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The Almighty Buck Entertainment Games

Where Did the Games Go? 53

Posted by simoniker from the lamentation dept.
Gamaroo writes "EuroGamer.net has up an interesting editorial by Kristan Reed in regards to the lack of hits that result from so many game releases near the Christmas shopping season, and the resulting post-Xmas lull. As Reed stated, 'Note to publishers; we can't afford to buy 20 games in the run up to Christmas. Even 10 would be a struggle, and the truth is gamers are forced to play safe and go for the games they know are going to be good.' He goes on to state that, 'Of the eight or so games that Microsoft put out exclusively on Xbox, just one of them (Project Gotham Racing 2) actually sold in decent numbers. Of Sony's extensive line up, literally all of them flopped; leaving its summer hit Eye Toy: Play to fly the flag for its first party strategy.'" It's worth noting that the editorial refers to the UK charts/sales figures, so Xmas release dates differed somewhat from the States.
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Where Did the Games Go? More

Where Did the Games Go?

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  • What does the title of this article have to do with its content?

    In terms of US releases... and in terms of the Game Cube, which is where I do most of my gaming... I got Prince of Persia, 1080, Mario Kart, Pac-Man Vs., and Rebel Strike. Which of the big releases did I miss?

    On GBA, I got Mario and Luigi, SMB3, and FF:TA.

    Again, did I miss anything?

    It's perfectly easy to buy all the good games around Christmas. I mean, 4 games at $50 and 4 at $20-30 isn't that much...

    • Re:Not to troll, but... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by unclethursday ( 664807 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:20PM (#8470586)
      If memory serves, though, games in the UK are closer to the equivalent of around $70 US brand new.

      And, if you have all three systems, gaming can get quite expensive around the holidays, even at only $50 a pop in the US, if you go for the brand new titles.

      It makes me wish more companies would release their bigger games earlier in the year, rather than later. I like the fact that Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes comes out this month, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles came out last month, and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life comes out soon as well.

      Plus, when games come out earlier in the year, there's less frustration going to stores as you don't have to deal with the holiday rush.

      Of course, publishers know the most sales happen during the holidays, so they try to delay their games till then if they think it will be a big hit. First and second week sales are quite important to publishers, as they often make the largest part of the money they wver will on a game in those first few weeks (especially in Japan, where games seem to fall off the sales charts overnight).

    • Re:Not to troll, but... (Score:4, Informative)

      by Mike Hawk ( 687615 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:26PM (#8470650) Journal
      Just off the top of my head...

      Project Gotham Racing 2
      Need for Speed: Underground
      Tony Hawk's Underground
      Medal of Honor
      Deus Ex: Invisible War
      True Crime: Streets of LA
      Midway Arcade Treasures
      Call of Duty
      Lord of the Rings
      SOCOM II
      And that doesn't include ports that were released for the first time on a given platform...

      The article isnt about buying all the games that fit into one person's arbitrary definition of "good". Its a fair lament, but like so many internet rants, isnt going to change anything. Games come out in November and December because thats when everyone is out buying toys. It takes away a predictable bit of the enormous risk involved with making a AAA+ title. The same as tying it to a movie launch, etc. When (if) it stops working, then things will change.

      • Re:Not to troll, but... (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Kris_J ( 10111 ) *

        Games come out in November and December because thats when everyone is out buying toys

        Ah, but is everyone only buying toys at that time because that's when they're released?

        Not just video games but also gadgets, I noticed a huge upsurge in available cool stuff in the lead up to xmas. I would have bought what I bought at any time of the year.

        If companies really are going to just head for Nov/Dec releases, they should tell us and we can all just close our gadget weblogs [lunacy8m.com] for the other ten months.

    • I don't know about you, but I'm somewhat reluctant to spend AU$80- $120 on a single game, let alone shell out 4 times that much. I can buy a decent mobile phone, a PDA or a PC-part upgrade for that amount (, which by my estimates comes to around AU$400)! And for reference, I haven't upgraded any part of my PC for the last 16 months, and I'm saving up to replace my broken mobile. It'll last longer than "Sands of Time" is lasting my cousin ( took him 5 days to get to 50%). I earn a decent living, but my budge
    • In terms of US releases... and in terms of the Game Cube, which is where I do most of my gaming... I got Prince of Persia, 1080, Mario Kart, Pac-Man Vs., and Rebel Strike. Which of the big releases did I miss?

      You probably didn't. But both of the other systems had a huge number of other, awesome games released for them. I don't think this article really applies to GC owners, just like you wouldn't do it for the N64 back in the day. It is so easy for a primarily Nintendo-orientated gamer to get 'all of' the
      • I suspect, though, that if you're a single console owner, it's still not that hard.

        If you paid for all three consoles, you should probably expect to need to buy about three times as many games to get all the highlights.

  • Better Question: Where did the website go? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by b0r0din ( 304712 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:13PM (#8470522)
    Ahh /. effect.

    Anyway, it's simple supply and demand. When you have 100 games all released for Christmas, it's not surprising that the huge supply and lower demand causes losses. Of course for that one game that outsells the best, maybe it's worth losses on other titles. Let's not also forget that a lot of titles just plain suck or are retreads. I can't tell which industry has suffered more from sequelitis, the movie industry or the video game industry.
    • Xbox not selling much besides Project Gotham Racing II does not suprise me. I have been playing Xbox live since the morning it came out, and in my opinion, the only worthwhile game for it is Unreal Championship.

      It has released a bunch of online shooters, but they are all just very bad ports of popular PC titles. Xbox got GTA 3 and Vice City way too late for it to matter because of Sony's agreement with Rockstar, and they have waited way way too long with Halo 2.

      Soldier of Fortune II on Xbox was horrible

      • R6 is great, MM3 is great, Links is great, GR is great, PGR2 is great. All the games you trashed I like, so who is right? I will agree that SoFII was poor, but otherwise you are way off base in my opinion.
        • I guess that my opinions about the Xbox might be slightly jaded, I am spoiled because I usually play PC games, which almost always have better graphics and more features. So when they port a game from PC to Xbox it is usually dumbed down quite a bit.
  • When you have so many "me too" game developers out there, some of the genres are actually becoming diluted, IMO. Every game package reads "stunning graphics, fight through 20 levels, beat up gellatinous blobs."

    Further, there really can be only one or two "platformers". Nintendo did this really well having only Mario Bros. and Zelda as their biggies. Actually, Mario Bros. games were generally so good, that everything since has been a distant second. Nothing on the PS2 really compares; Mario and Luigi to
    • At one point, Crash Bandicoot was the Sony "mascot". Remember those commercials with the guy in the Crash Bandicoot suit? They were actually pretty funny.

      Unfortunately for Crash, he's no longer mascot material - the traitor has showed up on other platforms, plus, no one I know has ever actually *played* a Crash Bandicoot game. Still, everyone loves people in animal suits making asses of themselves. Even Nintendo (I suppose Yoshi qualifies as an animal) and ESPN have gotten in on that action.

      • I rented a Crash Bandicoot game once, and it was a disappointment. It was essentially a remake of a Looney Tunes game I had recently played where you go around doing mini games in various worlds and collecting stuff. Now that I think of it, Spyro and Ratchet and Clank are remakes of the same Looney Tunes game and/or that Crash game and/or themselves.
      • The first 3 Crash Bandicoot games sold 8.35 million units between them in North America, making them respectively the number 6, number 2 and number 4 all time sellers on the PSone. Though you didn't mention them but someone who replied to you did, the 3 Spyro games sold 5 million units between them with the first title being number 7 on the PSone all time list. I've finished all six of those games and I would definitely say they are extremely high quality products.

        The key here is the teams behind the two f
    • The closest thing I can think of for Sony is Grand Theft Auto. If Microsoft had the market share I'd split it between the two, but the fact remains that the PS line is kicking, and will kick, the crap out of the XBox.

      The GTA line is probably going to be Sony's most popular series for some time coming, especially if they do a good job with GTA:SA. GTAIII was huge, VC was a slight improvement. If they can continually improve this line of games, it will be a huge moneymaker for them. I don't quite underst

      • Re:"me too" "me three" (Score:2, Informative)

        by ronfar ( 52216 )

        I don't quite understand why the Gamecube hasn't picked up GTA, or does the decision reside with Rockstar not to produce for that platform?

        Well, a few things here's a long response from famed Nintendo designer, Shigeru Miyamoto:

        In previous years, Nintendo sold the most popular games in the world. Tastes have changed though. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is currently the biggest game in the West. What are your thoughts on such a violent game being so popular?

        Mr Miyamoto: That is quite a tough quest

        • I picked one up on Ebay, with genesis and 32x for 30 bucks. Ironically, I ended up paying more than that for Dark Wizard, Vay, and Popful Mail (Awesome RPGs).

          In a few months, I may go Saturn hunting for some of THOSE. The Sega systems have always had GREAT rpgs. (Thanks to Working Designs for the Lunar Complete releases for PSX, too!)

    • Astroturfers take note: "Overrated" is a better mod than "Offtopic" for a post about gaming on a gaming-related thread. I would have expected better from you.

  • Gaming industry becomes like film industry? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by G4from128k ( 686170 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:17PM (#8470559)
    Perhaps the gaming industry will soon look like the film industry. There will be lots of releases from a range of game makers (from indies to EA) with a range of budgets -- some will be massively profitable, others will seem to sell well but not make up for their big budgets, others might sell poorly but be profitable for a small india game maker, and some will just suck. Games that do well will get sequels and mechandising tie-ins. Games that do poorly will dissappear or be relegated to second tier channels like the "free" games that might come with a console or the games you can buy for the price of shipping and handling from mail-order computer places.

    Personally, I suspect that the game industry is maturing and diversifying into categories for different age groups and interests. The result will be lots of little hits (e.g., the best selling game for preteens) along with an occassional category-crossing megahit.

    Its not a matter of how many releases are hits, but how many releases make enough money to pay back the development costs.

  • The assumption is flawed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Slashdot Insider ( 623670 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:17PM (#8470565)
    Note to publishers; we can't afford to buy 20 games in the run up to Christmas. Even 10 would be a struggle...
    The question is, is that what publishers expect? I doubt very much that publishers expect a gamer to buy 20, 10 or even 5 games within a four week period at the end of the year. Some gamers that I know don't even buy 10 games a year at budget (Greatest Hits, Player's Choice) prices! Fact is that just before Christmas time, there will be a lot more buyers on the market than at other times of the year, for hopefully obvious reasons. (in fact, the last weekday before the 24th is one of the busiest shopping days of the year) I mean come on, everyone is spent out by January. Unless you have a guaranteed mega-hit like GTA4 or something, what's better? A before or after Christmas release?

    • Re:The assumption is flawed (Score:4, Informative)

      by grahamwest ( 30174 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:25PM (#8470634) Homepage
      It's not what individual publishers expect but it's what the industry collectively must expect when it puts out so many titles in such a short span of time. The industry's output quintuples (or more) during November and December but the available shelf space only grows moderately if at all and the consumer dollars spent probably only triples or quadruples.

      We actually decided for our game that, since it's a new title rather than a sequel, it would be better to release it after Christmas when things have calmed down. It meant we got more time to polish the game, more time to get the marketing campaign focused and it was easier to get it onto retail shelves. From what I'm hearing about our pre-order levels it seems like it was the right choice to me - obviously the real test will be when the game goes on sale.

      • Re:The assumption is flawed (Score:4, Insightful)

        by alphaseven ( 540122 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @09:22PM (#8471098)
        Someone last month posted a interesting theory [slashdot.org] on why so many games are pushed out unfinished into a crowded Christmas marketplace, something about investors desire for a "big Christmas" to keep the stock up.

        I don't quite understand myself exactly why investors would want rushed games to come out and sell less copies but someone must think it's a good idea.

    • Re:The assumption is flawed (Score:5, Funny)

      by bigman2003 ( 671309 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:26PM (#8470651) Homepage
      In the past 3 months (December, January, February) I think I've gotten 7 new games.

      This is actually a huge number of games, when my goal is to 'finish' each of them. Of those 7, I think I've finished 2, gotten a good way through 2 others, and barely touched the other 3.

      AND- I've got some other big games coming soon (namely Splinter Cell 2 this month, Rallisport Challenge in May).

      When you add in Xbox live, and XSN replayability- the games each have far more playability than ever before. Pretty soon I'll need to quit my job just to keep up with the new game releases.
      • When you add in Xbox live, and XSN replayability

        I'll give you XBL for certain titles (Crimson Skies, Links 2004)... but the majority of the XSN Sports titles lick a donkey's arse; and I'll be goddamned if I'm going to get a Microsoft Passport [xsnsports.com] (look at step 3) just to be able to play a XSN Sports online game tournament (you can still play single games (not tournaments with stat tracking and such) over Live without one, for now.... but how long until that changes?). I like Links 2004 a lot, but not enough

    • Not to sound like flamebait, but are people too dense to hold on to their money during the rest of the year if they don't see anything that they like? Everyone knows that a tidal wave of games comes out at Christmas time, knowing this, is it really that hard to plan for it by putting away $10 or $20 a week during the rest of the year?
      • Okay, so let's say you put away $10 or $20 each week for the entire year. So you have enough money to comfortably buy 10 games in one month. Who has time to play those 10 games? I know that I got 3 games over the holiday season and I have yet to play 1 of them for more than two hours total and haven't even opened up another. It's not just a matter of economics - there's only so much time in the day. Hell, I'm still playing games I bought a year ago.
        • You could always play those games over the year, that's what I tend to do. I've got you beat though, I have Playstation and N64 games that I've yet to even crack open...
  • The last 3 and next 3 months, at least for me and my beloved Xbox has seen a glut of games that might not be considered A+ titles by all, but are certainly a look:

    Prince of Persia
    Ninja Gaiden
    Manhunt
    SplinterCell 2
    Chronicles of Riddick
    Fable
    Driv3r
    Halo 2 (maybe soon?)

    And probably a few others I've forgotten right now. And that doesn't even include PC titles.

    It's always been somewhat of a problem, but it appears to have reached an all time high this year.
    • Fable

      According to Big Blue Box it "may be ready by Summer 2004, it may not." Don't hold your breath.

      Halo 2 (maybe soon?)

      According to Bungie: "Fall 2004 [gamesarefun.com]". My prediction: November 15 2004 at the earliest. Again, holding your breath for this one may not be a good idea.

  • Where? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Sparky77 ( 633674 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @08:27PM (#8470652) Homepage
    Where did the games go?

    They left with the heros, the cowboys, and the left socks.

  • Don't have to worry about that (Score:5, Funny)

    by hambonewilkins ( 739531 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @09:03PM (#8470978)
    If you're like me, and you own a Dreamcast, you never have to worry about the Christmas rush!

    In fact, it's weird, the availability of games seems pretty much the same all year round.

  • I have to agree (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Mitijea ( 718314 ) on Thursday March 04, 2004 @09:08PM (#8471001)
    I have to agree with the article. There are so many times out of the year that I am waiting for my next gaming fix to come along. I remember last year, when Knights Of The Old Republic (xbox) Came out... it looked good, and there was nothing else really new, so I bought it. And boy was I not dissapointed. But if it had come out around Christmas, I probably wouldn't have given it a second look as I was all hyped about buying Arx Fatalis for the xbox and SSX3 along with the new Tony Hawk. (On the other hand, I'm wishing that another game around the same time as KotOR had come out at the end of the year.. Pirates of the Caribean (xbox).. what a dog). I don't know how many times I've gone into a video game store, jonesing for something new, just to walk out feeling dissapointed. I know it doesn't make sense, but I am sure that a lot of the games I never gave a second look at around Christmas would have been welcomed purchaces most any other time. I know they are still the same game, but it just doesn't feel the same if they have been out awhile. (And yes, I know it is completely irrational, but I am sure I am not the only one affect with this "Shiny New Game" disorder.)

  • Why buy all 20? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Fizzlewhiff ( 256410 ) <.moc.liamtoh. .ta. .nonnahsffej.> on Thursday March 04, 2004 @11:51PM (#8472163) Homepage
    Why do people feel they have to buy every game that is coming out during the release week? What do you get for buying early or pre-ordering? Overcharged? I usually wait 2-3 months and save about $20, or the full price if I hear the game sucks and I skip it.
    • I can't speak for anyone else, but I have Unreal Tournament 2004 on preorder.

      The demo was great. It really gave me an idea of what to expect and made me hungry for more. I get a little tired of playing the same assault map over and over again so I'd like to have the full game as soon as possible.

      The deal seemed pretty good. You get the game and a headset for $40. It comes on DVD with the map making tutorials on another DVD. The shipping was free.

      There is some sort of competitive social aspect to thi
    • It also gives the makers time to actually finish writing the game, when you can download all those 'patches', so you never play the buggy (release) version.
  • I agree bigtime that the industry is just aweful at selling games only around christmas time.

    I find it hard to believe that kids can play 10 games in 2 weeks of christmas vacation versus just 1 game all summer long.

    The real reason companies do this shit is to protect their prices. They don't want to release in March at $49, and have it be $29 at the end of the year.
  • Pear shaped for Cube

    'Not the performance Nintendo would have been looking for' is possibly the most accurate way to look at it. Yes, GameCube software sales rose by 26.5 per cent year on year by value, to 64.5 million (6 per cent of market value), but you'd expect that for a console only launched in May 2002. Units wise, sales rose by 63 per cent to 2.32 million, representing 4.8 per cent of all software sold.

    I can think of quite a few companies and entire industries that would be ecstatic to see such

  • where do they go (Score:2, Interesting)

    by DZign ( 200479 )
    Where do the games go when they don't sell well -physically ?
    Do retailers do sell off all their stock at closeout prices, or can they return non-sold games to the distributor ?
    And what do distributors do with non-selling games, sell them off cheap somewhere (where ??), export them to other countries, or destroy them ?
  • I am personally getting ready for BF: Vietnam. It has 'gone gold' earlier this week and should be in stores mid-to-late march.
  • Really, the games that have me most interested released in the past five months or so are Metroid Zero Mission, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, and Mario and Luigi (the only one I've played of the three). Of those, two out of three were released in 2004.

    Yes, there is a traditional competition for Christmas games, but it honestly never affected me that much; it's not as bad as people make it out to be, and the majority of games I get used, or greatest hits (whoo: just got FFAnthology).

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