Nintendo: Don't panic, Chinatown Wars will do just fine ... probably

210 by end of today with an additional 35 tommorrow and then its on to the next big fanboy war inciting story!

I think people are kinda burned out on this topic already.

I'm saying no more than 73 absolute max

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I don't think we'll even hit 50...we had this same discussion on M rated sales for Nintendo the other day.

When one of the biggest series in gaming barely scratches the 100,000 mark on a handheld with by far the largest userbase of any _ever_... At the very least, that has to say something.

@Insight:

It does say something--it says it's doing better than a couple of other million selling DS games in the first two weeks. So, let's avoid trying to make the numbers say something that they don't.

It's because we compare them to the sales of games like Petz and Imagine Fashion Designer. And there are clearly more stupid people in the world than there are smart.

"it says it's doing better than a couple of other million selling DS games in the first two weeks."

How many of those titles were M-rated games on a system that has a home mostly in the hands of children?

So many people twist and misunderstand this argument.

Nobody is trying to say that Chinatown Wars is a bad game because it didn't sell three billion copies. Nobody. Noooooooobody

What people are saying is that, while games like this and Madworld may have 'met expectations', what happens in the minds of prospective developers when they look at these sales numbers? What if they want to make an epic, something truly system defining on the DS or the Wii, but can't find justification due to the idea that they may not get back their return?

Something I've noticed with the DS is that, since it's a handheld, for some reason, there isn't really an urge to immediately buy plenty of the games that come out for it, great though they might be. I fully expect this game to bring in GTA-like sales numbers over time, as MANY DS games have done before in the past. The Wii, on the other hand...

Basically, what I'm saying is (and I understand that due to what I just brought up this argument doesn't really apply to the DS) that these devs can go and say that these sales met expectations and whatever, but they are in no way encouraging to other developers, and therefore we won't see the boom of 'core' games that many gamers were theorizing would materialize once games like this, Madworld, etc. 'sold hundreds of thousands of copies and proved a core presence'.

It's just because they expect a great game to sell well. It's disappointing to developers and designers to see their work sell unsuccessfully even though its critically acclaimed.

lol... she would be giggling while putting some XTC and Weed from her bag to the dealer.

talking about weed, Happy 420 Joystiq!

Please, enough with the stupid 420 references.

On May 15th it'll have been 10 years since I last smoked any weed.

samfish,
You quite weed on my parent's anniversary? Are you...dad?!

Hey Markez, is OB going off yet? I'm sure the suffocating smell of patchouli and the cacophony of bongo drums have overtaken the town by now.

They closed off the pier parking lot for this over the weekend - http://obglobalrock.org/ - it's definitely getting a lot busier at the beach on the weekends, but at least you can park next to the beach unlike PB :P I love OB, gets a bad rap sometimes.

I'm guessing the picture for beach cleanup in the link is from the 4th of July or something.

Well, I was talking more about today specifically. I didn't know there was a big concert over the weekend. OB does get unfairly associated with PB. It is way more chill and pleasant.

It was funny back when a buddy of mine moved out here to IB. Single lad looking to start meeting some ladies, took him awhile to figure out why he'd get funny or 'ewwww' kinda looks from girls when he told them he was from IB.

Wow, I knew IB has an image problem with outsiders, but I had no idea that it was a deal breaker.

What girls don't realize is that us guys from IB have incredible immune systems from swimming in IB ocean water our entire lives. My children are going to be completely impervious to bacteria.

Yeah, it's the first game I bought for my DSi, great game BTW.

Yes, but the DS is natively more of a level playing field for 3rd parties, traditional for Nintendo handhelds

Fernando

"just look at World at War... it sold less than GTA DS and now is above the PS3 version."

I'm curious where you are getting your information from. I don't like to use information from VG Chartz but since you do I'll go ahead and say the PS3 has outsold the Wii version by a margain of 3:1 and has outsold every week since release.

http://vgchartz.com/swlaunch.php?reg1=All&game1=Call+Of+Duty%3A+World+At+War+-+PS3®2=All&game2=Call+Of+Duty%3A+World+At+War+-+Wii®3=All&game3=&weeks=100&weekly=1

That information could certainly be innacurate but I would love to hear a source for your ascertion. I've never seen anything to suggest the Wii version sold better than the PS3 version.

En serio Fernando? Crees que logre vender sobre las 500,000 copias??

"People always forget how third party titles sell on Wii..."

What you forget is that that only applies to a small number of third party games, the majority of which being games that really don't have much appeal in the core market. I'm talking stuff like Mario and Sonic, not games like De Blob which did have appeal, just not enough people willing to hype it then actually, you know, buy it.

It is in no way encouraging to developers to see games sell like this on a system with over 40 million users, Fernando.

"People always forget how third party titles sell on Wii"

No, I think pretty much everyone knows by now they bomb.

Lego Star Wars was extremely creative, original, had a lot of unlockables, great replay value, the multiplayer was great and it was just plain fun to play.

The constant stream of re-skinned sequels for the game hold up less well, but they're still fun.

GTA : Chinatown Warz?

I kinda think that's the point.. the install base for the DS is *mostly* children. which is why nintendo is trying to say the game will do fine- it doesn't want to lose future triple-a ports.

maybe all DS games should include a puppy petting minigame

The driving is by far the best of any of the GTA games. it locks you onto the road in a straight path so you are not bouncing off of cars like u do in 3, VC, and SA. GTA4 has pretty good driving.

Even the cars in CW are impressive. a hand held with that many cars that all feel different from one an other and not being a racer at that.

ermm try a different car.you must be THE one .

Thank you Kenny Powers for debunking the comparison to Spore Creatures and Lego Star Wars. The three games couldn't share a more diverse target demographic. I'm pretty sure it will sell over 500,000 copies but even then it should be considered one of the many "great game, horrible sales" club.

Let's not forget that this was the sole "OMG megaton" dropped at the big N's E3 press conference last year for their best selling platform.

well on that regard, Spore is a comparable example because,while casual you balance it with 2 other factors:its not a very highly accomplished in quality as a game, lowering its sales, and 2:it wasnt heavily advertised.And 3rd,the concept itself was ALSO a niche title, sure pg friendly but not honestly many gamer friendly.Its a simulation game at heart, not exactly what most DS owners are into. GT CW is a pure action game at heart and more appealing to the 17+crowd than Spore is to the pg all crowd.To tell you the truth, while you would be shocked if it hits a mil, im certain it would beat it at the very least.
and now look, its sales are bigger than spore where at this stage, in this SLOW season.Every indication shows that my conclussion is the most favorable.So from that to shock theres a longshot.

"I'm pretty sure it will sell over 500,000 copies" right now 500k copies were pirated.

I own dozens of DS games and several Wii games but I can't remember the last time I rushed out to get a game day one for those systems (except for the console launch). I just recently got Castlevania: Order of Escala on the DS even though it was one of my must have titles for the system and I waited a long time before I finally got around to snagging Mad World.