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[Father_Brain]

Sony should just go around money hatting everything. They should have bought vita exclusivity for pirate warriors 2,toukiden, gundam breaker and if possible, project versus j. They should also make sure Valhalla knights 3 is good and push it hard like soul sacrifice.

edit:I also think that not money hatting god eater 2 was a huge missed opportunity. Let's hope that(if it exist) phantasy star portable 3(victory) is a vita exclusive.

They almost certainly tried to secure Vita exclusivity for most or all of the multiplats you named, especially GE2. But sales beggars can't be choosers.

It was actually rumored (speculated?) last year that Namco had at one point planned to cancel the PSP version of GE2 and move it exclusively to Vita, but the sales made them reconsider.

 

[Ruud_Luiten]

Last week nobody thought the Vita would rise in sales, let alone beat the 3DS.
So, I do think this week is a small victory for Sony.

 

[SmokyDave]

You should know by now that as Vita sales rise common sense on this forum falls.

The two are directly proportionate.

Indeed, 'common sense' will magically return when people can call the platform 'dead' again.

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

Last week nobody thought the Vita would rise in sales, let alone beat the 3DS.
So, I do think this week is a small victory for Sony.

Shhhhhh goal posts must be moved. It would be glorious if the Vita sold 30k+ on the next MC.

 

[holysan]

Can we really say, that those MH clones are clones? Sony advertised the Vita as the platform for Monster Hunting Action the last couple of weeks. MH isn't a single series anymore.. it's a new genre.

 

[Dragon]

Last week nobody thought the Vita would rise in sales, let alone beat the 3DS.
So, I do think this week is a small victory for Sony.

On the one hand, yay Vita number one, good debut for a new IP.
On the other, last major exclusive for the Vita that we know of, a couple thousand more than the 3DS isn't that big of a deal when the 3DS has been outselling it 8 to 1 for weeks at a time.

I get both sides, I just prefer to stay positive about the Vita for selfish reasons since I own one.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I forgot that jeremy was Laguna's partner in crime. Its okay boys, this troubling week of Vita success for both of you will be over in a while. Theres even an NPD tomorrow for "NOT AS DEAD AS VITA" outbursts.

Also please stop identifying Bravely Default as a niche game. Were this NPD, sure. But you're talking about a jRPG in Japan. I hear they quite like them! Fascinating that Bravely Default's success or lack of it is totally not tied to 3DS' gigantic sales lead over Vita. So if Sony made some wise advertising budget promises, sounds like it'd make more sense for third parties to release Vita games than 3DS titles really. Or Nintendo themselves should start consolidating on certain relationships with more advertising from their end themselves.

 

[Father_Brain]

Shhhhhh goal posts must be moved. It would be glorious if the Vita sold 30k+ on the next MC.

>30K next week wouldn't surprise me at all. Now, >30K, or even much above 20K the week after...

 

[L Thammy]

I just take issue with the word clone. It implies one just copied another game wholesale, which is not the case in Soul Sacrifice. I mean you fight huge monsters in the Souls series does that make them a MH clone? Of course not. Neither should SS be labeled as such. I agree it could be targeting the MH fans, however, as there are many of them and could carry this game once they spread the word of how different and good SS is. Even that is selling SS short because I think the differences are so great that it has the potential to appeal to people that didn't like MH. Like myself.

It's just a lazy criticism if that's true. Advertising and boxart may indeed indicate that side of things being targeted at the MH crowd, but they obviously bought a 3DS anyway so it seems to be silly on that level.

I understand if you're upset about some implication of the game's quality. However, I think it's perfectly valid to describe them as such from a sales perspective because of they're convincing the audience to buy.

Think of it this way. How many people who have bought this game this week will not be comparing it to Monster Hunter at all? How many will have thoughts like:

"I like Monster Hunter, so I should like this."
"This should tide me over until the new Monster Hunter."
"This looks even better than Monster Hunter!"​

The problem with the "FPSes aren't Doom clones!" argument has to do with Doom itself. Monster Hunter is still huge and very visible, having hit the peak of its popularity with P3rd. Monster Hunter games still come out regularly and are highly anticipated. There's multiple spinoffs, lots of merchandise to buy, some sort of theme park attraction. Doom disappeared for several years.

 

[guek]

So if Sony made some wise advertising budget promises, sounds like it'd make more sense for third parties to release Vita games than 3DS titles really.

 

[electroplankton]

I forgot that jeremy was Laguna's partner in crime. Its okay boys, this troubling week of Vita success for both of you will be over in a while. Theres even an NPD tomorrow for "NOT AS DEAD AS VITA" outbursts.

Also please stop identifying Bravely Default as a niche game. Were this NPD, sure. But you're talking about a jRPG in Japan. I hear they quite like them! Fascinating that Bravely Default's success or lack of it is totally not tied to 3DS' gigantic sales lead over Vita. So if Sony made some wise advertising budget promises, sounds like it'd make more sense for third parties to release Vita games than 3DS titles really. Or Nintendo themselves should start consolidating on certain relationships with more advertising from their end themselves.

Bravely Default did not have high expectations, period. Square even undershipped the game, and they had to put it on eShop because of shortages in stores. The fact that it was a jRPG meant nothing, there exist many jRPG that did not cross the 100k mark, even more hyped.

 

[Soriku]

I forgot that jeremy was Laguna's partner in crime. Its okay boys, this troubling week of Vita success for both of you will be over in a while. Theres even an NPD tomorrow for "NOT AS DEAD AS VITA" outbursts.

Also please stop identifying Bravely Default as a niche game. Were this NPD, sure. But you're talking about a jRPG in Japan. I hear they quite like them! Fascinating that Bravely Default's success or lack of it is totally not tied to 3DS' gigantic sales lead over Vita. So if Sony made some wise advertising budget promises, sounds like it'd make more sense for third parties to release Vita games than 3DS titles really. Or Nintendo themselves should start consolidating on certain relationships with more advertising from their end themselves.

wat

First of all not every JRPG sells that well in Japan. Second, Bravely Default is one of the most successful new JRPG IPs in a while. It's at 300k and is already getting a sequel.

 

[Spiegel]

wat

First of all not every JRPG sells that well in Japan. Second, Bravely Default is one of the most successful new JRPG IPs in a while. It's at 300k and is already getting a sequel.

Then people should stop comparing the game to Soul Sacrifice, I guess. Considering its success is not the norm with new IP.

 

[hongcha]

Last week nobody thought the Vita would rise in sales, let alone beat the 3DS.
So, I do think this week is a small victory for Sony.

I thought it would rise in sales and beat the 3DS (though admittedly, I overestimated the numbers quite a bit). Most people underestimated the power of the price cut + SS hardware bundle + ToHR releasing on the same day.

Vita's lineup for the week of March 20th is great too (4 major releases), so while I don't expect 60k hardware sales, I do expect 40-50k.

BTW this is the second week in a row that the Vita has beaten the 3DS LL. I think that's more significant than people are recognizing.

 

[Laguna]

BTW this is the second week in a row that the Vita has beaten the 3DS LL. I think that's more significant than people are recognizing.

Interesting... 3DS sales seperated in normal and XL compared to combined PSVWiFi+PSV3G numbers

 

[Lexxism]

That might be quite problematic.
AFAIK Vita wasn't released at that time

Lmao. I forgot that 3DS is a 1 year older to Vita lol

 

[SmokyDave]

What was the 3DS install base when BD was released?

How was the software schedule around that time? Did BD have much competition?

The comparison seems stupid to me. A Square jRPG on the Japanese system of choice vs. an SCEJ new IP on a supposedly 'dead' platform?

Edit: I'm aware that BD was also a new IP.

 

[frankie_baby]

I thought it would rise in sales and beat the 3DS (though admittedly, I overestimated the numbers quite a bit). Most people underestimated the power of the price cut + SS hardware bundle + ToHR releasing on the same day.

Vita's lineup for the week of March 20th is great too (4 major releases), so while I don't expect 60k hardware sales, I do expect 40-50k.

BTW this is the second week in a row that the Vita has beaten the 3DS LL. I think that's more significant than people are recognizing.

Major releases?

 

[Father_Brain]

Next week's Vita lineup is great too (4 major releases), so while I don't expect 60k hardware sales, I do expect 40-50k.

Not sure if you're referring to the next MC week (3/14) or the next calendar week (3/20), but either way, you have a very loose definition of "major." One Piece is the only one that might qualify, and that'll be lucky to break 100K on Vita.

Only way it stays above 40K is if SS has serious legs. None of the remaining March software will help that much.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Just for the Halibut, Dragon Ball Heroes at 111k is now the 19th highest selling DB game at Garaph:

http://garaph.info/softwaregroup.php?grid=9

Below Raging Blast PS3 (129k), and above Shin Budokai 2 PSP (97k).

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Wow have we gotten to the point where we think a jRPG from Square Enix which has been in ND's and has many important developers from FF as being niche.

Come on guys.

BD was the second best selling new IP in Japan iirc. Either way you try and spin it SS did well for a new IP and very well for a new IP on the Vita.

Yeah it was not advertised but are saying that with some advertising publishers can overcome the 7 million difference in install base and achieve similar software sales. Obviously not.

 

[Piercedveil]

Vita sales surpassed 3DS sales? Incredible.

Never thought I'd see it! That's awesome.

 

[electroplankton]

lol, who compared BD with SS? My God

Wow have we gotten to the point where we think a jRPG from Square Enix which has been in ND's and has many important developers from FF as being niche.

Come on guys.

BD was the second best selling new IP in Japan iirc. Either way you try and spin it SS did well for a new IP and very well for a new IP on the Vita.

Yeah it was not advertised but are saying that with some advertising publishers can overcome the 7 million difference in install base and achieve similar software sales. Obviously not.

As for BD: having not high expectations doesn't mean it's niche. BD didn't have much expectations, though, and this was shown by the low shipping in the first weeks. Also: who had BD from FF team? It was developed by a completely new team and Silicon Studio (3D Dot Heroes), outside the character design.

 

[Soriku]

Wow have we gotten to the point where we think a jRPG from Square Enix which has been in ND's and has many important developers from FF as being niche.

Come on guys.

BD was the second best selling new IP in Japan iirc. Either way you try and spin it SS did well for a new IP and very well for a new IP on the Vita.

Yeah it was not advertised but are saying that with some advertising publishers can overcome the 7 million difference in install base and achieve similar software sales. Obviously not.

What important developers?

What was the 3DS install base when BD was released?

How was the software schedule around that time? Did BD have much competition?

The comparison seems stupid to me. A Square jRPG on the Japanese system of choice vs. an SCEJ new IP on a supposedly 'dead' platform?

Edit: I'm aware that BD was also a new IP.

I don't remember the HW numbers at the time but it released last October (3DS was doing very well at the time). Its competition was ProjectxZone (also on 3DS).

 

[Akainu]

lol, who compared BD with SS? My God.

Hint

 

[Road]

Vita April/May release schedule:

2012

04/05 - ...
04/12 - Rayman Origins
04/19 - Lumines Electronic Symphony
04/26 - Ciel Nosurge (38k); NextRev
05/03 - ...
05/10 - ...
05/17 - ...
05/24 - Samurai & Dragons DX Package (6k)
05/31 - NextRev

2013

04/04 - ...
04/11 - ...
04/18 - Slotter Mania V (5k?)
04/25 - PhotoKano Kiss (30k?); Meikyuu Cross Blood: Infinity (10k?); Kajiri Whatever (10k?); Sangoku Ren Senki (5k?); NextRev (1k?)
05/02 - ...
05/09 - ...
05/16 - ...
05/23 - Valhala Knights 3 (30k?)
05/30 - Nyaruko who? (???); NextRev (1k)


Well, it is an improvement...

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

lol, who compared BD with SS? My God



As for BD: having not high expectations doesn't mean it's niche. BD didn't have much expectations, though, and this was shown by the low shipping in the first weeks. Also: who had BD from FF team? It was developed by a completely new team and Silicon Studio (3D Dot Heroes), outside the character design.

What important developers?

Shit I got confused with the comparisons of BD to FFV . Spare me.

I am sorry

They did have Tomoya Asano and Akihiko Yoshida

Spoiler

lol

I don't remember the HW numbers at the time but it released last October (3DS was doing very well at the time). Its competition was ProjectxZone (also on 3DS).

3DS had a base of 7,654,254 and yeah Projectxzone released the same week.

 

[holysan]

Is it really that surprising seeing an RPG from a publisher who controls the two strongest RPG brands in Japan performing well?

It could easily be a Final Fantasy game.. the characters already looked like those from the remakes of III and IV.

 

[Lexxism]

Speaking of ProjectxZone, how many copies it sold?

 

[Bruno MB]

Speaking ProjectxZone, how many copies it sold?

130.685 as of December 30, first shipment probably (around 149.000) not sold yet.

 

[electroplankton]

Is it really that surprising seeing an RPG from a publisher who controls the two strongest RPG brands in Japan performing well?

It could easily be a Final Fantasy game.. the characters already looked like those from the remakes of III and IV.

It could easily be a Final Fantasy game, but it wasn't. Also, being a Final Fantasy game doesn't grant sales. The 4 Heroes of Light was released on DS and it sold 100k units less than Bravely Default.

 

[AranhaHunter]

I think the fact that it's not selling particularly well speaks more about the current state of home consoles in Japan than Nintendo's brand strength.

I was actually thinking about this the other day and since your post I decided to do some research to see if that's really true or if the handheld market just exploded and we are under the impression that the home market is down significantly.

Someone please correct my numbers (JP only) if they are wrong or provide numbers or information for anything that's missing, I'm trying to get an accurate picture.

3rd Generation
NES - 19.23 million
NES Disk System - 4.44 million
Master System - 1 million

Total - 24.67 million

4th Generation
SNES - 17.15 million
Mega Drive - 3.58 million
Mega CD - 400K
PCE - 3.92 million
PCE CD - 1.92 million
NeoGeo - 1 million

Total - 27.97 million

5th Generation
PS - 21.54 million
N64 - 5.54 million
Saturn - 5.9 million
Jaguar - ???
3DO - 720K
PC-FX - 400k

Total - at least 34.1 million

6th Generation
PS2 - 21.83 million
GC - 4.02 million
Dreamcast - 2.45 million
XBox - 500K

Total - 28.8 million

7th Generation - ongoing
PS3 - 9.1 million
Wii - 12.66 million
XBox 360 - 1.62 million

Total - at least 23.38 million

8th Generation - ongoing
PS4 - NA
WiiU - 810K
XBox Durango - NA

Total - at least 810K

So it has declined a little bit.

Wii and 360 are pretty much done selling, but I think the PS3 can possibly sell another 2+ million pieces of HW, especially with a price drop this year and therefore getting the 7th generation home console base to 25+ million. I think what we saw this generation is that it's the first time there's no one home console that's clear ahead of the 2nd place console, selling 4-5 times as much as the runner up. Total sales for home consoles are still in the 20-25+ million in Japan and there's no evidence suggesting that's not the case. If the PS3 had sold 17 million, Wii 5 million and 360 the same, then it wouldn't look that much different from other generations.

Compared to handhelds

4th/5th Generation
Gameboy/Gameboy Color - 32.47 million
Game Gear - 1.78 million
Nomad - ???
Lynx - ???
Wonderswan/Wonderswan color - 3 million
Neo Geo Pocket - 550K
Virtual Boy - 660K

Total - at least 38.46 million

6th Generation
Gameboy Advance - 16.96 million
NGage - ???

Total - at least 16.96 million

7th Generation - ongoing
DS/DSi/DSLite/DSXL - 32.87 million
PSP/PSP2000/PSP3000/PSPGo - 19.8 million

Total - at least 52.67 million

8th Generation - ongoing
3DS/3DSXL - 10.82 million
PSV - 1.35 million

Total - at least 12.17 million

I think the 4th/5th/6th generations were anomalies as the 6th one, Nintendo cut it short in order to have the DS come out to combat the PSP and 4th and 5th one there was no challenger there so Nintendo was happy just coasting. Last generation really exploded though and this generation is still ongoing, but the PSV will need to pick it up if the handheld market is to have similar numbers to the old generations. If we were to count sales of smartphones/tablets, which I think we should as it's a valid form of mobile entertainment and games on them nowadays are not just the old "snake" game you used to play 10 years ago, then the handheld market has REALLY exploded and therefore makes the home market look tiny.

 

[jeremy1456]

So it has declined a little bit.

Wii and 360 are pretty much done selling, but I think the PS3 can possibly sell another 2+ million pieces of HW, especially with a price drop this year and therefore getting the 7th generation home console base to 25+ million. I think what we saw this generation is that it's the first time there's no one home console that's clear ahead of the 2nd place console, selling 4-5 times as much as the runner up. Total sales for home consoles are still in the 20-25+ million in Japan and there's no evidence suggesting that's not the case. If the PS3 had sold 17 million, Wii 5 million and 360 the same, then it wouldn't look that much different from other generations.

The thing about this gen is that is that most of the console sales were in the first few years. It seems that there was a huge drop off unlike last gen where the PS2 sold pretty well throughout. The PS3 was not able to keep the pace going when the Wii faltered.

Also, this generation has been longer than most.

 

[Road]

Highest first week for Sony portable games:

{2009-10-01} [PSP] Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulator (SCE) - 143,903 / 300,871
{2013-03-07} [PSV] Soul Sacrifice (SCE) - 105,863 / NEW
{2011-11-10} [PSP] Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke (SCE) - 88,694 / 124,899
{2007-12-06} [PSP] Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (SCE) - 85,866 / 287,296
{2004-12-12} [PSP] Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (SCE) - 66,079 / 399,257
{2008-10-16} [PSP] What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 (SCE) - 62,224 / 174,954

Highest debuts by a new IP published by Sony (since 1996):

{1997-12-23} [PS1] Gran Turismo (SCE) - 648,650 / 2,186,375
{2005-12-08} [PS2] Rogue Galaxy (SCE) - 213,289 / 356,192
{2008-12-25} [PS3] White Knight Chronicles (SCE) - 203,033 / 339,690
{1999-12-02} [PS1] The Legend of Dragoon (SCE) - 160,609 / 355,240
{1997-05-23} [PS1] Pet in TV (SCE) - 140,743 / 339,736
{1998-10-29} [PS1] Legend of Legaia (SCE) - 139,844 / 314,493
{1998-06-18} [PS1] Devil Dice (SCE) - 131,815 / 864,844
{2005-10-27} [PS2] Shadow of the Colossus (SCE) - 129,492 / 200,834
{1995-11-03} [PS1] Beyond the Beyond (SCE) - 122,695 / 273,883
{1997-07-17} [PS1] Hot Shots Golf (SCE) - 117,383 / 1,777,895
{1996-12-20} [PS1] Wild Arms (SCE) - 116,393 / 415,138
{2012-06-07} [PS3] Tokyo Jungle (SCE) - 110,185 / 216,192
{2013-03-07} [PSV] Soul Sacrifice (SCE) - 105,863 / NEW

Not really new IPs:
{2006-09-14} [PS2] Hot Shots Tennis (SCE) - 210,392 / 535,826
{1999-03-18} [PS1] Um Jammer Lammy (SCE) - 181,904 / 406,376

 

[ohlawd]

{2008-10-16} [PSP] What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 (SCE) - 62,224 / 174,954

Great name.

 

[Celine]

Someone please correct my numbers (JP only) if they are wrong or provide numbers or information for anything that's missing, I'm trying to get an accurate picture.

- PC-FX 400k
- Mega CD 400k
- Xbox 500k
- Neo Geo Pocket 550k
- Virtual Boy 630k
- 3DO 720k
- NEO-GEO 1 million
- Game Gear 1.78 million
- PC Engine CD-ROM2 1.92 million
- Dreamcast 2.45 million
- WonderSwan 3 million
- Mega Drive 3.58 million
- PC Engine 3.92 million
- GameCube 4.02 million
- NES disk system 4.44 million
- NINTENDO64 5.54 million
- Sega Saturn 5.9 million
- SuperNes 17.15 million
- Nes 19.23 million

 

[jeremy1456]

- PC-FX 400k
- Mega CD 400k
- Xbox 500k
- Neo Geo Pocket 550k
- Virtual Boy 630k
- 3DO 720k
- NEO-GEO 1 million
- Game Gear 1.78 million
- PC Engine CD-ROM2 1.92 million
- Dreamcast 2.45 million
- WonderSwan 3 million
- Mega Drive 3.58 million
- PC Engine 3.92 million
- GameCube 4.02 million
- NES disk system 4.44 million
- NINTENDO64 5.54 million
- Sega Saturn 5.9 million
- SuperNes 17.15 million
- Nes 19.23 million

Now I'm not doubting you, but what is your source?

I am just a little surprised to see that the 3DO pulled off those numbers, and that the PC-Engine didn't sell more.

 

[Yasumi]

Highest first week for Sony portable games:

{2009-10-01} [PSP] Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulator (SCE) - 143,903 / 300,871
{2013-03-07} [PSV] Soul Sacrifice (SCE) - 105,863 / NEW
{2011-11-10} [PSP] Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke (SCE) - 88,694 / 124,899
{2007-12-06} [PSP] Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (SCE) - 85,866 / 287,296
{2004-12-12} [PSP] Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (SCE) - 66,079 / 399,257
{2008-10-16} [PSP] What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 (SCE) - 62,224 / 174,954

Highest debuts by a new IP published by Sony (since 1996):

{1997-12-23} [PS1] Gran Turismo (SCE) - 648,650 / 2,186,375
{2005-12-08} [PS2] Rogue Galaxy (SCE) - 213,289 / 356,192
{2008-12-25} [PS3] White Knight Chronicles (SCE) - 203,033 / 339,690
{1999-12-02} [PS1] The Legend of Dragoon (SCE) - 160,609 / 355,240
{1997-05-23} [PS1] Pet in TV (SCE) - 140,743 / 339,736
{1998-10-29} [PS1] Legend of Legaia (SCE) - 139,844 / 314,493
{1998-06-18} [PS1] Devil Dice (SCE) - 131,815 / 864,844
{2005-10-27} [PS2] Shadow of the Colossus (SCE) - 129,492 / 200,834
{1995-11-03} [PS1] Beyond the Beyond (SCE) - 122,695 / 273,883
{1997-07-17} [PS1] Hot Shots Golf (SCE) - 117,383 / 1,777,895
{1996-12-20} [PS1] Wild Arms (SCE) - 116,393 / 415,138
{2012-06-07} [PS3] Tokyo Jungle (SCE) - 110,185 / 216,192
{2013-03-07} [PSV] Soul Sacrifice (SCE) - 105,863 / NEW

Not really new IPs:
{2006-09-14} [PS2] Hot Shots Tennis (SCE) - 210,392 / 535,826
{1999-03-18} [PS1] Um Jammer Lammy (SCE) - 181,904 / 406,376

Actually, including the double copy packs, shouldn't Soul Sacrifice be at 136,496 copies sold?

 

[electroplankton]

- PC-FX 400k
- Mega CD 400k
- Xbox 500k
- Neo Geo Pocket 550k
- Virtual Boy 630k
- 3DO 720k
- NEO-GEO 1 million
- Game Gear 1.78 million
- PC Engine CD-ROM2 1.92 million
- Dreamcast 2.45 million
- WonderSwan 3 million
- Mega Drive 3.58 million
- PC Engine 3.92 million
- GameCube 4.02 million
- NES disk system 4.44 million
- NINTENDO64 5.54 million
- Sega Saturn 5.9 million
- SuperNes 17.15 million
- Nes 19.23 million

Will Vita ever reach the WS?

 

[Celine]

Now I'm not doubting you, but what is your source?

Famitsu through Sinobi.

I feel old
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15302992&postcount=267

 

[AranhaHunter]

The thing about this gen is that is that most of the console sales were in the first few years. It seems that there was a huge drop off unlike last gen where the PS2 sold pretty well throughout. The PS3 was not able to keep the pace going when the Wii faltered.

Also, this generation has been longer than most.

You have a good point about this generation being longer than most and about the Wii's hard fall and PS3's inability to keep that pace going, but the fact remains that this generation sold over 23 million units of HW and will be over 25 million when it's all said and done.

I think the WiiU's struggles goes a lot deeper than just the "home console crash" in Japan. Lack of appealing SW, expensive, not enough of an upgrade over the PS3, the off tv/second remote is not the new wii remote, Nintendo land is not the new WiiSports/Play, etc.

I'm sure Nintendo was caught by surprise too, if you told anybody in early 2012 that the WiiU would have a new 2D Mario, an HD MH3Ultimate port, and a DQX HD port, no one would think that the system would sell under 10k just 12 weeks after launch.

IMHO, I think the console market in Japan is still there, but just not as big as the handheld market and will be 20-25+ million again this generation. I think Nintendo still has time to turn it around and be the market leader in the console space in Japan this generation, selling 10+ million WiiUs there, but they have to take action fast, the longer they take the better chance Sony has to come in and steal the leader position from them, which I'm sure Sony is gonna try.

Highest first week for Sony portable games:

{2009-10-01} [PSP] Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulator (SCE) - 143,903 / 300,871
{2013-03-07} [PSV] Soul Sacrifice (SCE) - 105,863 / NEW
{2011-11-10} [PSP] Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke (SCE) - 88,694 / 124,899
{2007-12-06} [PSP] Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (SCE) - 85,866 / 287,296
{2004-12-12} [PSP] Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (SCE) - 66,079 / 399,257
{2008-10-16} [PSP] What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 (SCE) - 62,224 / 174,954

Highest debuts by a new IP published by Sony (since 1996):

{1997-12-23} [PS1] Gran Turismo (SCE) - 648,650 / 2,186,375
{2005-12-08} [PS2] Rogue Galaxy (SCE) - 213,289 / 356,192
{2008-12-25} [PS3] White Knight Chronicles (SCE) - 203,033 / 339,690
{1999-12-02} [PS1] The Legend of Dragoon (SCE) - 160,609 / 355,240
{1997-05-23} [PS1] Pet in TV (SCE) - 140,743 / 339,736
{1998-10-29} [PS1] Legend of Legaia (SCE) - 139,844 / 314,493
{1998-06-18} [PS1] Devil Dice (SCE) - 131,815 / 864,844
{2005-10-27} [PS2] Shadow of the Colossus (SCE) - 129,492 / 200,834
{1995-11-03} [PS1] Beyond the Beyond (SCE) - 122,695 / 273,883
{1997-07-17} [PS1] Hot Shots Golf (SCE) - 117,383 / 1,777,895
{1996-12-20} [PS1] Wild Arms (SCE) - 116,393 / 415,138
{2012-06-07} [PS3] Tokyo Jungle (SCE) - 110,185 / 216,192
{2013-03-07} [PSV] Soul Sacrifice (SCE) - 105,863 / NEW

Not really new IPs:
{2006-09-14} [PS2] Hot Shots Tennis (SCE) - 210,392 / 535,826
{1999-03-18} [PS1] Um Jammer Lammy (SCE) - 181,904 / 406,376

For a company that has been in the game for 2 decades and is Japanese, that is pretty pathetic on their home turf.

- PC-FX 400k
- Mega CD 400k
- Xbox 500k
- Neo Geo Pocket 550k
- Virtual Boy 630k
- 3DO 720k
- NEO-GEO 1 million
- Game Gear 1.78 million
- PC Engine CD-ROM2 1.92 million
- Dreamcast 2.45 million
- WonderSwan 3 million
- Mega Drive 3.58 million
- PC Engine 3.92 million
- GameCube 4.02 million
- NES disk system 4.44 million
- NINTENDO64 5.54 million
- Sega Saturn 5.9 million
- SuperNes 17.15 million
- Nes 19.23 million

Thanks, will update.

 

[Boney]

pretty damn good opening

 

[Father_Brain]

For a company that has been in the game for 2 decades and is Japanese, that is pretty pathetic on their home turf.

Had Sony had the sense to significantly ramp up first-party Japanese handheld development over the course of PSP's lifespan, Vita might have actually had a chance there. At least PS4 won't be in such a terrible position.

 

[Insane Metal]

What the hell, this is really surprising. Sony is actually making a comeback! There's potential for the PS4.

 

[jeremy1456]

I'm sure Nintendo was caught by surprise too, if you told anybody in early 2012 that the WiiU would have a new 2D Mario, an HD MH3Ultimate port, and a DQX HD port, no one would think that the system would sell under 10k just 12 weeks after launch.

I think Nintendo's problem was that they released New Super Mario Bros. 2 too close to New Super Mario Bros. U thus saturating the market.

I imagine that U is far from done selling and will continually climb way up the charts as soon as appealing software is released. They have Game and Wario as well as Dragon Quest X coming out this month. I expect those two to sell decently (near 100k on each is my guess). Then there's Pikmin 3 which could do anywhere from 150k or 500k (Pikmin 1 and 2 managed the high end of that on the Gamecube).

After that I'm thinking Wind Waker HD might do decently. If I remember correctly the Wind Waker was one of the more popular Zelda titles (when compared to Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and the DS games at least). I don't really know what to expect from it for sure.

I imagine their big holiday hit will be Mario Kart. Judging from 7 it's a fairly safe bet that it will be successful - it proves that the franchise hasn't degraded much in popularity from last gen. They could also throw out Mario Party 10 and Yarn Yoshi and would probably perform pretty well.

 

[electroplankton]

But it's true that everyone thought that the launch line-up could have a longer-lasting effect on Wii U hardware sales. Probably it would have had if Nintendo launched Game&Wario in January, Wii Fit U in February and Pikmin in March along with Dragon Quest X. Idiots.

 

[AranhaHunter]

Had Sony had the sense to significantly ramp up first-party Japanese handheld development over the course of PSP's lifespan, Vita might have actually had a chance there. At least PS4 won't be in such a terrible position.

Agree on your 1st statement, for example, SS should have been released around the time GE was released on PSP, what released last week should have been SS2. I'm not sure I agree with you on your second statement though.

 

[sacrificengineer]

Not too shabby for Soul Sacrifice.

 

[BlackLagoon]

Meikyuu Cross Blood: Infinity (10k?)

Same developer and type of game as Demon Gaze. One would hope that it manages to similarly surpass expectations.

 

[test_account]

looking at the threads before Bravely Default's release, that game apparently had very little advertisements going for it.

demos don't do jack shit :/

Demos spread the word about the game, especially when you have 5 demos that are released over a period of time. It works as advertisement. There were also TV commercial for it i think. If there were so little advertisement, then technically very few should have known about the game when it was released, but that is not the case. It sold 144k in it's first week.