SatelliteOfLove
Member
Because Japan's retail gig is fucked up.
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Japanese Sales: 2012 Jul 02 - Jul 08
- Thread starter Chris1964
- Start date
Because Japan's retail gig is fucked up.
SpaceDrake
Member
Couple pages back:
More to the point, ArTon as an IP is/was jointly owned with Banpresto, which is now owned by Namco-Bandai. Even if they hadn't (rather badly) wrapped up the series' storyline with ArTon3/Qoga, it definitely seems like Gust (and their new Koei overlords) would prefer to continue the concept with a branding that they can lay full claim to.
Anyway, sharper drop on Ayesha than I was hoping for, but it's about what to expect with the franchise; Ateliers these days are very front-loaded. It looks like it should still sell six-figures, barely, though. And it deserves to, because it's a goddamned amazing game. Dat soundtrack.
QuickEdit:
Well, it's one part "the Japanese believe in charging full retail for handheld games since they're seen as full experiences", but it's also one part exchange rate, remember. Remember, if the world were anything like sane, that would actually be $60 or less. Still high compared to what most Westerners are used to paying for handheld games, but not totally outside the ballpark for games as a whole. With the exchange rate what it is, though, all of those prices are going to seem like a knife to the heart.
More to the point, ArTon as an IP is/was jointly owned with Banpresto, which is now owned by Namco-Bandai. Even if they hadn't (rather badly) wrapped up the series' storyline with ArTon3/Qoga, it definitely seems like Gust (and their new Koei overlords) would prefer to continue the concept with a branding that they can lay full claim to.
Anyway, sharper drop on Ayesha than I was hoping for, but it's about what to expect with the franchise; Ateliers these days are very front-loaded. It looks like it should still sell six-figures, barely, though. And it deserves to, because it's a goddamned amazing game. Dat soundtrack.
QuickEdit:
Well, it's one part "the Japanese believe in charging full retail for handheld games since they're seen as full experiences", but it's also one part exchange rate, remember. Remember, if the world were anything like sane, that would actually be $60 or less. Still high compared to what most Westerners are used to paying for handheld games, but not totally outside the ballpark for games as a whole. With the exchange rate what it is, though, all of those prices are going to seem like a knife to the heart.
There's a thread for this already, but since we're talking japanese sales and the environment in japan, i thought i could link here:
Apparently Falcom will be bringing Kiseki titles to 3DS now.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=482085
Vita's woes keep increasing D:
Apparently Falcom will be bringing Kiseki titles to 3DS now.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=482085
Vita's woes keep increasing D:
Mostly what was already said by others, but also that they had geared themselves up for PS360 level development before the generation began (as implied by schuelma), and going "backwards" to work on Wii was not what they wanted. Now if PS3 and Wii were the only consoles being developed for (i.e. 360 was never released) and they had the same sales arcs from launch, I think there could've easily been way more support for Wii. As it was the combination of PS360 sold software well enough outside of Japan to allow that support for PS3 in Japan to continue.
Now it still might've been better than it was if Nintendo had done more to convince some of the big players to bring the big umbrella titles to Wii, anyways, but as discussed over the years, Nintendo didn't take those steps to do so, and the unique tech/architecture of Wii didn't encourage many to take the chance themselves. Call of Duty (in the U.S.) is held up as a sign of good third-party support on Wii, but even there, Activision had piddly teams working on the Wii version of those games for the first few years.
PS3 was the default choice in Japan, because the major industry support was on PS360 outside of Japan. PS3 was the only real "in" they had to release their games in the Land of the Rising Sun. That made it the default choice in Japan, because there was not a viable alternative for the games they were already making on PS360 (leaning way heavier toward the 360 side of that) outside of Japan.
If next gen is as bad as this gen in Japan for consoles, then I'd still say it was depressed. I'd be more willing to agree that depressed is going to be the norm, at that point, but that doesn't make it any less depressing. *ba-dum-dum*
Edit:
I've brought out a few times that 3DS software sales just weren't doing that well compared to DS. After further analysis, they seemed to be doing not much different than PS2 in the same time period (except with higher top-sellers), but yeah, there's definitely been comments on the "poor" sales of 3DS software from me.
test_account
XP-39C²
I understand, thanks for the detailed answer
The reason why i asked is because i was wondering if you ment that the developers almost litterally didnt have any choice except the PS3, even if they had higher believes for success on the Wii instead. But yeah, most developers seems to believe mostly in putting their games on PS3/Xbox 360, so i agree that it is the default choice in this way.Yeah, i see that situation. It is a pity knowing that the market once was huge, but now that it is much smaller. Hopefully companies are still able to have success even with lower total sales.
I feel that the japanese game companies havnt had it that rough in general this generation when it comes to sales in Japan. There have been a few bombs, but at least i havnt heard of many closing studios there.
Sorry, i didnt mean to say that i never had been saidI've brought out a few times that 3DS software sales just weren't doing that well compared to DS. After further analysis, they seemed to be doing not much different than PS2 in the same time period (except with higher top-sellers), but yeah, there's definitely been comments on the "poor" sales of 3DS software from me.
I remember that it was more talk about something like this in the earlier 3DS days (before the pricedrop). But i havnt seen much talk about it in the recent months now that 3DS has picked up a lot of momentum (not that i expect to see it because i think the 3DS sales are good).I also didnt mean to draw a direct comparison to PS2 vs PS3 in total sales with this example, i ment it more about that people seem to have accepted the lower sales on 3DS compared to DS. The 3DS sales are still very good i think, even if DS was much stronger.
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
You never know, a 3DS port could still be announced to launch with the other versions this fall. Otherwise we'll probably see a Boost version in the spring.
lazybones18
Banned
I'm hoping Uprising made its way back into the Top 50 this week
Sorry, i didnt mean to say that i never had been said
Since I looked them up anyways, ...
Mar 26-Apr 1, 2012 MC thread:
May 14-20, 2012 MC thread:
Later post in same thread:MH3G certainly makes a difference there.
It's not looking too good in the software department for 3DS with it being over a game behind NDS at the same point. As MC points out, though, NDS has already been through two holiday periods and 3DS just one. Still, the tie ratio reminds me too much of the poor PSP ratio around this point to be too happy about it. :/
It'd be interesting to know what the tie ratio is for 2012, though. Most of last year, it was probably languishing ridiculously low, so it might've actually improved in 2012. May have to do some estimating later ...
Famitsu software from my database. MC hardware. Using Famitsu quarters by calendar, not FY. Should give a rough approximation, though.
Code:SW HW Tie Ratio Q1-2011 788K 793K 0.99 Q2-2011 862K 365K 2.36 Q3-2011 943K 747K 1.26 Q4-2011 3779K 2179K 1.73 Q1-2012 3074K 1316K 2.34 Q2-2012* 1399K 555K 2.52
* - Through May 13, 2012
Not a single quarter has it hit the tie ratio of DS over its first 14 months, but at least it's improving. 2012 is much better than 2011, which is something.
Yes. That's why they're usually a couple of weeks behind. The print ones would come out at about the same time as the online Top 30. Maybe the print ones are moving ahead, too?
I'd love a weekly U.S. video game magazine with Top 30 sales and hardware in it for the last week in the U.S.
Edit:
Famitsu even includes sales bits in the articles. Like in a preview of Harvest Moon, they may have the sales of Harvest Moon games going back to 1996 or something. (It's how we somehow get random LTD updates on Famitsu games.) Little tidbits like that really add to the articles, in my opinion.
Conrad Link
Member
Can't wait for NSMB2 to come out.
ShellyDeKiller
Member
So Media Create sales won't be added to the OP?
Atlus localized 1 of the like 7 games in this series, sorry but that's not happening.
Probably with the full release Thursday night/Friday morning. As an aside, Vita is a little higher in MC than Famitsu this week.
So is Famitsu basically catering to the hardcore now?
Sales wars!
Good old days of glory!
Mario Party 9 = 468.430
It's not so high copared to the previous entries; it's higher than the GBA (241,721) and latest GC version (Mario Party 7 = 454,261), and it's aiming to the third GC iteration (Mario Party 6 = 527,132). I don't know if it will be able to reach also Mario Party 5 on GC (697,462) but it's not impossible, let's say. I'd bet it will end with more or less at 550K (slightly over MP5)
Imho it's suffering the competition of other very important "similar" titles already available on the Wii: obviously Wii Sport, Resort and Play are not exactly the direct competitors but they are surely aimed at the same target, and probably they also had the chance to be cheaper or more valuable (because of the bundle with the remote or the motion plus and so on); and to those games we have to add also the direct competition of Mario Party 8 and Wii Party (1,427,575 and 2,287,199), so also if MP9 is "just" the second episode of this franchise, it's suffering the fatigue of the genre and the competition of other, more interesting (epsecially Wii Party imho) iteration that already satisied the target (is a similar way of what happened on GC with each iteration less successfull of the previous ones.
Of course, also the Wii situation, not so hot, is another (obvious?) factor.
From what I saw, they just upgraded the resolution, with the output signal in HD, now.
The comparison:
[PS3] Resident Evil Chronicles HD Selection 36.396
[Wii] Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles 273,791
[Wii] Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles 145,149
considering that the PS3 title is a collection with both Umbrella and Darkside, and that it's price is lower than the Wii's titles (¥4.990 VS 7340 if my data are correct) it's very low in terms of sales (I'm not saying that it's disappointing for Capcom: it's a cheap cash-in, I think).
Probably they already performed well on the Wii, so the fan of the series interested in on-rail spinoffs already own them; plus, I think that the on rail experience was tailored on Wii's target but also on Wii's gameplay experience (the remote is perfect for that kind of gameplay) and the Move is not so hot (I suppose) while playing them with the normal pad is not so satisfying.
Yea, but it's also perfect for the Residen Evil 4 kind of gameplay. Stupid Capcom "tests"
But interesting to see how the HD Collection performed.
I guess the point of this statement is that unlike the West handheld games can be priced quite high in Japan. Although since we have things like the "Square-tax" here as well I'm not even sure if the "unlike the West" statement is even completely true.
Fact is, game prices are ranged and handheld game prices start lower and end lower than console game prices.
Some examples:
3D Land costs 4800 yen versus Galaxy 5800 yen.
FFXIII costs 9240 yen versus FF Type-0 7700 yen.
Big Brain Academy DS is 2800 yen versus Wii 4800 yen.
BishopLamont
Banned
Vita price drop aint happening any time soon, everybody knows it ain't worth it until the software comes. Sony would just make more losses from sales.
So you are saying worthwhile software wont be released anytime soon ? I doubt there will be much software if the system continues like this - 3DS sold worse and 3rdPartys were also considering dropping their support. I wonder what they think about the Vita right now......
Canis lupus
Member
Ouch Anarchy Reign, but I understand. The game just doesnt look good and was constantly delayed.
Because Atlus believe that sufficient people will pay that much. Given the sales figures, I don't think they're incorrect.
(As a corollary, they may also believe that if they were to sell it at a lower pricepoint, they wouldn't get sufficiently more sales to compensate for the revenue loss as a result)
fabricated backlash
Member
I would actually say it sold TOO much for what it was, but that might be just me.
Anyway, MH3G really seems to be a stable seller. It's actually toe to toe with Nintendos own "big" 3DS games. It should do 1.5 million easily. What's going to be interesting is to see how MH4 will perform, and if Capcpom will push 3G again before MH4 hits.
electroplankton
Banned
I'm always wondering where PSVita games are. I mean, if Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, etc. have something, why haven't they announced anything yet? I know Monster Hunter on 3DS was presented just 4 months before the actual release, but in the meanwhile Capcom had Resident Evil to push.
I think that they would/should re-push it during Xmas period (if there is no other big Capcom title coming out for 3DS), with a The Best/Reprint edition (or with the hypotetical International version if - I doubt - they'll decide to publish the game also for the West)
Stable as it is now, I think that they can sell very well with this kind of move (especially looking at the results of previous portable iterations of the brand and their respective Best/Reprint versions), especially if they' close a deal with Nintendo for possible bundles with the 3DS XL (or also the Circle pad pro XL version)
BishopLamont
Banned
By the look of things yeah, maybe next year if Vita has a decent TGS showing. They'll want to coincide the price drop near something thats at least semi-big. The way Sony handles Vita, I dunno though, maybe they will just price drop for the hell of it and just rely on luck as usual.
SE has FFX, Konami is a question mark considering their backtracking on Reveangance, Capcom would be the biggest wildcard to come out with something out of left field.
test_account
XP-39C²
I see, thanks. I must have missed these posts earlier.
Capcom has Street Fighter X Tekken. Square Enix has Final Fantasy X HD, and Konami just released MGS collection.
EDIT: Forgot that Konami also have Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2012 for Vita coming out next week.
well it's a vicious circle. 3DS had Mario/Mario Kart/MH3 coming out very soon after the price drop, and that boosted sales immensely along with the price drop
what does Vita have after an hypothetical price drop? You can't have games that truly interest people coming up if sales are terrible, and you'll have terrible sales if you don't have games that truly interest people..
There's still *a* possibility - a huge showing of support at TGS. Practically a relaunch of the system.
TGS is going to shape the Vita's next Christmas. If the announcements at TGS are lacking, I really don't see a way back for the Vita barring a random game having Monster Hunter levels of breakthrough success.
As for the likelihood of that possibility, though? Tricky to say. My brain says it's not that likely without hearing small bits of info beforehand, but my heart suggests that *surely* Sony have A Plan? Somewhere?
In other words: the way I see it, *EITHER* there's a huge blowout of news and support at TGS, or Sony have no idea what they're doing. I don't really see a middle ground between those two extremes.
I cant see Vita having a decent showing next year if the sales for 2012 continue that way. The thing is Vita isnt just competing with the 3DS, but also with the upcoming consoles and Smartphone/Tablets. For cheaper project 3DS and Smartphones are more interesting because of the development costs and higher installed base - for bigger projects it`ll have to compete with home consoles and its *lack* of sales in western markets.
Right now it looks bad.... but this can change fast too, a nice price drop and the release of a handful bigger games and the future could look better. Especially when bigger titles like Persona 5 oder MGS5 also will receive handheld-exclusive Vita versions. It could also go the other way though - where the 3DS completely stomps the Vita and future hand held announcements are being made mostly for 3DS - like the PS2 and GameCube Situation. Vita could become a Gamecube without Nintendo First Party content/sales.
Parakeetman
No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
At least Sony knows they dropped the ball with the VITA presentation a bit at the E3 so lets hope they really make it up at the TGS with domestic developers.
Rising was never announced for Vita. It's not a KojiPro game, and it's not made on Fox Engine.
Parakeetman
No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
More like thats what happens when you dont live in country and buy it.
Since its going for about 4700-5000 on Amazon.co.jp. Depending on the retailer you go to could be about the same or a little more.
Which isnt all that bad.
BishopLamont
Banned
Well I guess that just makes it worse for the Vita.
Rising is being made on a seemingly tight schedule by Platinum using their own tech. Kojima promised support for Vita on his studio's projects that use Fox Engine. Rising is neither a Fox Engine title, nor developed by Kojima Productions. A Rising port likely would be more work than it's worth given we have no evidence of Platinum's engine being able to scale to weaker hardware. Fox Engine is designed to be able to scale. I don't see how a lack of Rising because of these reasons somehow means it's suddenly a worse situation for Vita than before. Platinum never developed a PSP game, and likely never had plans to develop a Vita game.
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=433756&page=1
The original source didn't really specify Fox Engine or internal development, just that all major Kojipro titles from then on out would feature transfarring (implying PSP or Vita release). I guess you could try and argue ZOE HD Collection and MG Rising aren't "major titles" though, while somehow MGS HD Collection was?
As I've said a few times, Rising is not from KojiPro (neither is MGS HD, nor ZoE HD). The reason I brought up Fox Engine is because that's clearly what all near future internal KojiPro games will be using, and that engine supports Vita.
We actually don't know what's up with the ZoE Collection for Vita. The PS3 box art lacks any mention of Transfarring.
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
All 3 games are "from" Kojima Productions, they're the producer and their name is stamped all over them. They were outsourced rather than developed internally, but they're all still Kojipro titles.
And lack of transfarring in ZOEHD also goes against Kojima's original statements. Like War, I guess Plans have changed.
electroplankton
Banned
It's not a spectacular line-up, uh? It is possible to say they have basically nothing on Vita.
Do you really think TGS will have some big announcements for Vita? As someone pointed out a few days ago, it's not TGS itself, but weeks before the event, where many games are announced on magazine. TGS is happening in two months, we should start seeing something.
By the way, Nintendo will probably steal the show once again this year, like they did last September where they show a lot of third-party exclusives and many first-party new games.
As I've been saying for a few posts now, Rising isn't a game that was ever expected on Vita. Platinum's engine likely does not support Vita, and they're probably too swamped trying to get the game out on PS3/360 to care. Rising was originally announced for PC too, but that was canceled once the switch to Platinum occurred which implies they're treating Rising as if it was any other game at Platinum, which would mean no handheld version.
As for ZoE HD that is indeed bizarre. It could be a variety of reasons from Konami not wanting to be pressured into doing a PS3/Vita bundle at launch, Bluepoint not being able to get the games running on Vita, an innocent lack of attention, or yes, even fear that it wouldn't be worth Konami's time and money to port to Vita.
michaelius
Banned
3DS software sells like shit in west apart from Nintendo games and I wouldn't be suprised if PSV retail+DD profits were bigger than 3DS profits from retail for 3rd parties.
electroplankton
Banned
Just yesterday Namco said Tales of the Abyss exceeded their expectations in Europe. It's not it proves that all 3DS games are selling nicely in the West, but still.
Metallix87
Member
Don't say such silly things.
electroplankton
Banned
Also: it's not that third parties sold incredibly well during DS first year and a half.
michaelius
Banned
Vita games are charting similarly to 3DS titles in weekly UK numers and that doesn't even include DD.
electroplankton
Banned
UK =/= West