Poll: Unit sales, and how they're counted

[CincoDeMayo]

I've been mildly frustrated about Nintendo's claim on "most copies sold" since they announced that their Wii Sports was the best selling game of this generation of gaming. The problem, as far as I see it, is that the game Wii Sports is (or at least was) part of a Wii Bundle, which means you don't really buy the game but instead it comes with the console.


They did the same in the 8-bit era when Super Mario Bros. was included in the Nintendo bundle, and those numbers are even more extreme as far as I can remember.


(Wii Sports (bundle) has supposedly sold over 50 million copies, compared for example to the 2008 blockbuster GTA IV who's sold about 13 million copies overall on consoles and PC without being bundled.)

 

[khaimera]

Its not really fair but it makes for a good marketing claim. Its no surprise to see a company skew stats to make themselves look better.

Sorry for not voting but I boycott all polls.

 

[AWAR]

Its not really fair but it makes for a good marketing claim. Its no surprise to see a company skew stats to make themselves look better.

Sorry for not voting but I boycott all polls.

Why?

 

[khaimera]

Its not really fair but it makes for a good marketing claim. Its no surprise to see a company skew stats to make themselves look better.

Sorry for not voting but I boycott all polls.

Why?

Becuase the options are usually too limiting and I much prefer qualitative over quantitative data. Plus there is often one or more joke answers.

It also relates to my overall boycott of voting in general. I get a lot of crap here in America for that by I stand by it. In my opinion voting represnts a way for those in power to keep us quiet by giving us the illusion of power. In reality govt will do whatever they want anyways. If you want examnples of this I'd be happy to oblige but I'll stop my rant for now because I could go on forever.

 

[AWAR]

Its not really fair but it makes for a good marketing claim. Its no surprise to see a company skew stats to make themselves look better.

Sorry for not voting but I boycott all polls.

Why?

Becuase the options are usually too limiting and I much prefer qualitative over quantitative data. Plus there is often one or more joke answers.

It also relates to my overall boycott of voting in general. I get a lot of crap here in America for that by I stand by it. In my opinion voting represnts a way for those in power to keep us quiet by giving us the illusion of power. In reality govt will do whatever they want anyways. If you want examnples of this I'd be happy to oblige but I'll stop my rant for now because I could go on forever.

Ok your opinions on these topics are quite descent. I too rarely vote on polls here.

 

[TPiddy]

Its not really fair but it makes for a good marketing claim. Its no surprise to see a company skew stats to make themselves look better.

Sorry for not voting but I boycott all polls.

Yep, just like Bobby Kotick is claiming that MW 2 is the king of ALL entertainment because it's surpassed $1 billion in sales.... however, at $60, $70, and $90 a pop... $1 billion is a lot easier to reach than say a $10 movie ticket.

 

[khaimera]

Its not really fair but it makes for a good marketing claim. Its no surprise to see a company skew stats to make themselves look better.

Sorry for not voting but I boycott all polls.

Why?

Becuase the options are usually too limiting and I much prefer qualitative over quantitative data. Plus there is often one or more joke answers.

It also relates to my overall boycott of voting in general. I get a lot of crap here in America for that by I stand by it. In my opinion voting represnts a way for those in power to keep us quiet by giving us the illusion of power. In reality govt will do whatever they want anyways. If you want examnples of this I'd be happy to oblige but I'll stop my rant for now because I could go on forever.

Ok your opinions on these topics are quite descent. I too rarely vote on polls here.

Thanks for the validation. I feel all warm and fuzzy. Whats your reason for not voting?

And sorry, somewhat, for actively trying to derail this thread, but is this question really that imporatnt?

 

[jimduckie]

it may not seem fair that is the way most businesses work , and they never account for returns or losses

 

[Xanadu84]

Yep, just like Bobby Kotick is claiming that MW 2 is the king of ALL entertainment because it's surpassed $1 billion in sales.... however, at $60, $70, and $90 a pop... $1 billion is a lot easier to reach than say a $10 movie ticket.

On that same train of thought, however, were talking about $10 for a 2 hour movie. Then there's $60 for potentially hundreds of hours of gaming. You really can't give an objective, quantitative analysis for the size of a entertainment property. The claim that MW2 is the king of entertainment is arguable, certainly, but it certainly has a coherent supporting argument.

Anyways, I think its unfair, but its also hardly a very clever ruse. Everyone knows that Wii Sports came with the Wii, and everyone paying attention can put 2 and 2 together. It may be cheating, but everyone listening knows what there doing.

 

[TPiddy]

Yep, just like Bobby Kotick is claiming that MW 2 is the king of ALL entertainment because it's surpassed $1 billion in sales.... however, at $60, $70, and $90 a pop... $1 billion is a lot easier to reach than say a $10 movie ticket.

On that same train of thought, however, were talking about $10 for a 2 hour movie. Then there's $60 for potentially hundreds of hours of gaming. You really can't give an objective, quantitative analysis for the size of a entertainment property. The claim that MW2 is the king of entertainment is arguable, certainly, but it certainly has a coherent supporting argument.

Anyways, I think its unfair, but its also hardly a very clever ruse. Everyone knows that Wii Sports came with the Wii, and everyone paying attention can put 2 and 2 together. It may be cheating, but everyone listening knows what there doing.

I suppose part of it is my undeniable hatred of MW 2's success.... I just can't believe how many suckers people dropped that kind of coin for a 5 hour campaign that throws all aspect of realism out the window and horribly unbalanced multi-player...

it makes me sick that this is what we, as a society have been reduced to... Then again... so does the box office of Twilight

 

[Xanadu84]

Yep, just like Bobby Kotick is claiming that MW 2 is the king of ALL entertainment because it's surpassed $1 billion in sales.... however, at $60, $70, and $90 a pop... $1 billion is a lot easier to reach than say a $10 movie ticket.

On that same train of thought, however, were talking about $10 for a 2 hour movie. Then there's $60 for potentially hundreds of hours of gaming. You really can't give an objective, quantitative analysis for the size of a entertainment property. The claim that MW2 is the king of entertainment is arguable, certainly, but it certainly has a coherent supporting argument.

Anyways, I think its unfair, but its also hardly a very clever ruse. Everyone knows that Wii Sports came with the Wii, and everyone paying attention can put 2 and 2 together. It may be cheating, but everyone listening knows what there doing.

I suppose part of it is my undeniable hatred of MW 2's success.... I just can't believe how many suckers people dropped that kind of coin for a 5 hour campaign that throws all aspect of realism out the window and horribly unbalanced multi-player...

it makes me sick that this is what we, as a society have been reduced to... Then again... so does the box office of Twilight

Well first off, why does it have to be realistic? I don't criticize Bond movies, or zombie games for being unrealistic. It may be unrealistic, but it is consistent within its own rules. As for content, well, I don't think that's a problem either. 5 hours is short, but its not the only thing the game gives you, and most people get it for the multiplayer anyways. Plus, there's Spec Ops to increase the content a bit more. Lastly, the multiplayer isn't that unbalanced. Both sides have access to the same weapons, killstreaks, etc, and they have been fixing the real game ruiners. I think what most people mistake for being unbalanced is how the ability to gain momentum through killstreaks and such mean that there is a lot of positive feedback loops, allowing people to capitalize on there initial success. That's not a bad game design, but maybe it's a style of play you don't like. That's fine if it is, but I'm not sure it can be used as a proper criticism.

And comparing it to Twilight is just mean .

 

[TPiddy]

Yep, just like Bobby Kotick is claiming that MW 2 is the king of ALL entertainment because it's surpassed $1 billion in sales.... however, at $60, $70, and $90 a pop... $1 billion is a lot easier to reach than say a $10 movie ticket.

On that same train of thought, however, were talking about $10 for a 2 hour movie. Then there's $60 for potentially hundreds of hours of gaming. You really can't give an objective, quantitative analysis for the size of a entertainment property. The claim that MW2 is the king of entertainment is arguable, certainly, but it certainly has a coherent supporting argument.

Anyways, I think its unfair, but its also hardly a very clever ruse. Everyone knows that Wii Sports came with the Wii, and everyone paying attention can put 2 and 2 together. It may be cheating, but everyone listening knows what there doing.

I suppose part of it is my undeniable hatred of MW 2's success.... I just can't believe how many suckers people dropped that kind of coin for a 5 hour campaign that throws all aspect of realism out the window and horribly unbalanced multi-player...

it makes me sick that this is what we, as a society have been reduced to... Then again... so does the box office of Twilight

Well first off, why does it have to be realistic? I don't criticize Bond movies, or zombie games for being unrealistic. It may be unrealistic, but it is consistent within its own rules. As for content, well, I don't think that's a problem either. 5 hours is short, but its not the only thing the game gives you, and most people get it for the multiplayer anyways. Plus, there's Spec Ops to increase the content a bit more. Lastly, the multiplayer isn't that unbalanced. Both sides have access to the same weapons, killstreaks, etc, and they have been fixing the real game ruiners. I think what most people mistake for being unbalanced is how the ability to gain momentum through killstreaks and such mean that there is a lot of positive feedback loops, allowing people to capitalize on there initial success. That's not a bad game design, but maybe it's a style of play you don't like. That's fine if it is, but I'm not sure it can be used as a proper criticism.

And comparing it to Twilight is just mean .

Well, I've tried it, I've seen other people play it, I just don't get it... I don't understand how so many find it entertaining... then again, I play Gears and Halo...

I just wish that, you know, a more original, creative IP was our global representative rather than simulated terrorist warfare...

I will give MW 2 one thing though, it's highly polished.

 

[Xanadu84]

Well, I've tried it, I've seen other people play it, I just don't get it... I don't understand how so many find it entertaining... then again, I play Gears and Halo...

I just wish that, you know, a more original, creative IP was our global representative rather than simulated terrorist warfare...

I will give MW 2 one thing though, it's highly polished.

There's always room for subjectivity. And when it comes to a game that's just made to be a violent power fantasy, its that much harder to distinguish what makes quality. If you don't like it, its worth addressing why you don't like it. If anything that very question might lead to new and innovative game mechanics.

I think the lack of creativity is another issue altogether. It's an issue of games on the whole, not just Call of Duty. But I think the problem is not so much lack of creativity so much as it is mainstream marketing, and missed potential. When anything is marketable, it tends to follow pretty narrow criteria. Games arn't alone, and I think that comparing Mainstream games to Mainstream movies, Games are quite a bit more innovative. Just remember that Video Games are a very young medium, full of potential, and we are just barely at a point where technology has ceased to be a major limiting factor. Art, for example, in many ways started as a relatively bland reflection of physical reality, and in time it broadened it horizons. Certainly there needs to be more original and broad minded IPs representing games, but I think that a highly polished game, even if it is not exactly challenging intellectual fare, reflects positively on the hobby's potential.

 

[AWAR]

Its not really fair but it makes for a good marketing claim. Its no surprise to see a company skew stats to make themselves look better.

Sorry for not voting but I boycott all polls.

Why?

Becuase the options are usually too limiting and I much prefer qualitative over quantitative data. Plus there is often one or more joke answers.

It also relates to my overall boycott of voting in general. I get a lot of crap here in America for that by I stand by it. In my opinion voting represnts a way for those in power to keep us quiet by giving us the illusion of power. In reality govt will do whatever they want anyways. If you want examnples of this I'd be happy to oblige but I'll stop my rant for now because I could go on forever.

Ok your opinions on these topics are quite descent. I too rarely vote on polls here.

Thanks for the validation. I feel all warm and fuzzy. Whats your reason for not voting?

And sorry, somewhat, for actively trying to derail this thread, but is this question really that imporatnt?

Just because there's usually a yes or no or something that doesnt really apply to what i believe, so its better just to write down what i think in a thread.

 

[Monocle Man]

Can the console be bought in a store in a non-bundled box? If yes, it's fair and may be counted among the sales. If no, it's not fair and they should not be included in the sale list.

Egh, sales don't mean anything to me and the people who like to tout their games with high sale numbers sure as hell won't stop including them.