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[Cosmo Clock 21]

You probably won't even post in this thread if it does and you know ban bets aren't allowed. Oh and for all your going on about how not good this 2nd week is and how not good last week was (didn't seem to post after the 90% sellthrough came in) you never actually indicate anywhere what would be good.

Ban bets aren't allowed? What's te punishment for making a ban bet, getting banned? :lol

I wonder if download sales of AC are being hurt by Nintendo's eShop layout. The one time I think the 360/PS3's giant startup ads going HERE'S A THING YOU CAN BUY FROM ESHOP RIGHT FUCKING NOW could be useful.

 

[QaaQer]

At this point Sony needs to take a gamble and have a big price cut to see if that somehow sparks sales and thus development support =/

they cannot afford that. With their downgrade to junk, borrowing becomes very very expensive and they will need somekind of warchest for the next ps4.

Increasing debt to drive sales of a platform in a hardware category that is shrinking fast just doesn't make sense. Buggy whip price cuts didn't work either.

So if Vita does not work for consumers at whatever price it costs to make, then c'est la vie.

 

[Aostia]

Not that bad given first day sales / previous entry, right?

Not that bad at all, considering the usual legs of Inazuma, especially entering the Holidays.
And Layton VS AA is at 185 (average) and still selling.

 

[Exterminieren]

dis gun be good.

What do you reckon? Kirby? Jigglypuff? Birdo?

 

[SmokyDave]

I don't see it as much of a loss, tbh. Sub PS2- level graphics in shooting games and maybe twin-stick shooters? Nobody is actually interested in that.

Camera control in 3D games. Enough said.

That's a lot crazier than trying to turn Vita around in Japan, frankly.

It's not just the historical antipathy of Western developers towards dedicated handhelds; it's that there's no evidence that Vita (or dedicated handhelds in general, as RE:R's sales suggest and Mirror of Fate will probably prove) is a commercially viable platform for the type of cinematic AAA experience that most of those developers are predominantly interested in making.

In Japan, you can at least throw out third-party hypotheticals, as implausible as they are (an exclusive MGS/MH/GE/FF/DQ) that would be almost certain to significantly boost Vita sales if they actually happened. In the West, there's no indication that even a high-quality Bioshock/Elder Scrolls/COD/GTA spinoff would have the same impact.

I'd say Japan was a totally lost cause for the Vita. Given that, it makes sense to focus on the west (assuming they don't kill it altogether). If they focused on the west, it'd make sense to try and secure the titles that the west care about. The GTA, GT & GoW games all sold pretty well on PSP so it's not guaranteed to end in utter failure. If it does, it's probably time to throw in the towel for Sony handhelds.

 

[Aostia]

WiiU will sell more in America than Japan as every Nintendo console did.

Probably, and also the actual numbers for Japan VS US could lead to that conclusion (debut week 400+ in US and 300+ in Japan)
Probably the main issue oversea will be in terms of direct competition with other home console, but it's slightly off topic, I guess

 

[metalslimer]

What do you reckon? Kirby? Jigglypuff? Birdo?

Way too easy. Some kind of edit to that Super Paper Mario Peach image could be good.

The GTA, GT & GoW games all sold pretty well on PSP so it's not guaranteed to end in utter failure. If it does, it's probably time to throw in the towel for Sony handhelds.

Assassin's Creed is one of the biggest franchises in gaming right now. If a full entry in that series did nothing, it would be fruitless to continue pushing.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

What do you reckon? Kirby? Jigglypuff? Birdo?

Please be gentle.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Avatar bet? A Nintendo avatar of my choice.
Another condition would be that you don't come in to another Media Create thread unless you bother to learn context and expectations of Japanese sales first.

what kind of punishment is this? not even Tingle is punishment enough for calling a 90k week and denial of lack of stock

the silly thing is 90k for third week is pretty good lol

 

[Tom_Cody]

This is fucking crazy. Does anyone know the all time monthly hardware record for Japan?

I haven't checked the hard numbers but it is safe to assume it is the DS in Dec' 05. That thing sold like Kleenexes back at that time.

I tried searching and I could only find one of the december 2005 threads. Does anyone know the answer to this?

 

[Aostia]

Camera control in 3D games. Enough said.


I'd say Japan was a totally lost cause for the Vita. Given that, it makes sense to focus on the west (assuming they don't kill it altogether). If they focused on the west, it'd make sense to try and secure the titles that the west care about. The GTA, GT & GoW games all sold pretty well on PSP so it's not guaranteed to end in utter failure. If it does, it's probably time to throw in the towel for Sony handhelds.

I disagree (just my opinion)
Looking for "home console titles/franchises" heavily based on great YV screen graphics, online multiplayer, cinematographic approach and so on as the main selling point for an handheld would be pretty hard (as the recent CoD and AC numbers probably are already showing). At least in terms of pushing the HW numbers.
Instead, I think that focusing on Japan would be better. I still firmly think that Vita could have some market share in Japan, once PSP will definetly pass away and the Sony home segment will see the shift between PS3 and PS4.

 

[Castor Krieg]

It's not just the historical antipathy of Western developers towards dedicated handhelds; it's that there's no evidence that Vita (or dedicated handhelds in general, as RE:R's sales suggest and Mirror of Fate will probably prove) is a commercially viable platform for the type of cinematic AAA experience that most of those developers are predominantly interested in making.

You see - saying like developers are "interested in the making" works both ways - there are some developers that are interested in making handheld games, however find 3DS too limited (less raw power, no dual analogs), etc. By the same logic one can say Vita can still get good games.

 

[Oxx]

Inazuma Eleven being slightly up on last year probably counts as a solid victory for Level 5.

 

[NateDrake]

This is fucking crazy. Does anyone know the all time monthly hardware record for Japan?

3DS had a hardware record yr last holiday season in Japan for Nov+Dec sales. Highest selling hardware since they started tracking, I believe.

 

[metalslimer]

You see - saying like developers are "interested in the making" works both ways - there are some developers that are interested in making handheld games, however find 3DS too limited (less raw power, no dual analogs), etc. By the same logic one can say Vita can still get good games.

He said commercially viable which means not only is able to replicate those experiences, but will also give a return on them. The chances of a Vita turnaround are almost 0 overall, but they are much higher in Japan where they could potentially price maneuver themselves into selling at least Gamecube numbers.

Inazuma Eleven being slightly up on last year probably counts as a solid victory for Level 5.

The rest of the year being so terrible probably makes it bittersweet though.

 

[wsippel]

Of note, lots of places (including Akiba's Yodobashi Camera) still won't have Animal Crossing available until at least December 25th – it's still very much sold out. Nintendo is clearly not pulling its weight when it comes to ensuring copies are waiting on shelves to be bought, which is possibly part of their strategy.

Animal Crossing supposedly uses a unique cartridge that contains significant amounts of flash storage instead of the usual EEPROMs for saves, which causes supply problems.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Please be gentle.

give him Zill

 

[QaaQer]

I'd say Japan was a totally lost cause for the Vita. Given that, it makes sense to focus on the west (assuming they don't kill it altogether). If they focused on the west, it'd make sense to try and secure the titles that the west care about. The GTA, GT & GoW games all sold pretty well on PSP so it's not guaranteed to end in utter failure.

Those will all cost Sony $$. & I just don't think they can afford that sort of stuff with PS4 coming up.

If it does, it's probably time to throw in the towel for Sony handhelds.

I hate being so negative because I really think people are missing out by not owning one of these things and I want it to be around for a few more years; but it does look like the end of an era.

the PS4 is going to be an epic tale--a real "thrill of victory/agony of defeat" kind of thing for Sony.

 

[staticneuron]

Sony sure did:

I doubt the Playstation UK boss was talking about Japan.

Assassin's Creed is one of the biggest franchises in gaming right now. If a full entry in that series did nothing, it would be fruitless to continue pushing.

It didn't do gangbusters on the PSP (with a larger install mind you) so why would the situation be different on the Vita?

 

[SmokyDave]

I disagree (just my opinion)
Looking for "home console titles/franchises" heavily based on great YV screen graphics, online multiplayer, cinematographic approach and so on as the main selling point for an handheld would be pretty hard (as the recent CoD and AC numbers probably are already showing). At least in terms of pushing the HW numbers.
Instead, I think that focusing on Japan would be better. I still firmly think that Vita could have some market share in Japan, once PSP will definetly pass away and the Sony home segment will see the shift between PS3 and PS4.

Eh, you may well be right. I might be too pessimistic regarding the situation in Japan. To me, it looks like the 3DS already has an insurmountable lead whereas in the west, neither handheld is really lighting up the charts, making competition far more viable. That said, I know nothing about the Japanese market, perhaps there is some title or combination of titles that can propel the unit back into some sort of relevance.

 

[QaaQer]

What do you reckon? Kirby? Jigglypuff? Birdo?

I vote for Jigglypuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjyL2Wooh9Q

 

[beje]

Animal Crossing supposedly uses a unique cartridge that contains significant amounts of flash storage instead of the usual EEPROMs for saves, which causes supply problems.

The save file must be massive if that's actually true

 

[Joseph Flemming]

Great numbers for 3DS, wow at Paper Mario bump, I knew the holidays would be good for that title... Speaking of underestimated games, NSMB2 is riding the holidays out. I really don't understand why people don't believe in the power of Nintendo's evergreen titles.

I've noticed no one is talking about the Pokemon bump... Plenty didn't think it would get sales over the holiday. I know this is the Japanese sales thread, but since people have been bringing up world wide sales.. I have two anecdotal statements (take them with a grain of salt)

1. Five of my friends who are "core" gamers got XL's from the Best Buy deals $159.99 they were just waiting for a price drop.

2. I have a friend who is a District Manager at GameStop, said sales was brisk over the weekend. (Didn't tell me numbers )

Poor Vita, I seriously mean that. Damn you Sony.

 

[metalslimer]

Eh, you may well be right. I might be too pessimistic regarding the situation in Japan. To me, it looks like the 3DS already has an insurmountable lead whereas in the west, neither handheld is really lighting up the charts, making competition far more viable. That said, I know nothing about the Japanese market, perhaps there is some title or combination of titles that can propel the unit back into some sort of relevance.

You see the problem is that even if the right combo of titles were to happen in the west, it's looking far more likely that people wouldn't even care whereas in Japan handhelds (well the 3DS right now) is dominant.

Speaking of underestimated games, NDMB2 is riding the holidays out. I really don't understand why people don't believe in the power of Nintendo's evergreen titles.

I don't think people really understood what people meant when they said the game didn't perform as well. People were talking about the game reaching 2 million this holiday season which isn't even going to be close to happening. I don't think anyone ever thought it would completely drop off the charts and not go past 1.5 million only that the drop from NSMBW and NSMB would be huge.

 

[Father_Brain]

I'd say Japan was a totally lost cause for the Vita. Given that, it makes sense to focus on the west (assuming they don't kill it altogether). If they focused on the west, it'd make sense to try and secure the titles that the west care about. The GTA, GT & GoW games all sold pretty well on PSP so it's not guaranteed to end in utter failure. If it does, it's probably time to throw in the towel for Sony handhelds.

See, if the year were 2008, I might actually agree with you.

The sales of Ghost of Sparta (which bombed at launch and ended up crawling to a bit over a third of CoO's sales) and Peace Walker (which just bombed) in 2010 indicated that the market for such titles on handhelds was on a significant downturn even then. Out of the comparable titles that have released this year (U:GA, RE:R, ACIII:L, COD:BO), there isn't one whose sales suggest a reversal of that trend.

 

[Diddy Kong]

To all the replies:

First of all, I didn't say the sales were terrible or bad, I said that they weren't good. They're "OK" or slightly disappointing and here's why: There is no supply constraints. Comparing the Wii U's launch weeks to past consoles isn't a good comparison because those other consoles had supply issues.

@Cheesemeister3k

Iwata apologizes for #WiiU Premium Set shortages. System update, program start loading times to be addressed.

wat

 

[zroid]

What do you reckon? Kirby? Jigglypuff? Birdo?

It has to be a Mii. Doing a cute pose from the 3DS AR card game.

That will be true sorrow.

 

[Currygan]

Japan is definitely Nintendo Land


jesus christ at the 3DS. Has the DS ever sold more in any of its weeks? I seem to remember it was doing 4-500k at some point, but maybe I'm wrong

i don't know what to make of the WiiU sales. It is holding well?

 

[liger05]

Eh, you may well be right. I might be too pessimistic regarding the situation in Japan. To me, it looks like the 3DS already has an insurmountable lead whereas in the west, neither handheld is really lighting up the charts, making competition far more viable. That said, I know nothing about the Japanese market, perhaps there is some title or combination of titles that can propel the unit back into some sort of relevance.

Isnt the 3DS in the west still way ahead of the Vita though. The Vita hasnt outsold the 3DS once on the NPD has it?

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

Inazuma Eleven being slightly up on last year probably counts as a solid victory for Level 5.

This may only encourage them to milk the series harder. What's L5's next game that isn't a remake/anthology/alt version?

 

[Hero of Legend]

What do you reckon? Kirby? Jigglypuff? Birdo?

Pumbloom.

 

[Aostia]

Eh, you may well be right. I might be too pessimistic regarding the situation in Japan. To me, it looks like the 3DS already has an insurmountable lead whereas in the west, neither handheld is really lighting up the charts, making competition far more viable. That said, I know nothing about the Japanese market, perhaps there is some title or combination of titles that can propel the unit back into some sort of relevance.

For the West, I think that the casual bubble is no more there on handheld, so that means that probably Mario and Pokemon (and other minor titles as Layton and Inazuma, but way less compared to the DS days) could be the reason why for a good portion of the market, while "normal" games (aka western or AAA games) are more viable on home consoles. Plus, I if it's true that 3ds is not setting the chart on fire, it's true that it was second just to the Xbox360 during various months of '12, the best selling console in PAL last Christmas and from the XL launch (August) to September (after that we don't know yet), while Vita is really struggling.

For Japan, 3DS will be the leading platform, both HW and SW wise for the next years to come.
But Vita could still receive some kind of support (as we discovered in the past week, with variouos games announced), that could benefit later on of being multi with PS3. When PS3 will overlap its lifecycle to the PS4's one, there will be space for Vita to continue getting support from third parties, without the strong presence of an healthy PS3.

 

[SmokyDave]

You see the problem is that even if the right combo of titles were to happen in the west, it's looking far more likely that people wouldn't even care whereas in Japan handhelds (well the 3DS right now) is dominant.

See, if the year were 2008, I might actually agree with you.

The sales of Ghost of Sparta (which bombed at launch and ended up crawling to a bit over a third of CoO's sales) and Peace Walker (which just bombed) in 2010 indicated that the market for such titles on handhelds was on a significant downturn even then. Out of the comparable titles that have released this year (U:GA, RE:R, ACIII:L, COD:BO), there isn't one whose sales suggest a reversal of that trend.

Unfortunately, you're both probably correct. As a predominantly handheld gamer with a taste for 'console-style' games, I really don't want to see a marketplace where only Nintendo hardware and software is viable. Sadly (for me) you can't change reality. It is what it is. The PSP was an anomaly and now things seem to be back to how they always were.

Isnt the 3DS in the west still way ahead of the Vita though. The Vita hasnt outsold the 3DS once on the NPD has it?

Yeah, it's way ahead but it isn't 'even if they stopped selling them tomorrow the Vita couldn't catch up' ahead like it seems to be in Japan. Regardless, it probably will be before too long.

 

[Mpl90]

Isnt the 3DS in the west still way ahead of the Vita though. The Vita hasnt outsold the 3DS once on the NPD has it?

Courtesy of Nintendo

European situation:

3DS doing much better than Vita even right before XL coming out: after that, many big weeks for 3DS (much better than last year's post price cut period), best selling console in August and good sales in September / early October, the slowest period for handheld sales. Vita, instead, in the last weeks went even under DS, dead console in Europe.

US situation:

October: 3DS did around 220-230k, Vita 35k
November: 3DS 540k despite a bad BF with no deals at all, Vita did around 220k with many, many, MANY deals during BF ( in fact, it did 160k during BF, 3x the sales during the first three weeks of the month)

 

[Lambtron]

wat

I saw Wii U's on the shelf at my Target, ergo no shortages anywhere.

 

[electroplankton]

I disagree (just my opinion)
Looking for "home console titles/franchises" heavily based on great YV screen graphics, online multiplayer, cinematographic approach and so on as the main selling point for an handheld would be pretty hard (as the recent CoD and AC numbers probably are already showing). At least in terms of pushing the HW numbers.
Instead, I think that focusing on Japan would be better. I still firmly think that Vita could have some market share in Japan, once PSP will definetly pass away and the Sony home segment will see the shift between PS3 and PS4.

Vita has already a market share in Japan. The problem is that it's bloodly small, and it's not gonna to improve.

Nothing assures you that third party will automatically shift from PSP / PS3 to Vita.

 

[liger05]

I saw Wii U's on the shelf at my Target, ergo no shortages anywhere.

Japan dude

 

[Oxx]

This may only encourage them to milk the series harder. What's L5's next game that isn't a remake/anthology/alt version?

Fantasy Life.

 

[zroid]

I saw Wii U's on the shelf at my Target, ergo no shortages anywhere.

Japan dude

sarcasm, heh

 

[Hero of Legend]

Is everything owned by Level 5 now on the 3DS in some form? I guess Ninokuni is the only one not?

 

[Aostia]

This may only encourage them to milk the series harder. What's L5's next game that isn't a remake/anthology/alt version?

They recently released Layton VS AA that's a spinoff, Inazuma Go 2 that's new, and they'll release soon Fantasy Life that's brand new.

 

[stalker]

I tried searching and I could only find one of the december 2005 threads. Does anyone know the answer to this?

Very, very rough, it was something like this:

Week 49 - 300K
Week 50 - 400K
Week 51 - 600K
Week 52 - 400K

 

[metalslimer]

So with both Tales of Hearts and Soul Sacrifice hitting on the same day, what are the chances that's when Sony drops the price to at least try to end the FY on a high note? They probably aren't going to have a bigger day for software for a long time (if ever).

 

[AndrewDean84xX]

Wii U - 126,916

New Super Mario Bros. U + Nintendo Land + Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate = 135,721

More proof of every Wii U selling profitably.

 

[stalker]

Japan is definitely Nintendo Land


jesus christ at the 3DS. Has the DS ever sold more in any of its weeks? I seem to remember it was doing 4-500k at some point, but maybe I'm wrong

i don't know what to make of the WiiU sales. It is holding well?

The DS did near 600K one week back in 2005, at least.

 

[Aostia]

Vita has already a market share in Japan. The problem is that it's bloodly small, and it's not gonna to improve.

Nothing assures you that third party will automatically shift from PSP / PS3 to Vita.

Of course not, but to me is more possible than in the West (when PS360 and probably PS4Xbox3 will be the leading platforms). Plus, they are recently showing some interest in pushing PS3/Vita multiplatform titles, that could lead to the situation I described.

 

[Frillen]

Japan is definitely Nintendo Land


jesus christ at the 3DS. Has the DS ever sold more in any of its weeks? I seem to remember it was doing 4-500k at some point, but maybe I'm wrong

i don't know what to make of the WiiU sales. It is holding well?

597k in week 51 in 2005.

 

[Alexios]

More proof of every Wii U selling profitably.

Did you expect anyone to buy a WiiU yet no games?

Every WiiU is sold at a loss, every game is sold at profit, nothing extraordinary about that, just the first time we got exact information about what software sales are needed to tip the balance into profit territory.

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

They recently released Layton VS AA that's a spinoff, Inazuma Go 2 that's new, and they'll release soon Fantasy Life that's brand new.

LvAA bombed, Go 2 seems like it'll do well, and Fantasy Life might end up being a casualty of ACNL's success. Still hope for L5 yet?

Edit: looking at PLvAA now it seems more like modest success than dismal failure. Cool

 

[electroplankton]

Of course not, but to me is more possible than in the West (when PS360 and probably PS4Xbox3 will be the leading platforms). Plus, they are recently showing some interest in pushing PS3/Vita multiplatform titles, that could lead to the situation I described.

Is it really interest? Multiplatform titles desperately pushed by Sony, that are going to sell 1/10 if not less on Vita... I don't think so. It is true that sometimes one has to wait until the predecessor starts to fade, but Vita has been selling more than badly for a year, and 2013 doesn't look so hot as well.