DSi enjoys large, numberless debut sales in UK

I never quite understand what the big secrecy is with sales figures over here.

Anyway, Wii aside, looking at the stats for those consoles which have sold the most over time, it’s generally been the lower-selling debuts which have gone on to have the most success. DS and PS2 had comparatively poor starts and look how they did!

Yeah! And the Atari Lynx and Virtualboy too!

Bless. It’s so cute when you only base a view on a handful of details whilst overlooking most others!

/plays n-gage

To be fair, the PS2 only had a poor start because they’d only actually managed to manufacture 28 units by launch day. And 23 of those had faulty DVD drives.

Well, I credited most people reading that comment with a bit of intelligence that I clearly wasn’t counting the obvious lame ducks. Besides, I was just being facetious. I mean, the PSP had the best start of the lot and as we all know, that’s the one console which manages to appeal to every single demographic in the world.

What is this ‘PSP’ of which you speak?

Oh right. So when making generalisation about ‘slow starts’ you actually meant to be specific and mean ‘only slow starts that have historically turned around to be successes and not any other slow starts that historically turned out to be failures but if I say that then my grand statement and clever observation doesn’t look so grand and clever‘.

If you want to make big and clever sounding generalisations then try to make sure they’re remotely factual and not based on everyone else overlooking all the exceptions to the generalisation (there’s more exceptions in your generalisation than truths!) that you seem fond of doing.

It’s like saying “We have a legacy of support that type of development” when you actually have a legacy of snubbing it. Or saying “I answered your question” when you repeatedly evaded and deflected it.

And why are you yelping about the PSP? What has that got to do with this story about the DSi?? Seems a bit of a desperate and reactionary response to me. Reminds me of when you got asked some DSi related questions yesterday and felt that deflecting them in Sony’s direction was the same as providing an answer about Nintendo.

For shame.

It wasn’t meant to be a clever observation. Like I said, I was just being facetious. It was just a throwaway comment, it obviously wasn’t intended to stand up to scrutiny. Unless you’re a bit mental and like to pull apart everything someone says on the internet because it makes you feel big.

Funny you should mention the ‘answering your question’ thing, when I did and you didn’t, mind.

What a conveniently orchestrated view of reality some people have!

And the PSP comment pertains to both this story (because it’s the fastest-selling console of the lot) and was a not-so-sly reference to our ‘discussion’ yesterday. Obviously.

You’ll note (or won’t, it seems) that I didn’t evade the question or suggest I answered it though! Quite the opposite in fact! I guess those subtleties were entirely lost on you and your scrutiny.

And how odd it is that you can be facetious but you don’t welcome equally facetious responses to your facetious comments.

/reads animal farm

You did evade the question, though. Or, if you didn’t, feel free to point out where you answered it.

And you’re not being facetious. Or, if you are, then it gets lost in the patronising, confrontational tone of…well, pretty much every post of yours.

Don’t blub because you made a smartass remark and got given a smartass reply for it. It’s cause and effect.

Where did I ever claim I answered the question? Did you not see my “DAMN RIGHT” response. Did you interpret that as evasion?

You seem to be taking this very seriously HoC. Why don’t you go and waggle something. It’ll make you feel better.

“I mean, the PSP had the best start of the lot and as we all know, that’s the one console which manages to appeal to every single demographic in the world.”

Cheap attempt at trolling. It appeals to a specific demographic, the 20 – 30 technophiles. The DS does not. This is a dead argument that belongs in a completely different thread, and has no relevance to this topic.

“DS and PS2 had comparatively poor starts and look how they did!”

The DS had a slow start because it wasn’t clogged up with brain-trainers and cooking-manuals and Imaginez Prostitute 25.

The PS2 had a “slow” start because its initial production run was well below the demand. The DEMAND was there. They simply couldn’t make the consoles fast enough to keep up with it.

From where I’m standing, the DSi isn’t taking off here as strongly as the DS-Lite because it’s trying to appeal to a demographic that frankly… doesn’t give a shit. You and I might enjoy the new features, but we’re even close to the average DS consumer.

Soccer moms and 10 year old kids don’t give a rats ass about picture cameras, mp3 playback, portable web-browsing, and downloadable content. Nintendo are trying to corner a part of the market that the competition already has sown up tight.

And the sales are suffering for it.

“Imaginez Prostitute 25″

Tell me more.

“Tell me more.”

Well, Ubisoft already covered every other sexist and stereotypical female pursuit; fashion designer, teacher, nurse, mother, subservient-human-being-with-no-sense-of-independence. Might as well make one based the most popular of those pursuits.

@ Michael O’Connor – it was an intentional cheap shot relating to yesterday. I’m not trolling, as I own a PSP. I’m merely referring to the rather silly suggestion that it appeals to a broader age-range than the DS.

And the whole ‘soccer moms and 10 year old kids’ could be considered trolling, if you want to go down that road.

And I’m not sure how DSi sales are ‘suffering’ when it’s had a better start than the Lite and is the fourth fastest-selling console.

My point was that initially high sales don’t necessarily mean long-term success.

@ Shatner – I’m hardly blubbing. In fact, I’m chuckling merrily away at your amusing routine.

“it was an intentional cheap shot relating to yesterday.”

No shit.

“I’m not trolling, as I own a PSP. I’m merely referring to the rather silly suggestion that it appeals to a broader age-range than the DS.”

And has apparently not sunk into your head yet, nobody said it was appealing to a BROADER demographic. We said it was appealing to a DIFFERENT demographic.

Owning it or not, making a cheap shot that has no relevance to the discussion at hand is still trolling.

“My point was that initially high sales don’t necessarily mean long-term success.”

Nobody was even arguing that they do. We were arguing your logic that a slow start doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to pick up, and pointing out that the two examples you choose (the original DS and PS2) are very poor examples.

It’s trying to appeal to people that don’t care.

“And the whole ’soccer moms and 10 year old kids’ could be considered trolling, if you want to go down that road.”

I love this. The deflection is so transparent

“Well, I wasn’t trolling. But if I was then you were too!”

And why are you calling upon your apparently facetious “poor sales = success later” statement again? Seems like you’re relying on it a little too heavily for your attempts at winking and nudging to hold true.

Stick to one story eh HoC?

@ Shatner – I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying it’s a little hypocritical to accuse me of trolling when MOC’s ‘soccer moms and 10 year old kids’ – which has cropped up far too often to be more than just a glib, throwaway comment – could reasonably be considered trolling.

And I wasn’t calling on my ‘poor sales = success later’ statement, but the reverse – that ‘strong early sales don’t automatically equal success in the long term’. Okay, perhaps I shouldn’t have used the DS and PS2 as a way of saying that it’s interesting that two of the biggest consoles have had less than auspicious debuts, but it was just a casual observation.

Anyway, shouldn’t you be happy that I’m not dribbling over my Mario pyjamas – an image you seem determined to paint of me – about the sales figures?

Oh bless! If you’re not going to remark on something to show neutrality then don’t remark on how you’re not remarking on it.

Other than that, I graciously accept your apology.

I’ve honestly no idea what you’re on about now, so I think I’d best bow out at this juncture.