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[FrankT]

Did all the other Famitsu HW numbers ever get released?

 

[Phife Dawg]

<---------Weeps for fighting games

VF actually went up last gen, but of course it crashed even worse this gen.

 

[DCharlie]

MS have definitely "clicked" a bit in Japan.
Went to the local store today and their "summer catalogue" for X360 was on the shelves.

First page, Vesperia
Second page, Infinite Und.
3rd, Last Rem
4th, star ocean
5th, Fable 2
etc etc...

COD4 , other shooters etc that don't particularly appeal to Japanese sensibilities are tucked away at the back.

Now i know all this sounds FACE SPANKINGLY obvious, but it's taken MS a while to start clicking.

X360 sold out.

 

[CitizenCope]

The number is good, I had just assumed it was the biggest title coming out this week.

You underestimate handheld mania in Japan.

 

[PhatSaqs]

With sales like these, looks like MS should try and scoop up the Tales series instead of throwing money at creating new RPG IPs.

 

[DCharlie]

With sales like these, looks like MS should try and scoop up the Tales series instead of throwing money at creating new RPG IPs.

no need it would seem, they can do both.

 

[gregor7777]

So were those 24,000 sold numbers for the 360 accurate or is that what we were waiting until today to find out? If so, where did those numbers come from?

 

[schuelma]

With sales like these, looks like MS should try and scoop up the Tales series instead of throwing money at creating new RPG IPs.

Yeah, I'm sure it's just that easy

 

[C.T.]

This obvously has to be fake. Japanese hate US products. I'm a japanese expert and read manga a lot. Don't believe anything else.

 

[Loudninja]

With sales like these, looks like MS should try and scoop up the Tales series instead of throwing money at creating new RPG IPs.

You cannot be serious.

 

[schuelma]

So were those 24,000 sold numbers for the 360 accurate or is that what we were waiting until today to find out? If so, where did those numbers come from?

Those are Famitsu's numbers, a separate tracker. MC will have its numbers tonight, and they are usually pretty close.

 

[Regulus Tera]

This obvously has to be fake. Japanese hate US products. I'm a japanese expert and read manga a lot. Don't believe anything else.

Is that you, Mark-san?

 

[PhatSaqs]

You cannot be serious.

Hell why not. Throw millions at Gooch for LO + BD or throw millions at B/N for exclusitivity to an established series. I guess hindsight is always 20/20 tho so you never know. Just a thought.

 

[schuelma]

Hell why not. Throw millions at Gooch for LO + BD or throw millions at B/N for exclusitivity to an established series. I guess hindsight is always 20/20 tho so you never know. Just a thought.

Yes, Namco would be willing to give the 360 exclusivety on its biggest RPG franchise. Just like that.

 

[FrankT]

MS have definitely "clicked" a bit in Japan.
Went to the local store today and their "summer catalogue" for X360 was on the shelves.

First page, Vesperia
Second page, Infinite Und.
3rd, Last Rem
4th, star ocean
5th, Fable 2
etc etc...

COD4 , other shooters etc that don't particularly appeal to Japanese sensibilities are tucked away at the back.

Now i know all this sounds FACE SPANKINGLY obvious, but it's taken MS a while to start clicking.

X360 sold out.

With the last week sales numbers from Famitsu and the what they have in the pipeline going forward I stand by my prediction that they will easily hit the million mark before it is all said and done this gen. Not saying a whole lot, but it will be essentially double what they did the previous gen in the territory. With SO4 at least a timed exclusive how well has the series done there in the past? IU should help spur sales for a bit as well.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

This obvously has to be fake. Japanese hate US products. I'm a japanese expert and read manga a lot. Don't believe anything else.

:lol

You almost got me for a second.

 

[Paracelsus]

Yeah, I'm sure it's just that easy

It's not just that.

Sales "like these"?

It hasn't been mutually beneficial at all. Basically MS is the one who has gotten the most out of the deal.

Hcoregamer00 keeps screaming "BOMBA" at Valkyria Chronicles all around the board, a brand new niche IP with a budget clearly lower than ToV. Its Japanese LTD is 130k.

Seriously, let's look at it for what it is: great result for an X360 game in Japan, not so good result for a main Tales of.

Hell why not.

Because they didn't sell their series to a platform that actually sold their Jrpgs quite well, figures if they will on a platform which can/will barely break the 150k target with a main title.

Seriously, this is exactly like Symphonia GC. This is basically the first and last Tales the HD gen is seeing, from now onward it's Wii up until the end of the generation, unless they decide to put some Legendia-like spin-off on a secondary system.

With SO4 at least a timed exclusive how well has the series done there in the past?

SO3 533k (not considering Director's Cut re-release)

IU should help spur sales for a bit as well.

At this point it depends on if the tri-Ace fanbase is bigger than the Tales fanbase.

 

[Stumpokapow]

SO3 533k (not considering Director's Cut re-release)

Normally I'd say it'd be correct to not include the Director's Cut, but SO3 is a bit of a special case. The game damn-near doubled in sales when the DC released--at least partially because there were game-breaking bugs in the original release with certain models of PS2.

 

[PhatSaqs]

It's not just that.

Sales "like these"?

It hasn't been mutually beneficial at all. Basically MS is the one who has gotten the most out of the deal.

Duh.... Of course Namco wouldnt be rushing to MSs door :lol. It should go without thinking that the question "why not" totally applies to them.

 

[gregor7777]

Yes, Namco would be willing to give the 360 exclusivety on its biggest RPG franchise. Just like that.

looks like MS should try

bolded being the crux of the statement

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Seriously, let's look at it for what it is: great result for an X360 game in Japan, not so good result for a main Tales of.

Seriously, this is exactly like Symphonia GC. This is basically the first and last Tales the HD gen is seeing, from now onward it's Wii up until the end of the generation, unless they decide to put some Legendia-like spin-off on a secondary system.

Wait, what did Symphonia 2 sell? Did it really greatly outperform Vesperia? I don't remember it doing that much better, though I wasn't paying much attention.

 

[Jonnyram]

It hasn't been mutually beneficial at all. Basically MS is the one who has gotten the most out of the deal.

Deal? Namco made games for the 360 before the PS3 because the development environment was ready. Nothing more. There'll be a PS3 port later for sure. They just decided not to screw themselves like they did with Symphonia, by announcing the port before the 360 version even had chance to sell.

 

[schuelma]

Wait, what did Symphonia 2 sell? Did it really greatly outperform Vesperia? I don't remember it doing that much better, though I wasn't paying much attention.

It sold 150K first week (I'm using Famitsu numbers) and has probably sold a bit over 200K by now. It's shipped 215K. Certainly not amazing for a mothership entry, but of course, it isn't a mothership entry which was made clear from the start.

 

[xero273]

Wait, what did Symphonia 2 sell? Did it really greatly outperform Vesperia? I don't remember it doing that much better, though I wasn't paying much attention.

1st week sales of Symphonia 2 was 151K (famitsu data)
MC numbers was 137K

 

[Paracelsus]

Deal? Namco made games for the 360 before the PS3 because the development environment was ready. Nothing more.

There is NO moneyhat involved here, Jonnyram, I know. They clearly explained the reason why in their first interview about ToV.

By deal I simply mean "release x game on x platform".

 

[Moor-Angol]

#16 is Aokuro no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3

 

[Johann]

Normally I'd say it'd be correct to not include the Director's Cut, but SO3 is a bit of a special case. The game damn-near doubled in sales when the DC released--at least partially because there were game-breaking bugs in the original release with certain models of PS2.

I always wondered if the bad blood from that 'blame game' incident caused Tri-Ace to start looking for another console manufacturer to work with when the next generation of consoles arrived.

Anyway, great week for RPG sales. SEGA on top:lol

 

[Paracelsus]

that 'blame game' incident

What's that? ._.'

 

[Vinnk]

Is that you, Mark-san?

I was going to say the same thing. :lol :lol :lol

 

[Kyoufu]

Japan has good taste again.

The number 1 spot takes a shit all over your statement.

 

[Miburou]

#16 is Aokuro no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3

Actually it's soukoku no ....

http://www.otomate.jp/soukoku/

It's difficult to figure out the reading when it's a made up word.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Weeks with the most 100+K games. As you'd imagine the top spots are taken by weeks in November, December, and January. Looks like the top summer winner is the week of 2006-07-24 with Tamagotchi Connection 2, Sengoku Basara 2, New SMB, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, and Kamaitachi no Yoru 3.

This would be a perfect time for JJS to post his projectile charts.

The trajectory matcher? Really more useful after at least a second week. Lots of games will have a similar first week, but it's when they have a similar second and third too that we can really see they're acting alike. But here are games that started at 108K +/-5K.

Ahem, IntSys? This here is telling you to put your FE games on handhelds. I, for one, concur with this.

Well, being on GCN / 2.5-month Wii does put those two at a biiit of a userbase disadvantage versus games on a 1-4 year old GBA/DS. That said, it's not like the series seems to do anything that demands being on a console.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

Well, being on GCN / 2.5-month Wii does put those two at a biiit of a userbase disadvantage versus games on a 1-4 year old GBA/DS. That said, it's not like the series seems to do anything that demands being on a console.

Mm. I think that when - if? - Nintendo/IntSys bring another installment of Fire Emblem to the Wii they're really going to have to look at making some changes that justify it being there instead of it just being a prettier version of a game that can be played on a handheld - and arguably played more conveniently.

 

[Stumpokapow]

What's that? ._.'

Short version:
- tri-Ace codes SO3 using then-current PS2 dev libraries.
- Game makes use of functionality that, unbeknownst to them or Sony, did not work on the first few models of PS2.
- Game was released, sales substantially sabotaged as a result of the game not being playable on all PS2s and people not really having any idea how to verify and not wanting to go through the hassle. (Obviously the impact on sales is anecdotal, but people were pissed).
- tri-Ace/Enix blames Sony for the issues, tells customers "get a new PS2 from Sony, we're not recalling the game". Sony says "LOL Noz ur fault".

Ultimately, it is tri-Ace's fault in that they did not QA their game as broadly they should have. However, regardless of whose fault it actually is is, most developers do not appreciate being fucked over by platform holders, particularly in this sort of case where the error was essentially a hardware issue and Sony really should have taken responsibility for it.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Mm. I think that when - if? - Nintendo/IntSys bring another installment of Fire Emblem to the Wii they're really going to have to look at making some changes that justify it being there instead of it just being a prettier version of a game that can be played on a handheld - and arguably played more conveniently.

I think what would be best is to keep FE on the DS and move AW to the Wii - I think that AW could benefit a lot from a move to the Wii. They could do a lot of cool stuff with the editor, the map sizes, units etc.

 

[botticus]

Mm. I think that when - if? - Nintendo/IntSys bring another installment of Fire Emblem to the Wii they're really going to have to look at making some changes that justify it being there instead of it just being a prettier version of a game that can be played on a handheld - and arguably played more conveniently.

I don't so much mind that, as for some reason I enjoy playing them more on console, but a second Wii version needs to make use of the pointer in addition to the stick.

In summation, continue making FE on both handheld and console, IntSys.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

I think what would be best is to keep FE on the DS and move AW to the Wii - I think that AW could benefit a lot from a move to the Wii. They could do a lot of cool stuff with the editor, the map sizes, units etc.

Heh. And in Japan, it wouldn't hurt to be more attached to the now-bigger Battalion Wars games.

 

[Paracelsus]

Short version:
- tri-Ace codes SO3 using then-current PS2 dev libraries.
- Game makes use of functionality that, unbeknownst to them or Sony, did not work on the first few models of PS2.
- Game was released, sales substantially sabotaged as a result of the game not being playable on all PS2s and people not really having any idea how to verify and not wanting to go through the hassle. (Obviously the impact on sales is anecdotal, but people were pissed).
- tri-Ace/Enix blames Sony for the issues, tells customers "get a new PS2 from Sony, we're not recalling the game". Sony says "LOL Noz ur fault".

Ultimately, it is tri-Ace's fault in that they did not QA their game as broadly they should have. However, regardless of whose fault it actually is is, most developers do not appreciate being fucked over by platform holders, particularly in this sort of case where the error was essentially a hardware issue and Sony really should have taken responsibility for it.

Thanks. Wow, never heard about it. ._.

I still find it a bit excessive to replace a console because of a game. Refunding, at Sony's expenses, maybe.

 

[djtiesto]

Hasn't PSUP already outsold the combined LTD of the entire series across the platforms it released on by now? Sounds like a pretty remarkable thing, especially for a port.

Holy shit that is depressing

 

[carlosp]

Thanks. Wow, never heard about it. ._.

I still find it a bit excessive to replace a console because of a game. Refunding, at Sony's expenses, maybe.

haven't there been some PS2 models from 06-07 which could not play Tekken 5 and a few other games?

 

[PantherLotus]

JJS:

I'm looking for a "not" code for garaph. Like, "Wii not Sports" or something. Or "not PS2."

Ideas?

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

The number 1 spot takes a shit all over your statement.

What's wrong with PSP?

 

[Paracelsus]

What's wrong with PSP?

Word of mouth (?) is that is nothing but a shitty port of a PSU, which isn't really a masterpiece.

If Sega ports it in the States, I wouldn't mind trying it, though.

 

[PantherLotus]

Word of mouth (?) is that is nothing but a shitty port of a PSU, which isn't really a masterpiece.

If Sega ports it in the States, I wouldn't mind trying it, though.

So you don't really know? Either way, it doesn't really qualify for the caustic "japan has no taste" comments.

====

This week will make PSUP the 5th best selling PSP game. Chart needs to be updated with this week's famitsu numbers (what were they?):

 

[OldJadedGamer]

This week will make PSUP the 5th best selling PSP game. Chart needs to be updated with this week's famitsu numbers (what were they?):

I'm still stunned at Hot Shot's numbers. Best selling game on PSP not called Monster Hunter or Final Fantasy and best selling game on PS3 not named Metal Gear. It's a fun title but I can't believe how the Japanese just eat that game up.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Heh. And in Japan, it wouldn't hurt to be more attached to the now-bigger Battalion Wars games.

That still boggles my mind - not that BW aren't great games in their own right. But it just doesn't seem like something the Japanese could like more than AW.

I'm still stunned at Hot Shot's numbers. Best selling game on PSP not called Monster Hunter or Final Fantasy and best selling game on PS3 not named Metal Gear. It's a fun title but I can't believe how the Japanese just eat that game up.

Judging by the numbers for the second one there seems to be some kind of fatigue, at least on PSP.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

JJS:

I'm looking for a "not" code for garaph. Like, "Wii not Sports" or something. Or "not PS2."

Ideas?

Nothing very user-friendly, I'm afraid. It's something I've considered, along with other things. The problem is, thinking of all the possible types of searches I can imagine someone wanting to do, it seems like things would get really complicated really fast, so I've left things fairly straightforward.

There's always the SQL Direct Access page where anyone can try and get fancy, but that's the non-user-friendly way. Perhaps the game search page could give an output of what SQL query it used, so at least that would give a base to work from? That "not PS2" example would be as straightforward as finding the line that says AND SoftwareInfo.Platform LIKE 'PS2' and changing it to AND SoftwareInfo.Platform NOT LIKE 'PS2'.


EDIT: Here's a version of the standard search modified to show the SQL used in the search at the end. If this is actually a feature deemed worth sticking around for the main one there are things I can do to make it a bit less ugly. Most of those lines in the query don't really need to be there if they're left at default settings. A line like AND SoftwareInfo.Publisher LIKE '%' literally translates to "And the game's publisher must be... anything!"

EDIT AGAIN: I prettied it up so it doesn't display the pointless stuff.

 

[Tron 2.0]

Oof. Hopefully Shake It has longer legs or does considerably better in other regions. It's been so long since Nintendo bothered with a traditional 2D console game, I'd really be bummed if Wario Land 5 turned them off from risking another.

The game was probably rather cheap to make.

Yes, the hand drawn animation makes it more expensive than it could have been but it's still a lower budget and lower profile title. I'm sure it'll turn a profit.

 

[Opiate]

Not knowing much about your algorithms, Josh: wouldn't "Wii -Sports" be a feasible method for such a task? Or are hyphens reserved for other uses?

 

[Vinci]

Panther, just saying ... your graphs kick all level of ass.