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Media Create Sales: Week 8, 2014 (Feb 17 - Feb 23)

sörine;102484673 said:
I'm just saying it's not universal. Capcom Vancouver shares no technology with Osaka or Tokyo and instead does everything ground up. EA's unification under Frostbite is something that just happened a year back too and it's also not universal.

Nintendo also has one of the earlier examples of asset sharing with the N64 Pokémon games. EAD and Hal split up modeling duties and shared the Pokémon assets across both Stadium and Snap. Nintendo does this with Mario assets too across the various games.

And while Phyre engine was a great move, Sony themselves barely used it and it was pretty low end. It's not like they gave ICE engine access or something.

what does the timing really have to do with it? the original post i was responding too was about sharing resources to cut costs and examples thereoff not who did it first or anyting. your nintendo examples are exactly what we are looking for so ty for that

Frotbite is universal for all thier non team sports games which are getting their own universal engine (excluding mobile and pc exclusives)

There is no ICE engine i dont think, the plan wa for that team to make an engine in the beginning but instead the just became support for other teams, including 3rd parties.
 
I'm not sure why there's contention over who did what first as if it matters...

Anyway, I recall reading on here that creating high fidelity art assets is becoming/has become one of the most costly parts of development, so I was just curious whether there was any precedent for sharing of things like textures, models etc.

I can see why it doesn't happen, there's presumably ownership/licensing/legal/competition issues etc. Polyphony obviously doesn't want to share their models and environments with Turn 10 or vice versa. But it just seems kind of redundant that every developer is constantly reinventing the wheel with some of these things.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
The Kyoto info was I read from the web, though I live in Tokyo so I could tell the reliability for Tokyo side only. Sorry about that. But yeah, I assume if it says sold out at website they mean it.
However, if Yodobashi stocking a small pile inside the register section then they may be reserved for pre-orders. This also explains that after few days they'll claim they have some units available, only to be sold out a few hours later.
This happens pretty much every console launch, so nothing special.
With the only exception of Xbos360 IIRC

Ah, good. Thanks for the explanation and the insight about Yodobashi. It could be great if you could check out Yodobashi Tokyo(if I'm reading this right, you checked it out earlier this week, but it's possible I'm wrong and that's not the case).
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Only in the MC thread would I see someone trying to suggest Nintendo are ahead of Sony in asset and engine sharing. Heavens to betsies.

I wonder if sales of the PS4 camera have really caught Sony by surprise. They simply can't make enough of the things, and thats really funny to me considering their direct competitors position.
 

saichi

Member
Yeah, DQXI on 3DS is no brainer no matter how you look at it. SQE already have FFXV and KH3 for PS4 and they also have their cash cow aka FFXIV on both PS3 and PS4, so there is no reason to dump more money to make another big title for HD consoles.

you forgot DQX

Makes sense but do you see MH ever going back to Sony for consoles. Even DQ, a mainline title would do more for the PS4 than for the WiiU, FFXIII single-handedly ressurected the PS3 and made it the number one console in Japan.

Huh? Did you just re-write history?
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Azalyn posted the first day impressions for its store, and there seem to be something about PS4 as well.

http://azalyn.blog22.fc2.com

Anyone who can translate?

Note: azalyn should be a mostly "Sony/core-centric" store, looking at past reports.

For comparison, here's their PS4 launch day report

http://azalyn.blog22.fc2.com/
- Hardware sold out
- Best selling: Yakuza, Killzone, Battlefield
- Software tie ratio was over 1
- Yakuza Ishin PS3:pS4 = 2.5:1
 
Does Infamous release on the same week in Japan as in the US? I'd be interested to see how it does given the lack of other software (still badly, I expect).
 

sörine

Banned
what does the timing really have to do with it? the original post i was responding too was about sharing resources to cut costs and examples thereoff not who did it first or anyting. your nintendo examples are exactly what we are looking for so ty for that

Frotbite is universal for all thier non team sports games which are getting their own universal engine (excluding mobile and pc exclusives)

There is no ICE engine i dont think, the plan wa for that team to make an engine in the beginning but instead the just became support for other teams, including 3rd parties.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying Nintendo did anything first. They're just an early example with internal 3D engine and asset sharing across titles like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon and so on.

Sega's another good and even earlier example with their VF2 and Sega Rally engines on Saturn which were iterated on several times with later games. I believe they even granted 3rd parties access to those too.
 

SmokyDave

Member
Only in the MC thread would I see someone trying to suggest Nintendo are ahead of Sony in asset and engine sharing. Heavens to betsies.

I wonder if sales of the PS4 camera have really caught Sony by surprise. They simply can't make enough of the things, and thats really funny to me considering their direct competitors position.
It's the streaming. Everyone I know that picked up a camera did so to stream themselves through that Playroom jobbie.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
I'm not sure why there's contention over who did what first as if it matters...

Anyway, I recall reading on here that creating high fidelity art assets is becoming/has become one of the most costly parts of development, so I was just curious whether there was any precedent for sharing of things like textures, models etc.

I can see why it doesn't happen, there's presumably ownership/licensing/legal/competition issues etc. Polyphony obviously doesn't want to share their models and environments with Turn 10 or vice versa. But it just seems kind of redundant that every developer is constantly reinventing the wheel with some of these things.

Well on the indie/smaller scale front the Unity Shop is similar to what you're talking about, where people put up assets and anyone can buy them.

Some publishers share assets within their own projects where it makes sense. If you watch the main characters of Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs run around it's obvious they're using many of the same animations, and Battlefield's art assets end up in a lot of EA games where they make sense (for example when they need realistic weapon models or gray/brown modern day buildings).

Art assets are a bit harder to share though than tech because art can be very art direction relevant. Sometimes what people will do instead is make proto-models that are like a semi-finished model that most of the other characters can be quickly created from, and those might be easier to move across projects.

That said, art assets are one of the things that are easier to farm out to very cheap locations, which is how a lot of publishers tackle the cost issue.
 
I am screaming at this logo. :lol

SR0qJqi.jpg
 

RalchAC

Member
Well on the indie/smaller scale front the Unity Shop is similar to what you're talking about, where people put up assets and anyone can buy them.

Some publishers share assets within their own projects where it makes sense. If you watch the main characters of Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs run around it's obvious they're using many of the same animations, and Battlefield's art assets end up in a lot of EA games where they make sense (for example when they need realistic weapon models or gray/brown modern day buildings).

Art assets are a bit harder to share though than tech because art can be very art direction relevant. Sometimes what people will do instead is make proto-models that are like a semi-finished model that most of the other characters can be quickly created from, and those might be easier to move across projects.

That said, art assets are one of the things that are easier to farm out to very cheap locations, which is how a lot of publishers tackle the cost issue.

This pretty much sums what I was talking when I put SMT franchise as an example. Random grey building #1, #2 and #3 can appear in various games. You can't go and say "this crystal forest from FFXV is cool, let's take those assets and put them in next Tomb Raider".

For example, I don't think anybody would complain if DriveClub and GT6 shared assets. Things like textures, some car models, and that stuff. In the end both will need to tweak the physics and that stuff differently, since DC is more arcade. They could even take some of the crowd models The Show is building too.

Another example is sharing buildings and that stuff between Watch_Dogs and The Crew (both are open world iirc).
 
Oh Smocky, finally, you did it... I assume (hope, he's a great character here) he's not perma?

Best I can tell he was either banned for lightly making fun of kpop in off topic or for making fun of the graphics of a 3DS game

Neither seemed that bad so doubt he's perma'd
 
So it seems the PS4 is selling out ( at least the SKU without a camera). Shipment just came earlier today or late yesterday. Either the shipment was real low or Japan is still excited for PS4. Weird considering the software available right now.
 

Shurayuki

Member
Azalyn posted the first day impressions for its store, and there seem to be something about PS4 as well.

http://azalyn.blog22.fc2.com

Anyone who can translate?

Note: azalyn should be a mostly "Sony/core-centric" store, looking at past reports.

For comparison, here's their PS4 launch day report

Deception (ST: PS3 90% Vita 100%)

Had no pre-orders for the Vita version so it immediately sold out. Many inquiries afterwards.
PS3 version had good pre-orders but low foot-traffic.
Might only be their store, but they hardly ever get pre-orders for vita, foot-traffic is better than PS3 though. Difficult for them to order stock like this.

Harvest Moon (50%) Ignition Hearts PS3+Vita (both 100%)

Harvest Moon sold the same as IH PS3+Vita. HM feels slower than the previous one, but no concerns because it's a leggy title.

Valhalla 3 Gold (100%) Fossil Fighters (25%)

No pre-orders for Valhalla -> sell-out.

PS4: Their store and others get many request for PS4 hardware. While regional differences might be big, their store and competing ones are completely out of stock and as a result get a lot of inquiries.
Restock scheduled for saturday, since it's the last shipment for the Limited Edition customers should hurry to get it.
 
PS4: Their store and others get many request for PS4 hardware. While regional differences might be big, their store and competing ones are completely out of stock and as a result get a lot of inquiries.
Restock scheduled for saturday, since it's the last shipment for the Limited Edition customers should hurry to get it.

Maybe the second week drop won't be vita-level terrible then. Guess we'll see
 

Chris1964

Sales-Age Genius
new releases {2014.03.06}

[3DS] Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Daimakyou - Peko to 5-nin no Tankentai <ACT> (FuRyu) (¥5.229)
[3DS] Anpanman to Asobo: New Aiueo Kyoushitsu <EDU> (Agatsuma Entertainment) (¥4.980)
[3DS] Senran Kagura Burst (Best Collection) <ACT> (Marvelous AQL) (¥2.979)

[PSV] Soul Sacrifice &#916; <ACT> (Sony Computer Entertainment) (¥4.980)
[PSV] Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus: Otome Shoujotachi no Shoumei (PlayStation Vita the Best) <ACT> (Marvelous AQL) (¥3.980)
[PSV] Muramasa Rebirth (PlayStation Vita the Best) <RPG> (Marvelous AQL) (¥3.570)
[PSV] Lumines: Electronic Symphony (Ubi the Best) <PZL> (Ubisoft) (¥2.079)

[PSP] Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke (PSP the Best Reprint) <RPG> (Sony Computer Entertainment) (¥1.800)
[PSP] Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 (PSP the Best Reprint) <SLG> (Sony Computer Entertainment) (¥1.800)
[PSP] Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida 3D (PSP the Best Reprint) <SLG> (Sony Computer Entertainment) (¥1.800)
[PSP] Patapon 3 (PSP the Best Reprint) <SLG> (Sony Computer Entertainment) (¥1.800)
[PSP] Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip (PSP the Best Reprint) <SPT> (Sony Computer Entertainment) (¥1.800)
[PSP] LocoRoco 2 (PSP the Best Reprint) <ACT> (Sony Computer Entertainment) (¥1.800)

[PS3] Ar Nosurge: Umareizuru Hoshi e Inoru Uta # <RPG> (Gust) (¥7.140)
[PS3] Ar Nosurge: Umareizuru Hoshi e Inoru Uta [Agent Pack] <RPG> (Gust) (¥10.290)
[PS3] Resident Evil 6 (PlayStation 3 the Best) <ADV> (Capcom) (¥2.990)
[PS3] Resident Evil: Revival Selection (PlayStation 3 the Best Reprint) <ADV> (Capcom) (¥2.100)
[PS3] The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (Warner the Best) <RPG> (Warner Entertainment Japan) (¥3.129)
[PS3] F.E.A.R. 3 (Warner the Best) <ACT> (Warner Entertainment Japan) (¥3.129)
[PS3] Injustice: Gods Among Us (Warner the Best) <FTG> (Warner Entertainment Japan) (¥3.129)

[360] Resident Evil 6 (Platinum Collection) <ADV> (Capcom) (¥2.990)
 
Deception (ST: PS3 90% Vita 100%)

Had no pre-orders for the Vita version so it immediately sold out. Many inquiries afterwards.
PS3 version had good pre-orders but low foot-traffic.
Might only be their store, but they hardly ever get pre-orders for vita, foot-traffic is better than PS3 though. Difficult for them to order stock like this.

Harvest Moon (50%) Ignition Hearts PS3+Vita (both 100%)

Harvest Moon sold the same as IH PS3+Vita. HM feels slower than the previous one, but no concerns because it's a leggy title.

Valhalla 3 Gold (100%) Fossil Fighters (25%)

No pre-orders for Valhalla -> sell-out.

PS4: Their store and others get many request for PS4 hardware. While regional differences might be big, their store and competing ones are completely out of stock and as a result get a lot of inquiries.
Restock scheduled for saturday, since it's the last shipment for the Limited Edition customers should hurry to get it.

I will be very impressed if PS4 did 150k+ on its second week.
 
It's one thing I've sometimes wondered... why aren't assets re-used and shared more both intra- and inter-studio. Does SCEWWS do it? EAD?

Even inter-publisher, could common art assets - like a middleware equivalent - be a means to stemming costs? Is any of this happening already?

Generally this is difficult to achieve. Even slight variance between artstyles can throw a scene into disorganized unpleasantness with ease. Not to mention the differences on the technical side. A car from a dedicated racer is going to have texture and model detail that's just not feasible in a GTA style title.

I mean most programs have a huge library of textures at your disposal, but that doesn't stop me from altering them until they fit what I'm wanting or just creating my own. It would take a company wide artistic focus for it to work out. At most it will have a small impact on dev budgets until a consistent company wide style has been achieved.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Deception (ST: PS3 90% Vita 100%)

Had no pre-orders for the Vita version so it immediately sold out. Many inquiries afterwards.
PS3 version had good pre-orders but low foot-traffic.
Might only be their store, but they hardly ever get pre-orders for vita, foot-traffic is better than PS3 though. Difficult for them to order stock like this.

Harvest Moon (50%) Ignition Hearts PS3+Vita (both 100%)

Harvest Moon sold the same as IH PS3+Vita. HM feels slower than the previous one, but no concerns because it's a leggy title.

Valhalla 3 Gold (100%) Fossil Fighters (25%)

No pre-orders for Valhalla -> sell-out.

PS4: Their store and others get many request for PS4 hardware. While regional differences might be big, their store and competing ones are completely out of stock and as a result get a lot of inquiries.
Restock scheduled for saturday, since it's the last shipment for the Limited Edition customers should hurry to get it.

Thanks :D
As said again, azalyn is one of the most Sony/core-focused stores historically, looking at all the reports we had during these years. At its store, the launch tie-ratio was over 1, which, as we know, is far from the truth for PS4 launch. So, we need to consider this report as a possibly interesting insight, but not as the most truthful one. Or, better, not one that corresponds to every store.

Looking again at what was Yodobashi's situation during 2/23, with all the updates

Around 8:25 AM JPT

Yodobashi only has the version with camera sold-out in three stores: http://www.yodobashi.com/ec/news/100...002&store=0011

Around 6:00 PM JPT

sold out both versions in 7 stores now, camera versions sold out in 8 others

And the "final" update at 10 PM JPT

SD_200000015000048831510B1.gif


They show how the camera SKU was always selling out faster than the "light" SKU. And we know the camera SKU represented 40% of total sales at launch, so a good part of sales (something, personally, unexpected). Now, after one day of sales, the situation seem to be not just reversed, but reversed and extremised: the "light" SKU is selling out almost in every store, while the camera one has plenty availability. Maybe, Sony shipped more PS4 with camera than without for the second shipment? At least at Yodobashi. It would be quite important to have some tidbits about this brand new shipment: is it good for a second week of a brand new hardware, or much lower than usual? I fear we will never know, though. Not saying the official number, but impressions from stores and whatnot. This being the supposed last shipment of the Limited Pack could influence the numbers, in good or bad ways.

This is how games are doing, at least on Amazon.co.jp

@21:33 GMT

Yakuza: Ishin!
During launch day - 7th / 8th
Now - 24th

Battlefield 4
During launch day - from 19th to 21st
Now - 26th (quite supply constrained on Amazon, though, since launch)

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
During launch day - it was 39th at the beginning of the day; it finished around 23rd (probably low stock at first)
Now - 41st (being back in stock on March 3rd)

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
During launch day - from 22nd to 27th
Now - 43rd

FIFA 14
During launch day - it went from 60th to 90th during all day, don't know why
Now - 63rd

Dynasty Warriors 7 with XL
During launch day - started at 66th, peaked at 35th, finished 43rd
Now - 88th

And let's post also about the console

@21:45 GMT

PS4 without Camera
During launch day - from 2nd to 4th
Now - 6th (back in stock on March 1st)

PS4 with Camera
During launch day - started at 14th - 15th, then went steadily around 11st / 12th
Now - 16th (sold externally with a markup)

IIRC, both consoles were already sold out and with a markup on launch day
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Tie ratio (Knack excluded) - 0.64 (worse tie ratio by far in modern times?)
Probably, but to give it a fair comparison in my opinion, it has to be compared to other systems that also had a bundle game. I think its pretty safe to say that a bundled game will affect the intial tie ratio in some way (how much is anyone's guess though) because it gives something to play on the system without having to invest in any extra games.


It's quite an original logo, but I think the game's commercial is on a whole new plane of creativity.
Haha, that was great :) I wish more commercials had more humor.
 
Probably, but to give it a fair comparison in my opinion, it has to be compared to other systems that also had a bundle game. I think its pretty safe to say that a bundled game will affect the intial tie ratio in some way (how much is anyone's guess though) because it gives something to play on the system without having to invest in any extra games.
We are talking about 300k hardcore fans buying a PS4 at launch, I'm pretty sure they know exactly what they are getting themselves into, Knack is not even the kind of game they are interested in, regardless of how good or bad it is.

PS4 is selling out of potential, just like the 3DS.
 

Yasumi

Banned
Without Smoky Vita is going to drop like a rock. Sub 10k confirmed for next week.

Edit: I think this is the reason why he was banned.

No, Smokey Dave would not fall so easily. He paid the greatest (hopefully temporary) price and sacrificed himself to the glory of the Vita gods. Prepare for an increase in sales so unprecedented, the sheer string of numbers will overload Media Create and Famitsu servers, causing information surges throughout the internet, corrupting all other consoles in the process. Only Vita shall remain. And so we will bask in the golden age of the true champion. #DaveGave #Believe
 
We are talking about 300k hardcore fans buying a PS4 at launch, I'm pretty sure they know exactly what they are getting themselves into, Knack is not even the kind of game they are interested in, regardless of how good or bad it is.

PS4 is selling out of potential, just like the 3DS.

If thats true then its very good news.
 

Thorgal

Member
No, Smokey Dave would not fall so easily. He paid the greatest (hopefully temporary) price and sacrificed himself to the glory of the Vita gods. Prepare for an increase in sales so unprecedented, the sheer string of numbers will overload Media Create and Famitsu servers, causing information surges throughout the internet, corrupting all other consoles in the process. Only Vita shall remain. And so we will bask in the golden age of the true champion. #DaveGave #Believe

"And when the last one falls and the dust settles, Dave will rise out of the ashes , hold the Vita Skyward and a thunderous voice will be heard worldwide speaking a single Word :

CHAMPION !
 

test_account

XP-39C²
We are talking about 300k hardcore fans buying a PS4 at launch, I'm pretty sure they know exactly what they are getting themselves into, Knack is not even the kind of game they are interested in, regardless of how good or bad it is.

PS4 is selling out of potential, just like the 3DS.
It could be indeed, but i dont think we know how many people in Japan that think Knack is a sufficient enough game to begin with. But as i mentioned, that is anyone's guess, but i dont think it changes the fact that a bundled game could affect the overall tie ratio.

Yeah, its true that systems sell on potential, but i dont see why anyone would buy a gaming system on launch, put it in the closet and wait to play it until the games come out. The only people i could see who buys a system at launch and dont buy any retail games are either resellers, people who only get downloaded games or people who are afraid that the system will be sold out for months to come (i think the latter concerns very few people), all all three combined.
 
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