Slashdot Mirror
360 And Halo 3 Push Past the Wii's Sales
GameDaily has the NPD numbers for September, and they're impressive if only because for the first time in months Nintendo isn't dominating the top of every list. Total sales across the industry hit $1.36 billion (a 74% bump over last year), mostly fueled by Halo 3 sales. The game (across all skus) sold some 3.3 million units, while Xbox 360 platforms hit about 528,000 units sold last month. Ironically, the Wii had its second best month ever and the DS sold big numbers thanks to Phantom Hourglass. "Nintendo's Wii, despite not really having any significant new software releases, was close behind with 501K units sold. The DS handheld also did quite well, selling another 495.8K. Looking at Sony's platforms, the PS3 sold just 119.4K units, while the surging PSP sold 284.5K and the PS2 maintained healthy sales at 215K." The piece also offers up analysis from an NPD researcher, who feels Microsoft is likely to maintain some good momentum through the holidays.
Sounds like MS can keep their lead as long as they release a Halo-class game every month! If only they had thought of that sooner!
I wonder if people are still having a hard time finding the Wii? I sucked it up and bought one on ebay, but I wonder if the Wii's availability is playing into effect of how hard the system is to find?
At least here in the US, it is a challenge to find a Wii, most places are sold out of them I have only seen one when I was looking around in tech stores and the discount stores (Wal-Mart etc.) are sold out of them too, 360s are found in almost all of the stores same with Halo 3, lots of boxes, sure the Wii hasn't had a "Killer Hit" yet like the 360 has with Halo 3 but the games that are released are fun to play and with Brawl and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn coming this winter, I would imagine that Wii sales will be way up this Christmas season, also, Nintendo is making a killing with the Virtual Console, something that still makes sales go up because there still will be games available for purchase that you won't be able to get for the 360 and PS3. Nintendo has exclusive first party titles that are strong, the PS3 and 360 really don't have as much, and I for one welcome our new Wii masters.
There is no "disagree" moderation, and troll, flamebait and overrated are not valid substitutes
the ps2 is outselling the ps3 at almost 2:1? Wouldn't this be like the gamecube outselling the wii or the xbox outselling the xbox360? And nobody thinks that's slightly odd for Sony?
Microsoft is in a great position to WIN the next generation of gaming consoles.
This generation couldnt have played out better for them. Sony made all the proper mistakes to allow XBox to reign supreme, and the success of the Wii is a blessing in disguise, because it gives microsoft....ideas!
XBox has the best name recognition now for "modern gaming" amoung both techies, because of all the successful mod'ing, and more casual users because of Microsoft's excellent marketing. The fact that the Wii was so successful only means that Microsoft now has a new target in casual gamers. Already they've announced the "XBox arcade Version" to target casual users.
Microsoft Next-Gen: Our console does everything in a familiar interface. We have a TON of downloadable games, both free and micro-payment versions. Oh and one more little thing.....our new motion-sensitive remotes will work on your XBox AND your Windows PC.
Game over.
Figures like this are expendable - just wait until you get the sales figures for Wii vs. 360 after Mario Galaxies is released...
Your body's going through withdrawal symptoms and keeping you awake.
Your sleep should return to normalcy in a week or so.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
So they compare a month in which the 360 had a "big" game released and the Wii didn't have any major releases, and saying that the 360 sold more than the Wii in that particular month is news somehow? Plus, the Wii is still having supply issues (at least in the US)...for the most part you still can't go into a store and pick one up off the shelf, whereas there are piles of 360's everywhere, this has to play a part too.
360 surpassing Wii by only a couple dozen thousand units isn't nearly as interesting as the 360 outselling the PS3 5:1. Sony's gotta be hurtin'.
Now, if Smash Bros. and Mario Kart weren't pushed back, and if Wii wasn't in such short supply, I wonder if the 360 would keep it's lead. Either way, can the 360 sustain the current lead for the next 3 months?
More Twoson than Cupertino
That's quite a few units. If I remember the numbers correctly, the latest version of Madden didn't sell that many units across all of the platforms its on the first month hit was out. It looks like about 1 out of 3 XBox 360 owners purchased Halo 3.
I still fail to see how MS or PS3 are competing against the Wii. Maybe the fact that they all play games, but MS and Sony are the two really competing for a similar market.
Anyway, Halo was huge for the Xbox and will continue to push sales for a while. The downside of this seems to be that alot of other really good games are being drowned out. The Orange Box hit the 360 with very little fanfare and poor marketing, despite being one of the best collection of games I've ever seen. In November, Assassins Creed, Blacksite, and Mass Effect will be released. Although Blacksite initially looked really good, I can't see buying it now that I have Halo 3 and 3 updated Half Life titles.
I must be new here. In Soviet Russia the state welcomes your new SKUlord masters. I should get out, onto a lawn.
You forget one crucial component:
Nintendo will have the $249 next gen HD capable console (that will also be profitable) and compatible with the Wii and it's extensive install base.
Nintendo will continue to have MORE ideas, and will poach the great ones from Microsoft as well.
You think Microsoft will win because they can copy Nintendo?
That's like saying Microsoft's Zune will win because they copied the iPod... and then the iPod Touch gets released. Oops.
GPL Deconstructed
Kinda see now Sony's decision to remove backwards compatability from the PS3. With the PS2 still selling as strong as it is, the PS3 would be a direct competitor to their own product. Let's drop backwards compatability and then sell both consoles
I almost cant believe it. I make a post with an opinion and make various points to back it up and people mod me as trolling?
The slashdot community need to grow up.
I've never seen one on the shelves. But list price non-bundled Wii's do pop up occasionally on the web sites of major retailers like ToysRUs and Sears. I was clued in to order one from ToysRUs by the WiiTracker web site
NEW Windows Vista with HALO3 integration! Shoot folders,run over progress bars Blow up BSODs.
Nintendo will have the $249 next gen HD capable console (that will also be profitable) and compatible with the Wii and it's extensive install base.
Nintendo will continue to have MORE ideas, and will poach the great ones from Microsoft as well. That's the point I never understood, how could backwards compatibility be considered anything but crucial? Especially during a launch, one of the biggest selling points of the new system is you also have access to all of the old system's libraries. If a new customer is coming over to your side, say Sony's, and they never had the previous system, you've just sold them on getting a chance to play the whole library of old games, too. There was some excuse for incompatibility issues back in the days of carts. With today's optical media, there is no excuse whatsoever.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Since the Wii is still selling out, isn't its sales figures just a number on how many units they shipped? I know it is pretty close since I can't find them in Austin, and even my relative in Illinois can't either. Because of this, you can't really compare numbers since Wii sales are capped currently.
You have a valid gripe.
Even if they don't agree with your point, you at least tried to make one.
It's a MS story so people here often are complete idiots about it unless you make a case for why MS sucks.
"Nintendo will have the $249 next gen HD capable console (that will also be profitable) and compatible with the Wii and it's extensive install base.
Nintendo will continue to have MORE ideas, and will poach the great ones from Microsoft as well."
That is my perdiction as well. But betting on more super winning ideas... That is risky.
What everybody seems to have forgoten is that the Video Console game if changing for Microsoft and Sony.
I keep feeling that they don't care about games at all. They are just a way to get the console into the home. I get the feeling that they are both aiming at IPTV.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Yes, because the people who make the console that sells the most in one generation, sells the most in the next generation. Oh yes, and Nintendo has never made mistakes in the past. Right?
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
That logic applies to all the consoles. PS1->PS2, for example, and the PS3 is a flop.
Of course Microsoft has never been on top...
GPL Deconstructed
I Agree with Jeremy. The Wii is a blessing for MS.
People are buying the Wii rather than PS3. This is good for MS because the Wii is not setup for a lucrative product life.
A. The only profitable games on the Wii are 3 nintendo developed and one remake. Publishers are reluctant to spend big budgets on a platform with an average sell through of 4 games per console. Two of which come bundled. The casual market is simply not profitable for boxed games. Nintendo is piling the cash in vaults but the third party market is hurting.
B. The Wii is not a next-gen console. Given a choice between a Wii version of a game and a 360 version the consumer will pick the better looking one. Nintendo knows this and is encouraging wii exclusive games with motion control. Unfortunately they are getting a lot of ports. Which brings us to b2.
b2) wii has no franchise market. By nature the wii specific games are mostly new IP. All the big franchises are multi-platform and consumers will go with the real next-gen version.
C. (Speculative) The wii-mote clone. Being that games cost so much to develop any huge 3rd party hit for the wii is going to eventually be ported to the 360 and PS3. Someone is eventually going to bundle a 360 clone of the wii-mote pointer. Red Octane has proven that a controller bundle can be profitable. And you can see where it goes from here. Next-gen graphics + next gen controller = perfect love and harmony.
Regards,
----- 70% of all statistics are completely made up.
Sony still has a bigger piece of the pie. I like how XBots overlook that. Sony last-gen outsold Microsoft next-gen for how long? Take a guess how many active PS2s there are vs. 360s and XBoxes combined.
If you'd just do what we tell you and quit yer gripin' everything would be chocolate sprinkles and rainbows! -AC
How is the ps3 a flop? It has sold 1/2 as many units as the 360, but has only been out for 1/2 as long. Given that the ps3 has a longer product life, it is almost certain that the ps3 will end up beating the 360. The xbox360 has only started outselling the PlayStation 2 in the last 3 months.
Dungeon Tactics : Free Open Source SRPG
I'm curious to know in what part of the country people are having a hard time finding a Wii. Here in the Northeast Wii are everywhere. I can go into any retailer and find plenty. Target has had a good 10 boxes on the shelves since the middle of the summer. It's essentially the same at Walmart. The other retailers are also consistently stocked up. It doesn't seem to be any different in neighboring states.
At this point I can pretty much go into any store around here and find one. If anything I'd say there are fewer DS's available. They're everywhere too, but the supplies for DS's seem to run lower than the Wii.
By no means do I point this out to claim that the Wii isn't selling well. I'm simply surprised that people apparently still have trouble finding them.
And I don't understand the need to tear down the Xbox360. Halo 3 spurs sales of the Xbox360 and somehow it's spun into a bad thing. You'd think every Wii came packaged with a bar of gold the way people lavish praise on that system. I get the impression that many Wii games are from more negative reviews merely because of the unconventional control scheme. The game is crap, but I can wave this controller around to do stuff and thus it's not actually that bad a game.
I've played the Wii a bit at a friend's house. It's a lot of fun, but honestly, I don't really see it being any more fun than any of the other consoles. To many of the games for the Wii seem to be little more than flash games with fancy graphics. When comparing price value you can't beat a Wii, but it's not the revolutionary console some make it out to see.
I'm not really a Halo fan, not having played the previous games, and I have a tendency to get bored with FPS games. I really have no desire at all to get an Xbox360, or any of the other consoles for that matter, but then I'm probably not the guy developers are trying to sell to. Nevertheless, it's only reasonable to give credit where it's due. Halo 3 is a damn good game.
PS3 is doing fine, i don't see why people think it's doing bad. 360 didn't have that many exclusive games out for it in it's FIRST year. If you compare PS2 (from when it first came out) and PS3 sales the PS3 sales are greater. Wii IS a monster however with many new games that people see they see them and then look at which systems they are comin gout for PS3 360 and PC NO Wii, also the Wii is not in hd or offers any upscaling after awhile Wii is going to fade and fade fast.
480p isn't HD capable. By that reasoning my old Atari Jaguar is HD capable as my HDTV can display it.
There is no new IP. There is only unallocated IP.
Assuming that you expand IP as "intellectual property", U.S. law[1] does not recognize a single "property" (exclusive) right in "intellectual" creations. It recognizes exclusive rights in works of authorship, which are separate from the exclusive rights in inventions, both of which are separate from the exclusive rights in distinctive marks. Which do you mean?
Software emulation is imperfect, except perhaps when the host and target are three generations apart (like NES on GameCube or Super NES on Wii). Would you want to have to include the complete chipset of the last few generations of your company's consoles in the new hardware? Concrete example: why can't a new PC that comes with Windows Vista or Windows XP run CD-ROM games from the DOS era? It's an optical disc; per your comment, there should be no excuse.
Baloney. Either that or you need to define 'northeast' better. And it's not like driving to another state is a trivial matter, even in the northeast.
I had been waiting months to buy a Wii retail to avoid stupid online bundle vendors, and every month when I called, the sales people would laugh at me, saying I could maybe come in early on Sunday when the truck arrives, and maybe have a chance at maybe getting a voucher, or some such crap. So I bought a bundle and have not been sorry.
And it's not about being able to "wave this controller around to do stuff", it's about people having fun, and when people of all generations can do it (yes, I have seen it), it's a big win.
It's the frat boy gamers, they're always buying stupid shit like halo and madden 20xx whatever the fuck game.
Also, they're spoiled rotten, so they're guaranteed a copy of every rehash that exists.
Me thinks the Wii would sell even more if it could be used to watch all the networks tv shows online instead of just Flash 7 based Youtube and the ilk. Course they'd have to kick Adobe into releasing an SDK for Flash 9 first.
Add in an external drive support for the USB ports and you've also got a nice DVR option.
Could the Wii hardware even handle Flash 9?
To be fair to MS, it's just impossible to keep up with the Wii now... It's the best selling console of all time, and apparently it doesn't need software to sell out, not yet at least. To sum up:
- MS's Xbox 360 did quite well with Halo 3
- The Wii always does great no matter if there are software releases or not
- The PS3 is the exact opposite of the Wii
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
At the same conference in which the delay of Super Smash Bros Brawl was announced, Nintendo announced that during the holiday period supply will be twice as big as in the last holiday period... That means that they're stockpiling millions of units which they'll release soon!
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
Nah, it's on Par with console History.
Atari led the consoles for about 8 years (approximately 2 generations worth), then hit the retard button, and the crash of 83 happened.
Nintendo lead for 2 generations, hit the retard button, and created their newest biggest competitor.
Sony lead the pack for 2 generations, then hit the retard button and now (coming full circle) Nintendo's eating Sony's lunch.
The Wii, despite being supply constrained is still the #1 console this generation world wide. Not only have they sold more units in less time than any console in history, they sell more than their competitors nearly every week. It's a difficult argument to make that they will somehow be marginalized and end up in last place this gen. It looks like the Wii will be the PS2 of this generation.
Moving forward, they will have a very large user base that will be very receptive to the "Nintendo Snufalufagous" or whatever they call it. Which will position themselves very favorably (but not guarantee #1 market position) next gen.
Apart from all the other platforms, what really utterly blows my mind is that the PS2 is still selling so well. I would love to know the reason why. Is it the huge game library plus the extremely low cost? What is it?
Halo 3 will bring MS into profitability, not necessarily because of console or game sales, but because hundreds of thousands of people experienced Xbox Live when they bought halo 3. Like 2 days after H3 came out (at least the highest I saw personally) was 1.3 million people playing halo 3 at the same time. Now that all those people have tasted Live, it will spur sales of the service, and at $50 a year, thats bank for MS. And that is not to mention games like TF2 also enticing people to Live.
Thats where MS will make 1 bajillion profit a year from.
I've never seen a single one in an actual store. But thanks for reminding me, Future Shop just got a bunch in...
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
The crowd is waiting anxiously, hoping to catch a sight of Microsoft's famous Xbox 360. Wait, something's stirring... Yes, the Xbox has nosed its way to the top of the console race for the month! It's peering around, unaccustomed to the bright light... it's seen Halo 3--and it's been spooked! It's running back home! Six more months of Nintendo dominance!
When someone says, "Any fool can see
Heh, when I got mine, I couldn't even find bundles from online stores, just $%@! eBay. But then I found a modchip site selling pre-modded Wii consoles. Still cost less than eBay bundles...
Currect. It's now "Current Gen" along with the 360 and PS3.
Not true. Consumers will gravitate to "the best version"; to some that is "teh Pretty", to some that's "Need control". I owned a Wii since launch (November 19th). On November 20th I put my former tennis and golf games on ebay as I wasn't going back to "teh buttons", when superior control is available.
I own all 3 "current gen systems", and already the Wii has stripped away the Sports genre entirely from the competition. Tiger Woods on the Wii is superior to the other versions . I'm playing it on a 96" screen (from an HD projector) and despite the graphics being "PS2-Tastic", the game is far more immersive and enjoyable than the others. Hell I took a few strokes off my regular golf game because it helped me straiten out my swing!
When done correctly, the motion controls add a new element that makes it better despite better looking versions elsewhere.
A few more examples... Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix - The Wii-mote is Harry's wand and you cast spells using motion controls.
The Godfather - Physically throttle, or stab someone with the motion controls. They work well and can be crazy fun.
Madden - Far closer to a simulation than any other Madden to date. You simulate a game a game of "double touch" football in your living room.
I just find it interesting that all the comments here basically are about the 360 Vs Wii. Isn't the bigger news that PS3 continues to be an irrelevance? Have all the PS3 fanboys become Wii supporters in an attempt to detract attention from their consoles miserable performance. I have to say that this generation I see room for both the Wii, as a cheap/innovative/invite your friends round console, and either the 360 or PS3, as a complex graphics/multimedia/online multiplayer console. At the moment it looks like the conclusion is Wii60.
So despite disagreeing with me...you agree with me in the end when you say that it isn't guaranteed that they will be #1. That is the only point I was trying to make. Being a leader in one gen doesn't mean you get a free pass the next gen.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
I agree that it isn't a guarantee, but historically there is the same market leader for 2 generations, then in the third generation they (market leader) will do something stupid, and a new contender will do something smart and dethrone them. The writing is already on the wall this gen, the Wii will retain market leader position. I'm betting (based on historical trends) that they will take this gen & next gen with their Backwords compatible HD (even if only 720p) system and enhanced function wiimote.
Then they hit the retard button and a purging fire will clear the forest for renewal.
Me big boy in generation 2! Me like paying more for games! Me no like cheaper games!
Because the GameStop and Target employees want to standardize their jargon on geek sites since there is a slight overlap in interest.
That's the only reason.
I've played through the entirety of Halo and most of Halo 2, while only a little bit of Halo 3. I can't say that owning an Xbox is very high up on my lists of things to to before dying, and buying up Halo discs is even lower. One does not need to play the entire series, since only minor things change throughout (though, to be fair, the specifics of my graphical gripes were aimed at the first two installments). The only real value I can see in Halo is perhaps multiplayer, and even that stands as inferior to many other first person shooters. Then again, I find the very fact that you have to play said FPS with a slow and clunky gamepad to be inferior to begin with. Because as we know, though available on the PC, Halo and Halo 2 tend to be buggy and certainly overshadowed by their Xbox cousins.
But hey, what do I know? I'm not some smarmy coward on the internet, racking up "insightful" points for what is essentially a series of insults. You fail to grasp simple words within sentences that keep them from meaning what you'd like them to, and then proceed to put words in my mouth and assume that I am changing my argument whilst explaining and expanding upon such for your benefit. I'm glad that I could be such a waste of time for you though, while ultimately only passing otherwise wasted time of my own.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Seriously, the existence of the Wii has nothing to do with lousy PS3 sales and EVERYTHING to do with the PS3 being overpriced. We weren't quite willing to submit to disciplined life in Kutaragiland...
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Concrete example: why can't a new PC that comes with Windows Vista or Windows XP run CD-ROM games from the DOS era? It's an optical disc; per your comment, there should be no excuse.
The rest of your post was also nonsense, but this bit's easy to reply to: try DOSBox. Oh wait, you artificially limited it to "a new PC that come with Windows Vista or Windows XP" -- Maybe because Microsoft doesn't make any money off of helping play old DOS CD-ROM games?
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal
congrats, keep it up. Physical withdrawal is supposed to peak in the first 3 days or so, and should get easier after that. :)
Before you know it, you'll be amazed that you smoked at all (as is, "why the hell did I do it for so long?! Why didn't I quit before?")
I think the PS3 will fail miserably. Not even FF and MGS will be able to save it. And this is a good thing for Sony. The PS3 is like the Virtual Boy, the N64 and the Gamecube all put into one: A healthy shock for a company used to success. I have no idea what Sony will do next gen, but they will definitely not make the same mistakes again.
Microsoft, on the other hand, is screwed. They had the advantage of time, of a games library, and of price, yet the 360 sold not nearly as well as it should have, and they lost a shitload of money. Not sure what they could do better; apart from hardware quality, they did everything right, yet they still did not win the market.
As for Nintendo, who the hell knows what they'll next come up with. I only know three things: It's going to be entertaining, it's going to make them money, and it's going to feature Mario.