The Gaming Pessimist

NPD Thursday --- May 2009

2009-06-11T22:42:00.002-05:00

The multi billion dollar video game industry has a unique trait that other entertainment industry’s do not share, a fervor over sales numbers by the enthusiast market. With a higher cost to enjoy the hobby then movies or music, there are a significant amount of individuals that take stock in how well their favorite systems and games sell, rooting for their personal favorites, and booing the efforts that make their choices look lackluster.

On the first Thursday of every month, the retail analyst NPD Group release the top selling software for the previous month, as well as the hardware totals. These numbers open a window into what the general public is purchasing, the trends that lead to continued success, and the game’s that become lost in the ocean of software that releases every month.

This is NPD Thursday.

May is traditionally one of the slowest months for the video game industry. The Easter holiday shopping season passed, and the start of the slower summer season gives way to the release of the game based off the summer blockbuster movies. The doldrums of summer can be lucrative with the right combination of marketing, concept of the game, originality, and brand recognition, but the majority of the titles that release post Easter are safe bets for the publishers.

The May software totals are down from last year, when titles like Grand Theft Auto IV, Mario Kart, and Wii Fit made their debut, or released in the previous month. NPD reported that the total number of titles in the top ten fell 1.1 million units from last year.

Nintendo’s triple threat still maintains position in the May’s top ten software list. Wii Fit, at 352k units sold positioning in second place, Mario Kart, at 158k units sold in seventh place, and Wii Play, at 109k units sold in tenth place, continuing the longest consecutive stretch of appearances on the top ten software list. The return of the long time Nintendo franchise Punch Out!!, 150k units sold at eighth place, adds another first month Wii release to the charts.

The three titles have been the forefront of the “evergreen” titles, games that continue to sell respectable number for several months after the initial release, that have become common on the Wii. The new market that Nintendo taped into continues to purchase these titles, as they are becoming some of the best selling software during this current console cycle.

The biggest surprise of the month comes from the mixed martial arts third party title UFC 2009 Undisputed, which managed to sell a combined one million copies for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, 679k units sold and first place on the Xbox 360, and 334k units sold and forth place on the Playstation 3. What was once a niche sport, the huge popularity of this title is a very showing tell at how huge the world of MMA has become in the last few years.

A second third party title that debuted in May that had a strong showing is EA Sports Active for the Wii system. The most significant fitness game since the release of Wii Fit last year, EA Sports Active features a more dedicated workout program, including a resistance band and Wii Remote holder, and debuted in third place with 345k units sold. One of the most impressive third party releases for the Wii system, the title also can be used with the Balance Board accessory that comes with Wii Fit, making it a good complement for Wii Fit.

EA Sports Active has the potential to be the first, big third party “evergreen” title for the Wii system. While titles like Guitar Hero have fizzed out after six months, usually because of further sequels, EA Sports Active is the first game out of Electronic Arts as part of their new Wii strategy. The title should continue to do well as more and more people invest in Wii Fit.

InFamous for the Playstation 3 had a respectable 175k unit sold in less then a week at the end of May. A first party effort, inFamous continues the trend of Sony published titles to premier in the top ten. Time will tell if it will have legs, where titles like Killzone 2 dropped off the chart after a few short months.

Rounding out the top ten is Pokemon Platinum for the Nintendo DS, 169k units sold at sixth place, and Xmen Origins Wolverine for the Xbox 360, 120k units sold at ninth place.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bionic Commando, the return of the classic action title from Capcom, was a sales disaster, selling less then 30k copies across all platforms. Their strategy to market the title by releasing the popular Bionic Commando ReArmed was a marketing and commercial failure.

Hardware sales in May seen a large drop almost across the board.

The Wii maintained the top spot for the month for consoles with 290k units sold. The Xbox 360 was next with 175k units sold, and the Playstation 3 had 131k units sold.

On the handheld side, the Nintendo DS family of systems sold 633k units, while the PSP sold 100k units.

As an industry, May was the first time since August 2007 that the gaming industry failed to top the billion dollar mark. The reasons for this drop are many. The deep recession that the country is facing has proved that the gaming industry is not as recession proof, as previous thought. The first half of 2009 was also a rather slim in terms of new, high profile titles. Last year saw titles like Grand Theft Auto IV, Mario Kart, Wii Fit, and Super Smash Bros Brawl were massive selling titles.

On the hardware side, we could be seeing the start of a downward slope as the saturation point at the current price points of the consoles. It is highly possible that we could see all three hardware manufactures lower the price of their systems within the next few months, but only time will tell.

June will be a very telling month if the recession is affecting the consumer’s willingness to purchase games, or if it has just been the selection of games available. Major releases like Tiger Woods 2010, Red Faction Guerilla, Prototype, and the start of the rush of summer movie titles has the potential to move a lot of pieces of software, and offer wide appeal to the entire gaming market.

Thanks and credit to The NPD Group, NeoGAF, and IGN for the numbers used in this post.

What to Take Away From E3 2009

2009-06-08T21:57:00.003-05:00

The 2009 Electronics Entertainment Expo has passed, and the week long event has made its mark on the gaming industry. One of the premier trade shows of the video game industry, E3 has always been the stage for big name announcements and blockbuster reveals. The holiday for gaming enthusiasts everywhere, this year’s showing of software and technology for the largest entertainment medium has been one of the most impressive to date.

It is hard to try to take a show chock full of goodness and pack it into a neatly confined list of goodness, but here are the big things you need to take away from this year’s E3.

Big names across entertainment unite.

This video game industry has its share of big names and stars that create, market, and star in the software played by millions. These stars of the industry are not as easily recognizable to the general pubic as their counterparts in other entertainment mediums, but their hard work has shaped the games we play today in so many ways.

What was special about this year’s show is that the big names of the gaming industry have teamed up with some of the largest names in movies and music to help further the games we play to levels we have not yet experienced.

During the Microsoft press conference on June 1st, The Beatles Rock Band took center stage with a fifteen minute unveiling to the press attending. Highlighting the proceedings was the appearance on stage of Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, widow’s of John Lennon and George Harrison, and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. This superstar collaboration brings the Beatles music into video gaming for the first time, releasing on the same day as the re-release of all of the Beatles albums, September 9th of this year.

Later in the same conference, one of the most recognized names in Hollywood took the stage to help promote the unveiling of Project Natal, Microsoft’s take on the next generation of interfacing with a game. Steven Spielberg, director of such movies like E.T., the Indiana Jones saga, and Munich, stepped on stage to express his excitement for the motion camera that takes the controller out of the equation. Spielberg, a gaming fan since the Atari days, spoke at how excited he was in what Project Natal can bring to gaming, and what visionaries like him can do to help with that experience.

At the Ubisoft press conference on June 2nd, James Cameron, director of the upcoming movie Avatar, was front and center about how video gaming can help bridge the story of a movie in ways not seen before. In a pitch of both his movie, and the game that will be released of the same title, Cameron was enthusiastic about how the game and movie tie together to bring a more complete entertainment experience.

This is the kind of cross media collaboration that brings the gaming industry more into the mainstream, and into legitimacy in the eyes of the layman. Even with the huge popularity of the Wii in the last few years, gaming still comes with some strange stigma that puts it below other forms of entertainment. By having highly recognizable names attached to video gaming, the general public will begin to become attached to gaming, and maybe respect it just a little bit more.

Handheld gaming comes front and center on the big stage.

At the beginning of the E3 week, the big three companies, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, kick off the festivities with key note press conferences. During the Nintendo and the Sony conference in previous years, the focus has been on their console offerings, while the handheld systems have been brushed to the side.

Nintendo bucked the trend this year by dedicating a significant portion of their press conference to their current handheld system, the DS.

High profile games were announced and shown off on the conference stage. Titles like Kingdom Hearts and DiRT will be making their DS debut, while new additions to the Legend of Zelda series and Mario and Luigi RPG series were shown off. Ubisoft, one of the largest DS publishers, is looking to challenge the Grand Theft Auto series with C.O.P. Lastly, several new games that appeal to the ever growing “tween” gamer, girls aged 9-15, were shown off.

The DSi camera software will be updated to directly connect to the massively popular social networking site Facebook, allowing people to post pictures directly to their Facebook account.

The DSiWare service, a service that allows games to be downloaded directly to the DSi without a game needed, will also see increased support. WarioWare DIY and Mario vs. Donkey Kong will feature user generated content that can be shared with other DSi owners through the Nintendo WiFi service. Flip Note Studio, one of the first DSiWare titles announced, features the ability to combine drawings made by the player into an animation.

Overall, it was a very strong showing for the most popular handheld system on the market. The software that was shown off appeals to a wide range of gamers, something that the DS has excelled in since its release.

Sony’s conference had the same tone towards their handheld system, the PSP. The biggest announcement was the official unveiling of the PSP Go. Priced at $249.99, the PSP Go features a slide open design and 16 GB of built in memory that you can download games and other media content on to, the UMD disc drive was removed, offering a system that relies solely on digital distribution. A high end system for high end adopters, the PSP Go is a radical step for Sony, who is trying still to carve out their niche in the handheld market.

One of the biggest problems with the PSP was addressed this year as well, a Sony announced a large amount of software for the handheld. Hideo Kojima took to the stage to announce the next installment of the Metal Gear Solid sage, subtitles Peace Walker. Several high profile Playstation console franchises will be making their first handheld appearances, including LittleBigPlanet, Assassins Creed, Resident Evil, and Gran Turismo.

Lastly, Sony showed off a couple more bundle packs for their current PSP model. The first is the Rock Band bundle that releases June 9th, the second a lilac colored system that comes with a Hannah Montana title to appeal to the “Tween” gamer.

Handheld gaming has taken a backseat at this show for the last few years, only being center stage when a new one is announced. While the DS and PSP have taken off, becoming accepted forms of gaming, the software has been brushed out of the spotlight in favor of the console offerings. It is refreshing to see Nintendo and Sony treat their handheld systems on the same footing as their consoles.

2010 is shaping up to be an amazing year for gaming.

It is not rare for a rare occurrence for an E3 to showcase titles that will not been seen until the next calendar year. The highest profile titles are unveiled to the world the same way that movies are, short length teaser trailers that are used to generate word of mouth buzz amongst the gaming enthusiasts and press, which trickle down to the masses.

What can be considered rare is the forward knowledge at the depth of the next year’s lineup of software so soon.

It is usually through bad news that the next year’s lineup becomes more clear. Games that are slated for the current year are that are delayed, be it through anything from development difficulties, to litigation, are what usually makes up the bulk of what people can expect for the next year.

This year bucked that trend, and hard.

Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Gran Turismo 5, God of War 3, Alan Wake, Final Fantasy XIII and XIV, and Metroid Other M are just a handful of the significant amount of titles that were revealed for a possible 2010 release.

For a show that has always been deep rooted in the near present, it is refreshing to see that the industry no longer looks to the short term the software they make public to the world. Not only do we have the rest of this year to look forward to, but can become generally excited for what 2010 will bring.

E3 delivers the show the industry needs.

When it was announced in 2006 that E3 would be toned down considerably, the idea was well received by both the gaming media and the companies that deliver the games. The most used reason for the tone down was so that publishers did not feel pressured to spend the money on elaborate showings, and that the expo would be about the games.

E3 rolled around in 2007 with the abridged show, heavily segmented into several locations. The show floor gave away to meetings and press showings, the only remnants of the expo was the pre show press conferences. What once was the marquee event for the gaming industry in America became nothing more then a chain of press events that lacked the emotion that E3 had become known for.

By the time the 2008 show wrapped up, people started to lose interest. Publishers were starting to not how up, seeing that it as more worth their time to hold private events. The Entertainment Software Association, the industry’s lobbying group and sponsor of the E3 event, announced that they would be bring the how back to its former standing.

The results could not have been better as 44,000 people attended this year’s event.

The gaming industry is now the largest entertainment medium in America. Just like every other entertainment industry, video gaming needs its big show. Press from around the world, both from the mainstream and the enthusiast fields, flock to this event like they do a large film festival, or awards show. E3 is needed to help bring legitimacy to an industry that finds difficult its place in the culture of entertainment.