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Media Create Sales: Week 22, 2014 (May 26 - Jun 01)

Wii U just had the biggest exclusive it'll ever have (well outside of a mainline mario game) and it couldn't even cross 20k.

The good thing the PS4 has going for it is that big 3rd party games are basically de facto exclusives in Japan, the bad thing for them is none of them are coming out any time soon. And just a few at most would be bigger than Mario kart so...

you are correct, only problem is those games are still far off. when is the next big PS4 exclusive game dropping anyway? (japan centric, 1st or 3rd party)
 

Opiate

Member
The migration towards mobile devices seems to be continuing unabated. There is room for other devices, but that room is shrinking over time, I think.
 
Am I interpreting this right when I say, Mario Kart is definately not an effective or the needed system seller believed?

Maybe. With "80-100%" sell-through, it's quite possible there just aren't enough copies on shelves in some major channels to move a lot of consoles while selling to the starving existing user base.
 

Scum

Junior Member
Where's my Advance Wars?!

The migration towards mobile devices seems to be continuing unabated. There is room for other devices, but that room is shrinking over time, I think.

If you had the resources to create a gaming device for Japan, handheld or console, what would you decide upon?
 

Opiate

Member
If you had the resources to create a gaming device for Japan, handheld or console, what would you decide upon?

Hoo boy. On one hand, mobile devices of all types are clearly more popular. On the other hand, I think that arena is more competitive -- there are more serious competitors (Android, iOS, 3DS, Vita) and those competitors are generally smarter and better run with more cache. You could probably convince me that there is an underserved market for a console-like device that could somehow also be portable; as in, not a traditional console, but still a console in the sense that it can be hooked up to a TV. This could even be a tablet that can attach to a dock, for example; by the time such a device released in 2017+, it could easily be as powerful as a PS4.

Or maybe it would look like nothing I've ever imagined. In short: I think the home console market is ripe for huge market disruption in a way that mobile really isn't right now. Mobile is the safer bet, though.
 

Araris

Neo Member
Hopefully the baseline for the Wii U stays above 9k this time around. Although I think another factor is that deluxe Wii Us (not bundled) are still $360 in Japan (at least from Amazon.co.jp). We probably could have hit the 40k guesses some people made had the console been $100 cheaper. I still think they have a serious pricing issue to address. Anybody know if this is the longest time any piece of Nintendo hardware has been above $250?
 

Jamix012

Member
Hopefully the baseline for the Wii U stays above 9k this time around. Although I think another factor is that deluxe Wii Us (not bundled) are still $360 in Japan (at least from Amazon.co.jp). We probably could have hit the 40k guesses some people made had the console been $100 cheaper. I still think they have a serious pricing issue to address. Anybody know if this is the longest time any piece of Nintendo hardware has been above $250?

Nintendo has never had hardware above $250 before the Wii U as far as I know. The NES-Gamecube all launched at $200 and the Wii launched at $250. The 3DS was $250 at launch too right?
 

big youth

Member
If I was still a game journalist I'd be jumping all over this story. Have there been many articles or videos about the sudden death of home consoles in Japan? The repercussions of this, and the growing discrepancy between Japan and other gaming markets should result in dramatic changes for Sony and Nintendo moving forward.

We assume some of the reasons are the secondhand market, mobile games, and an aging population, but it'd be nice to have some in-depth analysis and surveys to give us concrete data. I imagine if something similarly dramatic happened in the movie industry there would be plenty of attention given.
 

Longsword

Member
If I was still a game journalist I'd be jumping all over this story. Have there been many articles or videos about the sudden death of home consoles in Japan? The repercussions of this, and the growing discrepancy between Japan and other gaming markets should result in dramatic changes for Sony and Nintendo moving forward.

We assume some of the reasons are the secondhand market, mobile games, and an aging population, but it'd be nice to have some in-depth analysis and surveys to give us concrete data. I imagine if something similarly dramatic happened in the movie industry there would be plenty of attention given.

Dr. Serkan Toto does an excellent, excellent blog that deals with this subject a lot. The most relevant article would be this one.

I recommend all the rest on this site too, extremely good information, and he is well-respected academic on this field.
 

Opiate

Member
If I was still a game journalist I'd be jumping all over this story. Have there been many articles or videos about the sudden death of home consoles in Japan? The repercussions of this, and the growing discrepancy between Japan and other gaming markets should result in dramatic changes for Sony and Nintendo moving forward.

We assume some of the reasons are the secondhand market, mobile games, and an aging population, but it'd be nice to have some in-depth analysis and surveys to give us concrete data. I imagine if something similarly dramatic happened in the movie industry there would be plenty of attention given.

The important distinction here is that the movie industry should be equated to the video game industry, and the video game industry in Japan appears to be fine.

Home consoles are not so fine, but that isn't in itself a huge problem. It's still newsworthy, but not to the same degree. Drawing the parallels, the death of the movie industry would be hugely newsworthy, but the migration of users from DVD to digital, or the decline of the horror genre and rise of the sci fi genre (or whatever) are less so.
 

Scum

Junior Member

Shinra, pls. Any device. Doesn't have to be a console or handheld. :p

Hoo boy. On one hand, mobile devices of all types are clearly more popular. On the other hand, I think that arena is more competitive -- there are more serious competitors (Android, iOS, 3DS, Vita) and those competitors are generally smarter and better run with more cache. You could probably convince me that there is an underserved market for a console-like device that could somehow also be portable; as in, not a traditional console, but still a console in the sense that it can be hooked up to a TV. This could even be a tablet that can attach to a dock, for example; by the time such a device released in 2017+, it could easily be as powerful as a PS4.

Or maybe it would look like nothing I've ever imagined. In short: I think the home console market is ripe for huge market disruption in a way that mobile really isn't right now. Mobile is the safer bet, though.

Cheers for the response. Maybe Nintendo can eloborate on the idea behind the WiiU and Gamepad...
 

Longsword

Member
The important distinction here is that the movie industry should be equated to the game industry, and the game industry appears to be fine.

Home consoles are not, but that isn't in itself a problem. It's still newsworthy, but it's not the same. The death of the movie industry would be hugely newsworthy; the migration of users from DVD to digital, or the decline of Horror and the rise of Sci Fi are still newsworthy but significantly less so.

You hit the nail on the head. Gaming in Japan is GROWING, as this chart shows, it is just that the growth is coming from mobile:

japan-smartphone-game-market-mobile-620x352.png
 

prag16

Banned
Wait. Just to clarify. MK8 had a 80-100% sell through right? If the game is sold out, what incentive is there to purchase just the hardware?

Yeah, that indicates to me that both software and hardware could have a reasonably strong hold next week, since it looks like MK8 was to some degree supply constrained.

They shipped 400k. There was plenty of copies out there.

How long have we been at this? Greater than 80% sell through generally means there weren't "plenty available" all over the place. You're not likely to ever see every single copy of something sell out throughout a territory, so the 80-100% designation typically indicates a near-sellout.
 
http://www.gamegyokai.com/column/price-down.htm

Nintendo's systems Japanese launch prices + price cuts

Code:
+-----------------------+--------------+---------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+
|        System         | Release Date | Initial price | First price cut date | Price after first price cut | 2nd price cut date | Price after 2nd price cut | 3rd price cut date | Price after 3rd price cut |
+-----------------------+--------------+---------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+
| Famicom               | 7/15/1983    | ¥ 14,800      | -                    | -                           | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| Game Boy              | 4/21/1989    | ¥ 12,500      | 5/1/1994             | ¥ 8,000                     | 11/14/1998         | ¥ 3,800                   | -                  | -                         |
| └ Game Boy Pocket     | 7/21/1996    | ¥ 6,800       | 2/14/1998            | ¥ 5,800                     | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| Super Famicom         | 11/21/1990   | ¥ 25,000      | 8/14/1996            | ¥ 9,800                     | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| Nintendo 64           | 6/23/1996    | ¥ 25,000      | 3/14/1997            | ¥ 16,800                    | 7/1/1998           | ¥ 14,000                  | -                  | -                         |
| Game Boy Color        | 10/21/1998   | ¥ 8,900       | 5/23/1999            | ¥ 6,800                     | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| Game Boy Advance      | 3/21/2001    | ¥ 9,800       | 2/1/2002             | ¥ 8,800                     | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| └ Game Boy Advance SP | 2/14/2003    | ¥ 12,500      | 9/16/2004            | ¥ 9,800                     | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| GameCube              | 9/14/2001    | ¥ 25,000      | 6/3/2002             | ¥ 19,800                    | 10/17/2003         | ¥ 14,000                  | 17-Oct-05          | Open price                |
| Nintendo DS           | 12/2/2004    | ¥ 15,000      | -                    | -                           | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| └ Nintendo DSlite     | 3/2/2006     | ¥ 16,800      | 6/19/2010            | Open price                  | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| └ Nintendo DSi        | 11/1/2008    | ¥ 18,900      | 6/19/2010            | ¥ 15,000                    | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| └ Nintendo DSiLL      | 21-Nov-09    | ¥ 20,000      | 6/19/2010            | ¥ 18,000                    | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| Wii                   | 2-Dec-06     | ¥ 25,000      | Oct. 1, 2009         | ¥ 20,000                    | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| 3DS                   | 2/26/2011    | ¥ 25,000      | 8/11/2011            | ¥ 15,000                    | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| └   3DS LL            | 7/28/2012    | ¥ 18,900      | -                    | -                           | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| Wii U basic           | 12/8/2012    | ¥ 26,250      | -                    | -                           | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
| Wii U delux           | 12/8/2012    | ¥ 31,500      | -                    | -                           | -                  | -                         | -                  | -                         |
+-----------------------+--------------+---------------+----------------------+-----------------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+--------------------+---------------------------+

*The original Famicom itself never received an official price cut in Japan. However, Nintendo released a brand new model (HVC-10) in in Japan on December 1, 1993 for ¥6800.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System_(Model_NES-101))
 

boingball

Member
Wow at those Wii U numbers. I did expect 60k, 30k, two or three weeks above 10k before going back to the PS4 basement. The Wii U as a system seems to be dead, all Nintendo fans seems to have bought it already and the Nintendo games coming out are selling well to those fans but not enticing any new buyers.
 

duckroll

Member
The migration towards mobile devices seems to be continuing unabated. There is room for other devices, but that room is shrinking over time, I think.

I think that the optimal solution for a company like Nintendo, that has no other businesses outside of dedicated game hardware and software, is to acknowledge that the market for what they offer is shrinking, and adapt to that reality rather than trying too hard to resist or fight it.

Downsize the company, lower sales and market expectations, secure their place as the definitive player in what will increasingly become a more and more niche industry, and continue to provide the same quality experiences they are good at.
 

Scum

Junior Member
I think that the optimal solution for a company like Nintendo, that has no other businesses outside of dedicated game hardware and software, is to acknowledge that the market for what they offer is shrinking, and adapt to that reality rather than trying too hard to resist or fight it.

Downsize the company, lower sales and market expectations, secure their place as the definitive player in what will increasingly become a more and more niche industry, and continue to provide the same quality experiences they are good at.
😒
 

sörine

Banned
MC doesn't count download cards
They're not downloads, they're discs. MC counts all other disc bundles but not the Wii U ones for some reason.

edit- Nevermind, I looked again and they are downloads. Weird, I though they were disc copies except for Fit?
 
I found some updated shipment figures for Nintendos million sellers again. ;)

I'll update it later, because I need to translate it from japanese.


The last number we had for Fire Emblem: Awakening was 1.290.000 as of September 2013.

Well, it's at 1.430.000 units as of December 2013.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
I found some updated shipment figures for Nintendos million sellers again. ;)

I'll update it later, because I need to translate it from japanese.


The last number we had for Fire Emblem: Awakening was 1.290.000 as of September 2013.

Well, it's at 1.430.000 units as of December 2013.

Interested in know more of this. :)
 
I found some updated shipment figures for Nintendos million sellers again. ;)

I'll update it later, because I need to translate it from japanese.


The last number we had for Fire Emblem: Awakening was 1.290.000 as of September 2013.

Well, it's at 1.430.000 units as of December 2013.

140k in three months about eighteen months after launch, impressive
 
3DS Update

Code:
Game				Last Update		Dec. 2013		Plus

Fire Emblem: Awakening		1.290.000 (Sep. 13)	1.430.000		+ 140.000
Pokemon Rumble Blast		1.310.000 (Jun. 13)	1.350.000		+ 40.000
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon		1.040.000 (Jun. 13)	1.270.000		+ 230.000
Kid Icarus: Uprising		1.210.000 (Jun. 13)	1.230.000		+ 20.000
Mario Tennis Open		1.160.000 (Jun. 13)	1.210.000		+ 50.000
Style Savvy: Trendsetters	-------------------	1.030.000		+ 1.030.000
 
3DS Update

Code:
Game				Last Update		Dec. 2013		Plus

Fire Emblem: Awakening		1.290.000 (Sep. 13)	1.430.000		+ 140.000
Pokemon Rumble Blast		1.310.000 (Jun. 13)	1.350.000		+ 40.000
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon		1.040.000 (Jun. 13)	1.270.000		+ 230.000
Kid Icarus: Uprising		1.210.000 (Jun. 13)	1.230.000		+ 20.000
Mario Tennis Open		1.160.000 (Jun. 13)	1.210.000		+ 50.000
Style Savvy: Trendsetters	-------------------	1.030.000		+ 1.030.000

Good find
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Style Savvy a million seller, despite what happened to lots of more casual oriented games? Not bad, after all.
 
3DS Update

Code:
Game				Last Update		Dec. 2013		Plus

Fire Emblem: Awakening		1.290.000 (Sep. 13)	1.430.000		+ 140.000
Pokemon Rumble Blast		1.310.000 (Jun. 13)	1.350.000		+ 40.000
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon		1.040.000 (Jun. 13)	1.270.000		+ 230.000
Kid Icarus: Uprising		1.210.000 (Jun. 13)	1.230.000		+ 20.000
Mario Tennis Open		1.160.000 (Jun. 13)	1.210.000		+ 50.000
Style Savvy: Trendsetters	-------------------	1.030.000		+ 1.030.000
I wish Kid Icarus had done better, but I think the control scheme contributed to poor word of mouth. Maybe if they do a Wii U version they can go for something more conventional.
 
Anyone else just not enjoy the Japanese charts anymore? I loved looking at sales numbers last gen, but now everything sucks. Mobile is exploding but we don't see the numbers, while traditional gaming is dying. Even the 3DS is stagnating. It's depressing to watch.
 
Wii Updates - notice the lols

Code:
Game				Last Update		Dec. 2013		Plus

Wii Party			8.850.000 (Jun. 13)	8.920.000		+ 70.000
Mario Party 8			8.720.000 (Jun. 13)	8.850.000		+ 130.000
Super Mario Galaxy 2		7.330.000 (Sep. 13)	7.410.000		+ 80.000
Zelda: Twilight Princess	7.200.000 (Sep. 13)	7.260.000		+ 60.000 (lol)
Donkey Kong Country: Returns	6.300.000 (Jun. 13)	6.530.000		+ 230.000
Animal Crossing: City Folk	4.270.000 (Jun. 13)	4.320.000		+ 50.000
Super Paper Mario		4.110.000 (Jun. 13)	4.230.000		+ 120.000
Zelda: Skyward Sword		3.660.000 (Sep. 13)	3.670.000		+ 10.000 (lol)
Mario Party 9			2.950.000 (Jun. 13)	3.110.000		+ 160.000
Mario Strikers: Charged		2.580.000 (Jun. 13)	2.600.000		+ 20.000
Kirbys Epic Yarn		1.840.000 (Jun. 13)	1.850.000		+ 10.000
Mario Power Tennis GCN		1.770.000 (Jun. 13)	1.790.000		+ 20.000
Kirby Return Dreamland		1.740.000 (Jun. 13)	1.790.000		+ 50.000
Wii Play: Motion		1.610.000 (Jun. 13)	1.640.000		+ 30.000
Metroid Prime 3			1.420.000 (Jun. 13)	1.410.000		- 10.000 (lol)
PokePark Wii: Pikachus Adv	1.200.000 (Jun. 13)	1.250.000		+ 50.000
Punch-Out!!			1.130.000 (Jun. 13)	1.140.000		+ 10.000
 

RiggyRob

Member
Wii Updates - notice the lols

Code:
Game				Last Update		Dec. 2013		Plus

Wii Party			8.850.000 (Jun. 13)	8.920.000		+ 70.000
Mario Party 8			8.720.000 (Jun. 13)	8.850.000		+ 130.000
Super Mario Galaxy 2		7.330.000 (Sep. 13)	7.410.000		+ 80.000
Zelda: Twilight Princess	7.200.000 (Sep. 13)	7.260.000		+ 60.000 (lol)
Donkey Kong Country: Returns	6.300.000 (Jun. 13)	6.530.000		+ 230.000
Animal Crossing: City Folk	4.270.000 (Jun. 13)	4.320.000		+ 50.000
Super Paper Mario		4.110.000 (Jun. 13)	4.230.000		+ 120.000
Zelda: Skyward Sword		3.660.000 (Sep. 13)	3.670.000		+ 10.000 (lol)
Mario Party 9			2.950.000 (Jun. 13)	3.110.000		+ 160.000
Mario Strikers: Charged		2.580.000 (Jun. 13)	2.600.000		+ 20.000
Kirbys Epic Yarn		1.840.000 (Jun. 13)	1.850.000		+ 10.000
Mario Power Tennis GCN		1.770.000 (Jun. 13)	1.790.000		+ 20.000
Kirby Return Dreamland		1.740.000 (Jun. 13)	1.790.000		+ 50.000
Wii Play: Motion		1.610.000 (Jun. 13)	1.640.000		+ 30.000
[B]Metroid Prime 3			1.420.000 (Jun. 13)	1.410.000		- 10.000 (lol)[/B]
PokePark Wii: Pikachus Adv	1.200.000 (Jun. 13)	1.250.000		+ 50.000
Punch-Out!!			1.130.000 (Jun. 13)	1.140.000		+ 10.000

Japan really doesn't like the Retro-made Metroid games. How does that even happen anyway?
 

Opiate

Member
I think that the optimal solution for a company like Nintendo, that has no other businesses outside of dedicated game hardware and software, is to acknowledge that the market for what they offer is shrinking, and adapt to that reality rather than trying too hard to resist or fight it.

Downsize the company, lower sales and market expectations, secure their place as the definitive player in what will increasingly become a more and more niche industry, and continue to provide the same quality experiences they are good at.

That's a plausible approach, and is similar to what Sony is doing on a grander scale; Sony is rapidly cutting off employees and departments, and retreating to markets that are safe and reliable for them.

That approach (obviously) has downsides, but also runs a smaller risk of complete collapse. It's up to Nintendo to decide if they want to take a riskier path that could potentially collapse their entire business model, or retreat to safe ground and save what they have left.
 
One thing I have noticed as of late with ps4 sales is that they are slowing down everywhere I visit.. I always venture to the game section of whatever Target / Walmart I visit .. and a few months ago I could never find a single ps4 in the case .. it was always empty ... X1 case was always full with 5 to 6 units ...

Now what im seeing is the ps4 case with a few units available .. and the stock of the x1 seems to look the same.. I have a feeling that sales are going to slow down drastically this year until maybe Christmas.
 

Chris1964

Sales-Age Genius
Chris, I'd like to hear your opinions on this.

MK8 was never going to save Wii U, neither Nintendo believes this system can be saved anymore. I was expecting a bigger hw bump but if the game manages to raise the baseline above 10k for the next weeks it will be a small victory for Nintendo.
 
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