New Play Control! Wii Nintendo Channel Game Data Comparisons!

Nintendo Channel data, now with Amazon.com sale ranks and Metacritic.com average review scores!

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According to the Numbers:

New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis has 32,409 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel.

New Play Control! Pikmin has 23,480 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel.

New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has 8,384 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel.

Metroid Prime Trilogy has 14,790 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel.

A Thought:

I just thought about how The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii, was really just a GameCube port with Wii controls added to it.  Nintendo really could have labeled it, "New Play Control! The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess".

A Question:

Do you own any of these games and if so, which one have you played the most?

Used, or Not Used: That is the Question!

With the economy seemingly in the toilet, budgets may be tighter for families this year going into the holiday season.  I think with the downturn in the economy, more gamers may be looking to purchase used games, instead of new games.  I've bought used games.  I've traded games for store credit, and the games I traded, were then sold as used.  Even right now, I'm a member at Goozex.com, where you "trade" used games with other gamers.

Many people have lost their job in the last year, and some are still uncertain if they'll be employed tomorrow, or even next week.  The video game industry hasn't been immune to the lay offs, and it's seen increasing numbers this year, of publishers/developers laying staff off, some going bankrupt, and even the doors closing to development studios.

Here are a few links discussing lay offs/studio closures:

Activision Subtracts From 7 Studios, Hits Ex-Scratch Dev With Layoffs

Spore Developer Maxis Lays Off Staff

Raven Software Struck with Mass Layoffs

Midway Corporate Officers Laid Off, Buyout Finalized for $49 Million

Majesco closes California development studio, no effect on product lines

Activision Lays Off Shaba's Ranks, Closes Studio [Update]

This year, seeing lists of studio closures and reports of employees being laid off, a question crossed my mind, "What if gamers didn't purchase used games on current generation consoles,  if the games were still being published?  Would the development studios still close or the lay offs still be necessary?"

     I don't think the answer is a simple, but I believe there's at least one legitimate argument against buying used games that are actually being published:

1) If you buy used games, the developers/publishers don't make money on them.

When I go to a coffee shop, I don't ask if I can buy a "used" bagel or "used" cup of coffee.  Why should I do the same with my games?  From a developers perspective, I wonder if they think that me buying a used game is like me using the developer for work(sometimes years of work), and not paying them a single dime for any of the work they did.  I know I want to be payed for the work I do, so why shouldn't a developer or publisher?  If you work for 40 hours in the week, then your boss tells you, "Thanks for the work, but I'm going pay somebody else for the 40 hours of work you already did."  That wouldn't make any sense to us.

Isn't that scenario, just like us going to GameStop, only we are the boss(as the consumer) telling the developers, "Thanks for your years of work, but I'm buying it used and paying GameStop for all the labor you did, you won't make a dime."

I think it's an interesting thought, and one that we maybe don't think often about.

The next time you have a used game in your hand, think, "Is it possible that it might be leading to the next layoff or studio closure?"

What do you think about this topic?  Do you think the purchase of used games is good or bad for the video game industry?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Wii Nintendo Channel Game Data: Wii Sports crosses 100 Million Hours Played!

Nintendo Channel Data

According to the Nintendo Channel data, Wii Sports has crossed 100,000,000 game play hours!  Again, 100 MILLION GAME PLAY HOURS!  While I'm not positive, I do think this is the first Wii game that has crossed the 100 million hours mark, from the data that is provided on the Nintendo Channel.

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According To The Numbers:

2,758,409 gamers have reported the data on the Nintendo Channel.

Interesting Facts:

There are 168 hours in a week.  To reach 100 million hours by yourself, you would have to play the game for 617,146 weeks(I can only imagine how many cups of coffee I'd drink to during this time!).

There are 8,760 hours in a year(based on 365 days).  To reach 100 million hours by yourself, it would take 11,836 years.

$7.25 is the national minimum wage.  103,680,482 hours multiplied by $7.25 = $751,683,494.50(That would be a lot of taxable income, I hope the government isn't reading this!)

Nearly 15(14.8) Empire State Buildings could be constructed with those hours.

A Thought:

I've been tracking Wii Sports Resort since its release, and I wonder how long it'll take Wii Sports Resort to cross the 100 million hour mark, or even if it will?  How long do you think it'll take Wii Sports Resort to reach 100 million hours reported?  DO you think it'll reach 100 million hours reported?

Wii Nintendo Channel Game Data: Casual vs. Core vs. Casual/Core

Nintendo Channel Data

Casual vs. Core vs. Casual/Core for the week starting November 1:

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According To The Numbers:

EA Sports Active has 39,546 players reporting data.

Punch-Out!! has 62,640 players reporting data.

The Conduit has 38,380 players reporting data.

Wii Sports Resort has 125,186 players reporting data.

A Thought:

The Conduit has the fewest players reporting data, and is behind in sales rank on Amazon.com, but The Conduit shows that the number of games sold, doesn't equal number of hours played.  Punch-Out!! and EA Sports Active are outselling The Conduit on Amazon.com on a regular basis, but The Conduit is being played more, even with fewer gamers reporting data...at least according to the Nintendo Channel numbers.

Do you think Punch-Out!! or EA Sports Active will catch The Conduit in game play hours, once another online multi-player FPS, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex Edition] is released?  Or do you think The Conduit will continue to get game play hours like it has been and won't be affected by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex Edition]?

Interesting fact:

It was reported on November 2, that Wii Sports Resort has crossed 7 million units sold world-wide, since its release.

The Nintendo Channel Notable Debuts

Nintendo Channel Data

Little King's Story was released on the Wii in July this year.  The game received generally favorable reviews all around and currently has an 87% out of 100%, for it's average review score on MetaCritic.com.  There's a company, called NPD for short, that tracks game sales on a monthly basis.  There was supposed, "leaked", NPD numbers for July, that showed Little King's Story sold between 6,000 to 12,000 units during ten days in July.  While Little King's Story received favorable reviews, the game seemed to be struggling with sales.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade was released on the Wii in September this year.  Muramasa also received generally favorable reviews and currently sits at 80% out of 100% as it's average review score on MetaCritic.com.  The supposed, "leaked", NPD numbers for September showed Muramasa: The Demon Blade sold about 35,000 units during twenty-two days in September.

Assuming the leaked rumored NPD numbers are correct, it seems that Muramasa would have sold more it's first month, even if Little King's Story had been released for the same number of days it's first month.  The last the Nintendo Channel data had updated, was the week starting September 13.  Little King's Story still wasn't showing any numbers reported for play time data.  Muramasa wasn't showing any numbers either, but it usually takes two weeks for the numbers to update to the Nintendo Channel from a game's release, so Muramasa's numbers probably wouldn't have been showing that week anyway.  Six weeks passed, and the Nintendo Channel play time data wasn't being updated and shown on a weekly basis, so I didn't know how any games were performing.  This past week, the Nintendo Channel finally updated the play time data on games, and both Little King's Story and Muramasa: The Demon Blade debuted showing play time data.

How did both games debut with hours on the Nintendo Channel?  Have a look at the data:

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Interesting notes:

Little King's Story has been out for 14 weeks.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade has been out for 7 weeks.

Little King's Story has averaged 4,378 hours of game play each week since it released.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade has averaged 7,644 game play hours each week since it released.

Little King's Story has 3,520 gamers reporting their data through the Nintendo Channel.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade has 4,590 gamers reporting their data via the Nintendo Channel.

Assumptions, based off the data:

Just from the numbers presented above, one could conclude that Muramasa: The Demon Blade has sold at least 1,070 more copies, than Little King's Story has.

Have you bought Little King's Story and/or Muramasa: The Demon Blade?  If so, what do you think of either game?

If you haven't purchased either game, why haven't you?