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

[Rangers]

Spain sales??

http://blog.es.playstation.com/2013/12/23/ps4-134-000-unidades-vendidas-en-menos-de-un-mes/

PS4 134,000 sales in Spain.

Edit: Hmm, the stuff saying 4.8:1 over Xbox may be questionable, havent researched it a ton it's supposedly from a PR email, but it's not at the website link text.

PS4-XBOne ratio in Spain 4.8:1
~28k XBone in Spain.

December 10th was 80k PS4 and 23k XBOne

54k PS4 sold in ~12 days
5k XBOne sold in ~ 12 days.

Also Amazon had a few Xbox One in stock this morn (5 AM?). I think 86 when I first checked. Something like 3 hours later they are down to 29. Now granted this is the first clearly post-Christmas delivery stock I've tracked.

At that rate they will have a really hard time catching up to those estimated 17k unbundled PS4 sold the other night. When it takes a few hours to sell ~100. Cant wait for more PS4 Amazon data and seeing where things go post holiday.

 

[Rangers]

Wii U makes a bit of a comeback in Japan this week (week 51):

I wasn't really able to put this in context until somebody posted the Gamecube's (a system Wii U is often compared to in poor sales) 2002 week 51 sales, they were around 60k. So, Wii U actually handily outperformed Gamecube this week.

There's also some anecdotes on GAF of Wii U's selling out in the states, and even claims that it's selling better than Xbox One.

So at least things seem to be looking up a little, even though I expect it's a blip.

 

[AlphaWolf]

It wouldn't surprise me if wiiu sales were picking up with holiday discounts putting the price close to the $200 mark.

 

[dagamer]

It's really hard to tell how the short availability of the PS4 is price gouging. It's pretty clear there are a significant number of people buying consoles simply to resell them. I mean, if I could turn an easy profit of $200+, I'd do it too.

 

[DrJay24]

It's really hard to tell how the short availability of the PS4 is price gouging. It's pretty clear there are a significant number of people buying consoles simply to resell them. I mean, if I could turn an easy profit of $200+, I'd do it too.

That must explain it. They should buy up the XB1s too, create a shortage and make profit!

 

[-tkf-]

It's really hard to tell how the short availability of the PS4 is price gouging. It's pretty clear there are a significant number of people buying consoles simply to resell them. I mean, if I could turn an easy profit of $200+, I'd do it too.

In Denmark you don't need private people to do that, a large electronic chain did the same here, raised the price with about 40% before Xmas.

 

[dagamer]

In Denmark you don't need private people to do that, a large electronic chain did the same here, raised the price with about 40% before Xmas.

Oh snap. Good thing retailers aren't officially allowed to do such a thing, though Gamestop does force ridiculously expensive bundles on you with little if any savings.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Good thing retailers aren't officially allowed to do such a thing.

They can set any price they want. I was looking up Note 10.1 2014 editions the other day, and prices ranged from £360 at John Lewis to ~£500 typically to £700-800 in boutique shops where shoppers have more money than sense. Prices can fluctuate daily. Twenga has a price tracker that shows the price variation over several months.

What's the official source that'll stop stores overcharging for consoles? Is there some agreement with the console manufacturers that caps to RRP tops?

 

[dagamer]

They can set any price they want. I was looking up Note 10.1 2014 editions the other day, and prices ranged from £360 at John Lewis to ~£500 typically to £700-800 in boutique shops where shoppers have more money than sense. Prices can fluctuate daily. Twenga has a price tracker that shows the price variation over several months.

What's the official source that'll stop stores overcharging for consoles? Is there some agreement with the console manufacturers that caps to RRP tops?

I should say in the US, companies do not publicly advertise they are price gouging in say TV or print ads. When you go to the store, it may be higher but that's on a store by store basis because some managers are assholes.

 

[Rangers]

I should say in the US, companies do not publicly advertise they are price gouging in say TV or print ads. When you go to the store, it may be higher but that's on a store by store basis because some managers are assholes.

Yeah, it seems the US is mostly dominated by mega chains and they stick to MSRP on console.

Rare you see any "price gouging" really. If it does happen it would be where there are "mom n pop" shops.

 

[-tkf-]

Oh snap. Good thing retailers aren't officially allowed to do such a thing, though Gamestop does force ridiculously expensive bundles on you with little if any savings.

They had bundles as well.. But just for the ps4 you had to pay and extra 360 dollars..

Needless to say they made the shit list of many people..

 

[tuna]

I do not see the problem. If you can sell something for more why not? It is not like your customers would not go to your competitors if they sold stuff cheaper.

 

[3dilettante]

I should say in the US, companies do not publicly advertise they are price gouging in say TV or print ads. When you go to the store, it may be higher but that's on a store by store basis because some managers are assholes.

Bait-and-switch is generally avoided due to it opening a retailer to lawsuits. A small amount of additional sneakiness beyond a completely false advertisement is necessary, like slightly different SKUs or limited stock deals.

Highly standardized items like unbundled game consoles don't allow that kind of wiggle room.

A national chain losing control over such pricing to local managers is going to be uncomfortably exposed.

 

[dagamer]

Bait-and-switch is generally avoided due to it opening a retailer to lawsuits. A small amount of additional sneakiness beyond a completely false advertisement is necessary, like slightly different SKUs or limited stock deals.



Highly standardized items like unbundled game consoles don't allow that kind of wiggle room.



A national chain losing control over such pricing to local managers is going to be uncomfortably exposed.

Yeah, the most retailers can due us lure you in with a guarantee if a product like on Black Friday or something, but you need to check the fine print where they say "At least 5 available" which usually means ONLY 5 available. Then people who wait hours for a deal usually settle on something more expensive. A bit more crafty but just as effective.

 

[temesgen]

Most retailers in the US at least have contracts with manufacturers which dictate how products are priced. Bundles are the most common way around that in the video game sector as consoles themselves are relatively low margin sales but combined with extra controllers, games and accessories sellers can increase their margin and abide by their contracts. Manufactures would be the ones to suffer if retailers gouged shoppers so they are pretty selective about who is authorized to sell their product as they should be.

I'd be curious to see what attach rates look like for the next 12 months or so, the 360 for example was very positively impacted by all the forced bundles during its launch.

 

[Rangers]

Amazon has Xbox One in. No big deal as many online sites have, but amazon still seems to sell out.

Anyway I keep putting 999 in my cart every so often to check, and so far it allows 999 every time (meaning the number has not dipped below 999 yet). this has gone on for a few hours anyway, but stock seems substantial.

At the slow rate Xbox was selling the other day, I doubt they're flying off the shelves. so far the new stock has only moved XBO to #11 on the hourly charts. Whereas PS4 usually shoots to #1 quickly (although I've yet to see post Christmas PS4 stock at Amazon).

OTOH One and PS4 software seems to be doing about the same post-Christmas on the best seller list for what thats worth. Forza 5 has been the best selling next gen title of late, but to be fair that was helped by a sale of $39.

Also I found another site that can give some idea of sales. I'm going to assume it's accurate. It was referenced on GAF anyway.

http://bf4stats.com/

Number of BF4 players online per platform as of 5:42 AM USA Central time:

PC 45,522
PS3 57,558
X360 30,422
XBO 17,528
PS4 31,044

Now to clarify, online player counts usually skew Sony/PC in the early AM hours, where Europe is dominating the numbers. In USA prime time it's a different story (in fact Xbox One was well ahead of PS4 earlier and 360 was dominant).

The other issue was PSN down/not down. yesterday evening when Xbox was dominating it was being used as a possible excuse/contributor. Not sure how that jives with PS now taking the lead in the AM, I suspect it may not be having that much effect.

It will be fun to check that site from time to time in my continued obsession for sales numbers, any numbers...

It's interesting how substantial the next gen platforms are already. It explains why prior gen consoles typically die off very quickly. It's easy to imagine that even next year, the next gen version of BF4 (well, if they go yearly) will be outselling the current gen one.

OTOH I was a bit surprised how next gen software was not dominating the Amazon charts. I think the BF4 stats are a better indicator.

Also according to GAF the players online in KZSF is quite pitiful. Numbers of ~2k online were thrown around, contrast with those BF4 numbers above. Despite some reports of good sales, reality seems poor, or at least people dont cotton to the MP.

 

[Strange]

Amazon has Xbox One in. No big deal as many online sites have, but amazon still seems to sell out.

Anyway I keep putting 999 in my cart every so often to check, and so far it allows 999 every time (meaning the number has not dipped below 999 yet). this has gone on for a few hours anyway, but stock seems substantial.

At the slow rate Xbox was selling the other day, I doubt they're flying off the shelves. so far the new stock has only moved XBO to #11 on the hourly charts. Whereas PS4 usually shoots to #1 quickly (although I've yet to see post Christmas PS4 stock at Amazon).

OTOH One and PS4 software seems to be doing about the same post-Christmas on the best seller list for what thats worth. Forza 5 has been the best selling next gen title of late, but to be fair that was helped by a sale of $39.

Also I found another site that can give some idea of sales. I'm going to assume it's accurate. It was referenced on GAF anyway.

http://bf4stats.com/

Number of BF4 players online per platform as of 5:42 AM USA Central time:

PC 45,522
PS3 57,558
X360 30,422
XBO 17,528
PS4 31,044

Now to clarify, online player counts usually skew Sony/PC in the early AM hours, where Europe is dominating the numbers. In USA prime time it's a different story (in fact Xbox One was well ahead of PS4 earlier and 360 was dominant).

The other issue was PSN down/not down. yesterday evening when Xbox was dominating it was being used as a possible excuse/contributor. Not sure how that jives with PS now taking the lead in the AM, I suspect it may not be having that much effect.

It will be fun to check that site from time to time in my continued obsession for sales numbers, any numbers...

It's interesting how substantial the next gen platforms are already. It explains why prior gen consoles typically die off very quickly. It's easy to imagine that even next year, the next gen version of BF4 (well, if they go yearly) will be outselling the current gen one.

OTOH I was a bit surprised how next gen software was not dominating the Amazon charts. I think the BF4 stats are a better indicator.

Also according to GAF the players online in KZSF is quite pitiful. Numbers of ~2k online were thrown around, contrast with those BF4 numbers above. Despite some reports of good sales, reality seems poor, or at least people dont cotton to the MP.

Most people are playing KZ SF for the SP and that's very not so for BF4, as it had a very pitiful SP and everybody pretty much bought it for the MP and MP only.

PC
70,960
PS3
87,841
XBOX360
59,345
XBOXONE
34,637
PS4
54,416


Considering PS4 right now has numbers close to last-gen numbers I'd say they're doing a very, very good job.

 

[DrJay24]

I don't understand how the standard XB1 cannot outsell the Day One edition on Amazon. #18 vs #25. The cumulative sales over a month cannot sum to a number greater to the pre-orders in their largest market? Maybe this is normal, but I thought they only sold ~500k in NA in the first few days, surely they have doubled or tripled that since?

 

[Rangers]

BFstats update. This could be pretty fascinating, at least for a few days.

~11:30 AM USA central time/6:30 PM Berlin time

PS3 93,417
X360 75,949
PC 74,399
PS4 65,861
Xbox One 45,245

So we see as we get into midday USA time/prime time EU, the player counts have increased drastically, while the relative influence of Xbox grows (360 has moved into 2nd place and One is now ~2/3 of PS4).

I expect player counts will be near an apex soon, I dont know something like 8PM EU time+1PM USA time sounds reasonable? The combo of EU prime+USA midday. Then you will see Xbox grow over the next few hours from that Apex as EU declines and USA moves into prime time.

This could be pretty fun to track, I already think an average over many hours of the day could give us a decent idea of worldwide console sales.

Assuming this site is accurate. Also, if anything I suspect BF4 skews a bit Playstation, whereas COD probably skews a bit Xbox, but that's just my hunch.

Amazon hourly bestseller next gen software (post Christmas obviously so of some interest, 11:30 AM Central time Dec 27):

#24 Forza 5 XBO
#34 BF4 XBO
#39 NFS Rivals PS4
#40 BF4 PS4
#47 Dead Rising 3 XBO
#51 Madden 25 XBO
#54 COD:Ghosts XBO
#69 Fifa 14 PS4
#72 Madden 25 PS4
#78 AC4 PS4
#82 COD: Ghosts PS4
#83 KZ:SF PS4
#88 Ryse XBO
#95 NFS Rivals XBO
#100 NBA 2k14 XBO

These could be affected by what consoles Amazon had in stock recently (should cause a surge in that console software), recent sales (Forza and I think NFS Rivals too) etc.

 

[djskribbles]

I don't think we can use BF4 stats to determine much (if anything).