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[apujanata]

Next I went to talk to some shop owners. They say it very common for someone to buy a PSP without buying a game for it at the same time. However it is very rare for someone to buy a DS, PS2, Wii, 360 etc. without a game. Some stores, when they see a customer buying a system without games, will ask if they want to buy a Memory Stick. There is a fairy good profit on memory sticks

Very nice report. Better than usual, which is hard to believe.
Nice find about the bolded part.

Do you believe that in the future, DS will also encounter the same problem (like PSP did this year against piracy) ?

Why didn't Sony forbid the "pirating PSP books" from being printed ? Sony might not be able to prevent magazine review, but stopping books should be possible, no ?

 

[AniHawk]

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2. Grand Theft Auto IV
3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
4. Halo Wars
5. God of War: Chains of Olympus

Wii:
SSBB: 158
NiGHTS: 6
Dragon Quest Swords: 2
Endless Ocean: 2

360:
Halo Wars: 24
Ninja Gaiden 2: 8
Too Human: 4

PS3:
Killzone 2: 6
Haze: 5
Unreal Tournament III: 4
LittleBigPlanet: 2

PC:
World of Warcraft Lich King: 10
Starcraft 2: 10

PSP:
God of War Chains of Olympus: 22
Gran Turismo: 8
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core: 2

Grand Theft Auto IV: 85
360: 58
PS3: 27

Star Wars The Force Unleashed: 35
360: 23
PS3: 15

Devil May Cry 4: 19
PS3: 10
360: 9

Mercenaries 2: 11
PS2: 7
360: 4

Nothing worth noting for the DS.

 

[SRG01]

Like I said in another thread, it's too bad we aren't getting accessory numbers so we can actually confirm whether or not the TV tuner is responsible for higher PSP numbers.

 

[Arde5643]

It was actually a bit frustrating. The Otaku say it looks too simple and the casuals say it looks too hard. The ad campaign seems to have distanced the game from both camps. The only people who seem to truly “get it” is my elementary school students. They ALL know about the game and most of them really want to play it. But they don’t have money to buy games. If they still want it by the time they get their New Years money, the game might still do some nice sales. But by that time it might be too late.

Thanks much for the report, Vinnk. Hopefully you'll get better soon.

In regards to the report on SMG:
Fuck Japan, really.... :/

And hopefully a Nintendo rep actually reads this and can give an idea to Ninty to start changing their ads for core games.
Those stupid casual/wii'd like to play ads aren't going to convinve any core gamer to get any game, and traditional games in general are too intimidating to non-gamers.
Core gamers are still the ones responsible for spreading a traditional game to the masses.

 

[gconsole]

Very nice report. Better than usual, which is hard to believe.
Nice find about the bolded part.

Do you believe that in the future, DS will also encounter the same problem (like PSP did this year against piracy) ?

Why didn't Sony forbid the "pirating PSP books" from being printed ? Sony might not be able to prevent magazine review, but stopping books should be possible, no ?

That might be the only way to push the hardware sell for the system that provide with no major software release.

 

[reilo]

Thanks Vinnk and Ani.

 

[Vinnk]

Very nice report. Better than usual, which is hard to believe.
Nice find about the bolded part.

Do you believe that in the future, DS will also encounter the same problem (like PSP did this year against piracy) ?

Why didn't Sony forbid the "pirating PSP books" from being printed ? Sony might not be able to prevent magazine review, but stopping books should be possible, no ?

I think Sony is doing what they can. These books are never sold at legitimate game shops. Just stores that don't sell games. In the same way the R4 is not sold in game stores it is sold in other electronics stores that don't sell games.

I think the situation might be something like, "If you sell this grey market stuff, we won't ship you systems/games". But that is just a guess. Regardless, most game stores don't want to cut into their business by selling the device to allow people to never buy games again.

But yeah, it is more recently that I have seen the books on DS game stealing, after all it does require an additional purchase. But as more people learn about it, it could be a problem. Hard to say. It's too complicated for most casual gamers to do.

 

[orio7]

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2. Grand Theft Auto IV
3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
4. Halo Wars
5. God of War: Chains of Olympus

Wii:
SSBB: 158
NiGHTS: 6
Dragon Quest Swords: 2
Endless Ocean: 2

360:
Halo Wars: 24
Ninja Gaiden 2: 8
Too Human: 4

PS3:
Killzone 2: 6
Haze: 5
Unreal Tournament III: 4
LittleBigPlanet: 2

PC:
World of Warcraft Lich King: 10
Starcraft 2: 10

PSP:
God of War Chains of Olympus: 22
Gran Turismo: 8
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core: 2

Grand Theft Auto IV: 85
360: 58
PS3: 27

Star Wars The Force Unleashed: 35
360: 23
PS3: 15

Devil May Cry 4: 19
PS3: 10
360: 9

Mercenaries 2: 11
PS2: 7
360: 4

Nothing worth noting for the DS.

Why do you keep posting those in a thread about Japanese sales?

 

[AniHawk]

Why do you keep posting those in a thread about Japanese sales?

Well before it was because it was allowed in these threads. But in the future it will be just to spite you.

 

[orio7]

Well before it was because it was allowed in these threads. But in the future it will be just to spite you.

Have fun.

 

[Vinnk]

Like I said in another thread, it's too bad we aren't getting accessory numbers so we can actually confirm whether or not the TV tuner is responsible for higher PSP numbers.

I have never seen anyone with one of these TV devices. Many (if not most) new cell phones come with a 1-seg tuner built-in, so I don't see much reason to get it on PSP other than the larger screen. Then again, maybe the reason I never see it is because it is sold out and no one can get it.

Also there are no subways in my town and most people drive, removing a lot of the need for a TV on the go. Might be a much bigger hit in Tokyo. Any of you big city J-gaffers seeing this device?

 

[Lobster]

Have fun.

:lol

Awesome reply.

 

[dk_]

Sorry guys, but japanese people are awkward for the following reasons:

- Mario out of the top ten?
- WTF? People rather buy a PS3 together with the shitty (looks worse and the framerate sucks) PS3 version of Winning Eleven rather than have the far superior 360 version.
- The PS3 outsells the 360 this much? Oh my god...

Awkward people...

 

[sphinx]

I can't understand the situation with Mario Galaxy.

"Nintendo and "Mario" are two very common things in the world of videogames in japan, why must people think so much and be so picky when a new Mario adventure is introduced? It's a Mario adventure game, that's reason and justification enough to go and buy it.

Why are doubts about the integrity of the gameplay in Mario games arising all of a sudden? This is sillyness.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Just noticed Wii sales numbers rising even before Wii fit.

 

[Lobster]

Sorry guys, but japanese people are awkward for the following reasons:

- Mario out of the top ten?
- WTF? People rather buy a PS3 together with the shitty (looks worse and the framerate sucks) PS3 version of Winning Eleven rather than have the far superior 360 version.
- The PS3 outsells the 360 this much? Oh my god...

Awkward people...

Err..360 is a console marketed for the western audience. How could you not expect Ps3 games and the console to sell more then the 360?

 

[fresquito]

Just noticed Wii sales numbers rising even before Wii fit.

Well, sales for all consoles have risen, to be fair.

 

[Vinnk]

Crap, I forgot to add about Winning 11, I'll edit my post:

9. Despite hearing reports that the PS3 version of Winning 11 was sold out due to being under-shipped, I was able to find the game in stock at every store that carries PS3 games. I am not sure about Tokyo or Osaka but here there is more than enough to go around.

 

[davepoobond]

Err..360 is a console marketed for the western audience. How could you not expect Ps3 games and the console to sell more then the 360?

GAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSGAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS XBOX360 HAS ALL THE GAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS PS3 HAS NO GAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

[noonche]

I can't understand the situation with Mario Galaxy.

"Nintendo and "Mario" are two very common things in the world of videogames in japan, why must people think so much and be so picky when a new Mario adventure is introduced? It's a Mario adventure game, that's reason and justification enough to go and buy it.

Why are doubts about the integrity of the gameplay in Mario games arising all of a sudden? This is sillyness.

Perhaps because there has been so much Mario whoring that they aren't sure when a new game is going to be good and when it's going to be another spin-off?

 

[zeroshiki]

GAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSGAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS XBOX360 HAS ALL THE GAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS PS3 HAS NO GAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

In Japan?

 

[davepoobond]

In Japan?

obviously the other person doesn't realize there is a huge difference between 360 in Japan and 360 in US.

 

[Arde5643]

Perhaps because there has been so much Mario whoring that they aren't sure when a new game is going to be good and when it's going to be another spin-off?

They seem to love the whored out Mario game, though... :/
It seems Japan only loves whored out Mario rather than true pure Mario.

 

[gray_fox224]

Sorry guys, but japanese people are awkward for the following reasons:

- Mario out of the top ten?
- WTF? People rather buy a PS3 together with the shitty (looks worse and the framerate sucks) PS3 version of Winning Eleven rather than have the far superior 360 version.
- The PS3 outsells the 360 this much? Oh my god...

Awkward people...

Huh?

It's a different market. Is this news to you?

 

[noonche]

They seem to love the whored out Mario game, though... :/
It seems Japan only loves whored out Mario rather than true pure Mario.

Mario Party unfortunately does really well, but most of the other spin-offs like Strikers, Tennis, etc seem to do much less. I guess there's also Mario Kart which is awesome.

 

[perfectchaos007]

So I guess it is fortunate for Sony that at lease they are profiting on every PSP sold. Thats where there profits have to come from since hardly any software is being bought.

 

[PROOP]

Thanks for the report Viink, the bit about the piracy was especially revealing. Isn't there any way for Sony to tighten up the security of the system other than firmware releases? For anyone knowledgeable about IT security, could a password/registration system like what PC games use be applied to the psp to stop piracy, or would the hackers just post the password too?

 

[The_Joint]

Viink, thanks for the report. The blurb about the perception of SMG and a Nintendo marketing failure could be expanded into an article. Your explanation and analysis does at least make some sense of the opening week sales.

Spoiler

Thanks for your report too, Anihawk.

 

[kenta]

Mercenaries 2: 11
PS2: 7
360: 4

Zuh? Did you mean PS3 or is it coming to PS2 as well?

Edit: Should have researched that before I posted I suppose. Nevermind!

 

[Hammer24]

Thanks Vinnk, and get well soon!
One more question: did you see any used copies of WE11?

 

[Dalthien]

I wonder if we really should just start making the new threads when Famitsu comes out and title them "Japanese Sales 11/19 - 11/25". I do think the first posts in each thread should contain Famitsu information as well.

Well, that's my official proposal. It's up to others whether to enforce it or not. I can also start posting the finalized Famitsu top 30 a day earlier than when donny translates it.

Sorry for being so late to respond to this point, but I didn't get a chance to read through the thread until now.

I don't think starting a new thread for the early Famitsu data is a good idea. We have to remember that the early Famitsu data that we get is leaked data, and starting a new thread based on leaked data doesn't make much sense, especially when the official data will be released just a week later anyway.

There have been weeks where we don't get the leaked data for some reason, or we only get small snippets of it, and there have been other weeks where we get two different sets of leaked data, and we have to wait until the official numbers (or the Media Create numbers for comparison) come out anyway in order to find out which set of leaked data was correct.

I think the current setup makes the most sense. Just stick with starting the new thread with the official Media Create numbers - it makes for a more reliable and consistent thread in the long run.

 

[Kurosaki Ichigo]

I think the current setup is ok but it'd be great if we added Famitsu data to the first post.

Not only because something like first day sales are lost by now, but because it'd help greatly when you search some old game performance and you can see everything from that week in the first post (MC top, first day, famitsu...). I hate browsing old threads and going through last 5 pages to find the first day numbers or the weekly leaked data from Famitsu...

 

[BlackNMild2k1]

Like I said in another thread, it's too bad we aren't getting accessory numbers so we can actually confirm whether or not the TV tuner is responsible for higher PSP numbers.

I have never seen anyone with one of these TV devices. Many (if not most) new cell phones come with a 1-seg tuner built-in, so I don't see much reason to get it on PSP other than the larger screen. Then again, maybe the reason I never see it is because it is sold out and no one can get it.

Also there are no subways in my town and most people drive, removing a lot of the need for a TV on the go. Might be a much bigger hit in Tokyo. Any of you big city J-gaffers seeing this device?

Didn't Nintendo just release a 1-Seg tuner for DS too?
I'm not sure if I'm remembering this right, but I thought it was sold out before release and Nintendo delayed it slightly to produce more or something like that.

Is there any new info on it? Has it even been released?

 

[Stormbringer]

Thanks for the translation Takuhi and toypop. For a reason I'm not surprised that it's doing well on Amazon.jp, maybe because this core game was sure to appeal to the kind of core gamer that visit the site... Anyway, hope this work out for MMV and that the retail preorders pick up soon (despite the indeed shitty bonus)...

 

[lherre]

Thanks Vinnk for the "vision" of Japan in this week. Is very inusuall (and sad) that psp has the same piracy that in western countries

 

[iidesuyo]

So piracy has gained ground in Japan at full scale. Didn't think this would happen.

 

[spwolf]

Sorry guys, but japanese people are awkward for the following reasons:

- Mario out of the top ten?
- WTF? People rather buy a PS3 together with the shitty (looks worse and the framerate sucks) PS3 version of Winning Eleven rather than have the far superior 360 version.
- The PS3 outsells the 360 this much? Oh my god...

Awkward people...

actually, talking about PES, opposite is true since last patch (which was probably auto included in WE PS3)... oops.

 

[Dascu]

NMH has "otaku street cred"? :lol Good! Make everyone in your class buy it!

 

[BishopLamont]

Like I said in another thread, it's too bad we aren't getting accessory numbers so we can actually confirm whether or not the TV tuner is responsible for higher PSP numbers.

All consoles get a boost around this time every year. TV tuner or not the PSP would've done what it did this week.

Thanks for the report Viink, the bit about the piracy was especially revealing. Isn't there any way for Sony to tighten up the security of the system other than firmware releases? For anyone knowledgeable about IT security, could a password/registration system like what PC games use be applied to the psp to stop piracy, or would the hackers just post the password too?

That could work but then the PSP is used for mainly single player offline games, so PSP piraters can easily circumvent this by not putting the PSP online at all.

 

[jesusraz]

Vinnk, I don't suppose you saw any Ghost Squad around? It seems to have disappeared from the chart again and I wondered if it was due to lack of interest or because it was sold out thanks to people buying the Zapper pack (as you noted a couple of weeks ago).

 

[Vinnk]

Vinnk, I don't suppose you saw any Ghost Squad around? It seems to have disappeared from the chart again and I wondered if it was due to lack of interest or because it was sold out thanks to people buying the Zapper pack (as you noted a couple of weeks ago).

I saw about 4 of them in my town out of the about 20 that I saw launch week. Some stores are sold out but not all. And it doesn't seem like they plan to reorder. I think one could call Ghost Squad a game that met expectations. It didn't bomb and it didn't sell out day one. It sold (and is likely still selling) nicely.

 

[Vagabundo]

Well before it was because it was allowed in these threads. But in the future it will be just to spite you.

Why dont you do a Vinnk style report in NPD threads, Ani?

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Why dont you do a Vinnk style report in NPD threads, Ani?

Trying to post anything worthwhile in the actual NPD thread is like spitting into a tornado.

 

[SovanJedi]

Trying to post anything worthwhile in the actual NPD thread is like spitting into a tornado.

Does that mean that the NPD results themselves shouldn't be posted in the NPD threads, seeing as they are worthwhile contributions?

 

[Pureauthor]

Does that mean that the NPD results themselves shouldn't be posted in the NPD threads, seeing as they are worthwhile contributions?

The average poster in the NPD threads probably wouldn't notice the difference.

 

[Stumpokapow]

The average poster in the NPD threads probably wouldn't notice the difference.

... but ban jokerpopcorn.gif and there's a 20 page "MODS SUCK CENSORSHIP BLOWS" thread ten minutes later.

 

[pswii60]

actually, talking about PES, opposite is true since last patch (which was probably auto included in WE PS3)... oops.

Really?

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=23095

It seems that yesterday’s patch for the Playstation 3 version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is not quite the all encompassing fix that many fans were expecting.

Whilst the framerate problems that plagued certain stadiums in the offline modes are now greatly improved, it seems that it has come at some cost. Rather than actually put some thought into programming a solution to the slowdown, Konami appear to have just reduced the texture quality, so although the game now runs better, it also looks a lot more ugly than it did previously.

Online, the game is still the same lag-fest that it was previously, with a message still displayed when entering the online portion confirming that this is still being worked on.

The changes are certainly not what fans of the game were hoping for, but at least it is now possible to play a penalty shootout in normal speed, rather than the framerate chugging slow-motion of before.

Hopefully, Konami can get the online issues sorted pronto and come up with a less crude way of maintaining the framerate in time for the next patch. On current form however, this does not seem particularly likely.

 

[Grecco]

PSP:
God of War Chains of Olympus: 22
Gran Turismo: 8

This one always makes me laugh. Thats 40 dollars worth of free money. :lol

 

[justjohn]

seems like konami are doing all they can to fuck up their biggest franchise. keep it up folks.

 

[kottila]

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2. Grand Theft Auto IV
3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
4. Halo Wars
5. God of War: Chains of Olympus

Wii:
SSBB: 158
NiGHTS: 6
Dragon Quest Swords: 2
Endless Ocean: 2

360:
Halo Wars: 24
Ninja Gaiden 2: 8
Too Human: 4

PS3:
Killzone 2: 6
Haze: 5
Unreal Tournament III: 4
LittleBigPlanet: 2

PC:
World of Warcraft Lich King: 10
Starcraft 2: 10

PSP:
God of War Chains of Olympus: 22
Gran Turismo: 8
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core: 2

Grand Theft Auto IV: 85
360: 58
PS3: 27

Star Wars The Force Unleashed: 35
360: 23
PS3: 15

Devil May Cry 4: 19
PS3: 10
360: 9

Mercenaries 2: 11
PS2: 7
360: 4

Nothing worth noting for the DS.

No Metal Gear Solid? Hard to reach 1 mill in one day with out a substantial amount of preorders. Didn't you say once you could multiply the number of preorders with 10 000 to get an estimated amount of sales (don't remember if that was for the first day or the whole month)?