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[duckroll]

How about Strange Journey? Might be a good comparison.

A good comparison to what? The main objective here would be to see how many fans they can retain with a re-release/expansion/asset-recyclesequel of a major numbered game.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I really don't think its problem is using sprites.

I think it is...its been more or less the same re-used sprites for decades even though they already raised the bar on PS2. There are a bunch of people who just arent interested anymore in sprites and it makes the game look unappealing to them.

Of course its not the only reason, but im pretty sure the same game with 3D battles would have sold more. Main point is that SMT IV sold quite well to new customers who arent interested in the same type of experience again.

 

[RPGamer92]

Setsuna is digital only right?

 

[Kazer]

Setsuna is digital only right?

No. Physical for Vita and PS4. It comes out tomorrow.

 

[hiska-kun]

Bomba Christmas 2015 (Famitsu)

17./00. [WIU] Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival <TBL> (Nintendo) {2015.11.21} (¥6.000) - 4.101 / 65.526 <60-80%>
27./25. [PSV] Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs-Force # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2015.12.23} (¥6.800) - 2.521 / 130.339 <60-80%> (-7%)
28./00. [3DS] Pokemon Rumble World <ACT> (Pokemon Co.) {2015.11.19} (¥3.700) - 2.422 / 55.262 <60-80%>

Prices slashed, and still trying to sell the first shipment.

 

[KillerMan91]

I'm impressed of Rainbow 6: Siege legs. Lifetime sales are already three times higher than first week. I guess that's good for The Division.

Yeah. Glad to see as the game is fucking great. Also overall it seems that western titles on PS4 have better legs than Japanese games.

 

[Raylan]

Media Create Sales: Week 6, 2016 (Feb 08 - Feb 14)

HARDWARE

+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System |  This Week |  Last Week |  Last Year |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
[B]|  PS4  |     27.576 |     31.058 |     21.381 |    177.783 |    148.138 |   2.478.860 |[/B]
| 3DS # |     27.555 |     27.544 |     58.745 |    229.054 |    420.776 |  20.415.053 |
| PSV # |     17.104 |     23.090 |     11.489 |    149.847 |    147.871 |   4.743.245 |
|  WIU  |      3.933 |      3.939 |      7.007 |     68.221 |     77.147 |   3.088.883 |
|  PS3  |      1.633 |      1.715 |      6.683 |     11.735 |     62.039 |  10.399.829 |
|  XB1  |        101 |        286 |        191 |        923 |      2.410 |      64.814 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  ALL  |     77.902 |     87.632 |    105.496 |    637.563 |    858.381 |  41.190.684 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  PSV  |     17.104 |     23.090 |     10.901 |    149.847 |    142.835 |   4.557.793 |
|n-3DSLL|     19.691 |     19.991 |     41.821 |    161.126 |    237.609 |   2.631.242 |
| n-3DS |      4.695 |      4.389 |      9.584 |     36.628 |     97.708 |     869.076 |
| 3DSLL |        452 |        459 |      4.126 |      5.272 |     44.913 |   6.948.535 |
|  3DS  |      2.717 |      2.705 |      3.214 |     26.028 |     40.546 |   9.966.200 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+

Spoiler

The japanese one was overdue

 

[EhoaVash]

japanese sales have gotten rather too stale to even have a good discussion about =/

I'm not expecting SF5 to blow up the charts or anything tbh

 

[Rabid Dwarf 76]

SMT4Final sales makes sense on some level - its 2016 i think the time for 2D sprites battles for a full price game is over, with 3DS being replaced soon this is the last hurrah for this type of graphics and the most dedicated fans. Even Pokemon and Dragon Quest have moved on a long time ago.

SMT 4 had the bonus of being the first numbered sequel in the mainline series after a long ass time.

You leave my 2D sprites alone!

 

[twothunder]

01./00. [3DS] Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final <RPG> (Atlus) {2016.02.10} (¥6.480) - 96.349 / NEW
Okay at best. Expected a bit more.

03./00. [PS4] Valkyria Chronicles Remastered <SLG> (Sega) {2016.02.10} (¥4.990) - 24.156 / NEW
Valkyria Chronicles doing nothing impressive here

02./02. [PSV] Dragon Quest Builders: Alefgard o Fukkatsu Niseyo # <ADV> (Square Enix) {2016.01.28} (¥5.980) - 24.536 / 248.943 (-47%)
04./03. [PS4] Dragon Quest Builders: Alefgard o Fukkatsu Niseyo <ADV> (Square Enix) {2016.01.28} (¥7.800) - 16.434 / 190.587 (-50%)
05./04. [PS3] Dragon Quest Builders: Alefgard o Fukkatsu Niseyo <ADV> (Square Enix) {2016.01.28} (¥6.800) - 13.233 / 85.538 (-31%)

Dragon Quest Builders doing quite well. Already over 500K

06./05. [WIU] Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash <SPT> (Nintendo) {2016.01.28} (¥4.700) - 13.095 / 86.283 (-27%)
Still here. Out of all the Wii-U games..

08./07. [WIU] Splatoon # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.05.28} (¥5.700) - 11.039 / 1.251.264 (-7%)
09./08. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch Busters: Red Cat Team / White Dog Squad <ACT> (Level 5) {2015.07.11} (¥4.600) - 9.297 / 2.203.034 (-9%)
10./09. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition <ADV> (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2015.03.19} (¥2.400) - 8.992 / 660.143 (+1%)
11./06. [3DS] Monster Hunter X # <ACT> (Capcom) {2015.11.28} (¥5.800) - 8.902 / 2.683.815 (-34%)
12./11. [3DS] Monster Strike <RPG> (Mixi) {2015.12.17} (¥4.500) - 7.477 / 795.122 (-5%)
13./14. [WIU] Super Mario Maker # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.09.10} (¥5.700) - 5.186 / 795.531 (-15%)
19./22. [3DS] Rhythm Heaven: The Best+ <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.06.11} (¥4.700) - 3.433 / 650.961

The legs brigade still going. Minecraft increasing a slight bit and one can wonder how Splatoon stays around 10K with the Wii-U shortage.

PS4 | 27.576
3DS # | 27.555
PSV # | 17.104
WIU | 3.933
PS4 and Vita dropping down. PS4 and 3DS now less than x-one sales apart
Wii-U still down because of stock problems. Come now, nintendo.

 

[jj984jj]

I think it is...its been more or less the same re-used sprites for decades even though they already raised the bar on PS2. There are a bunch of people who just arent interested anymore in sprites and it makes the game look unappealing to them.

Of course its not the only reason, but im pretty sure the same game with 3D battles would have sold more. Main point is that SMT IV sold quite well to new customers who arent interested in the same type of experience again.

But if they were that unappealing SMTIV wouldn't have been successful to begin with really, and there's no real substance to the theory that the sprites are the reason this didn't sell more.

Also those 3D assets weren't fresh either, they were reused across plenty of games from that era. By the time Raidou 2 came out they were pretty stale.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

I'm impressed of Rainbow 6: Siege legs. Lifetime sales are already three times higher than first week. I guess that's good for The Division.

I'm hoping this is the case worldwide, too.

I plan on picking it up soon since word of mouth is pretty strong. It just released in a pretty crowded window of games.

 

[shortsFortallPeople]

just for comparison's sake, what did Valkyria Chronicles do when it launched on the PS3?

 

[Tripon]

There's a Wii U shortage in Japan?

 

[crinale]

If that blogger guy is right Nintendo will suffer stock issues until sometime in March (or whole, depending on what he meant).
I'd say SMT4 is a flop indeed but I'd blame it to Atlus for making it sound like it's just a "plus" version of the predecessor.

I'm hoping this is the case worldwide, too.

I plan on picking it up soon since word of mouth is pretty strong. It just released in a pretty crowded window of games.

Japanese market is getting "Westernized" gradually for sure. The whole Asian market following Western trend is helping the move too I guess.

 

[Chris1964]

If that blogger guy is right Nintendo will suffer stock issues until sometime in March (or whole, depending on what he meant).

I don't think we'll have 2 full months of shartage. End of February or start of March situation will become normal.

 

[NeonZ]

But if they were that unappealing SMTIV wouldn't have been successful to begin with really, and there's no real substance to the theory that the sprites are the reason this didn't sell more.

Also those 3D assets weren't fresh either, they were reused across plenty of games from that era. By the time Raidou 2 came out they were pretty stale.

Raidou at least gave them new textures. Atlus couldn't even bother redoing the artwork of more than about 30 to 40 demons this time. If the demon didn't get a new design, he'll be using the same sprite from Strange Journey or even Soul Hackers.

So far, it seems like SMTIVF actually has less demons than SMTIV. The marketing mentioned about 450 demons, but the full in-game list stops at 410 or 411 right now (they cut all guest designed SMTIV demons that haven't been redrawn by the game's actual character designer). SMTIV had 426 demons (although that's including the 11 DLC demons).

I'd say SMT4 is a flop indeed but I'd blame it to Atlus for making it sound like it's just a "plus" version of the predecessor.

Even though there's a new story with a new protagonist, in several ways its roots as a SMTIV expansion still show with the heavy asset reuse and aspects of the general game design. (Spoilers for SMTIV's and IVF's law and chaos endings)

Spoiler

The Chaos and Law endings even are basically lower budget versions of the Law and Chaos ending from SMTIV, with no final dungeon or 2nd form for the redrawn Lucifer/Merkabah; also no walking around in destroyed Mikado before finishing the game in the Chaos ending.

 

[Chris Metal]

Xbox One only selling 5 consoles this week... Finally reaching those single digits.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

Good to see DQB still going.

PS4 hardware is solid and I think SFV, AoT and Setsuna should aid in PS4 holding or perhaps provide a small bump collectively.

 

[cw_sasuke]

You leave my 2D sprites alone!

..i dont think the next SMT games will use those oldschool 2D sprites.

But if they were that unappealing SMTIV wouldn't have been successful to begin with really, and there's no real substance to the theory that the sprites are the reason this didn't sell more.

Also those 3D assets weren't fresh either, they were reused across plenty of games from that era. By the time Raidou 2 came out they were pretty stale.

As said - SMT IV was a special case, this was the first numbered SMT maingame in a long time so there was more excitement compared to other games in the series. The sprites were fine for SMT IV, but not for a sequel in 2016 - if their plan was to sell as much copies as before.

3D battles would have been an easy and obvious way way to distinguish the game from its predecessor and a selling point for many people. Every 2nd question about the game is about if this a new game or just Best-Of version of SMT IV.

3D assets being fresh isnt the point, its just what a majority of customers expect at this point - Persona, Etrian Odyssey also have moved on and especially in SMT 4 case it would make sense since everything else outside of the battles/overworld is also 3D - so there is some kind of disconnect.

IntSys went all out on Fire Emblem Fates to achieve the same kind of sales Awakening had - i dont think Atlus could convince the audience that picked up SMT IV that they did the same.

 

[wrowa]

I think it is...its been more or less the same re-used sprites for decades even though they already raised the bar on PS2. There are a bunch of people who just arent interested anymore in sprites and it makes the game look unappealing to them.

Of course its not the only reason, but im pretty sure the same game with 3D battles would have sold more. Main point is that SMT IV sold quite well to new customers who arent interested in the same type of experience again.

And you think those people would have been interested again if Final had 3D battles? Quite frankly, I can't see it being a very significant factor for this particular game. Sure, it may had sold some more units with increased production values, but I don't think we're talking about a significant enough number here that would have a big difference on sales (and likely wouldn't have been worthwhile financially).

SMT4 Final's sales potential is just somewhat limited by its very own nature. It's not just re-using assets of SMT4, it also builds up on it. You aren't just catering specifically to people who liked a game and want more of it, but the naming also implies that it's to a certain degree dependent on the knowledge acquired in the the previous game. Even if this isn't actually true, you will still have a lot of people who liked SMT4, but didn't finish it and thus think they should rather finish SMT4 first instead of buying SMT4 Final. After all, you might miss something otherwise. And, well, we have enough data that shows that a majority of people don't reach the end of an RPG (or any game, for that matter).

So, once you only have a limited audience to begin with - an audience that predominately consists of people who liked the predecessor - I don't see the presentation mattering much anymore. People who didn't like SMT4 enough to finish it or who just think they aren't "ready" for Final, aren't going to change their minds just because the battles look more fancy.

It would be another matter if this was SMT5, though, since in video games people have come to expect that a new number equals an entirely new game, largely independent of its predecessors.

Whether or not those sales are good and bad... I don't know. I'd assume it's still in line with Atlus' expectations, but on the lower side of it. Maybe a bit lower. A bit disappointing but not "bad".

 

[Chris1964]

As for the dead PS3

15./12. [PS3] Yakuza: Kiwami <ADV> (Sega) {2016.01.21} (¥6.490) - 4.973 / 90.234 (-31%)
16./10. [PS4] Yakuza: Kiwami <ADV> (Sega) {2016.01.21} (¥6.490) - 4.204 / 135.766 (-48%)

 

[cw_sasuke]

And you think those people would have been interested again if Final had 3D battles? Quite frankly, I can't see it being a very significant factor for this particular game. Sure, it may had sold some more units with increased production values, but I don't think we're talking about a significant enough number here that would have a big difference on sales (and likely wouldn't have been worthwhile financially).

SMT4 Final's sales potential is just somewhat limited by its very own nature. It's not just re-using assets of SMT4, it also builds up on it. You aren't just catering specifically to people who liked a game and want more of it, but the naming also implies that it's to a certain degree dependent on the knowledge acquired in the the previous game. Even if this isn't actually true, you will still have a lot of people who liked SMT4, but didn't finish it and thus think they should rather finish SMT4 first instead of buying SMT4 Final. After all, you might miss something otherwise. And, well, we have enough data that shows that a majority of people don't reach the end of an RPG (or any game, for that matter).

So, once you only have a limited audience to begin with - an audience that predominately consists of people who liked the predecessor - I don't see the presentation mattering much anymore. People who didn't like SMT4 enough to finish it or who just think they aren't "ready" for Final, aren't going to change their minds just because the battles look more fancy.

It would be another matter if this was SMT5, though, since in video games people have come to expect that a new number equals an entirely new game, largely independent of its predecessors.

Whether or not those sales are good and bad... I don't know. I'd assume it's still in line with Atlus' expectations, but on the lower side of it. Maybe a bit lower. A bit disappointing but not "bad".

I more or less agree with your argumentation though argumentation, 3D battles were just an example of something new/different they could have brought to the table to offset the expected lower sales coming from SMT IV. I know there were a lot of people who liked SMT3 on PS2 and were turned off by IV going back to 2D Sprites. IV Final is definitely aimed at hardcore users who finished IV and ready again for the same kind of experience.

Just looking at the game and considering how much it builds on the foundation established by SMT IV i doubt that Atlus will be disappointed by its sales. This reminds me of the way they have been handling the EO releases and re/releases and selling around 100k FW seems to be enough to justify further entries.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

As for the dead PS3

Pretty good for a dead system.

 

[Rabid Dwarf 76]

I guess sprite lovers are a dying bread. It makes me sad. I love having hundreds of unique sprites vs pallet swaps of the same 3D enemies.

 

[Kanann]

Even though there's a new story with a new protagonist, in several ways its roots as a SMTIV expansion still show with the heavy asset reuse and aspects of the general game design. (Spoilers for SMTIV's and IVF's law and chaos endings)

Spoiler

The Chaos and Law endings even are basically lower budget versions of the Law and Chaos ending from SMTIV, with no final dungeon or 2nd form for the redrawn Lucifer/Merkabah; also no walking around in destroyed Mikado before finishing the game in the Chaos ending.

It's because this time they're focus on

Spoiler

neutral peace and neutral anarchy ending.

 

[Chris1964]

Something happend with Famitsu and amiibo Festival last week

17./00. [WIU] Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival <TBL> (Nintendo) {2015.11.21} (¥6.000) - 4.101 / 65.526 <60-80%> (+212%)

 

[Crawl]

what was ps3's total sales / average per week at this point in its life compared to ps4? Is it safe to say ps4 is more of a success in japan than ps3 was?

 

[1st Course]

Wouldn't have described it better myself.

I remember someone in the other thread mentioning the game had pretty good reception, so that should translate in good sales in the following weeks, hopefully.



Isn't that just retailers slashing the prices? As opposed to "healthy" legs like Animal Crossing or Splatoon.

/
Possible. Is it currently being discounted by retailers?

 

[notaskwid]

I wouldn't call Final a success in the same way as most agree that FFXIII-2 was not a success. Not horrible though, should still be profitable, and better hold for SMTIV: Final (comparatively)

01. / 00. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix) - 1.501.964 / NEW

[PS3] Final Fantasy XIII-2 # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2011.12.15} (¥7.980) - 524.217 / NEW <62,06%>

 

[jj984jj]

Raidou at least gave them new textures. Atlus couldn't even bother redoing the artwork of more than about 30 to 40 demons this time. If the demon didn't get a new design, he'll be using the same sprite from Strange Journey or even Soul Hackers.

So far, it seems like SMTIVF actually has less demons than SMTIV. The marketing mentioned about 450 demons, but the full in-game list stops at 410 or 411 right now (they cut all guest designed SMTIV demons that haven't been redrawn by the game's actual character designer). SMTIV had 426 demons (although that's including the 11 DLC demons).

I agree that 3D does have its benefits, but I think this did as well as it was going to and 3D battles wouldn't have changed that. They will have to make the switch back to 3D with the next main installment, which I have no doubt they'll do.

I more or less agree with your argumentation though argumentation, 3D battles were just an example of something new/different they could have brought to the table to offset the expected lower sales coming from SMT IV. I know there were a lot of people who liked SMT3 on PS2 and were turned off by IV going back to 2D Sprites. IV Final is definitely aimed at hardcore users who finished IV and ready again for the same kind of experience.

Just looking at the game and considering how much it builds on the foundation established by SMT IV i doubt that Atlus will be disappointed by its sales. This reminds me of the way they have been handling the EO releases and re/releases and selling around 100k FW seems to be enough to justify further entries.

I don't see how you can agree with that and argue that 3D assets would've brought back buyers.

 

[Devilgunman]

Holyfckingball builders hold tight to their spots. Splatoon is back to Top 10 as well.

 

[mrmickfran]

That Xbone number is Wonderful.

 

[Newtype-001]

I'm impressed of Rainbow 6: Siege legs. Lifetime sales are already three times higher than first week. I guess that's good for The Division.

Nice that japans giving siege some love.

 

[DannyDanger]

Good to see DQB still going.

PS4 hardware is solid and I think SFV, AoT and Setsuna should aid in PS4 holding or perhaps provide a small bump collectively.

They're all coming in the same week?

 

[Kazer]

They're all coming in the same week?

Yup! All three of them come out tomorrow.

 

[Fisico]

Considering the art and style of SMTIV I'm glad they sticked to 2D for battles instead of ugly ass lifeless 3D models like Persona Q.

Almost every single game use 3D already (and don't benefit that much of it), can we still have a mid-tier licence rpg making proper use of 2D pretty please ?

 

[Chris1964]

They're all coming in the same week?

All bombs together.

 

[Nirolak]

App Annie has done a long overdue UI update to include app icons. I thought I'd note that here in case anyone was doing casual browsing and was having trouble reading the list without clicking on each game: https://www.appannie.com/apps/ios/top/japan/overall/?device=iphone

It looks like this now if the site is blocked at your work/school:

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

Are those considered good sales for Dragon Quest Builders? It's over half a million in Japan, and I can see it selling 750K in Japan. What's the general consensus?

Looking at PS4 hardware numbers as usual gives me the same reaction

 

[cw_sasuke]

App Annie has done a long overdue UI update to include app icons. I thought I'd note that here in case anyone was doing casual browsing and was having trouble reading the list without clicking on each game: https://www.appannie.com/apps/ios/top/japan/overall/?device=iphone

It looks like this now if the site is blocked at your work/school:

Wonder when and if Gung-Ho will be able to get another mobile hit - the market in the Top 10 is getting crowded. They make so much money you would think they would be able to leverage some of the PaD popularity to launch new exciting f2p projects.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

Are those considered good sales for Dragon Quest Builders? It's over half a million in Japan, and I can see it selling 750K in Japan. What's the general consensus?

Looking at PS4 hardware numbers as usual gives me the same reaction

It is doing good. Not an amazing success but certainly a good success. Absolutely better than the usual doom and gloom certain users were attaching to it before launch.

Is that a good or bad reaction? lol

 

[kuroneko0509]

Something happend with Famitsu and amiibo Festival last week

17./00. [WIU] Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival <TBL> (Nintendo) {2015.11.21} (¥6.000) - 4.101 / 65.526 <60-80%> (+212%)

i guess famitsu tracks this stores, but not mc lol http://blog.esuteru.com/archives/8504401.html

 

[cheesekao]

App Annie has done a long overdue UI update to include app icons. I thought I'd note that here in case anyone was doing casual browsing and was having trouble reading the list without clicking on each game: https://www.appannie.com/apps/ios/top/japan/overall/?device=iphone

It looks like this now if the site is blocked at your work/school:

I've always wondered why Sony's gaming division aren't the ones publishing Fate G/O. I get that Sony's many divisions are autonomous but still.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

It is doing good. Not an amazing success but certainly a good success. Absolutely better than the usual doom and gloom certain users were attaching to it before launch.

Is that a good or bad reaction? lol

In regards to hardware? Bad of course.

 

[Pennywise83]

Something happend with Famitsu and amiibo Festival last week

17./00. [WIU] Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival <TBL> (Nintendo) {2015.11.21} (¥6.000) - 4.101 / 65.526 <60-80%> (+212%)

Also, amiibo Festival might have better legs because people are buying amiibos.

 

[Nirolak]

Wonder when and if Gung-Ho will be able to get another mobile hit - the market in the Top 10 is getting crowded. They make so much money you would think they would be able to leverage some of the PaD popularity to launch new exciting f2p projects.

Gung-Ho is kind of an oddity. While Morishita had a really good idea for a mobile game, and had impeccable timing for releasing it, I think he's actually really bad at being a CEO.

With their vast influx of cash, Gung-Ho has bought a few deadweight studios like Grasshopper, released the same low budget, generally low quality dedicated device games they always have, and have had a very reserved title count in general in the mobile, online, and dedicated device spaces. None of these titles have been very impressively produced as well.

I don't see any signs that they're using their cash to entice high profile hitmakers or corporate managers to join their company and make new successful titles either, so it's unlikely that the quality or success rate of their new games is going to change either.

Pretty much everything they've done seems to follow in the fancy of whatever interests Morishita personally while spending as little cash as possible so they can coast indefinitely.

Comparing them to COLOPL, another huge-hit mobile company run by a notably young person, and they make serious efforts into launching as many successful games as possible. They have two top ten mega hits (in the monthly charts) and a bunch of other strong titles throughout the top 100. That's a company that will probably stick around as a notable player while Gung-Ho fades out within the next couple of years.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

In regards to hardware? Bad of course.

What would you consider good hardware numbers?

 

[HardRojo]

Wow, Wii U fell off a cliff so bad. Nintendo has to knock it out of the park with NX.
SFV will probably help PS4 keep the momentum, but not exactly raise it or anything, we'll see come next week.

 

[duckroll]

I've always wondered why Sony's gaming division aren't the ones publishing Fate G/O. I get that Sony's many divisions are autonomous but still.

You are assuming the option was on the table at all. Fate GO was Type-Moon's founder giving his friend's mobile startup a dream gig as a favor. Aniplex is just along for the marketing ride.