March NPD

[Altimus]

Quote: Originally Posted by ExtremeGamer

I don't agree with the waiting on the MGS bundle at all. I also don't see MGS4 being the system seller like many think it is. We'll see, but as of now, there's not this big hype or excitement about it, at least with most that I know.

Why not? MGS is huge for the PS3 franchise, not Halo huge but big. Most of the excitement is gone because of GTA. You would be mad to think of any other game but GTA at this point. Once GTA comes out and people start thinking about new games, MGS excitement should go back up.

I'm not saying it will sell consoles like Halo did but it will bump PS3 sales for the summer.

Also with the GTA PS3 bundle coming, that should also bump PS3 sales up.

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by Altimus GTR

Why not? MGS is huge for the PS3 franchise, not Halo huge but big. Most of the excitement is gone because of GTA. You would be mad to think of any other game but GTA at this point. Once GTA comes out and people start thinking about new games, MGS excitement should go back up. I'm not saying it will sell consoles like Halo did but it will bump PS3 sales for the summer. Also with the GTA PS3 bundle coming, that should also bump PS3 sales up.

I think the GTA bundle was only for Europe. They've also got a Gran Turismo bundle as well. Sony is holding back 80 gig models in the US for the MGS bundle. While MGS will be big for the ps3, it just doesn't have the same appeal or effect that Halo or GTA have for console sales.

[fishepa]

Here's a funny quote from the President of Epic Games, who refers to the Wii as a "virus".

I sort of agree with him.

Quote:

The folks at Epic Games certainly haven't been shy to make their feelings about the Wii known in the past, but company president Michael Capps took things up a few more notches in a recent interview with IGN, with him not only once again bemoaning the Wii's underpowered hardware, but even going so far as to compare the console to a "virus." You can find Capps' complete musings on the matter at the link below, but the short of it is that he thinks the Wii maintains its success by building on a chain reaction of sorts, with one person buying the console only to get tired of it two months later, but not before they showed it to someone else, who also though it was cool and went out and bought one, and also got bored with it a couple of months later, and so on and so on. Capps does add, however, that there's obviously "a class of people who really love it and enjoy it and are getting into the games," but that he's waiting for "that one game that makes me play it," and that "maybe Wii Fit will be it." That apparently still doesn't mean you can expect to see any games from Epic on the Wii, however, with Capps flatly saying that "we go forward, not back."

[Gamecocks625]

Well, if the Wii is a fad because people only buy it for WiiSports, should the PS3 be labeled a fad because people just buy it for bluray movies? Software is selling worse on the PS3 than the Wii, yet it's a fad? Strange. I'm not anti-Sony dude, either. I'm all about some Socom. The only console to really be kicking some serious software butt is the 360.

[Cyros]

I think it'd be considered a fad because it introduces something new and different that might not stick in the mainstream.

[jpup]

The Wii is selling well because it's cheaper and because kids and tweens got to have it because it's the hottest thing around right now. It's seems to be just like the DS. I find that many more people are buying PS3s than 360s right now and GTA has a lot to do with it. COD4 sold a lot of PS3s as well. I know they are on both consoles, but that game made some PS2 people finally make the jump.

Most people that I talk to have no idea that online gaming is as easy as hooking up your cable to your PS3. Blu-ray helps, but for people that only had a PS2, they don't seem to care much about online gaming. I have had both Xboxs, several PS2s, and have a PS3 and I couldn't care less about online gaming. I love the downloads and am really looking forward to home, but you guys can have online gaming for the most part. One on one games like golf are great, but team sports online aren't much fun IMO.

I just agreed to sell my 360 and everything with it because I haven't had a reason to turn it on since December. I may end up buying one back, but for me and a lot of folks, the PS3 is one stop shopping and Home will only help that, if it ever actually comes out.

[Gamecocks625]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpup

The Wii is selling well because it's cheaper and because kids and tweens got to have it because it's the hottest thing around right now. It's seems to be just like the DS. I find that many more people are buying PS3s than 360s right now and GTA has a lot to do with it.

Jpup, no offense, but those are huge generalizations. I think you are on to something when you say that the price of the Wii contributes to it selling out consistently, but you ignore that software continues to sell well. People, not just kids and teens, dig the system not only for Wii Sports, but for games that all ages can enjoy like Smash Bros., Mario Galaxy, Pro Evolution Soccer, etc. Your circle of friends may be buying more PS3s or 360s, but NPD states that isn't the case nationally.

Will more people pick up a PS3/360 now because of GTA? Heck yeah. But people will still be picking up their Wii for Mario Kart, Wii Fit, and more.

These machines cater to different crowds. At some points they may intersect, but for the most part, each system caters to a certain type of person.

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gamecocks625

Jpup, no offense, but those are huge generalizations. I think you are on to something when you say that the price of the Wii contributes to it selling out consistently, but you ignore that software continues to sell well. People, not just kids and teens, dig the system not only for Wii Sports, but for games that all ages can enjoy like Smash Bros., Mario Galaxy, Pro Evolution Soccer, etc. Your circle of friends may be buying more PS3s or 360s, but NPD states that isn't the case nationally.

the common argument is that while the Wii does have more consoles out, but software sales don't really reflect that. The Wii does have games that sell, but the 360 has more on the lists each month. So when you see a spike in wii game sales, it could mean that a lot of people are only buying Wiis for the one or two big games out for it right now.

While the 360 has more people who buy many games, the Wii has a huge volume of people buying Wii Play, SSBB, or Mario Kart only. Nintendo doesn't really mind, as they make money either way. It's not a bad business model to put out a cheap console, and the best games on that console. Meanwhile, the ps3 and 360 need people to buy more games to offset the loss on the manufacturing cost of those consoles.