Friday, March 4, 2011

PS3 vs. Xbox 360: Marvel vs. Capcom 3's February Sales Ranks Per System - Analysis with Chart

Coffee Beans:
     Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was released on February 15, 2011 in North America, for both the PS3 and Xbox 360.  The game released with a "Standard" edition with a MSRP for $59.99, as well as a "Special" edition which quickly sold-out upon release.
     The game was developed and published by Capcom, and the ESRB gave Marvel vs. Capcom 3 a "T for Teen" rating, and has "Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence" listed as content for parents to be aware of.

     With Marvel vs. Capcom 3 being the first new game released for the series in more than 10 years, did more PS3 owners or more Xbox 360 owners apparently purchase Marvel vs. Capcom 3 during February?  Let's take a look!

Click chart to enlarge

Chart Info:
     The chart above shows the sales ranks for Marvel vs. Capcom 3's Standard edition on the PS3 and Xbox 360, with ranks recorded February 1 through February 28, 2011.  The sales ranks are reflective of pre-order sales ranks and release/post-release sales ranks in February.  All times were recorded as Pacific Standard Times.
     Not only did I record the date/time and sale rank of each version, but I also recorded the price of each game version as Amazon.com had it listed, but the price is not listed in the chart, mainly because both games were priced nearly the same each time I was recording the data.
     The chart above is not supposed to replace the NPD sales numbers for February, but is designed to be a supplement for the NPD numbers, and perhaps give us idea of what the sales breakdown was for each version of the game during February.

Highs & Lows:
     The highest recorded sale rank for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the PS3 was #5, on February 14 and February 15 around 7:10PM and 9:25AM, respectively.  The game was selling for $59.99 both days/times the sales ranks were recorded.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the PS3 was #62, on February 27 around 8:15PM, and it was selling for $56.99 when the sale rank was recorded.

     The highest recorded sale rank for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the Xbox 360 was #6, on February 15 and February 16, around 7:10PM and 9:25AM, respectively.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the Xbox 360 was #84, on February 27 around 8:15PM.  The game was selling for $56.99 when the sale rank was recorded.

Overall Monthly Average:
     The PS3 version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 had an overall monthly sales rank of #23 when I averaged all the Amazon.com sales ranks together.

     The Xbox 360 version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 had an overall monthly sales rank of #33 when I averaged all the Amazon.com sales ranks together for it.

Critical Reception:
     Marvel vs. Capcom 3's "professional" review scores started being published on the internet on February 14, the day before the game released.  Several sites that posted reviews on February 14 are: IGN, 1UP, Game Informer, and Game Spot.

     Marvel vs. Capcom 3's current review score average on the PS3 is 86.35%, based on 33 reviews on GameRankings.com.
     Marvel vs. Capcom 3's current review score average on the Xbox 360 is 87.10%, based on 43 reviews on GameRankings.com.
Agree, or disagree?

Filtered Thoughts:
     I don't own and haven't played Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but I know a few of the regular readers here picked up the game, and you can read Chalgyr's review for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, HERE.
     Again, while we don't know the official NPD numbers for February, I hope the recorded sales ranks can give us an idea of perhaps how Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was selling on the PS3 and Xbox 360 throughout the month.
    I really think it's interesting that neither the PS3 version, nor the Xbox 360 version, remained in the Amazon.com "Top 10" video games more than 5 days in any of my recorded sales ranks, and considering it had been a while since the last Marvel vs. Capcom game, I really expected at least one version to be in the "Top 10" for at least one full week of the month.
     Not only did neither version remain in the "Top 10" for a full week, but both versions fell out of the "Top 20" video game rankings by February 20, and neither entered the "Top 20", or "Top 10", for the rest of the month.  I think seeing the overall monthly average for both versions being below the #20 spot is interesting, but not necessarily meaning the games together wouldn't be in the NPD "Top 20" for February if they release the "total" sales numbers for the month.

Questions:
     Do you think the Amazon.com sales ranks for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will be reflective of the February NPD data, and perhaps the PS3 version did outsell the Xbox 360 version for the month of February?
     If you purchased Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which version did you purchase, and is it a fighting game you would recommend to other PS3 and Xbox 360 owners perhaps looking for a good fighting game?

If anybody is interested in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, you can see prices for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions on Amazon.com linked below:
  

18 comments:

  1. I would guess the sales are going to be pretty close. On the one hand, I'd have thought MvC3 was going to sell better, but maybe it was just a bit too close to Christmas still, or maybe people were a bit burned out on the Capcom fighters, or perhaps some people are waiting for next month's Mortal Kombat? Hard to say - it scored really well with most professional review sites as well as most gamers (I certainly enjoyed it - thanks for the review reference, by the way).

    For me, I could have gotten it on either ps3 or 360, I went the PS3 rout. I'm actually starting to get a bit low on memory on my ps3 hard drive, so I picked up Dragon Age 2 for the 360, but games with online elements like MvC3 or Mortal Kombat I got on PS3 simply because my son wants to play too (and my daughter w/ MvC3) - and I'm the only one with an Xbox Live Gold account - them being able to play for free on PS3 online has become something of a deciding factor for me on a lot of games lately.

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  2. On Vgchartz the ps3 sold better than the 360.
    I got the ps3 version as well, ps3 controller d-pad is better for fighting games.

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  3. I know I bought the collector's for PS3 because even though I own a 360 I refuse to ever play a fighting game on it, just because of their garbage Dpad I understand they made the redesigned version but I know someone that has one and says it does a little better but not majorly, and I am not paying an extra 10 bucks to MS to get one of said controllers.

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  4. That is true - the d-pad is easily the worst part of the 360 controller and doesn't hold up as well as the one on the PS3. That said though, I tend to use my analog stick the vast majority of the time, so the controller issue isn't as big of a factor for me personally, as the online one

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  5. I picked up the PS3 version and I enjoy it. I'm getting better at the game too.

    My big gripe with these fighting games is that people study the online lag tactics to their advantage and will pwn you.

    But the game is fun offline with a group of friends. My friend came over last Saturday night and we played about 25 rounds. You need to pick this up Coffee!

    nicodemusatnite.com

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  6. Playstations D-Pad makes this choice easy for me. The fact that anyone is getting it on the 360 shocks me completely. Do they all have fighting sticks or something? Because that's the only conceivable way I can think of anyone playing a fighter on the 360's garbage controllers.

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  7. I don't know that I would say it 'shocks' me people are getting the game on the 360 - not everyone has a choice of both systems at their disposal. Most of my online friends own a 360 but not a PS3, which makes it tough for me sometimes when I try to pick which system I'll be getting it for since on the PS3 my kids play online for free and 360 is where most of my friends play.

    I actually did just fine playing Street Fighter 4 with my 360 controller when it came out because I used the analog sticks and not the d-pad, which I admit is poor, but the overall fit of the 360 in my hands is my favorite and 99% of the games I play on it use the analog stick as the primary input so the d-pad's always been something of a non-factor for me personally, despite its poor initial design (though I've heard the newer controllers have a better, if not spectacular, d-pad)

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  8. While I don't have a 360, I purchased a wired 360 controller a few months ago for general PC gaming purposes. (so hopefully I do have the newer model) I suppose I could have gone with something else like the Logi F310 or F510, but no use complaining about it now. Actually I probably should have gone with the Hori EX2 Turbo gamepad which is reported to have a great dpad. (about the same price on amazon)

    Overall the 360 controller feels great size/weight-wise and I've become accustomed to using the left analog stick in lieu of the dpad. At first though the dpad was 'good enough', but kind of mushy and I don't like how the entire platform circle rocks back and forth. I've seen some mods out there which may help, although it might be worth $35 to just get the Hori and be done with it.

    So far the analog stick works fine with Super Meat Boy, VVVVVV, Aquaria, AYIM, Braid and a number of other titles.

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  9. @Chalgyr:
    Well, according to the February NPD data just released, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was #2, in the "Top 10" they listed for software sales in February.

    As is usual now with NPD data though, they didn't provided a breakdown of the sales numbers between the console versions.

    "...them being able to play for free on PS3 online has become something of a deciding factor for me on a lot of games lately."
    I saw dual accounts on a PS3 just in the last week put to good use, and it was with my brother-in-law's PS3. He had an account, and his brother(my other brother-in-law) had his own account, so they could play Black Ops online on separate accounts.

    @Anonymous from March 5, 2011 @ 10:45AM:
    As others stated, I have heard the same thing about the PS3 d-pad being better than the 360's d-pad for fighting games.

    @Anonymous from March 5, 2011 @ 2:26PM:
    Yea, I'm a cheapskate, and I have issues buying games, much less another controller for an improved d-pad. Free online play is one of the reasons I like the PS3 and Wii, because I don't have to pay the $60 for their services.

    @Chalgyr:
    "...I tend to use my analog stick the vast majority of the time..."
    I wonder if any really crazy hardcore MvC3 fans could state which method results in better results during matches. I'm guessing the really hardcore fans probably buy the fight-sticks, which makes me wonder how the analog stick controls compared to them.

    @Charlie Chang:
    I remember you mentioned the "online lag tactics" when you purchased Tatsunoko vs. Capcom also. Being that you haven't played Tatsunoko vs. Capcom in more than a year now, can you recall if the "lag tactics" were more noticeable in that game?

    @Amado (Den) Bustos:
    You know, for some reason when I read the "garbage controllers", it made me think of your "Claw" video for the Monster Hunter PSP controls you did!

    @Chalgyr:
    "...I used the analog sticks and not the d-pad, which I admit is poor..."
    Being that you use the PS3 analog stick with MvC3, is the PS3 analog stick noticeably better than the Xbox 360's for fighting games?

    @Robert:
    I'm glad you listed all of the gamepads, because I always find the feedback from other users really helpful when trying to make a decision on different products.

    I don't really game on my PC anymore, but I wonder if I had a gamepad for it, if I would be more likely to sit across the room and attempt to play on it more.

    BTW, what do you think of AYIM? I played the WiiWare demo, and thought it was a very interesting concept.

    Thank you all very much for the comments/feedback, and the conversations, I really appreciate it! Hopefully the conversations here may help a multi-console owner decide which version of the game to purchase if they stumble upon the article while researching. Also, always feel free to share your PSN, Wii, or Xbox LIVE names/codes here in the comments with each other, if you're looking for others to play against.

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  10. @coffee:

    I think a gamepad on PC helps in many situations despite what hardcore keyboarders may tell you. Although my main hangup is using a controller for FPS's. It's never worked well for me vs a kb/mouse combo.


    I saw that AYIM was released on WiiWare and I haven't tried the demo, but picked it up on Steam earlier this year. Overall I like the game and think it's an interesting mechanic to explore. I haven't made it too far yet, but plan to get back to it. So far I like using a controller as it seems more natural which helps me rotate the screen correctly more often. :)

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  11. @Robert:
    Yea, I know a many gamers prefer the mouse/kb combo for FPS games, which is one reason I like the Wii Remote and Nunchuk so much in FPS games.

    As for Steam and games on it, I should probably go set me an account up...

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  12. @coffee in reply to: @Chalgyr:
    "...I used the analog sticks and not the d-pad, which I admit is poor..."
    Being that you use the PS3 analog stick with MvC3, is the PS3 analog stick noticeably better than the Xbox 360's for fighting games?

    To me, the analog sticks between ps3 and 360 are pretty even. The D-pad is better on the 360. I actually like the fit and feel of the 360 controller overall better - I have big hands and it just feels a bit better in my hands than the ps3 one does.

    Related @coffee/@robert's discussion:

    I have an old Madcatz controller I use on my PC that we originally bought for my 360, and it works pretty well. Only downside is my kids' offline cpu can't use it (requires xp sp 2 or greater to use generic Windows drivers, and that machine's offline and sp1 so they can't use it on their machine) - but it works well on my Win7 machine.

    I am hit and miss on control schemes. For some games, I prefer the gamepad - others like FPS or strategy games I'm all about the keyboard/mouse set up.

    As for Steam - Just discovered that myself this year when my wife got my cpu for christmas. I only buy slightly older games that happen to have a large 70% or more discount, but it's still a lot of fun and get me playing some games I was missing out on with my consoles.

    Great topic by the way - lot of really good responses over here.

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  13. @Chalgyr

    That's interesting that you prefer the 360's dpad over ps3 as everyone seems to act like anything is better than the 360's. I've never used a ps3 controller and wonder how I would like the 4 separate directional buttons.


    @Coffee: Good point about the mote/nunchuck combo. Even with a rails shooter like HOTD: Overkill it works very well.

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  14. @Robert

    Ah, no - I actually like the D-pad itself better on the PS3 controller. It's a lot better than the one on the 360. But, their analog sticks are about equal, and I like the feel of the 360 controller more myself. And, since I can't think of a single game where I use the D-pad as my primary input, I guess I'd say overall I like the 360 controller more just because of the way it sets in my hands compared to the Wii or PS3 ones.

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  15. comparing to ps3 Xbox 360 is better one for all video game sytems.

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  16. Marvel vs capcom 3 is really a fantastic video game to play. There is both xbox and Ps3 has all facilities to play this video game. According to this survey both Xbox and Ps3 get equal status.

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  17. Yes your post heed for really effort. It through ps3 important information I have collected. It define the ps3 news are impress to me!!!

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  18. Which Gaming Console best for this games? PS3 or Xbox 360?

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Keep the comments clean. Rated "E" for Everyone. :)

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