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

[function]

How many Halo fans are on the fence with the XB1!? I can't imagine that many.

I am! My story:

Bought an OGXBo for Halo and Panzer Dragoon (Sega fanboy) and was very impressed. Loved the shit out of Halo, replay after replay. Halo 2 even got me to go Gold. Halo 3 was replay Nirvana for me. I've been Gold for just about all of my time on 360 ... until about two months ago. Now I don't feed their user hosted gaming service.

My PC is faster than PS4Bone combined, so multiplats aren't a reason to buy either console. Kinect 2 gave me big excites, but so far Kinect 2 has delivered about as much as prayer at the side of a hospital bed. Still, almost pulled the trigger on a Bone for MCC, but after 343i's performance with Halo 4 I stayed teetering on the edge to see how it would play out, aaaaaaand ..... nope. Not buying that. Two swings, two misses 343. Hale .... 'oh'.

If Halo 5 is another corridor based, sandboxless shootbang with enemies as unsatisfying as Halo 4's then it looks like MS have lost me. I'm getting bad feels about Halo 5 story too.

Will probably pick up a WiiU at some point though.

End of my story.

 

[dobwal]

This generation has been a bit like an aging band releasing a 'best of' album. Lots of re-releases of quality games, just nothing really new.

Not that I don't like compilation albums - they're decent. It's just I like to hear new material from an artist. They spurn sales more than anything.

Its not like this gen is releasing new titles at a worse pace than previous gens. Perusing through the first couple of years of 360 releases doesn't create any sense of envy in me.

What releases of 2007 makes 2015 look "meh" in comparison. We are in the second full year of release of the xb1 and ps4 with Witcher 3, The Division, The Phantom Pain, RTR, H5, AK, SW:Battlefront, Project Cars, QB, No Man's Sky, Bloodbourne and other miscellaneous titles in this year's pipeline.

I look at the re-releases as icing on a cake thats already chock full of tastiness.

 

[function]

If you just compare games in 2015 to games in 2007 you probably won't see much change, but that disguises the fact that big games in 2007 were more evolutionary or revolutionary than games 8 years earlier.

Halo 3 was a game changer in 2007 due to it's scale and previously unseen support for networked multiplayer. 4 player co-op was mindblowing. The double scarab battle. HNNNNNNG. Something like that was unthinkable 8 years earlier. I'm pretty sure that Halo 5 in 2015 will not bring as much that's new to gamers. Games like Forza 2 and 3 also offered far more customisation and connectivity than had ever been seen in console racers before, in additional to "HD graphics" and "better physics" and all that stuff.

Eight years before 2007, everything was different. Eight years after 2007, everything is pretty much the damn same. Except that fewer games have co-op.

 

[Rangers]

If you want "revolution" Destiny has more new stuff in it than well, pretty much any console game last gen I can think of IMO. Completely online connected, PVE and PVP MMOFPS with constant progression, deep RPG systems, and social aspects, massive 6 man FPS raids that take constant cohesive teamwork and are simply some of the best experiences in gaming history, great visuals, character customization, classes, etc. I understand it probably built upon some things in Borderlands, but I had never played those anyway, and it goes far beyond.

And Halo 3 was a huge letdown for me, Gears of War 1 was everything Halo 1 was on Xbox, on 360. Halo 3 really soured me on Bungie, they felt creatively bankrupt and lazy as a developer, but they've got me back with Destiny.

And I think you can make the "it's just last gen prettier" going back about 3 gens now. Basically PS2 to 360 to PS4 you can make that argument. Certainly it was heard a lot on early days of 360 wasn't it?

Gaming IS evolving, to arguably open world, and online, and RPG systems.

 

[function]

No.

Connectivity and simulation and genre variety have not grown 2015 -> 2007 as much as they did 2007 -> 1999. At least not in dual-stick-AAA-console-land. It is entirely ridiculous to suggest they have.

Gaming is obviously evolving, but evolution is sure-as-hell-not a linear progression with all elements expanding. Evolution is about survival. Survival isn't necessarily about innovation, sometimes it's about refining into existing niches or ecosystems. Becoming the biggest Halo or GTA shaped fish in a shrinking pond, if you will.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I think its kinda hard to pin point when the first party exclusives would impact sales, it honestly probably works with price to help drive demand. Again I think many more titles will be announced for E3 hence why I said its early but it can't hurt.

I think it's easy to predict when exclusives will impact sales, it's typically near the time of release of said exclusives as demonstrated by surges in console sales for big, highly anticipated exclusives for consoles for decades. You could early in anticipation but you may miss out on a cool bundle, possibly even a unique livery for console and controllers.

But I was talking about the lack of sales now and you're talking about what might happen in the future which is something else entirely.

 

[ShyGuy]

I wonder if anyone knows how much it would cost Nintendo to essentially 'relaunch' the WiiU this Winter in North America and would that risk be worth it ?.

Starting with a price cut they could offer the Deluxe console with 3D World and MK8 digital codes for $249 (a great bundle aimed at families). They could then do commercials showing the main strengths of the console (the exclusive line up, off TV play, backward compatibility and free online play).

I always thought the two main issues with the console sales wise were the pricing and marketing. They could give it one last shot this Winter in an effort to at least hit Gamecube numbers. I mean it's either that or just keep going along as they are selling sub 100 000 units per month, numbers which will drop drastically once the software releases dry up in early 2016.

 

[BRiT]

I don't think it is worth them relaunching unless they double the size of their software catalog AND drop the price to $199 or lower.

They WiiU is mostly competing with the PS3 and X360 which is even cheaper ($149 to $99 range) and has a more bountiful software catalog.

 

[Rangers]

I was just thinking 98k this month is kind of sneaky good by Wii U standards. Xbox One has had months worse than that. Wii U keeps plodding along under the radar.

That said, as you say will it ever amount to anything or just dry up? Certainly the latter I think.

Bad news for Wii U is it appears PS4 is taking over Japan. That could have been a bastion for them.

One problem for them is the gamepad will always make price cuts really tough to do. I'm not sure the alternative, Wii U as just a normal traditional console (that could have been priced cheaper), would have been better for them though, without any differentiating factor. It might have, I suppose.

 

[ShyGuy]

I don't think it is worth them relaunching unless they double the size of their software catalog AND drop the price to $199 or lower.

They WiiU is mostly competing with the PS3 and X360 which is even cheaper ($149 to $99 range) and has a more bountiful software catalog.

I'm from the UK but a quick google search seems to point to PS3 being $220 and the 360 being $250 on Amazon and Best Buy. I guess they are still pretty expensive to manufacture which is the reason they both went with x86 architectures this generation.

A $249 WiiU Deluxe with two of it's best games bundled digitally (3D World and Kart 8 or 3D World and Smash) with Zelda and Starfox arriving would do really well this Winter in North America imo. Their advertising should be going straight for families and older games with a nostalgic view of Nintendo.

 

[ShyGuy]

I was just thinking 98k this month is kind of sneaky good by Wii U standards. Xbox One has had months worse than that. Wii U keeps plodding along under the radar.

That said, as you say will it ever amount to anything or just dry up? Certainly the latter I think.

Bad news for Wii U is it appears PS4 is taking over Japan. That could have been a bastion for them.

98k is certainly decent given the past sales of the console in non Holiday months. I think if you offered Nintendo 100k sales every month in North America from now until the end of 2016 they would bite your hand off. That would be around 3 million console sales with the usual Holiday bumps added in.

One problem for them is the gamepad will always make price cuts really tough to do. I'm not sure the alternative, Wii U as just a normal traditional console (that could have been priced cheaper), would have been better for them though, without any differentiating factor. It might have, I suppose.

Yeah the Gamepad really hamstrung them with regards to price drops, the poor sales meant they weren't manufacturing them in large enough quantities which usually leads to savings aswell. They are too proud to ever do it now but they should have offered an SKU where you get a pro controller instead of the Gamepad. That way they would have been able to hit the $249 price point in time for Mario Kart 8's launch last Summer and then Smash would have provided further sales momentum. We would then be looking at a price drop to $199 in time for this years E3 and the release of Starfox and Zelda. Without the Gamepad they would not have been losing money on them either as apart from the CPU/GPU the Gamepad is by far the most expensive part of the system to manufacture.

I feel like people ignore the biggest problem the WiiU has and that is it's high price point for the market it's targeting (families). If the system had launched with an improved Wiimote instead of the Gamepad at $249 instead of $349 it would have sold far, far better imo.

 

[BRiT]

I'm from the UK but a quick google search seems to point to PS3 being $220 and the 360 being $250 on Amazon and Best Buy.

I think you're looking at the wrong side of the price range. A quick Amazon US search shows for $225 you get brand new X360 500GB Call of Duty bundle. For $170 you get the X360 4GB model with Peggle. If you shop used then you're under $100 price range.

 

[tuna]

I don't think it is worth them relaunching unless they double the size of their software catalog AND drop the price to $199 or lower.

They WiiU is mostly competing with the PS3 and X360 which is even cheaper ($149 to $99 range) and has a more bountiful software catalog.

I really don't think the size of the catalog is that important, I think quality supercedes it these days. People have so much entertainment options anyway.

 

[(((interference)))]

How many Halo fans are on the fence with the XB1!? I can't imagine that many.

Well I haven't gone one yet, though I have a PS4.

I don't know whether 343i Halo should be considered the same as Bungie's Halo either - that certainly is one of the reasons why I haven't bothered getting an XB1.

Maybe some of the 360 owning Halo fans have just migrated to playing Destiny on their PS4s? (though I don't have Destiny either lol)

 

[Rurouni]

I think you're looking at the wrong side of the price range. A quick Amazon US search shows for $225 you get brand new X360 500GB Call of Duty bundle. For $170 you get the X360 4GB model with Peggle. If you shop used then you're under $100 price range.

Isn't this is just a difference between vat and non vat price (UK vs US pricing)? He was using UK pricing for the example (converted to usd) and you're using US pricing?

 

[BRiT]

Isn't this is just a difference between vat and non vat price (UK vs US pricing)? He was using UK pricing for the example (converted to usd) and you're using US pricing?

Im comparing apples to apples. The wiiu prices were also nonVAT. It would be disingenuous to compare vat x360 or ps3 prices to nonVAT wiiu prices.

 

[Rangers]

Did anybody see any more hardware numbers out of GAF? Or we just have 3DS, PS4, X1, WiiU?

 

[BRiT]

Did anybody see any more hardware numbers out of GAF? Or we just have 3DS, PS4, X1, WiiU?

Whats left, the 12K to 15K PSVita?

Or were you thinking of x360, ps3 and wii?

 

[Rangers]

I guess the latter, yeah.

Just current gen is pretty Ok though. Less than we usually get though.

 

[DrJay24]

So Amazon has lost most of its deals, the only one is a PS4 with a BF Hardline discount ($435), which is not a separate SKU.

PS4 #6
XB1 Unity #28
XB1 MCC #80

I'm guessing Bloodborne is keeping PS4 sales higher than normal (#10-#15) and the MCC SKU is cannibalizing Unity sales. I would expect those bundles to swap places at some point. Xbox and Halo are synonymous and I can't imagine someone buying a XB1 now and wanting Unity over the MCC.