December Console Sales Numbers

[Big Fo]

Welcome back Xbots, Ntards, and everyone's favorite Sony viral marketer for another month of sales talk, gaming discussion, and fanboy accusations.

Column 1 = December, Column 2 = 2007

Nintendo DS..........2.47 million.....8.50 million
Wii.....................1.35 million........6.29 million
Xbox 360...........1.26 million........4.62 million
PlayStation 2.......1.1 million.......3.97 million
PSP...................1.06 million.......3.82 million
PlayStation 3........797.6 K..........2.56 million


December Software

360 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE.....1.47 million
WII SUPER MARIO GALAXY .........................1.40 million
PS2 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK....1.25 million
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE .................................1.08 million
360 ASSASSIN'S CREED...............................893.7 K
360 HALO 3 ............................................... 742.7 K
NDS BRAIN AGE 2......................................... 659.5 K
PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 ....................................655.2 K
360 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK .....624.6 K
WII MARIO AND SONIC: OLYMPIC GAMES........613.0 K


2007 Software

360 HALO 3 ............................................. ....4.82 million
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE ..................................4.12 million
360 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE........3.04 million
PS2 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK......2.72 million
WII SUPER MARIO GALAXY.............................2.52 million
NDS POKEMON DIAMOND...............................2.48 million
PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 ....................................1.90 million
PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 ACTIVISION .................1.89 million
360 ASSASSIN'S CREED ...............................1.87 million
WII MARIO PARTY 8 ......................................1.82 million

Where applicable this includes guitar bundled packs, limited or collector's editions, etc.

Both Wii and 360 were lower than I thought, Nintendo definitely had supply issues and in many places the Elite and Premium 360's were hard to find.

Super Mario Galaxy will hit over 5 million worldwide if it hasn't already, great to see such an amazing game sell so well.

December is such a huge month, hopefully some more numbers beyond the top 10 will be leaked.

It's rather amusing that the DS December is almost equal to PS3's 2007.

Edit for games whose sales figures were found after the OP:

#11 Wii Guitar Hero 3.............. ..........500k+
Mario Party DS (DS)...........................385,700
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)...........147,600
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)..............117,200
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (PS3).......................56,500
Nights: Journey of Dreams (Wii)................60,800
TimeShift (PS3)..........................25,000
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune..........206,000
Call of Duty 4 (PS3)........................522,000

[Raiders Army]

I'm still amazed the PS2 is still selling in such numbers.

[Big Fo]

Well the PS2 does have one of the best libraries of all time. Sony hasn't even cut the price to $99 yet, it will be around for awhile yet.

[MJ4H]

Yay, no ".........." in the thread title!

[14ers]

Did the 360 have a bad christmas or is it just slow out of the gate this year

?
Worldwide hardware sales for the week ending 5th January ,2008.

Console Weekly Total
DS 813,117 65,637,784
Wii 566,002 19,718,100
PSP 384,392 30,122,767
PS3 268,895 8,963,324
PS2 227,901 115,050,967
X360 206,098 16,331,957


Last place for the xbox 360?

[Big Fo]

360 is dead in Japan and is regularly outsold by the PS3 in Europe, North America is by far it's strongest market.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Certainly some interesting trends. Here's the raw worldwide sales numbers for December now that we have the NPD numbers for the U.S...........

Worldwide December Totals

Wii: 3,503,000 (46.1% of total market)
PS3: 2,090,000 (27.6% of total market)
360: 1,992,000 (26.2% of total market)


North America December Totals

Wii: 1,350,000
360: 1,260,000
PS3: 798,000

Japan December Totals

Wii: 714,000
PS3: 203,000
360: 36,000

PAL December Totals

Wii: 1,439,000
PS3: 1,089,000
360: 696,000

[gstelmack]

What markets are missing from your numbers above?

PS3 = 798000 + 203000 + 1089000 = 2,090,000
360 = 1260000 + 36000 + 696000 = 1,992,000

So you got the 360 right, but miraculously created an extra 450,000 PS3s. The reality seems to be a 100K difference.

[Eaglesfan27]

What markets are missing from your numbers above?

PS3 = 798000 + 203000 + 1089000 = 2,090,000
360 = 1260000 + 36000 + 696000 = 1,992,000

So you got the 360 right, but miraculously created an extra 450,000 PS3s. The reality seems to be a 100K difference.

I think this often happens when he fails to post a link for the source of his numbers.

Edit: Of course, I'm sure he'll say it was just an oversight.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What markets are missing from your numbers above?

PS3 = 798000 + 203000 + 1089000 = 2,090,000
360 = 1260000 + 36000 + 696000 = 1,992,000

So you got the 360 right, but miraculously created an extra 450,000 PS3s. The reality seems to be a 100K difference.

Big ass math error. **blush** Thanks for the catch. I've corrected it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think this often happens when he fails to post a link for the source of his numbers.

As I've stated numerous times, NPD (North America), Media Create (Japan), and VGChartz (PAL) are the sources for the numbers. That hasn't changed at all over several months.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Crysis appears to be headed to consoles. Rumor mill is hot that a PS3 version is in the works. This article mentions that a 360 version will not be released due to hardware limitations, but I've seen more than one place stating that a 360 version is also coming, so it will probably be a PS360 release.

http://loot-ninja.com/2008/01/18/rumor-mill-crysis-coming-to-ps3-again/

[Eaglesfan27]

Interesting rumor on a Playstation site. There is a job advertisement up that has led to speculation that a future version of the PS3 could have full backwards compatibility:

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/2452.html

[MJ4H]

Full backwards compatibility and further price reductions might make me actually consider a PS3 at some future time.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting promo with Gamestop. They are offering a deal where you put down a $5 deposit on Madden '09. If you do that, you can enter a guess on which athlete will be the cover player for the new game. If you guess it correctly, you get Madden '09 for free. Might be worth it to put down $5 to enter the contest and then just cancel your preorder if you don't get it right.

[stevew]

5$-Adrian Petersen.

Obvious choice IMO

[Eaglesfan27]

5$-Adrian Petersen.

Obvious choice IMO

I have zero interest in paying for Madden next year, but I'm going to go over to gamestop and give this a try. Thanks for the info, MBBF.

[Kodos]

I have zero interest in paying for Madden next year, but I'm going to go over to gamestop and give this a try. Thanks for the info, MBBF.


Ditto.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I have zero interest in paying for Madden next year, but I'm going to go over to gamestop and give this a try. Thanks for the info, MBBF.

Might want to verify that the preorder can be cancelled. I didn't check on this, but I don't see any way they can force you to buy Madden if you don't want to do so. Worse case scenario would likely be that they would issue the $5 back to you as a store credit, which would still make it a good gamble IMO.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

5$-Adrian Petersen.

Obvious choice IMO

That was my thought as well. Usually is a 2nd year player with big upside. They can get them for relatively cheap compared to a proven star.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Microsoft has announced which game will be available for free as compensation for recent Xbox Live outages.

Recently, Xbox.com posted a letter from Marc Whitten, General Manager of Xbox LIVE, thanking subscribers for their patience with the service. We’ve implemented several improvements to the service, to help ensure ongoing reliability and performance. As the popularity of Xbox LIVE expands, we’ll continue to closely monitor the service and make adjustments. As always, if you are having any problems, please contact your local support (1-800-4-MYXBOX in North America) so that we can assist you. Marc announced that all Xbox LIVE members around the world would have access to a full Xbox LIVE Arcade game to download free of charge. We’re pleased to announce that beginning next Wednesday, 2:00 a.m. PST through Sunday, 11:59 p.m. PST, Xbox LIVE members worldwide can download the full version of the recent award-winning Xbox LIVE Arcade game, Undertow.
Developed by Chair Entertainment Group, Undertow is one of the highest-rated and best looking games available on Arcade. Undertow redefines aquatic based shooters through a mix of high-definition graphics, intuitive controls and multiple modes of game play action. The game features a full story driven-single player campaign, on and offline co-op, and multiplayer for 2-16 players over Xbox LIVE for Gold subscribers. Players battle for control of the oceans as one of three selectable races, each with four unique, upgradeable units. "Undertow" is available worldwide (normally 800 Microsoft Points) and is rated E10+.

Link to game info:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/u/undertowxboxlivearcade/

[albionmoonlight]

Turns out that these threads really are about life and death.

The PS3 will apparently improve brain surgery:

http://io9.com/343104/this-is-what-game-consoles-really-do-to-your-brain

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Microsoft and Nintendo. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Turns out that these threads really are about life and death.

The PS3 will apparently improve brain surgery:

http://io9.com/343104/this-is-what-game-consoles-really-do-to-your-brain

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Microsoft and Nintendo. :)


That is cool. I was reading the other day about a group of docs trying to use the Wii to aid patients with phantom limb pain, so Nintendo is doing its part too ;)

[stevew]

I doubt it's really related to this thread, but I was reading about a TV that Toshiba had demo'd at CES(i think). It used the Cell processor as it's main video rendering option.....supposedly resulted in very good handling/scaling of SD content. Should be interesting to see if it moves from beyond prototype to actual sales.

http://www.geek.com/toshiba-demos-tv-with-cell-processor/

[Chubby]

Interesting rumor on a Playstation site. There is a job advertisement up that has led to speculation that a future version of the PS3 could have full backwards compatibility:

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/2452.html

PSP2

[Galaxy]

Uhhhh....I bought my 360 I think a week before christmas last year. I just got three flashing lights. Now it's working fine. What the hell?

[Kodos]

If the power cord gets loose, it can do that. I've had it multiple times. I hope that is all it is.

[Groundhog]

Uhhhh....I bought my 360 I think a week before christmas last year. I just got three flashing lights. Now it's working fine. What the hell?

FWIW, that's what happened to me before I got my permanent RRoD. The three lights flashed up, I panicked, powered it off and on again, and it was fine.

For about 4 or 5 days.

Then I had to resort to the "toast the 360" trick every couple of days before it finally completely died on me. About a week or two later.

Mine was a lot older than a couple of weeks however.

[Galaxy]

I'll just keep an eye on it. It should be a new system (with the HDMI port) and just three and a half weeks old.

[Big Fo]

The Big Three have all released their takes on the December NPD data.

Nintendo:

Independent Data Reveals Nintendo Sales For 2007

Nintendo DS and Wii Finish as the No. 1 and No. 2 Best-Selling U.S. Systems

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintendo DS(TM) and Wii(TM) finished strong in 2007, commanding sales in the holiday shopping period and finishing the year as the two best-selling video game systems in the United States, according to new data just released by the independent NPD Group. Nintendo DS was the top-selling U.S. system of 2007, with nearly 8.5 million sold, including more than 4 million in November and December alone. Wii placed second, with nearly 6.3 million sold through the year, more than 2.3 million of which sold in the final two months.

"By the end of 2007 we were sold out of virtually all hardware, and much of our stock of software and accessories was sold out as well, thanks to the broad appeal of Wii and Nintendo DS to core gamers, women, families, grandparents - and seemingly everyone in between," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "And that momentum continues here in the early weeks of 2008."

Some additional facts about Nintendo's 2007 performance in the United States (note: All figures are from NPD):

Nintendo accounted for 52 percent of all video game hardware systems sold in 2007 -- more than all other manufacturers combined.

Since their respective launches, Nintendo has sold more than 17.6 million Nintendo DS systems and nearly 7.4 million Wii systems in the United States alone.

Wii Play(TM), a collection of nine fun mini-games, finished 2007 with 4.1 million units sold.
Super Mario Galaxy(TM) sold through more than 2.5 million copies since it launched on Nov. 12.

The two games in the Brain Age(R) series each sold about 1 million copies in 2007.
Half of the top 30 best-selling games of 2007 were made for Nintendo systems, including Pokemon(R) Pearl, Pokemon(R) Diamond, Mario Party(R) DS, Guitar Hero III(TM): Legends of Rock and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games(TM).

Nintendo continues to dominate the hand-held market: Of the top 30 best-selling portable games sold in 2007, 25 were made for Nintendo DS and another two were made for Game Boy(R) Advance.

Sales of Nintendo DS systems grew 60 percent over those from 2006.

In 2007, the video game industry grew by 43 percent over 2006. Nintendo is responsible for 60 percent of that growth.

They say the momentum is continuing, I wonder how many Wiis they can get to market after December where one would assume they shipped every last system possible.

So is piracy the reason why the PSP has such poor software sales or do many people just use the PSP as a media device and not a game playing machine? Having only three of the top 30 handheld games is pretty shocking.

Microsoft:
Xbox 360 Drives the Video Game Console Industry in 2007: NPD data released today confirms consumers spent more dollars on Xbox 360 in 2007, with more than $13.7 billion in total consumer spending. Xbox 360 won 2007 with $4.8 billion in total consumer spend compared to Wii with $3.5 billion and PlayStation 3 with $2.2 billion. This wraps up a historic year, with NPD reporting consumers have spent nearly 45 percent of total industry figures on Xbox 360.

Here is a quick snapshot of what is driving revenue for Xbox 360, based on the latest reports from NPD and Microsoft data:

· XBOX 360 WIDENS THE GAP OVER PS3 WITH CONSOLE SALES: According to NPD, Xbox 360 sold 1.3 million consoles in December alone, and has steadily widened the gap between Sony’s PlayStation 3 console sales. In December, NPD stated that Sony sold 798,000 PS3 hardware units. Since PS3’s launch in November 2006, Xbox 360 has outsold PS3 by nearly 2:1 on average, bringing a total U.S. Xbox 360 install base of 9.2 million consoles, compared to and installed base of 7.4 million Wii consoles and 3.3 million PS3 consoles.

GAMES DRIVE INDUSTRY GROWTH: Xbox 360 robust games portfolio spans across the highest-ranked AAA titles to the largest collection of “Everyone” and “Teen” rated games. According to NPD, of the top 20 best-selling titles in 2007 for this generation, 11 were on Xbox 360; while only seven were sold on the Wii and two sold on the PS3.

o NPD reported that this holiday’s leading multiplatform blockbusters continue to sell better on Xbox 360:

§ “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” for Xbox 360 was the leading game last month with 1.5 million copies sold, outselling the PS3 version nearly 3:1.

§ “Assassin’s Creed” for Xbox 360 was the fourth best selling title, having sold 894,000 units. It outsold the PS3 version more than 2:1.

§ “Guitar Hero III” outsold the PS3 nearly 2:1, having sold 625,000 copies.

§ “Rockband” continues to rock the charts, selling 463,000 units for the Xbox 360 platform, compared to 174,000 units for the PS3

o To date, 33 third party games on Xbox 360 hit the top 10 list across all consoles compared to five third party games on PS3, and four on Wii. These results confirm that third party partners create better games and reap more sales on Xbox 360 than any other platform.

o In its fourth month on the market, Halo 3 continued its strong performance and was the sixth best selling title in December, selling another 742,000 units. In 2007, NPD projects that Halo 3 has sold 4.8 million units in the U.S. since its launch in September.

o Xbox 360 continues to lead in number of games sold per console, setting another record with an attach rate of 7.0 games per console.

· XBOX LIVE SETS NEW HEIGHTS: Xbox LIVE’s network is 10 million members strong and growing, achieving membership goals six months ahead of schedule. Only on Xbox LIVE can members experience the largest catalog of on-demand, high-definition content in the U.S., including movies and television shows from our most recent partners: Disney-ABC Television Group and MGM Studios.

We’re not slowing down in 2008. The next versions of powerhouse franchises like “Grand Theft Auto,” “Resident Evil” and sports games like “Madden”, “FIFA”, and “Pro Evolution Soccer” open up a new arena for game play on Xbox 360. This year we will make great strides toward improving our brand appeal to consumers interested in more physical game play. With titles like “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,” “Rock Band” and “Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action” we’re creating interactive experiences on Xbox 360 for the entire family.

Microsoft is also pretty smug about their figures, most total spending on consoles/games of the three companies even if they aren't making a profit, aided by lauching a year early. After that, the typical focus on software sales and making sure everyone knows the PS3 is lagging far behind in console and game sales.

Sony:
PlayStation® platforms had a great holiday season, based on NPD December 2007 sales data:

Hardware Momentum (PS3, PS2 and PSP) –

December 2007 was the biggest month for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) since launch, with 798K hardware units sold in December; this represents an increase of 60% over December of last year. With upcoming titles like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Devil May Cry 4, Burnout Paradise, and HAZE as well as current momentum for Blu-ray, there is a great deal of enthusiasm for the PS3 as we enter the new year.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continues to experience strong sales momentum with a new sleek design and the availability of entertainment packs. In December, 1.1 million PSP hardware units were sold; this is an 87% increase in sales over the previous month. Also, with our new partnership with Skype™ and great new games around the corner, such as God of War: Chains of Olympus, Patapon and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, consumer excitement will only continue to grow.

With a current library of nearly 1,500 games, the PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had an excellent month in December with hardware unit sales reaching 1.1 million units. Also, the PS2 sold more software units than any other console on the market.

PlayStation total hardware revenue was $714 million in December; surpassing the total hardware revenue of Microsoft and Nintendo.


Software Momentum (PS3, PS2 and PSP)

PS2 Guitar Hero III was the 3rd best-selling game this holiday season across all platforms with 2.7 million units sold from October through December. Also, the PS2 version of Guitar Hero III is the best-selling version since the launch of the title.

PlayStation total software revenue in December was $822 million, sales nearly doubled compared to last month's sales.

PlayStation platforms had three software titles in the top ten list across all consoles for the month of December: Guitar Hero III for PS2 sold 800K units, Madden NFL 08 for PS2 sold 655K units and Call of Duty 4 on PS3 sold 522K units.

Basically, thank goodness for the PS2 and wait for 2008.

[Daimyo]

this is an 87% increase in sales over the previous month
sales nearly doubled compared to last month's sales.

You know its bad when the best you can come up with is to compare your December sales to November...

[TroyF]

Actually, for once, I think all three companies got it right.

Nintendo talking about continued success with both the WII and DS.

MS talking about their solid software library and the fact their software sales continue to be strong.

Sony talking about the success of the PS2 (trying to remind everyone of last gen's dominance) and saying wait until '08 when we actually get playable software.

I don't really have a problem with any of those press releases. All have positive spin which press releases should have, and none of them really lie about where they are at this point.

[Balldog]

Came so close to buying a PS3 and a Wii today, but backed out on the PS3 at the last second. I want to wait on the PS3 until MLB 09 and HSG 5 come out. And the last Wii was no longer available when we went back to the store 15 minutes later.

[Groundhog]

Can't believe there are still wii shortages in the States. I went in to 4 video game stores today here in Sydney and must have seen a total of 8 or 9 consoles sitting on shelves.

[wade moore]

Can't believe there are still wii shortages in the States. I went in to 4 video game stores today here in Sydney and must have seen a total of 8 or 9 consoles sitting on shelves.I wish.

[SackAttack]

Can't believe there are still wii shortages in the States. I went in to 4 video game stores today here in Sydney and must have seen a total of 8 or 9 consoles sitting on shelves.

Australia has a population of around 20 million.

US has a population of around 300 million.

Given the games available in each market, I'm not surprised that Oz might have reached a saturation point that the US hasn't.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Australia has a population of around 20 million.

US has a population of around 300 million.

Given the games available in each market, I'm not surprised that Oz might have reached a saturation point that the US hasn't.

Shipping distance is the reason more than anything else. Nintendo ships by boat only when shipping to other countries. As a result, they greatly reduced the number of units shipped to places like Europe and North America 2 weeks before Christmas and diverted most of the supply to nearby countries in Asia and Australia. Asian countries currently have Wii stock available in all stores.

North American supply should be fully back in gear by now.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Price cut rumors are flying everywhere. Slickdeals.net (great source for early information about upcoming retail circular sales) has a rumor circulating that the PS3 may get a price cut as soon as the end of this month. Several sites are also predicting a 360 price cut around the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Either way, it appears pretty likely that both systems will have further price cuts in a few months, if not sooner.

[wade moore]

Just a note because I need to vent.

It is FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE to find a Wii.

*sigh*

[Pacersfan46]

Shipping distance is the reason more than anything else. Nintendo ships by boat only when shipping to other countries. As a result, they greatly reduced the number of units shipped to places like Europe and North America 2 weeks before Christmas and diverted most of the supply to nearby countries in Asia and Australia. Asian countries currently have Wii stock available in all stores.

North American supply should be fully back in gear by now.

I have a hard time believing Nintendo is that stupid, to only ship by boat. I would have to hear them say it themselves to believe that.

That would be ridiculous.

-- Steve --

[Neon_Chaos]

Lots of Wii's over here in the Philippines.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I have a hard time believing Nintendo is that stupid, to only ship by boat. I would have to hear them say it themselves to believe that.

That would be ridiculous.

-- Steve --

Sony is the only one that has shipped by air at any time in the current generation of consoles. They did that for a short period of time at a very high expense level to boost the number of PS3's available for launch in North America. Sony now ships strictly by boat. Nintendo and Microsoft both have always shipped via boat. Given the low profit margin (or in some cases a loss) per console, shipping via air is far too costly against the bottom line.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Lots of Wii's over here in the Philippines.

I'm not surprised. I've heard that Japan and Korea have at least 30-40 Wii's available in most stores. There was a huge sales boost in Japan over the holidays that would not have been possible without that large supply influx of Wii's.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting article concerning the RROD problems and where MS stands now. The good news appears to be that MS has the Falcon chipset performing at a failure level just under 10%, which is a vast improvement over the 30+% failure rate of the Xenon chip (Wii has a failure rate of 0.3% and PS3 has a failure rate of 0.2%). The bad news is that some Falcon owners that have units that fail may end up with repaired units that have the Xenon chipset.

The writer of this inside info is the same person who broke the news about the Bungie/MS breakup.

http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_inside_source_reveal_the_truth_about_xbox_360_red_ring_of_death_failures.php

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Battlefield: Bad Company has been delayed until June. Insiders cite worries about going up against the GTA4 and MSG4 releases along with the need for additional work on the game.

http://www.psbeyond.com/news/Rumour-Battlefield-Bad-Company-delayed-till-June.215.html

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Man, something's got to give with the PS3 and its SKU/pricing structure. I went to 4 different stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Wal-Mart) last night looking for a specific video adapter for my TV that no one seemed to have. The first store I went to was Best Buy. As I usually do, I wandered over to the video game section to look for any good deals. I noticed that the PS3 shelf space for games had doubled (now 4 'sections' instead of 2) since the last time I was there. I also noticed that there were 10 40GB PS3's in stock while the 80GB PS3's were sold out.

I didn't find the adapter I was looking for, so I went on to the other stores. At every store I listed above, the 40GB machines were in plentiful supply (8-10 units/store) while the 80GB units were completely sold out.

I think that Sony is in the same position it was when the PS3 was released (20GB vs. 60GB machine). The more expensive system just offers more to the consumer than the cheaper counterpart. I do think that the 40GB machine would sell well if it were cheaper, but with only a $100 difference, the 80GB machine is seen as a better value. I really think that Sony needs to make the price difference $150-200 if they want the cheaper model to start moving.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Japanese Console Sales for week ending January 20th:

Wii 76,000
PS3 32,000
PS2 13,000
360 4,400

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Ubisoft with yet another setback. Haze has been moved back into fiscal year 08-09.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/23/haze-release-clouds-over-ubisoft-pushes-game-into-next-year/

[MikeVic]

Ubisoft with yet another setback. Haze has been moved back into fiscal year 08-09.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/23/haze-release-clouds-over-ubisoft-pushes-game-into-next-year/

On the brighter side, a newly-released game of theirs is getting good reviews:
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/nomoreheroes

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

On the brighter side, a newly-released game of theirs is getting good reviews:
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/nomoreheroes

The problem is that it's not selling very well. It appears to be falling into the same problem that other 3rd party releases have had. Great game doesn't mean great sales on the Wii when you're a 3rd party title. It's a shame, but it shouldn't be a big surprise either. Nintendo needs to find a way to market some of these games to help out the developers.

[MikeVic]

Didn't the game just come out yesterday?

[Arles]

NMH just released yesterday and was bumped up a month from its original release date (late Feb). I think it will be a bit before anyone knows how well this title does.

[Fidatelo]

I'm sure MBBF has some data or something to back up the lackluster sales comment :P

[Calis]

Actually I do believe that NMH was released a month ago or so in Japan and did rather poorly. I assume that's what was implied.

It seems like a game more for the Western audience anyway, I think it will do ok.

[MJ4H]

Actually I do believe that NMH was released a month ago or so in Japan and did rather poorly. I assume that's what was implied.

It seems like a game more for the Western audience anyway, I think it will do ok.

This is pretty much right on. It is Killer 7 redesigned for Western audience, according to what I have heard.

[Big Fo]

Actually I do believe that NMH was released a month ago or so in Japan and did rather poorly. I assume that's what was implied.

It seems like a game more for the Western audience anyway, I think it will do ok.

It should have done better, but No More Heroes did outsell the Gamecube and PS2 versions of Killer 7 combined.

Nothing is selling well in Japan these days unless it has Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Mario, or Wii somewhere in the title. DS games are the only exception, and that's because 1 in 6 Japanese people own a DS.

As for the game itself it always looked like a promising title and the reviews have been better than I anticipated. I'd probably be on the way to the store right now to pick it up but I just got the new Advance Wars yesterday so it might have to wait until the weekend.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

It should have done better, but No More Heroes did outsell the Gamecube and PS2 versions of Killer 7 combined.

Nothing is selling well in Japan these days unless it has Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Mario, or Wii somewhere in the title. DS games are the only exception, and that's because 1 in 6 Japanese people own a DS.

As for the game itself it always looked like a promising title and the reviews have been better than I anticipated. I'd probably be on the way to the store right now to pick it up but I just got the new Advance Wars yesterday so it might have to wait until the weekend.

I saw the recent sales numbers for software in Japan and half of the top 15 games had something to do with Mario. That says all you need to know about the uphill climb facing 3rd party developers. It's the same way in the U.S. to a slightly lesser extent.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Multiple Best Buy stores on the East Coast are reportedly selling the 40GB version of the PS3 for $299. All of them put out a couple of pallets of PS3's and were sold out within a couple of hours. This info comes in advance of a rumor (see below) that the 40GB machine may be dropped to $299 as soon as this weekend (80GB machine will reportedly sell for $449). The cut in price is supposedly in conjunction with the Warner Blu-ray exclusivity agreement to put as many PS3's in circulation as possible. Sony is denying the rumors at this point.

http://gamerumor.blogspot.com/2008/01/299-ceramic-white-playstation-3.html

We were glad to bring you the news of the $299 Playstation 3 yesterday when it was still very much under wraps. We have told you yesterday that there will be a new Playstation 3 model. This is partly true. The changes to the new Playstation 3 model are only aesthetic. The new Playstation 3 model for the United States is the exact same one that launched in Japan a couple months ago. The specifications are identical to that of the regular 40GB Playstation 3 available today in the US. Sadly this new 40GB Playstation 3 will have the same shortcomings as its older counterpart in the respect that it will be missing backwards compatibility and will have no memory-card readers.

The new Playstation 3's will be shipping to US retailers any day. From what we heard, the new consoles will be arriving to retailers Friday night (January 25th) this week, and will go on sale Monday. Demand is expected to be very high, but Sony is supposedly cutting down on supply of the new console.

The regular 40GB Playstation 3 will also be dropping in price to match its counterpart at $299, but sadly the 80GB Playstation 3 will only be benefiting from a $50 price-drop, to $449.99

As of Monday, January 28, 2008 there will be 3 Playstation 3 SKU's available in the US market.

40GB White Playstation 3 - $299.99 (missing B/C, 2 USB ports, and memory-card readers)
40GB Black Playstation 3 - $299.99 (missing B/C, 2 USB ports, and memory-card readers)
80GB Black Playstation 3 - $449.99 (software based B/C, 4 USB pots, has memory card readers)

No news on a 80GB Ceramic White Playstation 3 as of right now, but Sony is staying open to the idea. Their game plan as of right now is to move as many Playstation 3 units by March, 31, 2008 as possible, this has to do something with Warner's exclusivity deal, we'll get back to you on this as soon as we learn more.


The new Frontlines PS3 game has been cancelled and the game will now be a 360 exclusive.......

http://www.videogamer.com/news/23-01-2008-7328.html

Splinter Cell: Conviction will not be coming to the PS3 either.........

http://www.videogamer.com/news/23-01-2008-7324.html

[wade moore]

Microsoft needs to be very congizent of any PS3 pricedrops.

[Balldog]

40GB has Blue-Ray correct? I might have to buy one this weekend. There isn't really a need for a memory card with a hard drive unless I am mistaken. I'll miss b/c but I'll just keep my PS2 to honor its legacy.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

40GB has Blue-Ray correct? I might have to buy one this weekend. There isn't really a need for a memory card with a hard drive unless I am mistaken. I'll miss b/c but I'll just keep my PS2 to honor its legacy.

It does have Blu-ray. I'm still somewhat skeptical if this deal will come through or not, but the nice thing about this rumor is that we're going to know in a few days whether it's true or a load of hogwash.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Microsoft needs to be very congizent of any PS3 pricedrops.

I'm not sure that MS has much wiggle room for a price drop response if the PS3 drops in price. I do think that a sub-$200 360 and a sub-$300 PS3 would really help to stimulate the growth of both consoles.

Another interesting topic of note would be the 'leak time' on this deal if true. The last PS3 price drop was leaked 3-4 weeks in advance. If Sony does drop the price next week and somehow managed to keep it under wraps for so long, I'd be impressed. That's the main reason I'm still somewhat skeptical of whether it's true. I guess I assume that word would have hit the streets much sooner than this if a price drop were imminent.

[wade moore]

I'm not sure that MS has much wiggle room for a price drop response if the PS3 drops in price. I do think that a sub-$200 360 and a sub-$300 PS3 would really help to stimulate the growth of both consoles.

Another interesting topic of note would be the 'leak time' on this deal if true. The last PS3 price drop was leaked 3-4 weeks in advance. If Sony does drop the price next week and somehow managed to keep it under wraps for so long, I'd be impressed. That's the main reason I'm still somewhat skeptical of whether it's true. I guess I assume that word would have hit the streets much sooner than this if a price drop were imminent.

Depends on your definition of "wiggle room". There's a certainn point where you hav to wiggle if you don't want to completely kill the momentum you've had.

I still contend that MS screwed up big time when they didn't do a price drop 6-8 months ago to put the nail in the coffin of Sony. I believe it's what opened the door to the point where Sony is equal if not slightly better in world wide numbers.

[CraigSca]

Considering (I think) my wife just bought me one this week for my birthday I'm going to be miffed if there's a sudden price drop. Unless Amazon.com honors it. Potential "argh"!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Considering (I think) my wife just bought me one this week for my birthday I'm going to be miffed if there's a sudden price drop. Unless Amazon.com honors it. Potential "argh"!

Amazon.com does not advertise it, but they do have a price match guarantee for 30 days. Here's the details and the phone number to call to request a price match.

http://www.dealigg.com/story-Amazon-Secret-30-day-Price-Guarantee

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Grand Theft Auto 4 now has a release date. April 29th, 2008.

http://loot-ninja.com/2008/01/24/gta4-release-date-set-coming-april-29/

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sales news from across the pond. Nintendo announces DS and Wii sales figures in Europe. Note that these are sales to retailers, but given that most of the Wii's sell out immediately, it should be pretty close to actual consoles sold. Numbers seem to match VGCharts pretty well, which is generally the only place where PAL numbers are available.

Nintendo sells 6 million Wii, 20 million DS units in Europe

Matt Martin 10:29 (BST) 24/01/2008

Multiple first-party software titles sell over 1 million copies

Nintendo Europe has revealed sales of the Wii and DS in the region have reached over six million and 20 million units, respectively.

First-party software sales in the region have also reached impressive figures, with four Wii titles sailing past one million units sold.

Wii Play has sold 2.3 million units, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 1.3 million units, Mario Party 8 one million units and Super Mario Galaxy 1.3 million units.

Dr Kawashima's Brain Training; How Old is Your Brain? has now sold over 5 million units in Europe, while its sequel More Brain Training has clocked up 2.8 million units. However, the top-seller is the Nintendogs series, which has sold over 8 million units in the region.

New titles for Europe in 2008 include Wii Fit, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii, and Professor Kageyama's Maths Training: The Hundred Cell Calculation Method for the DS.

Earlier today, Nintendo announced nine month profits to December 31 of JPY 258.93 billion (USD 2.43bn/EUR 1.66bn), almost double that of the year previously.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony SCEE president believes that the PS3 will overtake the Xbox 360 installed base in PAL territories in roughly 6 months............

http://www.videogamer.com/news/24-01-2008-7337.html

PS3 installed base in PAL territories will eclipse Microsoft's Xbox 360 by the end of the summer, Sony has claimed.

Speaking to trade magazine MCV David Reeves, President and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, has commented on when the team believes the PlayStation 3 will overtake the Xbox 360 in Europe and other PAL territories.

"In terms of installed base in some of our major markets, such as France, Spain, Germany, Italy, plus some distributor territories in smaller markets like Switzerland, our current cumulative installed base is now higher than that of the Xbox 360, " said Reeves. But what of PAL territories as a whole?

According to Reeves Sony expects "to overtake installed base of Xbox 360 across PAL territories in late summer." To add some weight to Sony's belief, Reeves added that "last week we outsold Xbox 360 in PAL territories by a ratio of 3:1."

In North America things look very different, with Microsoft's console outselling the PS3 month on month.

Rockstar discusses PS3's role in delays............

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=180455

Rockstar Games has finally answered assumptions that PlayStation 3 development trouble was the reason behind GTA IV's 2008 delay, admitting that it "definitely" contributed to the slip.

Speaking to MTV's multiplayer blog, Rockstar's Jeronimo Barrera said: "It's really no surprise to anybody that the PS3 was definitely a contributing factor to that." Now though, he says, "we're neck and neck".

"Back then that was something we were taking into account. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the PS3 version. It's awesome. They're both identical."

When it was revealed that GTA wouldn't make its original October 2007 date, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told investors that "technological problems" were the reason behind the slip.

Those techy niggles were widely assumed to be PS3 dev troubles, after a summer of delays plagued multiplatform PS3 releases including Stranglehold, Rainbow Six Vegas and others.

Thankfully, Barrera says it's "not an issue anymore", and an international release date of April 29 has been set for both versions.

Hopefully then, Rockstar will come good and give us a near-identical game on both platforms - something we expect to see much more of in multiplatform releases this year.

[SackAttack]

So, hey, apparently Best Buy isn't going to be carrying the model of PS3 that actually *sells* anymore.

Way to abandon an advantage you guys had after Microsoft stopped updating BC so that they could sell their "Xbox Originals," Sony.

Unless...they're jealous that they didn't think of the idea first?

[stevew]

Sweet, 299 for a wifi future proof blu ray player.

[Tigercat]

I wonder what will happen with the price of 60gb PS3s? There are lots of stores that have large stocks of them as well. (We have 6x more of them than the 80gbs)

[Balldog]

It'd be nice if they'd lower the 60 GB price as well. Our local Gamestop has a bunch of them in stock.

Anyway, what accessories do I need for a PS3? I doubt I'll bother getting a second control, it'll be just me playing for now. All I intend on using this for a MLB the Show, Hot Shots Golf, and watching movies. I want to buy the bare minimum accessories. I'm assuming I'll need a HDMI cable, USB thingy and that's it? One more dumb question, can I watch regular DVDs on PS3? or just Blue-Ray?

How about the Wii? The Mrs. is dying to get a Wii, what accessories will I need for two of us? Does the Wii use component cables?

Forgive my ignorance.

[stevew]

Wii-component cables

PS3-blu ray remote, hdmi cable, yeah it'll play regular dvd movies and upconvert them to near hd quality.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

So, hey, apparently Best Buy isn't going to be carrying the model of PS3 that actually *sells* anymore.

Way to abandon an advantage you guys had after Microsoft stopped updating BC so that they could sell their "Xbox Originals," Sony.

Unless...they're jealous that they didn't think of the idea first?

I noticed that Best Buy didn't have any 80GB in stock. I looked down on the front of the shelf and there was no price spot for a 80GB machine either. I'm assuming that relates to what you're talking about.

Nevermind. Just saw the leaked BB memo.

[Eaglesfan27]

How about the Wii? The Mrs. is dying to get a Wii, what accessories will I need for two of us? Does the Wii use component cables?

Forgive my ignorance.

If you have a HDTV, it is worth getting component cables for the Wii. Also, you'll want to pick up a 2nd Wiimote and Nunchauk (sp?). Also, you might want to consider the Nyko Wiimote recharger.

[gstelmack]

If you have a HDTV, it is worth getting component cables for the Wii. Also, you'll want to pick up a 2nd Wiimote and Nunchauk (sp?). Also, you might want to consider the Nyko Wiimote recharger.

I'm sad that my HDTV is all full (360, DVD player, Cable box). I need a new receiver.

Definitely second WiiMote and Nunchuk. We actually have a third WiiMote, but haven't needed the Nunchuk. And the Nyko dual-charger is a must.

[Daimyo]

Sweet, 299 for a wifi future proof blu ray player.

I agree that $300 is a good deal if you're interested in BR, but the PS3 isn't exactly a future proof Blu Ray player. It does not support some of the newer lossless audio codecs (DTS-HD for example) and there is significant doubt that they will ever be addable by firmware.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I agree that $300 is a good deal if you're interested in BR, but the PS3 isn't exactly a future proof Blu Ray player. It does not support some of the newer lossless audio codecs (DTS-HD for example) and there is significant doubt that they will ever be addable by firmware.

I'll ask the question on this because I honestly don't know. If I'm sitting down to watch Spiderman on Blu-ray, what am I going to miss because the PS3 doesn't support lossless audio codecs that a person with a 2.0 stand-alone BR player would be able to have?

[Daimyo]

A lossless codec is that encodes audio in such a way that when it is uncompressed for playback the result matches the original source exactly (bit for bit identical) as opposed to a lossy format where sacrifices are made to conserve space. Assuming you have a receiver that can handle it you will get better quality sound (such as the ~$400 Onkyo 605 and up). Whether or not a given listener can tell the difference depends on the listener.

The difference is essentially equivalent to the difference between music encoded at 128kb mp3 vs music encoded with a lossless format like FLAC, Apple Lossless, etc (or played directly from an audio CD).

Players that can handle all the lossless codecs are currently in the range of $300 for HDDVD (pre-WB announcement -- who cares how much they cost now?) and $500 for BR.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

A lossless codec is that encodes audio in such a way that when it is uncompressed for playback the result matches the original source exactly (bit for bit identical) as opposed to a lossy format where sacrifices are made to conserve space. Assuming you have a receiver that can handle it you will get better quality sound (such as the ~$400 Onkyo 605 and up). Whether or not a given listener can tell the difference depends on the listener.

The difference is essentially equivalent to the difference between music encoded at 128kb mp3 vs music encoded with a lossless format like FLAC, Apple Lossless, etc (or played directly from an audio CD).

Players that can handle all the lossless codecs are currently in the range of $300 for HDDVD (pre-WB announcement -- who cares how much they cost now?) and $500 for BR.

So it sounds like something that only the biggest movie geeks will truly appreciate.

To be fair, I've seen some arguments stating that the 360 downloadable movies are not 'True HD' because they have been compressed at some level to make the files smaller. I have watched both a BR movie and a 360 download and I can't tell a whole lot of difference with those two either. I'm sure there are small differences, but I'm guessing that the vast majority of the public won't care whether it's a download or a disc, lossless or 'lossful'. HD in any form is still a vast improvement over SD.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Trailer for the new "Civ: Revolutions" console game is out on the PSN store. Interested to see if they stuck to the Civ roots or did something crazy to turn off Civ gamers.

[Eaglesfan27]

A lossless codec is that encodes audio in such a way that when it is uncompressed for playback the result matches the original source exactly (bit for bit identical) as opposed to a lossy format where sacrifices are made to conserve space. Assuming you have a receiver that can handle it you will get better quality sound (such as the ~$400 Onkyo 605 and up). Whether or not a given listener can tell the difference depends on the listener.

The difference is essentially equivalent to the difference between music encoded at 128kb mp3 vs music encoded with a lossless format like FLAC, Apple Lossless, etc (or played directly from an audio CD).

Players that can handle all the lossless codecs are currently in the range of $300 for HDDVD (pre-WB announcement -- who cares how much they cost now?) and $500 for BR.

Yep. It's the main reason I won't buy a PS3 to be a Blu-Ray player. I spent a significant amount of money on my media room setup including a receiver that will benefit from the quality of a lossless codec.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Yep. It's the main reason I won't buy a PS3 to be a Blu-Ray player. I spent a significant amount of money on my media room setup including a receiver that will benefit from the quality of a lossless codec.

I plan on putting in a home theater in a couple of years. When I reach that point, I'll probably have to learn a whole lot more about audio technology than I know right now.

[Kodos]

I wonder what will happen with the price of 60gb PS3s? There are lots of stores that have large stocks of them as well. (We have 6x more of them than the 80gbs)


Really? I haven't seen a 60 in stores in months...

[stevew]

I'm probably slightly deaf, so I could really give a shit about sound properties. But I do understand that if you have some hi tech stuff, than it's probably a bad thing for ya. I don't have enough money to even consider the stuff that will adversely effected by no lossless codecs.

I have like a 300 series Onkyo(very basic) right now. It was a lot better than most any of the HTIB dvd player options, but I know it's very low end in the tech totum pole.

[Kodos]

I noticed that Best Buy didn't have any 80GB in stock. I looked down on the front of the shelf and there was no price spot for a 80GB machine either. I'm assuming that relates to what you're talking about.

Nevermind. Just saw the leaked BB memo.

hxxp://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/01/24/best-buy-discontinuing-80gb-ps3/

[SackAttack]

We've been sold out of 60's since Black Friday.

As for 80's, there's even some confusion at Best Buy. Folks at other stores are saying that their Sony field reps are saying "There will still be an 80, we're just removing Motorstorm," while the field rep for my store told me flat out "They could always change their minds, but as of right now, the 80 is considered discontinued."

So who the hell knows.

[Kodos]

I really have to wonder what the hell they are thinking. Clearly, there is a segment of the population who really wants BC for PS2. Why deprive them of that option?

[SackAttack]

Punishment for not "working more hours to buy one" a year ago?

[14ers]

Just a note because I need to vent.

It is FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE to find a Wii.

*sigh*
That is because you are not "IN' on the Wii joke.

The Wii does not even exist!

It is some cruel joke made up my teenagers to drive their parents nuts. Their kids promise to be good if they buy them a Wii, knowing there is no such thing as a Wii.

In over a year I have never seen a Wii anywhere for sale. I tell you this whole Wii thing is some prank made up by today's youth.:D

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Really? I haven't seen a 60 in stores in months...

Yeah, new 60GB machines are very rare at this point. Used versions of the console can occasionally be found in Gamestop-type stores.

[Kodos]

I think I have seen actual Wiis for sale once. And I pretty much look out of curiosity every time I am in a store that might sell them. It's pathetic.

[Cringer]

AM I the only one who doesn't care about HD size on a console? I don't play online, so I am guessing that is the major reason why.

[Tigercat]

Yeah, new 60GB machines are very rare at this point. Used versions of the console can occasionally be found in Gamestop-type stores.

Well if anyone ever wants to buy one, let me know, my store has plenty! (If they ever get super clearenced, I would get one myself. If I get a PS3 I am all about having the best PS2 emulation.)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Well if anyone ever wants to buy one, let me know, my store has plenty! (If they ever get super clearenced, I would get one myself. If I get a PS3 I am all about having the best PS2 emulation.)

What's the name of the store you work at?

[Kodos]

AM I the only one who doesn't care about HD size on a console? I don't play online, so I am guessing that is the major reason why.

It's not so much the hard drive size -- it's that some models have full backwards compatibility with the PS2 chip (60 GB), some have partial BC through emulation (80 GB), and some have none (40 GB).

[Daimyo]

So it sounds like something that only the biggest movie geeks will truly appreciate.

To be fair, I've seen some arguments stating that the 360 downloadable movies are not 'True HD' because they have been compressed at some level to make the files smaller. I have watched both a BR movie and a 360 download and I can't tell a whole lot of difference with those two either. I'm sure there are small differences, but I'm guessing that the vast majority of the public won't care whether it's a download or a disc, lossless or 'lossful'. HD in any form is still a vast improvement over SD.
I agree with the general public comment, but the quality can be vastly different. IMO upconverted DVDs look better than highly compressed HD (ie, what you get on cable most of the time). I have no experience with 360 movie downloads though... not all compression is created equal of course.

EDIT: of course you could argue the same thing about video that you argue about audio... the general public won't see any difference between DVD and Blu Ray on TVs smaller than 40".

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I agree with the general public comment, but the quality can be vastly different. IMO upconverted DVDs look better than highly compressed HD (ie, what you get on cable most of the time). I have no experience with 360 movie downloads though... not all compression is created equal of course.

EDIT: of course you could argue the same thing about video that you argue about audio... the general public won't see any difference between DVD and Blu Ray on TVs smaller than 40".

Are there TV's smaller than 40"? Who knew? :D

[sterlingice]

I'm sad that my HDTV is all full (360, DVD player, Cable box). I need a new receiver.

Definitely second WiiMote and Nunchuk. We actually have a third WiiMote, but haven't needed the Nunchuk. And the Nyko dual-charger is a must.

If you can find it these days, forget the second WiiMote and pay the extra $10 for Wii Play so you get a few games to go along with your extra WiiMote

SI

[stevew]

Wii Play also trades in for 10$ at GS/EB, which is nice cause it's only fun for the first 3-4 times you play. Wii Sports, however, is still fun a year later.

[Big Fo]

A few bits of sales news-

Wii Tie Ratio at 8:1 in December (http://wii.ign.com/articles/847/847472p1.html)

While Nintendo's console certainly flourished in December, perhaps signaling the beginning of solid tie ratios to come, it should be noted that Wii's life-to-date software to hardware tie ratio is at 4.64, compared to 4.26 on PlayStation 3 (despite a much smaller installed base) and 7.0 on Xbox 360, according to NPD data.

Keep in mind that the 360 has been out a year longer and it's tie ratio as of December 2006 was 5.1

Here's some NPD total software figures I saw on neoGAF:

Total software sales for December:
Wii - 10,948,500
360 - 9,777,600
PS3 - 4,019,904

Total software sales life to date:
360 - 63,873,600
Wii - 34,194,016
PS3 - 13,844,148

Total 360 software sales as of 31 December 2006 - 22,950,000
(Hardware: 4.5 million, Tie Ratio: 5.1)

Also from the NPD report, out of the top 100 games last month 20 were on the Wii (15 third party games even) and 18 for the 360. The other systems weren't posted.

Interesting stuff IMO.

Article on Sony possibly discontinuing the 80 GB PS3 (http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/sony-ditching-80gb-ps3-due-to-poor-sales-says-analyst/19208/?biz=1)

Well, this is interesting. We just heard from The NPD Group who told us, "In the last quarter (when both were on the market), the 80GB sold more units than the 40GB." When pressed for a more exact breakdown of the sales data between the two SKUs, NPD said they could not provide that. It's certainly a surprise to us, however, that the more expensive 80GB would have sold more than 40GB, which many have attributed the PS3 sales spike to.

People really seem to prefer the more fully-featured versions of both the 360 and the PS3. The pack-in games for the Pro and the 80 GB can't hurt either.

For the poster who said his store had a ton of 60 GB PS3's, are they still $500?

[IMetTrentGreen]

Check out these Resistance 2 screens. The first one was OK, I'm not a huge FPS person, but damn.

hxxp://kotaku.com/photogallery/resistance2/1000577003

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Check out these Resistance 2 screens. The first one was OK, I'm not a huge FPS person, but damn.

hxxp://kotaku.com/photogallery/resistance2/1000577003

Good looking screen shots are a dime a dozen. If it looks that good while at 60 FPS, then we'll talk.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New info concerning some new game releases. Valve has confirmed that Left 4 Dead is now a multiplatform game for the 360 and PS3.

http://n4g.com/News-104665.aspx

Surfer Girl mentioned in her latest blog entry that both Lost Planet 2 and Dead Rising 2 are also now both multiplatform for the 360 and PS3.

Sony is expected sometime this week to comment on 80GB PS3 discontinuation and discuss any future consoles or pricing changes.

Also, rumors are swirling that Nintendo is having trouble creating enough discs for Super Smash Bros. Brawl to even meet pre-order numbers. The problems with the disc production apparantly is the main culprit behind the delay of the game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

More info on possible next more for Sony regarding the PS3:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/28/sony-killing-80gb-ps3-introducing-120gb-or-160gb-model-with-dua/

[CraigSca]

I'm not sure why anyone would care (at this point) about a 120 or 160MB PS3. They're always upgradeable if space becomes a problem, but are people clamoring for more hard disk space right now/this year? I don't get it...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm not sure why anyone would care (at this point) about a 120 or 160MB PS3. They're always upgradeable if space becomes a problem, but are people clamoring for more hard disk space right now/this year? I don't get it...

Two points:

1. The move to more HDD space at the same price as a 80 GB machine is a move to show that there's more value for the same price point. I agree with you that people would rather see the same machine with a price cut, but unfortunately, you or I aren't in charge.

2. The move to a larger HDD is also a move to prepare for the upcoming movie/TV show download system that will be available later this year for the PS3. A HDD of that size is needed for that kind of service. An agreement with TiVo to use the PS3 as a DVR is also rumored as a possibility.

[wade moore]

Tivo and the PS3 teaming up is probably the only thing that would get me to buy a PS3 at this point (not because I have a distaste for the PS3, but because I have a 360 already and see no reason with my habits to have them both).

[Daimyo]

An agreement with TiVo to use the PS3 as a DVR is also rumored as a possibility.
Actually I believe Sony already has an agreement with Tivo from several years back to use the Tivo software on Sony devices. The re-discovery of that was what kicked off the Tivo on PS3 rumors.

[BrianD]

How much do you think the constantly changing configurations are scaring customers away? The impression I get is that if I wait a couple of months, I'll get a bigger machine (with possible improvements) for the same money. When you are fighting for market position, I wouldn't want to do things that encourage customers to wait. If I just bought a PS3, I would much prefer to see it get cheaper in the future rather than see it go away completely.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

How much do you think the constantly changing configurations are scaring customers away? The impression I get is that if I wait a couple of months, I'll get a bigger machine (with possible improvements) for the same money. When you are fighting for market position, I wouldn't want to do things that encourage customers to wait. If I just bought a PS3, I would much prefer to see it get cheaper in the future rather than see it go away completely.

I think you're correct at some level. Some people will just keep waiting for the next low price point or better model as long as MS and Sony continue on with this SKU war every 6 months. It's a bit overblown at some level because both the 360 and PS3 are upgradable, though the 360 HDD will cost more than its PS3 counterpart simply due to the MS propriatary format. I think that price drop rumors have also been used by companies to hurt the other console's short-term sales (i.e. continue to float price drop rumors so people hold off on their purchase as you said).

I forgot to note it in the post, but the new PS3 SKU's from this point forward will all have bundled Dual Shock 3 controllers, which is also a small improvement over the old SKU.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Actually I believe Sony already has an agreement with Tivo from several years back to use the Tivo software on Sony devices. The re-discovery of that was what kicked off the Tivo on PS3 rumors.

That's correct, though the talk has increased now that the PS3 finally will have a HDD big enough to support HDTV recordings. It really wasn't much of an option with the previous models.

[CraigSca]

How much do you think the constantly changing configurations are scaring customers away? The impression I get is that if I wait a couple of months, I'll get a bigger machine (with possible improvements) for the same money. When you are fighting for market position, I wouldn't want to do things that encourage customers to wait. If I just bought a PS3, I would much prefer to see it get cheaper in the future rather than see it go away completely.

I agree - the SKU du jour gets confusing very quickly.

[Fidatelo]

MS and Sony have both really annoyed me with the multiple SKU's thing this generation. I really hope that low sales of the "base" units, and maybe some research indicating consumer backlash of some sort, puts an end to this next time. Probably wishful thinking though. :(

[Kodos]

One of the nice things about consoles in the past was that there was very little difference between a launch console and one from 3 years after launch. Now, with the different SKUs, they are making consoles a pain in the ass like computers that constantly need a better graphics card.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

One of the nice things about consoles in the past was that there was very little difference between a launch console and one from 3 years after launch. Now, with the different SKUs, they are making consoles a pain in the ass like computers that constantly need a better graphics card.

Thankfully, the only major modification is HDD size. RAM, computer chips and graphics chips remain the same through all of the models as far as what they do. Part of the reason that I like console gaming is that I don't have to modify anything. Just stick in the game and play. I'm cautiously optimistic that the current and future consoles will steer clear of the PC issues simply because it's cheaper to build a standardized system.

[Kodos]

But losing backwards compatibility is a major change (downgrade). I was able to get a used 60 GB PS3, but it was annoying that I couldn't buy just any version to get everything that I wanted.

[twothree]

...the new PS3 SKU's from this point forward will all have bundled Dual Shock 3 controllers

Now if they would just put back in hardware emulation of the PS2, I might consider buying a PS3. After a price drop or two, of course. :)

[stevew]

What makes the 80 gig w/ software emulation BC different than the 40 gig w/o BC. I assume they removed another chip of some sort?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What makes the 80 gig w/ software emulation BC different than the 40 gig w/o BC. I assume they removed another chip of some sort?

40 GB also removed the built-in memory card slots and has the 65nm processor.

[SackAttack]

What makes the 80 gig w/ software emulation BC different than the 40 gig w/o BC. I assume they removed another chip of some sort?

Two chipsets are internal to the 20 GB and the 60 GB - the Graphics Synthesizer and the Emotion Engine.

One of those is internal to the 80 GB - the Graphics Synthesizer. Thus, software emulation is still possible.

The 40 GB lacks either of those chipsets. Hence, no PS2 BC is possible.

[Eaglesfan27]

That's correct, though the talk has increased now that the PS3 finally will have a HDD big enough to support HDTV recordings. It really wasn't much of an option with the previous models.


120 or 160 GB isn't really enough for much HDTV recording unless they want to compress the crap out of it. I have a 250 GB HD-DVR and it only gets about 30 hours of HDTV recordings if the quality is set to a good compression rate (i.e. bad picture quality.)

Edit: I think this is another Sony mistake as they should be focused on lowering the price of all of their models, not increasing the storage capacity while keeping the cost the same.

[Kodos]

Yeah, this isn't going to start making PS3s fly off the shelf.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Edit: I think this is another Sony mistake as they should be focused on lowering the price of all of their models, not increasing the storage capacity while keeping the cost the same.

I agree. I'd prefer that they'd keep the price lower and just allow those that want to upgrade their HDD to do it on their own. It's actually cheaper to upgrade the HDD on your own for the most part. Let the user add their own value to a base unit if they really want it that badly.

[gstelmack]

120 or 160 GB isn't really enough for much HDTV recording unless they want to compress the crap out of it. I have a 250 GB HD-DVR and it only gets about 30 hours of HDTV recordings if the quality is set to a good compression rate (i.e. bad picture quality.)

If only the cable box folks would figure this out. The Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVRs that Time Warner and others are using have a 160 GB drive, and the new 8550 they are getting ready to ship as an upgrade ALSO has a 160 GB drive. At least TIVO and DirecTV seem to understand this...

[Eaglesfan27]

Bad edit on my part as I was distracted. I meant to say I get about 30 hours of high quality recording with the 250 GB HD-DVR. If I turn the recording quality to low, I can get more hours.

[stevew]

I have the vip722 from Dish, and it holds a shitload of HD content(55 hours). Something like a 500gig HDD. 1xx gig hard drives really aren't going to cut it.

[Daimyo]

I'm surprised the cableco HDDVRs let you adjust quality... The Tivo's just record the mpeg2 stream without any transcoding (similar to what the DirectTV Tivos used to do) so you get exactly the same quality it was broadcast in.... transcoding HD content is extremely processor intensive. Are you sure that setting isn't only used for SD content?

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm surprised the cableco HDDVRs let you adjust quality... The Tivo's just record the mpeg2 stream without any transcoding (similar to what the DirectTV Tivos used to do) so you get exactly the same quality it was broadcast in.... transcoding HD content is extremely processor intensive. Are you sure that setting isn't only used for SD content?

I'm talking about a modded DirecTV HR20. It's possible it's only used for the SD content, but I don't think so.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I have the vip722 from Dish, and it holds a shitload of HD content(55 hours). Something like a 500gig HDD. 1xx gig hard drives really aren't going to cut it.

I think a lot of people would upgrade their PS3 HDD if the TiVo deal ever came to pass. You can get some pretty large HDD's at a good price. Downloadable movies/TV shows this summer may also necessitate an upgrade.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Square lead developer confirms that FFXIII will be released before the end of calendar year 2008. A demo of the fighting system is also expected before the game release............

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/27/ffxiii-designer-promises-demo-2008-release-date/

EB Australia is refusing to sell 360's due to high defect rate. EB Australia currently has over $10 million worth of Xbox 360 consoles that Microsoft refuses to take back. Microsoft is refusing to comment. EB Australia is the leading video game retailer in the $1 billion/year Austrailian market............

http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=10183&title=RUMOUR%3A+EB+Australia+and+Microsoft+Australia+feuding+over+defective+360%27s

[CraigSca]

I don't get how a PS3 would work like a DVR - wouldn't it require some kind of input from your dish or cable?

[wade moore]

EB Australia is refusing to sell 360's due to high defect rate. EB Australia currently has over $10 million worth of Xbox 360 consoles that Microsoft refuses to take back. Microsoft is refusing to comment. EB Australia is the leading video game retailer in the $1 billion/year Austrailian market............

http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=10183&title=RUMOUR%3A+EB+Australia+and+Microsoft+Australia+feuding+over+defective+360%27s

Just to nitpick, I think you're misrepresenting a bit here..

EB Australia is not refusing to sell 360's due to the high defect rate based on the article. They are considering refusing to sell 360's because Microsoft will not take back the defective 360's that EB Australia has on hand. The best I can tell is these are defective 360's from before the 3-year warranty was added that customers brought back and EB Australia replaced with their own warranty.

They're also mad that they can't milk customers for $85 per customer for an extended warranty since MS is now offering a 3 year manufacter warranty - OH NOES POOR EB AUSTRALIA!

[Daimyo]

If EB Australia sold their own extended warranties on those defective 360s why should Microsoft take them back?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Just to nitpick, I think you're misrepresenting a bit here..

EB Australia is not refusing to sell 360's due to the high defect rate based on the article. They are considering refusing to sell 360's because Microsoft will not take back the defective 360's that EB Australia has on hand. The best I can tell is these are defective 360's from before the 3-year warranty was added that customers brought back and EB Australia replaced with their own warranty.

They're also mad that they can't milk customers for $85 per customer for an extended warranty since MS is now offering a 3 year manufacter warranty - OH NOES POOR EB AUSTRALIA!

Both companies were being short-sighted in this case. Microsoft knowingly released a console that had some major flaws in the interest of getting out early and gaining market share (which they've done thus far). EB (and other retailers) have used these extended warranties to milk tons of profits out of customers fully knowing that the products would hold up for the most part. The 360's failure rate single-handedly wrecked that profit stream.

[wade moore]

Both companies were being short-sighted in this case. Microsoft knowingly released a console that had some major flaws in the interest of getting out early and gaining market share (which they've done thus far). EB (and other retailers) have used these extended warranties to milk tons of profits out of customers fully knowing that the products would hold up for the most part. The 360's failure rate single-handedly wrecked that profit stream.

Agreed - like I said, I was being nitpicky. If MS took the bad units back my impression is this wouldn't be an issue. So it's really not the failure rate itself, but that EB Australia is eating a lot of the negative of that failure rate.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Agreed - like I said, I was being nitpicky. If MS took the bad units back my impression is this wouldn't be an issue. So it's really not the failure rate itself, but that EB Australia is eating a lot of the negative of that failure rate.

The bad part is that, since MS likely won't take the blame, the consumers are eventually going to be the ones that pay for the mistakes of these two companies. Extended warranties for video game consoles will likely be increased across the board when the next generation of consoles is release. The retail outlets will want to cover themselves from similar losses. It's a win-win for the retailers. If there is an increase in returns next generation on any consoles, they'll be better prepared to cover it. If all of the consoles perform well, the retail outlets pocket a bigger profit on the warranties. It's somewhat disgusting to be honest.

[Big Fo]

Here's some confirmation of some long-suspected Wii games coming from Nintendo.

Animal Crossing, Kirby On Wii This Year (http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/01/animal-crossing.html)

Other games listed for a Japanese release in 2008 are Mario Kart Wii (in the spring), Wii Music, Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball, and Disaster: Day of Crisis: In other words, the same games that we've been hearing about forever. They're sure to have many new games this year as well, but those announcements won't appear for a while.

I've never played the Animal Crossing series but hopefully Disaster: DoC and the Kirby game turn out well.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Nintendo responds to third-party developer concerns. They acknowledge that there is a problem, but they believe it's only temporary. The response is likely related to rumors that Nintendo is receiving a lot of heat from third-party developers over the lackluster sales of highly-rated third party games.........

http://www.developmag.com/news/29142/Nintendo-responds-to-third-parties-concerns

'We believe the situation will change,' says Japanese giant

Nintendo has responded to worries that only first party titles are selling on the Wii, saying that it believes the situation is only temporary.

According to the company's third-quarter report meeting transcription, translated by Develop, the problem is simply one of the Wii still being a young system - and that, as such, Nintendo's internal teams currently have an significant advantage.

"When we develop new hardware at Nintendo, we do so as a collaboration between the hardware development teams and the software development teams. Our software sales percentage is currently high because our internal teams teams know the Wii's special characteristics best, and they started development quite a bit before the Wii's release.

However, we believe that eventually that will change," said the firm.

"If you look at the data for our third quarter you'll see that, out of the 14 Wii titles that shipped over a million units, 11 of those were our titles. However, if you look at the 50 titles that shipped over a million units on DS, only 28 of those are ours.

"We identified the same thing in the DS' first period, and the situation continues to change little by little. For the Wii too, we believe that as time passes, the proportion of high-selling titles that come from our licensees will increase."

EA can now be considered an equal opportunity screw-up. First, it was the frame rate issues on the PS3 sports titles last year (reportedly remedied this year). Now, 360 Arcade and Core owners that purchase the new Burnout game will not be able to play any of the online modes, which are a substantial portion of the game.

http://www.videogamer.com/news/30-01-2008-7383.html

[wade moore]

Oh man, Burnout MP would be awesome. The only time I've played Burnout was when a bunch of buddies got together and played Burnout 2 for like 4 hours seeing who could get the highest scoring crashes.

that wase awesome.

[stevew]

I'm tentatively holding out hope for Animal Crossing, and Wii Fit. Or Wii Sports 2, or Mario Bowling, or hell.....just a fun game. Otherwise it's this close to heading to Ebay. Galaxy looks good, but after work, I just want to kick back and play games, not have to make all manner of controller motions, etc.

[Fidatelo]

Galaxy looks good, but after work, I just want to kick back and play games, not have to make all manner of controller motions, etc.

Wow. I'm not sure what to say when shaking your hand or pointing a remote every now and then is considered too much effort.:(

[General Mike]

Nintendo responds to third-party developer concerns. They acknowledge that there is a problem, but they believe it's only temporary. The response is likely related to rumors that Nintendo is receiving a lot of heat from third-party developers over the lackluster sales of highly-rated third party games.........

http://www.developmag.com/news/29142/Nintendo-responds-to-third-parties-concerns


This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

[MJ4H]

Wow. I'm not sure what to say when shaking your hand or pointing a remote every now and then is considered too much effort.:(

I was kind of thinking that, too. Along those lines, I actually find kicking back and playing with the Wii controllers more relaxing since you don't have to have both of your hands together in the middle on one controller. I can kick back into a lot more comfortable positions with the two separate hands. Just my opinion.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

I'd agree with that. Nintendo is their own worst enemy. Their first-party games are so successful that their fans tend to save their money for the 8-10 first-party games each year and it often leaves the third-party games out in the cold. I'm not sure there's much that Nintendo can do as a company to aleviate the problem.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony and Activision heads comment on their perception that in-game advertising may not be all that effective and may even hurt game sales. They believe that gamers are turned off by games with in-game advertising.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7c50fce-ced6-11dc-877a-000077b07658.html

[dawgfan]

EA can now be considered an equal opportunity screw-up. First, it was the frame rate issues on the PS3 sports titles last year (reportedly remedied this year). Now, 360 Arcade and Core owners that purchase the new Burnout game will not be able to play any of the online modes, which are a substantial portion of the game.

http://www.videogamer.com/news/30-01-2008-7383.html
Well, that was a decision those people made when they bought 360's without a hard drive. They can always buy a hard drive to get full functionality.

What percentage of 360 owners don't have hard drives anyway? I suspect it's low enough that most developers will be willing to release games that require hard drive support.

I don't consider this a screw-up by EA...

[BrianD]

Actually, it is more of a Microsoft screw up. It is no surprise that the HD adoption rate would be high enough to make game developers assume its existence, so Microsoft shouldn't have bothered with the HD-less version of the system.

[Marc Vaughan]

120 or 160 GB isn't really enough for much HDTV recording unless they want to compress the crap out of it. I have a 250 GB HD-DVR and it only gets about 30 hours of HDTV recordings if the quality is set to a good compression rate (i.e. bad picture quality.)
My 360 Elite only has 120Gb but has been fine for HD movies/shows so far, yeah I delete things after I watch them but you're fine to download them again if they're purchased so thats not a real problem imho.

To me Sony should focus on lowering the price, they've all but won the format war leaving BluRay dominant - put the price low enough and people will buy the system to use as a bluray player (same as they did PS-2 and DVD). Incidentally from what I've heard its actually one of the best BluRay players available ...

[Groundhog]

This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

I agree it's been a problem, but surely there is a fair bit Nintendo can do. Every big Nintendo release there is a ton of advertising, and I know all about Nintendo's big releases on the Wii without even researching. If Nintendo helped out advertising some of these games they same way they do their own, surely it would help things?

I guess it comes down to how much money Nintendo is willing to use to support their 3rd party projects.

[MikeVic]

Isn't Guitar Hero 3 doing the best on the Wii compared to other consoles? The answer probably lies in marketing and a game that appeals to many people I guess.

[dawgfan]

Actually, it is more of a Microsoft screw up. It is no surprise that the HD adoption rate would be high enough to make game developers assume its existence, so Microsoft shouldn't have bothered with the HD-less version of the system.
I'm not sure they really consider it much of a problem. Yeah, it fractured the install base initially, forcing early platform developers to eliminate hard drive requirements from their games, but on the upside it allowed MS to promote a game system that had an entry level price under the magical $300 barrier.

And now, with the market heavily favoring 360 owners with a hard drive, developers can go ahead and release games with hard drives as a requirement without crippling their potential customer base and MS reaps the windfall of incentives for customers to buy a 360 hard drive accessory at an inflated price compared to if they'd just bought the full-featured 360 in the first place.

I'm sure there's some negative feedback from customers that bought the core and arcade 360's, but that was their choice. And the beauty is, they can always buy the add-on hard drive - they're not stuck with a crippled system.

[Eaglesfan27]

Square lead developer confirms that FFXIII will be released before the end of calendar year 2008. A demo of the fighting system is also expected before the game release............

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/27/ffxiii-designer-promises-demo-2008-release-date/[/URL]



Apparently, Square isn't sure what they are doing ;) They went to great lengths to deny the "rumors" that the game will be out before the end of the year or that a demo will be out before the game.

[url]http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26187280&sid=6185326&action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;2 (http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=10183&title=RUMOUR%3A+EB+Australia+and+Microsoft+Australia+feuding+over+defective+360%27s)

[Eaglesfan27]

EB Australia is refusing to sell 360's due to high defect rate. EB Australia currently has over $10 million worth of Xbox 360 consoles that Microsoft refuses to take back. Microsoft is refusing to comment. EB Australia is the leading video game retailer in the $1 billion/year Austrailian market............

http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=10183&title=RUMOUR%3A+EB+Australia+and+Microsoft+Australia+feuding+over+defective+360%27s


Apparently, this is very inaccurate as well. EB and Microsoft still have a strong partnership:
http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=10201&rss=1&title=EB+and+Microsoft+not+feuding

On Tuesday we reported (http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=10183&sid=29780cfd5388944d39b513692884cea2) a rumour that EB Australia and Microsoft were rather unhappy with each other. However, it turns out this rumour was not accurate.

The two gaming giants were supposedly at wits end with regards to $10 million worth of defective 360 consoles in EB's possession, which Microsoft would simply not take back. In addition, the extension of the 360 warranty to three years left EB unable to sell their extended warranties. Heartbreaking. Apparently, the lack of 360's on the shelves was a good sign of such difficulties between the companies, making it appear as if EB were close to simply dropping the 360 range.

As it turns out, this is simply false. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald (http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/faulty-xbox-yarn-is-nixed/2008/01/30/1201369215112.html), chief executive at EB Games, Steven Wilson, has put the claims to bed. "It's 99 per cent bull**** really," said Wilson.

Last year the company did have many units replaced by Microsoft, but, Wilson claims that was an isolated incident caused by a 'hard drive batch problem'. "Even when we had the batch problem six months ago, we were talking about a couple of thousand units," Wilson said. "$10 million is 25,000 units - that's a ridiculous number."

While it is true Premium 360 units were hard to come by, Wilson says it is simply a result of the busy Christmas period. "If you go into our stores now you can't buy a Wii, you can't buy a DS, you can't buy a Pro 360, but you can buy an Elite or an Arcade 360," noted Wilson.

[dawgfan]

Bah, this thread is no place for facts EF27!

[Big Fo]

Isn't Guitar Hero 3 doing the best on the Wii compared to other consoles? The answer probably lies in marketing and a game that appeals to many people I guess.

Well it sold the most on the PS2, there's still a ton of those out there. The Wii version is confirmed over a million sold just in the US iirc.

[wade moore]

This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

Hrm... two of the biggest games for N64 were Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.

Doesn't necessarily kill your point, but there were several successful 3rd party games for the N64.

[Groundhog]

"If you go into our stores now you can't buy a Wii, you can't buy a DS, you can't buy a Pro 360, but you can buy an Elite or an Arcade 360," noted Wilson.

This is a lie. I guarantee you that I can walk 5 minutes to the closest EB Games store to me right now, in the middle of the Sydney CBD, and buy a Wii, DS, and a Pro 360 if I wanted to.

Or at least I could two weekends ago, which was the last time I was in an EB Games store and considered buying a Wii or DS.

[Big Fo]

Hrm... two of the biggest games for N64 were Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.

Doesn't necessarily kill your point, but there were several successful 3rd party games for the N64.

Rare made Goldeneye and Perfect Dark when they were owned by Nintendo. Later on the company was sold to Microsoft. So those were first-party games.

Taken from Wikipedia, bastion of truth that's never wrong: 12 of the 37 million sellers on the N64 were by third-parties and 5 of the 23 million sellers on Gamecube were third-party. Little over a year into the Wii's lifespan there are 17 million sellers, 5 from third-parties.

[wade moore]

Rare made Goldeneye and Perfect Dark when they were owned by Nintendo. Later on the company was sold to Microsoft. So those were first-party games.

Taken from Wikipedia, bastion of truth that's never wrong: 12 of the 37 million sellers on the N64 were by third-parties and 5 of the 23 million sellers on Gamecube were third-party. Little over a year into the Wii's lifespan there are 17 million sellers, 5 from third-parties.

I stand corrected, forgot Rare was owned by Nintendo.

[General Mike]

Thanks Big Fo.

And as far as the N64 goes, sure there were some games I liked alot, mainly the THQ/AKI wrestling games that will never be topped, but 4 games doesn't make a case for 3rd party games.

[Big Fo]

Thanks Big Fo.

And as far as the N64 goes, sure there were some games I liked alot, mainly the THQ/AKI wrestling games that will never be topped, but 4 games doesn't make a case for 3rd party games.

When I looked up the list I was surprised to see so many wrestling games for the N64, I've never really been into pro wrestling and had a Playstation and then Dreamcast instead of the N64 though so that must be it.

Actually, one of EGM's rumors awhile back was that the N64 No Mercy game was going to be updated and made available via WiiWare.

[stevew]

Thanks Big Fo.

And as far as the N64 goes, sure there were some games I liked alot, mainly the THQ/AKI wrestling games that will never be topped, but 4 games doesn't make a case for 3rd party games.

Those were all amazing, I haven't bought a wrestling game in years, but I'm sure they'd be nowhere as good as Virtual Pro, or many of the american versions.

[Izulde]

I saw a bunch of Wiis at a video game store in the Louvre mall in Paris, but I wasn't going to buy one with that exchange rate.

[General Mike]

Actually, one of EGM's rumors awhile back was that the N64 No Mercy game was going to be updated and made available via WiiWare.

That would make me buy a Wii.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting feud between Capcom and Euro retailers. PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 is being sold for 10 euros/pounds more than the 360 version. Capcom is blaming retailers for the price 'gouging'.

http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8888&Itemid=2

Sony's gaming division posts an unexpected profit of $113 million in the '07 3rd quarter (Oct.-Dec. 2007) despite the price cuts on the PS3.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0355361.htm

Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 is up and running, according to Marc Rein. Unfortunately, continued resistance by Microsoft to allow user-created content continues to delay the game's release.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2008/01/30/the_mark_rein_interview.html

Microsoft marketing exec: "We've been talking to Blu-ray all along."

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=91500

Another article concerning EB Australia downplaying rumored problems with Microsoft.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/faulty-xbox-yarn-is-nixed/2008/01/30/1201369215112.html

[gstelmack]

Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 is up and running, according to Marc Rein. Unfortunately, continued resistance by Microsoft to allow user-created content continues to delay the game's release.

I love this fight. See, I like the fact that there is a ton of security on the Xbox for multiplayer gaming, greatly reducing cheats and hacks.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I love this fight. See, I like the fact that there is a ton of security on the Xbox for multiplayer gaming, greatly reducing cheats and hacks.

Specifically, what cheats and hacks are currently being used on the PS3 version? I've seen a lot of stuff about maps being created for the PS3, but haven't seen much else.

[wade moore]

Specifically, what cheats and hacks are currently being used on the PS3 version? I've seen a lot of stuff about maps being created for the PS3, but haven't seen much else.
I know nothing about what is happening on the PS3, but you're naive if you think that cheats won't come out.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I know nothing about what is happening on the PS3, but you're naive if you think that cheats won't come out.

Oh, it's a given due to the open nature of the system. I was just curious what the specific problems, if any, have been thus far.

I personally play Warhawk for the reason that gstelmack cites. It's a closed architecture and there's no 'level-up' feature that gives another gamer more of an advantage in the game simply because they play more often (i.e. COD4).

[gstelmack]

My comment was that Microsoft is being taken to task for not wanting to open up a pretty secure system to outside data. I'm quite happy with the security they provide, and think it's a GOOD thing that they won't take open data from a PC blindly. Other games have allowed user-created content on the Xbox following Microsoft rules (Far Cry had a level editor built-in, for example, Forza allows custom-painted cars, etc).

I just wish that when people discuss this particular topic, they also discussed the security risks inherent in the topic. I rarely see that mentioned.

[Big Fo]

Interesting feud between Capcom and Euro retailers. PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 is being sold for 10 euros/pounds more than the 360 version. Capcom is blaming retailers for the price 'gouging'.

$100 for a PS3 game, Wii games are like $80-85. Europe sucks, I'd buy half as many games at those prices.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

120GB PS3 with Dual Shock 3 controllers confirmed during Gamestop conference call.........

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=24755

[Eaglesfan27]

Sony is blaming the "subprime problem" on a likely decrease in PS3 sales in the upcoming months in the US and are lowering their PS3 sales projections for the fiscal year from 11 million to 9.5 million:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6185359.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0


Here is an excerpt:

Electronics giant Sony's PlayStation 3 may be "out of the woods," (http://uk.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26183678) according to CEO Sir Howard Stringer, but currency woes mean that the company has had to slash its profits forecast for the financial year ending March 31.

According to Bloomberg (http://tinyurl.com/2olmkz), operating profit will be ¥410 billion (approximately $3.85 billion), below the five-percent margin that Sony had previously targeted. It is also significantly less than the ¥444.7 billion ($4.17 billion) previously estimated by an average of 19 analyst predictions by the Bloomberg news service.

The reasoning behind the cut is the stronger yen and softening US demand for Sony products due to the fallout from the subprime mortgage market. At a press briefing held in Tokyo, Sony chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda told reporters, "The subprime problem didn't have much impact on our year-end sales, but it may start affecting sales toward the spring. We cannot rule out the possibility that consumer spending in the US may be hit."

Bloomberg also later updated its story to state that Sony has also now abandoned Stringer's pledge to raise profitability to the highest level in nine years by the end of March. Oneda also added that an exchange-rate change of a single yen to the dollar affects Sony's operating profits by six billion yen a year.

Sony also cut its predicted PlayStation 3 sales figures to 9.5 million units by the end of March 2008, down from the 11-million-unit target it repeatedly touted last year. Sony had stuck steadfastly to the goal, saying as recently as last September (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6179642.html) that it was still on track to reach it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I just wish that when people discuss this particular topic, they also discussed the security risks inherent in the topic. I rarely see that mentioned.

My point was that we haven't heard of any security problems on the PS3 as a result of the UT3 architecture. However, I would think that the Xbox 360 might be a bit more open to those kinds of security breaches simply because it's designed to work with the Windows O/S, which has a bad history of leaving openings for hackers. In that sense, it's probably smart for MS to be a bit more cautious to keep the two separate.

[MikeVic]

$100 for a PS3 game, Wii games are like $80-85. Europe sucks, I'd buy half as many games at those prices.

I don't think I'd buy any games at those prices. Maybe something like Guitar Hero still at $150, but not a normal game for $85.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony is blaming the "subprime problem" on a likely decrease in PS3 sales in the upcoming months in the US and are lowering their PS3 sales projections for the fiscal year from 11 million to 9.5 million:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6185359.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

It should be noted that Microsoft is expected to make similar adjustments to their forecast in the U.S. market for the upcoming quarter for the same reason. This is an industry situation, not a Sony situation.

The loss due to exchange rates affect Nintendo and Sony, but should not affect Microsoft.

[stevew]

What the hell is a dual shock 3?

[gstelmack]

However, I would think that the Xbox 360 might be a bit more open to those kinds of security breaches simply because it's designed to work with the Windows O/S, which has a bad history of leaving openings for hackers.

I'll stop right here, since this quote proves to me you have no freakin' clue what you are talking about when it comes to how these various consoles secure themselves against hacking and cheating, especially over their online services. I don't even know where to start on correcting your misconceptions. It's the whole "harder to program" thing all over again, and I'm not going down that rabbit hole AGAIN.

Microsoft has some fantastic security over its Live service, and I applaud them for sticking to it. I'll leave it at that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What the hell is a dual shock 3?

Dual Shock 2 was the rumble controller for the PS2. Dual Shock 3 is basically the PS3 Sixaxis controller with rumble included. It's already being sold in Japan.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'll stop right here, since this quote proves to me you have no freakin' clue what you are talking about when it comes to how these various consoles secure themselves against hacking and cheating, especially over their online services. I don't even know where to start on correcting your misconceptions. It's the whole "harder to program" thing all over again, and I'm not going down that rabbit hole AGAIN.

Microsoft has some fantastic security over its Live service, and I applaud them for sticking to it. I'll leave it at that.

So explain it. It's a discussion thread. I'm sure I'm not the only one that doesn't completely understand how the Live security setup works. My understanding is that MS is trying to get similar architectures on both the PC and 360 so they can allow cross-platform gameplay between the two.

[Bee]

Sony is blaming the "subprime problem" on a likely decrease in PS3 sales in the upcoming months in the US and are lowering their PS3 sales projections for the fiscal year from 11 million to 9.5 million:



I knew the PS3 was expensive, but I didn't realize people were taking out mortgages to buy them. ;)

[Big Fo]

Rock Band Confirmed for Wii (http://wii.ign.com/articles/848/848996p1.html)

There's still no release date (let alone any word on instruments or how additional song content might work on the Wii), but we'll let you know as soon as more info presents itself.

It was suspected but now confirmed. Considering how well GH3 sold on the Wii it should have been there at launch. Lack of downloadable songs would be weak though, hopefully they find a good solution for that.

[MJ4H]

Not that I'll buy it, but cool.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Amazing stuff on EA's quarterly statement. They managed to set a record for revenue, yet they lost $33 million. They desparately need a management overhaul at EA to find a way to trim the fat. There's no reason that a company this big should lose money on record revenue and have a sports department with several major licenses that sells fewer games than the year before..........

http://pc.ign.com/articles/848/848965p1.html

EA Loses $33M on Record Q3 Revenue
Delays are announced for Battlefield: Bad Company and Mercenaries 2.
by Ryan Geddes

January 31, 2008 - Electronic Arts reported a net loss of $33 million in its third fiscal quarter, although the publisher's net revenue hit the $1.5 billion mark - the largest in EA's history and up 17 percent over the same period last year.

Those numbers were driven largely by sales of Need For Speed: Pro Street (the publisher's best-selling title of the quarter), FIFA 08, Rock Band, The Simpsons Game, Madden NFL 08, The Sims 2 Castaway and NBA Live 08.

The company also announced that Battlefield: Bad Company and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames have been delayed until EA's 2009 fiscal year, which begins in April and runs through March 2010. The latter game was scheduled for an August 2008 release, and the former was set for June.

On a conference call that accompanied EA's earnings statement, Riccitiello said both games are "looking great" but "need polish."

"This was a record revenue quarter for EA and the single biggest revenue quarter for any third party publisher in our industry," said EA CEO John Riccitiello. "While we are disappointed that two titles slipped out of the March quarter, Burnout Paradise is off to a terrific start and we are looking forward to the upcoming launches of Army of Two and FIFA Street 3."

Despite recent speculation by analysts that Will Wright's Spore has been delayed yet again, EA didn't directly address the upcoming games current release schedule, saying only that the ambitious sim will be released before this year's holiday season.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Japanese sales numbers for week ending Jan. 27th......

Wii - 74,544
PS3 - 34,363
PS2 - 11,364
X360 - 4,296

[Eaglesfan27]

Two other EA articles in which they said they are still having difficulties programming for the PS3. They claim other companies are as well:


http://kotaku.com/351346/playstation-3-development-still-problematic-for-ea


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32646

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Two other EA articles in which they said they are still having difficulties programming for the PS3. They claim other companies are as well:


http://kotaku.com/351346/playstation-3-development-still-problematic-for-ea


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32646

EA's in a bit of a pickle in that regard. They've had very little or no problems when they develop the game on a PS3 and port it over to the 360. Here's a quote from the EA exec:

"Games where we led development on the PS3 platform, like Burnout, which is doing very well on the market today, we had no issue at all,"

Unfortunately for them, most of their games that were recently release and soon to be released are being developed on the 360, so PS3 development is likely to still be an issue through this fall. The recent Burnout release is their first game to be developed on the PS3.

The other companies are no different in that regard. The quicker they start developing on the PS3, the better off they are going to be if they want to be a multiplatform developer.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some big first-day sales figures in Japan this week. Predictably, the 1st-party Wii title leads the pack.............

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - 500K (80% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 140K (60% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (360) - 30K (60% of stock available)

[Pumpy Tudors]

I am a little pissed off about the news that Mercenaries 2 has been delayed. The first game was phenomenal.

[CraigSca]

I couldn't care less if EA still has problems with the PS3 or if the PS3 tanks as long as they continue to make MLB:The Show every year. I pre-ordered mine and can't wait until the beginning of March :).

[Big Fo]

Some big first-day sales figures in Japan this week. Predictably, the 1st-party Wii title leads the pack.............

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - 500K (80% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 140K (60% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (360) - 30K (60% of stock available)

I love how Nintendo delayed the game a week to steal all the thunder from DMC4.

[sterlingice]

Rare made Goldeneye and Perfect Dark when they were owned by Nintendo. Later on the company was sold to Microsoft. So those were first-party games.

Taken from Wikipedia, bastion of truth that's never wrong: 12 of the 37 million sellers on the N64 were by third-parties and 5 of the 23 million sellers on Gamecube were third-party. Little over a year into the Wii's lifespan there are 17 million sellers, 5 from third-parties.

Technically, Rare was 2nd party at the time. Similar to Silicon Knights for the Gamecube. They were not owned by Nintendo but did have an exclusivity contract with them.

SI

[sterlingice]

Some big first-day sales figures in Japan this week. Predictably, the 1st-party Wiititle leads the pack.............

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - 500K (80% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 140K (60% of stock available)
Devil May Cry 4 (360) - 30K (60% of stock available)

*snicker* Any chance you get, I guess...

SI

[sterlingice]

Rock Band Confirmed for Wii (http://wii.ign.com/articles/848/848996p1.html)

It was suspected but now confirmed. Considering how well GH3 sold on the Wii it should have been there at launch. Lack of downloadable songs would be weak though, hopefully they find a good solution for that.

Awesome. Also, toward the downloadable songs- what's to keep them from creating a Wii channel dedicated to Rock Band. Hell, something like that is long overdue. Particularly if Nintendo comes out with a hard drive add on for the Wii. But, even if not, why wouldn't songs be downloadable on to SD cards?

SI

[sterlingice]

This has been a problem for the last 10 years. I guess I'd have to do some in depth research, but I don't remember any super successful selling 3rd party games for the N64, and Resident Evil 4 is the only one coming to mind on the Gamecube. I don't see it changing no matter what Nintendo does.

The stats cited above from wiki are for global platform sales. Here's a list of US ones:

http://www.the-magicbox.com/charts.htm


Gamecube Platinum Titles: 5 3rd P, 11 N
1 Capcom (re4)
1 LucasArts (sw battlefront 2)
1 Namco (soulcalibur 2)
2 Sega (sonic collection, sonic adventure)
11 Nintendo

Wii Platinum Titles: 1 3rd P, 5 N
1 Activision (GH3)
5 Wii

SI

[MizzouRah]

Who gives two shits about sales in Japan?

[Big Fo]

Who gives two shits about sales in Japan?

People who like games from Japanese companies.

[MizzouRah]

People who like games from Japanese companies.

Enlighten me.

[Big Fo]

Enlighten me.

Japan is a smaller part of the world's console and handheld game market than USA or Europe but a much larger proportion of the games are made in that country. Nintendo, Capcom, Square-Enix, Konami, some of the best developers are Japanese. These companies aren't completely insular and do take notice of games that are far more successful abroad that at home (Dead Rising, Trauma Center, etc.) but what works at home does have an effect on what Japanese companies decide to make next. Look at how much the PS3 outsells the 360 in Japan and how there's more PS3 exclusives being announced despite the 360 having sold millions more worldwide.

Even if I don't count Nintendo products, around half the games (for consoles and handhelds, all my PC games are made in USA/Europe) I buy are made in Japan so trends over there do affect the games I get to play down the road.

[MizzouRah]

Japan is a smaller part of the world's console and handheld game market than USA or Europe but a much larger proportion of the games are made in that country. Nintendo, Capcom, Square-Enix, Konami, some of the best developers are Japanese. These companies aren't completely insular and do take notice of games that are far more successful abroad that at home (Dead Rising, Trauma Center, etc.) but what works at home does have an effect on what Japanese companies decide to make next. Look at how much the PS3 outsells the 360 in Japan and how there's more PS3 exclusives being announced despite the 360 having sold millions more worldwide.

Even if I don't count Nintendo products, around half the games (for consoles and handhelds, all my PC games are made in USA/Europe) I buy are made in Japan so trends over there do affect the games I get to play down the road.

Good thing I have a Wii. ;)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

*snicker* Any chance you get, I guess...

SI

Snicker all you want, but the market trends bear it out. Nintendo could put out a 480p version of Tetris and it would sell 250K the first day. I'm not sure why Nintendo fans take offense to that kind of statement. It's a testament to the quality of the first-party Nintendo titles. I'm not a fan of all of their franchises, but when Nintendo puts out a game, you know that it's going to have very few, if any, bugs and is going to likely provide hours upon hours of great entertainment. The problem right now is that third-party developers don't put out games that match that standard.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some game news. First, several sites are reporting that 4 new games will be announced for the Xbox 360, reportedly all 360 exclusives. Three of them aren't too surprising, but a 360-exclusive DMC5 might raise some eyebrows if true...........

Forza 3
Dead or Alive 5
Gears of War 2
Halo: Chronicles.

Sony's bringing out their first 'classic' games. All will retail for $30 initially.

Resistance: FOM
Warhawk
Folklore
Ridge Racer 7
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Gundam: Target in Sight

The PS3 new SKU debate continues internally at Sony. Sounds like even Sony isn't totally sure what their next move will be in regards to any new SKU's..........

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/01/sony-insider-talks-ps3-sku-strategy/

[Kodos]

Damn. I knew Resistance's price was about to fall, but I bought it anyway. Shoulda grabbed Ratchet instead...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Damn. I knew Resistance's price was about to fall, but I bought it anyway. Shoulda grabbed Ratchet instead...

It's not dropping for at least 2 months (supposedly late March), so you would have had to wait awhile.

[MikeVic]

Snicker all you want, but the market trends bear it out. Nintendo could put out a 480p version of Tetris and it would sell 250K the first day. I'm not sure why Nintendo fans take offense to that kind of statement. It's a testament to the quality of the first-party Nintendo titles. I'm not a fan of all of their franchises, but when Nintendo puts out a game, you know that it's going to have very few, if any, bugs and is going to likely provide hours upon hours of great entertainment. The problem right now is that third-party developers don't put out games that match that standard.

That's what I don't get about the whole 3rd-party thing. It's not Nintendo's fault that most games they release are guaranteed to be as close to bug-free as possible, and really fun to play. I know what I'm getting from them. There was a stretch last generation where Ubisoft was in a similar position with me too. Almost every game they released in that stretch was solid and fun.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

That's what I don't get about the whole 3rd-party thing. It's not Nintendo's fault that most games they release are guaranteed to be as close to bug-free as possible, and really fun to play. I know what I'm getting from them. There was a stretch last generation where Ubisoft was in a similar position with me too. Almost every game they released in that stretch was solid and fun.

As I mentioned before, Nintendo is their own worst enemy. Their quality is so good that they clean up the sales on their own console and leave little other consumer money for the third party games. I'm not sure Nintendo can do much about it.

[MJ4H]

They could start releasing crappy, buggy software I guess.

[Synovia]

Their quality is so good that they clean up the sales on their own console and leave little other consumer money for the third party games.



I completely disagree with this. If there were decent 3rd party titles not selling well, you'd be right, but there aren't. Most of the 3rd party titles are absolutely abysmal.


Theres plenty of money out there, the 3rd party developers are just afraid to spend some actual developement time on things, instead of just slapping together a shoddy port.

The Squaresoft games are always great, but they didn't kill all the other 3rd party games on the ps2.

[MJ4H]

There are definitely decent to great 3rd party games that aren't selling well. The best example of this is Zack and Wiki.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

There are definitely decent to great 3rd party games that aren't selling well. The best example of this is Zack and Wiki.

No More Heroes is another recent, good example.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Deal of the Day over at Amazon. Warhawk w/ Bluetooth headset for $40. Good deal if you are a PS3 owner and don't have it yet.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000K9K9AC/ref=nosim/slickdeals

[MikeVic]

Zack and Wiki is such a damn difficult game for me right now.

[Synovia]

There are definitely decent to great 3rd party games that aren't selling well. The best example of this is Zack and Wiki.



Zak and Wiki is selling poorly because its got a poor title, and is a really off-beat game. Its a risky game to start with.


Its not selling poorly because its third party

[Synovia]

No More Heroes is another recent, good example.

Game has been out for what, A month? and isn't a franchise game, and has very little advertising....

[MJ4H]

Just to be clear, these games were presented as evidence that your statement


If there were decent 3rd party titles not selling well, you'd be right, but there aren't.


was incorrect. Citing reasons for it not selling well des not change that. Especially when your reasons are very poor.

[Synovia]

Just to be clear, these games were presented as evidence that your statement



was incorrect. Citing reasons for it not selling well des not change that. Especially when your reasons are very poor.

So we've got two games as evidense? One thats totally non-typical (Zak and Wiki, with AWFUL marketing and packaging) and one thats recieved just as many awful reviews as good ones (No More Heroes).

Real strong proof there.


I'm sure I could find a bunch of ps2/ps3/360 games that were good, and didn't sell well. Good games selling poorly isn't just system dependant.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

EA provides their console sales estimates for 2008. They expect the Wii to outsell the PS3 by 3.5 million units and outsell the 360 by 7 million units. They also expect the Nintendo DS to double the sales numbers of the PSP.........

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32686

EA expects PS3 to outsell 360 in 2008
Phil Elliott 09:22 (BST) 04/02/2008
Wii to dominate console sales with Sony's flagship console cementing second place

Electronic Arts has released estimates of what it thinks will be the range of hardware sales in North America and Europe through 2008, and while the Wii unsurprisingly leads, it's the PlayStation 3 that will hold a strong second place.

That will, according to the estimates, be particularly true in Europe, where EA expects the PlayStation 3 to sell between 5 and 6 million units across the year, compared to just 1.5-2.5 million for the Xbox 360.

That means that while the company thinks the two will tie in North America on 4.5 to 5.5 million unit sales, the two sets of numbers combined give Sony's flagship console a compelling 3.5 million lead.

The report predicts the Nintendo Wii will win the year, with a combined total of between 12 and 14 million units sold, while the PlayStation 2 will continue on its long tail drop-off, shifting between 3.9 and 4.9 million units.

That yields a total home console sales estimate for the two regions of between 31.4 and 38.4 million units.

The report also gives estimates for the year's handheld sales as well, noting the company's belief that it expects the Nintendo DS to outsell the PlayStation Portable by over 2-to-1.

According to the numbers the DS should shift between 14 and 16 million units, while the PSP will sell around 6 to 8 million units, giving a combined handheld total for the year of between 20 and 24 million.

Combined console estimates for 2008 are as follows:

Nintendo Wii: 12-14 million
PlayStation 3: 9.5-11.5 million
Xbox 360: 6-8 million
PlayStation 2: 3.9-4.9 million

Combined handheld estimates for 2008 are as follows:

Nintendo DS: 14-16 million
PlayStation Portable: 6-8 million

[MJ4H]

So we've got two games as evidense? One thats totally non-typical (Zak and Wiki, with AWFUL marketing and packaging) and one thats recieved just as many awful reviews as good ones (No More Heroes).

Real strong proof there.


I'm sure I could find a bunch of ps2/ps3/360 games that were good, and didn't sell well. Good games selling poorly isn't just system dependant.

Well, I presented one. And yes, 1 > 0.

[Synovia]

Well, I presented one. And yes, 1 > 0.
Yes, but you didn't present proof that its selling poorly because its third party, which was your point.

[Big Fo]

Game has been out for what, A month? and isn't a franchise game, and has very little advertising....

It's been out one week in the US, yet to come out in Europe, and outsold any of the developer's previous efforts in Japan, but that won't stop people from saying third-parties will never succeed on a Nintendo console. Way too early to call this one if you have any brains.

Zack and Wiki did poorly here and in Japan but has charted in several different European countries since it came out over there. It won't break any records but should still sell over 100k worldwide and this game isn't exactly Shenmue in terms of how much it cost to make. And as stated before, making a game that looks and sounds too kiddy for adults and is far too difficult for small children then not advertising it isn't the best way to make your game sell.

And it's not like Nintendo is taking up all consumer money week after week or even month after month, Smash will have Nintendo's highest first week sales on a home console in Japan since Dragon Quest VI (third-party btw) came out on the SNES in the mid-90s. To say Nintendo could pump out "a 480p version of Tetris and it would sell 250K the first day" is utter bullshit, they spent years on Super Mario Galaxy and it didn't do that well on the first day.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

To say Nintendo could pump out "a 480p version of Tetris and it would sell 250K the first day" is utter bullshit, they spent years on Super Mario Galaxy and it didn't do that well on the first day.

Someone's sarcasm meter is broken.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Evidently, Bill Gates is not the right person to escalate your RROD complaints to if you're having a problem............

http://kotaku.com/351738/msoft-dont-tell-bill-your-360-problems

It was a little stunning to learn last week that at least one disgruntled Xbox 360 owner had decided to skip the regular channels when dealing with a burnt out 360 and instead went straight to Bill Gates. Even more stunning, Gates apparently knocked some heads and got the guy sorted out in record time (24 hours).

While Consumerist reader, and Xbox 360 owner, Jon was delighted with the outcome, it seems Microsoft was not so much. Today they've dropped us a friendly note to remind everyone that Bill really isn't your go-to guy for Red Rings of Death:

Bill Gates or Microsoft executives are not an appropriate escalation point for customer service issues. Customers experiencing issues with their Xbox 360 console should contact Xbox Customer Service. Our customer service team is well equipped to ensure that the repair process goes smoothly. That said, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience. We are continually improving the design and performance of the Xbox 360 consoles to decrease the likelihood that a customer will experience the three flashing red lights. In the event they do, they are covered for three years under our extended warranty.

Wow, can you imagine the tongue lashing the likely tsunami of angry emails spurred? Gates, I suspect, may be retired, but he's not THAT retired.

[Synovia]

" Bill Gates or Microsoft executives are not an appropriate escalation point for customer service issues."

Clearly, he is.

[MJ4H]

Yes, but you didn't present proof that its selling poorly because its third party, which was your point.

No, my point was to show you that there are good 3rd party titles that aren't selling well. You said there weren't. I was showing you that was incorrect.

[Synovia]

No, my point was to show you that there are good 3rd party titles that aren't selling well. You said there weren't. I was showing you that was incorrect.


We're nitpicking here.


Zak and Wiki is a good game, but its a poor product. Marketing, etc, are just as important as the game itself. Zak and Wiki is failing because of poor advertising and market research, not because its a 3rd party game.

[MJ4H]

That may be, but it is a good game. And no, I'm not nitpicking. I like to use factual statements to support arguments, not hyperbole. I also like to point out when others use hyperbole. Part of the reason is because it causes poor perceptions where it is undeserved if people are reading this and think what you said is 100% true. It isn't. There are good 3rd party games out there. At least one of which isn't selling very well.

I don't necessarily disagree with anything else you are saying. I am just pointing this one thing out.

[Big Fo]

Evidently, Bill Gates is not the right person to escalate your RROD complaints to if you're having a problem............


Beats waiting a few weeks for your coffin at least.

[Arles]

EA provides their console sales estimates for 2008. They expect the Wii to outsell the PS3 by 3.5 million units and outsell the 360 by 7 million units. They also expect the Nintendo DS to double the sales numbers of the PSP.........

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32686
Sounds about right. The 360 has already sold a ton of consoles, so you'd have to think the PS3 will start catching up as the 360 reaches a saturation point. The WII has such a huge base, that it will continue to do well. What's interesting to me is game sales, which I expect the 360 to continue to do very well in. Once the PS3 starts catching up in that area, that's when we'll see a real competition between the two begin.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sounds about right. The 360 has already sold a ton of consoles, so you'd have to think the PS3 will start catching up as the 360 reaches a saturation point. The WII has such a huge base, that it will continue to do well. What's interesting to me is game sales, which I expect the 360 to continue to do very well in. Once the PS3 starts catching up in that area, that's when we'll see a real competition between the two begin.

The Wii is going to be very interesting to watch. The continued supply issues at this point are starting to become a hinderance. Business and economic models show that their is a point where a constrained supply, intentional or otherwise, eventually cause a change in market forces. Initially, constrained supply can lead to increased demand. But when that continues to happen, the demand begins to die off as consumers give up and pursue other needs/wants. The fact that Wii advertising is now running again after a hiatus over the holidays may be a sign that Nintendo is starting to see some reduced demand. With the Wii now out for over a year, they've really got to start producing consoles at a much higher level or risk adverse effects on demand in the coming months. There's no excuse for reduced supply at this point.

Other than the big game releases on the PS3, the biggest moment this year will likely be a price cut in late summer or early fall. If they can make another $100 price cut in addition to having the HD format war wrapped up, they'd be in a great position entering the holidays.

[wade moore]

I know that I"m getting pretty damned sick of hunting for a Wii.

I tdoesn't mean that I won't ever buy one, but the days of trying to make a special trip to the stores about once a week or so are basically over for me.

A few months from now if I'm in a store and they have one - sweet. If not, my 360 will do me just fine.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I know that I"m getting pretty damned sick of hunting for a Wii.

I tdoesn't mean that I won't ever buy one, but the days of trying to make a special trip to the stores about once a week or so are basically over for me.

A few months from now if I'm in a store and they have one - sweet. If not, my 360 will do me just fine.

I saw a lady throw a fit this week in a Gamestop. Her comments pretty much sum up what can happen with extended supply constraint........

"Been coming to this store every other day for three months."

"I don't care what corporate says.........make a damn waiting list!"

"I don't want to call you every day!"

"Can't they make any more of these things?"

"I'm just about done with this whole mess."

[KWhit]

And yet as soon as she finds a Wii, she'll buy it.


I can't agree with the notion that the fact that Nintendo sells every Wii it produces is a bad thing.

[Synovia]

I can't agree with the notion that the fact that Nintendo sells every Wii it produces is a bad thing.

Same, especially considering that they're producing consoles faster than anyone ever has.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

And yet as soon as she finds a Wii, she'll buy it.

I can't agree with the notion that the fact that Nintendo sells every Wii it produces is a bad thing.

To be clear, that was not what I implied at all. Selling every console is a great thing, but they need to get over that hump in regards to supply very soon.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New PS3 color coming to Japan. Now in Silver! (rest of world yawns while Japanese giggle)...........

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/05/ps3-gets-a-silver-satin-dress-in-japan/

[Daimyo]

The Wii is going to be very interesting to watch. The continued supply issues at this point are starting to become a hinderance.
I could be wrong, but it seems like you've been typing this exact line for six months now and yet the Wii keeps breaking sales records...

The Wii doesn't have supply issues -- they're making them faster than any console in history -- it has absurd demand and so far there haven't been any signs that that demand is going anywhere.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I could be wrong, but it seems like you've been typing this exact line for six months now and yet the Wii keeps breaking sales records...

The Wii doesn't have supply issues -- they're making them faster than any console in history -- it has absurd demand and so far there haven't been any signs that that demand is going anywhere.

No, you're absolutely right. I have been stating that for a few months now. It's certainly not something that will show up tomorrow. Arles was talking about the upcoming year, so that was the only reason I brought it up. Summer will likely be the time when we'll see any effect similar to what I'm suggesting. Another key moment will be if the PS3 reaches a $299 price point. My guess is that the Wii will need to make a price cut move at that point to differentiate itself from the competition.

I'd note that I've also been saying for a few months that the PS3 would surpass the 360 worldwide installed base sometime in 2009. Given the recent financial statements along with a couple of recent 2008 console sales estimates, it appears that prediction is right on target.

[MikeVic]

No, you're absolutely right. I have been stating that for a few months now. It's certainly not something that will show up tomorrow. Arles was talking about the upcoming year, so that was the only reason I brought it up. Summer will likely be the time when we'll see any effect similar to what I'm suggesting. Another key moment will be if the PS3 reaches a $299 price point. My guess is that the Wii will need to make a price cut move at that point to differentiate itself from the competition.

I'd note that I've also been saying for a few months that the PS3 would surpass the 360 worldwide installed base sometime in 2009. Given the recent financial statements along with a couple of recent 2008 console sales estimates, it appears that prediction is right on target.

I really think the Wii has differentiated itself from the competition pretty well. Yeah, price is a part of it. But I think now people like the Wii partly due to how fun and different it is.

[wade moore]

To be clear - I'm not necessarily saying that Nintendo is hurt dramatically by this, but I certainly think there are others like me that are going to give up on the "hunt"... I'm not sure that has a huge impact except that eventually you might actually find them on the shelves now and then.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I really think the Wii has differentiated itself from the competition pretty well. Yeah, price is a part of it. But I think now people like the Wii partly due to how fun and different it is.

Yes, but if you have a $250 Wii vs. a $299 PS3, that's likely a bit too close in the pricing department. A $299 PS3 with a BR player included becomes a pretty good option. If it's still missing from store shelves in the fall, I suppose they could keep it at $250, but my guess is that the supply will catch up to demand by summer.

[CraigSca]

I really doubt a price change on the PS3-side will affect the Wii at all. They are completely two different beasts. As far as this round is concerned, people are buying Wiis and then making a decision to buy EITHER a 360 or PS3.

FWIW, I'm one of the whackos that falls outside this mold, but only because baseball is by far my favorite sport and MLB:The Show "looks" that good this year.

[Kodos]

I know I'd be pretty irritated if I was looking to get a Wii. I've only seen them for sale once since they came out, despite the fact that I check every time I am in a store that would sell them, just out of curiosity. They may be producing more consoles than anyone before, but there is no excuse for not being able to meet demand over a year into the life-cycle of a console.

[MikeVic]

I don't know, everyone I know that's wanted a Wii has gotten one in a couple week's time. The internet is your friend people.

[Synovia]

Yes, but if you have a $250 Wii vs. a $299 PS3, that's likely a bit too close in the pricing department

No, its not, because a very large percentage of the people who want a Wii have absolutely no interest in a PS3. The price of the PS3 is completely irrelevant to those people.



I own both, but the PS3 is primarily used as a Blu-ray player and media server, and I play games on the Wii.


Wii Sports kicks the everliving crap out of Motorstorm, which is probably the worst game I have ever owned.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I don't know, everyone I know that's wanted a Wii has gotten one in a couple week's time. The internet is your friend people.

"I don't have an internet" - Larry Smith when asked what he thought of criticisms of his coaching abilities at Mizzou websites.

FWIW.....there is still a large percentage of the population who wouldn't consider ever buying anything online.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Wii Sports kicks the everliving crap out of Motorstorm, which is probably the worst game I have ever owned.

:rolleyes:

[MikeVic]

I was more referring to the members of this board. I would assume they're comfortable with online purchases, considering most text sims are online-only. Just a suggestion in case people didn't consider buying a Wii online. I've seen web sites that show you who has items the Wii in stock. There was one site that came up as IN STOCK, but when you'd go directly to the website it wouldn't show the Wii as in stock. But the link from this other site actually let you order... and it worked. The coworker got his Wii a couple weeks ago.

[wade moore]

I don't know, everyone I know that's wanted a Wii has gotten one in a couple week's time. The internet is your friend people.
If you know a way to get a Wii online without paying an inflated price, please share. I've been trying to get one since Thanksgiving.

[MikeVic]

Here's one of the things he used:
http://www.consolewatch.com/

It's for Canada, but I would assume there's a similar one for the U.S. He also had some plugin thing that showed up on his Google page, but I'm having trouble finding it.