February NPD data show DS, Wii on top

Shagi...
"What you pointed out is a reason to be very afraid for the future of the video game industry."

Anyone "afraid" for the future of videogames needs to get a life. Period. Watch the news and get some perspective, man. Better yet....get a girlfriend and get some perspective.

Secondly....

Why are you so "afraid" for the future of videogames because of the Wii when as you put it...

"Well I'm making my call on the Wii coming in last place ultimately on the idea that people will recognize superior value, and the superior hardware."

So what you're saying is

- The Wii WILL be last place because superior hardware SHOULD win.

- If, by some freak chance, Wii does stay #1, it will be the end of videogames as we know it.

Seriously...grow the fuck up. You're just a fan boy that wants to make the Wii seem bad no matter how it performs because you like something else better and the Wii is your competition. Either that, or you're a schill.

Derbeste is right Shagi, no normal human being could be that attached to video games. You probably could use some sun. Life outside your parents basement isn't all that bad.

Shagi,

You no longer have the right to call anyone a fanboy.

You must be batshit loco to believe what you just posted.

If anything, Nintendo will save the industy AGAIN because they're keeping the cost of entry under 300 dollars. Do you really want a 400 and 600 dollar console to become the standard?

Thats what I"M afraid of for the industry. IF PS3 ran away with sales at 600 dollars, next gen every console would be 600 dollars.

Your fears are unfounded, and based soley in paranoia. The game crash was caused by EVERYBODY having crappy games and no set standard. Hell, games would play cross system on the same cartridge.

There will not be another home console crash. Not this generation, not next generation.

Now go outside, get some sun, and a girlfriend. Buy a Wii, she'll like to play with it.

Shagi,

I know there's been alot of flames directed towards you. But I understand your concern. I'm going to school for video game development. However, saying the Wii is going to be the end of Video Games, is ludicrous. If anything, now there will be more jobs for people like me out there.

Just relax bro. The Wii isn't going to affect anything drastic (from what you think) except the fact that your mother, brother, father, and grandparents will be casual gamers soon enough.

With Love,
Ken

Most of the NPD results were in line with predictions on the simExchange video game prediction market http://www.thesimexchange.com. I think the only suprises in the top 10 were MLB 2k7 and NBA Street as the predictions weren't all that high for those.

Big surprises were for the more low profile games. Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk continue to do poorly. Fuzion Frenzy 2 did very poorly. Yoshi's Island 2 did very well.

A lot of people are surprised with Wii Play's results for some reason, but the predictions for the game have been in around 4.3 million copies for a while. http://www.thesimexchange.com/stock.php?id=95

Most of the NPD results were in line with predictions on the simExchange video game prediction market http://www.thesimexchange.com. I think the only suprises in the top 10 were MLB 2k7 and NBA Street as the predictions weren't all that high for those.

Big surprises were for the more low profile games. Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk continue to do poorly. Fuzion Frenzy 2 did very poorly. Yoshi's Island 2 did very well.

A lot of people are surprised with Wii Play's results for some reason, but the predictions for the game have been in around 4.3 million copies for a while. http://www.thesimexchange.com/stock.php?id=95

Who the hell bought 24k Game Cubes????? I'm amazed, why not just spend a few extra $$$ and get a Wii which also plays GC games? mind bending.

360 should bring the price down before sony can make their move (HOME, MGS4, etc.)

I could see Sony's strategy. They're fixing their mistakes (voice or music while gaming, no HDMI in package, crappy games, losing exclusives, etc.) little by little under the radar giving excuses saying "we didn't make HOME to fix our mistakes about our crappy online network, we planned it 2 years ago", same thing they said about their sixaxis not copying the wiimote.

So if these plans of sony goes through I think yah Sony will still dominate. If microsoft can counter-campaign this then microsoft will win. If they both neglect nintendo then nintendo will take over.

It's a chess match.

How much is a new GC these days? You can get Wind Waker, Mario Sunshine, and Lego Star Wars for $20 each. But damn, they should've bought a new Wii and then those Player's Choice GC games. Or buy used. Metroid Prime is $6 at EB/GameStop right now.

And yes, I too am worried about the future of video games. I'm worried that if the PS3 dominates, the PS4 will cost about $800, and then Microsoft will be playing catch up with a $600 console. Both of them already raised game prices to $60. Right now, to get a system and a game, you're either spending $250, $460, or $660. That's ridiculous.

Btw movie license games actually nowadays getting decent reviews. If you are worried about craps tell parents there are review sites with loads of info on the game for them so they don't waste money.

Parents are dumb effers until someone guides them to the light. Why aren't you doing your part?

Think about what else the wii has in common with the generation where the gamemarket crashed. Another reason commonly sighted for the game crash is that the market couldn't understand why they needed to pay for another game machine when the graphical differences were barely perceptible to the common casual gamer. So suppose the Wiigoes on to dominate this generation, next generation the companies decide they dont need to improve their hardware, they just need to add some new gimmik to their machines and rebundle them at a low price point.

Doesn't that sound like if the Wii wins we edge closer to the same debacle that happened when games crashed in the early 80s? It sure does to me.

I'm sure most game developers are silently inagrement with my sentiment. No game developer wants weaker tools to work with. No game developer wants to change their design paradigm to appeal to casual gamers, but if this shit takes over they are going to be forced to, and then whos left to cater to the people who grew the industry into what it is today? The answer is no one. At that point we will need a 'crash' to get back to where games need to be so that the people making the games do so beacuse they love making games and dont need to be more than compensated for their time.

I guess the question for casual/hardcore gamer is : Do you play games to waste time, or like wasting time playing games.

Rubang B,

Your only spending that much money if you want a current gen game system...lots of people are still choosing the PS2 for less money. I wouldn't spend all my money on the latest video board every six months, but I do every 1 - 2 years.

Why nintendo even bothered to release a new system instead of a new controller just reeks of profit margins. They could have just released a new controller and some software upgrades and been done with it. Sure the 'everyone votes' channel, or the 'weather' channel is an excellent reason to spend the 250 bucks for a new wii. Yeah and 250 bucks is a good amount to spend on playing all the games i finished through the 80s-90s. Bullshit. Drop the shit. Everyone would be much happier if Nintendo just went 3rd party and didnt sell their crappy hardware. Who would object to a 360 or ps3 with a third party wiimote? No one. But thanks for supporting the GC again! Why dont i just give David jaffe another 150 bucks in advance for the next few GoW sequels and then pay their retail on top of that.

I'm not so dissapointed in the casual gamers cause I know their stupid. The hardcore gamers that are touting the Wii however should be ashamed of themselves.

The control system is unique enough to the Wii that most usual people will be able to see why a new system is warranted. This isn't just new system that people are required to buy in order to play the new games without much of a change inthe system.

The crux of the crash though was an overloading of crap games. Also Nintendo never said that they were never going to raise the graphics bar again it isn't going to be a new practice. They just decided to take a small step forward and sideways to change some things. The main issue we have today and one that is more likely to feed a crash is $400 and $600 dollar game systems. The prices have gotten out of control and while many hardcore gamers will buy them it is actually more of risk to the industry than what you are trying to point out about the Wii. If you doubt me look at the PS2 sales.

LOL! The GBA out sold the PS3. :P

Ken,

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the game industry but people like you going to school to design games are just yet another nail in the coffin of gaming.

No ones gonna teach you good game design, you either got it or you dont.

I can understand learning programming or how to use art tools or business management but a gaming degree is throw away bullshit man. I'd be surprised if any real game companies would even give you a second look once they found out you went to a game design school.

But I do appologize as this is what you've probably been told will get you into the industry. I hope you find a good job as an art director or something where you can feel fulfilled beacuse I hate to see enthusiamn squashed, but a lack of competent designers is the problem, and its not a procedural problem, going to school aint gonna fix that. It wont open any of the right doors either.

Heres what you actually do to get a good game job. Start in the Qa or tech support department. Make some friends that identify with the games you like. Find someone to champion your game idea to superiors.

No one gives a shit that you went to school for game design, get some elbow grease in there in the trenches as QA or tech support, then surprise people with you clever game designs. It cant be taught, no one really cares if you can write up a design document. All that stuff is mechanical and you can learn it. What they are looking for is dedication and talent, school only proves that you dont know what your doing.

Sorry to rain on your parade.

Redspear,

You make a good point, I think whos more accurate on their assesment remains to be seen.

Some people say PS3 will lead because of history. Well, guess what? The PS1 sold 100 million units, when there was no PlayStation brand to speak of. It had a Sony label, but the games had to sell it. Same with the PS3.

Crono,


By the way my girlfriend doesn't like playing the Wii anymore than she likes playing any other system. I have to force her to play them all. Just like sex.

There you have it folks, Shagittarius is a rapist. No wonder he hates on the Wii so much. The friend codes won't let him find more victims!

There you have it folks, Shagittarius is a rapist. No wonder he hates on the Wii so much. The friend codes won't let him find more victims!

"You should have mentioned the fact that at 227K the XBOX 360 isn't selling like it should be at 1.5 years into it's life cycle."

PS2 sales in April 2002 in the US:
190k

Feb 2002 was 420k

Both were before the 1st price drop to $199 from $299.

Look at shagi go! Damn hes on a mission, a mission to spin the truth into something he can swallow. Don't disagree with him lest it 'crash' his fragile little mind. Your a funny fella shagi, have i mentioned that before? But like i said i won't argue with you, the truth is in front of you, if you wish to interpret it however way you like or become an 'analyst' and predict the future with your 'superior taste' in gaming then who am i to stand in your way.

Looking at current sales figures Wii is going to fail tomorrow and Nintendo will go out of business, and the ps3 will sell 100 million in a few years time, and will save the gaming industry!! Horaay!!!

Feel better now shagi?

Shaggi,

Your repeated mantra about how Wii controls are a "gimmick" shows myopic vision more than anything else. Just because some technology is new and threatening, doesn't mean it's a gimmick. I'm sure some people who were used to Pong controllers or the Ms. Pacman joystick thought the D-pad was a "gimmick" and wow, look at the gimmicky industry that sprung up from that. I'd suggest that controllers before the Wiimote were just unintuitive, bad abstractions that designers bought into and created games around. So, relatively, the controls seem "normal" or "hardcore." But what makes more sense? Pressing and holding A + UP + RIGHT or just simply flicking your wiimote up-right in physical space? I kind of think of it this way: imagine we all drove cars, but instead of using a steering wheel, we used a voice-activated system and a joystick to handle co-ordinates, angles, and other variables. All vehicles and entire transportation infrastructures would be built around this, and it would seem "normal," or "hardcore." And then one day someone introduces this thing called a "steering wheel." Because the point of reference is only everything that came before, the steering wheel would be seen as a "gimmick," despite it a) being more intuitive and b) simply making more sense.

I also don't buy into your implication that somehow being a hardcore gamer and a Wii owner are mutually exclusive. If anything, hardcore gamers should love the Wii because it offers NEW and DIFFERENT gameplay experiences -- basically all the conventions that have been recycled for the quarter century.

While I think there is definitely still a place for traditional controls, Nintendo is on the vanguard of something that might change the cultural landscape, the definition of what it means to be a gamer. And you seem to be afraid of that.

Shagittarius, this...

"No ones gonna teach you good game design, you either got it or you dont. "

...is a ridiculous statement.
I don't know if you have been to college, or if you have what you studied, but are you trying to tell me that if you look back on your freshman year that you learned nothing at the point of graduation.
I just finished up school with a degree in Industrial Design, and, while I'm sure that the differences between the ID and game design are huge, I can tell you this...

Design of any kind is, at its most elementary core, an act of problem solving and it can be taught and learned.

Its true that some people simply lack the ability to or drive to apply acquired knowledge, however they can still learn how to design and what makes good design.

This is because design is not subjective, if it was it would be called art or philosophy.

Shagi = The new darryl (Though I don't think darryl ever pretended to have a girlfriend).

Shagi, I have to admit that your posts regarding your concern with the video game industry sounded intriguing....but your subsequent rants gave away your true level of maturity. I find the act of you calling other people "fanboys" the height of hypocrisy.

My apologies to Joystiq for yet another useless post like this.I'd like to seriously suggest to the moderators that the comment system be evaluated.

"81. @ Terrak

Wii sells good because of mass appeal. New innovative technology usually sells like hotcakes for the first year then flatlines. The casual market works in mysterious ways."

First of all, I'm curious to see some examples of this. I'm not disputing your claim, but some evidence supporting it would be nice.

Second of all, your logic is flawed. A console that "sells like hotcakes" for its first year is not suddenly going to die off. If the Wii even somewhat maintains the level of popularity it has now for the rest of the year, developers will flock to it, creating a huge library of games. That game library in turn attracts an even larger install base.

And if this somehow isn't enough and Wii sales rapidly decline in spite of a great selection of third-party titles, Nintendo is in an ideal position as far as pricing. They're making a pretty good chunk of money on each system sold, so they could drop the price by $50 easily, or even $100 if they had to. They can pretty much hit any price they need to in order to attract casual gamers.

Of course, that's not to say that developers will only make casual games to appeal to that demographic. Look at the PS2. It had *tons* of casual gamers, yet it still had the best library of "hardcore" games last generation. The larger a console's install base, the wider the variety of games it can support.

I don't think any of my rants went anywhere they shouldn't have. I stand by my opinion for every word I've posted.

Vince: You ever hear of a cork? Why don't you stick one in it. I'm sorry if my opinions threaten your Nintendo Fanboy leanings, get use to it. Its going to get a lot worse.

I only hope we start seeing people burning their Wiis like they did Disco albums in the 70s.

Shagittarius.. You may not be a fanboy, but you ARE something just as bad, you're a hater with a rather irrational hatred for the Wii. Granted, the Wii isn't the be-all-end-all gaming platform(if it was, I wouldn't have a 360 and wouldn't be contemplating a PS3) but it IS something fresh and to claim that something like it is BAD for the industry is insane(if anything sticking with the status quo would be MORE likely to do it).

Yes, it's had a lot of quick-filler ports, but so did the 360 at launch(ooh, lets make the textures better than the original XBox version and tack on an extra $10 to the price)

Pogo.com and similar sites haven't turned PC/internet gaming into a casual-only zone even WITH their popularity, so why do you think the Wii coming out on top would do so to the console side?

Too bad the following is too big to be a post signature:

==================================================

"I only hope we start seeing people burning their Wiis like they did Disco albums in the 70s."

-Said poster claims he never rants.
-Said poster claims he's not a fanboy

==================================================


Man, fanboys of all kinds creep me out (especially sony and nintendo fanboys). But this shagi guy is definitely a real specimen. Cream of the crop.

-nuff said.

Come on don't be one of those guys who only debates about debating. If you want to refute something lets actually talk about the subject, not about the implications of my style of debate.


Whenever someone doesn't really have anything to say they say something about the art of saying something.

Although interesting, the dollar to dollar comparison for hardware sales is essentially irrelevant. The only significant dollar to dollar comparion might be estimated profit/loss per unit, if you want to look at financial impact on the hardware makers. And in that comparison only Nintendo is in the black.

Nintendo will have to screw up big time to end up #3 this time around. OTOH, if they play their cards right, they will re-invest their revenue into producing better/more software for their hot little machine, which would likely build momentum even more.

Microsoft is in a good position as well, as their software sales are obviously making developers take note. The sooner they can cut the price and increase the heat on Sony, the better. It will also help in terms of price comparisons with the Wii.

Sony...well at least Blu-Ray seems to be winning. They better be able to match Microsoft's price cut, and get some software out there to match up against the XBox library. 9 million sellers is awfully impressive.