Tue, Feb 16, 2010 | 04:24 GMT
NPD top 20 shows how MAG, Bayonetta, others fared
A certain BioWare blockbuster may have hogged the sales spotlight last month, but – as a list provided by the NPD has conveniently reminded us – there were other games too. And people bought them! We know. We were shocked too.
Things of note: The PS3 version of Darksiders moved a respectable 137,000 units, while Bayonetta’s Xbox 360 version charmed its way to a little over 100,000 units. Sony’s MAG, meanwhile, charted just above Darksiders, though exact numbers weren’t provided.
But enough from us. Check out the full chart, courtesy of the number junkies at Gamasutra.
15 comments
#1
Jadeskye
16/02/10, 4:32 am
is this overall or north america?
#2
Gekidami
16/02/10, 6:47 am
NPD tends to be US only.
#3
Joe Anderson (wotta)
16/02/10, 7:57 am
MAG is a great game, really enjoying it.
#4
Blerk
16/02/10, 8:46 am
Wow, that’s really quite poor for Bayonetta. I can’t say I’m really surprised, though – it always struck me as a game which would be much more highly rated by reviewers than by the average buyer. A very small cross-section of gamers are actually wired up the right way to enjoy it properly, I suspect.
#5
BraveArse
16/02/10, 8:51 am
MAG is indeed ace… I generally have about a 40 hr attention span with even the best games then get utterly bored. I’m on 50 hrs with MAG and not showing any sign of moving on. The only other game to do that for me was Demon’s Souls ( totally different, obviously ).
What faction are you in Joe? We have a small group of folk regularly playing in the Raven faction.
#6
NiceFellow
16/02/10, 10:07 am
NPD is US only.
Not bad for MAG given it is niche. Okay but not great for Bayonetta given the reviews but TBH that seems like a game better suited to PS3 demographic that for some reason was built 360 only then ported badly – a terrible chain of decisions IMHO that is going to cost the title in sales for sure.
Not bad for Darksiders with little hype or push that I’m aware of.
#7
Galactic_Barret
16/02/10, 12:48 pm
Took the words right out of my mouth regarding Bayonetta. From my perspective, I see games like BA with an obvious japanese style (quirk) to it, and I just associate it with a PS controller. DaSt, BFBC2, DA:O, thats what I see the 360 demographic eating up. Meanwhile, P+ already has 2 (3?) flops under its belt, and it hasn’t produced a technically decent PS3 game yet. Not saying it directly responsible, but connect the dots, P+! Japanese multiplats wont have a 4:1 ratio here, just ask Namco.
#8
The Hindle
16/02/10, 1:13 pm
Mag has sold half a million worldwide so far pretty impressive
#9
OlderGamer
16/02/10, 1:34 pm
MAG is rock solid. Very suprised and pleased with the game.
Bayonetta while a solid action game, is too flamboyant and eastern flavored to jump off of the shelfs at US gamers. Darksiders has much more appeal I think. Honestly I am impressed that Bayonetta did as well as it did.
#10
Blerk
16/02/10, 1:49 pm
I seriously doubt Bayonetta would have done much better even if it had had a decent PS3 port. It’s just not the kind of game that has a very wide appeal any more.
#11
Tonka
16/02/10, 2:14 pm
What? Has the “Witches with guns for heels” genre lost its appeal? Outrageous!
#12
NiceFellow
16/02/10, 2:18 pm
@10 well, I doubt it would have sold like Halo, but the poor port (and very obvious outage of it) surely cost them sales, not just in US (which this data covers) but Japan/Europe.
In the end with patches, etc. the title will do okay due to good reviews, and it is niche, but it’s initial sales were surely hurt by some odd platform/port choices.
My personal take is that late in the day SEGA suddenly went OMFG we’re only releasing this on 360? And then rushed the port out.
Note this isn’t a knock of the 360, just noting that this is a niche title as it is and sales show that niche sells better on PS3 so the initial focus on 360 was a very strange choice.
#13
The Hindle
16/02/10, 2:19 pm
Does anyone know if NPD do the full top 40 for the American charts?
#14
DaMan
16/02/10, 2:27 pm
bad day, Tonka?
#15
Blerk
16/02/10, 2:32 pm
On the contrary, I think the number of people who actually knew that Bayonetta PS3 was a bit shonky is probably kind of low in the grand scheme of things. The majority of people who buy games don’t hang around on internet forums worrying about framerates and tearing, they just wander into GAME and buy what looks good on the box.
And no, they don’t make “Witches with guns for heels” games like they used to.