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[Vinnk]

Holy Shit... How do you even manage that...

I'm very, very busy.

 

[charlequin]

Indeed, there's still loads of gamers in Japan who have no DS/GBA to play their Ruby/Sapphire on.

It's not a matter of playing R/S/E, it's a matter of transferring captured Pokemon from R/S/E into D/P/?. Nintendo will not replace the DS Lite with a model that does not allow this key functionality of their most important handheld franchise.

 

[Parl]

It's not a matter of playing R/S/E, it's a matter of transferring captured Pokemon from R/S/E into D/P/?. Nintendo will not replace the DS Lite with a model that does not allow this key functionality of their most important handheld franchise.

I'd imagine that anybody who wants to transfer Pokemon from R/S/E to D/P would be part of the core of Pokemon fans, and most likely own a DS already.

I'd say that the market for Pokemon gamers who have a keen interest in transferring their Pokemon from Ruby/Sapphire over to D/P/?, has been largely fulfilled with DS Lite/Tank.

I think that if that was considered the only reason to keep the GBA slot (which it isn't, but GBA games in general aren't that important anymore, except to the core, who pretty much all have DSs already), then the advantages to Nintendo of getting rid seem enough, from what I understand now.

 

[Vinnk]

I'd imagine that anybody who wants to transfer Pokemon from R/S/E to D/P would be part of the core of Pokemon fans, and most likely own a DS already.

I'd say that the market for Pokemon gamers who have a keen interest in transferring their Pokemon from Ruby/Sapphire over to D/P/?, has been largely fulfilled with DS Lite/Tank.

I think that if that was considered the only reason to keep the GBA slot (which it isn't, but GBA games in general aren't that important anymore, except to the core, who pretty much all have DSs already), then the advantages to Nintendo of getting rid seem enough, from what I understand now.

I don't think they will get rid of it. One of the DS systems biggest sellers "Love and Berry" uses the GBA port for it's card reader. The same with "Mushi King" (another best seller) and I believe the "Dinosaur King" game. It is also used for Mag Kid (though that was a flop), The rumble pack, the DS lite Opera Browser, the Play Yan, etc. Most of those are not big sellers but the first two SEGA titles are very, very popular.

The GBA slot also allows transfers of saved data from Pokemon, Gyakuten Saiban, and unlocks extra content in a number of games when certain GBA carts are inserted.

True Nintendo could say "to hell with all that" but they would piss off SEGA or any other company that uses that GBA port for expandability.

EDIT: I forgot Face Training.

 

[Christine]

In my opinion they don't even need to get rid of the slot, because they don't really need to make it thinner. Rather, they should focus on decreasing the weight of the unit.

 

[lupin23rd]

Figured this was the best thread to ask this - for vinnk or anyone else in Japan, how much can I expect to pay for a used PS3? I assume a 20GB or 40GB would be cheapest?

Coming over next week for 3 months and basically plan to bring a few games over along with some Blu rays, and probably pick up RGG3.

Gotta go the cheap route so the GF doesn't get upset :lol

 

[cvxfreak]

Around 35,000 Yen for a used PS3. I believe that's how much a used 40GB goes for.

 

[Vinnk]

Figured this was the best thread to ask this - for vinnk or anyone else in Japan, how much can I expect to pay for a used PS3? I assume a 20GB or 40GB would be cheapest?

Coming over next week for 3 months and basically plan to bring a few games over along with some Blu rays, and probably pick up RGG3.

Gotta go the cheap route so the GF doesn't get upset :lol

The cheapest I have seen one was 30,000 yen. That was right after the white one came out and they were trying to get rid of black units. The cheapest ones are usually the 40 gig ones or a used 20GB one (but I don't see them very often) both go used for about 35,000yen (a little over $300) normally.

If you want a 360, used ones start around 20,000yen but can sometimes be found cheaper.

Don't buy a Wii used. It is usually only about a thousand yen cheaper. Might as well get new.

Used old model PSPs and DS lites can be often found for about 10,000-12,000 and that is a good savings.

 

[charlequin]

I'd imagine that anybody who wants to transfer Pokemon from R/S/E to D/P would be part of the core of Pokemon fans, and most likely own a DS already.

Pokemon isn't a hardcore game. It's not something that people buy all on the first day; it continues to do strong catalog sales throughout the entire life of the platform on which it appears, with another spike when the third-piece version is released down the road. Many kids wind up getting it way after it originally comes out -- in some cases these are going to be kids who were playing their old GBA versions up until they finally got their own DS, and obviously are going to want to transfer all the monsters they've painstakingly caught.

If there were some really compelling reason to remove the slot, I'd say sure, they might ditch it. But there really isn't. While the DS Phat had numerous design flaws that made a redesign obviously appealing, the DS Lite is really pretty close to perfect as is. I think the idea of adding new features (new online functionality, Virtual Handheld, "Channels," whatever) is much more likely than taking out the features that exist for relatively small gains.

 

[Vinnk]

"Vinnk's Villiage lite"

I did not have time to hit all the stores in my town this week. I only went to the 4 I frequent most: Youme town, Best Denki, Famicom Dojo and Wanpaku. But here are some observations for this week.


1. Brawl and Wii Fit continue to sell, but Nintendo is already prepping for the next thing. At Wanpaku the Wii Fit display has been turned into a “Common Sense Training TV” or whatever that new Wii training game is called. Ads are running for it constantly. I think Nintendo hopes for this to be it’s next hit. It’s not getting as much ad time as Wii Fit got before release but it is still getting a nice push. Best Denki made their brawl display smaller and it is now sharing space with that new training game.

2. Mertroid Prime 3 is coming out too. I know this because I read GAF and Famitsu. If I didn’t I might not know it was coming. No ads on TV yet (or at least not during the shows I watch) and no posters in stores. Then again Brawl had almost nothing in store either. Still, Nintendo doesn't seem to have much confidence in this title. Perhaps the game will be moved a bit by the inclusion of Samus in Brawl, but if many Japanese gamers shunned Galaxy because it was in 3D, Metroid has no chance.

3. Yakuza 3 has very nice displays at both Best Denki and Wanpaku. But of those stores converted their DMC4 displays for the game. The one at Wanpaku is decorated with plastic Sakura petals, which I think is a nice touch. There is a good bust about this game just like there was for Devil May Cry 4. I expect it to sell about as well, maybe a bit higher. It should make the PS3 top 10 easy. There was no pre-order info for the bundle, so maybe my town isn’t getting them.

4. Onechabarra Revolution had a price collapse. Hardcore. The early buyers were Pwnd. Myself included. If I sell my copy, all I can get is 800 yen. Failure.

5. Nights Wii and Soul Caliber Legends also had price collapses. Nights PS2 had many copies in stock. A read the fist day sales numbers and I think this game will be next for the price collapse.

6. Wii is on stock. About the same as last week. Actually all systems are pretty much unchanged. Wii Fit is also readily available now. I haven’t seen a sellout of it in a few weeks now.

7. WE 2008 Wii is in stock at all the store and I don’t know anyone who bought it so I don’t have impressions. But the staff at Wanpaku said they did sell a number of copies. The other stores probably did too.

8. The Otaku are still talking about Smash and DMC4. A few of them are gushing about Soma Bringer but 2 don’t care for action RPGs. The 360 fans all seemed to be into Idolmaster like they were when the first game came out.

 

[Tenbatsu]

I'm very, very busy.

Out of topic Q: How's life as a teacher in Japan? Is it stressful? Basically where I live, teachers are in a state where the students are sort of their client now.

 

[Neo C.]

Why do you think it would be valuable to decrease the volume of the DS? The Lite is already small enough to be easily carried (and already small enough that it's a little difficult for a lot of people to hold in their hands); any smaller would impinge on the size of the screens (a huge issue when one of the screens is touch.)

How would you redesign the DS? Would you increase the volume?

 

[maladroid]

"Vinnk's Villiage lite"
2. Mertroid Prime 3 is coming out too. I know this because I read GAF and Famitsu. If I didn’t I might not know it was coming. No ads on TV yet (or at least not during the shows I watch) and no posters in stores. Then again Brawl had almost nothing in store either. Still, Nintendo doesn't seem to have much confidence in this title. Perhaps the game will be moved a bit by the inclusion of Samus in Brawl, but if many Japanese gamers shunned Galaxy because it was in 3D, Metroid has no chance.

You haven't seen this?

 

[Vinnk]

Out of topic Q: How's life as a teacher in Japan? Is it stressful? Basically where I live, teachers are in a state where the students are sort of their client now.

When I was a Jr. High school teacher life was very easy. i thought about 3 classes a day and had a textbook to fall back on for lesson planning.

Now I teach about 6 classes a day and have to write all my lesson plans (so about 1 or 2 hours a night spent in prep). It's still a pretty good job and rewarding. I have a nice life here.

Back on topic. I am really interested in this weeks sales number for WE Wii. I hope it can have Family Ski type legs and allow the new control scheme to continue to be used. I haven't played it yet myself but those gaffers who have say it is great. I good use of Wii controls should be rewarded with sales.

You haven't seen this?

On the internet, yeah I've seen it. On actual Japanese television, not yet. I'm hoping I will though, I'd like the game to do well. The only Wii ads I usually see recently are for Wii Fit, and that new training one. I watch prime time programming like the news, variety shows, drama programs and the occasional movie. I don't watch anime and maybe the CM it is being shown there.

 

[HK-47]

You haven't seen this?

sexy

 

[Phife Dawg]

Eh, way to miss my points?

When was the last time Nintendo released two Wii games on the same day? They would be stupid to give them the entire week for themselves, so having some presence, even if small, is a far better choice. About GH, I doubt any version will crack top30 sure, yet I'm interested in seeing how it does, look at COD4, certainly not (as) big (as in NA) but its performance was certainly interesting to my eyes.

Sony had a really good showing on PS1, they lost a lot in PS2 (like the extremely poor showing in the early days) and their PS3 commitment certainly isn't Japan-centric but they still released 13 titles in 13 months (from Nov 06 to Dec 07). Now we are off to a 6 months without a single title (from Jan 08 to Jun 08). Sony PS3 showing on the first semester of 2008 in Japan could very well be zero.

Well I thought your point was: There should be more first party Sony games for PS3 that are Japan-centric. Sony relies on third parties to carry the system in the next few months.

They don't have big franchises to fall back to, HSG was already released, just like BNNY and GT5. What could they release? Another Ape? That series seemed to be a set for PSP. All they can do is put out new IPs. These were mainly focused on the western market (with the exception of FolkLore). And let's be honest, it's easier to have a new IP succeed in the west. Maybe it's because there is more of a "formula" for success of a new series: Tits, violence, action gameplay, story-driven, preferrably bald marines of a sort or bearded, edgy guys, which seem to be the new bald marines. The Japanese market seems to be more fickle, they don't eat up every decent RPG, they are not interested in shooters.

Besides, I don't know the decision behind this, or if there was a conscious decision but I think Sony just wanted to continue their business as they did on PS2 and have third parties carry the system. That doesn't seem to make sense in the light of abysmal PS3 performance but I don't think Sony expected that - and with long dev cycles they can't do anything about it in the short run.

As to MP3 and that quiz game, MP3 will not get a lot of exposure/presence in either media or in-store adverstising. While the quiz game probably will get said exposure/presence, the game doesn't appeal to the same people that are interested in RGG. I guess most, if not all of the people buying it don't know that RGG is released in the same week or would care if they knew.

 

[Kurosaki Ichigo]

Well I thought your point was: There should be more first party Sony games for PS3 that are Japan-centric. Sony relies on third parties to carry the system in the next few months.

They don't have big franchises to fall back to, HSG was already released, just like BNNY and GT5. What could they release? Another Ape? That series seemed to be a set for PSP. All they can do is put out new IPs. These were mainly focused on the western market (with the exception of FolkLore). And let's be honest, it's easier to have a new IP succeed in the west. Maybe it's because there is more of a "formula" for success of a new series: Tits, violence, action gameplay, story-driven, preferrably bald marines of a sort or bearded, edgy guys, which seem to be the new bald marines. The Japanese market seems to be more fickle, they don't eat up every decent RPG, they are not interested in shooters.

Besides, I don't know the decision behind this, or if there was a conscious decision but I think Sony just wanted to continue their business as they did on PS2 and have third parties carry the system. That doesn't seem to make sense in the light of abysmal PS3 performance but I don't think Sony expected that - and with long dev cycles they can't do anything about it in the short run.

Well, my point wasn't about japan-centric games but games overall. It was very weird to see PS3 current lineup without a single trace of 1st/2nd party games, specially after this start where they had a constant influx of their games, even if most of them weren't made to appeal the japanese market.

I also doubt SCEJ capabilities to create new, successful IPs, but they already released Genji, Folklore, Mingol, BNNY, GT5p...so where are the next games coming? We know nothing of the following games from them. I know you can say, hey they have Ape Escape, GT5, Siren and Team ICO on the works, yeah, but we know nothing about them and its quite unlikely they will be revealed and released before Summer (i'd say even Fall). Taking announced ones like Afrika and White Knight, where are them? Certainly not on track to be out very soon (and wouldn't surprise me to see a 2009 date for any of them).
Even taking SCEA and SCEE, most of their stuff is also planned for Fall, and some coming earlier is unlikely to be released in Japan going by previous experience (Singstar, Buzz).

Sony certainly can't drive their platform by themselves but at least they had a bunch of games from time to time...but now, there is just Fall 2008 or bust. There's nothing more on the radar...

edit: btw, whats with my avatar :?

edit2: just saw this in gamefront, 2007 top10 publishers (famitsu data):
1. Nintendo: 23.520.000 St.
2. Square Enix: 7.580.000 St.
3. Bandai Namco: 7.500.000 St.
4. Capcom: 5.560.000 St.
5. Konami: 4.910.000 St.
6. Sega: 2.930.000 St.
7. Pokemon: 2.870.000 St.
8. Sony: 2.230.000 St.
9. Koei: 1.940.000 St.
10. Banpresto: 1.790.000 St.

 

[Parl]

I don't think they will get rid of it. One of the DS systems biggest sellers "Love and Berry" uses the GBA port for it's card reader. The same with "Mushi King" (another best seller) and I believe the "Dinosaur King" game. It is also used for Mag Kid (though that was a flop), The rumble pack, the DS lite Opera Browser, the Play Yan, etc. Most of those are not big sellers but the first two SEGA titles are very, very popular.

The GBA slot also allows transfers of saved data from Pokemon, Gyakuten Saiban, and unlocks extra content in a number of games when certain GBA carts are inserted.

True Nintendo could say "to hell with all that" but they would piss off SEGA or any other company that uses that GBA port for expandability.

EDIT: I forgot Face Training.

Okies, wasn't aware of these. They're likely to keep a GBA cartridge slot then. The Pokemon thing alone didn't seem enough to me.

Even so, we still don't know if there's actually going to be a redesign or not. I think there will be personally, but it may end up being next year and they'd do something else in the mean time to push sales for DS in Japan. Ie, new software for a new audience, price drop, different/more advertising.

 

[test_account]

When I was a Jr. High school teacher life was very easy. i thought about 3 classes a day and had a textbook to fall back on for lesson planning.

Now I teach about 6 classes a day and have to write all my lesson plans (so about 1 or 2 hours a night spent in prep). It's still a pretty good job and rewarding. I have a nice life here.

If you dont mind me asking, what do you teach?

 

[Polari]

Okies, wasn't aware of these. They're likely to keep a GBA cartridge slot then. The Pokemon thing alone didn't seem enough to me.

Even so, we still don't know if there's actually going to be a redesign or not. I think there will be personally, but it may end up being next year and they'd do something else in the mean time to push sales for DS in Japan. Ie, new software for a new audience, price drop, different/more advertising.

They could create a GBA dongle of sorts that plugs into a small port on the system. Personally I'd like to see a super, super slim DS and GBA is irrelevant to most DS owners/potential DS owners out there, so this seems like the best solution to me.

 

[jarrod]

edit2: just saw this in gamefront, 2007 top10 publishers (famitsu data):
1. Nintendo: 23.520.000 St.
2. Square Enix: 7.580.000 St.
3. Bandai Namco: 7.500.000 St.
4. Capcom: 5.560.000 St.
5. Konami: 4.910.000 St.
6. Sega: 2.930.000 St.
7. Pokemon: 2.870.000 St.
8. Sony: 2.230.000 St.
9. Koei: 1.940.000 St.
10. Banpresto: 1.790.000 St.

Wow, Konami's *really* taken a tumble in the last few years.... they used to be on par with Square and now they're below Capcom. :/

SCEI's tumbled quite a bit too (understandably) but everyone else's ranking seems about right (not sure for units though). I wonder who the next two would've been (MMV? Takara Tomy? Atlus? Tecmo? IE? Rocket? L5?) as Pokemon and Banpresto are essentially subsidiaries? I also wonder if Konami would've risen higher than Capcom had their subsidiaries (Hudson & Genki) been added?

 

[gconsole]

Wow, Konami's *really* taken a tumble in the last few years.... they used to be on par with Square and now they're below Capcom. :/

SCEI's tumbled quite a bit too (understandably) but everyone else's ranking seems about right (not sure for units though). I wonder who the next two would've been (MMV? Takara Tomy? Atlus? Tecmo? IE? Rocket? L5?) as Pokemon and Banpresto are essentially subsidiaries? I also wonder if Konami would've risen higher than Capcom had their subsidiaries (Hudson & Genki) been added?

What's wrong with being below Capcom? The big 3 always on the top spot of japanese market and I don't see anything change. Just switching the position. Actually they should combine and fight Nintendo as their biggest rival.

 

[Nocebo]

If you dont mind me asking, what do you teach?

My money is on Gaffism?

 

[Parl]

What's wrong with being below Capcom? The big 3 always on the top spot of japanese market and I don't see anything change. Just switching the position. Actually they should combine and fight Nintendo as their biggest rival.

So..

1. Nintendo/Pokemon: 26.390.000 St.
2. Bandai Capkonamix: 25.550.000 St.
3. Sega: 2.930.000 St.
4. Sony: 2.230.000 St.
5. Koei: 1.940.000 St.
6. Banpresto: 1.790.000 St.

 

[donny2112]

Pokemon isn't a hardcore game. It's not something that people buy all on the first day; it continues to do strong catalog sales throughout the entire life of the platform on which it appears, with another spike when the third-piece version is released down the road.

Very true. Before the DS came out and brought along freakishly long-lasting sellers, Pokemon was the definition, poster child, and almost sole member of the "long legs" club.

 

[jarrod]

What's wrong with being below Capcom? The big 3 always on the top spot of japanese market and I don't see anything change. Just switching the position. Actually they should combine and fight Nintendo as their biggest rival.

Nothing's "wrong" with it... only Konami used to be like twice Capcom's size. It's just surprising is all imo... though maybe we should've seen it coming? Konami did have a few confusing studio restructurings and their consistant bread winners (WE/PES, Yu-Gi-OH!, DDR/Bemani, PowaPuro, etc) have all been in gradual decline with basically no new franchises taking their place. Kojima Productions, their star R&D unit and the only JP group to really retain their own autonomity, also seems unable to land a hit outside mass budget MGS sequels and spinoffs... I wonder if Konami's headed for trouble?

 

[Parl]

Nothing's "wrong" with it... only Konami used to be like twice Capcom's size. It's just surprising is all imo... though maybe we should've seen it coming? Konami did have a few confusing studio restructurings and their consistant bread winners (WE/PES, Yu-Gi-OH!, DDR/Bemani, PowaPuro, etc) have all been in gradual decline with basically no new franchises taking their place. Kojima Productions, their star R&D unit and the only JP group to really retain their own autonomity, also seems unable to land a hit outside mass budget MGS sequels and spinoffs... I wonder if Konami's headed for trouble?

Out of all of the Japanese companies, I thought Konami and SE were most likely to decline when I considered it back a few years ago. SE have since released many successful DS titles, despite not even having SE's biggest handheld project so far (DQIX ain't here yet), and a handful of successful PSP games, and putting some stuff on Wii, and have yet to release a PS3 game, but have some big guns on the way.

Konami on the other hand, have been slipping and didn't put as much resources in the dominating Nintendo systems. Much of it is down to market change too.

 

[jarrod]

Yeah the general decline of PlayStation seems to have impacted Konami more directly than Square Enix (who's handled the transition quite deftly imo). A recent look at Konami's IR materials reveals that they're actually doing about the same in software sales between DS and PSP... I guess when that happens, you know something's wrong.

I'm surprised at how well Bandai Namco's held up though, especially with Namco's own games sort of faltering generally (outside DS stuff like Taiko or Mojipittan)... sort if makes me wonder if Bandai regrets the merger in hindsight. It might have been better for them had Nintendo swept them up. :lol

Capcom rox as usual though, and it's always nice to see Sega beat Sony.

 

[gconsole]

Nothing's "wrong" with it... only Konami used to be like twice Capcom's size. It's just surprising is all imo... though maybe we should've seen it coming? Konami did have a few confusing studio restructurings and their consistant bread winners (WE/PES, Yu-Gi-OH!, DDR/Bemani, PowaPuro, etc) have all been in gradual decline with basically no new franchises taking their place. Kojima Productions, their star R&D unit and the only JP group to really retain their own autonomity, also seems unable to land a hit outside mass budget MGS sequels and spinoffs... I wonder if Konami's headed for trouble?

Konami is always twice the size of Capcom (I mean the Company size and number of game they produce). The sale is something else where they sometime switch the position with Capcom. This has been happening since last 20 years. By the way I see your concern. Back in PS day, Konami produced a lot of new franchises and sale huge load of them but now what I can thinking of are only Metal Gears Solid and Winning Eleven.

But do not worry, Konami is far far from being in trouble. If that happens , the first one would be Sega.

 

[D.Lo]

Nothing's "wrong" with it... only Konami used to be like twice Capcom's size. It's just surprising is all imo... though maybe we should've seen it coming? Konami did have a few confusing studio restructurings and their consistant bread winners (WE/PES, Yu-Gi-OH!, DDR/Bemani, PowaPuro, etc) have all been in gradual decline with basically no new franchises taking their place. Kojima Productions, their star R&D unit and the only JP group to really retain their own autonomity, also seems unable to land a hit outside mass budget MGS sequels and spinoffs... I wonder if Konami's headed for trouble?

It really is the quality of their games that did them in. I was the world's biggest Konami fan on the NES and SNES, and loved almost every thing they produced. Back then they had a 'house style' (like Nintendo and Square kinda still do) and the best music in the business. I collect Konami Famicom, Famicom Disk and Super Famicom games and have almost all in some form.

I always point to Castlevania: Bloodlines as their downfall. They threw away almost a decade of loyal Castlevania fans by releasing a unique title on a platform the fans didn't have, diluting the base. It was actually Dracula X on the PC engine that started the trend in Japan, where they released 9 Castlevania games in a row on different platforms. The series never recovered from this 'betrayal' of the fans, who like it or not had a large crossover with Nintendo series fans (like Zelda and Metroid fans). Also didn't help that they gimped Castlevania 64 by underfunding it.

They finally picked it up a bit later in the 32 bit era with some 'new' franchises like the Metal Gear revival and their excellent Resident Evil answer, Silent Hill, and the re-born ISS series. But since then it's been relatively unimaginative sequels. IMO the best things they've done in the last few years were outsourced sequels from houses that understood the original appeal more then in-house teams have for years (Gradius 5, Contra 4).

 

[jarrod]

Konami is always twice the size of Capcom (I mean the Company size and number of game they produce). The sale is something else where they sometime switch the position with Capcom. This has been happening since last 20 years. By the way I see your concern. Back in PS day, Konami produced a lot of new franchises and sale huge load of them but now what I can thinking of are only Metal Gears Solid and Winning Eleven.

But do not worry, Konami is far far from being in trouble. If that happens , the first one would be Sega.

The back and forth with Capcom hadn't really happened since the SFC days though... until Square and Enix merged actually, Konami was the biggest 3rd party in Japan... now they've been bumped to 4th place. That's worrying, at the least.

And really, if SEGA keeps churning out hits like RGG, Mushiking and Love&Berry, Konami's going down to 5th rather shortly... they've totally bungled this transition cycle and honestly, PES in Europe is probably all that's keeping them competitive at this point.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Well, my point wasn't about japan-centric games but games overall. It was very weird to see PS3 current lineup without a single trace of 1st/2nd party games, specially after this start where they had a constant influx of their games, even if most of them weren't made to appeal the japanese market.

I also doubt SCEJ capabilities to create new, successful IPs, but they already released Genji, Folklore, Mingol, BNNY, GT5p...so where are the next games coming? We know nothing of the following games from them. I know you can say, hey they have Ape Escape, GT5, Siren and Team ICO on the works, yeah, but we know nothing about them and its quite unlikely they will be revealed and released before Summer (i'd say even Fall). Taking announced ones like Afrika and White Knight, where are them? Certainly not on track to be out very soon (and wouldn't surprise me to see a 2009 date for any of them).
Even taking SCEA and SCEE, most of their stuff is also planned for Fall, and some coming earlier is unlikely to be released in Japan going by previous experience (Singstar, Buzz).

Sony certainly can't drive their platform by themselves but at least they had a bunch of games from time to time...but now, there is just Fall 2008 or bust. There's nothing more on the radar...

I think generally they are putting out quite a lot of big titles. The focus was end of last year to make a bigger impact with the price-cut and new model. They seem to be doing the same thing this year with KZ2, GT5, maybe MS2. Buzz is more or less a PAL thing (seems to be doing well down under too).

I think the output is well within, if not above expectations. This business model has been successful for Sony in the past. With higher dev costs and the ability to port stuff in-between the three plattforms PS3/360/PC relatively easy the big exclusives are narrowed down to first party stuff mostly nowadays though. And I think Sony thinks so as well with all the different first party/second party stuff already released.

As for SCEJ nobody really knows what they are up to (apart from GT5 and WK - Afrika is pretty much mia, not that it's a big title though).

 

[NintendosBooger]

The back and forth with Capcom hadn't really happened since the SFC days though... until Square and Enix merged actually, Konami was the biggest 3rd party in Japan... now they've been bumped to 4th place. That's worrying, at the least.

And really, if SEGA keeps churning out hits like RGG, Mushiking and Love&Berry, Konami's going down to 5th rather shortly... they've totally bungled this transition cycle and honestly, PES in Europe is probably all that's keeping them competitive at this point.

Well, that happens when you put all your eggs into one basket. Square and Capcom seem to know how to diversify, allowing for their games to cater to both the PS and non-PS audience.

 

[ksamedi]

I think Capcom will become an even more dominant force in Japan with the way they're being managed. It seems that there developers know what works for a given platform. They have a growing library of IP with good sales and I if they can expand into sports I think they will even surpass SE one day. Its a shame Wii Love Golf bombed so horribly for them, I really wanted them to succeed with that.

 

[jarrod]

Seems to m the SCEWWS restructuring's really taken a toll on of the Japan R&D office... maybe decentralizing authority's reduced SCEI's pull in resources, or maybe they just haven't planned for nextgen as well as the SCEA & SCEE groups? As is, they've relied on a single 3rd party dev (Game Republic) for the majority of their output. :/

Just for the record though, comparing SCEI produced stuff to the last two gens (and PSP) in a comparable timeframe through June (outsourced games list the 3rd part developers in parenthesis)...

PlayStation
-Crime Crackers (MediaVision)
-Motor Toon Grand-Prix
-Shanghai: The Great Wall (Activision/Sunsoft)
-Victory Zone
-Gunner's Heaven (MediaVision)
-Jumping Flash! (Exact/MuuMuu)
-Philosoma
-Arc the Lad (G-Craft)
-Wizardry VII: Gadeia no Houshu (Soliton)
-Sengoku Cyber: Fujimaru Jigokuhen (Pandora Box)
-Sentou Kokka: Air Land Battle (Soliton/Locus)
-Beyond the Beyond (Camelot)
-Horned Owl (Alfa System)
-Jumping Flash! 2 (Exact/MuuMuu)
-Motor Toon Grand-Prix 2

PlayStation 2
-Fantavision
-I.Q. Remix+
-TVDJ
-Scandal
-Bikkuri Mouse
-Blood: The Last Vampire
-Sagashi ni Ikouyo (???)
-Sky Odyssey (Cross)
-Aka: Boku to Maou (Zerner Works)
-Gran Turismo 3: A Spec
-Phase Paradox
-Rimo-Cocoron (Digicube)
-Dark Cloud (Level 5)
-Sky Gunner (Pixel Arts)

PSP
-Minna no Golf Portable
-Piposaru Academia: Dossari! Sarugee Daizenshuu
-Doko Demo Issho (BeXide)
-PoPoLoCrois Monogatari: Pietro Ouji no Bouken
-Saru Get You P! (ported by Sims)
-Bleach! Heat the Soul (8ing)
-Derby Time (Land Ho!)
-Tenchi no Mon (Climax Entertainment)
-Yarudora Portable: Double Cast
-Yarudora Portable: Kisetsu o Dakishimete
-Yarudora Portable: Yukiwari no Hana
-Yarudora Portable: Sampaguita
-Bleach! Heat the Soul 2 (8ing)
-Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex: Karyuudo no Ryouik
-Fukufuku no Shima (MuuMuu)
-Talkman
-Pipo Saru Academia 2: Aiai Sarugee Janken Battle!
-Baito Hell 2000
-Yarudora Portable: Blood The Last Vampire
-Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner (Gaia)
-Blade Dancer: Sennen no Yakuso (HitMaker)
-Derby Time 2006 (Land Ho!)
-Bomberman: Bakufuu Sentai Bombermen (Hudson)
-I.Q. Mania
-Xai Coliseum
-Talkman Euro
-Doko Demo Issho: Let's Gakkou! (BeXide)
-Boku no Natsuyasumi Portable (SAWANO)

PlayStation 3
-Genji: Kamui Souran (Game Republic)
-Mainichi Issho (Game Arts/beXide)
-FolksSoul: Ushinawareta Denshou (Game Republic)
-Boku no Natsuyasumi 3
-Minna no Golf 5
-The Eye of Judgment
-Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

PlayStation 3 (PSN)
-Super Rub-A-Dub (Q Games)
-Piyotama
-LocoRoco Cocoreccho
-Go! Sports Ski (Yuke's)
-Dark Mist (Game Republic)
-Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
-Toy Home (Game Republic)
-echochrome MUGEN-KAIRO

 

[Captain Smoker]

Any numbers/rankings arrived yet?

 

[Kurosaki Ichigo]

Here we go, remember new PSP color (mint green).

DS　50000
PSP　78000
PS3　14000
PS2　9900
Wii　65000
360　2700

1.PS2 Gundam Musou Special　148000
2.WII Wii Fit　70000（1589000）
3.WII Super Smash Bros Brawl　69000（1398000）
4.NDS Soma Bringer　54000
5.360 Id@lmater Live For You　48000
6.PSP Musou Orochi　28000（80000）
7.NDS Etrian Odyssey 2　23000（108000）
8.NDS Harvest Moon　19000（56000）
9.WII Wii Sports　17000（2782000）
10.WII Winning Eleven PlayMaker　17000（56000）

Other new games
11.NDS Chou-Gekijou-Ban Keroro Gunsou 3: Tenkuu Daibouken de Arimasu!　15000
13.NDS Akagawa Jirou Mystery: Yasoukyoku　14000
21.PS2 Final Approach 2: 1st Priority　7400
25.WII Zenkoku Dekotora Matsuri　6600
...PSP My Stylist　3000
...PS2 Torinohoshi Aerial Planet　2700
...NDS Dengeki Bunkou ADV: Baccano!　2100
...WII Choro Q　1800
...360 Call of Juarez　1600
...WII Sega Bass Fishing　940

Other games
12.Family Ski　15000（74000）
14.Monster Hunter Portable 2　12000（1648000）
15.Mario & Sonic DS　12000（246000）
16.Wii Play　12000（2220000）
17.Mario Kart DS　12000（2868000）
18.Lost Planet PS3　11000（34000）
19.Mario Party DS　9500（1626000）
20.Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Season　8000（56000）
23.Gundam Giren no Yabou　7000（153000）
24.Devil May Cry 4 PS3　6800（282000）
26.Poison Pink　6500（65000）
27.New Super Mario Bros　6400（5103000）
28.Household Diary　6400（439000）
29.Winning Eleven 2008 UE PSP　6200（131000）
30.Layton 2　6000（765000）

 

[BishopLamont]

10.WII Winning Eleven PlayMaker　17000（56000）
Gogo 56k/70k. Please have some legs.

12.Family Ski　15000（74000)
Awesome legs.

 

[ksamedi]

Here we go, remember new PSP color (mint green).

DS　50000
PSP　78000
PS3　14000
PS2　9900
Wii　65000
360　2700

1.PS2 Gundam Musou Special　148000
2.WII Wii Fit　70000（1589000）
3.WII Super Smash Bros Brawl　69000（1398000）
4.NDS Soma Bringer　54000
5.360 Id@lmater Live For You　48000
6.PSP Musou Orochi　28000（80000）
7.NDS Etrian Odyssey 2　23000（108000）
8.NDS Harvest Moon　19000（56000）
9.WII Wii Play　17000（2782000）
10.WII Winning Eleven PlayMaker　17000（56000）

Other new games
11.NDS Chou-Gekijou-Ban Keroro Gunsou 3: Tenkuu Daibouken de Arimasu!　15000
13.NDS Akagawa Jirou Mystery: Yasoukyoku　14000
21.Φなる2　7400
25.デコトラ　6600
...PSP My Stylist　3000
...トリノホシ　2700
...バッカーノ　2100
...WII Choro Q　1800
...ファレス　1600
...ウチ釣り　940

Other games
12.スキー　15000（74000）
14.MHP2　12000（1648000）
15.マリソニDS　12000（246000）
16.はじWii　12000（2220000）
17.マリカ　12000（2868000）
18.ロスプラ　11000（34000）
19.マリパDS　9500（1626000）
20.ときメモGS2　8000（56000）
23.ギレン　7000（153000）
24.DMC4PS3　6800（282000）
26.ポイピン　6500（65000）
27.にゅマリ　6400（5103000）
28.家計　6400（439000）
29.WEPSP　6200（131000）
30.レイトン悪魔　6000（765000）

Great for Soma Bringer, Great for Winning Eleven. both will pass 100k atleast and I suspect Soma to pass even the 200k mark. And PSP is on fire. both handhelds are selling like crazy. I think the Japanese publishing scene are quite happy with these numebrs as well except for maybe the epic failure of the PS3.

 

[schuelma]

Wow, WE with some decent legs

And Family Ski actually went up by like 5K. I imagine it will keep selling as long as its the only non Wii-Fit option for the balance board.

 

[BishopLamont]

Wow, WE with some decent legs

And Family Ski actually went up by like 5K. I imagine it will keep selling as long as its the only non Wii-Fit option for the balance board.

Wait Family Ski comes with a balance board? Or are you saying it's the only game making use of it.

 

[slaughterking]

7.NDS Etrian Odyssey 2　23000(108000)

EO2 is going to beat EO1s LTD in its third week. Awesome. <3

 

[schuelma]

Wait Family Ski comes with a balance board? Or are you saying it's the only game making use of it.

Only game that makes use of it

 

[Grecco]

Wait Family Ski comes with a balance board? Or are you saying it's the only game making use of it.

That. But eventually we know theres a couple more games like the Konami Fitnes thing

 

[Stumpokapow]

Some BRIEF observations:
- Very strong numbers for id@lmaster. I can't see them being new buyers based on the total lack of hardware bump, so odds are it's just the old id@lmaster base moving over. I'm sure Scamco will be rich off the DLC teat for this one too.

- MyStylist did not develop the way Sony wanted it to.

- Bomba for Aerial Planet. Of course, whether or not an N1 title does well really has no bearing on whether or not it's localized, so what do I care?

- Interesting that Wii Sports has disappeared off the top 30.

 

[kottila]

Wait Family Ski comes with a balance board? Or are you saying it's the only game making use of it.

The latter

That. But eventually we know theres a couple more games like the Konami Fitnes thing

And EA is supposedly making something (not SXX related), Boogie 2?

 

[donny2112]

- Interesting that Wii Sports has disappeared off the top 30.

It didn't. Wii Play is on there twice. One of them is Wii Sports.

 

[schuelma]

- Interesting that Wii Sports has disappeared off the top 30.

It didn't

 

[Psychotext]

What's the release date on Yakuza 3?

 

[Dascu]

Bye-bye Mario Galaxy.

Decent sales for Soma Bringer and nice legs on WEWii. Good stuff.