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Microsoft copied the only iPod they could
John Gruber has penned an interesting observation of how Microsoft might very well have missed the mark from the get-go when they made the strange decision to take on the iPod and iTunes. Since the player's initial wiz-bang sales period is essentially over (as in: it more or less set a decent sales barometer, at least for now), John wrangles some interesting statistics from Amazon's charts on exactly where the Zune stands in comparison to Apple's players (including year-old models), as well as its ranking in the overall electronics category. To spoil the surprise: the Zune isn't doing so well. We've looked at Amazon's charts before, but as of this writing, a record player is beating out the best selling Zune on the electronics list, while iPods - specifically the small, flash-based nano and shuffle - dominate most of the top 10 spots.John then uses this data and good ol' fashioned people watching to conclude that Microsoft shouldn't have taken what could be their only swing at the plate in producing a hard drive-based iPod; they should have cranked out a flash memory model to go head-on with the nano - inarguably the home run slugger in Apple's lineup. While I tend to agree with John, I also see a problem with going down this road: Microsoft would likely have had even less room to maneuver, and even fewer things to market ('Beam your tunes') and invent lame, dead-end lingo for - they actually refer to sharing your music wirelessly as 'squirting'. Who wants to bet how excited Steve Ballmer's kids are to 'squirt' at school?Sure, when you look at what you're up against in the DAP market, Apple's iPod nano and SanDisk's respectable 2GB Sansa player (expandable via an SD slot, and at #11 on Amazon as of this writing) are the top dogs to beat - but what could they have offered? I highly doubt they could have fit their DRM-crippled and arguably worthless (though admittedly buzz-worthy) Wi-Fi sharing feature into a nano-sized player, even if they made it slightly larger and uglier like the Zune is to its 30GB iPod rival. A 'Zune nano' with nothing unique to offer would dry up on its own in a market already dominated by Apple, SanDisk and Creative, and Microsoft's exclusive, 3rd party bitch-slap of a music store would have even less of a leg to stand on.In summary: I think John's right - Microsoft made a bad move in copying the 30GB hard drive-based iPod, but it was the only move they had. In this light, it kinda makes you wonder why they bothered in the first place.
September NPD sales numbers
The September NPD sales numbers have come in and the DS, once again, did favorably. Out of all consoles, DS titles had a good showing, taking up four spots. Of course, Madden took the top spot, showing that we Americans love our football. Madden NFL 07 - PS2 Saints Row - Xbox 360 Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PS2 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team - DS Madden NFL 07 - Xbox 360 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team - GBA Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - GC Madden NFL 07 - Xbox Star Fox Command - DS New Super Mario Bros. - DS NBA Live 07 - PS2 Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - Xbox 360 Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - Xbox Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus - PS2 Test Drive Unlimited - Xbox 360 Dead Rising - Xbox 360 Mario Hoops 3-on-3 - DS Okami - PS2 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories - PS2 Madden NFL 07 - PSP We've included a listing of the top DS and GBA game only listings, available after the break.
Nintendo lies: DS will only outsell PSP by a 2:1 margin!
Nintendo boldly claimed that the DS was outselling the PSP by a 3:1 margin. Ha! We proved them wrong! They're only going to outsell the system by a 2:1 margin! At least, according to Sony's and Nintendo's projected sales figures. Sony recently lowered its shipment target 25 percent, from 12 million to 9 million. Nintendo, on the other hand, raised its shipment target from 17 million to 20 million.Due to battery explosions, and sluggish games sales, Sony expects a 62 percent drop in profits.[Via Joystiq]
Japanese hardware sales, 25 September - 31 September: Corner drug dealer edition
Everyone's doing it, man. People say you can get addicted to heroin, or cocaine, or all that stuff. But let me tell you something, kid. Cocaine doesn't evolve. Heroin can't level the hell up. I got what you need, kid, right here, and for a low, low price. This ain't no gym. You won't find some weak Pidgey crap here, man. You look like a tough guy, I think I've got somethin' for ya ... yeah, this is the stuff. We call it rare candy, if you know what I mean. The devil's Fun Dip, if you will. You want that Dragonite, kid? This is the way to go. What's it cost? I'm not askin' for much, here, pal. Maybe a couple of sales figures in return for my trouble. Oh, you got a couple? All right, lay 'em on me, kid, there we go, ahhhhh, that's some good stuff .... - DS Lite: 274,389 134,554 (96.22%) - PS2: 31,992 681 (2.08%) - PSP: 25,319 2,201 (9.52%) - Xbox 360: 2,195 1,086 (97.93%) - GBA SP: 1,811334 (15.57%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,103 83 (7.00%) - Gamecube: 523 240 (31.45%) - DS Phat: 253 63 (19.94%) - GBA: 10 10 (50.00%) - Xbox: 3 5 (62.5%) Never again, kid? Sure. I'll be seeing you again ... I guarantee it. [Source: Media Create][Special thanks to my roommate, Ryan, for the inspiration.]
Japanese hardware sales, 18 September - 24 September: Dungeons and Dragons edition
The Dark Sage, Lyte, has been travelling 'cross the land, defeating evil monsters wherever they may roam! What's my level? 21, now quiet. You're ruining the mood. *ahem* So, you come across a dark cave. Rumors say this cave holds a treasure of infinite power. Do you wish to enter? Totally. Dude, a Dark Sage wouldn't say ... never mind. Okay, you go in the cave. A trap! Spikes come up from the floor. Roll to evade. Why do you always put traps in caves? I'm the game master, dammit, I can do whatever the hell I want! *ahem* Roll. Ah, a 17! You manage to evade the traps. You venture deeper into the cave. What...what's this? Oh, it's horrifying! It's ... no, but it can't be ... but it is! It's the evil Passion-Sucking Pixie! It attacks! You lose 23,118 HP! Oof! Uh...I cast Magic Missile! The spell did 139,835 damage! The Pixie dies! You gain two experience points!Just two?Dude, you've killed it like a thousand times.- DS Lite: 139,835 4,950 (3.69%) - PS2: 32,673 1,516 (4.43%) - PSP: 23,118 3,877 (14.36%) - GBA SP: 2,145185 (7.94%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,186 58 (4.66%) - Xbox 360: 1,109 181 (19.50%) - Gamecube: 763 133 (21.11%) - DS Phat: 316 162 (33.89%) - GBA: 20 7 (25.93%) - Xbox: 8 1 (14.29%)(Note to readers: the DS Fanboy staff is rather inexperienced with D&D, so we apologize for any inaccuracies. Or if we offended. We love you guys!) [Source: Media Create]
First Metroid Prime Hunters statue revealed
The kind gentleman of First 4 Figures dropped us a line, along with our superiors, letting us know that they have finally revealed the first in their long line of proposed collectible statues from the Metroid universe. Oddly enough, however, is that the debut collectible is not for everyone's favorite bounty huntress hunter Samus. No, instead we get Kanden. The figures is looking sharp, even if it is not the finalized product. However, I've always felt you should always put your best foot forward, which would apply to First 4 Figures' debut collectible being one of the Samus variations. Featuring an interconnecting base that will allow Kanden to connect with other upcoming hunters, we're sure his first opponent will be none other than the blonde bombshell herself.
Games sales figures show online is key
The NPD Group has released sales figures for 2005, estimating that the US spent $1.4 billion on games last year. An interesting and growing proportion of that income was from online games -- $344 million, about one quarter of the total spending, came from recurring subscription fees.Breaking that down, NPD estimates about 85% of that recurring income is from specific games like World of Warcraft, whereas the rest -- a non-trivial $52 million -- comes from casual games portals. It's clear from the tremendous amount of money being generated by both games and gaming portals, as well as the popularity of MMOs and casual games, that online is a key area to watch in future. While digital downloads are only a small part of the picture -- 3% of total market sales -- the area should grow, partly driven by the convenience of buying and delivering online. Of course, paying for a game through monthly subscriptions rather than a one-off box fee is appealing, though players of games like World of Warcraft don't seem to mind doing both.
Vivendi Games earnings see 109% increase
According to Next Generation, World of Warcraft is a nice little cash cow for publisher Vivendi. With first-quarter earnings of $30m this year, an increase of 109% from the same period last year, Vivendi's financials have beaten analyst expectations.A report from Vivendi says that "this dramatic improvement was driven by a growth in revenues, with an increased proportion relating to the higher margin of World of Warcraft business". While increased development costs are also cited, it seems clear that a fair amount of the money pouring into Vivendi's pockets is staying there. While players suffer from server and infrastructure problems, is this entirely fair? Well, publishers don't get into the MMO business to make losses. Without seeing a complete breakdown of where our subscription money is going, we're not placed to judge.
Spore figurines at E3
Randall Bennett and I got a nice little sneak peak at Spore last night at Wired Magazine's presentation featuring Will Wright and guest starring Robin Williams. We shot some great video that will be up on the site as soon as it's ready. We also managed to get a private screening of the game thanks to the people at EA Games. Randall will be doing a full write-up of the game play experience later today, but I just wanted to share one little cool thing in the room where they hosted the preview: Figurines of creatures different Spore designers built in the game and then printed out as three dimensional models (like the guy pictured above). Check below the jump for more pics...
Mobile market shows signs of stagnation
Mobile gaming research firm M:Metrics has published data showing March 2006 from a mobile gamer's perspective. The firm claims that the mobile market is stagnating; the number of mobile gamers is remaining constant month-on-month with only a tiny fraction of mobile phone users (0.5%) downloading their first game in March.The percentage of phone users who use their handset for downloadable games is low, with the UK standing at 4.7% and the US at 2.7%. Given the millions of mobile phones in the market, that still represents a large number of consumers, many of whom are repeat customers. However, a lack of compelling reasons to buy new titles -- as well as high prices -- are putting consumers off. After all, already-downloaded and preinstalled games fit the interstitial nature of mobile gaming just as well as brand new releases.
UK sales charts, April 9-15: Croft unchallenged
The UK sales charts for last week are in, with Tomb Raider: Legend remaining calmly at the top. Movie tie-in Ice Age 2 has been boosted up to number two, but anyone avidly following the chart battle between Guitar Hero and Crazy Frog Racer will be disappointed to know that Guitar Hero has fallen to 35th while the Crazy Frog is ding-ding-dinging along at number 28, thanks to its budget price and better placement on the shelves. The ten bestselling games in the UK for the week ending April 15: 1. Tomb Raider Legend 2. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 3. Fifa Street 2 4. The Godfather 5. Football Manager 2006 6. Animal Crossing: Wild World 7. Buzz! The Big Quiz 8. King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie 9. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 10. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
WoW Limited Edition Bronze Figures
Fantasy Flight Games, makers of the WoW series of board games, have commissionas a new line of bronze miniature figures, for all you collectors & tabletop gaming lovers. Apparently they make the perfect size pieces for playing the WoW board games, but if you're like me, you'll have your little green army men fighting off the orcs .while defending the kitchen from the Horde. Too bad you can't paint these up all cool like...
