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[test_account]

By the way, another thing to concider is that Soul Sacrifice will have a special edition Vita. I could see that some people are holding out for this.

You just seem a little too invested at this point...

I understand it more as lighthearted cheering. He knows that the Vita sells badly, but are happy that it might sell a bit more, doesnt seem to be more to it than that, at least that is how i understand it. There have been so much negative talk about the Vita (understandable for the most part concidering how it has been selling), so it is good to focus on the small positive things about it when it happends, in my opinion

 

[zero_suit]

Sony sure loves turning things around for their systems.

What are you basing this on? We don't have any numbers.

 

[Dalthien]

I just think the handheld data conflates some of the trends in Japanese home console preference vs the rest of the world. Especially in the PS1 generation where you are lumping in the Gameboy LTD (which launched in 1989) with consoles that launched in 1994-1996. Obviously home consoles are way down this generation compared to the PS2 generation, and the PS3's performance is only good if you compare it to the historical performances of second place systems with no context on how Sony was doing last gen.

Yeah, it was just a quick comparison of generational figures (Japan vs world). And the GameBoy was a beast that spanned multiple generations (and I was too lazy to go and break it down post-1994 or whatever). But the overall conclusion wouldn't change at all.

Also, you quoted my name to someone else's post in your third point.

Oops. Fixed.

 

[SmokyDave]

You just seem a little too invested at this point...

Eh, someone has to be. I'd have single-handedly kept the Dreamcast alive given my way. At least I haven't used the phrase 'beast mode' at any point.

Selling out doesn't mean selling well, that's my point.

Indeed. I'm sure you're right too. I'm sure it won't outsell the 3DS next week, therefore objectively it still isn't 'selling well'.

I understand it more as lighthearted cheering. He knows that the Vita sells badly, but are happy that it might sell a bit more, doesnt seem to be more to it than that, at least that is how i understand it.

Exactly. Selling badly is bad, selling pretty badly is better. It'll be nice to see it do better.

 

[Mpl90]

By the way, another thing to concider is that Soul Sacrifice will have a special edition Vita. I could see that some people are holding out for this.



I understand it more as lighthearted cheering. He knows that the Vita sells badly, but are happy that it might sell a bit more, doesnt seem to be more to it than that, at least that is how i understand it.

If Comgnet preorders aren't lying, I fear Soul Sacrifice is gonna sell a very low amount of copies. At least on its debut.

 

[test_account]

If Comgnet preorders aren't lying, I fear Soul Sacrifice is gonna sell a very low amount of copies. At least on its debut.

Its possible, we'll see

How does Comgnet points work by the way? Is one point = one pre-order?

 

[GhostTrick]

Eh, someone has to be. I'd have single-handedly kept the Dreamcast alive given my way. At least I haven't used the phrase 'beast mode' at any point.


Indeed. I'm sure you're right too. I'm sure it won't outsell the 3DS next week, therefore objectively it still isn't 'selling well'.

Even if it won't outsell 3DS, it doesn't mean it will bomb.

 

[marrec]

just because there were new bundles and colours doesnt mean shops ordered many of them

True, it's not like Sony announced the Price Cut weeks ago or anything.

 

[electroplankton]

All that matters is that there is a small level of desire present. It ain't gonna shift 100k units, it ain't gonna outsell the 3DS next week, it ain't going to stay above 15k for more than 3 or 4 weeks. Regardless, after 6 months or more of 'it's dead' the image above is a pleasant 'fuck you, I'm still breathing'.

I just find it amusing that some need to be 'realistic', lest the celebrations become too heady.

Even the GameCube showed some small level of desire in consumers. And it had a faster pace in selling than Vita.

 

[Maedhros]

Its possible, we'll see

How does Comgnet points work by the way? Is one point = one pre-order?

Not really. I don't think they are even reliable at all. That's why MPL90 can't post them before the next post, If I remember correctly.

 

[Mario007]

Sony sure loves turning things around for their systems.

Why make it easy for themselves? They ought to give the competition some chance too. Seems like Nintendo also wants to take part in that game considering 3DS and Wii U.

Here's a interesting bit of trivia- pre-price-drop week for Vita was double that of pre-price-drop week for 3DS. In fact that was the lowest 3DS has ever been and Vita hasn't reached those levels yet.

I think we can expect Vita to do 20-25k now for March and April with a steady show of software. It'll be important for more titles to get announced for H2 though.

 

[Spiegel]

Why make it easy for themselves? They ought to give the competition some chance too. Seems like Nintendo also wants to take part in that game considering 3DS and Wii U.

Here's a interesting bit of trivia- pre-price-drop week for Vita was double that of pre-price-drop week for 3DS. In fact that was the lowest 3DS has ever been and Vita hasn't reached those levels yet.

I think we can expect Vita to do 20-25k now for March and April with a steady show of software. It'll be important for more titles to get announced for H2 though.

Don't read anything into this.

Some stores dropped the price last week. It wasn't a widely promoted drop but it was enough for people to buy the system.

 

[Mario007]

Don't read anything into this.

Some stores dropped the price last week. It wasn't a widely promoted drop but it was enough for people to buy the system.

Well yeah I figured as much considering the increase, but just thought that it was a fun fact. I think 3DS did around 5500 the week before the price-drop, Vita has never actually went down that low so it's interesting from that perspective.

 

[test_account]

Not really. I don't think they are even reliable at all. That's why MPL90 can't post them before the next post, If I remember correctly.

It is probably in the same ballpark as Amazon Top 100 rankings when it come to reliability, i would guess. Not much to go by, but maybe a smaller interesting point to look at anyway. But how much it means is hard to say, i think that stuff like Dragon Quest VII remake had around 1000 Comgnet points (please correct me if i'm wrong) and it ended up selling around around 825k in its first week. I'm curious what the Comgnet points represent.

Speaking about Amazon, Soul Sacrifice has been 90 days in the Top 100 i think. Right now it is at number 12. EDIT: The double pack as been 26 days in Top 100 and is currently on 28th place.

 

[Mpl90]

Not really. I don't think they are even reliable at all. That's why MPL90 can't post them before the next post, If I remember correctly.

I post them once in a thread in order to avoid making the thread just a Comgnet discussion, and above all I post just titles that have other comparable datas from old Comgnet charts. SS is a new IP, so it's not that comparable. But the current data on Comgnet is scarily low, given how much important it should be. Maybe they're counting normal SKUs and Double Pack SKUs separate, but even then, the amount of pts wouldn't be that high.

Just to clarify, Soul Sacrifice is at 28pt, and the 20th position is at 21pt, so an hypotetic SS Double Pack SKU would be at 21pt or lower than 21pt.

EDIT: Just checked, and there are two SKUs available for preorder on Comgnet. So yes, 49pt is its highest result possible right now.

 

[ohlawd]

Well yeah I figured as much considering the increase, but just thought that it was a fun fact. I think 3DS did around 5500 the week before the price-drop, Vita has never actually went down that low so it's interesting from that perspective.

maybe because Nintendo made sure everyone knew there was a price drop coming?

I swear sales the week before the slash should have been zero or at least close to it.

 

[test_account]

Just to clarify, Soul Sacrifice is at 28pt, and the 20th position is at 21pt, so an hypotetic SS Double Pack SKU would be at 21pt or lower than 21pt.

At least it is on the chart now =)

 

[Dalthien]

How does Comgnet points work by the way? Is one point = one pre-order?

Not really. I don't think they are even reliable at all. That's why MPL90 can't post them before the next post, If I remember correctly.

As far as we know, one point does seem to equal one preorder. You'll even see the comg points drop occasionally when someone cancels a preorder.

But the comg points (preorders) are only for the comg store. So it doesn't necessarily mean anything as far as the whole country of Japan. As mpl90 said, it can be used as a guide in comparisons amongst similar games on similar systems. If there is a big discrepancy between the comg points for an entry in a series and the points that the previous entry in the series had, then chances are pretty high that that discrepancy will carry over to the full Japanese sales.

If you are going to follow comg at all, it is worth noting that the comg store tends to skew towards a Sony audience - which means that games on Sony systems generally tend to have a higher comg:national ratio than Nintendo games (meaning that if two games finish with the same # of comg points, more often than not the Nintendo game will sell better nationally than the Sony game with the same # of points). And again, it is just one store - there have been cases where comg was incredibly useful and accurate at showing a game busting out (One Piece Musou, RE6) or bombing horribly (FFXIII-2) - and there have been other cases where the comg points didn't mean much one way or the other.

Basically, it tends to work best if there are extreme differences between the current game and previous similar games. Those extreme differences typically tend to show up in the national results.

 

[Maedhros]

I post them once in a thread in order to avoid making the thread just a Comgnet discussion, and above all I post just titles that have other comparable datas from old Comgnet charts. SS is a new IP, so it's not that comparable. But the current data on Comgnet is scarily low, given how much important it should be. Maybe they're counting normal SKUs and Double Pack SKUs separate, but even then, the amount of pts wouldn't be that high.

Just to clarify, Soul Sacrifice is at 28pt, and the 20th position is at 21pt, so an hypotetic SS Double Pack SKU would be at 21pt or lower than 21pt.

EDIT: Just checked, and there are two SKUs available for preorder on Comgnet. So yes, 49pt is its highest result possible right now.

Eeeh, I'll just wait and see. It releases next week, plenty of time to get even more buzz.

 

[Bullza2o]

maybe because Nintendo made sure everyone knew there was a price drop coming?

I swear sales the week before the slash should have been zero or at least close to it.

Perhaps the stores were eager to drop the price already. Nintendo dropped the 3DS price much earlier than Sony did to Vita's.

I think 50K for Vita isn't too far-fetched sometime this month.

 

[Pachterballs]

wiiU selling worse than vita is just an embarrassment for iwata + co.

yaumachi would be rolling in his grave.

 

[ohlawd]

Perhaps the stores were eager to drop the price already. Nintendo dropped the 3DS price much earlier than Sony did to Vita's.

I think 50K for Vita isn't too far-fetched sometime this month.

50-60k next week is what I'm guessing.

wiiU selling worse than vita is just an embarrassment for iwata + co.

yaumachi would be rolling in his grave.

Yamauchi's still alive.

 

[Jamix012]

True, it's not like Sony announced the Price Cut weeks ago or anything.

I don't claim to be an expert on the situation but I do know that stores order several months in advance for the holiday season. Not saying it's the holiday season but even given that is a few weeks really enough?

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Well yeah I figured as much considering the increase, but just thought that it was a fun fact. I think 3DS did around 5500 the week before the price-drop, Vita has never actually went down that low so it's interesting from that perspective.

PSV - 4,021 (random week)
3DS - 4,132 (week before price cut)

 

[hongcha]

PSV - 4,021 (random week)

When was that?

 

[Moor-Angol]

Soul Sacrifice is heavily present in stores (big posters, rolling demo, the only thing i blame is the lack of a playable demo, every Vita unit has only old demos), there are commercials on tv (i saw 2 yesterday), it's high charted on amazon

but seems like only comgnet counts..

 

[Tenki]

When was that?

Week 45, 2012 (Nov 05 - Nov 11)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=499766

3DS outsold Vita 47-to-1 that week.

 

[MasterSheen]

Well yeah I figured as much considering the increase, but just thought that it was a fun fact. I think 3DS did around 5500 the week before the price-drop, Vita has never actually went down that low so it's interesting from that perspective.

Vita was under 6k for 3 consecutive weeks last October, and according to Media Create, went slightly lower in its lowest week than 3DS did before the price drop.

Vita, Week 46-48 2012: 5,806>4,842>4,021

3DS, Week 24 2011: 4,132

 

[hongcha]

Thanks for the info, I didn't realize Vita got that low at one point.

 

[Lexxism]

Well yeah I figured as much considering the increase, but just thought that it was a fun fact. I think 3DS did around 5500 the week before the price-drop, Vita has never actually went down that low so it's interesting from that perspective.

Follow-up question. Did some store already started their price drop like Vita before the official price drop date? If yes then that's certainly interesting.

 

[Mario007]

When was that?

Vita was under 6k for 3 consecutive weeks last October, and according to Media Create, went slightly lower in its lowest week than 3DS did before the price drop.

Vita, Week 46-48 2012: 5,806>4,842>4,021

3DS, Week 24 2011: 4,132

Dammit, sorry didn't remember that October week at all. Cheers for correcting me.

 

[Moor-Angol]

http://twitpic.com/c7hjt9

200k next week confirmed.

(Red for sold-out, black for in stock.)

Yesterday i went to Yodobashi Shinjuku, around 18.00
many people inside the shop, Vita really caught the attention of buyers, at that time red version was already soldout, but i saw many people buying Vita games and also some units were sold (i stayed there around 10-15 minutes, just for information)
the second floor, nintendo section, at same time was quiet as a library.....

i also went to Denki Lab, less crowded compared to Yodobashi, some people around Vita corner looking at the new price and i saw a man buying a Wii U

 

[metalslimer]

I really don't think its fair to criticize people for being happy Vita is doing well especially Dave who has been probably the most realistic Vita enthusiast around.

At this point though it seems Sony is just positioning Vita as PS4 streaming device. Of course I doubt that will help its fortunes in Japan where PS4 will likely bomba. If the system does manage to revive itself to niche status in Japan rather than dead, I do wonder what's next. Does the system just become a platform for very niche RPGs, and the occasional PS3 downport?

 

[Dalthien]

Soul Sacrifice is heavily present in stores (big posters, rolling demo, the only thing i blame is the lack of a playable demo, every Vita unit has only old demos), there are commercials on tv (i saw 2 yesterday), it's high charted on amazon

but seems like only comgnet counts..

If it makes you feel better, Vita has been a strange case with comg, where Vita games have tended to perform better nationally than the comg points suggest (the opposite of how games for other Sony systems (PS2, PSP, PS3) have worked). It hasn't been a huge difference, but I have noticed it in general.

 

[Spiegel]

Yesterday i went to Yodobashi Shinjuku, around 18.00
many people inside the shop, Vita really caught the attention of buyers, at that time red version was already soldout, but i saw many people buying Vita games and also some units were sold (i stayed there around 10-15 minutes, just for information)
the second floor, nintendo section, at same time was quiet as a library.....

i also went to Denki Lab, less crowded compared to Yodobashi, some people around Vita corner looking at the new price and i saw a man buying a Wii U

Alternate universe confirmed

 

[electroplankton]

Soul Sacrifice is heavily present in stores (big posters, rolling demo, the only thing i blame is the lack of a playable demo, every Vita unit has only old demos), there are commercials on tv (i saw 2 yesterday), it's high charted on amazon

but seems like only comgnet counts..

Well, you seemed pretty on board with Comgnet points, didn't you?
We will see how it will perform. Given the push Sony is giving, I think they expect a lot from the game.
I mean, it's the anti-MH, of course they're betting on.

Yesterday i went to Yodobashi Shinjuku, around 18.00
many people inside the shop, Vita really caught the attention of buyers, at that time red version was already soldout, but i saw many people buying Vita games and also some units were sold (i stayed there around 10-15 minutes, just for information)
the second floor, nintendo section, at same time was quiet as a library.....

So I guess next week no Nintendo titles charting?

 

[donny2112]

Terrible. Over LBP and Home... lol.

That was the original "March Excitement."

 

[ohlawd]

That was the original "March Excitement."

Don't even remind me. My fanboy friend was unbearable during those times.

 

[grimshawish]

Vita has not been at its low 6k for fucking ages; which might be a bad benchmark but frankly its selling better than it was; so software is having a long term effect. The price cut will make the Vita affordable to current 3DS owners and others too.

However; I expect a good bump, a real good bump. But don't think sold out means impossible numbers. Stores will have low stock on Vita's as it is and tbh I don't think Sony will have their warehouses filled with them as they'll currently be running a strategy to ensure the Vita is profitable (holding stock has costs).

Just my thoughts. Vita should do reasonably well and whilst I doubt the MH clone will do major things outside what would be respectable numbers for the Vita; it will offer new buyers an experience to sell the Vita on, bringing them back for new software in the future (about that...).


People shouldn't get their hopes up but they also shouldn't pin them on this weeks numbers.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Another thing to consider is how hardcore a "BUY ALL THE GAMES" base is Vita getting. Sometimes its easy to equate huge sales figures on hardware to mean software follows suit, but thats not always true. If it becomes acceptably profitable to release games on Vita for some dev studios (Ubisoft seemed pleased for instance, as have various Indies) then thats at the very least a better position for the Vita to be in than lacking hardware sales and even worse software sales.

A sidewalk of SmokyDaves can sometimes be of more worth than a kingdom of casuals

 

[DragonSworne]

What are the chances of Game & Wario outselling Soul Scarifice?

 

[electroplankton]

Another thing to consider is how hardcore a "BUY ALL THE GAMES" base is Vita getting. Sometimes its easy to equate huge sales figures on hardware to mean software follows suit, but thats not always true. If it becomes acceptably profitable to release games on Vita for some dev studios (Ubisoft seemed pleased for instance, as have various Indies) then thats at the very least a better position for the Vita to be in than lacking hardware sales and even worse software sales.

A sidewalk of SmokyDaves can sometimes be of more worth than a kingdom of casuals

Dreamcast was selling much, much more software. Even GameCube, third-party wise. The fact that people are starving for games does not mean a lot. With 1 million units, also, you should have something better. Just look at Vita software chart. It's embarassing.

 

[ohlawd]

Another thing to consider is how hardcore a "BUY ALL THE GAMES" base is Vita getting. Sometimes its easy to equate huge sales figures on hardware to mean software follows suit, but thats not always true. If it becomes acceptably profitable to release games on Vita for some dev studios (Ubisoft seemed pleased for instance, as have various Indies) then thats at the very least a better position for the Vita to be in than lacking hardware sales and even worse software sales.

A sidewalk of SmokyDaves can sometimes be of more worth than a kingdom of casuals

But Dave doesn't even play, never mind buy, games >_<

 

[StreetsAhead]

What are the chances of Game & Wario outselling Soul Scarifice?

The Wii one sold around 650K, iirc, so potential is there, anyway (long term).

 

[grimshawish]

What are the chances of Game & Wario outselling Soul Scarifice?

 

[Sandfox]

What are the chances of Game & Wario outselling Soul Scarifice?

I could've seen it happening before the price drop but its not very likely now.

 

[Novid]

Well, Sony first truly new franchise is slated to become a hit. Oh man. Capcom has to be...worried.

 

[hongcha]

Dreamcast was selling much, much more software. Even GameCube, third-party wise. The fact that people are starving for games does not mean a lot. With 1 million units, also, you should have something better. Just look at Vita software chart. It's embarassing.

Let's be honest here, the Vita software chart would look a lot better if you included sales from online shops like Amazon Japan and psn digital sales, neither of which existed at the time of the Dreamcast (well, online shops did, but they were a much smaller chunk of the market). For example, when Demon Gaze was listed as selling 28K or thereabouts in Media Create, the creators said it had actually sold 50K (when online and digital sales were added). Similar situation with Ys Celceta (which Falcom said sold better than they expected).

Charting high on Media Create and being profitable to game developers and hardware makers are two different things. Depending on the platform and the availability of the media for sale, they may or may not coincide. To put it in perspective, the Media Create sales of all iOS games would be 0. That's one extreme end of the spectrum, with Nintendo games not available on the eshop at the other end. Vita's software is somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

 

[Yasumi]

However; I expect a good bump, a real good bump. But don't think sold out means impossible numbers. Stores will have low stock on Vita's as it is and tbh I don't think Sony will have their warehouses filled with them as they'll currently be running a strategy to ensure the Vita is profitable (holding stock has costs).

Well, the blue, red, and silver models were released to coincide with the sale. There was at least some higher-than-usual stock. I'd wager a guess of maybe 5 of each model being available at the more general stores, probably more at specialty stores.

 

[Maedhros]

Well, Sony first truly new franchise is slated to become a hit. Oh man. Capcom has to be...worried.

It can be a sucess... but I don't think MH will get irrelevant (unless SS is a fucking, unexpected hit with the japanese folks).