The Cut Scene - Video Game Blog by Variety

NPD April 2008: GTA IV huge (duh), Xbox 360 and PS3 lag (huh?)

No wonder Microsoft made a big deal yesterday of announcing that Xbox 360 is the first console to reach 10 million units in the U.S.

The folks there undoubtedly knew that today's NPD numbers would be pretty dismal. Not that they're any better for Sony. Neither console maker got any visible bump from the debut of "Grand Theft Auto IV" in April. Xbox 360 sales were down 28% from March to 188,000. PS3 sales fell 27% to 187,000.

Everyone expected that both console makers would benefit, of course. The theory is that lots of people haven't made the switch to PS3 or 360 yet, but would do so with a hugely popular game like "GTA IV" to motivate them. But while Rockstar sold 1.85 million units in the first five days on sale, almost everybody who bought one appears to already own a 360 or PS3.

By contrast, Wii sales were virtually flat at 714,000, as Nintendo moved from one big hit ("Super Smash Bros. Brawl") to another ("Mario Kart Wii"). Nothing can slow down that Wii mojo, it seems.

Of course it's possible that the early "GTA IV" buyers already have a 360 or PS3 but those who are buying it in May are more likely to be buying a console, but that's not what anybody expected. When "Halo 3" debuted in September with 12 days left on the NPD calendar, 360 sales nearly doubled from August.

It's bad news for Microsoft and Sony and calls into question whether they're already close to tapping out the audience of people willing to pay $350 or $400 for a console, no matter how good the games are.

Also worth noting are the videogames that launched in April and didn't even manage to sell the 141,000 units necessary to break into NPD's top 10. Those include THQ's ``Battle of the Bands,'' Midway's ``NBA Ballers: Chosen One,'' and D3's ``Dark Sector.''

I'll provide a link to my full Daily Variety story as soon as it's available (Hey, here it is!). Meanwhile, make what you will of the month's raw data:

Top 10 games                       Platform    Publisher    Units sold in April
1. Grand Theft Auto IV            360          Rockstar   1.85 million
2. Mario Kart Wii                    Wii          Nintendo   1.12 million
3. Grand Theft Auto IV            PS3         Rockstar    1 million
4. Wii Play                              Wii         Nintendo   360,000
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl     Wii          Nintendo   326,000
6. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue    PS3         Sony          224,000
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: DS           Nintendo    202,000
    Explorers of Darkness
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: DS           Nintendo    202,000
    Explorers of Time
9. Guitar Hero III                    Wii         Activision   152,000
10. Call of Duty 4                    360         Activision   141,000

Hardware sales      April          Lifetime-to-date
Wii                        714,200       9.6 million
DS                         414,800       19.6 million
PSP                       192,700       11.4 million
Xbox 360               188,000       10.1 million
Playstation 3          187,100       4.3 M
Playstation 2          124,400      ?

                                 April 2008     Change from April 2007   Year-to-date     Change from 2007
Total Videogames        $1.23 B                  47%                         $5.47 B              31%
Hardware                    $426.2 M                26%                         $1.84 B              13%
Software                     $654.7 M                68%                         $2.88 B              46%
Accessories                 $154 M                   39%                         $750.6 M            29%                

(This post has been updated since I spent a little more time going through the data)

Stats worth pondering from Microsoft, Vivendi, Sony

-Sorry Microsoft, but announcing today that you are the first current-gen console to sell 10 million units in the U.S. isn't much to celebrate. As of March, Nintendo has sold 8.8 million Wii's. And it launched a whole year after you guys. Which means it's a safe bet Wii sales will surpass those of the 360 by later this year despite a one-year disadvantage.

As for Xbox Live global membership of over 12 million... that's impressive, but we have no idea how many of those are paying "gold" members who play online and how many are just "silver" members who ocassionally log onto download an XBLA title or something. So, while Microsoft is still obviously was ahead of its competition in online gaming, it's tough to know what to make of that stat.

-Want a reminder of why when Activision merges with Vivendi Games, the combined company is going to be called Activision Blizzard? And why every title from Sierra (let alone Vivendi Mobile and Sierra Online) has to justify its existence to Activision?

Vivendi just released its first quarter earnings (Variety story here), during which 87% of the total revenue for the game division came from Blizzard. And that's without any new releases. So it's basically just "Warcraft" subscriptions and new buyers.

-Despite significant Playtstation 3 growth, Sony is predicting reductions in its game division as the Playstation 2, eight years after it launched, finally fades into obscurity (Variety story on Sony earnings here). But after a fiscal year (ending March 31) in which Sony Computer Entertainment lost $1.2 billion (a $1 billion improvement over last fiscal year), profits will finally rise as software sales keep growing and the loss per-hardware units falls.

In other words, it'll probably be a while until SCE grows revenue again due to the decline of the PS2, but the PS3 is on the verge of no longer being a black hole for profits.

Speed Racer, Echochrome, more reviews debate to enjoy while I'm prepping a huge story

Sorry for the relative quiet, but I'm working on a really big story that will be going online. Trust me, this is the kind of thing Variety does best. You guys will be grateful I put the time into it. Plus there will be a related interview with one of the big names involved available exclusively here on The Cut Scene.

Meanwhile, here are some things to enjoy...

-Brian Crecente review Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer" videogame for Variety. He says it's a viscerally fun racing title for the Wii, but doesn't have much of the movie/TV show's personality.

-Tom Chick reviews "Echochrome" for Variety. He loves how the game flips the perspective that players are used to, but finds that playing it for too long is frustrating and, quite literally, headache inducing.

-On MTV's Multilayer blog, Stephen Totilo asks whether critics have to "finish" a game in order to write a fair review and includes some questions about me and my "GTA IV" review.

Echochrome's coming... How to consume it?

I agree with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal: Out of all the fast-paced, hi-def, blow-you-away extravangazas I saw at E3 last year, the game that really stuck in my mind -- even though I only saw a brief preview -- was Sony's "Echochrome." In the "critic's notebook" (how pretentious is that?) I wrote at the end of E3, I said it was the best game that Sony showed. But in highlight -- no matter how great "Rock Band" turned out to be -- "Echochrome" is the one that's still stuck in my brain.

It reminds me of "Portal" -- a radically different gameplay experience that emphasizes innovation and simplicity. Of course I can't say whether it's ultimately as innovative or well designed and written as "Portal," but it sure has the potential to blow gamers' minds.

As such, I  recommend N'Gai's post on Level Up about how to play "Echochrome" -- it's such a modestly paced game that it may not be the kind of thing gamers can sit down and play for a few hours. Is it a good appetizer? Palate cleanser? Can it be a main course? It's an interesting question.

Even for him, though, the verdict is "incomplete." And he has a "near complete build." The rest of us have to wait until its hits the Playstation Store soon.

Sony Online Entertainment finds a new daddy who understands it

As I wrote in today's Daily Variety, Sony Online Entertainment's departure from Sony Pictures over to Sony Computer Entertainment is not really about the obvious logic of the move. It has to do with corporate shifts at SPE -- particularly all the changes in the Sony PIctures Digital division, which oversaw SOE. SPD's head, Yair Landau, a longtime champion of SOE, is leaving and Sony is trying to sell SPD's biggest asset - the Imageworks visual effects house. (And yes, the combination of SPE, SOE, SPD, and constant repetition of "Sony" makes that the most confusing paragraph I have ever written in my life.)

Nonetheless, it seems like a very good thing for SOE, the MMO expert most famous for "Everquest" that also operates "Star Wars Galaxies" and has made / is making dozens of other titles, most of which are meant to be played with other people online.

Most notable is the fact that SOE has engaged in virtually no collaboration with the rest of Sony Pictures for its entire existence. In recent years, however, it has worked increasingly closely with SCE, from building the infrastructure for the Playstation Network to publishing PS3 games like "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom" (OK, they're not always good) and PSP titles like "Field Commander." It's big upcoming MMO "The Agency" is being developed simultaneously for PC and PS3.

So aligning it with the part of Sony that actually, you know, makes videogames, is a pretty "duh" move. I'm sure that reporting to Kaz Hirai will be a welcome move for SOE's head John Smedley (aka "Smed"). Especially now that Landau, the only senior executive at Sony Pictures who knows much about videogames, is gone. SOE's experience staying at SPE after his departure would probably have been the corporate equivalent of being a red-headed, disabled, gay stepchild.

God of War Chains of Olympus: Tried-and-true becomes a bit tired-and-true

Tom Chick has a review of "God of War: Chains of Olympus" in today's Daily Variety and he's definitely not as kind as most other critics seem to be.  He definitely doesn't hate it, but he finds the formula is getting a bit tired and is certainly not improved by going handheld:

“Chains of Olympus” is a short game and there’s not a lot of variety to encourage replay. The previous games offered a nice spread of weapons and magical abilities, but this one has a pared down feel, with only two weapons and three spells. The only new weapon is actually pretty silly: Kratos dons an oversized glove that looks like something a football fan would wave from high up in the bleachers. There’s not much variety in the different enemies, many of whom are carryovers from the previous games. There are a couple of memorable set pieces, leading to a dull final level and a disappointing climactic fight.

You can read Tom's entire review here.

Patapon: The rare PSP game that thinks completely outside the box

It looks like everyone who reviewed "Patapon" really liked it or loved it (see here and here). Put Variety's Brian Crecente in the latter category. Words like "captivating," "fresh," and "original" all show up in his rave review, which notes how many weak ports there have been on the PSP and what a welcome change "Patapon" is. Of course the first PSP game to totally think outside the box as "Loco Roco," from the same development team at SCE, but Brian notes that unlike that game, "Patapon" "adds a level of depth to the wackiness that should take it beyond cult favorite status."

Here's the first paragraph of his Variety review:

The PSP’s status as the most powerful handheld gaming system on the market has somewhat backfired for Sony, resulting in a slew of derivative titles that feel like inferior spinoffs from those on a traditional console. “Patapon” is the rare PSP game that thinks completely outside the box, creating a fresh and original experience. Though it’s an obvious successor to 2006’s “Loco Roco,” a similarly creative rhythm game from the same development team at Sony, “Patapon” adds a level of depth to the wackiness that should take it beyond cult favorite status.

You can read the whole thing by clicking here.

Blu-ray's victory and the Playstation 3

There have been many skeptics, myself included about Sony's decision to make every Playstation 3 a Blu-ray player. That added significantly to the console's production cost and it's disastrous $600 launch price, a major factor in stalled sales for the first year. And there wasn't much advantage on the game side. Despite Sony's claims, I haven't seen evidence that the higher data capacity of Blu-ray discs translated into better looking or playing games.

But today it's official: Blu-ray has vanquished HD DVD in the hi-def format war. Which means the now $400 Playstation 3 is one of the cheapest players for the only way to play hi-def DVDs. Combine that with a decent and growing slate of games and you've got a good value. Indeed, if you want to watch hi def movies at home, it's hard to imagine now why you wouldn't get a Playstation 3, unless the cost of stand-alone players starts  dropping or you just don't want videogames in your house. It's certainly already become a topic of conversation for my non-PS3-owning friends and is making me think it may finally be time to get one myself.

The question for Sony is how do they market it? Execs have made clear that their short-term goal is to establish the PS3 as a successful videogame console, something they didn't accomplish in its first year. Adding its capabilities as a Blu-ray player certainly muddles the marketing message and makes Sony Computer Entertainment look like they don't have confidence in it as a console.

On the other hand, Blu-ray is heading into the rest of 2008 with significant momentum and SCE would be crazy not to try and take advantage. It will be very interesting to see how Kaz Hirai and company try to cash in on that while still doing the work they need to do on the videogame front. It's a tricky balance.

As for Microsoft, now that it will be dropping its HD DVD add-on player for the Xbox 360 and writing off the millions it wasted supporting HD DVD, it has two options to mull:

-Start selling a Blu-ray add-on and pay a licensing fee to its biggest competitor for every unit sold

-Give up on hi-def DVDs and focus exlclusively on hi-def downloads through Xbox Live