Nintendo usually restocks every Saturday. They have a sales target to hit and simply they won't lose the biggest selling period.
No but a big part was bundled I guess.
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Wii U Japanese Launch: 308,570 systems sold, Mario leads with 170,563 copies
- Thread starter Coldnoodle
- Start date
Nintendo usually restocks every Saturday. They have a sales target to hit and simply they won't lose the biggest selling period.
No but a big part was bundled I guess.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Yup, absolutely agree with this. Nintendo sold the Wii on being simple to understand and operate, the OS was quick, didn't require too many updates, didn't need complicated sign in names and local multiplayer was the biggest attraction. The Wii U has problems, it required two updates at launch, the OS is slow and getting it onto the wifi is hassle for a few users and requires manual input. Also I find that so far in NL the 1 vs many is what can sell it, but so many of the minigames are 1 player only so everyone can't get involved they can only watch, and the 1 vs many games are too shallow and there are only three of them.
It had so much potential that Nintendo wasted on single player minigames. The Wii was a social and party console, that Nintendo Land has got 6 single player modes and 6 multiplayer modes with just 3 competitive multiplayer modes is quite sad.
Good launch. It'll be very interesting to see how it does next week, especially if its available on shelves it'll be easier to gauge where demand is.
10k yen isn't insignificant, and like everywhere else the model people wanted was 20k yen more.
Wii Us price is likewise an obvious mark against it, especially in the UK where its doing undeniably poorly.
Thats very silly. Price is one of the biggest factors in a platforms success. And the obvious main candidate for the PS3s failure.
10k yen isn't insignificant, and like everywhere else the model people wanted was 20k yen more.
Wii Us price is likewise an obvious mark against it, especially in the UK where its doing undeniably poorly.
OG_Original Gamer
Member
Wrong....in my Arnold voice. The cost isn't appealing to the casual consumer or gamer. We're talking about a difference of one Benjamin assuming your going for the deluxe.
Nintendo Land is not bundled (yet) in Japan, so we may have a good idea if it'll go the Wii Sports/Fit/Party way or the Wii Music way.
But, worldwide, yes, Nintendo Land is never gonna be a sales flop since its bundled (well, unless the Wii U sells worse than the Vita...).
Not sure if this was Heavy's intention or not, but the people who bought the MH bundle would've specifically wanted MH. It isn't like Wii Sports in the U.S. where you got it whether you wanted it or not. From the sporadic anecdotes in the MC threads, it seemed like the MH bundles would be the first to sellout. Therefore the people who wanted the bundles were most likely specifically interested in MH3U, too.
StreetsAhead
Member
Japan only needed one update because of when it was released.
All of the single-player attractions can be 'assisted' by other players (usually 1-4 more, only Falcon's Race is 1 assist player) using Wiimotes.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
It's pretty lame though. Not like the Chase Mii game which is awesome.
I think the fact that it was a good deal also plays into it. I may not be a hardcore MH fan, but if I had the cash lying around, I'd buy the bundle with a free Pro Controller (edit: just did the math, slightly cheaper Pro Controller).
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
They've been more careful about spacing consecutive releases of COD and its development cycle, that's why.
Is anybody else worried that Mario games might be falling into the same trap? This is the fourth consecutive year seeing the release of a new mainline Mario platformer. "We must release a Mario game every year!" doesn't seem like a pleasant hole to dig yourself into.
The only Mario platformer that is coming the next years is Mario 3DU.
Alex
Member
The Gamepad doesn't feel like it's the center of the universe kind of gig like the Wii Remote was. Actually for Nintendo's own kit it feels almost secondary, and it's one of my biggest annoyances with the system thus far.
Moreso than specs or third parties could ever provoke out of me in what will be an ancillary system in our house, the loom of continued 3-5 controller configuration musical chairs and the complete absence of online functionality in Nintendo's kit is what is giving me a tinge of buyers remorse.
Moreso than specs or third parties could ever provoke out of me in what will be an ancillary system in our house, the loom of continued 3-5 controller configuration musical chairs and the complete absence of online functionality in Nintendo's kit is what is giving me a tinge of buyers remorse.
StreetsAhead
Member
Well, yeah, but at least if someone wants to play a solo game other people can do something, even if it's not that interesting.
AdventureRacing
Member
No surprise to see Japan is the market where the wii U performs the best. It really feels like nintendo has concentrated most of their effort for both the wii U and the 3DS on Japan. Both consoles i can see having a very strong line-up there in the near future and doing quite well. Now in the western markets........
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
That was the last Wii ______ game, but other 1st party Wii casual multiplayer games have released since and sold well (Rhythm Heaven Fever, Mario Party 9).
Solid launch week. Not great - not bad. Solid.
Geez, what's with all the comments about software sales being poor? (I'm not singling you out shinra-bansho. I just happened to grab your quote from the plethora available)
Have none of you ever witnessed previous Japanese launches before?
Tie Ratios at launch / 3rd-party Tie Ratios at launch (Famitsu numbers)
WiiU - 1.2 / 0.4 (missing all games below Top 3)
DS - 0.9 / 0.1
PSP - 1.0 / 0.6
PS3 - 1.0 / 0.7
Wii - 1.7 / 0.2
Wii w/o Wii Play - 1.2 / 0.2
3DS - 0.9 / 0.7
Vita - 0.9 / 0.6
The only anomaly here is the Wii, and that's because of Wii Play. People weren't spending $50 or whatever to buy Wii Play. They were buying a Wiimote that happened to come with a $10 game. Remove Wii Play from the numbers, and the Wii and WiiU have identical launch tie ratios.
The WiiU is actually tied with Wii for highest launch tie ratio of all these systems going all the way back to the DS. These aren't poor software sales. This is the typical amount of games (on the high end actually) that Japanese consumers buy with a new system.
Geez, what's with all the comments about software sales being poor? (I'm not singling you out shinra-bansho. I just happened to grab your quote from the plethora available)
Have none of you ever witnessed previous Japanese launches before?
Tie Ratios at launch / 3rd-party Tie Ratios at launch (Famitsu numbers)
WiiU - 1.2 / 0.4 (missing all games below Top 3)
DS - 0.9 / 0.1
PSP - 1.0 / 0.6
PS3 - 1.0 / 0.7
Wii - 1.7 / 0.2
Wii w/o Wii Play - 1.2 / 0.2
3DS - 0.9 / 0.7
Vita - 0.9 / 0.6
The only anomaly here is the Wii, and that's because of Wii Play. People weren't spending $50 or whatever to buy Wii Play. They were buying a Wiimote that happened to come with a $10 game. Remove Wii Play from the numbers, and the Wii and WiiU have identical launch tie ratios.
The WiiU is actually tied with Wii for highest launch tie ratio of all these systems going all the way back to the DS. These aren't poor software sales. This is the typical amount of games (on the high end actually) that Japanese consumers buy with a new system.
test_account
XP-39C²
The PS3 price was definitelly a factor for the poor sales. While 10k yen alone might not sounds like tons of money, it pushed the total price up to 50k yen minimum (or 49,980 yen to be precise). Many people wanted the 60GB model instead because of the built in wireless internet, more harddrive space and maybe the cardreader could be nice to have as well. Then they had to pay 60k yen. These are high price ranges for a gaming console, especially for the general public.
Sometimes, increasing a price point could break the pricing sweetspot. For example, how would the game sales be in the next generation if all games got an increased price of $15 - $20? $15 and $20 alone arent exactly a lot of money, but it would mean a total price of $75 - $80 for one game compared to today's price of $60.
It is important to find a pricing sweetspot, and 50k and 60k yen for the PS3 were not a sweetspot prices for the general public, that is one reason why it sold poorly. The game selection also played a big part in it of course, but the higher price on the PS3 hardware didnt do it any favors.
Selling a new item for a higher price compared to the predecessor is something that we cant know the true answer to before it has been tried though. But one will see the answer quickly after launching, if the item is selling or not at the current price point.
I dont think anyone is saying it about the japanese sales yet because we only have 2 days of sales data. But i've seen it being used in arguements about western sales. The WiiU is only $50 or $100 more expencive compared to the Wii launch price, but it pushes the WiiU into the $300 and $350 price range.
LiveFromKyoto
Member
Nice work on putting them all together in context. Better than everything except the Wii (and dead even w/o Wii Play), and that's with data on only 6 titles and no downloads. That should probably go in the OP alongside the historical launch #s.
Lord_Byron28
Member
Oh wow this should be updated in the OP. The attach ratio isn't bad. My general impression from the Wii U's launch worldwide seem to be respectable but not spectacular. It's not setting the world on fire but it isn't bombing either(well maybe UK).
H_Prestige
Banned
Yeah, I'm sure this thing is going to be the go to system for japanese 3rd parties...
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
Nope, that'll be 3DS. This'll be a nice 2nd placer though.
Lord_Byron28
Member
I don't know if this is sarcasm or serious although I'm leaning toward sarcasm. Either way I think it's too early to tell. Never see it being the go to system for Japanese 3rd parties as that belongs to handhelds anyway.
Yes those Monster Hunter sales are very impressive compared to last gen launch titles! Glad we see eye to eye
H_Prestige
Banned
LOL, that's a nice dream to have.
Not if the next Metal Gear and even Dark Souls 2 don't make it to the system. I guess the next couple of months will be pretty telling. I figured more Japanese devs would have jumped on it by now, but that doesn't look to be the case.
Lord_Byron28
Member
Well we can safely cross off vita and 720. Which leaves off with:
3DS
Wii U
PS4
For reference, since we're basing future support off of the first 2 days of sales. PS3's highest selling title at launch was ridge racer with 30,300 sales.
test_account
XP-39C²
Right now, the Vita has more upcoming 3rd party support than the WiiU, so personally i wouldnt cross of the Vita completely just yet. I agree that it is too early to say anything specific about the general WiiU 3rd party support though.
In the next 3 years there´ll likely be a similar case to what happened in the handheld space where 3rd parties favored PSP over PSV. So it could look like that after a good 2013 for PS3.
3DS
WiiU
PS3
PS4
The problem with the Vita IMO is that a lot of the games being released are either ports of games that people just bought not too long ago or multiplat. It also doesn't have a really big series on it that could be a system seller.
test_account
XP-39C²
Yeah, many of the games are indeed multiplatform, but i think this is something that the WiiU also could be facing. For example, i think the only announced WiiU 3rd party game that is announced for 2013 so far is Hokuto No Ken 2, which is also coming for the PS3.
EDIT: Dragon Quest X is also coming for the WiiU.
Gianni Merryman
Member
Maybe you're forgetting about DQX Wii U.
KillerMan91
Member
Because of western sales we really can't cross off 720. Of course to all games that pretty much sell only in Japan yes but for those that have even little wordwide appeal the 720/PS4 combo will be probably pretty tempting again. I really don't think that much will change compared to this gen when it comes to third party support. Both west and Japanese.
test_account
XP-39C²
Sorry, i forgot about that
But this is a port of a Wii game, so it is still in the same situation.shinra-bansho
Member
The price is obviously a factor too. But people were paying huge premiums on Wiis; so I still think the selling point simply isn't as good a selling point.
It was just the impression I got from the numbers in the OP vs some other numbers posted in the thread/from recent launches e.g. Dynasty Warriors Next, Disgaea 3 or Ridge Racer on PSV.
Mainly these three:
Zombi U: 10.680
Warriors Orichi 3 Hyper: 7.252
Tekken Tag Tournament 2: 4.951
Nintendo games selling on a Nintendo platform aren't a surprise; and Monster Hunter selling well in Japan isn't really a surprise.
Lord_Byron28
Member
The Wii U has two 3rd party titles that will likely outsell any vita game. We'll see on vita, so far I see little hope unless Sony has a Vita slim that is 50 dollars cheaper and has exclusive FF, MGS and GT launching with it up its sleeve.
Considering declining global sales of current generation sales Japan will not still be developing PS3/360 titles 3 years from now as that'd be unsustainable unless they also start porting to vita and Wii U.
DCharlie
Banned
... people are obsessed with it's failure and it's the yard stick for everything.
People are in a panic in this thread over whether the Wii U > Vita in this time frame but the truth is it -doesn't matter-.\
so what odds would you give me on the Vita's Launch December Total > WiiU Launch December Total out of interest? 100,000,000-1? Seems fooling and bullshit to me.
Let's be reasonable here - there's a 40% chance of it happening? Seem about fair ? IF the 300k figure is right and that's about as good as it gets for the week then the WiiU is -already- trailing for a start.
We'll have to wait and see what exclusive 3rd party support is like for the Wii U but the first party games already give it an advantage over the Vita to where the Wii U doesn't have to rely on getting the amount of support the Vita would need to turn things around for it.
Gianni Merryman
Member
Sorry, i forgot about that
I know it's a port and shouldn't make a big difference, I was saying that just for the sake of precision.
You can't really expect a non-CoD FPS, a game which has already been released on 2 systems already (IIRC) and a fighting game which already sold disappointing to sell well, and thus shouldn't be used to judge how 3rd party software will sell on the Wii U IMO.
Lord_Byron28
Member
Yes, but to say it will be the 'go to' system for Japanese developers is unlikely.
I dislike this argument. Software from established franchises sell poorly all the time. To focus on the 3rd version of Orochi and dismiss Monster Hunter selling better than any 3rd party launch game on a console last gen strikes me as being pretty selective.
Hero of Legend
Member
Can someone check MH3GHD's box and see if it features the MT Framework Mobile logo or the regular MT Framework logo?
From a look at those numbers, I think the launch went well. I find Monster Hunter 3 HD in particular to be fairly impressive, given that it traces its origins back to a game from 2009 that was subsequently modified and re-released 3 additional times since then. Nintendo Land will have legs, while ZombiU did better than I expected.
I didn't expect much of anything out of any other title considering that they're just ports from other systems. Nintendo platforms in Japan have always been weak performers in the multiplatform department, and these forgettable titles don't change that.
However, I predict a steep drop and low weekly sales (fewer than 20K per week on average) into 2013. The lineup is dry going into the new year. I think the PS3 might even lead the Wii U every now and then in the weekly sales, depending on what comes out in a particular week.
I didn't expect much of anything out of any other title considering that they're just ports from other systems. Nintendo platforms in Japan have always been weak performers in the multiplatform department, and these forgettable titles don't change that.
However, I predict a steep drop and low weekly sales (fewer than 20K per week on average) into 2013. The lineup is dry going into the new year. I think the PS3 might even lead the Wii U every now and then in the weekly sales, depending on what comes out in a particular week.
shinra-bansho
Member
Are Monster Hunter-like software sales for any title on any platform in Japan likely to be an exception or a norm?
One can also argue that these late port type games are also a poor gauge, and I don't necessarily disagree. Of course all that leaves us with is the inability to read anything from these numbers.