January NPD/CSFB Hardware + Software Sales Numbers

January Hardware Sales

PS2: 448,000 (-84% over December sales)
XBOX: 164,000 (-84%)
GCN: 81,000 (-87%)
GBA: 266,000 (-88%)

Cumulative Installed Base

PS2: 16,318,000
XBOX: 4,765,000
GCN: 3,664,000
GBA: 12,159,000

Software Tie Ratio

PS2: 6.20
XBOX: 4.87
GCN: 4.82
GBA: 2.78

January Software Sales

Rank Title Publisher

1 PS2 THE SIMS Electronic Arts
2 PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO:VICE Take-Two Interactive
3 PS2 THE GETAWAY Sony
4 PS2 DEVIL MAY CRY 2 Capcom
5 PS2 SOCOM:U.S. NAVY SEALS Sony
6 PS2 DRAGON BALL Z:BUDOKAI Infogrames
7 PS2 MADDEN NFL 2003 Electronic Arts
8 PS2 ATV OFF ROAD FURY 2 Sony
9 XBX DOA: BEACH VOLLEYBALL Tecmo
10 PS2 MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY Midway
11 XBX T.CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL Ubi Soft
12 PS2 T.CLANCYS GHOST RECON Ubi Soft
13 XBX T.CLANCYS GHOST RECON Ubi Soft
14 PS2 LORD OF RINGS: TWO TOWERS Electronic Arts
15 XBX LORD OF RINGS: TWO TOWERS Electronic Arts
16 PS2 KINGDOM HEARTS Electronic Arts
17 XBX PANZER DRAGOON ORTA Sega
18 XBX HALO Microsoft
19 PS2 NBA LIVE 2003 Electronic Arts
20 GBA YU-GI-OH! ETERNAL Konami
21 PS2 WWE: SHUT YOUR MOUTH THQ
22 PS2 BOND 007: NIGHTFIRE Electronic Arts
23 PS2 TIGER WOODS PGA 2003 Electronic Arts
24 GCN LORD OF RINGS: TOWERS Electronic Arts
25 GBA ZELDA: LINK TO PAST Nintendo

• Software sales revenue for the month of January grew 1% over last year, while unit sales for software grew 2.2%. New 128-bit console hardware sales were up 28% year over year, while new 128-bit console software sales were up 24%. Game Boy Advance hardware sales were up 56%. For the month of January, Electronic Arts’ The Sims on the PS2 took the overall spot with 267,000 units sold followed by Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PS2 and Sony’s The Getaway on the PS2.

• Electronic Arts’ (ERTS, $49.98, Outperform, TP $87.50) U.S. video game sales for January were up 31% versus last year. Strength in January came from the strong debut of The Sims on the PS2, and continued catalogue sales of Madden NFL 2003, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and NBA Live 2003.

• THQ’s (THQI, $12.81, Outperform, TP $16.50) U.S. sales increased 26% year over year in January from strong sales of WWE Shut Your Mouth and Sp*ngebob: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, and continued strong sales of its portfolio of games, including Sonic Advance on the GBA. The company announces Q4’02 results on Wednesday after the close. The dial-in number for the call is 877-316-2542. Activision’s (ATVI, $14.51, Outperform, TP $18) U.S. sales declined 22% year over year for January, with the weakness coming across all of the company’s products.

• For Take-Two’s (TTWO, $19.80, Outperform, TP $34) full January quarter, sales were up approximately 48% versus our expectation of 28% revenue growth. The strength was driven by the company’s Greatest Hits titles for the PS2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which has sold approximately 5 million units in the U.S. For the month of January sell through was down 56% due to the difficult comp from Grand Theft Auto III last year and, we expect, the company’s decision to hold back end of quarter shipments.

• Midway’s (MWY, $3.37, Underperform, TP $3) U.S. sales in the quarter were up 70% year over year, with strength coming from the release of Mortal Kombat. The company announces Q4’02 results on Thursday after the close. The dial-in number for the call is 212-896-6084.

• Since both Midway and THQ pre-announced Q4’02 results, the focus of this week’s earnings calls will be on forward guidance. We think given the uncertainty around each company’s product portfolios, management’s guidance will be conservative. Electronic Arts remains our top pick. For small cap investors, we believe that Take-Two represents a compelling risk/reward scenario.

Major publishers back away from Nintendo – exclusive details inside.

Nintendo insists on making the same old mistakes it always has. To present a minor installed base to a publisher and offer miniscule returns for a high risk is plainly unworkable, and it is for this reason that the firm’s third-party support, across the board, is being slowly but surely withdrawn.

Today, Codemasters has removed all trace of GameCube support from its release schedule in a move mirroring the firm’s Dreamcast withdrawal, which saw Colin McRae Rally 2.0 canned for the platform. It seems that the Nintendo numbers again don’t add up for the company and the decision has been made.

We can also reveal that more major publishers will be wrapping up support for the Nintendo home machine during this year. Activision, and perhaps most crucially, Electronic Arts will be ceasing development for GameCube. Others are expected to follow. No announcements will be forthcoming; the games just won’t be made.

GameCube has been exhibiting symptoms of Dreamcast syndrome for some time, though until today, a definite diagnosis has been impossible to make.

Industry insiders are openly talking about the mass withdrawal which has started to take the form of a conspiracy of sorts. Rumour tells of directors of development and licensing, from various firms, discussing how best to retreat from GameCube and Nintendo’s paltry margins.

What’s more, support for Game Boy Advance, a platform notoriously difficult to make money with, is at its lowest point since launch. Just last week, Eidos representatives, at the press launch for a rival portable system, were talking openly on the subject of farming out all GBA products to other publishers, simply due to the difficulty in making a profit or breaking even. What happened to Crawfish, arguably the best handheld development team seen to date, serves as a grave reminder.

16:09 UK publisher and developer Codemasters has no immediate plans to release software on GameCube, preferring to focus on PC and other next-gen formats. It's believed this position boils down to a simple questions of numbers, although the company will not say anything officially to this effect.
A spokesperson told us: "While we have nothing currently in development for GameCube we will continue to assess the viability of releasing versions of our games on Nintendo's console." We say: don't hold your breath.

Looking at the bigger picture, this must make worrying reading for Nintendo, and don't be surprised if this trend continues with other publishers. Industry insiders are already pointing to massive companies like EA and Activision slowly backing away from GameCube development, with one source telling us: "EA is definitely scaling back on GameCube development - and they've sold almost twice as many units of Xbox games than GameCube games."

It's certainly no secret that GameCube-specific versions of the big franchises have been performing less well in relation to PS2 and, more worryingly, Xbox versions. And with GC hardware sales falling worldwide, alarm bells are beginning to sound as far as third-party development is concerned.

Nintendo, of course, has an exceptionally strong first-party line up, but if Codemasters' position is mirrored by other third-party publishers, expect more than a few nervous glances at Nintendo HQ.

In other Codemasters news, the company has announced it is to attend this year's Games Developers Conference, to be held in California from March 4-8, with the aim of signing "five A to triple-A game titles." The company sees GDC as the perfect opportunity to do business and is focusing on "US-centric games" on all formats.

We'll keep you posted on all developments.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/front_index.php?

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Evil Venom:
ועוד על עתידו של הקיוב:

Major publishers back away from Nintendo – exclusive details inside.

Nintendo insists on making the same old mistakes it always has. To present a minor installed base to a publisher and offer miniscule returns for a high risk is plainly unworkable, and it is for this reason that the firm’s third-party support, across the board, is being slowly but surely withdrawn.

Today, Codemasters has removed all trace of GameCube support from its release schedule in a move mirroring the firm’s Dreamcast withdrawal, which saw Colin McRae Rally 2.0 canned for the platform. It seems that the Nintendo numbers again don’t add up for the company and the decision has been made.

We can also reveal that more major publishers will be wrapping up support for the Nintendo home machine during this year. Activision, and perhaps most crucially, Electronic Arts will be ceasing development for GameCube. Others are expected to follow. No announcements will be forthcoming; the games just won’t be made.

GameCube has been exhibiting symptoms of Dreamcast syndrome for some time, though until today, a definite diagnosis has been impossible to make.

Industry insiders are openly talking about the mass withdrawal which has started to take the form of a conspiracy of sorts. Rumour tells of directors of development and licensing, from various firms, discussing how best to retreat from GameCube and Nintendo’s paltry margins.

What’s more, support for Game Boy Advance, a platform notoriously difficult to make money with, is at its lowest point since launch. Just last week, Eidos representatives, at the press launch for a rival portable system, were talking openly on the subject of farming out all GBA products to other publishers, simply due to the difficulty in making a profit or breaking even. What happened to Crawfish, arguably the best handheld development team seen to date, serves as a grave reminder.

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ה XBOX עובר את ה GC ביפן! כן, בפעם הראשונה מאז ההשקה ה XBOX עובר את ה GC.

אין שום ספק, גם באירופה גם בארה"ב ועכשיו גם ביפן, ה XBOX במקום השני. די אם האשליות.

For the first time in its history, the GameCube has been outsold by the Xbox in Japan, in what has to be seen as a pivotal moment in the history of videogames.

Powered by the touchy-feely extravaganza that is Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, the Xbox achieved sales of 8,862 units, pipping the GameCube, which shifted 8,177.

http://spong.com/index.asp?art=4456

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ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Damien Shadow:
זה נראה כמו תחילתו של הסוף

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אם לנינטנדו כבר יש את הקונסולה הבאה שלה בתיכנון לא נראה לי שזה הסוף.

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Perseus:

אם לנינטנדו כבר יש את הקונסולה הבאה שלה בתיכנון לא נראה לי שזה הסוף.

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כן זה יהיה עוד פרק בעלילותיהם המפגרות של אנשי נינטנדו...

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Evil Venom:
עידו אתה בור רציני. הבוקס עבר את הקיוב החודש למשך כמה ימים, מספרו הכללי לא מגיע אפילו לחצי מיליון אם אני לא טועה, אני חושב שזה 200 אלף. אני לא מבין מאיפה הבורות הזו. הקיוב בצרות אבל הוא עובר את הבוקס בהרבה ביפן.

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נכון.
אבל מאז ההשקה של הבוקס ביפן לפני איזה שנה וחצי זו הפעם הראשונה שהבוקס עובר את הקיוב, אז כן, זה אומר משהוא.

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי X-Type:
ה XBOX עובר את ה GC ביפן!

אין שום ספק, גם באירופה גם בארה"ב ועכשיו גם ביפן, ה XBOX במקום השני. די אם האשליות.

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ומה זה אמור להביע? הבוקס לא עובר את הקיוב ביפן, המכירות שלו היו ויהיו נוראיות ביותר ביפן. הקיוב מוכר ממש טוב ביפן, עכשיו יש לו חודש די צולע, ולבוקס יש חודש טוב (בגלל DOA) ובחודש הטוב של הבוקס הוא מוכר מה שהקיוב מוכר בחודש רע או קצת יותר.

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי TwisteR:
תבינו שהקיוב לא ימכור כלום עד שפוקימון לא יצא.

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כן הוא כן.

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Damien Shadow:

כן הוא כן.

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המספרים מדברים בעד עצמם.

כנראה שזה נובע מהעובדה שהיפנים לא ממש מרוצים מהעובדה שמטרואיד פריים הוא משוחק בגוף ראשון.

אבל אישית מי היה מתנגד לXBV?

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תודה לSquall Leonheart

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Damien Shadow:
אורי צודק, הבוקס הצליח בגלל סיבה את: DOAXBV. עד כמה שרוי ישנא את מה שאני אגיד עכשיו, יפנים מעדיפים בחורות בעלות חזה שופע שמשחקות כדור עף מאשר בחורה (לא פחות מרשימה) שמכסחת לחייזרים את התחת.

כנראה שזה נובע מהעובדה שהיפנים לא ממש מרוצים מהעובדה שמטרואיד פריים הוא משוחק בגוף ראשון.

אבל אישית מי היה מתנגד לXBV?

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גם לסאמוס יש חזה שופע

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Perseus:

גם לסאמוס יש חזה שופע

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טוב אני לא יודע את זה... לא ראיתי את זה... ונראה שהיפניים מעדיפים 8 בנות כאלה על אחת, מצטער.

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Damien Shadow:

טוב אני לא יודע את זה... לא ראיתי את זה... ונראה שהיפניים מעדיפים 8 בנות כאלה על אחת, מצטער.

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לסוניק אין חזה שופע

ציטוט:

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נכתב במקור על ידי Perseus:

לסוניק אין חזה שופע

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אוקיי מה הקשר... חוץ מזה קצת קשה לראות את החזה של סאמוס שהחליפה שלה מסתירה את יופייה הפנימי... החיצוני... אההה... לא חשוב.