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[DeaconKnowledge]

It was underperforming in comparison to Sunshine. That it grew legs and started doing a whole lot better is a different beast. Or maybe you want find a post from ethelred this week, or last, that rags on SMG's sales?

Jesus Pureauthor it was poking fun, give it a rest.

Those are the reasons why GT5P is underperforming, not justification.

No arguments here. I didn't say it was doing well outright.

 

[Moor-Angol]

You sure its piracy or is it just an easy explanation? Even if piracy differential between the DS *which has a substantial pirate scene of its own* and PSP is say 200% or even 300% of that found on the DS, it still cannot account for the software performance. Some PSP games have done well.

I don't live in Japan so i don't know how much piracy scene is wide there, but if we take a look at the chart, every week we see PSP selling very well, but few games inside top50... japanese people buy PSP just for multimedia device? Not so sure about it...
Yes, DS is piratable as well as PSP, but the point is probably PSP and DS have different targets: DS has a wide userbase, which includes children, teens, girls, officer people, old people, meanwhile PSP could have a more "hardcore" userbase, i mean people who know how to pirate, has time download iso and bios. You think a girl or an employee has time to look for these kind of things?
Of course this is just a supposition, people who live in Japan could help us much better to understand this strange situation.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Wow, Mario Party DS is outselling Wii Fit, didn't see that one coming!

Truly if there was ever an example of how badly piracy can destroy a console's software sales, it would be the PSP! There's no way the PSP is being used primarily for multimedia, there are far far better alternatives out there for that (Especially those damn mobile phones over there!) it's definately piracy, never doubt the greed of mankind!

The big difference between the DS and the PSP in terms of piracy is that with the PSP you don't need any additional hardware in order to do it, that is the reason why PSP piracy is so massive!

 

[orio7]

Uncharted debuted at 24 and never showed up again.

You try too hard. LO is a much bigger bomb than Uncharted.

 

[cvxfreak]

The red PSP is available as both a 1-Seg TV Tuner pack and as a standalone.

People can be using the thing as a portable TV. If the tuner weren't popular, then I doubt Sony would make a bundle.

Then there are the potential upgraders. The slim PSP does things the original doesn't, which isn't really the case for the DS/DSL (and we can pretty much prove that the DSL fanbase is all newbs since people buy so many games).

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

The red PSP is available as both a 1-Seg TV Tuner pack and as a standalone.

People can be using the thing as a portable TV. If the tuner weren't popular, then I doubt Sony would make a bundle.

Then there are the potential upgraders. The slim PSP does things the original doesn't, which isn't really the case for the DS/DSL (and we can pretty much prove that the DSL fanbase is all newbs since people buy so many games).

Nope not a chance, if people were really looking to buy a 1seg tuner then they would most likely choose to use their mobile phones and the slim PSP is a minor upgrade compared to the DS Lite so while there will be a few upgraders no doubt, it wouldn't be a massive amount.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

The red PSP is available as both a 1-Seg TV Tuner pack and as a standalone.

People can be using the thing as a portable TV. If the tuner weren't popular, then I doubt Sony would make a bundle.

Then there are the potential upgraders. The slim PSP does things the original doesn't, which isn't really the case for the DS/DSL (and we can pretty much prove that the DSL fanbase is all newbs since people buy so many games).

cvx, would you say piracy is as rampant on the DS as the PSP?

I can't understand how people want to blame piracy for all of the PSPs woes, meanwhile the most popular system in Japan doesn't suffer anywhere near as much.

 

[neorej]

47.800 Yen ----> 422 $ -----> 294 €

that's actually a v good price! I'd buy it if I hadn't already bought a PS3.

 

[BishopLamont]

I don't live in Japan so i don't know how much piracy scene is wide there, but if we take a look at the chart, every week we see PSP selling very well, but few games inside top50... japanese people buy PSP just for multimedia device? Not so sure about it...
Yes, DS is piratable as well as PSP, but the point is probably PSP and DS have different targets: DS has a wide userbase, which includes children, teens, girls, officer people, old people, meanwhile PSP could have a more "hardcore" userbase, i mean people who know how to pirate, has time download iso and bios. You think a girl or an employee has time to look for these kind of things?
Of course this is just a supposition, people who live in Japan could help us much better to understand this strange situation.

Then why would games like CCVII and MHP sell on the PSP if they can just pirate it? I think the PSP is being used a multimedia player more then anything.

 

[cvxfreak]

Nope not a chance, if people were really looking to buy a 1seg tuner then they would most likely choose to use their mobile phones and the slim PSP is a minor upgrade compared to the DS Lite so while there will be a few upgraders no doubt, it wouldn't be a massive amount.

Why would Sony put out a 1-Seg tuner bundle in seemingly equal numbers to the standalone unit, then? To get rid of unsold tuners?

No one's actually really proven that mobile phones have taken away much potential market for handheld systems. Iwata alluded to such a few years back, but the DS has smashed records since then and the PSP has added market too.

I haven't read your previous posts, but I guess you may be behind the theory of piracy killing PSP game sales? There's little else to explain why software sales in the top 30 or so don't seem to total hardware system sales each week.

Functionally, the PSP slim does things the original can't. The DSL had a bigger cosmetic change. It's entirely reasonable for someone to buy the slim for TV viewing and video output.

 

[Jonnyram]

Nope not a chance, if people were really looking to buy a 1seg tuner then they would most likely choose to use their mobile phones and the slim PSP is a minor upgrade compared to the DS Lite so while there will be a few upgraders no doubt, it wouldn't be a massive amount.

Interesting theory, but I owned 2 PSPs and I bought a slim PSP because it is so much lighter. The 1 Seg tuner was a nice bonus but I haven't used it yet, aside from the initial setup. I'm waiting for the custom firmware to have 1 Seg recording support

As for low PSP software sales, just look at what the PSP hardware is capable of, aside from playing games - wireless web browsing, MP3 playback, video playback, watching and recording TV via 1 Seg... buy a PSP slim, 1 Seg tuner and an 8 gig memory stick for about 40000 yen total, and it's very competitive with most of the other portable media players out there.

 

[AdventureRacing]

Then why would games like CCVII and MHP sell on the PSP if they can just pirate it? I think the PSP is being used a multimedia player more then anything.

This is exactly what i've been wondering. If piracy is the sole problem than why are certain games able to sell like the 2 listed above?

 

[jgwhiteus]

Finally, I was wondering when Nintendo was going to realize that their current marketing scheme, while great for casual titles, is pretty useless for core titles.

I actually think this "Anyone Can Mario" campaign sounds a bit more "casual"-oriented than their first SMG campaign. The 15 and 30-second Japanese TV adverts we saw earlier were all gameplay footage of Mario flying through Toy Galaxy and Melty Molten Galaxy, etc. - very traditional game commercials, and they were apparently shown fairly frequently on TV.

This new campaign sounds like it's trying to draw people in who might be intimidated by a 3D Mario and want the familiarity of the 2D NSMB - e.g. DS gamers - and the very title of "Anyone Can Mario" emphasizes how 3D Marios aren't just for the "hardcore", but can be played by casuals as well.

And I can see why that tactic might be effective for SMG in particular. SMG is an absolutely gorgeous game, but if you only see footage on TV and haven't had a chance to get used to the controls, it can also look very intimidating - the constant crazy perspective shifts with Mario running upside down, and there's always so much going on in the screen (like, the US commercials showed portions of Battlerock Galaxy, with 20+ cannonballs coming at Mario while he's dodging electric fences) - it can seem like a bit of sensory overload. So maybe more "casual" adverts that emphasize the simplicity of the gameplay are what's helping rather than hurting SMG - another paradox along the lines of Wii Fit?

 

[SovanJedi]

I'm intrigued by these "Anyone Can Mario" adverts - is there anywhere online they are uploaded to? I couldn't find anything doing a quick Youtube search.

Could this be the pivotal action where these hoards of casual gamers they've been collecting over the years suddenly have the secret radio frequency activated that transform them into veritable gamers that can play anything?

Or am I just looking into this too much? Maybe I should shut up and watch the ad first.

 

[noonche]

This is exactly what i've been wondering. If piracy is the sole problem than why are certain games able to sell like the 2 listed above?

I think you're looking at things a little incorrectly. Piracy likely causes the hardcore games that would sell 100k-250k on PS2 to fail on PSP. They sold largely to a hardcore audience; the same audience that is likely to know how to get their hands on a PSP with custom firmware installed on it.

However, MHP2 and CCFF7 are huge games, backed by huge marketing campaigns and tons of brand recognition.

As to MNGP2, well MNG5 just came out, as did the 1st GPS MNG for PSP... and the second GPS one... was there a third? I think the franchise may be experiencing some fatigue.

 

[goompapa]

I'm sorry? ethelred's contention has been that the Wii has thus far proven itself to be a massive shithole for everyone but Nintendo themselves, and this week's chart does absolutely nothing but reinforce what he says as being correct.



Doing well if you consider XYZ = Not doing well, and XYZ are the reasons

Exactly. If you do this "consider XYZ", every game is doing well.
Dewey has done well, considering no 1 know it actually exists, the control scheme is not intuitive, it looks like a game a 1 year old baby would be ashamed to play. Yes, Dewey actually has done exceptionally well.

 

[CowboyAstronaut]

You would think more Japanese 360 owners would be interested in a game like Lost Odyssey.

I mean, its only the best game in perhaps their most loved genre of gaming to release on the platform and it is, for lack of a better term, ignored.

I hope the fact that they made the english VA take first priority for the game is a sign that they intend to give the game a serious push over here in the USA because Blue Dragon really did deserve far more than what it got, but it seems since it released alongside Bioshock Microsoft abandoned one of their own.

Mistwalker has to be able to continue making games like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey because their titles I think have been a very refreshing addition to the 360's lineup and despite whatever opinion people may hold about them, they are quality games. Are they perfect? Of course not, but then a lot of the 360 games I've played aren't perfect either.

Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are pretty damn impressive first efforts for Mistwalker with the 2 dev teams they worked with. If there were ever a team that deserved the benefit of the doubt from Microsoft it would without a doubt be these guys. If not anyone else, I would sure as hell love to see what they can do with a Blue Dragon sequel or perhaps what Mistwalker + Feel Plus could come up with next time because I'm really enjoying Lost Odyssey right now.

Thanks a lot Duckroll and Evilore

 

[test_account]

Doing well if you consider XYZ = Not doing well, and XYZ are the reasons

Depends on how you define "well". If you compare the total income the first week for GT4P and GT5P, its not that far from eachother actually. GT4P was 2900 yen while GT5P is about 4800 yen in average (retail 4900 yen, PSN 4500 yen. I guess most people bought the retail).

Of course, it might have been cheaper to produce GT4P so the profit was bigger, but still, the income is not that far from eachother and GT5P has a much bigger attach ratio. I guess you can say its doing well like that

 

[rakka]

Finally, I was wondering when Nintendo was going to realize that their current marketing scheme, while great for casual titles, is pretty useless for core titles.

they realized too fucking late

prime 3

 

[Forsete]

Very fucking nice and Japan better fucking buy.

DMC, is that a strong franchise in Japan? Looks very nice btw, I bet it will shift a few systems.

 

[jgwhiteus]

I think you're looking at things a little incorrectly. Piracy likely causes the hardcore games that would sell 100k-250k on PS2 to fail on PSP. They sold largely to a hardcore audience; the same audience that is likely to know how to get their hands on a PSP with custom firmware installed on it.

However, MHP2 and CCFF7 are huge games, backed by huge marketing campaigns and tons of brand recognition.

As to MNGP2, well MNG5 just came out, as did the 1st GPS MNG for PSP... and the second GPS one... was there a third? I think the franchise may be experiencing some fatigue.

I don't know - taking a harsher point of view, maybe another way of looking at it is that the PSP games themselves would sell relatively modestly in any case (with a few notable exceptions like FF:CC and MHP2), but the PSP's hardware sales vastly outperform its software's selling power because it can be used as a multimedia device / all-purpose game machine, etc. (even if it's a piracy platform, are we sure the PSP is only being used for pirated PSP games? I thought I'd heard people mentioning that it could emulate NES, SNES, PS1 games, etc.)

I mean, people always comment on there "not being enough PSP games in the top 30" in proportion to its hardware sales, but they usually don't specify which PSP games should be in the top 30. What are the PSP's major releases in Japan? How frequently do they come out - every week? How widely are they advertised?

I'm not saying that piracy isn't a bigger problem for the PSP than the DS - I can accept that piracy straight-out-of-the-box is more widespread than piracy requiring the purchase of an R4/whatever chip. But it can't be the only explanation. It just seems that when PSP games come out that you expect to sell well - like FF:CC - they do, in fact, sell well. But beyond that, the PSP doesnt seem to have as full a release schedule as the other systems to merit 5 - 10 spots or whatever in the top 30.

 

[Phife Dawg]

As to MNGP2, well MNG5 just came out, as did the 1st GPS MNG for PSP... and the second GPS one... was there a third? I think the franchise may be experiencing some fatigue.

Didn't the GPS versions fail horribly? I don't think there are enough people playing it to feel the fatigue. And even with MnG releasing on PS3 these numbers are disappointing.

 

[test_account]

DMC, is that a strong franchise in Japan?

Alittle, but not really that strong. Famitsu LTD numbers:

DMC 1 = 569.763
DMC 2 = 456.824
DMC 3 = 281.025

I guess DMC 4 will do somewhat 100k.

EDIT: There is a PC version of DMC 3 too, maybe of DMC 1 and 2 also, dunno. I doubt the PC version sold well in Japan though, if it even came out there hehe, but i'm just mentioning it

 

[jgwhiteus]

they realized too fucking late

prime 3

That's NOA, though (MP3 hasn't been released in Japan yet).

So maybe Nintendo in Japan needs to have more casual advertisements to have their hardcore games sell well, and NOA needs to have more traditional marketing (or really, any marketing at all) for a game like MP3? After all, the Japanese and American markets aren't identical - yet :/

 

[Phife Dawg]

DMC, is that a strong franchise in Japan? Looks very nice btw, I bet it will shift a few systems.

Going by Moor-Angol's site (Famitsu):

Musou 4: 917.985
DMC3: 281.025

Musou had a bundle as well. And a new model and a price cut shortly before and the oncoming shopping season.

People shouldn't be expecting too much from DMC and the bundle.

they realized too fucking late

prime 3

Was this even released in Japan?

 

[gcubed]

Those are the reasons why GT5P is underperforming, not justification.

until sony gives us download numbers for GT5P, its hard to say that the numbers there are bad for a title when quite a lot could have been downloads. That being said, it was either it or the time of year for the small "bump" the ps3 got in hardware, either way, the bump should have been more for both

 

[Frankfurter]

Keep going SMG!!

 

[cvxfreak]

DMC, is that a strong franchise in Japan? Looks very nice btw, I bet it will shift a few systems.

DMC3 wasn't remarkable, sales-wise. I was surprised to see the PS2 version of Biohazard 4 ahead of it in Japan, and the GC RE4 outselling it in the US.

 

[2real4tv]

Didn't know where to post this but $299 ps3 @ toy r us:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2549777

 

[rakka]

Was this even released in Japan?

no idea
was referring to NOA, should have been more clear (and in that case, they're still trying to push core games with casual ads, aren't they?)

 

[Defuser]

DMC 1 = 569.763
DMC 2 = 456.824
DMC 3 = 281.025

I guess DMC 4 will do somewhat 100k.

I'm expecting something higher than that. DMC2 is the reason why DMC3 didn't do well.

 

[DSWii60]

7 Wii games in the Top 12. That's probably the best the Wii has done since launch with regards to software.

 

[Forsete]

Thought it would be stronger.

 

[Randy Lanzarote]

I thought that Lost Odyssey would have;
a) provided MS with a hardware bump
b) had ever so slightly longer legs (ie, two weeks in top 30 at least)

I'm not sure if this is down to either MS not marketing the game heavily enough, or perhaps it is further indicative of changing habits in how the Japanese play their games, perhaps they want their big RPG games to play on the go.

360 has seen a sales increase since the price drop several weeks ago, so either people are making the most of the bundled games and picking up a variety of older titles, or people are just replacing their old units with HDMI/Falcon 360s.

 

[AlternativeUlster]

I think the 360 would be doing better if it wasn't made by Microsoft or any western company for that matter.

 

[sasimirobot]

My cheap ass comment on the japanese pirate situation:

japanese culture will spend the next 10 years catching up to the whole "I deserve free software just I can use the internet" thing that is going on with us geeks.

It is not cool. It is not everyday. It doesnt have a blog.

but...since Sony made it so easy...

for a country that has a still booming VHS video rental economy, (haha, everyone in japan is HDTV right?)

I mean. make so easy...

 

[MrSardonic]

PSP : 158k

:lol

What do people in Japan use the PSP for? Sure isn't gaming.

 

[antiloop]

I think the 360 would be doing better if it wasn't made by Microsoft or any western company for that matter.

Makes me wonder if PS3 would fair better in the US if it was made by Microsoft.

What do people in Japan use the PSP for? Sure isn't gaming.

Reading manga and watching animé I bet. Maybe some SNES emulating :lol

 

[Defuser]

:lol

What do people in Japan use the PSP for? Sure isn't gaming.

Videos,music,TV viewing,GPS.etc There plenty of uses for the psp besides games.

 

[sasimirobot]

Videos,music,TV viewing,GPS.etc There plenty of uses for the psp besides games.

but not the DS?

 

[sasimirobot]

what I am trying to say is, people that PSP it, are more "aware" of the options.

DS sells to people like your uncle that are still happy to be able to send email and have pants that match his hat.

 

[thestopsign]

Top Ten Wii Games LTD

1.) Wii Sports 2,341,000
2.) Wii Play 1,921,000
3.) Mario Party 8 904,535
4.) Super Mario Galaxy 550,000
5.) Zelda: Twilight Princess 541,000
6.) Wii Fit 535,000
7.) Wario Ware: Smooth Moves 520,479
8.) Super Paper Mario 493,937
9.) Dragon Quest Sword 482,086
10.) Pokemon Battle Revolution 317,730

 

[Opus Angelorum]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks the GT5 numbers are lower than expected.

This is the first real AAA title to come to the PS3, and the price of the hardware in Japan is not the issue.

 

[Defuser]

Top Ten Wii Games LTD

1.) Wii Sports 2,341,000
2.) Wii Play 1,921,000
3.) Mario Party 8 904,535
4.) Super Mario Galaxy 550,000
5.) Zelda: Twilight Princess 541,000
6.) Wii Fit 535,000
7.) Wario Ware: Smooth Moves 520,479
8.) Super Paper Mario 493,937
9.) Dragon Quest Sword 482,086
10.) Pokemon Battle Revolution 317,730

Only 1 third party game :|

 

[Stop It]

Nice to see SMG gaining momentum, a near total top 10 for DS/Wii, and next week GT5P wont be there, the biggest chance for a near total Nintendomination, and if the Famitsu figures are right...WOW @ Wii sales, looks like that sales blip is done, dusted and forgot about already.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Thought it would be stronger.

Wii software? :lol This is a pretty big week for a system that's just over a year old. How would you expect it to be even stronger?

no idea
was referring to NOA, should have been more clear (and in that case, they're still trying to push core games with casual ads, aren't they?)

Ah OK. I'm not living in the US but from what I understand it's basically the "We would like to play" stuff for all games? It raises the awareness at least, but I agree they should try to hype their stuff more than a month before release. I don't think that's an issue with the TV ads though but more with using different media. The Everybody's Nintendo channel is a step in the right direction.

 

[thestopsign]

Only 1 third party game :|

To be fair I think only one third party game has had the potential to be in the Top 10. You could maybe make an argument that Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles should be up there too, but really, what other game has had the marketing push to be up there?

 

[theKoopa]

HERE Wii COME!

the new YOUTUBE vid of Wiigirl about this theads xD

IMPRESSIVE!:lol

 

[RiverBed]

I think the 360 would be doing better if it wasn't made by Microsoft or any western company for that matter.

bullshit.

I'm not sure if this is down to either MS not marketing the game heavily enough...

marketing is not to blame- especially when MS is behind it. I know about LO and am more excited about it than many PS3 games, and I don't use a 360 at all.

 

[noonche]

I don't know - taking a harsher point of view, maybe another way of looking at it is that the PSP games themselves would sell relatively modestly in any case (with a few notable exceptions like FF:CC and MHP2), but the PSP's hardware sales vastly outperform its software's selling power because it can be used as a multimedia device / all-purpose game machine, etc. (even if it's a piracy platform, are we sure the PSP is only being used for pirated PSP games? I thought I'd heard people mentioning that it could emulate NES, SNES, PS1 games, etc.)

I mean, people always comment on there "not being enough PSP games in the top 30" in proportion to its hardware sales, but they usually don't specify which PSP games should be in the top 30. What are the PSP's major releases in Japan? How frequently do they come out - every week? How widely are they advertised?

I'm not saying that piracy isn't a bigger problem for the PSP than the DS - I can accept that piracy straight-out-of-the-box is more widespread than piracy requiring the purchase of an R4/whatever chip. But it can't be the only explanation. It just seems that when PSP games come out that you expect to sell well - like FF:CC - they do, in fact, sell well. But beyond that, the PSP doesnt seem to have as full a release schedule as the other systems to merit 5 - 10 spots or whatever in the top 30.

Typically the games that you see people bemoaning are not million sellers. Those games, as noted, continue to sell on PSP. It's the smaller-ish games like Wild Arms XF or Silent Hill Zero that are selling catastrophically bad. These are the kind of games that piracy is killing. Crisis Core was never in any danger of selling poorly on PSP, but something like a new Megami Tensei would be impossible on PSP because the target audience is the one mostly likely to know how to pirate PSP games.