NPD Game Sale Chart: November 2005

[Xizer]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6141589.html

My description:
Well, we've got the usual depressing, mediocre or shit games up around the top (Madden, this month's wrestling game, another football game - Blitz). You've got your average rehashes on the chart as well (Star Wars Battlefront II, Tony Hawk).

Something new this month, however, is Mario Kart DS, kicking the PSP's competitor, GTA, squarely in the ass. The rest is the usual - some crappy Dragon Ball Z game, and a shitty 50 Cent game that casual gaming gangster wannabes or people trying to be cool buy despite the fact that it sucks massive amounts of ass. These are your yearly Madden purchasers, and some of your loyal PlayStation fans - I.E. sticking with the same old stuff for years, never trying anything new. I just hate seeing this shit up at the top of the charts every month instead of games like Beyond Good & Evil. I am puzzled how people can buy this crap yearly and never peek outside their little shells and try something new. :/

Opinions? Agree, disagree?

[max 330 mega]

all i can say is im hellaglad to see mario kart wiping the floor with GTA.
also really happy to see mario party 7 make the list too.

[youruglyclone]

Budokai Tenkaichi wasn't that bad...

[VACRMH]

and some of your loyal PlayStation fans - I.E. sticking with the same old stuff for years, never trying anything new.

Are you always on?

Meh, looks like more of the same to me.

[Dobie]

I was kinda shocked to see Super Mario Sunshine still in the top ten for the Cube. Its been at $19.99 for a couple of years now and I still can't bring myself to buy it. :/

Kinda surprised to see Call of Duty 2 for Xbox 360 so high on the list... I know almost everybody with an Xbox 360 so far has bought it, but I would have thought despite that, the sales would be much smaller than most of the popular games for systems like the PS2 with tens of millions of consoles installed already.

[petewhitley]

You idiots realize that GTA debuted in October, right? Thus, it would be expected that Mario Kart charts ahead in November, it's debut month. For chrissakes you'd think you own f*cking stock in Nintendo or something ...

In other news, King Kong is ahead of Star Wars at the box office this month ... x_x

[classicb]

You idiots realize that GTA debuted in October, right? Thus, it would be expected that Mario Kart charts ahead in November, it's debut month. For chrissakes you'd think you own f*cking stock in Nintendo or something ...

In other news, King Kong is ahead of Star Wars at the box office this month ... x_x

which game do you think will sell more by the end of the year?

I don't own any Nintendo stock but since the DS is cheaper plus there is a Mario Kart DS bundle I'd say Mario Kart. I'm not sure why you're so upset

[Xizer]

Oh, and I'd like to note that I said some of your loyal PlayStation fans, before anyone says my comment was trolling. Not all PS fans. The fact is, if you want more of the same, the PS2 is where you'd want to go.

[petewhitley]

which game do you think will sell more by the end of the year?

I don't own any Nintendo stock but since the DS is cheaper plus there is a Mario Kart DS bundle I'd say Mario Kart. I'm not sure why you're so upset

Frankly I could care less which sells more by the end of the year. But I'm sick of the anti-Sony/pro-Nintendo rhetoric on these boards, in that there is just blatant dis-information spread by these Nintendo fanboys. I love classic gaming because it was once popular, cutting edge; I was there and it resonates with me. Not because I think one company is "cooler" or more "oldschool" than another. The games we play today are the classics of tomorrow, a fact alot of these young bucks seem to be ignorant of. See my rant in the "DS vs. PSP Ownage!" thread for my position on what's happening here.

[petewhitley]

Oh, and I'd like to note that I said some of your loyal PlayStation fans. Not all. The fact is, if you want more of the same, the PS2 is where you go.

Of course, since Nintendo just can't stop coming up with new franchises. /end sarcasm

[Xizer]

Sports games that are rehashed yearly are eaten up on the PS2. Madden, for example. Any platformers that are rehashed early are eaten up on the PS2. Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter for example. The majority of franchises on the PS2 consists of sequels.

I know Nintendo puts out a lot of games based on current franchises, but you usually only see one Mario Kart per generation. You only see one Smash Brothers per generation, one Mario platformer, et cetera. Madden is also on the GameCube, but it sells substantially on the PS2. This is not because the PS2 has sold 5 times as many systems. Madden on the PS2 sells well over 5 times as many as it does on the GameCube.

[Leo_A]

So folks, in otherwords sequels are fine if done by Nintendo. If any other company makes a sequel, he'll insult every company involved right down to the fans of the games.

Must be nice to be 15 years old again, I'm sure he'll change a lot in the next few years.

[classicb]

@petewhitley your argument doesn't make sense unless you think at some point GTA is going to outsell Mario Kart.

I'm not on any side here and I'll add that Pokemon has been Nintendo's Madden so to speak for years.

[roushimsx]

Ohh, I can't wait for Blitz to drop in price a bit. It sounds like a lot of fun and I'm sure I could get my friends to play it with me. Don't see why you'd hate on it...

Ratchet looks like it's doing well enough. Going to have to pick that sucker up, too.

I'm happy as hell F.E.A.R. looks like it's actually a success for Monolith. Their previous best selling game was Alien vs Predator 2 and both No One Lives Forever 2 and Tron 2.0 flopped, despite being pure, unfiltered, full on, 100% asskicking awesomeness.

It did make me sad to see that Bratz was the number 2 selling game for GBA the previous month, though. Good lord

[GameNinja]

It did make me sad to see that Bratz was the number 2 selling game for GBA the previous month, though. Good lord

Yes I cried when I saw that too. Oh well, I am sure some little girl is quite happy playing it right now though. I am actually surprised how all of the GBA games are mostly Nickelodeon/Disney stuff. I would have thought more Nintendo stuff would be on there. Hmm..interesting..I suppose that it is due to the very large userbase of younger children but is SpongeBob really that more appealing than WarioWare? Guess so...

[unwinddesign]

Not surprising; never is. Things with brand names/familiar names sell better than niche items such as Beyond Good and Evil. It's only when a game catches fire like Katamari Damacy that it can break out of its "niche" corner and into the top 10 sales charts through word of mouth. It's kind of like the music industry -- or any other industry, for that matter -- in that there are your typical big players, and then, a few times a year, something unheard of comes down the pike and is suddenly on everyone's mind and wishlist.

[zmweasel]

all i can say is im hellaglad to see mario kart wiping the floor with GTA.
also really happy to see mario party 7 make the list too.

Hooray! The umpteenth sequel in a kart-racing franchise has mildly outsold the umpteenth sequel in a free-roaming action franchise! Hooray!

But I have to stop celebrating for a second and ask: 5th place (Mario Kart DS) over 7th place (Liberty City Stories) is "wiping the floor"?

Also, Liberty City Stories debuted on the charts in 4th place--one place higher than Mario Kart DS's debut. Gasp!! Does one place higher count as "floor-wiping," or does it need to be two?

-- Z.

[zmweasel]

Not surprising; never is. Things with brand names/familiar names sell better than niche items such as Beyond Good and Evil. It's only when a game catches fire like Katamari Damacy that it can break out of its "niche" corner and into the top 10 sales charts through word of mouth. It's kind of like the music industry -- or any other industry, for that matter -- in that there are your typical big players, and then, a few times a year, something unheard of comes down the pike and is suddenly on everyone's mind and wishlist.

Unless I missed the chart for that month, Katamari Damacy never placed on the NPD top ten for the PS2, let alone all platforms. It had sold roughly 270,000 copies in North America as of September '05, helped in no small part by the $20 price point. That's a great number for a critical/hardcore hit, but it's not industry-altering by any means.

We Love Katamari didn't make the top ten, either.

-- Z.

[zmweasel]

@petewhitley your argument doesn't make sense unless you think at some point GTA is going to outsell Mario Kart.

As of the end of November, Liberty City Stories *has* outsold Mario Kart DS. Which game ends up with more unit sales when both have run their retail course remains to be seen.

-- Z.

[classicb]

@petewhitley your argument doesn't make sense unless you think at some point GTA is going to outsell Mario Kart.

As of the end of November, Liberty City Stories *has* outsold Mario Kart DS. Which game ends up with more unit sales when both have run their retail course remains to be seen.

-- Z.

thank you captain obvious