Lingyis said:
I checked Tiger Woods 07 on Amazon and as of Mar 14 2:35 Pacific Time it's ranked at #6.
The Wii is ranked #1, but a few days back it was at #5. The lowest price of the console has also gone up from around $325 (if I remember correctly) to $375. On eBay the price is closer to $320 (albeit shipping at a ripoff $30), but it's the difference that's interesting.
This is scant data, but it does make you wonder if TW 07 actually moves systems. Amazon has not restocked Wii in the last few days, so discount that as a factor.
For comparison's sake, #2 Wii Play, #3 GoW2, #7 PS2, #9 Ghost Recon.
I don't know, but TW 07 at #6 is rather surprising to me. Also surprising is that Wii Play is still outselling GoW2--but GoW2 should certainly both Wii the console and Wii Play, probably only because the way ranking is done that hasn't been reflected yet. We'll see in a few days.
You shouldn't be surprised. People have become insulated as to what makes a system seller. Tunnel-vision. We've played certain types of games so long that we think we know what moves the systems.
Check out an article from this guy named
Sean Malstrom from TheWiikly.com
Theory of Cycles
He explains all the gaming generations and their views on a higher plane than just mere age.
I find his theory to be correct because one who identifies with a particular era of gaming can't understand when a new era emerges.
Pac-Man was once seen as a non-game as well just like Super Mario Bros.
I'm not surprised Wii Play is outselling God of War 2 in the least. Wii Play appeals to broader groups than God of War 2 ever will. You should read that guy's stuff. You may not like the partisan nature of the site he writes on but he's telling you knowledgeable stuff based on a historical perspective that even precedes Nintendo's entry into the business.
Tabletop Cycle
Arcade Cycle
Cinema Cycle
and this emerging
Social/Interface Cycle
The movie-styled games as the preeminent in gaming are fading. That's what that article is saying. I was born in 1976 & first saw my first videogame Pac-Man in the arcades in 1980 when I was 4. My home generation fits inside the Arcade Cycle & games before this cycle were not as enjoyable to me as the ones FROM this cycle. Text-based computer gaming would never appeal to me in the same way as Donkey Kong did in the arcades.
The same with the Playstation generation not being able to appreciate games without a story and cutscenes. Games with hard challenges & reliance on reflexes like those of the arcade era. Those who grew up in the 1990's & early 2000's look at games from my era as old hat.
Soon the emerging audiences will see the movie-styled long-involved cutscene type of games as old hat just the same.
People myself included sometimes don't have time to play games for long periods of time. We got full-time jobs & responsibilities now. Shorter briefer quick-to-get-into-and-out-of type of games are gonna become more the norm. Also games that rely heavily on the social interaction aspect. Accessibility & Brevity are the key words now.
This is one reason why the HD argument will never pan out. It's the relic of the Cinema Era. Nobody of substantial numbers cares about that. I've witnessed 43-year old & 52-year old male cousins and 49-year old male co-workers and 40-year old & 49-year old female friends of mine express desire or interest in getting a Wii. None of these people EVER cared about videogames before but all of a sudden they want this system. And the type of games that interest them are Wii Sports & Wii Play and stuff of that ilk not God of War 2 and Resistance: Fall of Man and Halo 3 and Gears of War and Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metroid Prime 3.
You can write these audiences off as "casual" (whatever that means) if you wanna. This is the future of where this industry is going. Games of older cycles may still sell and will be made but they won't be the preeminent for much longer.
They said Revolution and that's exactly what they meant. And I don't think people have really wrapped their heads around this yet. The industry & its rules are changing right before your very eyes and Nintendo is leading the way all the while collecting bank.
John Lucas