411 Games Fact or Fiction 08.16.11: NCAA Football, Game Sales, Catherine and More

Posted by Adam Larck on 08.16.2011

Is it surprising that NCAA Football 12 topped the July NPD list? Is the Summer of Arcade the key to strong Arcade sales? Will slow game sales cause more franchises to be cut? 411’s Dan Watson and Jimmy Chavez debate these topics and more in this week's 411 Fact or Fiction: Games!

Welcome back to another week of 411 Games Fact or Fiction. I'm Adam Larck, and I'm still on Oblivion and probably will be for a while. Not much else to report on the gaming front besides that.

This week, we have Jimmy Chavez and Dan Watson going head-to-head. Let's see how these two do. Time for banner!





1.) You're not surprised that NCAA Football 12 took the July NPD top spot.

Dan Watson - Fact: There are two games that EA releases every year that I fully expect to be number one in the NPD charts; those games are Madden and NCAA football. What came out in July that has as big of following as NCAA football? Nothing, this is the game that sets the bar (or lately far exceeds) what to expect from Madden. College aged guys love this game and it usually sells pretty well. Throw in the fact that they did a great job of advertising as well as a demo previous to the game's release and boom, you have the perfect set up for a game to do well. If you haven't played the demo I encourage you to, because the game is pretty good. Then again, after playing the Madden demo, I am excited for that game as well.

Jimmy Chavez - Fiction: I am surprised. I'm not a huge sports game guy, so anytime something like that takes the top spot, it's not something I was expecting. My only question is what was out to compete with it?

Score: 0 for 1 - It seems that July and August are always owned by EA's football. I guess this year is no exception.



2.) With overall sales being down 27 percent, more series will be cut like THQ is doing.

Dan Watson - Fact: When you look at THQ games, there are a few titles that really carry the load for the whole company. The titles I can think of off the top of my head are any of the WWE games, UFC series, and Saints Row series. Outside of that, the company makes tons of non-series movie games and games for kids with a few other failed titles in there (Homefront anyone?). I would say they need to cut a few more titles from their group and stick with what works for them, games that sell well and are easy to make.

Jimmy Chavez - Fact: Unfortunately that's how things work. Less money coming in means more cost cutting measures being taken for a business to stay alive. It sucks no doubt and more than likely not the end of it, so here's hoping things get turned around.

Score: 1 for 2 - I think THQ may get rid of a few more games, and other companies may follow suit with smaller series to save money.



3.) Atlus' Catherine did better than EA's Shadows of the Damned due to the sex appeal surrounding it.

Dan Watson - Fiction: I think it was more about the hype going into Catherine. First and foremost, almost any time a demo gets released before the game is released, the game sells better. In addition, Xbox Marketplace was advertising this game very heavily. I didn't even know EA's game had come out yet, so what does that tell you? If there was more advertising and more hype into EA's game in the mainstream, it would have sold better.

Jimmy Chavez - Fiction: Seriously, with all the games out there that already hold a certain "sex" appeal, I don't think that would be the determining factor. If it is though, what a sad, sad world we live in. If guys want something to (censored.....) then all they have to do is go on a little things called the internet.

Score: 2 for 3 - Honestly, while the sex appeal probably played a bit of a factor, I think the hype around the game played a lot bigger factor.

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4.) The Summer of Arcade on XBL is key for strong Arcade game sales.

Jimmy Chavez - Fact: It sure as hell is. It keeps all those arcade games in the spot light. You don't see commercials about them on TV or anything, so how are people supposed to know about them? You have all those bored gamers at home with not much else to do. You show them a new game they can pick up for cheap and bingo, you have a sale.

Dan Watson - Fiction: I didn't purchase one arcade game this summer from this event. You know what is strong for arcade sales, releasing classic arcade games. Microsoft had the right idea in the beginning, release Pac-Man and other classic games, and then every now and then throw out a true classic from the 90s like X-Men Arcade or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade. That is how you sell games, you release games that people from my generation want. Fruit Ninja Kinect is a stupid idea anyways FYI and it seems like most of the games were decent but weren't truly classic games.

Score: 2 for 4 - Sales for the games released during this promo are always huge. Companies want into this for a reason, and that's to make a good profit.



5.) The Steam trading system is a great idea to trade digital items and games between gamers.

Jimmy Chavez - Fiction: I just don't know. There seem to be a lot of variables in that equation. That is something that I'd rather sit back and watch while they work ALL of the kinks out first.

Dan Watson - Fact: This is an awesome idea. How great is it going to be when you buy a game off Steam, beat it, then trade it to a friend for a game he just beat. This has potential to really help the Steam system out, but it can also lead to plenty of issues I am sure as well. Let's say I have a game that I picked up for $5, and Adam just bought Oblivion for $15, if I trade that game, doesn't Adam lose out on $10? Or what if Adam hates the game I traded him or can't play it on his system, does that void the trade? I just hope this doesn't become a legal issue down the road over who traded Oblivion for Dungeons.

Score: 2 for 5 - I don't see it becoming a legal issue, because it's similar to trading used games. However, right now the system still seems fairly small scale, allowing only gifts and in-game items. I'm just curious to see how it evolves in the future.



6.) Sony's Play promotion will be as successful as Microsoft's Summer of Arcade.

Jimmy Chavez - Fact: Only if they do two things. 1. Offer some actual good deals and 2. Release some damn good games to go along with it. It definitely has the potential, so we'll see how it turns out. I think they can pull it off though.

Dan Watson - Fact: It is sad that in my opinion neither is that "successful" but since you put the words "as successful" I will go with fact. I am sure enough people will pick up the games that Sony releases just like they did for Microsoft.

Score: 3 for 6 - I don't think it will mainly because not every game sounds to be exclusive to the program immediately. If people have the option that week to buy the game on multiple systems, they'll buy it for the system they play most, not the one that has it grouped as a "promotion."



Bonus Question) Even though the Wii U doesn't come out for almost another year, the Wii is pretty much done.

Jimmy Chavez - Fact: In terms of what? People playing it, no. People buying games and accessories, no. Further product development, yes. Nintendo is going to be concentrating on developing the Wii U but they will still maintain status quo.

Dan Watson - Fact: Are they even making/releasing games for the Wii anymore? I thought that think died when 3DS came out. I haven't bought a game for the Wii in a long time. Sadly, I am sure I missed out on some decent games, just nothing that really won my heart over. Sorry Nintendo, you failed me.

Adam Larck - Fact: I honestly can't name you any big game coming out for the Wii this year besides Skyward Sword, which I just remembered while writing this, while I can name you at least a dozen on the 360 and PS3. Nintendo seems to have shifted its focus to the 3DS, as well as the Wii U production. Unfortunately, in doing so they've basically made the Wii a dead system. It's disappointing, as they had some interesting games, such as No More Heroes, as well as some strong reinventions of series like Super Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

The pair finish this week going 3-for-6. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!