Game Sales Up As Madden Leads Charge

Thanks to Reuters for their report that last month's video game sales rose 4 percent from August 2002, due in significant part to EA's Madden NFL 2004, which "...sold 1.45 million units on the PS2 and 310,000 units on the Xbox in the month, generating sales of more than $86 million. Sales of Madden for GameCube were negligible." There were new figures on hardware sales, too, as "PS2 sold 291,000 units in August to bring its installed base in the United States to 18.8 million, while... Xbox sold 144,000 units to rise to 5.8 million and... GameCube sold 100,000 units to 4.5 million." Analysts suggested that PS2 sales "continue to lag behind expectations" (1 million short of the 9.5 million hoped), and predicted that Nintendo will "...introduce their own bundle or price cut by the end of September" (scanned early-October print ads for a major US retailer have the GameCube at $99.)

Comments

Game sales are bad lately

[Dancin_Santa]

They are appallingly low.

GameCube Owners & Sports

[Mr Syd]

This seems to suggest that GC owners are not sports fans (or not football fans, anyways) - 7% of PS2 owners bought Madden , 5% of XBox owners, but 0% (???) of GC owners... Come to think of it, I own a GC (and N64) and I have never bought a sports title...

Re:GameCube Owners & Sports

[Textbook Error]

Although these figures are just for North America, American/Canadian sports games (hockey, basketball, American football, nascar, etc) always sell badly outside of North America.

Everywhere else the "global" sports like F1 or soccer tend to do a lot better (e.g., soccer games like Championship Manager sell by the truckload everywhere but the US).

I think this goes some way to explaining the Xbox's lacklustre sales in the other two big video game territories (Europe and Asia: just behind the GC in Europe, behind just about everything in Asia). Different cultures prefer different things, and the Xbox is very much a product of the US (the PS2 did well everywhere because it was out there first, and had an installed base of existing Playstation owners to sell into).

Re:GameCube Owners & Sports

[Scyber]

Well I own a PS2 and a GC. I bought the PS2 version due to the Online capabilities that are abset in the GC version.

Re:GameCube Owners & Sports

[Zico]

I think this goes some way to explaining the Xbox's lacklustre sales in the other two big video game territories (Europe and Asia: just behind the GC in Europe, behind just about everything in Asia). Different cultures prefer different things, and the Xbox is very much a product of the US (the PS2 did well everywhere because it was out there first, and had an installed base of existing Playstation owners to sell into).

You gotta update that theory. The GameCube is getting blown away in the European region by both the PS2 and the Xbox. They're getting beaten much worse there than they are in the US.

Re:GameCube Owners & Sports

[fupeg]

This is yet another reflection on Nintendo's failure to appeal to the people most likely to buy video games: teenage boys and men under the age of 35. They keep thinking that video games are mostly bought by younger children, and have made very little attempt to market to the above segments. Sony and Microsoft have done a much better job of this. The people who would buy a sports game such as Madden 2004 are also the same people who are not being targeted by Nintendo.

For the record, I am one of the few people who did buy Madden 2004 for the GC. I own a PS2 I bought in March 2001 and a GC my wife bought for me in November of 2001. Generally I find games on the GC to be better than on the PS2. The only thing I've played on the PS2 recently is GTA-VC. Hence my decision to buy Madden on the GC instead of the PS2 (I don't play online on my PS2 so that didn't make a big difference to me.)

Re:GameCube Owners & Sports

[Zico]

http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/news/news_6074254 .html

Read it and weep, jackass. The sales of the Xbox are nearly 50% higher than the GameCube in the European region. Japan is the only country on the planet where the GameCube isn't getting trounced by the PS2 and Xbox.

Re:GameCube Owners & Sports

[FunkSoulBrother]

I'm a GameCube/PS2 owner, and I own all my sports games (2) (Maddem 2002 and Wave Race) on the Cube. I really enjoy its controller better--it fits my hand. So if there is a multiplatform game I'm probably getting it on the cube.

That said, if I was in the market for Madden 2004 I'd get it on the PS2 because the stupid GameCube version doens't have online play.

wow...

[ff_cid]

No wonder Sega didn't put ESPN on the Gamcube. I'd expect to see quite a few EA sports games dropped from Gamcube next year too.

Negligible!

[bildstorm]

Damn! The only time I buy ANY sports titles is for playing on my GameCube. I hate the PS2 and Xbox controllers.

And I got Madden 2004 for GameCube. I think the biggest problem with Madden 2004 is the crappy jukebox in this version. Really doesn't go well for the Nintendo crowd.

Re:Negligible!

[bildstorm]

Ahh... Yeah. Because race has everything to do with aggressive music.

Reality is that the GameCube tends to be bought by people with children. Most people don't want their children to listen to aggressive music or to play violent games. Having worked in videogame sales, I know the difference between the platforms. Proportionally there are far fewer violent games for the GameCube than for PS2 and Xbox.

I love it when cowards call me racist, particularly when they don't know my skin colour, ethnicity, where I've lived, and what I do now. LOL!

Re:Negligible!

[bildstorm]

Yeah, whatever.

American Football is nowhere near as violent as you seem to think. And if you've played the game, you'd notice that it's not graphically violent.

When I was young and arrogant and brash, I liked a lot of rap. But most of what's pumped out these days just plain sucks. It's not interesting anymore. I don't need to hear the same crap again and again. It's like crappy pop music.

But hey, be an arrogant little shit. Bring you to the neighborhood I used to live in and see how long you last. Don't know who'd kick your ass first, the mexicans on one end, the somalis across the street, the black family from Detroit at the end of block, or the homeless.

See it in a demoscopic way

[imperator_mundi]

If the public of Gamecube is mainly made of children and teenager (everybody says so), and the football fans are mainly on the 25-40 yo (just guessing) range then it would be quite logic that Madden for the GC can't sell really well.

But well, being born in a continent where football is game of foot and balls use to be round maybe I am missing something ; )

XBOX Live

[PaleGreen]

I'd like to see how many XBOX owners passed on Madden due to its lack of Live support. I'm sure the folks at Sega (ESPN Football) aren't complaining!

Re:XBOX Live

[AlexMax2742]

And I'm not. Unfortuniatly, the LIVE enabled football game that gets all the marketing is the laughable NFL Fever 2004. Hell, even EPSN itself markets Madden more prominently than ESPN 2k4.

Though ESPN is the clear winner on Xbox, the evil marketing machine might crush it.

Re:XBOX Live

[bigman2003]

Oh oh oh Mr. Kotter...pick me! Pick me! Pick me!

Yep- I passed, and will pass until it has Live. I will be forced to buy NFL Street though, even without live, because NBA Street was so damn cool.

But for a 'realistic' football game- EA might be the best, but they are faily interchangeable. And I want to play on-line.

exactly

[MORTAR_COMBAT!]

I bought Madden 2004 for the GameCube and returned it (unopened of course) when I discovered that for the same price I could be playing online with the PS2. I don't have a PS2, but I decided that was a bunch of crap -- if they want to sell something which is worth half as much (Madden 2004 on GC) for the same price as the "full version", expect nobody to buy it.

That said, I have NHL 2004 on pre-order for the GC, even though it doesn't have online play. I just love my NHL too damned much.

Re:exactly

[the_riaa]

Have you tried Sega's NHL offerings? NHL2K3 was a ton better than NHL 2003, and ESPN NHL Hockey (aka NHL2K4) looks to trump last year's effort. Also worth looking at is NHL Hitz Pro from Midway, which apparently has gone away from being a pure-arcade scorefest to an actual decent hockey game. The biggest problem I have with EA's hockey games is that they've always been too easy to get really good at, and as such, you score way too many goals. Sure, it's fun to score, but putting up 17 goals against the Red Wings? When will that ever happen? Sega's last two hockey offerings had far more realism, better game mechanics, better graphics (GC at least), and deeper play for my taste. Granted, NHL2K was a piece of crap, but with 2K2 and 2K3, Sega hit a winner.

Gamecube version victim of Multiple console owners

[Dormous]

I think I know the reason that the gamecube sales are so low for Madden. For the first time, people own multiple consoles. I, for example, own both a PS2 and a GameCube. If I was going to buy Madden 2004, which console do you think I would buy it for, PS2 or GC? PS2 of course. Why? Online play. All the online game review sites have said that the PS2 version is the best because it is the only one that offers online play, even the Xbox one doesn't offer that (Which is why PS2 sales of madden are almost 5 times that of the Xbox). Another Example: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. 2 Versions, GC & PS2. I bought PS2. Why? All the reviews said the GC version was flawed. What have I bought For GC. Nintendo titles. F-Zero GX, Super Smash Bros., Metroid Prime, Super Mario Sunshine. The only non-Nintendo title I have for GC is Rogue Squadron 2. Why, because all the other titles are BETTER on the other platforms, and Nintendo's in house titles kick butt on their own. Sorry, didn't mean to rant. Just saw something obvious and thought I'd point it out. Dormous Listening @ the door of IT.

US Game Sales Figures?

[the_riaa]

I know that Japanese monthly sales are put out in magazines, but does anybody know of a place to go and see US monthly game sales figures? I wanted to see how Soul Calibur 2 sold between the various platforms, and look at a few other things. I know NPD Funworld releases them, and the VSDA release weekly rental charts, but anybody know of a good place to find monthly sales figures?

Re:US Game Sales Figures?

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

That magazine that they sell in EB has monthly sales figures. You can get a subscription for it if you get an EB Edge Card which is like 10 bucks and gets you 5% off games you buy there - a good deal if you buy a few games per year.

Re:US Game Sales Figures?

[the_riaa]

Yeah, I've got that magazine, but it's a little suspect in the sales figures department. For example, there have been times where a GBA or PS2 game was higher in the overall rankings than another GBA or PS2 game, but under the "Top Selling GBA/PS2" sections, ranked lower.

Example: GMR Issue 09 [F-Zero GX cover], pg 20

"Top 10 All Formats":
1. NCAA Football 2004 [PS2]
2. Star Wars: KOTOR [PC (do they mean XBOX?)]
3. Warcraft 3: TFN [PC]
4. NCAA Football 2004 [XB]
5. DBZ: Legacy 2 [GBA]
6. Star Wars Galaxies [PC]
7. Advance Wars 2 [GBA]
8. Pirates of the Caribbean [XB]
9. Donkey Kong Country [GBA]
10. Tomb Raider: AOD [PS2]

But when you look down at the "GBA Top 10" you get this:
1. DBZ: Legacy 2
2. Donkey Kong Country
3. Advance Wars 2
[et al.]

So how is AW2 the 3rd best selling GBA game if it's the 7th best selling overall game, and DKC is the 9th? Another example, the "PS2 Top 10":
1. NCAA Football 2004
2. NBA Street Vol 2
3. Big Mutha Truckers
4. Tomb Raider: AOD
Okay, now what the hell? Where did #2 and #3 come from in the PS2 list? It's these inconsistencies, along with the fact that the data provided is only from EB stores, that doesn't satisfy what I'm looking for. I guess I just want hard figures (ex: 10 million SC2 for PS2, etc).

Re:US Game Sales Figures?

[Zico]

I can't give out the whole thing, but for Soul Calibur II, the GC version sold 179,605 units, the Xbox version sold 122,092 units, and the PS2 version sold 120,104 units.

Re:US Game Sales Figures?

[BTWR]

good catch (i always feel bad when someone types such a good list/post and gets no replies, so here) :)

Re:Gamecube version victim of Multiple console own

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

For the first time people own multiple consoles? Pardon me but I have owned multiple consoles since the NES generation. If you look at sales of the Madden series in the Genesis/SNES days, you'll see similar figures where the Genesis version outsold the SNES version by a lot - the Genesis one was just better. Multiple consoles in a household is not new.

The only choices in 2004 on GameCube

[MORTAR_COMBAT!]

Are NHL 2003 from EA, and NHL Hitz Pro. Sega 2K4 (aka ESPN Hockey) is not releasing on the GameCube. The September issue of Game Insider had a column by column comparison of the 4 hockey games for 2004 (it includes the XBox only game from Microsoft, NHL Rivals).

If Sega 2K4 (aka ESPN Hockey) was coming to the Cube there would be debate -- but it is NOT. It is a decision between EA and Midway, and it's a pretty damned easy decision there. EA looks to have put in a whole lot of work to make 2004 a really good game, and the previews have been pretty good so far.

And if you are scoring 17 goals vs. the Wings in NHL 2003, maybe you should turn up the difficulty a notch? There are 4 difficulty levels, and within each you can give goalie advantages and skater advantages to either team.

These aren't exact

[M3wThr33]

I'm betting these are NPD TRSTS reports, pretty much the only source of USA sales data. However, that's not too good, because each company needs to report to them. Heck WAL-MART DOESN'T PARTICIPATE, so all of you buying at Wal-Mart aren't adding to any tracking numbers, and would it be too bold to say a large portion of Cubes would be bought there?

Re:These aren't exact

[Zico]

Perception = reality. Publishers buy these reports to help them decide which consoles to put their future games, because they view NPD's numbers as credible after all these years. Enough with the Cube apologists harping on NPD and Wal-mart already.

Re:These aren't exact

[M3wThr33]

Right, on launch day, between my group of friends, we got 3 Cubes at Wal-Mart and 2 at Target. Heck, like any place, they had lines around the place. And Nintendo Power has ads for Wal-Mart in the magazine.

Whether they do that just to cover bad sales, or whether the demographics mesh well is undetermined, but regardless, NPD is missing a large chunk of sales at a point of business where it matters.

Re:These aren't exact

[DeadScreenSky]

Yes, but plenty of PS2s and Xboxes are also sold at Walmart. (In many areas that is literally the only reasonably close place you can get a gaming system. Bleh.) I imagine publisher's reasoning is that since there isn't actual hard evidence of a massive sales differential at Walmart, the data is pretty accurate overall. Plenty of the kiddies ask for a PS2 or Xbox for Christmas, etc. nowadays.

Negligible?

[techstar25]

How many is negligible? 5, 50, maybe 500? Maybe 10,000? 10k wouldn't be too bad at all. I guess if it was say, 50, that would be bad. And to think that Sega's football would sell even less copies, it makes sense that Sega pulled it's games off Gamecube. That in itself if a major shame though because Sega's NHL 2k3 on Gamecube is the greatest hockey game ever. Word is, Sega only sold one copy of that game...and it was to me.

Re:Negligible?

[the_riaa]

Word is, Sega only sold one copy of that game...and it was to me.

Oh no, I've got it too. The problem was, I got my cube only recently, so I really had to hunt for that damned game - but it's so worth it. The Gamecube versions of NHL2K3 and NCAA Basketball 2K3 are near goddamned impossible to find, let alone find for cheap. Glad I've got both, I suppose.