June NPD: PS3 hardware, Shadows of the Damned bombs, Alice better

Console sales have been revealed for PS3 and updates are available for EA games.

[Warprincess116]

Awww it bombed. I should of bought it new.

[NewMonday]

and people wonder why publishers are coming up with things like online pass and DLC.

[gamingdroid]

From what I can tell, the game didn't have a wide appeal so what do you expect?

[SilentNegotiator]

You're seriously going to fall for that trolling? It's only trying to strengthen Sony's PSN Pass.

Shadow of the Damned bombed because marketing was incredibly thin and it isn't that great anyway. Not to mention that sales are usually pretty weak in the summer.

Suda51 doesn't know the difference between wacky and drawing a phallus after huffing paint for half an hour. His doofy games will never have wide appeal because he thinks calling something 'boner' is hilarious in itself.

[Washington-Capitals]

I have never even heard of that game. If a ps3 game doesnt do well its because of marketing and used game sales right?

How about its just the fact not many people wanted it or just didnt appeal to many?

[Achemki]

@WashingtonCaopitals
PS3 game excuses?! Um, nice stealth troll attempt, but Shadows of the Damned is one the XBox360 too lol. When Jim Reilly said it bombed and it wouldn't get a sequel, he meant on BOTH platforms.

[NukaCola]

MS has marketed the 360 very well in America. So well in fact I have met gamers who couldn't name any PS3 exclusives and honestly thought COD was 360 exclusive. Through EU/JP sales Sony has went from a 10mil gap to a 3mil chase. A price cut plus the upcoming line up couldn't possiblly seal this deal tight. I think that with a little more marketing, and smart moves like COD PSVita crossplay, Sony can boost sales up very well. I believe when it's all over this gen, both systems will be about tied worldwide.

[NewMonday]

"...I have met gamers who couldn't name any PS3 exclusives..."

true, see many of them in game stores.

but its not only about MS good marketing, Sony have bad marketing, i think they mostly rely on word of mouth and standard advertising, it's not enough, they are not good at creating mainstream hype at the time of game releases.

[Lifendz]

The pricing model for games is broken. Not every game can do well at 59.99. Games like Shadows of the Damned should be 39.99-49.99. There's simply too much out there to pay 60 plus dollars on a game like that. A lot of games have this problem. The game would've done much better at 39.99 because at that price it's an impulse purchase for most gamers.

[FreydaWright]

SHOULD'VE***

[SephirothX21]

I looked at the Gamespot video review and the game seems to innovative in both gameplay and art design. Gamespot gave it an 8.5 score which is great. I think its a game worth trying and I'm sorry to see that it didn't sell well. Though it is a new IP and the marketing wasn't great. Gamers are constantly looking for innovation and then when it comes along, they don't want to know about it.

[showtimefolks]

because its not worth 60 bucks to me so just because a game doesn't sell doesn't mean its sony's or ps3 community's fault

the game isn't really good its a good game that you can rent and beat within 8-10hrs

so some people maybe rich enough to buy every game but i am saving up to buy all the games coming out in fall 2011

[MostJadedGamer]

"I think that with a little more marketing, and smart moves like COD PSVita crossplay, Sony can boost sales up very well. I believe when it's all over this gen, both systems will be about tied worldwide."

NukaCola the PS3 will easily pass the 360 in the end. When the PS3 does finally drop to $199 it will see a massive, and very, very, very long sales surge.

The Next Gen is starting next year, but the PS3 will easily be the biggest holiday seller next year. If the PS3 drops to $199 this year it will also be the biggest holiday seller this year.

[Pintheshadows]

I can't say i'm surprised about SotD as it really appealed to a niche market. It was good though.

[Pozzle]

There wasn't much marketing for it either. I don't remember seeing any ads for it. :(

[Jocosta]

I know, right? We bitch about nothing but shooters and then this game comes along and we ignore it.

[RememberThe357]

Thats why I don't listen to all that crap these elitist gamers spout. The game was a gem, not a diamond, but a gem worth your time. Yet amongst all this bitching about COD and Battlefield, no one pays attention to a game trying to do things a little different.

[Pintheshadows]

I found that the COD vs BF3 arguments have done that to alot of games on N4G. The biggest one I have noticed being ignored is Bioshock Infinite. The 15 minute gameplay trailer left me speechless. Yet the hot articles were all COD this and BF that.

It makes me sad.

[kaveti6616]

except that n4g is not representative of the rest of the gaming market.

even if there were not a bunch of mw3 versus bf3 articles on n4g, I doubt SotD would have fared much better.

[RememberThe357]

I meant that as an example of the people who claim they are tired of all these modern combat shooters yet when that games that they're asking for come out they pay no attention to them. It's hypocritical and annoying.

[badz149]

in a way

[dabri5]

On N4G any article that brings up anything dealing with console hardware and where it stands in terms of power dominates the headlines. The COD vs BF3 articles all boiled down to which hardware it would be better on.

[dabri5]

Hasn't the game been getting bad reviews? Why buy into a new ip that seems pretty off the wall in the first place when it's not even getting good reviews?

[ShoryukenII]

GameSpot gave it an 8.5 and the first review released gave it over a 9. I think it was reviewed well.

[PS3ROCKS]

Great

[iGaMei]

I know rumors started flying about a PS3 price drop coming . Maybe people are waiting for that? I have a 360 and abou to buy a PS3 and I decided to wait till August .

[blumatt]

All I can say is a $199 PS3 would definitely give the PS3 a HUGE boost for several months. If they drop it prior to the holiday season and market it well, they could have a couple of million-unit months.

[squallheart]

Also target stores have yet to receive new ps3s for 2 months. The last we had was call of duty bundles.

[tiffac]

I think a $50 price drop is realistic this year and another $50 next year when the Wii U comes to the market.

[kneon]

I agree, the yen is still far too strong to allow them to drop the price to $199.

[Seventh_Blood_Reborn]

This is very sad. Shadows of the Damned is a great fun game and a honest title.
I heard a lot of times around here that this is the best generation ever ... well, I really don' t think so.
Damn casuals.

[8bit_Nes_Rambo]

Frankly, I haven't heard much of anybody touting this gen as the best ever. On the contrary, it's an embarassment, one big homogenous fps fest, record breaking hardware failures, hacked networks, having to pay for stuff that used to be free unlockables in previous generations, fanboy flaming that makes the rivalry of Sega and Nintendo back in the day look like a friendly game of squash. This generation has been pathetic.

[swinesucker]

Agreed. Although you can find so many great PSN games most of what we get from the majors these days is pathetic. How does the 360 even sell anymore? I have no F'ing clue as it doesn't have any decent games I can't get on my PC. Who the **** even buys a 360 these days with the mindset of playing anything but FPS. Man, the drones have taken this industry over. Can you IMAGINE this gen without SONY? No bluray, no modded games, no treasures like Dsouls or folklore or ICO update. I mean they have put out so much quality it is ridiculous. Half a million 360s sold! Good lord. And what games did they buy is what I want to know lol?

[XabiDaChosenOne]

Not to mention one of the greatest publishers in gaming history resorting to catering to soccer moms.

[tiffac]

This gen has actually been the most polarizing in gaming history. At least in my experience.

From fanboys (hacker fanboys included) to east vs west thing. I've never seen the gaming community so divided in all my life. Maybe because a lot of casual gamers have flooded the market, I don't know.

Its just... instead of uniting different cultures and be more open minded to different ideas (like in pass generations) we seem to be indifferent and reject something that we disagree on. Some nastier than others.

[TheRacingX]

Well said 8bit, it has been pretty lackluster. As for 360 sales swinesucker, I think MS got the 10-11yr old crowd. These kids are now "too cool" for Wii and mom wont plop 3 bills on a PS3 so there you go...$199 arcade pkg...cool kid next door has one, Jimmy at school has one. My finacees son is begging her for one, "because all his friends parents let them play call of duty"....sad, kids dont want to be kids anymore, they just want to grow up and be older....why?

[Tdmd]

@8bit_Nes_Rambo

I've logged in just so I could hit the agree button. FPS and paid dlc spam did the trick for me.

[Armyntt]

I think everyone is buyin the 360 because "everyone" is on live. I own all 3 but whenever someone talks to me about gaming the first thing im asked is what is your live name.

[maniacmayhem]

@ swinesucker

wow, you have the amazing power to turn an honest observation about the problems of this gen into a rambling troll fest.

the 360 must keep you up all night for you to be so butt hurt over the fact that two inferior systems (wii/360) beat the living sh*t out of ps3.

[zero_gamer]

I have seen a couple people on the internet praising this generation, but they could not seem to type on the keyboard correctly. They are probably 12 years old or younger.

You have nailed this generation on the head. I have been bashing this generation an awful lot during the latter half because the majority of this generation's problems appear to take place within this time. This generation of gaming has been about:

1) Killing the used games market
2) Eliminating the B&M retailers
3) DRM

We have also seen a lot of major game publishers abandoning or at least downplay their true fans in preference for monetary gain from the masses. It's sad.

Anyway, bubbles +1 for well said!

[jc48573]

It's funny that Alice was made in China. Shadows of the Damned is good for a smaller audience, but I know EA wanted more from it. If I could, I would like to just ignore all the AAA titles and fully support the smaller developers.

[Lionalliance]

I expected it really.

[qwertyz]

with all the exclusives why didn't ps3 sell well last month ? I don't get it.

[Ninver]

cause America!=World

[BlackTar187]

who brags about not having exclusives. its as if you are saying as a gamer exclusives means nothing. well i got news for you the way you sound makes you sound like corporate lemming instead of a gamer.

[Oner]

World Wide Numbers for 2011 from NeoGaf (page 17 post #801 http://neogaf.net/forum/sho... ) ~

2011 Media Create-Japan (26 Weeks)
PS3 627,030
Wii 327,716
360 64,403

2011 NPD-U.S. (26 Weeks)
360 2,423,000
Wii 1,744,000
PS3 1,692,300

2011 Nintendo-Europe (14 Weeks)
PS3 1,090,000
360 760,000
Wii 750,000

Japan+U.S.+Europe 2011
PS3 3,409,330
360 3,247,403
Wii 2,821,716

The "boost" for the 360 is specifically because of the promotion MS had where if you bought a PC at a certain price you get a 360 for free (Fact).

Sony was coming off the whole PSN Hack which definitely hurt them for that and the previous month yet still managed to be competitive on the WW Stage of sales for those same 2 months (Fact).

Sony & Ninty sales for the last 2 months have slowed as these are the summer months and the 360's ONLY reason for "good sales" was because of the promotion.

The Wii & 360 both have consoles in the $199 (or below) price point yet the PS3 is STILL more expensive yet STILL manages to out pace the 360 (PS3 outsells 360 by 2.3 Million for 2010 http://gamer.blorge.com/201... ) and gives the Wii a run for it's money year over year (Fact).

YoY the PS3 outpaces the 360 (Fact), and when the PS3 hits the $199 price point it will be even more apparent...no matter who says what, to spin the plain old truthful facts of which they can't cover up.

[DaTruth]

Explains why hardware is down 9% in dollars, but one company is doubling its sales! I posed this question yesterday and asked: "are they giving them away for free?" Now I remember all those ads for a free 360 with a PC computer!

Giving away consoles for free and then bragging how many you've sold; a new low for MS!

[Armyntt]

Well my reply to this promo vs salez is, where is the proof M$ is saying the salez are from the promo. Maybe they didnt even count the promo. Proof? im no fanboy but dont spout nonsense without proof. Makes you a liar. Show me something that states M$ counted the promo of buy one get one as sales. Im not sayin they didnt but i havent seen the proof.

[ATiElite]

many people have forgotten that M$ is giving 360 away for free.

I know over 10 college kids who got a 360 for free when they bought a laptop.

Sony needs to drop the price of the PS3 and quickly.

[Clarence]

M$ is stuffing every store with 360s half those numbers are from retail, not consumer.

Check out this article on why the 360 had 500k for the month of June.

http://www.vgchartz.com/art...

"Michael Pachter did tell me in email however that much of the X360 year over year rise came from a) free X360s given away with Windows 7, and b) X360s sold directly to distributors (some of these units apparently ended up in Brazil) - and Microsoft convinced NPD to count both. Pachter didn't have figures on how many units those promotions added, but estimates that X360 would have dropped slightly year over year (-5% to -10%) without those inclusions."

This is how they hit 500k. M$ is counting sold to distributors

[Bzone24]

Your entire comment is based on second hand info from Pachter and vgchartz? Was hiphop gamer not available for comment?

[BlackTar187]

Bzone lol good comment ;)

[Hicken]

I wonder how many of those 360s were people buying new ones after their old ones broke down outside of warranty?

[Platinum_k]

Yeah same.

I mean with all these exclusive titles coming up on the PS3, I'de probably have my 13th PS3 console if I never had one before!

When I'm rich, I'de try to have one in each major rooms in my house ^_^ ... Why not right??

[Hicken]

My reply is fanboyism? Exactly how? MS fans always toss numbers around; no one can do the same to rebut them? Get off your high horse.

All I said was the truth. Each of those "excuses" are things people point to when talking about the 360, and not one of them is a lie.

The original 360 suffered catastrophic system failure more than 50% of the time: fact. Yes, there are people who've had their systems since launch, and I'm glad for them. But those people are in the minority.

The PS3 dropped a year after the 360: fact. Having such an advantage- especially coupled with the PS3's high retail price at launch- should have given MS an overwhelming lead. It hasn't.

The 360 ONLY outsells the PS3 here in the US: fact. Everywhere else in the world, the PS3 sells more.

Tell me, which part of ANY of that is fanboyism?

[Armyntt]

Dude, you and newleaf both are equally fanboys. Maybe when i said the worst i over exaggerated but nonetheless. You both are fanboys. When newleaf was immature and says "butthurt" you instantly start the copy/paste im sure of the 50% failure rate, one year head start, US does not equal the world crap. Who gives a shit? Your reply was all negative towards the 360 brand. What you and the rest of trolls need to do is bring a little more positivity in your lives.

[Dark_Overlord]

Its Ea's own fault, I've not seen one piece of marketing for the game, hell I didn't even know the game was out until I checked the new releases in the game shop. If anyones to blame, its EA

[Droid Control]

360 is on FIRE! Those numbers are amazing!

[quietlygamingaway]

im surprised how well its still sells

i guess xbox players are really hyped over Fable the Journey and other GOTY type games

rofl

[Der_Kommandant]

Shadows of the Damned Sales

24,198

It deserves 5 times that

[quietlygamingaway]

No money for much risk anymore!!

sorry im not bill gates

i have to go with a "sure thing" type game

skyrim Sr3 GTA5 BF3 MW3

[zerocrossing]

I would have got it new had it appealed to me, The honest truth though is it did not. So I got a second hand JRPG instead I would have got Alice madness returns but I couldn't find it for PS3 and I was in a rush...

[radchris]

How many of the PS3 sales are because of the blu ray player.

[zerocrossing]

I doubt many and at least not me, I mean I think most people buy consoles for the games. How many people do you think would buy a 360 if it had a blue ray player? Id say not too many more than those who buy it now.

[Dusdg]

I bought my ps3 only as a blu-ray player. Even after it YLOD on me I bought a slim for my blu-ray collection. Don't get me wrong I have bought a few games for it Mgs 4, GT5, and a few others but to me if it was not for the blu-ray drive in it I would have never bought one.

[Pandamobile]

I know a few people that only have consoles for the media capabilities.

My parents were looking for a blu-ray player, so I insisted they get a PS3 because of how easy it is to stream media from one of their PCs. My friend on the other hand owns 3 or 4 Xboxs, all but one of them are strictly for media stuff.

[PimpDaddy]

My sister bought her PS3 primarily as a Blu-Ray player.

My brother bought his PS3 to play games and watch Blu-Ray movies about equally.

I bought my PS3 primarily to play games, but I also have a decent Blu-Ray movie collection and only buy movies on Blu-Ray now as a result.

Hard to figure out what percentage of owners only use the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player with the occasional casual videogame. But to me if I was looking to buy a Blu-Ray player and wanted to play games too then the PS3 is Win Win!!!!!

[Jason143]

how many of those sales were because of rrod? Thats the kicker. If you only knew how many people bring rrod 360s into my store a week it would add up. they simply buy another one.

[PimpDaddy]

I am on my second PS3 because my original 60GB launch PS3 got YLOD. I know quite a few PS3 and 360 owners who have either replaced out of warranty consoles or purchased more than one of the console for their own personal use. For any of us to pretend that their are 50 million + unique PS3 or 360 owners out there is a bit of a stretch.

It was the same during the PS1 and PS2 days. I know plenty of people including myself who had purchased multiple PS1's and PS2's. Happens every generation...

[Raven_Nomad]

Bad games are bad...

[Loner]

Good sales for 360
The Kinect gamble is paying off.
In PS3s case it looks like all those exclusives arent pushing consoles.Sony needs a new strategy

[Nexy]

And this new strategy is to introduce one more gimmick for casuals.

If great games like Uncharted etc. cannot push the PS3 sales in the US considerably what else can? Only a gimmick like Kinect or sth.

:-(

[darthmaul]

For the life of me, I can't figure out why the PS3 isn't doing better. I own every system and mostly play my PS3. Great exclusives (Uncharted series ALONE is a reason to buy a PS3), blu-ray player, and free online (I know it can be lacking, but its not THAT bad). I applaud M$'s success, but I just can't put my finger on how/why M$ is out selling Sony. Oh, that one year head start that M$ got on Sony has been hard to over come. Plus people replacing their 360's due to the dreaded red ring of death also padded their sales. I think every gamer should own both systems if you can afford it...there are enough exclusives for each system that warrant such a purchase! Just my two cents...

[Firstkn1ghT]

Well there you have it. The 360 is DESTROYING the ps3 in the number 1 market in the world. The only place the ps3 wins is in Japan but the numbers are minor compared to NA. Everywhere else it's pretty much even.

So again, like I said numerous times but the ps3 fanboys refuse to believe it.....

...THE XBOX 360 IS BEATING THE PS3 WORLDWIDE!!!!!!

try to deny it fanboys.

[MaximusPrime]

"...THE XBOX 360 IS BEATING THE PS3 WORLDWIDE"

Urm what? I don't know if you're new on N4G or not but you need to do your history on here. XBOX360 never beaten Japan, lost top position in Asia, Africa, Europe (exc UK) and South America.

Last time I heard is that XBOX360 remained dominant in North America and about to lost grip on UK.

Also without this lame year headstart, PS3 outsold XBOX360 over millions.

[DOOMZ]

I haver both systems & I must say, I buy almost everything for my 360. The only thing I use my PS3 for are exclusives & Blu-ray's... Xbox Live & the 360 controller just make it for me!

[RockmanII7]

I blame the marketing for Shadows of the Damned. I'm on this site every day and I never even heard of it until the reviews started popping up. If someone like me didn't know about the game then how were people who don't follow gaming news.

[DOOMZ]

Bought both, ALICE: Madness Returnes was MUCH BETTER!

[cedaridge]

i have both systems too and i must say , i buy everything for my ps3. the only thing i use my xb360 for are exclusives i mean gears, look at espn, and watch old dvd movies. don't buy too many 360 games in fear of SCRATCHES! BLURAY, free psn, HOME, and 3D just make it for me! SONY make.believe

[Grannyvukka]

Shame really....Blame what you want people, but the blame soley rests on the over casual market that would rather add to the record breaking COD sales because it makes them feel special & a part of something.

Shadows has received enough good scores & even many aaa scores from releiable sources to warrant anyone who calls themself a gamer to look into it further.....I just went ahead & bought the game knowing that with a horror/action theme with gameplay elements of Resident Evil 4 & other games from developers I respect, that I would probably not be dissapointed....& if I was I could return the game, or at least smash through it & trade it for a high ass price that only required a $10 loss (or so). But after purchasing & playing for couple of hrs, I love the game & think it is great & belongs in my scarily big & still growing PS3 games collection. What's more scary is the ammount of games still to come this year that will more than likely be must buys...like Batman:AC, R2, U3, Dead Island, SF3:3rd strike online, Rage, SR3,just to name a select few.

These quiet months are when gamers should be lapping up quality games like Shadows in huge numbers, so the stupid trend of distributers releasing masses of aa, aaa & aaaa quality games all at the same time, in holiday season at the end of the year mainly.

[Grannyvukka]

@ Cederidge,
Thats exactly the same strategy as me brother.....except I don't usually watch dvd's on my 360. The PS3 just offers the better experience for me, all around.

I like the controller tonnes more, I love Sony's inhouse developers games, there 3rd party exclusives (although have been heavily depleted, are still better than the competition, free online play that offers a more lag free experience in most cases, Sony's online service also has the more unique experiences, so as well as all the MW's, BF's, & such, Sony gets games like Warhawk (which has no rival/equal on both 360 or Wii), MAG (another unique massive shooter), Killzone 2&3 (both awesome, unique & different from each other), Resistance 1&2 (awesome lagless online experiences), Unchartered 1&2 & soon 3 (nothing like them on rival consoles), all three Motorstorms (the best arcade racers this gen. due to Burnouts fall from grace), LBP 1&2 build your own games, levels & whatever....nuff said), Modnation Racers (build your own tracks easy as p1ss...nuff said), inFamous 2 (again pretty much build your own levels with the games level editor), the other 2 machines just do not don games like these....and the latter offering the opportunity for gamers to customize & build levels, or mini type games as shown in lbp 2 is just phenominal & should be supported by anyone who calls themselves a gamer.

I'm not saying just buy 1 console by any means, as I own all 3 & I believe it validated an opinion more than a fanboy ranting & raving why a certain machine is better without actually offering any truthful, meaningful or sense-making reasons.
As a long time gamer, if I only had the opportunity to invest in 1 machine (which I pretty much am, as I buy everything for PS3 & even now wait for most 360 games to hit the bargain bins before buying), I would buy a PS3 as my sole machine, as I get the most out of it for the price, as I don't have to pay to use it as MS would have me do with Live if I paid, it has better psn titles for me, as I enjoy old ps1 hits, as well as high quality full games for budget prices, like Wipeout HD & such, as well as awesome little gems like SSDHD, Dead Nation, Crash Commando, etc....Don't get me wrong, some of Live's aracde games are absolute classics too, like limbo, Shadow Complex & the like....but to me, PSN has the edge in that department too....