Lynnesbian Mar 14

i've been researching the correlation between console name numbers and console sales numbers.

  • consoles with 1 in the name have a middling sales record (PS1, xbox one)
  • consoles with 2 in the name sell really well (PS2, switch 2)
  • consoles that are a correctly numbered "sequel" to another console sell great (PS2 & switch 2 again, PS3, PS4, PS5)
  • "sequel" consoles that don't use a number sell terribly (wii U, xbox series X|S, PS vita) unless they are boys (game boy et al)
    • however, you can only release three boys (game boy, colour & advance). further boys will not sell (virtual boy). numbered boys are as of yet untested
  • "sequel" consoles using the wrong number sell quite well, with higher numbers moving more units (nintendo 64, xbox 360)
  • "sequel" consoles can skip a number and still sell well if they put the number at the front, but will never reach the sales numbers of their predecessor (3DS)
  • consoles that aren't a "sequel" yet still use numbers sell abysmally, especially if the number's at the front (turbografx 16, 3DO)
    • this actually worked once (atari 2600), but caused the north american video game crash and doomed the company, no matter how high they tried to make the numbers (atari 5200, atari 7800)
Video game crash of 1983 - Wikipedia

Show threadKit LotorMar 14

@lynnesbian counterpoint to the boy exception as written: the virtual boy (1995) released before the game boy colour and game boy advance, which would’ve made the advance the 4th boy.

i think that the boy exception is less about ordering and more about how they present it: the virtual boy and the game boy micro got low sales as they sold themselves short. the virtual boy declares itself “not real” and the game boy micro sells itself as a very tiny thing.

Show threadLynnesbian 
@tenna either that, or boys will only sell well when their adjective comes after the "boy". perhaps the "boy virtual" would have sold better
Mar 14 at 11:07pmWeb
Show threadKit LotorMar 14
@lynnesbian possibly, but the micro counters this. as wikipedia puts it: “It failed to meet Nintendo’s sales expectations, having sold about 2.4 million units worldwide.”