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Forums - Sales Discussion - Switch destroys Nintendo sales record in US 906k

zorg1000 on 14 April 2017
Soundwave said:
Louie said:
I think you guys use different definitions for what a casual gamer is. Is that possible?

Miyamotoo: "A person who doesn't play a lot of video games."

Soundwave: "A soccer mum, old person or little girl." (slight exaggeration :P)

The Switch doesn't appeal to soccer moms or people in retirement homes. It does, however, appeal to other casual gamers: Mid 40's people who played games in the past but stopped gaming, young women (who are indeed capable of playing a hard game), young men who work full time and only game a few hours per week, etc.

I think it's a misconception that casual gamers can't play hard games (I agree the elderly people or mothers with no gaming experience will have a hard time). For most people out there the question is "are games worth my time? Are they exciting enough for me to put my time into them, even though I work full time and / or have a family?"

The term "casual gamers" as we often use it today ("people who are too stupid to play a real game and only want Brain Training") was used by viral marketers during the 7th generation to put an end to the Wii/DS success and to make fun of the system's audience. It was used as an insult, basically.

That isn't even Nintendo's definition of casual. Who even cares about the Wii era? Oh boo hoo someone made fun of the Wii .... EIGHT YEARS AGO, lol. I don't even understand as a Nintendo fan why Nintendo fans get upset about that. Hey look at me "Kinect was kinda lame ... stupid even. Eye Toy is dumb dumbs". Is there an XBox or Sony fan running to assault with a barrage of points to show how wrong I am? 

*waits five seconds*

Nope.

Let it go, let it go, guys. Who cares if the Wii got made fun of, honestly it probably had it coming, one does look like a bit of a dork playing it. And some of the things like Miyamoto pretending to play a music game that actually didn't really track anything you were doing or fat mom's thinking a balance board was going to give them rock hard abs, or people ignoring their real life dog to go play with their virtual Nintendog were all now at least a little cringe-worthy. Why get so defensive over it? 

Switch is here and it's doing things it's own way, Wii is the past and by now the distant past. If anything Nintendo fans should be proud of the Switch because it's broken a lot of so-called stigma's even Nintendo fans bought into -- namely that Nintendo can't compete with Sony and MS using that similar type of marketing and can't make a "modern" style of blockbuster game that speaks to modern audiences and should instead retreat like a dog with its tail between its leg searching out some distant blue ocean fad instead. 

Turns out they can compete, they just had to execute properly. 

lol i have never seen someone take things out of context as much as you do. your post literally has nothing to do with what he said.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

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d21lewis on 14 April 2017

They kinda do need that casual (or should I say "Mass Market") money Luckily, Nintendo knows this and have the pieces in place to get it.

Sales are amazing but they have to make sure that the initial interest doesn't wane. PS2, Wii and DS didn't dominate by only appealing to hardcore or core gamers. They had something for everybody.

This whole side discussion kicked off because somebody said "They need a Wii Sports". They do. They need a Wii Sports. They need a Call of Duty. They need a Madden. They need an Animal Crossing. They need a Final Fantasy and Forza. They need a diverse library. The difference between being an N64 level success and being a Wii/DS level success will depend on having software that even people playing on other platforms won't want to skip.

The Switch is passing the first test with flying colors. It had a successful launch. Now I hope it has a successful life. I don't want it to be a flash in the pan.



Soundwave on 14 April 2017
Louie said:
Soundwave said:

That isn't even Nintendo's definition of casual. Who even cares about the Wii era? Oh boo hoo someone made fun of the Wii .... EIGHT YEARS AGO, lol. I don't even understand as a Nintendo fan why Nintendo fans get upset about that. Hey look at me "Kinect was kinda lame ... stupid even. Eye Toy is dumb dumbs". Is there an XBox or Sony fan running to assault with a barrage of points to show how wrong I am? 

*waits five seconds*

Nope.

Let it go, let it go, guys. Who cares if the Wii got made fun of, honestly it probably had it coming, one does look like a bit of a dork playing it. Why get so defensive over it? 

Switch is here and it's doing things it's own way, Wii is the past and by now the distant past. If anything Nintendo fans should be proud of the Switch because it's broken a lot of so-called stigma's even Nintendo fans bought into -- namely that Nintendo can't compete with Sony and MS using that similar type of marketing and making those style of games and instead needed to retreat to some far nether world of gaming to try and find other players. 

Turns out they can, they just had to execute properly. 

This seems to be an emotional topic :P Not sure how you interpreted my post that way. I just pointed out that you guys seem to talk about two different things - you might even agree with each other! 

No reason for "boo hoo" and drama :D 

Sorry if it came across as crass, I think Nintendo fans just need to get over the Wii era stuff. Yes we got made fun of. Yes some of it was unfair. Some of it probably was justified though. Either way who in the world cares anymore. 

I'm a Nintendo fan from like the freaking 80s. I don't get upset if someone says the Genesis is better because of blast processing, I just smile and laugh at that. 

In either case, why is it bad that Switch is selling largely on the back of a hardcore game driven by a super-cool marketing campaign and chic piece of hardware that looks pretty dope? Where's the "bad" here? This is great. Fuck it, I'll say it, this is better than Wii. Seriously, this is better because Nintendo can build a much more stable fan base if they really execute well on this, Wii was an unsustainable fad that was inevitably going to crash down on itself. 

Lets let the Switch establish its own legacy. 



Soundwave on 14 April 2017
d21lewis said:

They kinda do need that casual (or should I say "Mass Market") money Luckily, Nintendo knows this and have the pieces in place to get it.

Sales are amazing but they have to make sure that the initial interest doesn't wane. PS2, Wii and DS didn't dominate by only appealing to hardcore or core gamers. They had something for everybody.

This whole side discussion kicked off because somebody said "They need a Wii Sports". They do. They need a Wii Sports. They need a Call of Duty. They need a Madden. They need an Animal Crossing. They need a Final Fantasy. They need a diverse library. The difference between being an N64 level success and being a Wii/DS level success will depend on having software that even people playing on other platforms won't want to skip.

The Switch is passing the first test with flying colors. It had a successful launch. Now I hope it has a successful life. I don't want it to be a flash in the pan.

I actually don't really buy that they do need that. 

First of all, you don't sell 900k in one month without being "mass market". 

THIS is the mass market. OK. Anyone paying $300 and $50 for a video game in the modern world of 2017 ... this is the mass market now. 

This is what's driving PS4 sales, and it's largely the same audience driving the Switch, Nintendo just finally got the right type of hardware that makes even that audience go "oh hey, you know that's pretty cool, I want that". 

EA by the way better be looking at these sales and thinking "yeah, y'know maybe we should do Madden NFL with FIFA". I can understand some of their PS4/XB1 only titles not being possible or being difficult on Switch, that's fine, but Madden is still being made for PS3. That should be on the Switch. 

Wii Sports isn't possible in the world of today. Why? Because that audience doesn't want to pay even $10 for a video game anymore. You don't need Wii Sports. PS4 doesn't have that, Switch just broke records without it. The gaming world doesn't revolve around any single fad, once upon time you "had" to have a fighting game with blood in it. Today, who cares. A lot of these fads come and go. 

If you're saying it needs a diverse library, sure I agree with that.



Miyamotoo on 14 April 2017
d21lewis said:

They kinda do need that casual (or should I say "Mass Market") money Luckily, Nintendo knows this and have the pieces in place to get it.

Sales are amazing but they have to make sure that the initial interest doesn't wane. PS2, Wii and DS didn't dominate by only appealing to hardcore or core gamers. They had something for everybody.

This whole side discussion kicked off because somebody said "They need a Wii Sports". They do. They need a Wii Sports. They need a Call of Duty. They need a Madden. They need an Animal Crossing. They need a Final Fantasy and Forza. They need a diverse library. The difference between being an N64 level success and being a Wii/DS level success will depend on having software that even people playing on other platforms won't want to skip.

The Switch is passing the first test with flying colors. It had a successful launch. Now I hope it has a successful life. I don't want it to be a flash in the pan.

People need to be realistic, Wii Sports is probably one kind of game in history with right hardware, game and hardware that made people playing games even in retirements homes, hardly we will see something like that ever again.



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Soundwave on 14 April 2017
Miyamotoo said:
d21lewis said:

They kinda do need that casual (or should I say "Mass Market") money Luckily, Nintendo knows this and have the pieces in place to get it.

Sales are amazing but they have to make sure that the initial interest doesn't wane. PS2, Wii and DS didn't dominate by only appealing to hardcore or core gamers. They had something for everybody.

This whole side discussion kicked off because somebody said "They need a Wii Sports". They do. They need a Wii Sports. They need a Call of Duty. They need a Madden. They need an Animal Crossing. They need a Final Fantasy and Forza. They need a diverse library. The difference between being an N64 level success and being a Wii/DS level success will depend on having software that even people playing on other platforms won't want to skip.

The Switch is passing the first test with flying colors. It had a successful launch. Now I hope it has a successful life. I don't want it to be a flash in the pan.

People need to be realistic, Wii Sports is probably one kind of game in history with right hardware, game and hardware that made people playing games even in retirements homes, hardly we will see something like that ever again.

Exactly.

And you know what? Playstation 4 is going to outsell the Wii. Easily. Without a Wii Sports. It's not the be all, end all if Switch never has a game exactly like that. 

They just sold 900k in March with Zelda. Maybe that should tell Nintendo something. 

I would actually say Nintendo is succeeding precisely *because* they made the Switch a relatively core product and marketed it exactly as such. 2017 is very different from 2006, Switch is the right product for today, it's an upmarket product and that's what sells now. 

Whatever term you want to use for the Wii Sports/Fit audience, the fact is they are gone now, once they got a taste of that free smartphone gaming they were never coming back. Every one of those Wii owners has a smartphone ... ask yourself honestly how many of them are purchasing that perfectly accessible, super easy to play, yet quite full featured Super Mario Run for even $10 with zero hardware cost? *crickets*. They ain't touching even that with a 10 foot pole, what chance did 1,2 Switch at $40 have? 



d21lewis on 14 April 2017
Soundwave said:
d21lewis said:

They kinda do need that casual (or should I say "Mass Market") money Luckily, Nintendo knows this and have the pieces in place to get it.

Sales are amazing but they have to make sure that the initial interest doesn't wane. PS2, Wii and DS didn't dominate by only appealing to hardcore or core gamers. They had something for everybody.

This whole side discussion kicked off because somebody said "They need a Wii Sports". They do. They need a Wii Sports. They need a Call of Duty. They need a Madden. They need an Animal Crossing. They need a Final Fantasy. They need a diverse library. The difference between being an N64 level success and being a Wii/DS level success will depend on having software that even people playing on other platforms won't want to skip.

The Switch is passing the first test with flying colors. It had a successful launch. Now I hope it has a successful life. I don't want it to be a flash in the pan.

I actually don't really buy that they do need that. 

First of all, you don't sell 900k in one month without being "mass market". 

THIS is the mass market. OK. Anyone paying $300 and $50 for a video game in the modern world of 2017 ... this is the mass market now. 

This is what's driving PS4 sales, and it's largely the same audience driving the Switch, Nintendo just finally got the right type of hardware that makes even that audience go "oh hey, you know that's pretty cool, I want that". 

EA by the way better be looking at these sales and thinking "yeah, y'know maybe we should do Madden NFL with FIFA". I can understand some of their PS4/XB1 only titles not being possible or being difficult on Switch, that's fine, but Madden is still being made for PS3. That should be on the Switch. 

Wii Sports isn't possible in the world of today. Why? Because that audience doesn't want to pay even $10 for a video game anymore. You don't need Wii Sports. PS4 doesn't have that, Switch just broke records without it. The gaming world doesn't revolve around any single fad, once upon time you "had" to have a fighting game with blood in it. Today, who cares. A lot of these fads come and go. 

If you're saying it needs a diverse library, sure I agree with that.

Right now, I think a lot of the appeal is the hardware. That won't last forever. I'm not one of those people who says " WiiU sold 3 million in its first few months and look how that turned out." but.... WiiU sold 3 million worldwide in its first month and look how that turned out.

 

Now is not the time to get lazy, overconfident, or whatever. Nintendo has a history of telling people what they want. As a result, two competitors have risen and, in home console space, managed to make Nintendo a bit player in their own game. 

 

If we went be first month sales alone, XBO would be almost tied with PS4. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. Cliche, but true.



Miyamotoo on 14 April 2017
Soundwave said:
Miyamotoo said:

People need to be realistic, Wii Sports is probably one kind of game in history with right hardware, game and hardware that made people playing games even in retirements homes, hardly we will see something like that ever again.

Exactly.

And you know what? Playstation 4 is going to outsell the Wii. Easily. Without a Wii Sports. It's not the be all, end all if Switch never has a game exactly like that. 

They just sold 900k in March with Zelda. Maybe that should tell Nintendo something. 

PS2 is best selling console of all time and not single game passed 20m mark and only 3 of them passed 10m mark.

Zelda BotW of course is must have game but Switch like hardware is also pretty appealing for console market, and they have great combination, one best games ever, appealing console/hardware and good marketing, basically all things Wii U didnt had.



Soundwave on 14 April 2017
Miyamotoo said:
Soundwave said:

Exactly.

And you know what? Playstation 4 is going to outsell the Wii. Easily. Without a Wii Sports. It's not the be all, end all if Switch never has a game exactly like that. 

They just sold 900k in March with Zelda. Maybe that should tell Nintendo something. 

PS2 is best selling console of all time and not single game passed 20m mark and only 3 of them passed 10m mark.

Zelda BotW of course is must have game but Switch like hardware is also pretty appealing for console market, and they have great combination, one best games ever, appealing console/hardware and good marketing, basically all things Wii U didnt had.

Or GameCube for that matter. 

Switch has the best marketing for a Nintendo system ever I'd say. Not just the fact that the commercials are almost shockingly competent and don't make you blush red in shame, but the even more important fact that Nintendo is actually running them just like Sony and Microsoft do. During NFL games, hell even during the Superbowl. NCAA Basketball. Before big time movies. 

Nintendo's never executed a marketing campaign this well IMO. 

It just goes to show, I think the failure of the Wii U and the tough times of the 3DS forced Nintendo to have to focus on basics too. There are a lot less "what the fuck were they thinking when they designed this?" moments with the Switch hardware and it's overall presentation than with other Nintendo hardware. 

This is selling off just surprisingly competent good execution. There's a great AAA epic Mario or Zelda game at launch. Check. The marketing is great. Check. The system looks cool. Check. Voila a good launch, maybe this isn't as hard as it's made out to be. 



d21lewis on 14 April 2017
Miyamotoo said:
d21lewis said:

They kinda do need that casual (or should I say "Mass Market") money Luckily, Nintendo knows this and have the pieces in place to get it.

Sales are amazing but they have to make sure that the initial interest doesn't wane. PS2, Wii and DS didn't dominate by only appealing to hardcore or core gamers. They had something for everybody.

This whole side discussion kicked off because somebody said "They need a Wii Sports". They do. They need a Wii Sports. They need a Call of Duty. They need a Madden. They need an Animal Crossing. They need a Final Fantasy and Forza. They need a diverse library. The difference between being an N64 level success and being a Wii/DS level success will depend on having software that even people playing on other platforms won't want to skip.

The Switch is passing the first test with flying colors. It had a successful launch. Now I hope it has a successful life. I don't want it to be a flash in the pan.

People need to be realistic, Wii Sports is probably one kind of game in history with right hardware, game and hardware that made people playing games even in retirements homes, hardly we will see something like that ever again.

I don't think we literally meant "Wii Sports". I personally meant a mass appealing game. A phenomenon.

 

On Gameboy,Pokemon was Wii Sports.

On NES, Super Mario was Wii Sports.

On SNES, Street Fighter II was Wii Sports.

On Xbox, Call of Duty was Wii Sports.

On PS2, GTA III was Wii Sports.