I'm not trying to be a jerk, but people expressing surprise at Wii U sales and hoping they will stay above 30k for the next few weeks- do you guys follow Japanese holiday sales? Nintendo systems do extremely well starting about now. Wii U will do better than many people think because it's the holiday- then sales will drop off a cliff the second week of January.
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Media Create Sales: Week 48, 2013 (Nov 25 - Dec 01)
- Thread starter Chris1964
- Start date
I saw a big drop from FW but I don't know if there are such big drops from first week to second week on OP titles. I'll see Garaph, thanks!
I suppose a good chunk of those will be bought in the next 5 weeks.
Magicpaint
Member
It's been obvious for a while that the smartphones have taken a chunk of the dedicated market space and all current sales are looked at in that context. 3DS being down YoY by a (relatively) minuscule amount does not change that story significantly. It's a natural sales curve that even the DS followed.
I agree. People have just had a mindset that the WiiU will probably follow the Vita 2012 holiday sales curve where there was barely much of a bump, but I can't see that happening with the lineup. The bump probably won't be GC level but it'll be noticeable.
Metallix87
Member
Yep, I couldn't agree more. I love the Vita, but as I've said countless times, it's "failure" is due to Sony's incompetence and unwillingness to give it the support it truly needs.
Oh lol. I remember again the joke of one gaffer on "how hard it is to disassemble a vita to make it to vita tv".
Aquamarine
Member
I hope you're not referring to me...because I'm not "surprised" at the slightest. All I said is that is was a welcome reprieve...I completely expected it, though.
D
Deleted member 125677
Unconfirmed Member
Until February?? lol
One of those game is an updated version, and all of them is monster-hunter game. Sony needs more diversity, not just quantity. Granted, they have different style but all of them put emphasis on adhoc play, and have similar core that is hunting big-ass monsters with friends.
It's not the actual numbers, but the sudden, unexpected bump that makes me happy.
0% chance.
I don't know anyone already read this article but it says that Sony didn't even newly add HDMI driver for Vita TV (HDMI connector is directly connected to SoC, with very little accessories like amplifiers).
Given that plus SoC is OG Vita, it is obvious that OG Vita is indeed capable of HDMI output, but Sony left out the connector intentionally.
(That kinda explains HDMI out port on dev kit).
Magicpaint
Member
You keep saying this but that isn't the main issue with the Vita at all. Sony have supported it about as well as they supported the PSP in a similar time frame, probably even more in some respects. Losing Monster Hunter was a far bigger loss than anything Sony could have mustered.
Have Ape Escape and Parappa been strong franchises in Japan? Love for both to be resurrected. SCEJ have done well these past 2 years and it's now time to reach SCEA level of game releases with next gen starting.
spatenfloot
Member
Well its main draw here on Gaf as a cheap PS4 extender won't even apply in Japan until February. Even then, it won't have the same effect as it would in the US or Europe.
Gianni Merryman
Member
Do you think 160k in 4 weeks in December is a big gap to fill?
That seems pretty much a given to me, in fact I reckon it's going to seel easily more than that.
If you compare these data with the same situation in 2007 is still bad for the wii although is not terribad.
Also you'll learn how the handheld mark shrank in Japan too.
3DS now -160k yoy despite all the big releases.. the DS is too far away...
@Gianni: 3ds has to sell more than 211k next week to stop the yoy decline. I doubt it will.
Also you'll learn how the handheld mark shrank in Japan too.
3DS now -160k yoy despite all the big releases.. the DS is too far away...
@Gianni: 3ds has to sell more than 211k next week to stop the yoy decline. I doubt it will.
Metallix87
Member
The thing is, with Monster Hunter gone, Sony needs to step their game up to make up for that loss. They haven't, and seem to be okay with Vita becoming a glorified PS4 accessory.
Sony made the system, and they shouldn't have banked on third parties carrying a system alone once again. It's their fault.
Nightengale
Member
The writing has been on the wall for the longest time, sadly.
Sony, even with their successful PSP, never gave it proper first-party support, and relied entirely on third-parties and the sales boost contributed by the fact that PSP was pirate-heaven.
Sony, unfortunately, doesn't have the IPs, and the development resources to support console and handheld with the same balance that Nintendo can.
Their IPs are all too 'console-driven', where it's associated as console titles first-and-foremost, instead of being handheld-driven like say, Fire Emblem, Pokemon or Animal Crossing. It's hard to build a system seller driven around console-focused franchises because sales would gravitate on their superior console version instead of a washed down handheld version.
Developmental resources is a no-brainer. None of Sony's core teams are actively developing for handhelds.
pieatorium
Member
the 3ds didn't stop selling in week 48 last year
Oh, no, you're right about the diversity bit. But saying that the money spent on Vita TV is wasted and should have gone towards games is a bit silly. Sony should focus on building up Soul Sacrifice, or even propping up Toukiden some more. Instead of Freedom Wars, they should try to do something that appeals to fans on Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto, or Metal Gear Solid: franchises that were popular on PSP but have since abandoned dedicated portables.
Well it makes sense to invest to the area that actually makes money, doesn't it?
People were chanting that abandoning Vita early would set bad precedent for Sony and would hurt PS4 launch.. (that I kinda agreed also), and look what happened.
Its not that the 3ds has to sell 160k more to match its that it will have to sell more each week than it did each week last year thru the rest of the year in order to end up higher YoY. I think that is unlikely at this point, especially with how late in the year Zelda is releasing.
Huh, that's unexpected. Do Miku fans not like the game on 3DS (I'm assuming the games are all fairly similar), or is interest waning in the series?
Magicpaint
Member
If the 3DS sold 0 units for the rest of the year last year I'd agree that it was a given.
Soul Sacrifice was an attempt to make up for it along with the various incentives this year like the price drop, Vita TV and the new models. I mean yeah if Sony didn't have a PS4 (by far their main priority) to support then they could do more. Problem is that priorities exist in business and much as the PSP was secondary to PS3, so is the case of Vita to PS4.
Metallix87
Member
They didn't abandon it, and just dragged it along until the PS4 launched.
Also, handhelds could make them money if they actually tried to succeed.
There is really something wrong with SCEJ IP management. Two weeks ago I saw sells data of Patapon series. None of them bombed, with the third installment sold the most yet there isn't any Patapon 4 on the horizon. It baffles me all the time.
How does Sony lose Monster Hunter though? Is there any story behind it?
ShockingAlberto
Member
There isn't much Sony could have done to make the Vita successful that isn't software-related. Aggressive pricecuts and not fucking people over on memory cards would have put band-aids on the situation (band-aids that are still needed), but would not have reversed its fortunes.
It needed to be out there day one matching the PSP's promises game-by-game. It should not have lost any series that the PSP had. Sony should have been aggressively using their own teams to make blockbuster software for it.
But they didn't, maybe because they assumed Nintendo would suffer from the same shrinking market (which they do, proportionally) or maybe the Vita as a device just somehow made it through Sony Computer Entertainment without anyone in charge actually liking the damn thing.
Either way, they missed the window to capture audience interest and consumers picked up on their apathy.
It needed to be out there day one matching the PSP's promises game-by-game. It should not have lost any series that the PSP had. Sony should have been aggressively using their own teams to make blockbuster software for it.
But they didn't, maybe because they assumed Nintendo would suffer from the same shrinking market (which they do, proportionally) or maybe the Vita as a device just somehow made it through Sony Computer Entertainment without anyone in charge actually liking the damn thing.
Either way, they missed the window to capture audience interest and consumers picked up on their apathy.
Nightengale
Member
Soul Sacrifice and Toukiden got a lot of propping. They didn't break records, but they did pretty well, all things considered.
As for doing something that appeal to fans of FF, GTA and MGS... what can they do aside from getting those franchises on the Vita itself? ( which 3rd-parties aren't doing.)
If Sony were to attempt to build their own franchises with the strong appeal of extending out to fans of popular franchises, the reality is that they need to start from their console base because that is where Sony is strongest. Sony isn't like Nintendo where they can build a base from their portables and move upwards to consoles, unless it's a purely handheld driven genre like monster hunting.
Gianni Merryman
Member
Maybe handheld market has shrunk indeed, but taking NDS sales as a proof of your statement seems to me quite misleading.
Metallix87
Member
Capcom wanted more money, and 3DS gave them that opportunity, while also allowing them to reuse old assets. It was a logical business decision.
Sony should not have taken Capcom's support for granted.
D
Deleted member 125677
Unconfirmed Member
Any idea as to why Vita sales dropped off? Do they traditionally do poorly during the holidays?
Aquamarine
Member
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
That's how it used to be and it would be a good sign for Nintendo if they could still achieve that. However, with Wii U, no former success is guaranteed to repeat and looking at the horrible start of Mario 3D World, which is the only title that can carry the Wii U this year (or can't as we know now), there still is justified doubt that the Wii U will have a good holiday season.
Magicpaint
Member
Mirai is a spinoff. It doesn't necessarily appeal to the same demographic as the Diva games.
Nightengale
Member
We've heard the horror stories of how Japan Studio is practically wild wild west of a bunch of creatives being allowed to do whatever the hell they want with poor control or leadership. It's pretty obvious that they don't give a shit about sales and are doing whatever the hell they want.
Even with Allan Becker's new leadership, it still sounds like Japan Studio gets a free pass to do whatever the hell their crazy minds can think of. I mean, Puppeteer sounds almost entirely like a vanity project by Gavin Moore. I
Gianni Merryman
Member
I stand corrected, I was convinced that Last year YTD was the overall total sales and not the partial ones, I never noticed that before.
We'll I don't think they are going to sell 100k in a week or anything, but my point is this bump wasn't random- it's part of the traditional Nintendo holiday ramp up.
ShockingAlberto
Member
But Sony got them to do it last time.
They have shown no interest in being as aggressive in recruiting major third party games this time.
That is the problem. It's easy to say it's those dastardly third parties not giving Vita a chance, but Sony has not been cultivating an atmosphere that makes them comfortable there nor trying to garner much major Japanese support for the thing. I am sure third parties would love another avenue for handheld games if they could be convinced it would make them money. They're suffering from the same disease Nintendo has in the console space - they won't, so they can't.
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
Capcom said, "Hey Sony can you update AdHocParty in the US so we can actually release MHP3 in the West (since MHP3 HD is dependent on AHP)"
Sony went, "lol no"
Nintendo goes, "Hey Cacpom we'll help market MH3G in the west AND provide matchmaking servers for you"
why? isn't it another handheld console?
There were two handheld consoles last gen, both their successors are selling far less, one of the two is still doing good the other one really bad.
I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo funded every expense of MH4.
I actually read an article saying that Ninty did fund everything, but got deleted quickly, so take that as a rumor
That's IGN's rumor and I think it makes more sense.
Sony could have favored Capcom at western market for Monster Hunter, but I'm sure SCEA would rather spend that money just to "keep" healthy relationship between EA, Activision and UBI.
Last time was much easier to recruit major third party games.
They just had to say "ehi now we are going to introduce a playstation handheld that will guarantee you another revenue stream maybe even comparable to that of PS2".
Now we are in a post DS/Smartphone world.
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
We totally agree then, though. I wasn't so shure this would happen at all though and it's a good sign that the Wii U is not completely rejected, say, as if it was a somewhat bigger Virtual Boy.
Of course not. It's a worse GameCube.
Because in 7 years DS sold 33M units in Japan.
Nothing short of a miracle.
Although what's even more impressive is how fast DS went from 3M to 21M.
First off, I should note that Sony can't just get the third parties. Forget moneyhats. If Square Enix does not feel their their studios' time is well spent working on an original Vita RPG, they won't bother.
However, the Vita appeals to similar demographics as the PSP, and people who were interested in the PSP are probably those whose interest is easiest to catch. A replacement IP isn't going to be as big as the original, but it doesn't need to be. If it makes the Vita seem more attractive and draws in more people, that could make the situation a little bit healthier.
yeah it was jesus who multiplied the DSs and gave them to all the japanese gamers. c'mon! which kind of argument is this? a miracle?