I find this far more acceptable than Guitar Hero.
Nintendo could do that with pokemon toys or (better yet!) cards.
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NPD December 2011 Sales Results [Up5: Star Wars: The Old Republic Sales]
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
I find this far more acceptable than Guitar Hero.
Nintendo could do that with pokemon toys or (better yet!) cards.
I went to Target this week, because my kid had some allowance to burn and he wanted some Skylanders. This is what greeted us:
Yeah. Heartbreak. I took a picture of it, because a friend of mine whose kid is also obsessed with the damn things, was also looking for them.
You might know this...if I want to try Skylanders, can I get one of those Portals of Power and then buy a single Skylander and I'm good to go? That seems to be the cheapest route if it would work. Or does the starter kit come with some other shit I need?
I know that is cool to hate Bobby Kotick, but part of the reason Skylanders was a success was because of him too.
Toys for Bob made the game (Wii only), they had no knowledge in making toys/etc. so they did what they could to sell the concept. Bobby liked the idea, but the only way he knew it would work was to make everything high quality (game, toys, portal, etc.); so more budget was given to the team to make the game and to make sure the quality of the toys was great too (they got a separate company to make them; which is also part of the reason of stores been out of stock; demand was higher than supply and expectations).
Toys for Bob made the game (Wii only), they had no knowledge in making toys/etc. so they did what they could to sell the concept. Bobby liked the idea, but the only way he knew it would work was to make everything high quality (game, toys, portal, etc.); so more budget was given to the team to make the game and to make sure the quality of the toys was great too (they got a separate company to make them; which is also part of the reason of stores been out of stock; demand was higher than supply and expectations).
Sadly, nope. The portals are only sold/bundle with the game; which also comes with 3 figurines.Aselith said:
Yeah, the starters come with game, poster (to track figure/collection) stickers , per figure, 3 figures, portal of power and (depending the version you buy) USB cable to connect it to the PC-minigame.Aselith said:
You can get them solo on ebay. I just need to know if there's other stuff in that box that I need other than the dudes. There's a 3DS portal for 14.99 right now.
Yeah, but you also need the game an the game's not sold by itself (unless you buy everything by separate on eBay)
The 3DS portal is compatible with the Wii version (through the USB cable), but not sure if with the other versions.
The PC-minigames are quite simple and the experience you learn from it is separate than the experience you can learn in the game.
On the eBay route, you need :
-Portal
-Game
-USB cable (3DS portal uses regular USB/mini cable, but transfer content to the 3DS game via IR-port), Wii/PS3 versions are wireless USB (dongle), 360 and PC are wired/USB.
-At least one figure
All right thanks. Wasn't thinking about the game. Bit of a derp moment there.
Hopefully somebody will release them.
Kenshin001
Member
Wouldn't the majority of those 360 models sold still be cheaper than a PS3 though? The way I see it people are choosing either a 4GB model at $199.99 or a $299.99 4GB Kinect model over a $249.99 PS3, with the 4GB base model taking the lion's share of sales.
...
If the average sell price is higher than PS3 and the bare min for PS3 is at is 249. It would mean more than half would have to be the 299 model or else it would be lower.
bigtroyjon
Member
clutch.as.it.gets.
Member
I´m one of those guys that hope/think that the next xbox will launch this year and my biggest reason why i think it can happen is how crowded the first quarter is this year. It`s the most crowded i have ever seen and most importanly some games got in surprisingly fast and unexpected. For example Tecmo annouced Nov/Dec. Ninja Gaiden 3 is comming March 12 (not many saw it coming this fast), EA announced last fall all of a sudden Syndicate will be released Feb. (at that point we had seen nothing from that game), Max Payne 3 the same... the point is: why the rush?
We will see.
Kenshin001
Member
Right, so to answer my question, you are saying the majority of models sold are not the cheaper model?
Yes, I realise that and I know about the ASP and read the Gamasutra article. I was just looking at what I thought were the most popular models. As the article said for example a 70/30 split will give a an ASP, so I was wondering what the split would be across the range of different priced 360s.
Raitosaito
Member
Activision has found their new juggernaut IP.
Skylanders
Skylanders
Version 3.0
Member
Wow, no Nintendo games in the top 10 for the year. NoA need some firing.
bigtroyjon
Member
I'm not exactly sure what you are asking but if the average selling price is over $300 then there aren't more $200 models sold than anything else. In fact, it's likely that would be the least popular model. (And I'm pretty sure it is.)
Mario Kart Wii probably could've done better on that list if it wasn't bundled.
A Black Falcon
Member
Completely ignoring GC/Wii sales just isn't right, though. Yeah, third parties eventually dropped the Gamecube (it happened in 2003-2004), but those first few years provided a fair number of solid third party releases, you know. Ignoring that to try to make your point stronger isn't right. As for the Wii, of course most third parties did never show up at all, but some did, and a few, most notably Ubisoft, have had great success... it is true that many games are PS3/360(/PC) only, but that isn't the whole core market, there is at least some on Nintendo as well. And of course Nintendo's the one that saw the massive growth.
As for handhelds though, it will be interesting to see whether the incredible growth we saw with the DS and PSP can be maintained, given the pressure from cellphones and tablets... I hope it can, but it's clearly far too early to judge that either way.
I mean, you're right that PC/PS3/360-only developers have a problem now because budgets have gotten so huge that one failure can bring down a company. That's quite true and absolutely a huge problem with the industry this last generation. But even so, ignoring Nintendo consoles from the past two generations (I assume you wouldn't ignore the N64 too, given that it did get good Western support?) entirely like that is inaccurate and wrong. Even if they matter less to many Western developers, they matter at least a little to many of them, and have some impact. You make things look worse than they are, and growth less than it is, by only including certain platforms.
(On that note, SNES + Genesis was something like 48-52 million in North America. Turbografx isn't really known, but not more than a million or two at the absolute most.) PS1 + N64 is larger than that though, like 60-70 million I think. (Plus 2.5 million Saturns) Every generation grows overall versus the previous. This gen has been somewhat unique in that its lead system hasn't outsold the lead system of the previous generation -- that has usually happened in the past -- but it hasn't always; the SNES didn't outsell the NES, most notably, but overall the generation did.)
Also, the PS2 had a pretty different developer base from the PS3 and 360... I don't think "PS2 and Xbox versus PS3 and 360" is entirely accurate from a developer basis either. Yeah, most multiplatform console games were indeed PS2/Xbox, and sometimes PS2/Xbox/GC, but those were often from traditionally console developers, a lot of the PC developers were Xbox only, and the big story of the early '00s was North American PC developers all going console. Some did support multiple platforms though I will admit, but still, the PS2 was different from the others. That's particularly true for Japanese support, sure, but somewhat for Western as well. And the lower budgets meant that you didn't need to sell as much either.
While games at the top are selling more than ever, it seems, in part because of the growth of the industry (it HAS gotten larger overall every single generation), I'd say again that the bigger problem here is the massive budgets those games have, not the sales; last gen games could make money off of a smaller number of sales than is possible for expensive HD-console games.
Yeah, the growth of AAA game sales does seem to perhaps have come at the cost of A and AA game sales, yes -- the top games are selling more than ever, but the second tier aren't, and are either selling similarly but costing more to make, or selling less. That's just not sustainable. The collapse of the second-tier market was one of Konami's excuses for shutting down Hudson, wasn't it? Now maybe they'd have done that either way (I mean, that certainly doesn't explain killing all of their in progress 3DS games, among others), but still they at least partially had a point.
You think? I don't think a conspiracy theory like that makes sense... no, the industry has gotten itself here just by the momentum of improving technology and the increased costs that each new level of games requires to make, mostly. That, of course, is part of why so many Japanese devs went handheld last gen, not just because the market went there in Japan but because of lower costs.
I mean, it is true that those lower-tier publishers have struggled, but I doubt it was some intentional setup by the big guys.
Could it have helped THQ that they abandoned what used to be one of their primary markets, making (mediocre) licensed games for kids?
And as for Midway, they just never entirely found their way again after shutting down their arcade division, sadly. I liked Midway, but... '00s Midway, while it had some high points, couldn't match '90s Midway, not by a longshot. And Midway had been losing money for years before it went under; that didn't start with the 360 generation, but well before that. It had only stayed in business because it had a wealthy owner, but once he sold, they went down.
I really think that that's just a side effect of the direction the industry as a whole has gone, technologically and in terms of which games are selling the most.
That's just note true, the GC had more major third party titles than that, and so does the Wii. Sure, a majority of major third party titles on both platforms, and PS3/360 ones in particular, weren't released on Wii, but you exaggerate. For the GC, as I said earlier yes, third party support fell in 2004, but that still left several years with better third party support, and some multiplatform games even after that. The Wii didn't reach that level, but there were a few here and there.
Oh, and of those four publishers you keep mentioning, Ubisoft and EA have supported both the GC and Wii pretty well. Sega too. Capcom... on and off. (And on the note of Capcom, what, are you forgetting REmake and RE0 already, to name a few?)
I'd think that a bigger reason behind the Japanese switch to handhelds was because PS3/360 development was so expensive that they couldn't justify those kinds of budgets, given the relatively small size of the Japanese home market, so they looked for an alternate outlet, and that became an increased focus on handheld gaming. Handhelds had always been more popular in Japan than the west, but that really was the tipping point for what happened this last generation. In the West the market is larger, so even if a lot of devs have gone down in the attempt, it's just feasible enough for developers to focus only on the higher-end platforms that they continue to resist financial reality and keep trying for those big-budget titles... of course, we all know the results for most of them, but just enough can get rewards from it, and the seemingly more "better graphics are important"-focused Western gamer culture (comes from the PC gaming industry, likely?), keep them trying.
Certainly true, and particularly in a recession extending the generation makes a lot of sense.
Their prices were, and still are, far too high, so of course it took longer, particularly after the crash...
I don't really see either of those things happening, though. I don't know what's going to happen this next generation, but it could get even uglier, that's for sure. It's a strong possibility now, really.
CadetMahoney
Member
Indeed 360 is down and if this trend continues next year could be much worse. Time for new consoles fall 2012/
AdventureRacing
Member
The 360 just had its best year ever WW and in the US and will probably get a price cut next year. I don't think it's doing too badly.
CadetMahoney
Member
I just want a new console sooner rather than later, whatever helps me believe.
I really want to see those PS3 Skyrim numbers. These grouped sales just make ppl more curious given the Skyrim debacle.
I really want to see those PS3 Skyrim numbers. These grouped sales just make ppl more curious given the Skyrim debacle.
Microsoft gave us the more than $2.1B hardware for the year and we know the number of units sold-through.
Well, I wasn't trying to give an exhaustive list, but yeah, you can add RE0 and REmake to the list. I'd throw Rogue Leader in there as well. But again, the few examples that do exist are almost all from Japanese pubs.
My point was referring to the investments in the platform from pubs, not the totality of the software. The Wii in particular has had a ton of software released, and has actually sold a great deal of 3rd-party software in the US. But none of it was from major investments. It was all in the categories that I listed. Small-budget stuff that really won't affect a major pub's bottom line much if it fails. If it hits big, like Just Dance or Carnival Games or Zumba Fitness - then the pub rakes in gobs of free cash. If it doesn't work out, well then try another handful of low-budget things to see if one of them hits. No real damage done.
I was specifically referring to the big-budget, top developer, mainline big franchise projects (like Epic Mickey or Resident Evil) that require major investments and huge risk from the big pubs. Those games were never developed (except for a very few exceptions) with the Cube or Wii in mind. GC/Wii were an afterthought for those AAA-projects. Even all the Cube support that you are referring to all fell in the lazy port category. The Cube got lots of ports, but more often than not they had audio problems, online removed, and a host of other issues. And how many of those big-budget AAA games were made with Cube the lead platform vs shuffling off the port to some separate, small team. Really, those Cube ports were low-budget affairs that would have had a very minimal impact (if any impact at all) on the pubs if those ports never existed at all (as was proven true later when they did just drop all those ports). (By the way, I'm not trying to knock the small-budget stuff. Oftentimes, small-budget games will completely outclass the big budget stuff in terms of fun and enjoyment).
The big and important investment decisions were never geared towards the Cube/Wii from pubs (especially western pubs). They were geared towards PS2 early on, and then started shifting more and more strongly towards XBox as well as the gen wore on. And then those big investments were directed solely at PS3/360 this gen. And those AAA-projects are the ones that define these publishers. They represent a massive portion of the revenues (and profit/loss) of these companies. The small low-budget stuff can be very profitable when it hits, but doesn't really affect the company in a meaningful way (on a project-by-project basis) if it doesn't pan out.
But yeah, good points - and interesting discussion.
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Main thing IMO is everyone who wants a console really already owns one expect for the extreme cheapy people. You don't hit that super cheap/I might pick up an extra console till you get down to $150 or lower IMO. A $130 base model would sell like CRAZY next year IMO. Then MS could sell the HDD model for like $170 so they'd have two skus under $200. Then price drop that kinect bundle on down to like $250 or even $200 if they want to get nuts.
PS3 needs a price drop as well IMO. Granted the PS3 base system are HDD models, but $250 this late in the game sort of kills it for the consumers still holding out on the PS3. Heck the PS2 really took off @ $150, and the PS3 isn't even at $200 yet.
PS3 needs a price drop as well IMO. Granted the PS3 base system are HDD models, but $250 this late in the game sort of kills it for the consumers still holding out on the PS3. Heck the PS2 really took off @ $150, and the PS3 isn't even at $200 yet.
Xenon
Member
There is no way Sony or MS are in a rush to start selling hardware at a loss again. Sure everyone's sales are down but they are making more on each console. I think MS and Sony are happy just sitting back and seeing how the WiiU's launch goes. I'm pretty sure both companies have all their marketing and production plans laid out and ready to ramp up in a short amount of time if necessary.
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Maybe I'm crazy, but for the 360 at least I don't see how MS wouldn't still be making cash even with a price cut down to say $150 for the base arcade model. Maybe I'm crazy though.
Xenon
Member
? Maybe it's late but I'm not sure what you're asking.
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Edited cause it's late... to bed I go lolol
Xenon
Member
With the sales at Christmas they did that. But I expect only a 20-30 dollar price drop when they decide to change MSRP.
To bed I go as well...
Corran Horn
May the Schwartz be with you
I went to Target this week, because my kid had some allowance to burn and he wanted some Skylanders. This is what greeted us:
Yeah. Heartbreak. I took a picture of it, because a friend of mine whose kid is also obsessed with the damn things, was also looking for them.
We been out for weeks. After Xmas we had a sale and every kid with a gift card bought it. I have people literally call me every morning asking me if we got any more in stock :/
It is truly greatest idea ever in videogames. I'm not even joking.
There are plenty of people my age who had kids in the last 5 years or so. There are plenty of sales out there at the current price (but I do agree that a price drop would be nice).
I went to Toys R Us to grab Rayman and a mob of children were completely going mad in the Skylanders section. Kids knew the specific ones they wanted and even the employees seemed to know specific ones that were out of stock.
Sure but unless I'm mistaken MS is already well in the black this gen and I bet they want to beat Sony out the gate again.
Not that I necessarily believe they will release first half of 2013, though. Devil's advocate for the most part. I do think they'll try and get a new console out next year though. Sony 2014.
Psychotext
Member
It's already been stated, but the PS3 and 360 are up over last year when you consider November and December combined. I really don't think it's all doom and gloom, they simply made the November deals too good which meant that a lot of people who would have otherwise bought in December bought then. Lets at least let it get a few months into 2012 before we start declaring the death of both machines.
2010 (Nov + Dec):
PS3: 1.7m
360: 3.2m
2011 (Nov + Dec):
PS3: 1.8m
360: 3.4m
All that aside, I saw Skylanders in a local store a month or so ago and thought it looked awesome (they had the display with all the figures / toys). I wish I had that sort of thing when I was a kid.
2010 (Nov + Dec):
PS3: 1.7m
360: 3.2m
2011 (Nov + Dec):
PS3: 1.8m
360: 3.4m
All that aside, I saw Skylanders in a local store a month or so ago and thought it looked awesome (they had the display with all the figures / toys). I wish I had that sort of thing when I was a kid.
Opus Angelorum
Member
It really is.
Make a game that features collectible characters , price them accordingly and bask in the profit.
What Activision will need to do though is release a new game, quickly. My step-son has over 20 Skylanders which were bought within the first two weeks of owning the game.
Since completing the game, he has only bought one.
Portugeezer
Member
I'm sure they'll launch with a killer app at least, probably a Mario game.
AceBandage
Banned
Nah, they'll release new figures that open up new worlds (like the Pirate ones).
Portugeezer
Member
And COD, don't forget COD.
Opus Angelorum
Member
There is not much content in those though.
airmangataosenai
Member
This is the worst NPD thread we've ever had.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
how npd stole christmas
Dr. Feel Good
Banned
Agreed.
Tomorrow morning, new short news item format, another on Wednesday or later. Still writing, long weekend.
Pokemon anyone?
My kids love it. My youngest just likes the figures and doesn't play the game much.
So how is Call of Duty MW3 faring compared to Black Ops? Better? Equal? Worse? I know a bunch of people who are casual gamers who are getting fatigued with the releases, wondering if maybe the sales for the series have reached its ceiling.
Granted even in a decline any game would wish to sell that kind of amount.
Granted even in a decline any game would wish to sell that kind of amount.
nextgeneration
Member
Yup, the lack of numbers is killing these threads. Will we get even fewer numbers in the future?