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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Why do sales matter to gamers?

mike_intellivision on 01 July 2008
leo-j said:
The higher the sales, the more support from 3rd parties.

Leo-J has it right!

There are many a system for which games have been limited because of poor sales.

For example, there were one-quarter the number of titles released for the Saturn as there were for the PSX. And as far as I can recall, there were no must-have third-party titles on the Saturn in North America that you could not find on a PSX.

Also, Leo's prediction about the PS3 not falling below 120K units per week WW has held true so far in 2008 -- so he gets dap for that too. 8*> 

 

Mike from Morgantown

 



      


I am Mario.


I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble.

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Rock_on_2008 on 01 July 2008

Only fan boys care about console sales numbers.



Words Of Wisdom on 01 July 2008
scydrex said:

Words Of Wisdom said:

I guess my position is: Knowledge of video game sales is not relevant to a gamer whose only interest is putting a game into her console and playing it.

 

Damn, that would be a horrid thing to be for me. That would be like existing as a very, very primitive, basic sort of consumer.

Some are of the opinion that true fans of a form of entertainment don't just listen to songs, watch a movie or a sporting event and then forget about the object of their interest.

Dedicated fans like to discuss the state of the industry, the good or bad quality of movies or music albums in a particular era, what's book is hot in the market, what they would like to change about their favorite work of art, what they would do to improve their favorite sports team, etc.

The fact that you participate in these forums indicates to me that you are way more sophisticated than that, Words.

 

Maybe so but I know a lot of people who consider themselves gamers who don't hang out on video game forums and the like. I'm not going to insult them and call them non-gamers for it. Of course, nor do I want to assume that we're the majority here when in all likelihood we're actually the minority.

We view things just a little bit differently than a lot of gamers. ^_^



scydrex on 01 July 2008
Rock_on_2008 said:
Only fan boys care about console sales numbers.

 

 Whoa! So that means videogame companies are all comprised of fanboys! Didn't see that revelation coming...

Thank your for sharing this indisputable piece of information with us, Rock on!



Make sure the shadow you chase is not the one you cast.

Shameless on 01 July 2008

I think Rock_on_2008 is correct. Sales only matter to fanboys or people who only own one console.



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scydrex on 01 July 2008
Words Of Wisdom said:

Maybe so but I know a lot of people who consider themselves gamers who don't hang out on video game forums and the like. I'm not going to insult them and call them non-gamers for it. Of course, nor do I want to assume that we're the majority here when in all likelihood we're actually the minority.

 

 I am going to wholeheartedly agree with you there, man.



Make sure the shadow you chase is not the one you cast.

bouzane on 01 July 2008

Adventure games like Grim Fandango stopped selling so developers stopped making them. Same thing happened to scrolling shooters, side scrollers, dungeon crawlers and a whole host of other genres. Also, some of my favorite game developers fold or drasticly scale back after commercial failures like Okami and Psychonauts. This is why I care about game sales, I don't want to be left with nothing more then a bunch of derivitave sequels.



Pristine20 on 01 July 2008
bouzane said:
Adventure games like Grim Fandango stopped selling so developers stopped making them. Same thing happened to scrolling shooters, side scrollers, dungeon crawlers and a whole host of other genres. Also, some of my favorite game developers fold or drasticly scale back after commercial failures like Okami and Psychonauts. This is why I care about game sales, I don't want to be left with nothing more then a bunch of derivitave sequels.

Whether you care or not, its not like you can make any said game/system sell more...thats up to its creator!

 



"Dr. Tenma, according to you, lives are equal. That's why I live today. But you must have realised it by now...the only thing people are equal in is death"---Johann Liebert (MONSTER)

"WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives"---Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler

scydrex on 01 July 2008

I feel your pain, Bouzane.

The other side of the coin, unfortunately, is that if sufficient gamers don't like those critically acclaimed games enough to purchase them (instead of borrowing, renting them or -ahem- pirating them), their sales will suffer.

My explanation is that, since the market is growing constantly, we can assume new gamers are added to the market every year. I think most new consumers of a form of entertainment normally do not start out having very refined tastes. Well crafted and unique gaming experiences are fully appreciated by the more experienced gamers.

Since the market is expanding, the videogame consuming population, in its majority, could be comprised of relatively inexperienced gamers who tend to purchase the better marketed (as in more hyped) games, which could be the latest me-too FPS or stereotypically conceived game.

The number of persons that enjoy the more elaborate or original games is dwindling, as studies, jobs, families and careers force them to devote less of their time (and hence, their bugets) to gaming.

But even if their numbers are not dwindling, they would still represent a small percentage of the gaming population.

So game developers are left in the unpleasant dilemma: Do I develop a unique game that is loved by critics and sells close to nothing or do I create the sort of games the unrefined masses demand?

We all love it when elaborate, artistically complex or brilliantly conceived games are comercially succesful. But there are oh so many painful examples to mention here. I'm sure you can come up with many yourself.



Make sure the shadow you chase is not the one you cast.

Retrasado on 01 July 2008
MontanaHatchet said:
Because console sales and the sales of the games on the console directly influence just how many games or the quality of the games the system will get. Plus we all love to cheer for our favorite system.

And we all enjoy fighting with other people....

 



Not trying to be a fanboy. Of course, it's hard when you own the best console eve... dang it