In today’s world, sales numbers mean everything. If a console is selling well, most game companies will start supporting it. If a console is in a slump and not producing enough sales, game companies will be cautious in releasing their game on that console. Its good for companies to know how many consoles are being sold and which platform will be beneficial to their game.
This brings up the question of how is the public affected by these sales numbers and should they have any knowledge of how consoles are selling. Will the 3DS and the Playstation Vita live a normal and healthy lifecycle when their sales numbers are not what they should be–and people find apps on their phones less of a risk to take to fulfill their gaming needs?
While talking with some friends one day, one of them flips out a 3DS so they can take a picture. Now there are reasons to not like a console. The games may not appeal to someone, they may dislike some of the features, or they may not have much use for it at the time. The first thing that comes out at the table is “Dude, why did you get that gimmick? Its not even selling well anywhere and there are no games for it. check out this awesome game on my iPhone. it’s just like Uncharted.”
I was seconds away from correcting him when I realized, that if your not an avid gamer and never really keep up with gaming news, that is the message that a lot of people have about the 3DS. And with iPhone gaming apps becoming popular and cheap, its hard to convince someone to enjoy a handheld dedicated to gaming.
The last big thing that was announced about the 3DS was the price drop that brought it down to $169.99. This change in price was caused by declining sales. Though many people feel that the 3ds was a failure because of the price, It was the software that had such an impact on declining sales.
If the system released with Mario kart 7, Super Mario 3D land, and Monster Hunter, sales would’ve stayed strong and the 3DS would be facing–at most–a $20 price cut so it can stay competitive with the PS Vita. The average person will look at an article that says the 3DS is performing poorly and will just take that as the console will fail and there is no point to pick up a console that will die. Then they will continue playing angry birds on their iPhone.
This is actually starting to reflect on the PS Vita as well. It released back in December in Japan, and over the course of 2 months, sales have been rising and falling and its not selling as strongly as people were expecting. Once again the average person takes those sales numbers to believe that the console sucks and there is no reason to buy it. Though there are other reasons why it may have underperformed (two new Mario games and Monster Hunter just released on Nintendo’s handheld, not many launch games appealed to people, did not have the money to get one) that is what many people will make of the situation.
When the system releases in the US this month, Some people are going to be getting it no matter what. People who are on the fence are going to be looking at how it performed in Japan and won’t make the purchase because it sold poorly over there, and to them it will do the same in the US and Europe, and they’ll think “I don’t want to be stuck with a dud”.
This idea popped up recently when I went into gamestop. I’m standing in line and I noticed that a boy in line wanted to preorder the PS Vita. He really wanted to play uncharted on the go and loved the PSP. The clerk told the boy that the console is bombing in japan and its not going to do well here. This boy took this man’s advise and picked up a copy of modern warfare 3 and elite. People are also discussing how the poor sales will bring a huge price cut like the 3DS had and it would be wise to wait for that, or a new revision.
Fanboys also have a strong influence on how a console will sell. Fanboys from the Nintendo side talk about how the PS Vita will fail and be like the PSP with no games. Sony fanboys will talk about how the 3DS is for kids and the graphics suck. Why people feel that two consoles cant be awesome and deliver quality games I’ll never know. They will only enjoy one console and will never experience unique and exciting games due to hating another one. One of my friends has never played Persona 4, he feels it should be on the Xbox, and he won’t even touch a PS2 controller.
If everyone waited for a console to have a huge price cut or a revision, there will be poor sales, game publishers and developers will lose money, and inevitably pull away support from the system. This would cause a console to fail and ultimately get discontinued. Sales numbers are quickly changing the opinions of many potential buyers and is slowly causing game companies to lose money.
People are rejecting the idea of having fun on a console they really want to play due to sales numbers not being what they would like. The idea of video games is to bring entertainment and excitement to all. It would be best if business is not mixed in with fun.
Sales numbers will always go up and down. The idea that people base their purchases on these numbers is a little strange. If a console doesn’t appeal to you, don’t buy it, but don’t discourage the people who have some interest in it.
About Antoine Lathon
Hello Everyone! I’m a lover of video games,Anime and spaghetti (make pasta,not war). I’m 20 years old and a full-time college student obtaining a degree in computer science. Ive been gaming since I was 5 years old and still an avid gamer today. When I’m not programming,writing awesome short stories and bowling, I’m playing awesome games and watching just as awesome anime.
