Switch Sales Top 108 Million - Global Hardware May 15-21

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Kakadu18 said:

The_Liquid_Laser said:

That makes sense.  However, do you really think that those are some of the most popular games around.  I personally like Valkyria Chronicles enough that I would buy a system if it had this game and another game or two I liked.  However, I am not naive enough to believe that many other people share my taste.  Some games are more popular than others.  PS5 doesn't have an exclusive or a gen 9 only game that is really popular.

Kakadu18 said:

How on earth can you be so confident about something that is not supported by any data whatsoever?

A game being crossgen does not make it not a systemseller for the next gen console.

How do you not see the flaws in your arguments? XBS has literally 0 full exclusives because everything is also on PC and XBO and yet it still sells.

What do you think why?

Crossgen games have limited appeal in that they are not much different than ports.  Ports are better than nothing, but who wants a system of only ports?  The Vita was basically this kind of system.  Every decent game on the Vita is also on another system.

"How do you not see the flaws in your arguments? XBS has literally 0 full exclusives because everything is also on PC and XBO and yet it still sells.  What do you think why?"

This question doesn't seem to address what I am saying.  You quoted a post where I predicted less than 80m for PS5 lifetime.  Are you making a statement about X|S lifetime?  Do you think X|S will sell at least 80m?  Or perhaps you are addressing something else?  I'm not sure what you are referring to.  Could you clarify?

What you are saying applies as long as you are willing to equate the PS4 and the Wii U.  I don't think most people are willing to do that.  One thing that made BotW desirable for the Switch is that not many people owned a Wii U.  For Switch owners, the game was new to them.  On the other hand there are around 117m PS4 owners out there.  These people could pay $500 extra to play on PS5 or nothing extra to play on PS4.  That is $500 for slightly better graphics.  These PS4 owners have a huge incentive to just not buy a PS5.  A good incentive to buy PS5 would be popular games that can't be played on PS4.  PS5 does not have this.

   

RolStoppable said:

I see, The_Liquid_Laser came to curl-6's rescue. Seems to become a more regular occurence that these global sales threads see some crazy talk, happens once per month or so.

I know right?  I say crazy things like "software sells hardware".  I am glad you are too enlightened to believe this kind of nonsense.    Do you believe that the PS5 sells by magic like the posters who are arguing with me?  They haven't given me a good reason why many people would buy a PS5, so I can only assume they believe in magic instead of my crazy "software sells hardware" argument.

I am referring to your argument as a whole. Non exclusives and crossgen games can deffinitely be system sellers.

  

There are two very old arguments about gaming and hardware.  One goes like this: "Check out my PS3.  It's soooo cool.  It's the most powerful system and has the best graphics.  It has a Blu-Ray drive too, so the games can store more space than even an XBox360, and it's far more powerful than the Wii."  This is the "hardware sells hardware" argument.  The hardware is so cool and powerful, and the graphics on the games are so good, that you want to buy the hardware just for itself.  There is a version of this argument almost every generation, "Check out my Neo Geo..."  "Check out my Atari Jaguar..."  "Check out my Amiga..."  "Check out my XBox, it's so much more powerful than the PS2.  No one is going to want a PS2 now that the XBox is on the market."

The other argument goes like this: "Woah, that game looks awesome!  Can I play it on NES?  No?  We'll, I'm getting a SNES then."  In this situation, it's the game that matters.  The hardware is an obstacle to playing the software, but if the game is good enough, then the person will buy the hardware anyway.  This is the "software sells hardware" argument.  Another way of saying it is "the NES is just a box to play Mario", or you could just as easily say "the PS2 is just a box to play GTA".  The hardware isn't a feature.  It's an obstacle.  Good games are what overcome the obstacle and convince people to buy hardware.

These arguments never go away, because the most enthusiastic gamers are a very vocal minority that see the hardware as a feature.  Meanwhile the mass market always treats hardware as an obstacle.  People do not "get to" buy more powerful hardware.  They "have to" buy more powerful hardware.  It's a chore.  And yet, almost every generation you have super enthusiastic gamers who absolutely can't understand why the PS2 outsold the XBox or why the Wii outsold the PS3.

Crossgen games are basically the "hardware sells hardware" argument.  "People want a PS5, because it's a PS5.  It has great games, and people will want to play these games with the best graphics possible.  It doesn't matter that these games are also on the PS4."  This argument says that hardware is a feature and ignores the fact that, to the mass market, hardware is actually an obstacle.  Here is the opposite argument, "People won't buy a PS5 for Elden Ring, because they are already playing it on their PS4."  It's not the hardware that matters.  It's the games.  Crossgen games don't sell hardware, because hardware is an obstacle.  The mass market takes the path of least resistance which is to not buy hardware unless they have to.

So, the labels are different, but the argument is still the same.  People still think a powerful system with great graphics is what sells.  It isn't.  That actually prevents sales.  We might use the term "crossgen", but that is saying that hardware sells itself (assuming the person already has an older system that plays the game).  What actually causes sales are new games, games that are new to the person buying them.  And if a person can play the game on a system they already own, like a PS4, then they won't buy a system with the same games and better graphics, like a PS5. 

"Software sells hardware".  I don't care how many people argue against me.  It doesn't change reality.  Reality is still that software sells hardware, and hardware doesn't sell itself.  The mass market will not pay $500 extra for a PS5 if they can play the same games on a system they already own.