Slashdot Log In
The Latest From the Front in the Console Wars
Posted by
Zonk
on Fri Nov 16, 2007 09:28 AM
from the look-out-for-low-flying-sales-figures dept.
from the look-out-for-low-flying-sales-figures dept.
The October NPD numbers are out, and (now that we know we'll keep getting the information) it's time once again for analysis and reaction from media and businesses alike. GameDaily has a one year later look at the fight that began last holiday season. As for the numbers themselves, with Halo 3 now a known quantity in the market the 360 is down to 366,000 from 527,800 in September. Microsoft is still quite happy with software sales, though. The PS3 only saw 121,000 units sold last month, but early news from November has Sony very excited. And all the while, somehow, the Wii manages to sell even more units. The system is up to 519,000 from 501,000 in September, with the DS slight down to 458,000 from 495,800. As the GameDaily analysis article concludes: "the race for console dominance is still anyone's to win. The 2007 holiday buying season will be crucial to setting all three players' market positions going into next year. Which is all nice to know, of course, but not that important to actually enjoying your system of choice well into the future."
Related Stories
[+]
NPD Reverses Console Numbers Decision 23 comments
The wailing and gnashing of teeth from the game-playing media seems to have gotten through to the NPD group. Despite earlier statements to the contrary, it looks like for the time being they plan to continue to release console sales figures to the press at large. Next Generation reports: "NPD Group's David Riley admitted in an e-mail Monday, 'Honestly, it was terribly naive of me to think that we could simply stop providing these after giving them freely for a year ... Nothing is going to change. All will remain the same ... The 'Big Three' [Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony] are on board, so we'll be providing these figures indefinitely.'"
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Wiiiii! (Score:2, Interesting)
I disagree.
Re:Wiiiii! (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
It would be very possible. I got a wii about 2 months ago and I've bought a single wii game since then. I want to buy more, I eagerly scan the videogame store shelf every week, but the games tend to be underwhelming at best.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Mario Strikers
Excite Truck
RE4:Wii
Warioware
Eledees
Super Paper Mario
and I'm looking forward to Super Smash Bros Brawl, Battalion Wars 2, Mario Kart Wii and maybe Resident Evil:UC.
Re:Wiiiii! (Score:4, Insightful)
I think this statement alone sheds light on your entire misguided post.
--Jeremy
Parent
Re:Wiiiii! (Score:4, Informative)
Count yourself lucky you have a Wii, I can't buy one in the UK for love nor money. The shops in London all get small batches which sell out on the day they come in.
For games, check out the Wii section of Metacritic [metacritic.com]. If you stick with only the green rated games, you're looking at Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda, Resident Evil 4, Metroid and Zack & Wiki as 5 to start off with.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Wiiiii! needs more casual games. (Score:5, Interesting)
It's Ironic that Nintendo captured the casual market and yet there are very few games for them, they either fall under the "core-gamer category" (RE4, Metroid3, etc...) or the "Shovelware" (Too many to mention actually) category. I own a Wii with something like 15 Wii games, and 2 dozen VC games. I love it, and play it often. My parents enjoyed WiiSports so much they wanted one of their own for when they have company over. They are as "non-gamer" as can be, but are not opposed to buying games anymore as long as they appeal to them. To date they only have 3 games (WiiSports, WiiPlay, and Tiger Woods 08) and 1 VC game (PacMan). Occasionally I bring over Rayman RR, or Excitetruck and we play them a little, but that's it. They are both retired, have time and money available to them, but there is simply not a selection of games they find appealing.
Nintendo is moving units to casual gamers, but they (and 3rd parties) need to recognize this largely untapped market and deliver some games they want to buy! Guitar Hero Helps, so does DDR, and Karaoke games, but what about SuDoKu, or NY Times Crossword puzzles...
Parent
Re:Wiiiii! (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Wiiiii! (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Also, as an FF fan, I can say XIII will be the first FF I don't buy - Not worth spending the money on a PS3 for.
Re:Wiiiii! (Score:5, Insightful)
The "big games" are still all aimed at the PS3 and the 360 because that's where the gamers will end up. The Wii could end up moving the most hardware, but end up selling fewer games than the PS3 or the 360. That's the danger of selling your console to a very, very casual set of gamers who might never feel the need to buy another game for their console after they've found one they enjoy diddling with.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It is still hard to find a wii at stores. They are still going for way above retail at amazon. And that's not bundles. I don't think with
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
(I can think of more gamers I know that have Wiis than have and/or want PS3s, and even more than want Wiis than those that want 360s/PS3s combined.
I know a few non-gamers that want Wiis, none that want PS3s, and only a couple that want 360s.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Take a look at the "Must have" list for the Wii. I am seeing more and more titles that people will buy for the Wii and keep. If the soccer moms like the games and then the kids find games they like it becomes a huge win.
When Nintendo came out with the DS I thought that was the DUMBEST idea ever. I figured Sony was going to eat there lunch. I was so wrong.
When Ninte
Re:Wiiiii! (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, actually. Because Nintendo made a profit on the Wii from Day #1. As other console manufacturers optimize their manufacturing costs to produce their consoles at a lower loss (or simply reduce the street price and take the same loss), Nintendo's profit margins simply grow as they optimize their processes. Thus Nintendo "wins" regardless.
The real question is, what happens to the game producers? The argument exists that if the Wii wins, all we'll end up with is Mario and Wii Sports. To which I think it's important to turn around that argument and look at it from another angle. Nintendo currently has about 14 million consoles out there, and a shipped Wii is effectively a sold Wii. Thus the Wii presents a tremendous opportunity to game producers.
This huge market payed $250 for Wii Sports. As a game producer, it then becomes your job to understand that market and produce more content for it. More to the point, it becomes the job of game producers to produce content that the market wants. Wii players are less likely to want Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty 4. (Oh look, another military FPS! Who would have thought?) So stop trying to sell them the same games you've been selling teenage boys, and start doing some market research. Make games that are compelling to the casual market, and you will win.
The best part? You don't even have to spend tens of millions on the game! A sizable sum of Wii players are attracted to casual games, which have far, far lower budgets than the so-called "triple-A" titles. Perhaps this generation could even see the downloadable game surpassing the sales of the traditional shrink-wrapped game. (If Nintendo ever gets off their butts and offers WiiWare games, that is.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
There has to be a lot of one gamer families that got a Wii (of course maybe 360 is cheap
Re: (Score:2)
Wii players are less likely to want Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty 4. (Oh look, another military FPS! Who would have thought?) So stop trying to sell them the same games you've been selling teenage boys, and start doing some market research. Make games that are compelling to the casual market, and you will win.
Actually that's not even entirely true. One of my favorite games so far has been Metroid Prime 3, which is arguably yet another FPS. The big difference however is that it isn't a retooled and hastily assembled port of some existing FPS, but rather one that was built from the ground up to work well with the control scheme of the Wii. Customers want a game that has a decent design, but more importantly one that respects and understands the controls the Wii can provide. As a counter example look at Lair for
Re: (Score:2)
There is still Metal Gear solid though...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
And its amazing that over a year after the introduction, people still wait in lines to get Wii's. I just happened to go to the store on the right day and got mine..
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Halo is a sci-fi first person shoot everything game. Galaxy is a time your jump find all the stars while doing fun acrobatic movements game.
Two very VERY different games.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Why is this modded Troll? Since the Wii has sold the most systems worldwide in this generation (IE: more than the PS3 and 360), and it continues to outsell their competitors by a considerable margin every month (they were only slightly beat out during the Halo 3 launch) wouldn't it be appropriate to say the race is "Nintendo's to lose" ?
IBM (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Wii - A passing fad? (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess it all boils down to the type of software made for a particular system, but the article's analysis of software attach rate was interesting in that the Wii's is so low. I do continue to buy games for my 360 even 2 years later (Gears of War, PGR 4, Halo 3, Bioshock, Mass Effect, AC etc) yet nothing but Mario would interest me on the Wii right now. Many of my friends have the same opinions and the initial fad of playing Wii sports has worn off. Plus, its pretty bad that the most popular game on your system is the one you give away for free with the system (yes, everyone has it so they likely try it, but still, in my experience it was by far the most fun to be had on the Wii at least through when I gave the console back to my friend).
Re:Wii - A passing fad? (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Wii - A passing fad? (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, a year after launch and the consoles are still selling off the store shelves in hours. I know some fads can be long, but a year? If it was a fad, and everyone got bored with it quickly, wouldn't there be a huge used market for them? I know they can be found on eBay and everywhere else, but not in huge quantities that a fad would imply.
I think that a lot of the "hardcore" gamers don't like the changes in gameplay that the Wii has. It isn't familiar to them, or they are offended that there are not more twitch FPS or RTS games for the Wii so it "obviously" isn't geared towards them. Instead people that were turned off by the twitch games are picking it up and enjoying it.
So it might be a fad for people that camp out overnight to get the latest and greatest consoles, but it is a hit with people that want to have some fun with a game and not just have the latest game to beat, or who want to play who has the bigger... frame rate.
Parent
Re:Wii - A passing fad? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Wii - A passing fad? (Score:4, Insightful)
I could say the same thing about every game available on every other platform, but replace controls with slightly better graphics. And while the Wii type controls have been available in specialized arcade games, this is the first usable play at home system. So personally I've spent more on Wii disk games than any other console, maybe more on Wii VC games (I kind of dread to add that up), and I fully expected to reward Nintendo for wanting to produce a good games console instead of a good number crunching machine.
I'm not saying the Wii doesn't have it's faults, but to pretend all the "hardcore" gamers have your opinion of it is just wishful thinking on your part. I'll be much happier if both the Xbox-360 and PS3 die horribly in the marketplace, as then we might actually get quality games and innovation in the next gen. instead of "Ohh, we have X% more polys for Y% more $".
Parent
Just sold mine (Score:3, Interesting)
I have to say the Wii is the most varied and interesting console playing experience I've come across. It has games that focus on the wiimote, some of them are good, a lot of them are gimmicky. People who only play those, are going to be disappointed eventually. But i
Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re: (Score:2)
You continue to buy FPS games for your 360 two years later. Is that because you mainly like FPS games or because that's mainly what the 360 has to offer?
I've enjoyed my Wii, but agree there's still a lack of games. Outside of Wii Sports, Zelda, Metroid, Mario, and RE4 I still haven't found much to be interested in. I also own a 360 and outside of Live Arcade, Dead Rising, and assorted other games I still haven't found much to be interested in with it either (not a FPS fan in the least). Each system seem
Re:Wii - A passing fad? (Score:5, Insightful)
Then Resident Evil and Madden came out and suddenly I was aiming my screen to shoot Ganados, throwing lobs and zip passes with my right hand, swatting balls out of the air with my hands, pulling interceptions down with my hands, and putting big hits on runners using my arms...and those were just the first attempts by third parties to integrate motion control into "normal" games.
I no longer fear that the Wii's motion control is a passing fad or gimmick. I think it's here to stay and be improved on in the next-generation consoles.
Parent
Re:Wii - A passing fad? (Score:5, Interesting)
I used to be the kind of person to upgrade my PC every other month just because I wanted the latest in graphics and processing, but after a while (it took me 2 or 3 years
Now it's kind of the same thing but with Wii vs other consoles... I could keep upgrading (and I did buy a PS3 and 360 as well, so I wouldn't miss out on anything) but I just have more fun playing different and more innovative games on the Wii.
I've got over 22 games on the Wii now and a scant 3 on PS3 (VF5, R&C:F, Darkness) and 3 on 360 (Katamari, Halo 3, Bioshock). On the Wii I still go back and play Excite Truck, Super Paper Mario, Trauma Center, Super Monkey Ball, I still even play SSB:M, and still play Wii Sports and of couse now am very into Mario Galaxy.
See, there ARE gamers that just want to play the same games over and over with slightly better graphics, but they're obsessed with a few genres that they simply want to play in a perfect form because that's what really appeals to them. However, most other gamers want a wide variety of experiences and don't really care to play the same couple of games re-made and perfected over time while paying a ton of cash for new console versions or new game versions.
This is in fact what would even draw your average person into games, a wide variety of easily accessible yet deep experiences. With games like Excite Truck or Mario Galaxy or Trauma Center, or Monkey Ball, gamers can have casual fun with it yet they can also choose to get as deep as they want into the game perfecting their ability to play it and discovering the nuances and strategies, but they don't have to, and they can just have casual fun with them as well.
I think that games that keep getting re-made and obsess on a few tiny details and aren't genre-bending or genre-evolving are the fads, and you can tell by the amount of clones that keep popping up to cash in until the genres ram into the ground.
Halo 3 is fun but Halo 2 was just as fun. R&C:F is fun, but so were the first 3 games. On the Wii I'm seeing a lot more new stuff that keeps me hooked. Other systems just don't hold my interest.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Very few games are innovative. Super Monkey Ball was innovative for example, but Super Mario was essentially the same concept as lode runner if you think about it. Qbert may quality as innovative. The first light-gun game (duck hunt?) may have been innovative.
I don't expect innovative games, I expect long-term fun and engaging games. When I bought Ratch
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Back to the Mario franchise - they came out swinging with these games. They are amazing. Also, Mario Strikers Charged. The game play is a blast on all of these and the graphics are great for
C'mon Sony, do better (Score:3, Funny)
Wii (Score:3, Interesting)
This is an insipid console war (Score:2, Insightful)
They obviously don't make console wars like this any more:
http://advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=10303 [advancedmn.com]
Politics, idiocy, CEOs engaging in childish name calling, censorship, back firing strategies....
Mod me down for being slightly off topic, but know this: I am right to wallow in nostalgia.
Dated thinking (Score:4, Insightful)
There was a time when this was an issue. When disposable incomes were lower. When gaming was mostly for kids. When there weren't multiple demographics interested in different kinds of gaming. When a console wasn't also an Internet device and a media (music and movies) device as well.
Now, the game has changed. There is room for an inexpensive console with novelty appeal, health-conscious appeal, and appeal to kids-- and still room for a midrange console with testosterone games for the fratboy crowd-- and still room for a high-end machine with a scary sticker price but very impressive graphics, a blu-ray player, and the occasional hit exclusive game.
Nintendo increasing Wii production (Score:5, Informative)
That's 21.6 million per year, or over 100 million in just 5 years. If they keep this up, they might even catch up with the PS2!
Where is the swordfighting game for Wii (Score:3, Interesting)
What I want to know is, when the hell is someone going to make the sword/lightsaber game for the Wii that we've all been waiting for. This comes up every now and then and the apologists all jump out and say "Errors in the motion sensors add up so you can't make perfect 1 to 1 movements, blah, blah, blah."
Which is all a bunch of BS. OK you can't make perfect 1 to 1 movement with perfectly free movement of the sword, but you don't need to! I've already seen "good enough" control to make the sword/lightsaber game possible!
Go load up Wii Sports. Choose Baseball for 2 players (so you can play around without a pitch coming). Grab the control for the batter and tip/twirl the Wiimote around over your shoulder. Notice how the Mii tips/twirls the bat just like you? Now, just change it from a bat to a sword, move it from over-the-shoulder to waist level in front of the player, and put the camera behind the Mii (KOTOR style). There, you just made the greatest sword game ever without even doing anything clever.
And of course there's bound to be lots of clever stuff you can figure out like motion capturing a bunch of kids playing with fake swords (with wiimotes embedded) so you can map the wiimote acceleration profiles to expected real life movements. Or correcting for the small integration errors whenever the wiimote happens to swing past the sensor bar. That's just icing on the cake that makes the control even closer to what's expected.
Yeah the control will never be exactly 1 to 1. Olympic fencers will be pissed off that they can't get the millimeter perfect movements they use. Everyone else will be wildly flailing their swords with big broad movements so as long a the sword goes left when they swing left it will be fine. The players' hand/eye coordination will adjust to what the game will actually do. Players already adjust to controls that are much less intuitive/realistic. Just throw in a few easy "whack the pinata" levels at the beginning and I bet people will subconsciously adjust themselves in no time.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not supposed to be 1:1; it's just supposed to be a reasonably intuitive interface.
Who are you to make proclamations about a "real gamer"? I've been playing video games for thirty years, on pretty much every platform, I've got a PS3, I've got a PS2 and a gamecube, I've got a dedicated multicore machine I got to run video games on, and when I'm not too busy with work, I game 40-60 hours a week.
The Wii is the best gaming console I've ever had. Seems to me the