Nintendo Hardware and Software sales - Famicom to 3DS

[RCM]

This is pretty interesting:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sale...oft/index.html

[Rob2600]

This is pretty interesting:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sale...oft/index.html

I just did some calculating. The tie ratio for the Wii is *higher* than it was for the NES and SNES!

Here are worldwide Nintendo game-to-console tie ratios (as of March 31st, 2012):


HOME CONSOLES:

NES/Famicom: 8.1 games per console sold

SNES/Super Famicom: 7.7 games per console sold

N64: 6.8 games per console sold

GameCube: 9.6 games per console sold

Wii: 8.5 games per console sold


PORTABLE CONSOLES:

Game Boy and Game Boy Color: 4.2 games per console sold

Game Boy Advance: 4.6 games per console sold

DS: 5.9 games per console sold

3DS: 2.7 games per console sold

[RCM]

I just did some calculating. The tie ratio for the Wii is *higher* than it was for the NES and SNES!

Here are worldwide Nintendo game-to-console tie ratios (as of March 31st, 2012):


HOME CONSOLES:

NES/Famicom: 8.1 games per console sold

SNES/Super Famicom: 7.7 games per console sold

N64: 6.8 games per console sold

GameCube: 9.6 games per console sold

Wii: 8.5 games per console sold


PORTABLE CONSOLES:

Game Boy and Game Boy Color: 4.2 games per console sold

Game Boy Advance: 4.6 games per console sold

DS: 5.9 games per console sold

3DS: 2.7 games per console sold

Yeah, I noticed this too, but I wonder if it's an apples-to-apples comparison. Wii had an awful lot of downloadable games, and I wouldn't be surprised if those counted towards its tie ratio. Do you know?

[TonyTheTiger]

Could also be the result of cheaper games on the Wii compared to NES pricing, same with the GCN. Overall, though, the ratios are nothing to shake a stick at. Even the N64 is rather admirable given the overall slim library and high cost compared to its contemporaries. Of course most of those sales are probably the result of a billion copies sold of the same 6 games but still.

[Rob2600]

Yeah, I noticed this too, but I wonder if it's an apples-to-apples comparison. Wii had an awful lot of downloadable games, and I wouldn't be surprised if those counted towards its tie ratio. Do you know?

I don't know, but either way (disc-based, download-only, or both), it means people are buying and playing a good amount of games on the Wii...which contradicts those who say most people only bought a Wii to play Wii Sports and nothing else.

[heybtbm]

Counting VC and downloadable games as "software sold". How delicious.

I love corporate spin.

[RCM]

I don't know, but either way (disc-based, download-only, or both), it means people are buying and playing a good amount of games on the Wii...which contradicts those who say most people only bought a Wii to play Wii Sports and nothing else.

Or buying them, playing them once or twice like Wii Fit, and then chucking them under their bed. Those who say people only bought Wii to play Wii Sports are certainly misinformed. However, I'd still like to know how Nintendo counts software sold. Is Wii Sports included? How about Wii Play? That "game" was in the NPD top 10 for years, literally, but I'd bet a majority of people bought it for the extra controller as opposed to the game itself. I wonder if M$ and Sony do the same in terms of mixing cheap downloadable games along with more expensive retail stuff. I understand why they'd rather lump the two together, but it's a little deceptive if they are.

[Rob2600]

Considering a very small handful of Wii games (like Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros., Wii Fit, Wii Sports Resort, and New Super Mario Bros.) sold more than 125 million copies alone, I assume the total software sales - and thus, the attach rate - *doesn't* include downloadable games.

However, I don't like the attitude that downloadable games shouldn't count as "real" games.

And there was a study from a couple of years ago that showed Wii owners played games only 30 minutes a day less than Xbox 360 and PS3 owners. That doesn't seem like they're only playing games once and then putting them in storage, but who knows?

[Bojay1997]

I don't know, but either way (disc-based, download-only, or both), it means people are buying and playing a good amount of games on the Wii...which contradicts those who say most people only bought a Wii to play Wii Sports and nothing else.

Well, in all fairness, they are including Wii Sports in the total sales and therefore the attach rate, so it's not like that represented an actual sale since it was a free pack-in. Also, given the vast size of the shovelware and sub $20 library on the Wii, it's not really a sign that sales of software are robust especially since both PS3 and 360 have similar attach rates, but much higher overall software pricing and in the case of 360, a whole second revenue stream from XBL. In any event, it's interesting but really does little to show that people continue buying games for their Wii consoles long term, especially since you could literally have 25% of Wii owners buying up to 30+ games in the lifetime of the console (i.e. buyers like myself and many others here) while the other 75% only bought one or two and still get a similar attach rate.

[Leo_A]

Well, in all fairness, they are including Wii Sports in the total sales and therefore the attach rate, so it's not like that represented an actual sale since it was a free pack-in.

The link I went to said nothing of the sort. No note stating that these figures include games that were bundled with consoles.

As for the thing about pricing, it simply isn't correct. Even following your logic, it simply doesn't apply. The games that sold best on the Wii (Typically 1st party releases) kept their MSRP for extended periods, often years on end.

On the Xbox 360 or PS3, you can quickly find even the most successful games at significantly reduced prices. And hits on those two consoles are almost routinely rereleased at budget prices, something that has been very uncommon on the Wii and only recently started by Nintendo themselves.