@fishyJoe

But so did Star Wars and it was THE most influential movie ever

people don't take it too seriously. he always hyperbolizes and satirizes his articles but what he says has a big true. I mean, just read this message boards: wii fit is not a game, it doesnt have the same immersion like GTA, bla bla bla youi can smell the fear in hardcores.

Comparing Star Wars to Spiderman 2, now? You really do wish to stretch the argument thin... Star Wars disrupted the film industry. Spiderman 2 simply sustained it. Before Star Wars came along, sales never reached even close to the levels they did once Star Wars was out. That is the sign of a product which changes an industry: one which raises the bar for success, not one which hits the plateau of success.

See my Titanic reference. And Battleship Potempkin was the most influential movie ever.

http://malstrom.50webs.com/news.htm
The rest of the news are very interesting too!

@Sky Render

The highest non-bundled selling game is Pokemon Red/Blue at 32 million I believe..

Yes & that did change a lot did it not

but then you get GTA IV that reached 20 million.....highest for a non-bundled console game ever....that didn't disrupt the industry yet it set the bar high..

Ah, you look in entirely the wrong direction... It's rather amusing, really. Simply discounting bundled games is foolishness, because those games which have ridiculously high sales that were also part of a bundle are bundles which WORKED. If sales were not being pushed by the bundled software, the bundle would be changed, for what does the company have to gain by giving away software which is unwanted? This is why the various bundles for the PS3 and 360 (as well as bundles for systems such as the GameCube, PS2, and original XBOX) were short-lived. The myth that a pack-in game only sells well because it's a pack-in should have been dispelled long ago from that fact alone.

Super Mario Brothers set the bar quite firmly, starting 23 years ago: 40.24 million. None has surpassed it since, not even system-selling pack-ins like Tetris.

@Darth -- The GTA IV software sales -- while impressive -- did not turn into the hardware sales that many people predicted. That is really the relevant point to be made.

@Rubido -- Malestrom is a fan of Nintendo's business practices. After all, N (according to the info on the site) has made money every year since 1998 and made more money last year in gaming than Sony has combined for the last decade. In other posts, he has been critical of companies who release shovelware and me-too-ware for the Wii, explaining how Nintendo has moved its games beyond that. And he has been discussing why Nintendo would succeed from its initial announcements -- not because "They have Mario" but because "They are disrupting the industry" (the former is fanboy, the latter is analytical).

Mike from Morgantown

Malstrom's writing style is definately over the top, but his insight has proven clearer than most. He is definately worth reading.

THANK YOU!

Some people think that just throwing in the most popular game is a recipe for bundle success. But that is very short term thinking.

Wii Sports and Brain Training are great bundled games because they really expand the market of their respective products.

SSBB and SMG would not be so great for bundling, because they don't have the same kind of broad appeal.

This is why Sony's and Microsoft's bundles are rather short lived, the typical pack ins don't really expand the audience very much.