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NPD Sales Results for January 2010

MattyGrovesOrMe said:
Well, MKDS is 4 years, 3 months old. Maybe Bayonetta will chart in the NPD top 20 for May 2014. She does, afterall, have crazy long legs.

Edit: A Note on Perspective. Other games released the same month as Mario Kart DS, November 2005.

Guitar Hero

Wow. Just think of what has happened in that genre since then.
 

EXGN

Member
jmdajr said:
Maybe Bayonetta bombed because gamers are sexist! yeah!!!!!!

On a serious note.. what's the best selling game with a female protagonist besides tomb raider/metroid(although samus is in a cool suit)

A game with a female lead was the 2nd best selling title this month :p
 

Owzers

Member
Bayonetta didn't bomb *throws shoe*


Bayonetta 160k-ish across 2 platforms = possibly disappointing, much in the way Brutal Legend's sales were.


Dark Void 22k across 2 platforms = women and children to the lifeboats, a bomba has been detected.
 

Szu

Member
jmdajr said:
Maybe Bayonetta bombed because gamers are sexist! yeah!!!!!!

On a serious note.. what's the best selling game with a female protagonist besides tomb raider.

I'm just taking a guess, but I think maybe Metroid Prime.
 

Mael

Member
You're telling Mario Kart DS is STILL charting?
I mean I actually bought the Mario Kart DS pack!
For me the game is as old as the DS, just how crazy that is!
Might as well begin to post the top20 without Wiiplay, mario karts and NSMBs they're actually reducing our useful info to top15
 

ksamedi

Member
Bayonetta didn't bomb at all. I can't imagine Sega not being happy with those numbers. It will probably reach 300k in the US.
 

Vinci

Danish
Bayonetta sold below people's expectations because of its genre and very sexualized design. As masturbatory as video game playing is, we're still hesitant to buy things that make us look like total perverts. Or at least, most of us are.

Mind you, when I use 'us' I mean gamers in general.
 

MrPliskin

Banned
Frillen said:
The game sucks compared to MW2, and it will suck compared to Bad Company 2. So why the :( face? The whole game is a big disappointment.
Is that a fact? I happen to think it's much better than the crack ridden MW2.
 

Szu

Member
jmdajr said:
Maybe Bayonetta bombed because gamers are sexist! yeah!!!!!!

On a serious note.. what's the best selling game with a female protagonist besides tomb raider/metroid(although samus is in a cool suit)

Well, Heavenly Sword sold just over a million copies.
 

Mad_Ban

Member
MrPliskin said:
Is that a fact? I happen to think it's much better than the crack ridden MW2.
It's Frillen in an NPD thread. I've noticed he usually posts stuff like that to get a rise out of people. :p
 

EXGN

Member
jmdajr said:
is that so? or is she just part of the cast?

shepherd is the main character no?

You can make Shepard male or female. I was more just being snarky, because I know that wasn't what you meant :p
 

Empty

Member
jmdajr said:
Maybe Bayonetta bombed because gamers are sexist! yeah!!!!!!

On a serious note.. what's the best selling game with a female protagonist besides tomb raider/metroid(although samus is in a cool suit)

Perfect Dark?
 

luxarific

Nork unification denier
Blast Processing said:
Yeah, and Shepard is a female, of course.

22k across PS3, 360, and PC, too. Don't quit your day jobs at Valve. Oh wait...

Eh, male Shep is on the cover of the CE version of ME2, so I think viewing him as "default" Shep is a valid assertion.

I can't take FemShep seriously, but I think that's because 99% of the games I play only have males as the player's avatar. Just not used to it, unfortunately.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
So will it be Japan or Europe that makes up the 1978000 copies of Dark Void? Or maybe Dark void will have crazy legs and in 7 years time will still be selling 22k as it crosses the finish line. Even the drastically revised 600k figure seems like a joke.
 
luxarific said:
I can't take FemShep seriously, but I think that's because 99% of the games I play only have males as the player's avatar. Just not used to it, unfortunately.
It's funny... I mostly feel the same about MaleShep, but I think that's got more to do with the voice acting. :lol
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Million+ selling games with female leads, all based on numbers leaked a long time ago pre-NPD ban, all US sales. I'm excluding things like fighting games and ensemble cast RPGs, but including games with multiple playable characters of which at least one was female. I'm also excluding Barbie and Dora the Explorer games where the characters are female but licensed:

Crash Bandicoot Warped ~3 million
Super Mario Advance >2.5 million
Tomb Raider 1 PSX ~1.8 million
Tomb Raider 2 PSX ~1.8 million
Banjo Kazooie N64 ~1.6 million
Final Fantasy X2 ~1.5 million
Resident Evil Director's Cut PSX ~1.5 million
Metroid Prime ~1.4 million
Perfect Dark ~1.3 million
Tomb Raider 3 PSX ~1.3 million
Resident Evil 2 PSX ~1.2 million
Resident Evil 3 PSX ~1 million

And current gen, obviously figures are not exact here because I have no secret NPD connection:
Super Mario 64 DS >3 million sorry thought peach was a playable character
Cooking Mama DS ~2 million
Left 4 Dead <2 million
Resident Evil 5 360 ~1.25 million
Super Paper Mario ~1 million
Mass Effect ~1 million (I include because while she's optional, she's much more in-depth than your average create-a-character)
Cooking Mama 2 DS ~1 million

Left 4 Dead 2 360 should be somewhere in here. Also I haven't played them but I think at least one Saints Row game has a playable female character?

I'm probably missing a few, but that's as best as I can glean. Also the numbers in the first section are largely from a document that cuts off in 2003 except for a few which are from scattered leaks like the CAG leak in 2008 and a few others. The stuff on bottom is largely personal extrapolation combined with figures that have been confirmed at various points in time.

I also can't speak to combined SKUs, I'm sure there are a few games that'd make a million combining PS2/PS3/Wii/360 SKUs, maybe some of the recent Tomb Raider games.

Prax said:
How well did Super Princess Peach sell? xD

Last we knew around 500k based on the IGN 2008 number release? Someone else might confirm that's grown, but it hasn't hit a million.
 

luxarific

Nork unification denier
Psychotext said:
It's funny... I mostly feel the same about MaleShep, but I think that's got more to do with the voice acting. :lol


It's weird - I just finished my Renegade playthrough with MaleShep after my first run through the game as Paragon MaleShep, and I think Mark Meer, the voice actor, just enjoys his lines more when he's playing the badass. He just deadpans it and it's really quite funny.
 

Mrbob

Member
luxarific said:
Eh, male Shep is on the cover of the CE version of ME2, so I think viewing him as "default" Shep is a valid assertion.

I can't take FemShep seriously, but I think that's because 99% of the games I play only have males as the player's avatar. Just not used to it, unfortunately.

Shame to hear, because I can't imagine Shepard being voiced by anyone other than Jennifer Hale (female shep voice). Didn't need to go through the voice transformation from Mass 1 to Mass 2 with female shep!

I suppose it comes down to who you are used to playing as. I couldn't imagine playing any Mass game with a male shep lead.
 

Szu

Member
jmdajr said:
Maybe Bayonetta bombed because gamers are sexist! yeah!!!!!!

On a serious note.. what's the best selling game with a female protagonist besides tomb raider/metroid(although samus is in a cool suit)

Oh, let's not forget the Resident Evil series. RE2 is one of the best-sellers in the series (of course, it does give a choice between a male or female). RE3 sold about 3.5 millions copies worldwide.
 
I just don't get this "Shepard is female" stuff. My Shepard is the spitting image of me (or he would be if I could give him some decent hair). Shame on you and your lesbian fantasies.
 

jmdajr

Member
Stumpokapow said:
Million+ selling games with female leads, all based on numbers leaked a long time ago pre-NPD ban, all US sales. I'm excluding things like fighting games and ensemble cast RPGs, but including games with multiple playable characters of which at least one was female. I'm also excluding Barbie and Dora the Explorer games where the characters are female but licensed:

Crash Bandicoot Warped ~3 million
Super Mario Advance >2.5 million
Tomb Raider 1 PSX ~1.8 million
Tomb Raider 2 PSX ~1.8 million
Banjo Kazooie N64 ~1.6 million
Final Fantasy X2 ~1.5 million
Resident Evil Director's Cut PSX ~1.5 million
Metroid Prime ~1.4 million
Perfect Dark ~1.3 million
Tomb Raider 3 PSX ~1.3 million
Resident Evil 2 PSX ~1.2 million
Resident Evil 3 PSX ~1 million

And current gen, obviously figures are not exact here because I have no secret NPD connection:
Super Mario 64 DS >3 million
Cooking Mama DS ~2 million
Left 4 Dead <2 million
Resident Evil 5 360 ~1.25 million
Super Paper Mario ~1 million
Mass Effect ~1 million (I include because while she's optional, she's much more in-depth than your average create-a-character)
Cooking Mama 2 DS ~1 million

Left 4 Dead 2 360 should be somewhere in here. Also I haven't played them but I think at least one Saints Row game has a playable female character?

I'm probably missing a few, but that's as best as I can glean. Also the numbers in the first section are largely from a document that cuts off in 2003 except for a few which are from scattered leaks like the CAG leak in 2008 and a few others. The stuff on bottom is largely personal extrapolation combined with figures that have been confirmed at various points in time.

I also can't speak to combined SKUs, I'm sure there are a few games that'd make a million combining PS2/PS3/Wii/360 SKUs, maybe some of the recent Tomb Raider games.



Last we knew around 500k based on the IGN 2008 number release? Someone else might confirm that's grown, but it hasn't hit a million.

cool. thanks for putting up those numbers!
 

RBH

Member
Tiduz said:
30ubt48.jpg
Wow.
 

Vinci

Danish
Investigation Team Go! said:
Why would a guy want to stare at a male Shephard's ass for 30 hours?

And in one simple comment, you've come to the core reason behind the vast number of female avatars in virtually every MMO ever made. Thank you.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Someone asked me privately what the best-selling games with black lead characters are; the answer is San Andreas by a huge country mile but it'd take me a few minutes to do the same chart for all million sellers

jmdajr said:
cool. thanks for putting up those numbers!

No problem, and I'd just add as a footnote that I realize Super Mario Advance / Crash 3 / a few others are a stretch, so feel free to ignore those. Cooking Mama DS is the best-selling game with an exclusively female lead.
 

Owzers

Member
DeaconKnowledge said:
I just don't get this "Shepard is female" stuff. My Shepard is the spitting image of me (or he would be if I could give him some decent hair). Shame on you and your lesbian fantasies.

My shepard turned out to look like a combination of Kurt Russell in Soldier and a gorilla. I absolutely suck at customizing faces.
 

luxarific

Nork unification denier
Investigation Team Go! said:
Why would a guy want to stare at a male Shephard's ass for 30 hours? The only reason to make a male Shephard is to get it on with Miranda.


And why would you assume everyone here is male? :p

Had no problem whatsoever looking at "dat ass" for 50 hours. Jacob's lower torso was a bit weird, otoh, but maybe that was just his suit.
 

Vizion28

Banned
So 8 games published by Nintendo are in the op 20. Nintendo is by far the most successful software company in terms of sales and profi margins off those sales (Zelda and Galaxy are still $50) this gen. I don't know it's true but I've read that Nintendo makes more in profits than the next top 5 publishers combined and judging by how many multi million sellers they have this gen I wouldn't doubt it.

This got me thinking why publishers are not making more Nintendo type games. The reason I think Nintendo is so successful software wise (aside from making quality software) is that they have no direct competition. Nintendo is the only major publisher making the type of games that were popular in the 80s and early 90s (ya know light hearted, inclusive games that didn't take itself too seriously and you can play with your whole family).

Publishers are churning out one dark, gritty, bloody, vulgar, violent game after another. Earth to publishers: not every gamer is a teenage male who likes to play a violent badass! Why do they continue to compete for dollars from a smaller demographic? And factor in their huge budgets for these games it is even more of a reason to stop trying to ape Hollywood and try to compete with Nintendo. A game like New Super Mario Bros. Wii's budget (which will likely go on to sell at least 20 million which is 1 billion dollars in revenue) had to be a mere fraction of a game like Haze, Prototype, MSG 4, Dante's Inferno etc.

If I were the head of say EA I would put my top dev team to make a new IP - a platformer perhaps - that is very fun, light hearted, and inclusive. I would bet it would turn more profits than Dante's Inferno.

Seriously, publishers should take a close look on why Nintendo is so successful software wise and it is not just because they make high quality games it is also because of the TYPE of games.

Just my 2 cents.
 
jmdajr said:
Maybe Bayonetta bombed because gamers are sexist! yeah!!!!!!

On a serious note.. what's the best selling game with a female protagonist besides tomb raider/metroid(although samus is in a cool suit)

Don't forget Laura looking like a bimbo. Having a female lead (especially one that doesn't offer very strong sex appeal) is a huge no-no in the marketing department.

The Resident Evil series has had some female leads if that helps. Though if you're asking for "iconic" female main characters well I have no idea.
 
luxarific said:
And why would you assume everyone here is male? :p

Had no problem whatsoever looking at "dat ass" for 50 hours. Jacob's lower torso was a bit weird, otoh, but maybe that was just his suit.

Sucks for you, since Jacob's your only human romantic option. He doesn't seem exactly dreamy.

EDIT: Holy mother of god. Who knew it was 50 Cent hiding under that spacesuit? I'm really glad I didn't pursue any hetero romances with my Lady Shepherd.

jacob-big--article_image.jpg
 

luxarific

Nork unification denier
Investigation Team Go! said:
Sucks for you, since Jacob's your only human romantic option. He doesn't seem exactly dreamy.

Body was fine, but I didn't like his face. Too bad there were no male/male relationships too, given all the lesbian action FemShep could get.
 

WrikaWrek

Banned
Investigation Team Go! said:
Sucks for you, since Jacob's your only human romantic option. He doesn't seem exactly dreamy.

EDIT: Holy mother of god. Who knew it was 50 Cent hiding under that spacesuit?

jacob-big--article_image.jpg

It's actually really freaking well modeled. And yeah, totally out of nowhere.

Looks like they used Wolverine's model from that last game.
 

Vinci

Danish
Vizion28 said:
So 8 games published by Nintendo are in the op 20. Nintendo is by far the most successful software company in terms of sales and profi margins off those sales (Zelda and Galaxy are still $50) this gen. I don't know it's true but I've read that Nintendo makes more in profits than the next top 5 publishers combined and judging by how many multi million sellers they have this gen I wouldn't doubt it.

Actually, IIRC, Nintendo is the most successful game software company right now even if you include everyone else in the industry combined. Or at least, they are very close. It also helps their odds of winning such a situation given how many game companies are losing money these days. And this is nothing new: Check out the best-selling video games of all time lists. Nintendo is everywhere on it, virtually dominating the Top 20.
 
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