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

[MrFox]

I think that, so far, there are no indications that gamers chose PS4 overwhelmingly simply because of it's price point, there were many factors. Losing that much money won't work unless MS spectacularly misjudged the market and should have priced it lower from the start (which is possible, but it's too late).

What they're fighting against today, after all their blunders, is "Sony have won this gen". It's a steep hill to climb. Dropping the price too much would increase this perception. Good games sells consoles, price points are just incentives to tip the gamers one way or the other. Dumping is a strategy that only works with commodities, and a console isn't a commodity. Most of a gamers money goes into games and subs, the hardware itself isn't a big deal as long as the initial cost is in the right bracket.

 

[steveOrino]

Before the the PR blunder from the X1 unveiling on up, MS already had some image problems, mainly with the core demographic and the Kinect. MS clearly funneled all their resources into it, producing some pretty mediocre/bad stuff. It killed their exclusive software diversity from 2010-2014. That's why in many gaming communities the 360 was known as a Halo and Gears box.

Anyway, these people are your early adopters and MS did a very poor job of catering to them past the midpoint of the generation. All concerns leading up to the unveiling came to fruition (TV/Kinect focused) and surprise, the negativity peaked. Like I have said in the past, this isn't a price or a hardware power issue, its a brand issue and repairing that takes time (especially after how badly MS botched it).

 

[Deleted member 86764]

All concerns leading up to the unveiling came to fruition (TV/Kinect focused) and surprise, the negativity peaked. Like I have said in the past, this isn't a price or a hardware power issue, its a brand issue and repairing that takes time (especially after how badly MS botched it).

I mostly agree, though for me personally the power issue does comes into play (I think both are underpowered though). If MS released the current Xbox at £300, possibly even £250, I'd have still bought the PS4 at £350. I find that it's just a more desirable box. And yes, that Xbox Uncovered unveiling was truly awful.

Edit: until the specs where leaked and the unveilings happened, I'd have told you that there's no way I'd switch to Playstation.

 

[B Real]

Kevin Dent is on twitter saying Destiny on Xbox outsold the Playstation versions worldwide. I'm thinking it must have had some powerful 360 numbers

https://twitter.com/TheKevinDent/status/512412502370426881

 

[Shortbread]

I wouldn't say its impossible - the XB360 edition is outselling the PS3 edition by a nice margin (GameStop wise).... yet, PS4 is leading sales wise when compared to the XB1. That being said, XB360 has a larger install base worldwide than PS4, so it's not far fetch to believe Destiny software sales is leading in the XBOX family. So it will be a great PR move for MS to use during September's NPD - as the number one platform-family for Destiny.

As for Destiny PS4 bundle sales, from what I'm hearing it has eclipsed all next generation bundle sales this year, and sales haven't declined much since Destiny's launch. The bigger question is: are the PS4 Destiny bundles essentially replacing (swapping places) standard Black PS4 sales at this point?

 

[DrJay24]

Not on Amazon, the black is still in the top 20.

Edit #6 & #10 currently. Usually when one bundle displaces another SKU, the non-bundles sinks quickly down, as with the TF bundle back in March.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

Kevin Dent is on twitter saying Destiny on Xbox outsold the Playstation versions worldwide. I'm thinking it must have had some powerful 360 numbers

https://twitter.com/TheKevinDent/status/512412502370426881

He says at one point that he had gross figures, then a bit further down states that " I'm sure Sony sold a ton". Seems contradictory.

Sorry to ask the stupid question, but who is Kevin Dent?

Edit: got it http://about.me/thekevindent

 

[Rangers]

Well it was 46-36% UK, the rest of Europe is going to be worse than that. It would have had to really dominate USA to have any chance. Seems unlikely.

I think USA sales could be a fight though. But it depends how it's measured as well. Do the free XOne copies count? Do you count the Sony bundles?

 

[Globalisateur]

Well it was 46-36% UK, the rest of Europe is going to be worse than that. It would have had to really dominate USA to have any chance. Seems unlikely.

I think USA sales could be a fight though. But it depends how it's measured as well. Do the free XOne copies count? Do you count the Sony bundles?

The free XB1 copies count (because those are only standalone games included by retailers with the hardware during shipping) but not the PS4 Bundles copies, which are already in the real Bundles boxes provided by Sony.

I wouldn't be surprised if Destiny on XB1 wins NPD.

 

[Shortbread]

What a week! Since Destiny launched one week ago, it has officially become the biggest PS4 game launch in North America ever. The game broke records for being the fastest purchased and most played PS4 game during its first week on sale. In fact, last week was our single biggest PS4 hardware sales week since Christmas 2013! That’s a lot of PS4s. Thanks, Guardians!

What a week! Since Destiny launched one week ago, it has officially become the biggest PS4 game launch in North America ever. The game broke records for being the fastest purchased and most played PS4 game during its first week on sale. In fact, last week was our single biggest PS4 hardware sales week since Christmas 2013! That’s a lot of PS4s.Thanks, Guardians!

September's NPD is going to be very Very VERY interesting....

As I stated in my last post... The PS4 Destiny bundle eclipsed all next generation bundle sales in less than a week (GameStop / Amazon anyhow).

Edit: I wonder if the XB1 COD:AW bundle will do the same... the $499 price tag is somewhat steep for those price conservative gamers.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Kevin Dent is on twitter saying Destiny on Xbox outsold the Playstation versions worldwide. I'm thinking it must have had some powerful 360 numbers

https://twitter.com/TheKevinDent/status/512412502370426881

This isn't a surprise, the 360 continues to post very good software sales figures while the PS3 is dying off due to all the unhappy PS3 users already having upgraded to the PS4.

Happy 360 users are holding onto their 360s until the Xb0x is lowered in price and becomes affordable and/or comes with an experience that at least matches what they get from their 360.

There's no huge mystery how MS gets back into the game. Lower the price, and make sure the box has the same feature set and functionality that the 360 does. Offering trade-in's to move those 360 users to the Xb0x is a very wise decision, but as I've said before, they should be marketing the offer more widely. Through Live messaging. They still have a chance to close the sales gap, but if they wait too long they will lose it. Those 360 users won't hold out forever, regardless of how happy they are with their current experience. Games will stop being developed across generations any day now.

 

[Nesh]

This isn't a surprise, the 360 continues to post very good software sales figures while the PS3 is dying off due to all the unhappy PS3 users already having upgraded to the PS4.

Happy 360 users are holding onto their 360s until the Xb0x is lowered in price and becomes affordable and/or comes with an experience that at least matches what they get from their 360.

There's no huge mystery how MS gets back into the game. Lower the price, and make sure the box has the same feature set and functionality that the 360 does. Offering trade-in's to move those 360 users to the Xb0x is a very wise decision, but as I've said before, they should be marketing the offer more widely. Through Live messaging. They still have a chance to close the sales gap, but if they wait too long they will lose it. Those 360 users won't hold out forever, regardless of how happy they are with their current experience. Games will stop being developed across generations any day now.

How do you know PS3 users who upgraded, did it because they were unhappy with the PS3? If you upgrade because the next console is great value then you will buy the games on the new platform. I was a happy PS3 owner yet I buy the PS4 version of games when a game is available on both.

Many havent upgraded to XB1 because the value isnt there yet and yet they want to play the new games

 

[djskribbles]

Kevin Dent doesn't have the greatest track record, so I'll wait until NPD. Plus I dunno how he would have any numbers at all at this point.
If Destiny on XB1 doesn't significantly outsell PS4 in the US, then we pretty much know he's full of shit. Because we know Destiny on PS will greatly outsell Destiny on XB everywhere else.

The only way I could see Xbox outselling PS, is if they don't include the pack in copies with the Destiny PS4 bundle. If that's the case, and they include all of the Destiny 'sales' from the free game promo w/XB1 purchase, then I could maybe see that being true. That very well could be the case because NPD normally doesn't include pack ins. Also, I don't see Destiny selling very well on PS3.

 

[Shortbread]

The current Amazon 100 Best Sellers (09/18/14)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------top 20
#1 Playstation Store Gift Card.
#5 Hyrule Warriors Wii U
#6 PS4 Destiny Bundle
#7 PS4 Game System
#8 Destiny PS4
#9 Destiny XB1
#15 FIFA 15 PS4
#17 FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Edition PS4
#19 Xbox Gold Card
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------top 40
#23 Madden NFL 15 PS4
#25 Mario Kart 8 Wii U
#26 Final Fantasy Type-O PS4
#31 GTA V PS4
#34 The Last of Us Remastered PS4
#36 XB1 Game System
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------top 60
#42 Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor PS4
#46 FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Edition XB1
#50 Halo: The Master Chief Collection XB1
#54 Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition PS4
#58 NBA 2K15 PS4
#59 FIFA 15 XB1
#60 Super Smash Bros Wii U
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------top 80
#62 Madden NFL 15 XB1
#66 Watch Dogs PS4
#77 Super Mario 3D World Wii U
#78 GTA V XB1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------top 100
#83 Call of Duty: Ghost XB1
#84 Forza Horizon 2 XB1
#87 Infamous: Second Son PS4
#96 Diablo III: Ultimate Evil PS4
#97 Killzone Shadow Fall PS4
#100 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare XB1

So, PS4 15, XB1 10 and Wii U 4...

FYI: PS4 Destiny Bundle has moved up to spot #40 on the Amazon 2014 Best Sellers list. Two spots ahead of the XB1 Titanfall bundle and six spots ahead of the XB1+Kinect sku.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

How do you know PS3 users who upgraded, did it because they were unhappy with the PS3? If you upgrade because the next console is great value then you will buy the games on the new platform. I was a happy PS3 owner yet I buy the PS4 version of games when a game is available on both.

Many havent upgraded to XB1 because the value isnt there yet and yet they want to play the new games

Oh, I don't know for sure. I'm just putting forth a hypothesis to try to explain why the 360 continues to be a larger seller of software while the PS3 isn't, and at the same time, the PS4 sales numbers are (at least) 2:1 over the Xb0x.

It seems to me a very reasonable theory that PS3 users were not happy with their consoles and upgraded to the PS4 as quickly as possible. Sure, other factors (such as a lower price of entry) also factor positively into the equation.

We have some evidence to support this, software sales on the 360 compared to that of the PS3, as well as the well known fact that PS3 users were widely disappointed that multiplat games looked better on the 360 than on the PS3.

The PS3 offered subpar visuals and a subpar UI and a subpar multiplayer environment. So those users upgraded as soon as possible, and were able to do so more quickly because of the lower cost of purchase.

The 360 didn't have those issues, most 360 users are happy with their experience and they continue to hold onto their 360 because of that and because the cost to upgrade is too great.

This isn't to say that X amount of 360 users didn't upgrade to a PS4, I'm sure that has happened and also factors into the difference in sales of "next gen consoles".

But the difference in software sales between the 360 and PS3 is an interesting thing to watch. Especially when, as this thread has already discussed, regions where the PS3 outsold the 360, software sales in those regions are now largely swinging towards the 360 over the PS3. The simplest explanation of that seems to be that the PS3 owners have moved on to other consoles while the 360 owners have not.

I'm open to discussing an alternative hypothesis to explain it.

 

[Sonic]

It's not surprising there's still a strong software market on the 360 considering it beat the crap out of PS3 in the US. The only interest I have in the 360 numbers is seeing how close they are to XB1's numbers.

I imagine MS sold a lot of systems with its latest promotion and imagine Destiny was high on the list of games picked so I'm definitely interested in seeing how many they move this month. I think they'll finally break 200k and could potentially do 250 - 300k in total sales. It's an awesome promotion so think it'll do well for MS. I do agree with others here that a price cut should come fast because these promotions only help so much. Whether or not what they're doing is effective in tightening the gap with PS4 remains to be seen, though I doubt it.

Awesome news for PS4 having its best sales week since last year. They should easily surpass 300k consoles sold for the month of September. I'm thinking north of 350k is going to happen and would really like to see the machine break the 400k barrier. I expect the gap to widen this month.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

It seems to me a very reasonable theory that PS3 users were not happy with their consoles and upgraded to the PS4 as quickly as possible.

The numbers also support he theory that current gen consoles owners really like the PlayStation 4 but really aren't keen on the Xbox One.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

This isn't a surprise, the 360 continues to post very good software sales figures while the PS3 is dying off due to all the unhappy PS3 users already having upgraded to the PS4.

Happy 360 users are holding onto their 360s until the Xb0x is lowered in price and becomes affordable and/or comes with an experience that at least matches what they get from their 360.

There's no huge mystery how MS gets back into the game. Lower the price, and make sure the box has the same feature set and functionality that the 360 does. Offering trade-in's to move those 360 users to the Xb0x is a very wise decision, but as I've said before, they should be marketing the offer more widely. Through Live messaging. They still have a chance to close the sales gap, but if they wait too long they will lose it. Those 360 users won't hold out forever, regardless of how happy they are with their current experience. Games will stop being developed across generations any day now.

I'm sorry but this is nonsense. There was a poll a few months ago that showed that 1/3 of PS4 owners upgraded from the 360or Wii. Does that make those players unhappy 360 gamers? No, of course not.

I take issue with your statements of "happy 360 owners" and "unhappy PS3 owners".

One 360 (or PS3) sale does not equal one Xbox One (or PS4) sale.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-08-25-third-of-ps4-owners-switched-from-wii-or-xbox

 

[djskribbles]

I'm sorry but this is nonsense. There was a poll a few months ago that showed that 1/3 of PS4 owners upgraded from the 360or Wii. Does that make those players unhappy 360 gamers? No, of course not.

I take issue with your statements of "happy 360 owners" and "unhappy PS3 owners".

One 360 (or PS3) sale does not equal one Xbox One (or PS4) sale.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-08-25-third-of-ps4-owners-switched-from-wii-or-xbox

Agreed.

Awesome news for PS4 having its best sales week since last year. They should easily surpass 300k consoles sold for the month of September. I'm thinking north of 350k is going to happen and would really like to see the machine break the 400k barrier. I expect the gap to widen this month.

It will no doubt be >300k. With all of those pre-orders and sales this month, plus the PS4's usual ~200k baseline for this time of year, plus whatever boost Destiny gives... I'm thinking more in the 400-500k range. If amazon's rankings are indicative of sales at retailers across the country, then I could see it being higher. It's already in the top 40 2014 best seller's list and there's still 2 weeks left. Looking at bestbuy and gamestop's rankings, the white Destiny bundle is also in the top 5.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

I'm open to discussing an alternative hypothesis to explain it.

Conversely, I would rather argue that greater proportions of last-gen owners, regardless of their previous preference, have upgraded to PS4. This is backed up by the fact that the swing of sales in the USA has shifted from a large bias towards Xbox to one that is way over in the direction of Playstation. Now if we consider polls are important (they are), there is a suggestion that gamers from Wii and Xbox have started buying the new Playstation – a whole 31% of new PS4 owners. That is a very significant number no matter how you look at it. Additionally the same poll showed that 17% of PS4 owners hadn’t had any of the previous generation’s machines, so that leaves only 52% of PS4 owners are those that are what you would refer to as “unhappy PS3 users”.

You’re right in saying that Destiny sales on PS3 have been fairly insignificant – they definitely are. Whether that’s because they’ve all upgraded to PS4, I would say ”No”; more likely that the average PS3 owner is less interested in a Halo-type game from Bungie. Additionally, the fact that the sales on PS4 have been very high, more so than anything else, might well show that a large proportion of gamers have actually upgraded from 360 to PS4 – as stated in the poll’s numbers.