All purpose sales and sales rumors/anecdotes thread next gen+

[Rangers]

Maybe I'm crazy but it seems X1 versions of hot multiplats are doing better. Watch Dogs 5/11, Wolfenstein 9/12 (rankings PS4 1st). Seems like the past people have posted of PS4 versions being hundreds of places better.

But then there is what I would call catalog titles, those bottom 8 for PS4, where X1 needs more strength.

I do recall at some point noting only 1 X1 title in top 100 (Titanfall).

PS4 console as well slips down...I saw it #9 I think the other day which IIRC was a low since stock. As you see now it's #8 so in danger of new lows still. It seems it's more easy for various sales titles to pop ahead of it besides the PS cards that are always top 3. Of course here I would be remiss if I didn't point out X1 Titanfall bundle falls as well. But I guess that does jive with lower NPD hardware last month maybe.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Surely the console staying in the top ten is actually very impressive?! You'd expect more software to sell than hardware, both to people buying the new console and the millions of existing owners. The fact the console remains so high is quite remarkable IMO, showing a high HW:SW ratio.

 

[Shortbread]

I think the most telling part is the longevity of how well multiplatform games are doing on the newer systems. And it seems from the Amazon standpoint, PS4 is leading the way.

 

[Shortbread]

Surely the console staying in the top ten is actually very impressive?! You'd expect more software to sell than hardware, both to people buying the new console and the millions of existing owners. The fact the console remains so high is quite remarkable IMO, showing a high HW:SW ratio.

If PS4 can carry that momentum (Amazon top 10) until the Christmas holiday season, that would be amazing.

 

[DieH@rd]

Summer is approaching, I dont think that sales momentum can remain high in the US. However, many countries in Europe are still understocked.

If GTA could arrive in July/Avgust, that would give great boost to nextgen [and more to PS4 if Sony maintain their marketing/bundling cooperation with Rockstar]. TLOU will be a good boost to sales, but GTA5 is much larger juggernaut.

 

[djskribbles]

PS4 console as well slips down...I saw it #9 I think the other day which IIRC was a low since stock. As you see now it's #8 so in danger of new lows still. It seems it's more easy for various sales titles to pop ahead of it besides the PS cards that are always top 3. Of course here I would be remiss if I didn't point out X1 Titanfall bundle falls as well. But I guess that does jive with lower NPD hardware last month maybe.

The PS4 is now available in most stores in the US. Amazon only holds 6% marketshare according to NPD. It's still ranked 1 or 2 at bestbuy, gamestop and walmart.

http://www.gamestop.com/browse
http://www.walmart.com/browse/video...40580/?_refineresult=true&ic=32_0&path=0:2636
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemp...as&iht=n&seeAll=&browsedCategory=abcat0700000

Gamestop rankings (30% marketshare):
PS4 - 1, 2
XB1 - 27

Walmart rankings (25% marketshare):
PS4 - 2, 10, 12
XB1 - 4, 14, 22, 24

Bestbuy rankings (12% marketshare):
PS4 - 1
XB1 - 3

Amazon rankings (6% marketshare):
PS4 - 7
XB1 - 39

Plus it's normal for high profile games to outsell hardware. Both Watch Dogs and Mario Kart will probably sell over 400-500k.

I bet the PS4's sales / week will increase this month despite dropping on amazon's rankings.

 

[Lager]

The $399 Xbox is #236, 236. It's the first thing you see when you go to the Amazon Video Games page so I don't think it's likely people don't know about it. So either people are waiting until it's actually released (which would be odd since the Titanfall bundle charted pretty high before release) or there's no interest for the console at $399 or for the console without kinect at $399...

 

[Rangers]

The PS4 is now available in most stores in the US. Amazon only holds 6% marketshare according to NPD. It's still ranked 1 or 2 at bestbuy, gamestop and walmart.

http://www.gamestop.com/browse
http://www.walmart.com/browse/video...40580/?_refineresult=true&ic=32_0&path=0:2636
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemp...as&iht=n&seeAll=&browsedCategory=abcat0700000

Gamestop rankings (30% marketshare):
PS4 - 1, 2
XB1 - 27

Walmart rankings (25% marketshare):
PS4 - 2, 10, 12
XB1 - 4, 14, 22, 24

Bestbuy rankings (12% marketshare):
PS4 - 1
XB1 - 3

Amazon rankings (6% marketshare):
PS4 - 7
XB1 - 39

Plus it's normal for high profile games to outsell hardware. Both Watch Dogs and Mario Kart will probably sell over 400-500k.

I bet the PS4's sales / week will increase this month despite dropping on amazon's rankings.

Those are their online rankings only though, not accounting brick and mortar. Of course that's irrelevant to Amazon, but for the others it'll surely be the vast vast majority of sales.

PS4's sales per week dropped from February>April from 74k/week to ~50k/week even as availability became completely widespread in that time.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Those are their online rankings only though, not accounting brick and mortar. Of course that's irrelevant to Amazon, but for the others it'll surely be the vast vast majority of sales.

Do you have reason to think a higher proportion of online shoppers will buy PS4 than offline shoppers? I can't see a reason why the consumer demographics would be skewed, and more walk-in shoppers will be interested in XB1 than PS4. I'd expect a proportion of shoppers to be interested in either XB1 or PS4, and of them, an equal proportion to be interested in buying online or not.

 

[Shortbread]

Those are their online rankings only though, not accounting brick and mortar.

Doesn't matter. Online sales are fairly reflective of walk-in sales, and more accurate when it comes to larger customer trend data. Brick & Mortar can only tell you so much locally, not nationwide (or even worldwide, depending on the retailer and online system). Walk-in sales also suffer from more POS inaccuracies (sales codes issues, returns/sales reconciliation issues, etc...) within the system.

So if "product A" is selling like hot cakes, and "product B" is limping online... it is pretty much reflective (more so) of brick & mortar sales.

 

[djskribbles]

Those are their online rankings only though, not accounting brick and mortar. Of course that's irrelevant to Amazon, but for the others it'll surely be the vast vast majority of sales.

As others have said, it doesn't matter.

PS4's sales per week dropped from February>April from 74k/week to ~50k/week even as availability became completely widespread in that time.

And is this surprising to you? The PS4 got off to the best start in console history.. it's not going to keep selling like crazy. It's selling well and that's all that matters.

Anyway, my point was that I think sales per week will go up this month despite dropping on amazon's rankings, which you seem to always love to point out.

 

[Rangers]

PS4 is going for less than $400 a few times lately...there was a deal for 380 at fry's the other day and now an ebay listing for 370 http://www.ebay.com/itm/PlayStation...5335869999&campid=5335869999&afepn=5335869999

 

[Entropy]

And is this surprising to you? The PS4 got off to the best start in console history.. it's not going to keep selling like crazy. It's selling well and that's all that matters.

It bears considering that "selling well" depends on your expectations.
Quoting Microsofts Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Interactive Entertainment Business exactly a year ago:

"We think you can go broader than a game console, that's our aim, and you can go from 400 million to potentially upwards of a billion units. That's how we're thinking of the Xbox opportunity as we go forward."

By those standards, how would you describe console sales? To Microsoft shareholders in particular?

 

[McHuj]

It would be interesting if Sony did drop the price, even just $25 to maintain that lower price and better specs advantage. It would be pretty funny. I don't expect nor think they can drop the price by $50 or more this year.

 

[Rangers]

Personally I think Sony will stay at 399 for the next 2-3 years. It's a very solid price as is, given inflation.

I think as I said before, the next drop will either be MS to 349/449 (if they need it), or, both X1 and PS4 seeing a substantial drop in tandem in 2-3 years (if MS doesn't need more help).

It's just interesting more so to see that the once untouchable PS4 is now selling slowly enough to receive discounts.

By those standards, how would you describe console sales? To Microsoft shareholders in particular?

He was talking in terms of the entirety of last gen selling maybe 270 million units so far. Not sure the 400 million figure, maybe he's including the 50 million PS2 that sold in that time, projecting a few more million sales for 360/PS3, etc.

So if you're saying last gen sold 400 million and it's true every gen has increased in sales, maybe talking in terms of 1 billion looked reasonable at that time.

Obviously that doesn't look good at all right now, if MS planned to hit a super wide audience that clearly hasn't happened yet. But that was a giant "durp" imo the moment they announced 499.

Right now it looks like if you had to extrapolate, you'd come up with some guesstimates like Ps4 at 100 million, X1 at 80 million (many wouldn't give it this much), and Wii U 10-15 million. So yeah, 1 billion looks crazy. But, things can change.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Personally I think Sony will stay at 399 for the next 2-3 years.

Indeed. A $399 RRP will still have lower priced options from competing retailers. The Galaxy NotePro's RRP hasn't dropped from its £650 since launched yet it can be picked up for <£450. Sony can keep margins and leave it to the retilaers to choose to the price.

 

[Entropy]

He was talking in terms of the entirety of last gen selling maybe 270 million units so far. Not sure the 400 million figure, maybe he's including the 50 million PS2 that sold in that time, projecting a few more million sales for 360/PS3, etc.

So if you're saying last gen sold 400 million and it's true every gen has increased in sales, maybe talking in terms of 1 billion looked reasonable at that time.

The reason I quoted Yusuf Mehdi was that it gives us some idea about what kind of figures may have been kicked around internally at Microsoft, and when brokering deals with content providers. The implication being that those sales levels will be what they and their partners refer to when evaluating the sales performance of the Xbox One and stationary consoles in general. It may be something to keep in mind when we try to understand future decisions affecting the platform.

 

[wco81]

Yeah that Mehdi quote will haunt him the rest of his career.

They were hoping the Kinect 2 would make the X1 much bigger than just a console. They thought they could win the living room and bring unforeseen volumes and profits, the way smart phones have been redefined.

 

[McHuj]

I just can't comprehend how they thought volumes like that would be possible at $499.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I just can't comprehend how they thought volumes like that would be possible at $499.

Well over it's entire lifetime, I'm sure they anticipated the usual price drops over the 5-10 years the platform would be on sale.