[cvxfreak]

platform title publisher this week total
1 PS2 Tales of Symphonia Namco 265,446 new
2 GBA Pokemon Emerald Pokemon 150,964 941,491
3 PS2 Kengo 3 Genki 72,689 new
4 PS2 Full Metal Alchemist 2 Square Enix 66,094 new
5 PS2 Sakura Taisen V: Episode 0 Sega 56,660 new
6 PS2 Sengoku Musou Mushouden Koei 39,960 236,235
7 PS2 Formula One 2004 SCE 23,265 new
8 GBA Famicom Mini: Super Mario Brothers 2 GBA 20,659 227,050
9 PS2 BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK FILE 2 Capcom 17,220 138,316
10 PS2 Jissen Pachislot: Fist of the North Star Sammy 13,227 unknown

platform this week last week 2004 total
1 GameBoy Advance SP 57,840 68,014 1,894,075
2 PlayStation 2 28,781 28,340 1,835,768
3 Gamecube 6,489 4,976 482,450
4 Gameboy Advance 940 1,527 184,044
5 Xbox 302 326 25,610
6 PSone 75 70 13,339
7 Swan Crystal 25 19 6,782

[ferricide]

platform title publisher this week total 1 PS2 Tales of Symphonia Namco 265,446 new

very good move.

4 PS2 Full Metal Alchemist 2 Square Enix 66,094 new

didn't the first one end up selling like 250k? seems like this is off to a slightly slow start for that. maybe FMA is waning, or TOS is eating its lunch.

5 PS2 Sakura Taisen V: Episode 0 Sega 56,660 new

hrm, the sakura magic still exists, more or less. i picked up this game in tokyo and it's, um, not all that. but i am one of those 56,660! i feel so special to be counted.

[Deku Tree]

How much did Outbreak File 1 sell in Japan?

[Culex]

I think the SP is starting to pull away from the PS2 in sales now. Woooo!

[AniHawk]

GBA is the first system to break 2 million in Japan this year with 3 months left to go.

Pokemon Emerald sales are fucking CRAZY.

I bet ToS PS2 outsells the GC version in its first week, and hits 280k in its first three days.

Ahhh! I was pretty damn close though...

[snapty00]

3 Gamecube 6,489 4,976 482,450

It's amazing that GameCube was doing so well in Japan earlier this year. Now, it's basically a wasteland.

[Culex]

It's amazing that GameCube was doing so well in Japan earlier this year. Now, it's basically a wasteland.

Yep, there's no way in hell, it's going to break a million this year. Not going to happen.

[AniHawk]

Yep, there's no way in hell, it's going to break a million this year. Not going to happen.

Especially with focus shifting to DS for launch. There should be some games that'll sell well though. Definitely not as big as last year's huge multiplayer lineup, or 2002's single-player lineup.

I wonder if FE GC is even coming out in Japan this year.

[Culex]

CVXFREAK or Anihawk, do you guys know where the GC was at this time last year in Japan?

[Jonnyram]

CVXFREAK or Anihawk, do you guys know where the GC was at this time last year in Japan?

529,000

[cvxfreak]

I suppose Nintendo still has a chance to get that million if they could get Capcom to get biohazard 4 out by December, as well as release Fire Emblem, and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. A price drop to an amount closer to that of the U.S. price would also be able to help, as well as increased advertising. But I'm pretty sure the great PS2 line up and the DS will also limit GC sales. I'm estimating around 750,000 for this year.

[AniHawk]

529,000

He asked me! ME!

Culex: 529,000

I'm estimating around 750,000 for this year.

I was thinking that range myself.

[Jonnyram]

There's still quite a lot of hot GC stuff that could make it out this year. We'll have to wait for their early October meeting to see what their release plan for Nov/Dec looks like, but as far as previously announced stuff goes, Nov/Dec could possibly include:

Nintendo's own:
Mario Party 6 (Nov 18 confirmed)
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Fire Emblem
Starfox
Odama

3rd party:
VJ2
Gundam vs Z Gundam
Naruto 3
Super Robot Wars GC
Homeland

I guess they could always drop the price a little, too.

[cvxfreak]

Ooo, Super Robot Wars might make some noise if it's a good title. Then again, we all thought Gundam, TTS, 4S+ and Custom Robo would make noise back in March, but they surprisingly didn't.

[Doogdogg]

platform title publisher this week total 1 PS2 Tales of Symphonia Namco 265,446 new

Damn, lighting do strike twice in the same place.

Didn't the GC do something like half of that? :p

[Culex]

Damn, lighting do strike twice in the same place. Didn't the GC do something like half of that? :p

Well, with 10x the userbase, it better sell that much.

Also, I seriously doubt Fire Emblem is coming out this year.

[duderon]

Wasn't the GC ToS around 190k for the first week? Good sales for the PS2 version.

edit: aye, i was close.

[Shoryuken]

Damn, lighting do strike twice in the same place. Didn't the GC do something like half of that? :p

The GC version did 176,600 in its first week, according to Media-Create.

[Jumpman]

What's with the boost in GCN sales this week? No new releases. No special holiday (that I know of). No price drop. Someone explain, I don't get it.

[cvxfreak]

The GC version did 176,600 in its first week, according to Media-Create.

Yeah. Symphonia caused GC to outsell PS2, but GC's sales when Symphonia was released were great than PS2's sales during Symphonia's release.

[Miburou]

Well, with 10x the userbase, it better sell that much.

More like 4x the userbase.

[Vibri]

I think the SP is starting to pull away from the PS2 in sales now. Woooo!

Hardly a surprise considering it's the same week they announced a BRAND NEW MODEL PS2 will debut within the month.

Let's see where SP is in comparision when the new PS2 hits, especially when DQVIII hits around the same time...

[AniHawk]

5{\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0]Hardly a surprise considering it's the same week they announced a BRAND NEW MODEL PS2 will debut within the month.

Let's see where SP is in comparision when the new PS2 hits, especially when DQVIII hits around the same time...[/QUOTE]

*Raises hand* I would like to retract the statement I have written over with this message.

[cvxfreak]

DQVIII will cause all kinds of craziness.

[johnjohnson]

I'm wondering if Namco is going to release TOS on PS2 also in the other regions seeing that it sells this well in Japan.

[cvxfreak]

I'm wondering if Namco is going to release TOS on PS2 also in the other regions seeing that it sells this well in Japan.

No one's sure yet. I'm sure they would have announced one by now, but 2005 might be an indicator. But I personally think the chances aren't that great.

[Link316]

I just hope they fix up the US release

[ferricide]

No one's sure yet. I'm sure they would have announced one by now, but 2005 might be an indicator. But I personally think the chances aren't that great.

i think namco hometek is too busy with its holiday lineup to think too hard about doing TOS PS2 in the US just yet.

but i'm not really expecting them to, for some reason. i don't really care; the additions aren't interesting enough for me to rebuy it, especially with a framerate hit.

[Blimblim]

Ho come on ! A great game like Phantom Dust, getting very good scores in Famitsu Xbox AND weekly, can't even sell more than 13.000 in the first week ?
This officially sucks.

[bloke]

Ho come on ! A great game like Phantom Dust, getting very good scores in Famitsu Xbox AND weekly, can't even sell more than 13.000 in the first week ? This officially sucks.

I think it sold 3,600, didn't even get in top 50 according to Dengeki.

[Kiriku]

I think the SP is starting to pull away from the PS2 in sales now. Woooo!

As long as there are reasonably new (or "old") Pokémon games out, it will.

[Blimblim]

Japanese gamers suck :(
Seriously, I know there aren't that many Xbox there (still it's a few hundred thousands...), but you could expect a game getting very good reviews, with a very japanese feel and a lot of originaly to sell a bit better than that.

[AniHawk]

Japanese gamers suck :( Seriously, I know there aren't that many Xbox there (still it's a few hundred thousands...), but you could expect a game getting very good reviews, with a very japanese feel and a lot of originaly to sell a bit better than that.

All the systems are starting to die now (except the GBA SP, which is staying pretty strong). If Phantom Dust was released a year or two ago in Japan, it would have sold more. Probably as well as Panzer Dragoon Orta did.

[bloke]

Japanese gamers suck :( Seriously, I know there aren't that many Xbox there (still it's a few hundred thousands...), but you could expect a game getting very good reviews, with a very japanese feel and a lot of originaly to sell a bit better than that.

Well sad truth is, MS needs more mainstream crap games that will appeal to casuals over there. PD is still hardcore material. Plus game looks lot more western than japanese to me.

[jarrod]

hrm, the sakura magic still exists, more or less. i picked up this game in tokyo and it's, um, not all that. but i am one of those 56,660! i feel so special to be counted.

Not exactly... in fact this is pretty weak for a new Sakura Taisen, even if it's a hack n'slash spinoff of sorts (though still inculded as part of the main series via numbering).

I'm wondering if Namco is going to release TOS on PS2 also in the other regions seeing that it sells this well in Japan.

Well, it's actually not doing that much better than the GC release did and that game underperformed by Namco's expectations. Anyone know what ToD2 managed it's first week or what Namco was hoping for ToS PS2?

[dark10x]

Well, with 10x the userbase, it better sell that much.

Whoa now, it is not 10x the userbase...

Keep in mind that ToS was pretty much the ONLY good, original RPG on the GC at that time (so there would likely have been a higher demand).

Also, ToS PS2 is a terrible port job that was released over a year after it first showed up on GC.

These are not equal situations here...

[jarrod]

Keep in mind that ToS was pretty much the ONLY good, original RPG on the GC at that time (so there would likely have been a higher demand).

Actually the increase in GameCube sales around Symphonia's release sort of indicate it was bringing in more sales from RPG fans who didn't have the system rather than appealing to the installed base. There were also a few notable GC RPGs on the market before Symphonia hit (Giftpia, Eternal Arcadia Legend, PSO1&2, Rune 1-2, etc).

These are not equal situations here...

Indeed. The Tales fanbase had already clearly chosen their platform of choice a good 10 months before Symphonia turned up on GameCube.

[dark10x]

Heh, I'm not even sure what kind of point I was going for.

For ToS, it was released on a system with few original, traditional RPGs. One would expect higher sales...especially when the game in question is another installment in a very popular series.

The PS2 port is total shit, was released late, and fell on a platform with no shortage of RPGs. Those sales are a bit more suprising...

[evilromero]

GameCube sales are pathetic. Why can't Nintendo manage to run their console business like their handheld one?

[AssMan]

WTF?? Selling over 400k is good considering GCN's userbase. I didn't even know TOS was that high. The game should reach over million copies.

[ge-man]

GameCube sales are pathetic. Why can't Nintendo manage to run their console business like their handheld one?

It probably helps that the GBA hasn't had a real competitor for a long time. It's not like Nintendo is doing NOTHING to fix the GC, but the strength of the PS2 has made it impossible for them to really do the things that they need to make it a hot console. With the DS on the horizon, I think at this point Nintendo will be happy just with solid software sales from this point on. The GC is a lost cause.

[evilromero]

No, I'm looking at how it sold 6,489 this week.

[Miburou]

WTF?? Selling over 400k is good considering GCN's userbase. I didn't even know TOS was that high. The game should reach over million copies.

I think Symphonia's actually at 300K on the cube (maybe a bit higher, like 310K?).

Anyway, you only need to look at ToD2's sales (800K-850K) to know that if Symphonia were PS2 exclusive, it would've sold far higher than what it's doing now on the PS2.

[jarrod]

Heh, I'm not even sure what kind of point I was going for. For ToS, it was released on a system with few original, traditional RPGs. One would expect higher sales...especially when the game in question is another installment in a very popular series. The PS2 port is total shit, was released late, and fell on a platform with no shortage of RPGs. Those sales are a bit more suprising...

I'd agree somewhat, but you can't really just attribute "mainstream success" proportionately over to a niche fanbase. In Japan more than any other region, GC is really a kids machine, who likely don't give a crap about any RPG than isn't DraQue or Pokemon... a good number of Tales fans went out of their way for Symphonia in fact (despite it releasing less than a year after the previous console Tales).

Symphonia PS2 is doing pretty well for itself despite being a 'bad' port (not that quailty is ever a good indictor for sales) but it's still not doing exceptionally well for a Tales game, even a port (the PS1 Phantasia port managed 500k+). The success is likely more attributable to the strength of it's brand though, as most other late GC to PS2 ports (VJoe, Dokapon, etc) tend to not catch the originals. All combined though, I doubt Symphonia's GC+PS2 JP sales will match ToD2 in the end, and I'm sorta doubting Rebirth will match the same high either.

[jarrod]

I think Symphonia's actually at 300K on the cube (maybe a bit higher, like 310K?). Anyway, you only need to look at ToD2's sales (800K-850K) to know that if Symphonia were PS2 exclusive, it would've sold far higher than what it's doing now on the PS2.

According to Namco themselves...

Symphonia: 301,000
Destiny II: 800,000

...and Shrine of Data (not sure who they use, thought it was MC but evidently not?)....

Symphonia: 315,466
Destiny II: 762,861


Had Symphonia debuted on PS2, I bet it would've managed around 500-600k instead, but it's release timeframe (late summer, less than a year after the previous Tales) probably would've prevented it from reaching TOD2 status. Considering GameCube's marketshare and userbase, it did rather decent though, and western sales seem to have saved it from not hitting original targets somewhat (as with Xenosaga a year earlier).

[cvxfreak]

I think Namco's GC investment with the series was worth the smaller sales of Symphonia in Japan, if only to penetrate the ever important western markets.

[human5892]

What's with the boost in GCN sales this week? No new releases. No special holiday (that I know of). No price drop. Someone explain, I don't get it.

I also was wondering about this.

[SantaC]

According to Namco themselves... Symphonia: 301,000 Destiny II: 800,000 ...and Shrine of Data (not sure who they use, thought it was MC but evidently not?).... Symphonia: 315,466 Destiny II: 762,861 Had Symphonia debuted on PS2, I bet it would've managed around 500-600k instead, but it's release timeframe (late summer, less than a year after the previous Tales) probably would've prevented it from reaching TOD2 status. Considering GameCube's marketshare and userbase, it did rather decent though, and western sales seem to have saved it from not hitting original targets somewhat (as with Xenosaga a year earlier).

isn't shrine of data incorrect? I thougth someone said that ToS GC has done 400,000k Japan. Interesting that Namco has it listed as 300,000k, but when was that?

[cvxfreak]

At the beginning of, according to Famitsu: 311,473.

[jarrod]

isn't shrine of data incorrect? I thougth someone said that ToS GC has done 400,000k Japan. Interesting that Namco has it listed as 300,000k, but when was that?

Well it's possible... some people keep saying ToD2 sold 800-950k when SoD has it at only 750k. Polling outlets are also notoriously bad at keep accurate data for Nintendo platforms moreso than others, Nintendo's official figures consistantly come in higher than MC, Famista, Denegeki, etc. Symphonia could've very well broken 400k on GameCube in truth.