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Famitsu Week 14, 2023 (Mar 27 - Apr 02)

Nautilus

Banned
Can you use this vs so many replies?
5yrxR1l.png
Prefer this 1v1 approach. Makes it more personal, and the reply isn't so clustered.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
Yeah, but RE4 Remake was also a major release, and look how much that moved the needle.And while 330k is not low, it's also nothing monumental, or in the realm of being a killer app. Again, I expect bumps out of both of them, but anything other is unlikely.
RE4 has been remastered/re-released etc. more times than Pacman already - and even for much less recycled IPs, I can't remember the last time someone flagged one of these cash-grabs as a system-seller, but RE4 somehow gets a special pass for it.
Frankly it's a bigger launch than it had any right to be, Japan or otherwise, on any platform.
 
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Nautilus

Banned
I'm saying that Switch being a hybrid means that it's not limited to the home console market in Japan.
Yes, but it also means that it is in the home console market.

And you guys need to stop sering as a home console or a handheld market, especially after the Switch. The custumer is egotistical, they want the best device that provides the best experience in that said industry. If the Switch is said device, and fullfill all the custumer needs, they don't need or want to buy another device. And vice versa.
 

Nautilus

Banned
RE4 has been remastered/re-released etc. more times than Pacman already - and even for much less recycled IPs, I can't remember the last time someone flagged one of these cash-grabs as a system-seller, but RE4 somehow gets a special pass for it.
Frankly it's a bigger launch than it had any right to be, Japan or otherwise, on any platform.
Eh, I think you are being very generous to it. But fine. Either way, FF XVI is like 3 months away, so we shall see its impact soon enough.
 

MrA

Banned
Why are so many more PS4s selling this year in Japan, compared to last year anyway? It's confusing.
They probably started shipping that final million they said they'd produce, ps4 is or atleast was in december/January on shelves in the US again so sony started shipping more units
I don't have to do that dude... I can't say its happening any more than you can say its not happening.

We both are doing nothing but hypothesizing here. I have heard your argument, and you have heard mine... lets pick this up at the end of the year.

A I am saying is that, if its happening, and it does happen this year, and it does come with a price drop, I expect the PS5 to outsell the Switch everywhere, including japan.

I don't think a slim this year would pull the ps5 ahead in Japan this year, ww no question, but not japan. switch should still exceed 3.5 million this year,
I think the ps5s baseline demand is about 30k, so 50% higher than last years typical week and a few more major games giving it more boost weeks I'd put ps5 at around a healthy 2.5 million units this year as is
, I doubt a slim would give a 50% demand boost
Next year yeah ps5 takes switch/switch 2 ww no issue no matter what sony or Nintendo does,
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
Yeah but the Switch has two games which will probably dwarf those games you named combined still ahead, and Nintendo hasn't revealed the 2nd half of 2023 title list either.

It's not written in stone in either direction but Japan is probably one of the few places where I wouldn't bet on Playstation.
I don't think it works that way though. With regard to the games.

A game from a specific franchise can boost sales, but sequels for that game on the same platform will not have the same effect. eg. BOTW could have resulted in say 10M switches being sold, I don't believe BOTW2 will have a similar push in hardware sales.

This is the first FF game on the PS5. Its also the first SM excuse on the PS5. And again, the potential PS5S and price drop... if all those things happen in one year...
 
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And what, prey tell, should I talk about when most weeks, at least for the past 2 months, the biggest news are the declining PS5 sales?

Or should I do as the others, and ignore the PS5 hardware numbers as if nothing is wrong?

Oh I dunno, maybe how Xbox sales have practically cratered in Japan despite a brief period in 2022 where it looked like they were actually gaining traction? Maybe the fact that PS5 software is starting to chart more regularly when the lack of software on the charts was also used to say the console was dead in Japan?

No one has ever said things are perfectly fine for PS5 in Japan. But most of us don't have a single-minded narrative to keep shouting into the microphone how "worrying" and "concerning" sales are in Japan. You were doing this even when the system was doing 80 - 90K for several weeks, just salivating at the opportunity when that rate would drop off so you could sing "See!? I TOLD you so! PS5 is struggling in Japan and I'm "concerned"!!!"

Like come TF on, we know it's not out of actual concern, you probably take some glee in what's transpiring. If Sony want to turn things around in Japan full-force they need a handheld and they need some 1P title with big, mainstream family-friendly appeal like Pokemon, Mario Kart, Splatoon etc. It's that simple. But you act like it's a catastrophic apocalypse with no answers in sight, it's just so extra.

But the real reason why Japanese sales aren't of much consequence for PlayStation is because in spite of that, they're breaking records globally and still have all the big Japanese developers prioritizing their console for global audiences for the vast majority of their releases. And PS5 breaking records outside of Japan is helping those Japanese developers reach new heights with their software in the markets where they make the majority of their money.
 

Nautilus

Banned
Oh I dunno, maybe how Xbox sales have practically cratered in Japan despite a brief period in 2022 where it looked like they were actually gaining traction? Maybe the fact that PS5 software is starting to chart more regularly when the lack of software on the charts was also used to say the console was dead in Japan?

No one has ever said things are perfectly fine for PS5 in Japan. But most of us don't have a single-minded narrative to keep shouting into the microphone how "worrying" and "concerning" sales are in Japan. You were doing this even when the system was doing 80 - 90K for several weeks, just salivating at the opportunity when that rate would drop off so you could sing "See!? I TOLD you so! PS5 is struggling in Japan and I'm "concerned"!!!"

Like come TF on, we know it's not out of actual concern, you probably take some glee in what's transpiring. If Sony want to turn things around in Japan full-force they need a handheld and they need some 1P title with big, mainstream family-friendly appeal like Pokemon, Mario Kart, Splatoon etc. It's that simple. But you act like it's a catastrophic apocalypse with no answers in sight, it's just so extra.

But the real reason why Japanese sales aren't of much consequence for PlayStation is because in spite of that, they're breaking records globally and still have all the big Japanese developers prioritizing their console for global audiences for the vast majority of their releases. And PS5 breaking records outside of Japan is helping those Japanese developers reach new heights with their software in the markets where they make the majority of their money.
Xbox sales have been on that level more or less ever since the start of the year. And we know that it was famitsu that was obertracking it.So it's not something new.

And I am talking about new PS5 software sales appearing. Haven't you read about my comments about RE 4 Remake?

Switch also did better this week, but it is within what it usually do, so it's not really relevant.

And I don't also get the obsession some of you have to bring worldwide numbers in a thread about Japan. This is about this one country, not the others.This data is about this place. If you wanna talk about UK, go to the UK charts. If you wanna talk about the US, go to the NPD charts. It's healthy to admit when your favorite company is doing poorly somewhere. It leads to improvement.

But in PS5 case, the sales of the hardware are still declining, so they are still news, and it's the only thing unusual happening these past few weeks.Outside of RE 4 Remake last week, it's the only thing interesting going on.

So this just sounds like you are complaining about me because you don't like when people point out your favorite company is doing all that hot. You don't even read everything and process the information completely, so much so that our earlier interactions have you questioning me how I felt about Xbox performance here, which had zero to do with the discussion I was having. Because the automatic response you have when you feel Sony is being attacked is that someone is a fan of Xbox and it is console warring.

So please, stop derailing the thread. If you want to have a serious conversation about the console situation in JAPAN, I'll be more than happy to have a nice conversation. But if you going to simply complain about how I'm pointing out a fact that the numbers are telling us, don't bother, for my sake and everyone else's here.
 
Xbox sales have been on that level more or less ever since the start of the year. And we know that it was famitsu that was obertracking it.So it's not something new.

And I am talking about new PS5 software sales appearing. Haven't you read about my comments about RE 4 Remake?

Switch also did better this week, but it is within what it usually do, so it's not really relevant.

And I don't also get the obsession some of you have to bring worldwide numbers in a thread about Japan. This is about this one country, not the others.This data is about this place. If you wanna talk about UK, go to the UK charts. If you wanna talk about the US, go to the NPD charts. It's healthy to admit when your favorite company is doing poorly somewhere. It leads to improvement.

But in PS5 case, the sales of the hardware are still declining, so they are still news, and it's the only thing unusual happening these past few weeks.Outside of RE 4 Remake last week, it's the only thing interesting going on.

So this just sounds like you are complaining about me because you don't like when people point out your favorite company is doing all that hot. You don't even read everything and process the information completely, so much so that our earlier interactions have you questioning me how I felt about Xbox performance here, which had zero to do with the discussion I was having. Because the automatic response you have when you feel Sony is being attacked is that someone is a fan of Xbox and it is console warring.

So please, stop derailing the thread. If you want to have a serious conversation about the console situation in JAPAN, I'll be more than happy to have a nice conversation. But if you going to simply complain about how I'm pointing out a fact that the numbers are telling us, don't bother, for my sake and everyone else's here.

You're not "pointing out" anything: everyone can see the numbers, they aren't hidden. They are in plain sight, and I think everyone here is of enough capacity to be able to read basic numbers.

Your problem is that you are just saying the same thing several other people are saying: PS5 isn't doing so well in Japan. Your perspective adds literally nothing new to the wider, ongoing conversation, so what kind of "serious dialogue" are you hoping to have when you're just repeating the same drum beats tons of people on ResetERA repeat ad nauseum in these same type of threads, as just one example?

Yes, you and others like you have established already that PS5 isn't doing particularly great in Japan. That's the same thing you said last week. And the week before. And the week before. And the week before that. You aren't bringing up the PS5 performance in Japan to have a "serious conversation"; you're just doing it to beat a dead horse at this point, because I would think at SOME point you'd present an all-encompassing thesis on the topic to pinpoint specific causes for the performance, and propose ideas to address them. Since you seem either too bored or incapable of doing this, here, I'll do it for you.

THESIS: PlayStation 5 market performance in Japan seems to be leveling off to sub-ideal levels in spite of increased supply, and more big releases having come to the market. This might indicate that demand is lower than anticipated, in spite of sufficient supply. This situation could be caused by any combination of the console design, console price, lack of effective advertising, lack of specific tentpole software releases, rise of F2P popularity on console creating a tier of games not reflected in the software charts, console form factor, or just general deteriorating standing of the home console market in Japan.

Based on the comparative success of Nintendo's Switch in the same market, I conclude that the most likely issues pertaining to Sony's PlayStation 5 in the country are:

1: Lack of a portable handheld option​
2: Lack of any tentpole, family-friendly mass-market gaming IP exclusively available to the platform​

To address these issues, Sony should do the following:

1: Provide some type of portable PlayStation device providing great value to the market, such as native PS4 gameplay on-the-go, and Remote Play with PS5​
2: Invest into 1P IP that can both heavily appeal to the Japanese market and have worldwide appeal while also being family-friendly, such as their own Pokemon, Mario Kart, Splatoon, etc. Or, secure 3P exclusivity on nearest equivalents (i.e Monster Hunter). Or, some combination of both.​

And there. That is, literally, all you need to do to have an actual conversation on this topic. Not drag out the same talking points week over week, in the same threads, with the same doom & gloom prognosis, repeating stuff over and over, keeping the discussion in standstill. At the very least, provide some constructive criticism on the outlook that shows that, hey, yes there are ways to address what I feel are concerns here!

You don't do ANY of that, and that's why everyone keeps calling you out.
 

Woopah

Member
Switch closing in on 30M, wonder if it can beat the DS in due time. That’d be something else.
Launch aligned the DS is in its final holiday and so is increasing its gap over Switch, but after 3 weeks that will stop and then Switch should always be catching up.

Na I think you misunderstood me, I do not have any number in my head on how much either of them will sell this year. I do however know that there is only like an 80k swing or so in sales between them right now.

I am saying there would have to be like a 300k in the switches favor between them sales-wise for things like FF16, SM2 and a cheaper PS5 slim not to make a big enough dent for the Switch to still be on top for the year.
You are right thst sequels on the same platform don't have as much pull as their first entries. But I would say that, from what we know so far, TOTK, Pikmin 4 and the Momotaro sequel will have a greater impact on Switch than FFXVI and Spiderman 2 will have on PS5.

The things we don't know (PS5 Slim and Nintendo's H2 lineup) could change that of course.
RE4 has been remastered/re-released etc. more times than Pacman already - and even for much less recycled IPs, I can't remember the last time someone flagged one of these cash-grabs as a system-seller, but RE4 somehow gets a special pass for it.
Frankly it's a bigger launch than it had any right to be, Japan or otherwise, on any platform.
Its going to be one of the biggest third party releases of the year in Japan. I would say it definitely counts as a major release.
You're not "pointing out" anything: everyone can see the numbers, they aren't hidden. They are in plain sight, and I think everyone here is of enough capacity to be able to read basic numbers.

Your problem is that you are just saying the same thing several other people are saying: PS5 isn't doing so well in Japan. Your perspective adds literally nothing new to the wider, ongoing conversation, so what kind of "serious dialogue" are you hoping to have when you're just repeating the same drum beats tons of people on ResetERA repeat ad nauseum in these same type of threads, as just one example?

Yes, you and others like you have established already that PS5 isn't doing particularly great in Japan. That's the same thing you said last week. And the week before. And the week before. And the week before that. You aren't bringing up the PS5 performance in Japan to have a "serious conversation"; you're just doing it to beat a dead horse at this point, because I would think at SOME point you'd present an all-encompassing thesis on the topic to pinpoint specific causes for the performance, and propose ideas to address them. Since you seem either too bored or incapable of doing this, here, I'll do it for you.



And there. That is, literally, all you need to do to have an actual conversation on this topic. Not drag out the same talking points week over week, in the same threads, with the same doom & gloom prognosis, repeating stuff over and over, keeping the discussion in standstill. At the very least, provide some constructive criticism on the outlook that shows that, hey, yes there are ways to address what I feel are concerns here!

You don't do ANY of that, and that's why everyone keeps calling you out.
I think your demographics point is super important and the biggest reason for PlayStation's current position. The secret to Nintendo's success is that they have a range of titles that together appeal to a wide range of audiences. Sony and most third parties haven't quite cracked that yet.
 
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Woopah

Member
Top 30 is out! Credit goes to Chris from Installbase for the hard work.

01./04. [NSW] Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe <ACT> (Nintendo) {2023.02.24} (¥5.980) - 21.014 / 357.157 <80-100%> (-23%)
02./01. [PS5] Resident Evil 4 # <ADV> (Capcom) {2023.03.24} (¥7.990) - 18.510 / 108.172 <80-100%> (-79%)
03./02. [PS4] Resident Evil 4 # <ADV> (Capcom) {2023.03.24} (¥7.990) - 16.604 / 101.975 <80-100%> (-81%)
04./00. [NSW] Winning Post 10 <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2023.03.30} (¥8.800) - 12.979 / NEW <60-80%>
05./06. [NSW] Pokemon Scarlet / Violet # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2022.11.18} (¥5.980) - 12.426 / 4.972.063 <80-100%> (-17%)
06./08. [NSW] Splatoon 3 <ACT> (Nintendo) {2022.09.09} (¥5.980) - 10.762 / 3.969.635 <80-100%> (-11%)
07./09. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) - 10.377 / 5.224.493 <80-100%> (-4%)
08./10. [NSW] Minecraft # <ADV> (Microsoft Game Studios) {2018.06.21} (¥3.600) - 8.133 / 3.091.142 <80-100%> (-2%)
09./00. [PS5] Winning Post 10 <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2023.03.30} (¥9.800) - 7.144 / NEW <60-80%>
10./11. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports # <SPT> (Nintendo) {2022.04.29} (¥4.980) - 7.101 / 1.045.270 <80-100%> (-5%)
11./00. [PS4] Winning Post 10 <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2023.03.30} (¥8.800) - 6.058 / NEW <60-80%>
12./14. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate # <FTG> (Nintendo) {2018.12.07} (¥7.200) - 5.192 / 5.155.682 <80-100%> (+2%)
13./03. [NSW] Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key # <RPG> (Koei Tecmo) {2023.03.23} (¥7.800) - 4.654 / 35.794 <80-100%> (-85%)
14./15. [NSW] Mario Party Superstars <ETC> (Nintendo) {2021.10.29} (¥5.980) - 4.191 / 1.204.015 <80-100%> (-7%)
15./18. [NSW] Ark: Survival Evolved <ADV> (Spike Chunsoft) {2023.02.24} (¥3.800) - 4.108 / 34.977 <60-80%> (+20%)
16./25. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} (¥6.980) - 3.446 / 2.155.619 <80-100%> (+47%)
17./16. [PS5] Hogwarts Legacy # <RPG> (WB Games) {2023.02.10} (¥8.980) - 3.181 / 161.842 <80-100%> (-29%)
18./20. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure # <HOB> (Nintendo) {2019.10.18} (¥7.980) - 3.085 / 3.370.146 <80-100%> (-4%)
19./21. [NSW] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics <ETC> (Nintendo) {2020.06.05} (¥3.980) - 2.995 / 1.105.142 <80-100%> (+6%)
20./19. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2020.03.20} (¥5.980) - 2.972 / 7.450.791 <80-100%> (-8%)
21./22. [NSW] eBaseball Power Pros 2022 <SPT> (Konami) {2022.04.21} (¥7.500) - 2.683 / 263.391 <80-100%> (-2%)
22./17. [NSW] Octopath Traveler II <RPG> (Square Enix) {2023.02.24} (¥7.091) - 2.393 / 86.487 <60-80%> (-33%)
23./23. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! <TBL> (Konami) {2020.11.19} (¥6.300) - 2.302 / 2.861.703 <80-100%> (-13%)
24./07. [PS5] Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key # <RPG> (Koei Tecmo) {2023.03.23} (¥7.800) - 2.052 / 16.839 <80-100%> (-86%)
25./24. [NSW] Kirby and the Forgotten Land <ACT> (Nintendo) {2022.03.25} (¥5.980) - 2.003 / 1.013.514 <80-100%> (-17%)
26./00. [NSW] Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2021.11.19} (¥5.980) - 1.996 / 2.634.704 <80-100%>
27./13. [NSW] SD Shin Kamen Rider Rumble <ACT> (Bandai Namco Entertainment) {2023.03.23} (¥3.200) - 1.994 / 7.405 <60-80%> (-63%)
28./30. [PS5] Gran Turismo 7 # <RCE> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2022.03.04} (¥7.900) - 1.949 / 302.631 <80-100%> (+12%)
29./05. [PS4] Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key # <RPG> (Koei Tecmo) {2023.03.23} (¥7.800) - 1.932 / 19.172 <80-100%> (-89%)
30./29. [NSW] Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival <ACT> (Bandai Namco Entertainment) {2022.09.22} (¥5.980) - 1.683 / 165.375 <80-100%> (-9%)
 
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Woopah

Member
Octopath Traveler II really bombed, didn't it.
I wouldn't say it bombed, but its performance is rather mediocre.

It's the third HD 2D game in the last 12 months so there could be some fatigue with the art style.

It will be interesting to see if this performance has any impact on whether Nintendo and SE go back to doing deals for Team Asano games.
 

Woopah

Member
Famitsu - PS5 Hardware
FY22 1,707,850
FY21 927,217

Famitsu - Week 125
PS5 3,236,033 (week 125 34,677)
PS3 3,009,395 (week 125 18,831)
PS4 2,893,813 (week 125 21,474)
This year could be the best year for hardware sales for a single Sony platform since the PSP in 2010.

Will PS5 bounce back up or is this downward trend going to be the new norm. I wonder what the baseline of demand is.
The baseline is likely lower than wjst they had this week. But they ll get a boost from Golden Week and Final Fantasy innthr coming months.
 

Nautilus

Banned
Will PS5 bounce back up or is this downward trend going to be the new norm. I wonder what the baseline of demand is.
Almost certainly it will continue going down. The question is how much further. I don't expect it to stop until the 20 k, but who knows.
 
They've started the first discount sale of PS5 in many regions since 1st April. It should lead to considerable rise.
Yeah I’ve seen that here in Portugal as well. They probably want the previous quarter numbers to repeat from now until june. Final Fantasy comes out this quarter. It’s possible, who knows. They will probably start producing the new sku this quarter as well.
 
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