SEGA: Economic fears hit retailer stock orders

Phil Elliott

The global economic slowdown is applying more pressure on videogames publishers as retailers in the US slash their stock orders.

In a bid to limit any risk of piling up unwanted inventory - if consumers stop buying games - all five key retail chains in the territory have started to cut their day one orders, causing growing concern among the publishing community.

That's according to Sega Europe president Mike Hayes, who told GamesIndustry.biz that although Europe isn't quite in the same position, it's another headache for the industry to have to deal with.

"Retailers, definitely in the United States, are being far more prudent in what they buy, so they're clearly going to focus on the triple A titles, but their day one orders are coming down," he said. "What they're saying is that they'll take in as little as need to, see how it sells through, and then they know they can order again in a matter of days if not hours. So that's hurting us.

"In the United States you've got five customers, and those customers are saying that they don't need to order four weeks' stock, I'm going to order two. I don't want all this inventory. I think you'll find most publishers in the United States will be having similar challenges, to be honest.

"But Europe is such a mosaic of opportunities - while all the retailers are being more aggressive, and we understand why, Europe's a much more fluid and flexible market to manage, so we're in a good position."

A fall in stock orders is the latest issue to hit the publisher-retailer relationship, following a greater take-up of second-hand game sales by retailers in North America and Europe as well as a push into game rentals, while publishers look more closely at direct sales via digital distribution.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/economic-fears-hit-retailer-stock-orders

This is bad in general for the video gaming industry. This will hurt many smaller devs as well if retailers aren't ordering significant stock. Niche games will definitely be hurt the most.

Stoked and Onechanbara... :cry:

I guess it's good I pre-order!

Makes sense. Hell I'm surprised they didn't do this earlier to help push pre-order and used game sales.PBSnipes

Stuff like this didnt happen in the PSone and PS2 days, when third-party games sold millions every week Offcourse you claim the Wii is that...FirstDiscovery

Yeah, like Okami and Beyond Good and Evil.

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Stuff like this didnt happen in the PSone and PS2 days, when third-party games sold millions every week Offcourse you claim the Wii is that...IronBass

Yeah, like Okami and Beyond Good and Evil.

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Stuff like this didnt happen in the PSone and PS2 days, when third-party games sold millions every week Offcourse you claim the Wii is that...Zhengi

Seriously, what is this guys problem? I'm not much of a nintendo fan but seeing him relate ANY bit of news to a Nintendo bash is pretty pathetic. I bet he thinks casual games didn't exist till the wii :roll:

[QUOTE="IronBass"]

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Stuff like this didnt happen in the PSone and PS2 days, when third-party games sold millions every week Offcourse you claim the Wii is that...FirstDiscovery

Yeah, like Okami and Beyond Good and Evil.

yeah, Okami sold so well that Clover Studios (developer of Okami) is still around... oh wait:|

Reality Check: Okami sold so poorly that Capcom had to close Clover Studios

[QUOTE="Zhengi"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Stuff like this didnt happen in the PSone and PS2 days, when third-party games sold millions every week Offcourse you claim the Wii is that...shutdown_202

Seriously, what is this guys problem? I'm not much of a nintendo fan but seeing him relate ANY bit of news to a Nintendo bash is pretty pathetic. I bet he thinks casual games didn't exist till the wii :roll:

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="IronBass"]

Yeah, like Okami and Beyond Good and Evil.

ogvampire

yeah, Okami sold so well that Clover Studios (developer of Okami) is still around... oh wait:|

Reality Check: Okami sold so poorly that Capcom had to close Clover Studios

[QUOTE="shutdown_202"]

[QUOTE="Zhengi"] What are you blabbing about? There were games that flopped in sales during the PSone and PS2 days. And why are you bringing the Wii up? This situation affects all systems. FirstDiscovery

Seriously, what is this guys problem? I'm not much of a nintendo fan but seeing him relate ANY bit of news to a Nintendo bash is pretty pathetic. I bet he thinks casual games didn't exist till the wii :roll:

and this here is why SW is so entertaining....

reality and logic need not apply

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Both of which sold loads compared to todays standards of a flop:| You do realise that both SoTC and ICO (another two 'flops') sold atleast 700k each, games were great back in those days, there was no casual Wii taking up all the hardcore spaceFirstDiscovery

yeah, Okami sold so well that Clover Studios (developer of Okami) is still around... oh wait:|

Reality Check: Okami sold so poorly that Capcom had to close Clover Studios

And errrr.. which one of Clover Studio's games sold well?

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Both of which sold loads compared to todays standards of a flop:| You do realise that both SoTC and ICO (another two 'flops') sold atleast 700k each, games were great back in those days, there was no casual Wii taking up all the hardcore spaceFirstDiscovery

yeah, Okami sold so well that Clover Studios (developer of Okami) is still around... oh wait:|

Reality Check: Okami sold so poorly that Capcom had to close Clover Studios

out of a userbase of over 110 million, okami was only able to sell 270,000 units (lifetime)

you do the math...

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="ogvampire"]

yeah, Okami sold so well that Clover Studios (developer of Okami) is still around... oh wait:|

Reality Check: Okami sold so poorly that Capcom had to close Clover Studios

ogvampire

out of a userbase of over 110 million, okami was only able to sell 270,000 units (lifetime)

you do the math...

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="shutdown_202"]

Seriously, what is this guys problem? I'm not much of a nintendo fan but seeing him relate ANY bit of news to a Nintendo bash is pretty pathetic. I bet he thinks casual games didn't exist till the wii :roll:

ogvampire

and this here is why SW is so entertaining....

reality and logic need not apply

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]The PS2 by late 2006 was not selling as much software, and given how Clover studious werent known to make the biggest hits, they saw little reason in keeping them Their other games sold well in the peak of PS2 dominance, you wonder why they didnt close them then?FirstDiscovery

out of a userbase of over 110 million, okami was only able to sell 270,000 units (lifetime)

you do the math...

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="ogvampire"]

yeah, Okami sold so well that Clover Studios (developer of Okami) is still around... oh wait:|

Reality Check: Okami sold so poorly that Capcom had to close Clover Studios

dotWithShoes

And errrr.. which one of Clover Studio's games sold well?

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="ogvampire"]

out of a userbase of over 110 million, okami was only able to sell 270,000 units (lifetime)

you do the math...

dotWithShoes

[QUOTE="dotWithShoes"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]The PS2 by late 2006 was not selling as much software, and given how Clover studious werent known to make the biggest hits, they saw little reason in keeping them Their other games sold well in the peak of PS2 dominance, you wonder why they didnt close them then?FirstDiscovery

And errrr.. which one of Clover Studio's games sold well?

Seems games sell over a million on the Wii without huge ad campaigns.. I saw very little Mario Kart ads, its sold over/close to 15million. SSBB? Did it have a huge ad campaign? Guitar Hero: WT? Don't really remember, but probably did.. Yeah, the Wii is the reason behind the global economic crisis.

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="dotWithShoes"] And its amazing about that time is when we started seeing a recession start? Amazing how the global economy affects umm.. everyone? Including the video game industry. Yup, you're right.. the Wii caused a global recession, caused Lair and Haze to flop and Factor 5 and Free Radical to close. Anything else you wanna blame on the Wii?

And errrr.. which one of Clover Studio's games sold well?

dotWithShoes

Seems games sell over a million on the Wii without huge ad campaigns.. I saw very little Mario Kart ads, its sold over/close to 15million. SSBB? Did it have a huge ad campaign? Guitar Hero: WT? Don't really remember, but probably did.. Yeah, the Wii is the reason behind the global economic crisis.

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]The PS2 by late 2006 was not selling as much software, and given how Clover studious werent known to make the biggest hits, they saw little reason in keeping them Their other games sold well in the peak of PS2 dominance, you wonder why they didnt close them then?FirstDiscovery

out of a userbase of over 110 million, okami was only able to sell 270,000 units (lifetime)

you do the math...

not sure what are ranting about, but i was correcting your claim about how okami sold 'loads'... it didnt.

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Casual games existed, and for good reason, we need the commons to get into gaming and then for them to graduate, just like every other gamer that has every existed. Unfortunately, the Wii is taking the commons/lesser market, and making sure they stay casuals. Even PS2 casuals who bought both hardcore and casual titles simply due to how huge the userbase was is now being turned 'Nintendo' Its like Cadbury, they pay workers in cocoa plants so little that they stay poor and have nowhere else to go toFirstDiscovery

and this here is why SW is so entertaining....

reality and logic need not apply

i would answer a post if it was grounded in reality, not born in fantasy land:|

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="ogvampire"]

out of a userbase of over 110 million, okami was only able to sell 270,000 units (lifetime)

you do the math...

ogvampire

not sure what are ranting about, but i was correcting your claim about how okami sold 'loads'... it didnt.

[QUOTE="dotWithShoes"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Right so basically devs should make games for PSone and PS2, because you know they have high userbase therefore EVERY game will sell well I know its shocking, but once upon a time, only a few titles every once in a while flopped, yes shocking i know give how many hardcore games this gen fail, you know who to blame...;)FirstDiscovery

for a game that was advertised, and got good ratings all around. 270k on a 110mil userbase is a massive flop

[QUOTE="dotWithShoes"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]And yet the situation would be nowhere near as bad had we a console that sold games without multi-million ad campaigns or being made to cater to those who arent smart enough to go check up recipes on the net (yes shocking, i cant remember the name of it but it has sold millions)FirstDiscovery

Seems games sell over a million on the Wii without huge ad campaigns.. I saw very little Mario Kart ads, its sold over/close to 15million. SSBB? Did it have a huge ad campaign? Guitar Hero: WT? Don't really remember, but probably did.. Yeah, the Wii is the reason behind the global economic crisis.

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="ogvampire"]

and this here is why SW is so entertaining....

reality and logic need not apply

ogvampire

i would answer a post if it was grounded in reality, not born in fantasy land:|

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Right so basically devs should make games for PSone and PS2, because you know they have high userbase therefore EVERY game will sell well I know its shocking, but once upon a time, only a few titles every once in a while flopped, yes shocking i know give how many hardcore games this gen fail, you know who to blame...;)FirstDiscovery

not sure what are ranting about, but i was correcting your claim about how okami sold 'loads'... it didnt.

for the type of game it is? tomb raider sold millions (action/adventure genre)

amount it cost? if it made money, the devs wouldnt have been shut down

time it was released? that same year the ps2 had 5 games in the top ten selling over 1 million units

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="dotWithShoes"] Viewtiful Joe? VJ2? Okami?(lol) God Hand? Or VJ: Red Hot Rumble?One of those? We know it wasn't Okami. So, which one was it?

Seems games sell over a million on the Wii without huge ad campaigns.. I saw very little Mario Kart ads, its sold over/close to 15million. SSBB? Did it have a huge ad campaign? Guitar Hero: WT? Don't really remember, but probably did.. Yeah, the Wii is the reason behind the global economic crisis.

dotWithShoes

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="ogvampire"]

not sure what are ranting about, but i was correcting your claim about how okami sold 'loads'... it didnt.

ogvampire

for the type of game it is? tomb raider sold millions (action/adventure genre)

amount it cost? if it made money, the devs wouldnt have been shut down

time it was released? that same year the ps2 had 5 games in the top ten selling over 1 million units

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]I know, especially when you try to use smart comments because you cant answer a post?FirstDiscovery

i would answer a post if it was grounded in reality, not born in fantasy land:|

"the Wii is taking the commons/lesser market, and making sure they stay casuals"

nintendo wants casuals (who dont buy alot of games) to stay casuals. (makes sense right, nintendo is worried about selling things, they are a business)

Even PS2 casuals who bought both hardcore and casual titles simply due to how huge the userbase was

yeah, that sure makes alot of sense right there too.... ps2 casuals bought hardcore games due to how huge the userbase was? wha?

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]And it did for the type of game it is, the amount it cost, and the time it was released.FirstDiscovery

for the type of game it is? tomb raider sold millions (action/adventure genre)

amount it cost? if it made money, the devs wouldnt have been shut down

time it was released? that same year the ps2 had 5 games in the top ten selling over 1 million units

its quite entertaining how you side-step all the statements that prove your claims wrong... keep it up

[QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"][QUOTE="ogvampire"]

i would answer a post if it was grounded in reality, not born in fantasy land:|

ogvampire

"the Wii is taking the commons/lesser market, and making sure they stay casuals"

nintendo wants casuals (who dont buy alot of games) to stay casuals. (makes sense right, nintendo is worried about selling things, they are a business)

Even PS2 casuals who bought both hardcore and casual titles simply due to how huge the userbase was

yeah, that sure makes alot of sense right there too.... ps2 casuals bought hardcore games due to how huge the userbase was? wha?

[QUOTE="ogvampire"][QUOTE="FirstDiscovery"]Offcourse i understand, but yes, what is so zany about my post?:|FirstDiscovery

"the Wii is taking the commons/lesser market, and making sure they stay casuals"

nintendo wants casuals (who dont buy alot of games) to stay casuals. (makes sense right, nintendo is worried about selling things, they are a business)

Even PS2 casuals who bought both hardcore and casual titles simply due to how huge the userbase was

yeah, that sure makes alot of sense right there too.... ps2 casuals bought hardcore games due to how huge the userbase was? wha?

this is your exact quote:

"Casual games existed, and for good reason, we need the commons to get into gaming and then for them to graduate, just like every other gamer that has every existed. Unfortunately, the Wii is taking the commons/lesser market, and making sure they stay casuals. Even PS2 casuals who bought both hardcore and casual titles simply due to how huge the userbase was is now being turned 'Nintendo' Its like Cadbury, they pay workers in cocoa plants so little that they stay poor and have nowhere else to go to"

Maybe they could find alternate solutions, like have online pre-orders for specific stores and such to help them know how much stock to get. This is definatly problematic, so some solution has to come out that can help retailers order less, but make it so gamers still have access to the games. Atlus and NIS America release a lot of niche Japanese titles, but they commonly only send a few to each store, so you pretty much have to pre-order, so if that happened for more games and someone forgot to pre-order, it would definatly suck, I guess the best idea until they get out of the harder economic times is to research what should sell, or do something like easier online pre-orders for specific stores, so people who might have to drive 20 minutes to a Gamestop, don't have to do it twice for a single game. 110million

[QUOTE="110million"]Maybe they could find alternate solutions, like have online pre-orders for specific stores and such to help them know how much stock to get. This is definatly problematic, so some solution has to come out that can help retailers order less, but make it so gamers still have access to the games. Atlus and NIS America release a lot of niche Japanese titles, but they commonly only send a few to each store, so you pretty much have to pre-order, so if that happened for more games and someone forgot to pre-order, it would definatly suck, I guess the best idea until they get out of the harder economic times is to research what should sell, or do something like easier online pre-orders for specific stores, so people who might have to drive 20 minutes to a Gamestop, don't have to do it twice for a single game. Fire-of-Njozi

that would be bad. for the most part, i dont like DD

if a buy a game, i want to be able to let my friends borrow it. something you cant do with DD

[QUOTE="110million"]Maybe they could find alternate solutions, like have online pre-orders for specific stores and such to help them know how much stock to get. This is definatly problematic, so some solution has to come out that can help retailers order less, but make it so gamers still have access to the games. Atlus and NIS America release a lot of niche Japanese titles, but they commonly only send a few to each store, so you pretty much have to pre-order, so if that happened for more games and someone forgot to pre-order, it would definatly suck, I guess the best idea until they get out of the harder economic times is to research what should sell, or do something like easier online pre-orders for specific stores, so people who might have to drive 20 minutes to a Gamestop, don't have to do it twice for a single game. Fire-of-Njozi

Stuff like this didnt happen in the PSone and PS2 days, when third-party games sold millions every week Offcourse you claim the Wii is that...FirstDiscovery

Don't blame the wii that the PS3 and 360 can't compete. But that's irrelevant since cows and Lemmings don't play sales right ;)