Remember Konami and SE said 'PS3 price after cut is still too high'?

First Konami's NA and European operations head Kazumi Kitaue basically stated the cut was insufficient. Then Square-Enix's president and CEO of its NA and European subsidiaries John Yamamoto stated something eerily similar.

So where they right? Well, based on the recently released NPD numbers from July, its hard to argue that they weren't.

What makes this somewhat noteworthy, though, is that both companies have HUGE titles currently exclusive to the PS3 (MGS4 and FFXIII, duh). The install base is a very big deal for them and they both have publicly displayed disastifaction in Sony's efforts to increase that install base by reducing the price.

So, now that we see evidence that, even with a big price cut, the PS3 has not gotten out of 3rd place in the next gen race and the install base is only growing slightly (hey, I'm just being honest), what are the realistic responses that are likely on the table for both 3rd party publishers?

The thing that would benefit the most people would be to put their games on the 360. More people would buy them, and they would make more money. There's no reason why they shouldn't. Conanfan1

I agree. It would take some extra development time but if they want to release the games any time soon and get decent sales they should think about 360 versions or at least PC versions of these games. They would also have to make sure their ports are good because both games would have real competition on these two platforms from more established 360/PC developers. If they were smart about it I'm sure they could overcome these obstacles and harness the greater sales potential a multiplatform release would provide.

The thing that would benefit the most people would be to put their games on the 360. More people would buy them, and they would make more money. There's no reason why they shouldn't. Conanfan1

*Hands you flame retardent suit*

[QUOTE="Conanfan1"]The thing that would benefit the most people would be to put their games on the 360. More people would buy them, and they would make more money. There's no reason why they shouldn't. rimnet00

*Hands you flame retardent suit*

:D

That's definitely one option that makes fiscal sense. At least investigating the technical possiblities of it (which I'm convinced either have been done or are being done as we type).

But what else can they realistically do, folks?

Their statements seem like a not-so-subtle transmission sent to Sony stating that they better fork over some more cash and free advertising if they want their games to remain exclusive to the Playstation.

I definitely think that Konami is going to port MGS4 to the 360. I'm not so sure about Final Fantasy. Square has never been the type of company to port their current games across multileplatforms, the only exception being FFXI.

Beyond that though, if Nintendo continues to totally dominate the way they have, I think we'll see the next Metal Gear and FFXIV on the Wii.

I definitely think that Konami is going to port MGS4 to the 360. I'm not so sure about Final Fantasy. Square has never been the type of company to port their current games across multileplatforms, the only exception being FFXI.

Beyond that though, if Nintendo continues to totally dominate the way they have, I think we'll see the next Metal Gear and FFXIV on the Wii.

H3LLRaiseR

MGS would have to be badly maimed to fit it onto the Wii and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide (quality X360 and even PS3 games put up bigger numbers than that in the US alone) its not clear that there is much of an audience for hardcore games on the Wii.

FF as a series is a lot more protean (I don't think any of the guys helming the various FF13s have helmed a past FF) and Squenix has shown with Revenant Wings that they are willing to go the casual route (simplify things and eliminate challenge) if that is what it takes to move copies, so a move by FF to the Wii sounds reasonable.

I don't see why 3rd parties wouldn't release the FF13s and MGS4 for the X360 or why gamers would have any objection (so long as a game is kickbutt, who really cares if people owning different systems can also enjoy if?). Being multiplatform means a longer development cycle I suppose, but aside from that, no real downsides for anyone aside from first parties.

Of course, the system receiving the port tends to get the sloppier version (it happened to the Xbox last gen and is happening to the PS3 this gen) but that is just a general rule of thumb and not a hard and fast rule (the PS3 version of Oblivion runs better than the X360 version, lack of downloads notwithstanding) and heck, sometimes a sloppy port is better than no port (PS3 GRAW is inferior to its X360 counterpart, but its still a quality game on its own merits).

I don't see why 3rd parties wouldn't release the FF13s and MGS4 for the X360 or why gamers would have any objection (so long as a game is kickbutt, who really cares if people owning different systems can also enjoy if?). Being multiplatform means a longer development cycle I suppose, but aside from that, no real downsides for anyone aside from first parties.

CarnageHeart

How unusually idealistic of you Carnage.:) It would be nice. I think everyone should be able to enjoy Bioshock for example. But such is the competitive spirit of exclusives and licensing rights.

This just in: The ps3 is still uber expensive and it isnt selling well. Are these two facets linked? Hrrmmmm... *expects another price cut within 3-4 months*GodModeEnabled

Hey, hey, hey, look at the two positives. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe this was the biggest month the PS3 has had in the U.S. since launch and it wasn't outsold by a 2 to 1 margin by the X360 for the first time, since.......well, probably launch too.

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]This just in: The ps3 is still uber expensive and it isnt selling well. Are these two facets linked? Hrrmmmm... *expects another price cut within 3-4 months*MarcusAntonius

Hey, hey, hey, look at the two positives. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe this was the biggest month the PS3 has had in the U.S. since launch and it wasn't outsold by a 2 to 1 margin by the X360 for the first time, since.......well, probably launch too.

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"]

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]This just in: The ps3 is still uber expensive and it isnt selling well. Are these two facets linked? Hrrmmmm... *expects another price cut within 3-4 months*GodModeEnabled

Hey, hey, hey, look at the two positives. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe this was the biggest month the PS3 has had in the U.S. since launch and it wasn't outsold by a 2 to 1 margin by the X360 for the first time, since.......well, probably launch too.

But that's the thing... Sony thought the Playstation brand was powerful enough that it could have that price and be used as a Trojan Horse for Blu-Ray. So far, it looks like Sony is willing to lose in the console space if it means they edge out HD-DVD. Sad that games wasn't theonly focus when they made the Playstation 3.

Yeah, for Kojima or Square-Enix not to support the 360 with their highest franchises like MGS or FF is either system loyaty, a exlusive deal with Sony, or even pride meaning their belief that their games alone can bring Sony back on top. Is that even possible?

Yeah, for Kojima or Square-Enix not to support the 360 with their highest franchises like MGS or FF is either system loyaty, a exlusive deal with Sony, or even pride meaning their belief that their games alone can bring Sony back on top. Is that even possible?

ASK_Story

But the fact that they responded so quickly and negatively about the price cut, and then to now factually have the impact of said price cut be in line with their statements, should give pause to anyone that they are not investigating their options.

These two are likely to be among the most expensive games ever produced. How will they maintain an acceptable profit margin (remember, these games typically have high profit margins to help less successful software titles) with a distant 3rd place install base?

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

Yeah, for Kojima or Square-Enix not to support the 360 with their highest franchises like MGS or FF is either system loyaty, a exlusive deal with Sony, or even pride meaning their belief that their games alone can bring Sony back on top. Is that even possible?

Darth_Tigris

But the fact that they responded so quickly and negatively about the price cut, and then to now factually have the impact of said price cut be in line with their statements, should give pause to anyone that they are not investigating their options.

These two are likely to be among the most expensive games ever produced. How will they maintain an acceptable profit margin (remember, these games typically have high profit margins to help less successful software titles) with a distant 3rd place install base?

Not only that, just recently it's been reported that Japanese third-party developers are having a tough time finding success in the west. The western developers like Ubisoft, EA, Activision, and 2K are obliterating and destroying the Japanese third-party publishers in terms ofworldwide salesright now. If this doesn't get their attention, especially since the PS3 and 360 isn't selling to well in Japan, than Konami and Square-Enix really needs to have a huge wake-up call if they want to make a substantial profit.

I'm quite sure Konami and Square-Enix will sell enough units to break out even, but don't they want to cash in as much as possible? Multiplatforming is the way to this. Even bring the games to the PC, or else they'll have a very tough time making a profit especially knowing how expensive their games are costing now.

I don't see why 3rd parties wouldn't release the FF13s and MGS4 for the X360 or why gamers would have any objection (so long as a game is kickbutt, who really cares if people owning different systems can also enjoy if?). Being multiplatform means a longer development cycle I suppose, but aside from that, no real downsides for anyone aside from first parties.

Of course, the system receiving the port tends to get the sloppier version (it happened to the Xbox last gen and is happening to the PS3 this gen) but that is just a general rule of thumb and not a hard and fast rule (the PS3 version of Oblivion runs better than the X360 version, lack of downloads notwithstanding) and heck, sometimes a sloppy port is better than no port (PS3 GRAW is inferior to its X360 counterpart, but its still a quality game on its own merits).

CarnageHeart

...and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide...

CarnageHeart

That's false. Despite being the third port of an almost-3-year-old game, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition has sold over 250,000 copies in the US alone.

I definitely think that Konami is going to port MGS4 to the 360. I'm not so sure about Final Fantasy. Square has never been the type of company to port their current games across multileplatforms, the only exception being FFXI.

Beyond that though, if Nintendo continues to totally dominate the way they have, I think we'll see the next Metal Gear and FFXIV on the Wii.

H3LLRaiseR

hahahahahahahaha

The Wii?

NOBODY will port to the Wii, especially not Konami with MGS OR Square-Enix with FF, its as simple as that, maybe one day they "might" port to the XBOX, but not to the Wii!

(Any MGS, or FF...

I think the price is still too high- it's not the games, it's the freakin' price. Seriously, if you asked on these forums what would it take you to buy any console at $500, I'm sure people would list a fair number of games they'd require. But what about people who would never visit a site like GS? Yeah, they play games, but since it's not part of their lifestyle, they'll hold out with their PS2 until prices are considerbly lower (I think the PS3 could actually get away with a $400 price-tag, the 360 can't anymore).

But there is some economic sense in keeping a game exclusive. An exclusive game inherently gets more hype among the hardcore, who often cling to any exclusive no matter how poor and pick it up in fairly large numbers. Red Steel is the best example of this- the game is absolute garbage but still sold over a million units. Had it been on the PS2 and Wii at the same time, it would've sold considerbly less. Even if it sold 800k total, that's 200k+ less in sales plus additional porting costs. There's a huge number of games that sold far better than they deserved simply because they had more hype surrounding them.

I'll bet you that multiplats this holiday season that aren't from massive franchiese like Madden get trounced in sales compared to exclusive games. Army of Two won't sell as well as expected, Mercenaries 2 will get lost in the mix...but I'm sure there will be brisk sales for Uncharted, despite the fact that it's a new IP.

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

...and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide...

Progenitor

That's false. Despite being the third port of an almost-3-year-old game, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition has sold over 250,000 copies in the US alone.

Link?

But that's the thing... Sony thought the Playstation brand was powerful enough that it could have that price and be used as a Trojan Horse for Blu-Ray. So far, it looks like Sony is willing to lose in the console space if it means they edge out HD-DVD. Sad that games wasn't theonly focus when they made the Playstation 3.

AtomicTangerine

Time will tell if Blu-Ray becomes useful, but in the past new storage formats have been greeted with scepticism (after all, no games in the past used said formats and gaming has alway been a fun hobby) but have always proven themselves (even if in the case of UMDs they didn't push out the old format). Think CDs (Gran Turismo), DVDs (Grand Theft Auto), hard drives (the Otogis, the Ninja Gaiden Hurriance packs) and UMDs (Lumines, Wipeout Pure). Looking at the early press, all of the formats (with the exception of UMDs) were met with skepticism by those who didn't believe they brought much to the table for games. I remember magazines saying that Mario 64 demonstrated that CDs weren't needed, though gamers, third parties and magazines themselves eventually reaching a different conclusion.

Kind of like with the Xbox's hard drive last gen, I expect that any games that put blu-ray to good use will be few and far between because it isn't the storage format of the dominant system for such games, but I expect some will come along sooner or later (developers as diverse as Kojima, Epic and Rockstar have all stated that they have found uses for it). IMHO multiple languages aren't an exciting use of blu-ray (when I think of good use, I think of a game which offers a ton and a half of content) and linear games don't really benefit much from more space since one can go the multi-disk option with them.

[QUOTE="Progenitor"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

...and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide...

MarcusAntonius

That's false. Despite being the third port of an almost-3-year-old game, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition has sold over 250,000 copies in the US alone.

Link?

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=6163

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="Progenitor"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

...and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide...

XBebop

That's false. Despite being the third port of an almost-3-year-old game, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition has sold over 250,000 copies in the US alone.

Link?

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=6163

VGchartz's US numbers are unreliable, but in this case their data meshes with NPD figures. I stand corrected.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/815/815230p1.html

[QUOTE="H3LLRaiseR"]

I definitely think that Konami is going to port MGS4 to the 360. I'm not so sure about Final Fantasy. Square has never been the type of company to port their current games across multileplatforms, the only exception being FFXI.

Beyond that though, if Nintendo continues to totally dominate the way they have, I think we'll see the next Metal Gear and FFXIV on the Wii.

CarnageHeart

MGS would have to be badly maimed to fit it onto the Wii and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide (quality X360 and even PS3 games put up bigger numbers than that in the US alone) its not clear that there is much of an audience for hardcore games on the Wii.

FF as a series is a lot more protean (I don't think any of the guys helming the various FF13s have helmed a past FF) and Squenix has shown with Revenant Wings that they are willing to go the casual route (simplify things and eliminate challenge) if that is what it takes to move copies, so a move by FF to the Wii sounds reasonable.

Maimed or not, these companies are looking to maximize their profits. If the Wii ends up holding 70% of the market the way the PS2 once did, I don't doubt that a number of 3rd parties are going to change their minds about their existing allegiences.

Kojima and Solid Snake are supposedly done after this game, the next Metal Gear game will have to be taken into a new direction regardless.

As far as RE4's sales are concerned on the Wii, I recall reading that it did better than Capcom expected. 250k isn't bad at all considering it is the 4th port of a 2 year old game.

I'm not saying Metal Gear Next and FF14 will absolutely be Wii titles, I just think its a very strong possibility if current trends continue.

Maimed or not, these companies are looking to maximize their profits. If the Wii ends up holding 70% of the market the way the PS2 once did, I don't doubt that a number of 3rd parties are going to change their minds about their existing allegiences.

Kojima and Solid Snake are supposedly done after this game, the next Metal Gear game will have to be taken into a new direction regardless.

As far as RE4's sales are concerned on the Wii, I recall reading that it did better than Capcom expected. 250k isn't bad at all considering it is the 4th port of a 2 year old game.

I'm not saying Metal Gear Next and FF14 will absolutely be Wii titles, I just think its a very strong possibility if current trends continue.

H3LLRaiseR

I'm the last guy who will argue with you about Squenix caring more about its bottom line than game quality (I love many past Squenix games, but Squenix seems to lean ever more heavily on FF and DQ). Also, I was wrong, the global RE4 total is approximately 400K (still not a patch on what hit games do on the X360 in a good month, but substantially better than 250K).

Companies do look at the receptiveness of a given market though. The DS has at least 70% of the portable market, but Konami still decided to release 3 Metal Gears on the PSP (though only one of the three MGS games was a true MGS game). The X360 has a sizable userbase and a strong tie-in ratio, but 3rd parties aren't releasing casual games for it because the likes of Fuzion Frenzy 2 didn't do real well. The fact Halo demonstrated that there were millions of fps fans on the Xbox made said system the place 3rd parties tended to release their shooters, 70% marketshare of the PS2 notwithstanding.

I could go on, but I think my point has been made. Audience size matters, but audience taste/buying habits count for at least as much (one doesn't set up a hamburger stand at a vegan festival regardless of how it is). Granted, every designer clearly doesn't make decisions based on demographics/audience size (Shinji Mikami's Capcom 5 is exhibit A).

Also, I was wrong, the global RE4 total is approximately 400K (still not a patch on what hit games do on the X360 in a good month, but substantially better than 250K).

CarnageHeart

That figure is still off, unless you suspect that the game sold fewer than 10,000 copies in Canada, Europe and Australia combined. Worldwide sales of RE4 Wii Edition should be over 500,000 units by now. Also, how many of those hit X360 games are the 3rd or 4th version of a title originally released more than two years ago?

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

Also, I was wrong, the global RE4 total is approximately 400K (still not a patch on what hit games do on the X360 in a good month, but substantially better than 250K).

Progenitor

That figure is still off, unless you suspect that the game sold fewer than 10,000 copies in Canada, Europe and Australia combined. Worldwide sales of RE4 Wii Edition should be over 500,000 units by now. Also, how many of those hit X360 games are the 3rd or 4th version of a title originally released more than two years ago?

I try not to work offassumed sales (European sales figures are kind of hard to come by). As for the fact RE4 is a remake, given that Nintendo has claimed many, many times that many Wii owners are new to gaming, that shouldn't have been a big drag on sales. Given the success it had with Lost Planet and Dead Rising, Capcom would have done better releasing the RE4 remake on the X360 (heck, Lost Planet sold 600K copies in the US the month it hit).

I try not to work offassumed sales (European sales figures are kind of hard to come by). As for the fact RE4 is a remake, given that Nintendo has claimed many, many times that many Wii owners are new to gaming, that shouldn't have been a big drag on sales. Given the success it had with Lost Planet and Dead Rising, Capcom would have done better releasing the RE4 remake on the X360 (heck, Lost Planet sold 600K copies in the US the month it hit).

CarnageHeart

For it to sell the numbers it did without promotional work is still strong.

[QUOTE="H3LLRaiseR"]

I definitely think that Konami is going to port MGS4 to the 360. I'm not so sure about Final Fantasy. Square has never been the type of company to port their current games across multileplatforms, the only exception being FFXI.

Beyond that though, if Nintendo continues to totally dominate the way they have, I think we'll see the next Metal Gear and FFXIV on the Wii.

CarnageHeart

MGS would have to be badly maimed to fit it onto the Wii and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide (quality X360 and even PS3 games put up bigger numbers than that in the US alone) its not clear that there is much of an audience for hardcore games on the Wii.

FF as a series is a lot more protean (I don't think any of the guys helming the various FF13s have helmed a past FF) and Squenix has shown with Revenant Wings that they are willing to go the casual route (simplify things and eliminate challenge) if that is what it takes to move copies, so a move by FF to the Wii sounds reasonable.

I think he meant MGS5 would go to the Wii if it were ever made. And I thought it was generally accepted that the Wii version of RE4 moving 250k in the US was a good thing seeing as how it is the 3rd or 4th separate release of a game that came out in 2005.

[QUOTE="XBebop"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="Progenitor"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

...and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide...

CarnageHeart

That's false. Despite being the third port of an almost-3-year-old game, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition has sold over 250,000 copies in the US alone.

Link?

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=6163

VGchartz's US numbers are unreliable, but in this case their data meshes with NPD figures. I stand corrected.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/815/815230p1.html

[QUOTE="H3LLRaiseR"]

I definitely think that Konami is going to port MGS4 to the 360. I'm not so sure about Final Fantasy. Square has never been the type of company to port their current games across multileplatforms, the only exception being FFXI.

Beyond that though, if Nintendo continues to totally dominate the way they have, I think we'll see the next Metal Gear and FFXIV on the Wii.

OvakilCSB

hahahahahahahaha

The Wii?

NOBODY will port to the Wii, especially not Konami with MGS OR Square-Enix with FF, its as simple as that, maybe one day they "might" port to the XBOX, but not to the Wii!

(Any MGS, or FF...

So, now that we see evidence that, even with a big price cut, the PS3 has not gotten out of 3rd place in the next gen race and the install base is only growing slightly (hey, I'm just being honest), what are the realistic responses that are likely on the table for both 3rd party publishers?

Darth_Tigris

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"][QUOTE="XBebop"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="Progenitor"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

...and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide...

jedigemini

That's false. Despite being the third port of an almost-3-year-old game, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition has sold over 250,000 copies in the US alone.

Link?

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=6163

VGchartz's US numbers are unreliable, but in this case their data meshes with NPD figures. I stand corrected.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/815/815230p1.html

RE4 is selling well by Wii non-minigame standards, though its kind of funny that its sales aren't projected to equal those of Red Steel despite the fact RE4 is a superior game being offered at a bargain price.

ive[QUOTE="jedigemini"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"][QUOTE="XBebop"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="Progenitor"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

...and with RE4 clearing only 250K copies worldwide...

CarnageHeart

That's false. Despite being the third port of an almost-3-year-old game, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition has sold over 250,000 copies in the US alone.

Link?

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=6163

VGchartz's US numbers are unreliable, but in this case their data meshes with NPD figures. I stand corrected.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/815/815230p1.html

RE4 is selling well by Wii non-minigame standards, though its kind of funny that its sales aren't projected to equal those of Red Steel despite the fact RE4 is a superior game being offered at a bargain price.

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

I try not to work offassumed sales (European sales figures are kind of hard to come by). As for the fact RE4 is a remake, given that Nintendo has claimed many, many times that many Wii owners are new to gaming, that shouldn't have been a big drag on sales. Given the success it had with Lost Planet and Dead Rising, Capcom would have done better releasing the RE4 remake on the X360 (heck, Lost Planet sold 600K copies in the US the month it hit).

Skylock00

For it to sell the numbers it did without promotional work is still strong.

As I've said for years, when a game fails to sell well, advertising is rarely the culprit (more often than not people aren't interested and/or are more interested in the competition). For example, Tomb Raider has (up until recently) always been the beneficiary of a strong advertising campaign (let's not forgetthe exposure provided by the movies) yet sales of the series peaked at 2. Not that advertising is immaterial, but it only creates awareness, not interest. So one has to make a leap of faith that merely putting ads of RE4 on tv would have caused unaware Wii owners to run out and buy it. That assumption might be proven true by the sales of some future game (I don't think placing such an expectation on MP3 would be fair since the Prime series has never put up Mario type numbers), but it isn't a conclusion supported by the availiable evidence.

Thinking about it, demos (which are a form of advertising albeit not the form you referenced) probably impact sales (Lost Planet's demos were downloaded 1,000,000+ times). It might not be a coincidence that both Lost Planet and Dead Rising boasted great demos well in advance of their release. Of course, demos are possible on the X360 and PS3, but not on the Wii...

[QUOTE="Skylock00"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

I try not to work offassumed sales (European sales figures are kind of hard to come by). As for the fact RE4 is a remake, given that Nintendo has claimed many, many times that many Wii owners are new to gaming, that shouldn't have been a big drag on sales. Given the success it had with Lost Planet and Dead Rising, Capcom would have done better releasing the RE4 remake on the X360 (heck, Lost Planet sold 600K copies in the US the month it hit).

CarnageHeart

For it to sell the numbers it did without promotional work is still strong.

As I've said for years, when a game fails to sell well, advertising is rarely the culprit (more often than not people aren't interested and/or are more interested in the competition). For example, Tomb Raider has (up until recently) always been the beneficiary of a strong advertising campaign (let's not forgetthe exposure provided by the movies) yet sales of the series peaked at 2. Not that advertising is immaterial, but it only creates awareness, not interest. So one has to make a leap of faith that merely putting ads of RE4 on tv would have caused unaware Wii owners to run out and buy it. That assumption might be proven true by the sales of some future game (I don't think placing such an expectation on MP3 would be fair since the Prime series has never put up Mario type numbers), but it isn't a conclusion supported by the availiable evidence.

Thinking about it, demos (which are a form of advertising albeit not the form you referenced) probably impact sales (Lost Planet's demos were downloaded 1,000,000+ times). It might not be a coincidence that both Lost Planet and Dead Rising boasted great demos well in advance of their release. Of course, demos are possible on the X360 and PS3, but not on the Wii...

[QUOTE="Skylock00"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

I try not to work offassumed sales (European sales figures are kind of hard to come by). As for the fact RE4 is a remake, given that Nintendo has claimed many, many times that many Wii owners are new to gaming, that shouldn't have been a big drag on sales. Given the success it had with Lost Planet and Dead Rising, Capcom would have done better releasing the RE4 remake on the X360 (heck, Lost Planet sold 600K copies in the US the month it hit).

CarnageHeart

For it to sell the numbers it did without promotional work is still strong.

As I've said for years, when a game fails to sell well, advertising is rarely the culprit (more often than not people aren't interested and/or are more interested in the competition). For example, Tomb Raider has (up until recently) always been the beneficiary of a strong advertising campaign (let's not forgetthe exposure provided by the movies) yet sales of the series peaked at 2. Not that advertising is immaterial, but it only creates awareness, not interest. So one has to make a leap of faith that merely putting ads of RE4 on tv would have caused unaware Wii owners to run out and buy it. That assumption might be proven true by the sales of some future game (I don't think placing such an expectation on MP3 would be fair since the Prime series has never put up Mario type numbers), but it isn't a conclusion supported by the availiable evidence.

Thinking about it, demos (which are a form of advertising albeit not the form you referenced) probably impact sales (Lost Planet's demos were downloaded 1,000,000+ times). It might not be a coincidence that both Lost Planet and Dead Rising boasted great demos well in advance of their release. Of course, demos are possible on the X360 and PS3, but not on the Wii...

The GC, PS2, and PC all had RE4. Almost everyone who wanted to get it in the last two years probably already got it for the PC (bad version) or a last gen console. And if only around 10% of Wii owners are new gamers or nongamers (which was mentioned somewhere on this site), that would also contribute to Wii Edition's low number. Most people who previously owned the game probably don't want to go out and buy a new version of it when they can still play it on older consoles or use backwards compatibility with newer consoles. There are simply multiple reasons why Wii Edition's "low" numbers can be considered impressive, when all I've mentioned is the case.

Yes because if the trillions of dollars spent and made on advertising over the years have proven anything, it's that advertising simply does not work. :|

jedigemini

Advertising does matter if it makes an interested audience aware of a product, but it doesn't create demand. One won't convince people who have no interest in a product to buy a product merely because one puts it one tv (advertising Saw 2 didn't cause people with no stomach for such material to run to the theaters). No traditional game on the Wii has put up the type of numbers that would convince anyone that a big, expensive tv ad campaign could pay off.

It's no secret why it's selling well: It's a fantastic game priced extremely low.

At the low price point, people like me, who already own another version of the game, aren't hesitating to pick up the definitive version.

The GC, PS2, and PC all had RE4. Almost everyone who wanted to get it in the last two years probably already got it for the PC (bad version) or a last gen console. And if only around 10% of Wii owners are new gamers or nongamers (which was mentioned somewhere on this site), that would also contribute to Wii Edition's low number. Most people who previously owned the game probably don't want to go out and buy a new version of it when they can still play it on older consoles or use backwards compatibility with newer consoles. There are simply multiple reasons why Wii Edition's "low" numbers can be considered impressive, when all I've mentioned is the case.

Angry_Beaver

I recall an analyst making that claim, but I also recall an analyst claiming that the PS3 had outsold the X360 in July, so while I've never had much respect for the analytical skills of analysts, even my opinion of the data they have access to has nosedived of late.

[QUOTE="jedigemini"] Yes because if the trillions of dollars spent and made on advertising over the years have proven anything, it's that advertising simply does not work. :|

CarnageHeart

Advertising does matter if it makes an interested audience aware of a product, but it doesn't create demand. One won't convince people who have no interest in a product to buy a product merely because one puts it one tv (advertising Saw 2 didn't cause people with no stomach for such material to run to the theaters). No traditional game on the Wii has put up the type of numbers that would convince anyone that a big, expensive tv ad campaign could pay off.

I don't know where you're going with this...my guess is no where... just some after-math backpedaling after your usual unsubstantiated anti-Nintendo spin that backfired once more when you mistakingly claimed that RE4 Wii editions sales were low because you thought they hadn't passed 250 k worldwide (which still would be impressive fyi).

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]Advertising does matter if it makes an interested audience aware of a product, but it doesn't create demand. One won't convince people who have no interest in a product to buy a product merely because one puts it one tv (advertising Saw 2 didn't cause people with no stomach for such material to run to the theaters). No traditional game on the Wii has put up the type of numbers that would convince anyone that a big, expensive tv ad campaign could pay off.

jedigemini

I don't know where you're going with this...my guess is no where... just some after-math backpedaling after your usual unsubstantiated anti-Nintendo spin that backfired once more when you mistakingly claimed that RE4 Wii editions sales were low because you thought they hadn't passed 250 k worldwide (which still would be impressive fyi).

Skylock sought to excuse RE4's sales by stating it wasn't advertised on tv enough, I pointed out that advertising doesn't create demand only awareness (which may or may not lead to demand) , you replied that trillions are spent on advertising, I supported my claim with concrete examples, and thus we arrived here.

400K is better than 250K but still not as good as RE4 would have done on a system with a larger base of hardcore gamers such as the X360.