NPD August 2009 Official Thread of "Wait until next time!"

[EmCeeGrammar]

Y'know, I think NSMB wii will turn things around.  It'll probably join resort as the new evergreen game. 

[Phoenix Dark]

third party Wii success

[Great Rumbler]

Top 20

    1     MADDEN NFL 10    360     ELECTRONIC ARTS    Aug-09
    2    WII SPORTS RESORT W/ WII MOTION PLUS    WII    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    Jul-09
    3    MADDEN NFL 10    PS3    ELECTRONIC ARTS    Aug-09
    4    BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM*    360    SQUARE ENIX INC    Aug-09
    5    BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM*    PS3    SQUARE ENIX INC    Aug-09
    6    MADDEN NFL 10    PS2    ELECTRONIC ARTS    Aug-09
    7    DISSIDIA: FINAL FANTASY    PSP    SQUARE ENIX INC    Aug-09
    8    WII FIT*    WII    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    May-08
    9    MARIO KART W/WHEEL    WII    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    Apr-08
    10    FOSSIL FIGHTERS    NDS    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    Aug-09
    11    MARIO KART DS    NDS    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    Nov-05
    12    NEW SUPER MARIO BROS    NDS    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    May-06
    13    WII PLAY W/ REMOTE    WII    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    Feb-07
    14    POKEMON PLATINUM VERSION    NDS    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    Mar-09
    15    NCAA FOOTBALL 10    360    ELECTRONIC ARTS    Jul-09
    16    PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE DIABOLICAL BOX    NDS    NINTENDO OF AMERICA    Aug-09
    17    MADDEN NFL 10    WII    ELECTRONIC ARTS    Aug-09
    18    WOLFENSTEIN    360    ACTIVISION BLIZZARD    Aug-09
    19    EA SPORTS ACTIVE BUNDLE    WII    ELECTRONIC ARTS    May-09
   20    TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 10*    WII    ELECTRONIC ARTS    Jun-09

   
   
   
   

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25227

Wolfenstein 360 is at 59k...

Games in the top 20 by platform:

Wii - 7
DS - 5
Xbox360 - 4
PS3 - 2
PS2 - 1
PSP - 1

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

PS3 Slim did pretty well.

It and the price drop was out for a week on those sales charts.  Given the PS3's anemic performance, PS3 slim's opening week probably more than doubled the previous three weeks of August in terms of weekly PS3 sales.

The downside, in spite of that, is that it still did not beat the 360.  Now with the highest 360 SKU being $299 also, we'll see if the boost will somewhat sustain itself.

Wii's sales are now at a point I'd now consider to be normal.

I think PS3 will edge out the 360 in September.  This is the first time that the PS3's price point can be considered competitive so people who were waiting for the PS3 can now get one.  Unlike the SDF, this number isn't in the tens of millions, but most likely a few hundred thousand and this will be spread out over the holiday months.  As the holiday season gets started, the 360 will shoot past the PS3 like it has for the past three years.  I just don't see that many people wanted to play Uncharted 2.  Considering how a lot of gamers latched onto the 360 version of COD4, I don't think they'll all move to the PS3 version for MW2.

Just my pulled-out-of-my-ass guess.

[Eel O'Brian]

Nobody cares about Wolfenstein but Eel.

MAF, Great Rumbler, and several other people I know liked it, too.  Just because something doesn't sell doesn't mean it's a bad game.  If we're gonna go by sales then Mario Kart Wii is one of the greatest games of the generation.

[Third]

Wii owners really buy shitty games.

Metroid Prime Trilogy bombed harder than Hiroshima.

[The Fake Shemp]

Game Crazy apparently sold over a quarter of their Slim allocation in August.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Is that good or bad?

[The Fake Shemp]

It's good for business, but it also indicates that the Slim factored more into the August numbers than Sonybots would lead you to believe.

Like I said, most hardware units are sold within a week of launch. The conceit that we haven't seen real Slim numbers since it was only out for a few days "unofficially" in August is pretty ludicrous.

[maxy]

Game Crazy apparently sold over a quarter of their Slim allocation in August.

/SDF hat on

This is just another proof  that PS3 is a 4D machine and the fact that Game Crazy sold over a quarter of their Slim allocation in August despite having 0 PS3(it was released September 1st) tells that September PS3 sales will be measured in billions.

  Ken Kutaragi 

/SDF hat off

[Phoenix Dark]

So how much will the Slim sell in September then

[Human Snorenado]

So how much will the Slim sell in September then

I'm gonna say 15k more than whatever the 360 sells.  Definitely not more than 25k.  After October, it will never outsell the 360 again.

[The Fake Shemp]

I think that's probably a fair guess.

Xbox will get a slight bump from the Elite price drop, but nothing beats refreshed hardware.

[The Fake Shemp]

I agree with Eel, who cares what the numbers are?

We all liked a game or two within recent memory that nobody bought, and that doesn't make it any less entertaining.

[Smooth Groove]

Borys, did you even try Wolfenstein before talking shit?  

Eel's tastes are generally good and he's very knowledgeble about war games.  I give him the benefit of the doubt that Wolfenstein gets much better after starting off lacklusterly.

[Great Rumbler]

Borys, did you even try Wolfenstein before talking shit?  

No. He's been hating on it since before it came out and, thanks to Activion's idiocy, before anyone really even knew anything about it.

[cool breeze]

Nobody cares about Wolfenstein but Eel.

MAF, Great Rumbler, and several other people I know liked it, too.  Just because something doesn't sell doesn't mean it's a bad game.  If we're gonna go by sales then Mario Kart Wii is one of the greatest games of the generation.

yeah, sales never have any correlation to quality.  But for Wolfenstein it was because someone at Raven said that he'd pay for all the bought copies of Wolfenstein if it sold more than Madden.  Publicity stunt, but still funny.

I'll play it one day when it's cheap.  The reason I'm always hesitant more about PC games is because they drop price incredibly fast.  Far Cry 2 was $15 a few weeks after it came out.  Mirror's Edge was $5 less than a year after it's release.

[Great Rumbler]

Nobody cares about Wolfenstein but Eel.

MAF, Great Rumbler, and several other people I know liked it, too.  Just because something doesn't sell doesn't mean it's a bad game.  If we're gonna go by sales then Mario Kart Wii is one of the greatest games of the generation.

yeah, sales never have any correlation to quality.  But for Wolfenstein it was because someone at Raven said that he'd pay for all the bought copies of Wolfenstein if it sold more than Madden.  Publicity stunt, but still funny.

That got retracted about a day after it was posted.

[Don Flamenco]

wait for september 09

wait for october 09...

It will never stop,wait for,wait for,wait for...

thatsthajoke.jpg

[Third]

NA - 300% increase in sales

On September 1, the new 120GB PlayStation 3 hit retail stores, an incredible entertainment value for consumers at the new price point of $299. Our top retailers have reported a 300% lift in PS3 hardware sales and an increase of 140% in total hardware revenue across the PlayStation portfolio when comparing the first week of September to the week before the $299 price adjustment. Concurrently, the launch of a new PS3 marketing campaign, "It Only Does Everything," will continue to drive consumer education and awareness to the expansive PS3 benefits and features throughout the holiday season.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/13/stateside-ps3-sales-up-300-following-slim-introduction/

Willco owned 

[Eel O'Brian]

it's gonna sell really well over the holiday, now that it's the "bargain" electronics gift

i expect both 360 models to drop another $50 before spring of next year

[Draft]

Our top retailers 

[maxy]

NA - 300% increase in sales

On September 1, the new 120GB PlayStation 3 hit retail stores, an incredible entertainment value for consumers at the new price point of $299. Our top retailers have reported a 300% lift in PS3 hardware sales and an increase of 140% in total hardware revenue across the PlayStation portfolio when comparing the first week of September to the week before the $299 price adjustment. Concurrently, the launch of a new PS3 marketing campaign, "It Only Does Everything," will continue to drive consumer education and awareness to the expansive PS3 benefits and features throughout the holiday season.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/13/stateside-ps3-sales-up-300-following-slim-introduction/

Willco owned 

Hmm,PR is always to be read between the lines...
Week before price cut was probably among the lowest weeks ever in US and comparing with it doesn't mean much...good for PR % only

Besides that PR was released 2-3 hours before NPD was released publicly...and that tells a lot about it

Using "top retailers" is also...hmm

[Third]

Here comes the X-defense force 

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Sounds like sales were just that shitty for the PS3 before the price drop.

[Draft]

PS3 is awesome according to our top posters.

[MCD]

maxy, u hot beast...

[The Fake Shemp]

NA - 300% increase in sales

On September 1, the new 120GB PlayStation 3 hit retail stores, an incredible entertainment value for consumers at the new price point of $299. Our top retailers have reported a 300% lift in PS3 hardware sales and an increase of 140% in total hardware revenue across the PlayStation portfolio when comparing the first week of September to the week before the $299 price adjustment. Concurrently, the launch of a new PS3 marketing campaign, "It Only Does Everything," will continue to drive consumer education and awareness to the expansive PS3 benefits and features throughout the holiday season.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/13/stateside-ps3-sales-up-300-following-slim-introduction/

Willco owned 

If I'm a GameStop, and I sold three PS3s over the one (or maybe ZERO) unit I sell per week, of course there's going to be an increase.

Considering that Sony sold a whopping 121,000 units in July, the only month with sales data prior to the Slim launch, who wouldn't expect a significant sales bump?

That's kind of distinguished mentally-challenged, Third.

I'm not sure what you're arguing about either, since I never said retailers wouldn't move launch models. It's just obviously not as much as they thought. And that's pretty evident by the fact that none of the retail channels have sold out.

We'll also see next month how many of the units sold were in August, and my guess is about a third.

[WrikaWrek]

It stil sold less than the 360.

[Don Flamenco]

I think they'll crack 300k next month, but in the low end, like 310-ish.  I mean, at $299, there's basically no reason to buy any other blu-ray player, so I think they'll sop up a lot of people who were in the market for one of those.
  
I hate to make the value argument, because it really sucked for a while when the thing was super expensive, but man, $299 for a super nice upscaling DVD player + a good blu-ray player + streaming media hub (and oh yeah ps3 game player) is a pretty hot deal.

but they'll still get out sold by both MS and Nintendo.  I know people say that everyone who wants ODST already has a 360, but the bandwagon effect is huge with all things Halo.

[Bocsius]

I think they'll crack 300k next month, but in the low end, like 310-ish.  I mean, at $299, there's basically no reason to buy any other blu-ray player, so I think they'll sop up a lot of people who were in the market for one of those.
  
I hate to make the value argument, because it really sucked for a while when the thing was super expensive, but man, $299 for a super nice upscaling DVD player + a good blu-ray player + streaming media hub (and oh yeah ps3 game player) is a pretty hot deal.

I don't see it (the Blu-Ray argument, that is; the PS3 may sell fairly well... don't know, don't care). Surprising as it may be, the ability to play video games is not really a selling point to people who could not care less about playing video games. People of that mindset in the market for a BR player won't be phased by the PS3 unless they feel it is the best value proposition over LG, Insignia, Samsung, Sony (standalone player), etc. (In fact, it may be hurt by the system's placement as a gaming machine.) Can it play movies and how much does it cost, that's what matters to John Q. Walmartshopper.

[maxy]

September is a 5-week month for NPD,August was 4,so everything will go up.

[The Fake Shemp]

I bought a standalone player for $98. Eat it, Sony.

[Third]

If I'm a GameStop, and I sold three PS3s over the one (or maybe ZERO) unit I sell per week, of course there's going to be an increase.

Considering that Sony sold a whopping 121,000 units in July, the only month with sales data prior to the Slim launch, who wouldn't expect a significant sales bump?

That's kind of distinguished mentally-challenged, Third.

I'm not sure what you're arguing about either, since I never said retailers wouldn't move launch models. It's just obviously not as much as they thought. And that's pretty evident by the fact that none of the retail channels have sold out.

We'll also see next month how many of the units sold were in August, and my guess is about a third.

I'm bookmarking this thread. Just in case. 

I personally think Ps3 will easlily do 450k in september.

[The Fake Shemp]

Bookmark what? I said I expect it to edge the 360, but not to obliterate anything. Somewhere around 300k is plausible.

[Bebpo]

I bought a standalone player for $98. Eat it, Sony.

Enjoy your loadtimes?

[The Fake Shemp]

Yes, it's like playing a game!

I'm willing to put up with a couple of seconds of load times for that kind of affordability. Even my PS3 had load times, btw.

[MCD]

most of ps3 bluray load times comes from online bd shit.

[Don Flamenco]

how does a movie have load times?  like "Soylent Green is......*now loading*......PEOPLE!" 

[MCD]

initial loading, no loading once you start playing.

[Joe Molotov]

Some BD's take like a minute to load when you first boot them up.

[Bocsius]

That's when you make a sandwich.™




"Making a sandwich™" and "make a sandwich™" are registered trademarks of the Sony corporation. All rights reserved.

[Bebpo]

On my parent's standalone player it takes 4 mins from hitting power to getting to the menu.   

[Bocsius]

My Sony standalone isn't so bad. There are load times, sure, but not enough to complain about.

[cool breeze]

are regular blu-ray players that bad?

The only reason why I started investing in blu-ray was because of my PS3, then I installed a drive on my computer that I've used maybe once.  PS3 is actually a pretty great media player outside of just blu-ray.

[The Fake Shemp]

I've got really no problems with my standalone. The loading isn't too tedious and it's not even for every title.

For $98, I wub it.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I'd say 350k for PS3 is likely next month with 360 getting maybe around 300k.  I can and have been wrong before on that.

This is the first time the PS3 price can be considered competitive and there are those that have been waiting for the PS3 to get affordable before getting one.  The key difference is that the SDF believes this number is in the millions; I think that the number is in the hundreds of thousands.  People aren't getting one for Uncharted 2, which might see a brief sales bump.  The biggest games that will take advantage of the new PS3 price is Madden 2010 and Modern Warfare 2.

360 will outsell PS3 from October on.

My old roommate had a standalone and the loading times were pretty short.  I'd rather just get the PS3 since the additional media functions would be nice.  $249 is my price point though, which I suspect will hit fall next year.

[originalz]

I think they'll crack 300k next month, but in the low end, like 310-ish.  I mean, at $299, there's basically no reason to buy any other blu-ray player, so I think they'll sop up a lot of people who were in the market for one of those.
  
I hate to make the value argument, because it really sucked for a while when the thing was super expensive, but man, $299 for a super nice upscaling DVD player + a good blu-ray player + streaming media hub (and oh yeah ps3 game player) is a pretty hot deal.

I don't see it (the Blu-Ray argument, that is; the PS3 may sell fairly well... don't know, don't care). Surprising as it may be, the ability to play video games is not really a selling point to people who could not care less about playing video games. People of that mindset in the market for a BR player won't be phased by the PS3 unless they feel it is the best value proposition over LG, Insignia, Samsung, Sony (standalone player), etc. (In fact, it may be hurt by the system's placement as a gaming machine.) Can it play movies and how much does it cost, that's what matters to John Q. Walmartshopper.

Yeah, that's probably true.  It'll definitely entice people who are in the know and like games, but for the normal consumer they'll stay away from it.  Hell, I remember back in the day my family was in the market for a DVD player, and I suggested the PS2 since it did a pretty good job playing DVDs and was a reasonable price compared to standalone players.  My parents scoffed at the idea of buying a game system and ended up buying some RCA player.

[Human Snorenado]

I've got really no problems with my standalone. The loading isn't too tedious and it's not even for every title.

For $98, I wub it.

Where'd you get it, Federwang?  For $100 I might bite.  It would also keep me from buying a PS3.

[Bildi]

I had no idea bluray had this load time shit.  I almost considered thinking about a bluray player sometime in the next year, so this has nicely put me back to zero interest.

[The Fake Shemp]

I've got really no problems with my standalone. The loading isn't too tedious and it's not even for every title.

For $98, I wub it.

Where'd you get it, Federwang?  For $100 I might bite.  It would also keep me from buying a PS3.

At the worst place on Earf... Wal-Mart.

It has since gone back up to $150, though.

I'd wait and grab one this holiday season. Samsung, Sony and LG are all rolling out Blu-ray standalones with Netflix and Youtube support built-in, and the prices will drop.

[Smooth Groove]

How well does the Netflix streaming service work nowadays? 

It was not very reliable when I tried it last December. 

[The Fake Shemp]

I use it every day, pretty much without any problems. Even the HD streaming stuff works ace. I really can't imagine life without it, at this point.

[originalz]

I was a very sad person when they started IP blocking Netflix.  The service was awesome, streamed to Japan no problem.  If I was in the States, there's no question that I'd be using it.

It really is an amazing feature, I just wish there was some way to fake my IP!

[maxy]

In rough terms, the PlayStation 3 was available for $400 for the first two weeks of the period the NPD Group was tracking and $300 for the next two weeks. (We estimate sales of the $500 systems for the first two weeks can be neglected.)

By the end of the month, Sony's PS3 had sold for an average $335 per system. That works out to 65% of the systems selling at $300 and the remainder at $400.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4131/npd_behind_the_numbers_august_.php?page=2

 

COD Wii is at 750k sold,not bad...

[AdmiralViscen]

Haha, ruh roh

[Bocsius]

Counter-argument:

Those were old models being sold off. Yes, some people bit at the lower price but the majority of people also knew of improved hardware and therefore waited. Using August sales, the average selling price and even the fact that some retailers started selling the Slim early as a basis for whether or not the new hardware at the lower price will be successful just is not a prudent course of action. There's no harm in waiting 4.5 more weeks for the truth to reveal itself, whatever that truth may be.

End counter-argument.

[archie4208]

RIP PS3 and 360. :'(

[Bocsius]

Speaking of assumptions that may or may not be based on reality

Wii looks like it could use a drop to $199, but I guess Nintendo is going to ride out one more Christmas rush before making a move.

owned 

(If not photoshopped, of course)

[EmCeeGrammar]

Damn, I was expecting $50 but a drop to  $149 would've been crazy.  Should help numbers in the west but I don't think Japan sales are going to pick up significantly.