Excitebots suffered in sales from the following reasons: Nintendo introduced it to the Hardcore a mere two months before its actual release. They had absolutely no advertising, even online. The game was quietly released onto shelves, and thus gamers needed to actually search through the library to find the game. On top of that, the game's appearance is just totally weird at first sight that the game might very well be seen as a bad game. What is necessary is at least some advertising is made shortly. Instead, Nintendo is pushing Punch-Out! to the public for May. So...I figure they chose the one title that would probably sell the most to advertise.
Overall, I expect it to sell more in May than April, if not because it'll be out a few more weeks. I sure hope I'm not wrong.
On one side, however, Nintendo's lack of advertising or hype-building means the company didn't really care for its results. I think the game, based on redone engine and small dev team, will be profitable rather easily. In the end, I expect it to get profitable in a few months, even a year. Still a shame, as it's a really good game.
Great game, let me tell you, but it was perhaps TOO punishingly difficult. Perhaps a "practice" section would have been good like in SHUMPs. It gets annoying playing seven minutes in only to fail at one point (and I bet we all know what part I'm talking about). Still, awesome you got it done in 4 months!
@anthonyb: Yes, I beat Growth. Admittingly, I had to play co-op with my bro to beat Descent and Growth, but we did it. I actually think Growth is easier than Descent, to be honest. Even the boss of Descent is really difficult, compared.
@LuigiLaBouncy: Metroid Prime 3 is that cheap because you're buying it second hand and over a year and a half ago. Onslaught can only be bought new and just came out. Overall, the cost of MP3 is 50 from Nintendo, even if it costs less used.
WiiWare is not necessarily a ripoff, mainly because games are a fraction the price of main price games. Furthermore, it allows smaller development teams to make games out for the Wii or for more experimental titles.
As for Onslaught, I'm certainly interested to see when it comes out for the US.
Aaaand Family Glide Hockey is the second 500 point WiiWare game to never appear in the Top 20 three weeks since release. I can say that the onslaught of 500 point games is causing a bit of buyer confusion. Usually 500 points games do rather well, but every week we've had another cheap game. Now as we near 70 games, a game will need to surpass 50 games before appearing in the top 20.
The movement of the Top 20 was so vast during the Fall because of all the big games and such coming out. January is one of the slowest periods for games, too, and as such, the WiiWare titles didn't do so hot. Hopefully February improves.
In case anyone wanted to know, this is the first time a 500 Wii Point game never appeared on the Top 20 Three weeks since its release.
Considering the lack of new games on the listing now, I have a feeling that this Top 20 will remain like this until another BIG Wiiware game comes out. January has been one of the more mediocre months since Wiiware started, in terms of big games, which might explain why no new games have debuted the last three weeks or so.
In fact, ONLY Sandy Beach has appeared on the Top 20 out of all releases in January. There's still hope for the release this week, but I have my doubts. Here's hoping more movement happens in February!
VGChartz has no base for their sales data on downloadable software. The site was created by someone on a forum I lurk who was BANNED for pretty much pulling numbers out of his ass. He has a couple sources and then just extrapolates numbers on that.
People just latch onto the site because he posts data on it. It doesn't mean it is correct data. It's just bull data that people think is real because the site exists.
@Falk Sturmfels: I wouldn't trust anything from that site AT ALL, as it pretty much guesses everything based on a couple stores' sales. Unless, of course, this was from a press release or something to that effect. I doubt any numbers will come out as this is Nintendo we're talking about.
However, I do have a feeling that the ranks in the long term tell how a game has sold in relation to other games in total (no duh ). I have a theory that sales do not "reset" a week or so afterwards; I think each sale has a value upon purchase that decreases after a set time period continually. Like a decay function. But that's just me.
I DO know that someone from the development team of Critter Round-Up said they didn't get any royalties from Nintendo, really, so the game did not do well for them. I'd say games that remain on the Top 20 now for a long period of time (say, 3 months) more or less sold a good amount, but how much? Apparently the Nintendo Channel stats can show a rather small but applicable number of purchasers, so you get a minimum at least.
Surprisingly, the VC list has actually been invaded by a few new games (Mega Man entering the top 5 even!). I do believe the reason the VC Top 20 has remained to steady is because all Nintendo hardcore and lapsed gamers are more likely to purchase Nintendo's big games than that of noname or niche games (and imports included). People see Mario World and go "Oh Super Mario World was so cool. It's less than ten dollars so BUY." When they see a game they don't remember on VC, they tend to have second thoughts. That, along with the large hardcore Ninty fanbase, results in the Top 20 being so huge (and note that a few are actually refusing to buy any newer games until a storage solution is found, only making things worse).
WiiWare is different. The games are all new (well, new-ish), and so people are willing to purchase more new titles. This is why I believe that, in the end, the Top 20 will fluctuate quite a bit more, at least until Nintendo publishes 20 really big titles
I've noticed in my lil graphing of ranks that games tend to "peak" at their third week numbers before they sink downward. Wild West Guns, for example, went to peak at 2 last week but now fell to 3 and will probably drop another few spots next week.
As a note, yesterday Magnetica Twist was on 20 and Major League Eating was gone, so the two might be so close that it is almost garunteed for MLE to be dropped next week. I have more to talk about, but I think I'll hold off for another post (man I type a lot).
@Naturestee: Yes, there are 4 different profiles. However, I believe this means that you will have to unlock the songs for each profile (85 songs to unlock the last one, too, so you have a ways to go )
Anyways, I played the game for about an hour and I just unlocked the 10th song. Wow! I thought 26 was not a lot, but the songs are much longer than DDR songs I've run into, so it works out! Some seem a bit long, actually, but it works well overall.
Note: the game CRASHED on me in the Tutorial after the second playthrough was complete. I don't think this'll happen again, but I'm just sending this out in case it is more widespread.
The rest of my experience was wonderful. I accidentally played "Evil Within" on Medium first try. Talk about aerobic. The game's Easy mode is hard enough for most people, and Medium is clearly best waited until after you play Easy through a couple times. Havn't tried hard yet, but I'm certain I'll be in for a bruising then.
I hope the game turns out well saleswise. I was curious about the title from the beginning, and I'm surprised to see that it has turned into a very fun title. I recommend it, and the 8 is quite deserved.
Can't wait to see what you are working on next, Ed. The team seems small, from the credits (cept the people who play tested, wow XD ), so I'm not expecting anything too quickly, but I'm hoping this small team gets more prestige soon ^^
I knew this would happen the moment the last Space Invaders news story came up. Other sites described the Stage Pack stuff when the previous details were made, and because there was lag between then and now, people had high hopes that were crashed.
The big thing to note here: This was going to be a FULL RETAIL GAME before it became Wiiware, as far as I can remember. They changed it to WiiWare because it was a viable platform, and due to the size requirements, they could not provide more than two levels per Wii Store download (40-something mb max, right?). So, in order for the company to do this right, they incorporated it into segments.
Of course, they also learned from sales of WiiWare: 500 point games sell well, and DLC works (Taito IS part of Square-Enix now, after all). So, they devise this system, which for me, works pretty well:
If you try it and don't like it: 500 points and 1 level. Okay. If you try it and like it a little, you can get a level pack If you try it and really like it, you can get two! and if you love it, get all packs! So the game costs 500-2000 points depending on your enjoyment level of the first level, pretty much. And you don't need to purchase them all at once! You can buy one or two packs and wait until later to purchase the later levels.
So, the enjoyment of the game's Starter Pack will reflect how much more you are willing to buy. I for one am willing to put in the 500 points and try. If I love it, hey 2000 points ain't bad for an arcade game (remember Ikaruga was 40 bucks...for 5 levels).
Comments 61
Re: Excitebots Crashes Out At Retail
Excitebots suffered in sales from the following reasons: Nintendo introduced it to the Hardcore a mere two months before its actual release. They had absolutely no advertising, even online. The game was quietly released onto shelves, and thus gamers needed to actually search through the library to find the game. On top of that, the game's appearance is just totally weird at first sight that the game might very well be seen as a bad game. What is necessary is at least some advertising is made shortly. Instead, Nintendo is pushing Punch-Out! to the public for May. So...I figure they chose the one title that would probably sell the most to advertise.
Overall, I expect it to sell more in May than April, if not because it'll be out a few more weeks. I sure hope I'm not wrong.
On one side, however, Nintendo's lack of advertising or hype-building means the company didn't really care for its results. I think the game, based on redone engine and small dev team, will be profitable rather easily. In the end, I expect it to get profitable in a few months, even a year. Still a shame, as it's a really good game.
Re: Video - The Making of Bit.Trip Beat
Great game, let me tell you, but it was perhaps TOO punishingly difficult. Perhaps a "practice" section would have been good like in SHUMPs. It gets annoying playing seven minutes in only to fail at one point (and I bet we all know what part I'm talking about). Still, awesome you got it done in 4 months!
@anthonyb: Yes, I beat Growth. Admittingly, I had to play co-op with my bro to beat Descent and Growth, but we did it. I actually think Growth is easier than Descent, to be honest. Even the boss of Descent is really difficult, compared.
Re: Review: Onslaught (WiiWare)
@LuigiLaBouncy: Metroid Prime 3 is that cheap because you're buying it second hand and over a year and a half ago. Onslaught can only be bought new and just came out. Overall, the cost of MP3 is 50 from Nintendo, even if it costs less used.
WiiWare is not necessarily a ripoff, mainly because games are a fraction the price of main price games. Furthermore, it allows smaller development teams to make games out for the Wii or for more experimental titles.
As for Onslaught, I'm certainly interested to see when it comes out for the US.
Re: Review: Onslaught (WiiWare)
I'm actually surprised by the score to be honest. Some people didn't like what they played on other places I've been on.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (4th Feb)
Aaaand Family Glide Hockey is the second 500 point WiiWare game to never appear in the Top 20 three weeks since release. I can say that the onslaught of 500 point games is causing a bit of buyer confusion. Usually 500 points games do rather well, but every week we've had another cheap game. Now as we near 70 games, a game will need to surpass 50 games before appearing in the top 20.
The movement of the Top 20 was so vast during the Fall because of all the big games and such coming out. January is one of the slowest periods for games, too, and as such, the WiiWare titles didn't do so hot. Hopefully February improves.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (28th Jan)
In case anyone wanted to know, this is the first time a 500 Wii Point game never appeared on the Top 20 Three weeks since its release.
Considering the lack of new games on the listing now, I have a feeling that this Top 20 will remain like this until another BIG Wiiware game comes out. January has been one of the more mediocre months since Wiiware started, in terms of big games, which might explain why no new games have debuted the last three weeks or so.
In fact, ONLY Sandy Beach has appeared on the Top 20 out of all releases in January. There's still hope for the release this week, but I have my doubts. Here's hoping more movement happens in February!
Re: Confusion Reigns over Mega Man 9 Sales
FOR ALL:
VGChartz has no base for their sales data on downloadable software. The site was created by someone on a forum I lurk who was BANNED for pretty much pulling numbers out of his ass. He has a couple sources and then just extrapolates numbers on that.
People just latch onto the site because he posts data on it. It doesn't mean it is correct data. It's just bull data that people think is real because the site exists.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (27th August)
@Falk Sturmfels: I wouldn't trust anything from that site AT ALL, as it pretty much guesses everything based on a couple stores' sales. Unless, of course, this was from a press release or something to that effect. I doubt any numbers will come out as this is Nintendo we're talking about.
However, I do have a feeling that the ranks in the long term tell how a game has sold in relation to other games in total (no duh ). I have a theory that sales do not "reset" a week or so afterwards; I think each sale has a value upon purchase that decreases after a set time period continually. Like a decay function. But that's just me.
I DO know that someone from the development team of Critter Round-Up said they didn't get any royalties from Nintendo, really, so the game did not do well for them. I'd say games that remain on the Top 20 now for a long period of time (say, 3 months) more or less sold a good amount, but how much? Apparently the Nintendo Channel stats can show a rather small but applicable number of purchasers, so you get a minimum at least.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (27th August)
Surprisingly, the VC list has actually been invaded by a few new games (Mega Man entering the top 5 even!). I do believe the reason the VC Top 20 has remained to steady is because all Nintendo hardcore and lapsed gamers are more likely to purchase Nintendo's big games than that of noname or niche games (and imports included). People see Mario World and go "Oh Super Mario World was so cool. It's less than ten dollars so BUY." When they see a game they don't remember on VC, they tend to have second thoughts. That, along with the large hardcore Ninty fanbase, results in the Top 20 being so huge (and note that a few are actually refusing to buy any newer games until a storage solution is found, only making things worse).
WiiWare is different. The games are all new (well, new-ish), and so people are willing to purchase more new titles. This is why I believe that, in the end, the Top 20 will fluctuate quite a bit more, at least until Nintendo publishes 20 really big titles
I've noticed in my lil graphing of ranks that games tend to "peak" at their third week numbers before they sink downward. Wild West Guns, for example, went to peak at 2 last week but now fell to 3 and will probably drop another few spots next week.
As a note, yesterday Magnetica Twist was on 20 and Major League Eating was gone, so the two might be so close that it is almost garunteed for MLE to be dropped next week. I have more to talk about, but I think I'll hold off for another post (man I type a lot).
Re: Review: Helix (WiiWare)
@Naturestee: Yes, there are 4 different profiles. However, I believe this means that you will have to unlock the songs for each profile (85 songs to unlock the last one, too, so you have a ways to go )
Anyways, I played the game for about an hour and I just unlocked the 10th song. Wow! I thought 26 was not a lot, but the songs are much longer than DDR songs I've run into, so it works out! Some seem a bit long, actually, but it works well overall.
Note: the game CRASHED on me in the Tutorial after the second playthrough was complete. I don't think this'll happen again, but I'm just sending this out in case it is more widespread.
The rest of my experience was wonderful. I accidentally played "Evil Within" on Medium first try. Talk about aerobic. The game's Easy mode is hard enough for most people, and Medium is clearly best waited until after you play Easy through a couple times. Havn't tried hard yet, but I'm certain I'll be in for a bruising then.
I hope the game turns out well saleswise. I was curious about the title from the beginning, and I'm surprised to see that it has turned into a very fun title. I recommend it, and the 8 is quite deserved.
Can't wait to see what you are working on next, Ed. The team seems small, from the credits (cept the people who play tested, wow XD ), so I'm not expecting anything too quickly, but I'm hoping this small team gets more prestige soon ^^
Re: Space Invaders Get Even - Stage Pack Details
I knew this would happen the moment the last Space Invaders news story came up. Other sites described the Stage Pack stuff when the previous details were made, and because there was lag between then and now, people had high hopes that were crashed.
The big thing to note here: This was going to be a FULL RETAIL GAME before it became Wiiware, as far as I can remember. They changed it to WiiWare because it was a viable platform, and due to the size requirements, they could not provide more than two levels per Wii Store download (40-something mb max, right?). So, in order for the company to do this right, they incorporated it into segments.
Of course, they also learned from sales of WiiWare: 500 point games sell well, and DLC works (Taito IS part of Square-Enix now, after all). So, they devise this system, which for me, works pretty well:
If you try it and don't like it: 500 points and 1 level. Okay.
If you try it and like it a little, you can get a level pack
If you try it and really like it, you can get two!
and if you love it, get all packs! So the game costs 500-2000 points depending on your enjoyment level of the first level, pretty much. And you don't need to purchase them all at once! You can buy one or two packs and wait until later to purchase the later levels.
So, the enjoyment of the game's Starter Pack will reflect how much more you are willing to buy. I for one am willing to put in the 500 points and try. If I love it, hey 2000 points ain't bad for an arcade game (remember Ikaruga was 40 bucks...for 5 levels).