Games Industry Sees 12 Billion in Sales For 2006 181
Gamespot is reporting that, with the NPD numbers in, we can finally put the debate about last year's winners and losers to rest. Overall, the industry was the winner, with a record-breaking $12.5 Billion in sales last year. December accounted for almost $4 Billion all by itself. In software, the usual suspects prevailed. Madden topped the chart with 2.8 Million in sales for the PS2 version of Madden 07. Right behind was New Super Mario Bros. on the DS, with some 2 Million in sales of its own. On the console side of things ... well, as Kotaku points out 'everyone is a winner' this year. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have all put out press releases declaring themselves the winner of the Holiday console wars. The sad reality, though, is there can be only one. According to the NPD numbers, between the launch of the new consoles and the end of the year, some 1.1 Million Nintendo Wiis were sold with 687,300 PS3s following closely behind. Microsoft trails with its numbers from 2005; it sold 607,000 consoles in its launch year. Don't feel too bad for Microsoft, though. They sold 1.1 Million 360s in December. The article points out this means Microsoft met its '10 Million in sales' goal for the end of 2006.
Price (Score:5, Insightful)
Honestly, when it comes to console sales I don't think price has that much of an impact on early adopters because it is a planned purchase; something which is budgeted for and anticipated months in advance. Where price becomes a factor is that most console purchases are not planned and happen when one or two popular games are sold; when someone watches an advertisement on TV and goes out to buy a PS3 with Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy they will (mostly) be anticipating a price of $300 or $400 for the system and game combined.
It's all relative? (Score:5, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Anecdotal but it seems like the losers were online (Score:2, Insightful)
The real news - PS2 sales (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Sounds like world of warcraft got boring in 200 (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What you mean ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What you mean ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Disclaimer: I am a nintendo Fan, however I will try to stay unbiased.
1.1Mill Xboxen sold in Dec (just dec, remember, both the PS3 and Wii were launched in Nov) says that they trounced the PS3. However (yes, you can see the glee in this Nintendo fanboy's eyes) the Wii is giving the 360 a run for its money with 1.1mill units sold in Nov/Dec.
Also that says the Wii's launch sales trounce the 360's, however you do have to remember that the 360 had a HORRIBLE launch when it came to product avalability, where the Wii is having an abundance of production (though they still sell out).
My prediciton?
Unless Sony pulls their act together (gets some GREAT games out FAST), it is goign to be a running war between the 360 and the Wii. Also I am willing to bet we will see Wii on shelves faster then we did for the 360, but simply b/c their production is going much better then the 360 did at launch.
2 million Super Mario Bros. (Score:5, Insightful)
The "console wars" fiasco (Score:5, Insightful)
Come on guys. I can understand (barely) this kind of insaness from fanboy sites, but please, can we move forward? If you like consoles, why do you care beyond which one is more fun to play, or has more games that appeal to you? Do we really have to get into the pissing contest of which one sold an extra 10 units this month? I mean, is it relevant? Is it even interesting? If you like consoles, you have not one, nor two, but three excellent options to chose from, and that's it. I'd like to see more discussion about games rather than units shipped, Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD or whatever is trendy this week.
Re:What you mean ... (Score:5, Insightful)
If what you're after is marketshare, then selling out is irrelevent if the number of units you sold was not enough to get you the marketshare you needed. If I had one Burke-brand computer to sell, and someone bought it, could I claim Dell, who still has ample supplies, was losing to my hot seller?
Microsoft selling 1.1 million units without selling out is a good thing, as it means their production is ample and there is still strong demand for the console. At over 10mil units sold, they have a substantial lead in the console wars, giving them all-important momentum. There is no rational way to say that Microsoft isn't winning right now.
Wii had decent production, but the fact that they sold 1.1 million consoles and were sold out is a bad thing, as it means more people wanted to buy the Wii but couldn't, artificially limiting their market share. Each console they produce now is going to satisfy the backlog -- I have a couple family members whose Christmas present was "the promise of a Wii when we can get one". While this means in the longer term they have decent potential marketshare, they're still stuck way behind Microsoft and they are not going to be able to catch up any time soon as production continues to limit sales. Though at least they sold more than Sony.
Sony had terrible production, and sold fewer consoles than everyone else. Being sold out is a bad thing as they are now in 3rd place. Unless their production suddenly shifts into impossible-mega-drive to make up the extra 500,000 units they didn't have to sell this Christmas, their position in 3rd place is solidified through most of 2007. The worst news for Sony, though, is the reports that they aren't sold out any longer and PS3s are sitting on shelves, meaning there weren't enough "we'll buy one as soon as it becomes available" to take up the new production and help them make up lost ground. There could be a lot of reasons -- though only Sony-brand crack could make you believe that price wasn't a major one -- but if this trend continues and Sony doesn't do something, then you're looking at the loser of this generation. Certainly, as of right now, they are behind.
Re:Nifty (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:The "console wars" fiasco (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Price (Score:3, Insightful)
And as far as the quote about kids telling mom to buy a PS3, I can tell you that may happen but most of the time mom is going to ask how much one of these PS3 gizmos cost, and when the kids say $600 she's going to tell them no way, and the kids will either settle for a cheaper console or go without. I think I know which way most kids would rather go.
The race has only begun. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What you mean ... (Score:4, Insightful)
PS3 will never have a system seller (Score:2, Insightful)
A $600 system can never have a "system seller" game.
This is not to say the system won't sell, but $600, as mentioned many times before, just isn't an impulse buy. Even the Xbox 360 at $400 for the premium version is a difficult "walk in and buy for Gears of War" system. One game just isn't enough.
The Wii, at $250, is definitely in the impulse buy range. If I see one on the shelf, I wouldn't even hesitate to pick it up, along with Zelda, and purchase it.
The PS3, at $600, for even semi-hardcore gamers, is just not an item that one can justify purchasing because one REALLY good game came out. When Halo 3 comes out for the 360, it will sell systems. If Halo 3 came out exclusively for the PS3, the price would be prohibitively large enough that people might still say "I think I'm going to wait for the price drop," or "I'll wait until it has another good game that I want."
On the other hand, Sony has done a good job of selling through all their units until Christmas. Pricing is correct when there is a readily available of supply for purchase, yet enough to match production levels. If they gradually drop the price of the system, interest may rise again to the point of sell-out. But really, who wants that? In many ways, I kind of wish the Wii were $300. Then maybe I could actually buy one without paying $400 for it off eBay.
Re:Nifty (Score:2, Insightful)