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

[temesgen]

If the numbers people are inferring from PR are correct then Sony and MS were pretty close last month which good thing for consumers, XB1 probably represents better value right now due to all the included software which is influencing some consumers to fall on that side of the fence.

IMO part of Sony's challenge is that historically Playstation consoles have arguably had better first party support at this stage, that isn't to say PS4 has no games but in terms of what some traditional Sony loyalist would expect its been light.

I expect MS to keep adjusting the dial to stay competitive in the US but in spite of that I think Sony could take NA if they get a little more competitive with price/value and get more first party stuff announced and released.

 

[ZhugeEX]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=164010883&postcount=1191

 

[DieH@rd]

I think up to date GAF numbers have:
X1=187
Wii U 43
3DS 114

Slow month.

 

[Shortbread]

GAF reactions in a nutshell...
XB1: 187k
PS4: 174k :neutral:
Wii U: 43

 

[Deleted member 11852]

True. But a PR win is still a win, regardless of how small the score tally difference was. Hopefully, this will push Sony on being more aggressive with (better) bundling. I love TLoU like anyone else, but its time for some smarter bundling deals.

I'm fully expecting a Ratchet & Clank bundle announced at E3 because I am assuming the game launch will be around the time of the movie this summer. And possibly, if rumours are true, a remastered Uncharted bundle latter in the year.

 

[DrJay24]

R&C game and movie are 2016.

 

[Shortbread]

I'm fully expecting a Ratchet & Clank bundle announced at E3 because I am assuming the game launch will be around the time of the movie this summer. And possibly, if rumours are true, a remastered Uncharted bundle latter in the year.

I believe R&C got booted into next year.

Edit: Beaten by DrJay24.

 

[Globalisateur]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=164010883&postcount=1191

I wonder if the PS4 Batman bundles haven't slowed regular PS4 sales for April just enough for XB1 to gain the first place. It's not like XB1 won the month by a landslide apparently.

EDIT: also there was not only gamestop trade-in deal this month but also great deals at BestBuy too. I think for the whole month you could buy the XB1 with a smart phone (free lumia 635) included, now you can buy it with a free turtle beach headset, both devices costing 79$.

 

[Xbat]

Ps4 price drop incoming at e3 Xbox one better value starting to make impact in NA.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=164010883&postcount=1191

So the Xbox One sales for April in the US didn't make up the numbers for the month that preceded it? i.e., sales between March and April still have Playstation increasing its lead. A very minor win for Microsoft if you ask me.

 

[zed]

Another win for amazon, perhaps the toughest one yet, but it still maintains its 100% record. Anyone doubting now my theory of using amazon as an accurate predictor of hardware sales?
Less than 200k does seem pretty low, worrying for both sony/MS

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Always worth remembering that Amazon doesn't account for that big of a share, it's good for identifying trends but should not be used as an indicator for national sales.

All things being equal, as long as Amazon's customers don't represent a different demographic to the population at large, it should be a god litmus test. A 6% sampling of the populace is statistically huge. It's the deals and offers per retailer that messes things up most, especially Amazon's own. They really ought not be allowed to offer deals and every should stick to the RRP, to make the stats easier to work with. I'm sure shoppers would appreciate that the higher price they pay is worth it to have clearer numbers for the console war debate...

 

[Rangers]

Another win for amazon, perhaps the toughest one yet, but it still maintains its 100% record. Anyone doubting now my theory of using amazon as an accurate predictor of hardware sales?
Less than 200k does seem pretty low, worrying for both sony/MS

Eh? But you see posts on GAF about "Amazon's streak broken" . PS4 was technically the highest ranked console of April. That's the simplest and probably best definition of "Amazon's streak" . But it did not win...

In April it was fairly clear that #42 and #52 should beat #41. But what are we going to do if we get #30 vs #55 and #60, or whatever other oddball combinations are possible?...

I guess in cases like those we can just call it a push, whichever wins Amazon isn't wrong, since there's no way to define it. It becomes a gray area though.

 

[Rangers]

Chartzzzzz.

I took the liberty of filling out the 360's column for all 2007 to see what competition X1 has ahead. It's fairly winnable comps for May, June, and July, but things start getting tough in August.

Noticed also that X1 was ~1.2 million ahead after it's first two months due to not being supply constrained. Since then it has only added ~400k to that lead. We see the HUGE gains registered in November and December 2014 for X1 making all the difference since the initial blast. X1 has been very holiday-loaded.

However in holiday (which I'll define as November+December here) 07 Xbox 360 made large sales

Holiday 05 vs 13, X360=607k (supply constrained) X1=1817k
Holiday 06 vs 14, X360=1611k, X1=2530k
Holiday 07 vs 15, X360=2030k, X1=?

Combine 360's stronger Nov/Dec 07 with a strong August, September, and October, and X1 will have quite the task to finish ahead of 360 in 2015.

As for X1's life to date lead, that should be safe for the medium term forseeable future though. The highest the gap's ever been is 1684k, and by August I would guess X1 has a good chance to extend that, so it will go into the tough late 07 stretch with it's highest LTD lead ever.

However the overall percentage lead for X1 looks to generally continue to slip regardless of the absolute gap. For example, 1 million consoles when it's 3-2 is a lot more relevant than when it's 11-10.

The current gap of 7033k vs 5399k through respective 2nd April's is a healthy ~30% though.

 

[Shortbread]

I wonder if the PS4 Batman bundles haven't slowed regular PS4 sales for April just enough for XB1 to gain the first place. It's not like XB1 won the month by a landslide apparently.

Possible. The Batman Arkham Knight Special Edition bundle should move lots of units in June (maybe Destiny bundle numbers >300k). So, May NPD might be a toss up as well.

 

[zed]

Eh? But you see posts on GAF about "Amazon's streak broken" . PS4 was technically the highest ranked console of April. That's the simplest and probably best definition of "Amazon's streak" . But it did not win...

best definition? Aye? Im not on GAF, Ive seen the site before but it seems like far too many threads that unless you live games full time, its pointless to read, like you say in following is more likely 42+52 > 41 ok I do agree there will be situations where its hard to call but 42+52 vs 41 aint one,
this month may looks to be a slight lead for x1

 

[chris1515]

I think all people are too much focused on the 13k.

The interesting fact is YtoY PS4 sales slowdown by 13%. Last year until end of April the PS4 was supply constraint but if the trend continue I think Sony need to lower the PS4 price.

Other interesting fact is the 63% YtoY bump of Xbox One. It shows MS work to change Xbox One sales momentum.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The interesting fact is YtoY PS4 sales slowdown by 13%. Last year until end of April the PS4 was supply constraint but if the trend continue I think Sony need to lower the PS4 price.

Or get titles out that people want. Price isn't the only factor limiting sales. Uncharted will likely shift boxes at the current price. A price reduction to catch up mid-year sales would likely just be throwing profits away.

 

[goonergaz]

Other interesting fact is the 63% YtoY bump of Xbox One. It shows MS work to change Xbox One sales momentum.

Well whilst it's 'interesting' it's largely because last year they had the kinect dragging it down. The main surprise for me is that Bloodborne seems to have not boosted sales at all or it did and have disguised a bigger overall drop in demand. March is also down YoY however Feb (The Order) saw a boost. I think a E3 price drop might be coming as they won't want MS closing the gap too much - they had relatively nothing last month and leveled with Sony having Bloodborne.

 

[mrcorbo]

All things being equal, as long as Amazon's customers don't represent a different demographic to the population at large, it should be a god litmus test. A 6% sampling of the populace is statistically huge. It's the deals and offers per retailer that messes things up most, especially Amazon's own. They really ought not be allowed to offer deals and every should stick to the RRP, to make the stats easier to work with. I'm sure shoppers would appreciate that the higher price they pay is worth it to have clearer numbers for the console war debate...

That's been my main issue with forecasting overall sales based on data from a single retailer. That being said, Amazon's track record lately has been pretty good. They do seem to provide a broad enough sample to reflect the overall market for the most part.

Or get titles out that people want. Price isn't the only factor limiting sales. Uncharted will likely shift boxes at the current price. A price reduction to catch up mid-year sales would likely just be throwing profits away.

100% agree. Other factors can influence sales, but content creates sales.