Nintendo Lite Switch *switched out*

[Deleted member 11852]

I don't think that's true. Attach rates...

That's definitely higher than a lot of monthly sales charts indicate. Is this perhaps influenced by Nintendo's accounting that games bundled with a console count as sales, i.e. why I think Wii Sports is still likely the highest selling video game of all time (>45m) ? If those massive sales of bundled in software with consoles and peripherals games count as sales, this would skew the attach rate.

 

[bgroovy]

That's definitely higher than a lot of monthly sales charts indicate. Is this perhaps influenced by Nintendo's accounting that games bundled with a console count as sales, i.e. why I think Wii Sports is still likely the highest selling video game of all time (>45m) ? If those massive sales of bundled in software with consoles and peripherals games count as sales, this would skew the attach rate.

GTAV has sold like 100m units at this point. But the attach rate for Wii is a bit skewed by the inclusion of games that came with an extra Wiimote like Wii Play which sold something crazy like 35m.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

That's definitely higher than a lot of monthly sales charts indicate. Is this perhaps influenced by Nintendo's accounting that games bundled with a console count as sales, i.e. why I think Wii Sports is still likely the highest selling video game of all time (>45m) ? If those massive sales of bundled in software with consoles and peripherals games count as sales, this would skew the attach rate.

A lot comes from how well Nintendo's first party software sales were. We tend to forget but just as COD and GTA V dominate the charts now, single SKU Nintendo 1st party titles used to dominate sales charts for multiple years in some cases.

Also, while cross-platform 3rd party sales did badly on the platform, 3rd party titles geared towards the Wii audience did well (Just Dance 3 is the 10th best selling Wii title, for example). And cross platform titles that had a strong attraction to the more casual or younger audience did quite well as well (LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga is the 19th best selling Wii title).

Also remarkable is that every title in the top 150 for the Wii sold over a million copies. PS3 was still better with the Top 200 (and a bit more) selling over 1 million copies. X360 slightly better with top 225 (and a bit more) selling over 1 million copies.

Basically it shows that even though sales were top heavy in favor of Nintendo titles, 3rd parties were also able to find some success on the platform. They just didn't do as well as on the PS3/X360 with most "core" publishers (and hence most cross platform games) not doing as well. Notable exceptions are UBIsoft and others that tailored games for the Wii audience.

It's easy to look at the poor sales of "core" cross platform games on the Wii and conclude that 3rd parties didn't do well on the platform, but that wasn't necessarily the case. Not as well as PS3/X360, but still pretty good for many of them.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That's definitely higher than a lot of monthly sales charts indicate. Is this perhaps influenced by Nintendo's accounting that games bundled with a console count as sales, i.e. why I think Wii Sports is still likely the highest selling video game of all time (>45m) ? If those massive sales of bundled in software with consoles and peripherals games count as sales, this would skew the attach rate.

I don't know how accurate it is, but clearly the notion I shared myself that people bought a Wii with a couple of pack in games and then put it in a cupboard and never bought any other games is a misconception. I think we all know anecdotal evidence of that happening, but it was apparently a minority occurrence.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I don't know how accurate it is, but clearly the notion I shared myself that people bought a Wii with a couple of pack in games and then put it in a cupboard and never bought any other games is a misconception. I think we all know anecdotal evidence of that happening, but it was apparently a minority occurrence.

And yet when you walked into GAME, the Wii section was a quarter the size of the PS3, 360 and DS/3DS sections. In retail it is generally the norm that the shelf space is representative of product demand and movement. I think think SB's point about Nintendo exclusives selling disproportionately well relative to Microsoft rand Sony exclusives may be part of the perceived (mine at least!) attach skew. Mario, Smash and Zelda all sell extraordinarily well (real attach, real sales) relative to Gears, Halo, Uncharted, God War and Spider-Man and it was no different a decade back.

Why? Who the hell knows, somehow Nintendo has managed to keep that hardcore buying their consoles for the few exclusives they actually do release.

Look at Breath of the Wild sales on Switch, it launched on a new console where demand outstripped supply and an older console that nobody wanted yet it smashed Nintendo sales records. I bought a Switch for the long term appeal but the day one appeal was Zelda. You really don't see that with Microsoft and Sony console launches or game sales wider.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

And yet when you walked into GAME, the Wii section was a quarter the size of the PS3, 360 and DS/3DS sections. In retail it is generally the norm that the shelf space is representative of product demand and movement. I think think SB's point about Nintendo exclusives selling disproportionately well relative to Microsoft rand Sony exclusives may be part of the perceived (mine at least!) attach skew. Mario, Smash and Zelda all sell extraordinarily well (real attach, real sales) relative to Gears, Halo, Uncharted, God War and Spider-Man and it was no different a decade back.

Why? Who the hell knows, somehow Nintendo has managed to keep that hardcore buying their consoles for the few exclusives they actually do release.

Look at Breath of the Wild sales on Switch, it launched on a new console where demand outstripped supply and an older console that nobody wanted yet it smashed Nintendo sales records. I bought a Switch for the long term appeal but the day one appeal was Zelda. You really don't see that with Microsoft and Sony console launches or game sales wider.

I think part of why the game sections in traditional gaming stores was relatively tiny for the Wii is that the casual audience that was buying the console (whether for themselves or as a gift for someone else) generally weren't the type to go into game stores.

So they likely went into places like Walmart, Target, Shopko, etc. (US chains) to get Wii and Wii games. I'd imagine it'd be the same in other countries with their equivalent all in one chain stores.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 11852]

So they likely went into places like Walmart, Target, Shopko, etc. (US chains) to get Wii and Wii games. I'd imagine it'd be the same in other countries with their equivalent all in one chain stores.

Could be. I never used to shop in those type of UK-equivilents except in grim times; this was once back in the PS2-era when I failed to pre-order GTA San Andreas and my gaming stores had all sold out. Then things got desperate, I had to go to a Dixons. It was bad, they tried to sell me insurance, sign me up for their store reward card and because it was Dixons, gave me the hard sell on AA batteries when I just wanted to go home and shoot hookers.

 

[goonergaz]

That's definitely higher than a lot of monthly sales charts indicate. Is this perhaps influenced by Nintendo's accounting that games bundled with a console count as sales, i.e. why I think Wii Sports is still likely the highest selling video game of all time (>45m) ? If those massive sales of bundled in software with consoles and peripherals games count as sales, this would skew the attach rate.

Yep, and do t forget Wii move (iirc) where you got games with the extra wiimotes purchased (this was after all the party console). Essentially each Wii sold had a attach rate bonus of +2 (or more) from the get go!

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I have no idea PS3 was selling higher than the PS1 for the first 3 years.
Then again the PS1 was released when the market was smaller and was the console that started growing it to a more mature audience

PS1 launced 9 months earlier in Japan than anywhere else, hence its first year is almost a flat line. Of course being a new kid on the block played a big part as well, but it did sell more between 12-36 months than the PS3, when both were out in major territories and it was still early in their lives.