| PotentHerbs said: I don't disagree that those bundles added a few million in sales, but when it comes to LudicrousSpeed using the term "massively bundled," the intention is to downplay. You think those bundles added millions to GoW's lifetime total, he thinks those bundles are the driving force for GoW's lifetime total, despite whatever he might claim. Regardless, there is a lot of nuance when it comes to bundles, GoW might have been bundled with HZD + TLOU, but that doesn't mean that millions of that bundle was in stock, that it was a bundle among every retailer, if it was available outside of NA, if it was a Black Friday bundle or a holiday bundle (IE. the $200 PS4 was a promotion for about a month IIRC), etc. God of War being part of these mega bundles doesn't change the fact that Nintendo/Microsoft have padded millions in software sales from bundles themselves. --- When did I say that Sony was in a different league compared to Nintendo? I just stated that Mario currently is the only Nintendo IP that is on a different level compared to Playstation IP. To be clear, even if BOTW2 outsold GOWR, a gap with a few million in sales does not make the IP "a completely different level." BoTW2 would need to absolutely dwarf GOWR in sales, and I mean a gap of at least 10+ Million, for me to agree with such a statement. As for Horizon Zero Dawn, unless you think it stopped selling by the time it reached 10+ Million in early 2019, especially during 2020 where Sony published software accounted for 58+ Million units out of 338 Million units of software sold on the PS4 for the year, and with the pandemic boosting gaming all around, it wouldn't need to double its lifetime sales to match Pokemon in sales. Personally I'd put HZD somewhere around 15+ Million LTD. I think Horizon Forbidden West can push for 20+ Million lifetime sales & I don't think its a bold claim at all. Even though Nintendo has a richer history, Playstation has created new IP's that have become pillars of the brand ever since the original Playstation: Gran Turismo for the PS1, God of War for the PS2, Uncharted/TLOU for the PS3, Horizon/GOT for the PS4, and that boon is about to continue into the PS5 generation. Nintendo had multiple decades to cultivate their IP, and as we've seen with the Switch, the majority of its best selling titles are mostly from franchises created back in the SNES/GBA. Its similar to how Uncharted and God of War started off as moderate successes but eventually blossomed into massive franchises. This is the first generation where Sony has a handful of IP's that are massive sellers and its not a generation where they are losing ground or getting disrupted. The PS4 is essentially the start of Sony slowly approaching Nintendo's level. |
Alright, so I'm somewhat inebriated, but it's late and I figured I'd give this a shot anyway.
To start, I think LudicrousSpeed has a point. Unless God of War is bundled similarly to the original, it may not hit the same high levels. The same is true for ANY bundled game. Do you think Wii Sports would have hit 80M+ (spacing on the exact amount right now) if it wasn't bundled? If not, I think you see his point. Bundles do wonders. I think his point was that BotW has sold 23M without bundles and without a price drop, which is honestly exceptional. Imagine if it had bundles AND a price drop? It probably would have broke the 30M mark. Is God of War a bad game for selling from bundles? Hell no. I love that game, but facts are facts. It was boosted based on those two factors. Which, if I'm being honest, does NOTHING for the conversation at hand. Let's just stick with straight sales and not talk about excuses. I mean, a unit is a unit, am I right?
Alright, so you didn't say Sony was in a different league compared to Nintendo per se, but you suggested that Zelda wasn't in the same league as other Sony IP. However, other Sony IP have historically not sold as much as Zelda (aside from GT) until this recent generation with the PS4. Windwaker outsold most of Sony's own IP on PS2 despite being on a console that sold one seventh the amount. Ocarina of Time outsold every Sony owned IP on PS1 (I'm including Crash and Spyro in this btw) aside from GT 1 and 2 (N64 sold one third the amount as PS1). Twilight Princess outsold every PS3 Sony IP aside from Gran Turismo 5. BotW has outsold every single Sony IP on PS4 (and ever made). So, saying that Zelda isn't on the level of Sony's IP's is honestly a slap in the face. Zelda may not be Nintendo's best selling franchise, but it sure as heck is on the level of Sony's IP's objectively and I would vehemently argue it's much surpassed.
I don't care that Nintendo has had multiple decades to cultivate their IP. The reason Mario sells isn't just because they've been in the game so long. Heck, one of the best selling games OF ALL TIME is Super Mario Bros 1 (It's like number 6 with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe fast approaching). Nintendo games have ALWAYS sold incredibly well, especially based upon their system sales. It didn't take them multiple decades to do this. The reason Sony's IP's are selling better than they were before is because they are putting in more investment into these IP's, advertising them way more, bundling them and providing sales more frequently. In addition, the videogame market has grown exponentially. It's fantastic to see, honestly. However, the fact remains that Nintendo's first party games still outsell Sony's the vast majority of the time. Heck, take Demon Souls vs. 1-2 Switch. By this time, 1-2 Switch had already sold 2M copies, whereas Demon Souls only sold 1.4. That's a new IP vs. an established IP. You can do the same thing with Returnal and Arms or Ratchet and Clank and Splatoon 2. In all of these cases, given the same timeframe, the Nintendo games have sold more.
Anyway, this is going to be my last comment on the matter because I've honestly invested tooooooo much time on this. BUT! I will see you when the sales come in and if I end up wrong feel free to laugh in my face lol. I wont mind :)
