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Forums - Sales Discussion - December 2013 NPD Thread! - Everything is in the OP!

Fusioncode said:
JWeinCom said:
:-/ I genuinely feel bad about the Vita. I love handheld gaming, and it's sad to see the only viable handheld line outside of the DS go, but I don't see how the Vita could be viable in the US. Sony has perhaps $50 of wiggle room on the price, and no huge franchises to bank on. It's hard to see retailers continuing to stock the Vita or Western third parties supporting it. Sony just never seemed to have their hearts in it. Maybe they just designed the Vita intending for it to be a niche console in Japan.

I love the Vita but SCEA has completely dropped the ball here. They gave up on the system by the end of 2012 and released next to nothing since then. Games like Killzone Mercenary and Tearaway were just sent out to die with no marketing. The only games left for the system are indie titles and some Japanese ports. 

Honestly, they never seemed to care about it.  Handheld gaming just isn't that big for them, particularly in the West, and they didn't want to put in the resources to help the Vita.  They'll probably try to focus on their tablets or phones as gaming devices in the future.



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RolStoppable said:
superhippy420 said:

It's funny because I personally feel that the Xbox One and PS4 are boring.  Same features as the old consoles, same games, better graphics.   The Wii was carried by great software. Wii Sports was a hit among casuals, and hardcores secretly loved it too.  It also launched with Twilight Princess which sold almost 7 million lifetime, followed by a steady stream of good software for about 4 years.  The motion controls had alot to do with it because it allowed things like Wii Sports to be made, but there were plenty of games that sold great that did'nt even need it.   Nintendo offers the Wii U Pro Controller already as well.  I am not sure what other kind of remote they could make to boost the console, if that is your idea.

Your personal tastes don't matter. What's important is that the One and PS4 fall more in line with consumer expectations than the Wii U did. It's the safe path to offer an evolution of the previous console; it might not be exciting, but it's satisfying. So in the most simple terms:

PS4 = Same as PS3, but better.
One = Same as 360, but better. (For the most part; the DRM stuff and high price were/are obstacles.)
Wii U = Not the same as Wii.

To keep things simple when talking about making a better Wii, let's look at one of the pillars of the Wii: Wii Sports. How do you make that better? You offer a better Wiimote and Nunchuk combo; better motion sensing in both parts (especially the Nunchuk), remove the cord to allow more freedom of control. The Gamepad does not exist. How does this affect tennis? You can now have the option to move your character with the analog stick, all the while having better control. How about boxing? The better motion sensing in the Nunchuk part really comes in handy. And beyond that, you can think about implementing other sports, more than Wii Sports Resort offered. Add an online component too. None of that is revolutionary; you can't reinvent the wheel every time, but you don't have to. You still have an appealing package (especially because nobody else dares to tackle motion-controlled games in a serious manner).

What did Nintendo actually do? They kept the same Wiimote, made it more of an afterthought to the console (it's all about the Gamepad) and delivered a butchered version of a Wii Sports remake one year after launch; and it has no retail presence. That's not how you handle a follow-up to the Wii itself and its most popular game.

The same but better formula works for the PS4/X1 because hardcore gamers love that. They want better graphics. Asking the core PS/XBox audience if they want a new console with better graphics is like asking a sex addict if they want to go a strip club. He's not going to just say yes, he's going to offer to drive. 

My sister would not pay $300 for a Wii U/Wii 2/whateveryouwanttocall it just to play Just Dance when she can pay $20 to play the game on the Wii. 

Most people don't care about a "better" Wiimote, the average Wii owner doesn't really even understand the differences between the regular Wiimote and WM+. 

To be honest I think the fuss over Just Dance's sales are overblown anyway. It's not *that* shocking that out of about 40 million households with a Wii in the US that 1-2 million of them might still be active and Just Dance at $20-$30 a pop is an impulse buy purchase for a few folkes. 

A dance game is one of the few casual genres that doesn't really work on a smartphone/tablet for obvious reasons. 



RolStoppable said:
superhippy420 said:

It's funny because I personally feel that the Xbox One and PS4 are boring.  Same features as the old consoles, same games, better graphics.   The Wii was carried by great software. Wii Sports was a hit among casuals, and hardcores secretly loved it too.  It also launched with Twilight Princess which sold almost 7 million lifetime, followed by a steady stream of good software for about 4 years.  The motion controls had alot to do with it because it allowed things like Wii Sports to be made, but there were plenty of games that sold great that did'nt even need it.   Nintendo offers the Wii U Pro Controller already as well.  I am not sure what other kind of remote they could make to boost the console, if that is your idea.

Your personal tastes don't matter. What's important is that the One and PS4 fall more in line with consumer expectations than the Wii U did. It's the safe path to offer an evolution of the previous console; it might not be exciting, but it's satisfying. So in the most simple terms:

PS4 = Same as PS3, but better.
One = Same as 360, but better. (For the most part; the DRM stuff and high price were/are obstacles.)
Wii U = Not the same as Wii.

To keep things simple when talking about making a better Wii, let's look at one of the pillars of the Wii: Wii Sports. How do you make that better? You offer a better Wiimote and Nunchuk combo; better motion sensing in both parts (especially the Nunchuk), remove the cord to allow more freedom of control. The Gamepad does not exist. How does this affect tennis? You can now have the option to move your character with the analog stick, all the while having better control. How about boxing? The better motion sensing in the Nunchuk part really comes in handy. And beyond that, you can think about implementing other sports, more than Wii Sports Resort offered. Add an online component too. None of that is revolutionary; you can't reinvent the wheel every time, but you don't have to. You still have an appealing package (especially because nobody else dares to tackle motion-controlled games in a serious manner).

What did Nintendo actually do? They kept the same Wiimote, made it more of an afterthought to the console (it's all about the Gamepad) and delivered a butchered version of a Wii Sports remake one year after launch; and it has no retail presence. That's not how you handle a follow-up to the Wii itself and its most popular game.

I don't think MS and Sony's strategy of just releasing better versions of their current consoles would work for the WiiU. The PS4 and XBO came out when the PS3 and 360 still had active fanbases that were ready for an upgrade. Most of Wii's userbase had left due to Nintendo not releasing games on it since 2010. The only people who turned on their Wiis anymore were 12 year old kids who want to play Just Dance. They're not the type of people who need a next gen upgrade. 



Sigs are dumb. And so are you!

Just so I'm all caught up, is there any particular reason people listen to this cream guy? Has he been proven to be right in the past?



JWeinCom said:
Just so I'm all caught up, is there any particular reason people listen to this cream guy? Has he been proven to be right in the past?

Never wrong about NPD... the only thing he does in GAF is share the NPD data... nothing more.



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ethomaz said:
JWeinCom said:
Just so I'm all caught up, is there any particular reason people listen to this cream guy? Has he been proven to be right in the past?

Never wrong about NPD.


But, how do we know?  If the only figures we have are from him..?  Has he said stuff that was later confirmed?



JWeinCom said:

But, how do we know?  If the only figures we have are from him..?  Has he said stuff that was later confirmed?

Because he share the data before companies share... you will see a lot of number from companies pop up in the next days that match with his share.

Most of NPD data you had after 2011 came from him.



You don't question creamsugar. He knows all, sees all. He's watching you right now.



ethomaz said:

JWeinCom said:

But, how do we know?  If the only figures we have are from him..?  Has he said stuff that was later confirmed?

Because he share the data before companies share... you will see a lot of number from companies pop up in the next days that match with his share.

Most of NPD data you had after 2011 came from him.


K then, thanks.



He just have access to NPD but a lot of guys in industry have too.