So What Went Wrong? [Archive]

Evil Avatar

01-04-2006, 03:38 PM

Next Generation online has posted a new feature article, So What Went Wrong? (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1944&Itemid=2) taking a look at the weak Q4 video game sales.

Sales for Q4 were weaker than expected; damaged by a lack of innovative games, a poorly executed hardware launch and a lack of price-action for older consoles. Next Generation spoke to a selection of industry professionals for their views on what went wrong, and how to fix the problems...

rickmus

01-04-2006, 03:50 PM

From my own personal experience, WoW is what I blame. I currently have no real interest in playing any other game ( and thus no economic purchases being made ). I got a 360 the day they were released, it still sits un-opened ( should have sold it in Ebay ).

Mr.Green

01-04-2006, 03:50 PM

Damaged by a lack of innovative games? Geeky wishful thinking I say. "Innovative games" pretty much always sell poorly. Psychonauts, BG&E, etc...

NeuroMan42

01-04-2006, 03:56 PM

Psychonauts, BG&E, Splinter Cell, WOW, among others are great games. Developers pour all their hardcore advertising into craptastic games.

Plus the market is TOO full of crap games, that the good ones NEVER get seen or at least seldom do.

Blade

01-04-2006, 04:12 PM

Q4 sales were low because mainstream gamers simply couldn't handle the might of the Railgun. *dodges bullet*

rickmus

01-04-2006, 04:15 PM

Q4 sales were low because mainstream gamers simply couldn't handle the might of the Railgun. *dodges bullet*

Q4 as in Quarter 4 Sales in the industry, as in October - December, not Quake 4 :P

eatme

01-04-2006, 04:16 PM

Damaged by a lack of BIG games, not innovative games. Why is anyone surprised sales are low coming after a year of GTA:SA, HL2, and Halo 2? What was supposed to keep pace with those? NFS:MW? Riiiight.

bobbler

01-04-2006, 04:19 PM

I did my part.

I blame everyone else.

SMES

01-04-2006, 04:21 PM

Q4 sales were low because mainstream gamers simply couldn't handle the might of the Railgun. *dodges bullet*

Rimshot!

Seriously though, I can understand why the lack of supply of 360's could seriously damper sales. I know a lot of people who were trying to get 360s as presents and couldn't, so they ended up getting books and sweaters for their kids.

Huge holiday game profits rely on the marketing hype and supply availability. When there are no blockbusters for existing consoles and the new console is impossible to find, the holiday season just turns into an advertising money sink for the industry.

Cha-Ka

01-04-2006, 04:23 PM

And let's not forget that EA has dropped the ball big time by letting quality slide thinking they can bank on their sports exculsivity deals to guarantee sales. I bet they're sorry they don't have a surefire movie license like LotR to bail them out this year.

Blade

01-04-2006, 04:34 PM

Rickmus: Sarcasm, as in S-A-R-C-A-S-M... like a joking statement. January-December. ;)

There was no big killer app this holiday season. I mean, okay... there were games (that feature Karts and Wi-Fi multiplayer) that could be considered "killer apps" but not on a grand scale.

Xbox 360's killer apps were PD0 and Call of Duty 2, and neither were really worth the $400 for defective launch hardware.

Ajguy

01-04-2006, 04:35 PM

Well, let's see. A lack of 360s in America as they sit on shelves in Japan. Absolutely no high profile releases for Gamecube or Xbox (excepting King Kong and Prince of Persia (sorry, Mario Strikers on the GC doesn't cut it)). The PS2 at least had Dragon Quest VIII. The PSP had literally nothing. Honestly, the only system to have any good releases was the DS (Mario Kart, Partners in Time, Animal Crossing, Sonic Rush, Tony Hawk, etc.). So yeah, games aren't gonna sell if they aren't there.

Ludoc

01-04-2006, 04:36 PM

I know a lot of people who were trying to get 360s as presents and couldn't, so they ended up getting books and sweaters for their kids.

So MS isn't really having a problem manufacturing enough icons but has hatched a pot to increase child literacy. Well, we're on to you J, you can't trick the younger generation into learning with us around. GTA and assorted FPSs for all! We'll create an ignorant, uneducated, socially inept group of youths yet, live was only the first step.

Heretic Machine

01-04-2006, 04:47 PM

Kelegacy

01-04-2006, 04:51 PM

There were "okay" releases up until beginning or mid-November. After that, poo. I know I was completely underwhelmed this Holiday season. I haven't beaten a new game (sans my purchase of a DS and Mario Kart/Trauma Center on Monday) since Dragon Quest, and that came out in November. Hell, I went back to God of War after Xmas. It's not that I don't have a lot to play still, but last year (2004) was MUCH better. If I didn't have a full time job to curb my gameplaying I would be bored and gameless right now, I bet.

Zurik

01-04-2006, 04:53 PM

Metal Jesus

01-04-2006, 04:58 PM

Personally, there were just TOO MANY games all released in the same short period. Not only that, but I have 4 systems now (PS2, XBOX, PSP, DS). You buy one or two for each and that leaves hundreds of games you haven't even considered.

BlindSwordsman

01-04-2006, 05:00 PM

The problem here in my eyes is that there are too many hardware platforms. If there was a standardation in hardware would allow smoother transitions to hardware improvements. Although the movie industry has its own problems, they dont have to worry when the next generation of camera or projector comes out.

Its only a matter of time till we get there in my eyes...

Please dont forget that I am blind :p

I dont even want to mention too many games or i will start to sound like a broken record :)

bobbler

01-04-2006, 05:08 PM

Weird... I got more games this year than any previous year <.< Since leaving for Christmas break I've gotten the following games: Animal Cross WW, Makai Kingdom, Suikoden IV, Katamari Damacy, We Love Katamari, Call of Duty 2, Dead or Alive 4, Civ IV, Medal of Honor: AA, and FFIV Advance. Game sales were not slow in this house.
Same here. I've gotten more games in the last 3 months than probably the last 2 years combined. And I don't forsee my purchases stopping any time soon! Lots of good games for systems that are already out in 2006, and then add all those for new systems and I just might be poor.

earthworm48

01-04-2006, 05:19 PM

I remember repeatedly hearing that there were really high expectations after 2004's huge sales (Halo 2 and San An pop too mind) but then with no "as major" title really this, well last, year really appeared from what I can remember, it was the 360. Lack of 360's might have preevented 2005 reaching the financial success if you will of 2004, but I don't know.

EDIT: I will say that I bought so many games in the last few months, and there are quite a few games that are out in the US but not over here (UK) yet.

DoubleUranium

01-04-2006, 05:27 PM

Well, let's see. A lack of 360s in America as they sit on shelves in Japan.

My favorite part of this is the small revenge on MS for dicking us with region coding. Without that they could easily ship those 360s to the US and sell them instantly.

MasterKwan

01-04-2006, 05:50 PM

I'm just not compelled by any games this season. If I could have gotten one, I'd have bought a 360 but, just to have. There were no launch titles I HAD to have. I've been replaying my old favs like Raven Shield, Far Cry and Max Payne 2.

Citizen Philip

01-04-2006, 05:58 PM

Too much money that didn't originate in the Industry has created a bloat of unproductive companies. Too many brands pushing few titles, leaves most people with a lack of interest to invest in something to only pick up one or two titles. Some developers sit on the wayside as they are bought out and told to wait until "their brand" comes to market to release their work.

Of course it's the gamers who get the shortend of the corporate shitstick. There lots of great games isolated in little pockets, but not a single goddam person feels like they have to buy 3 consoles, 3 handhelds and a PC just to play a game for cristsakes.

Meh.

swiftdraw

01-04-2006, 06:03 PM

I bought Battlefield 2 (broken on release, still a bit buggy), Unreal Championship 2 (Made me remember why I hate console FPS controls), and X3: Reunion (broken on release, still very buggy.) I'm finding myself playing my NES and SNES more than any of my other consoles. Still I get in a game of Mech Assualt (1 or 2), Crimson Skies, and look forward to one or two future games. I think I'm slowly losing intrest and withdrawing from gaming and replacing it with novels and comic books/graphic novels. Sort of ironic considering I quit comic books and cut back on my reading after I started getting into gaming.

Edit: I know I listed 2 x-box games, but I mainly got my PS2 and GBA for RPGs and I've trouble playing those once I beat them. Also the Final Fantasy re-releases on the GBA I already have on my NES and SNES. Gamecube get some use when I feel up for some Smash Bros.

novicius

01-04-2006, 06:55 PM

Picked up my preordered Xbox 360 on launch with Kameo, PDZ, and PGR3. My wife and I play all of them regularly. That was my contribution to the industry.

I did pick up a used copy of Killzone after Christmas and play through that (what a gem!). 'Course, that helped only EB. :D

Ajguy

01-04-2006, 06:58 PM

Picked up my preordered Xbox 360 on launch with Kameo, PDZ, and PGR3. My wife and I play all of them regularly. That was my contribution to the industry.

Oh yes, as a lucky and proud owner of a 360, I've made plenty a purchase for that machine and am very happy with it. The problem is that I am just that, a lucky and proud owner. If there were more 360s on shelves, then more of the games would have sold as well.

Heretic Machine

01-04-2006, 07:00 PM

Same here. I've gotten more games in the last 3 months than probably the last 2 years combined. And I don't forsee my purchases stopping any time soon! Lots of good games for systems that are already out in 2006, and then add all those for new systems and I just might be poor.

Yup, after I get the $50 back that I lent to my dad, I'm going to order a copy of Guiter Hero. So that's yet another purchase.

novicius

01-04-2006, 07:11 PM

Guitar Hero! Right, how could I forget?! My fingers still ache! :D

Re: 360, I was lucky, I readily admit it. I had a 14 minute wait the day the 360 launched to pick mine up. One of the few.

Still, I'm playing through PDZ on single player (after playing through it co-op with my wife), I'm 7 challenges away from all Platinums on PGR3, and my lady has finished Kameo and is going back to collect various items. We now picked up DOA4 (she had to unlock the Spartan, of course), and have paid off Oblivion and Gears of War. Piss, it sure doesn't feel like we've saved money! :lol:

Steele Johnson

01-04-2006, 07:27 PM

I have to agree with some of the other posters. There were just some outstanding games that came out in 2004 and early 2005. Most gamers are still playing them, and nothing really came out this holiday season that was good enough to drag us away.

I still play BF2, CoH, SC:CT, Halo 2, HL2, and a few more.

Publishers just think that they can release shit and every gamer is going to run out and buy it. Not true... most gamers are picky... including myself.

92miata

01-04-2006, 09:38 PM

funny blade. i went to work today and ran my 360 while i was gone with kameo in, came home and everything was working fine. it is warm, not hot. i can hear the fans but it is not loud. the 360 is incredible. everything about it. i am loving mine so much i want to sell my ps2 and xbox and never go back. thanks bill!!!!!

bobbler

01-04-2006, 10:20 PM

Yup, after I get the $50 back that I lent to my dad, I'm going to order a copy of Guiter Hero. So that's yet another purchase.

I've been so tempted to pick it up... I keep seeing people play it at best buy and every time I get more and more tempted.

trip1eX

01-04-2006, 10:33 PM

I think folks have hit the nail on the head.

Let me also add used games and older cheaper new ones to the mix as factor that killed sales this xmas.

More than ever I think it's easier for folks to find used games and $15 new ones that they haven't played. Also at the end of the cycle the number of these inexpensive games is at their highest. Surely most folks haven't played them all either. And hell it's just as cheap to buy a new console you don't have and 4 $15 games as it is to buy 4 $50 games for the console you own. Another advantage of older games is you probably have a better idea of the quality of the game because it's been around for awhile.

That's what I have to add. I also think folks might be getting sick of the same 'ole. I played most of the pc's big new releases and they were mostly been there done that except they looked prettier.

steve

01-05-2006, 12:53 AM

From my own personal experience, WoW is what I blame. I currently have no real interest in playing any other game ( and thus no economic purchases being made ).

Exactly the same here. Having a full time job, there's simply no time left for any other games. RE4 is sitting in PS2 for some time now, waiting to be finished.

In addition, there haven't been much releases around chrismas I was interested in.

Evil Avatar

01-05-2006, 04:14 AM

I dont even want to mention too many games or i will start to sound like a broken record :)

I'll go along with the too many games thing. Every time I go to Fry's Electronics I see a lot of Playstation 2 titles that look excellent that I have never seen advertised anywhere or even heard of.

Do I spend $29.99 - $39.99 on a game I haven't even heard of for a system I seldom play? Not to mention the glut of Xbox titles that I haven't picked up yet.

And I don't even buy GameCube games and I feel like there are too many games out there to choose from.

Dragon Quest VIII? I would love to buy it, but I don't really even have time for it, so I didn't bother.

51|RandoM

01-05-2006, 07:17 AM

The market is clogged with crap. Even when there is something cool, you're lucky if you know about it.

I picked up indigo prophecy after hearing about it on here, not even knowing it was out for multiple platforms. I got the ps2 version, but probably could've got a better version.

I don't think game sales are that bad, I think the people predicting what game sales should be are just wrong. They're expecting the industry to just keep growing and growing, and that isn't going to happen. The efforts to target the "non-gamer" are working, but even when successful, those aren't the type of people who're going to walk into EB and pick up a game or two each week.

They seem to be going on the assumption that typical game title sells X number of copies, so if we can churn out Y of those titles, then obviously we'll sell X*Y. Lol, just doesn't work that way. People don't need/want 4 different driving games, etc, unless that is the only genre they play. How many people actually own GT, Forza, and NFS? I'm sure there are a few people on this site, but in general, most people will only end up with one of those, and that is if they like driving games to start with.

Same type of situation precipitated the first videogame crash.

automaton

01-05-2006, 07:49 AM

I don't think 2005 was a very good year for gaming. I mean you had your God of Wars and your Resident Evil 4's, but it was nothing like '04. In 2004 I probably got around 10 games for christmas (Metroid Prime 2, Halo 2, Half Life 2, GTA:SA, Jak 3, R&C 3, Viewtiful Joe 2, Mario Tennis GC, Pikmin 2, Sly Cooper 2). 2004 was just a fucked up nexus of amazing sequels.

It is really pitiful that the most exciting thing on my PS2 right now is Ratchett Deadlocked & Batallion Wars on my GC. My Xbox is deader than Elivs right now. I sit in my bed playing DS all the time. It is the only system I can afford with any life at the moment.

Nite_Moogle

01-05-2006, 07:57 AM

The 2005 Q4 drought is a result of the calm before the storm. Not everyone could get an Xbox 360 and knows that the PS3 and Revolution are on the horizon, so they are biding their time. Developers have slowed their productions for the exiting generation of consoles and are prepping for the new one. It shows in how strong the sales of the DS (Mario Kart especially), PSP, and GBA are in comparison to the Xbox, PS2, and GC. Combine that with the lack of any real juggernaut PC games (Half-Life 2 and World of Warcraft were monstrous Q4 sellers last year) and you have what is apparently an industry slump. It shouldn't last. Next Christmas will be a lot better if the studios give us the games that we want.

netcraazzy

01-05-2006, 08:34 AM

I blame WoW. As much as I've tried to balance my time between WoW and my other games it just isn't happening. I've pretty much ignored the PC games front this year which is very unusual for me since that's normally my preferred platform. Only PC games I've bought is BF2 and The Movies. Same goes for consoles. I had planned on getting a 360 ages ago when I preordered mine so I bought 3 games for that but my other consoles have not seen a new game since christmas of 04 aside from Psychonauts which I've barely played.

Deathbane27

01-05-2006, 01:03 PM

Zelda and Oblivion delayed until '06. 'Nuff said.

YoungAlCapone

01-05-2006, 01:42 PM

I haven't even been buying games for more than $20 lately. I find that I fell so far behind releases when I first moved out of my parents house that now just buying "older" games I have yet to play for cheap is much better.

I also just picked up an xbox and have been playing with that lately. Just picked up Outrun 2, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Conker, the Halos, Amped (1), Rallisport Challenge (1), and Psychonaughts (SP?) for less than $100. That is incredible being that as of a year and a half ago before I moved out paying over $100 for 2 games wasn't even a big deal.

My PS2 is useless, but I keep it for the day that I can pick up Shadow of the Collosus for cheap. I literally do not own a single game for it. My Gamecube has been a staple since I bought it and gets constant use, as it was originally the only complement system to my PC, waiting for cheap Pikmin 2 and Fire Emblem.

As for the PC, I bought Quake 4, FEAR, and Civ 4 all new and only ever play one, I'm sure you can figure out which one I play. In fact, Q4 and FEAR aren't even installed. I recieved CoD2 for Christmas and have been enjoying that.

As for my DS, it has been all Mario Tennis Lately, with the occasional Animal Crossing or Mario Kart.

In conclusion, I have no fucking clue why game sales are down but I imagine it has something to do with the current round of consoles being retired, prematurely in my opinion. In addition to that there is also the fact that for every one good game released there is a bare minimum of 15 shit titles hitting the shelves simultaniously(sp?).