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[Blablurn]

come on square enix, show your japanese people a real big Final Fantasy XIII Trailer :/

 

[PantherLotus]

6.66

The number of the least.

:lol :lol :lol




============

Btw, Square Enix is fully prepared with an answer regarding FFXIII profitability. I think we can all speculate but its not that hard to figure out.

 

[Terrell]

I'm of course looking at global sales -- if someone claims that the game will "cripple" them it doesn't make sense to just look at one territory, especially for a series with massive global appeal. I expect FFXIII to sell more than XII in the US and significantly more than XII in Europe for a variety of reasons.

Also I doubt that FFXIII's budget, if you amortize the engine cost over all their next-gen games, is much higher than XII's.

Except PS3 isn't really selling that well anywhere. And while it's certainly doing better in the West, it's still nowhere near an install base that Final Fantasy has enjoyed for the past 10-15 years.

Terrel I'm not going to bother replying in detail to your post, you still seem to be stuck in the x% fewer consoles sold = x% smaller game sales mentality.

Better than being of the assumption that the Final Fantasy fanbase is so bulletproof that it can withstand a crippled install base.

 

[titiklabingapat]

Btw, Square Enix is fully prepared with an answer regarding FFXIII profitability. I think we can all speculate but its not that hard to figure out.

I had the same thought in my head but was to scared to even allude to it.

 

[sticksave]

I was just thinking if this was the English Premier League Soccer then Sony would have been Relegated :lol :lol :lol

 

[PantherLotus]

You guys forget that this is Square freaking Enix, home of the massive over-saturation of IP. The good thing is that they'll surely be reusing assets on more than a couple games.

 

[PC Gaijin]

PS3 has been trending behind Saturn for a while now.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

:lol :lol :lol




============

Btw, Square Enix is fully prepared with an answer regarding FFXIII profitability. I think we can all speculate but its not that hard to figure out.

This is totally flying over my head.

 

[methane47]

oh snap.. ps3 going lower and lower and lower..

 

[davepoobond]

This is totally flying over my head.

DONT YOU GET IT?? FFXIII WII-EXCLUSIVE LOLOLOLOL THEY CAN JUST RESAVE ALL THEIR ASSETS FOR 480i AND DUMP ALL THE HD ASSETS LIKE THAT!!!

 

[blitz64]

Final fantasy 1-12 series has always been on the winning console. In fact, I thought the n64 lost to the ps1 because they lost the final fantasy series.
It looks like for the first time, the final fantasy series will be released on a 2nd place system. Maybe 13 is a bad luck number in US but in japan, it doesn't have any meaning.

 

[davepoobond]

Final fantasy 1-12 series has always been on the winning console. In fact, I thought the n64 lost to the ps1 because they lost the final fantasy series.
It looks like for the first time, the final fantasy series will be released on a 2nd place system. Maybe 13 is a bad luck number in US but in japan, it doesn't have any meaning.

was PSOne winning when FF7 was released or is that a "since it became the winning console, the axiom still stands" kind of thing?

 

[icecream]

does microsoft have a japan-oriented game released shortly?

Nothing until Vesperia.

 

[PantherLotus]

This is totally flying over my head.

I really wasn't talking about the Wii at all, as i don't think anybody that loves post-VI FF would even remotely want to see that, although I do think something big from them is coming (to the Wii) that will occur in the same universe.

I was really just talking about spreading out the cost of investment by using assets for multiple games over several different sequels (FFXIV) and spinoffs that may or may not appear on other next-gen consoles. Square makes a lot of money off that franchise and its spinoffs here in the states.

 

[davepoobond]

I really wasn't talking about the Wii at all, as i don't think anybody that loves post-VI FF would even remotely want to see that, although I do think something big from them is coming that will occur in the same universe.

I was really just talking about spreading out the cost of investment by using assets for multiple games over several different sequels (FFXIV) and spinoffs that may or may not appear on other next-gen consoles. Square makes a lot of money off that franchise and its spinoffs here in the states.

umm....isn't this already a given since, y'know...they said that's what they're doing with the White Engine and stuff?

 

[LJ11]

Not that I disagree with your general sentiment but they announced Lost Odyssey when it was clear that the Wii had a foothold in the Japanese and WW market. Granted, there are other factors(title could have been planned way before Wii took over, 360 multiplatform development) going on, but the general sentiment is still there.

What does Lost Odyssey have to do with SE?

 

[Terrell]

was PSOne winning when FF7 was released or is that a "since it became the winning console, the axiom still stands" kind of thing?

No, PSOne was already trending to be the winner in Japan when FF7 released. It was just PSOne's "Wii Fit", so to speak, pushing it even higher, and including people chanting that "CGI is killing gaming!" Lots of nice parallels to make between the two.

 

[PantherLotus]

umm....isn't this already a given since, y'know...they said that's what they're doing with the White Engine and stuff?

That's pretty much exactly what I said, just trying to leave speculation as to what exactly will be coming out of that up to the reader.

 

[Durante]

What does Lost Odyssey have to do with SE?

I think he means TLR. At least that would make more sense.

 

[jgwhiteus]

Not that I disagree with your general sentiment but they announced Lost Odyssey when it was clear that the Wii had a foothold in the Japanese and WW market. Granted, there are other factors(title could have been planned way before Wii took over, 360 multiplatform development) going on, but the general sentiment is still there.

Do you mean Infinite Undiscovery with tri-Ace? And I think there's a lag between deciding to develop, beginning the process, and getting to a point where you can announce - if they announced when the Wii had a clear foothold, they must have been developing for quite a while before that.

I'm not trying to be as extreme as "lol no more RPGs for PS3/360" (not that games on Wii are doing that much better), but I'm doubtful that S-E executives, in making decisions today for the next few years, would be that eager to make big budget console RPGs this gen for any system - it's just a shrinking genre on consoles. Likely they'll reuse assets to get as much value out of Crystal Tools as possible, as others have said, but otherwise, it just seems safer to go with smaller games on the DS, and to a lesser extent the PSP.

 

[Osuwari]

Saturn sold better than the N64 and the N64 sold better than the GC. if PS3 is still at GC levels, uh oh...

btw, what things do the japanese consider as bad luck items? or what are their black cats, broken mirrors and friday the 13ths?

 

[PC Gaijin]

was PSOne winning when FF7 was released or is that a "since it became the winning console, the axiom still stands" kind of thing?

Yes, the PS was winning by the time FF7 came out. It surpassed the Saturn a couple of months before FF7's release, and doubled its userbase in the year after FF7.

 

[Retrofluxed]

DONT YOU GET IT?? FFXIII WII-EXCLUSIVE LOLOLOLOL THEY CAN JUST RESAVE ALL THEIR ASSETS FOR 480i AND DUMP ALL THE HD ASSETS LIKE THAT!!!

I believe that everyone was alluding to a 360 port.

 

[PantherLotus]

I believe that everyone was alluding to a 360 port.

I was alluding to multi-console spinoffs, actually.

 

[Retrofluxed]

I was alluding to multi-console spinoffs, actually.

Oh, I'm sure there will be multi-console spinoffs, but I would not be shocked to see a port.

 

[Terrell]

Saturn sold better than the N64 and the N64 sold better than the GC. if PS3 is still at GC levels, uh oh...

btw, what things do the japanese consider as bad luck items? or what are their black cats, broken mirrors and friday the 13ths?

The number 4 is a big one... but there's not a lot of bad luck ITEMS in Japanese culture as much as there are things you shouldn't do because they're bad luck and bring misfortune, like cutting your nails and/or whistling at night.

 

[PantherLotus]

And because its relevant to the current discussion:

Source = US NPD

 

[titiklabingapat]

Do you mean Infinite Undiscovery with tri-Ace? And I think there's a lag between deciding to develop, beginning the process, and getting to a point where you can announce - if they announced when the Wii had a clear foothold, they must have been developing for quite a while before that.

I'm not trying to be as extreme as "lol no more RPGs for PS3/360" (not that games on Wii are doing that much better), but I'm doubtful that S-E executives, in making decisions today for the next few years, would be that eager to make big budget console RPGs this gen for any system - it's just a shrinking genre on consoles. Likely they'll reuse assets to get as much value out of Crystal Tools as possible, as others have said, but otherwise, it just seems safer to go with smaller games on the DS, and to a lesser extent the PSP.

Oh yeah, I meant IU or whatever that new SE game where they have characters for both the western and eastern market. I still confuse the two to this day.

Wait, I don;t it was called IU either. The Last Remnant, it was. I think.

 

[Man God]

It seems that Wii will pass the 360 in the US this year and maybe next gen Worldwide? Same year? Wow. Then all they'd have left is Next Gen in NA and Europe.

 

[charlequin]

I expect FFXIII to sell more than XII in the US and significantly more than XII in Europe for a variety of reasons.

This seems outlandishly generous. Even in Europe, the PS3's best territory, it's still not the PS2. What would compel audiences who skipped out on the last FF game to swoop in in droves for this one?

Also I doubt that FFXIII's budget, if you amortize the engine cost over all their next-gen games, is much higher than XII's.

Where are you getting this? The cost of HD assets alone is going to jack up the cost of FFXIII way above the outlay for a PS2 title.

 

[Durante]

This seems outlandishly generous. Even in Europe, the PS3's best territory, it's still not the PS2. What would compel audiences who skipped out on the last FF game to swoop in in droves for this one?

Well, as a European in my experience 4 out of 5 people who played FF12 pirated it -- that won't happen to 13. Generally speaking, it also has the "first FF on a new platform" advantage, and I'd hope that Sony/Square co-advertise the hell out of it.

Where are you getting this? The cost of HD assets alone is going to jack up the cost of FFXIII way above the outlay for a PS2 title.

For "a PS2 title"? Sure. Are you familiar with FF12's development?

 

[HK-47]

Well, as a European in my experience 4 out of 5 people who played FF12 pirated it -- that won't happen to 13. Generally speaking, it also has the "first FF on a new platform" advantage, and I'd hope that Sony/Square co-advertise the hell out of it.

For "a PS2 title"? Sure. Are you familiar with FF12's development?

What about it?

 

[PantherLotus]

Year-on-year tracking
Wii: - 57,982
PS3: - 17,728

Thoughts
[ ] Don't each of those look like they're tracking just one week behind last year? The difference between both years compared to the average week for each of last year is uncanny. Expect the Wii to fall further behind last year as the bump of 2007 had it up to 100k in a week.

[ ] WiiFit and Mario Kart--are they keeping demand "this high" or have they let Nintendo down? I think yes and no, to both questions. WiiFit is driving sales. MarioKart doesn't seem to be, despite nice sales so far. Last year the bump was still in full effect combined with shortages which may have been driving up demand. This year production has increased so we're seeing a lot more steady sales and we will continue to. I suspect the Wii will hover between 36k and 65k for the remainder of the summer.

[ ] PS3's fate seems predetermined does it not? If you want to know exactly what the PS3 will do this year, look at last year. The PS3 will hover between 6k and 24k for the remainder of the summer.

Next Week
[ ] 360: 1.1k
[ ] PS3: 7.8k
[ ] Wii: 47.2k

Is anybody keeping track of my record since I started doing this last thing?

 

[icecream]

Do you mean Infinite Undiscovery with tri-Ace? And I think there's a lag between deciding to develop, beginning the process, and getting to a point where you can announce - if they announced when the Wii had a clear foothold, they must have been developing for quite a while before that.

No, specifically a Square-Enix produced and created game. So he has to mean Last Remnant.

 

[jgwhiteus]

For "a PS2 title"? Sure. Are you familiar with FF12's development?

I understand that FFXII's development was convoluted and costly, with restarts, nervous breakdowns, etc., and FFXIII (reportedly) hasn't gotten to that point, but I wouldn't call FFXIII's development the model of speed and cost efficiency either...otherwise we'd be seeing a lot more media, and the indefinite release date wouldn't be pushed back constantly. (and was it FFXIII that was originally supposed to come out on the PS2, but then got overhauled and made a PS3 game? Can't remember). And regardless of whether the game's being pushed back for development reasons or for system sales to grow a bit more, delays = dragged-out costs, lost profits, opportunity costs, etc.

One thing in FFXIII's favor saleswise, though (but not necessarily in the PS3's favor) is that it will be THE big RPG and PS3 game that PS3 owners have been waiting for...as in, there's less competition for attention than on the PS2, which had a much broader audience and more consistent release schedule. So I think there'd be more awareness and hype for the title among PS3 owners (proportionately, not in absolute numbers) than there was for FFXII or FFX even.

No, specifically a Square-Enix produced and created game. So he has to mean Last Remnant.

Ah, forgot about that one.

 

[Gaborn]

DONT YOU GET IT?? FFXIII WII-EXCLUSIVE LOLOLOLOL THEY CAN JUST RESAVE ALL THEIR ASSETS FOR 480i AND DUMP ALL THE HD ASSETS LIKE THAT!!!

They won't give the Wii FFXIII. They'll do the FFVII remake for it.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

They won't give the Wii FFXIII. They'll do the FFVII remake for it.

While I'd personally prefer it on the DS or PSP, this will do nicely as a substitute. The meltdowns would be delicious.

 

[charlequin]

Well, as a European in my experience 4 out of 5 people who played FF12 pirated it -- that won't happen to 13.

Er... most of those people just won't play the game. Making piracy harder never results in anything close to a full conversion rate.

For "a PS2 title"? Sure. Are you familiar with FF12's development?

...yes? It was three years from the release of the previous FF title (X-2) until XII; the wait between XII and XIII is going to be longer. Length of development doesn't really give you any leg up on suggesting that XII would be as expensive as XIII.

 

[mollipen]

I frankly don't blame them. Too much outlay for too little benefit in the opinion of the common man.

No offense to the common man, but a lot of the time, they have pretty shitty tastes. If it was up to them, we'd probably still be watching VHS and listening to cassette.

 

[Phife Dawg]

PSP is now at +9 million.

PS3= 5k next week?

That wouldn't bode well for Valkyrie (that's next week's charts, right?).

Eh I'd like to see a lot of those numbers up a bit. At least software is still really strong I'd like it if HW could match.

Outside of the first two sw isn't huge, but at this time of the year it's to be expected anyways.

FFXIII will be the first legitament system seller on the system

So basically only FF (and DQ?) are system sellers?

6.66

The number of the least.

I laughed.

 

[Mato]

It kinda bugs me PSP is doing so well after what, 3 years? It's that old proud Nintendo fanboy in me.

 

[batbeg]

This seems outlandishly generous. Even in Europe, the PS3's best territory, it's still not the PS2. What would compel audiences who skipped out on the last FF game to swoop in in droves for this one?

Well FFVII sales were higher than FFVIII and FFIX, and then FFX outsold the previous two as well. The first game in a series seems to sell better than the ones at the end of last generation and more than the ones following it as well.

Though there's a big fucking "maybe" there as that's a very short pattern. Just a possibility though.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

No offense to the common man, but a lot of the time, they have pretty shitty tastes. If it was up to them, we'd probably still be watching VHS and listening to cassette.

Actually, no, we wouldn't. Both DVD and CD gave them convenience they never had before. Just like how nowadays people are perfectly content to ditch their CDs to listen to 64kpbs MP3s. Don't think for even a minute it had anything to do with picture or sound quality.

Mass market consumers have, since the advent of colour displays, always decided on what becomes the standard (unless there's a monopoly) based on factors extraneous to picture and sound fidelity. This is why the next leap will not be based on gains in picture quality, but rather, gains in convenience.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

Heh, 'we're gold diggers'.

fixed for the girl version.

 

[iidesuyo]

Monster Hunter to surpass WiiFit in 2-3 weeks. Nice to see that gaming is not dead in Japan.

 

[Hairyiguana]

And because its relevant to the current discussion:

Source = US NPD

I have never been completely sure what this is supposed to mean. Isn't it likely that a very big portion of those people who own an HD console own the other one as well? That would take a big bite out of that argument I would think.

 

[cvxfreak]

Monster Hunter to surpass WiiFit in 2-3 weeks. Nice to see that gaming is not dead in Japan.

I will be very surprised if MHP2ndG ends up ahead of Wii Fit in the long run. In fact, I'm not so sure it'll get ahead as its sales are continuing to fall.

 

[PantherLotus]

I have never been completely sure what this is supposed to mean. Isn't it likely that a very big portion of those people who own an HD console own the other one as well? That would take a big bite out of that argument I would think.

Not that I doubt there is some double ownership, what makes you think it is a "very big portion?" I haven't seen legitimate data, much less informed conjecture. Have you?

 

[Lobster]

Source = US NPD

This chart is gonna be gone before the end of 2009 imo.

 

[Kenka]

Panther....really, thank you to refresh those graphs every week


Wii and PS3 tracking behing their last year numbers ? wth ?

Since last year, we had :


- SSBB
- MKWii
- Wii Fit
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Deca Sporta
- Dragon Ball Z BT3
- Kenzan !
- Devil May Cry 4
- Hot Shot Golf 5

and many others. That's one hell of a list if you ask me. Why in the world don't JP people increase their purchase ?