[metalslimer]

Interesting to see how NSMB2 will affect the trinity.

It'll probably knock off 3D Land. It's already become the best selling 3d mario ever, so I don't think Nintendo is too upset.

[grimshawish]

There isn't really much of interest there. He just talks about how the 3DS XL is coming out, reservations are extremely strong, and he thinks lots of people are looking to upgrade their existing 3DS. He also comments on how direct download games are going on sale next week, and it'll be interesting to see the ratio between package sales and DD sales. For a game like Oni Training he feels it is better suited for DD because it's the sort of game you want to play a little at a time throughout the day, and it benefits from not having to switch carts with whatever else you're playing. Apparently other than major retail chains, the initial shipment stock for Oni Training in package form is going to be really low.

Thanks for that; guess it'll have to wait for Nintendo's numbers to see how the retail DD cards do - thats what I thought might have been talked about there. Ah well.

[cw_sasuke]

Bamco wont let the PSP die - announced Summon Night 5 for it

http://andriasang.com/con1z1/summon_night_series/

[metalslimer]

Bamco wont let the PSP die - announced Summon Night 5 for it http://andriasang.com/con1z1/summon_night_series/

Don't see why they should. The PSP will still be a viable source of development for the next year and Summon Night isn't some huge series. If Vita never takes off the PSP might last for more than a year

[SatelliteOfLove]

Ouch. L5 can't catch a break for shit, big budget or small.

[cw_sasuke]

Don't see why they should. The PSP will still be a viable source of development for the next year and Summon Night isn't some huge series. If Vita never takes off the PSP might last for more than a year

True - not that these games had high chances to be released in western markets, but at this points every announced PSP title means pretty much no overseas release. Hope at least One Piece will be brought over.

[djplaeskool]

Don't see why they should. The PSP will still be a viable source of development for the next year and Summon Night isn't some huge series. If Vita never takes off the PSP might last for more than a year

Also keep in mind, if they make it downloadable and Vita compatible, that just expands the potential base.

[Mpl90]

Don't see why they should. The PSP will still be a viable source of development for the next year and Summon Night isn't some huge series. If Vita never takes off the PSP might last for more than a year

Mmh, PSP has really slowed its pace this year, and major releases have really decreased as well. I think this will be its last year with good games saleswise, next year there will be the second part of the shift from PSP to 3DS which is already happening but not completely.

[Novid]

Damn Level 5.

This is just fucking LOLFUL. LOLFUL.

They did a VN? Thats not there niche. No Otaku bait. No Loli Bs. Could have been successiful if they were working with a western developer.

NOPE.

19,800 copies with the VITA version winning by between 150 to 500 copies? FUCK THIS. Sony should have kept them for the RPG Crossovers Japan loves with the Sony brands.

I mean damn Tokyo Jungle sold more, is in the mindshare of the mainstream and has a damn manga with a fucked up pomagrainan(sp) and what Level 5 do?

Make Much-Needed Conservitive but Not Wanted Games. Thats the sad truth.

[lunchwithyuzo]

Bamco wont let the PSP die - announced Summon Night 5 for it http://andriasang.com/con1z1/summon_night_series/

I miss Flight Plan. :(

[eighty(one)]

MH3G is really outlasting the Mario duo, impressive

I'd argue, that on a Nintendo platform, their own IP's typically show the greatest strength -MH Tri3G- not being associated with Nintendo (other than Wii) is impressive.

Both Kid Icarus and Fire Emblem have lost their legs, seemingly on the path to slow burn, kinda disappointing that they aren't performing stronger.

Vita looks to be up a couple thousand, any improvement is an improvement :)

The real winner here is Calciobit. Huzzah for Nintendo Direct.

That's the cute little soccer/footballer game right? Looks retro and charming ^_^

Btw so excite to finally post in the MC/Famitsu thread! I've followed these religiously for months, now.

EDIT: Adding:

A fully 3D Pokemon might be enough to get people that haven't played the series in years to pick it up as well

That'll get me on board. Never tried the Poke series, I felt I was too old when it arrived on the scene. No that I'm older, I'm willing to dive in and try it. I refuse, though, until it has the Pokedex 3D style visuals...

When all's said and done, Kid Icarus: Uprising will have done moderately well, and Fire Emblem: Awakening will have become the second best selling entry in the franchise. Don't really see what there is to be disappointed about here.

When all is said and done - it's disappointment that their chart/sales positions were relatively short lived. They will end up as successes and and overall nice performance. I wonder if Nintendo expected just a bit more from Kid Icarus? Especially with the AR cards, anime stuff...

Moving past all of that ^^(those werent bombs), id wager the most disappointing "bomba" to me, wasn't so much KH3D - but Resident Evil Revelations. It couldn't have been cheap for Capcom. It looks worse to me, seeing this seems to be the year of RE (Damnation, ORC, RE6, RE Rev)....it didn't do well in the west either. Is there any chance the game will tick up when RE6 releases? Maybe it'll perform better here/resurgence around that spooky October month? But in East, do they have anything resembling Halloween?

[onilink88]

Both Kid Icarus and Fire Emblem have lost their legs, seemingly on the path to slow burn, kinda disappointing that they aren't performing stronger.

When all's said and done, Kid Icarus: Uprising will have done moderately well, and Fire Emblem: Awakening will have become the second best selling entry in the series (wonder if it's still on track to do so by the end of the year).

Don't really see what there is to be disappointed about here.

[blu]

Possible. They're going to release Fantasy Life soon too. Now, something which got unnoticed for some weeks. 23./20. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2011.11.03} (¥4.800) - 4.544 / 1.654.602 (-10%) 2 [N64] Super Mario 64 (Nintendo) - 162.111 / 1.639.921 / 9,89% 23/06/96 Give your warmest welcome to the best selling 3D Mario ever.

An absolutely deserved status, me thinks.

[extralite]

Can someone with a Japanese Vita account check how many ratings TT has? I'm curious.

159 with an average score of 4.6/5. More importantly it is #1 on this week's download charts. For test account: Dokuro didn't gain many ratings, now at 178 with 4.87/5 but it did chart at position 5 this week.

[onilink88]

When all is said and done - it's disappointment that their chart/sales positions were relatively short lived.

KI: U I can understand, I suppose. But certainly not FE: A. It displayed freak legs (considering its genre) for a while, and surprised and impressed many of us. Despite it tapering off, I can say that it I was incredibly pleased with its chart performances.

Edit:
I are sad for Time Travelers. What the hell happened there?

[boingball]

wow, Time Travellers PSV > Time Travellers 3DS. Nonetheless depressing sales for Level 5. And Vita again fighting against the 10k threshold. Well at least it sells to Sony's expectations.

[Man God]

Yeah FE:A sold for far too long to accuse it of having bad legs. Hell it will end up being one of the best selling games in the entire SRPG genre by the time it is all said and done.

[saichi]

That is a strong message. A remake of a game on Wii that sold 1M can outsell flagship titles of the two best-selling series in history. That underlines how fucking oustanding MH is. Sorry.

the problem is... it's not outselling Mario games. Only this week.

[test_account]

159 with an average score of 4.6/5. More importantly it is #1 on this week's download charts. For test account: Dokuro didn't gain many ratings, now at 178 with 4.87/5 but it did chart at position 5 this week.

Thanks for the info :) On the topic of Dokuro, i hope that this game gets localized.

[Kusagari]

Level 5 has had a very mixed generation.

[Mpl90]

The last time we had some Kid Icarus numbers, Famitsu Top 30, was several weeks ago.

[3DS] Kid Icarus: Uprising (Nintendo) - 144.468 / 304.043 / 47,52% 22/03/12

Now it's out of top 50, but it's not so implausible to think it's continuing selling and it'll reach the 350k mark with no doubt, which isn't bad at all for a brand new IP ( Kid Icarus is a new IP, basically ) with such a particular gameplay.

Fire Emblem, instead, it's still in top 50...but still, how can anyone be disappointed by Awakening? It did wonderfully. Wonderfully.

[Man God]

Actually the majority LEVEL 5's flopping around started after the 3DS was launched so they're having a terrible "next generation"

They did really well when DS was king.

[metalslimer]

Level 5 has had a very mixed generation.

I'd argue they didn't. 3DS/Vita is the start of a new generation. They were extremely successful with the DS,PSP, and WKC on PS3. The start of the new handheld generation seems to have done a number on them.

Edit: Beat again =(

[Green Slime]

I'm just curious... when is Level-5 going to localize ANYTHING in North America that isn't Layton?

The 3DS has a nice range of games they could bring over at this point to take advantage of the inevitable boost in hardware sales brought on by NSMB2, the XL, and Holiday 2012.

[metalslimer]

I'm just curious... when is Level-5 going to localize ANYTHING in North America that isn't Layton? The 3DS has a nice range of games they could bring over at this point to take advantage of the inevitable boost in hardware sales brought on by NSMB2, the XL, and Holiday 2012.

Level 5 doesn't even localize Layton. Nintendo does all of it despite the fact L5 has been building offices for years to start self publishing. It's sad to see how in disarray they are.

[jgmo870]

Thanks for the info :) On the topic of Dokuro, i hope that this game gets localized.

It comes w/eng. subs, I hear.

[lunchwithyuzo]

Actually the majority LEVEL 5's flopping around started after the 3DS was launched so they're having a terrible "next generation" They did really well when DS was king.

I'd argue it really started earlier, Ninokuni DS being the first chink in the armor.

[Man God]

I'd argue it really started earlier, Ninokuni DS being the first chink in the armor.

I'd agree mainly but considering they went from Sony's random JRPG house then to Dragon Quest code monkey's to one of the biggest forces in Japan on the back of their DS success its hard to count that against the rest.

[Snowden's Secret]

The PSP version of Time Travelers would need to sell 231,398 copies to beat the Vita version's attach rate. It would lose to the 3DS with anything less than 28,105.

[Green Slime]

Level 5 doesn't even localize Layton. Nintendo does all of it despite the fact L5 has been building offices for years to start self publishing. It's sad to see how in disarray they are.

Indeed. Also, Ni No Kuni is also coming over thanks to Namco.

I'd really love to see Level-5 USA get their shit together and maybe publish some niche, "risky" titles, like Time Travelers and Guild 01. Heck, I still think they should bring over LBX now that the 3DS version is out. They have a chance to really provide content for an audience that still really isn't being sated by the Western lineup of the 3DS.

[AniHawk]

vita sales seem to be stabilizing at a much healthier level. i think persona 4 kinda saved the machine.

i don't think it'll be what the psp was, but its success is going to be at a point where sony can kill the machine if they want to, but not because they need to.

[Nekki]

So why is Sony waiting so long to announce games? Supposedly they ARE coming, right?? I mean, they've said they have a Vita Game Heaven coming, and their TGS showing will tilt toward Vita.

VGH, no doubt a cue they took from Nintendo Direct, is not a bad idea, but spread so far among each other it really does not make much sense. At least Nintendo is reminding people what's coming every 2 months (or less).

If there are games, why not start announcing them now?? Are they still in planning stages, or too early to actually announce?? Or is it a better marketing decision to have a big blowout at one single time to wow people, even if it means being silent for months??

Of course as far as we know, there are barely any games for the system, so it might be pointless to try to announce what you don't have, but my question still stands.

[lunchwithyuzo]

Level 5 doesn't even localize Layton. Nintendo does all of it despite the fact L5 has been building offices for years to start self publishing. It's sad to see how in disarray they are.

Their US office seems to be more for overseeing licensing to western publishing partners (similar to how Marvelous USA was). I don't believe they even have staff for localization, Nintendo and Bandai seem to doing that.

For their games, expect Nintendo to continue handling Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven (for Europe only!), while maybe picking up the odd one off here or there (Fantasy Life seems like a good possibility). Bandai will scavenge the scraps (Ninokuni, LBX, Ghoul Watch, etc) and maybe we'll start seeing L5IA selfpublish something on iOS or eShop.

[ZoddGutts]

What happened to Level 5? A couple years ago the were the rising star in the Japan games industry. Now they look like another Square. Except Square had decades of success before falling off.

People figured out their games are bad.

[slaughterking]

Level 5's North American office seems like a sad relic of better times when Level 5 was on the rise and expanding in all directions. It never really became anything and at this point you have to wonder if it ever will. Nothing Level 5 is doing really sticks anymore and they really can't afford to not have Nintendo publish Layton/Inazuma outside of Japan. And with Bamco picking up whatever leftovers they can get to publish in the west I don't see Level 5 USA having much to do in the future either.

[eighty(one)]

The last time we had some Kid Icarus numbers, Famitsu Top 30, was several weeks ago. [3DS] Kid Icarus: Uprising (Nintendo) - 144.468 / 304.043 / 47,52% 22/03/12 Now it's out of top 50, but it's not so implausible to think it's continuing selling and it'll reach the 350k mark with no doubt, which isn't bad at all for a brand new IP ( Kid Icarus is a new IP, basically ) with such a particular gameplay. Fire Emblem, instead, it's still in top 50...but still, how can anyone be disappointed by Awakening? It did wonderfully. Wonderfully.

Maybe I misunderstand handheld gaming? I've always been primarily console, so when I hear that games have bombed in the East/West, I often expect to hear a publisher vocally praise/condemn sales numbers and expectations.
I'm certain the HD systems have a larger budget allotment for titles and therefore, to maintain or even debut an IP/iteration of IP, a million or more sales is expected. With handhelds, what is the litmus for a flop? Success? Moderate success?

If KH3D performed less than other installments, but performed decently in relation to its budget, is it really a flop (still needs to release in Western territories)? If Resident Evil Revelations performed poorly at retail and in all territories, isn't it a bigger flop?

Owning a Vita and 3DS this gen is fantastic and I try to follow these Mediacreate/Famitsu threads as best I can, it's interesting to me...but when I see a number like 200K, 300K, 500K or even lowly 75K in sales for a handheld games - what is the determinate factor of flop/non flop in relation to budget/series expectations?

When you have Nintendo, who is so geared to stockholder reaction/pressures and sales reception (Miyamoto placing SF fate of SF64 3D sales) - is 300k+ for KI:U celebratory for them? Would they have expected better for FE:A, maybe become the dominant selling iteration, seeing the refresh and changes they've made?

We've seen Metroid and F-Zero, even Star Fox shoved in the broom closet for not reaching the Zelda and Mario highs...

I'm just curious as to what is determinate of success on these handhelds?

[duckroll]

Level 5's North American office seems like a sad relic of better times when Level 5 was on the rise and expanding in all directions. It never really became anything and at this point you have to wonder if it ever will. Nothing Level 5 is doing really sticks anymore and they really can't afford to not have Nintendo publish Layton/Inazuma outside of Japan. And with Bamco picking up whatever leftovers they can get to publish in the west I don't see Level USA having much to do in the future either.

I thought it wasn't set up as a localization studio but rather a business studio where they explore means of entering the American market via the smartphone and social gaming markets? They even talked about working with developers to make stuff for the NA market. Doesn't sound like they were set up to localize stuff at all.

[slaughterking]

I thought it wasn't set up as a localization studio but rather a business studio where they explore means of entering the American market via the smartphone and social gaming markets? They even talked about working with developers to make stuff for the NA market. Doesn't sound like they were set up to localize stuff at all.

They wanted to do all kinds of stuff. Bringing games over and even developing/creating original content.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v458J2IrYSg

[Man God]

I don't even think its necessarily that people figured out that Level 5 isn't the best at making games, I think its the over expansion that's really doing them in.

Gundam might even be the straw that broke the camel's back.

[Nirolak]

I thought it wasn't set up as a localization studio but rather a business studio where they explore means of entering the American market via the smartphone and social gaming markets? They even talked about working with developers to make stuff for the NA market. Doesn't sound like they were set up to localize stuff at all.

Both it seems:

Photos of Level-5 International America’s new office in Santa Monica, California. This is where the magic happens. This is where the wizards of Level-5’s U.S. branch are hard at work not localizing Ni no Kuni for the DS (Or maybe they are? Prove me wrong, please!). The company — which you’ll know from games like Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, and Dragon Quest VIII/IX — launched an official site for its U.S. office, and CEO Akihiro Hino posted a video you can watch here. Hino says that Level-5 IA is up and running, and will not only release its games from Japan, but also put out original content for North America.

Source: http://tinycartridge.com/post/805133...l-americas-new

[duckroll]

I imagine that they probably abandoned localization plans when they realized the investment it would take to publish their own games in the US. Instead they're probably operating as a licensing bridge now, trying to get other established publishers to pick up their stuff.

[muu]

So why is Sony waiting so long to announce games? Supposedly they ARE coming, right?? I mean, they've said they have a Vita Game Heaven coming, and their TGS showing will tilt toward Vita. VGH, no doubt a cue they took from Nintendo Direct, is not a bad idea, but spread so far among each other it really does not make much sense. At least Nintendo is reminding people what's coming every 2 months (or less). If there are games, why not start announcing them now?? Are they still in planning stages, or too early to actually announce?? Or is it a better marketing decision to have a big blowout at one single time to wow people, even if it means being silent for months?? Of course as far as we know, there are barely any games for the system, so it might be pointless to try to announce what you don't have, but my question still stands.

Game Tengoku has actually been updated several times since the first one, just to no fanfare or much interesting info.

[Green Slime]

I imagine that they probably abandoned localization plans when they realized the investment it would take to publish their own games in the US. Instead they're probably operating as a licensing bridge now, trying to get other established publishers to pick up their stuff.

Then they're doing a pretty poor job of it. Yes, Nintendo is taking care of Layton and Inazuma Eleven, and Namco is taking care of Ni No Kuni, but what about all the rest?

Supposedly, Namco is bringing over the LBX franchise to the West, but not the games as far as we know, which is a peculiar move.

[metalslimer]

vita sales seem to be stabilizing at a much healthier level. i think persona 4 kinda saved the machine. i don't think it'll be what the psp was, but its success is going to be at a point where sony can kill the machine if they want to, but not because they need to.

Damn it anihawk i can't tell if this is serious or not.

[GCX]

When you have Nintendo, who is so geared to stockholder reaction/pressures and sales reception (Miyamoto placing SF fate of SF64 3D sales) - is 300k+ for KI:U celebratory for them? Would they have expected better for FE:A, seeing the refresh and changes they've made?

I'd say KI is a moderate success from Nintendo's perspective. It didn't become a blockbuster hit but it'll still (at least eventually) become a million seller worldwide.
Fire Emblem however must've beaten Nintendo's all expectations because it became the best-selling entry in the series in like 15 years. They're most definitely more than pleased about that.

It's important to remember that both FE and KI represent overal pretty niche genres that don't sell millions like Mario or Zelda.

[metalslimer]

Why would Nintendo have expected better from Fire Emblem. SRPGs aren't mega sellers and not all franchises can be million sellers. There should be no disappointment at all in Fire Emblem sales. Kid Icarus on the other hand with that 3 year development and big ad campaign and localizations might be more a disappointment.

[duckroll]

Then they're doing a pretty poor job of it. Yes, Nintendo is taking care of Layton and Inazuma Eleven, and Namco is taking care of Ni No Kuni, but what about all the rest? Supposedly, Namco is bringing over the LBX franchise to the West, but not the games as far as we know, which is a peculiar move.

All the rest of what? You just listed every single viable worthwhile franchise that Level-5 has which would sell outside of Japan. It's all accounted for. LBX is not going to be released anywhere until there is a TV deal in place in the region, and when the games are not stuck on the PSP. They're already working on that, so maybe something will happen next year.

[eighty(one)]

I'd say KI is a moderate success from Nintendo's perspective. It didn't become a blockbuster hit but it'll still (at least eventually) become a million seller worldwide. Fire Emblem however must've beaten Nintendo's all expectations because it became the best-selling entry in the series in like 15 years. They're most definitely more than pleased about that. It's important to remember that both FE and KI represent overal pretty niche genres that don't sell millions like Mario or Zelda.

This makes sense.

[metalslimer]

Yeah Girls Age and Guild 01 aren't going anywhere. Ninokuni is being localized. I don't see what games Level 5 haven't brought over that they need to.

[Green Slime]

All the rest of what? You just listed every single viable worthwhile franchise that Level-5 has which would sell outside of Japan. It's all accounted for. LBX is not going to be released anywhere until there is a TV deal in place in the region, and when the games are not stuck on the PSP. They're already working on that, so maybe something will happen next year.

So you don't think they'll be localizing ANY of their more niche titles, such as Guild 01 and Time Travelers and (potentially) Fantasy Life?