January Game Sales Explode, Wii Dominates

njkid1, as he does from time to time, passed us a link to a story on the GameDaily site. Today they're discussing the January NPD numbers for the games industry. In short, they're terrific. Software sales totaled $549 million for the month, up a staggering 53 percent over last year. Hardware sales were brisk as well, with the Wii selling around 436,000 units. Trailing behind were Microsoft and Sony, with 360 hitting 294,000 units sold and the PS3 selling 244,000 units. January had an extra week, which resulted in 'inflated' sales, but even after normalizing the data things were tremendous for the games industry in a month where there's normally a post-holiday slump.

Troubling for Sony

[Itchyeyes (908311)]

Sales wise, Sony has a problem. They've sold fewer units than either of their competitors and they're selling them at a slower rate, which means that gulf will only increase. If this continues, more and more franchises that were exclusive to Sony will move to become multi platform. Assassin's Creed, GTA, and VF have already done so. The PS3 may be a great system with great games, but from a sales perspective their situation is dire.

If Nintendo keeps numbers like this up though, the PS3/360 debate becomes moot. They would be the undisputed sales leader by the middle of next year. Even the PS2 rarely broke 400,000 units during a non-holiday-season month. And who knows what they Wii sales figures would be if they could keep up with demand.

Re:Troubling for Sony

[Lane.exe (672783)]

Most games I've seen on Gamespot and IGN that I am interest in are listed as coming out for the PS3 have X360 versions as well (Armored Core 4, Bladestorm, etc.). In fact, if Square will move Final Fantasy XIII to the X360 (or even the Wii) then I would have absolutely zero reason to buy a PS3. A developer shift to other platforms would devastate Sony in the console market.

Re:Troubling for Sony

[trdrstv (986999)]

Well yeah, because all the consoles in the past have been designed to put out images on an SD television set. Now that there are 2 consoles out there with HD as their focus, the state-of-the-art in terms of graphics is HD resolutions. For a series that has sold out to the eye candy, its pretty hard to imagine them passing up two systems with superior graphical power for the Wii.

The PS2 had a handfull of 720p games and 1 1080i game (GT4) so if they were about pushing the boundries... why didn't they? Others proved higher resolutions were possible. Hell 480p from 480i should have been dirt simple to do by comparison.

its pretty hard to imagine them passing up two systems with superior graphical power for the Wii.

Actually it's pretty easy to imagine. If they wanted superior graphics, FF would never have been on a Sony Platform. There were more powerful systems competing with both the PS1, and the PS2.

Square went where the market was. The same logic that got them on the Sony boat to begin with; was the same logic used to move the Dragon Quest Series off the PS2 and onto the DS. It is the same logic that can be used to move FF to the Wii. They aren't about pushing graphical boundries, they are about pushing units of software.

Re:Troubling for Sony

[king-manic (409855)]

Actually it's pretty easy to imagine. If they wanted superior graphics, FF would never have been on a Sony Platform. There were more powerful systems competing with both the PS1, and the PS2.

They also had a high profile falling out with nintendo too. They have since reconciled.

Re:Troubling for Sony

[nanoDaveF (693514)]

I agree completely. The only reason I bought my wii is that I thought it would be much more fun to play than the other consoles. Even my wife loves it and she hates video games. Nintendo has hit a home run and they know it. The data is proving it. Soon, all of the companies that weren't 'bothering' with porting their games to Nintendo consoles will be concentrating on them. The innovation that Nintendo is introducing will expand the bounderies of games as more and more game companies put their ingenuity to work. If you have to pick between games that are more fun or more pretty, more fun wins most of the time. Pretty is cool, but it gets old. Fun never does.

Re:Troubling for Sony

[jackharrer (972403)]

Sony thought that PS2 will sell PS3. And that would happened if not that they put prices well over the limit.
Wii is a winner because people CAN afford it. Exactly the same happened with "inferior" Nintendo DS. Strange that Sony didn't learn the lesson.

Re:Troubling for Sony

[TheRaven64 (641858)]

Sony has a problem. They've sold fewer units than either of their competitors and they're selling them at a slower rate

It's not that bad. They make a loss on each one they sell, so the fact that they are selling fewer of them means they aren't making as much of a loss as they could be...

Re:Troubling for Sony? Doubtful

[tuffy (10202)]

If Nintendo's ahead by the middle of next year, they're going to stay there. Console sales are a matter of momentum. Selling a lot of consoles attracts developers, which make the console more attractive to customers, which sells more consoles. While it's certainly possible for one to come from far behind and take the lead with some killer app that appears long after launch, I can't remember any instances of that happening.

Re:Troubling for Sony? Doubtful

[Itchyeyes (908311)]

It might be to early to predict the exact outcome, but the positioning in this first year is crucial for all companies involved. If Sony can't reach a critical mass with the PS3 fast enough, then developers will stop making exclusive games since they can't make a profit without a large enough install base. As I've stated we've already seen this with VF and GTA. Without exclusive games, the incentive to buy a PS3 diminishes and their sales lag even further behind the competitors. As sales lag more, even more exclusives flee the console to recoup their investments on other systems. It's circular. It's exponentially more difficult to reclaim ground you've lost than it is to keep ground you've already made. At this point, I don't think Sony's fate is written in stone. The margins are still narrow enough that they could come out on top. However, it's going to require a significant price drop or a plethora of excellent exclusive games to regain the ground that they have already lost, neither of which is on the horizon any time soon.

Publishers

[HappySqurriel (1010623)]

Something that a lot of Sony fans miss is that publishers hold the purse strings (and determine what games get made) and the only performance they care about is sales performance. Certainly, the outcome can not be determined after 3 months but (unless something changes soon) things will snowball out of controll and the PS3 will be in serious trouble.

The fact is that (if the Wii continues to sell like it has been) the Wii will be the best selling platform in the World by Christmas 2007, and probably will be the best selling platform in every region by Christmas 2008; if this happens every publisher who has worldwide interests (think every major publisher) will focus on the Wii by Christmas 2007, and every publisher will be focusing on the Wii by Christmas 2008.

Re:Troubling for Sony

[Itchyeyes (908311)]

No, I considered it. These numbers are US and Canada only, so the comparison is perfectly apt. NPD does not monitor oversees sales figures. In Japan, the numbers are actually worse for Sony. I think this article [gamasutra.com] sums up the situation well. As for Europe, the fact that they haven't released yet there is a bad thing, not an excuse. It would be better for the PS3 to be selling poorly in Europe at this point rather than not selling at all.

Wii Games Need More Selection

[SlashdotOgre (739181)]

I was fortunate enough to get a Wii at launch (hour and a half in line at Costco), but I have become someone disappointed at the selection of games thus far. In my opinion there's too many mini-games (Wii Sports, Wii Play, Rayman, Wario, Mario Party, etc.), and not enough full fledged ones like Zelda. Now I'm not saying the mini-games are horrible (they're excellent for when you have multiple people over), however they are starting to make the Wii feel more like a gimmick.

I picked up Madden over Christmas, and I was quite impressed; in fact it's the first Madden that's impressed me since the 16 bit era (I always liked the NFL 2K/ESPN sports more). I wish more sports titles come out and are able to execute as well. I'm definitely interested in a dedicated tennis/golf game, and I'm a bit concerned that I haven't heard of any coming out. I hope it's not due to the lack of accuracy of the wiimote. The Wii has a ton of potential, I just hope the Wii lives up to it.

Re:Wii Games Need More Selection

[AbsoluteXyro (1048620)]

I agree completely, but buying any console at launch is going to leave you feeling the bite of scarce game variety. When a console has only been out a number of months you can count on one hand, there just hasn't been time for the breadth and depth of software we like to choose from to reach the market.

Right now is a ripe time to pick up a 360 however, I'd imagine that has something to do with the stronger-than-PS3 sales. For many, I'm betting the marginal utility of a PS3 is far smaller than the price. That makes the 360 look pretty tasty to those in the market for a more traditional graphics powerhouse gaming machine.

Things could be looking different give a year or so. As is always, only time will tell.

For now though, I wouldn't want to be Sony.

Re:Wii Games Need More Selection

[by Anonymous Coward]

Tiger Woods is coming out in the next month.

I'm very happy for him, but to be honest I never would have suspected he was that way inclined.

The killer stat

[Hawthorne01 (575586)]

"Wii's total software sales reached almost a million units at 977,225, while total PS3 software sales came in at 662, 847."

Sony loses money on each PS/3, in the hopes that they'll make it up with licensing fees from the games they sell.

Nintendo doesn't. AFAIK, they've yet to sell any of their consoles at a loss in an effort to gain marketshare.

So Sony is losing money to Nintendo on the front end (hardware) and the back end (software).

That's gonna hurt...

Hopefully...

[KenshoDude (1001993)]

With the Wii's success, one could only hope that developers will start paying more attention to gameplay innovation rather than graphical innovation. I think the success of Nintendo's new console underscores a revolution that has been waiting to take place in the gaming industry: an emphasis on playability and fun over impressive visuals. Now, if we could just combine next-gen visuals with next-gen gameplay -- a gamers' nirvana!

The most telling number

[by Anonymous Coward]

The most interesting number to me in this report is that the Wii beat out the real 800 pound gorilla, Sony's PS2. While I've been a proponent of not calling off the console race until after the next holiday season, I'm surprised that the Wii is already outselling the PS2. If they keep this up over the next couple of months, I'll be ready to declare the Wii the winner and champion of this round of console sales. Sony has yet to move more PS3s off the shelves than PS2s for a single month. Not even the XBOX 360 has managed to outsell the PS2 on a regular basis despite being out for over a year and having what now amounts to a good catalog of games.

February's numbers should be interesting.

They're dominating even more in Japan

[FleaPlus (6935)]

From Kotaku:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/nintendo/hardware-wars-ds -wii-continue-to-print-yen-237481.php [kotaku.com]

Here are the current hardware sales in the land of the rising sun for the week of February 4th to the 11th.

        * Nintendo DS Lite - 201,177
        * Wii - 78,550
        * PSP - 32,175
        * PLAYSTATION 3 - 23,431
        * PlayStation 2 - 16,033
        * Xbox 360 - 4,811
        * Game Boy Advance SP - 980
        * Game Boy micro - 884

I rather like the comment which noted the following:

Wii Sales > PSP sales + PS3 sales + PS2 sales + 360 sales + GBA sales + Micro sales

DS Sales > Wii Sales + PSP sales + PS3 sales + PS2 sales + 360 sales + GBA sales + Micro sales

Re:A story in itself...

[Leviance (1001065)]

Yeah, the biggest story is the differential between the 360 and the ps3. Sony can't be liking that the gulf between the ps3 their self-proclaimed "competitor" is getting even wider.

On a positive note, the PS3 has passed up the 3DO in sales (*thumbs up!*)

Another hidden story, from the article:
"And the PS2 also continues to outperform the PS3; Sony's six-year-old system sold 299K units."

Re:A story in itself...

[AKAImBatman (238306)]

There are about 20-30 games out of the gigantic Playstation library of games, some 8000-9000, that don't function properly on the PS3.

Correction: There are 20-30 games (see sibling who disputes this figure) that don't function on the PS3. During the month of January, there was a far higher number of games (easily over 50%) that didn't function properly. To be specific, the PS2 emulation wasn't providing the full graphical quality of the PS2. As a result, the games were looking outright terrible when played on a PS3.

Sony recently fixed this problem with the release of the 1.5 patchset for the PS3.

Re:A story in itself...

[aborchers (471342)]

I resist my temptation to ignore AC...

"Oh give the fanboy bullshit a rest!"

What is it with this "fanboy" ad hominem nonsense? It must really sting to see wimpy Nintendo kicking your techno-powerhouse asses all over the schoolyard.

I have owned a PSX and PS2 and loved both. I considered myself a dedicated Sony customer until they tried to sell Blu-ray to me through an incremental-improvement (don't start citing the specs, I'm taking playability) game platform. If I was in the market for a Blu-ray player, I would consider PS3 a bargain. I'm not, though, so it looks to me like an overpriced boondoggle offering no real gains. I probably will buy a PS3 some day to get a bargain blu-ray player and keep my PSX/PS2 library playable. Plus there's bound to be some must-have game for the platform (probably the next Wipeout) that will drive me. Right now I simply have no reason.

I bought a Wii and I love it. I owned the original NES until around 1990, bought a GC to play Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee (before it was ported) but other than that have never been particularly partial to Nintendo. I bought a Wii because it looked like *fun* for me and my wife and kids to play together and it is!

So, if anyone needs to give the "fanboy bullshit" a rest, it's all you jackasses claiming the Wii is a fan phenomenon. It is winning because it is selling to fans and to new customers of all kinds, whether they are existing gamers or not. It is winning because it is a blast to play, just like Pac Man or Doom are still fun, in all their pixelated glory.

Re:A story in itself...

[KingSkippus (799657)]

You are right, but you are also arguing against a zealot.

Wow! Did I just get called a Nintendo zealot?

I don't even own a Nintendo! I own an Xbox 360 which is pretty neat, an old PS2 that I don't play any more, and a PSP which I haven't played after the first couple of months of getting it. (Talk about unfulfilled expectations!)

The last piece of Nintendo equipment I owned was an old—THE ORIGINAL!—Nintendo Entertainment System console, which I sold used over 15 years ago.

The reason I want a Wii so badly is because 1) I have an Xbox 360, and though it's fun to play with sometimes, it's really not that special, 2) I have seen absolutely nothing from the PS3 that merits any attention whatsoever (let alone $600 of my hard-earned cash!), and 3) the Wii looks like a lot of fun and a lot different from the ho-hum games that I'm so bored with now. Maybe I'm wrong, but according to what my friends who have managed to procure one say, I'm not.

Heh. A guy who hasn't owned a Nintendo console in over a decade and a half gets called a zealot because he wants a Wii and points out how well they're selling. That's a good one.

Re:A story in itself...

[AKAImBatman (238306)]

It's not news because it means demand is high (that's an acceptable excuse the first month and a half). It's news because it means Nintendo has dropped the ball.

When was the last time Nintendo sold 500,000 consoles per month during a non-holiday season in just North America? Dude, that is a LOT of consoles. So many that the Wii has sold almost half as many units as the XBox 360 has sold in its entire lifetime. So many that Nintendo has already sold about 1/4 of the units that the Gamecube sold in its entire lifetime.

Think about that. 1/4 the number of Gamecubes in 1/4 of a year. Wow. I'd hate to be the guy who management is leaning on to improve Nintendo's production capacity.

Thank you Sony shill

[Itchyeyes (908311)]

Are you seriously trying to spin the fact that Sony has fewer units on the market than both the Wii and the 360 and is selling them at a slower pace as a good thing? Are you really lumping in PS2 units with PS3 units to inflate the numbers? Are you actually stating that Naughty Dog's game, the one that has only one screenshot available and no name, is "insane" and "people are going nuts over right now"? I call shill

Re:Numbers Not Really Surprising

[Rycross (836649)]

Are you basing the 4:1 ratio on some total number? Because based on the NDP numbers its a bit less than 2:1. Of course, doing an assessment based on total sales isn't exactly fair at this point, since PS3 has yet to launch in Europe.

It's a bit too early to call the game altogether. We're talking millions and tens of millions in an industry where the biggest player last round sold over 100 million consoles. We'll start seeing real indications when more exclusive games start comming around.