Poking holes in the New York Times's claims

by JC Fletcher { Apr 23rd 2008 at 11:15AM }

Refuting perceived negative statements against your console of choice is usually a very petty, fanboy kind of thing to do, but the New York Times' recent coverage of the Wii's terrible attach rate deserves it. The article has some problems that make the Wii seem to be in a worse situation than it is, though we don't know whether it's an intentional angle or a bit of haphazard reporting. John Scalzo of the Video Game Librarian blog identified some of the issues.

Scalzo identifies the paper's dependence on numbers from VGChartz (a "a team of analysts who study video-game sales"), their claim that Smash Bros. sales have tanked, and their spurious analysis of Guitar Hero III sales as noticeable problems with the coverage. The last is especially startling: the NYT claims that "Guitar Hero, for example, sold 2.2 million copies for the Wii, but 2.8 million copies for the Xbox 360 and almost 5 million for two versions of the PlayStation," bringing in the PS2 to make its point. "The only way the author could get the numbers he was looking for," Scalzo said, "was to combine the sales of Guitar Hero III on the PS2 and PS3 to push it past the Wii."

Hit the break for some of our own thoughts on the article.

The first: the article identifies Brawl's sales dropoff after the first month as if it were symptomatic of the Wii's software issues: "Some major retail chains - including Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us - have already begun bundling the Smash Bros. game with Wii machines for sales online, a sign that the base of hard-core gamers who went looking for the game has been depleted." Never mind that every game's sales drop off after launch, unless it suddenly attracts mainstream attention or is a controller. And never mind that all online retailers have bundled games with their few Wii consoles since launch.

The idea that a bundled game might be indication of attempting to expand a game's audience past a sated core is relatively sound, except in the case of the Wii. The Wii's supply has been so constrained that there are plenty of huge Nintendo fans who have been trying for a year or so to get a Wii, just to play this game.

Also flawed: the point that a few critically acclaimed titles failed to sell in large numbers. The NYT claims that this is evidence that the Wii audience doesn't want new games. But good games fail to sell all the time, on every console. It just means that most people's taste isn't as awesome and correct as ours.

The big proof that the Wii is failing to sell games is Michael Pachter's calculated rate of purchased games per year. Wii owners purchase 3.7 games a year versus the 360's 4.7 and the PS3's 4.6. Thus the other systems have better games and owners more willing to buy games, right? Right? Take that, Wii! Oh, except the Wii comes with a game that almost all Wii owners want. 360 software sales are indeed really great, but that doesn't mean the Wii is faring poorly.

Tags: attach-rate, guitar-hero-iii, new-york-times, smash-bros-brawl, tie-ratio

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SoshiKitai @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:27AM

:/ Well heck, I’m not much of newspaper’s “video game reviews and claims”…
And I’m not that fond of New York Times… they add so much information on a topic, but usually it has nothing to do with the topic, at least directly.
But they just sound like jerks at this point.

Psh, they’ll eat their words just like how every critic of the Wii did.

Brento @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:19PM

Amen brother. The problem is relying on a mass media outlet to report on videogames. The NYTimes is perfectly fine for articles on politics, world events and how to rent an apartment in NYC but to let some Harvard student crack out a 10,000 word article on videogames just cause he thinks he knows something is a waste of column space.

vidGuy @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:33AM

Wii - 24.54m consoles x 3.7 = 90.798 million games sold per year
360 - 18.35m consoles x 4.7 = 86.245 million games sold per year
PS3 - 11.91m consoles x 4.6 = 54.786 million games sold per year

Seems to me like the Wii is the console to be developing for, as more games are sold for it each year than the others. That's the exact opposite conclusion that the Times article (and other analysts) want to make.

To be honest, it shouldn't be surprising that the average Wii owners buys fewer games. Nintendo's goal was to draw in the casual gamer, which they did quite well. Problem is, that gamer isn't used to spending $20-$50 per game, let alone $200-$300 per year on games for their console. Even with a strong number of traditional ("hardcore") gamers playing the Wii, the casual market is going to bring the average down.

It would be more useful if the study broke down the Wii gamers into casual and hardcore. I bet Wii hardcore gamers buy more games a year than those on the other consoles.

Jason Z. @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:49PM

Not trying to be argumentative, since I thought the same thing you did. However, I did wonder, does that 3.7 include Wii Sports? If so then it's really an attach rate of 2.7, which actually isn't that great. If it doesn't include Wii Sports then thats a damn good attach rate considering people who get a game with the console go out and buy 3.7 additional games on top of the one that comes with the system.

hvnlysoldr @ Apr 24th 2008 2:47AM

NO! Jason Z they've never included Wii Sports in NPD. The only place Wii Sports isn't packed in and counts on the charts has been Japan and soon to be South Korea.

Jason Zagar @ Apr 25th 2008 6:02AM

So, wouldn't that really make the attach rate 4.7, since the 360 doesn't come with a game and the Wii does?

Sure Wii owners are not going out of their way to buy 4.7 games since one of those is bundled in, but who's to say that 360 owners wouldn't be buying 3.7 games if they got Halo 3 or GoW packed into the console?

josh @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:37AM

this just confirms my hatred toward NYT, they are so full of Biased S**T that they wouldnt know how to report the real news if it happened right in front of them. We all know any statistic can be made to say anything 100% of the time. this article was sponcered by sony anyone can see that. argh im just so saddend because the mass audiance will read this and believe it even though the "reporter" doesnt know what hes talking about

SoshiKitai @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:41AM

I think those who already OWN a Wii, casual and hardcore, wouldn't even listen to this article. :/
So, there's no problem there for you.

If you're talking about future Wii owners/gamers --- don't worry, top-rated games found in friend's houses SPEAK LOUDER than an article.

coleduke @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:42AM

When will it end. We're now over 2 years out, and Nintendo is clearly dominating this generation in terms of sales. When will people stop the witch hunt. It's so hard for some people to accept the fact that this isn't a fluke. The wii is more fun to play, and appeals to a wider audience (which is getting less and less wide with the release of wii fit ;) ), and therefore sells more. Just accept it. Maybe you'll get 'em next time, Microsoft/Sony. And Microsoft, if it's any consolation, at least Vista sales and satisfaction are through the roof. Oh...wait.

If Sony and Microsoft were a little more creative instead of sticking with their 5-10 year old controllers which, incidentally, are just sad SNES/N64 ripoffs. I mean, Microsoft couldn't even be bothered to change the letters of the buttons, they just changed the order. At lease Sony had the decency to add shapes to the buttons instead of "A,B,X,Y".

SoshiKitai @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:53AM

Nothing wrong with ABXY… and the shapes on the playstation controllers would be completely unnecessary if it didn’t add to the look of the black. It’s fine if other controllers have the same shape, feel, or buttons – we shouldn’t be so judging on that. It’s just a controller. Don’t stop progress by stopping mimicry (which helps progress, y’know).
Now what’s a blatant use of mimicry of controllers… is when playstation 3 controllers tried to add a bit of “wiggle and waggle”… now that was just plain annoying… you could so totally tell they made that at the last minute… I mean, it feels more like “waggle and woggle”.

As for witch/hunt… nah, it’ll never end.
The Wii just isn’t intimidating-looking. It looks like a cute system, and its name sounds like a preschooler’s toy.
For it to be ontop is like a middle-schooler beating a bunch of highschoolers in a dodgeball competition… or possibly like a tiny kid’s-toy robot beating a juggernaut of a Gundam… or to otakus: an American cartoon beating an anime --- all of those are Extremely maddening.
If the Wii was black, or bulkier, or even had an HDD-option: Maybe the witch hunts would’ve stopped.
But the Wii doesn’t have those (at least not yet)… so people will still find it extremely annoying that it won, and not their more-expensive power-beasts.

coleduke @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:09PM

Well, it's pretty easy to see that the waggle feature in the PS3 controllers is a blatant rip-off of the wii. Nintendo kind of announced the wii remote capabilities about a month before E3 2006, and, sure enough, at E3, PS3 had some really super lame motion control that most games don't even use.

I wasn't just judging on the controllers, but it goes to show that while many people hassle Nintendo for always being a generation behind (cartridges in N64, no HD in wii, etc.), they're actually ahead of the rest in many aspects. They've revolutionized the industry in the things that really count, like gameplay and controllers, which is how we interact with the games. Having HD doesn't make a game more fun, and the physical medium of the game has no effect on gameplay (except cartridges have less lag). Where it counts, which is gameplay, Nintendo has always been at the forefront, and the others just attempt to borrow many of their ideas and package it in a more powerful package. It's pretty sad really. One of the exceptions is FPS's, but those were invented on computers, and should have stayed there. They just aren't built for consoles.

And with regards to the junior high kid beating the high schoolers, it's also kind of like how Chris Paul is freaking dominating the Mavericks even though the dude's shorter than me. He really should be the MVP. Sorry, I guess this isn't the place to talk about sports.

Orion @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:44PM

Don't feel sorry for your opinion. You're right. If you look at the xbox controller, it's actually a total ripoff of the Dreamcast pad.

The repackaging is something that annoys me too. It used to be, back when i was young, that when a new system came out, you got a new controller.. totally new... period. It was actually part of the "giddiness" because you were anticipating what it would be like. I still remember holding the Virtual Boy, and the N64 pads for the first time, and being awe struck (yes VB sucked, but i loved it's controller).

I'm very annoyed with Sony's laziness with their controller design. It's not even as comfortable as the 2 competitor's controllers.. so it's not like they don't have room for improvement.

And I hear you. These two companies came in, and stood on the shoulders of gaming legends (Sega and Nintendo) and now pretend with their cockiness that they have been in rule for decades (or you'd think with the arrogence they display). Just because they killed off Sega and snuffed Nintendo's sales for two generations doesn't mean they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Right now Sony is in a 3rd place, and other than Nintendo, NO console maker has been able to come back from being last place and make a console after that that has tipped the scales. Sega couldn't even do that after the Saturn with the Dreamcast...neither could Atari after the 5200's failure (with 7600 and Jaguar doing poorly in sales after that).

If i were sony/miscrosoft, i would start being creative.. making my own ideas... so when my brand eventually died off, at least I could say i left my own foot print in history, instead of just working off the ideas of the people before me (like taking the joystick, dpad, ABXY, etc and everything else nintendo created in their controllers) and just repackaging it and slapping their name on it. Even online play, while M$ at least can say they had a hand in making successful, was originally done (at least successfully) by the dreamcast they seemded to copy off so much.

This doesn't mean I don't play sony or M$ systems.. just that I don't find their designs, especially with controllers, to be exciting in the least.

coleduke @ Apr 23rd 2008 1:07PM

I wasn't sorry for my opinion at all. And you make a really great point. It used to be that when a new system came out, one thing that made it new was the fact that it had a new controller. At the time, I didn't understand how revolutionary the NES controller was because I didn't play a ton of Atari or anything. But, when the SNES, N64, and GC came out, one of the most intriguing and exciting things about the consoles was the new controller. Nintendo managed to make a better controller every time, until the finally made the best "classic" controller with the GC controller. The simplicity of the SNES is awesome, but the GC is just the best controller of all time.

And Nintendo kept doing this with the Wii, where the controller is obviously the most intriguing thing about the system. The PS controller hasn't really changed since PS1, released in 1995 (13 years ago). The only differences are the analog sticks (ripped off from N64), rumble (ripped off from N64), and a sad excuse for motion control (obviously ripped off from Wii).

The Xbox controller hasn't changed since the original Xbox released in 2001 (7 years ago).

Controllers are definitely one of the most important things in a new console, and this generation has proven it. They define many consoles, and rightly so. It definitely does bother me how every other company has ripped off Nintendo controllers since the NES, and they continue to do it. Since Sony and Microsoft's first systems, the only thing that has changed is the graphics.

There's no creativity involved in making a system faster, or making better graphics, or HD. The creativity comes in with system/controller design, and game design. And I think Nintendo has always dominated in those fields. Oh, and there's also very little creativity involved in making a game where you re-enact WW2 or go around shooting people in an outdated or a futuristic landscape.

SoshiKitai @ Apr 23rd 2008 5:57PM

Honestly, you guys WOULD NOT want to see an original Microsoft controller. I've tried a few computer controllers out there that look awesome, and unless you've played hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours grinding for level-ups in MMOs - those controllers hurt the FUDGE outta' your hands! They just weren't made right, IMO! And if you think about it that way, it'd be scary for a mainly-computer-franchised-company like Microsoft to try and make their own controller! GAH!
(Though computers do have those upcoming-texture-sensitive controllers coming out... but those look... alien... really alien)

But seriously guys... you both need to calm down. You both can have a ravaging hatred for what Sony and Microsoft have done to the video game world ( I know I had a furious hatred against Sony for several years after SEGA "died" ), but instead of bashing on "bad ideas"/"unoriginal ideas"... support good and new ideas! "Spread the love!"

Because if you don't. You sound EXACTLY like those Nintendo-bashers that are all around us.

Conclusion:
So in the end, we'll only stop debating about "Controller Mimicry" when they create full-body-motion-controls or psychic controls.
And what'll shut up our "enemies" is by showing them just how good we really are.

:P

nintendo1889 @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:50AM

C'mon, NYTimes (amongst other so-called sales reports), stop this biased BS and get some REAL information. Sony and Microsoft can go piss up a rope for all I care; the Wii is more enjoyable and at least it HAS 100% backwards compatibility with it's games. Not this "we now use software emulation to cut down costs" crap. Give Nintendo the credit they deserve.

Tesche @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:12PM

ummm....the wii does use software to emulate your VC experience. So that isn't a great argument. Technically, the PS3 and 360 have more compatability with their previous generations. Nintendo Wii owners are limited to what is available for re-purchase on the VC. That all being said, I am a huge Wii fanboy and VC fanboy.

Tom @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:18PM

Tesche I'm going to have to disagree. The backwards compatibility is mostly for the previous generation console. You can play all GC games on the Wii. The VC is a nice (costly) addition that allows a compatibility for decades of gaming along with multiple game systems.

I don't know the limits or boundaries of the PS3/360, but I've heard they are less than that of the Wii.

Orion @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:27PM

I'm sorry, Tesche, but your logic makes no sense. When people talk about BC it isn't referring to XBL, VC, or PN. Backwards compatiblity means the ability to be able to play games from the last generation in their original DISK FORM.

In that, Nintendo wins hands down. You can play 100% of the GC catalog with abolutely nothing about the game's performance that has been compromised in ANY title. Sony and M$ can't say that. And even if, for some reason, you don't care if Sony and M$ use emulation, while I can understand Sony having more titles to play (psone and ps2), what the hell is your logic that M$ has more games to play than the GC does in BC? NOT ALL M$ xbox1 games work on 360!

End of the day, for the original poster's comment, he's right.. and you are wrong. DLC doesn't factor into his point. You can buy psone games from PN, but it doesnt mean that that is backwards compatablilty.. and you have to pay for the game just like any VC, so your point is mute.

So yes, I totally agree. With sony ditching BC on their new SKUS, and M$'s backwards compatablity iffy and non-working on some games just like Sony, it's nice to see Nintendo caring by not ditching BC, or using software emulation for GAMECUBE (ie:BC games) games.

Tesche @ Apr 23rd 2008 3:50PM

I know I'm posting in Nintendo WiiFanboy, I've never posted in anyother on this network for that matter, but I fail to believe you "cannot see the logic of my statement." Yes, it was a mistake, IMO, for Sony to go to software emulation instead of the including the hardware as they did in the original release of the PS3. At launch, the PS3 could run all PS and PS2 games. I'm not as familiar with the 360, the XBox in either iteration has never appealed to me, but I understand that it plays original XBox games to some extent or something. And yes, the Wii plays all GC games, but unless you include the VC, and since I never brought up Live or PS(whatever their store is called), I don't think you should include the VC....but, if you don't include the VC, the number of sony titles that could be played originally on the hardware compatibile PS3s smahes the Wii's GC catalog. Even if you go to the gimped PS3s that use software emulation, there are still more overall titles available than GC for Wii.

But none of this is relevant to my initial point....
which was that the Wii uses software emulation on the VC, therefore I found it funny that the poster was bagging on the other consoles for a similar offense. Perhaps the irony was running as thickly as I supposed.
And yes, while this is not traditional BC, it is all wrapped up in retrogaming to some extent. Though, right now, I do have a hilarious image in my mind of a Wii with NES, SNES, and N64 ports sticking off of it in different directions....someone needs to mod that up right now, but it would have to remain the same size as the current Wii....., but hey, if they can turn a NES cart into a NES system.....

guttertalk @ Apr 23rd 2008 4:10PM

@Tesche: I think you're missing the original point which is that, when Sony, for example, went to software emulation for backward compatibility, the compatibility dropped significantly. And Xbox's bc is not that good either, at least with the games I've tried.

The problem isn't that it's software-enabled bc per se but that it's really not that great of bc, especially compared with that of the Wii, hence the point of 100% compatibility.

samfish @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:08PM

If the Wii ends up failing, it'll get it's picture in the dictionary next to the entry for "Self Fulfilling Prophecy"...

Sonic_13 @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:10PM

Was the author expecting Smash Bros. to sell over 2 million copies every month? Of course sales are going to drop off...

I really hate it when people who don't know much about the video games industry or how it works and operates try to pass themselves as experts on the topic. The result is simply misinformation and a lot of hate from people who do know what their talking about.

thispaceforsale @ Apr 23rd 2008 7:29PM

The Nytimes is very poor at tech coverage. They never bring anything new to the conversation, offer no insightful analysis and oftentimes, through either bias or ignorance, bury whatever point they were trying to make.
And if they are poor at tech coverage, they are even more slipshod with gaming. It is rather disgraceful for one of the areas more respectable papers.

Tom @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:13PM

So a friend brought his 360 over to my house. Unfortunately I have a 19.5" tv that runs cables through a VCR because there are none in the back of the TV. So all the graphics and greatness of the 360 didn't really show up. I felt like I couldn't really see what was going on due to the image being crammed into such a small space.

We then played Brawl and while there isn't anything graphically amazing about the game, it seemed clearer on my tv due to not that much going on within the game.

I think the Wii appeals to an audience that might not be as tech savvy or desiring the biggest and best as far as electronics go. I'm going to upgrade to and HDTV next year after working this summer and putting away money weekly, but it isn't the biggest need. For a 360 I think you need that 36" HDTV just to be able to fully enjoy the game.

I'm a poor college student so getting a Wii that doesn't demand high end graphics was an easy choice for me. Getting an HDTV along with a nice little surround sound amp will be my next purchases just for the fun of having it all set up; however, it is not needed.

This doesn't have much to do with the article, but I've played PS3, 360 and Wii and I like the Wii the most. COD4 and games like that do appeal to me, but as of right now I can't enjoy them like I can enjoy the Wii due to technological constraints.

I've owned my Wii since October and I've bought around 12 games for it so it isn't like people aren't buying games for the system, but probably people don't know what else to get after playing Wii Sports to death. It's a hype machine and maybe people that are casual gamers will get things like Wii Fit because it's another new idea for gaming.

Sorry for the length, just had a lot to say I guess.

Orion @ Apr 23rd 2008 12:17PM

THANK YOU for posting this article. I thought I was going nuts when I was reading this and mumbling to myself .."but I thought Wii sold the most units of GH III".. and ... "So? Every big titls drops off in sales after the first month".

I tell ya, they are lucky their article doesn't allow for comments, or I would have left a nice little one there. This is the frickin NYT, and they made an article that sounds like it came from some uneducated, 16 year old Playstation fanboy's basement.

At the end of the day I guess it doesn't matter, but since the Wii caters to non-gamers who don't keep up with sales data like a lot of us do here, the typical Joe Smoe who reads this article might actually BELEIVE them.

Then again, I still haven't seen a Wii in the wild since last summer, so I guess the proof is in the pudding or so they say. I think this man lives under a rock, and is getting it's sales data from Sony's dinner plate.

jmf @ Apr 23rd 2008 1:09PM

Nicely said..

Brento @ Apr 23rd 2008 5:01PM

I was going to add something but some of you guys cashed in a whole lot of words in your comments so it seemed a bit redundant.

Aldura @ Apr 30th 2008 9:39PM

I don't read the NYT any more. I decided it was staffed by gorillas with computers a couple years ago. This article simply confirms that theory. Whoever wrote this is totally Sony's b*tch. I think the world would be done an immense favor if the NYT building was bombed.