[schuelma]

Are we not even getting the top 10 this week?

My instinct is famitsu doesn't update the website this week, but I might be wrong. I hope we at least get a sinobi leak with FF13/NSMB Wii and hardware.

[Moor-Angol]

Today i went to Akihabara, it was the first time for me during holiday season... damn, the streets were crowded as they are during weekend, Yodobashi Akiba had some shelves empty, new Mario sold out... there were about 40 people waiting in line for the cashier.

I had troubles in finding Darius Burst (PSP), anyone knows is sold out or it's just a problem in Akihabara?

[Onesimos]

Never mind.

[ethelred]

I am going to wait until 12 p.m. Japan time (as I am typing this message, it is 12:55 a.m. over there) to see whether Famitsu updates its web site providing the rankings for the ten best-selling games between Dec. 21st through the 27. If I do not see any updates by that time, I will wait until next week.

OK, keep us posted.

[Chris1964]

My instinct is famitsu doesn't update the website this week, but I might be wrong. I hope we at least get a sinobi leak with FF13/NSMB Wii and hardware.

Famitsu will give us top 10 (without numbers) this week. As for sinobi... good luck with that.
Join the Media Create support club. Media Create is our biggest hope this week.

Today i went to Akihabara, it was the first time for me during holiday season... damn, the streets were crowded as they are during weekend, Yodobashi Akiba had some shelves empty, new Mario sold out... there were about 40 people waiting in line for the cashier. I had troubles in finding Darius Burst (PSP), anyone knows is sold out or it's just a problem in Akihabara?

We need more impressions Moor-Angol.

[thestopsign]

I am going to wait until 12 p.m. Japan time (as I am typing this message, it is 12:55 a.m. over there) to see whether Famitsu updates its web site providing the rankings for the ten best-selling games between Dec. 21st through the 27. If I do not see any updates by that time, I will wait until next week.

Famitsu normally only updates with the top 10 on Wednesdays. It's Tuesday.

[schuelma]

Famitsu will give us top 10 (without numbers) this week. As for sinobi... good luck with that. Join the Media Create support club. Media Create is our biggest hope this week. .

Thanks. Yeah, not optimistic on sinobi but I could see FF13 and NSMB Wii getting an update- NSMB Wii will hit 2 million and FF13 2nd week should be noteworthy.

[Moor-Angol]

We need more impressions Moor-Angol.

well... honestly i didn't pay too much attention cause i was looking for some Saturn games and Darius Burst when i realized it was sold out.

Both Sofmap and Yodobashi Akiba were crowded, if i can have an impression considering the shelves, people are buying Nintendo games in particular, at 7.00pm new Mario was sold out in Yodobashi Akiba, but it was available in all the shops, i wonder why the people loves to go into that shop and wait in line for 30-40 minutes....

Ah, i also got a positive feedback from the new Zelda DS.

Discounted section : tons of DS games, but most of them are crappy or overstocked (still Phantasy Star Zero, Sangokushi Taisen DS, Magic Taizen, ecc.); no surprises as i had in August when i found Animal Crossing Wii and Wii Music.


if someone can give me a hint about where to find God of War 1 (not Capcore or PS2 The Best) it will be appreciated !

[Onesimos]

Never mind.

[The_lascar]

Yeah, but it's 2 a.m...

[Kandinsky]

I am going to wait until 12 p.m. Japan time (as I am typing this message, it is 12:55 a.m. over there) to see whether Famitsu updates its web site providing the rankings for the ten best-selling games between Dec. 21st through the 27. If I do not see any updates by that time, I will wait until next week.

wth:lol

[thestopsign]

It is now Tuesday in the Americas and Europe, but in Japan it is now Wendesday.

Let me put it this way, it normally updates where I am around 9am Wednesday morning. It is currently 2:36pm on Tuesday here.

[Rolf NB]

I am going to wait until 12 p.m. Japan time (as I am typing this message, it is 12:55 a.m. over there) to see whether Famitsu updates its web site providing the rankings for the ten best-selling games between Dec. 21st through the 27. If I do not see any updates by that time, I will wait until next week.

It is now Tuesday in the Americas and Europe, but in Japan it is now Wendesday.

What would we ever do without you.

[duckroll]

Best not to disrespect Onesimos, or he'll tell you to be on-topic again!

[noobie]

i wish we get some numbers for FFXIII n NSMB

[jay]

It is now Tuesday in the Americas and Europe, but in Japan it is now Wendesday.

So I was supposed to go to work today?

[Nirolak]

Too early in the morning for me to give a detailed answer to this, (though I think in general the only viable strategy is for 3rd parties that have had successes on the platform to keep exploiting that, i.e more Monster Hunter and Resident Evil), but I do want to clarify Taiko 2 numbers- while it started incredibly slowly, if the media create number leak is to be believed its picking up a lot of steam and should comfortably cross 200K in the next 2 weeks and possibly sell out that initial shipment. Now, its not going to sell 600K plus like the first, but I don't know if its going to be the bomba it initially was.

Quite interesting. Thanks for the reply. I did have a couple of follow up questions about this though.

1.) So if the best third party strategy for Wii is to make sequels for successful titles, would you say that the best strategy for third party publishers who haven't had success on the platform is simply to develop for other platforms where they're more likely to have success instead?

2a.) Given this strategy, I was curious what you would categorize as a success on the Wii. Would it be something more rigid like breaking 200,000 copies or something more general like a game being profitable, even if it only sold 60,000 copies?

2b.) And in relation to the above, even though Taiko 2 is far from a complete bomb, give the sales of Taiko 2 and Joysound 2 relative to their predecessors, are we sure that making sequels on the Wii is the best strategy? I mean, these are the first two third party sequels we've really seen on the system and both didn't do so hot relative to their previous iterations. I guess we'll be able to see how Darkside Chronicles sells relative to Umbrella Chronicles, but if it takes a similar dive, I'm not sure the Japanese Wii market is fully receptive to third party sequels for some reason.

[cvxfreak]

Darkside would have to at least outsell RE4 Wii, which sold 175K in Japan when you combine the original and Best Price releases. That said, it deserves to outsell UC because it's a much better game with a stronger advertising campaign.

[oldie-newbie]

Today i went to Akihabara, it was the first time for me during holiday season... damn, the streets were crowded as they are during weekend, Yodobashi Akiba had some shelves empty, new Mario sold out... there were about 40 people waiting in line for the cashier.

I hope that NSMBWii numbers, in Japan, will not suffer from supply problems...

Today, I visited three shops and NSMBWii was sold out everywhere (Tours, France)...

[cvxfreak]

The big stores seem very good about restocking games. I was looking for the original NSMB and Yodobashi was sold out. However, they restocked the next day and before opening. The game will not be out of stock for long, but at the same time, may not be in stock very long either.

I have a feeling NSMB Wii is going to become the best selling console game after the original SMB, and I think it will have enough ammo to surpass DQVII, which says a lot about this doomed console.

[LINK.AGE76]

NSMBWii will cross 4m for sure, the Wii has barely anything for Q1 and whoever buys a Wii will most likely get NSMBWii.

[AranhaHunter]

http://www.4gamer.net/games/094/G009426/20091228043/ Media Create provided a top 30 chart for the 12 months ending November 2009. 2008/12/01~2009/11/29 01. [NDS] Dragon Quest IX - 4,043,218 02. [NDS] Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - 3,090,387 03. [NDS] Friend Collection - 1,747,516 04. [WII] Wii Sports Resort - 1,395,912 05. [WII] Wii Fit Plus - 992,639 06. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (BEST) - 967,894 (1,057,270) 07. [WII] Monster Hunter 3 - 931,705 08. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy - 920,201 09. [WII] Wii Fit - 715,136 (3,561,821) 10. [WII] Animal Crossing: City Folk - 713,141 (1,126,868) 11. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG3!!! - 705,050 12. [NDS] Kirby Super Star Ultra - 674,920 (1,149,668) 13. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 2 - 663,516 14. [NDS] Rhythm Heaven - 621,168 (1,835,670) 15. [NDS] Style Savvy - 602,992 (843,731) 16. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii - 602,744 17. [NDS] Pokemon Platinum - 578,789 (2,550,212) 18. [WII] Mario Kart Wii - 574,051 (2,459,862) 19. [NDS] Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days - 538,800 20. [PS3] Yakuza 3 - 514,080 21. [PS3] Resident Evil 5 - 488,769 22. [NDS] Professor Layton & the Final Time Journey - 439,263 (786,623) 23. [NDS] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - 384,687 24. [PSP] Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce - 383,526 25. [PS3] White Knight Chronicles - 338,161 26. [PSP] Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 - 332,016 27. [PS3] Tales of Vesperia - 331,918 28. [WII] Wii Sports - 331,890 (3,580,152) 29. [NDS] Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times - 327,385 (430,098) 30. [NDS] Momotarou Dentetsu: 20th Anniversary - 315,224

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/091...1237020-n1.htm http://www.news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/225/225179/ ASCII Media Works/Dengeki From 2008/12/29~2009/12/20 2009 Top Software 01. [NDS] Dragon Quest IX - 4,089,136 02. [NDS] Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - 3,301,873 03. [NDS] Tomodachi Collection - 2,059,236 04. [WII] New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 1,897,089 05. [WII] Wii Sports Resort - 1,499,058 06. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIII - 1,455,505 07. [WII] Wii Fit Plus - 1,205,424 08. [WII] Monster Hunter 3 - 949,095 09. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Best) - 878,880 (1,080,715) 10. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 2 - 851,175 11. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!! - 708,311 12. [NDS] Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days - 571,981 13. [PS3] Resident Evil 5 - 552,553 14. [PS3] Ryu ga Gotoku 3 - 525,826 15. [WII] Wii Fit - 499,251 (3,470,325) 16. [NDS] Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue - 481,311 17. [PSP] Phantasy Star Portable 2 - 415,522 18. [WII] Mario Kart Wii - 404,751 (2,447,964) 19. [PSP] Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid - 397,080 20. [NDS] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - 383,226 21. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii - 375,895 (625,391) 22. [PS3] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 - 370,831 23. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold - 361,292 (1,763,270) 24. [PS3] Tales of Vesperia - 352,961 25. [PSP] Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 - 339,523 26. [NDS] Pokemon Platinum - 325,911 (2,536,712) 27. [PSP] Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Plus - 323,531 28. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girl's Mode - 314,832 (861,393) 29. [NDS] Gyakuten Kenji - 313,891 30. [PS2] SD Gundam G Generation Wars - 306,985 Top 30: NDS=12 / Wii=7 / PS3=5 / PSP=5 / PS2=1 2009 Market Size HW Units: 9.86M (-16.3% YoY) SW Units: 65.05M (-4.3% YoY) Edit: added full top 30 list.

Some pretty big difference between degenki and MC. Pokemon, Tomadachi, RE5, Yakuza 3, ToV are the ones that stick out the most when you glance at it. Should we expect a Famitsu Top 30 for the year soon?

EDIT: Just noticed Degenki has approximately 3 more weeks tracked, but still

[VegaShinra]

Think we'll see NSMB Wii take back number 1 spot?

[jeremy1456]

Think we'll see NSMB Wii take back number 1 spot?

I was under the impression that it's pretty much a given.

[VegaShinra]

I was under the impression that it's pretty much a given.

It may be a given, but who knows. I guess the real question will be is if FF13 stayed on the Top 10 charts or not.

[Xeke]

What was PH's opening week?

[Dapperk]

It may be a given, but who knows. I guess the real question will be is if FF13 stayed on the Top 10 charts or not.

It won't be number 1 but let's not go crazy :lol

[Culex]

Depending on if the game has legs, FFXIII does have a bit of chance of being number 1 for it's second week with Mario barely missing the top spot. Totally possible!

[Onesimos]

Never mind.

[thestopsign]

What was PH's opening week?

It was 303k in two days, back in June 2007. It has 5 days of sale in December, so I expect at least 300k, maybe 350k.

[schuelma]

Depending on if the game has legs, FFXIII does have a bit of chance of being number 1 for it's second week with Mario barely missing the top spot. Totally possible!

Unless NSMB Wii was virtually sold out there is zero percent chance of that happening.

[dolemite]

Depending on if the game has legs, FFXIII does have a bit of chance of being number 1 for it's second week with Mario barely missing the top spot. Totally possible!

No, it's not. Tomodachi Collection may even beat it this week.

[Cosmonaut X]

Depending on if the game has legs, FFXIII does have a bit of chance of being number 1 for it's second week with Mario barely missing the top spot. Totally possible!

Given that the last two mainline installments - FFX and FFXII - have had second weeks barely above 200k, and given that FFXIII has done around 200-300k less first week than either of them I wouldn't be at all surprised to see FFXIII drop to around 150k and NSMBW hovering somewhere around 300-400k. I would be very, very surprised if FFXIII managed much more than 250k and astonished if it secured the number 1 spot in its second week and outsold NSMBW.

[schuelma]

Quite interesting. Thanks for the reply. I did have a couple of follow up questions about this though. 1.) So if the best third party strategy for Wii is to make sequels for successful titles, would you say that the best strategy for third party publishers who haven't had success on the platform is simply to develop for other platforms where they're more likely to have success instead? .

Yup. I can't think of one new IP that has had any real success in Japan on the Wii..the closest I can think of is DECA sports which had a sequel that bombed.

2a.) Given this strategy, I was curious what you would categorize as a success on the Wii. Would it be something more rigid like breaking 200,000 copies or something more general like a game being profitable, even if it only sold 60,000 copies? .

I think it depends. Fatal Frame was a success even though it only sold like 70K because it was the highest selling entry in the franchise. Graces is going to be a massive disappointment even if it hits 200K.

2b.) And in relation to the above, even though Taiko 2 is far from a complete bomb, give the sales of Taiko 2 and Joysound 2 relative to their predecessors, are we sure that making sequels on the Wii is the best strategy? I mean, these are the first two third party sequels we've really seen on the system and both didn't do so hot relative to their previous iterations. I guess we'll be able to see how Darkside Chronicles sells relative to Umbrella Chronicles, but if it takes a similar dive, I'm not sure the Japanese Wii market is fully receptive to third party sequels for some reason.

I do think there is something to the more casual software not needing yearly iterations as the audience is probably satisfied with the first one. I doubt that applies to the more dedicated fanbase games. I expect Galaxy 2 to sell well and I expect MH3G to sell well. If they ever announce another Fire Emblem I'm sure that will sell on par with the first one as well.

[EDarkness]

Both Sofmap and Yodobashi Akiba were crowded, if i can have an impression considering the shelves, people are buying Nintendo games in particular, at 7.00pm new Mario was sold out in Yodobashi Akiba, but it was available in all the shops, i wonder why the people loves to go into that shop and wait in line for 30-40 minutes....

That's pretty easy...it's all about the points. I don't know how many times I've gone to Yodobashi Camera simply because I can stock up on points or use points I have stored up. Sad thing is I rarely go to mom and pop stores to actually buy games unless it's something obscure. Generally, I go to Bic Camera or Yodobashi. I especially enjoy shopping during the 10-15% point sales they have going on right now. :D

[Cosmonaut X]

I do think there is something to the more casual software not needing yearly iterations as the audience is probably satisfied with the first one. I doubt that applies to the more dedicated fanbase games. I expect Galaxy 2 to sell well and I expect MH3G to sell well. If they ever announce another Fire Emblem I'm sure that will sell on par with the first one as well.

Mm.

I don't think there is necessarily anything about the casual audience that makes them completely unreceptive to a yearly sequel/rehash/whatever, but I would suggest that they are a harder sell than the traditional gaming audience, requiring a clearer explanation of what is new about the new installment of Title X and why they should buy it.

I've said this before, but I really think it bears repeating - Nintendo did a bang-up job marketing Wii Fit Plus as an upgrade, or updated version of the original and they nailed the pricing. I don't think Namco managed this with either Taiko 2 or Family Ski and Snowboard, both of which are going to end up somewhere around half the LTD of their predecessors, and I think Hudson failed completely with Deca Sports 2, which is going to be lucky to do a quarter of the LTD of Deca Sports.

If you are going to produce a sequel to a casual game on the Wii, and especially if you are going to try and turn it round and get it out of the door in 10-12 months as with Taiko, Family Ski and Deca Sports, I think it is worth considering whether it would do better at budget price (taking advantage of your existing engine and assets etc.) and marketed clearly as an expansion of the original.

As schuelma says, I think the more "core" titles will do better as the audience for these games have more specific tastes and are keen to seek out more of the same, whereas the casual audience seems more geared toward novelty.

[Xeke]

Yup. I can't think of one new IP that has had any real success in Japan on the Wii..the closest I can think of is DECA sports which had a sequel that bombed.

Well is there an example of any new IP doing well in Japan on any of the consoles?

[Road]

No, it's not. Tomodachi Collection may even beat it this week.

1. NSMBWii
2. Zelda
3. Tomodachi Collection
4. FFXIII

FF should just be happy to be above 200k.

[charlequin]

Well is there an example of any new IP doing well in Japan on any of the consoles?

Blue Dragon did fairly well depending on how willing you are to grade on a curve. Nintendo had at least two.

[duckroll]

Blue Dragon did fairly well depending on how willing you are to grade on a curve. Nintendo had at least two.

If Blue Dragon can be considered to have done fairly well, then White Knight Chronicles did amazingly well.

[Nirolak]

If Blue Dragon can be considered to have done fairly well, then White Knight Chronicles did amazingly well.

Well, it is the 9th best selling PS3 game.

I'd probably add Bayonetta to the list as well, especially when you combine its sales across both platforms.

[duckroll]

Valkyria Chronicles also managed to sell 140k, and get a green light for a sequel. Last Remnant did 130k on the 360 as well.

[Vamphuntr]

Valkyria Chronicles also managed to sell 140k, and get a green light for a sequel.

On psp though. Probably cheaper to make and maybe Sega expect that the Phantasy Star Portable fans will buy it?

[schuelma]

Well is there an example of any new IP doing well in Japan on any of the consoles?

Just looking at the PS3, besides the examples already given, there are some "core" gamer titles that have at least reached >100k- Bladestorm, Valkyria Chronicles, White Demon's Souls..its nothing spectacular but I'm not sure the Wii has a single similar example.

[Onesimos]

Nevermind what I said.

[schuelma]

It is now 12:11 p.m. in Japan and Famitsu has yet to update its web site. I will wait six more hourse to see if it does. No leaks from sinobi's blog when I last checked a few minutes ago.

ohmygodpleaseletusknowthankyoufordoingthis

[duckroll]

On psp though. Probably cheaper to make and maybe Sega expect that the Phantasy Star Portable fans will buy it?

They've stated that the reason the sequel is on the PSP is because they needed to release a sequel fast to ride the wave of popularity it still has from the first game, and the anime series. It would have taken longer to make a console sequel, but it's not something they are opposed to in the future.

[Nirolak]

Just looking at the PS3, besides the examples already given, there are some "core" gamer titles that have at least reached >100k- Bladestorm, Valkyria Chronicles, White Demon's Souls..its nothing spectacular but I'm not sure the Wii has a single similar example.

Technically Infinite Undiscovery got over 100k also, though I'm pretty sure that IP is buried.

Unless something goes horribly wrong, End of Eternity will likely get in the 100-300k range when it launches in a few weeks also.

[duckroll]

It is now 12:11 p.m. in Japan and Famitsu has yet to update its web site. I will wait six more hourse to see if it does. No leaks from sinobi's blog when I last checked a few minutes ago.

Whew, thanks for the update. Seriously, what would we do without you!

[cvxfreak]

ohmygodpleaseletusknowthankyoufordoingthis

Chris1964, Road, bttb and I can all finally relax. :D