NPD July 2012

[kagemaru]

Really curious to see if MS drops the price this year. They could do a $50 drop this year and another $50 next year. Have the 720 for the high end console market, while also offering a $99 for the lower end market.

Anybody else shocked at Dead Island? I found the game to be extremely entertaining, a lot like Borderlands without the humor, but to still be in the top 10 almost a full year after launch?

How can that be correct?

I think they may have released a GoTY edition last month.

 

[rekator]

Is Dead Island good solo, or does it need co-op to be great?

Solo is good, online co-op is more about fun.

For the sales, there a Goty edition who was the 26th June in n US so boost on the July NPD.

 

[BoardBonobo]

Is Dead Island good solo, or does it need co-op to be great?

It's quite hard on solo and pretty scary in places!! But ploughing through zombies in a 4x4 is just soooo much fun.

 

[Acert93]

Sooo... any one willing to predict what the holidays have in store?

 

[Squilliam]

Sooo... any one willing to predict what the holidays have in store?

My bet is on tumble-weed doing extremely well.

 

[eastmen]

Sooo... any one willing to predict what the holidays have in store?

Lots of bundles.


I really don't know what the industry was thinking. All 3 should have launched systems this year. The xbox 360 is from 2005 !

I think the wii u will sell well just because people are tired of this gen.

 

[Tap In]

Lots of bundles.


I really don't know what the industry was thinking. All 3 should have launched systems this year. The xbox 360 is from 2005 !

I think the wii u will sell well just because people are tired of this gen.

If you go back to posts at release time or shortly after, many of us said 2011 was the date with outside chance at 2012 and slim to none in 2013. as time went on and the legs of the machines started to show (and dashboard, kinect and feature updates released) we all started to see 2013 as a possiblity and now of course probabity.

But even 6 mos ago I was saying 2013 is perfect but with how stagnant the industry seems to be at the moment and how low sales are I'd say 2013 is too far away. Good news is the time will allow a bit more pronounced leap so there's that.

 

[Platon]

Good news is the time will allow a bit more pronounced leap so there's that.

That, or we will get the leap we would in 2011 with high end everything but at a fraction of the price...

 

[Tap In]

That, or we will get the leap we would in 2011 with high end everything but at a fraction of the price...

true :smile:

fear of the competition would make that hard though. Part of me hopes the rumors of MS and Sony agreeing to specs in general for the Devs sake, is true. make things more stable and predictable for all.

 

[Rangers]

I think the wii u will sell well just because people are tired of this gen.

I think that's what a lot of the interest is from, yes. I'd say thats mostly why I pay attention to it.

But I dont think it will sell well, even for the paltry 3-4 months it has on shelves before next gen hype really crushes it.

At the end of the day it will probably be not too far from $400 for what looks like an X360. I dont see that as a winning proposition, even for November-December 2012 and January 2013, before Durango/Orbis hype begins in earnest.

 

[NavNucST3]

I'm interested in why many believe that "people" are eagerly awaiting a new generation. We already have a new handheld generation and the question to ask yourself is if you look at the numbers the new generation of handhelds are doing, with respect to both sell-through and sell-in, and view them as good, middling, or poor.

I'm already on record as believing that the highest selling handheld won't move the same number of units as the lowest selling handheld from the prior generation. While I'm fully aware that the 3DS is above where the DS was, at the current LTD, I neither see that being sustained over the life of the handheld and certainly not once the 3DS comps against the DS Lite. Given that the Vita is selling-in in what one can only describe as poor numbers it already would need to make-up massive ground against its predecessor.

With respect to just US NPD I do believe there are probably a good 2-5M that are awaiting a new generation but I would argue that more people are simply awaiting more games (which is what is frequently noted in the NPD reports - decline in total number of new releases).

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Nah, I don't believe that. And I don't think handhelds compare at all with consoles which is why I was always confused as to how people draw comparisons or even include them in the same lines of discussion.

They are particularly isolated today, when they have to compete with mulit-core phones and tablet devices. I wouldn't take any trend in handhelds and try to draw parallels to the console market.

As far as the success of the WiiU goes.. Does anybody know if Borderlands 2, Bioshock Infinite, BlackOps 2, etc are going to be launch titles for the system?

Because that might help carry it. Why get Bioshock Infitine for the PS3/360 when you can get a brand new WiiU and get the game for that?

Of course, for multiplayer games like Borderlands and BlackOps you probably want to stick with your main console where all your friends are..

 

[Tap In]

With respect to just US NPD I do believe there are probably a good 2-5M that are awaiting a new generation but I would argue that more people are simply awaiting more games (which is what is frequently noted in the NPD reports - decline in total number of new releases).

good point... maybe fall/winter releases will reinvigorate this gen

 

[zed]

Its been quiet the least few months, partly due to the dearth of AAA games I attribute it to also.
Ive asked it before but why do we get most of the AAA titles released sep->dec, yes holiday sales but ppl have only a limited number of dollars. I betcha eg battlefield 3 or something would of sold better than has done if it was launched a couple of months ago, instead of launching the same month as COD

 

[Billy Idol]

Its been quiet the least few months, partly due to the dearth of AAA games I attribute it to also.
Ive asked it before but why do we get most of the AAA titles released sep->dec, yes holiday sales but ppl have only a limited number of dollars. I betcha eg battlefield 3 or something would of sold better than has done if it was launched a couple of months ago, instead of launching the same month as COD

Agreed. This is what I wonder myself. I would give every dollar I have for a game...releasing today! Why?

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

I actually don't understand why summer is a slow time for game releases anyway. Do they think kids play more games during the school year than on break? Isn't that the exact opposite of the reason why the release the big summer blockbuster movies?

Why don't they release the big summer blockbuster AAA games?

I don't get it either.

 

[Billy Idol]

I really wonder if there is a statistic from 1980 where they found out that no one buys games in summer...and publisher still think it is valid.

 

[kagemaru]

I think the wii u will sell well just because people are tired of this gen.

But won't most of the Wii-U's line up be comprised of current gen titles?

But even 6 mos ago I was saying 2013 is perfect but with how stagnant the industry seems to be at the moment and how low sales are I'd say 2013 is too far away

IMO MS and Sony are ignoring (willingly or unwillingly) the low low end market. Black Friday last year showed that there is still a market for these consoles, it's just they are currently priced too high for this market.

I actually don't understand why summer is a slow time for game releases anyway. Do they think kids play more games during the school year than on break? Isn't that the exact opposite of the reason why the release the big summer blockbuster movies?

Why don't they release the big summer blockbuster AAA games?

I don't get it either.

I imagine they assume most people are out enjoying the nicer weather, or going to the movies , so it's best to hold off on most titles. Besides, the vast majority of sales take place during the holiday season, so of course everyone wants their piece of that pie.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

There are a lot of AAA titles in development for the current generation consoles: Assassin's Creed 3, Watchdogs, Beyond, Last of Us, Halo 4, COD BO2, a new Gears game, and so on. A few hundred million dollars' worth of investment in software development altogether, started 2-3 years ago - so there'd be a lot of angry people if the nextgen consoles would be announced now and arriving on the market this year.

 

[babybumb]

I think the wii u will sell well just because people are tired of this gen.

Unless Wii U is a casual success this is not very likely because publishers are sticking to old consoles for the final big releases that have been in development for years.

This is like the worst possible year for Nintendo to launch this system and expect core gamer adoption when they dont have the content of cheaper systems next year.

Xbox 360 was not missing any of the big multiplatform games when it launched. Quite the opposite. It had ton of stuff from PC that PS2 didnt even run

If you were a publishers which of these systems would you greentlight a hardcore game now.

Wii U
PC
PS3
360
PS4
720

I can see Sony/MS having two systems with better 3rd party support than Wii U in 2014 because of the installed base factor of 360/PS3 for many PC/360/PS3/720/PS4 titles to make money. And without the games next year to build coregamer base Wii U just dosent make much sense