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[serplux]

What should those games be selling to be classified as "exceptionally well"? 100k for Muramasa, and 200k for Senran Kagura? Both had first weeks about as high as the LTD for the original releases on much more successful platforms. You can't really ask for more than that.

I reckon around 50% better than the 3DS releases is what I'd consider "exceptional".

It doesn't really matter anyways. They'll continue supporting both the 3DS and Vita, and they've done well on both platforms. Can't really ask much more from Marvelous.

This is the gen to try and see if you could get Persona to work on a Nintendo handheld, none of the previous platforms were right for it and it's not like Atlus is resistant to porting P3 and P4...

Maybe a port/remake is in order. I'm not getting my hopes.

 

[Man God]

Actually I'd classify those sales as exceptional when it comes to the Vita. There's only a couple of games on the system more successful than Senran Kagura.

 

[Takao]

I reckon around 50% better than the 3DS releases is what I'd consider "exceptional".

That's not "exceptional", that's called a "miracle".

 

[serplux]

That's not "exceptional", that's called a "miracle".

Let's not argue my use of the word "exceptional" anymore, okay? I've already acknowledged that they've done well.

Edit: Anyone think a 2D Metroid on the 3DS could break 100k this time around?

 

[metalslimer]

Actually I'd classify those sales as exceptional when it comes to the Vita. There's only a couple of games on the system more successful than Senran Kagura.

Yep, Marvelous seems to have been much better off since moving off the wii. Both 3ds and vita have been very kind to them.

 

[Soriku]

So wait is it likely for the PS3 to get another Tales game this year in Japan?

This year would be a bit fast IMO but it's possible. If not this year, definitely next year.

And I'll definitely take Radiant Historia 2.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

As expected.

So of in terms of third-party franchises we have so far:

Group A. On the system:-

• Monster Hunter (port)
• Dragon Quest (port)
• Ninja Gaiden (port)
• Resident Evil (non-mainline, port)
• Sonic Racing
• Tekken Tag (port)
• Some Tecmo-Koei Musou games

Group B. Not on the system:-

• Final Fantasy
• Ryu ga Gotoku
• Tales of
• Metal Gear Solid
• Winning Eleven
• Dark Souls
• Dragon's Dogma
• Sengoku Basara
• Resident Evil (mainline)
• Kingdom Hearts (non-mainline, port)
• Some Tecmo-Koei Musou games

Group C. Not on any home console since PS2:-

• Kingdom Hearts (mainline)
• Persona

(Accurate? Anything missing? Anything need more context?)

Well, while Wii U's Japanese 3rd party situation is perplexingly horrific right now, it's worth keeping in mind it generally takes awhile for Japanese 3rd parties to move to a new system and it might be a bit too premature to make judgements on some of these. Just looking at Tales for example it took PS3 3 years just to get a port and 5 years before it got an original Tales. 360 and Wii each fared a little better (3 years each for a mothership game, Wii got an escort game after a year and half before that). Wii U's not even 6 months old yet, no home console's had a Tales released or even announced this early in it's cycle iirc, which fits with what Baba and others have said on Wii U (ie: not right now, maybe later).

Looking at your list, those franchises are all also actually releasing on the system within Wii U's first 6 months, which is historically pretty great. Comparably, here's the notable established 3rd party franchises releasing within the first six months for previous consoles going back the past 2 gens:

PlayStation 3

• Ridge Racer (port)
• Virtua Fighter (port)
• Virtua Tennis (port)
• Sonic (port)
• Armored Core
• Gundam
• Pro Baseball Spirits

Wii

• Monkey Ball
• Sonic (non mainline)
• Trauma Center (remake)
• Dragon Ball (port)
• Metal Slug (emulated collection)
• Pangya (non mainline)
• Musou (non mainline)
• Cooking Mama
• Bomberman (non mainline)
• One Piece
• Naruto
• Resident Evil (port)

Xbox 360

• Ridge Racer
• Dead or Alive
• Final Fantasy (port)
• Musou (ports)
• Tengai Makyo (remake)
• Pro Baseball Spirits

Xbox

• Onimusha (port)
• Silent Hill (port)
• Track & Field (port)
• Jet Set Radio
• Crazy Taxi

Gamecube

• Monkey Ball (port)
• Sonic (port)
• Track & Field (port)
• Virtua Striker (port)
• ISS (port)

PlayStation 2

• Ridge Racer
• Street Fighter (non mainline)
• Tekken (port)
• Dead or Alive (port)
• Gradius (port)
• Power Pro (port)
• ISS (port)
• Musou
• Armored Core
• Gun Griffon

Dreamcast

• PowerStone (port)
• Psychic Force
• Marvel Vs Capcom (port)

 

[BishopLamont]

Well, while Wii U's Japanese 3rd party situation is perplexingly horrific right now, it's worth keeping in mind it generally takes awhile for Japanese 3rd parties to move to a new system and it might be a bit too premature to make judgements on some of these. Just looking at Tales for example it took PS3 3 years just to get a port and 5 years before it got an original Tales. 360 and Wii each fared a little better (3 years each for a mothership game, Wii got an escort game after a year and half before that). Wii U's not even 6 months old yet, no home console's had a Tales released or even announced this early in it's cycle iirc, which fits with what Baba and others have said on Wii U (ie: not right now, maybe later).

Looking at your list, those franchises are all also actually releasing on the system within Wii U's first 6 months, which is historically pretty great. Comparably, here's the notable established 3rd party franchises releasing within the first six months for previous consoles going back the past 2 gens:
[/list]

Good post. The bad thing about Wii U right now is the sales and upcoming games, Considering the lineup from Nintendo themselves is non-existant, there's no surprise third partys haven't announced anything either. When the mysterious third party direct happens or within the next few months is when we see announcements from third party, if it does happen.

People in general are way too pessimistic about Nintendo's third party relationship, 3DS is well supported and that had a pretty weak start too. I'm sure Nintendo won't just let the Wii U just die. He'll be able to convince a decent level of support from third parties. Just how much support is something to look forward to. Its pretty exciting to see what Nintendo bring out as well as third parties.

You have a rather odd definition/use for the word Exceptional

The sales aren't exactly mind blowing, but yeah for the Vita, they're pretty good.

 

[Chris1964]

Well, while Wii U's Japanese 3rd party situation is perplexingly horrific right now, it's worth keeping in mind it generally takes awhile for Japanese 3rd parties to move to a new system and it might be a bit too premature to make judgements on some of these.

There is nothing premature judjing from now Wii U Japanese third party situation when there are zero PS3/Wii U multiplatform games.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Well, while Wii U's Japanese 3rd party situation is perplexingly horrific right now, it's worth keeping in mind it generally takes awhile for Japanese 3rd parties to move to a new system and it might be a bit too premature to make judgements on some of these. Just looking at Tales for example it took PS3 3 years just to get a port and 5 years before it got an original Tales. 360 and Wii each fared a little better (3 years each for a mothership game, Wii got an escort game after a year and half before that). Wii U's not even 6 months old yet, no home console's had a Tales released or even announced this early in it's cycle iirc, which fits with what Baba and others have said on Wii U (ie: not right now, maybe later).

Looking at your list, those franchises are all also actually releasing on the system within Wii U's first 6 months, which is historically pretty great. Comparably, here's the notable established 3rd party franchises releasing within the first six months for previous consoles going back the past 2 gens:

It's not a big secret that Japanese studios had a particularly difficult transition into HD development (Nintendo seems to be encountering these difficulties now). They may have difficulty transitioning to the PS4 and Durango. But I don't think that could really justify their complete silence with regard to the Wii U. Ports should not be exceedingly difficult to achieve from 360 SKUs.

Tales of, Microsoft moneyhats and poor platform choices aside; from what I can find looking at some of the more established franchises there were already indications of support even prior to release for the PS3 (and/or 360).

• Metal Gear Solid 4 was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2005.
• Final Fantasy XIII was announced at E3 2006.
• Resident Evil 5 was announced in 2005.

As parallels, these are conspicuously absent from the Wii U. You have MGSV announced with omission of the Wii U. For reasons unknown, Capcom haven't bothered to port RE6 yet, even though they're porting over Revelations to every platform possible. And I don't think expectations of a mainline Final Fantasy, or even Lightning Returns, are particularly justified right now.

I don't think Nagoshi has any intent to bring Yakuza to the Wii U. Dark Souls 2 was announced after the Wii U was released.

PES is supposed to be in development on the FOX engine for next-gen. I don't even know if it's been confirmed that there's a version of the FOX engine for the Wii U?

Is what Deep Down will end up being going to be multiplatform on the Wii U? Is Panta Rhei confirmed or even hinted at for the Wii U?

Actually, for that matter has Luminous been confirmed for Wii U? (And I don't mean in a vague, "it's scalable" way.)

It's not just that we're 6 months post-launch and few third parties have released their major franchises on the system - sure games take time; it's that we're 6 months post-launch, the third party release schedule is barren, third parties are announcing things in exclusion of Wii U and/or saying they won't be bringing their franchise to Wii U. (And as with certain Western publishers, there may not even be intent to port their next gen engines.)

 

[Chris1964]

Changes with the new Famitsu format are done and additional info is added from on.

Famitsu Sales: Week 14, 2013 (Apr 01 - Apr 07)

01./01. [3DS] Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon <ACT> (Nintendo) {2013.03.20} (¥4.800) - 64.046 / 467.571 <80-100%> (-37%)
02./03. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2012.11.08} (¥4.800) - 52.349 / 3.391.972 <80-100%> (-14%)
03./04. [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.03.20} (¥8.190) - 25.623 / 350.488 <80-100%> (-54%)
04./08. [PS3] Pro Baseball Spirits 2013 <SPT> (Konami) {2013.03.20} (¥7.980) - 14.775 / 149.773 <80-100%> (-42%)
05./10. [PSP] Pro Baseball Spirits 2013 <SPT> (Konami) {2013.03.20} (¥3.980) - 12.969 / 115.883 <80-100%> (-40%)
06./09. [WIU] Game & Wario <ETC> (Nintendo) {2013.03.28} (¥4.935) - 12.811 / 36.806 <40-60%> (-47%)
07./16. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission <TBL> (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.02.28} (¥5.800) - 11.698 / 153.760 <80-100%> (+9%)
08./00. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.11.29} (¥5.040) - 10.899 / 440.803 <80-100%>
09./07. [WIU] Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2013.03.30} (¥6.980) - 10.833 / 47.287 <60-80%> (-70%)
10./05. [PSV] Muramasa Rebirth <RPG> (Marvelous AQL) {2013.03.28} (¥4.980) - 9.315 / 48.563 <80-100%> (-76%)
11./20. [PSP] Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment # <RPG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.03.14} (¥6.280) - 9.108 / 162.338 <80-100%> (-7%)
12./02. [PSP] Fate/Extra CCC # <RPG> (Marvelous AQL) {2013.03.28} (¥6.279) - 8.848 / 80.830 <80-100%> (-88%)
13./00. [PS3] Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge <ACT> (Koei Tecmo) {2013.04.04} (¥7.140) - 8.743 / NEW <60-80%>
14./21. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.07.28} (¥4.800) - 8.677 / 2.004.624 <80-100%> (-10%)
15./14. [PS3] Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX <RPG> (Square Enix) {2013.03.14} (¥6.980) - 8.649 / 186.260 <80-100%> (-39%)
16./12. [PSV] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.03.20} (¥7.140) - 7.075 / 77.280 <80-100%> (-55%)
17./06. [PSP] Dungeon Travelers 2: Ouritsu Tokoshan to Mamono no Fuuin # <RPG> (Aqua Plus) {2013.03.28} (¥6.090) - 6.745 / 44.023 <80-100%> (-82%)
18./25. [3DS] Professor Layton and the Legacy of Civilization A <ADV> (Level 5) {2013.02.28} (¥5.500) - 6.348 / 203.109 <80-100%> (-16%)
19./17. [PSV] Soul Sacrifice # <ACT> (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2013.03.07} (¥5.980) - 6.052 / 162.238 <80-100%> (-41%)
20./30. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (¥4.800) - 5.879 / 2.007.125 <80-100%> (-1%)
21./00. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Best Price!) # <ACT> (Capcom) {2012.11.15} (¥3.800) - 5.607 / 259.298 <80-100%>
22./26. [3DS] Dragon Quest VII: Fighters of Eden <RPG> (Square Enix) {2013.02.07} (¥6.090) - 5.564 / 1.192.135 <80-100%> (-24%)
23./23. [3DS] Pretty Rhythm: My Deco Rainbow Wedding <ACT> (Takara Tomy) {2013.03.20} (¥6.279) - 5.264 / 46.672 <40-60%> (-35%)
24./19. [3DS] Super Robot Wars UX # <SLG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.03.14} (¥7.140) - 5.133 / 154.800 <80-100%> (-48%)
25./00. [PSP] HatsuKare Renai Debut Sengen! # <ADV> (FuRyu) {2013.04.04} (¥6.090) - 5.111 / NEW <60-80%>
26./13. [WII] PreCure All-Stars: Zenin Shuugou Let's Dance! <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.03.28} (¥6.090) - 5.014 / 19.860 <60-80%> (-66%)
27./00. [PS3] Far Cry 3 <ACT> (Ubisoft) {2013.03.07} (¥7.770) - 4.536 / 70.333 <80-100%>
28./22. [PS3] Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness # <SLG> (Nippon Ichi Software) {2013.03.20} (¥7.140) - 4.269 / 67.278 <80-100%> (-54%)
29./28. [PS3] Dynasty Warriors 8 # <ACT> (Koei Tecmo) {2013.02.28} (¥7.560) - 4.188 / 306.895 <80-100%> (-42%)
30./00. [3DS] Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.07.12} (¥5.040) - 4.185 / 442.558 <80-100%>

Top 30

3DS - 11
PS3 - 7
PSP - 5
PSV - 3
WII - 2
WIU - 2

HARDWARE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|System | This Week  | Last Week  | Last Year  |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3DS # |     55.006 |     67.007 |     67.613 |  1.385.956 |  1.491.970 |  11.148.458 |
|  PSV  |     19.879 |     33.605 |      8.283 |    342.531 |    236.891 |   1.419.690 |
|  PS3  |     17.871 |     19.809 |     20.775 |    309.839 |    501.895 |   9.054.172 |
|  WIU  |     14.413 |     21.502 |            |    236.860 |            |     875.199 |
| PSP # |      8.918 |     13.569 |     16.780 |    222.147 |    355.802 |  19.401.247 |
|  WII  |      1.608 |      1.743 |      6.569 |     29.090 |    187.164 |  12.689.832 |
|  360  |        497 |        533 |      2.983 |      7.591 |     19.173 |   1.595.602 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  ALL  |    118.192 |    157.926 |    124.188 |  2.538.607 |  2.815.988 |  78.169.148 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  PSP  |      8.918 |     13.569 |     16.780 |    222.147 |    355.802 |  19.240.672 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Well, while Wii U's Japanese 3rd party situation is perplexingly horrific right now, it's worth keeping in mind it generally takes awhile for Japanese 3rd parties to move to a new system and it might be a bit too premature to make judgements on some of these.

It may take time for a game to be released but it does not prevent announcements of third party support or at least multiplatform releases with the PS3. 3DS and PS3 both had big third party projects announced before release but we got nothing like the sort with the WiiU.

Just looking at Tales for example it took PS3 3 years just to get a port and 5 years before it got an original Tales. 360 and Wii each fared a little better (3 years each for a mothership game, Wii got an escort game after a year and half before that).

You know the reason for that was MS moneyhatting Tales and NB wondering where they should put the franchise. It took them long enough to realise the fanbase was on PS3.

Wii U's not even 6 months old yet, no home console's had a Tales released or even announced this early in it's cycle iirc,

Tales is not representative of the entire third party situation in Japan. Pretty sure RE5, FF13 and MGS4 were all announced before the release of the PS3. What third party announcements do we have for the WiiU 6 months after launch?

which fits with what Baba and others have said on Wii U (ie: not right now, maybe later)


Where and when was this said? I'm curious, do you a link?
.

.

 

[michaelius]

I reckon around 50% better than the 3DS releases is what I'd consider "exceptional".

So they sold exceptional in the end ?

As i assume you aren't comparing 6 week total to whole year numbers for 3DS releases

 

[Somnid]

It's not a big secret that Japanese studios had a particularly difficult transition into HD development (Nintendo seems to be encountering these difficulties now). They may have difficulty transitioning to the PS4 and Durango. But I don't think that could really justify their complete silence with regard to the Wii U. Ports should not be exceedingly difficult to achieve from 360 SKUs.

Tales of, Microsoft moneyhats and poor platform choices aside; from what I can find looking at some of the more established franchises there were already indications of support even prior to release for the PS3 (and/or 360).

• Metal Gear Solid 4 was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2005.
• Final Fantasy XIII was announced at E3 2006.
• Resident Evil 5 was announced in 2005.

As parallels, these are conspicuously absent from the Wii U. You have MGSV announced with omission of the Wii U. For reasons unknown, Capcom haven't bothered to port RE6 yet, even though they're porting over Revelations to every platform possible. And I don't think expectations of a mainline Final Fantasy, or even Lightning Returns, are particularly justified right now.

I don't think Nagoshi has any intent to bring Yakuza to the Wii U. Dark Souls 2 was announced after the Wii U was released.

PES is supposed to be in development on the FOX engine for next-gen. I don't even know if it's been confirmed that there's a version of the FOX engine for the Wii U?

Is what Deep Down will end up being going to be multiplatform on the Wii U? Is Panta Rhei confirmed or even hinted at for the Wii U?

Actually, for that matter has Luminous been confirmed for Wii U? (And I don't mean in a vague, "it's scalable" way.)

It's not just that we're 6 months post-launch and few third parties have released their major franchises on the system - sure games take time; it's that we're 6 months post-launch, the third party release schedule is barren, third parties are announcing things in exclusion of Wii U and/or saying they won't be bringing their franchise to Wii U. (And as with certain Western publishers, there may not even be intent to port their next gen engines.)

There's other problems. Of the things you've brought up Yakuza and MGS5 are the only one I can't immediately excuse away on incompetency grounds. RE6 was a disaster. To port that turn they'd need to pull a Realm Reborn/Razor's Edge. Revelations was well received, in fact porting it is probably to cover up for RE6 since Revelations is a significantly better game. Likewise, Lightning Returns looks rough, I'd have a hard time believing that game won't be rushed and isn't experiencing development problems. Dark Soul 2 is more interesting but From is a small, technically incapable developer.

More interesting is that all the big titles are not next-gen. It seems reasonable that they'd want to stretch this party longer given the big install bases but how is that going to reflect on next-gen systems especially without BC? This seems a lot like the Vita situation.

 

[michaelius]

More interesting is that all the big titles are not next-gen. It seems reasonable that they'd want to stretch this party longer given the big install bases but how is that going to reflect on next-gen systems especially without BC? This seems a lot like the Vita situation.

Microsoft still haven't annouced it's console officialy and E3 is coming in few weeks and there's also TGS before release of next gens.

 

[AdventureRacing]

People in general are way too pessimistic about Nintendo's third party relationship, 3DS is well supported and that had a pretty weak start too. I'm sure Nintendo won't just let the Wii U just die. He'll be able to convince a decent level of support from third parties. Just how much support is something to look forward to. Its pretty exciting to see what Nintendo bring out as well as third parties.

The DS also got great 3rd party support but that didn't end up meaning anything for the wii despite being a monster in terms of sales. So i'm not sure how 3DS having decent 3rd party support means much for the wii U. By this time i'm pretty sure the 3DS already had a lot more 3rd parties on board than the wii U does.

I'm not saying there will be no 3rd party support but i'm not really sure what your optimism is based on really. It feels like the wii U might get shafted in favor of the PS4/3DS being the go to platforms (and PS3 in the short term).

 

[Sammy Samusu]

http://ameblo.jp/sinobi/entry-11508357227.html

Anyone want to translate?

 

[Road]

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

On a quick glance, it seems to be Battlefield 3:

Media Create {2011-11-02} [PS3] Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts) - 123,379 / 251,410
Media Create {2011-11-02} [360] Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts) - 27,723 / 33,733

It's entirely possible I overlooked something. I'd have to check more thoroughly later. (Remembering we only have good sales information starting with 1996.)

http://ameblo.jp/sinobi/entry-11508357227.html

Anyone want to translate?

Tomodachi Collection Shin Seikatsu has less pre-orders than ACNL and is a little behind LM2, but way ahead of the first one. ???

Changes with the new Famitsu format are done and additional info is added from on.

I was updating yesterday and noticed they don't break down the SKU anymore. I don't know if it is a fair trade for the new sell-through. =|

Worse, they now only gave the top 5 for March:

-> top 20 + DS Top 10 + PS2 top 10
-> top 10
-> top 5

They gave us the top 3 publishers, but, again, I don't know if I like the trade...

Famitsu Market Value, March 2013
(2013-02-25~2013-03-31)

Hardware: 15.20 billion yen (+7.8%)
Software: 31.53 billion yen (+10.0%)

Total: 46.73 billion yen (+9.3%)


Top 5 software:
01 [3DS] Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (Nintendo) {2013-03-20} - 403,525 / 403,525
02 [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo) {2012-11-08} - 327,568 / 3,339,623
03 [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 (Bandai Namco) {2013-03-20} - 324,865 / 324,865
04 [PS3] Dynasty Warriors 8 (Koei Tecmo) {2013-02-28} - 302,707 / 302,707
05 [3DS] Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies (Level 5) {2013-02-28} - 196,761 / 196,761

Other software LTD:
[NDS] Tomodachi Collection (Nintendo) {2009-06-18} - 3,683,000


Top 3 publishers:
01 Bandai Namco - 1,231,000 units
02 Nintendo - 991,000
03 Konami - 443,000

 

[Chris1964]

I was updating yesterday and noticed they don't break down the SKU anymore. I don't know if it is a fair trade for the new sell-through. =|

99,99% we know the SKU break down except some rare occasions with budget re-releases and bundles but even then Famitsu is predictable with the changes they do.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

There is nothing premature judjing from now Wii U Japanese third party situation when there are zero PS3/Wii U multiplatform games.

Future support's horrifically bad, yes. I already said as much.

At the same time, I expect some of the franchises on the "not coming" lists will eventually show. That's why I said it's a little premature right now, people tend to forget how slowly Japanese pubs transition.

Capcom makes a good example, within 6 months they'll have two Wii U games on shelves, albeit ports (MH3G and RER). By comparison it took them 9 months to get their first 360 game out (Dead Rising), 6 months for just one port on Wii (RE4, which already ran natively on the hardware anyway) and just over the year for PS3 to even get an old port (Lost Planet).

 

[Spiegel]

Future support's horrifically bad, yes. I already said as much.

At the same time, I expect some of the franchises on the "not coming" lists will eventually show. That's why I said it's a little premature right now, people tend to forget how slowly Japanese pubs transition.

Capcom makes a good example, within 6 months they'll have two Wii U games on shelves, albeit ports (MH3G and RER). By comparison it took them 9 months to get their first 360 game out (Dead Rising), 6 months for just one port on Wii (RE4, which already ran natively on the hardware anyway) and just over the year for PS3 to even get an old port (Lost Planet).

Transition is slow for next generation technology and Wii was the successor of the worst selling Nintendo console.

WiiU shouldn't be having this problem.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

It's not a big secret that Japanese studios had a particularly difficult transition into HD development (Nintendo seems to be encountering these difficulties now). They may have difficulty transitioning to the PS4 and Durango. But I don't think that could really justify their complete silence with regard to the Wii U. Ports should not be exceedingly difficult to achieve from 360 SKUs.

*snip*

It's not just that we're 6 months post-launch and few third parties have released their major franchises on the system - sure games take time; it's that we're 6 months post-launch, the third party release schedule is barren, third parties are announcing things in exclusion of Wii U and/or saying they won't be bringing their franchise to Wii U. (And as with certain Western publishers, there may not even be intent to port their next gen engines.)

It wasn't just HD gen, Japanese devs are notoriously slow to transition in every cycle, which is why I listed the previous gen also. It was the same before that, with most major publishers still focusing on SuFami in 94/95 before eventually deciding to move to PS1 in 96/97.

I agree the lack of ports announced for Wii U is worrying given it's technology positioning, but it was the same thing for Wii initially too, and even Vita last year really. It might never really rurn around like the former, or maybe Nintendo can incetivize their way through it like the latter. Wii U 3rd party announcements in general have been pretty bizarre in how they're handled the whole way through, for every region.

As far as the lack of comparable announcements versus PS3 (or PS2 before that), that's the difference in following up a clear market leader versus not. The only system this gen with PS2/PS3-like early commitments out of Japan is 3DS, in large part because it's the successor to the clear market leader there last gen. If we examine PS4 under the same microscope versus PS2/PS3, it's also lagging significantly. Do you then also expect PS4 to get significantly less Japanese support than PS3 did?

 

[donny2112]

Worse, they now only gave the top 5 for March:

-> top 20 + DS Top 10 + PS2 top 10
-> top 10
-> top 5

Think Famitsu only gave the Monthly Top 10 before, too. The first line was from Oricon who published data they (presumably) paid for from Enterbrain.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Transition is slow for next generation technology and Wii was the successor of the worst selling Nintendo console.

WiiU shouldn't be having this problem.

3rd parties weren't exactly thrilled with the results they had on Wii largely and in general they seem to shy away from backing anything too early but a sure thing (ie: 3DS). PSP was a monster success for many 3rd parties, yet that didn't seem to really help Vita much in early goings.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

It wasn't just HD gen, Japanese devs are notoriously slow to transition in every cycle, which is why I listed the previous gen also. It was the same before that, with most major publishers still focusing on SuFami in 94/95 before eventually deciding to move to PS1 in 96/97.

I agree the lack of ports announced for Wii U is worrying given it's technology positioning, but it was the same thing for Wii initially too, and even Vita last year really. It might never really rurn around like the former, or maybe Nintendo can incetivize their way through it like the latter. Wii U 3rd party announcements in general have been pretty bizarre in how they're handled the whole way through, for every region.

As far as the lack of comparable announcements versus PS3 (or PS2 before that), that's the difference in following up a clear market leader versus not. The only system this gen with PS2/PS3-like early commitments out of Japan is 3DS, in large part because it's the successor to the clear market leader there last gen. If we examine PS4 under the same microscope versus PS2/PS3, it's also lagging significantly. Do you then also expect PS4 to get significantly less Japanese support than PS3 did?

Your entire argument of using the ps2 ----> 360/ps3 transition or any other transition goes out the window when you realise that the ps3 ----> WiiU transition is no where as big. One shows the time for devs to jump to next gen the other clearly does not.

The only worthwhile comparison would be the Wii and that received much more third party support.

Furthermore your ps4 comparison also looses all validity when you realise that the PS2 was announced March 1999, 1 year before release. The ps3 was announced E3 2005, almost 1.5 years before the release date. PS4 was announced Feb and is coming 2013 thats half a year. It hasn't even had an E3 or TGS yet after being announced. As you said Japanese devs take longer to hop into next gen so similar to the ps3 its mostly the big pubs in Japan that announce games for next generational hardware and I am sure they would want an unveil at a conference.

PS3 first E3 had DMC4 and MGS4 announced.
PS4 has already had MGSV and a FF announced for it.

Iirc it was only at TGS 2005 that the PS3 showed all the games Japanese third parties were making for it. We should get a clearer picture of PS4 support at TGS.

 

[schuelma]

I think Wii U Japanese support will be better by the end of the year because it is literally impossible for it to get any worse.

 

[Nirolak]

I think Wii U Japanese support will be better by the end of the year because it is literally impossible for it to get any worse.

That's not true. There is currently still one unreleased Japanese third party game.

Spoiler

I don't disagree with your assessment, even if it's only a handful of low budget games to coincide with Nintendo's big hitters, it would still be a notable improvement.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Your entire argument of using the ps2 ----> 360/ps3 transition or any other transition goes out the window when you realise that the ps3 ----> WiiU transition is no where as big. One shows the time for devs to jump to next gen the other clearly does not.

The only worthwhile comparison would be the Wii and that received much more third party support.

Furthermore your ps4 comparison also looses all validity when you realise that the PS2 was announced March 1999, 1 year before release. The ps3 was announced E3 2005, almost 1.5 years before the release date. PS4 was announced Feb and is coming 2013 thats half a year. It hasn't even had an E3 or TGS yet after being announced. As you said Japanese devs take longer to hop into next gen so similar to the ps3 its mostly the big pubs in Japan that announce games for next generational hardware and I am sure they would want an unveil at a conference.

PS3 first E3 had DMC4 and MGS4 announced.
PS4 has already had MGSV and a FF announced for it.

Iirc it was only at TGS 2005 that the PS3 showed all the games Japanese third parties were making for it. We should get a clearer picture of PS4 support at TGS.

In fact, I'd argue Wii had less significant 3rd party support announced upfront than Wii U, though admittedly that depends on whether you favor mainline ports versus genre divergent spinoffs. And yes, Wii U sits in a somewhat different category due to technology positioning, but that generally doesn't seem too different from other similar machines (Wii, Vita) when it comes to generational transition and early support. Well, maybe PSP was a bit different and more enthusiastic, but that was coming hot off the PS2 and at a time when the popular argument of the day was that Sony would do to Game Boy what they did to Nintendo home consoles a decade earlier.

Your point about the later announcement of PS4 works both for and against you though really. Yes, we're still before any major tradeshow after PS4 announcement, and I do expect more stuff (Some Musou, maybe MGSV, etc) to show up at them. At the same time, your TGS 05 example for PS3 was 14 months before system launch, we're right now probably 8 months away at most from PS4 launch and so far only two Japanese games have been announced at all. The next TGS will be only like a month or two before system launch and after Vita/Wii U, I'm a bit more skeptical about the "wait for TGS" routine. PS4 was designed by the west, is targeted at the west, and I tend to think most major Japanese games for it (like Deep Down) will be aimed at the west mainly too, and will probably be at E3.

 

[Bruno MB]

Resident Evil: Revelations - Unveiled Edition will be released on May 23. With each passing week, it's starting to look more likely that after that date (barely 6 months after Wii U's launch), the list of upcoming Japanese Wii U games from third-party publishers will be empty.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Your point about the later announcement of PS4 works both for and against you though really. Yes, we're still before any major tradeshow after PS4 announcement, and I do expect more stuff (Some Musou, maybe MGSV, etc) to show up at them. At the same time, your TGS 05 example for PS3 was 14 months before system launch, we're right now probably 8 months away at most from PS4 launch and so far only two Japanese games have been announced at all. The next TGS will be only like a month or two before system launch and after Vita/Wii U, I'm a bit more skeptical about the "wait for TGS" routine. PS4 was designed by the west, is targeted at the west, and I tend to think most major Japanese games for it (like Deep Down) will be aimed at the west mainly too, and will probably be at E3.

Well the majority of the games announced for ps2 and ps3 were at the conferences especially TGS so it would only make sense for that tradition to continue. The fact the console has not been in a major gaming event is far more important that its proximity to its release date.

"wait for TGS" only really sounded stupid because of TGS's / E3's that the platforms were at and still did not get the support people expected or wanted. The PS4 has not even had a TGS yet so its not something out of wishful thinking when Vita and WiiU owners say it.

 

[metalslimer]

Resident Evil: Revelations - Unveiled Edition will be released on May 23. With each passing week, it's starting to look more likely that after that date (barely 6 months after Wii U's launch), the list of upcoming Japanese Wii U games from third-party publishers will be empty.

I dont think this has ever happened to a non dead platform. But i would expect maybe 1 or 2 things announced in the coming weeks

. At the same time, your TGS 05 example for PS3 was 14 months before system launch, we're right now probably 8 months away at most from PS4 launch and so far only two Japanese games have been announced at all. T

The console was literally announced 2 months ago. This is nothing like the PS3.And the console was designed for every region. I dont see how it was designed for the west vs something being designed for japan

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Well the majority of the games announced for ps2 and ps3 were at the conferences especially TGS so it would only make sense for that tradition to continue. The fact the console has not been in a major gaming event is far more important that its proximity to its release date.

"wait for TGS" only really sounded stupid because of TGS's / E3's that the platforms were at and still did not get the support people expected or wanted. The PS4 has not even had a TGS yet so its not something out of wishful thinking when Vita and WiiU owners say it.

Tradeshows were bigger a decade ago and even 5 years ago than they are now, TGS especially. Even bigger Japanese games these games tend to get magazine reveals or exclusive event announcements instead. Look at MGSV, Basara 4, etc.

Vita and Wii U had the "wait for" memes before their first TGSes too, especially after their lackluster E3s just before. For Vita at least that continued into it's second TGS after it had launched, people seem to have sort of given up on Wii U already though.

 

[metalslimer]

Tradeshows were bigger a decade ago and even 5 years ago than they are now, TGS especially. Even bigger Japanese games these games tend to get magazine reveals or exclusive event announcements instead. Look at MGSV, Basara 4, etc.

Vita and Wii U had the "wait for" memes before their first TGSes too, especially after their lackluster E3s just before. For Vita at least that continued into it's second TGS after it had launched, people seem to have sort of given up on Wii U already though.

This isnt even a wait for. The console was just announced.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Tradeshows were bigger a decade ago and even 5 years ago than they are now, TGS especially. Even bigger Japanese games these games tend to get magazine reveals or exclusive event announcements instead. Look at MGSV, Basara 4, etc.

Vita and Wii U had the "wait for" memes before their first TGSes too, especially after their lackluster E3s just before. For Vita at least that continued into it's second TGS after it had launched, people seem to have sort of given up on Wii U already though.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/09/24/tgs-2012-tokyo-game-show-breaks-attendance-record

TGS 2012 broke the record for attendance. The saturday had the largest attendance in TGS history.

MGSV was revealed at a show....VGA's and Konami clearly wanted the show to be one in which the western audience were watching. SB4 was announced at the Basara Festival 2013 and its not really that big of a game.

Notice how WiiU and Vita had wait for TGS's after a disappointing show. PS4 has not even had one game conference show yet. People have not given up on WiiU. You still hear people saying third party Nintendo direct which is the equivalent though both camps have quietened down.

 

[BishopLamont]

The DS also got great 3rd party support but that didn't end up meaning anything for the wii despite being a monster in terms of sales. So i'm not sure how 3DS having decent 3rd party support means much for the wii U. By this time i'm pretty sure the 3DS already had a lot more 3rd parties on board than the wii U does.

I'm not saying there will be no 3rd party support but i'm not really sure what your optimism is based on really. It feels like the wii U might get shafted in favor of the PS4/3DS being the go to platforms (and PS3 in the short term).

I don't expect big things, but third parties have always been bad on Nintendo home consoles, but at this point, like schuelma said, it can't get any worse, any improvement is better than what they have been getting. In the same way the western support is shaping up to be more than just a bunch of low budget Wii affairs.

 

[Hero of Legend]

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/09/24/tgs-2012-tokyo-game-show-breaks-attendance-record

TGS 2012 broke the record for attendance. The saturday had the largest attendance in TGS history.

MGSV was revealed at a show....VGA's and Konami clearly wanted the show to be one in which the western audience were watching. SB4 was announced at the Basara Festival 2013 and its not really that big of a game.

Notice how WiiU and Vita had wait for TGS's after a disappointing show. PS4 has not even had one game conference show yet. People have not given up on WiiU. You still hear people saying third party Nintendo direct which is the equivalent though both camps have quietened down.

The 3rd-Party Wii U direct to me is like a myth, yes Iwata said it was coming... 4 months ago.

I would hope it's coming this or next week to tie in with the fiscal info release on the 24th. Hell wasn't the Wii U direct tied in with the last quarter release almost?

 

[Father_Brain]

The 3rd-Party Wii U direct to me is like a myth, yes Iwata said it was coming... 4 months ago.

I would hope it's coming this or next week to tie in with the fiscal info release on the 24th. Hell wasn't the Wii U direct tied in with the last quarter release almost?

I don't believe he ever promised a Wii U third-party-specific ND, just that it would be a topic covered in future NDs.

But yes, there absolutely should be another major ND any day now, as the earnings release is only a week from Wednesday and the January Wii U one was deliberately timed for a week before the last earnings release. "Should" being the operative word, though - it might be a bad sign that NOA is holding a 3DS-only press event this week, which (via John Harker) is rumored to originally have been for Wii U.

 

[Frodo]

I went back to the Wii U direct video and this is what Iwata said: "We will also provide more information about the effort by our third party publishers on Wii U"

So, yeah. He didn't mention anything about an 3rd party exclusive ND. Only "information" that could be delivered by a ND or not. I personally want to believe we will have a Nintendo Direct focused on the 3rd parties, though.

Spoiler

And it will be very soon. Probably announced next Wednesday and happening on the following day

#Believe

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Tomodachi Collection Shin Seikatsu has less pre-orders than ACNL and is a little behind LM2, but way ahead of the first one. ???

That part was easy to understand.

What about Atlus games? But anyway, he's probably talking about pre-orders made through his blog.

 

[electroplankton]

I wonder whether SMTIV could reach the 250k mark, so to overcome the third one. It would be quite a big achievement after such a long waiting.

 

[schuelma]

I think the realistic best case scenario for Wii U 3rd party support this year would be upgraded ports of stuff that came out the first quarter this year- Dynasty Warriors, One Piece Warriors 2, maybe Dead or Alive. Stuff like that. Possibly some of the casual Wii series like Taiko Drum and Inazuma holiday 2013.

 

[serplux]

I wonder whether SMTIV could reach the 250k mark, so to overcome the third one. It would be quite a big achievement after such a long waiting.

I could see that happening. There seems to be a decent amount of promotion/hype.

 

[Spiegel]

3rd parties weren't exactly thrilled with the results they had on Wii largely and in general they seem to shy away from backing anything too early but a sure thing (ie: 3DS). PSP was a monster success for many 3rd parties, yet that didn't seem to really help Vita much in early goings.

So 3rd parties weren't exactly thrilled with the results they had on Wii largely, WiiU is selling like shit and has only one upcoming japanese retail game announced... why are we expecting things to get better? I mean, yeah one announcement would already make things better but that's a silly argument.

And Vita makes a good showing about why is doubtful that things will get better* for WiiU (re: 3rd parties).

*barring epic moneyhatting of the whole japanese industry

I think the realistic best case scenario for Wii U 3rd party support this year would be upgraded ports of stuff that came out the first quarter this year- Dynasty Warriors, One Piece Warriors 2, maybe Dead or Alive. Stuff like that. Possibly some of the casual Wii series like Taiko Drum and Inazuma holiday 2013.

That realistic best case scenario is still a dreadful scenario.

Those late ports would sell insignificant amounts.

 

[michaelius]

I could see that happening. There seems to be a decent amount of promotion/hype.

But doesn't it need to sell 50% more to have exceptional sales?

 

[schuelma]

That realistic best case scenario is still a dreadful scenario.

Those late ports would sell insignificant amounts.

I'm...not disagreeing with you.

 

[Magicpaint]

I could see that happening. There seems to be a decent amount of promotion/hype.

What? That is Persona territory. I would be (pleasantly) surprised if it even crossed 200k.

 

[Mario007]

Could Nintendo try the Vita route with Wii U? Try to get the third party devs to up-port their 3DS games and release them on the same day for the Wii U. From what we've seen of One Piece 2 it seems to be startegy that could very well work for Vita.

 

[serplux]

What? That is Persona territory. I would be (pleasantly) surprised if it even crossed 200k.

I never said that it was likely, but Atlus has been doing well on the 3DS (EOIV is around 150k and Soul Hackers is around 100k). Doing 250k for SMTIV isn't out of the question, when one considers the strong sales of RPGs on the platform.

 

[grimshawish]

Could Nintendo try the Vita route with Wii U? Try to get the third party devs to up-port their 3DS games and release them on the same day for the Wii U. From what we've seen of One Piece 2 it seems to be startegy that could very well work for Vita.

I suspect you'll see Capcom doing more ports from one platform to the other.
But I don't think its a good strategy for Nintendo to push themselves; they want individual games made around each platforms strengths with their weaknesses in mind.

 

[Mario007]

I suspect you'll see Capcom doing more ports from one platform to the other.
But I don't think its a good strategy for Nintendo to push themselves; they want individual games made around each platforms strengths with their weaknesses in mind.

Well they might want that and I'm sure Sony wants a unique title from a big japanese franchise on the Vita but as it stands both Wii U and Vita aren't getting that. Capcom is a good example actually. They must be happy with the numbers of the MH3G HD, considering it's a port of a port. We'll see if we'll see more of the same with MH4 as well.