What's Your System Seller?
While I was attending the Crisis Core launch the other night, I was sure to take a tally of people who were buying PSPs for the sole purpose of playing the game. Out of the couple hundred people there I counted about eleven who were purchasing PSPs that day and another four or five who had bought them a few days earlier. As I was asking my question to the crowd, one fellow spoke up and said he didn't believe in "system sellers." In his opinion, no console or handheld was worth purchasing for the purpose of playing one game.
Now I must admit, when I purchased my Xbox 360, it was for the sole purpose of playing Dead Rising. I knew one day there would be other things for me to play, but it was my birthday and I just couldn't wait to go on a zombie killing spree. For many others though, Halo 3 is what sold the 360 for them. As for other systems, the Wii had Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy and the PS3 looks like it might finally be getting one with Metal Gear Solid 4. Obviously there are games that come out that impel you to buy a certain system, but have you ever purchased a system just so you could play one game?
I'm very interested in this subject and I will be posting the results in a later article so if you have ever purchased a system for a specific game, please let us know in the comments!
Fruit Brute
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 27 March 2008
· Comments (53)
Other stuff like this: 360, ds, ps3, psp, system seller, wii
It was Rock Band that made me buy the 360. And here I am two months later with a non-working console and 12 games I can't play.
I wouldn't buy a console for a single game either.
I have all consoles of the latest gens, but I've bought all of them for quite a few games.
I still haven't got the PS3 even though I really want to play Folklore, but now that there's a bit more out for it I think I might get me one.
i actually bought a PSP for Silent Hill Origins.(I felt a bit stupid when it came out for PS2 but whatever, I have enjoyed the PSP, Jeanne d'Arc was excellent!) Probably wouldn't have bought one otherwise. Similarly, I am strongly considering buying the PS3 Metal Gear bundle.
I have everything but a PS3, and I plan on buying a PS3 for MGS4... with the expectation that games will follow it, such as FFXIII.
Well, Red Steel is what got me really excited for a Wii. And now here I am, traded red steel in a week after I got it, and solely use my wii for the internet channel and sending a message to my friends if their cell is off.
For the DS it was mario kart, nintendogs, and animal crossing because every single one of my friends had those. I was the last one of my friends to buy a DS.
And for the 360 it was the massive amount of games it has and I wanted an actual next gen system because I'm lame and graphics matter to me.
I purchased a Nuon (Samsung Extiva) solely for Tempest 3000.
i bought a gameboy just to play kingdom hearts chain of memories. I bought a psp because i heard of KH: birth by sleep. and i'll probably buy a ps3 because they have the exclusiveness over the big KH games, but also just cause i really want one.
I bought my 360 for Oblivion, and didn't buy another game for it until Bioshock came out. Trauma Center sold the DS for me. I guess it depends on the person, more than anything else.
Final Fantasy XIII was what sold me on PS3. I knew that it wouldn't arrive for quite a long time though. Another big factor for me was Home and Little Big Planet.
It may not have been the main reason I got a Wii, but the virtual console was very important. Lots of retro gaming goodness. Just too bad they haven't released a lot of Capcom and Square's A-list titles.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is selling the Xbox 360 to me.
Final Fantasy XIII was what sold me on PS3. I knew that it wouldn't arrive for quite a long time though. Another big factor for me was Home and Little Big Planet.
It may not have been the main reason I got a Wii, but the virtual console was very important. Lots of retro gaming goodness. Just too bad they haven't released a lot of Capcom and Square's A-list titles.
I bought my 360 because of Oblivion like Ryan.
GameCube and the Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 was the seller. Hell, I stood in line on release day just to get that game and the console. Next morning at work I was so giddy and bleary-eyed my co-workers thought I was on something.
I bought the 360 chiefly to play Bioshock and Mass Effect (one I loved, the other I was bored by)...and sold it shortly thereafter. The PS3 I knew would have games I personally liked, such as FFXIII, Metal Gear, Team ICO Projects, Uncharted, etc, and, so it was sort of a no-brainer for me.
I bought my original PlayStation for the sole purpose of playing Final Fantasy VII. Having been hooked on the series since IV on the SNES, there just wasn't a question about it. That said, I certainly didn't ditch Nintendo, because I bought my N64 solely for Super Mario 64.
I got my Wii for Super Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess. Rock Band would be a system seller if it were a system exclusive, but since it isn't, I'm trying to decide if I want a PS3 or 360 more. Since the PS3 has Blu-Ray and will have Final Fantasy XIII, I'm very much leaning toward it these days.
If the 360 had more exclusives like Lost Odyssey, that would sway me. But while I worship the ground Hironubu Sakaguchi walks on, one game just isn't enough when it might mean owning potentially 3 systems.
I bought my XBOX 360 so that I could play Bioshock.
Back in the day, I bought a Playstation for FF7, FF8, and Parasite Eve; I just purchased a PSP a few days ago for Crisis Core, Patapon, and the Metal Gear Ac!ds; and I plan to get a PS3 in a few months when the MGS4 bundle is released (for that and FF13). The PS2 was the only console that I didn't buy just to play one or more particular games. I highly doubt that I would ever buy a Wii or 360, as nothing really interests me on those platforms. I'm still unsure about getting a DS, but I might for Baten Kaitos Origins and the Dragon Quest games (if/when they get released stateside), Ring of Fates, and possibly Chocobo Tales.
I also got my original PlayStation solely for FFVII. My XBox was to play Halo with my brother, but he got it for me so that doesn't really count.
My PS3 purchase was largely inspired by FFXIII and LittleBigPlanet, both of which I knew full well not to expect for a year or more - but also knowing there'd be other games I'd want to play in the meantime.
Uncharted, Resistance and Orange box sold me. I bought all those games right about the same time when I got my PS3.
360: XBLA, Dead Rising
Wii: Wii Sports, Zelda
PS3: MGS3, impending removal of hardware BC (I'm still bitter about that)
DS: Nintendogs
PSP: Castlevania: DXC
Xbox: Otogi 1/2, Stranger
Gamecube: Eternal Darkness
PS2: MGS2, Ico
While I was burned by some (MGS2's Raiden surprise, Dead Rising's lack of a modern save system), others have proven to be some of my favorite games. In complete serioiusness, both Ico and Nintendogs permanently changed my view of whats a great game.
Personal *magic* moment for me: In Nintendo Power's coverage of E3 '05, if you look hard you can see me playing Nintendogs for the first time. I have yet to be as impressed by a demo as that one. The next day I ran out and bought a DS and eagerly waited for the game's release. And yes, I still have that copy of Nintendo Power.
I bought 360 because it had 5 games I wanted to play, that is my criteria. I got it over a year ago and knew about Dead Rising, Project Gotham, Halo 3, GTAIV and Crash Bandicoot.
Since then I have foudn the best gaems were neither - Saint's Row and Earth Defence Force 2017.
PS3 I will get when there are more games, at the moment there is only Ratchet & Clank and Wipeout. Bring a Spyro the Dragon to one and I will buy immediately.
Wii I always thought was cool, but I now doubt if I will ever buy one, the games are all rubbish, none of the type I enjoy (except maybe Metroid) as I enjoy a meaty game I can get stuck in to - Ratchet & Clank, not a million mini games.
I bought a 360 once I realized that there were more than 5 games I wanted on it, either that were currently on it or in the future that I would buy.
Lost Odyssey
Tales of Vesperia
Eternal Sonata
Ace Combat 6
Bomberman Live (I kid you not)
DMC 4 I guess
Castelvania someday?
I'm sure I'll randomly pick up much more than that as time goes on, there have a few I've been watching. and I REALLY hope they change their minds about the Warhammer game for the 360
360: Dead Rising and Crackdown.
Wii: Twilight Princess, eventual Smash Bros, new control scheme.
Xbox: Jet Set Radio Future & Panzier Dragoon Orta
Dreamcast: Power Stone, Soul Calibur, and Sonic Adventure.
most of my other consoles cannot be traced to one or two specific titles. the DS I was excited about the possibilities of the Stylus. the PS1 for the library, the PS2 to use as a DVD player and for the previous generation's library.
Well, for me I was turned onto games as an adult thanks to a friend of mine in college who had an SNES. I played his Super Mario World everytime I came over, so when I found a "set" with the SNES and SMW all in one at Electronics Boutique....that's what got me started!
After that I bought an N64 really just for Star Wars Rogue Squadron (I had tried Mario 64, but it always gave me a literal headache). I never really played much else on the N64 either.
Since then, I've been more informed, so there really haven't been single-game systems for me....although you can kind of count the PS2. I only got one a few months ago--but it was a gift from a friend who knew I wanted it SOLELY for Kingdom Hearts. I have thus far resisted a PSP, but if the PSP Kingdom Hearts game turns out good...that might turn the tide!
I hate to admit it, but after a lifetime of PC gaming, I bought my 360 specifically for Assassins Creed... (Don't judge, Altair is pretty hot...)
But once I got the system I pretty much put Assassins Creed on hold and fell headlong into Mass Effect until I finished it and now I'm blasting through Bioshock.
Bought a 360 and began my transformation from bibliophile into an avid gamer because of Oblivion.
Bought my first PSP for Loco Roco.
Bought a PS3 for Folklore (and the promise of Disgaea 3).
I believe in system sellers, although I might not be the one buying the console just for 1 game. But I do know a lot of people who have purchase a system just for a game.
Saying that, Crisis Core is the only reason I would buy a PSP. :) FFVII meant a lot to me (doesn't matter if you liked it or not), and the prequel or continuation of the story is what would interest me big time. Unfortunately, Square Enix has a very good habit of keeping games exclusive to 1 console and so I don't really have a choice.
Microsoft have games that *could* have been system sellers. But I always believed they'd release it for the PC sooner or later (which they have). So they have inadvertenly lost 1 customer as well as making me consider getting a PS3 (as I don't have a 360) mainly for the Blurray drive.
I don't know what it says about me that the game that made me buy a 360 was Eternal Sonata.
Bought my Wii partially for Zelda, but really for the VC, which has proven to be the biggest factor for owning the Wii (Mario and No More Heroes aside).
I will probably pick up a PS3 sometime next year as the various iterations of FFXIII release, but since I'm not a Resident Evil or Metal Gear fan, it's not a big draw yet. Though Little Big Planet may ensare me.
FFXIII and MGS 4 are my system sellers. I'm sure there will be other titles I'll pick up along the way, but I just gotta have my FF.
i too, like many people, bought a playstation because of final fantasy 7 - i was over at a friend's house (a staunch nintendo supporter, me) and he showed me the hades, bahamut zero, and knights of the round summons. i was hooked.
i bought my psp, oddly enough, because of sid meier's pirates. because i love napoleonic-era maritime narratives. i'm weird like that. turns out, however, that i also found a little game called loco roco that changed my life.
i said i would buy a ps3 when and only when either ff13 or mgs4 came out. i'm glad i waited, because that mgs4 bundle looks super-sweet.
I was the little brother, so it was always my brother that got to choose what systems we got. Eventually I saved up my own money and started getting the systems I wanted.
The first system I got on my own was a Dreamcast, which I got with TimeStalker (a semi-sequel to LandStalker on the Genesis) and Sonic Adventure.
Eternal Darkness and Dinosaur Planet (which later became Star Fox Adventures) were 2 games I had followed on N64 for a while, and when I heard they were getting moved to Gamecube, I knew I needed to have that system.
I next broke down and got over my Nintendo fanboy-ism to get an Xbox so I could play Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which my PC wasn't good enough to run.
Then I got a PS2 to play Kingdom Hearts and PS1 RPGs I had missed like FF7 and FF9. Kingdom Hearts and FF7 were big disappointments and I was thinking of selling the system, but then I found new love for the PS2 in quirky games like Katamari Damacy, Gitaroo Man, Rez, Mister Mosquito, and Magic Pengal.
I then went back and tracked down a Sega Saturn on ebay, and the main selling point for that was that it came with the games Nights, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Shining Force 3.
I broke into the "next-gen" systems with a 360 with Oblivion and Possession (which has since been cancelled) as my main reasons for buying it.
I got a Wii with Metroid Prime 3 in mind.
Finally, my PS2 broke, and I figured I'd want games like Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank, so I replaced it with a PS3.
Because I am a giant nerd and should have been born in Japan, my system seller was Dragon Quest 8 for the PS2... though I was able to wait until the sucker was down to $130 bucks plus the game. I justified my purchase, cooing to myself that I would be able to slowly aquire other titles from the vast library the PS2 had to offer. I thought I was lying to myself at the time but since then I've been exposed to the wonderfulness of Iko and Shadow of the Colossus. But the truth is: DQ8 will always be the One.
I saw the television trailer for BioShock. The next day I bought an XBox 360 and the limited edition set for BioShock. Within the first 5 minutes of game play, I knew my money was well-spent. No regrets at all.
wow! a lot of post here in a short time!
Well... I bought my 360 only for guitar hero and rock band. Afterwards i was interested in dead rising, viva pinata and mass effect. Right now my next big thing is Fable 2 (sorry Gta IV, I'll wait for the review first!).
Funny thing too, i was saving up the money and then, blam! Out of nowhere came the elite and i just so happen to have the money, lucky! Nieck nieck!
That reminded me of the dreamcast era. i bought just for sonic... sigh i miss the days...
I bought my Xbox 360 for two main reasons - because I wanted to play Oblivion and because a really, really awesome deal dropped into my lap. As for my DS, I don't think there was any one particular title that did it for me, but the Ace Attorney games and the Castlevania games both interested me very much. I don't regret either purchase at all. I bought a PSP because there were some RPGs and such that I wanted to play, but I sold it not too long after because I was disappointed with what was available and I just didn't use the thing. Now that Crisis Core, Patapon and some others are out, I'm looking to buy one of the new slim units. I don't have a PS3 yet, but I'm sure I'll get one some day; probably around when Final Fantasy XIII comes out. Metal Gear Solid doesn't interest me. When I do get a PS3 I'd like to play Folklore, Eternal Sonata, Oblivion Game of the Year Edition (I don't know why, but I really want to try Oblivion on the PS3) and Ninja Gaiden Sigma (even though I played Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black on the Xbox, and now I have Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword on DS, Sigma just looks soooo pretty in full HD glory, plus there's the extra stuff like the Rachel playable sequences and such). Of course, the Blu-Ray player of the PS3 is also appealing. As for the Wii, I got one for all of Nintendo's great franchises (which have not disappointed me) and for the Virtual Console. The Virtual Console has been rather disappointing so far. I'd like to see more of Square's stuff available and the fact that Earthbound and Mario RPG aren't available simply boggles my mind. Paper Mario is a good start, but geez, why such a long wait for the really good games to come out?
Patapon was what got me to buy a PSP, and the promise of Little Big Planet is the only reason I own a PS3. Other than Pixeljunk Monsters, there just isn't much else I like on the machine.
I got my Xbox360 because it has quite a few games I wanted to play - Mass Effect for example. But what sold me was Earth Defense Force 2017, originally.
For the Wii, it was Zelda, pure and simple, along with the promise of Mario.
The DS was pretty much just an upgrade for a machine I have always loved - the Gameboy. A Nintendo handheld is pretty much standard purse-fill for me.
I bought a 360 to play beautiful Katamari, but portal is now my favorite 360 game.
Wii: Zelda Twilight Princess
DS: Advance Wars- Duel Strike
XBOX 360: Halo 3
Gamecube: RESIDENT EVIL(remake)!!!!
I didn't think system sellers were something I'd succumb to, but now that I think back, oh my.
Gamecube- Eternal Darkness/too many Irish car bombs pre-shopping. Does that count as a system seller?
PS2- Tales of the Abyss
PS3- Folklore, FFXIII
Wii- Twilight Princess
Dreamcast- Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue
DS- Hotel Dusk
GBA- FFTA
Thankfully I ended up getting more out of every system, except maybe the PS2. I watched a significant other sit in front of that thing more than I care to remember, so when I had my own I didn't really want to use it. Ever.
I bought my PS2 at launch just cos I knew that eventually I'd need it to play FFX.
The PS3 was kinda the same, I didn't really buy it for one game but I know that FFXIII is one day, coming out for it.
I think the only other console I've bought for one game was the 360 for Dead Rising (which was SUCH a disappointment), I have a few other games for it but I hardly ever play it.
I bought my Xbox 360 for Dead or Alive 4. I've played console games for YEARS, but around the PS2 era, for some reason I just lost interest. I really sold off everything I had games/console-wise. Then on an impulse purchase whim I picked up an Xbox and Dead or Alive Ultimate (I remember I had enjoyed the previous DOA2 on Dreamcast quite a bit)
After playing that game on Xbox LIVE and filling my entire LIVE friend list with just people from that game, things CHANGED. I got LIVE just for the game. I went from no longer being terribly interested/compelled in games, to playing DOA Ultimate online for well over 100,000 matches, usually at least 20 hours a week bare minimum. It's single-handedly renewed my love of videogames.
When DOA4 was announced for 360 with an even more robust online mode, there was no question I had to have it and 360 on day-1, which I did :)
PS2 - FFX
Game Cube - SSBM
Xbox - KotOR
360 - Nothing really, bought it on potential. Crackdown was the first game where I went "I'm really glad I have a 360"
PSP - Loco Roco
DS - FFIV
Wii - SSBB/Mario Galaxy
PS3 - Nothing yet... maybe FFXIII
It was totally "Dead Rising" for me, too. Can't wait for them to make a sequel.
For me there have to be at least three games I want to play on a system before I'll buy one (I figure if there's three I'll find more)
PS2 - FFX, Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet and Clank - this was by far my best gaming buy
Gamecube - Animal Crossing, Eternal Darkness, Donkey Konga
Xbox 360 - Beautiful Katamari, Crackdown, backwards compatible games (didn't own an original xbox) - my worst buy (got it in November, just stopped displaying a picture, waiting for a box)
Wii - Elebits, Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda
I purchased a PS2 for Kingdom Hearts, and a GBA for Tony Hawk 2, surprisingly.
This is quite a straight forward issue (with some background). Although companies such as Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony want you to feel joyful about slamming down some cash to buy their latest piece of hardware, the truth is that the hardware is expensive so gamers won't buy a console if they don't have to.
If the hardware was free I am sure all of us would have all of the current generation of consoles, but this isn't the case. The price of the hardware is a real physiological barrier for people to get over before they buy any console.
So first parties need to have high profile games (or a system selling feature like a Bluray player) on their system to sell systems. The question that Fruit Brute is really asking is: "Is one game enough to justify the price of a console?" and to that I say, maybe. It depends on the game, the price of the console and other factors like the promise of more awesome games later through good marketing:
Justified Purchase = (games * console marketing buzz + features) / price
This formula above clearly marks the price as a barrier to entry, but this happens to the third parties as well. If a console is selling badly then the fact that a consumer might want to buy a game, but doesn't because they can't afford the console that they are selling it on means that for the third party publisher the price of the console also becomes a barrier to sale. And this is why we are seeing more multiplatform titles and why titles like Devil May Cry 4 which is traditionally a PlayStation exclusive are becoming multiplatform because publishers and developers know that the trials of developing for multiple platforms is worth it for the extra profit. This is made more so when the 360 and PS3's sales are so evenly split, but last gen when the PS2 was so dominant it just didn't make sense and before that ports where difficult to do and almost always produced a very gimped version of the game that would look poorly on the franchise.
So yes, exclusives are important, but so are third parties. Beyond that it depends on the gamer. If the console only costs $5 and comes with the game of the year then of course everybody can justify it.
P.S I can't afford multiple consoles and rent most of my games so I bought my 360 for Oblivion, but also for the promise of more awesome games later.
I've always maintained a personal rule that I don't buy a console or handheld until 3 or more games I want are available for it. Of course I've broken this rule repeatedly. I got a GBA specifically for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and the Wii for Twilight Princess. I guess I'm just too trusting of Nintendo to deliver quality titles in the future. At the other end of the spectrum lies the PS3. I will be buying one the day Final Fantasy 13 is released, but amusingly I already own 7 PS3 games that are just sitting on my self with nothing to play them on because I'm a huge bargan hunter.
I actually got a PS2 so that I could play Final Fantasy IX (a PSX game), probably also knowing about the upcoming FF10. (I got hooked on the series on the PC, which got ports of FF7 and FF8 but not FF9.)
360: Bioshock, Mass Effect, Ultimate Alliance, Eternal Sonata...plus the XBLA games. I love Ninja Turtles.
I've bought consoles for one game before: PSX for Street Fighter Alpha, Saturn for Alpha 2 and Vampire Hunter (Night Warriors), Gamecube for the Resident Evil remake, 360 for Dead Rising, PS3 for Ratchet and Clank Future and MGS4.
Granted, I always end up getting a lot of games for my consoles, but it's usually 1 game that really gets me to go "I have to own that".
Really, the original Xbox is the only system that really had no "Must own" games for me. I have one, but I bought it on impulse used for really cheap.
I remember playing Rareware's Goldeneye at a friends house and being so blown away by the pure fun of the single player campaign and four person multiplayer that I went and bought a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye the next weekend.
For many years I toyed with the idea of buying a PS2 with the sole purpose of purchasing In The Groove due to the non existence of any decent dancing pad games on a Nintendo system.
I pretty much bought my PS2 for Grand Theft Auto. Everything else was a big plus, of course -- but if that had been the only game it could ever play, I would still have bought it.
The impact of the ready availability of CD Burners on the sales of PS1s is an oft overlooked angle on sales from that generation; while bad for the industry as a whole piracy (or the ease of piracy for a particular system over another) has a (large) impact within certain sections of the populous. As I believe the modding scene had on the previous generation of home consoles and current generation of handheld consoles.
XBMC had an impact im my decision to purchase an XBox many moons ago.
For the GC it was the heinously addictive Super Monkey Ball that sold me on launch day ^__^