Off he goes... looking for a Wii.
The UK's only near-official gaming stats collector, Chart-Track, has released its overview of the nation's gaming history: 2007CE. Unsurprisingly, it was a hugely successful year if you make video games and sell them in the UK.
So, are there any surprises? Well, industry journal, MCV, reports that Microsoft narrowly beat Nintendo in terms of reaping most value on single platform with Xbox getting 18.60% of the market to the DS's 18.20% of total. What of PS3? It came in with 9.10% of the value - for the most expensive console on the market for the bulk of its life so far, coming in with 50% of the the 360's value could be cause for some concern over at SCEE.
Things could have been so much worse for Sony, however. So, the decision that saw a huge uptake of PS3 ownership following the October introduction of the 40Gb, £299 PS3 appears to now more than ever, to have been more than sensible.
However, what with stats being worse than lies and even damned lies, there's always another way to look at the situation of market 'value'. The companies who made the cash are, in order:
1) Nintendo 32%
2) Sony 30.80%
3) Microsoft 18.60%
4) PC 17.90%
(We know this only adds up to 99.30% - we also know that 'PC' isn't a company at all - it's a platform).
So, how does that translate into people's actual homes? Who got most boxes into most bedrooms or living rooms (or kitchens maybe?). Here's how Chart-Track states the percentage share of actual units sold:
1) Sony 31.70%
2) Nintendo 31.20%
3) PC 23.30%
4) Microsoft 12.90%
This breaks down as:
1) PC 23.30%
2) Nintendo DS 19.70%
3) Sony PS2 18.70%
4) Microsoft Xbox 360 12.90%
5) Nintendo Wii 10.40%
6) Sony PSP 7.40%
7) Sony PS3 5.60%
8) Nintendo GBA 1.10%
So, as we'd all come to expect, the DS held sway (if we discount PC 'gaming only' sales for the moment). However, the PS2 kept Sony and the PlayStation brand inside people's homes and minds. Whether it was love of Xbox or simply really poor supply on the part of Nintendo's Wii logicians, Microsoft can be gently content with it's 'next-gen' offering being at the top of the pile. Despite PS2 keeping the brand alive, Sony has to hope that the 40Gb PS3 can push its latest gaming tech more in 2008.
Software
What of games? Indeed... the big question of 2007 was, "With all this hardware warring, what happened to the bloody games?" Well, here's the Top 10 for what will not go down as a Classic Year:
1. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts)
2. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)
5. More Brain Training (Nintendo)
6. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
7. The Simpsons Game (Electronic Arts)
8. Wii Play (Nintendo)
9. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
10. WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 (THQ)
Yes, FIFA 08 topped out the charts for 2007 at full price all formats. So, what does this chart say about us all? It certainly says that the aficionado's game of the year, BioShock might have been media-adored, but the average person on the street was more impressed by - for example - the critically underwhelmed, Assassin’s Creed.
A righteous slap for us in the meeja then.
These figures also show that, although the Wii sold, games for the Wii apparently have not - or at least not so they featured in this top 10. Of course, the fact that the chart is dominated by multi-platform titles (6/10) does indicate that the more is, indeed, the merrier.
That didn't stop Nintendo coming in second in both units and value to Electronic Arts, which basically blew everybody else away in both categories. Microsoft came in second place for the amount of cash made but the might of Halo 3 still only saw the company at seventh in terms of units sold.
Finally, and we'd said we'd come back to PCs... for all those 'gaming PCs' sold (and with World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade launch alone attracting huge publicity and also real people), you might have expected a few PC-oriented titles to appear. Once again, however, single-platform (even if that platform is a PC) games suffer.
Makes the discussion about platform exclusives an entirely kettle of cash from the perspective of the publisher, now doesn' it?
Just before we go - make sure to compare the Xmas chart with the 2007 total just to get an idea of how important that buying period is to the publishers. A clue? Of the Week 40 2007 Top 10, only three games did not also feature in the total 2007 Top 10: Need For Speed: ProStreet, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and The Golden Compass from Week 40 were seen off by: Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training, Wii Play and Halo 3.
Your opinions, rants about why your platform wasn't given enough comment; your opinion and analysis are all welcome in the Forum...
Head over to MCV's detailed breakdown for more.
So, are there any surprises? Well, industry journal, MCV, reports that Microsoft narrowly beat Nintendo in terms of reaping most value on single platform with Xbox getting 18.60% of the market to the DS's 18.20% of total. What of PS3? It came in with 9.10% of the value - for the most expensive console on the market for the bulk of its life so far, coming in with 50% of the the 360's value could be cause for some concern over at SCEE.
Things could have been so much worse for Sony, however. So, the decision that saw a huge uptake of PS3 ownership following the October introduction of the 40Gb, £299 PS3 appears to now more than ever, to have been more than sensible.
However, what with stats being worse than lies and even damned lies, there's always another way to look at the situation of market 'value'. The companies who made the cash are, in order:
1) Nintendo 32%
2) Sony 30.80%
3) Microsoft 18.60%
4) PC 17.90%
(We know this only adds up to 99.30% - we also know that 'PC' isn't a company at all - it's a platform).
So, how does that translate into people's actual homes? Who got most boxes into most bedrooms or living rooms (or kitchens maybe?). Here's how Chart-Track states the percentage share of actual units sold:
1) Sony 31.70%
2) Nintendo 31.20%
3) PC 23.30%
4) Microsoft 12.90%
This breaks down as:
1) PC 23.30%
2) Nintendo DS 19.70%
3) Sony PS2 18.70%
4) Microsoft Xbox 360 12.90%
5) Nintendo Wii 10.40%
6) Sony PSP 7.40%
7) Sony PS3 5.60%
8) Nintendo GBA 1.10%
So, as we'd all come to expect, the DS held sway (if we discount PC 'gaming only' sales for the moment). However, the PS2 kept Sony and the PlayStation brand inside people's homes and minds. Whether it was love of Xbox or simply really poor supply on the part of Nintendo's Wii logicians, Microsoft can be gently content with it's 'next-gen' offering being at the top of the pile. Despite PS2 keeping the brand alive, Sony has to hope that the 40Gb PS3 can push its latest gaming tech more in 2008.
Software
What of games? Indeed... the big question of 2007 was, "With all this hardware warring, what happened to the bloody games?" Well, here's the Top 10 for what will not go down as a Classic Year:
1. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts)
2. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)
5. More Brain Training (Nintendo)
6. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
7. The Simpsons Game (Electronic Arts)
8. Wii Play (Nintendo)
9. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
10. WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 (THQ)
Yes, FIFA 08 topped out the charts for 2007 at full price all formats. So, what does this chart say about us all? It certainly says that the aficionado's game of the year, BioShock might have been media-adored, but the average person on the street was more impressed by - for example - the critically underwhelmed, Assassin’s Creed.
A righteous slap for us in the meeja then.
These figures also show that, although the Wii sold, games for the Wii apparently have not - or at least not so they featured in this top 10. Of course, the fact that the chart is dominated by multi-platform titles (6/10) does indicate that the more is, indeed, the merrier.
That didn't stop Nintendo coming in second in both units and value to Electronic Arts, which basically blew everybody else away in both categories. Microsoft came in second place for the amount of cash made but the might of Halo 3 still only saw the company at seventh in terms of units sold.
Finally, and we'd said we'd come back to PCs... for all those 'gaming PCs' sold (and with World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade launch alone attracting huge publicity and also real people), you might have expected a few PC-oriented titles to appear. Once again, however, single-platform (even if that platform is a PC) games suffer.
Makes the discussion about platform exclusives an entirely kettle of cash from the perspective of the publisher, now doesn' it?
Just before we go - make sure to compare the Xmas chart with the 2007 total just to get an idea of how important that buying period is to the publishers. A clue? Of the Week 40 2007 Top 10, only three games did not also feature in the total 2007 Top 10: Need For Speed: ProStreet, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and The Golden Compass from Week 40 were seen off by: Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training, Wii Play and Halo 3.
Your opinions, rants about why your platform wasn't given enough comment; your opinion and analysis are all welcome in the Forum...
Head over to MCV's detailed breakdown for more.
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Comments
SuperSaiyan4 10 Jan 2008 15:58
1/5
Hang on the percentages make no sense, why is the Xbox 360 constantly at the lower end?? When it was the top machine and most software taker of 2007??
Looking on MCV it clearly declares the 360 and DS as winners of 2007 yet according to your made up percentages Microsoft are at the lower end?
You might as well as add PC and Microsoft together because that makes more sense.
Looking on MCV it clearly declares the 360 and DS as winners of 2007 yet according to your made up percentages Microsoft are at the lower end?
You might as well as add PC and Microsoft together because that makes more sense.
config 10 Jan 2008 16:15
2/5
There's only one list by platform, and that is clearly stated as percentage by unit, not value. It's one list, so you're right in stating that Xbox 360 is constantly at the lower end, but c'mon - it's just one list.
That list was, as stated, to demonstrate the number of actual games bought, not the sum of the ticket prices. Given that 360 games cost way more than PS2 or DS titles, it would win out by selling fewer. But fear not, your 360 is still the top next-gen format on that list.
As for not giving props to your precious 360's achievement on value, if you read the copy and don't skip to the charts, you'll see this in the second para;
"Well, industry journal, MCV, reports that Microsoft narrowly beat Nintendo in terms of reaping most value on single platform with Xbox getting 18.60% of the market to the DS's 18.20% of total."
So yes, the article clearly states that 360 is the winner in terms of cash.
That list was, as stated, to demonstrate the number of actual games bought, not the sum of the ticket prices. Given that 360 games cost way more than PS2 or DS titles, it would win out by selling fewer. But fear not, your 360 is still the top next-gen format on that list.
As for not giving props to your precious 360's achievement on value, if you read the copy and don't skip to the charts, you'll see this in the second para;
"Well, industry journal, MCV, reports that Microsoft narrowly beat Nintendo in terms of reaping most value on single platform with Xbox getting 18.60% of the market to the DS's 18.20% of total."
So yes, the article clearly states that 360 is the winner in terms of cash.
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SuperSaiyan4 10 Jan 2008 16:36
3/5
You are partly correct that 360 games cost more than PS2 and DS titles but not usually way more.
If you look the average DS title is around £30 at the most and PS2 games around £30 also, many Xbox 360 games are either the same price or less or sometimes just a bit more.
Its funny how close the prices are of Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 games in comparison to handhelds and I have to say Wii games are heavily over priced.
If you look the average DS title is around £30 at the most and PS2 games around £30 also, many Xbox 360 games are either the same price or less or sometimes just a bit more.
Its funny how close the prices are of Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 games in comparison to handhelds and I have to say Wii games are heavily over priced.
DoctorDee 10 Jan 2008 17:19
4/5
SuperSaiyan4 wrote:
You might as well as add PC and Microsoft together because that makes more sense.
No it doesn't. it makes no sense at all. Microsoft does not make any money off of your average PC game. They do make money from Xbox games.
alexh2o 10 Jan 2008 22:02
5/5
Some interesting results here. A couple of annoying things though...
When you talk about 'taking a slice of the living room' etc, its not really fair to consider hand helds. They should be separated in my opinion.
Also, PC gaming has 100% of the market, seeing as everyone owns one. Just guessing but Id also say at least 60% of PC games are pirate copies. So PCs in general should be excluded as a world on their own. [not software sales though]
I would also say considering there are near zero exclusive games worth buying on the PS3 as opposed to the 360 (halo, mass effect, bioshock, etc) and there are far fewer PS3s out there... Sony havnt done so badly.
In all I think the message is clear, everyone is doing well and its a 3 horse race this gen. Oh and my theory that the vast majority of Wiis are sold as 'gimmicks' to people who wont really use them, seems to hold some sway based on software sales. [i have a wii, i like it... but most of my gaming is done elsewhere]
When you talk about 'taking a slice of the living room' etc, its not really fair to consider hand helds. They should be separated in my opinion.
Also, PC gaming has 100% of the market, seeing as everyone owns one. Just guessing but Id also say at least 60% of PC games are pirate copies. So PCs in general should be excluded as a world on their own. [not software sales though]
I would also say considering there are near zero exclusive games worth buying on the PS3 as opposed to the 360 (halo, mass effect, bioshock, etc) and there are far fewer PS3s out there... Sony havnt done so badly.
In all I think the message is clear, everyone is doing well and its a 3 horse race this gen. Oh and my theory that the vast majority of Wiis are sold as 'gimmicks' to people who wont really use them, seems to hold some sway based on software sales. [i have a wii, i like it... but most of my gaming is done elsewhere]