Johnny Awesome
Veteran
Hence the A+ ratings for Nintendo in my list.
Pffft... Why does Nintendo even bother with such paltry sales numbers.It didn't sell over 100 million copies. Only 90 million or so.
The irony of this list is that some of the games in the MS list existed as multiplatform games that sold millions on many consoles and PCs in a much bigger span.Well, I think MS showed that they were back in the game at E3 this year. Here are a list of AAA franchises that each 1st party owns along with a rating I've given in terms of importance in the marketplace (mainly from lifetime sales data).
Nintendo
Super Mario - A+
Pokemon - A+
Mario Kart - A +
Legend of Zelda - A+
Animal Crossing - A
Super Smash Brothers - A
Donkey Kong - A
Mario Party - A
Brain Age - A
Nintendogs - A
Yoshi - A
Luigi's Mansion - A-
Professor Layton - A-
Mario Tennis - B+
Metroid - B+
Paper Mario - B+
Wario - B+
Starfox - B+
Sony
Gran Turismo - A
God of War - A
Uncharted - A
Spider-Man - A
Ratchet & Clank - A
The Last of Us - A
Everybody's Golf - B+
Jak & Daxter - B+
SOCOM - B+
Horizon - B+
inFAMOUS - B+
Microsoft
Minecraft - A+ [multiplatform for now]
Halo - A
The Elder Scrolls - A
Fallout - A
Age of Empires - A
Gears of War - A
The Elder Scrolls Online - B+
Fable - B+
Forza Horizon - B+
Forza Motorsport - B+
Doom - B+
Sea of Thieves - B
I ignored any IP that didn't have lifetime sales over 10 million.
As you can see Nintendo is the powerhouse; and despite MS acquisitions, I believe Sony still has the edge over MS currently. You can see why MS acquired Bethesda though.
What about buying a studio (Insomniac) and having them work on an existing IP (Spider-man) and depriving your competitors from an IP that would have been widely accessible? Sounds like exclusives are the real problem, not studio acquisitions.It has nothing to do with virtue. It's about healthy market growth and creation of new experiences.
Buying out huge established studios and their established IPs and deprive competitors from what was originally or would have been widely accessible VS creating or buying a small studio and give them the freedom and resources to create new IPs, arent even remotely close.
Fallout pre-existed. It was a multiplatform game. Not anymore. People will rightfully complain their platform will no longer play it.
The Last of Us is a result of Sony giving Naughty Dog the freedom and resources to create a new game. Complain about what?
This game wouldnt have existed anyways without the deal and Spider Man is not owned indefinitely or exclusively by Sony for Playstation.What about buying a studio (Insomniac) and having them work on an existing IP (Spider-man) and depriving your competitors from an IP that would have been widely accessible? Sounds like exclusives are the real problem, not studio acquisitions.
The marketplace at large doesn't care about any of that, so it's not really relevant to the discussion about who controls what powerful IPs.
IPs are not invulnerable fading away. For the most part, if you want an IP to remain in the hearts and mind of people, it has to be everywhere.
For the most part, if you want an IP to remain in the hearts and mind of people, it has to be everywhere.
Fortunately xCloud is available statistically everywhere once you add in Android, iOS, and PCs. The platforms its not available on is statistically irrelevant.
Fortunately xCloud is available statistically everywhere once you add in Android, iOS, and PCs. The platforms its not available on is statistically irrelevant.
This statement can't be true as Mario and Zelda are still super relevant even though you can only get them on a Nintendo system. Spider-Man is a draw to the PS ecosystem. It made me think twice about picking up a PS5 at launch (along with Uncharted series and few other Sony gems). I only passed on it due to time constraints. I really only have time for one ecosystem.
Actually Psygnosis was acquired by Sony in 1993. Before the PS was even released.There have not really been that many massive IPs of their time that were acquired. The only one I could really think of was Wipeout, which was synonymous with PlayStation even though Psygnosis was independent originally so Wipeout was released on PC and the SEGA Saturn. Back in that generation Wipeout was massive, then Sony bought Psyghosis and the franchise became PlayStation-only. Sales plummeted over time because it was now only on one platform and the IP just fades away despite the games getting great Metacritic scores. And bear in mind Sony has often had the biggest console markets. Together, Sony and Nintendo represents about 80% of the entire console market.
Some IPs need the inertial that only exits across multiple console platforms. When you look at games like Skyrim ad the sales numbers, they're huge. Now look at the same on Nintendo and Sony platforms, now imagine them gone. I'm sure many will think about getting a platform that plays Starfield and I'm sure many, for a number of reasons, you like will not.
You're right, I mentally sync'd their acquisition to their name change.Actually Psygnosis was acquired by Sony in 1993. Before the PS was even released.
Psygnosis IPs were released on the Saturn and the N64 even after Wipeout XL/2097 was released on the Playstation.
Its one of those peculiar rare examples
I don't know if WipeOut's multiplatform status had anything to do with it's status in the market or even sales in a big picture type way. It's a futuristic hovercraft racing game with a thumping techno soundtrack first released with both of those things were very popular. Sony kept making WipeOut games and they became niche releases, but so has every other futuristic hovercraft racing game in recent memory. Even the multiplatform one. It's just a genre that's waning. Kudos to Sony for feeding their fans; Nintendo hasn't been doing that for F-Zero fans.You're right, I mentally sync'd their acquisition to their name change.
Regardless, the IP dwindled when it ceased to the multi-platform and sometimes the economics and IP mindshare requires that cross-platform market. An example is Assassin's Creed Odyssey, launched in November 2018 and by March 2020 it had sold 10 millions across console and PC - with the largest single share being PS4.
This statement can't be true as Mario and Zelda are still super relevant even though you can only get them on a Nintendo system. Spider-Man is a draw to the PS ecosystem. It made me think twice about picking up a PS5 at launch (along with Uncharted series and few other Sony gems). I only passed on it due to time constraints. I really only have time for one ecosystem.
Are you trying to tell me that if GTA VI were only on Xbox that this wouldn't have a marketplace impact? It surely would, and for years on end.
In the end I agree that IPs can fade. Halo has faded from a 15 million seller to a 5 million seller. It's still relevant, but less relevant than it used to be. But properly nurtured, like Uncharted, IPs can remain exclusive AND relevant for decades. All of the IPs I listed at the beginning of this thread CAN remain relevant across the broader marketplace if they are nurtured properly. Nintendo is very good at this and Sony is lately as well. MS has some catching up to do. Forza Horizon is a good example of where they went right. We'll see if they can revive Halo, Fable and Forza Motorsport and keep Elder Scrolls as vibrant an IP as it is right now.