Nintendo releases third-party sales chart, NPD clarifies some details
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Aug 9th 2008 at 11:00AM }
For the first 20-months at market, which is pretty much what the above graph shows, this is the breakdown:
- Wii: 60 million software units total, 56% are third-party units or 33 million (Nov. '06 through June '08)
- Xbox 360: 35 million software units, 84% third-party or 29 million (Nov. '05 through June '07)
- PS3: 25 million software units, 82% third-party or 20 million (Nov. '06 through June '08)
The life-to-date sales for the Xbox 360, which was out a year before everything else, would skew the numbers to show a total of 82 million units sold, with 82% third-party, for a total of 67 million units. As for the "software" controller bundle known as Wii Play, it has sold 6 million units. If we completely removed Wii Play from the Nintendo figures, it would actually boost the company's third-party data to 62% of a 54 million unit total.
So, obviously, third-party games sell on Wii. The perception that they don't is probably caught up in sales ratios and looking at the 80%-plus third-party sales on the competing consoles. Also, third-party publishers probably aren't looking at just the first 19 months, those companies probably look at the overall sales chart. We've altered the chart above to reflect the big picture in the graph below.
So, obviously, third-party games sell on Wii. The perception that they don't is probably caught up in sales ratios and looking at the 80%-plus third-party sales on the competing consoles. Also, third-party publishers probably aren't looking at just the first 19 months, those companies probably look at the overall sales chart. We've altered the chart above to reflect the big picture in the graph below.
Click to embiggen
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
So Solid Truth @ Aug 9th 2008 11:13AM
So Nintendo's 3rd party is performing better than the rest in the same time frame.
Maybe this will shut up the haters?
Nah it wont!
NFK @ Aug 9th 2008 11:53AM
"So Nintendo's 3rd party is performing better than the rest in the same time frame.
Maybe this will shut up the haters?
Nah it wont!"
How stupid of you. People don't care how much 3rd party games are selling to stupid people, they care about which 3rd party games are good enough for THEM to buy.
T @ Aug 9th 2008 1:38PM
@NFK: Except 3rd party developers don't care if the games suck or not. All they care is if the game they make will sell or not if they support the Wii.
This shows it will.
Ridgecity @ Aug 10th 2008 8:50PM
The will come up with more stupid banter, "Maybe the third parties on Wii sell more, but How many of those third parties can cheat on the wives??? fuck Nintendo!!"
like that NFK explaining this week's new problem with the Wii...
Paul (PSN: heypaul) @ Aug 11th 2008 9:52PM
Isn't this just more spin? They're graphing with the launches aligned instead of real day and date aligned. Wouldn't it tell a different story if we aligned actual month to month?
Bman82 @ Aug 9th 2008 11:15AM
The thing is that most of those third party titles sold for the Wii are the stupid minigae collections that also start at a lower price than games for the 360 or PS3. Imagine what the chart would look like if it was only games with the begnning price point of 50$
So Solid Truth @ Aug 9th 2008 11:16AM
HAHAHA there we go!
Step 1 | Fanboys are proved wrong.
Step 2 | find another fault.
Step 3 | profit
Step 4 |meme
Step 5 |hate fucking internet pop culture.
| So Solid Truth
Kenology @ Aug 9th 2008 11:28AM
Stop moving the goal posts. The original argument was that 3rd party games don't sell on Wii. Not "most of those third party titles sold for the Wii are the stupid minigae collections that also start at a lower price than games for the 360 or PS3". So stay focused and stop adding irrelevant points the the central argument.
DBuck_Eye @ Aug 9th 2008 11:46AM
Last time I checked, the starting price point for the 360 and PS3 was $60.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Aug 9th 2008 12:29PM
Tell you what, when Game Party is looking at 1.5 million in sales and somehow Boom Blox achieving half a million is "ground breaking" and "disproving the idiots," maybe your So Solid Truth suddenly becomes a little flacid.
nick @ Aug 9th 2008 12:39PM
Whats with the "Changing the Goalpost" crap? No one cares that 3rd party Wii games sell.
What any rational gamer would care about is that the vast majority of 3rd party wii games suck. You'd be extremely lucky to find 1 or 2 decent 3rd party Wii games a YEAR. Everything else is monstrosity upon monstrosity.
DonWii @ Aug 9th 2008 12:44PM
@Sheppy,
If Boom Blox was $20 instead of $50, maybe it would have sold three times as well. I know I would have bought it.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Aug 9th 2008 1:07PM
I would of as well. I don't know, I expect to be flamed for this but because of my limited budget, I made a decision which pretty much explains the console chopping order to it's fullest. I have, in my budget, the chance to buy two games and Wii FINALLY had something on deck I wanted (Warioland). And so I looked at the releases and discovered I would have to choose between Disgaea 3... and Warioland. It hurt me deeply to take a look at the first Wii game in a while that I was excited about and say "umm, maybe next month."
bm @ Aug 9th 2008 6:14PM
If Warioland is only the first thing that looks good to you on Wii, well, uhh... opinions and all. Just don't make this out to be a problem with the Wii, just with your definition of a "good game".
Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! @ Aug 9th 2008 11:17AM
So, from this graph, I gather that;
1) the 360 had a great head start
2) the Wii is doing great right now
3) the PS3 is in it for the 10 year plan
Company strategies confirmed!
Cody @ Aug 9th 2008 1:24PM
The sad thing about Microsoft's "head start" plan is that it went from absolutely crucial to almost completely irrelevant in competition to Wii.
matt247 @ Aug 9th 2008 11:20AM
Does this include downloadable games?
Kenology @ Aug 9th 2008 11:35AM
Uhmmm... NO. This is NPD. Since when does NPD count downloadable games in their figures!?
Stevenjazz787 @ Aug 9th 2008 1:04PM
No, it's NPD numbers. NPD only tracks Retail boxed games.
Haggard @ Aug 9th 2008 1:37PM
Which is why PC sales always come out looking low, despite the fact that PC games have a larger share of the market than any other platform.
Wiinterfang @ Aug 9th 2008 11:26AM
Well that shut up some people, for a second.
mr nimblewick @ Aug 9th 2008 11:27AM
Impressive, but unfortunate that this chart won't shut up the haters.
Andrew Martin @ Aug 9th 2008 11:27AM
What would prove a much more interesting statistic and much less difficult to manipulate is what the median and average sales per 3rd party title is across the 3 systems.
Kenology @ Aug 9th 2008 11:37AM
He already put a link to attach rates in the article.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Aug 9th 2008 12:21PM
Yeah, I pointed that out yesterday.
While sales averages will provide the entire story, the sales totals provide an even less clear picture.
How about that, Joystiq? Why not ask NPD what the AVERAGE third party game does in sales/dollars? The totals do nothing to cancel out the shovelware allegations, and as far as I can tell, I can't honestly tell if 3rd party games DO sell on the Wii or not.
How many titles did it take to move those 33 million units on the Wii or the 20 million units on the PS3?
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Aug 9th 2008 12:34PM
ken: The attach rates have nothing to do with what the original poster is asking for. Attach rate shows the average number of total games sold per console.
The OP was asking for the average third-party sales per title...which is nowhere near what attach rate measures.
samfish @ Aug 9th 2008 2:00PM
"While sales averages will provide the entire story, the sales totals provide an even less clear picture."
But like I said, you can't go by sales averages, either. You're comparing mountains to molehills.
The average game for the PS3 or 360 is intended to net somewhere in the neighborhood of 750,000+ in sales. The average Wii game is more likely to be intended to grab 250,000 in sales at best.
Proof of this comes from Capcom saying Zack & Wiki blew past their expectations, or Marvelous releasing a press release trumpeting how successful No More Heroes was. Periodically you have a game that takes off, like Carnival Games or Game Party. And that's great. But those games would have been considered a success at 200,000 in sales, I would imagine.
Comparing the average sales of third party games in general is like asking a Windstar to beat a Cobra in a streetrace. If there were more AAA level titles on the Wii, it would be a valid comparison.
It would be MORE fair to look at multiplatform titles and make a comparison, but even then, there are variables that you could spin one way or the other.
What this chart DOES show is that software does indeed sell, thus further debunking the myth that 3rd party software doesn't sell because it all goes to Nintendo's software.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Aug 9th 2008 3:22PM
"The average game for the PS3 or 360 is intended to net somewhere in the neighborhood of 750,000+ in sales. The average Wii game is more likely to be intended to grab 250,000 in sales at best."
Except that:
1) You just pulled those #s out of your ass.
and
2) You just pulled those #s out of your ass.
Since we can't know what the expected sales targets of each company's individual games, we can't put that data into the argument. So, we have to leave it out. This means that the average is our BEST raw data number. It won't tell the whole story on its own (and for the record, I meant to write my original post to say averages "won't" provide the entire story, but I think I edited the sentence mid-post, and screwed up the sentence structure.) but it's the best number out there...and we haven't seen it yet.
samfish @ Aug 9th 2008 3:45PM
Yes, I'm using my best knowledge and common sense to determine numbers for sales averages.
But if you really think games like Octomania are made with the intention to sell COD4-like numbers, you're nuts.
It doesn't matter that I 'pulled them from my ass', the fact is, most Wii games aren't intended to sell like PS360 games are.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Aug 9th 2008 4:44PM
Yes, samfish, but 360-PS3 games are also not "intended" to sell 3x the quantity of their Wii brethren, and they're nuch likely to be closer to 1:1 than you think, due to the higher retail pricing on PS3-360 titles.
Assuming the publisher/developer makes a generous 50% of the retail value, that's $500,000 for each 100,000 units sold.
Also, don't confuse developers and localization publishers. When a game like Octomania comes out in the US, and it's under a different publisher than it used in Japan, the localization publisher needs to sell far, far fewer units. Octomania may not have been expected to sell COD4 numbers, but the expectations WERE probably pretty damn close to the expectations for Wartech: Senko no Ronde.
samfish @ Aug 9th 2008 7:45PM
"Yes, samfish, but 360-PS3 games are also not "intended" to sell 3x the quantity of their Wii brethren, and they're nuch likely to be closer to 1:1 than you think, due to the higher retail pricing on PS3-360 titles."
It depends on the game, obviously, but they actually more than likely ARE being made with the intention to sell higher numbers, even taking into account retail pricing.
Without a doubt there are games that are being made to sell only a few hundred thousand copies and still make a profit on the PS3 and 360, but there are FAR more games on those consoles that are aiming for higher sales marks than on the Wii.
The point is, the Wii is loaded with games being made on shoestring budgets, for better or worse. Those games are made and intended to make a profit with those budgets and are expected to sell accordingly...which is why you can't really compare PS360 sales, which get a lot more AAA (or 'A' level in general) titles to Wii's titles.
Angusailde @ Aug 9th 2008 11:35AM
Yeah there's way too many crap $20 games on Wii for this to ever be an accurate comparison. No hate towards the Wii per se, but it's the new PS1, where even the tiniest developers are pumping out sub-par games and charging next to nothing for them because they know everyone and their grandma (literally, now!) has one, and is always willing to shell out a $20 for the promise of more mini-game madness.
kingofwale @ Aug 9th 2008 11:37AM
if you are a third party... what do you look at???
the most important data, Number of software by a third party sold on AVERAGE.
How is that comparing to PS360??
Yes, Carnival and WiiPlay sold a buttload, but what about hundreds of other third party games that couldn't sell at all?
Kenology @ Aug 9th 2008 11:43AM
King of Troll: Please refer to the "goal post moving" comments closer to the top of the page.
kingofwale @ Aug 9th 2008 11:51AM
maybe it because nobody actually said "3rd party doesn't sell on Wii"??
More like "3rd party doesn't sell anywhere near the level of other console"
or
"Nintendo owners don't like third party games comparing to 1st party game"
or even
"Nintendo fans turns their back on good third party games. comparing to PS360 console owner"??
Of course, when you create your own version of "stereotype", it becomes a lot easy to defend against it.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Aug 9th 2008 12:30PM
It's not "moving" the goal posts. It's saying, "Hey, Nintendo. The goal posts are over here. Stop kicking the ball into the crowd and celebrating. You don't get any points for that."
Anyone who actually works with numbers and statistics sees the flaws in using the data we currently know. We don't have enough data to make any assumptions now.
Stevenjazz787 @ Aug 9th 2008 2:24PM
No a company looks at profit.
Revenue (Total number sold) - Costs (development)= Profit.
snarfoogle @ Aug 9th 2008 11:43AM
XFD NINTENDO DAMAGE CONTROL
vidGuy @ Aug 9th 2008 11:45AM
So when the PS2 sold more games than any other console, it didn't matter that a large chunk of them were crappy, gimmicky, budget games, but when it happens on Wii it's reason to ignore the numbers? If you want to talk numbers don't condition the discussion by figuring in some subjective view of quality.
Apparently the Wii sells consoles and games. If that ruins your day or your enjoyment of another console something is definitely wrong with you.
Noshino @ Aug 9th 2008 11:47AM
you should really check the ratio between "good" games and shovelware for the PS2 and compare it to the Wii
vidGuy @ Aug 9th 2008 11:49AM
I'm guessing the Wii has a lot more... but, again, what exactly does quality have to do with quantity? This graph isn't measuring quality of third party releases and the argument is not that the Wii has BETTER games.
Noshino @ Aug 9th 2008 3:13PM
Oh, I know that this graph is to prove quantity
I just brought it up because you brought it up
"but, again, what exactly does quality have to do with quantity?"
It does matter a lot, that was one of the reasons as to why the PS2 won last generation, it had both quantity and quality
The PS2 with 1562 titles has an average rating of 68.198%
The Wii with 242 titles has an average rating of 61.415%
Superstar90 @ Aug 9th 2008 6:11PM
Noshino, you can't compare them like that. It's much harder to make a good Wii game than it was to make a good PS2 game. Also, last generation multiplatform games were always PS2 and Gamecube, or PS2 and Xbox, that made for much more excellent multiplat games that the PS2 saw. This generation that doesn't exist. Good multiplatform games are always PS3 and 360.
The reason is because last generation it was much easier to port a game to another system, because they were all essentially the same. Slightly lower power on the PS2, 1 less button on the gamecube, Black and White buttons on the Xbox. This generation, developers don't see the need or want to port their hit PS3/360 game (that sold well) to the Wii. That's why we won't ever see Assassin's Creed, Bioshock or GRID on the Wii.
Finally, last generation the PS2 was not the overly casual, family funtime system that the Wii is now. Instead of Capcom making a new series like Devil May Cry for the Wii, they decided to either port their old games or make relatively friendly games like Zack and Wiki. In the end you have PS3/360 getting the excellent multiplatform games that the PS2 would be getting and the Wii getting the shovelware that the PS2 would be getting. (Obviously there are exceptions...)
Sesur @ Aug 9th 2008 11:45AM
I never doubted that Nintendo sold 3rd party games, but this chart doesn't look anywhere near as rosy as the one with 1st party games included.
Plus the % of sold 3rd party games is a paltry 56% compared to the 84% and 82% from the other guys; but we all know Nintendo is all about 1st party games anyways.
Kenology @ Aug 9th 2008 11:54AM
"Plus the % of sold 3rd party games is a paltry 56% compared to the 84% and 82% from the other guys."
Wins award for LAMEST ATTEMPT AT A SPIN in the history of mankind.
Can imagine Nintendo now:
"Oh shoot! The ratio of 3rd party games sold on our system in only 56%! Quick, cancel all in-house development - put new Zelda, Mario, Kid Icarus projects on the CHOPPING BLOCK! For if we release anymore 1st party games, WE ARE DOOMED!!!
Sesur @ Aug 9th 2008 12:09PM
@Kenology
You're a regular one-man NDF... What exactly did I 'spin'?
I know it's easier to just say "award for lamest _____"(which in itself is fucking lame) and spout out some anecdote about an extremely retarded overreaction from Nintendo but maybe you could say something worth saying?
Vandor @ Aug 10th 2008 9:26AM
Well, your argument is really a spin.
You're saying a 3rd-party developer would rather have his share of 82% of 30 Million than his share of 56% of 60 millions because the percentage is better? Thats highly unlikely because the target market value is 24,6 Milion vs 33,6 (in copies sold and disregarding all the other influences, just talking about the content of your comment). And more profit is always better than more market share.
Noshino @ Aug 9th 2008 11:46AM
Im not a xbox fan, but wouldn't it have been more fair to actually use the same timeframe as the one used for the Wii and PS3? seriously, Nov. '05 through June '07 they were still competing against the PS2
Cool to see that Nintendo's console is selling more 3rd party software than the last 2 generations.
Btw Alexander, since you have access to more reliable sources, could you please find a list of the million sellers and also info as to how Nintendo's 3rd party sales were on the last 2 gens?
Steven Davis @ Aug 9th 2008 11:51AM
The other factor in modest (but still impressive) 3rd party Wii sales is that most of the third party publishers bet strongly AGAINST the Wii at launch and put their resources against the PS3 and Xbox 360 (remember EA, at least, admitted this).
A big factor in the "mini-game" problem with the Wii grows out of this early neglect and efforts to catch up with the popularity of the Wii that they had not anticipated.
Certainly not Nintendo's fault, one way or the other.
The other factor to consider for publishers is development cost. The often criticized graphics for the Wii allow developers to spend less money on development for the title reducing their risk, allowing the to put more titles out, and making the games more profitable.
Since the lead time for games is 2 to 3 years, it is likely that by next year's E3 we will be seeing more games and more flagship games for the Wii. As the leading console by sales, publishers would be foolish not to direct their best resources towards the console. Graphics certainly don't drive great game design. There continue to be some amazing new games that appear for the PS2.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Aug 9th 2008 12:22PM
So what you're saying is...
Quality Third Party Wii Games: "This is waiting..."
...irony...