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Media Create Sales: Week 37, 2012 (Sep 10 - Sep 16)

Vinnk's Village Septenber 20th, 2012

Disclaimer: Because apparently we need to prove we have no bias before posting. I like the Vita. When I played it at TGS last year I gave it a good review. Also since now that I'm a dad, portable gaming is 90% of what I do so I want all portables to succeed. In media create threads I have no agenda I just like the numbers. That said:

Here is what going on in my small town in Japan:

1. When Vita launched it was front and center in all the game stores in my town and all the major department stores. Kiosks and dedicated Vita areas in 3 of the stores.

2. Now 2 stores who had vita at launch (Mr. Max and Youme Town) no longer carry the system.

3. The remaining stores have scaled down their Vita areas. Whereas they used to be nearest the entrance they are now farther back with PS3 and 3DS out front. Geo put the vita near the Wii. Wanpaku put the Vita near the 360, etc. Only the Otaku-gamer store Book-Net has kept the same location for Vita but the are pushing used units harder than new.

4. Same thing happened with the original Xbox. It was in every store (even convenience stores!) for the first 9-months-1 year or so before become a product only to be found in specialty stores. The Vita is not the 360 but I can easily see department stores and smaller shops phasing it out.

5. Vita ads (with the exception of Miku last month) have dried up considerably. During a 4 hour block of prime time I will be lucky to see one. 3DS ads almost every commercial break (mostly "casual" titles).

6. I am an English teacher by day and my students have stopped talking about the system. The Monster Hunter boys are still playing the PSP or have moved on to the 3DS.

7. The Otaku gamers are still hopeful. But they are willing to cash in their systems and rebuy when the next big titles come in.

8. In the wold I have seen a total of less than 10 Vitas since launch. Only 2 of them being used by people under the age of 18. 3DS everywhere. But it is partly that young kids are not shy about playing in public and they need to do streetpass.

9. WiiU hype among my students is also really low. Many students don't know that a new Nintendo system is on the way. Nintendo needs to fix this.

10. Used Wii systems can be had for 9000yen, used 360s for 6000yen, used PS3s keep most of their value.

Ok, that's all for now. Busy days recently. And to answer an earlier question, it's a girl.

As another example of the Vita on-going bad situation, a large department store in Tokyo (near Akihabara) had more space devoted to the Xbox 360 than the Vita, in terms of games when I visited last month. Vita won out only when you included accessories.

Nintendo needs to start Wii U commercials soon, too. Mario commercials littered the JR lines. Time to do the same for the U.
 
Those anecdotes sound pretty damn bad for any potential turnaround for the vita. I'm interested in when nintendo will start pushing the wii U. As far as i can tell it's the same worldwide pretty much no one outside of gaming forums knows about the thing.

I wonder why it is like this. I'm not speaking about anyone specific here, but in general. Being on a gaming forum, i would think that people want all systems to succeed, offering more options for gamers. As you say, it happends to every system, so it isnt just for one particular one. Maybe it has something to do with that people are "afraid" that a system will dominate that arent their first choice of system, but i dont know. We know that systems can co-excist fine, but sometimes it might difficult.

You're in a sales thread what exactly do you expect? The whole point of these threads is to discuss what is actually happening, not what we want to happen. Right now the vita is pretty much dead so the talk surrounding it is negative.
 

Hydderf

Member
I wonder why it is like this. I'm not speaking about anyone specific here, but in general. Being on a gaming forum, i would think that people want all systems to succeed, offering more options for gamers. As you say, it happends to every system, so it isnt just for one particular one. Maybe it has something to do with that people are "afraid" that a system will dominate that arent their first choice of system, but i dont know. We know that systems can co-excist fine, but sometimes it might difficult.

I witness the exact same thing with game industry people... I mean, someone who works in the game developpement should have legitimately every reasons to want every pieces of hardware to succeed because, you know, more platforms and audience for your creativity IS a good thing. Guess what ? he has not. Because before being a developper, everyone is a fanboy to some extend, and it sucks.

It saddens me sometimes to see very few industry mates being excited about new hardware and sometimes actively protesting against them ("let's not develop for XX, it sucks", "don't bother writing concept for YY, it's going to sell like shit"). It's like they really want to lose their jobs :D Yeah, there is always another hardware to work for but still, that mentality is absurd.

Or perhaps it's me being naïve.

sorry for the off-topic. :p
 

wrowa

Member
In last week's thread Nirolak and others pointed out the surprising lack of announced (bigger) 3DS games. Apart of Capcom and Level-5 most publishers don't seem to be very invested in the plattform right now.

Well, now that TGS started, has this perception changed in any way? The only 3DS-related news I can see on GAF are new trailers to the known Capcom and Level-5 games. Have there been any new announcements for the 3DS at all so far?

Of course, most of these titles will probably sell quite a few copies, but it's still strange (and a little unsettling) to see that there doesn't seem to be anything new on the horizon.
 
I wonder why it is like this. I'm not speaking about anyone specific here, but in general. Being on a gaming forum, i would think that people want all systems to succeed, offering more options for gamers. As you say, it happends to every system, so it isnt just for one particular one. Maybe it has something to do with that people are "afraid" that a system will dominate that arent their first choice of system, but i dont know. We know that systems can co-excist fine, but sometimes it might difficult.

Because despite GAF being on average much more civil and composed (except for some of the legendary meltdowns) too many still play platforms and not games.
I can understand if someone is upset about exclusives switching platform, as it mostly means an increased investment, but sometimes I wonder if people aren't just being huge platform biased drama queens about it.

Case in point, Bayonetta 2. The game would probably not even exist at all. Just rent the WiiU and the game, or get the console used, whatever. There are so many ways to get games and consoles these days for cheap, that I simply have a hard time to see most of these arguments as poorly disguised fanboy ramblings.

Anyways, I haven't seen it discussed here. What are the chances, that the 3DS MH3 Version will get an increase in sales closer to the WiiU launch? Is there going to be a new bundle or version announced. Also, will the WiiU version have a fee for online in Japan?

Last I heard Nintendo is hosting the servers this time, so Japan might be able to avoid fees this time around. I would hope for them. Also, cross region play is a MUST this time.
 
In last week's thread Nirolak and others pointed out the surprising lack of announced (bigger) 3DS games. Apart of Capcom and Level-5 most publishers don't seem to be very invested in the plattform right now.

Well, now that TGS started, has this perception changed in any way? The only 3DS-related news I can see on GAF are new trailers to the known Capcom and Level-5 games. Have there been any new announcements for the 3DS at all so far?

Of course, most of these titles will probably sell quite a few copies, but it's still strange (and a little unsettling) to see that there doesn't seem to be anything new on the horizon.

Everyone's going into iOS development probably :/
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
In last week's thread Nirolak and others pointed out the surprising lack of announced (bigger) 3DS games. Apart of Capcom and Level-5 most publishers don't seem to be very invested in the plattform right now.

Well, now that TGS started, has this perception changed in any way? The only 3DS-related news I can see on GAF are new trailers to the known Capcom and Level-5 games. Have there been any new announcements for the 3DS at all so far?

Of course, most of these titles will probably sell quite a few copies, but it's still strange (and a little unsettling) to see that there doesn't seem to be anything new on the horizon.

Was TGS ever the stage to announce bigger Nintendo related games ? Most exclusive seem to be announced at Nintendo Directs or at their fall press conferences - im pretty sure there will be another one next month so i would expect new announcements there...

Jump Festa is also a likely spot for new 3DS titles to be announced, if DQ7R is not next month it could be unveiled there.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
However, we've had Layton 6 and AA5 (+ Magical's Quest) as announcements right before TGS. And those certainly aren't little. There have been many other games announced (Toriko, Vanguard!! Card Battle, Dragon Ball, etc.etc.) but those are certainly the major ones, and they're recent.
Still, I repeat that the apparent "lull" is due to many games announced very early and still being released. And, of couse, we haven't had a proper Conference / Direct about 3DS yet. Last year many games have been announced there, and it's a sure thing we'll have news soon ( there are just Luigi and Tomodachi for 2013 from Nintendo so far, just to say).
 

Laguna

Banned
I love these selective "Let´s exclude everyone who supports a system" arguments that´s like the old NDS softwaresales arguments, "3rd party games don´t sell on NDS except ..." . SQEX for example released Theatrythm, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest Monsters this year and has Bravely Default ready to launch and obviously prefer pushing this first. There are also rumours for DQ7R. Right now the focus lies on the known 3DS holiday lineup and the WiiU launch.
 

Chris1964

Sales-Age Genius
New releases {2012.09.27}

[3DS] Nintendo 3DS LL Pink × White <H-W> (Nintendo) (¥18.900)
[3DS] Style Savvy: Trendsetters <ETC> (Nintendo) (¥4.800)
[3DS] Chibi Devi! <ACT> (Alchemist) (¥5.040)
[3DS] Kokuga <STG> (G.Rev) (¥5.040)

[PSV] Ys: Celceta no Jukai # <RPG> (Nihon Falcom) (¥7.140)
[PSV] Ys: Celceta no Jukai [25th Anniversary Ys Pack] <RPG> (Nihon Falcom) (¥8.925)
[PSV] Earth Defense Force 3 Portable # <ACT> (D3 Publisher) (¥6.090)
[PSV] Earth Defense Force 3 Portable [Double-enlistment Pack] <ACT> (D3 Publisher) (¥7.329)
[PSV] DJ Max Technika Tune # <ACT> (CyberFront) (¥6.090)
[PSV] DJ Max Technika Tune [Limited Edition] <ACT> (CyberFront) (¥8.190)
[PSV] Nobunaga's Ambition: Way of Heaven with Power-Up Kit <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) (¥7.140)
[PSV] NextRev: Shakai Fukushishi Shiken <EDU> (Media-5) (¥5.800)

[NDS] Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) (¥5.040)

[PSP] SD Gundam G Generation: Overworld <SLG> (Bandai Namco Games) (¥6.280)
[PSP] Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate Portable # <ADV> (Kadokawa Games) (¥6.279)
[PSP] Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate Portable [Limited Edition] <ADV> (Kadokawa Games) (¥9.429)
[PSP] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Ryouran Sangokushi Engi - Wu-Hen (Yeti Best) <ADV> (Yeti) (¥3.150)
[PSP] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Ryouran Sangokushi Engi - Shu-Hen (Yeti Best) <ADV> (Yeti) (¥3.150)
[PSP] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Ryouran Sangokushi Engi - Wei-Hen (Yeti Best) <ADV> (Yeti) (¥3.150)

[PS3] Dead or Alive 5 # <FTG> (Koei Tecmo) (¥8.190)
[PS3] Dead or Alive 5 [Collector's Edition] <FTG> (Koei Tecmo) (¥11.340)
[PS3] Sleeping Dogs <ACT> (Square Enix) (¥7.980)

[360] Dead or Alive 5 # <FTG> (Koei Tecmo) (¥8.190)
[360] Dead or Alive 5 [Collector's Edition] <FTG> (Koei Tecmo) (¥11.340)
[360] Sleeping Dogs <ACT> (Square Enix) (¥7.980)
[360] Love Tra: Sweet # <ADV> (Asgard) (¥7.140)
[360] Love Tra: Sweet [Limited Edition] <ADV> (Asgard) (¥7.140)
 

NeonZ

Member
It's kind of annoying that these low Tekken numbers likely won't stop Namco from pushing it forward, even though they seemed to sideline Soul Calibur even before it hit these lower numbers. It's like they're only looking at the Arcade numbers...

Numbers for Tekken 6, for comparison:

(Media Create)
03./00. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) - 103,105 / NEW
(Famitsu)
[PS3] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 120,000 / NEW
11. [360] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 26,000 / NEW

These are clearly better than TTT2's, but still, they weren't very good even back then.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Was TGS ever the stage to announce bigger Nintendo related games ? Most exclusive seem to be announced at Nintendo Directs or at their fall press conferences - im pretty sure there will be another one next month so i would expect new announcements there...

Jump Festa is also a likely spot for new 3DS titles to be announced, if DQ7R is not next month it could be unveiled there.
I don't think it's uncommon for third parties to announce their major handheld games on the road to TGS.

I mean, how many major third party 3DS games have been announced in Nintendo Directs?

Haven't they mostly been in Famitsu, E3, and the pre-TGS conference?

Honest question, does someone have a list of all the third party games announced in Nintendo Directs?

SQEX for example released Theatrythm, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest Monsters this year and has Bravely Default ready to launch and obviously prefer pushing this first.

We had a period of time in which all four of these games were simultaneously announced.

This doesn't strike you in the slightest bit as odd?

You also find it offensive and enraging instead of at all interesting to discuss what is going on with the various major Japanese publishers using their output on the market's biggest system as a barometer? Are you sure sales threads are your thing?
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
viciouskillersquirrel said:
It should have been a minimum hardware spec that integrated into all the portable devices people carry with them everywhere.
PSCertified already existed before Vita came out, so if anything, you're arguing Sony should have done exactly what they did.
 

GCX

Member
I honestly wouldn't be too worried about the lack of new 3DS announcements at TGS.

Even though many publishers have shifted their focus more towards mobile game development, 3DS has been a success for many 3rd parties so far. There's really no point in moving support elsewhere when the system sells more than all the other consoles combined and people are buying the games.

Of course there is a possibility that Japan has gone in full mobile/facebook gaming mode but I fail to see the logic why publishers would abandon 3DS when there's money to be made.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
I honestly wouldn't be too worried about the lack of new 3DS announcements at TGS.

Even though many publishers have shifted their focus more towards mobile game development, 3DS has been a success for many 3rd parties so far. There's really no point in moving support elsewhere when the system sells more than all the other consoles combined and people are buying the games.

Of course there is a possibility that Japan has gone in full mobile/facebook gaming mode but I fail to see the logic why publishers would abandon 3DS when there's money to be made.

I definitely feel this applies to at least Namco Bandai.

They're making 20 PSP games for example, but most of them are anime for somewhat younger audiences to my understanding.

For them, it makes more sense to target those games at people who could have already picked up the PSP for cheap than a more expensive new 3DS until the 3DS really takes over.
 

BadWolf

Member
It's kind of annoying that these low Tekken numbers likely won't stop Namco from pushing it forward, even though they seemed to sideline Soul Calibur even before it hit these lower numbers. It's like they're only looking at the Arcade numbers...

Numbers for Tekken 6, for comparison:

(Media Create)
03./00. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) - 103,105 / NEW
(Famitsu)
[PS3] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 120,000 / NEW
11. [360] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 26,000 / NEW

These are clearly better than TTT2's, but still, they weren't very good even back then.

The game is really popular in the arcades and will continue to be so for a while in Japan. Wouldn't be surprised if the ppl that love playing it in the arcade don't even bother with the console version.

Overall I don't find the lower sales odd when it comes to the genre its in, TTT2 in particular is anything but friendly to new players (huge list of characters, moves and techniques to master) so I can see a lot of ppl not serious or familiar with the genre/series ignore it.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
Vinnk's Village Septenber 20th, 2012

awesome - i liked this :D

Here's what i see around me.

I live out not too far from Shimokitazawa - resendential area, shotengai, that sort of thing. Has a good number of games stores.... you know what.... let me go and do a quick photo journal. There's two stores near the station and i need to stretch my legs....
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
I don't think it's uncommon for third parties to announce their major handheld games on the road to TGS.

I mean, how many major third party 3DS games have been announced in Nintendo Directs?

Haven't they mostly been in Famitsu, E3, and the pre-TGS conference?

Honest question, does someone have a list of all the third party games announced in Nintendo Directs?



We had a period of time in which all four of these games were simultaneously announced.

This doesn't strike you in the slightest bit as odd?

You also find it offensive and enraging instead of at all interesting to discuss what is going on with the various major Japanese publishers using their output on the market's biggest system as a barometer? Are you sure sales threads are your thing?


As I said in the other thread, I partially agree with your doubts.
But, is important if a game is announced specifically at TGS, or at Direct, or by Famitsu or something like that?
3DS saw a lot of announcments from Japanese third parties at E3 2011. Some of those games desappeared (FF Chocobo) but some of them are yet to be released now.
From those days, we saw a lot of announcments made in different ways: some in Directs, some by Famitsu, some simply with PR or site updates.
In the latest months if I remember correctly, we saw Atlus announcing SMT4, Capcom announcing Ex Troopers, Namco announcing Naruto, Dragon Ball and Vanguard, Level5 announcing Layton6.
I don't remember if they were made in Directs/Famitsu/Pre TGS events honestly ;p

But, there were major third parties announcments in the latest months for other consoles?
I think that we had FF XIII3 and MGS Ground Zero. Am I wrong? Any other big (I'm saying big because you asked for "200k +" titles) titltes announced for other systems?
I think that it is a situation common to the market, not 3DS releated. And among all the consoles, to me, looking at Famitsu weekly updates and indipendent events (as Direct, Heaven, or self-announced games) 3DS is the console that is receiving a costant support together with PS3 (that is very solid software-wise up to now in Japan) and maybe (but with minor projects, except God eater 2) PSP.

I think that with a lot of games already announced and yet to be released, it's also almost normal to not see a BLOWOUT of new titles; I think that we will continue to see announcments in the incoming monhts made by different channels (Vita heaven, N Direct, Famitsu, third parties own conferences as the Level 5 World Annual event and so on)

As E3 is no more THE big western event where to announce titles, also TGS is the same. And it's not something new: I remember that the only (almost) title announced at TGS 2008 was..No more heroes 2 for the Wii?
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Congratulations with the baby, Vinnk! :)


Mobile supports everything. Apps, games, whatevs.
Cool :)


You're in a sales thread what exactly do you expect? The whole point of these threads is to discuss what is actually happening, not what we want to happen. Right now the vita is pretty much dead so the talk surrounding it is negative.
Yep, the Vita sales are pretty bad indeed, so i understand why there is not positive talk about this. But what i quoted and replied is not sales-age sepcific nor Vita specifc, and not even NeoGAF specific. I often see comments outside the sales threads which isnt always directed to sales. The WiiU is probably the best example right now, and that system isnt even released yet.

There is nothing wrong with discussing and saying opinions about a system of course, even if is being optimistic or skeptic. Everyone are skeptics once in a while (yes, even me hehe :p), so i'm not saying anything against this, not at all. But in some occasions there are almost too much negative talk in my opinion, and sometimes it goes more into the trollish category (sometimes its just ment as lighthearted humor however, so it isnt all bad :)), so it feels more like bias towards something rather than being generally skeptic. I sometimes hate to bring this up because i dont want to feel like i'm accusing anyone. This is just how i feel sometimes, i could very well be wrong.


It saddens me sometimes to see very few industry mates being excited about new hardware and sometimes actively protesting against them ("let's not develop for XX, it sucks", "don't bother writing concept for YY, it's going to sell like shit"). It's like they really want to lose their jobs :D Yeah, there is always another hardware to work for but still, that mentality is absurd.
Yeah, if they think that a system has something great and where a concept can work fine, i think there is good reason to try developing something :)


Because despite GAF being on average much more civil and composed (except for some of the legendary meltdowns) too many still play platforms and not games.
I can understand if someone is upset about exclusives switching platform, as it mostly means an increased investment, but sometimes I wonder if people aren't just being huge platform biased drama queens about it.

Case in point, Bayonetta 2. The game would probably not even exist at all. Just rent the WiiU and the game, or get the console used, whatever. There are so many ways to get games and consoles these days for cheap, that I simply have a hard time to see most of these arguments as poorly disguised fanboy ramblings.
Yeah, it could be.
 
It's kind of annoying that these low Tekken numbers likely won't stop Namco from pushing it forward, even though they seemed to sideline Soul Calibur even before it hit these lower numbers. It's like they're only looking at the Arcade numbers...

Numbers for Tekken 6, for comparison:

(Media Create)
03./00. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) - 103,105 / NEW
(Famitsu)
[PS3] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 120,000 / NEW
11. [360] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 26,000 / NEW

These are clearly better than TTT2's, but still, they weren't very good even back then.

T6 was the best selling fighting game of the gen until Persona. The entire genre has become irrelevant there. Still, it's Namco's flagship franchise. Soulcalibur has never been as popular.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
On a related note to the 3DS 3rd party discussion, it does strike me as odd that with the obvious exception of Monster Hunter and DQ (which of course are not original titles), if you look at it numbers wise Western support is far more substantial so far than Japanese support for Wii U.

I count a grand total of 8 Japanese developed 3rd party games right now (7 if you exclude NG3).

Now, I realize that Japan generally does things different in terms of lead time from announcement to release and there very well could be a few more titles announced for launch, but I thought it was interesting.
 
My impression is that 3DS has a lot of AAA games from Japanese third parties (RE:R, KH3D, MH4, SMTIV, Level-5 stuffs) and lacks some smaller production from them.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
My impression is that 3DS has a lot of AAA games from Japanese third parties (RE:R, KH3D, MH4, SMTIV, Level-5 stuffs) and lacks some smaller production from them.

Yes, some smaller productions are lacking. It's obvious we won't see them in the same number DS did, due to presence of iOS and even eShop, but some should come in the next future. We're starting seeing it with Namco, since they've announced many anime tie-ins for 3DS recently.
 

mujun

Member
I witness the exact same thing with game industry people... I mean, someone who works in the game developpement should have legitimately every reasons to want every pieces of hardware to succeed because, you know, more platforms and audience for your creativity IS a good thing. Guess what ? he has not. Because before being a developper, everyone is a fanboy to some extend, and it sucks.

It saddens me sometimes to see very few industry mates being excited about new hardware and sometimes actively protesting against them ("let's not develop for XX, it sucks", "don't bother writing concept for YY, it's going to sell like shit"). It's like they really want to lose their jobs :D Yeah, there is always another hardware to work for but still, that mentality is absurd.

Or perhaps it's me being naïve.

sorry for the off-topic. :p

I don't think more platforms means more work/money. There is a happy medium.

Also, there is a large group that exists between those who want every single platform to succeed and fanboys.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
As I said in the other thread, I partially agree with your doubts.
But, is important if a game is announced specifically at TGS, or at Direct, or by Famitsu or something like that?
3DS saw a lot of announcments from Japanese third parties at E3 2011. Some of those games desappeared (FF Chocobo) but some of them are yet to be released now.
From those days, we saw a lot of announcments made in different ways: some in Directs, some by Famitsu, some simply with PR or site updates.
In the latest months if I remember correctly, we saw Atlus announcing SMT4, Capcom announcing Ex Troopers, Namco announcing Naruto, Dragon Ball and Vanguard, Level5 announcing Layton6.
I don't remember if they were made in Directs/Famitsu/Pre TGS events honestly ;p

But, there were major third parties announcments in the latest months for other consoles?
I think that we had FF XIII3 and MGS Ground Zero. Am I wrong? Any other big (I'm saying big because you asked for "200k +" titles) titltes announced for other systems?
I think that it is a situation common to the market, not 3DS releated. And among all the consoles, to me, looking at Famitsu weekly updates and indipendent events (as Direct, Heaven, or self-announced games) 3DS is the console that is receiving a costant support together with PS3 (that is very solid software-wise up to now in Japan) and maybe (but with minor projects, except God eater 2) PSP.

I think that with a lot of games already announced and yet to be released, it's also almost normal to not see a BLOWOUT of new titles; I think that we will continue to see announcments in the incoming monhts made by different channels (Vita heaven, N Direct, Famitsu, third parties own conferences as the Level 5 World Annual event and so on)

As E3 is no more THE big western event where to announce titles, also TGS is the same. And it's not something new: I remember that the only (almost) title announced at TGS 2008 was..No more heroes 2 for the Wii?
I'm not trying to pick on the 3DS, it's just that at the moment it's the only traditional major platform on the market that isn't fading or still unreleased, and it also has development costs somewhere between the PSP and the PS2, so it is a pretty easy platform to start making quite a few games for without hitting the HD production wall.

Also, the reason this TGS bothers me is not that it lacks announcements, but that it lacks announcements and that we've been a bit sparse on announcements for most of this year.

I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong/comment in whatever way you like, but here's how I see the currently announced 3DS support (and again, I'm only picking this as it's the only mature traditional platform that isn't in decline):

Capcom: Incredibly strong.
Level 5: As strong as modern day Level 5 can manage.
Namco Bandai: It is somewhat quiet here, but again, I feel this is because most of their content tends to target the lower end and the 3DS isn't to the point where they feel it has fully captured that. Their strong support is more of a when than if question to me.
Atlus: Pretty much the same level of support as they always do for any given primary platform.
Square Enix: Unusually barren. Now, this could change, but this one sticks out the most to me as Square Enix was one of the few major titans on the DS and PSP, especially in terms of publishers that also had global crossover appeal.
Tecmo Koei: There's not a ton here, but Tecmo Koei I feel was never a really strong handheld publisher.
Konami: Very barren. This isn't that surprising since they're also the most successful traditional publisher in the mobile/social space, but it does stick out since they had a few notable titles last handheld generation, especially in terms of the audience the 3DS has expanded to this generation.
Sega: Well, they've publicly said they're mostly exiting retail games and have been doing a good job proving it.

Now, you know, on paper there isn't a huge number of publishers that really stick out here, but I feel it is relevant because there are so few publishers to begin with.

As for big titles announced for other systems, especially ones within this year, the platform that sticks out to me the most is the PS3, but I feel most of those are the franchises that will just naturally transition to the next consoles as opposed to appear with mainline entries on handhelds.

Now, if we're sitting at this time next year and things look amazing across the Japanese industry, I'll totally admit I was wrong and there was nothing to worry about, it was just that Japan was in a lull between games. However, I can only really comment on what I currently see, and I feel I'm not the only one noticing this. I mean, even schuelma just pointed out that while the Wii U has some big hits, the volume isn't especially amazing, and again I'm not convinced that's due to an inherent problem with the system as opposed to a more fundamental issue with the publishers.

On a related note to the 3DS 3rd party discussion, it does strike me as odd that with the obvious exception of Monster Hunter and DQ (which of course are not original titles), if you look at it numbers wise Western support is far more substantial so far than Japanese support for Wii U.

I count a grand total of 8 Japanese developed 3rd party games right now (7 if you exclude NG3).

Now, I realize that Japan generally does things different in terms of lead time from announcement to release and there very well could be a few more titles announced for launch, but I thought it was interesting.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
I mean, even schuelma just pointed out that while the Wii U has some big hits, the volume isn't especially amazing, and again I'm not convinced that's due to an inherent problem with the system as opposed to a more fundamental issue with the publishers.

Yeah. My thought is that Japanese publishers do not have the money and resources right now to do those easy PS3 ports that Western publishers are doing. I really thought we would see a flood of 2011-2012 HD ports coming to Wii U at launch, mirroring what Western developers have done.

With the exception of Tecmo Koei who is BFF's with Nintendo, we really are not seeing that.

I do not *think* this is necessarily a terrible omen for Wii U support. I suspect Japanese publishers just do not have the ability to do 2 things at once like Western ones do.



Capcom: Incredibly strong.
Level 5: As strong as modern day Level 5 can manage.
Namco Bandai: It is somewhat quiet here, but again, I feel this is because most of their content tends to target the lower end and the 3DS isn't to the point where they feel it has fully captured that. Their strong support is more of a when than if question to me.
Atlus: Pretty much the same level of support as they always do for any given platform.
Square Enix: Unusually barren. Now, this could change, but this one sticks out the most to me as Square Enix was one of the few major titans on the DS and PSP, especially in terms of publishers that also had global crossover appeal.
Tecmo Koei: There's not a ton here, but Tecmo Koei I feel was never a really strong handheld publisher.
Konami: Very barren. This isn't that surprising since they're also the most successful traditional publisher in the mobile/social space, but it does stick out since they had a few notable titles last handheld generation, especially in terms of the audience the 3DS has expanded to this generation.
Sega: Well, they've publicly said they're mostly exiting retail games and have been doing a good job proving it.
.

To me the key is Square Enix. What was the biggest 3rd party in Japan is now floundering all over the place in terms of Japanese development. They were very big DS supporters and right now there isn't much announced. Take SE away and factor in Sega and I think that is a large part of the answer.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Square Enix just this year released on 3DS a FF spin-off, a DQ remake and a main KH. Plus, they're releasing soon a brand new IP for the platform. They've really done a good job on the platform already. And seeing how much 3DS is selling hardware and software, it's not so unbelievable to imagine we'll have new games announced soon ( the heavily rumoured DQVIIr and especially the obvious DQXI ). About Konami and Sega...yeah, Konami has quite a bit gone back from last gen. They just announced Magical's Quest, but...eh, I'm expecting some baseball titles from them and not so much else. Sega is a mystery, given their situation.
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
I'm not trying to pick on the 3DS, it's just that at the moment it's the only traditional major platform on the market that isn't fading or still unreleased, and it also has development costs somewhere between the PSP and the PS2, so it is a pretty easy platform to start making quite a few games for without hitting the HD production wall.

Also, the reason this TGS bothers me is not that it lacks announcements, but that it lacks announcements and that we've been a bit sparse on announcements for most of this year.

I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong/comment in whatever way you like, but here's how I see the currently announced 3DS support (and again, I'm only picking this as it's the only mature traditional platform that isn't in decline):

Capcom: Incredibly strong.
Level 5: As strong as modern day Level 5 can manage.
Namco Bandai: It is somewhat quiet here, but again, I feel this is because most of their content tends to target the lower end and the 3DS isn't to the point where they feel it has fully captured that. Their strong support is more of a when than if question to me.
Atlus: Pretty much the same level of support as they always do for any given platform.
Square Enix: Unusually barren. Now, this could change, but this one sticks out the most to me as Square Enix was one of the few major titans on the DS and PSP, especially in terms of publishers that also had global crossover appeal.
Tecmo Koei: There's not a ton here, but Tecmo Koei I feel was never a really strong handheld publisher.
Konami: Very barren. This isn't that surprising since they're also the most successful traditional publisher in the mobile/social space, but it does stick out since they had a few notable titles last handheld generation, especially in terms of the audience the 3DS has expanded to this generation.
Sega: Well, they've publicly said they're mostly exiting retail games and have been doing a good job proving it.

Now, you know, on paper there isn't a huge number of publishers that really stick out here, but I feel it is relevant because there are so few publishers to begin with.

As for big titles announced for other systems, especially ones within this year, the platform that sticks out to me the most is the PS3, but I feel most of those are the franchises that will just naturally transition to the next consoles as opposed to appear with mainline entries on handhelds.

Now, if we're sitting at this time next year and things look amazing across the Japanese industry, I'll totally admit I was wrong and there was nothing to worry about, it was just that Japan was in a lull between games. However, I can only really comment on what I currently see, and I feel I'm not the only one noticing this. I mean, even schuelma just pointed out that while the Wii U has some big hits, the volume isn't especially amazing, and again I'm not convinced that's due to an inherent problem with the system as opposed to a more fundamental issue with the publishers.



And once again, I agree with you almost on everything (Wii U included)
Probably the main difference between mine and your statement is that I think that this could be also just a particular moment (I know that sounds bizzarre due to TGS event) due to timings of releases-announcements already done for 3DS.

For example: simply judging Marvelous 3DS support from the titles announced still to be released, it would be zero. But I think that Marvelous support was very solid on 3DS, and due to great-or-at-least-very-good performances of Rune Factory, Harvest Moon and Kagura, we'll see other important (compared to Marvelous tones, obviously) projects on 3DS. As I think that SE support to 3DS was very good (with FF rhythm game, 2 DQ spinoff that usually prepare the fanbase for bigger projects and an important episode of KH) also if up to now they still have to release JUST Bravely Default. And Gyrozzetter, that probably nobody is considering because it's a new IP and "we don't like it" (but being based on a new Anime tv series could do well sales-wise). So, looking bakc at their support, I think that they'll go ahead with it, at least with DQ brand (I'm not seeing SE drop the DQ brand, and up to now I think that they'll keep it on 3DS honestly).

and so on.

If we looke at PS3 is receiving a good support from third parties too. I know that 3DS is selling way better than PS3, but PS3 still has a larger install base, and shows very often that this install base is active, with very solid software results.

So, I think that more or less third parties are supporting PS3 and 3DS (with Namco releasing still a lot of PSP games) as usual, maybe with a smaller amount of small small projects compared to the DS hottest years (due to the expansion of mobile-social games, and probably due to the increased cost of developments for 3ds compared to the ds ones). But we should also consider that you asked for "200k +" already known IPs, otherwise if we look also to smaller projects we should include also various different 3DS titles to the list (such as those 2 3DS titles that are still in chart also if nobody knows what they are - Hunter from Namco-Bandai and Kobitodzukan by Nippon)
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Square Enix just this year released on 3DS a FF spin-off, a DQ remake and a main KH. Plus, they're releasing soon a brand new IP for the platform. They've really done a good job on the platform already. And seeing how much 3DS is selling hardware and software, it's not so unbelievable to imagine we'll have new games announced soon ( the heavily rumoured DQVIIr and especially the obvious DQXI ). About Konami and Sega...yeah, Konami has quite a bit gone back from last gen. They just announced Magical's Quest, but...eh, I'm expecting some baseball titles from them and not so much else. Sega is a mystery, given their situation.

Valid point on SE. We could very well just be in a temporary lull for 3DS development.
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
If Nintendo won't be doing a conference and plan to stick to Nintendo Direct now then 3rd party games will largely be announced in the way that the 3rd parties arrange them, Layton 6 was the first major announcement from a Nintendo Direct but SMT4 and Konami's Animal Crossing clone were revealed on the publishers own terms. Now that 3DS is doing well Nintendo might not want to promote 3DS games in bulk like they did in the conference last year so we'll have to wait and see, but aside from Namco I'm not sure what else can be expected from publishers if they are following Nintendo in that they simply don't want to reveal too much too soon or all at once.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
To me the key is Square Enix. What was the biggest 3rd party in Japan is now floundering all over the place in terms of Japanese development. They were very big DS supporters and right now there isn't much announced. Take SE away and factor in Sega and I think that is a large part of the answer.

Square Enix just this year released on 3DS a FF spin-off, a DQ remake and a main KH. Plus, they're releasing soon a brand new IP for the platform. They've really done a good job on the platform already. And seeing how much 3DS is selling hardware and software, it's not so unbelievable to imagine we'll have new games announced soon ( the heavily rumoured DQVIIr and especially the obvious DQXI ). About Konami and Sega...yeah, Konami has quite a bit gone back from last gen. They just announced Magical's Quest, but...eh, I'm expecting some baseball titles from them and not so much else. Sega is a mystery, given their situation.

Valid point on SE. We could very well just be in a temporary lull for 3DS development.
I agree that Square Enix is the most interesting one since the answer to what is going on with their output could have multiple feasible answers, though I get the feeling we won't get a clear answer about that outside of just waiting and seeing what they announce over the next six or so months.

I'm fully expecting more Dragon Quest to come, but I'm most curious what happens to everyone who was making things like Kingdom Hearts 3D/BbS, Dissidia, The 3rd Birthday, Crisis Core, and Type-0, along with the people who made games that appeared on the DS like Crystal Chronicles and Tactics Advance last generation.
 

Nekki

Member
Vinnk's Village Septenber 20th, 2012

Ok, that's all for now. Busy days recently. And to answer an earlier question, it's a girl.

Congratulations on the girl!!

Kinda sad to see the Vita situation like that, looks like retailers had a lot of faith in it... then it all came tumblin' down :/

I hope nintendo stats their big promos for Wii U soon!
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
If Nintendo won't be doing a conference and plan to stick to Nintendo Direct now then 3rd party games will largely be announced in the way that the 3rd parties arrange them, Layton 6 was the first major announcement from a Nintendo Direct but SMT4 and Konami's Animal Crossing clone were revealed on the publishers own terms. Now that 3DS is doing well Nintendo might not want to promote 3DS games in bulk like they did in the conference last year so we'll have to wait and see, but aside from Namco I'm not sure what else can be expected from publishers if they are following Nintendo in that they simply don't want to reveal too much too soon or all at once.

The conference last October was a live presentation, but it was still part of the Nintendo Direct line, right ? So they unveiled titles like the Miku spin-off, MH 4 and Bravely Default there.... i would be surprised if we wouldnt see something like that this year.
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
The conference last October was a live presentation, but it was still part of the Nintendo Direct line, right ? So they unveiled titles like the Miku spin-off, MH 4 and Bravely Default there.... i would be surprised if we wouldnt see something like that this year.

No, the whole point of Nintendo Direct is pre-recorded video instead of a live press conference. We won't see big titles like MH4 or DQXI revealed at one or at giant list of titles like this:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/event/conference2011/titlelist/index.html
 

Laguna

Banned
Congratulations on the girl!!

Kinda sad to see the Vita situation like that, looks like retailers had a lot of faith in it... then it all came tumblin' down :/

I hope nintendo stats their big promos for Wii U soon!

Even SQEX had a lot of hope and had 2 games ready at launch. Namco released a Tales of remake with ingame hints for 2 further remakes (Tempest and Hearts) but now even a simple port like FFX is nowhere to be seen.
 
No, the whole point of Nintendo Direct is pre-recorded video instead of a live press conference. We won't see big titles like MH4 or DQXI revealed at one or at giant list of titles like this:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/event/conference2011/titlelist/index.html

6 of those games still aren't released, and at least 2 are 2013 titles.

No point, just saying.

Interestingly, (maybe) Kaiou (Inafune's 3DS game) is still listed as 2012 on all three sites related to the game. I suppose it's just an over sight, though.
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
6 of those games still aren't released, and at least 2 are 2013 titles.

No point, just saying.

Yeah, that's actually what my point is. It's not the same as Nintendo Direct, it was a big press conference showing titles for the next year and more. Nintendo Direct is largely for the short term instead with maybe one or two titles at best that will come out months later, but still no huge reveals like MH4 (or like DQXI would be) and a big showcase of titles that might still have a few unreleased a year later.
 

faridmon

Member
I think it would be interesting if SE announce FF A3 or another Crystal Chronicles. I think at that point we could rely on SE on the system, but right now, it feels that they are treading the water a bit. I reckon Bravely Default is some sort of test to see how to approach the system.
 

muu

Member
Nintendo seems to be good about not mentioning new stuff till months before release and just dumping info on us, so I'm not too worried about prospects of the 3DS. If titles seem barren now, I'd guess it's because some of the more minor titles got skipped last year because... well, remember how the system was doing right after launch. We've heard some western devs publicly say they moved away from portable gaming to smartphone gaming, and that's likely a trend also followed in Japan.

The number of titles still likely won't reach DS levels because of the opportunities for SNS/smartphone gaming, but I suspect we'll start seeing more titles pop up as projects greenlit after 3DS' resurgence come out of the woodworks. I'd be damn surprised if someone didn't start working on a Me-too-Hunter shortly following last year's MH3G reveal, or at the least, post christmas sales results. If we assume a 18-24mo dev cycle we'd start seeing those games next year.
 

Oxx

Member
As people have stated, it might be a rare show of restraint on Square Enix's part not to announce a boat-load of new DQ or KH games soon after DDD and Terry's came out. Anything of significance regarding Final Fantasy is more of an absence, but given the state of the franchise on consoles/PC at the moment, they might be doing everyone a favour by releasing FF mobile games.
 
Yeah I think the lack of 3DS announcements is just the timing right now. Next year when the PSP finally dies off for good (assumption giving current trends) more developers will have to shift somewhere. I think Type 1 could possibly be a 3DS game and they are definitely making more DQ games. But like I said 3DS games take a lot more resources to make so don't expect the kind of volume and quickness of DS games. This is outside of the topic, but the real issue with the 3DS is not the lack of announcemens. It's how slow from announcement to English release these games take.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
I agree that Square Enix is the most interesting one since the answer to what is going on with their output could have multiple feasible answers, though I get the feeling we won't get a clear answer about that outside of just waiting and seeing what they announce over the next six or so months.

I'm fully expecting more Dragon Quest to come, but I'm most curious what happens to everyone who was making things like Kingdom Hearts 3D/BbS, Dissidia, The 3rd Birthday, Crisis Core, and Type-0, along with the people who made games that appeared on the DS like Crystal Chronicles and Tactics Advance last generation.

One possible answer and the one I find most likely is that they've turned everything they have into fixing FF 14.

Even if smaller portable teams are still working on various 3DS games they instead of it maybe SE is sitting on them, maybe they don't even have the manpower to send a few overseers to their portable partners to release a few of those new to you FF ports that DS received.

Dragon Quest people are also similarly invested with the extremely important early content dumps of X that will keep people coming back for years to come.
 
One possible answer and the one I find most likely is that they've turned everything they have into fixing FF 14.

Even if smaller portable teams are still working on various 3DS games they instead of it maybe SE is sitting on them, maybe they don't even have the manpower to send a few overseers to their portable partners to release a few of those new to you FF ports that DS received.

Dragon Quest people are also similarly invested with the extremely important early content dumps of X that will keep people coming back for years to come.

Well Dragon Quest people is probably putting it wrong since the team that made it wasn't setup to make other real Dragon Quest games. The team was specfically for the MMO. Someone outside SE is probably making 11.
 

nordique

Member
It's kind of annoying that these low Tekken numbers likely won't stop Namco from pushing it forward, even though they seemed to sideline Soul Calibur even before it hit these lower numbers. It's like they're only looking at the Arcade numbers...

Numbers for Tekken 6, for comparison:

(Media Create)
03./00. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai) - 103,105 / NEW
(Famitsu)
[PS3] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 120,000 / NEW
11. [360] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) - 26,000 / NEW

These are clearly better than TTT2's, but still, they weren't very good even back then.


I am not a huge follower of Tekken titles; is Tekken TT2 considered a full on sequel to Tekken 6?
 
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