TGS07: Sega makes a horrible prediction

by David Hinkle { Sep 21st 2007 at 11:23PM }

We admit that the first game ever to feature both Sonic and Mario is going to appeal to folks naturally. We don't believe, however, that the game will sell 4 million copies together on the DS and Wii. Sega's corporate director Masanao Maeda believes though.

Being "glass is half-full" kinda people, we're all for being optimistic. But, 4 million? That's kind of absurd, wouldn't you say? Or, regardless of the type of game it is, could any title featuring both Mario and Sonic easily sell that much?

Tags: marioandsonic, olympics, sega, tgs07

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ryudo @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:14AM

I predict that it will sell 4 copies total.

This game looks like one of the lamest ideas ever and I am a fan of both characters but this game just looks awful.

Humanzee @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:26AM

If a game featuring both of them could sell that much it'd be Brawl.

musleem @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:28AM

I think it will sell 1 mill, but a game that would have mario and sonic in it like super smash bros brawl will sell 20 mill.

sonic #1 fan @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:37AM

I would buy a Mill. of thes,as long SEGA dosn`t get pused back by Nitindo,but i will buy a Mill. for SEGA.

Tri @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:52AM

How about you stop being a back-seat sales analyst and let the effing companies worry about how many copies they sell.

vidGuy @ Sep 22nd 2007 1:23AM

Yeah, that's a pretty generous prediction. I'd imagine this game would be lucky to sell 1.25 million (Wii + DS). I'm a huge Mario fan, and a decent Sonic fan, but I'm not even remotely interested in this game, and I think it'll be pretty much the same for everyone else.

Just_a_guy @ Sep 22nd 2007 2:12AM

I feel that this game will bomb but only because of the olympic theme.

Ross Patton @ Sep 22nd 2007 3:38AM

If this was brawl, yes. This Olympic thing? Not gonna happen.

Leon @ Sep 22nd 2007 4:37AM

#3, I was gonna say the exact same thing

Greg2k @ Sep 22nd 2007 5:09AM

Ok you know what, I think it's pretty obvious this game isn't aimed at us. Some will get it because it's Mario & Sonic's first game. But the rest of the world will get it for the same reason they buy Spongebob. It sounds familiar and they'll go for it.

Dopple Boppler @ Sep 22nd 2007 7:52AM

Make a Mario and Sonic 2-D platformer game and I'll buy four million copies myself.

ssuk @ Sep 22nd 2007 8:04AM

This game will blow both on DS and Wii, if it sells more than 1.5 million coppies, it shows that people have no taste.

Mabui @ Sep 22nd 2007 8:53AM

Yeah, from what I heard about this game, it isn't good, so predicting that on appeal of Mario and Sonic alone it'll manage 4 million copies across Wii and DS is pretty out there.

Though, once you hit DS, you might be able to make up the difference by the sheer number of people who have it.

Ruben @ Sep 22nd 2007 9:04AM

DAMN I give it 700,000 on ds an 150,000 on wii. I mean its lame, its not a platformer! It's obviously gonna be another minigame mash up. you'll get you 4 mil copies if you put him on brawl, but with this crap... keep dreaming! (Coming from a Sonic fan)

Unbreakable_idea @ Sep 22nd 2007 9:15AM

Well, there you go, that finally proves it. I had a theory that the folks over @ Sega had begun smoking mass quantities of crack in recent years (based on some of the terrible games they have made and in comparison to their former greatness), and now they have proved my theory, thus chaanging it from a theory into a law. Poor Sega, what ever happened to you, old friend?

shinneri @ Sep 22nd 2007 9:24AM

I think that's a realistic goal. They're talking worldwide here. Plus, I think a lot of people don't realize that Miyamoto has a hand in developing this game.

Jackson Pritt @ Sep 22nd 2007 11:53AM

The game doesn't look interesting to me at all, but if that 4 million total is for WORLDWIDE sales on both the Wii and the DS, then that might not be so unrealistic.

With the saturation that the DS enjoys across all markets (but particularly in Japan) this title is guaranteed to sell well on the DS just because it's a Mario game. And the number of nontraditional gamers that own the Wii in the North American market means that as long as this title has multiplayer capabilities a lot of people are going to buy it.

Mario games sell well, even when they aren't very good.
A lot of people will buy this without realizing that SONIC TEAM is working on it. And let's be honest, only gamers who've been following things for a while really understand how godawful the games produced by Sonic Team really are.

thethirdmoose @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:01PM

I predict it will sell OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAND!!!!

JZ @ Sep 22nd 2007 12:29PM

yea it might not be that far off considering how many people worldwide have wii and ds. i work at an un-named game store and you'd be surprise at how many people are excited about this game. the real problem is that most parents that have a wii are incredibly uninformed and will buy anything that looks like family fun, no matter how bad it is.

Sean @ Sep 22nd 2007 2:08PM

I assume to reach the 4 million number, he's talking about:
- combined DS and Wii sales
- worldwide numbers
- sales over the life of the console (not just by the end of the year).

If that's the case I can completely believe it. I think they know that the Wii is going to sell to non-gamers this Christmas, and these mascot games appeal to casual gamers and parents with kids more than Smash Brothers or Super Mario Galaxy, even if most gamers are over pumping their fists to run faster. I mean, why else would Mario Party still sell millions of copies unless there's a huge market for this sort of game? Toss in the Olympic license and a ton of advertising during 2008's Summer games and I think you're set for at least 2 or 2.5 million sold by this time next year, and the rest after they drop the price to $25 (or $20 for the DS game).

troy @ Sep 22nd 2007 3:30PM

WFT? 'From what I've heard about the game, it isn't very good' What the hell have you heard? I thought winning game of the year by surprised but delighted journalists at E3 or some such convention a few months ago, beating out Mario Galaxy and others really spoke a lot about this game. It said that 'people expected it to blow, but it stole the show.' And that sends a strong signal to me about this game. What the he!! have YOU heard?

-I looked at the screenshots, saw Olympic events depicted, and thought 'this looks to me like it sucks, based almost on nothing.'- Is what happened and you turned it into:

-Everything I heard said it sucked!-

Ha ha ha ! ;)

Based on the Game of the Year, Sega's bold assertion of selling 4 million, and the certainty that this is a big deal to both Nintendo and Sega or they wouldn't be throwing all their mascot eggs into one barrel, I would say that this is going to be a HUGE game, it's got mad 'Wii Sports' style universal appeal, it will help sell hardware and be an easy choice for casual gamers who are already sold on the hardware. And think of how far in advance of the summer games this is coming out! It has EIGHT MONTHS to sell sell sell, and that is smart marketing. It will give people in the winter a taste of the summer which might be very appealing, ever thought of that huh? HA HA! There are reasons to get this game we know next to nothing about right now, or that we know nothing about at all: because frankly we just know this game is coming out and some of the events. Wifi leaderboards, depth, modes, and more that we don't even know about could easily lurk beyond. Wait til the Oct 10th press conference to be pissed.

Mr Khan @ Sep 22nd 2007 5:08PM

4 million, not on wii alone, but between the 2 of them, its possible

This game will target 2 demographics

1. People my age who were little during "Mario vs Sonic" and aren't averse to the game's casualness, but will buy with a squeal of nostalgic delight

2. The 10-and-under crowd. They'll eat this alive

ari @ Sep 22nd 2007 5:19PM

Ha ha ha! Four million copies!...Oh that's good, that's real good...

Wait! You are serious?

L @ Sep 22nd 2007 5:40PM

I think it could sell that much if it was an action platformer game that featured the pair, and not some stupid Olympics game. I'm not buying it is all I know for sure.

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Sep 22nd 2007 6:07PM

4 million isn't unrealistic at all.
Mario Sunshine sold over 5 million. The Sonic Adventure game also sold over a million...although recent Sonics seem have have topped out around half a million copies (thats what happens when you keep turning out crap, Sega!)

Combined, I'm sure they could easily go over 4 million on both systems between selling to kids as well as nostalgia gamers. Even 4 million on the Wii alone isn't that crazy, although less likely to happen.