PotentHerbs said:
The main point of contention I had was God of War being "massively" bundled (IE. Wii Sports). Otherwise, it would have blown past the 20+ Million lifetime mark & would've sold more than the reported 10+ Million in its launch year. For instance, the PS4 sold over 8.1 Million units in Q3 of 2018, if being massively bundled was the driving point of increased sales for GoW, than Detroit Become Human would've seen a similar sales bump. However, Detroit has sold 6 Million lifetime as of 2021 and that figure includes the PC release. Despite Zelda having only one entry selling over 20+ Million, I consider it a massive franchise like God of War, I just don't think it's on another level compared to Sony IP. GT6 is an outlier when it comes to the franchise because it launched on the PS3 shortly after the PS4 launch without a next generation version or even a port down the line. GT Sport sold extremely well as a spinoff despite the "average" reviews. Also, your sales estimate for HZD is extremely conservative considering it sold 10+ Million in its first year, and has racked up sales from the PC version. Ultimately it comes down to GT7 versus Splatoon 3. I think God of War Ragnarok & BoTW2 will be close while HFW will grow enough to match Pokemon at its current level. |
The idea of being "massively bundled" doesn't necessarily constitute being the same as Wii Sports (which was bundled in almost every single Wii purchase for a large portion of it's life). Obviously not all of that 8.1M contained a God of War bundle (there was also a Spiderman bundle for $200 I believe). Not to mention, there were more bundles with God of War than just the one that contained Detroit. There was also a bundle that had Gran Turismo, The Last of Us and God of War, as well as the aforementioned Horizon, God of War, and Last of Us bundle (this one went as low as $200, even). In addition, the console had a limited edition bundle day one that came with a PS4 Pro for $399. I'm not saying it was the main driver of sales, but you can absolutely bet that all of these bundles likely added millions to the estimate for God of War.
"I just don't think it's on another level compared to Sony IP"
Stop, I'm stopping you there. I don't know why you think this. Traditionally, Nintendo's IP's have always done extremely well and better than Sony's. Let's look at the PS2 vs DS. I'll even throw a few more consoles in for comparison (3DS vs PS3). I'm doing these consoles based on the amount they sold, of course.
PS2 Best Sellers | DS Best Sellers |
San Andreas: 17.33M | New Super Mario Bros: 30.8M |
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec: 14.89M | Nintendogs: 23.96M |
Gran Turismo 4: 11.76M | Mario Kart DS: 23.6M |
Vice City: 9.1M | Brain Age: 19.0M |
Final Fantasy X: 8.5M | Pokemon Diamond and Pearl: 17.67M |
Grand Theft Auto 3: 8.1M | Pokemon Black and White: 15.64M |
Metal Gear Solid 2: 7.0M | Brain Age 2: 14.88M |
PS3 Best Sellers | Nintendo 3DS Best Sellers |
Grand Theft Auto V: 29.52M | Mario Kart 7: 18.94 |
Gran Turismo 5: 11.95M | Pokemon X and Y: 16.53 |
The Last of Us: 7M | Pokemon Sun and Moon: 16.25 |
Uncharted 3: 6.6M | Pokemon OR and AS: 14.39 |
Uncharted 2: 6.5M | New Super Mario Bros 2: 13.38M |
Metal Gear Solid 4: 6M | Animal Crossing New Leaf: 13.38M |
Batman: Arkham City: 5.49M | Super Mario 3D Land: 12.81M |
Look at these graphs. Nintendo games top Nintendo's charts whereas Sony has a few games with third party products. As you said, Sony does have more competition when it comes to AAA third party games, but looking at the sales suggesting that Sony IP is in some different league in comparison to Nintendo is ridiculous. Even on the Gamecube (Sold just over 20M) it's best selling game outsold all of Sony's IP on the PS3 aside from Gran Turismo. Heck, the Windwaker almost outsold God of War 1 on the PS2 and outsold God of War 2. Again, on a platform that sold one seventh of the PS2. Gran Turismo was Sony's biggest and best selling IP until this generation, but GT 6 was outsold by Splatoon 1 (which you say is an outlier) and GT 5 and Sport were outsold by Splatoon 2 (so it isn't just because of outliers).
Lastly, stating Horizon will be as big as Pokemon is a bold claim. You're essentially suggesting Horizon: FW will double the sales of it's original. I don't think that'll happen.
Anyway, I think you are looking at a small amount of data and suggesting Sony IP are somehow on Nintendo's level sale wise. This generation they have certainly increased (which is fantastic). The PS4 has three Sony IP in the 20M range, and presumable four to five more above 10M (I'm assuming GT Sport, GoT, TLoU 2 all made it, and I know Horizon did). But we are still in the middle of the Switch's life and they have two games over 30M (one approaching 40M), 6 games above 20M, and 11 games (probably 12 by now with Luigis Mansion) above 10M. Again, this is halfway (maybe more) through the Switch's life. At this point in the PS4's life I don't think there was a single game above 20M. In other words, It's Sony's IP that aren't on the level of Nintendo's IP, not the other way around