NPD November 2008

[Refreshment]

That was a well thought up post Rancid, think it sums up pretty well what people with its feet planted in reality has been saying in this thread.

Have Sony introduced any new colors for Europe or USA yet? In case they haven't they sure missed a good opportunity this past November. Of course the difference in sales would probably be negligible but at least they could change the routine with something a bit more "eye catching".

Maybe a coat of 24K gold at the same 400 U.S. should do the trick.

 

[Mboojigga]

I also must have missed all the reports about how the PS3 was 'rushed'. Everything that I read had the PS3 delayed beyond their original target date due to delays from the Blu-ray diode manufacturing. The system build and architecture weren't rushed, according to my understanding of the situation.

The rush aspect doesn't come from the Hardware but the software and PSN. Prior to the PS3 launching there was a lot of hype about the "new" Playstation Network. After 4 years of Xbox Live and Sony clearly not on the same level of support with the PS2 online service we expected better than what we got. We didn't expect them to take the route they did with the PSP. Alot of the features MS had on both the Xbox and 360 were standard features and when PSN launched we didn't see any standards for the service(we still don't to this day). After the hype they tried to make of the PSN launching in the beginning I expected a lot more than what they offered at the time. The same thing with the software. I wasn't impressed with Resistance or giant enemy crabs. Yet the games I was interested in that we know now took until this year to arrive and still haven't arrived as of yet. Since then most of the games I wanted for the PS3 were now being offered on the 360. So it took me a year after launch to pick up a
PS3 to wait it out for things to get better. I picked up an 80 gig and played Uncharted. My initial purchase was for games first then movies. Since September 07 that has flip flopped from movies and then games second for the system. The other games I bought was Hot Shot Golf and Metal Gear and a couple of PSN titles. The rest were few BR movies. IMO that is where the comment about rushed comes from becasue althought it has drastically improved overtime with PSN it still has that catching up feeling still to this day for me compared to the 360 and my 6 years on Live.

 

[Rangers]

Gamasutra has the top 20.

Fable 2 dropped farrr. Also Banjo was a bomb, less than 180k (we know Fable 2 sold that) at $40.

Also LBP November= 141k http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21509

 

[Tchock]

Wow, amazed at how LBP is NOT selling.

At least F2 will be plat next month, and multiplat before 09 ends.

 

[liolio]

Software is even worse than hardware for SOny they have only two games in the top20.

 

[gongo]

I still think SCE should go third party. They have messed up the marketing and developers' relations. Its not the initial $599 price if Sony could market the PS3 as something desirable to customers and the media. This opportunity have passed and it boils down to a price war with MS now, not the best thing that could happen.....

There are no incentives for Sony to stay a platformer provider when they still lose money for every PS3 sold and the bleeding won't stop and have to suffer worldwide logistics scheduling. It happens to DC and that killed Sega. And no matter how you suck up to 3rd parties, they still prefer working for the other guy just because they are stronger in support. So while you lose more exclusives, you end up with worse versions and you sell less units just from the unforgiving media and word to mouth, suffering hits to your royalties and other bottemline. Sony have built up a strong team at SCE WWS, might as well keep these bunch of talents instead of laying them off.

 

[Silent]

I still think SCE should go third party.

Europe says hi ! Really it baffles me that some are thinking "well it isn't going well in the states so they need to close the books and become a third party developer / the world has fallen". The world doesn't stop at American borders.

Personally I hope the will fixate more on the other regions that goes well because I have the feeling that Sony is giving all the love to a market that they can't dominate anymore.

With the pricedrop and the cashback actions from MS the 360 is also selling better then before in this country.

 

[assen]

I still think SCE should go third party.

They have mostly software problems - look at Home and how well their first party titles are selling - therefore they should go third party?

 

[zawarudo]

I sure hate how most Americans think that just because the PS3 has crappy sales one month in THEIR region, SCE should as well just quit.

If you didn't know, the PS3 has been kicking the Xbox's ass in Europe ever since it launched which only just changed due to the price cut. And that trickles off really soon.

Also, PS3 has consistent 30k sales in Japan per week.

Xbox has 8k.

Who should quit, really?

 

[function]

I sure hate how most Americans think that just because the PS3 has crappy sales one month in THEIR region, SCE should as well just quit.

If you didn't know, the PS3 has been kicking the Xbox's ass in Europe ever since it launched which only just changed due to the price cut. And that trickles off really soon.

If the Xbox has retaken the lead a month after a price cut, the PS3 clearly wasn't kicking the Xbox's ass by that much. Btw, Sony have cut PS3 prices more than MS have cut 360 prices, and in a shorter space of time. Also, MS are actually making a profit, and you can't say we any degree of certainty that Xbox sales are going to trickle off "really soon".

I wish we could get NPD style figures for Europe - the effect of the 360's price cut doesn't seem to have worn off really quickly in America.

Also, PS3 has consistent 30k sales in Japan per week.

Xbox has 8k.

PS3 certainly hasn't had consistent 30K sales a week in Japan. PS3 is doing very badly in Japan, the 360 doing even worse doesn't change this.

Who should quit, really?

I don't think anyone should quit, but if anyone were to quit surely it should be the person losing the most money with the worst prospect of making it back?

Sony are (or were) hoping to make their money back (or most of it) on software sales. Last month's NPD figures don't show great software sales.

 

[Mboojigga]

I sure hate how most Americans think that just because the PS3 has crappy sales one month in THEIR region, SCE should as well just quit.

If you didn't know, the PS3 has been kicking the Xbox's ass in Europe ever since it launched which only just changed due to the price cut. And that trickles off really soon.

Also, PS3 has consistent 30k sales in Japan per week.

Xbox has 8k.

Who should quit, really?

Unless you have numbers to back that up the PS3 has not been consistent at 30k per week in Japan. The 360 has actually outsold the PS3 although both numbers were low at a point in time. I am not calling for anyone to quit but even if it was 30k and you take that number with the US that still doesn't put them any closer with the numbers we see in the states.

 

[Arwin]

I don't think anyone should quit, but if anyone were to quit surely it should be the person losing the most money with the worst prospect of making it back?

Let's not go there and move this thread on? Noone is currently in a position where it is wise to quit. All the investments have been made. The question is how much of it each of the three can make back / profit.

 

[mrcorbo]

They have mostly software problems - look at Home and how well their first party titles are selling - therefore they should go third party?

This reminds me. One of the consistent themes that kept coming up early on in this generation was that Sony's 1st/2nd party studios were going to be a key advantage for them and would offset the loss of 3rd part exclusives. It seemed reasonable at the time.

Then I saw this: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3841/the_mushroom_growth_plan_inside_.php?page=6

This article was referenced in another thread (I can't remember which) to highlight Nintendo's software sales, but the thing that jumped out at me was that as of Sep. 2008 the average PS3 owner had bought *one* Sony-published title.

I found this shocking.

 

[zawarudo]

Unless you have numbers to back that up the PS3 has not been consistent at 30k per week in Japan. The 360 has actually outsold the PS3 although both numbers were low at a point in time. I am not calling for anyone to quit but even if it was 30k and you take that number with the US that still doesn't put them any closer with the numbers we see in the states.

Go look at the numbers for the last 2 weeks plus this one and be my guest at proving me wrong. Since Winning Eleven came out the PS3 has seen a boost.

Also, WKC is coming up real soon. I don't expect numbers to drop anytime before February.

And even if they do, Xbox is still the only console in the market that can sell in only one territory "alright" - the USA.

It is dead in Japan, it was never big in Europe and is 1:1 in the UK by now with the PS3.

 

[Rangers]

Go look at the numbers for the last 2 weeks plus this one and be my guest at proving me wrong. Since Winning Eleven came out the PS3 has seen a boost.

Also, WKC is coming up real soon. I don't expect numbers to drop anytime before February.

And even if they do, Xbox is still the only console in the market that can sell in only one territory "alright" - the USA.

It is dead in Japan, it was never big in Europe and is 1:1 in the UK by now with the PS3.

Naah, it's outselling quite a lot PS3 in UK. 2-1 since September according to MS last statements.

Also while it has seen a week over week boost, PS3 is selling worse right now in Japan than this same time in 07.

 

[mrcorbo]

I have been struggling to try to understand the Wii phenomenon for some time now. It pretty much flies in face of all established conventions of what it takes to create a successful home console and yet is well on its way to becoming the most successful home console of all time.

It seemed unprecedented.

I think I finally figured it out, though. And it actually has a direct precedent. It's just not a home console. It's the DS.

And if the Wii/DS comparison is valid then 3rd parties will eventually figure out how to make and sell games for it (to a greater degree than they already have).

 

[liolio]

Function while I agree with you I would add that MS has almost four time the revenues Sony has though royalties (due to game sales) to make up for whatever is lost on the hardware
On top of that MS is likely to spend less on first party dev teams than Sony.

 

[zawarudo]

Naah, it's outselling quite a lot PS3 in UK. 2-1 since September according to MS last statements.

Also while it has seen a week over week boost, PS3 is selling worse right now in Japan than this same time in 07.

Fair enough, but as I said, that's only due to the recent price cut.

If it wasn't for price point, then nothing would stop the PS3 outselling maybe even the Wii. Consider the price difference and the relatively good PS3 sales for it, and then think about what a $199 price match would do. Yeah.

We keep comparing 360 or Wii sales, which are selling for $150-200 less than the cheapest competitor unit, to the sales of the PS3. Big f*cking surprise the PS3 sales are lower. What do people expect?

Are we ANYWHERE NEAR as stunned when the PS3 outsells the 360 for a month with that price point? No. Of course not.

I love hypocrisy.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Sony is in no way in serious trouble and shutting down PS3 would be detrimental to the gaming division.

Read again - I've been talking about shutting down the complete console division, not just PS3.

 

[Mboojigga]

Go look at the numbers for the last 2 weeks plus this one and be my guest at proving me wrong. Since Winning Eleven came out the PS3 has seen a boost.

Also, WKC is coming up real soon. I don't expect numbers to drop anytime before February.

And even if they do, Xbox is still the only console in the market that can sell in only one territory "alright" - the USA.

It is dead in Japan, it was never big in Europe and is 1:1 in the UK by now with the PS3.

So you don't have offical numbers for any regions is what you are telling me right?