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Mummelmann on 11 February 2015
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Shadow1980 said:
Mummelmann said:


Is that why the 360 caught the Wii in the US?


Third-party games, man. The 360 had them, the Wii didn't. And I mean "real" AAA third-party games. GTA, COD, Battlefield, Elder Scrolls, Red Dead, Batman: Arkham, Final Fantasy, Assassin's Creed, Fallout, BioShock, Resident Evil, Mass Effect, Borderlands, Dragon Age, Saint's Row, Far Cry, Mirror's Edge, Rainbow Six, Mortal Kombat, Portal, Street Fighter, Dead Rising, Crysis, Soul Calibur, and so on and so on and so on. Except for a few half-assed COD ports, the Wii didn't get any of these games. Its third-party offerings consisted almost entirely of party games and shovelware, leaving the system to subsist primarily on Nintendo's own first-party output, which dried up rapidly after the system's peak years. Its last major game was 2011's Skyward Sword. Strong long-term software support is key for good long-term hardware sales. That's why the NES, SNES, PS1, PS2, 360, & PS3 all had much stronger legs than the N64, GC, and Wii.

That's kind of my point though; there is historical data and there are trends we can analyze but there are no given rules set in stone when it comes to console sales, which is why I'm so opposed to statements like Mattrick's. It was the same with the "Wii is tracking above the PS2, it is guaranteed to outsell it lifetime!" or the "Anyone can see based on the trends that the Wii will easily get to 50% marketshare.", "But the market leader always has great 3rd party support!", "Why on earth would Nintendo release their 8th gen console first when they're selling like hotcakes?", "Smart devices will not impact handhelds.", "The PS3 will come back and win the 7th generation.", "The Wii U will have a great comeback."

Etc etc etc; it's almost as if people have learned nothing. The same thing is happening with the PS4; people are seeing the sales pace it set in its first full CY, they see that it is above the PS2, hence the PS4 must outsell the PS2, taking measure of nothing but one year worth of data in the analysis on the fly and nothing else of any depth or value.

I understand why the 360 caught the Wii in the US, I also understand why it went on and gave the PS3 a proper challenge globally.

Fortunately; you appear to be one of the users who have learned a great deal, which is refreshing.