
The NPD Group has issued its April data and while Nintendo's products might not be as abundant as the company would hope, Star Fox Zero and Bravely Second have both made the cut.
Star Fox Zero made it to number 5 in the single-format list, with Bravely Second coming in at number 9. In the NPD's overall list - which combines sales of titles across all of the formats they were released on as well as special editions (but not digital sales, it should be noted) - the two Nintendo releases did less well, with Star Fox Zero limping in at 10 and Bravely Second not making the top 10 at all.
The wider picture shows a shrinking market. Consumers spent $509.5 million on new game-related products, which is down 15 percent year-over-year (last year it was $598.1 million). Hardware sales are down to $142.1 million from $183.7 million last year, while software sales dropped 21 percent, falling to $203.9 million from $256.7 million 12 months ago. Accessory sales were up 4 percent.
[source venturebeat.com]
Comments 50
Wow, am I the first to comment? Gotta say something meaningful...
FIRST!!1
I'm shocked Bravely Second made it. Most people I've talked to dropped out of the first one during chapter 3 (I dropped out in chapter 4), so I'm surprised there was enough interest to have it come in the top 10 of any list.
Good to know Star Fox Zero made the cut, all those crappy reviews cofPolygoncof were really harming the game's perception with non-Nintendo gamers. I hope it sells at least one million by the end of Wii U's lifespan.
@PikminFan22 Well, technically I'm first AND third
Good luck next time!
EDIT: Oh, now I'm fifth too!
any news on the total sales of bayonetta 2? i read somewhere that she finally hit a million. that might signal threequel - i hate the word but i'm down for a sequel.
I hope SF Zero gets patched soon. I got used to motion controls easily, but the off-TV play is still a pain due to lack of music. Also, headphones are unusable when doing both screens because you can't hear the music, or can't hear the voices depending on where you connect. This is just wrong and needs a fix.
@Aqueous
If you've not played the second demo yet, you totally should. They've learned from any shortcomings from the first one.
@Freeon-Leon
You can't really call that Polygon nonsense a "review". It was basically a child throwing a tantrum because he found out that riding a unicycle was harder than he personally thought it should be. So rather than take a bit of time to learn, he just decided to loudly complain to anyone within earshot.
@PikminFan22 Actually, you're ELEVENTH
I really hope Star Fox at least does well in Japan. If they don't like it, Nintendo may let the franchise die again.
@Manjushri I've played through Arcade mode 9 times already with 58 medals. I've loved it.
32,000 Wii U consoles sold too. I wonder how low the figures will get now! :s
@Aqueous Well, Bravely Second did away with many of the flaws of the first game, so I'm honestly not that surprised, personally.
@rushiosan
Plug the headphones into the jack on the game pad, and you get both voices and music.
They sold because what else are Nintendo fans going to buy for the rest of the year? They win by default.
Ooh, shrinking market... perfect time to find that blue ocean - it's getting bigger and bigger.
Not bad ninty not bad.
@OneBagTravel Well, it got 5th place on the Wii U charts, so I would assume Pokken Tournament and Twilight Princess are still the better sellers right now.
That, and I can imagine Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, and maybe Smash are all evergreen titles.
If only Nintendo would put out a Demo for Star Fox Zero, I might give it a shot.
But my gaming budget is tight, and I'm not sure about SF Zero given all the reviews tend to make the controls out to be a "love it or hate situation" and the overall game looks to be a remake/reboot of Star Fox 64.
I still need to get Xenoblade and Twilight Princess HD.
Maybe if Nintendo would take the step of putting out a demo, they might win over people like me who are on the fence.
I understand review scores are opinions, and people can disagree with them. Hell, Duke Nukem Forever was a blast to play, and every review slammed that game.
So, maybe the critics are wrong about Star Fox Zero. But I'm not going to blow 60 bucks to find out. Especially since they did not include any online multiplayer.
@Grumblevolcano
Do you mind elaborating? I wasn't aware it was related.
@Caryslan I am hoping on Nintendo releasing a demo after maybe 1-2 months from the game's release. Evidence has shown that a demo can both improve and reduce the chances of eventually purchasing the game. This game has already proven quite divisive. If you've already bought the game you may keep with it to justify your purchase.
I liked it, and seemingly so did a good number of other people but the first run of buyers have bought the game, now it's time to go after those on the fence.
@Caryslan the games good just watch gameplay, also you change the cockpit view to the tv view and vice versa with "-" button. it helped me get to grips more than looking down and up at the gamepad, it will take a few tries to learn how to use the controls but they are good once you get it to click. i had got used to it in after training and the 1st level about half way in, then got all range mode pretty quickly.
@Ash_Anne yeah some are frustrating like the energy shield one for instance, that killed me a few times til i got the timing down. (the one that pulse pushes you back trying to avoid spoilers)
@Caryslan yeah i don't let reviews make me make decisions, i just watch for the game play and see how a few people think it is. but i say watch the game play and see if it's for you, the motion controls aren't as bad as some make them out to be, it's like if people where like used to the d pad in the 1st game, then had to use analog controls on the 64 game, they want to be pro at it without working to get better.
@Vandy KAPOW!
@Freeon-Leon Never going to happen.
@Whopper744 I've bad news for you. It crashed and burned in Japan.
Coming 10th in the US is hardly impressive but what really matters is how much it sold. Given how sales were really poor last month, it makes it less so. Hopefully we'll get some concrete figures later today though if rumours are to be believed they aren't good.
This franchise could well be put to sleep for some time.
Bravely did well? What a nice surprise, while I enjoyed the first game, the third act is so boring that I did not even finished, and all my friends did the same, now I bought Bravely Second Special Edition and will finish the first one, right after beat fire emblem for a third time (Lunatic+ Full Roster)!
I am kinda amazed star fox zero made it in the top 10 considering all the negativity it got.
@kenrulei ugh I know what you're talking about. That boss was so frustrating!
@smashbrolink You do? Man, thanks, I'm gonna check this out.
That industry sales decline is alarming. No wonder Nintendo keeps trying different things in order to stand out from the crowd.
@Jamotello
VG Chartz shows Bayo 2 at 1 million. It's not official but does serve as a decent estimate in lieu of no official numbers.
Basically, they poll a small sample size from retailers, then extrapolate the estimated total sales from that data. So it could be way off, it could be close, but I imagine that on average it's at least in the ballpark.
But 1 million isn't a magic number anyways. Even if it's at 900k, or 1.1m... same difference.
@OneBagTravel
That's not true. Ive never met a person who buys bad games they're not interested in just for lack of options. People would rather dig into backlog than buy a game they don't want. And everyone has backlog.
While I'm happy for it that it got 10th on the combined chart, unfortunately April is a much slower month. It's quite possible that 7th place (that was Quantum Break) is only like 90k or something. Cream hadn't posted the numbers on the Gaf thread yet when I went to bed last night. I'll have to check now.
For the record, the hardware sales are down big time. That's an April thing though.
On the other hand, Ratchet & Clank did quite well!
So Star Fox Zero was <103k. This is better than Star Fox Assault's first month (Feb. 2005).
Quantum Break was <150k including bundles. That game bombed.
@Caryslan Dude you can rent the game
The whole industry is down at the moment, sadly.
I've enjoyed all 4 of the Nintendo games I've bought this year, and I plan to buy both Fire Emblem games next week.
Aside from Ratchet and Clank which I sort of like in a by the numbers way, I think the PS4 and XB1 releases have been a letdown to what was promised, and very little on the horizon inspires me.
Yes it's sad, start fox at my GameStop in Dallas Texas has stacks and stacks of star Fox Zero on the shelf when I got my copy ( about 3 days after release...
@JaxonH VGChartz figures are bogus.
Thank god it sold good. I was worried that this would have been the swan song of Star Fox as a whole.
@Mahe
They are estimates. As I just explained to the other gentleman they are NOT confirmed.
But they are usually in the ballpark. Like a political poll that calls 10,000 people then extrapolates the ratio to the entire national populace, so too does VGchartz poll a sample size and extrapolate the numbers for the global populace.
If you're treating them as official confirmed numbers, then yes, they're bogus official numbers. But if you're treating them as what they actually are- estimates- then they are viable approximations based on a real sampling of sales data. Sometimes they're way off, but most times they're within a reasonable margin of error.
The Division had terrible legs. Around a 90% drop off. I get that a lot of games are front-loaded sales wise, but not by that much!
I bought Starfox Zero, the game is utter trash.
Into my 3rd playthrough of SF0, 1st 2 solo & the last co-op. It's been a blast especially after mastering the controls. It did take an investment of time but with patience the gameplay opens up and is fun in an addictive arcade way. The branching missions are a definite must play.
@IceClimbers 90% drop off is pretty much what every game gets in its second week/month/chart period.
@IceClimbers - The Division is Ubisoft chasing Activision and EA by slapping their Tom Clancy license on a generic multiplayer FPS-MMO to cash in on Destiny and Battlefield audiences.
The hype was off the charts, and it looks good in screenshots, but it's not the vast open post apocalyptic NYC they promised, and the gameplay was poorly balanced, repetitive, and uninspired.
@Action51 "generic multiplayer FPS"... hmmmm seems you haven't played it then
@JaxonH No, they're not even in the ballpark except when Chartz has doctored their figures to be closer to officially released figures. Usually Chartz figures are just completely off. They're complete guesses and usually the guesses miss - badly.
@Mahe
I wouldn't call adjusting to reflect more accurate numbers "doctoring". They are only estimates to begin
I'm not going to get in a back-and-forth defending them. People are too extreme on the Internet nowadays. If it's not 100% right it's got to be completely bogus it seems.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...