NPD August 2007

[Teasy]

No, you were clear. I know to what you were referring, but the only "superior" aspect of the game was maybe graphics, so I still hold that the PS2/XBOX versions were superior, that is why I commented that half the features of those skus are not in the 360 sku.

EDIT: "...those skus..." would be PS2/XBOX, just for clarification.

http://uk.gamespot.com/wii/sports/madden07/review.html

 

[Teasy]

Does anyone know where VGcharts get there weekly US games charts from? They have a chart, with numbers, for the first week of September already... Surely they don't use some kind of system to predict these numbers?... If so are the chart positions at least fact?

 

[Cheezdoodles]

Does anyone know where VGcharts get there weekly US games charts from? They have a chart, with numbers, for the first week of September already... Surely they don't use some kind of system to predict these numbers?... If so are the chart positions at least fact?

They are mostly decent guesstimates as far as i know, you see them continously fixing their numbers every time NPD numbers are out.

 

[scooby_dooby]

This discussion is about sales right? I doubt most of those who had 360 or wanted to buy a 360 for its hi-def goodness were keen enough to research what modes it supported and even though they had found what it actually was it's unlikely to buy a PS2 version instead just for that.

If by 'research' you mean: Read any mainstream review where Maddon 07 was totally lambasted for missing tons of modes and features, then yes it's probable the hardcore guys did research that stuff.

Not to mention, word of mouth is huge among sports gamers, as to which version is the best, which to buy etc etc.

 

[jb]

doesn't matter... Madden is in a genre/sport with limited games (you either buy Madden or 2k8). if it was another shooter being released in the same month of Halo 3, thats a different story.

I only had enough money to get either Madden or Bioshock as bills took my game fund that month. In the end I went with madden so I could enjoy playing it will my friends so i would not put all those eggs itno that basket just yet..

 

[fearsomepirate]

Does anyone know where VGcharts get there weekly US games charts from? They have a chart, with numbers, for the first week of September already... Surely they don't use some kind of system to predict these numbers?... If so are the chart positions at least fact?

http://www.vgchartz.com/methodology.php

They get some samples and extrapolate using statistics. Too bad they don't report the margin of error on their numbers.

 

[AlphaWolf]

They get some samples and extrapolate using statistics. Too bad they don't report the margin of error on their numbers.

Probably because throwing darts at a dartboard doesn't have a reportable margin of error.

The virus warning I get clicking on a link to vgchartz is hardly reassuring.

 

[Zaphod]

Too bad they don't report the margin of error on their numbers.

They kind'a do, but only in the context of saying that they're 'improving' compared to NPD. In reality, though, they seem to be around +/-30%. For a single data point this might not be too bad, but for looking at trends and doing comparisons it's pretty much useless as there's no good way of predicting how the deviation will turn out.

Obviously they (or someone) could analyze their previous estimates against NPD to calculate the standard error with a reasonable level of confidence, but I guess a straight 'down to the number' estimate flies much better with the demographic they're targeting. Stating that, for example, there's 95% chance that Bioshock sold between 84 and 156 thousand copies this week doesn't generally make for good forum fodder.

 

[RobertR1]

Canada August:

Hardware Aug'07
Nintendo DS 51.8K
Wii 34.4K
Xbox 360 26.7K
PS2 20.8K
PS3 12.7K
PSP 9K
GBA 6.4K

Top 10 Video Games - Aug 2007
360 BIOSHOCK 35K
360 MADDEN NFL 08 23K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE 22K
WII METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION 17K
NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A DAY 13K
PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 W/GUITAR 12.2K
PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 12K
WII MARIO STRIKERS: CHARGED 11.7K
360 GUITAR HERO 2 W/ GUITAR 11K
NDS NEW SUPER MARIO BROS 10.4K

 

[AlphaWolf]

Canada August:

Hardware Aug'07
Nintendo DS 51.8K
Wii 34.4K
Xbox 360 26.7K
PS2 20.8K
PS3 12.7K
PSP 9K
GBA 6.4K

Top 10 Video Games - Aug 2007
360 BIOSHOCK 35K
360 MADDEN NFL 08 23K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE 22K
WII METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION 17K
NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A DAY 13K
PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 W/GUITAR 12.2K
PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 12K
WII MARIO STRIKERS: CHARGED 11.7K
360 GUITAR HERO 2 W/ GUITAR 11K
NDS NEW SUPER MARIO BROS 10.4K

interesting, the wii had been selling better in Canada relative to the US, but that seems to have fallen off this last month. ie 360 is about 1/10th the US, as is the PS3 but the wii is quite a bit less than that.

 

[scooby_dooby]

interesting, the wii had been selling better in Canada relative to the US, but that seems to have fallen off this last month. ie 360 is about 1/10th the US, as is the PS3 but the wii is quite a bit less than that.

Wii is as hard to find as ever in Edmonton, so it's probably a supply issue.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Wii is as hard to find as ever in Edmonton, so it's probably a supply issue.

I find it odd that they'd be supplying less and less of them over time. I would think they would be producing more not less. I suppose they could just be hording them for xmas, but that really makes little sense from a manufacturer perspective. Nintendo is most certainly better off getting them into the hands of the consumers sooner, rather than later.

 

[aselto]

12.5% price drop gave Xbox 360 2 times sales bump. Nice result, it makes me wonder what could happen if there's another (heavily rumoured) pricedrop $50 in October, especially with Halo 3 and NHL 08 on the market.

Nintendo is doing great as always.

 

[AlphaWolf]

12.5% price drop gave Xbox 360 2 times sales bump. Nice result, it makes me wonder what could happen if there's another (heavily rumoured) pricedrop $50 in October, especially with Halo 3 and NHL 08 on the market.

Nintendo is doing great as always.

keep in mind the price drop in Canada for xbox360 was actually more than it was in the US, because they readjusted somewhat for the dollar in Canada it was a 20% drop.

 

[Zaphod]

I find it odd that they'd be supplying less and less of them over time. I would think they would be producing more not less. I suppose they could just be hording them for xmas, but that really makes little sense from a manufacturer perspective. Nintendo is most certainly better off getting them into the hands of the consumers sooner, rather than later.

Compare the following two consumers: Of them is looking for a Wii today and the other one looking two weeks before Christmas. Out of the pair, which one do you think is more likely to keep looking and which one do you think is more likely to jump to an immediately available competitor?

While it is rarely a good thing to be understocked, it's much less an issue in September than it is in December.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Compare the following two consumers: Of them is looking for a Wii today and the other one looking two weeks before Christmas. Out of the pair, which one do you think is more likely to keep looking and which one do you think is more likely to jump to an immediately available competitor?

While it is rarely a good thing to be understocked, it's much less an issue in September than it is in December.

From Nintendos perspective, I would think getting the sale today, is worth at least as much if not more than the one 2 weeks before x-mas.

 

[Zaphod]

From Nintendos perspective, I would think getting the sale today, is worth at least as much if not more than the one 2 weeks before x-mas.

Not really. This goes for lots of the holiday shopping. It's a sale that's just there in potential during the season. If you're not there to get it, it's gone. Your customer will have bought something else. Of course, this is true to some degree all year round, but it's so much more pronounced during the high-volume months.

 

[mrcorbo]

From Nintendos perspective, I would think getting the sale today, is worth at least as much if not more than the one 2 weeks before x-mas.

Not really. This goes for lots of the holiday shopping. It's a sale that's just there in potential during the season. If you're not there to get it, it's gone. Your customer will have bought something else. Of course, this is true to some degree all year round, but it's so much more pronounced during the high-volume months.

I see both perspectives here, but I ultimately have to agree more with Zaphod. A consumer looking during the other parts of the year would be more inclined to wait for exactly what they want. The holiday shopper is under pressure to buy something and if they can't get exactly what they want they are a lot more likely to settle for the next best thing. Little Johnny may be disappointed to find something other than a Wii under the tree, but not as disappointed as if he were to find nothing under the tree.

 

[AlphaWolf]

It has the potential to backfire. The people looking in September may get tired of waiting and pick something else up, and you wind up sitting on some product that doesn't sell in December. The person who buys in september is likely to fill out (or have it filled via gifts) his catalog of games in december anyway. I don't think being intentionally short on supply is ever a good strategy for a profitable piece of hardware.

You know... a bird in hand and all....

 

[dobwal]

It has the potential to backfire. The people looking in September may get tired of waiting and pick something else up, and you wind up sitting on some product that doesn't sell in December. The person who buys in september is likely to fill out (or have it filled via gifts) his catalog of games in december anyway. I don't think being intentionally short on supply is ever a good strategy for a profitable piece of hardware.

You know... a bird in hand and all....

How many potential customers are there in September versus potential customers in November or December?

Allocating some of the non holiday production for the holiday season is a must unless you want to invest in a level of production thats only necessary for two months out of the year.