So, uh...what the fuck?

The PS4 and Xone have been selling great since launch. Yet when I look at the software charts, NSMBU and Luigi U being bundled with the WiiU was enough for them to handily beat every retail game on the Xone/PS4 this week. 3D World was even higher, being the only next-gen title in the top 10. Not only that, but goddamned Rocksmith on the 360 (67,000) sold more than all the exclusives on those systems. Forza 5 was highest for the Xone at 62k, while Shadow Fall for PS4 is too low for it's number to be listed. And that's the only PS4 exclusive that made the top 75, despite it being the highest selling next gen console this week.

While 3D World selling well is hardly a reason to be upset, I bring this up because this comes in the wake of software being down by 24% compared to November 2012, according to NPD. This despite two brand new consoles coming out that sold gangbusters, and new Battlefield, COD, Arkham, Pokemon and GTA games being on the market. Likewise, VGChartz also has total US software last year (December 22nd 2012) ahead by about 2 million units.

What the hell?

Despite three new consoles on the market, tons of big releases, several crazily priced bundles, and the overall market for games being way bigger than in '05/'06, the slide in game sales we've been seeing over the past few years isn't slowing down. There's no reason sales shouldn't be higher than last year, let alone down by 25%. And there's no way such a big drop could just be the result of digital sales in the wake of everything that's come out recently.

What is going on?

I think it might be a problem with software tracking- I don't see how this could have happened otherwise

Those numbers are pure estimates and are subject to change in the coming weeks. Vgchartz was never right the first time on their estimates(guesses).

Sure as hell hope so.

Ok people, let's think about this for a second. A lot of these new consoles were probably bought by parents for their kids. Kids don't typically have a lot of money to get a bunch of new games right away, and their parents probably aren't going to buy them more games for a while. Also, a lot of the ps4/xbone owners probably have little money left for games at the moment seeing as how the xbone and ps4 are so ridiculously expensive. It's simple; the more expensive the console the less software that console will sell in the short run because people don't have as much money to spend on games then.

Well, there also aren't a whole lot of good games.

Digital Downloads + Probably underestimates on Software Sales.

Well, buying a new console isn't exactly cheap. Most of us picks up quite a few games, but a lot of people consider their gaming budged done for after investing 400-500$. Not sure if this is the cause, but I see it as a factor.

/thread. X'D

It's simple. PS4 and One didn't increase software demand because they're not expanding the market. They're only replacing PS3 sales with PS4 ones.

So there's no reason to expect total software unit sales to be up. Even CoD is significantly down year-over-year confirmed by Activision.

I expect this to mislead companies into investing way too much in next-gen and then losing money when sales don't increase.