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Since 6980 DaysBut thats besides the point :) surly everyone owns one now right?...right?
and seeing as the 'DS' sales includes all itterations. it makes for some impressive numbers.
Since 7334 DaysOooh, Profound, isn't it?
Since 7506 Days
Since 7334 DaysOooh, Profound, isn't it?
Since 7506 DaysAs long as there are people who keep buying, Nintendo will keep making version after version....
Since 7332 Days"That just happened 'cause that was awesome" - Randy Pitchford, Gearbox
Since 7444 Dayshttp://twitter.com/deftangel
Since 7506 DaysNPD April 2009
Wii - 340,000 (Apr 2010, 23% Down from Apr 2009)
X360 - 175,000 (Apr 2010 6% Up from Apr 2009)
PS3 - 127,000 (Apr 2010 42% Up from Apr 2009)
Clearly Nintendo has something to think about here.... they cant blame it on shortages anymore
Since 7334 DaysOooh, Profound, isn't it?
Since 7332 Days"That just happened 'cause that was awesome" - Randy Pitchford, Gearbox
Since 7334 DaysOooh, Profound, isn't it?
Since 7448 DaysIt is amazing when you think about it. Consumers who like a product so much that even the slightest change is enough to convince them buy it all over again. I'm not a hater, but I still just can't explain the Wii. Massive hardware sales, a user base of 70 million and yet it has the lowest 3rd party software sales of any of the consoles.
Since 7444 DaysThe concern about April's NPD would be that it came out of absolutely nowhere. Most commentators appreciated it would a weak month, both in a historical context and in terms of software released. The hardware sales are much of a muchness, its the software decline that'll be worrying
http://twitter.com/deftangel
Since 7334 DaysOooh, Profound, isn't it?
Since 7506 DaysThe concern about April's NPD would be that it came out of absolutely nowhere. Most commentators appreciated it would a weak month, both in a historical context and in terms of software released. The hardware sales are much of a muchness, its the software decline that'll be worrying
Wii Sports
Wii Sports Resorts
Wii Play
Wii Fit
The other million sellers are either Marios or Zeldas with may be 10 titles at most from 3rd party that managed to scrape past 1 million.
The Wii's 3rd party games attach ratios is a COMPLETE disaster but obviously Nintendo doesn't care. Every Wii they sell brings them money on hardware alone so who gives a toss about software. All they have to do is release a Mario title, a Zelda Title and a couple of sports games every now and then. 3rd parties wont find success in the Wii because most people buying Wiis werent part of the gaming world before.
Since 7444 DaysWii Sports
Wii Sports Resorts
Wii Play
Wii Fit
The other million sellers are either Marios or Zeldas with may be 10 titles at most from 3rd party that managed to scrape past 1 million.
The Wii's 3rd party games attach ratios is a COMPLETE disaster but obviously Nintendo doesn't care. Every Wii they sell brings them money on hardware alone so who gives a toss about software. All they have to do is release a Mario title, a Zelda Title and a couple of sports games every now and then. 3rd parties wont find success in the Wii because most people buying Wiis werent part of the gaming world before.
This "3rd parties don't do well on the Wii" meme is just an excuse trotted out by the publishers when it suits them (because most of them have had isolated success on the console over the years). It's because they totally didn't see the Wii coming, ignored it for a couple of years and then did their bit to port a load of PS2 games crying when it didn't work. Some of those that did try properly simply went after the wrong market segments because they didn't know how to make anything else.
The bottom line is, the 'core' market is not as big as the publishers thought it was and having bet the farm in terms of development costs and subsequently taken their eye off the ball the disruption enabled by the internet and that brought by Nintendo are in a rather sticky spot indeed.
Consumers, on the whole do not have have a notion of 1st and 3rd party software. They just want *good* software. Competing with the Nintendo's of this world takes a lot of effort and whilst Nintendo could certainly be a lot more helpful, they can only bring the third parties to the well. They cannot make them drink. Thus they are paying the price for taking too long to work out what was going on and the arrogance in not changing it.
For their sake, they best not treat the quasi-generation with the same scant regard because that's a long shot at salvation as it is.
http://twitter.com/deftangel
Since 7448 DaysConsumers, on the whole do not have have a notion of 1st and 3rd party software. They just want *good* software. Competing with the Nintendo's of this world takes a lot of effort and whilst Nintendo could certainly be a lot more helpful, they can only bring the third parties to the well. They cannot make them drink. Thus they are paying the price for taking too long to work out what was going on and the arrogance in not changing it.
The problem I have with this statement is that from the perspective of software sales, the market demographics of the Nons and Casuals remains unproven. I'm sorry deft but a platform with 70 million users should have titles that crush the launch day sales of games like MW2 and Halo. Why isn't it happening? Is it truly the fault of developers? Or is it that no one really understands enough about Nintendo's install base to be able to create the kinds of games that would produce tremendous sales for them.
And that really is the point. We scratch our heads every month asking who the fuck are these people? They sure aren't people that any of us game with. At work when conversations about gaming come up, the Wii is NEVER mentioned. The oldest gamer in these conversations is a 55 year old father of 3, he plays Halo, he plays COD, He plays Uncharted, he talks about Morrigan being a bigger bitch than Miranda. The Wii never enters the conversation.
Look at what happened just today-
May 17, 2010 -- The American Heart Association (AHA) has given its seal of approval to Nintendo's Wii, Wii Fit Plus, and Wii Sports Resort. The AHA's "heart check" logo -- which is normally only seen on healthy foods -- will now appear on these virtual exercise or active game systems. The new partnership will also include a research summit and a $1.5 million donation from Nintendo to the AHA.
But here's the problem deft, Wii users aren't Mac-Heads. They aren't particularly interested in buying games for their newly invested platform. The Wii demographic doesn't just not have a notion of 1st and 3rd party, they don't have a notion PERIOD. Of course it never hurt that the Wii was cheap compared to the other consoles, and didn't require consumers to purchase an HDTV, or HDMI cables, or hard drives, or wifi......what a second. I think we're on to something aren't we?
-Main Stream Media Cultural Hype
-Years of Short Supply in stores........driving the never ending consumer enthusiasm for the product
-Cheap and Inexpensive entry into gaming for the non-gamer
This is what the 3rd party devs have to work with deft. A non gamer who wouldn't know a AAA+ game if it knocked on the front door and offered to make breakfast and drive the kids to school. You and others are simply giving this demographic way more credit than they ever deserved. They're not even impulse shoppers (you can always count on THEM to buy), they are hype driven consumers who are simply playing follow the leader. I agree with you that devs haven't been providing MUST HAVE titles for the Wii, but do you really think this demographic would care? Are they going to stand on a line at midnight waiting for a Wii game?
This is why Microsoft may prevail with Natal. As foolish at it sounds to us to release a peripheral in the middle of a console generation, the non-gamer demographic doesn't have a clue. They apparently like purchasing hardware, and if enough titles are bundled with it, it could take off. But put it out of your mind that better games are going to turn these folks into gamers. The Wii is about as close as any of them probably want to get to gaming or being considered as gamers.
Since 7444 Daysi) Not even a minority of Wii's million sellers are third party. According to this Edge article it's over 50 (http://www.edge-online.com/news/wii-has-76-million-selling-titles) Not all of those games sold because they went with hardware but lets get to that in a minute.
ii) I think publishers have over-estimated the size of what they deem to be the "core" market. We get frequent soundbites about how this is a $20bn industry in the US. In 2005 it was a $10bn industry. Guess where this growth come from. Let's suppose this generation played out how they expected and the Wii was effectively another Gamecube. Then we're talking $12-$13bn, not $20bn. (Industry revenue apportioned to Nintendo has been £10bn in the US the last two years)
The point I was trying to make was, publishers are not selling into a market that is exactly the same as it was in 2005 only twice as big but really for all intenses and purposes the market the 3rd party publishers have traditionally been able to sell to has been more or less flat for the best part of the last decade*. Before 2005's $10.8bn year, the previous record was $10.3bn in 2003. Last year, Sony & Microsoft generated $9.9bn at retail between them (Source: GamaS)
Will the expanded audience created by the Wii buy 10 games a year? Will they queue up at midnight? No, of course not and that's not a point I was making. If they did care, as you put it, then they would have a PS3 or a 360.
But equally, they didn't just fall into a shop and walk out with a Wii and a copy of Carnival games or Just Dance either. Wii owners will buy software, if it's software that resonates with them. That this new audience didn't fall over themselves to buy the shovelware, crappy PS2 ports, crappy current gen ports, even more gimped versions of 360/PS3 games and blatant rip-offs of the concepts that did work isn't their fault either.
The same applies to Natal (which I agree is the right strategy, unlike Move but has massive questions over Microsoft's ability to execute). If all the Natal games we get are gimped versions of existing 360 games, mindless party games or uninspired rehashes of existing genre's with clunky controls FOR TEH CAZUALS WHO CAN'T USE GAMEPADZ then it is going to fail, and fail hard.
And if that does happen, I suppose it'll be the 'non-gamers' who will get blamed so it'll be perfectly ok for the 3rd parties to leave all 200 odd million of them playing games on Facebook, iPhones and their Wii's to it because they weren't interested!
http://twitter.com/deftangel
Since 6101 DaysWhile all maybe well and good in Xbox 360 Land, the industry as a whole was down.
US hardware sales in August:
Xbox 360 – 356,700
DS – 342,700
Wii – 244,300
PS3 – 226,000
PSP – 79,400
I wonder what the rest of the year will look like?
Since 6648 DaysThe wii fits the same bill, a novelty party item, cheap enough to be bought and forgotten about by the majority of people. Thats why people don't buy software for it, the most of them have all the software they need in wii sports or wii fit. Of course this doesn't account for everyone, but it is an indication as to which niche Nintendo have found themselves in and why software numbers are so poor compared to the install base.
The problem is, how do they come in with a new console to appeal to the same demographic? And why are Sony and MS trying to hit the same people, these for the most part are the people who see no difference in high def or widescreen or surround sound. So they see no difference in Wii and Kinect unless the software is radically different which so far it isn't.