Proving once again that Nintendo gamers ignore non-exclusives quite frequently...

[A Black Falcon]

Matt responds: I don't think the gamble was worth it. The original Viewtiful Joe sold 275,000 copies on GameCube and an additional 46,000 on PlayStation 2. Meanwhile, through December 2004, the GameCube version of Viewtiful Joe 2 sold through only 61,000 copies and the PS2 build a mere 18,000 copies. Not so hot, in other words.

http://cube.ign.com/mail

[Great Rumbler]

Looks like other people ignored it as well.

[A Black Falcon]

I guess PS2 gamers don't like that "2d" thing... its weird and flat!

[Great Rumbler]

Darn mainstreamers...

[Dark Jaguar]

Um, except that doesn't explain why the people who like obscure titles didn't buy it. Remember that Katamari Damacy sold very well. Sure, a much greater number of people who just like "da cool" own PS2s, but does that really mean an inverse for PS2 owners who love weird and fun games? I'm not entirely sure that the Gamecube has the monopoly on that demographic...

I suppose what I'm saying is it's likely that reason, at least alone, isn't the cause of the poor PS2 sales...

Hmm, maybe having a demo that deleted memory cards made people a little stand-offish about the full version? Sure, the full version certainly doesn't have that glitch, but I wonder if the majority of people realize that? I dunno...

[OB1]

The topic name says it all. Nintendo gamers completely ignore non-exclusives. That is a fact that has been proven time and time again, a fact that foolish third-parties like to ignore. I'd be willing to bet my entire gaming collection that if Ubi Soft had made BG&E and Prince of Persia SOT GC-exclusive from the beginning, both would have sold at least three times as well as they did altogether on all four platforms. Especially BG&E. And Ancel would be working on BG&E 2 and POP2 wouldn't have been this generic teen angst crap.

The reason for this is because Nintendo is number three, and Nintendo gamers are a loyal, hardcore bunch. They will hype a cool-looking exclusive until everyone else is sick of hearing about the game and will let everyone know that they must purchase "this totally-awesome new GC exclusive".

[A Black Falcon]

You might have a point, OB1, but how do you explain Cube exclusives that don't sell that well? There are definitely some of them! Or is that explained away with 'Nintendo gamers don't buy 'mature' titles much" (given that REmake, RE0, ED, and MGS: TT all probably all into that category, for starters)?

PoP... that sold pretty well and then PoP2 sold even better. It's mainstream enough that I can see why they released it on all the consoles... BG&E? That does fit better into the GC library, but Ubisoft likes to release games on every possible platform... Ubisoft doesn't do many exclusives.

[OB1]

Or is that explained away with 'Nintendo gamers don't buy 'mature' titles much" (given that REmake, RE0, ED, and MGS: TT all probably all into that category, for starters)?

Yes.

[Great Rumbler]

Does anyone know anything about RE4 sales?

[OB1]

Nope.

[Great Rumbler]

...

...

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Okay.

[A Black Falcon]

On the topic of sales, Nintendo sales/profit expectations...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/26/...17154.html

Nintendo slashes profit forecast
Sales double and DS units are selling briskly, but DS games, GameCube consoles, and exhange rates have faltered.

TOKYO--Nintendo has cut its profit forecast for the fiscal year by 22.2 percent, from 90 billion yen ($872 million) to 70 billion yen ($679 million), according to its third-quarter financial report, which was released yesterday. Profits were off 43 percent in the third quarter alone. However, company officials said sales have doubled since 2003 and sales of the DS handheld (now at 2.84 million units worldwide) are higher than expected.

Click Here.

Nintendo raised its yearly DS sales predictions from 5 million to 6 million, but dropped forecasted game sales from 15 million to 10 million after software titles failed to move as briskly as anticipated. Company officials said that the decision to make the DS backwards-compatible with Game Boy Advance titles has resulted in a weaker demand for DS titles.

The preinstalled PictoChat software is also hurting overall numbers. "DS software is not selling because users are playing the preinstalled PictoChat game," Nintendo's senior managing director Yoshihiro Mori said during an interview with Reuters. "Even if they buy a game, multiple players can use it to play against each other, eliminating the need for each to buy his or her own game."

GameCube sales have been slow. The forecast calls for sales of 4 million units rather than the original estimate of 4.5 million. Predictions for GC game sales held steady at 45 million units for the year. Likewise, GBA sales forecasts remain at 16 million units--of which 15 million will be the SP model--and at 77 million games.

Nintendo added that the dollar-to-yen exchange rate has hurt its overall numbers. The company owns about $54 million worth of assets in American dollars, but that's been affected by an exchange-rate slide from 110 yen per dollar to 105 yen per dollar.

According to analysts with Reuters Estimates, Nintendo will post an operating profit of 120 billion yen ($1.16 billion) and a net profit of 74.2 billion yen ($720 million) at year's end. Shares in Nintendo dropped 2.3 percent (270 yen ($2.62)) following the release of the report. Nintendo's fiscal year ends March 31.

Heh... I doubt that included Picto-Chat and GBA compatibility are all that is to blame for lowering DS sales expectations... how about 'no killer aps', guys?

[OB1]

I was just about to say the same thing. Blaming it on Pictochat... fools.

[A Black Falcon]

They need some excuse and don't want to admit their game lineup is somewhat lacking, obviously.

[OB1]

And by ignoring the real problem it's hard to do better!

[A Black Falcon]

It is interesting, though, that while they adjust expected DS sales up they adjust software sales down... and significantly -- sales up from 5 to 6 million but software down from 15 to 10 million... it seems to be selling well on concept but the software so far doesn't match up. Let's hope that changes...

[Great Rumbler]

Incidentally, sales of the GBA have passed 14 million units in Europe. Don't know about the other regions, though.

[A Black Falcon]

http://www.cube-europe.com/news.php?nid=7397

Huh, so Alien Hominid sold better on GC than PS2 in the US? Interesting... obviously the 'GC gamers like more unique titles more than PS2 owners do' won out over 'GC owners don't buy third party or multiconsole titles'... even if the latter meant that not many people got it on GC either.

Sure, it didn't sell well on either console. But the GC sales were a bit higher... that's probably more a statement on what PS2 gamers like more than it is about the GC.

This is a game I should get, it looks quite good and the flash game was good...

[Great Rumbler]

I still don't have that game yet.

[OB1]

The art and animation is incredible.

[A Black Falcon]

Any game that is described as a good Metal Slug-style game has got to be a good thing...

[Great Rumbler]

I played the original Flash version and it's fun...and really crazy. And HARD.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, hard it is. But those games are supposed to be hard, I'd say... sure, it's annoying sometimes, but annoyingly hard is probably better than too easy, especially for such simple games that otherwise could get dull.

[Great Rumbler]

It's a lot harder than Metal Slug. It's TOO hard. I died 10 times just on the first level.

[A Black Falcon]

The flash Alien Hominid only HAS one level, so it was made to be really hard.

[Great Rumbler]

Federal Bureau of Decapitation.

[A Black Falcon]

I haven't finished the Flash game either, but it makes more sense once you realize that there's only one level... I'm sure the full game is rebalanced. Still hard, but hopefully not as ridiculous... at least at first... :)