Hi! Welcome to the video game industry thread. Here we discuss things like sales figures, game development, studio closures, executive quotes, marketing and general business stuff. Also poop jokes. And frequent references to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMSHvgaUWc8
And now, February's NPD numbers.
With hardware and software combined, total new video-game sales rang up at $1.06 billion for last month; a 20 percent decline from the $1.33 billion spent during the same period last year. Breaking that total down, hardware sales accounted for $381.4 million of all moneys spent in February, down 18 percent year over year, while software sales accounted for $464.4 million (down 23 percent year over year) and accessories sales brought in $215.2 million, down 16 percent year over year.
Despite those year over year declines, hardware sales increased 62 percent over January, Vita sales notwithstanding. Factoring in Sony's new handheld boosts that figure all the way up to 87 percent.
On the software front, the Vita's best-selling launch title was Uncharted: Golden Abyss, earning a spot among the month's top 20 overall best-selling titles. The top ten best-selling titles for February can be found after the break, with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning being the only new IP to make the list.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, 360)
UFC Undisputed 3 (360, PS3)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (360, PS3, PC) -- 330,000
Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PC, PS2)
SoulCalibur 5 (360, PS3)
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
Twisted Metal 2012 (PS3) -- 221K
Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
Asura's Wrath -- 36,000
Syndicate -- 34,000
360 -- 426,000
Wii -- 228K
3DS -- 262K
DS -- 135K
PlayStation 3 -- 360K (PR Math)
PlayStation Vita - 225K (PR Math)
Portable game launch month comparisons:
GBA - 20 - 27 days in launch month NPD, 870K
PSP - 10 days, 619K
NDS - 8 days, 480K
3DS - 7 days, 400K
PSV - 11 days, 225K
Posts
Gonna seem silly in a year when it's...the Old iPad, I guess?
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/03/07/deus-ex-human-revolution-designer-on-boss-fights-we-are-truly-sorry/
At which point there will be a New New iPad.
iPad Classic. They'll sell millions when people don't like the taste of New iPad.
I, for one, would pay money for a Super iPad
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iPad 64
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If your first thought upon reading that is "...hey wait a minute...", congratulations, you are still sane.
gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/03/07/valve-39-s-gabe-newell-is-one-of-the-industry-s-richest-men.aspx
Well deserved IMO. He saved PC gaming.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-02/compact-mechanical-crossbow-nails-targets-precision-laser
I am pretty sure this was in Deus Ex.
Red headed step child syndrome?
Get this. It's an iPad that actually fits in my pocket. And it can make phone calls!
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This news does make me question his position from a couple years ago to not take Valve public (stock), as he stated integrity in video game design as the reason (boards of directors don't give a shit about integrity, and he's right). Could be that he's rich as fuck and wants to control that. That or maybe it's both, I'll give ol' Gabe the benefit of the doubt.
Not surprising. They did outsource the bossfight segments and even when the game had just launched you can tell there was regret on their part for making that happen.
Both of those are entirely reasonable positions for him to take.
Taking Valve public would set him up to be rich as fuck anyway. I'd rather Newell get filthy rich off of a privately held Valve while keeping the company a great place to work for than take it public and have a bunch of fat cat Wall Street types squeezing every possibly penny out of Valve and Steam to the ultimate detriment of the platform and workplace before it finally collapses under its own weight and they waddle off to find the next thing to wring dry.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
If the bosses had been in-keeping with the rest of the game, DX:HR would have been a fierce contender for GOTY. The rest of the game was absolutely incredible.
And the developers have been so unlike others in the way they treat their fans. When everyone complained that the orange glow thing was stupid, like two days later the devs came right out and said 'ok, we're removing that shit. sorry'.
And JJB has the best tumblr out there.
See Nintendo telling their shareholders to fuck off in regards to making 'droid games. Not every dev would have that opportunity if taken public.
Users: 45
At this moment, for the 360 version.
They're probably just mad because they can't import their Shepard.
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I want Game Journalists are Incompetent Fuckwits to come back. Even better, I want the entire gaming journalism to burn and be recognised at large, not just to us, for the unfunny joke and complete disgrace to the word "journalism" it is. They deserve as much.
It does seem very polarizing. Reading some of the reviews, I don't think ALL the < 5 scores done by haters. Some of them seem to make good points. Of course, there are the "lol day 1 DLC fuck this 0" stuff. But then of the positive ones, it's all 10's and lots read like fanboy rants about how good of a game it is without supplying any qualifications.
Again, taking a quick look at the reviews there (as though they're indicative of everything), the ones that scored the game poorly are usually pretty long and wordy. The higher ones are short and need not be expanded.
Type Zero Vita though? Very likely. People in the know say that it is being localized as we speak and they sure as shit aren't dumb enough to release it on the PSP.
The rumors are complete bunk but that one will probably happen sometime this year or early next.
I think that's really all that needs to be said.
At least day 1 users. Reviews which pop up by users hours after a game is released are rated on a binary scale of 0 or 10. It's either people justifying their purchase, overt fanboys, or outright haters.
I think, a few weeks or months after a game is released, that aggregate user scores are probably the most fair (unless there is a review scandal, like with Jurassic Park or Kain & Able), but still unsatisfactory. A single number can never be as satisfactory as a long breakdown of a game.
Why can't they release it on PSP through PSN? That way more people get to play it.
You still have to pay to publish a game on PSN. I guess, for whatever reason, they're no willing to publish PSP games in the US anymore. Kinda like most publishers.
Because it's Square Enix. The same people who won't put Kingdom Hearts, Crisis Core, etc. on PSN.
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Still no clue on Crisis Core... but considering how long it took them to release FFT:WotL, it doesnt surprise me.
I've been tempted to replay Crisis Core, but I really don't want to play it on my PSP.
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Same. I have the UMD in my PSP 1000 right now, but I just... don't want to turn the PSP on after using the Vita.