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[Hugstable]

Yes. Not sure what kind of weird issue you are trying to make.
They are games designed to appeal to as broad a section of the mass market as possible. Broadly appealing whilst avoiding anything that is offensive, or may prove unpalatable.
Like the flavour vanilla.

I'm not criticizg your favourite game If that's what's bothering you.

Yeah every system has them, I mean Sony has what, God of War, Uncharted and GT that basically fit that bill? Don't see why all these games need to be labeled anything different, AAA is AAA

 

[OldSkoolFool]

I think the xbox one sales could be representative of what is to come this year rather than what is available now.

Well done xb1 btw!

 

[Hugstable]

We have this but its arguable how relevant its data remains.

LOL at the top spots for Sony and Microsoft being Better Resolution and Brand >_>. I'm starting to feel old or something in comparison to what people want out of gaming or something. Exclusive Games and Content would be my top thing for all 3 systems

 

[QaaQer]

We have this but its arguable how relevant its data remains.

thx, but I mean some actual internal data, the kind they make decisions with and the kind that Nintendo occasionally gives out.

I believe that the types of people buying a console/handheld in 2007/8 was much much more diverse than in 2016, and consequently I think sales of ps4/x1 will be frontloaded. I wish that I could prove/disprove that without having to spend money or actually do anything beyond ask here and click some links.

 

[The Rain King]

Yes. Not sure what kind of weird issue you are trying to make.
They are games designed to appeal to as broad a section of the mass market as possible. Broadly appealing whilst avoiding anything that is offensive, or may prove unpalatable.
Like the flavour vanilla.

I'm not criticizg your favourite game If that's what's bothering you.

I think he was just reinforcing your point/agreeing with you.

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

LOL at the top spots for Sony and Microsoft being Better Resolution and Brand >_>. I'm starting to feel old or something in comparison to what people want out of gaming or something. Exclusive Games and Content would be my top thing for all 3 systems

that was the headline grabber, but the actual meat of the data presented was that 90% of all next gen console purchasers owned one or more previous generations console.
The WiiU audience of all things being the largest by percentage.

 

[Papacheeks]

I'm quite confident that Sony learnt their lesson last holidays. I believe we will see a price drop to $299 in October to counter the launch of Halo 5. Also, Sony has marketing rights for Star Wars Battlefront which should move a lot of units.

They stayed the course with 399$ and still did pretty damn well against the onslaught of deals MS was doing to get people to buy their console during Holidays.

And they made more profit than MS did on their console. Those result we saw month or 2 back shows how going that low in price so early hurt Microsoft finance wise for that division.

And like other's have pointed out the trade-in deals Retailers like BESTBUY and Gamstop have been doing pushed xbox during that time period to win by 13k in NA for April.
Mean while in WW sales PS4 dominates. Though I agree are due for a price drop, but it's not a dire situation when your competition beats you by 13k in one region for 1 month.

And that's not taking into effect the Special Edition BATMAN Bundle is sold out on amazon and at other retailers.
So if you think PS4 is going to have a bad month in May-June, you are smoking something.

They will announce a bundle probably, and make a official PS BLOG announcement after June NPD in July or August.

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

Yeah every system has them, I mean Sony has what, God of War, Uncharted and GT that basically fit that bill? Don't see why all these games need to be labeled anything different, AAA is AAA

Vanilla games are important and generate a lot of money for the industry. Bloodborne is a great game but its horrific, bloody and the lack of handholding means it isn't vanilla so it won't ever do the sort of numbers those games do.

I think and hope it will do well for what it is though. It deserves success.

 

[CosmicQueso]

It is odd because you'd think hardware and software would be in lockstep.

Don't think publishers were expecting such strong hardware adoption. Many decided to diversify and limit risk on Console development so release count and publisher counts have plummeted. All the while, consumers expected (and still expect) that the games will come. They should be related, but the sequencing is definitely off right now.

I think the thread title from then said it all: "NPD thread of massive disappointment if you're not Nintendo".
Even excluding Nintendo completely from the 2008 equivalent thread because reasons, the PS2 was still selling 120k and the PSP was still selling 190k.
PS3 and Vita sure aren't picking up that shortfall here.

Same deal if you look at the 2009 thread: PS2 and PSP were still relevant at 170k and 115k respectively, again a shortfall comparison to what Vita and PS3 are selling today.

At what point does everyone accept that the contraction in this space has already occurred and that the new demand baseline for dedicated gaming devices has been established? It's self-evident in every data point and facet that the market for these devices is smaller overall than it was 5 or 10 years ago. So why do we keep talking about this as if there's an option that it's not? It's like a global warming debate sometimes.

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

I think he was just reinforcing your point/agreeing with you.

Oh I see.

The smiley thing at the end of his sentence threw me off. Lol

 

[Hugstable]

Vanilla games are important and generate a lot of money for the industry. Bloodborne is a great game but its horrific, bloody and the lack of handholding means it isn't vanilla so it won't ever do the sort of numbers those games do.

I think and hope it will do well for what it is though. It deserves success.

Sony commented that the game surprised them, so I think the game did well. It's still a niche game sadly and many get turned off by the difficulty. But I think the sales of both this and the Dark Souls 2 rerelease show that interest for these games is very high, and hopefully From keeps making these types of RPG games, both teams.

 

[MajorPain]

It begins - good to see Xbox back on top.

 

[QaaQer]

Don't think publishers were expecting such strong hardware adoption. Many decided to diversify and limit risk on Console development so release count and publisher counts have plummeted. All the while, consumers expected (and still expect) that the games will come. They should be related, but the sequencing is definitely off right now.

cheers.

At what point does everyone accept that the contraction in this space has already occurred and that the new demand baseline for dedicated gaming devices has been established? It's self-evident in every data point and facet that the market for these devices is smaller overall than it was 5 or 10 years ago. So why do we keep talking about this as if there's an option that it's not? It's like a global warming debate sometimes.

I think because the types of games that sell these systems seem appeal to the same 50 million or so, i.e. the GTAVBLOPS crowd. And since these boxes have no real ancillary selling features to distinguish themselves, we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

My view of reality could be totally wrong tho, and maybe there are lots of non-GTAVBLOPS people who want these consoles.

Sony commented that the game surprised them, so I think the game did well. It's still a niche game sadly and many get turned off by the difficulty. But I think the sales of both this and the Dark Souls 2 rerelease show that interest for these games is very high, and hopefully From keeps making these types of RPG games, both teams.

ugg.

I want them to let other directors make games they would love to play like Miyaszki got to do with Demon's Souls, without all the baggage of making a sequel and satisfying a fan base.

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

Don't think publishers were expecting such strong hardware adoption. Many decided to diversify and limit risk on Console development so release count and publisher counts have plummeted. All the while, consumers expected (and still expect) that the games will come. They should be related, but the sequencing is definitely off right now.

I get the feeling it was more "technical hiccups" in transitioning to new workflows than it was "on paper" preparedness - if we hadn't seen so many titles delayed, the release schedules would certainly be less barren than they are.
We'll probably have a much better idea on if this is just a blip or the new normal after E3 though, and how many titles are being shown in a "good to go, playable this year" state versus concept renders release date TBD.

At what point does everyone accept that the contraction in this space has already occurred and that the new demand baseline for dedicated gaming devices has been established?

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[>-Baron-Spamedi-<]

Sony commented that the game surprised them, so I think the game did well. It's still a niche game sadly and many get turned off by the difficulty. But I think the sales of both this and the Dark Souls 2 rerelease show that interest for these games is very high, and hopefully From keeps making these types of RPG games, both teams.

I hope so.
I know what you mean about being sad it's a niche game but at the same time that's what allows it to be good. If they try to vanilla-ize it to sell in greater numbers I think it would scrub much of what makes it appealling.

The industry needs the big sellers, but gamers need the smaller games and the games which try different things.

It's one of the reasons why I'm hoping Project CARS does well even though I don't own it. It's trying a totally different approach to the two big hitters and I want it to succeed. I don't want the future of gaming to be one where only 'cookie cutter' AAA games succeed.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

3DSus collapsed! D:

At least Xenoblade 3D sold well. Time to release a really big N3DS exclusive!

 

[SgtCobra]

Bloodborne is doing great WW and the fact that it exceeded Sony's expectations says enough. People shouldn't be concerned about that, it wouldn't surprise me if becomes the best selling From Software game in years. Nice to see the Xbox win a off season month (which actually doesn't matter at all right?) the deals must've been great, it should give Sony a kick in the butt to do something about their position in the US, even if the difference is like 13k

 

[watership]

ugg.

I want them to let other directors make games they would love to play like Miyaszki got to do with Demon's Souls, without all the baggage of making a sequel and satisfying a fan base.

The worst thing that can happen to someone creative is for one of your creations to become so popular and in demand that it kills any future creative aspirations you had in other directions.

 

[Majestad]

Do we have more specific numbers about MKX sales?

 

[hipbabboom]

This is Intel-AMD all over again!

Seriously, MS made a mistake in not under-performing this month because they may have awoken a sleeping giant [Sony PS4]. My people have a saying: "A successful hunter will follow the beast quietly or be eaten." Seeing this months sales result and MS's attempts to overtake them, I have a feeling Sony is going to announce Megaton after Megaton this E3 and totally destroy any market viability MS may have had. If MS knew what was good for them, they really should have pulled an AMD and kept it losing to ensure a giant like Intel let them continue to live. If you think I'm shitting you then bookmark this post and get back to me in 30 days and check in again this Christmas. I like you MS but you know you dun fucked up right?

 

[Hugstable]

cheers.





I think because the types of games that sell these systems seem appeal to the same 50 million or so, i.e. the GTAVBLOPS crowd. And since these boxes have no real ancillary selling features to distinguish themselves, we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

My view of reality could be totally wrong tho, and maybe there are lots of non-GTAVBLOPS people who want these consoles.




ugg.

I want them to let other directors make games they would love to play like Miyaszki got to do with Demon's Souls, without all the baggage of making a sequel and satisfying a fan base.

I never said that I wanted them to make a sequel...

I hope so.
I know what you mean about being sad it's a niche game but at the same time that's what allows it to be good. If they try to vanilla-ize it to sell in greater numbers I think it would scrub much of what makes it appealling.

The industry needs the big sellers, but gamers need the smaller games and the games which try different things.

It's one of the reasons why I'm hoping Project CARS does well even though I don't own it. It's trying a totally different approach to the two big hitters and I want it to succeed. I don't want the future of gaming to be one where only 'cookie cutter' AAA games succeed.

True, AAA games can be great, but almost everything I enjoy these days tend to be the more riskier games, stuff like Bloodborne, Evil Within, Shadow Warrior, etc. And I really need to try Project Cars, gives me another Racing game to tide me over til GT7 (I hope it shows up this E3)

 

[cakely]

This is Intel-AMD all over again!

Seriously, MS made a mistake in not under-performing this month because they may have awoken a sleeping giant [Sony PS4]. My people have a saying: "A successful hunter will follow the beast quietly or be eaten." Seeing this months sales result and MS's attempts to overtake them, I have a feeling Sony is going to announce Megaton after Megaton this E3 and totally destroy any market viability MS may have had. If MS knew what was good for them, they really should have pulled an AMD and kept it losing to ensure a giant like Intel let them continue to live. If you think I'm shitting you then bookmark this post and get back to me in 30 days and check in again this Christmas. I like you MS but you know you dun fucked up right?

Flurry of uppercuts, etc. etc.

 

[CosmicQueso]

I get the feeling it was more "technical hiccups" in transitioning to new workflows than it was "on paper" preparedness - if we hadn't seen so many titles delayed, the release schedules would certainly be less barren than they are.

Far fewer publishers are greenlighting far fewer big, disc based games. We used to get over 800 a year 5 years ago, now we're getting a little over 200 per year. Sure, the games that are in development have had some problems like you mention, but there just aren't the numbers of games getting made because publishers found the risk/reward for making games for the new consoles unappealing. Now that the adoption has been proven, will/can that declining release count trend be reversed is the key question in my mind.

 

[thisiswhatever]

No. Still a long ways to go to even reach half.

"Nintendo has published its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. The Japanese publisher made a profit of over 41bn yen, beating its forecast by 11bn yen. This follows a loss of 23bn yen last year.

Hardware wise, Nintendo sold 3.38m Wii U units worldwide, totalling at 9.54m units"

http://www.vg247.com/2015/05/07/nin...t-in-four-years-wii-u-lifetime-sales-at-9-5m/

So, 9.54M as of March 31st, add approximately 43k from April NPD and each of the Media-create weekly figures since then adds an additional ~61k. So, that's at least 9.64 million WW without accounting for Europe (maybe up to 9.7? probably not quite though)

Whereas GCN sold 21.74M units (half of which is 10.87M)

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/29/these-are-nintendos-lifetime-hardware-and-software-numbers

WiiU still has a ways to go, yeah (~1.17M). That was some disappointing research considering I really enjoy my WiiU.

 

[Elandyll]

Just to check what the evolution on a weekly sales basis has been (NPD/ US), I have normalized the numbers per week (March had 5 weeks).

The following numbers are rounded.

Jan:
PS4: 47k/ week
XB1: 37k/ week

Feb:
PS4: 88k/ week
XB1: 69k/ week

Mar:
PS4: 68k/ week
XB1: 47k/ week

Apr:
PS4: 43k/ week
XB1: 46k / week

As we can see, it's not that the XB1 did particularly well (it did ok), but the PS4 dropped significantly.
Now as per the reason, there are probably many (including many deals in both Feb/ March but little to none in April, no significant exclusive software releases after Feb/ March, some stock problems at least on Amazon, limited ed. Batman Bundle in June, etc.), but imo it's clear that the $399 price point might be reaching the point of (relative) disinterest as well.

 

[Lone Wolf]

While not mad (I'm 34, I have better things to be mad about) I still am a bit disappointed that the Xbone is so close in NA, especially when I think the PS4 is far and away the superior console. When it wins a month, it's even worse. The 360 deserved it's success, at least for the first half of the gen, but I sold my Xbone after only a few short months of owning it because it just didn't make enough sense to own both a PS4 as well, and I couldn't very well sell the system that plays multiplatforms the best. So I culled the weaker link. Last gen it was the opposite where my PS3 was the more ignored system for the first few years.

I know there is a lot more to the console than mere power, and I really liked the interface of the One once I became used to it, but it was sitting around unused for too long like my Wii U after a while. With 90% of games being multiplatform, power is actually what won out however.

I think its because the PS4 is so reminiscent of the early Xbox 360, with an abundant library of XBLA-style games thanks to the indies and the power of PS Plus. I just can't warrant 2 subscription services either, so the deeper service (at least as far as "freebies" is concerned) won out.

The short of it is I don't think the Xbone deserves any of it's success, not when there is a better alternative out there. For exclusives it might make a bit more sense and that's what talked me into a purchase (Sunset Overdrive) but as a primary system I don't understand it.

You need to let it go.

 

[Welfare]

"Nintendo has published its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. The Japanese publisher made a profit of over 41bn yen, beating its forecast by 11bn yen. This follows a loss of 23bn yen last year.

Hardware wise, Nintendo sold 3.38m Wii U units worldwide, totalling at 9.54m units"

http://www.vg247.com/2015/05/07/nin...t-in-four-years-wii-u-lifetime-sales-at-9-5m/

So, 9.54M as of March 31st, add approximately 43k from April NPD and each of the Media-create weekly figures since then adds an additional ~61k. So, that's at least 9.64 million WW without accounting for Europe (maybe up to 9.7? probably not quite though)

Whereas GCN sold 21.74M units (half of which is 10.87M)

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/29/these-are-nintendos-lifetime-hardware-and-software-numbers

WiiU still has a ways to go, yeah (~1.17M). That was some disappointing research considering I really enjoy my WiiU.

First off, don't add shipment numbers and sold through numbers together.

Wii U shipped total as of March 2015 is 9.54m. That is not the sold through number, which is what NPD and Media Create are.

Wii U sold through is lower than 9.54m.

 

[theprodigy]

First off, don't add shipment numbers and sold through numbers together.

Wii U shipped total as of March 2015 is 9.54m. That is not the sold through number, which is what NPD and Media Create are.

Wii U sold through is lower than 9.54m.

the funny thing is even for shipped it will take until the end of the year for Wii U to pass 1/2 Gamecube

as for NPD sell-through? well....

 

[Welfare]

the funny thing is even for shipped it will take until the end of the year for Wii U to pass 1/2 Gamecube

as for NPD sell-through? well....

At first I thought they were talking about US sales being half of the Gamecube. I had a giggle looking at the percentage difference for that.

WW shipments though, yeah, end of the year seems reasonable for the Wii U to reach half of the Gamecube.

 

[ZhugeEX]

Far fewer publishers are greenlighting far fewer big, disc based games. We used to get over 800 a year 5 years ago, now we're getting a little over 200 per year. Sure, the games that are in development have had some problems like you mention, but there just aren't the numbers of games getting made because publishers found the risk/reward for making games for the new consoles unappealing. Now that the adoption has been proven, will/can that declining release count trend be reversed is the key question in my mind.

I like reading your posts. Always full of great facts and analysis.

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

Far fewer publishers are greenlighting far fewer big, disc based games. We used to get over 800 a year 5 years ago, now we're getting a little over 200 per year. Sure, the games that are in development have had some problems like you mention, but there just aren't the numbers of games getting made because publishers found the risk/reward for making games for the new consoles unappealing. Now that the adoption has been proven, will/can that declining release count trend be reversed is the key question in my mind.

Sure, and there's a myriad of factors there ranging from everything from THQs collapse and no smaller publisher really stepping up to replace them on the console side of things, to the ever present and expected generational transition budget increase.

I think the platform holder E3 conferences will give us a better idea on if retail is approaching an equilibrium of products made to userbase consumption on the console side of things, and the publisher conferences will give us a better idea on if they are going to continue effectively subsidising their AAA titles with revenues made from other streams, or if they are going to consolidate further into fewer tentpole releases of higher budgets and higher expected revenue on the console side of things, and attempt to diversify more on the platforms with lower budget barriers - things like Shootmania on PC.

 

[Mory Dunz]

WiiU halfway to Gamecube numbers!

edit: Surprised to learn that the PS One outsold the Wii world wide. Wii had monster figures..and then a monster slide that bled into the WiiU.

It made a whole lot of money though in comparison at least. Must have had good margins.

 

[Brashnir]

Far fewer publishers are greenlighting far fewer big, disc based games. We used to get over 800 a year 5 years ago, now we're getting a little over 200 per year. Sure, the games that are in development have had some problems like you mention, but there just aren't the numbers of games getting made because publishers found the risk/reward for making games for the new consoles unappealing. Now that the adoption has been proven, will/can that declining release count trend be reversed is the key question in my mind.

With publishers drawing their belts tighter and tighter and only greenlighting games with the most mass-market appeal, there's a sleeping giant out there that's left under-served. While it's true that the mass market audience is the largest group of potential game buyers, they're not the only substantial group. This recent retreat to the "biggest" market is actually leading to a contraction of the overall market.

We've seen this happen in microcosm within game genres, as publishers and developers within certain genres have retreated deeper and deeper into a corner of their most hardcore fans, while alienating those less hardcore at the fringes.

This retreat to the mass market is alienating the more hardcore gamers at the fringes, and may pose a long-term problem for the industry. Some of this market is being served by indies, but not all of it.

I guess time will tell, but there's a lot of pockets of gamers being left out int he cold by current industry trends.

 

[arevin01]

I think the MMO Neverwinter pushed Xbox ahead of PS4.

 

[CosmicQueso]

With publishers drawing their belts tighter and tighter and only greenlighting games with the most mass-market appeal, there's a sleeping giant out there that's left under-served.

Hell yeah there is. And every time a Dying Light, a Bloodborne, or even a Mortal Kombat sets some type of sales record in a particular month or for a particular genre, that message is delivered. As it is when a game like Hardline comes out and struggles... while these other "niche" titles sell incredibly well, the message is reinforced. Some (maybe one) publisher "gets" that right now. I think others are learning with every sales announcement or NPD release.

Make some gawdammed games, publishers. What the hell are you people doing??

I like reading your posts. Always full of great facts and analysis.

Dude, you're better at what you do than 99% of the people doing it professionally. You're an asset to the community (hell, the industry) so right back at you.

 

[StevieP]

Make some gawdammed games, publishers. What the hell are you people doing??

They're making games in growth markets

 

[DustyVonEric]

This is Intel-AMD all over again!

Seriously, MS made a mistake in not under-performing this month because they may have awoken a sleeping giant [Sony PS4]. My people have a saying: "A successful hunter will follow the beast quietly or be eaten." Seeing this months sales result and MS's attempts to overtake them, I have a feeling Sony is going to announce Megaton after Megaton this E3 and totally destroy any market viability MS may have had. If MS knew what was good for them, they really should have pulled an AMD and kept it losing to ensure a giant like Intel let them continue to live. If you think I'm shitting you then bookmark this post and get back to me in 30 days and check in again this Christmas. I like you MS but you know you dun fucked up right?

Dude, I'm book-marking because that's an awesome saying!

I think MS has to try to win. But I agree that Sony (for whatever reason; amazing sales numbers, the need to maintain higher profit margins, more cards to play like crazy bundling or marketing deals, whatever) has not felt challenged to drop the price ahead of their schedule. Even though I don't think the situation is dire at all for MS (just worrisome), MS already had their round of insane deals. But once Sony does drop the price to $299 (maybe even with games), things are going to get crazy.

A Sony price drop must be hanging over the heads of MS like the Sword of Damocles. It's going to happen sometime (I think this holiday). I wonder what MS strategy will be to slow or counteract that. $250 with Halo or Gears Black Friday bundles? Too far out to speculate probably, but that could work.

 

[Pathfinder]

While not mad (I'm 34, I have better things to be mad about) I still am a bit disappointed that the Xbone is so close in NA, especially when I think the PS4 is far and away the superior console. When it wins a month, it's even worse. The 360 deserved it's success, at least for the first half of the gen, but I sold my Xbone after only a few short months of owning it because it just didn't make enough sense to own both a PS4 as well, and I couldn't very well sell the system that plays multiplatforms the best. So I culled the weaker link. Last gen it was the opposite where my PS3 was the more ignored system for the first few years.

I know there is a lot more to the console than mere power, and I really liked the interface of the One once I became used to it, but it was sitting around unused for too long like my Wii U after a while. With 90% of games being multiplatform, power is actually what won out however.

I think its because the PS4 is so reminiscent of the early Xbox 360, with an abundant library of XBLA-style games thanks to the indies and the power of PS Plus. I just can't warrant 2 subscription services either, so the deeper service (at least as far as "freebies" is concerned) won out.

The short of it is I don't think the Xbone deserves any of it's success, not when there is a better alternative out there. For exclusives it might make a bit more sense and that's what talked me into a purchase (Sunset Overdrive) but as a primary system I don't understand it.

So you wrote four paragraphs about how you're not mad?

Why don't I believe you?

 

[CaptNink]

This is Intel-AMD all over again!

Seriously, MS made a mistake in not under-performing this month because they may have awoken a sleeping giant [Sony PS4]. My people have a saying: "A successful hunter will follow the beast quietly or be eaten." Seeing this months sales result and MS's attempts to overtake them, I have a feeling Sony is going to announce Megaton after Megaton this E3 and totally destroy any market viability MS may have had. If MS knew what was good for them, they really should have pulled an AMD and kept it losing to ensure a giant like Intel let them continue to live. If you think I'm shitting you then bookmark this post and get back to me in 30 days and check in again this Christmas. I like you MS but you know you dun fucked up right?

LOL - so much crazy in this thread! It's awesome!

 

[moondoggerr]

This is Intel-AMD all over again!

Seriously, MS made a mistake in not under-performing this month because they may have awoken a sleeping giant [Sony PS4]. My people have a saying: "A successful hunter will follow the beast quietly or be eaten." Seeing this months sales result and MS's attempts to overtake them, I have a feeling Sony is going to announce Megaton after Megaton this E3 and totally destroy any market viability MS may have had. If MS knew what was good for them, they really should have pulled an AMD and kept it losing to ensure a giant like Intel let them continue to live. If you think I'm shitting you then bookmark this post and get back to me in 30 days and check in again this Christmas. I like you MS but you know you dun fucked up right?

I love this. Even when they demonstrably win a single month, they lose.

 

[Papacheeks]

Sure, and there's a myriad of factors there ranging from everything from THQs collapse and no smaller publisher really stepping up to replace them on the console side of things, to the ever present and expected generational transition budget increase.

I think the platform holder E3 conferences will give us a better idea on if retail is approaching an equilibrium of products made to userbase consumption on the console side of things, and the publisher conferences will give us a better idea on if they are going to continue effectively subsidising their AAA titles with revenues made from other streams, or if they are going to consolidate further into fewer tentpole releases of higher budgets and higher expected revenue on the console side of things, and attempt to diversify more on the platforms with lower budget barriers - things like Shootmania on PC.

Budgets depending on the game should be getting smaller. There are cheaper ways to make a game now. Company Engines are cheaper and licensing Fee's are pretty much going out the window or are being scaled down for getting more people on their engines. Games can be made with less people now.(No mans Sky, Wild, Rime, Shadow of the Beast, even the first batman game was made with 80 people)

Yes as some game franchises grow so do the teams. But if the game is a yearly release you don't need 200+ people, and more than likely can reuse Engine assets, and character editors.


Games like Farcry 3 Blood dragon and the likes are made with smaller teams. Some big games that started out like The first Witcher game with small teams.

There are more options that are more cost effective to make a game. Which is why Japan is able to produce games at a fast pace, for series like DYNASTY Warriors.

 

[Theonik]

One nose

I see.

LOL at the top spots for Sony and Microsoft being Better Resolution and Brand >_>. I'm starting to feel old or something in comparison to what people want out of gaming or something. Exclusive Games and Content would be my top thing for all 3 systems

Buy the system and the games will come. In the first place people want to play games them being exclusive doesn't matter for most people unless they are huge but even then people with social circles don't have any issues playing whatever game they want unless it's a WiiU or something.

I mean, for every Bloodborne there is 12 multiplats. It depends who you ask though.

 

[Final Verdict]

As we can see, it's not that the XB1 did particularly well (it did ok), but the PS4 dropped significantly.
Now as per the reason, there are probably many (including many deals in both Feb/ March but little to none in April, no significant exclusive software releases after Feb/ March, some stock problems at least on Amazon, limited ed. Batman Bundle in June, etc.), but imo it's clear that the $399 price point might be reaching the point of (relative) disinterest as well.

I personally think they can hang on to $399 a bit longer with some good 3rd party bundles.
PS3 dropped the price $100 after being on the market for 1 year.
PS2 dropped the price in the US after being on the US market for 17 months, BUT it is important to remember that PS2 had already launched in japan 6 months prior to the US. so technically the PS2 was on the market for about 2 years before it's first price drop.

I believe that Sony could drop to $299 right now if they felt they had to, but I don't think they have to....and another fair point to be made is that if they drop the price just in the US, then is could (maybe) impact European sales as they will want a price drop as well...

So I think Sony will wait to drop the price everywhere at the same time, and with Europe & other territories still doing well (as far as I know), I don't think they will drop it until this Holiday at the earliest, or maybe next spring when UC4 & SF5 come out.

 

[NoMoChokeSJ]

While not mad (I'm 34, I have better things to be mad about) I still am a bit disappointed that the Xbone is so close in NA, especially when I think the PS4 is far and away the superior console. When it wins a month, it's even worse. The 360 deserved it's success, at least for the first half of the gen, but I sold my Xbone after only a few short months of owning it because it just didn't make enough sense to own both a PS4 as well, and I couldn't very well sell the system that plays multiplatforms the best. So I culled the weaker link. Last gen it was the opposite where my PS3 was the more ignored system for the first few years.

I know there is a lot more to the console than mere power, and I really liked the interface of the One once I became used to it, but it was sitting around unused for too long like my Wii U after a while. With 90% of games being multiplatform, power is actually what won out however.

I think its because the PS4 is so reminiscent of the early Xbox 360, with an abundant library of XBLA-style games thanks to the indies and the power of PS Plus. I just can't warrant 2 subscription services either, so the deeper service (at least as far as "freebies" is concerned) won out.

The short of it is I don't think the Xbone deserves any of it's success, not when there is a better alternative out there. For exclusives it might make a bit more sense and that's what talked me into a purchase (Sunset Overdrive) but as a primary system I don't understand it.

I'm 39 and I'm disappointed too.... in things like poverty, hunger, war, pollution... video game console sales.... lol....no.

I own both consoles and a pretty good PC. My XB1 is my primary console because I prefer the controller, UI (some hate), constant support, integration with other MS products, and even the Kinect. I know it is the weaker console, but compared to my PC both are, so the point to me is moot. Both are just exclusive machines to me, which right now I feel is being won hands down by MS.

My point is we all have different reasons for console preference. These preferences will always be what drives sales and splits the market. MS does deserve the success, because they are listening to their userbase, constantly proving their console, and investing the money to market it according to demand.

 

[CadetMahoney]

I am a bit disappointed that the Xbone is so close in NA, especially when I think the PS4 is far and away the superior console.

The short of it is I don't think the Xbone deserves any of it's success.

It's strange because bone seems "immune" from traditional consumer satisfaction in NA but in Yurop they've been feeling the effects. Bad products would naturally fail in the face of good competition especially with these things are $300+, no way do ppl buy on impulse without researching on that kind of money, but we have different sales results to different areas. Marketing alone can't explain that unless the Americans are that stupid.

Bone being $50 cheaper is probably nearing the correct price to justify the power difference though, so if it remains cheaper by at least that much it's only natural ppl will start looking seriously at their decisions and bone might win the battle in NA but have already lost the war.

 

[ZhugeEX]

Dude, you're better at what you do than 99% of the people doing it professionally. You're an asset to the community (hell, the industry) so right back at you.

Thanks, that's nice of you to say

Although I think you're overstating it, I'm just one guy who knows how to use Excel hahaaha!

 

[ZhugeEX]

WiiU halfway to Gamecube numbers!

edit: Surprised to learn that the PS One outsold the Wii world wide. Wii had monster figures..and then a monster slide that bled into the WiiU.

Um... not exactly haha. Here, please take a look-

Worldwide - Wii U - 9.54m, GC LTD - 21.74m

USA - Wii U - ~3.95m, GC LTD - 11.8m

Wii/PS1 - Wii - 101.52, PS1 - 102.49m

Wii will be discontinued before reaching 102m.

 

[Herman Cain]

Wii U shipped total as of March 2015 is 9.54m.

The Wii U shipped less than 350k since December world wide???????

 

[Welfare]

Um... not exactly haha. Here, please take a look-

Wii will be discontinued before reaching 102m.

Where's the Dreamcast?

 

[Mass Effect]

The Wii U will be lucky to hit 15 million lifetime.

This is Intel-AMD all over again!

Seriously, MS made a mistake in not under-performing this month because they may have awoken a sleeping giant [Sony PS4]. My people have a saying: "A successful hunter will follow the beast quietly or be eaten." Seeing this months sales result and MS's attempts to overtake them, I have a feeling Sony is going to announce Megaton after Megaton this E3 and totally destroy any market viability MS may have had. If MS knew what was good for them, they really should have pulled an AMD and kept it losing to ensure a giant like Intel let them continue to live. If you think I'm shitting you then bookmark this post and get back to me in 30 days and check in again this Christmas. I like you MS but you know you dun fucked up right?

This post seems awfully familiar...