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[big youth]

So I've asked before, but given the biggish drop this week: Is it plausible that Vita can eke out some sort of existence for itself as the handheld port-companion to the PS3 and home to other low-/mid-tier selling titles like Muramasa? Is a platform like that something publishers even want?

Sony is certainly not giving up on Vita, but ultimately it may not be up to them. chronically poor software and hardware sales worldwide for over a year now means support will continue to dry up, and we'll see more retailers stop stocking it. The situation is especially dire with no potential system sellers announced, and as we all know, if there was anything to announce for this year Sony would have already shouted it from the rooftops.

It's interesting the mixed signals Sony sends. On one hand they have done a fine job advertising Vita (speaking about NA here), clearly spending a pretty penny on what may ultimately be a sunk cost, but on the other hand they aren't assigning their own devs to make games for it. One without the other is not a winning strategy.

 

[bobbytkc]

I find it interesting that Japanese gamers will flock towards a Western-developed title IF it employs Japanese assets (ala Luigi's Mansion 2).
There's a lesson to be learned there but I'm not quite sure what it is yet.

OR may Luigi's Mansion is just a completely different game from what a western developmnet house usually makes. Just maybe.

 

[Jamix012]

On the topic of such things, what is the best selling game that is both published and devloped outside Japan? (in Japan obviously)

 

[shinra-bansho]

On the topic of such things, what is the best selling game that is both published and devloped outside Japan? (in Japan obviously)

What are you defining as "published outside Japan"? For example, Square-Enix publishes Call of Duty in Japan.

 

[DiscoJer]

It's interesting the mixed signals Sony sends. On one hand they have done a fine job advertising Vita (speaking about NA here), clearly spending a pretty penny on what may ultimately be a sunk cost, but on the other hand they aren't assigning their own devs to make games for it. One without the other is not a winning strategy.

Sony advertises the Vita in NA? For months after the launch, the only ad I ever saw was a billboard in a baseball stadium behind the plate.

When COD came out, I saw a few ads for that, but nothing since.

By comparison, I used to see PSP ads all the time. the GTA ad constantly. The squirrels. Even Marcus.

I've never even seen a demo unit in a big box store. I bought my Vita sight unseen from Target.

 

[Takao]

On the topic of such things, what is the best selling game that is both published and devloped outside Japan? (in Japan obviously)

What do you mean "published"? Like what are the best selling games from the Japanese branches of western companies? Best selling western game not based on a Japanese IP would probably be a Crash Bandicoot game on PS1.

 

[ULTROS!]

On the topic of such things, what is the best selling game that is both published and devloped outside Japan? (in Japan obviously)

I think it's Crash Bandicoot.

 

[DaBoss]

What are you defining as "published outside Japan"? For example, Square-Enix publishes Call of Duty in Japan.

I'm guessing that doesn't count?

 

[big youth]

Sony advertises the Vita in NA? For months after the launch, the only ad I ever saw was a billboard in a baseball stadium behind the plate.

When COD came out, I saw a few ads for that, but nothing since.

By comparison, I used to see PSP ads all the time. the GTA ad constantly. The squirrels. Even Marcus.

I've never even seen a demo unit in a big box store. I bought my Vita sight unseen from Target.

For as little as I watch TV, I've frequently seen Vita commercials, and quite a good variety too. And in the last year I've seen 2 movies in theaters, one of which was Django Unchained, which had a Vita ad before the trailers.

 

[shinra-bansho]

I'm guessing that doesn't count?

But then wouldn't that mean even Crash (which seems to be the consensus best-selling Western title) doesn't count, as presumably it was published in Japan by Sony's Japanese arm?

 

[DaBoss]

But then wouldn't that mean even Crash (which seems to be the consensus best-selling Western title) doesn't count, as presumably it was published in Japan by Sony's Japanese arm?

My interpretation of the question is that it has to meet both criteria which is it is published by a company outside of Japan, and developed outside of Japan. I could be wrong about what the question is asking.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

With DQ7r, Luigi, and AC, I figured the console would do better in the same time span compared to last year. I know it will do better across the entire year especially with MH and Pokemon coming.

Nintendo, I'm guessing, is probably not pleased with these weekly averages for the system.

I somewhat disagree. The 3DS this year is still ahead of last year. It will likely fall behind for the next week or two but it should pull ahead once friend collection hits. The 3DS last year was coming off of a price cut, MK7, MH3G, and SM3DL from the holidays, I'd say those are/were safer bets than betting their whole 3DS holiday/early 2013 lineup on Animal Crossing. On top of that the early part of last year had a steadier stream of games with RE:R, MGS:3D, KI:U, and KH. DQ7 was always gonna be frontloaded and give a boost for a few weeks and LM2 is doing about as good as could be expected by even the more optimistic of predictions. The 3DS last year fell into a bit of a slump after March in terms of game releases while this year things seem to be more steady with Friend Collection, Mario Golf, M&L 4, and DKCR:3D on top of MH and Pokemon juggernauts and who knows what for the holiday season.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

So I wonder if the sizable Vita drop is due to low stock everywhere.
Nearly all models are sold out in a lot of stores, and restock is not expected until May
Even Sony's own online store is "waiting for stock".

There are a lot of games scheduled for release on 25 April, as well as a lot of budget re-releases. Rumours are suggesting something might be planned.

A lot of whole nothing.

And do you mean a redesign?

 

[DaBoss]

Ace Attorney 5!

 

[L Thammy]

Are there any games that have sold well despite a CERO Z rating, or any game series that sells well despite having a CERO Z rating? I guess Ninja Gaiden doesn't match either criteria.

 

[ohlawd]

Ace Attorney 5!

Can't wait for the marketing for that one.

Maya posters everywhere. TV ads, merchandise, the whole shebang.

*plays the game from start to finish*

*doesn't see her once*

"shit."

 

[Jamix012]

My interpretation of the question is that it has to meet both criteria which is it is published by a company outside of Japan, and developed outside of Japan. I could be wrong about what the question is asking.

Yes sorry, that's exactly what I was asking. I assume western devs can publish in Japan?

 

[DaBoss]

Yes sorry, that's exactly what I was asking. I assume western devs can publish in Japan?

To clarify even further, does it matter if a company has a Japanese branch? Like Take Two has a Japanese branch, but their main operations are taken place outside of Japan.

 

[Vinnk]

Who says they even know its from the west. No one outside of gaming forums knows someone beside nintendo made it. Same for DKCR

I didn't even know it was a western made game until reading it on gaf. I would say that 95% of the games target audience has no clue. And if you told them they wouldn't believe/care. Most Japanese casual gamers had no idea Super Donkey Kong was not made in Japan either.

 

[Jamix012]

To clarify even further, does it matter if a company has a Japanese branch? Like Take Two has a Japanese branch, but their main operations are taken place outside of Japan.

No, that doesn't matter for this criteria, as long as their main headquarters are elsewhere. I'm just curious.

 

[BishopLamont]

This empathy some people seem to have with a person they've never met or spoken to is weird

You need to know someone to know basic human emotions? Ok then.

I somewhat disagree. The 3DS this year is still ahead of last year. It will likely fall behind for the next week or two but it should pull ahead once friend collection hits. The 3DS last year was coming off of a price cut, MK7, MH3G, and SM3DL from the holidays, I'd say those are/were safer bets than betting their whole 3DS holiday/early 2013 lineup on Animal Crossing. On top of that the early part of last year had a steadier stream of games with RE:R, MGS:3D, KI:U, and KH. DQ7 was always gonna be frontloaded and give a boost for a few weeks and LM2 is doing about as good as could be expected by even the more optimistic of predictions. The 3DS last year fell into a bit of a slump after March in terms of game releases while this year things seem to be more steady with Friend Collection, Mario Golf, M&L 4, and DKCR:3D on top of MH and Pokemon juggernauts and who knows what for the holiday season.

Last year it was very Q1 heavy and with the residue from the previous holiday, its not a surprise the hardware sales are keeping up, while this year they relied on a few big games, and the 2nd half of the year seems to be much stronger. Once MH4 and Pokemon hits, its gonna far outpace last year for sure.

Although its pretty amazing that AC pretty much alone carried the 3DS this year, keeping the 3DS hardware on the same pace as the power of the trio, Of course DQVII and Luigi helped it too.

I didn't even know it was a western made game until reading it on gaf. I would say that 95% of the games target audience has no clue. And if you told them they wouldn't believe/care. Most Japanese casual gamers had no idea Super Donkey Kong was not made in Japan either.

Its the same as DKCR, its a good game whether its Japanese or Western doesn't matter, its not obvious enough for people to see and say "thats a western game".

 

[Fafalada]

No one outside of gaming forums knows someone beside nintendo made it. Same for DKCR

Maybe that's the lesson - market all your games as if they were made in Japan

 

[shinra-bansho]

You need to know someone to know basic human emotions? Ok then.

I really don't see how the delusion that Iwata would step down at CEO and return to being a game programmer for the same company afterwards because he's "a gamer/developer at heart" is some sort of deep understanding of human emotion.

 

[Vinnk]

Maybe that's the lesson - market all your games as if they were made in Japan

Japanese gamers (for the mist part) don't care where a game is made as long as the style appeals to them. If you look at the Japanese itunes store a lot of the best sellers are not only foreign made but don't even feature Japanese menus in many cases.

It's just like how I had no idea that the NES baseball and football games I played as a kid were not made in America (Bases Loaded, Tecmo Bowl, etc.) They appealed to my interests. If the games had featured all "anime-chibi" players I would not have been interested.

 

[BishopLamont]

I really don't see how the delusion that Iwata would step down at CEO and return to being a game programmer for the same company afterwards because he's "a gamer/developer at heart" is some sort of deep understanding of human emotion.

I never said its "deep understanding" its basic to know that there's no shame in stepping down for another role in a company you're passionate towards, especially if that role is something you started with in the first place. He's a grown man not a baby.

 

[zroid]

It's just like how I had no idea that the NES baseball and football games I played as a kid were not made in America (Bases Loaded, Tecmo Bowl, etc.) They appealed to my interests. If the games had featured all "anime-chibi" players I would not have been interested.

Don't tell me you wouldn't have played Super Dodge Ball!

c'mon man

 

[shinra-bansho]

I never said its "deep understanding" its basic to know that there's no shame in stepping down for another role in a company you're passionate towards, especially if that role is something you started with in the first place. He's a grown man not a baby.

It's not "basic human emotion" to think Iwata would return to a lowly role he hasn't performed in over a decade after being ousted as CEO for failing to lead said company well. It's naivety and delusion. Duckroll already encapsulated the point succinctly.

This is what I call complete and utter delusion, where one person's myopic fanboy view of a person overwrites all business reality and likely what the individual actually wants

 

[Vinnk]

I never said its "deep understanding" its basic to know that there's no shame in stepping down for another role in a company you're passionate towards, especially if that role is something you started with in the first place. He's a grown man not a baby.

I agree that that is the sensible thing to do. And I would love Itawa to be back making great games. And I don't think it should be shameful at all.

But in my years of living in Japan I can say that it would be a major loss of face. Look at what happened to Kutaragi and Yu Suzuki when they were taken down a peg. They pledges to still be active in their companies and just kind of faded away.

The company saves face when they keep them on as employees, but few can overcome the shame of demotion. It is rare for a Japanese company to outright fire anyone but people can often be put in a position where resigning (after a short interval and when the hype dies down) would be the expected thing to do.

Oh lord.. this is sounding like one of those "I don't know how much you know about Japanese business policies.. I'm an expert.." posts. And that's not my intent. Just from my (non-expert) observations working in Japanese companies.

 

[BishopLamont]

It's not "basic human emotion" to think Iwata would return to a lowly role he hasn't performed in over a decade after being ousted as CEO for failing to lead said company well. It's naivety and delusion. Duckroll already encapsulated the point succinctly.

Yes being a developer is such a lowly role. You're funny.

I agree that that is the sensible thing to do. And I would love Itawa to be back making great games. And I don't think it should be shameful at all.

But in my years of living in Japan I can say that it would be a major loss of face. Look at what happened to Kutaragi and Yu Suzuki when they were taken down a peg. They pledges to still be active in their companies and just kind of faded away.

The company saves face when they keep them on as employees, but few can overcome the shame of demotion. It is rare for a Japanese company to outright fire anyone but people can often be put in a position where resigning (after a short interval and when the hype dies down) would be the expected thing to do.

Oh lord.. this is sounding like one of those "I don't know how much you know about Japanese business policies.. I'm an expert.." posts. And that's not my intent. Just from my (non-expert) observations working in Japanese companies.

Iwata is passionate towards Nintendo, I doubt he's gonna think its shameful to take on a role that he enjoys doing.

 

[MrCookiepants]

I think it's Crash Bandicoot.

Yeah, the Crash games were million sellers. Nothing else comes to mind.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Yes being a developer is such a lowly role. You're funny.

Relative to the former position. And perhaps "lowly" was the wrong word. "Less senior" "much lower" if you prefer. But way to focus on semantics rather than the whole point about the ridiculous naivety due to some misplaced affection.

 

[zroid]

Suppose Iwata gets the boot. Where does he go next? Does he just retire? I guess he could.

He's probably not going to transition to CEO or exec of a different company, especially not one which isn't in the game industry. Gaming's his roots.

I think he might take the Sakurai route, personally. Maybe he won't develop games in a directorial role, but he could probably found an independent studio or something.

 

[BishopLamont]

Relative to the former position. And perhaps "lowly" was the wrong word. "Less senior" "much lower" if you prefer. But way to focus on semantics rather than the whole point about the ridiculous naivety due to some misplaced affection.

All you did was point out the obvious, there's nothing to really reply to. Its more realistic to think he would continue to work at Nintendo rather than another company.

Look at Kutaragi, he lost billions for Sony and he still managed a whole generation as a CEO, Iwata has made billions for Nintendo and you think he "failed" as a CEO? I think its more delusional you think he's gonna get the boot any time soon. Just because he says he might resign doesn't mean he will, sometimes its gonna to be hard on yourself, its good motivation to be better.

Suppose Iwata gets the boot. Where does he go next? Does he just retire? I guess he could.

He's probably not going to transition to CEO or exec of a different company, especially not one which isn't in the game industry. Gaming's his roots.

I think he might take the Sakurai route, personally. Maybe he won't develop games in a directorial role, but he could probably found an independent studio or something.

He's pretty young to retire so I doubt that and I don't think he's gonna be able to be a CEO of another company that already exist, so if he's gonna take another role at another company, why wouldn't he just stay at Nintendo instead? If he's gonna go the Sakurai route, he'll still be associated with Nintendo.

 

[Vinnk]

Don't tell me you wouldn't have played Super Dodge Ball!

c'mon man

Crap.. you got me. I liked Nintendo World Cup as well. I guess I just never put it together at the time that those where done in a Japanese style. But maybe that just proves my point.... Yeah! A good game, is a good game. That's what I was going for!

 

[Instro]

This is what I call complete and utter delusion, where one person's myopic fanboy view of a person overwrites all business reality and likely what the individual actually wants:

Well Yamauchi isn't going to let him leave...alive.

 

[zroid]

He's pretty young to retire so I doubt that and I don't think he's gonna be able to be a CEO of another company that already exist, so if he's gonna take another role at another company, why wouldn't he just stay at Nintendo instead? If he's gonna go the Sakurai route, he'll still be associated with Nintendo.

Well, I imagine there'd be some degree of saving face required. If he steps down into a lesser role at the same company... I don't know, it doesn't seem like the right career move. Either he continues his association with Nintendo in an "advisory" capacity (as some CEOs do -- RIM's two CEOs did this recently), or he starts his own company like Sakurai. Whether he keeps making games exclusively for Nintendo or not would be his call.

 

[shinra-bansho]

It's more realistic to think he would continue to work at Nintendo rather than another company.

It's more realistic to think he'd exit the company, just as pretty much every CEO or other high-level executive does, when they're forced to resign for failing to perform. Unless one lives in some alternate universe where Iwata is super-special and Nintendo is super-special, and they aren't subject to the expectations and realities of the world.

And Kaz Hirai goes back to marketing at Sony Music. And Don Mattrick takes a role as a game developer at Microsoft Studios.

 

[BishopLamont]

Well, I imagine there'd be some degree of saving face. If he steps down into a lesser role at the same company... I don't know, it doesn't seem like the right career move. Either he continues his association with Nintendo in an "advisory" capacity (as some CEOs do -- RIM's two CEOs did this recently), or he starts his own company like Sakurai. Whether he keeps making games exclusively for Nintendo or not would be his call.

Well my point is that he'll still stay at Nintendo, in some form or another, he seems too passionate towards Nintendo to just up and leave.

It's more realistic to think he'd exit the company, just as pretty much every CEO or other high-level executive does, when they're forced to resign for failing to perform. Unless one lives in some alternate universe where Iwata is super-special and Nintendo is super-special, and they aren't subject to the expectations and realities of the world.

Its clear Iwata is not just like every other CEO, he was hand picked by Yamauchi and to this day he still helps out HAL. Nintendo would like to have him at Nintendo in some form or another, and I think Iwata would be the same, its a relationship that works good for both parties.

 

[Vinnk]

Maybe he'll defect to Bandai and work on the Super WonderSwan until an unfortunate accident befalls him.

 

[BishopLamont]

Maybe he'll defect to Bandai and work on the Super WonderSwan until an unfortunate accident befalls him.

He'll probably go back to HAL and make more Kirby games.

 

[Vinnk]

He'll probably go back to HAL and make more Kirby games.

I'd be happy with that. Very happy actually.

 

[metalslimer]

Yokoi sure stayed at Nintendo long after the vb failure....oh wait. Well it's not like he had any major successes to his name...oh. Well, at least Japan isn't a country where a worldide publicdemotion wouldn't be devastatingly embarasssing...

Duckroll said it. Its nothing but delusion to think Iwata would stay at Nintendo.

 

[Bruno MB]

Is there anything we can compare it to to determine whether the chance is high? Only thing I can think of right now is Muramasa, which the Vita version outsold the Wii version (not including the BEST release).

I'm not sure what its chances are.

Well, Donkey Kong Country had 2 very late portable ports.

[NGB] Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo) {2001.01.15} - 33.866 / 238.775
[GBA] Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo) {2003.12.08} - 33.766 / 251.878

[SFC] Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo) {1994.11.26} - 257.121 / 3.000.000

It's funny to see that both games had practically the exact same first week sales.

 

[Deleted member 284]

I love this gif! Source?

At a beauty pageant no less.
Apparently, the attendees didn't like the judging.

I feel guilty watching it, but can't look away.

 

[electroplankton]

So I've asked before, but given the biggish drop this week: Is it plausible that Vita can eke out some sort of existence for itself as the handheld port-companion to the PS3 and home to other low-/mid-tier selling titles like Muramasa? Is a platform like that something publishers even want?

Something like 360? After all, 360 is having the multi-platform titles with PS3 and some of them sold quite nicely given the installed base + many mid-tier titles and new IP like Idolmaster, Square Enix jRPG, something from MS targeted towards Japanese.

 

[crinale]

A lot of whole nothing.

And do you mean a redesign?

Initially I thought Sony wasn't expecting much for Vita sales so they weren't actually manufacturing that many units.
Now I think there's a smaaaal chance of redesigned version to be announced soon.
(This may be just new "value" package with small memory card).

 

[Takao]

I wonder what Ken Kutaragi is doing right now ... perfecting 4D technology on his own?

 

[grimshawish]

So, has the Mario & Luigi sales potential grown from last gen? Is it feasible for Dream Team to surpass Bowser's Inside Story?

The Wii/DS era made Mario and Luigi relevant again; so thats why Luigi is benefiting and 3D Land benefited from merging 2D Mario and 3D Mario. NSMB has struggled to keep its shine though, likely because people have had their fill. I suspect if 3D Land 2 or Mario Universe were multiplayer (that worked) AND had that 2D/3D mix then it'd replace NSMB style sales figures.

Dream Team?
Well the Animal Crossing crowd are now IN; the Mario crowd are IN. It should at least match previous sales. Question is, will it be selling to a new audience who we've seen bolster other games? We'll see. Its got a really good place in the market and another Luigi game looks like its going to be very well timed.

However this is a DS game; its not a Gamecube game or a weaker Wii game; this is one of the best selling DS games and very well thought of. I couldn't say 'its potential has increased' but it has the potential to match the sales.

 

[Zenaku]

There are certainly Japanese blogs suspecting a redesign. How would people feel about that?

 

[grimshawish]

There are certainly Japanese blogs suspecting a redesign. How would people feel about that?

PS4 tie in maybe to improve features? (and make it cheaper I suspect)
Not sure how much they can 'redesign'. Certainly making it look a lot less like the PSP would maybe help.

Are you sure they don't just mean the 4G version already announced?