All purpose Sales and Sales Rumours and Anecdotes [2019 Edition]

[Deleted member 11852]

Also I'd ask what big hitters PS2 had once PS3 came out? Did it have a 'The Last of Us 2?

PS3 had a staggered launch worldwide so there was no one final year before PS3 began to trickle out but PS2 had Final Fantasy XII (2007), God of War II (2007),Yakuua (2006), Battlefront II (2006), Kingdom Hearts II (2006), DragonQuest VIII (2006) plus crazy popular games in Japan ike Dragonball Z and Naruto also in 2007.

Thinking about The Last of Us, that launched just months before PS4 launched so kind of fitting that Part II will release just months before PS5 launches.

 

[goonergaz]

PS3 had a staggered launch worldwide so there was no one final year before PS3 began to trickle out but PS2 had Final Fantasy XII (2007), God of War II (2007),Yakuua (2006), Battlefront II (2006), Kingdom Hearts II (2006), DragonQuest VIII (2006) plus crazy popular games in Japan ike Dragonball Z and Naruto also in 2007.

Thinking about The Last of Us, that launched just months before PS4 launched so kind of fitting that Part II will release just months before PS5 launches.

The Last of Us 2 will totally shift hardware more than anything listed IMO. There are people who want a PlayStation just to play that game!

 

[Deleted member 11852]

The Last of Us 2 will totally shift hardware more than anything listed IMO. There are people who want a PlayStation just to play that game!

You've just dismissed some of the biggest selling franchises in gamings there!

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I'll also add this chart into the mix;


This seems to show that despite PS2 having a partial launch year disadvantage the gap from that initial first year is about what it is today (if not bigger), so surely it has sold quicker after all? There's certainly very little in it, and worth adding PS4 was supply constrained at the start whereas PS2 (having a staggered launch) probably did not suffer as badly?

No, unfortunately it doesn't show that at all. Let me tell you little something about that chart. The chart shows shipments by fiscal years. Sony's fiscal year ends at the end of March. PlayStation 2 launched in Japan on March 4th 2000 basically at the end of the fiscal year and thus year 1 only includes less than one month of sales from Japan alone.

The 2 year mark on the chart is calculated from March 31st 2001 and that only includes a total of 13 months from Japan, 6 months from US and 5 months from Europe!

By contrast for PS4 the first year includes around 4 months from NA + Europe and 1 month from Japan. Second year includes 16 months from NA+Europe and 13 months from Japan.

Anybody still thinks it's a good chart for comparisons?

edit: Also PS2 had large production issues in the beginning, which was a big reason for the Japan only launch. It had far bigger supply issues than the PS4. It was around summer 2001, when the unit started to have good availability at stores. PS4 had very large demand but the supply of units was unprecedented at launch window for a console.

 

[PSman1700]

Developers will have around double the reason to keep developing for PS4

They had even more reason to keep developing for the PS2.

The Last of Us 2 will totally shift hardware more than anything listed IMO. There are people who want a PlayStation just to play that game!

Not at all, god of war, god of war 2 where easily more hardware shifters then last of us 2.

Anybody still thinks it's a good chart for comparisons?

Never thought that

 

[Silent_Buddha]

The Last of Us 2 will totally shift hardware more than anything listed IMO. There are people who want a PlayStation just to play that game!

I'm not predicting anything either way WRT to this because of the unique situation it will launch into.

Basically PS5 will be coming out around half a year after the game comes out.

EVERYONE knows it'll run on PS5 or have a special PS5 version (similar to the first game on PS4).

People with a PS4 that want to play it will get it regardless. But people that don't already have a PS4? That close to PS5 launch? Basically anyone that doesn't have a PS4 and is thinking about getting a PS5 is more likely to just wait for PS5. And for people that haven't gotten one yet due to the cost of the console..I doubt this one single title will convince them to get one after all the blockbuster titles that have come out on PS4 in the past few years.

I think there's a good chance it may not shift much additional hardware but the game will sell in very large numbers. Then again it is pushing the LGBT thing pretty heavily, so maybe that'll help change some people's minds that don't already have one?

Regards,
SB

 

[goonergaz]

You've just dismissed some of the biggest selling franchises in gamings there!

Last of Us sold 7m in around half the market PS2 had, that was a totally new franchise. Of the list given Final Fantasy XII (an incredibly popular well established franchise selling to a double the market size LoU had) was the biggest seller @ 6m.

Not at all, god of war, god of war 2 where easily more hardware shifters then last of us 2.

Got evidence to back that up?

Does anyone here want to bet LoU2 will sell less than LoU1 when it will have around double the market to sell to and it'll be an eagerly anticipated sequel to Sony's biggest selling exclusive last gen!?
Really!? It'll smash double figures and at least double FFXIIs total.

They had even more reason to keep developing for the PS2.

And they did, which is my point about PS4 (vs PS3) so what's you're point?

People with a PS4 that want to play it will get it regardless. But people that don't already have a PS4? That close to PS5 launch? Basically anyone that doesn't have a PS4 and is thinking about getting a PS5 is more likely to just wait for PS5. And for people that haven't gotten one yet due to the cost of the console..I doubt this one single title will convince them to get one after all the blockbuster titles that have come out on PS4 in the past few years.

I think there's a good chance it may not shift much additional hardware but the game will sell in very large numbers. Then again it is pushing the LGBT thing pretty heavily, so maybe that'll help change some people's minds that don't already have one?

People waiting this long for LoU2 are not going to buy a ~£400 console when they will be able to play if for half that price. PS5 sells to those waiting for the latest console, not those waiting for LoU2. Sure, there will be some who might not buy LoU2 until they get their PS5 but those people will not affect PS4 figures. LoU shifted hardware (I'm assuming the 'flat line between years 7 and 8 are because of this bump) so not sure why LoU2 won't shift much if it's a much bigger selling game.

If The Last of Us was not the reason behind the sales not dipping between years 7 and 8 can anyone else explain it as I can't think of another reason, what with PS4 coming out? (genuine question)

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Last of Us sold 7m in around half the market PS2 had, that was a totally new franchise. Of the list given Final Fantasy XII (an incredibly popular well established franchise selling to a double the market size LoU had) was the biggest seller @ 6m.

You said "shift hardware", not best selling games of all time. Some game swill rack up crazy numbers over the years, like Skyrim, GTA V and Tetris. Can you link that to hardware sales though?

To shift hardware you're looking for must-have, insta-grabs; the fast selling games. FF XII sold way quicker than The Last of Us and to put some perspective on this, the top six selling games of 2006 were : 1. Madden (PS2), 2. SMB (NDS), 3. Gears of War (360), 4. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2), 5. Guitar Hero 2 (PS2), 6. FF XII (PS2). There was a lot going on in 2006 including 360 hitting it's stride. Gears was shifting hardware to outsell three massive franchises on a console with ten times the user base (PS2).

 

[iroboto]

Does anyone here want to bet LoU2 will sell less than LoU1 when it will have around double the market

I just wanted to address this point; the total addressable market is double. But the actual market for TLOU2 probably is not doubled. It’s a game meant for the 18-30+ market. I don’t expect it to do well with children under 15. And probably stops at around 45? North of 65-75 Wii is probably the only video games they are interested in.

putting things into perspective; spider man IIRC is the greatest selling Sony exclusive for this generation; beating out GOW and UC4, likely Death Stranding; and others. That Should give you an idea of the addressable market for games like TLOU2. So whatever GOW and UC4 sold about. The millennial and Gen X generations are much smaller than the baby boomers by comparison. If that makes sense what I’m trying to get at.

people should be falling off out of gaming as much as you bring in.

 

[PSman1700]

Spiderman is quite big outside of the gaming world too, it doesn't surprise me it sold better then GoW, hzd, last of us etc

 

[goonergaz]

I just wanted to address this point; the total addressable market is double. But the actual market for TLOU2 probably is not doubled. It’s a game meant for the 18-30+ market. I don’t expect it to do well with children under 15.

putting things into perspective; spider man IIRC is the greatest selling Sony exclusive for this generation; beating out GOW and UC4, likely Death Stranding; and others. That Should give you an idea of the addressable market for games like TLOU2. So whatever GOW and UC4 sold about.

At a very basic level it's surely 2x hardware = 2x the sales as both games are 18 rated. You'd have to show that PS3 market had a higher % of over 18s (or that PS4 has a lower % of over 18s) to justify your argument...and as everyone keeps saying within this thread, PS4 is aimed at the older market - not the family or kids. Uncharted had sold 16m in 2016 according to wiki.

 

[goonergaz]

You said "shift hardware", not best selling games of all time. Some game swill rack up crazy numbers over the years, like Skyrim, GTA V and Tetris. Can you link that to hardware sales though?

To shift hardware you're looking for must-have, insta-grabs; the fast selling games. FF XII sold way quicker than The Last of Us and to put some perspective on this, the top six selling games of 2006 were : 1. Madden (PS2), 2. SMB (NDS), 3. Gears of War (360), 4. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2), 5. Guitar Hero 2 (PS2), 6. FF XII (PS2). There was a lot going on in 2006 including 360 hitting it's stride. Gears was shifting hardware to outsell three massive franchises on a console with ten times the user base (PS2).

So if LoU didn't cause the PS3 sales decline to halt - what did? We have the provided graph that clearly shows that during the decline of PS3 sales, during years 7 & 8 (when LoU came out from what I can gather) there was no decline.

I anticipate LoU to sell hardware because 1) I see a lot of people say they are waiting for LoU2 to come out, I highly doubt they will buy a PS5 some 6 months later at double the price 2) Sony will have a bundle and likely a big promotion and 3) by default being a massively popular game release there will be a hardware increase...has any massive release not seen a bump in hardware?

And you know LoU2 will be an incredibly fast selling game...LoU was the fastest selling PS3 game ever! And again, you're comparing a new franchise on half the hardware market (and less as it was an 18 as iroboto said) vs a hugely popular franchise with a lower age rating on a install base twice the size.

 

[iroboto]

At a very basic level it's surely 2x hardware = 2x the sales as both games are 18 rated. You'd have to show that PS3 market had a higher % of over 18s (or that PS4 has a lower % of over 18s) to justify your argument...and as everyone keeps saying within this thread, PS4 is aimed at the older market - not the family or kids. Uncharted had sold 16m in 2016 according to wiki.

I think that is a reasonable generalization; and I’m not against it. Without more information that is a reasonable stance to take. But specifically since we have some information; we want to take account for large factors. Mainly F2P titles like fortnite; etc. Which are the most played titles with massive following in the younger age groups.

mine craft which is still largely an insane phenomenon.
I think there are absolute limits in terms of numbers of what can be sold to the older markets.

whereas certain titles less bound; like games that specifically will include younger audiences.

it’s why Star Wars and the Marvel movies will sell insanely more than any PG 15 movie. Those ratings like R and M dramatically limit audience.

Frozen 2 going make bank.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

And probably stops at around 45? North first 45 Wii is probably the only video games they are interested in.

I think that's so ridiculously ageist it deserves a punch in the face.

Those >45 year old PS4 owners are likely long-term gamers. Are we to think that when someone hits 45, their taste in video-games changes completely to casual Wii-crap? Someone in their late 20s or 30s playing MGS, GTA, et al on PS2 is now all about waggle games and colourful platformers?

people should be falling off out of gaming as much as you bring in.

Why? That makes no sense and goes against the constant generational increase in console numbers. Every generation, console sales increase faster than population increase. That means more people coming into the market. If as many leave gaming as enter, the market size would have stabilised.

What is the reason for people to want to stop gaming? What do they do instead? When someone hits 45, does their interest in mind-engaging gameplay stop and they instead turn their attentions to knitting and woodworking? Go on long weekend walks? Or do they just slob in front of the TV nowadays instead of grabbing a controller? Are games 'too violent' these days 'not like when this was all fields'?

Anecdotally, I don't know anyone who gave up gaming as they got older. Buying habits shift mostly due to different time constraints, and stats show interest in competitive play is lower in older gamers. But I don't know anyone who gave up console gaming in favour of casual gaming, and I certainly see no reason why older gamers would be more likely to move onto something else than younger gamers. I don't know if anyone has decent stats on console demographics though as mobile has completely changed video-game reporting.

 

[PSman1700]

Uncharted had sold 16m in 2016 according to wiki.

Is that with the DLC? Didn't know UC was the most sold of PS4 exclusives, which it is by quite a large margin.

I highly doubt they will buy a PS5 some 6 months later at double the price

Is the PS5 going to be 599?

 

[Globalisateur]

Spiderman is quite big outside of the gaming world too, it doesn't surprise me it sold better then GoW, hzd, last of us etc

Spider-man didn't sell better than TLOU yet.

 

[chris1515]

I think that's so ridiculously ageist it deserves a punch in the face.

Those >45 year old PS4 owners are likely long-term gamers. Are we to think that when someone hits 45, their taste in video-games changes completely to casual Wii-crap? Someone in their late 20s or 30s playing MGS, GTA, et al on PS2 is now all about waggle games and colourful platformers?

Why? That makes no sense and goes against the constant generational increase in console numbers. Every generation, console sales increase faster than population increase. That means more people coming into the market. If as many leave gaming as enter, the market size would have stabilised.

What is the reason for people to want to stop gaming? What do they do instead? When someone hits 45, does their interest in mind-engaging gameplay stop and they instead turn their attentions to knitting and woodworking? Go on long weekend walks? Or do they just slob in front of the TV nowadays instead of grabbing a controller? Are games 'too violent' these days 'not like this was all fields'?

Anecdotally, I don't know anyone who gave up gaming as they got older. Buying habits shift mostly due to different time constraints, and stats show interest in competitive play is lower in older gamers. But I don't know anyone who gave up console gaming in favour of casual gaming, and I certainly see no reason why older gamers would be more likely to move onto something else than younger gamers. I don't know if anyone has decent stats on console demographics though as mobile has completely changed video-game reporting.

I am 43 and I will not stop gaming. One of the guy in the Dreams community is 60 and gaming.

 

[iroboto]

I think that's so ridiculously ageist it deserves a punch in the face.

Those >45 year old PS4 owners are likely long-term gamers. Are we to think that when someone hits 45, their taste in video-games changes completely to casual Wii-crap? Someone in their late 20s or 30s playing MGS, GTA, et al on PS2 is now all about waggle games and colourful platformers?

lol
Sorry.

That was supposed to be 65. I was thinking retirement homes when I was punching through my phone. I think that's actually closer to 75.. shit.

 

[iroboto]

Why? That makes no sense and goes against the constant generational increase in console numbers. Every generation, console sales increase faster than population increase. That means more people coming into the market. If as many leave gaming as enter, the market size would have stabilised.

What is the reason for people to want to stop gaming? What do they do instead? When someone hits 45, does their interest in mind-engaging gameplay stop and they instead turn their attentions to knitting and woodworking? Go on long weekend walks? Or do they just slob in front of the TV nowadays instead of grabbing a controller? Are games 'too violent' these days 'not like this was all fields'?

Anecdotally, I don't know anyone who gave up gaming as they got older. Buying habits shift mostly due to different time constraints, and stats show interest in competitive play is lower in older gamers. But I don't know anyone who gave up console gaming in favour of casual gaming, and I certainly see no reason why older gamers would be more likely to move onto something else than younger gamers. I don't know if anyone has decent stats on console demographics though as mobile has completely changed video-game reporting.

I believe the sudden influx of players is likely because of the sudden influx of female players, mobile gaming has somewhat mainstreamed gaming for people. This expands the pie, but doesn't necessarily expand the pie for M rated titles.

I think the desire to stop playing comes naturally with the course of life. As in day to day responsibilities, change of hobbies etc. When you have more wealth and time you may look at doing different things, like golfing, travelling, sailing, etc, exercise, tennis etc

 

[fehu]

What is the reason for people to want to stop gaming? What do they do instead?

Nearing 40, and shuddering while realizing it.
I have no time for many things. it's all work or preparation for work.
As a kid, I've had no money and a big desire to play sonic and mario and then metal gear and ut and a lot of other things.
Now I have the money, and an xbox one x, but no time or energy to spend standing still in front of the tv. I spend a lot of time in front of a monitor anyway.
I have so little time that I prefer to spend it leveling up myself in my job and in some sport that leveling up a virtual barbarian.
Plus anything tastes almost the same, a warmed up leftover from last year.
And knitting of course.