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[dolemite]

Famitsu top 50's out.

duckroll guessed correctly:

7. [PSP] Zettai Hero 28,500 74%

Muramasa's not in the top 50 again, but One Piece is still there:

38. [Wii] One Piece Unlimited Cruise Ep. 1 (ES) 3,700/14,900/63%

And oh dear god at Red Seeds Profile/Deadly Premonition/Rainy Woods:

[PS3] Red Seeds Profile 1,300 34%
[360] Red Seeds Profile 600 39%

Even with a low shipment, that's just... ugh.

Go Deadly Premonition, go.

 

[Frillen]

Famitsu top 50's out.

Translation? Link?

 

[Bebpo]

And oh dear god at Red Seeds Profile/Deadly Premonition/Rainy Woods:

[PS3] Red Seeds Profile 1,300 34%
[360] Red Seeds Profile 600 39%

Even with a low shipment, that's just... ugh.

You have to keep in mind the game is not $20 in Japan

If this was a simple series title released at 2000-3000yen price, it'd probably do decent.

 

[Hero of Legend]

You have to keep in mind the game is not $20 in Japan

If this was a simple series title released at 2000-3000yen price, it'd probably do decent.

True, but Wada if I recall said they have to make the price so high because of the whole thing about their games being reduced in price far too quickly or something.

How they managed to get DP in NA at $20 I'll never know!

However, there's no way that'll be profitable (speaking about NA) at that price unless it flies off the shelves, they surely must be getting such a puny amount for each copy?

 

[dolemite]

Translation? Link?

translated

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Actually, I think it's easy to resolve all of this if you look at things from a 1998-1999 perspective and then follow time forward. During the 32-bit generation, there were three hardware companies: Sega, Sony, and Nintendo. Without information about the future that no one had access to at the time, you would probably assume at the time that these would once again be the competitors in the following generation, and Sony probably began preparations for their system launch based on this intel.

If you were a Sony exec in 1998 and trying to plot out your next generation system launch based on the leaked info floating around, you'd know that Sega of Japan was rushing out a new system to try to move past the moribund Saturn, and that Nintendo was tentatively planning a new system for a launch in 2000. Given that situation, Sony launching in 2000, after one competitor and near-simultaneously with the other, makes sense from the standpoint of "as market leader, you probably launch a new system more in response to competitive pressure than internal pressure."

Now of course that's not how it actually played out, because Nintendo wound up pushing their launch back a year from their original estimates and Microsoft entered the business almost literally at the last possible second, and of course the Dreamcast had so little backing and sales appeal that the PS2 completely stomped it right away. But Sony certainly marketed the system like the Dreamcast was their "real" competition in the early days and you'd find a lot of historical documents that thought of the generational battle in those terms back in the day.



I agree completely. :lol We can't base our expectations purely on historical precedent for a host of reasons. I think it's worthwhile to know what precedent is, though, because when precedent is broken you want to be able to explain why clearly.

If someone said "the Gamecube's successor will have no graphical bump" in 2004, for example, you'd probably call them an idiot, and I'd say you'd be right to. Without additional knowledge (of the motion controller) such a move would be completely nonsensical.

I think you can probably construct a theory for why Nintendo would rush a Wii successor to market, but launching as late as possible is so clearly ingrained both for market leaders and for Nintendo specifically, and the monetary benefits of taking this approach are so huge, that I think someone needs to produce a pretty compelling argument to explain why Nintendo would walk away from that precedent and that benefit.



Okay, that's a good point. My big objection to most of the "omg wii 2 any day now" arguments is that people are literally suggesting that Nintendo is going to cut the Wii down after four years on the market, which strikes me as completely ludicrous.

However, if we go through another two years on the market, another round of pricecuts, exhaust a little more of the well of first-party software potential, the Wii will start to be in a position more like where the DS is now where a replacement starts to look both viable and sensible on its own merits regardless of how the competition is moving.

I like this post. I have very little to add, except to express my disappointment in the fact that the DS is seemingly looking to be replaced soon. I know it's well into its sixth year on the market in all territories, but I didn't get mine until 2006, damn it and I want it to last at least another two :'(

 

[charlequin]

I like this post. I have very little to add, except to express my disappointment in the fact that the DS is seemingly looking to be replaced soon. I know it's well into its sixth year on the market in all territories, but I didn't get mine until 2006, damn it and I want it to last at least another two :'(

If it makes you feel better, I felt exactly this way about my sweet, wonderful PS2 when it was clear that the PS3 was getting released in 2006 -- but not only did I keep getting great brand-new games for it until last year, but I still haven't gone through all the awesome bargain bin stuff I've picked up for it over the last year. :lol

 

[duckroll]

So, I guess we can put both N1 and MMV on death/takeover watch now? They both have the same operational problems imo:

- Only 1 actual successful franchise (Disgaea/Harvest Moon)
- Tons of serious bombs on a variety of platforms
- Failure in launching new IPs successfully
- Involved in various cross-media businesses which are not really successful

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Is there hope for these two publishers? Is it all over for niche gaming in Japan?

 

[schuelma]

So, I guess we can put both N1 and MMV on death/takeover watch now? They both have the same operational problems imo:

- Only 1 actual successful franchise (Disgaea/Harvest Moon)
- Tons of serious bombs on a variety of platforms
- Failure in launching new IPs successfully
- Involved in various cross-media businesses which are not really successful

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Is there hope for these two publishers? Is it all over for niche gaming in Japan?

OMG NINTENDO SHOULD TOTALLY BUY THEM

 

[duckroll]

OMG NINTENDO SHOULD TOTALLY BUY THEM

To be honest, I think Nippon Ichi would be a very, very good buy for Atlus Japan if the price is right. MMV though... I dunno... if Nintendo is interested, I would say buying the Harvest Moon IP is more worthwhile than the overall company. :lol

 

[Nirolak]

OMG NINTENDO SHOULD TOTALLY BUY THEM

I eagerly look forward to Nintendo's mainstream advertising campaign for Disgaea Wii.

I think the Disgaea girls really fit well with their public image and could really create a good synergy.

So, I guess we can put both N1 and MMV on death/takeover watch now? They both have the same operational problems imo:

- Only 1 actual successful franchise (Disgaea/Harvest Moon)
- Tons of serious bombs on a variety of platforms
- Failure in launching new IPs successfully
- Involved in various cross-media businesses which are not really successful

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Is there hope for these two publishers? Is it all over for niche gaming in Japan?

I think one of the main issues is that releasing DS and PSP games is still fairly risky due to production run timing, retailer margins, used games, and a cost of goods created by manufacturing and licensing fees whether the game you made sold or not.

What I think would really help these developers is a strong digital market, since you can provide an infinite, non-resellable supply at no cost while also getting a larger portion of the purchasing point. Unfortunately, a strong digital market like this doesn't really seem to exist in Japan, at least at the kind of price points needed to support these companies.

It's quite unfortunately, but I feel that these publishers might have had a better chance if they were making games five to ten years from now, but I can't see them possibly making it that long.

I could see either Atlus Japan buying Nippon Ichi though, or possibly them becoming a work house for Level 5. They're really the two smaller companies that are currently growing and have a fair amount of spare cash to pick up and/or support a company like Nippon Ichi.

Marvelous, yeah, I agree they're a bit more questionable. Given Namco's seemingly random behavior, I could see them picking them up for the Harvest Moon IP, though I'm not sure how many of the actual employees they would keep.

 

[Vilix]

To be honest, I think Nippon Ichi would be a very, very good buy for Atlus Japan if the price is right. MMV though... I dunno... if Nintendo is interested, I would say buying the Harvest Moon IP is more worthwhile than the overall company. :lol

I was under the impression that they had a financial interest in MMV already just to have the Harvest Moon IP exclusive to their consoles. Was I grossly misinformed. :O

 

[Nirolak]

I was under the impression that they had a financial interest in MMV already just to have the Harvest Moon IP exclusive to their consoles. Was I grossly misinformed. :O

 

[Sohter.Nura]

I eagerly look forward to Nintendo's mainstream advertising campaign for Disgaea Wii.

I think the Disgaea girls really fit well with their public image and could really create a good synergy.


I think one of the main issues is that releasing DS and PSP games is still fairly risky due to production run timing, retailer margins, used games, and a cost of goods created by manufacturing and licensing fees whether the game you made sold or not.

What I think would really help these developers is a strong digital market, since you can provide an infinite, non-resellable supply at no cost while also getting a larger portion of the purchasing point. Unfortunately, a strong digital market like this doesn't really seem to exist in Japan, at least at the kind of price points needed to support these companies.

It's quite unfortunately, but I feel that these publishers might have had a better chance if they were making games five to ten years from now, but I can't see them possibly making it that long.

I could see either Atlus Japan buying Nippon Ichi though, or possibly them becoming a work house for Level 5. They're really the two smaller companies that are currently growing and have a fair amount of spare cash to pick up and/or support a company like Nippon Ichi.

Marvelous, yeah, I agree they're a bit more questionable. Given Namco's seemingly random behavior, I could see them picking them up for the Harvest Moon IP, though I'm not sure how many of the actual employees they would keep.

How big is digital distribution in Japan anyway? I was always under the impression that DD and DLC was always a big western push. I know some companies are trying to do it in the phone platforms in Japan, but how successfull is it on the console or handheld side of the business?

Anyway, Nipon Icchi going under disappoints me to no end =(( I love their games.

 

[Takao]

Sony announced a PSP Go Monster Hunter 2nd G bundle. You know what that means right? PSP Go to outsell the Xbox 360 and PS2

Spoiler

for a week

.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

- 3) PS2 was done for its own sake, because Sony wanted to reinvigorate development or take advantage of a newly opened space or whatever else, in which case the entire conversation is a stupid one to have because whether Nintendo launches a new console or not is not going to be linked to how badly they're spanking the PS3.

This is exactly why Nintendo might launch first. It seems like a very valid strategy for trying to entice 3rd parties that aren't terribly interested in their current offerings.

MS would launch first to beat everyone else to the punch, but I think that Natal means that they feel they're sidestepping the issue....especially if they treat the advertisements like it's a new launch. A new form factor for the console and a new case design could push that even further.

Sony would launch first to try and pull themselves out of a bad situation. I think it would create more problems that it would solve. Boosting the capability of the PS3 and retaining backwards compatibility wouldn't really help them. Changing to a simpler architecture may help them a little with 3rd party relations, but 3rd parties are already giving them multiplatform love, and having two platforms would only force 3rd parties to target yet another platform. Taking a generational leap won't help them either as 3rd parties seem to be having issues making a profit with games that are at the expectations that have been set by the hardware.

My instincts say it's Nintendo in 2012, Sony and MS in 2014. The loss that Sony has taken has to be hurting them, and I just can't see them doing things that soon. Microsoft is under the same sorts of strains, except that their other businesses keep them afloat much more successfully.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

To be honest, I think Nippon Ichi would be a very, very good buy for Atlus Japan if the price is right. MMV though... I dunno... if Nintendo is interested, I would say buying the Harvest Moon IP is more worthwhile than the overall company. :lol

Buy the company, keep the IPs, move them into a Nintendo building, and mold them a little bit. Harvest moon as a once or twice a generation property could be a strong thing for Nintendo and would mesh well with fans of Animal Crossing.

They could also act as a 3rd party publishing arm for Nintendo. I've been of the opinion that Nintendo needs to foster smaller and more interesting developers for a while.

Edit: eep. Sorry about the DP.

 

[donny2112]

Famitsu Mar 1-7

01./00. [NDS] Pokemon Ranger: Hikari no Kiseki (Path of Light) (Nintendo/Pokemon Co.) - 166,107 / NEW
02./00. [PSP] .hack//Link (Namco Bandai Games) - 68,768 / NEW
03./06. [WII] New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo) - 41,263 / 3,461,143 (-1%)
04./00. [PS3] Nobunaga no Yabou: Tendou (Way of Heaven) (Koei) - 40,330 / NEW
05./00. [NDS] Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Starry Sky (ULTIMATE) (Square Enix) - 39,747 / NEW
06./08. [NDS] Tomodachi Collection (Friend Collection) (Nintendo) - 38,052 / 2,968,550 (+7%)
07./02. [PSP] Kenka Banchou 4: Ichinen Sensou (One Year War) (Spike) - 35,990 / 108,913 (-51%)
08./03. [PSP] God Eater (Namco Bandai Games) - 29,593 / 525,643 (-37%)
09./09. [WII] Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo) - 26,729 / 1,711,716 (-1%)
10./04. [PS3] Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition (Capcom) - 25,318 / 211,658 (-45%)

11./05. [PSP] Minna no Tennis Portable (SCEI) - 19,555 / 64,833 (-57%)
12./00. [NDS] Keroro RPG: Kishi to Musha to Densetsu no Kaizoku (The Knight, Warrior, and Legendary Pirate) (Namco Bandai Games) - 18,935 / NEW
13./00. [PSP] Armored Core: Last Raven Portable (From Software) - 16,483 / NEW
14./07. [NDS] Fushigi no Dungeon: Furai no Shiren 4 - God’s Eye and the Demon’s Navel (Spike) - 15,850 / 56,514 (-61%)
15./10. [NDS] Dragon Quest VI (Square Enix) - 14,228 / 1,260,135 (-39%)
16./16. [NDS] Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (Nintendo/Pokemon Co.) - 12,596 / 3,627,222 (-12%)
17./23. [NDS] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo) - 12,305 / 606,358 (+31%)
18./22. [WII] Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) - 10,669 / 1,792,898 (+10%)
19./00. [NDS] Dragon Quest V (ULTIMATE) (Square Enix) - 10,615 / NEW
20./01. [NDS] Mugen no Frontier EXCEED: Super Robot Taisen OG Saga (Namco Bandai Games) - 8,329 / 87,102 (-89%)
21./00. [360] Bioshock 2 (D3 Publisher) - 7,859 / NEW
22./00. [NDS] Dragon Quest IV (ULTIMATE) (Square Enix) - 7,635 / NEW
23./27. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (BEST Reprint) (Capcom) - 7,614 / 207,031 (-4%)
24./00. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) - 7,287 / 2,584,581
25./14. [PSP] Powerful Pro Success Legends (Konami) - 7,219 / 23,121 (-55%)
26./15. [PS3] Demon's Souls (BEST) (SCEI) - 7,059 / 22,928 (-56%)
27./00. [NDS] New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo) - 6,838 / 5,754,869
28./00. [PS3] Bioshock 2 (D3 Publisher) - 5,653 / NEW
29./21. [PS3] Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope International (Square Enix) - 5,440 / 135,436 (-44%)
30./29. [WII] Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo) - 5,301 / 176,905 (-28%)


Bar Chart Mar 1-7 (thanks to JoshuaJSlone/garaph.info)

Note: Image may be delayed from the time of this post, but will automatically show once the data is ready.


Recent Famitsu Top 30s

Feb 1-7, 2010
Feb 8-14, 2010
Feb 15-21, 2010
Feb 22-28, 2010

 

[test_account]

And oh dear god at Red Seeds Profile/Deadly Premonition/Rainy Woods:

[PS3] Red Seeds Profile 1,300 34%
[360] Red Seeds Profile 600 39%

Even with a low shipment, that's just... ugh.

Wow, that is low sales (and a low shipment) indeed. Marvelous Entertainment couldnt have made any money on that game? I wonder how much money that they lost on making that game :\

translated

Cool, thanks for posting this link

I see that Friend Collection has passed 3 million copies sold now. Congratulations to Nintendo for this great achievement!

Also, i see that Metal Gear Solid 4 "The BEST" version has so far sold 99.5K, is this the best selling "The BEST" title for the PS3? And how much has MGS4 sold in total now (the first release + "The BEST" release)?

 

[cartman414]

I'd think Nintendo would be interested in getting on a Wii successor a little bit sooner, seeing as they're losing momentum right now.

 

[cvxfreak]

Also, i see that Metal Gear Solid 4 "The BEST" version has so far sold 99.5K, is this the best selling "The BEST" title for the PS3? And how much has MGS4 sold in total now (the first release + "The BEST" release)?

705K + 99K = 804K

 

[justchris]

My instincts say it's Nintendo in 2012, Sony and MS in 2014. The loss that Sony has taken has to be hurting them, and I just can't see them doing things that soon. Microsoft is under the same sorts of strains, except that their other businesses keep them afloat much more successfully.

I don't see anyone waiting until 2014. That'd be 9 years for 360 and 8 for PS3. I'd say 2012 for all 3, maybe PS3 or 360 slip into 2013, but if Nintendo does release in 2012, I doubt either Sony or Microsoft will want to give them 2 whole years to build a userbase.

 

[charlequin]

This is exactly why Nintendo might launch first. It seems like a very valid strategy for trying to entice 3rd parties that aren't terribly interested in their current offerings.

I'm not really convinced that the Wii 2 is going to magically produce third-party support. If anything, I think we should expect even less support (if such a thing is even possible) on Wii 2, basically regardless of what it looks like, because the only thing that would bring in third-party development is the one thing we know it won't look like: a graphical upgrade from PS360, with a network infrastructure that has feature parity or supremacy vs. PSN and none of the trademark Nintendo gimpisms (tiny storage format, friend codes, wacky controller, etc.)

As much as I was convinced otherwise at the beginning of the generation, I think it is now clear that 3PPs can ignore basically an infinite amount of marketshare if taking advantage of it would be inconvenient in some way.

Buy the company, keep the IPs, move them into a Nintendo building, and mold them a little bit.

Victor (the team at Marvelous that traditionally makes these games) is lousy at their jobs anyway: they produce mostly uninspired and buggy pieces of software that don't even ship on time. Someone would be much better off just acquiring the Harvest Moon IP and putting it in the hands of a semi-competent developer who can deliver a quality product on the cheap. (Heck, just give it over to Neverland completely, they've done a better job with their Rune Factory titles.)

I'd think Nintendo would be interested in getting on a Wii successor a little bit sooner, seeing as they're losing momentum right now.

The question there is what exactly a successor is going to do to reignite momentum. The fundamental problem with the Wii right now is Nintendo's inexplicably poor volume of quality software output; if they launch a Wii 2 without tons of great software it's only going to leave them in a worse situation than they're in now.

I don't see anyone waiting until 2014. That'd be 9 years for 360 and 8 for PS3. I'd say 2012 for all 3, maybe PS3 or 360 slip into 2013, but if Nintendo does release in 2012, I doubt either Sony or Microsoft will want to give them 2 whole years to build a userbase.

I agree completely.

 

[lupinko]

this week we have :

vs.

&#12288;&#12288;<----

Spoiler

yes, it's Square-Enix

:lol :lol :lol

As much as I like RGG, Miffy is still tops, which reminds me, I should pick up that edutainment game you just posted.

 

[bttb]

.

 

[RurouniZel]

Japanese Game Companies by Market Cap [~3/18 Interval]

(Millions of Yen)
320,333 - Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.
255,861 - Konami Corp.
220,500 - Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.
212,859 - Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
110,118 - Capcom Co., Ltd.
70,389 - Takara Tomy Co., Ltd.
57,632 - Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., Ltd.
50,577 - Eizo Nanao Corp.
31,601 - Dwango Co., Ltd.
23,994 - Index Holdings Co., Ltd.
23,709 - GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.
10,376 - Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.
7,646 - AQ Interactive Inc.
6,602 - Atlus Co., Ltd.
4,930 - Tose Co., Ltd.
3,529 - Yuke's Co., Ltd.
3,028 - Cave Co., Ltd.
2,415 - Eighting Co., Ltd.
1,980 - Nihon Falcom Corp.
1,631 - Marvelous Entertainment Inc.
720 - Broccoli Co., Ltd.
664 - Nippon Ichi Software Inc.

Holy hell, how on earth is GungHo that high?? What MMOs do they have that people are actually playing? Grandia Online?

 

[C-Jo]

Nippon Ichi is below Falcom? Wow, they really are in trouble.

 

[Nirolak]

Nippon Ichi is below Falcom? Wow, they really are in trouble.

No only are they less, they're only 1/3rd their market cap.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

Japanese Game Companies by Market Cap [~3/18 Interval]

(Millions of Yen)
320,333 - Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.
255,861 - Konami Corp.
220,500 - Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.
212,859 - Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
110,118 - Capcom Co., Ltd.
70,389 - Takara Tomy Co., Ltd.
57,632 - Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., Ltd.
50,577 - Eizo Nanao Corp.
31,601 - Dwango Co., Ltd.
23,994 - Index Holdings Co., Ltd.
23,709 - GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.
10,376 - Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.
7,646 - AQ Interactive Inc.
6,602 - Atlus Co., Ltd.
4,930 - Tose Co., Ltd.
3,529 - Yuke's Co., Ltd.
3,028 - Cave Co., Ltd.
2,415 - Eighting Co., Ltd.
1,980 - Nihon Falcom Corp.
1,631 - Marvelous Entertainment Inc.
720 - Broccoli Co., Ltd.
664 - Nippon Ichi Software Inc.

Nintendo being a non-game company?

 

[VegaShinra]

The latest software is here: http://www.inside-games.jp/ranking/weekly.php?week=146

So if someone wants to translate and do their magic for a new thread.

 

[test_account]

705K + 99K = 804K

Cool, that seems like a pretty good gales number for a Metal Gear Solid game i think. Thanks for the info!

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Japanese Game Companies by Market Cap [~3/18 Interval]

(Millions of Yen)
320,333 - Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.
255,861 - Konami Corp.
220,500 - Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.
212,859 - Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
110,118 - Capcom Co., Ltd.
70,389 - Takara Tomy Co., Ltd.
57,632 - Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., Ltd.
50,577 - Eizo Nanao Corp.
31,601 - Dwango Co., Ltd.
23,994 - Index Holdings Co., Ltd.
23,709 - GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.
10,376 - Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.
7,646 - AQ Interactive Inc.
6,602 - Atlus Co., Ltd.
4,930 - Tose Co., Ltd.
3,529 - Yuke's Co., Ltd.
3,028 - Cave Co., Ltd.
2,415 - Eighting Co., Ltd.
1,980 - Nihon Falcom Corp.
1,631 - Marvelous Entertainment Inc.
720 - Broccoli Co., Ltd.
664 - Nippon Ichi Software Inc.

That one is really surprising, I would've thought that they'd be much higher! Also, I'm surprised that Hudson is listed separately from Konami!

 

[jj984jj]

Weird, Chunsoft and Spike are covered by Dwango but Atlus isn't covered by Index Holdings and Hudson isn't covered by Konami?

 

[Nirolak]

That one is really surprising, I would've thought that they'd be much higher! Also, I'm surprised that Hudson is listed separately from Konami!

Weird, Chunsoft and Spike are covered by Dwango but Atlus isn't covered by Index Holdings?

I think bttb listed companies that weren't 100% fully owned separately.

 

[spwolf]

I'm not really convinced that the Wii 2 is going to magically produce third-party support. If anything, I think we should expect even less support (if such a thing is even possible) on Wii 2, basically regardless of what it looks like, because the only thing that would bring in third-party development is the one thing we know it won't look like: a graphical upgrade from PS360, with a network infrastructure that has feature parity or supremacy vs. PSN and none of the trademark Nintendo gimpisms (tiny storage format, friend codes, wacky controller, etc.)

It probably will... Easier porting due to more powerful console + PS Move controller also using similar controls will definitely be like magic wand to developers.

 

[jj984jj]

I think bttb listed companies that weren't 100% fully owned separately.

That would explain Hudson/Konami, but then why is Index Holdings there? I didn't think they had a separate games business...