Support NeoGAF

[vinnygambini]

So we should expect ~1 million for MH 4's second week? If this holds true, it is mighty impressive.

No I don't think so. Expect a 60% decline at least

 

[Spiegel]

So we should expect ~1 million for MH 4's second week? If this holds true, it is mighty impressive.

No

Not that comgnet means much, but for the sake of argument.

Last Week

01. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 4358pt
1.87M (or 1.71M if download cards aren't included)

 

[Lexxism]

I hope it can at least hold to 500k for its second week. (though this probably too much)

 

[Bald Cleft]

So we should expect ~1 million for MH 4's second week? If this holds true, it is mighty impressive.

I don't think so..

(-75%) is my bet

 

[cafemomo]

09. [3DS] Nobunaga's Ambition – 13pt

They should really do another Pokemon Conquest.

It will do wayyy much better than these

 

[LayLa]

2nd weeks

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd 514,198
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G 552,701
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd 156,666
Monster Hunter 3G 179,965

 

[Spiegel]

2nd weeks

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd 514,198
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G 552,701
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd 156,666
Monster Hunter 3G 179,965

M-C had the second week as

01. / 01. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (Capcom) {01/12/10} - 629.541 / 2.580.258 (-68%)

Maybe closer to the truth, considering Capcom overtracked the first week and they were compensating the numbers, probably.

 

[Mory Dunz]

They should really do another Pokemon Conquest.

It will do wayyy much better than these

Yes. Yes it would.

[B][U]Comgnet Software Sales Rankings: Week 38, 2013 (Sep 16 - Sep 22)[/U][/B]

01. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 1041pt
[B]02. [PSV] Yahari Game Demo Ore no Seishun Love-Kome Hamachi Gatteiru. (Limited Edition) – 51pt[/B]
03. [3DS] Youkai Watch – 22pt
04. [3DS] Friend Collection: New Life – 15pt
05. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 15pt
06. [3DS] Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life – 15pt
07. [PSP] God Eater: Burst (PSP the Best Reprint) – 14pt
08. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIV: A Real Reborn – 13pt
[B]09. [3DS] Nobunaga's Ambition – 13pt[/B]
10. [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – 13pt
[B]11. [PSP] La Corda d'Oro 3: Full Voice Special – 9pt[/B]
12. [PS3] Splinter Cell: Blacklist – 9pt
[B]13. [PSV] Yahari Game Demo Ore no Seishun Love-Kome Hamachi Gatteiru. – 8pt[/B]
14. [3DS] Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon – 8pt
15. [PSV] Ragnarok Odyssey Ace – 7pt
16. [PS3] Puppeteer – 7pt
[B]17. [PS3] Phantom Breaker: Extra – 7pt[/B]
18. [PS3] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle – 7pt
19. [3DS] Kuma-Tomo – 7pt
20. [3DS] One Piece: Romance Dawn - Bouken no Yoake – 7pt
[B]* New releases are in bold
* 1 pt = 1 sale
3DS - 10
PS3 - 5
PSP - 3
PSV - 2[/B]

No Tsutaya yet, but I'll post it when it releases.

Wow, Luigi's mansion is still charting?

Wind Waker releases this upcoming week right?

 

[Madouu]

Poor Nobunaga

 

[L Thammy]

Poor Nobunaga

First the assassination, now this.

How have Koei's previous handheld strategy games performed, by the way?

 

[Tripon]

Will there be another week of MonHun 4 crowding out every other game?

 

[Lexxism]

Wind Waker releases this upcoming week right?

Yeah. This coming Thursday.

 

[1st Course]

07. [PSP] God Eater: Burst (PSP the Best Reprint) – 14pt

Impressive legs.

 

[1st Course]

On a side note, can anyone do GTA V vs BO2 (sub-edition) comg comparison please?

I feel like GTA V will do really well in Japan.

 

[Road]

Big jump for FFXIV on Tsutaya stores, not so much on Comgnet, but back in the top 20.

Curious about its 3rd launch week.

On a side note, can anyone do GTA V vs BO2 (sub-edition) comg comparison please?

I feel like GTA V will do really well in Japan.

Not sure if COD is a useful comparison, but:

BO2: 148pt

GTASA: 322pt
GTAIV: 105pt
GTAV: 141pt

(these are pre-orders on Comgnet stores 17 days away from release)

 

[Aquamarine]

[B][U]Tsutaya Software Sales Rankings: Week 38, 2013 (Sep 16 - Sep 22)	Comgnet Software Sales Rankings: Week 38, 2013 (Sep 16 - Sep 22)[/U][/B]

01./01. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4						01. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 1041pt
02./14. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Real Reborn			[B]02. [PSV] Yahari Game Demo Ore no Seishun LoveKome Hamachi Gatteiru (Limited Edition) – 51pt[/B]
03./07. [3DS] Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life			03. [3DS] Youkai Watch – 22pt
04./03. [PS3] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle			04. [3DS] Friend Collection: New Life – 15pt
05./08. [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Dream Team					05. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 15pt
[B]06./NEW [3DS] Nobunaga's Ambition[/B]					06. [3DS] Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life – 15pt
07./04. [PS3] Splinter Cell: Blacklist					07. [PSP] God Eater: Burst (PSP the Best Reprint) – 14pt
08./13. [3DS] Friend Collection: New Life				08. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIV: A Real Reborn – 13pt
09./16. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf 				[B]09. [3DS] Nobunaga's Ambition – 13pt[/B]
[B]10./NEW [PSP] La Corda d'Oro 3: Full Voice Special[/B]			10. [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – 13pt
11./05. [PS3] AKB1/149: Love Election					[B]11. [PSP] La Corda d'Oro 3: Full Voice Special – 9pt[/B]
[B]12./NEW [3DS] Romance of the Three Kingdoms[/B]				12. [PS3] Splinter Cell: Blacklist – 9pt
13./09. [PSV] Killzone: Mercenary					[B]13. [PSV] Yahari Game Demo Ore no Seishun LoveKome Hamachi Gatteiru – 8pt[/B]
14./06. [PSP] Brothers Conflict: Brilliant Blue				14. [3DS] Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon – 8pt
15./17. [3DS] Youkai Watch						15. [PSV] Ragnarok Odyssey Ace – 7pt
[B]16./NEW [PSV] Yahari Game Demo Ore no Seishun LoveKome Hamachi Gatteiru[/B] 16. [PS3] Puppeteer – 7pt
[B]17./NEW [3DS] Mushi Bugyou[/B]						[B]17. [PS3] Phantom Breaker: Extra – 7pt[/B]
18./10. [PS3] Puppeteer							18. [PS3] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle – 7pt
19./02. [PS3] AKB1/149: Love Election (First Press Limited Edition)	19. [3DS] Kuma-Tomo – 7pt
20./11. [PSV] Ragnarok Odyssey Ace					20. [3DS] One Piece: Romance Dawn - Bouken no Yoake – 7pt
[B]* New releases are in bold 						* 1 pt = 1 sale
3DS - 9									3DS - 10
PS3 - 6									PS3 - 5
PSV - 3									PSP - 3
PSP - 2									PSV - 2[/B]

[b][U]New releases not present in either Top 20:[/U]

[3DS] Jewel Link: Legends of Atlantis 3D

[PSV] Need for Speed: Most Wanted - EA Best Hits (Bargain Edition)

[PS3] Need for Speed: Most Wanted - EA Best Hits (Bargain Edition)

[360] Phantom Breaker: Extra
[360] Phantom Breaker: Extra (Limited Edition)
[360] Halo 3: ODST - Platinum Collection (Bargain Edition)
[360] Forza Motorsport 4 - Platinum Collection (Bargain Edition)
[360] Alan Wake - Platinum Collection (Bargain Edition)
[360] Halo 3 - Platinum Collection (Bargain Edition)
[360] Halo Reach - Platinum Collection (Bargain Edition)[/B]

For the people who aren't regulars in Media Create threads:

What is Tsutaya?
Tsutaya is a major retailer with 1,444 retail stores (613 that sell new games) all across Japan.

What is Comgnet?
Comgnet is the website for the retailer "COMG!" that has 16 retail stores across one prefecture in Japan.

Why post these rankings?
They are released three days before Media Create + Famitsu + Dengeki give us nationwide sales, so we get a general indication of how well the games will perform relative to their competition.

2013 Tsutaya + Comgnet Weekly Sales Archive

 

[DaBoss]

That anticipation for GE2.

 

[1st Course]

Not sure if COD is a useful comparison, but:

BO2: 148pt

GTASA: 322pt
GTAIV: 105pt
GTAV: 141pt

(these are pre-orders on Comgnet stores 17 days away from release)

Thx, hopefully we will see 200k+ opening week.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

No I don't think so. Expect a 60% decline at least

No

Not that comgnet means much, but for the sake of argument.

Last Week

01. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 4358pt
1.87M (or 1.71M if download cards aren't included)

I don't think so..

(-75%) is my bet

They should really do another Pokemon Conquest.

It will do wayyy much better than these

Ah right. Seems like i forgot about the launch week points.

400-500k should be do-able.

 

[Nirolak]

Methodology:
-For new announcements, anything from August 1st was counted.
-If a game only had a logo or less prior to August 1st, I counted it.
-If a game was basically only a logo, it went in the notes sections instead and was not counted in statistics.
-I split it out by publishers and then the platforms they made the games on.
-Total platform counts and per publisher counts are at the bottom.
-I put in paranthetical notes for anything I felt was notably relevant like, for example, (f2p) for a console game or a particularly notable staffer.
-I grouped iOS and Android given their frequently joined at the hip status.
-If there were other announcements that were relevant, but not really a game announcement, they're in the Other Notes section of a publisher.
-I left off kickstarter games and games from Mobage/GREE (unless very notable) since the former is not a traditional publisher and the latter only release 5000 mobile games a day.
-I excluded first parties because obviously they're only going to make games for their own platforms.
-If you something is in there that doesn't fit the first two criteria, please tell me.
-I could have missed things, please tell me if I did and you know of it.


Square Enix:

3DS:
-Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy Curtain Call (Final TR game, major DLC platform)
-Bravely Default: For The Sequel

iOS/Android:
-Final Fantasy Agito (Tabata Supervising, Type-0 Team on FFXV)
-Chaos Rings Sigma (Online RPG, Media.Vision)
-Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (3D, due to success of FF3/4/5 on iOS worldwide)
-Pictlogica: Final Fantasy (Picross RPG, Jupiter of TWEWY/Picross fame)
-Melpharia March (PvZ Clone)
-Deadman's Cross (Guardian Cross Team)

Browser:
-Ardina

Wii/WiiU/PC:
-Dragon Quest X expansion pack

Notes:
-Considering bringing Type-0 to West on PSN
-Considering porting Agito to Vita (lower priority than Type-0 to West)
-Tokita (usually mobile these days) is making two new games (a new game and it was implied another remake)
-FFXIV will be free to upgrade from PS3 to PS4


Capcom:

iOS/Android:
-Breath of Fire 6 (Online RPG)
-Blade Fantasia (Breath of Fire Creator is director)
-Monster Hunter Smart
-Monster Hunter Big Hunting Quest
-Monhun Everyday Airu Life
-Street Fighter Battle Combination
-Street Fighter x All Capcom
-Frontier of Discovery
-Codename: Rio

Browsers:
-Monster Hunter Mezapolta Reclamation
-Euro Historia

PS3/WiiU/Vita:
-Monster Hunter Frontier G (Port from PC/Xbox 360)

Notes:
-Deep Down was revealed as being f2p.
-Dragon's Dogma Quest has a tie in with Puzzle & Dragon.
-Capcom intends to heavily support Gaist Crusher with a multifaceted transmedia push. This was expressed before, but re-expressed with details on the scope of the effort. They basically want it to be Monster Hunter for children.


Sega:

PS3/PS4:
-Yakuza Ishin

Vita:
-Phantasy Star Nova (Tri-Ace, 70 core/200 total staff, co-op but no online)

3DS:
-Hero Bank (Kid's RPG, has a pretty sweet theme song http://herobank.sega.jp/)

3DS/WiiU/PS3/Vita:
-Puyo Puyo Tetris

Mystery Platform:
-Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax (The screens are 720p)

Notes:
-Sega bought Atlus.
-Sega implied that Virtual On might return in 2015.
-Sega is releasing a Bayonetta anime movie by Gonzo.
-I suspect I'm missing some mobile games here given Sega is leading the 15-30 Japanese publisher mobile gaming alliance.


Spike Chunsoft:

Vita:
DanganRonpa: Another Episode

3DS:
-Attack on Titan: The Last Wings (Is there a visual novel too? I'm unsure.)

Notes:
-They also announced DanganRonpa 3 for Vita, but it was really awkwardly done at the end of a trailer so I'm putting this here.


GungHo:

PS4:
-Lily Bergamo (Grasshopper, flagship)

PS3/Vita
-Akiba's Trip

iOS/Android:
-Lily Bergamo (Grasshopper, companion game)
-Divine Gate (Acquire)


Tecmo Koei:

PS4/PS3/Vita:
-Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends (PS4 version is a late port)

PS3/Vita:
-Samurai Warriors 4
-Shin Gundam Musou
-Warriors Orochi 3
-Deception IV: Blood Ties
-New Atelier Rorona (remake)
-Kagero: Dark Side Princess


Namco Bandai:

iOS/Android:
-Tales of Link
-Tales of Phantasia (Port)
-Tales of Bibliotheca (Only kind of a game)
-One Piece: Dance Battle (Matrix)

PS3:
-Gundam Extreme VS. Full Boost
-IM@S Channel (IDOLM@ASTER, f2p)
-Soulcalibur: Lost Swords (singleplayer, f2p)
-Sakigake!! Otokojuku
-Super Robot Wars OG Infinite Battle
-Super Robot Wars OG Dark Prison

Vita:
-Madoka Magica: The Battle Pentagram

3DS:
-Magi: A New World
-Kamen Rider: Travelers Senki
-Toriko: Ultimate Survival

Wii U:
-Taiko: Drum Master

Note:
-Namco announced "Gundam" and "Idolm@ster" for PS4. These aren't even titles, so they go here.


Arc System Works:

PS4/PS3:
-Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-

PS3/Vita:
-Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters (Tokyo Majin Director)

Vita:
-Damascus Gear Tokyo Shinsen (downloadable)
-Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy (downloadable)
-Magical Beat (downloadable)

3DS:
-Stardust Amazoness
-Swords & Darkneess (downloadable)


Kadokawa:

PS3/PS4/Vita:
-Natural Doctrine


Idea Factory:

Vita:
-Neptunia Re; Birth 2 (remake)


D3 Publisher: (Namco Subsidiary)

PS4:
-Dream Club Host Girls On Stage

3DS:
-Vitamin X
-Vitamin Z

Note:
-They also announced an untitled Earth Defense Force for PS4.


Level 5:

iOS/Android:
-Majin Station

iOS/Android/3DS:
-Layton 7

iOS/Android/Xbox One/PS3/PS4/Wii U/Vita:
-Wonderflick

Note:
-There's some kind of new Youkai Watch game for 3DS, but we have zero details or whether it's a sequel or re-release so it goes here.


Statistics

Publishers:

Square Enix:
iOS/Android: 6
3DS: 2
Browser: 1
Wii U: 1
Wii: 1
PC: 1

Capcom:
iOS/Android: 9
Browsers: 2
PS3: 1
Wii U: 1
Vita: 1

Sega:
Vita: 2
PS3: 2
3DS: 2
PS4: 1
Wii U: 1

Spike Chunsoft:
Vita: 1
3DS: 1

GungHo:
iOS/Android: 2
PS4: 1
PS3: 1
Vita: 1

Tecmo Koei:
PS3: 7
Vita: 7
PS4: 1

Namco Bandai:
PS3: 7
iOS/Android: 4
3DS: 3
Vita: 1
Wii U: 1

Arc System Works:
Vita: 4
PS3: 2
3DS: 2

Kadokawa:
PS4: 1
PS3: 1
Vita: 1

Idea Factory:
Vita: 1

D3 Publisher:
3DS: 2
PS4: 1

Level 5:
iOS/Android: 3
3DS: 1
PS4: 1
PS3: 1
Vita: 1
Wii U: 1
Xbox One: 1

Platforms:

iOS/Android: 24
PS3: 21
Vita: 20
3DS: 13
PS4: 6
Wii U: 5
Browser: 3
PC: 1
Wii: 1
Xbox One: 1

 

[Busaiku]

Metal Max 4 was announced a long time ago.
I think it was like April or May.

The Famitsu topic from a few weeks back had A-Train, Vitamin Z Revolution, and Vitamin X Evolution for 3DS.
And Dynasty Warriors Gundam 4 and Mato Kurenai Yuugekitai for PS3/Vita.

 

[Durante]

I guess I should be happy that Tecmo-Koei bought Gust, and not another publisher.

 

[phoenix3934]

Isn't One Piece: Unlimited World R a 3DS game?

 

[Nirolak]

Metal Max 4 was announced a long time ago.
I think it was like April or May.

The Famitsu topic from a few weeks back had A-Train, Vitamin Z Revolution, and Vitamin X Evolution for 3DS.
And Dynasty Warriors Gundam 4 and Mato Kurenai Yuugekitai for PS3/Vita.

Isn't One Piece: Unlimited World R a 3DS game?

Fixed, thanks.

Gundam and MKY are on there but under different names.

I didn't see a publisher so I left a-train off.

Apparently one piece is also old do I removed it entirely.

 

[Mpl90]

Dragon Quest Monsters 2 basically got leaked on July 31st, so it should enter the period.

 

[slaughterking]

Thanks for the list, Nirolak. Very interesting, not very encouraging for any traditional gaming platform. Though, TGS is also just not what it used to be.

 

[Glass Rebel]

Thanks, Niro. I think Japanese publishers have spoken. I wonder if your list will significantly change come Nintendo's Fall Conference/Direct/Thingy.

 

[squall23]

GungHo:

PS4:
-Lily Bergamo (Grasshopper, flagship)

PS3/Vita
-Akiba's Trip

iOS/Android:
-Lily Bergamo (Grasshopper, companion game)
-Divine Gate (Acquire)

Level 5:

iOS/Android:
-Majin Station

iOS/Android/3DS:
-Layton 7

iOS/Android/Xbox One/PS3/PS4/Wii U/Vita:
-Wonderflick

Note:
-There's some kind of new Youkai Watch game for 3DS, but we have zero details or whether it's a sequel or re-release so it goes here.

Is this a list of games in TGS or just a general list of upcoming games? If the latter, you're missing Puzzle and Dragons Z and the Inazuma Eleven Go 3.

recent announcements

My mistake then.

 

[pieatorium]

Is this a list of games in TGS or just a general list of upcoming games right? If the latter, you're missing Puzzle and Dragons Z and the Inazuma Eleven Go 3.

recent announcements

 

[Lesiroth]

Thanks for the list, Nirolak. Very interesting, not very encouraging for any traditional gaming platform. Though, TGS is also just not what it used to be.

In terms of numbers, PS3/Vita is comparable in announcements. In terms of focus though, it's pretty clear what direction the market is headed towards.

 

[BlackLagoon]

-I could have missed things, please tell me if I did and you know of it.

Kagero: Dark Side Princess and Deception IV are the same game.

Neptunia should be under Compile Heart.

Games you missed for the Vita:

(Some of these companies have probably announced titles for other platforms, but I haven't been keeping track of those)

Idea Factory:
-Hakuoki Kyoukaroku (port)
-Amnesia (port)
-Diabolik Lovers (port)
-Hakuoki SSL: Sweet School Life
-Amnesia World

5pb.:
-Infinite Stratos 2: Ignition Hearts (PS3/Vita multiplat)
-Rozen Maiden: Wechseln Sie Welt ab - (PS3/Vita multiplat, previously just Rozen Maiden game)
-'&': Sora no Mukou de Sakimasu you ni (port)
-Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram (port)
-Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds (port)

Kadokawa:
-Ro-Kyu-Bu! Naisho no Shutter Chance (previously announced as a PSP game)
-Love Live! School Idol Paradise (previously just known as a Love Live game)

Prototype:
-Kud Wafter (port)

Aquaplus:
-White Album 2: Shiawase no Mukougawa (port)
-To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers (port)

SystemSoft Alpha:
-Sengoku Hime 4 (port, not formally announced but in Vita TV compatibility list)

 

[Mpl90]

IIRC, Dungeon Travellers 2 for Vita is a fake.

Nirolak, A-Train 3D's publisher is ArtDink.

 

[Kenka]

Thank you Nirolak, that's a helpful list to let us discuss the shift towards iOS/Android development over traditional console space.

While the big hitters in terms of retail sales (latest main series MH, FF, DQ, Gundam, etc.) are not being developped on mobile, the brands have made the shift with FF and MH being overly represented on the newer platform. Interestingly also, Breath of Fire 6 is mobile only which tends to show that it seems less risky in the eye of a developer/publisher to resurrect a series on mobile. Is the price model of the mobile platform at "guilt" here ? If confirmed, this hypothesis would presume more examples will follow (Megaman ? Onimusha ? Tobal ?)

 

[BlackLagoon]

IIRC, Dungeon Travellers 2 for Vita is a fake.

According to Siliconera it was announced in Dengeki PlayStation at the end of August.

 

[Acosta]

if well made enough then i'd say it could

I don't believe so. I have never believed in the idea that something popular plus something popular make something even more popular.

Both games appeal for their core ideas and mechanics that are completely different, I don't see how they could merge in a way it could appeal to their base in a combined way.

Fire Emblem x Shin Megami is way more appropriate and I see it both appealing to two bases (and I assume there is a lot of overlapping).

 

[frankie_baby]

I don't believe so. I have never believed in the idea that something popular plus something popular make something even more popular.

Both games appeal for their core ideas and mechanics that are completely different, I don't see how they could merge in a way it could appeal to their base in a combined way.

Fire Emblem x Shin Megami is way more appropriate and I see it both appealing to two bases (and I assume there is a lot of overlapping).

i don't think it would make something 'more' popular just that it could be very successful and sell a decent number of systems, reaching normal monhun or pokemon numbers is out of the question, i also say in another post that i doubt they'll ever work out how to make a good enough crossover

 

[Acosta]

i don't think it would make something 'more' popular just that it could be very successful and sell a decent number of systems, reaching normal monhun or pokemon numbers is out of the question, i also say in another post that i doubt they'll ever work out how to make a good enough crossover

Fair enough, that's basically my point (and sorry, actually I wanted to answer Jamix012 directly, I didn't plan to post that as a rebuttal to you but I got distracted).

 

[hongcha]

IIRC, Dungeon Travellers 2 for Vita is a fake.

.

Technically you are correct, since the upcoming Vita game is a remake of the original To Heart 2 : Dungeon Travelers, not its psp sequel Dungeon Travelers 2.

 

[BlackLagoon]

Technically you are correct, since the upcoming Vita game is a remake of the original To Heart 2 : Dungeon Travelers, not its psp sequel Dungeon Travelers 2.

Derp. (Corrected my previous post.)

 

[Nirolak]

Thanks everyone, I'll fix the rest when I have a chance in a few hours, but for now just mentally adjust Vita/PS3 up a bit and 3DS up a notch.

That said, I had a super hard time finding places that reported mobile news, but when I did, they had a lot of games, so I suspect that is probably a bit higher than it seems too. For example I only know of most of Capcom's games due to duckroll's thread. I suspect they're pretty low tier though given we haven't had threads about them here.

Neptunia should be under Compile Heart.

As a quick side note here, Compile Heart is actually a subsidiary of Idea Factory, but that's a pretty easy to miss thing since they never market this fact.

---

I think my main takeaways from this are as follow:

-The companies that are going on mobile the hardest are Square Enix, Capcom, and Level 5, who are notably three of the most successful handheld game vendor. However, they are keeping most of their flagship titles on console/handhelds. To me this says that they are essentially walking the same path as major Western publishers, where they are taking anything that isn't extremely profitable and moving it to the platform with the best costrofit ratio for a non-high-tier title. The reason Western publishers do this is not because these low-to-mid tier titles are always unprofitable, but because they're not profitable enough and thus dilute margin and run a high risk of only being break even. Basically, since they're highly successful companies, the risk and opportunity cost isn't worth it.

-If we look at the few new series these companies are putting on handhelds, they're overwhelmingly games with very big ideas. Gaist Crusher wants to be "the Monster Hunter for kids" and a major transmedia franchise. If that takes off, it would be incredibly profitable. Bravely Default is a game that is trying to rebuild the audience that bought over a million copies of Final Fantasy III without the baggage or limited runway/material to work with of Final Fantasy remakes.

-Theatrhythm sticks out a bit from the rest, but given it's supposed to be the final entry, will be a DLC platform, and (judging by the first) eventually get an iOS port, I assume this exists on 3DS because the first one did and they think they can make some healthy cash up front from a retail game while eventually launching another digital service.

-In contrast, smaller publishers who have to prioritize keeping the lights on over increasing profit margins are still largely on consoles or handhelds. Knowing that you can sell 100K copies of game X is way more valuable to them than taking lots of risks on smartphones that might all backfire, since the money required to do that isn't pocket change for them.

-Namco Bandai is interestingly not as big in mobile, but is making a huge push into free 2 play. This is an interesting move as the space is less crowded, but is a low-risk/high profit margin business much like phone games.

-Capcom's console output seems damaged. Microsoft is publishing/funding Dead Rising 3, their only PS4 game is an impressive but not super expensive sounding f2p title, and they have almost nothing else that's both high budget and unreleased. It could be a factor of where they are in their development cycles, but it's not overly encouraging.

-Sega seems to be taking a few more risks again after paring down to bare minimum. I'm not entirely sure they've set a clear direction forward outside of "digital(ly enabled) titles". What exactly that entails besides "Well we kept what was working going and added more DLC, and then released a few more digital games." will be interesting to see over the next year or two.

-Konami is basically an undead publisher that only make Metal Gear, Pro Evo, and phone games in Japan.

 

[zroid]

3DS:
-Hero Bank (Kid's RPG, has a pretty sweet theme song http://herobank.sega.jp/)

take my money sega

 

[BlackLagoon]

As a quick side note here, Compile Heart is actually a subsidiary of Idea Factory, but that's a pretty easy to miss thing since they never market this fact.

Are you sure? Because I tried figuring this out a whole back, and while I know the Idea Factory English company info page on their website uses the term "subsidiary", the Japanese ones on both CH and IF's site use the term "関連会社" about each other, which from what I gathered was different from Japanese business term for subsidiary and more commonly translated as "affiliate".

In any case, Compile Heart does seem to run its own publishing operation, and their titles show up with their name as publisher rather Idea Factory's on official listings.

 

[L~A]

Yup, it's quite sad to see how far Konami has fallen...

And it's quite interesting the situation about mobile, as you pointed out : small/medium publishers strongly focus on traditional consoles, while the companies going all out on smartphones are the biggest companies. But they're mostly doing it with either :

- quick cash-in/weird spin-offs
- ports of existing games (ie : TWEWY)
- remake of classic games (ie : Final Fantasy for Square)
- shady revivals

It's quite apparent that, for big companies, smartphones are wonderful : it allows them to maximise their profits from a particular by releasing a ton of spin-offs/tie-ins stuff (like Monster Hunter, how many of them are there ?!), something they can't do with traditional consoles (they could now with digital distribution, but Japanese players seems kind of reluctant about it).

We're yet to see major IP going mobile exclusively, though we're starting to see rather ambitious (more ambitious than your traditional, quick cash-in spin-off).

 

[shinra-bansho]

Sega basically has me confused. They seemed like they were trying to pare down their operations and focus on PC in the game space and far fewer franchises - i.e. only bigger sellers like Sonic, Football Manager and Total War.

And then they go and buy Index.

As for Konami, it really is sad. I wonder what would happen if Kojima left them.

 

[Aquamarine]

Are you sure? Because I tried figuring this out a whole back, and while I know the Idea Factory English company info page on their website uses the term "subsidiary", the Japanese ones on both CH and IF's site use the term "関連会社" about each other, which from what I gathered was different from Japanese business term for subsidiary and more commonly translated as "affiliate".

In any case, Compile Heart does seem to run its own publishing operation, and their titles show up with their name as publisher rather Idea Factory's on official listings.

http://www.ideaf.co.jp/

Scroll to the bottom and you will see "Idea Factory Group," with "Compile Heart" as one of the companies listed. This implies that Compile Heart is a subsidiary.

 

[L~A]

Just noticed, why is Youkai Watch so high in Comgnet charts? Did they get a new batch of copies or something? It's nice to see it charting in MC charts more than 2 months after its release. It seems to be getting rather steady sales, and demand is still there. It's too bad the anime/manga won't start before the end of the year, because I think Level-5 is on something big here. I may be mistaken, but new IP usually don't keep selling like that several weeks after the initial release (especially without an anime).

 

[mclem]

Yeah, I'm trying to think of one off the top of my head - where a franchise moved from being primarily on handheld to primarily on home consoles and benefited from the transition commercially - and can't, but maybe I'm missing something glaringly obvious.

A couple that aren't huge franchises, but fit the bill:

Gargoyle's Quest:

Wave Race:

Edit: I'm amused that - without deliberately trying - I got Firebrand in pretty much exactly the same posture in every GQ shot.

 

[BlackLagoon]

Scroll to the bottom and you will see "Idea Factory Group," with "Compile Heart" listed as one of the companies. This implies that Compile Heart is a subsidiary.

Or perhaps that there's an Idea Factory Group holding company that owns Idea Factory the game publisher/developer alongside Compile Heart and Design Factory?

 

[Aquamarine]

Or perhaps that there's an Idea Factory Group holding company that owns Idea Factory the game publisher/developer alongside Compile Heart and Design Factory?

Idea Factory Group is a corporate group with three subsidiaries: Idea Factory (as the parent), Compile Heart, and Design Factory.

Compile Heart is a dependent branch of Idea Factory Group...but it most likely operates independently.

For a similar example, consider how Sega and Sammy operate independently, even though both are subsidiaries of Sega Sammy Holdings.

 

[Road]

Below the resolution and trophy information:

"Compile Heart belongs to the Idea Factory Group. If you have any question about this product, please contact Idea Factory."

(The game in question is "Date A Live")