Report: Hardcore Wii games sell poorly
Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 11:33am by Blake
A new report by the New York Times says “new Wii games find a big (but stingy) audience” and questions why some retailers are having so much trouble selling Wii games. From the article:
Take Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was one the most hotly anticipated video games of the year; it sold more than 1.4 million copies during the first week of its release, in early March, and broke records for Nintendo of America… But sales dropped more than 90 percent over the first four weeks, according to estimates from VG Chartz, a team of analysts who study video-game sales. Some major retail chains — including Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us — have already begun bundling the Smash Bros. game with Wii machines for sales online, a sign that the base of hard-core gamers who went looking for the game has been depleted.
It would be interesting to see a proper comparison of under performing Xbox 360 and PS3 games to determine if Wii titles are really selling abnormally slow. Critically-acclaimed commercial flops have always existed in video games, no? But has Wii complicated the problem?
[Thanks, Dustin!]
April 21st, 2008 at 11:55 am
That’s an entirely retarded assertation considering that the ‘two week window’ applies to all hardcore games on all systems and has done for several years. To single Wii out is baseless. More importantly one should consider that certain ‘hardcore’ games such as Zelda and Mario continue to place in the charts even now, indicating a far longer long tal for Wii hardcore games than the typical competition. Finally, to say that a 90% drop off is a sign of failure is disingenuous when taking into account that now in week 5, Smash Bros is still hitting >100,000 a week in the US (according to Vgchartz), and appart from the initial drop, is sustaining momentum for better than regular ‘hardcore’ games.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:05 pm
That is a good point, 1.4 million to a rate that is still higher than most “hardcore” games is still 90% drop off.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Reading this article leaves me full of doubt.
“But sales dropped more than 90 percent over the first four weeks, according to estimates from VG Chartz, a team of analysts who study video-game sales.”
This is a side-effect of selling a HUGE amount of copies so quickly. Of course there is a large (percentage) drop in sales after the first couple of weeks. There has been a countdown for months, and ridiculous sales totals so far… but that doesn’t mean the game won’t continue to sell well over time.
Also, ask any Sony fanboy what they think of VG Chartz and you’ll get a colorful response. That website has a limited history of providing information, and a questionable reputation so far.
“Some major retail chains — including Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us — have already begun bundling the Smash Bros. game with Wii machines for sales online, a sign that the base of hard-core gamers who went looking for the game has been depleted.”
That’s why Sony is bundling the upcoming Metal Gear with PS3 systems, because the hard-core audience is already depleted… right? Not likely. This leap of logic doesn’t really make sense to me, especially without any reference to back it up.
“A number of games that garnered critical acclaim in recent months, notably the cartoonish action-adventure game Zack & Wiki and the off-kilter action-adventure No More Heroes, have yielded disappointing sales.”
It’s good that the New York Times can (without offering ANY numbers for actual or expected sales) inform us of what titles failed to meet expectations. Especially since most companies don’t announce their sales predictions for new franchises with minimal advertising budgets and niche titles.
“Over the first three months of the year, only three other Wii titles broke the list of top 10 best-selling games compiled by the NPD Group, a market research firm: Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero III and Wii Play, a sports game that comes with the purchase of a much-needed additional game controller. The Wii may not be behind the success of all those titles, though; Guitar Hero, for example, sold 2.2 million copies for the Wii, but 2.8 million copies for the Xbox 360 and almost 5 million for two versions of the PlayStation.”
Unless they show the full Top 10 list offered by NPD, this looks suspiciously like more half-baked numbers. What were the other top sellers? And what is the breakdown for PS2/PS3 numbers?
“The average Wii owner buys only 3.7 games a year, compared with 4.7 for Xbox 360 owners and 4.6 for PlayStation 3 owners, said a Wedbush Morgan analyst, Michael Pachter.”
No source is listed, so I don’t know where these numbers come from… but Mr Pachter forgot to mention that Wii has a significantly larger worldwide userbase than either the 360 or PS3.
Whatever. The Wii is a fad anyway. Or some kind of virus that nobody turns on anymore and collects dust.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
One has to consider that yes there is going to be a drop off after an anticipated title hits. The pre-orders sell the first big push and then it continues to sell at a much lower rate. Did Halo 3 continue to sell millions of copies weeks after its initial release? Brawl did not fail, these figures don’t even factor in Japan or the fact that it was the number one selling game for the month regardless of platform. The fact is we are seeing so many of these reports because the Wii is starting to shape up looking at the THQ and Nintendo Events coupled with the existing library and items like Fatal Frame 4 coming to the Wii they need to deflate it fast. Whenever any console is flying high is when you will see the most negative press as everyone wants to be the one who says Nintendo has no clothes.
Nintendo is fully clothed. The outfit may not be as ostentatious as most people think it should be but they got themselves covered.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
It will be interesting to see what happens w/ Mario Kart sales. Obviously the hardcore will pick it up day one, but I’m very skeptical it’ll bridge the gap the way Nintendo thinks.
For instance, Nintendo came to Denver this weekend for Mario Kart hands on. My wife (”non-gamer”) tried it out and did not like the wheel at all. In fact, she said if she had to play, she’d use the joystick ala Double Dash.
I on the other hand, was disappointed at the slow speed and width of the tracks. Ironically, we both walk away disappointed. Pity.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Halo 3 sales from VG Chartz is:
Week 1: 2,844837
Week 5: 79,410
Brawl sales from VB Chartz is:
Week 1: 1,576,990
Week 5: 100,842
April 21st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
That is U.S. sales.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I think this is the norm. It’s mostly since the realease of the DS and the Wii that you see some games that have real legs. The Brain Age games, Wii Play, Wii Sports (in Japan) and New Super Mario Brothers stay on the charts long after they have been relesed. This is unusual though. Most sales of hardcore games drop off quickly.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
So I’m outside the average since I bought 10 Wii games last year and have already bought 5 THIS year? I’ve never liked “attach rates” since they are noooot accurate AT ALL. And half of my Wii purchases have been for 3rd party games soooo…
April 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
yeah, attach rate is bogus. first, GH3 for ps3 definitely sold less then on Wii.
GH3 360 had the advantage of 2 having already been released on the system, ps2 already having that advantage, so if people even wanted the Wii version, the appeal of saving the money (getting to buy the cheaper game only pack, and no need for buying a second guitar, since they have the old equipment) is very appealing. my roommate did the same thing since he doesnt play games online enough to warrant all that extra money. he also rarely plays his ps2 now unlike the Wii, but large savings is a big deal in sales considerations.
second, attach rate as many of you know doesnt mean anything because the larger the fanbase the larger the spread of people buying a larger spread of game titles.
it will be lowers more by people buying just 1-3 games a year. but overall the amount of games selling on Wii is so large it still favors Wii in the end.
this isnt the first time the NYTimes has been wrong and small minded about a subject. i just cant believe they got on the bandwagon to promote Wii as being poor for software sales.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I guess at the end of the day we see so much of this stuff because coming into this Nintendo had so much to prove. Now that they have seen some success it is still put under scrutiny because it was such a departure. The Wii will do fine even if it does not “win the console war.” Honestly I am having a blast with all kinds of games from No More Heroes and Smash to Mario Party and Rabbids Two(party nights).
That taken into account there is one very important statement made in the article. I think it is Michal Pachter says that adds in 1up will not sell games to the bulk of the Wii install base. Where was the Spike TV add for No More Heroes?
April 21st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Well maybe if more companies that aren’t Nintendo started putting real effort into games they’d sell. There’s no point in bitching about halfassed games not selling well. Pretty much every game that actually had effort put into it has done fairly well.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Elmer with the first comment nails it. This happens with all “hardcore” games, and will continue to get worse in time. These games are “blockbusters” in that they blow their load in the first two weeks and then taper off markedly. Happens with all systems, but it’s especially bad for systems that, say, have based their entire business strategy on blockbusters and a certain type of consumer.
Coming soon: The same thing will happen with Metal Gear Solid 4.
Sounds like some journalist was eager to jump on the “it will fade” bandwagon with the Wii again.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
hahahahaha- Nintendo Defense Force… Assemble!!!!
Wii owners buy fewer games. I mean, who didn’t see that coming?
April 21st, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Ok deepthought we won’t defend it we will analyze it. The big thing that is being washed under the torrent of fanboy and flame is the issue of promotion. Consider the Wii is dominantly purchased by a more mainstream audience who does not go to the game store every time they are out to see what is new. OK how do we reach them? TV ads would be a good start Nintendo is almost the only developer actively advertising the software. I have seen Mario and Sonic ads and it has done well, also when the system launched most of the early successes were also heavily advertised.
I think that this thread can be turned away from the fanboy discussion and critically examine whether or not poor software sales are a reflection of audience, quality or promotion. Thank you deepthought for steering us back on track.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
always happy to help! i think it’s audience. i see the wii audience as being interested in dedicating less money towards gaming that most of us on this forum allocate. i also think nintendo expected a lower tie ratio. that’s why it was important to earn $$ on the console sales.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
WOW Smash and mario kart are out in other regions and they did really well. Hell Smash actually beat Halo 3. Ok a 90% drop but if you look at the list what games are still on top for that month.
Simply put the hardcore games on an platform are a very small minority. The Wii vs HD gaming shows this. Also MK has totally crush GT on the PS3 in europe of all places!
Believe me hardcore gamers will be buying Wii fit…..LOL!
Also deepthough the Wii does not need defense when it sold 700k while the other system did around 200k. Smash is still at the top of the software charts even with a 90% drop off rate.
Also put this into context it shows nintendo does not make artificial constraints also. It seems every one that wanted the game got it minus the 300-500k next month that buy a Wii.
Hey let them say what they want. Just remember I don’t really remember any mountain dew ads with smash on it. Also if the casuals didn’t buy this then that a lot of hardcore showing up on a system that suppose to cater to casuals. Seriously dusty bunnies around the globe should buy this game!
I mean really Deep… laugh at some one who is right is rather silly isn’t it. Your console of choice got crushed, smash still got 1# on the chart even though sales dropped off in two weeks! I’m sure most publisher would be ok with those type of numbers.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Nintendo knows the hardcore gamer spends most of his time gaming. Thus their income is pretty low a lot of times. Not paying a lot for gaming just makes sense to way more people.
I mean PS3 sales have been forgettable. The xbox 360 is the only console you can actually say is giving the Wii some competition. Yet that is not the case world wide. The xbox 360 is seen as a dead horse.
Look at how many times the fan bois of other console try to ignore the Wii sale figures and even get mad when they can’t!
We are only stating that this is a story written for people who buy stock and it is masterful in how it is skewed and on top of that uses VGcharts of all places. This reeks of a fan boy in the ranks of the NYtimes. I mean really he may be able to get a PS3 or a xbox 360 but those PS2 players won’t be buying that stuff.
Hey but what ever….. I mean it’s not really helping their case is it? The Wii and it’s top games are doing very well even with lots of anti hype around them.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
haha- wait, what?
i knew this thread would get fun… ‘the Wii does not need defense ‘. irony ftw much? and something about my console being crushed… i’m so lost.
the relevant point in this thread that I was hinting at (and with all due respect to fight club) is that you’re not how much money you have in the bank. you’re not the car you drive. you’re not the contents of your wallet. and youre not your console.
or its sales. i think hunter understood that.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I still think the issue of advertising needs to be addressed. No More Heroes did OK, but an ad during wrestling would have gone a long way especially considering Travis’ Lucha Libre style. People won’t buy games based on box art that often anymore.
Hell even on another platform a new IP of its nature would need some marketing to get it noticed. I think it is an issue worth discussing. Someone needs to do a statistical analysis of sales of games related to marketing push. Think about a bomb like Okami on PS2 I did not hear about it until after the fiasco because at the time I couldn’t have told you what Kotaku was. Think about it forum trawlers are a more rare breed than the people for which the net is for Facebook and online banking.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I’ve been on the fence about No More Heros, but after watching Zero Punctuation’s review last night, I’m going to pick it up.
—–
Anyway, negative Wii press gets clicks… Time’s article is rather silly.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I think HunterGrant is right. No More Heroes, Zack and Wiki, Okami and Medal of Honor Heroes 2; 3 great games and one average game with great controls, but little to no marketing. How many copies would Zack and Wiki have sold with a strong television ad campaign? I can imagine a commercial showing some of the puzzles and people working together to solve them. I think this would have interested the consumer. Geometry Wars Galaxies is another prime example. It sold abysmally. People probably thought they were getting ripped off because Geometry Wars on the 360 was downloadable for $5. How would they know it was a full fledged game? Hell only people that come to sites like this would even know it was out. If you want to reach that mass market of Wii owners, you need to advertise the games.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Exactly no advertising for those games, but every time I turn around I see a Mass Effect commercial.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
the sales will pick up… im not exactly where the complains come from.. smash sold almost 3 million in one month .what did they expect..? and quality wii games will sell.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Metroid Prime 3 sold very well, in its first week.
Then its sales flopped.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:32 am
Yes it is a shame that Metroid did not do as well as it should have. Unfortunately Metroid was not promoted to the extent that Brawl was. Furthermore I fear that Red Steel may have left a bad taste in too many people’s mouths. Metroid is a niche title and would have needed a bigger marketing push. In that regard Nintendo failed to appropriately market it. Also it came out on Halo 3/Bioshock Street which for the core it may not have held up against in hype.
One thing that may be affecting the sales of hardcore games as well could be these two factors. The Wii continues to sell out. Someone out there may be dying to play both of these titles, but still can not manage to get their hands on the console that plays it. These games could end up having long tails and get a boost by a price drop.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Brawl sales dropping after three weeks is easy to understand: as word has spread that the online portion is less than stellar (http://www.infendo.com/wii/rant-brawl-online/), most would-be buyers are just sticking to replaying Melee! Without online play, there isn’t that much difference between the two…
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
http://www.videogamelibrarian.com/2008/04/ny-times-says-wii-game-sales-are-weak.html
A “by the numbers” rebuttal, showing how the NY Times article misrepresented the information they quoted. I smelled a ton of BS when reading the original article, so it’s nice to see that the conclusions really were based on manipulated data instead of actual events.
April 24th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I totally posted this crap on the wrong article, so I feel like reposting it here. Pretty much what you all have already said.
After the same period of time here’s the dropoff for other games:
SSBB: 91.0%
Halo 3: 97.2%
Halo 2: 91.8%
GTA: SA: 82.0%
Gran Turismo 4: 91.1%
Twilight Princess: 66.1%
COD 4 (X360): 65.9%
Gears of War: 64.6%
Madden 07: 92.5%
SMG: 56.3% (and the next week, presumably holiday shopping: 10.2%)
So, what I see is that blockbuster openings translate into a huge dropoff. Duh. What a stupid article. Who paid him? Cause we all know that Halo 3 game was a flop.
Oh, and let’s do a GHIII comparison across all four platforms at week 5.
Wii: 63.4%
PS2: 50.8%
PS3: 65.3%
X360: 87.6%
By their logic, everything should be on the PS2 still.