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Media Create Sales: Week 36, 2017 (Sep 04 - Sep 10)

Vena

Member
I wonder why Capcom opted to release MHW in January from a sales standpoint. This also seems to be the first MH released in January. Do titles tend to sell strongly after December, or does an after-Christmas lull exist? Maybe it has to do with them trying to find a period that won't be contesting for sales with other end-of-year software, but not wanting to entirely miss out on the holiday season.

How does new software sales tend to fare in January traditionally?

This is for trying to hit the post-Holiday holiday for the Sony ecossystems, and to give them a lot of time at retail between launch and EoFY reporting.

There is a window after the holidays (January/February) where spending money gifts hit market, and this is when the Playstation ecosystem experiences a nice boost as normally holiday spending on games is more towards Nintendo platforms for the family/children angle of appeal. (Of course, with the Switch being a more go-between platform, its possible this year will see increased spending on the Switch as well but that doesn't change the broader point for Playstation.)

Likewise, Capcom needs good numbers for their end of year report, and the more time they give MHW, the more time they have for it to sell something for them to report positively for their shareholders.
 

BitStyle

Unconfirmed Member
This is for trying to hit the post-Holiday holiday for the Sony ecossystems, and to give them a lot of time at retail between launch and EoFY reporting.

There is a window after the holidays (January/February) where spending money gifts hit market, and this is when the Playstation ecosystem experiences a nice boost as normally holiday spending on games is more towards Nintendo platforms for the family/children angle of appeal. (Of course, with the Switch being a more go-between platform, its possible this year will see increased spending on the Switch as well but that doesn't change the broader point for Playstation.)

Likewise, Capcom needs good numbers for their end of year report, and the more time they give MHW, the more time they have for it to sell something for them to report positively for their shareholders.

That's quite interesting. Never considered this, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the informative post.
 

Vena

Member
That's quite interesting. Never considered this, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the informative post.

Of course, as noted, I have no idea how the switch will play into that dynamic since its not exactly a pure-family slanted platform in marketing/messaging/buying habits from the general look of things. Splatoon and ample stock may end up causing the Switch to experience a nice boost as well from this in parallel or in competition with the Playstation ecosystem this time around. We're in some weird waters now what with a platform like the Switch and Splatoon's selling power.

But in general, its a good idea to keep the post-Holiday time frame as an unspoken boon-time for Playstation and is why so many releases cram into that period as you don't want to go into the holiday competing with Nintendo's platforms as they will almost assuredly dominate and bury anything not on them and/or Dragon Quest.

The Switch in early 2018 is a bit of a ??? right now, it feels oddly sparse and unusually so for Nintendo. Perhaps they expect Splatoon to carry through the holiday and early 2018.

Ōkami;249330672 said:
The only head scratcher of that conference was finally giving EDF5 a release date while announding a new game that looks better.

Its the Capcom approach to game releases.
 
I wonder why Capcom opted to release MHW in January from a sales standpoint. This also seems to be the first MH released in January. Do titles tend to sell strongly after December, or does an after-Christmas lull exist? Maybe it has to do with them trying to find a period that won't be contesting for sales with other end-of-year software, but not wanting to entirely miss out on the holiday season.

How does new software sales tend to fare in January traditionally?

Aren't you just thinking about Japan here ? A traditional Monster Hunter game targeting Japan first would come in November like always, but one of the goals for this one was to release the same day worldwide. And in the West it's too dangerous to release a MH Game in November, so everyone have to be patient until early next year. I'm pretty sure MH World is already finished or pretty much finished and that Capcom could perfectly bring it to Japan this autumn, but they want to get everyone in the boat at the same time.

On another note, just in time for TGS, the MH World E3 trailer finally became the most viewed video on the japanese Capcom channel with 3,1 millions views. It has just beat this MH Portable 3 old trailer.
 

Vinnk

Member
This is for trying to hit the post-Holiday holiday for the Sony ecossystems, and to give them a lot of time at retail between launch and EoFY reporting.

There is a window after the holidays (January/February) where spending money gifts hit market, and this is when the Playstation ecosystem experiences a nice boost as normally holiday spending on games is more towards Nintendo platforms for the family/children angle of appeal. (Of course, with the Switch being a more go-between platform, its possible this year will see increased spending on the Switch as well but that doesn't change the broader point for Playstation.)

Likewise, Capcom needs good numbers for their end of year report, and the more time they give MHW, the more time they have for it to sell something for them to report positively for their shareholders.

January I understand (otoshidama) but still into February?
 

Vena

Member
Aren't you just thinking about Japan here ? A traditional Monster Hunter game targeting Japan first would come in November like always, but one of the goals for this one was to release the same day worldwide. And in the West it's too dangerous to release a MH Game in November, so everyone have to be patient until early next year. I'm pretty sure MH World is already finished or pretty much finished and that Capcom could perfectly bring it to Japan this autumn, but they want to get everyone in the boat at the same time.

I am unsure how much of a problem November would have been this year, there's not a bevy of open world releases or games even close to the same genre with most of everything this year coming out in September/October. If anything this was the year to Ride the Dragon for AAA releases. Last year (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_in_video_gaming), RE7 hitting January against a fairly large onslaught in September/October/November was more in line with what you're saying now, I think, even though that game *should* have been trying to hit up on the Halloween release time if any thing (and Gold misses that window again).

But this year...? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_in_video_gaming
Call of Duty WW2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) - November 3
Star Wars Battlefront 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) - November 17
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS) - November 17

Two shooters and Pokemon. No major open world competition of any kind for the month, leaving a huge window to potential hit on for a potential boon to sales in Black Friday/Cybermonday. I think they just missed Black Friday/Cybermonday for a worldwide release, and this is the next best window. Xenoblade 2 seems to be, oddly, aside from Skyrim one of the few, if not only, open world releases hitting around the holiday this year.

They miss an empty Japanese and western holiday, and I don't think its part of any master plan, I think this is just the earliest the title can actually launch/hit release.

January I understand (otoshidama) but still into February?

I was being generous with February and probably not very accurate, its largely just January. :p
 

Vena

Member
In reality it's only the first week of January that benefits more Sony systems. Sales collapse for everything after this.

I suppose I should revise my statement then in that World isn't even launching in the post-holiday holiday *week* for Japan.
 

Jaruru

Member
On another note, just in time for TGS, the MH World E3 trailer finally became the most viewed video on the japanese Capcom channel with 3,1 millions views. It has just beat this MH Portable 3 old trailer.

ever wonder why MHW E3 trailer has so many views? the Likes and Comments for that video doesn't even come together... I thought this was wildly spread?

one of the sources
https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHun...ver_wonder_why_the_views_for_mhworld_trailer/
 
So with Steins Gate Elite seemingly coming to Switch when and where are they going to reveal the info? Does 5pb has a livestream during TGS?

Famitsu had some scans up. Apparently it's simply stills from the anime with text overlays.

I'm not sure what the point of this release is at all.
 

Ōkami

Member
So, regarding the conference, its very much what we expected, no major new announcements and the 5th entry of Call of Duty and Yakuza on PS4 are the ones to carry the holiday season, though once again they're releasing a console bundle before the game is out.

Early 2018 is better than ever though, Monster Hunter alone makes it so, Dynasty Warriors and Fist of the North Star are big titles too, should be considerably bigger than this year, World should be the biggest January release since the Dragon Quest VI remake in 2010.

Switch should continue unabated through the holidays, as it was expected, though I was expecting some kind of PS4 price drop, but eh, Switch line up isn't that good either but Mario will still be bigger than anything PS4 this year except for Dragon Quest, and even then Switch will sell the most out of the being the new hotness anyway.

Who has the strongest holiday lineup? 3DS again, even if its just Pokémon and Yo-kai Watch, again.

On a side not the new Steins;Gate is indeed Switch bound, the new Famitsu preview shows it so, at least that's what appears from that super low res image.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Ōkami;249337971 said:
On a side not the new Steins;Gate is indeed Switch bound, the new Famitsu preview shows it so, at least that's what appears from that super low res image.

Huh. Interesting
 

Aters

Member
Ōkami;249330672 said:
The only head scratcher of that conference was finally giving EDF5 a release date while announding a new game that looks better.

I thought it was the same game. Yeah what's the deal of that?
 

L~A

Member
Ōkami;249337971 said:
On a side not the new Steins;Gate is indeed Switch bound, the new Famitsu preview shows it so, at least that's what appears from that super low res image.

steinsgateelitefamitsb9sn3.jpg

Looks like it, indeed. Game is only announced for two platforms so far (PS4 and PSV), but there's 3 platforms label + new one uses the same red Famitsu uses for Switch.

After Anonymous;Code announcement, can't say I'm surprised.
 
You think MHW will be one of the top 10 non-Nintendo console games in history? (would come in 8th or 9th) Beating all but 3 PS2 games in sales?

For reference only 1 PS4 game is currently over 1 million and only FFXIII on the PS3 did more than a million.

It's a bold prediction. I will give you that.

Two games are >1M.
 

L~A

Member
Here is another source for Steins;Gate Elite releasing on the Switch:

http://tgs.sega.jp/title/title_p9_sge.html

Is it worth playing (assuming it is localized) if I have already watched the anime?

Oh right, that what was posted a few days ago, but was dismissed as a listing error by everyone (myself included).

About the game, it's most definitely worth playing even if you've watched the anime. From what I understand, there's a ton not covered in the anime, so definitely worth playing just for that.
 

guyssorry

Member
Oh right, that what was posted a few days ago, but was dismissed as a listing error by everyone (myself included).

About the game, it's most definitely worth playing even if you've watched the anime. From what I understand, there's a ton not covered in the anime, so definitely worth playing just for that.

Oops. Had no idea that it was dismissed as a listing error. Anyway, thank you for the recommendations.
 
Oops. Had no idea that it was dismissed as a listing error. Anyway, thank you for the recommendations.
Because it wasn't actually announced, it was assumed to be a listing error on the publisher's part. Like how capcom accidentally had a banner than had the Wii U logo on Monster Hunter 4U
 

sphinx

the piano man
I am so out of the loop so maybe someone knows..

were there any signs at TGS that Japan will go PS4/NSW with multiplatform 3rd party games?

or did it stay one-sided?
 

L~A

Member
Oops. Had no idea that it was dismissed as a listing error. Anyway, thank you for the recommendations.

There's no "oops" in order, the Famitsu scan seemingly confirms it wasn't a listing error. Only a few hours left anyway, since magazine is out tomorrow.
 

Vena

Member
I am so out of the loop so maybe someone knows..

were there any signs at TGS that Japan will go PS4/NSW with multiplatform 3rd party games?

or did it stay one-sided?

We're seeing both, we're seeing some titles go PS4-only, some Switch-only, and now we're seeing what used to be more Vita-like titles showing up on the Switch as well as the PS4.
 

LordKano

Member
I am so out of the loop so maybe someone knows..

were there any signs at TGS that Japan will go PS4/NSW with multiplatform 3rd party games?

or did it stay one-sided?

If your question is about recent PS4/Switch announcements, there has been a few that Nirolak listed but not that much yet.
What's however clear is that the Vita developers are chasing the Switch now.
 

Mory Dunz

Member
Capcom must be betting the house on this. I still think they are not going to do as well in the West. With games like Destiny and other AAA shooters I don't really see people dropping those to play MonHun but Japan should set new records.

After that new story trailer I'm raising my expectations for its west performance. That type of narrative will help it imo.

And then when you add in PC
 

MoonFrog

Member
Idk I'm going to guess somewhere between 1 and 1.5 million until we see signs it is going to do ridiculously well for a PS4 game or really bad for a Monster Hunter on home consoles.

It isn't westernized into oblivion as far as my reading of MH fans' reactions here says.

It is a big jump for the series in terms of technology.

It isn't portable.

And it isn't on a particularly healthy system.

But it is still a big game and it seems it may be good and exciting, so I'm just guessing it'll do okay, given the negative particulars about where it is releasing but be a huge drop off in the domestic market none-the-less.
 

asagami_

Banned
Is SG Elite a new version of the original game or it's a sequel? Anyway, I would like see the game traslated in english. It would be one of my first Switch for sure.
 
After that new story trailer I'm raising my expectations for its west performance. That type of narrative will help it imo.

And then when you add in PC

I always thought it would do well in the west. 2.5m for the West and 1m for Japan. Now I'm in the 1.4-1.5m range for Japan.
 

Oregano

Member
Interesting tidbit that was mentioned elsewhere but Atelier Liddy & Souer(still don't know how to spell it) appeared in the Nintendo Direct but not in Sony's conference, unless I somehow missed it. It was also the first footage of the game released.
 

MoonFrog

Member
Interesting tidbit that was mentioned elsewhere but Atelier Liddy & Souer(still don't know how to spell it) appeared in the Nintendo Direct but not in Sony's conference, unless I somehow missed it. It was also the first footage of the game released.

Do those games usually lead Vita? Are they thinking it'll track portable rather than PS ecosystem?
 

Oregano

Member
Do those games usually lead Vita? Are they thinking it'll track portable rather than PS ecosystem?

Not sure about it from Koei Tecmo/Gust's perspective but I imagine it's one of those scenarios where Nintendo has more reason to highlight it(even if briefly) compared to Sony.

I'm not sure it will make any difference on the end result.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Interesting tidbit that was mentioned elsewhere but Atelier Liddy & Souer(still don't know how to spell it) appeared in the Nintendo Direct but not in Sony's conference, unless I somehow missed it. It was also the first footage of the game released.
Didn't know they were in the direct
 

Laplasakos

Member
Interesting tidbit that was mentioned elsewhere but Atelier Liddy & Souer(still don't know how to spell it) appeared in the Nintendo Direct but not in Sony's conference, unless I somehow missed it. It was also the first footage of the game released.

It appeared briefly in the opening video that was showing the future lineup.

EDIT: Now that i saw the footage you posted, i think it was the same video. Pretty sure i saw the gun roulete move.
 

Oregano

Member
It appeared briefly in the opening video that was showing the future lineup.

EDIT: Now that i saw the footage you posted, i think it was the same video. Pretty sure i saw the gun roulete move.

Yup, watched it again and it does show for a split second and appears to be part of the same footage shown during the direct.
 

Malakai

Member
As far as MH and DQ go pretty much they had to move to HD with this release or the next games release. While for DQ the series relevancy is mostly a Japan thing and mainline games dont release often with MH they only really had 2 choices since they released like 5 games on the 3DS. Switch or PS4. Switch wasn't out and PS4 was but with a low userbase. They pretty much were not going to be able to avoid losing 1.5m+ domestic sales regardless.

DQ already moved over to mobile. MH isn't suited to it. I don't really think DQ11's final ltd is going to be as dire as you do. The ROI will be lower but that's what happens when you have to balance a handheld that's shit in the West with a console that is shit in Japan but dominant in the West. Shrug.

Strategy is weird but everyone in Japan is trying to get away from Vita and 3DS is on its last legs. Now or never basically.

In the case of Dragon Quest sales, it greatest sales in the West have been on handhelds...And in the the case of Dragon Quest, like 80% of it sales typically comes from Japan...I'm not see the relevance of the PS4 western sales vs the 3DS western sales.
 

sinonobu

Banned
I know most of you don't really care but Nintendo Switch is finally coming to Korea on december 1st!!!

So happy that I can finally play console Nintendo games on my own language
 

ggx2ac

Member
I know most of you don't really care but Nintendo Switch is finally coming to Korea on december 1st!!!

So happy that I can finally play console Nintendo games on my own language

Good thing it's region free. It's hard to imagine much localisation support when Nintendo downsized the Korean branch during the 3ds/Wii U era.
 
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