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[Oregano]

It's a good strategy too. There's not much point in pinning hopes on Japan for some of these series so it's just better not too. It's just a smaller, less relevant market than it used to be.

Ehh whilst there's an element of that I doubt Koei Tecmo was aiming for sales that low, especially considering the similarities to the Souls games.

 

[Vena]

It's a good strategy too. There's not much point in pinning hopes on Japan for some of these series so it's just better not too. It's just a smaller, less relevant market than it used to be.

I don't consider "necessity" brought about by the market unraveling as a good strategy.

Its also not a matter of pinning hopes to one market or another, that makes it sound like you can only succeed in one market at a time. Ideally, you'd succeed in all markets in proportionality to the sizes of the markets given your product/genre.

 

[Datschge]

Games like Nioh, NieR, Ni no Kuni II, etc... all seem to be focusing on what will/may come from outside of Japan.

Ni games go ni sales hell ni Nihon. =P

 

[Primethius]

Ehh whilst there's an element of that I doubt Koei Tecmo was aiming for sales that low, especially considering the similarities to the Souls games.

I'm not so sure for a new IP but I won't debate that point since it's mostly speculative.

I don't consider "necessity" brought about by the market unraveling as a good strategy.

Its also not a matter of pinning hopes to one market or another, that makes it sound like you can only succeed in one market at a time. Ideally, you'd succeed in all markets in proportionality to the sizes of the markets given your product/genre.

I'm not saying to pin your hopes on one market but at a certain point, money spent on marketing can be allocated elsewhere for a better return.

And my point was more so that if you have a limited budget for the game (which I mean it's pretty clear Nioh isn't some big shot game), it's better spent in other markets, especially some emerging ones for a return on that investment. Japan's a market doing its own thing that is sometimes drastically at odds with how games perform elsewhere.

If Nioh is a success or failure at a sales level, I would hope it's not because of the result in Japan because that tells me that KT had all sorts of weird, unreasonable expectations for it. If your going to build a new IP, on the PS4, the rest of the world should be your focus.

 

[KtSlime]

It's a good strategy too. There's not much point in pinning hopes on Japan for some of these series so it's just better not too. It's just a smaller, less relevant market than it used to be.

It is in part a smaller less relevant market than it used to be because developers are targeting the West's tastes over Japan's. Maybe Japan's market has to die for the West's to live, but I hope no one is there saying to themselves "why aren't these games selling", when the answer is pretty clear.

 

[Primethius]

It is in part a smaller less relevant market than it used to be because developers are targeting the West's tastes over Japan's. Maybe Japan's market has to die for the West's to live, but I hope no one is there saying to themselves "why aren't these games selling", when the answer is pretty clear.

Sometimes, it feels like one could write an entire book on the reasons and excuses why games don't sell in Japan or why they've declined a certain way.

And while those are certainly valid, I just don't think it's actually legitimately worth it to pursue those lost Japanese sales in some instances vs. a broader expansion elsewhere.

 

[ZoddGutts]

It should sell well in the west and possibility later again with Koei Tecmo publishing it on PC, the audience is there especially with the Souls series now gone.

 

[Oregano]

I'm not so sure for a new IP but I won't debate that point since it's mostly speculative.

Koei Tecmo's last new IP sold over 300k in Japan and that was just back in 2013.

 

[Datschge]

If Nioh is a success or failure at a sales level, I would hope it's not because of the result in Japan because that tells me that KT had all sorts of weird, unreasonable expectations for it. If your going to build a new IP, on the PS4, the rest of the world should be your focus.

If we stay with the comparison to Souls it's odd KT would have issues in Japan considering FROM is a more niche publisher but successfully self published all Dark Souls games in Japan, Bandai Namco only handled the rest of the world. That doesn't speak well of KT as a publisher at all if they can't handle their own home market and from the start use the excuse that their Souls clone primarily targets the rest of the world.

 

[Takao]

At least Koei Tecmo gets to work on Fire Emblem.

On a serious note they better hope the Sony publishing deal works out in international markets because Ni-Oh is probably one of their most expensive projects ever.

EDIT: It's being really well received by the looks of it which is a good sign.

It was only in development for 10 years.

I don't want to know how many Musou releases there were in that period of time.

 

[Primethius]

Koei Tecmo's last new IP sold over 300k in Japan and that was just back in 2013.

I'm actually not sure what KTs last new IP was but I'm pretty certain it wasn't hardcore focused in the same way Nioh is or one with betas that make the Souls game look like a joke difficulty wise.

I'm not suggesting that new IPs can't open big. But genre and type of game certainly limit appeal.

If we stay with the comparison to Souls it's odd KT would have issues in Japan considering FROM is a more niche publisher but successfully self published all Dark Souls games in Japan, Bandai Namco only handled the rest of the world. That doesn't speak well of KT as a publisher at all if they can't handle their own home market and from the start use the excuse that their Souls clone primarily targets the rest of the world.

Souls is an established series now. Demons only opened to 40k IIRC on the PS3. And isn't the KT scenario the same as Froms? They're publishing it in Japan and letting Sony publish it everywhere else.

 

[Datschge]

Souls is an established series now. Demons only opened to 40k IIRC on the PS3.

Demon's was published by Sony in Japan (and Atlus in NA, Bandai Namco in Europe, such confidence by Sony). I was specifically talking about what FROM managed with self publishing in Japan.

 

[Primethius]

Demon's was published by Sony in Japan (and Atlus in NA, Bandai Namco in Europe, such confidence by Sony). I was specifically talking about what FROM managed with self publishing in Japan.

Right, thanks for the correction.

I suppose I'm a bit confused then as to the overall point. KT is publishing Nioh in Japan with Sony elsewhere. That's fairly similar to the From/Namco setup for a Souls title.

 

[Datschge]

Right, thanks for the correction.

I suppose I'm a bit confused then as to the overall point. KT is publishing Nioh in Japan with Sony elsewhere. That's fairly similar to the From/Namco setup for a Souls title.

Bigger KT being crap at publishing a game in a fairly popular genre in Japan while smaller FROM managed doing that as a niche publisher while essentially creating the market for that genre to begin with?

 

[Ōkami]

1. [PS4] Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Grotesque ver.) - 88
2. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki - 24
3. [PS4] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto - 19
4. [3DS] Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World - 19
5. [3DS] Pokemon Moon - 18
6. [PS4] Valkyria Revolution - 16
7. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS - 15
8. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V [New Price Edition] - 13
9. [3DS] Pokemon Sun - 13
10. [WIU] Minecraft: Wii U Edition - 12
11. [PS4] Resident Evil 7: biohazard - 12
12. [3DS] Goodbye Boxboy - 10
13. [PS4] Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege - 9
14. [PS4] Gravity Rush 2 - 9
15. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition - 8
16. [PSV] Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - 7
17. [PS4] Resident Evil 6 - 7
18. [PS4] Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition - 7
19. [3DS] Miitopia - 7
20. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 - 7

Preorders
[3DS] Monster Hunter XX - 580
[SWI] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 215
[PS4] Super Robot Wars V - 94
[3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 - Professional - 84
[SWI] 1 2 Switch - 80
[PS4] Nier: Automata - 77
[PS4] Four Goddesses Online: Cyber Dimension Neptune - 77
[PSV] Super Robot Wars V - 70
[PS4] Gran Turismo Sport - 66
[SWI] Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - 29
[PS4] Nioh - 27
[PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 + II.5 Remix - 24
[SWI] Dragon Quest Heroes I & II for Nintendo Switch - 16
[PSV] Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight - 15

 

[frankie_baby]

1. [PS4] Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Grotesque ver.) - 88
2. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki - 24
3. [PS4] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto - 19
4. [3DS] Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World - 19
5. [3DS] Pokemon Moon - 18
6. [PS4] Valkyria Revolution - 16
7. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS - 15
8. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V [New Price Edition] - 13
9. [3DS] Pokemon Sun - 13
10. [WIU] Minecraft: Wii U Edition - 12
11. [PS4] Resident Evil 7: biohazard - 12
12. [3DS] Goodbye Boxboy - 10
13. [PS4] Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege - 9
14. [PS4] Gravity Rush 2 - 9
15. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition - 8
16. [PSV] Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - 7
17. [PS4] Resident Evil 6 - 7
18. [PS4] Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition - 7
19. [3DS] Miitopia - 7
20. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 - 7

Preorders
[3DS] Monster Hunter XX - 580
[SWI] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 215
[PS4] Super Robot Wars V - 94
[3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 - Professional - 84
[SWI] 1 2 Switch - 80
[PS4] Nier: Automata - 77
[PS4] Four Goddesses Online: Cyber Dimension Neptune - 77
[PSV] Super Robot Wars V - 70
[PS4] Gran Turismo Sport - 66
[SWI] Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - 29
[PS4] Nioh - 27
[PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 + II.5 Remix - 24
[SWI] Dragon Quest Heroes I & II for Nintendo Switch - 16
[PSV] Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight - 15

Zelda and 12switch still creeping up nicely

 

[Primethius]

Bigger KT being crap at publishing a game in a fairly popular genre in Japan while smaller FROM managed doing that as a niche publisher while essentially creating the market for that genre to begin with?

I'm not sure how that follows.

When the Souls series started with Demons, it opened to something like 40k in Japan.

With Nioh, it's expected to open to roughly similar numbers as Demons Souls did.

Nioh is a hardcore game but it's also not exactly a Souls like game aside from the surface level comparisons. It had 3 betas that made that pretty clear. It's far and away more difficult that any Souls title as well. So I'm not exactly inclined to assume that being vaguley "Souls like" is an automatic boost in sales for a new IP in Japan or really, anywhere in the world.

 

[Oregano]

It was only in development for 10 years.

I don't want to know how many Musou releases there were in that period of time.

Odds on Fire Emblem Warriors outselling worldwide?

I'm actually not sure what KTs last new IP was but I'm pretty certain it wasn't hardcore focused in the same way Nioh is or one with betas that make the Souls game look like a joke difficulty wise.

I'm not suggesting that new IPs can't open big. But genre and type of game certainly limit appeal.



Souls is an established series now. Demons only opened to 40k IIRC on the PS3. And isn't the KT scenario the same as Froms? They're publishing it in Japan and letting Sony publish it everywhere else.

I'm referring to Toukiden which is a hunting action game. It's not as difficult as a Souls game(or Monster Hunter) but it's not exactly a casual genre.

 

[test_account]

It was only in development for 10 years.

I don't want to know how many Musou releases there were in that period of time.

That doesnt say too much though. Cant imagine it being in full production for 10 years.

 

[Eolz]

That doesnt say too much though. Cant imagine it being in full production for 10 years.

In this eurogamer interview, they clarified that Team Ninja's version was in dev for 4 years (but that multiple versions were started and cancelled over the years before that).
So obviously no. It's like FFXV/VS XIII not really taking technically 10 years to develop.

 

[Datschge]

I'm not sure how that follows.

When the Souls series started with Demons, it opened to something like 40k in Japan.

With Nioh, it's expected to open to roughly similar numbers as Demons Souls did.

Nioh is a hardcore game but it's also not exactly a Souls like game aside from the surface level comparisons. It had 3 betas that made that pretty clear. It's far and away more difficult that any Souls title as well. So I'm not exactly inclined to assume that being vaguley "Souls like" is an automatic boost in sales for a new IP in Japan or really, anywhere in the world.

Why do you keep saying Dark Souls' sales built on Demon's? They were by different publishers, common people don't know/care about the developers involved. I doubt most buyers knew Demon's that well beforehand to make Dark Souls their must buy to make it explode in popularity. On the contrary it's the publisher's job to sell a game to its potential (including referring to non-obvious links like the "Souls series"), then word of mouth, press etc. can build upon that. Sony failed, FROM succeeded, KT failed with any pre-release build up even though by all indications they have a good well received product that they developed in house. There's nothing positive about repeating Demon's Souls.

 

[duckroll]

Why do you keep saying Dark Souls' sales built on Demon's? They were by different publishers, common people don't know/care about the developers involved. I doubt most buyers knew Demon's that well beforehand to make Dark Souls their must buy to make it explode in popularity. On the contrary it's the publisher's job to sell a game to its potential (including referring to non-obvious links like the "Souls series"), then word of mouth, press etc. can build upon that. Sony failed, FROM succeeded, KT failed with any pre-release build up even though by all indications they have a good well received product that they developed in house. There's nothing positive about repeating Demon's Soul.

I think you're wrong here. Usually I agree with your analysis of franchises and fan attachment, but the situation around Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne are very, very different from the norm. It's true that publishers sell the game, but the content of marketing also matters. The average joe doesn't care about going out of their way to follow developers, but they also aren't blind when developers are directly marketed to them. In the case of Demon's Souls, especially in Japan, what happened was highly unusual. The game sold poor initially and had zero visibility. This is 100% on Sony, you are right that Sony failed to sell it at first. But then word of mouth picked up and it kept selling. It went from like sub 50k to over 150k eventually. It was this positive vibe that made Bandai Namco pick up From and partner to release Dark Souls to begin with. With an international partner secured, From was free to aggressively push Dark Souls as the follow up to Demon's Souls in Japan, while Bandai Namco did the same internationally. There is no question that Dark Souls' success was built on the back of the positive word of mouth Demon's Souls received.

 

[hiska-kun]

Tsutaya's Ranking Week 5 2017

01./01. [PS4] Resident Evil VII: biohazard (Grotesque Ver.) <ADV> (Capcom)
02./05. [3DS] Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World <ACT> (Nintendo)
03./06. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki <RPG> (Level 5)
04./03. [PS4] Gravity Rush 2 <ADV> (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
05./04. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD II.8: Final Chapter Prologue <RPG> (Square Enix)
06./00. [PS4] Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto <FTG> (Bandai Namco Games)
07./08. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS <ACT> (Nintendo)
08./02. [PS4] Resident Evil VII: biohazard <ADV> (Capcom)
09./12. [3DS] Pokemon Moon <RPG> (Pokemon Co.)
10./11. [3DS] Pokemon Sun <RPG> (Pokemon Co.)
11./10. [PSV] Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony <ADV> (Spike Chunsoft)
12./07. [PS4] Valkyria Revolution <SLG> (Sega)
13./09. [PSV] Valkyria Revolution <SLG> (Sega)
14./14. [3DS] Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!! <TBL> (Nintendo)
15./16. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V [New Price Edition] <ACT> (Take-Two Interactive Japan)
16./18. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition <ADV> (Sony Computer Entertainment)
17./20. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo <ETC> (Nintendo)
18./23. [PS4] Final Fantasy XV <RPG> (Square Enix)
19./28. [PS4] Resident Evil 6 <ADV> (Capcom)
20./17. [3DS] Miitopia <SLG> (Nintendo)

 

[zeromcd73]

Things are looking really rough for Nioh in Japan.

Dragon Quest MJ3 Prof is really bad too, but that 's kind of expected and it is the last game in the series anyway, so eh.

 

[Primethius]

Why do you keep saying Dark Souls' sales built on Demon's? They were by different publishers, common people don't know/care about the developers involved. I doubt most buyers knew Demon's that well beforehand to make Dark Souls their must buy to make it explode in popularity. On the contrary it's the publisher's job to sell a game to its potential (including referring to non-obvious links like the "Souls series"), then word of mouth, press etc. can build upon that. Sony failed, FROM succeeded, KT failed with any pre-release build up even though by all indications they have a good well received product that they developed in house. There's nothing positive about repeating Demon's Souls.

Why wouldn't I? Maybe not everyone can make the connection but if most of the base can see Bloodborne as a game that was a Souls title, then the Demon > Dark connection is far easier to accept.

And again, I'm not really sure what you're trying to say about KT here. My entire point was that it's probably for the best that some publishers stop pinning hopes on Japan as a primary market and focus instead on marketing putting other resources on the rest of the world, including some of the emerging markets. I'm absolutely not denying that Nioh is going to open to numbers that aren't exactly great or anything to write home about in Japan. That's not even remotely close to my point and I haven't even entertained the idea that Niohs opening is going to be impressive or the like. What I'm saying is that it's better for KT/Sony to use the money that could have been spent marketing the title in Japan elsewhere.

 

[Datschge]

I think you're wrong here. Usually I agree with your analysis of franchises and fan attachment, but the situation around Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne are very, very different from the norm. It's true that publishers sell the game, but the content of marketing also matters. The average joe doesn't care about going out of their way to follow developers, but they also aren't blind when developers are directly marketed to them. In the case of Demon's Souls, especially in Japan, what happened was highly unusual. The game sold poor initially and had zero visibility. This is 100% on Sony, you are right that Sony failed to sell it at first. But then word of mouth picked up and it kept selling. It went from like sub 50k to over 150k eventually. It was this positive vibe that made Bandai Namco pick up From and partner to release Dark Souls to begin with. With an international partner secured, From was free to aggressively push Dark Souls as the follow up to Demon's Souls in Japan, while Bandai Namco did the same internationally. There is no question that Dark Souls' success was built on the back of the positive word of mouth Demon's Souls received.

We are actually in agreement there, only that marketing is totally the job of the publisher. Things that the publisher doesn't actively push in its marketing will take too much time to get any speed which is deadly for frontloaded game sales. So in Dark Souls' case the link to Demon's Souls was not a given but something that was being explicitly pushed and only then accordingly recognized by the wider public. And an interesting part of Dark Souls' marketing always has been that Bandai Namco kept pushing itself to the forefront (like calling Dark Souls a classic Bandai Namco series at the Bandai Namco concert in Paris just this Saturday) while simultaneously reassuring the existing fanbase by pushing FROM's and Miyazaki's name as well. In general I think Bandai Namco had less input than they take credit, except for pushing for the PC version that changed both BN's and FROM's subsequent approach to PC as a platform.

To come back to KT, their weak handling of Nioh in Japan is worrying both for them as publisher not knowing how to market it and for them as developer not having the confidence in clearly positioning what the game stands for (or again the publishing side not picking that up). This is in stark contrast to the somewhat messy but fitting handling of Dark Souls where FROM as a developer showcased confidence in their games by denying giving specific info that Bandai Namco as the publisher previously promised to reveal in interviews with them.

 

[AzaK]

[
Super Mario Maker Wii U VS 3DS

Now scale that for install base.

 

[Vena]

Now scale that for install base.

Why? It would tell us absolutely nothing.

 

[Ōkami]

Final Fantasy Mobile with nonsense name now at 1m downloads.

 

[horuhe]

Rakuten Books Sales Ranking Week 5, 2017 (Jan 30 - Feb 05)

01./04. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS <ACT> (Nintendo)
02./01. [PS4] Resident Evil VII: biohazard (Grotesque Ver.) <ADV> (Capcom)
03./06. [3DS] Pokémon Moon <RPG> (Pokémon Co.)
04./03. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki <RPG> (Level 5)
05./02. [3DS] Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World <ACT> (Nintendo)
06./05. [3DS] Pokémon Sun <RPG> (Pokémon Co.)
07./08. [PS4] Gravity Rush 2 <ADV> (Sony Interactive)
08./00. [PS4] Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto <FTG> (Bandai Namco)
09./09. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V [New Price Edition] <ACT> (Take-Two Interactive)
10./15. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo <ETC> (Nintendo)
11./11. [PSV] Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony <ADV> (Spike Chunsoft)
12./16. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition <ADV> (Sony Interactive)
13./10. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD II.8: Final Chapter Prologue <RPG> (Square Enix)
14./14. [3DS] Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!! <TBL> (Nintendo)
15./22. [PS4] Resident Evil 6 <ADV> (Capcom)
16./07. [PS4] Resident Evil VII: biohazard <ADV> (Capcom)
17./17. [PS4] Valkyria Revolution <SLG> (Sega)
18./19. [PS4] Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony <ADV> (Spike Chunsoft)
19./21. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo)
20./18. [PS4] Final Fantasy XV <RPG> (Square Enix)

Rakuten Books Pre-Orders Ranking Week 5, 2017 (Jan 30 - Feb 05)

01./01. [PS4] Nier: Automata <RPG> (Square Enix)
02./02. [3DS] Monster Hunter XX <ACT> (Capcom)
03./06. [PS4] Nioh <ACT> (Koei Tecmo)
04./11. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 - Professional <RPG> (Square Enix)
05./08. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild <ADV> (Nintendo)
06./07. [PS4] Yonmegami Online: Cyber Dimension Neptune (Royal Edition) <RPG> (Compile Heart)
07./04. [WiiU] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild <ADV> (Nintendo)
08./13. [PS4] Super Robot Wars V <SLG> (Bandai Namco)
09./16. [PS4] Horizon: Zero Dawn <RPG> (Sony Interactive)
10./00. [PS4] Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age <RPG> (Square Enix)

Rakuten Books Ranking Week 4, 2017 (Jan 09 - Jan 15)

***WARNING***

* Note: Games on the Rakuten Books Rankings are ONLY based on sales at Rakuten Books and does NOT count games sold by other retailers at Rakuten.
** Note 2: Games on the Pre-Orders Ranking are counted as net sales, so it might possibly affect the games listed on the Sales Ranking, since those sales are NOT added afterwards.

 

[duckroll]

In general I think Bandai Namco had less input than they take credit, except for pushing for the PC version that changed both BN's and FROM's subsequent approach to PC as a platform.

My understanding is that Bandai Namco invested a very significant chunk of money into development of the games in exchange for the international distribution rights. Much like the deal they made with Level5 for Ninokuni 2. It is very likely that without their financial support, these games would not exist, or at least would not exist with the budget they do. Creative input or not, we cannot ignore that games cost money to make, especially at this scale. Don't underestimate Bandai Namco's contribution in that sense imo.

 

[L~A]

Arc System Works announced they have acquired several IPs from WorkJam, namely:

- Jake Hunter / Tantei Jinguuji Saburou
- Theresia
- Nazo no Jikenbo
- Koneko no Ie

Jake Hunter is celebrating 30th Anniversary this year, so they have two games in the works

- mobile game
- new 3DS game called Ghost of the Dusk

http://www.4gamer.net/games/370/G037062/20170206037/

Totally expecting Ghost of the Dusk to be by the same team as CHASE (with some ex-CING staff).

 

[Obliterator]

I'm surprised Ni-Oh is tracking so low in Japan. It's looking to have a solid launch in the West

 

[AniHawk]

Capcom and Koei Tecmo should merge and call themselves Fading Star Entertainment.

that would be neat just for the inevitable castlevania musou

 

[L~A]

January Leg-o-Meter. Nothing really surprising or exciting for now.

 

[Milijango]

I'm surprised Ni-Oh is tracking so low in Japan. It's looking to have a solid launch in the West

The Nioh alpha's reception in Asia was lukewarm compared to internationally. Obviously the game has changed since then but I guess some of that can't be shaken off.

 

[Kanann]

1. 
   

Preorders
[PS4] Nioh - 27

Hello darkness, my old friend.

Capcom and Koei Tecmo should merge and call themselves Fading Star Entertainment.

Nostradamus time:
2018-2021
- Capcom merge with KT = KTC
- Square Enix buy Platinum Games

 

[Kresnik258]

that would be neat just for the inevitable castlevania musou

Merging and buying IP's from Konami!

 

[L~A]

Regarding Fire Emblem Heroes, it seems to be doing well on Android, with 1 - 5 million downloads so far, and 103 357 reviews (4.6 average). In comparison, Miitomo is at 5 - 10 million downloads with 208 956 reviews (3.8 average).

Will keep an eye on download count in the coming days.

Maybe in E3 we'll get more news regarding this, who knows (I don't).

I really doubt anything will be announced or even teased at E3, or even this year for this matter. Wouldn't make sense to start talking about a new console (even a handheld) so early. I mean, the Nintendo Switch still hasn't gone through its first holiday period, and no doubt Nintendo will want to focus all they have on that first one.

 

[Chris1964]

Famitsu Sales: Jan 2017 (Dec 26 - Jan 29)

01./01. [3DS] Pokemon Sun / Moon # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2016.11.18} (¥4.980) - 353.983 / 3.600.205 (-61%)
02./03. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS <ACT> (Nintendo) {2016.12.01} (¥4.700) - 301.472 / 1.044.860 (-59%)
03./06. [3DS] Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!! <TBL> (Nintendo) {2016.12.22} (¥4.980) - 232.276 / 364.339 (+76%)
04./00. [PS4] Resident Evil 7: biohazard # <ADV> (Capcom) {2017.01.26} (¥7.990) - 231.188 / NEW
05./00. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue <Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance HD \ Kingdom Hearts &#967;: Back Cover \ Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage> <RPG> (Square Enix) {2017.01.12} (¥6.800) - 167.688 / NEW

Top 5

3DS - 3
PS4 - 2

SOFTWARE

Nintendo - 1.104.000
Pokemon Co. - 366.000
Square Enix - 315.000

HARDWARE

+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month |  Last Year |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| 3DS # |    355.816 |    492.298 |    260.203 |    355.816 |    260.203 |  22.267.229 |
| PS4 # |    312.420 |    397.607 |    193.184 |    312.420 |    193.184 |   4.234.036 |
| PSV # |    117.462 |    118.549 |    189.872 |    117.462 |    189.872 |   5.364.881 |
|  WIU  |     10.136 |     21.914 |    112.781 |     10.136 |    112.781 |   3.289.874 |
|  PS3  |      2.599 |      2.602 |     11.221 |      2.599 |     11.221 |  10.260.318 |
| XB1 # |      2.285 |      1.714 |        887 |      2.285 |        887 |      75.233 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  ALL  |    800.718 |  1.034.684 |    768.148 |    800.718 |    768.148 |  45.491.571 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| XB1 S |      1.749 |        816 |            |      1.749 |            |       3.467 |
|  XB1  |        536 |        898 |        887 |        536 |        887 |      71.766 |
|PS4 Pro|     38.956 |     33.250 |            |     38.956 |            |     156.006 |
|  PS4  |    273.464 |    364.357 |    193.184 |    273.464 |    193.184 |   4.078.030 |
|  PSV  |    117.462 |    118.549 |    189.872 |    117.462 |    189.872 |   5.364.881 |
|  2DS  |    110.263 |    146.225 |            |    110.263 |            |     407.410 |
| n-3DS |    245.553 |    345.188 |    234.207 |    245.553 |    234.207 |   4.939.542 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+

 

[LordOfLore]

This been posted yet?

 

[Jaymageck]

Triple A console gaming is dead in Japan, so relative to the market I guess these RE sales aren't bad. I wonder if it can be revived.

 

[Chris1964]

Triple A console gaming is dead in Japan, so relative to the market I guess these RE sales aren't bad. I wonder if it can be revived.

Make a proper RE and maybe it will.

 

[noshten]

Interesting what other MC regulars are thinking in terms of annual predictions for the Switch titles and hardware.

bruno do you plan the annual predictions to have it's own thread or will you just post them in the media create thread?

 

[Inuhanyou]

Triple A console gaming is dead in Japan, so relative to the market I guess these RE sales aren't bad. I wonder if it can be revived.

I think declarations like this are overblown and hyperbolic when games like FF15 can still sell over a million in one region on one platform, which is not that far off from the US on PS4. Maybe if it sold 100k on the back of all that marketing would you have a point

 

[lherre]

Make a proper RE and maybe it will.

What's a proper RE? I'm curious because RE4 is very different to the 3 first titles. 5 and 6 are evolutions of 4 not 1-3. I like RE7 right now as it is (and I'm not a huge fan of 1st person titles) since I liked a lot P.T.

For me a proper RE is something like the 3 first ones not the latest that are a "kill'em all" titles instead "horror" titles.

 

[duckroll]

What's a proper RE? I'm curious because RE4 is very different to the 3 first titles. 5 and 6 are evolutions of 4 not 1-3.

One with characters fans recognize at least.

 

[FreedomFighter]

That would be dumb as hell. They could make 3DS and Wii U stuff simultaneously at a good pace. There's no chance they could do it for two HD systems.

Nevermind the fact it would be Nintendo competing directly against themselves. Even worse when you consider they are making mobile games.

It's stupid and would sink them.

I agree with this. The only way this makes sense is if they can shrink the Switch down to a portable form factor. That would be a win-win. But to create a dedicated gaming handheld successor would be silly.

 

[lherre]

One with characters fans recognize at least.

They have great films to recognize their heroes

Yeah, maybe one of the old characters would have sense at least to connect all the things with past titles..

 

[Datschge]

My understanding is that Bandai Namco invested a very significant chunk of money into development of the games in exchange for the international distribution rights. Much like the deal they made with Level5 for Ninokuni 2. It is very likely that without their financial support, these games would not exist, or at least would not exist with the budget they do. Creative input or not, we cannot ignore that games cost money to make, especially at this scale. Don't underestimate Bandai Namco's contribution in that sense imo.

Oh sure, they definitely made those financially possible, that's no question. I just find it very interesting that they have a very classical publisher developer separation of roles going on there, with BN handling the financial risk but by most indications not meddling with development details. Unfortunately that's one of few exceptions nowadays that's commonly afforded by first party publishing, if at all.