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[Smiles and Cries]

Indeed. I was expecting the PS3 version to be the highest selling version because of those factors (mostly because of the bigger userbase). But i wouldnt be too surprised if the WiiU version was within the Top 50 either

Someone said that the community on Miiverse is pretty active but who knows.

As I said before I thought it sold around 2k and now I just checked the Miiverse total post is 2,527 you don't have to own the game to post in the community but yeah it can give you an idea of how it is selling.

JP communities numbers right now

ZombiU 8,373 participants
Tekken TT2 1,939 participants
Ninja Gaiden 2,100 participants
New Super Mario Bros U 38,070 participants
Monster Hunter triG HD 29,940 participants
Mass Effect 3 SE 784 participants
Warriors O3H 2,857 participants
AC3 2,745 participants
COD Blops II 2,518 participants

Romance otTK 12 = 2,527 participants

so when compared to NSMBU sales Romance has a very active community for not even charting on the top 50 in sales. Out of that 2.5k Participants looking at the posts half of them do not have a checkbox so they do not own the game. Hard to see how it would have broken top 50.

Nintendo Land Community is global so can't really get Japan numbers out of that.

 

[test_account]

so when compared to NSMBU sales Romance has a very active community for not even charting on the top 50 in sales. Out of that 2.5k Participants looking at the posts half of them do not have a checkbox so they do not own the game. Hard to see how it would have broken top 50.

I was thinking about before there was no indication of how much it would sell, and also looking on how much the PS3 version sold. And also that it could be one of those games that are more niche, so that the size of the userbase doesnt necessarily means too much. Looking at Miiverse data could be a small indication, but i guess it is like looking at ratings on the PS Store, hard to say how much something has sold based on that data. I'm not surprised that it didnt chart in the Top 50 either though.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

It could be, but i just wanted to say that bigger userbase VS smaller userbase doesnt always mean high sales VS low sales There are examples of where the size of the userbase doesnt mean much (a more recent examples would be Time Travelers, where the 3DS and Vita version sold about the same in the 1st week despite the 3DS userbase was about 6 million larger than the Vita userbase).

This discussion makes me realize: probably only a few more weeks until the WiiUS3 ratio is similar to the Vita:3DS ratio.

 

[Nnamz]

It's unbelievable to me that Sony won't just cut the price of the damn thing already. I personally think Vita is well worth $250, but it's clear Japan does not. Software takes time to make, I understand this, but in the meantime cut the price and take a hit so the thing will have a larger install base when the software does come out.

They should also be throwing money at Capcom to get MH out for the damn thing. MHP4 or MGP3G should be out on Vita by now, and will make sales go up like crazy.

 

[donny2112]

This discussion makes me realize: probably only a few more weeks until the WiiUS3 ratio is similar to the Vita:3DS ratio.

Was really confused until figuring out you meant the LTD ratios would briefly be about the same. :lol

 

[TGO]

Lol at people claiming Wii U numbers are okay or modest. These numbers are better than Wii, both hardware and software wise, crushes PS3 and vita numbers as well. Considering there is a Wii U shortage, these numbers a huge.

Japan is embracing Wii U as it's main console.

I guess prejudice goes a long way in how facts are interrupted...


Comparisons:

PSV Shipped 500K units for launch, did not sell out of stock for over a month
PSV First Week Sales - 324,859
PSV Second Week Sales - 72,479
PSV 2 Week LTD - 397,338

Wii U Shipment unknown but Iwata has apoligized for shortage
Wii U First Week Sales - 308,142
Wii U Second Week Sales - 126,916
Wii U 2 Week LTD - 435,058


Wii had shipment problems
Wii First Week Sales - 350,358
Wii Second Week Sales - 85,439
Wii 2 Week LTD - 435,797

PS3
PS3 First Week Sales - 81,639
PS3 Secpmd Week Sales - 42,099
PS3 2 Week LTD -123,738

Funny you say that yet the only thing you pointed out is that it sold 37k more then a system that was considered doomed at launch (Week 1)because of it sales, but you're right, is funny how people interprete things

I say wait till this time next year, then we'll know
but more drops are not good at the moment for the Wii U
3DS has gone beyond good to stupid at this point, I hear the average 3DS owner in Japan has more 1 3DS
that just madness

 

[liger05]

It's unbelievable to me that Sony won't just cut the price of the damn thing already. I personally think Vita is well worth $250, but it's clear Japan does not. Software takes time to make, I understand this, but in the meantime cut the price and take a hit so the thing will have a larger install base when the software does come out.

They should also be throwing money at Capcom to get MH out for the damn thing. MHP4 or MGP3G should be out on Vita by now, and will make sales go up like crazy.

If only it was that simple. The MH ship has sailed now and its time to move on and come with a different plan.

 

[AdventureRacing]

Funny you say that yet the only thing you pointed out is that it sold 37k more then a system that was considered doomed at launch (Week 1)because of it sales, but you're right, is funny how people interprete things

This isn't true at all and has been discussed quite a bit in this thread. The vita was not considered doomed at launch because of it's launch numbers, in fact they were quite good.

 

[walking fiend]

Funny you say that yet the only thing you pointed out is that it sold 37k more then a system that was considered doomed at launch (Week 1)because of it sales, but you're right, is funny how people interprete things

Well, there are two main differences.

1. PSV as a handheld was expected to sell more in the second week which is the best week; Wii U is a home console, even if it sells as much as Wii + PS3 combined, it will still be behind even PSP.

2. Wii U is having shortages for the model that people want

And also:

3. Software sales for PSV were much worse than Wii U

Though there were other factors, like 3DS and PSP both outselling PSV; at least now Wii U doesn't seem to have any competition.

 

[electroplankton]

They should also be throwing money at Capcom to get MH out for the damn thing. MHP4 or MGP3G should be out on Vita by now, and will make sales go up like crazy.

I don't think there exists such a thing as "throw money to get brand X". Given recent Capcom's strategy, I don't see how a MH could be planned on Vita, and in such a case, it would a bit too late.

 

[metalslimer]

Funny you say that yet the only thing you pointed out is that it sold 37k more then a system that was considered doomed at launch (Week 1)because of it sales, but you're right, is funny how people interprete things

Read the thread because this has already been discussed why Vita's drop was much more horrific. Also there's about a 0 chance the PS3 outsells Wii U, but if it does god help Nintendo.

 

[Nnamz]

If only it was that simple. The MH ship has sailed now and its time to move on and come with a different plan.

Why has the ship sailed? MH is on all platforms, even 360 in Japan. That doesn't make any sense.

 

[metalslimer]

Why has the ship sailed? MH is on all platforms, even 360 in Japan. That doesn't make any sense.

This has been a long running conversation in these topics, and I still believe that Capcom is not going to dilute the portable market by putting two main entries onto the thing. Maybe it could get a frontier port or something, but I wouldn't keep my hopes up for Portable 4th or whatever, especialy since if there was even a chance it was coming Sony would have made Capcom announce it by now. But the reason that there won't be a main entry on two portables is because it would destroy the reason series is popular in the first place: local coop. Once you start putting people on diferent platforms that can't actually play with each other, the experience becomes diluted, and for what? A few more sales on Vita?

If Sony's whole portable line depends on getting a big MH game on their platform they are screwed. The only chance I see is Sony just paying a shit ton of money to cancel 3DS MH and move it over to Vita, and since we are like 5 months from the game actually releasing it's not going to happen.

 

[electroplankton]

Why has the ship sailed? MH is on all platforms, even 360 in Japan. That doesn't make any sense.

It makes a lot sense.
Why split the userbase of the handheld experience when it's more profitable to keep that on the same platform?

 

[Nnamz]

It makes a lot sense.
Why split the userbase of the handheld experience when it's more profitable to keep that on the same platform?

By that logic they would have stayed on PSP, which was still going strong while they were working on MH3 for 3DS.

The userbase is already split.

 

[metalslimer]

By that logic they would have stayed on PSP, which was still going strong while they were working on MH3 for 3DS.

The userbase is already split.

So you expected them to keep making PSP MH forever? Eventually they had to switch to another platform and they chose the 3DS. If Capcom was really interested in the whole multiplatform strategy for handheld titles, they would have released MHP3rdG for PSP and sold like 3 million copies. MH3G was the game for people to switch over from the PSP to 3DS and they haven't released a single MH on PSP since. MH4 is the next game in series.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

It makes a lot sense.
Why split the userbase of the handheld experience when it's more profitable to keep that on the same platform?

why do people say this? How true is it if you have a Wii to 3DS to Wii U version going on I mean they really went an stretched out this Tri thing to its very limit so I don't see the difference on little Vita port makes to a userbase

By that logic they would have stayed on PSP, which was still going strong while they were working on MH3 for 3DS.

The userbase is already split.

I remember the early talks of the PSP userbase and what was happening with the 3DS, we had a few threads talking about how Capcom made this move

 

[metalslimer]

why do people say this? How true is it if you have a Wii to 3DS to Wii U version going on I mean they really went an stretched out this Tri thing to its very limit so I don't see the difference on little Vita port makes to a userbase

Because the Wiii and Wii U games are on consoles. Same with the PS3. The series main popularity stems from the handheld releases. Like I said, if Capcom really thought that way about the series we would have already seen P3rdG announced for PSP, Vita, or both. It seems in the beginning Capcom was at least going to release Portable 3rd HD on Vita to test the waters, but something went down between Sony and Capcom, or Nintendo intervention and even that was cancelled.

Edit: And if Sony is seriously thinking about saving Vita, MH isn't the way they should be putting their resources to. The over reliance on that one franchise. (and 3rd party franchises in general in Japan) is what has gotten them into this mess in the first place.

 

[schuelma]

What are the odds on PS3 and WiiU hardware streams crossing in Wk51?

Only way I see that happening is if Nintendo has supply issues.

 

[electroplankton]

why do people say this? How true is it if you have a Wii to 3DS to Wii U version going on I mean they really went an stretched out this Tri thing to its very limit so I don't see the difference on little Vita port makes to a userbase

I remember the early talks of the PSP userbase and what was happening with the 3DS, we had a few threads talking about how Capcom made this move

Because MH is mainly an handheld series heavily relying on multi co-op.

By that logic they would have stayed on PSP, which was still going strong while they were working on MH3 for 3DS.

The userbase is already split.

Sooner or later, they had to shift the userbase somewhere else, since PSP eventually would have declined. And they chose 3DS, the follower of the most successful console in Japan ever. Nintendo probably helped a lot (I do think the CPP was made just for Capcom), but Capcom didn't make any wrong decision in this sense. MH3G is reaching the 2 million mark, helping to build a nice userbase.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Because the Wiii and Wii U games are on consoles. Same with the PS3. The series main popularity stems from the handheld releases. Like I said, if Capcom really thought that way about the series we would have already seen P3rdG announced for PSP, Vita, or both. It seems in the beginning Capcom was at least going to release Portable 3rd HD on Vita to test the waters, but something went down between Sony and Capcom, or Nintendo intervention and even that was cancelled.

In many ways I get your point Level5 seems to be doing the multi handheld thing and I can't say it has payed off well

Still would like to know what went down with the MH semi-exclusive deal with Nintendo

 

[Nnamz]

So you expected them to keep making PSP MH forever?

No. You're the one saying they can't split the userbase, remember? I believe they went to 3DS to expand it, and every sign before it (porting the games to virtually all platforms) backs that up.

 

[schuelma]

No. You're the one saying they can't split the userbase, remember? I believe they went to 3DS to expand it, and every sign before it (porting the games to virtually all platforms) backs that up.

The problem is right now the Vita userbase doesn't offer much "expansion".

I mean, Wii U could very well have a larger userbase early next year.

 

[KillerMan91]

Only way I see that happening is if Nintendo has supply issues.

Could happen during wk52 though as for some odd reason that week tends to favor PS platforms usually (Small drops compared to wk51, some years even increase)

 

[Smiles and Cries]

All the MH talk aside, how do you save Vita when you have to start getting devs to give equal attention to your PS4 as they do the Next Box (720)?

Sony is in a bad way with Vita although Vita is starting to get games but the sales are still slow

 

[electroplankton]

No. You're the one saying they can't split the userbase, remember? I believe they went to 3DS to expand it, and every sign before it (porting the games to virtually all platforms) backs that up.

They. Couldn't. Stick. On. PSP. Forever.
They sacrificed some sales now, to get more sales in the future. Without building a userbase elsewhere, it would have needed more time to peak again with a main entry, and maybe the craziness about the brand could have faded in favor of other IPs or genres.

 

[Nnamz]

They. Couldn't. Stick. On. PSP. Forever.

Who is saying they could exactly? You're arguing with a strawman.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Could happen during wk52 though as for some odd reason that week tends to favor PS platforms usually (Small drops compared to wk51, some years even increase)

Wii U dropping below 50k in Japan so soon would suck

 

[electroplankton]

Who is saying they could exactly? You're arguing with a strawman.

You, by saying: "By that logic they would have stayed on PSP". That logic didn't imply that. Capcom wanted to shift userbase as soon as possible, and they chose the most promising platform in terms of potential in the future, 3DS.

 

[KillerMan91]

Wii U dropping below 50k in Japan so soon would suck

Oh. Just checked and PS3 sold 67k during wk52 last year and this year it will sell probably even less so yeah I agree that it's not probably going to happen.

 

[metalslimer]

Who is saying they could exactly? You're arguing with a strawman.

You are. I said that they think that splitting the userbase with multiple entries on different platforms would hurt the franchise, and you responded by saying well then why would they move it to 3DS because then it would be on 3DS and PSP. This is a worthless argument anyway, even if Vita manage to get some form of Monster Hunter that would not be enough to save it from its current troubles. Monster Hunter defined the PSP and led to it being able to pick itself up and build a suitable userbase for a lot of franchises, but the PSP was never in as bad of a position as Vita is in and the kind boost to get the userbase into position where anyone more than niche developers want to make anything for it would require MH to never be on 3DS in the first place.

 

[Nnamz]

You, by saying: "By that logic they would have stayed on PSP". That logic didn't imply that. .

If Capcom didn't want to splinter userbases, they could have easily made the next one for Vita and PSP and made them compatible (such as God Eater is doing right now). They also wouldn't have ported their most popular MH game to PS3 and 360. (though of course you're going to use the portable userbase argument here)

Right now, 3DS is the most viable portable platform to continue making MH games on, which is why it will get the most MH games, and at the very least will get all of them first. But there is no reason why it cannot continue the MHPORTABLE series on Vita.

 

[metalslimer]

If Capcom didn't want to splinter userbases, they could have easily made the next one for Vita and PSP and made them compatible (such as God Eater is doing right now). They also wouldn't have ported their most popular MH game to PS3 and 360. (though of course you're going to use the portable userbase argument here)

Right now, 3DS is the most viable portable platform to continue making MH games on, which is why it will get the most MH games, and at the very least will get all of them first. But there is no reason why it cannot continue the MHPORTABLE series on Vita.

MHPortable is redundant. The main series is now already portable. That was the only reason that name existed in the first place. At this point you're basically suggesting they create huge confusion in the marketplace just to get a few sales from Vita. And no one ever said that you could never splinter the userbase. Only that at this point it would make no sense to splinter the userbase when they have an extremely healthy platform to work with instead of potentially damaging that to work on a near dead platform.

 

[MasterSheen]

If Capcom didn't want to splinter userbases, they could have easily made the next one for Vita and PSP and made them compatible (such as God Eater is doing right now). They also wouldn't have ported their most popular MH game to PS3 and 360. (though of course you're going to use the portable userbase argument here)

Right now, 3DS is the most viable portable platform to continue making MH games on, which is why it will get the most MH games, and at the very least will get all of them first. But there is no reason why it cannot continue the MHPORTABLE series on Vita.

How are you going to keep the "Portable" series when the main entries are on a portable?

Edit: That aside, are we expecting any delays for MC/Famitsu sales this or next week?

 

[Nnamz]

How are you going to keep the "Portable" series when the main entries are on a portable?

For the same reason that people put HD in the title of Vita games when Vita cannot display HD. It's a title, nothing more. The portable series has become distinct, especially with the last entry. Heck, Monster Hunter Portable 3 kept "portable" in it's title when it went to PS3 lol

 

[Nnamz]

MHPortable is redundant. At this point you're basically suggesting they create huge confusion in the marketplace just to get a few sales from Vita.

You're VASTLY overestimating this confusion and vastly underestimating the impact a portable MH game will have on the Vita.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

3DS was limping early Nintendo reacted the problem here is Sony is refusing to react you cannot convince Capcom or many others if they don't see the Vita catch fire.

If Vita suddenly sold 200k in a week in Japan I think we would be seeing a very different attitude about the platform

Capcom is known for throwing a bone to failing platforms, when RE-Remake came out that was like charity it also came out along with what was called the Capcom 5? I think. Things like Killer 7, PN03... There seems to be a relationship issue that needs to be rectified between Sony and Capcom.

 

[Mr Swine]

You're VASTLY overestimating this confusion and vastly underestimating the impact a portable MH game will have on the Vita.

It's a litte too late for a Monhun game to appear on Vita when MH3G is nearing 1.7 million on the 3DS with a user base of 9 million compared to 1 million on vita.

 

[metalslimer]

All right let's talk hypotheticals. Say some MH comes out for Vita. The series is popular in Japan because of local coop. Now which version are you going to buy? The one that is easily going to be magnitudes more popular? Or the one that is going to be played by much fewer. And if you really think graphics matter that much you haven't been paying attention to portable gaming. Even in the scenario that Sony could pay Capcom enough to get the series on Vita, the fact that its on a much more popular and healthy platform would limit its effect. So basically Sony would be throwing money down the drain for one game that would not save Vita. For Vita to be saved, you need a constant stream of titles unless you expect Sony to pay a shit ton of money to lock down many other exclusive games. Sony has shown over the past year that they are not willing to throw that much money at Vita to save it. If they were the price would have been dropped a long time ago.

Which impact? All people are playing with each other on 3DS, why buying another platform?

Exactly, especially once MH4 hits and the remaining MH fanbase moves over. If MH was going to have a big impact on Vita it would have had to been out either around the time MH3G hit or much further away than the impending MH4 launch.

 

[electroplankton]

You're VASTLY overestimating this confusion and vastly underestimating the impact a portable MH game will have on the Vita.

Which impact? All people are playing with each other on 3DS, why buying another platform?

 

[Nnamz]

Which impact? All people are playing with each other on 3DS, why buying another platform?

All of them?

So the 5 million retail (plus whatever it sold on PSN) userbase of MHP3 are somehow all playing MH3 on 3DS despite it not selling anywhere near half that number?

 

[metalslimer]

All of them?

So the 5 million retail (plus whatever it sold on PSN) userbase of MHP3 are somehow all playing MH3 on 3DS despite it not selling anywhere near half that number?

No but the vast majority of them will be when MH4 comes out next year. You haven't responded to my initial question though. You think Sony putting all their eggs in the Monster Hunter basket is healthy for them? Relying on one franchise that can easily go away that they have no control over?

 

[Nnamz]

It's a litte too late for a Monhun game to appear on Vita when MH3G is nearing 1.7 million on the 3DS with a user base of 9 million compared to 1 million on vita.

If userbase size is important (which it is, of course) this would mean it's too early, not too late.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I am still not ready to doubt MH4 on Vita guys. You know this is Capcom right?

 

[Nnamz]

No but the vast majority of them will be when MH4 comes out next year.

Lend me your crystal ball when you're done with it.

 

[metalslimer]

Lend me your crystal ball when you're done with it.

Sure when you give me yours that says people are waiting for Monster Hunter to show up on Vita and the significant impact it would have after a 3DS release. But yeah I'll agree to disagree I guess because this argument has been hashed out for over a year now in these threads about when the savior MH is coming to Vita, but I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see although I will continue to say that relying on a 3rd party franchise to save your platform is foolhardy, especially when the best you're going to get is a months late multiplatform port from a much more popular system.

 

[FoneBone]

Kinda sick of repeating this, but the best discussion of why MH on Vita is unlikely came from charlequin some months back:

Er, right. That's the point. In a meaningful sense, the difference is between a problem people can fix and a problem people can't. If your friends own 3DSes, and MH4 comes out for it, you're excluded. The solution is to buy a 3DS -- which you can (theoretically) feel good about, because now you own the platform, you can play its exclusive games, etc. You had to spend more money but none of it was wasted.

Contrariwise, if you all own a Vita and a 3DS, and your friends all buy MH4 for 3DS and you buy it for Vita, you're screwed. There's no solution here (if you opened your game already) except to throw it in the trash and go buy the same game again. (Or, probably, you just get cranky and tell your friends to suck it and get left out, or maybe everyone stops playing because it's not as much fun without everyone participating -- all bad ends for Capcom.)

There's really not a lot of wiggle room here. It's straight-up nonfunctional for a franchise like this to go multiplatform on an individual title unless there's cross-platform play.


... Again, online play is, moreso than anything else, a tool for playing with strangers or acquaintances (and maybe making them into friends) as a way of engaging in multiplayer when your friends aren't available. By definition, people can still always find others to play with in a popular game even if 100% of their friends bought on a different system; that's simply not true for a game like MH.

That's friction, and friction is deadly to business. Some people play with different groups of people regularly. Some people get started late compared to everyone else. Some people play in large mixed groups -- remember, MH is a game whose biggest market is teenagers, and it took off partially because people can play with everyone at their school, not just necessarily their 2-3 best buddies.

Each time you introduce platform choice here, you concretely lose money. Every person with two groups of friends that break for different platforms, you're looking at someone who might just not bother. When you can't get a monoculture going in large pools like a school, you're no longer dragging in new customers via peer pressure and trend-following because there's no longer a "buy this one thing and you'll be able to play with everyone" option. The factors that drive legs disappear and you split your upfront sales and then drop off the charts, or everyone just picks the preferred entry and standardizes on that and the investment in the second platform is completely wasted.

I mean, I don't know what to tell you here. Your entire theory about how this works is wrong. You want to use online FPSes in the US as an analogy here but the big differences between the two situations make it a really inaccurate analogy. Literally 100% of the appeal of this game is built around the idea that you buy it and play local multiplayer with people, so anything that makes that easier and more fun (rather than complicated and more work) will make the game sell better. ..

From a purely economic standpoint, the purpose of online play isn't to let you play with friends, it's to let you play with strangers. The goal is to make it possible for your customers to play with others even if their friends don't game, or own the game in question, or have time to play with you on the same schedule. It reduces friction by making MP always available: if you buy a game at launch, you're basically guaranteed to find people to play it with at any hour of the day, without doing any coordination or negotiation to get your friends on board. People can do the work to play with their friends if they want, but the feature has still served its purpose even for people who never once play with someone they know personally.

MH is tapping people into a much smaller pool of potential partners, which means they have to optimize for maximizing people's opportunities to play -- which in turn means making sure everyone can play the game with everyone else.

 

[Father_Brain]

We're due for the standard bimonthly Nintendo Direct this week, right? If that happens and it doesn't significantly improve Wii U's known 2013 Japanese third-party lineup for the better, well... the system's long-term prospects in the region are not looking good.

 

[pieatorium]

It's popular enough for "split platform" to not matter in the slightest.

See every popular multplatform multiplayer game this gen COD, Street Fighter etc

 

[electroplankton]

All of them?

So the 5 million retail (plus whatever it sold on PSN) userbase of MHP3 are somehow all playing MH3 on 3DS despite it not selling anywhere near half that number?

Of course not. But MH3G is a deluxe version of a game people already know. On a platform relatively young to the brand (PSP had other 3 games before MH3rdP). MH will grow with MH4. The userbase is building on 3DS. Nothing assures you that even a fifth of the 5 million on PSP would have bought the game on Vita.