Category Archives: GameTrader.SG’s Comments

Console War in Singapore

Being an avid gamer myself, the topic of console war is always close to my heart. Before I reveal which camp I belong to, let us take a look at the new dashboard I have created using figures from www.gametrader.sg. Approximately 60,000 game posted on the platform from Jun 2010 to Aug 2015 are visualized in this dashboard.

Some key points to note on launch date of some consoles in Singapore:

  1. Feb 2012: PS Vita launched in Singapore
  2. Jan 2013: Wii U launched in Singapore
  3. Dec 2013: PS4 launched in Singapore
  4. Sep 2014: Xbox launched in Singapore after a year it was launched in US and Europe.

Who is leading the console war? Our 3 charts below can provide some indication:

1. Market Share

Market Share

Based on the number of posts on GameTrader.SG, market shares of PS4 has increased tremendously from 2014 to 2015. It is now at 44% of the combined numbers of posts of PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Xbox One is the tiny portion over at the bar chart for 2015 which account for 2.58%.

A point to note is that PS4 has close to a year head start compared to Xbox One which was release in Sep 2014. Desperate for getting their hand on a next gen-console, gamers may not have the patience to wait a year for Xbox One and have move on with PS4.

2. Price

Price

Price of PS3 and Xbox 360 games have been declining steadily over the years. With the launch of the new PS4 console, we see a greater drop in PS3 game pricing. The average PS3 games also cost about 35% of a PS4 game.

While Xbox 360 game is the lowest among the XBox and Playstation family, Xbox One game remains slight pricer than PS4. Could price be a reason why PS4 popularity is higher? Anyhow, a quick check on Qisahn for the game Watch Dog shows that Xbox One and PS4 price is the same at $39. Perhaps the data could be bias since trading for PS4 game is a lot more than Xbox One.

Nonetheless, it is good to know that game prices are decreasing over the years!

3. No. of Game Titles

Game Titles

The number of game titles definitely plays a part in the popularity of a console. Again, we see the number of titles traded on GameTrader.SG for PS4 is about 4 times more than Xbox One. Without a doubt PS4 titles are stronger than Xbox One. However, most big titles Metal Gear Solid V, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Final Fantasy 15 are usually available on both platforms. At least what we can conclude is that more titles are being traded on GameTrader.SG for PS4 compared to Xbox One.

Other findings

If you have time to play with the dashboard, you will be able to find other interesting insights. For example, pre-owned game cost about 35% less than the brand new counter part and average of preowned PS3 game can be as low as $22. Of course, some games are even cheaper depending on the seller.

Have fun with this dashboard! You can try it here.

PS: You should be able to guess which camp I am now 😛

 

Original Post by jaxxie.me on 2 Sep 2015.

More of Final Fantasy XIII and Next-Gen PSP

Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Haven’t got enough of Final Fantasy XIII? Check out this all new gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII! Blew my mind totally! FF Versus 13 is going to be an action RPG that could be similar to Kingdom Hearts and Crisis Core. While no release date has been announced, I doubt this game will be able to ship anytime this year.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Just when I was getting excited over this FF versus 13 trailer, one more great news for FF fans. Square-Enix would be producing a sequel to the original FF XIII titled FF XIII-2! While I certainly hope it would not be another sequel that disappoints fans as in FF X-2, I am keeping my finger cross hoping that Square-Enix will be able to deliver a great sequel to FF XIII.

Next Generation Portable (PSP 2)

Sony has officially announced the new upcoming PSP2 codename NGP (Next-Generation Portable). According to Sony, NGP features graphics that are comparable to the PS3, GPS for location-based services, cameras, two analog sticks (real sticks unlike the old PSP), Wifi, rear touch pad, OLED multi-touch screen and many more. Sony’s probably hoping to counter the poor performance of its PSP-Go launched last October. And yes, no more cumbersome UMD. Instead game will be available on a new flash storage. I forsee yet another a tough battle with piracy for this PSP successor.

What? Sony is also making its PSP titles available on Android tablet? This is indeed a brave move. If an Android tablet can play PSP games, why get a PSP console? Yet another sign that mobile gaming is now converging. Very soon you will be playing Monster Hunter on your Ipad. Not to mention Sony is also coming out with its own version of mobile phone, the PSP Phone.

K-Pop for Dance Central?

Dance Central (DC) is an awesome game. After playing this game, a couch potato can be transformed into an amateur dancer in matter of days. Learning dance routine using Dance Central is a lot simpler for noobs like me who struggle with mass dance and Singapore workout. Just like any of the other Harmonix’s games, Dance Central offers downloadable new songs which you can get from Xbox Live. However, most of the songs available aren’t what I usually listen to.

Given the  rise of K-Pop, I hope Harmonix can consider getting K-Pop songs into Dance Central. Most of the K-Pop songs have dance routines that are suitable for Dance central. Imagine if songs such as ‘Sorry Sorry’, ‘Gee’ and other hot Korean pop songs are available for DC, wow…I would definitely by throwing my money to get those songs.

I just can’t stop myself from embedding some SNSD’s dance routine!
GEE

Genie

Hoot

And while I am at the topic of K-pop, what about having REAL Korean stars teaching you how to dance? Download Girl Generation virtual dancer for DC! Wow, that will be even more cool. Ok maybe they can have a new Dance Central K-Pop Remix game. I will be the first to buy this title.

Maybe Harmonix can also consider user-generated-content. User can choreograph their own dance routine and upload to the internet for all to download. This feature would be cool too!