People see facts and figures constantly and brush them off as, well, facts and figures. But, when people see charts and graphs they “oooh” and “aaaah” over them because the visualization is easy to understand. Now, thanks to the NPD Group and Deutsche Bank, people are seeing some pretty graphs about the console battle. These show just how well the race is going on all fronts of the war.
Although the data is fairly small the colors show it all, the Wii crossed over the Xbox 360 numbers in unit sales and hasn’t stopped since the launch. Here we are, on the third holiday season since the Wii launch, and people still cannot find them in stores. Shortage? Doubtful. Considering the massive sales numbers and the fact that they did take the 360 in numbers it seems the supply just can’t meet the over-the-top demands, but why is the demand so high for the little Nintendo bundle of joy? People just can’t get enough Wii.
The Xbox 360 has much to brag about as well, they’re not first in the race but their nearest next-generation graphic console, the PlayStation 3, isn’t even close. The chart shows them both rising in much the same way, with the same “pops” along the sales chart but in a completely different scale. Since Microsoft doesn’t want to consider Wii a competitor, they’re clearly winning the war in their eyes.
Oddly enough, one of the big pops in Xbox 360 sales where around the PS3 launch. Perhaps these consumers were waiting for both consoles to launch before making a decision? More than likely, it was holiday related and had little to do with the PS3 launch but it is fun to ponder anyway.
What about software sales? We’ve heard the Wii has little to offer in terms of games while the 360 wipes the floor with the competition.
To our surprise, the Wii is rocking the sales figures in terms of software but still doesn’t compare to the Xbox 360. Microsoft pulls out 93-million units while Nintendo takes home a modest 73-million units in software… yet again Sony doesn’t show up to the fight. Looking at November 2007, you can see the Wii jumps significantly in unit sales, no doubt related to the Super Mario Galaxy launch — once they hit that figure they never looked back and continued to climb.
Although a few of us expected Sony’s PlayStation 3 to make huge progress this year, each month they have marginal growth is causing their competitors to excel beyond anyones imagination. We’re starting to wonder how well Sony’s “10 year plan” is going to work out with their competitors taking advantage of the market now when, in 10-years, they will be sitting on their pile of cash to re-invest in the 8th generation of consoles.
(Thanks, GameDaily)
This weeks gaming podcast covers a bunch of hot topics along with a bit of gaming history. We take a flashback look at Tapper, a great arcade classic and we’ll hit up some popular news articles:
hey,
i have not listen to this episode yet but, i would like to thank you jonah for including a battlefield news article included. is much apreciated from a fan of the series like me :3
@“Family” trailer didn’t sell Dead Island, co-op did
Yep, makes sense for a game to sell due to game play features.
@World of Tanks was dismissed as “cheap Asian stuff” – and GDC Europe
I also had no idea about GDC Europe …
World of Tanks seems a nice game, my brother plays it a lot and he likes it. It has a tech tree that does depart from realism a bit, true, but still, a very interesting game.
@Alleged “Microsoft Xbox Durango Development Kit” sold on eBay for $20,100
So it’s a prototype of the console … basically similar hardware to what the console will use … with a (yet dodgy until patched to be usable by the game devs) software dev kit that will also be provided by Microsoft for a very small fee …
Who buys that stuff?!
I mean sure, you have now (2012) a console that won’t be available (along with its games) until one -two years later,woot!! Now, what games are you going to play on it?
@QOTW:
Hmm, tough call. What usually sets apart MMOs is the fact that you have a lot of players sharing the same world and interacting with each other.
In Facebook games you don’t really do that; it more like Massive Multiple Instances of Single Player Online.
We’ll all miss you Paul! Best of luck on your recovery and you’ll be in our thoughts until your return.
Sorry for posting late in the last few weeks, but I’ve been saving podcasts for when I’m not on the computer and I fell a bit behind. To Paul: get well soon and you will definitely be missed in the next few podcasts.
@QOTW: I think that they should fit in some type of new sub-genre, because MMO to me means roaming a world where you see plenty of other people playing and you can interact with them, not just a game with a large number of people online with a few interactions.
hi guys!
dan, last week… you should have ignored jonah and read with tough sarge’s voice… ¬¬ damn you jonah!
@Deep Silver: “Family” trailer didn’t sell Dead Island, co-op did:
of course! if a game is good, it will sell itself, ads are just for that, TO ADVERTISE!
@DICE: Battlefield 4 isn’t set in the future, talks Bad Company 3:
i will not be getting MoH warfighter for the bf4 beta, just like in BF3, i will probably buy the limited edition and get early access anyways. i wish bf4 were the 2143… far future is so coooool!
and the bad company “series” has still a lot of potential! the single player is full of nice comedy and has a (descent) story. looking forward to see haggs sweetwater and sarge again while playing as marlow!
oh! and a coop drop in drop out campaign would fit nicely!
@QOTW:
mmo means massive MP online. it is simple to see if FB games fit that category, but “classic” mmo’s like WoW, DayZ mod (idk if 40~60 players are already considered as “massive”) and LotR might have distorted the MMO word meaning. summerizing, yes, they are, but not as harcore gamers are used to.
If Paul is listening, by now i hope your surgery did well and you are in a collorful paralel world in drugs enjoying yourself :3. save some pills ‘cuz i want to see how are you in the podcast while high 🙂
GET WELL SOON
@Dead Island
As someone who played Dead Island co-op, I can confirm that it sold the game. Besides, you need to be very shallow to buy a game just because of a trailer. Dead Island is what the Xbox needed for the past 6 years of its existence. A game with a world which can be freely explored by a group of people. And it has zombies wearing bikinis (if you like that kind of stuff). The games single player experience does not even remotely compare to that of Skyrim or Fable. It’s the world’s most boring and lonely zombie apocalypse.
@Battlefields
I must admit, I prefer Bad Company 2 to Battlefield 3. I hope they make a third one. Problem with setting a game in the future (i.e. 2142) is that you have to make up bullshit sci-fi weapons, which don’t appeal to everyone. An AK-47 is a trusted weapon which is loved by gamers and terrorists alike. Battlefield 2142 had walkers, emp granades and active camo. Such gameplay elements required a different set of skills which dominate modern day shooters. A COD fan wouldn’t like 2142.
@Facebook games
Facebook is not a gaming platform.
/thread
Can’t add much. The comments before mine explain it well. MMO are supposed to have people around. So that you can interact with others in real time. Or be like me, and play by yourself to feel alone but surrounded by people.