this thread alive at least thru the weekend, so more can see it, okay. They don't stay on the first page as long as the first one's did...
 
heidern said:
That's a nice looking top 40. :)

You work fast too. :)

Oh, and seeing only one game over 100K really shows how much smaller the industry was back then. Although, I always thought that SNES games were more expensive than Genesis games, yet they seem to be about the same.

Good observation,
The market will continue to shrink from here on until the N64 is released (Sept/96).
 
Good work Square2005. And thanks to you timely update, I can get TEVS out tomorrow on time ^_^

I love these numbers. They make me salivate. Too bad they never included Super Mario World in them.

It is always amazing just how SMALL the market was back then. Looking at how much titles sold in massive bulk you'ld think the top10 would be loaded with at least 80k+ but it's ONE 100k plus, and then the rest are below 40,000. Even in the holiday seasons, consoles sales were below 500k O_O

Just goes to show how much this industry has grown.
 

heidern

Junior Member
LanceStern said:
I love these numbers. They make me salivate.
That would make a nice tag.

The market will continue to shrink from here on until the N64 is released (Sept/96).
Almost 2 years of shrinking. Times must have been really hard for publishers. Oh, also are your hardware figures for US only or for NA as a whole?

BTW when did Yoshi's Mother****ing Island get released in the US?
 
heidern said:
That would make a nice tag.


Almost 2 years of shrinking. Times must have been really hard for publishers. Oh, also are your hardware figures for US only or for NA as a whole?

BTW when did Yoshi's Mother****ing Island get released in the US?

US only.

Oct/1995.
 

Brashnir

Member
heidern said:
That's a nice looking top 40. :)

You work fast too. :)

Oh, and seeing only one game over 100K really shows how much smaller the industry was back then. Although, I always thought that SNES games were more expensive than Genesis games, yet they seem to be about the same.

Yeah, the change in software sales numbers is really dramatic. The hardware numbers, on the other hand, are far closer to current figures. What does this tell us about the industry? I think there are a few possible factors at work.

1 - the average age of gamers has increased substantially in the last 11 years. Some of this is the same gamers growing older, and some is the proliferation of more mature titles. Sony and Microsoft entering the market in subsequent generations has clerly had an impact as well. Adult gamers are more able to buy software on a whim than children, so this could account for part of the increase

2 - Sony's strategy of taking a loss on hardware and making the money up on the back end through software sales casued a shift where software sales became a more important aspect of the industry. Microsoft has likewise followed suit in this business model.

3 - The Internet raising gamers' awareness of available software. Back in the SNES/Genesis days, most gamers got their info from two sources - Gaming magazines and their friends. The Internet has increased both forms of marketing exponentially. Sites like IGN, 1up and Gamespot, etc have huge viewership, adding to the hype generation potential of printed press alone. Plus internet communities like GAF, Gamefaqs and even non-gaming-specific forums add to the word of mouth promotion potential. GAF sells games. (I bought Phoenix Wright on GAF's recommendation, and never would have even looked at it otherwise.)

I'm sure other factors are at work as well, but the disparity in software sales seems to be more than just industry growth.
 
Brashnir said:
Yeah, the change in software sales numbers is really dramatic. The hardware numbers, on the other hand, are far closer to current figures. What does this tell us about the industry? I think there are a few possible factors at work.

1 - the average age of gamers has increased substantially in the last 11 years. Some of this is the same gamers growing older, and some is the proliferation of more mature titles. Sony and Microsoft entering the market in subsequent generations has clerly had an impact as well. Adult gamers are more able to buy software on a whim than children, so this could account for part of the increase

2 - Sony's strategy of taking a loss on hardware and making the money up on the back end through software sales casued a shift where software sales became a more important aspect of the industry. Microsoft has likewise followed suit in this business model.

3 - The Internet raising gamers' awareness of available software. Back in the SNES/Genesis days, most gamers got their info from two sources - Gaming magazines and their friends. The Internet has increased both forms of marketing exponentially. Sites like IGN, 1up and Gamespot, etc have huge viewership, adding to the hype generation potential of printed press alone. Plus internet communities like GAF, Gamefaqs and even non-gaming-specific forums add to the word of mouth promotion potential. GAF sells games. (I bought Phoenix Wright on GAF's recommendation, and never would have even looked at it otherwise.)

I'm sure other factors are at work as well, but the disparity in software sales seems to be more than just industry growth.

Hey, you seem to be right on.
The SW ratio back then was about 4-6 so it was more difficult to sell a game.
Another source of gaming info were comercials - probably the most effective.
I wonder if we had weekly magazines, like Japan, if initial SW sales would hav been higher and more games would've been purchased? It made a huge difference in Japan where the tie ratios were ~10 & initial sales could reach 1m in two days (for DraQue, FFVI, etc).
 

Miburou

Member
Hardware figures are not really close to the ones we have nowadays (30M combined for Genesis and SNES according to this chart, versus something like 60-70M for the PS2+XB+GC), but I do agree that software sales are far stronger nowadays. It wasn't until the late PS1 era that I started having a backlog of games to play, and these days half the games I buy never get completed.
 
I have a question about your numbers. I've really lost interest in these threads for two reasons:

1. You use the word "bin".
2. You've started multiplying your data by weird formulas.

Are the numbers you have the original NPD data from back then? If so, I'd rather just see it raw. If not, then what are they, exactly? I'm interested in seeing sales data from back then, but numbers that are revised over a decade later don't do much for me.
 

donny2112

Member
Nintendo Power January 1995

NP_cover_Jan_95.jpg


NP_backcover_Jan_95.jpg


Top 10 Hints That You've Been Playing Video Games Too Long
10. You discover your little brother is now married with children.
9. The cord from your controller keeps getting tangled up in your beard.
8. You suddenly remember that Reagan is no longer president.
Oh, my.
7. Mario tells you to get a life.
6. The bad guys let you win just to get you out of their hair.
5. You find a Dear John letter where you Super NES used to be.
4. You think Guile and Bart Simpson are related.
3. You call a Game Counselor and ask for Zelda's number.
2. You're trying to find a warp zone in tic-tac-toe.
1.
Instead of Press Start, your video game says, Somebody please shoot me!

Dolph Q, S.Carolina


Apparently, RARE made the new logo for this month's Nintendo Power logo.

RARE_thanks.jpg


I hope RARE can keep putting out the hits like Donkey Kong Country!


Top Games of 1994

SNES
1. Donkey Kong Country
2. Mortal Kombat II
3. Super Metroid
4. NBA Jam
5. Final Fantasy III
6. Earthworm Jim
7. Mega Man X
8. Uniracers
9. Ken Griffey Presents Major League Baseball
10. Super Street Fighter II

Game Boy
1. Donkey Kong
2. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
3. Mega Man V
4. Wario Blast
5. Mortal Kombat II


1995 Previews

* Donkey Kong Land (GB)
* Commanche Rules the Sky (SNES w/FX chip)
Did this ever release?
* Kirby 2: Fightly Inflation (GB)
Ha, ha!
* NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (SNES)
* Secret of Evermore (SNES) (tentative title)
* Kyle Petty's Racing (SNES)
* Dirt Trax FX (SNES w/FX chip)
Did this ever release, either?


Powerfest '94

After nearly 140 preliminary events, the best players in North America converged on Sea World in San Diego. In total, 132 competitors would vie for the Title of Video Game Champion; of those, only one would make it.

When the five minutes were up (in the Final with a game of Donkey Kong Country) and the smoke had cleared, Mike had beaten Brandon by the narrowest of margins. The final score was 2,418 to 2.304, making Mike Iarossi the 1995 National U.S. Nintendo Champion!

Powerfest_champ_94.jpg



Shoshinkai '94
Pre-runner of TGS? SpaceWorld?

VB1.jpg


VB2.jpg


Screenshots:
* Chrono Trigger
* Front Mission
* Tale Phantasia
* Taloon's Mystery Dungeon 2
* Dragon Quest VI
* Ys
* Nightmare Busters
* Super Air Diver 2



Previous Months
November 1994 Nintendo Power
October 1994 Nintendo Power
September 1994 Nintendo Power
August 1994 Nintendo Power
July 1994 Nintendo Power
June 1994 Nintendo Power
May 1994 Nintendo Power
April 1994 Nintendo Power
March 1994 Nintendo Power
 
Thanks donny,
could you post the early screens for these:
* Chrono Trigger
* Front Mission
* Tale Phantasia
* Dragon Quest VI
 
Leondexter said:
I have a question about your numbers. I've really lost interest in these threads for two reasons:

1. You use the word "bin".
2. You've started multiplying your data by weird formulas.

Are the numbers you have the original NPD data from back then? If so, I'd rather just see it raw. If not, then what are they, exactly? I'm interested in seeing sales data from back then, but numbers that are revised over a decade later don't do much for me.

1. Not anymore (i've been informed some gaffers do correctly pronounce it 'been' so no need to confuse them).
2. To make them better fit the NPD revised figures.

No. I can't post it raw, the NPD S.S. will come after me. They are roughly equal to later revised figures from the NPD (they hav revised their figures since then).
Why? they are more accurate now, the original had GEN way ahead of SNES and overall sales were way lower (ie. DKC was only at 2.3m LTD).
 

alistairw

Just so you know, I have the best avatars ever.
donny2112 said:
[
* Dirt Trax FX (SNES w/FX chip)
Did this ever release, either?

Yeah, but only in the US, and it's horrible. The worst FX chip game, by far.
 

Diablos

Member
Damn, '95 was such a long time ago. I was playing three of the games in the top 10 (Sonic & Knuckles, Mortal Kombat II, The Lion King).

Gaming goodness! I really enjoyed all of them.

I also played Power Rangers (but I didn't own it), what a terrible game :lol
 

donny2112

Member
Square2005 said:
Thanks donny,
could you post the early screens for these:
* Chrono Trigger
* Front Mission
* Tale Phantasia
* Dragon Quest VI

It's just one screen for each game. I'll try to post it tomorrow.
 
Square2005 said:
1. Not anymore (i've been informed some gaffers do correctly pronounce it 'been' so no need to confuse them).
2. To make them better fit the NPD revised figures.

No. I can't post it raw, the NPD S.S. will come after me. They are roughly equal to later revised figures from the NPD (they hav revised their figures since then).
Why? they are more accurate now, the original had GEN way ahead of SNES and overall sales were way lower (ie. DKC was only at 2.3m LTD).

Good news all around, thanks. I didn't realize you were trying to make the same corrections NPD made to their estimates.
 

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Wow...I remember that 95 Nintendo Power. I still remember that gritty texture on the "95" too. It was like sand-paper. Hehehe.
 
I feel a bit disappointed that MKII sold more on the Genny, when the SNES version was superior in every way. Nintendo really shot themselves in the foot with the first MK. It'll be interesting to see how MK3 compares out of the gate. I remember the PSX version came out as well but had atrocious loading times.
 

Link1110

Member
It always surprises me how little Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles sell on these things. IMO, thery're far better than the DKC games.
 

ioi

Banned
Right, with all the necessary adjustments etc, here is the hardware for Jan 95:

SNES 222,000 14,627,000
GEN 154,500 13,278,000
 
ioi said:
Right, with all the necessary adjustments etc, here is the hardware for Jan 95:

SNES 222,000 14,627,000
GEN 154,500 13,278,000

How'd you come up w/ the LTDs?
Can you make a TOP10 or so of Japanese SW/HW sales for Jan-95?
and send over the data you promised...
 
ioi said:
Interesting that the N64 had almost an identical sales pattern to the SNES, actually leading it before dropping off sooner.

http://www.vgcharts.org/usaconscomps.php?name1=N64&name2=SNES&type=2

DS manages to pull strongly ahead of GC in a similar timeframe

http://www.vgcharts.org/usaconscomps.php?name1=DS&name2=GC&type=2

So you estimated NA HW sales back to 1989...!?
Is it based on anything or just your guestimates?

Are you planning on guessing SW sales back to '89 also?
 
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