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

[eastmen]

well lets not get into the external power brick debate , its as bad as those who pefer the intergrated battery that lasts a few hours vs double a's

 

[DieH@rd]

Nintendno financial report is out, they have made money but that is mostly because of Yen and cost cuttings. Their new financial forecast [up to end of March] is:

3DS HW 12M > 9M [ they need 2 M more, EU and US still need to launch New New New New 3DS]
WiiU HW 3.6M [ they need 500k more]
3DS SW 67M > 61M
Wii U SW 20M > 25M

Q3 results:

Pokemon ORAS: 9.35 million
Super Smash Bros 3DS LTD: 6.19 million
Super Smash Bros Wii U LTD: 3.39 million
Mario Kart 8 LTD: 4.77 million
Wii U HW: 1.91 million [LTD 9.2M shipped]
3DS HW: 4.99 million [LTD 50.41M shipped]
Digital Sales: ¥10.4 billion yen
Cash & Equivalents: ¥920.531 billion yen (↑)

3DS Unit Sales (Unit: Million)

Hardware       Ap-Jn    Jl-Sp    Oc-Dc    Ja-Mr      FY      LTD
FY 2010/11       -        -        -      3.61      3.61     3.61
FY 2011/12     0.71     2.36      8.36    2.10      13.53    17.13       
FY 2012/13     1.86     3.20      7.65    1.24      13.95    31.09
FY 2013/14     1.40     2.49      7.76    0.59      12.24    43.33
FY 2014/15     0.82     1.27      4.99       -      7.08     50.41  

Software       Ap-Jn    Jl-Sp    Oc-Dc    Ja-Mr      FY      LTD
FY 2010/11      -        -         -      9.43      9.43     9.43
FY 2011/12     4.53     3.60     19.91    7.96      36.00    45.42    
FY 2012/13     7.39     11.64    20.53    10.05     49.61    95.03
FY 2013/14     11.01    16.37    29.87    10.64     67.89    162.92
FY 2014/15     8.57     14.73    29.74       -      53.04    215.96

Wii U Unit Sales (Unit: Million)

Hardware       Ap-Jn    Jl-Sp    Oc-Dc    Ja-Mr      FY      LTD
FY 2012/13       -        -      3.06     0.39      3.45     3.45
FY 2013/14     0.16     0.30     1.95      0.31     2.72     6.17
FY 2014/15     0.51     0.61     1.91      -        3.03     9.20  

Software       Ap-Jn    Jl-Sp    Oc-Dc    Ja-Mr      FY      LTD
FY 2012/13       -        -      11.69    1.73      13.42    13.42   
FY 2013/14     1.03     5.27      9.66    2.9       18.86    32.28
FY 2014/15     4.39     5.01     11.19       -      20.59    52.87

Suprising lack of sales for 3DS this year, and WiiU did not even manage to surrpas shipment of last holiday quarter.

 

[Rangers]

So, 1.91 shipped worldwide for the quarter vs ~2.4 million X1 sold in NPD alone in November+Dec, granted MS sales elsewhere aren't great but they're not nothing. Anyways just to say it should put an end to any notion Wii U is somehow beating X1 worldwide, if any still held it.

And Wii U I have noticed lately is increasingly being outsold weekly by PS4 in Japan, so it can no longer claim to be the bestseller there either. And it was said on GAF Wii U was down 30% YoY in Japan despite Mario Kart 8 and some other huge Nintendo title releasing in 2014.

About Nintendo, not a lot to say. They just continue to sell fewer and fewer hardware and there doesn't seem any real end in sight, absent some vague QoL plan that most likely doesn't relate to traditional gaming. It's not like 3DS is suddenly going to rebound, dedicated gaming handheld market is arguably dead.

I guess 3DS and Wii U added together (~6.9m) did nudge out Xbox shipments (6.6m). Probably for one of the last times.

I wish Nintendo would bring a technically advanced home console onto the market in 2016 or 17, because that would be fun and advance technology, but more likely they will just quietly slip away into QoL or something.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

...Christmas is gone & parents are broke and only gamers who received gift cards for Christmas are buying in January. I think we might see a slight uptick in February & maybe March when people get their tax refunds. But I will agree it won't be enough to exceed or even match PS4 demand.

Why would tax refunds increase X1 sales but not PS4 sales? Surely every economic factor influencing an X1 purchase/wait is also influencing a PS4 purchase/wait.

PS4 has been selling more since release. The only change to that was when MS dropped the price for the holidays and said the price was going to go back up, putting pressure on people wanting an X1 to get it then or wait potentially a long time for the next price drop. The logical expectation is that a proportion of their market would have taken the opportunity to acquire over Christmas, leading to a lower demand in the following months, and that's also what we're seeing in the numbers, even with a repeat of the discount. People not having money to get an X1 is going to be exactly the case for getting a PS4, so the relative positions of the customers are identical and we're left with a normalised demand. In fact, lower demand for X1 because of the front-heavy sales for the holidays.

Eventually, if X1 stays at this price, its demand will pick up a bit over the months from new interest. But otherwise, without something changing its value, its demand and sales will sit below PS4's. A year of comparing these machines shows where the market's interests lie - PS4 hit the gamers' nerves and XB1 needed a fair amount of tweaking to get comparable sales, but those tweaking options are likely done with unless MS goes on an all out price war.

 

[iroboto]

+1

I haven't been keen on the design since the unveiling. Too plain & bulky. Was hoping for something more like the 1st 360 slim. Anyway, I've gotten used to it. What other choice do I have, right? I'd rather have something smaller & one that I can stand vertical. My 360 has been standing vertical since Xmas 2006. And my TV stand has limited shelving so a vertical orientation works best with it. Now that I think about it, I'll probably will have to buy a whole new TV stand once I get the XB1. That's just great. If another XB1 form factor is coming at E3 I would definitely hold off until then. What's another few months?

Tommy McClain

Really? I like it!
It's mature. It doesn't look like some toy. It looks like it belongs on my media console. It looks like a media device.

For what it does and what it may do in the future I think it's aptly designed. It's meant to be in the living room designed in similar language to the rest of the devices sitting there.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Yep. It can't be too noticeable and artsy-fartsy without alienating people and clashing in a room. It's a box for playing content, not a work of art, and it shouldn't be made into a work of art either. Any designer objects are always showcased in a designer home furnished with exactly the appropriate styling to set the product. The same thing in Joe Average's living room would generally look stupidly out of place.

 

[FarticusMaximus]

My console is a black rectangular box under a black rectangular TV in a black rectangular enclosure surrounded by other black rectangular devices.

The last thing I want is some bulbous or chamfered monstrosity pretending to be objet d'art.

I owned a PS3 briefly and had to hide it from sight. That was a slim which was a vast improvement over the original. The PS4 is not as offensive to the eye, but my OCD tweaks hard when think of it messing up the carefully ordered lines of my entertainment centre!

 

[London Geezer]

Those numbers seem pretty comparable. My ps4 only got loud during the summer while playing some intensive games, and the fans didn't stay loud for long anyway. And of course when installing, with the bluray drive spinning fast.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The last thing I want is some bulbous or chamfered monstrosity pretending to be objet d'art.

Having just agreed with you, I wonder if there'd be a market for designer models? I could certainly see that working for Sony. Create something that is truly object d'art, like the scary black of the Apple Mac Pro. Or a retro radio. Something that would stand in clear view and get tongues wagging, with a hefty price-point to qualify its artistic sensibilities. for Sony, they could create a lifestyle room, all white and futuristic, with a ridiculous sized Sony TV/projection, and the PSArt in plain view. I can't see that idea working so well for the current MS, but maybe something like that would help push into the realm of artsy home design and grow their image?

 

[Nesh]

I was thinking in the past "what if Sony made a special limited edition in collaboration with Bang and Olufsen or what if Sony made one special design themselves? What if they incorporated it into another premium product such as a premium TV?"

 

[FarticusMaximus]

Having just agreed with you, I wonder if there'd be a market for designer models?

Oh absolutely, and I'm not in any way suggesting that all electronics should conform to my tastes (the OCD portion of my brain disagrees strongly).

Whether artistic cases for consoles would be profitable or not I really wouldn't know, but the above mentioned Bang & Olufsen make a business out of artistically styled electronics, so charge a premium and they may still sell.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Pretty irrelevant for this thread though, unless sales of designer consoles would amount to millions.

 

[DrJay24]

There was also $50 gift card deals @ $350 in December. Also, don't forget the $329 Cyber Monday deal.
Tommy McClain

Were either of those at Amazon? I don't recall anything special there. I don't know about momentum spilling anywhere. They ran special deals which stimulated sales, that isn't momentum, it is just a sale. Momentum is selling something without a fire sale. If they were at $399 now and in the hourly top ten, then you could claim momentum.

 

[AzBat]

Were either of those at Amazon? I don't recall anything special there. I don't know about momentum spilling anywhere. They ran special deals which stimulated sales, that isn't momentum, it is just a sale. Momentum is selling something without a fire sale. If they were at $399 now and in the hourly top ten, then you could claim momentum.

Amazon offered both. The $50 gift card deal was a price match with Target the week of Christmas. I mentioned momentum because the limited stock on Black Friday deals I would assume spill over into the following week with people thinking they may not get another better offer before Christmas. If that's not momentum, fine.

Tommy McClain

 

[AzBat]

Really? I like it!
It's mature. It doesn't look like some toy. It looks like it belongs on my media console. It looks like a media device.

For what it does and what it may do in the future I think it's aptly designed. It's meant to be in the living room designed in similar language to the rest of the devices sitting there.

I guess I would disagree that the 360(any model) looked like a toy. Get any of them in black & think they could look fine in any living room. Personally I just want something that will be black, stand vertical, not be plain looking & not require me to buy a new TV, receiver or TV stand. If I was a lot younger I might have agreed with you. LOL

Tommy McClain

 

[goonergaz]

XBO looks way too much like an 80s VCR, it's also massive AND has an external PSU (ew). I like that some design goes into the look of the machine - I much prefer the PS4 but then I'd also prefer if it was quieter (well my launch one anyway) - I'm sure it's gotten louder with age, but certainly some games do create a lot of noise (digital versions too).

 

[AzBat]

Why would tax refunds increase X1 sales but not PS4 sales? Surely every economic factor influencing an X1 purchase/wait is also influencing a PS4 purchase/wait.

Point taken, but I never said they wouldn't increase PS4 sales too. In fact, I even said XB1 sales will still lag behind PS4 sales.

<snip>

Pretty much agree with the rest of your post. No sense going over point by point. But I will say I don't think MS will go with a price war until fall or holiday. There's really no need until they get some of the biggest titles out. I think they will be fine with coasting at $349 on the low end for most of the year, but I could see them either drop the price on the high end or add more value, maybe a larger hard drive or have a few more special editions like the Call of Duty bundle.

Tommy McClain

 

[MrFox]

From my experience, the PS4 noise increasing over time is solved by simply vacuuming the sides every few months. If you have pets, you definitely must do this, preferably for all your equipments.

Some new games are using a higher max wattage than launch games. DriveClub and TLoU are really maxing it out, I expect The Order 1886 and Uncharted 4 to be good tests too.

 

[DieH@rd]

Tommorow Children is taking advantage from async compute, so I presume it will stress the GPU much more than current titles.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

But I will say I don't think MS will go with a price war until fall or holiday. There's really no need until they get some of the biggest titles out. I think they will be fine with coasting at $349 on the low end for most of the year...

Yeah. I wonder what MS are thinking for long-term now? Are they just accepting the status quo and will maximise XB1 based on services and exclusives, or do they want to make it bigger and are willing to throw cash at it? I think the former. I think the focus around Windows 10 shows they want to reposition themselves, and personally I think that's smart because they're making noises that I'm liking. I've also spoken with friends who have similar interest. Windows devices and Windows PCs and XBox beng a service across them has a lot of appeal if it plays out how we hope. The lack of PC quality software on iOS and Android greatly hampers them. So I reckon XB1 sales will just settle down with a few big games causing some spikes, and MS will look to its first parties to start releasing on console and PC's Xbox service to get customers. ie. Halo and Gears and Quantum Break and everything else on Windows Store, not Steam. I think XB1 has enough presence now to remain relevant to developers long enough to become encompassed into the Win 10 future.