JoeyN Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Many sites including xbox365.com posted this press release today. You can read it at Online game sales top 1 billion $$ Maybe these numbers will wake Nintendo up a bit. You know what, probably wont. capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamsappel Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 "It's important to note that the increase in sales for online-capable games does not mean that the masses are moving to online gameplay," said Richard Ow, senior industry analyst, The NPD Group. "In some cases, consumers aren't necessarily aware they're buying games with online capabilities." "According to The NPD Group's Consumer Panel, more than half of the console gamers are 17 years old and younger, which means these gamers, who do not have access to credit cards, must rely on their parents to fund their online gaming habits. This is one of the reasons why most development teams tread cautiously in the world of online gaming." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Daisy Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 What the article doesn't say is how much money Microsoft and Sony are making off of it. Glen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted March 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Yeah its very true that a lot of x-box games have a live component which many dont use. . However people still think kids dont spend $$. When you play out there with the masses on live a lot of those are kids. Kids spend more money then some adults do. Also they say that more then 50% are 17 and under. A lot of those First Person shooters they mention, they need a parent to buy for them. Goes to show ya 1)Parents dont know what they are buying or 2) they just dont care capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 "Yeah its very true that a lot of x-box games have a live component which many dont use." Absolutely. Project Gotham 2 was a pretty good seller for Microsoft last Christmas, and is one of the essential Live games. Yet a look at the worldwide scoreboards showed only about 90 thousand people registered last time I looked. Over in the Midway high scores, the most places I've seen on a high-score board are about 2500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFo Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Nintendo's real problem with jumping into online gaming is due to the cost of creating an infrastructure to support it, not because people aren't interested. Those numbers reflect purely the sales of online games and do not reflect how much profit, if any, Sony and Microsoft are making with their online services. I think of it this way: If online gaming were an extremely profitable venture at the moment, do you honestly believe that Nintendo would not want a piece of the action? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exile Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Jfo, Actually I think it is because they feel people aren't that interested in it. Would you say that 15% would be a rough # to work with in terms of what percentage of gamers actually play online that own consoles? I know alot of people like myself who bought Xbox's and don't use the online component at all. Granted my case is different because of some signal issues otherwise I probably would have a wireless connection to make this occur but that might be an issue for alot of folks when it comes to making it work. Plus let's be honest even though there are lots of people out there with broadband, how many of them have any sort of knowhow to hook up a router to make it happen or the necessary components in order for the online world to open up to them? However you make a good point that the profit for Microsoft and Sony might not be that much if anything at all. Not having played or messed with a Cube I have no idea if its a hardware limitation or not but I suspect that they are capable(assumption here). So to summarize I'm not convinced that there are enough gamers that care about online play and its still possible that Nintendo can't afford to jump into the online world as their might not be that much margin in it if at all. Remember that the Xbox was sold to many of us as the online console but I suspect that the actual amount of Live users for the amount of Xbox's out there is still quite small not to mention the fact that how many of them actually have and pay for broadband? At $40 a month that puts a significant dent into a gamers budget. That is one less game per month that they can purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Maybe these numbers will wake Nintendo up a bit. Why? The figure & press release is utter bollocks. Just because a game has an online component or online play, doesn't mean it should be counted towards "revenue for online games". Should KOTOR be included because it had downloadable content six months after its release? I suspect that the actual amount of Live users for the amount of Xbox's out there is still quite small Roughly 1:13 Xbox owners is a XBL subscriber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlot Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 I used to defend Nintendo to no end, but I'm bitter some of their recent games haven't been online. I'm acutally turning into an online snob, if you will. I won't buy another racing game or sports game unless it's online enabled. After DOA Online comes out, I'll probably feel the same for fighting games. Case in point; I bought Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes for my dusty Cube. I haven't played it since I knew Pandora Tommorow was coming out, and I wanted to concentrate on that since it's has the phenominal online component. While having many friends that play online helps, also being part of this online community (LCVG) is a huge factor. Any given time there is someone from my friends list playing something online that I like. Plus being able to play without the AF (Asshat Factor) in a more mature environment is a huge plus and makes the online expeirence great. I sometimes forget though, that we are a small niche compared to the gaming world on a whole. But I also feel we are the early adopters and this is the direction more games will go. Hopefully, Nintendo has something similar to LIVE in the works. Nintendo seems like a company that would want the control and ease of use factor that MS has with LIVE. Problem is, my patience grows thin. 1080, Mario Cart and particularly F-Zero would be phenominal online games. Let's get the ball rolling Nintendo!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 umm, both 1080 and Mario Kart can be played online with the Warp Pipe. If I wanted to, I could have got a broadband adaptor cheap. I'm sure that I could figure out how to persuade my router to do the necessary for it to all work, too. Yet I've not bothered. If I can't be bothered, who else will? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exile Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 While having many friends that play online helps, also being part of this online community (LCVG) is a huge factor. A I suspect that this will be a predominant response given the tightness of the community. I also suspect that there are alot of people who tried Live and the AF(asshat factor) soured them. Another factor that I just thought about is Nintendo while trying to actively market itself as a console for adults still is thought in alot of circles as a kiddie machine and as such I wonder if that plays into the pyschie(sp?) of Nintendo. They actually might respond with something as ludicrious as "why offer online which I doubt a 7 yr old could operate it!" Or maybe I'm in left field with that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlot Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 umm, both 1080 and Mario Kart can be played online with the Warp Pipe. Yes, I realize that, but techincally, it was only for LAN play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMike Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 This is just like every other stat, pointless. A better article would be how many xbox live kits have sold, but then also how many people pay for subscriptions to online games and of those peopel that pay, how many actually login and remember that they are automatically paying renewals. I bet you any money that the numbers get really low there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 That warp pipe thing is a pain in the butt. i know as Ruffneck and i have tried multiple times to get it working. No luck at all capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Yeah, I agree online play is awesome, but realistically you have to realize that the LCVG community slants things slightly because, yeah, we're tight and not dumbasses who cheat or otherwise harass. Now, everybody else has to play the great unwashed and it's not as much fun by half. I should know, I've been there . With no proof that it's profitable, and the grand asshole factor, it's unfortunate that Nintendo won't go online but it isn't hard to see why they won't. I don't believe for a second that Nintendo's all about the kids; I hardly perceive its mature titles to be a bone to those of us who want both types of games. However, they do like that market and online may, yes, be too complicated for young children. More to the point, however, it's not a 'safe' place. I mean, if I was a parent, I would flip to have my kid go online with some guy saying 'fuck' every second word or being a racist idiot. And that's not uncommon either. I can see wanting to break out of the image, but alienating parents like that would not do very well in the long run methinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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