Matt Matthews of Next-Gen.biz takes a close look at the US sales trends that helped define perhaps the best year in videogame.
The percent of sales dollars going to software decreased. However, given the 43% increase in overall sales, software sales in 2007 were exceptional – think of it as a slightly smaller slice of a much, much larger pie. Let's put it this way: the top 10 games in 2006 accounted for just over 15 million software units. In 2007, the top 10 games represented over 27 million software units.
Next-Gen.biz will dig into the software figures and pick out some interesting angles, and try to give an idea of just what set last year apart other than its amazing sales figures. Like:
Crossplatform Performance: 360 vs. PS3
Call of Duty 4 and Rock Band have sold to a higher proportion of Xbox 360 owners while Assassin's Creed and Guitar Hero III have sold to a larger percentage of PlayStation 3 owners.
However, if crossplatform software is selling modestly better on the PlayStation 3, there are two key factors which must temper that success:
The absolute (not relative) sales figures favor the Xbox 360, by far. For example, even though Assassin's Creed sold to a greater fraction of PlayStation 3 owners, it has sold just over 800,000 units on that system. By comparison, the Xbox 360 version made the top 10 software list for the year with 1.87 million copies – a difference of over 1 million units.
The Madden franchise may have weakened this year. Annual sales for the PlayStation 2 version were down from 2.8 million in 2006 to 1.9 million in 2007. Had the Xbox 360 version picked up the slack, it would have made the top 10 software for the year. Some of that may be explained by the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions splitting the market.
In 2006, the top 10 software chart breakdown: 5 games for PS2, 3 games for Xbox 360, 2 games for Nintendo DS.
In 2007, the top 10 software chart breakdown: 3 games for Xbox 360, 3 games for Wii, 3 games for PS2, and 1 game for Nintendo DS.
In 2025 Marc-Alexis Côté, the head of the Assassin’s Creed franchise and a 20 year veteran of Ubisoft, abruptly left the publisher following the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Ubisoft was reportedly working on a game set after the Civil War era, but canceled it due to politics and Assassins Creed Shadows backlash.
"Ubisoft was uncomfortable with the backlash surrounding Assassin's Creed Shadows' Black samurai protagonist and concerned that the current political climate in America was too fraught."
They are so stupid. There was never a racist backlash to a black protagonist in Assassin's Creed, there was just a backlash because you wanted to have a 7foot black Samurai running around in ancient Japan when you should have had a Japanese local. (I haven't played the game yet, but I plan on it after I finish Ghost Of Yotei)
An Assassin's Creed based just after the American Civil War about a former slave being an Assassin and fight the KKK would have been freakin' EPIC. Something different story-wise in the Assassin's Creed universe. It would have been awesome. When I originaly read this rumor, I felt a bit of a gut punch because that is a game I would have loved to have played. Then I rolled my eyes when I read about Ubisoft's concerns. What a joke.
Were you worried of the fact that the early members of the KKK (after the Civil War) were predominantly Southern Democrats? Is that it? Im joking. But having a Black protagonist, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE, like after the Civl War, is no problem whatsoever. It's a slice from another time that I can't remember playing a game like that before. A former Black slave?. The game could have been really cool. I'm bummed they won't be making this one.
Well THIS idea for a game could have been. I mean I take your point. I've always been a sucker for Platinuming Assassin Creed games. I do them all, but NONE of them have ever been my GOTY. They're more like a guilty pleasure, similar to the Far Cry games
"But having a Black protagonist, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE"
You are aware that Yasuke was a real African samurai in Japan, no? How is a telling of his story (albeit a fantastical one) not "where it makes sense"?
I honestly think the concept of this game really could have worked, having said that, I don't trust Ubisoft to actually execute it in a satisfying way.
There was a backlash.
Americans are very vocal online and now there are police forces hunting foreign-looking people in the streets to deport them - even if they are actual Americans.
Companies are worried about selling “wokeness” to this population of 350+ million.
Then there are countries that are starting to move away from wokeness, to a more racially exclusive “whites only” traditional, like Poland, The UK and The Netherlands.
That’s a lot of sales, and though nations are becoming racist, it’s clear that big corporations only care about money and will sell what they think those countries will accept.
It wasn't a racist backlash. Maybe a few poeple, but the overwhleming majority was not a racist backlash. You thinking there was just shows how ridiculous you are and how warped your mind is.
Running around and killing the KKK and former confederates has been done to great effect in Red Dead Redemption 2.
It would be fun to play that with historical accuracy while debunking the lost cause mythos.
Such a wonderfully ripe opportunity. What a shame.
We've had black protagonists before in ac and it wasn't a problem, Bayek, Adéwalé, Aveline, the assassin has always represented the setting they're in, that's why there was so much backlash for shadows, people have been waiting since the first game! for Japan to be represented by some awesome japanese samurai or ninja, and instead we get an african samurai? With the tease for this game starting with the ending of the very first game, and people begging for it for so long, success was handed to them on a silver platter and they decided to pick this one of all the entries to change the formula, it was a dumb move.
Was there a bunch of racist buttholes shouting? absolutely, but a lot of fans complaining were just disappointed to see them finally take on japan only for the protagonist to not even remotely following the same type of lead as LITERALLY EVERY OTHER AC GAME EVER RELEASED!
Couldn't care less about him being black, i always liked yasuke as a mysterious historic figure, and i love him in other media like the anime(underrated soundtrack btw), Samurai Warriors, nioh, etc, but this was a waste of the character imo.
This just screams tone deaf, just like their entire marketing campaign for this game. Whatever! 🤷♂️ I got Ghost of Tsushima/yotei now to fill that void
I'm all for people expressing their views and I will defend everyone's right to do so. But I firmly believe that society needs to progress and be more accepting/tolerant and not be so obsessed with how others live their life's because that truth is it isn't affecting your personal life in a negative way, you just think it is. With that said, just as it was necessary to push back on all the annoying sjw stuff we can't forget to push back on all the ignorance coming from the opposite extreme. F*** the KKK and that nazi ish, I say make the game and let it offend em!
Wouldn’t this have made more sense story and setting wise than having a black slave turned Samurai in ancient Japan.
I’d rather have seen this story played out.
They should have just done this game instead of AC Japan, it would have been receieved much better.
They should've just done both and not change their artistic ideas for losers that talk about Yasuke being in the game more than actual Japanese people. This wasnt the only piece of media he's been in
Are you ready for another trip through the cosmos on Starship Mario?
An Interesting look at NPD sales in United States for 2007. Especially the PS3 vs. 360 comparison, but other sections as well, like madden sales going down overall, how the difference between 2007 from 2006 in overall top 10 sales, was PS2 decling, and Wii increasing.
Nice analysis
Just to see on paper that PS3 owners are buying more movies than games...(evidently).
the final score will be wii games sell more then both systems combine after 08