Analyzing the MLB game sales
by 
After a couple weeks of sales it seems like a good opportunity to look at how the two MLB games have fared and what it could mean for the future. With the EA purchase of Take Two still looming largely ahead that could certainly change perceptions going into next year. However we’ll just look at it from the current standpoint of 2K vs SCEA.
MLB 2K8 has certainly had a rough time of it heading all the way back to the lack of prerelease videos and demo. Following release it has been plagued by complaints around the framerate, terrible online experience, and several other issues. Patches are still being waited on and won’t address all the problems. Reviews have generally been mediocre to poor and the online community turned against it almost immediately thanks to those issues and the feeling of being mislead.
MLB 08: The Show on the other hand has received critical acclaim and been received by the community as one of the best baseball titles to date. While it also has shown itself to have poor online performance that has somewhat been overshadowed by how well the rest of the game shapes up. Road to the Show makes it practically two games in one and they have already started on their weekly roster updates which is just one demonstration of the effort they put into the game.
So lets look at the sales vs last year and see if there is a trend. When it comes to The Show the PS3 version was released in May last year so that comparison will not be as pertinent. The numbers reflect the first three weeks of sales via VGChartz. While not official numbers they have been shown to be accurate enough at the very least to reflect trends.
MLB 2K8 (360) 207,292 -31,247
MLB 2K8 (PS3) 57,525 +11,275
MLB 08: The Show 144,153 +37,822
Considering the increase in 360 user base over a full year (where 2K8 is the only baseball game available) 2K8 has sold 13% less than 2K7 and that is obviously very alarming. It seems that the negative response to 2K7 combined with practically hiding the game prerelease has really showed itself. That is how word of mouth and being unsatisfied with quality affects sales. Not so much in the current year but in the ones that follow. With the atmosphere around 2K8 it’s easy to imagine that a potential 2K9 could end up in even more dire straits.
If you look at games like NCAA Football and Madden and instead of comparing the overall sales (due to console generation shift) consider that they both increased in new generation sales from 07 to 08 (22% and 32% respectively). This is pretty much the case with all major yearly sports titles until you get to NHL 2K8 and hockey just isn’t a big seller to begin with. Here though with MLB 2K8, such a critical title with the costly license, 2K is actually losing ground despite this generation’s growth.
On the PS3 it is no surprise that The Show wins out at a 2.5-1 margin. And given the lack of effort and concern that 2K has shown the PS3 consumers (no framerate patch) expect that to widen next year. Interestingly the PS3 version of 2K8 did rise and that was with the added competition of The Show releasing at the same time. The increase in PS3 user base seems to have helped both titles yet on the 360 a lot of people seem to have given up on the 2K series or have switched over to the PS3 for their baseball gaming.
Baseball titles have never been relied upon as huge sellers. That was until the 3rd party exclusive license came about and 2K sunk a significant amount of money into it. The sales on the 360 where they have exclusivity are definitely not justifying it.
March 30, 2008 at 7:40 pm
i wouldnt have guessed that 2k8 sales wouldve dropped like that with so many more people having 360s and no competition
March 30, 2008 at 10:50 pm
good i have 2k and its sucks they should got rid of this game and kept college basketball!
March 30, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Alot of gamers I play with don’t buy baseball games. So I dont think the user base ratio is that accurate. We all have 360s and the two that have PS3s don’t have baseball and didn’t buy baseball for the PS2. Baseball games don’t sell. Not since Second Gen consoles.
March 30, 2008 at 11:59 pm
[quote comment="16491"]Alot of gamers I play with don’t buy baseball games. So I dont think the user base ratio is that accurate. We all have 360s and the two that have PS3s don’t have baseball and didn’t buy baseball for the PS2. Baseball games don’t sell. Not since Second Gen consoles.[/quote]
so you don’t think any of the 5.5 million people who bought a 360 in that time period plays baseball games? everyone who plays baseball already owned one? that doesnt make any sense, naturally it should be growing
March 31, 2008 at 3:29 am
kennyjr – you ae correct – it is hard to imagine sales would drop like that b/c the writer forgot to explain that he is relying on a crap site like vgfartz – everybody knows how unreliable those numbers are – it is a joke site
March 31, 2008 at 4:29 am
I was one of those that got rid of the my 360 (which I miss) and picked up a ps3 just for the show…. I just hope the ps3 steps it up with other titles that faired better on the 360 (nhl 08, madden, etc.)
March 31, 2008 at 4:39 am
It’s rather saddening to see the obvious bias towards the Sony game on this site.
A real journalistic site would keep an unbiased view of every situation…
This just seems VERY fanboyish in my opinion.
March 31, 2008 at 5:49 am
Yeah – when I told some friends about this site, to a person they all told me to beware Pasta’s bias, but I come here nonetheless because he keeps site updated nicely
It’s not that the hard news isn’t pertinent – it’s the endless “asides” about 2K and sometimes just false and misleading info that gets spoken on truth. Didn’t even bother to post the MLB 2K Weekend event – can you see him ignoring a similar EA promotion?
Anyway – no one’s arguing the 2K game has issues and sales are flat. Given the “no marketing” push of recent 2K releases I can’t say I’m surprised
March 31, 2008 at 5:49 am
[quote comment="16497"]It’s rather saddening to see the obvious bias towards the Sony game on this site.
A real journalistic site would keep an unbiased view of every situation…
This just seems VERY fanboyish in my opinion.[/quote]
yes its horrific that favoritism could be shown towards the far more quality product :/
March 31, 2008 at 6:12 am
2K sucks, Pasta is just telling it like it is.
March 31, 2008 at 6:15 am
any chance the MLB yanks the license from 2K? supposedly they have been upset the past two years with the quality of the games. with how bad this one is and now seeing sales dropping when they should be going up I have to wonder that maybe its a possibility. maybe the money is more important to them but with them having been vocal about their disappointment before I guess it could come up again.
March 31, 2008 at 6:16 am
I own both games, 2ks is absolute garbage while Sonys is fantastic. Both are terrible online though, I cant find a game without lag the show. And results are just completly unreal on 2k due to just slight lag…but I still prefer my 360 over ps3.
March 31, 2008 at 6:29 am
I love the show, but the HORRIBLE FATIGUE ISSUES in Franchise Mode are really killing the game for me.
March 31, 2008 at 6:58 am
I gave a fair shake to both games. I really wanted to like 2K8 but there is just no comparison between the two. You have 2K8 that requires patches which haven’t come yet just to function at the satisfactory level. Anyone that knows me knows that I favor the 360 over the PS3. I empathize with people who own only the 360 in this situation. It just so happens that the best baseball experience is The Show. And it is alarming that the sales of 2K8 are reflecting the consumer discontent.
[quote comment="16498"]It’s not that the hard news isn’t pertinent – it’s the endless “asides” about 2K and sometimes just false and misleading info that gets spoken on truth. Didn’t even bother to post the MLB 2K Weekend event – can you see him ignoring a similar EA promotion?[/quote]
As I stated previously I won’t promote something I don’t believe in such as an online event for a game that is practically unplayable online. Should the patch come out this week and rectify that I would reconsider posting info on it. But there are press releases from all the companies that I feel are not newsworthy or of enough value that I choose not to write about.
March 31, 2008 at 7:23 am
Funniest stuff ive ever seen LOL, baseball games done sell that much anyway… Pasta you when will you put up “sponsered by EA” on your website, this post is silly bro… Both games suck and these games dont sell anyway (and wont).
March 31, 2008 at 7:50 am
[quote comment="16497"]It’s rather saddening to see the obvious bias towards the Sony game on this site.
A real journalistic site would keep an unbiased view of every situation…
This just seems VERY fanboyish in my opinion.[/quote]
Most gamers are only “fan boys” of good games! I bought MLB 2K8 and The Show 08 both for the PS3, and I could tell you in a second that 2K8 was crap… I even played 2K8 first hoping I wouldn’t even have to open the show…. so most gamers just want good games…. I only stick up for the games that are worth sticking up for.
March 31, 2008 at 7:51 am
^ oh yeah, I forgot to mention that MLB 08 The Show is an addicting fantastic rendition of America’s Pastime…
March 31, 2008 at 7:53 am
Hey shoeprint – Instead of ripping Pasta, Learn some friggin grammar….”SPONSORED BY ME.”
March 31, 2008 at 8:17 am
Here’s the dealio – and this will be another thread I’ll stop beating my head againest
When you start posting “headline” stories about the alarming news that Madden sales have flattened/dropped, or when you start sarcastically editing the Madden-HC press releases, or stop devoting 128 stories about the critically lambasted NFL Tour, etc etc then I’ll start buying into the fact this site makes an attempt at even-handness
As for MLB – I’m 32 games into my franchise. Teams is scoring about 4.9 runs and game and team ERA is 4.3 I’ve seen every kind of hit in about every game – and I’m really enjoying the controls alot. Game – without a patch – plays a very satisfactory game of baseball if you spend more than 5-10 games with it. Whether or not The Show is better is moot, only issue to me is whether I enjoy MLB – which I do.
March 31, 2008 at 8:33 am
[quote comment="16509"]Hey shoeprint – Instead of ripping Pasta, Learn some friggin grammar….”SPONSORED BY ME.”[/quote]
right, another rabid ea/pasta fanboy^^^
LMAO, pleeze dontt scrattchh mi i’s outt… u wen bro…
March 31, 2008 at 8:38 am
EA Fanboy? Not at all. Pasta Fanboy? Yes, I like his site, I think you do also if you are commenting on it.
As to your other sentence, It does not make a lick of sense to me so I can’t say much to it.
March 31, 2008 at 9:07 am
[quote comment="16510"]When you start posting “headline” stories about the alarming news that Madden sales have flattened/dropped, or when you start sarcastically editing the Madden-HC press releases, or stop devoting 128 stories about the critically lambasted NFL Tour, etc etc then I’ll start buying into the fact this site makes an attempt at even-handness[/quote]
Agreed.
Again, I enjoy this site and visit just about every day. Kudos to keeping it updated. But, after visiting for the past several months, I’ve drawn the conclusion that Pasta is a little impartial towards 2K. It was never more obvious than in the thread in which you inserted your sarcastic commentary into the MLB 2K8 Press Release. You say MLB2K8 is ‘unplayble’ online and that’s why you don’t support it with coverage. Well, I’ve heard people utter those same words about Madden 2008. But yet, there was still frequent coverage about the subpar videogame.
Yes, you have said negative things about Madden. But the tone of those discussions is usually disappointment and disbelief on your behalf. But when it comes to saying negative discussions about 2K, you’re tone is to slander and berate their games.
As far as MLB 2K8 vs. The Show, The Show wins hands down. But you draw the head-to-head comparison b/c you already know the outcome, correct? Well, did I miss the NBA 2K8 vs. NBA Live 2008 head-to-head comparison? We ALL know who wins that battle and I don’t recall you mentioning it. But, on this site, NBA Live gets unlimited coverage.
March 31, 2008 at 9:20 am
[quote comment="16516"][quote comment="16510"]When you start posting “headline” stories about the alarming news that Madden sales have flattened/dropped, or when you start sarcastically editing the Madden-HC press releases, or stop devoting 128 stories about the critically lambasted NFL Tour, etc etc then I’ll start buying into the fact this site makes an attempt at even-handness[/quote]
Agreed.
Again, I enjoy this site and visit just about every day. Kudos to keeping it updated. But, after visiting for the past several months, I’ve drawn the conclusion that Pasta is a little impartial towards 2K. It was never more obvious than in the thread in which you inserted your sarcastic commentary into the MLB 2K8 Press Release. You say MLB2K8 is ‘unplayble’ online and that’s why you don’t support it with coverage. Well, I’ve heard people utter those same words about Madden 2008. But yet, there was still frequent coverage about the subpar videogame.
Yes, you have said negative things about Madden. But the tone of those discussions is usually disappointment and disbelief on your behalf. But when it comes to saying negative discussions about 2K, you’re tone is to slander and berate their games.
As far as MLB 2K8 vs. The Show, The Show wins hands down. But you draw the head-to-head comparison b/c you already know the outcome, correct? Well, did I miss the NBA 2K8 vs. NBA Live 2008 head-to-head comparison? We ALL know who wins that battle and I don’t recall you mentioning it. But, on this site, NBA Live gets unlimited coverage.[/quote]
good post… college football is also a hard game to play online also, MLB 2k8 is the only game I can say sucks online and offline (as far as playable). Not knocking Pasta, but its plain as day.
March 31, 2008 at 10:27 am
Just curious…were you guys around for how tough I was on NCAA and Madden for their online play? I could link you to a bunch of articles I did back then. I just grabbed one two to link to below:
http://www.pastapadre.com/1471/another-release-day-means-more-online-problems-this-is-maddenoliday
http://www.pastapadre.com/1135/ncaa-football-08-online-play-falling-short-again
I take online play seriously here because no other sites do.
March 31, 2008 at 11:00 am
Hi,
I m new to this site and hopefully i m not doing something wrong here but I have a question about road to the show. I m a huge stat type of guy and have notice the lack of stats for every player in franchise mode (you only get to see his stats from last year and his overall) Is it the same in RTTS or can you view his 20 years stat year by year, league by league as well as the team he played for. When it comes to stats, 2k as an edge on the competition usually…
Thanks
March 31, 2008 at 11:18 am
[quote comment="1360"]I played this last night online… I was very mad at the game because it was so damn choppy… the other cats connection was terrible or soemthing and the gameplay made me quit. It plays slower than the other Ncaa’s too offline… Its dope, but im glad you caught that because it is terrible online…[/quote]
me^^^ so im not new
March 31, 2008 at 1:00 pm
2K is a better game period. The patch will be released this week and it will fix all the problems, where are your sources that say it won’t fix problems. Obviously the sales are much better for 2K, so what is your point?
March 31, 2008 at 1:06 pm
[quote comment="16531"]2K is a better game period. The patch will be released this week and it will fix all the problems, where are your sources that say it won’t fix problems. Obviously the sales are much better for 2K, so what is your point?[/quote]
april fools day is tomorrow dude
March 31, 2008 at 1:18 pm
What are you trying to prove by saying a game is so much better selling 60k less?
March 31, 2008 at 5:18 pm
VGCHARTZ?? hahahhhahhhahaha lololololo
oh, that’s a good one.
March 31, 2008 at 6:47 pm
[quote comment="16484"]i wouldnt have guessed that 2k8 sales wouldve dropped like that with so many more people having 360s and no competition[/quote]
People like me went out and bought a PS3 just for the Show. I think a lot of old MVP fans and 360 only owners did the same.
March 31, 2008 at 6:53 pm
[quote comment="16510"]Here’s the dealio – and this will be another thread I’ll stop beating my head againest
When you start posting “headline” stories about the alarming news that Madden sales have flattened/dropped, or when you start sarcastically editing the Madden-HC press releases, or stop devoting 128 stories about the critically lambasted NFL Tour, etc etc then I’ll start buying into the fact this site makes an attempt at even-handness.[/quote]
If this site frustrates you so much, why do you constantly fan the flames by jumping into discussions such as these? This is a blog, it’s not a professional journalistic outpost with a mission statement aimed at being evenhanded. If Pasta thinks a game is garbage, he’ll say so.
March 31, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I may just be luck but for the the most part The Show runs lovely online. In the beginning I had a few shaky games but now its almost like playing OFFLINE
March 31, 2008 at 6:55 pm
[quote comment="16535"]What are you trying to prove by saying a game is so much better selling 60k less?[/quote]
You realize there are no fewer than 6 million more X360 owners than PS3 owners, no? 60k is completely insignificant when you’re talking about a user base differential of 6+ million.
March 31, 2008 at 8:08 pm
If this site frustrates you so much, why do you constantly fan the flames by jumping into discussions such as these? This is a blog, it’s not a professional journalistic outpost with a mission statement aimed at being evenhanded. If Pasta thinks a game is garbage, he’ll say so.
Well – thanks for asking – here’s why:
The site, which I like, has the most benefit to people like me (potential audience) if when I come here I have reason to believe that whatever Opinions/Reviews/Editorial Decisions on Content are all based on some kind of objective analysis or sports gaming moxie
If people eventually decide that nothing here is on the up and up Everything loses validity, no matter what the opinion is – positive or negative, and there’s no real reason to come here for solid sports gaming news
Finally – I don’t think I “fan the flames” – I’ve never called anyone a retard or idiot or any game garbage or whatever as many here do. Actually just trying to offer some constructive comments so the site can grow into something more than a Fanboi Admiration Society
March 31, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Some things are just very black and white. How much better MLB 08 PS3 is over 2k8 is not even questionable. To those that do, it points out some serious self-evaluation time is needed. Because, it is not everyone else or Pasta in this case, it is you that needs to check yourself and what you like in a baseball game. You belong to a very small minority. There is a obvious reason for that, but you just dont see it. Oh well.
You may enjoy 2k8 for what it is, but it fails on so many levels at this time. The Show 08 succeeds more than any other baseball game to date. That is why there is a huge majority that prefer The Show, that have played both games, compared apples to apples, and came away with the obvious opinion.
March 31, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Hi,
I seem to have a hard time to get an answer…Do anyone know if the player stats in RTTS are detailed. I’ve noticed that in franchise mode, you can only view his stats for last year and not the prior ones. In RTTS, can you see your player stats year by year for the full career…
Thanks
April 1, 2008 at 2:14 am
Hey guys, this story is citing vgchartz. vgchartz is a well-known hack site whose software numbers are off by a large percentage (a guessing game actually) so don’t go getting your panties in a bunch.
April 1, 2008 at 6:27 am
[quote comment="16561"]If this site frustrates you so much, why do you constantly fan the flames by jumping into discussions such as these? This is a blog, it’s not a professional journalistic outpost with a mission statement aimed at being evenhanded. If Pasta thinks a game is garbage, he’ll say so.
Well – thanks for asking – here’s why:
The site, which I like, has the most benefit to people like me (potential audience) if when I come here I have reason to believe that whatever Opinions/Reviews/Editorial Decisions on Content are all based on some kind of objective analysis or sports gaming moxie
If people eventually decide that nothing here is on the up and up Everything loses validity, no matter what the opinion is – positive or negative, and there’s no real reason to come here for solid sports gaming news
Finally – I don’t think I “fan the flames” – I’ve never called anyone a retard or idiot or any game garbage or whatever as many here do. Actually just trying to offer some constructive comments so the site can grow into something more than a Fanboi Admiration Society[/quote]
Just saying- there’s obviously a large amount of fanboys that post comments here, and your poignant observations and constructive criticisms fall on deaf ears, generally. You’re smart enough to know that there’s no arguing with a fanboy, so it’s better left alone altogether.
April 1, 2008 at 11:41 am
Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is…it’s just a simple analysis using the most accessible numbers we can get. If you don’t like the trends just say so, but people screaming “bias” are basically trolling with their own bias.
April 3, 2008 at 1:01 pm
[quote comment="16497"]It’s rather saddening to see the obvious bias towards the Sony game on this site.
A real journalistic site would keep an unbiased view of every situation…
This just seems VERY fanboyish in my opinion.[/quote]
What a tard you are for this comment. Pasta is an XBOX360 fanboy, I have known the guy for 10 years and all he has ever done is spew venom and rip The Playstation AND sony the whole time I have ever know him. Just Ask him how he feels about Blu-Ray VS Hd-dvd. I once came over to his house with an “I do Blu” t-shirt on to piss him off, and he would not let me come in until I took it off or covered it up! If anything he is more journalistic then other sites. He wants very bably to hate this game, but its a great game, and he is being VERY fair in showing the respect it deserves.