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Media Create Sales: Week 45, 2015 (Nov 2 - Nov 8)

Type-0 HD sold well for what it was but SQEX expectations were notably higher - the same is true for FFXIV and FFX HD; perhaps, PS4 and X1 just don't have (yet?) a sizeable audience for the genre which is not surprising given the results of DQH and TOZ from last NPD.

Let me interrupt on TOZ. I think calling it anything short of a success in the West is quite unfair. The Steam sales likely directly cannibalized the console ones. Given a choice between a PS3 SKU with no forward compatibility, a PS4 one with limited enhancements, and a PC one that was likely to work indefinitely, I think many would have picked that one if it were a viable option. The only real advantage left for the PS4 SKU would have been remote play. I also suspect it led many, including myself, to wait for the inevitable Steam sale, which in a sense means it will have a tail, pardon the pun, which will likely be a whole lot longer than DQH. In fact, i would not be shocked to see it end well north of 250K on PC before it hits the basement price wise.

Also add in the fact it came out of Japan with generally bad word of mouth, something that likely matters to the niche tales fanbase, or at least could, and I would suggest Namco Bandai is likely quite pleased with 150K+ or so first month sales for the localized release.

None of this applies to DQH of course which is not on Steam, did not have the bad press behind it, but I suspect nothing about TOZ performence will make Namco reconsider its platform choices. First month sales are likely well over double Abyss 3DS' in the West, the tail will be longer due to digital distribution, and the preponderance of evidence is that the development process for that one went poorly. The loss of the Steam SKU at this point, which might well happen if the series went handheld would likely trump any possible gains.
 

ZSaberLink

Media Create Maven
Let me interrupt on TOZ. I think calling it anything short of a success in the West is quite unfair. The Steam sales likely directly cannibalized the console ones. Given a choice between a PS3 SKU with no forward compatibility, a PS4 one with limited enhancements, and a PC one that was likely to work indefinitely, I think many would have picked that one if it were a viable option. The only real advantage left for the PS4 SKU would have been remote play. I also suspect it led many, including myself, to wait for the inevitable Steam sale, which in a sense means it will have a tail, pardon the pun, which will likely be a whole lot longer than DQH. In fact, i would not be shocked to see it end well north of 250K on PC before it hits the basement price wise.

Also add in the fact it came out of Japan with generally bad word of mouth, something that likely matters to the niche tales fanbase, or at least could, and I would suggest Namco Bandai is likely quite pleased with 150K+ or so first month sales for the localized release.

None of this applies to DQH of course which is not on Steam, did not have the bad press behind it, but I suspect nothing about TOZ performence will make Namco reconsider its platform choices. First month sales are likely well over double Abyss 3DS' in the West, the tail will be longer due to digital distribution, and the preponderance of evidence is that the development process for that one went poorly. The loss of the Steam SKU at this point, which might well happen if the series went handheld would likely trump any possible gains.

Dragon Quest Heroes is looking like it'll come to Steam though actually. I remember folks saying there were ads on Steam for it or something.
 
Let me interrupt on TOZ. I think calling it anything short of a success in the West is quite unfair. The Steam sales likely directly cannibalized the console ones. Given a choice between a PS3 SKU with no forward compatibility, a PS4 one with limited enhancements, and a PC one that was likely to work indefinitely, I think many would have picked that one if it were a viable option. The only real advantage left for the PS4 SKU would have been remote play. I also suspect it led many, including myself, to wait for the inevitable Steam sale, which in a sense means it will have a tail, pardon the pun, which will likely be a whole lot longer than DQH. In fact, i would not be shocked to see it end well north of 250K on PC before it hits the basement price wise.

Also add in the fact it came out of Japan with generally bad word of mouth, something that likely matters to the niche tales fanbase, or at least could, and I would suggest Namco Bandai is likely quite pleased with 150K+ or so first month sales for the localized release.

None of this applies to DQH of course which is not on Steam, did not have the bad press behind it, but I suspect nothing about TOZ performence will make Namco reconsider its platform choices. First month sales are likely well over double Abyss 3DS' in the West, the tail will be longer due to digital distribution, and the preponderance of evidence is that the development process for that one went poorly. The loss of the Steam SKU at this point, which might well happen if the series went handheld would likely trump any possible gains.

Indeed. This means that NB should prioritize the Steam version for future Western releases, because PS4 might not be able (because of a wide array of reasons) to absorb the fanbase.
 
Was a smart move releasing plenty of games in March as well? I remember some of them bombed, such as One Piece Warriors 3, Senran Kagura Eestival Versus and Disgaea 5, and the main factor was overcrowding, on top of franchise fatigue.

since when March means Q1?
there are already a lot of releases planned for both January and February
 
Indeed. This means that NB should prioritize the Steam version for future Western releases, because PS4 might not be able (because of a wide array of reasons) to absorb the fanbase.

If I were Square Enix and I really wanted to try and sell DQXI in the West I would do the same. It will be buried on the PS4.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Was a smart move releasing plenty of games in March as well? I remember some of them bombed, such as One Piece Warriors 3, Senran Kagura Eestival Versus and Disgaea 5, and the main factor was overcrowding, on top of franchise fatigue.

Bomb?

Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus - 94,324
Senran Kagura 2 - 46,496
Senran Kagura Estival Versus - 74,795 [PSV 44,548 + PS4 30,247]

Declining, yes. Bomb, no. If SK:EV was a bomb compared to SK:SV, then Bravely Second was a complete bomb compared to Bravely Default. :p
 
I'm sure Square Enix is fine with the sales, which is good. But it's hard to tell when they're happy vs. not happy with sales unless they flat out say it (just look at Bravely and how they basically sabotaged its sequel despite much better sales, and probably a similarly small budget). Actually in Bravely's case, they said they were happy with Western sales, said they'd consider making middle tier titles, and THEN decided to leave Bravely Second with its minimal budget (the budget they allotted before realizing it'd sell well in the West), and went with Setsuna for PS4 (which unfortunately has no guarantee to sell super well).

Seeing as they highlighted shipment figures when they had no reason no to, mentioned its performance positively in their report and

neH6iSd.png

I think the logical conclusion is that it did well.

Let me interrupt on TOZ. I think calling it anything short of a success in the West is quite unfair. The Steam sales likely directly cannibalized the console ones. Given a choice between a PS3 SKU with no forward compatibility, a PS4 one with limited enhancements, and a PC one that was likely to work indefinitely, I think many would have picked that one if it were a viable option. The only real advantage left for the PS4 SKU would have been remote play. I also suspect it led many, including myself, to wait for the inevitable Steam sale, which in a sense means it will have a tail, pardon the pun, which will likely be a whole lot longer than DQH. In fact, i would not be shocked to see it end well north of 250K on PC before it hits the basement price wise.

Also add in the fact it came out of Japan with generally bad word of mouth, something that likely matters to the niche tales fanbase, or at least could, and I would suggest Namco Bandai is likely quite pleased with 150K+ or so first month sales for the localized release.

None of this applies to DQH of course which is not on Steam, did not have the bad press behind it, but I suspect nothing about TOZ performence will make Namco reconsider its platform choices. First month sales are likely well over double Abyss 3DS' in the West, the tail will be longer due to digital distribution, and the preponderance of evidence is that the development process for that one went poorly. The loss of the Steam SKU at this point, which might well happen if the series went handheld would likely trump any possible gains.

Didn't ToZ on Steam come with another game. Nevertheless, PS4/PS3+PC sales in the West are likely 200k+ in first month which is better than Xillia. Namco would be happy about Western sales but disappointed by Japanese sales.
 
PS3 VC1 - 242k
PSP VC2/3 - 170k

I think the main reason for VC4 and Remaster on PS4 is due to possible Western sales.

Then Sega should have ready a Steam version given how much the first one sold there.

Bomb?

Declining, yes. Bomb, no. If SK:EV was a bomb compared to SK:SV, then Bravely Second was a complete bomb compared to Bravely Default. :p

Of course BS was a bomb: retail-wise, it sold half of what BD did. Same for EV, which sold half of what SV did: 74k against 145k (retail-wise) - and it was on two platforms.

If I were Square Enix and I really wanted to try and sell DQXI in the West I would do the same. It will be buried on the PS4.

I just have a feeling that DQ is simply not attractive for a Western audience, unless special circumstances apply. Of course, DQXI on PC would be a good move - actually, they should spread it on all gaming platforms, as they did for DQX.

since when March means Q1?
there are already a lot of releases planned for both January and February

Point is, they are escaping the holiday season to exploit other periods throughout the year - but they are not going to pack, let's say, February becase March is better (for fiscal and business cycle reasons).
 

Tizoc

Member
^Fair enough, thanks again mate, I linked your post in this thread-
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1141457

...wherein the PC ver. has now gotten 500,000+ owners in the span of 1 year.

I think the main reason for VC4 and Remaster on PS4 is due to possible Western sales.

Well SEGA DID register a new VC game recently ;)
Also I think the game will be riding on Persona 5's coat tail (or whatever the term is :V)

Hell wouldn't surprise me if there will be a Persona 5 themed PS4
 
^Fair enough, thanks again mate, I linked your post in this thread-
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1141457

...wherein the PC ver. has now gotten 500,000+ owners in the span of 1 year.



Well SEGA DID register a new VC game recently ;)
Also I think the game will be riding on Persona 5's coat tail (or whatever the term is :V)

Hell wouldn't surprise me if there will be a Persona 5 themed PS4

Definitely hope so theres a P5 PS4. Soejima art would look amazing. With steam sales its always hard to directly compare to console sales due to price variance. Price can have a big factor on sales. For instance VC had a notbale jump in sales on PS3, matching its launch month when it got a price drop.

http://www.1up.com/news/valkyria-chronicles-sales-jumped-april

Furthermore, I think the excellent word of mouth helped VC have a longer tail in both PS3 and PC sales. SEGA never did disclose how much the PS3 sold WW though.

Then Sega should have ready a Steam version given how much the first one sold there.



Of course BS was a bomb: retail-wise, it sold half of what BD did. Same for EV, which sold half of what SV did: 74k against 145k (retail-wise) - and it was on two platforms.



I just have a feeling that DQ is simply not attractive for a Western audience, unless special circumstances apply. Of course, DQXI on PC would be a good move - actually, they should spread it on all gaming platforms, as they did for DQX.



Point is, they are escaping the holiday season to exploit other periods throughout the year - but they are not going to pack, let's say, February becase March is better (for fiscal and business cycle reasons).

They may or may not.
 

Sandfox

Member
Seeing as they highlighted shipment figures when they had no reason no to, mentioned its performance positively in their report and



I think the logical conclusion is that it did well.



Didn't ToZ on Steam come with another game. Nevertheless, PS4/PS3+PC sales in the West are likely 200k+ in first month which is better than Xillia. Namco would be happy about Western sales but disappointed by Japanese sales.

Where are you getting 200k+ from?
 

Rymuth

Member
Looks like the new Puzzle & Dragons game for the 3DS is indeed a sequel to Puzzle & Dragons Z (or at least, it's in the same vein).

It's called Puzzle & Dragons X, out next year (most likely for Golden Week).
http://gematsu.com/2015/11/puzzle-dragons-x-announced-3ds

The game is completely new from the 2013-launched Puzzle & Dragons Z and promises stronger RPG elements, as well as enhanced gameplay and volume. Over 500 monsters will appear, and if you train them, they can evolve. Using equipment endowed with the power of monsters, the hero can use skills, as well.
 

Fdkn

Member
sörine;185787560 said:
Why are you assuming Zestiria would match Xillia sales in Europe when it didn't anywhere else?

He's implying a matching ratio, not sales.

In NPD thread galyonkin just showed that the US account for ~30% of ToZ steam sales fwiw
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd

seems an actual effort. they probably saw in the light-hearted non-RPG nature of the Super Mario crossover the main reason of the decreased sales volume?

If this game will actually perform decently, with the very solid performances of the first P&DZ and the likely good performances of the incoming Monster Strike (I'm assuming this from the COMGNET preorders, so I could be wrong) it seems that "dedicated game for dedicated platforms" taken from famous and successfull "mobile IPs" could be one of the direction to be followed for the future Japanese gaming scene
 

sörine

Banned
He's implying a matching ratio, not sales.

In NPD thread galyonkin just showed that the US account for ~30% of ToZ steam sales fwiw
It was around 40% US, although Steam leans more to ROTW figures than PS3/PS4. And Xillia EU matched US sales? It only shipped (+digital) 230k West it's first FY but it's first npd month in the US was over 100k sold through retail? So it only did 15k more retail + total digital in the US? That doesn't add up?
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
Should have been NX launch title.

Why? isn't for a third party more interesting to propose their (sequel) products on a very spread install base? Plus, do you think that a "mobile-IP" would be a system seller for a dedicated handheld device? Because I'd say that exclusive dedicated games could probably be more suited to cover that role.
 
Why?

It seems 3DS 2016 lineup is filling up way more nicely than 2015.

Why? isn't for a third party more interesting to propose their (sequel) products on a very spread install base? Plus, do you think that a "mobile-IP" would be a system seller for a dedicated handheld device? Because I'd say that exclusive dedicated games could probably be more suited to cover that role.

Care to explain why? :/
To strengthen launch lineup? Unless NX has BC, I don't see how releasing more games in 2016 for 3DS will help it. It will only slow the sales for it as more people will keep their 3DS instead of upgrading to NX.

Of course, this hold only if NX will launch in 2016 and is a successor to 3DS. If they plan to release it in 2017, then it is another story altogether.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
To strengthen launch lineup? Unless NX has BC, I don't see how releasing more games in 2016 for 3DS will help it. It will only slow the sales for it as more people will keep their 3DS instead of upgrading to NX.

Of course, this hold only if NX will launch in 2016 and is a successor to 3DS. If they plan to release it in 2017, then it is another story altogether.
That's not Gung-Ho's problem though.

They're a mobile company first and foremost, so their future doesn't rely on supporting the platform either.
 
To strengthen launch lineup? Unless NX has BC, I don't see how releasing more games in 2016 for 3DS will help it. It will only slow the sales for it as more people will keep their 3DS instead of upgrading to NX.

Of course, this hold only if NX will launch in 2016 and is a successor to 3DS. If they plan to release it in 2017, then it is another story altogether.

Is p&d Nintendo-published on 3ds? Cause a company that revolves around smart phones probably views the handhelds new and old as merely a side project, and therefore doesn't give a shit about Nintendo's launch lineup.
 
That's not Gung-Ho's problem though.

They're a mobile company first and foremost, so their future doesn't rely on supporting the platform either.

Is p&d Nintendo-published on 3ds? Cause a company that revolves around smart phones probably views the handhelds new and old as merely a side project, and therefore doesn't give a shit about Nintendo's launch lineup.
Well judging from their collaboration with Nintendo and using Mario, I was under the assumption that Nintendo could have approached them for support for NX? Maybe I was wrong.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Then Sega should have ready a Steam version given how much the first one sold there.

They very well might. It's only been announced for Japan so far and you generally don't announce SKUs that aren't releasing in Japan in Famitsu.

On a related note, I think we're seeing the PS3's support mostly dying off by Fall 2016 from Japanese publishers at this point. It will be interesting to see if the PS4 titles start taking to NX around the same time locally or if they're going to just head forth with PS4 the whole way.

They seem to have swapped in the PC where the Xbox used to be for Western releases at this point, but it's still one relatively low selling platform in Japan as it stands.

Well judging from their collaboration with Nintendo and using Mario, I was under the assumption that Nintendo could have approached them for support for NX? Maybe I was wrong.

They could certainly try. They may even have succeeded if it's a cross-gen title. That said, Gung-Ho is mostly interested in targeting children with the 3DS releases, so that might be a hard sell for a brand new system where the audience tends to be enthusiast heavy.
 

L~A

Member
Yeah, releasing PxD X on NX doesn't really make sense. PxD Z sold what it sold because it came out on a platform with a sizeable userbase, and with a sizeable portion of the target audience actually owning it to begin with.

I doubt people would have rushed out to buy a 3DS just for Puzzle & Dragons Z.
 
And furthermore, P&DX might well be a first-half 2016 release. P&DZ was announced in April 2013 to be released on December 2013 - around 7.5 months. If this game follows the same timeline, it will be May - June game. I doubt NX will be even announced at that point.
 

Eolz

Member
Hell, I don't see why they couldn't release a Puzzle and Dragons N for NX if X still sells well. No need to delay titles just because.
 
Well, it's not that games and merchandising are completely different entities. People inferred that a decline in merchandising sales would mean a decline in the overall popularity of the franchise - and in the gaming department as well. YW Busters, though, is selling spectacularly and the fact that a third version will only be a DLC might strengthen the idea of a more long-lasting IP than usual.
 
Level-5's (for almost every company) unusual pro-consumer handling of Yokai Watch ( Buster's big third version free update, YW3's already announced big content updates) is a direct response to the short life of their last IPs.

It's such a cool thing for consumers when you are rewarded for sticking around with the game.

I hope Gamefreak changes something in their approach. The last couple of barebones Pokemon games look really bad in comparison to the luxurious Yokai Watchs with their mountains of content and meaningful post release support.
 

Xbro

Member
So Splatoon needs about ~70K before it hits a million. With this upcoming week it'll probably be dropped down to ~50K
 

Ryng_tolu

Banned
So Splatoon needs about ~70K before it hits a million. With this upcoming week it'll probably be dropped down to ~50K

Splatoon was at 164,000 digital by end of October, now is probabily at nearly 180,000.

Next week the gap should be 35-40k.
 

Mory Dunz

Member
Question answered for splatoon


The ad would make a good nothing stops this train gif. Or bus.


Does Wii U stuff get more advertising in Japan than the US or no
 
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