Is this game over for Sony?

[Erik Aston]

staticneuron said: I agree with you that rumble improved the gaming landscape. Props to Nintendo on that one. But as records show casual gamers do not have the same attach rate as hardcore gamers. Casual gamers may be a slightly larger market but I really don't expect that portion to surpass the 360/PS3 in software sales.

Its possible "casual" gamers don't buy as many games because so few are made for them. With tons of casual games on DS, software sales are killing PSP's "hardcore" games.

And it shows. Red Steel is a horrible game. Ubi expected to make profits and Insomniac expected to lose money. But in turn resistance is a far better game (graphics, gameplay wise and in FUN factor) than red steel.

Are we talking about business or reviewing games? Red Steel got lukewarm reviews because it was pushed for the launch window, but a solid sales performance for the game despite the reviews will encourage other devs. More encouraging then... What is the PS3s big third party hit? Uh... Madden?

http://www.vgcharts.org/usaconscomps.php?name1=PS&name2=N64&type=2 according to this the N64 outsold the PS1 for 3 years before the the PS could catch up. http://www.vgcharts.org/japconscomps.php?name1=N64&name2=PS&type=2&align=0 for japan it shows the N64 had the lead for a little more than a year.

Those charts align the launches. Of course N64 had a bigger launch, seeing it was an established brand. But align those charts by date, and you'll see the N64 never caught up to total PSone sales at any point in either territory.

Your asking the wrong question. It is about PS2 owner seeing thier favorite games on a next gen console. The gameplay and funfactor are not a question. I would like to see the next Shadows of colossus, god of war, DMC, MGS, zone of the enders and many others on the PS3.

Good for you. But a game like MGS4 isn't going to have a draw of more than 6 or 7 million -- like say the biggest games on XB or GC -- and thats by far the biggest franchise you listed.

What exactly are you trying to prove? MS took a loss on the xbox by 4 billion but they are stilll here. Sony can take extreme losses before making the "choice" to back off. Nintendo and sega are mainly game companies. Sega couldn't take the losses and I highly doubt nintendo can as well.

Nintendo has somewhere from 6-10 billion in the bank. They could take an XBox-like hit and survive, but they aren't that foolish.

Your point is kind off. Look at how many units GTA, halo and final fantasies have sold. They have more than recouped thier costs and without a question made more than nintendogs and or any other game that was low in cost to make.

In profits? Maybe in sales, because they were more expensive, but Nintendogs' sales are on par with all of those franchises, even GTA, and the game likely has a higher profit margin per game.

Nintendogs sold 7.93 million, FFVII sold 8.6 million and gears sold 3 mill. GT and GTA are perfect examples of how games can have gameplay and graphics and both of those games came out on the PS2 and have achieved numbers that many games haven't reached.

Nintendogs has sold 11 million and counting. Its outsold every FF game, both Halo games, and will probably pass up GTA3 this year.

Because his point is about risks to 3rd party devs. Returns making it cost prohibitive to dev.... remember. Compare those 3rd party sales to either the xbox or PS line.

Compare the amount of third party releases on the systems. I mean, games can't sell if they don't exist. The Wii is not the Gamecube, and the PS3 is not the PS2, and now that some vastly superior Wii sales numbers are out there, along with the fact that Wii development is faster and cheaper, its going to mean lots of Wii support. We're hearing about studios starting Wii development seemingly every day right now... If Wii is the best selling system, it poses the least risk to 3rd parties, regardless of the GC.

I think it was a very valid question. To this day the best selling game is super mario bro's that was on the NES and the franchise that has sold the most is the mario franchise. Your comparison about DQ is overlooking the amount of titles that square enix has released on the PS line. Plain and simple no matter how hard people are trying here the playstation line has been succesful because of games. They have always talked big and everyone has always ignored them. (instead of people who hate Sony). Third party devs make amazing returns on thier games and Sony's first party games are shapping up to produce some amazing titles as well. Gamers speak with money and whether it is now or later. Whether it is on the Playstation , xbox or wii. Wherever the known heavy hitters go most gamers will follow and also be more apt to trying out new and varying titles. The wii is a fun system but I have a feeling that nintendo's direction is still flawed and they need to reign in some hardcore as well as the casual and "then" the wii will be in the market for success.

The PS line has absolutely been successful because of games. Agreed. But third party devs are not making returns on PS3 games right now... Not in the least. Why do you think there are so many ports from PS3 to 360, and why do you think developers are holding back games until later? Why do you think after the domination of the PS2 that support is evening out between the systems already? It was evening out even before launch. Its not because there's a lot of profit potential on PS3. The known heavy hitters will be very important indeed, but if they were all that mattered, then Sega, Sony, MS, etc never would have even been able to establish themselves. Genesis, PSone, XB all created new important franchises, and PSone totally reshaped the whole landscape of important franchises. It can happen again.