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SM3DW sells 107k in Japan, lowest 3D Mario debut ever
- Thread starter zomgbbqftw
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Aaronrules380
Member
I think people also have to consider that Japan really doesn't give a damn about consoles anymore. I honestly doubt the ps4 will do fantastic their either, which is clearly why Sony has pushed the NA and EU markets first
timetokill
Banned
It's certainly a shame, as it's an utterly brilliant game. There's not much else to say than a lot of people are missing out on a wonderful experience.
Hopefully Iwata and Nintendo can get things in order.
It's noteworthy to remember that the N64 pretty much bombed in Japan and succeeded largely elsewhere, so that may end up being the case for this platform, especially considering how Japan is increasingly handheld and mobile-oriented.
Hopefully Iwata and Nintendo can get things in order.
It's noteworthy to remember that the N64 pretty much bombed in Japan and succeeded largely elsewhere, so that may end up being the case for this platform, especially considering how Japan is increasingly handheld and mobile-oriented.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
This is like saying the Zune wasn't flawed because it could play Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis.
Aquamarine
Member
1.173 million have been sold to consumers since launch, but the actual install base of people who still own a Wii U and regularly purchase new games for it is bound to be smaller.
Not surprising, Wii U has a smaller install base to begin with and Japan continues to care more about handhelds.
Gyro camera(assuming you're playing solo) is pretty great as you can change it without taking your thumb off ABXY.
It's for levels where you need to touch / blow on the microphone to navigate.
oconnomiyaki
Member
Nintendo is going to have to have a long, hard look in the mirror after this holiday season.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
you guys do an amazing job looking at the Historical analysis of individual titles every week, but sometimes you guys Dont really go looking at the whole market and trends. game sales are more than a factor of individual data of franchise titles. you have to look at factors that include usage of a given console, such as the legs on games week over week. And total dollars spent against a platform. Also For example taking into consideration attach rate is very very crucial as you have to look at that as an indicator of the health of the market as a whole. If you look at Wii U titles and they're attache to the Console the past year particularly in Those titles that Target the same demo as mario 3d world you can see more of a clear picture of the health of that market and software demand. then factor in the strength of console bump per 3d Mario released in the past, combined with current hardware install base and shifts to handled growth at the cost of console growth (one increases as the other declined), you couldn't have reasonable expected something like 300k+ out the gate.
Consoles are just down, shouting 'its Mario! Or 'its Pokemon' and just nailing predictions based on history of a franchise is way more the exception than a good method of forecasting.
Consoles are just down, shouting 'its Mario! Or 'its Pokemon' and just nailing predictions based on history of a franchise is way more the exception than a good method of forecasting.
JordanN
Banned
N64 had first person shooters on lockdown in addition to Howard Lincoln being allowed to make decisions for Nintendo.
Wii U is the opposite of that. It's obvious this console was built for Japanese tastes only and for Wii U to perform bad there doesn't leave much hope elsewhere (why would North Americans need a Wii U and not a 360/PS3/PS4/XBO that cater to them better?).
This is pretty much where history finally takes it toll on Nintendo. They gave up what they had with N64/GC to pave way for Japan but Japan's market has drastically shrunk compared to the 90's so you can't bet on them anymore.
Yep, they need to stop making great games, God darn it
It would help in the sense that they wouldn't have to divide their studios' resources between a handheld and HD system. And considering how Nintendo is increasingly on their own in providing any games to their systems (especially on the console front), that would be a powerful motivator.
I agree that it kills off a stream of revenue and makes things more risky, but you seem to have missed a huge benefit.
I'll never understand the demand for Nintendo to go multiplatform, the high quality of Nintendo games is because they have their own hardware to sell them by the bucketful.
Me, i'd rather a game be exclusive to a console I didn't have, In the hope I get to play a classic years from now. I guess wanting a matured wine/whisky rather than cheap cider is a rarity nowadays.
Me, i'd rather a game be exclusive to a console I didn't have, In the hope I get to play a classic years from now. I guess wanting a matured wine/whisky rather than cheap cider is a rarity nowadays.
theclosetfan
Member
Terrible analogy. Was Birth of the Cool made exclusively for Zune?
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
Yes.
oconnomiyaki
Member
No, they're going to have to ask themselves why so many passed on such a great game.
Aquamarine
Member
I think this is a consequence of the limited data that sales trackers release to the public.
We never get ASP or total grossed revenue figures, for example. But I agree that we don't put as much emphasis into attach rates as we should.
James Sawyer Ford
Member
PS4 I picked up because it's going to be my primary platform for the entire generation - best graphics, cheap price, extremely fast UI and tons of awesome social features.
At launch there's a lot I wanted to play as well like Killzone, Resogun, and Assassin's Creed.
So I'll be playing all my multiplats on the system plus the great Sony exclusives. I didn't buy it for today, but also for the future.
With the Wii U, I'd just be buying it for the 1 or 2 great Nintendo games that come out every year or two. I may eventually buy one when it's extremely cheap, but the lack of hardware power, social features/UI, and multiplats hurt the system badly. Nintendo can't survive on exclusives alone these days.
vagabondarts
Member
These numbers are brutal. I've got to wonder what is going on in the halls of Nintendo HQ upon seeing these
Yeah, there's barely a difference. I'd strenuously argue against the "noticeably" part. Pile on the fact that usually, the ports don't run as well, either (which is hopefully entirely the developers fault, unless it's the system....)
Either way, though, it doesn't flatter the system or mark it out to someone as to why they should get it as a second or third system if they have a 360 and/or the PS3.
That's the real problem. Real estate around the TV can be cluttered and if you have a PS3/360 already, adding what looks like an equivalent system for a game or two seems a bit lopsided in the investment for the reward. It gets even worse now with the PS4/XB1 either out or on the verge of being out in areas.
Which all comes back to the original issue of it simply not being powerful enough except for Nintendo specific games. Which is fine if you love Nintendo IP's. It works well for those....
But their IP's are no longer bigger than third party IP's, so power + IPs equals people not going for it.
Neff
Member
Nintendo have several billion dollars invested in it. They'll want it back and more. And they'll get it, no matter what it takes in terms of creating compelling software and broadening the install base to achieve it. Don't hold your breath for a successor.
LiveFromKyoto
Member
If Birth of the Cool was exclusive to Zune, that shit would be essential.
Aquamarine
Member
Iwata is not very happy, that's for sure.
I think a lot of Nintendo employees choose to be oblivious to Wii U sales figures...for good reason. It's very easy to get disheartened (or worried about your job security) with such underwhelming sales.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
True. I'm a little spoiled in that regard.
But you can still marginally see the health of a given segment.
Neff
Member
I think they're probably pretty happy with the first week.
If it starts slowing early (unlikely), then there's going to be trouble.
Reposting a bad post makes yours even worse, Junior.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Yet sadly, the deluge of new franchises Sega created for the Dreamcast didn't do a thing to help the system, or save Sega as a hardware manufacturer. And ironically Sega now relies largely on Sonic because they know it usually sells at least something.
It's never as simple as it seems.
It seems there are two types of Nintendo fans, the ones that want Nintendo to get their shit together and the ones that technically don't give a shit about Nintendo themselves but just want their Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, Pokemon fix and will go into a fanatical rage if you criticize the company's behavior.
Aquamarine
Member
You should never, ever be happy when games fail or debut much lower than their predecessors.
Low sales are tied to job losses, fewer games in the future, and developer turmoil.
It's an incredibly toxic viewpoint to wish downfall onto a company, and it's just unnecessary. You can hope for their business to change without wishing for it to fail first.
Tom Nook Sawyer
Member
It is a great game, but an over-hyped one. One review said it was better than Galaxy 1, 2, and Mario 64. Please. There's nothing revolutionary here. What is here is a very solid platformer that easily exceeds the expectations set by its predecessor (3D Land)
You want Nintendo to come up with something new, then you look to Sega as an example...a Sega from 14 years ago? Then Sony (admittedly, they do make new games, but then don't support or advertise the vast majority of them and send them to die)?
This thread...
These sales aren't going to have the desired effect.
And I don't even think your analogy about Sega is relevant, or even accurate (or even desirable considering how that Sega is DEAD).
And seeing a great game do poorly is never cause for someone to be happy.
So, no, I don't think your viewpoint is logical.
Sure, if you count yearly Sonic and Sega mascot games, Total War and a handful of HD re-releases as "being around."
Change by fixing the various shortcomings that their management has stubbornly refused to address since the N64 era? I'd be all for it. But going third party would simply be a last ditch effort to salvage an ailing Nintendo that has exhausted every means to remain a profitable hardware manufacturer... and has by consequence lost a good chunk of the staff that made their games special in the first place.
turnbuckle
Member
What you've been saying about both the Wii U and the Vita pretty much sums up my feelings 100%.
No hardware or software is entitled to be successful, and Sony made quite a few questionable moves with the Vita's design. That said, it's my favorite piece of gaming tech ever even if the support is rather depressing.
There are many hidden gems in the e-shop, but people don't consider those new IPs cause reasons.
Wickerbasket
Member
I don't really think it's their choice whether they get their money back; if the market says no to whatever you release then that's just tough shit. Products fail, it happens all the time, sometimes costs can't be recuperated.
Their best bet, in my opinion, would be to repackage the system under a new name, drop the gamepad and sell it for as low as they can. At least then, they could attempt to claw back their loses by releasing great games.
I don't agree with this, a company can learn from mistakes they will fail if the don't learn. They don't learn if we continue to throw money at them. Its how business works unfortunately.
Survival of the fittest and all that.
This is what's frustrated me the most about this thread and threads like it. Threes so much focus on smug comments that people don't stop and think that there are lives at stake with each decision made. Actively wishing for a company to fail is really the worst anyone can say on here and its rather concerning.
Aquamarine
Member
Nintendo HQ has a bit more riding on Super Mario 3D World than they usually do for 3D Mario titles. Its lukewarm initial performance isn't confidence-inspiring.
But yes, it's not a outright failure...and the title certainly has room for growth throughout the holiday season. So there is definitely still hope for its future.
This. The game is great, but it certainly isn't better than Galaxy 1/2 or SM64. That shit is crazy talk. This is a solid game that should help the Wii U pick up some sales, but it certainly won't save it. Nothing can save the Wii U. Nothing.
Nikodemos
Member
Retailers would've instantly dropped it. Without any serious monetisation potential (retail games sell worse than digital titles), it would've suffered the Go's fate.
Randolph Freelander
Member
Don't assume it sold 33K its second and third days. It didn't. It sold far less on day 2 than day 1, and less still on day 3.
Wickerbasket
Member
You have a point, but it's not like physical games cease to exist if they include bigger storage in the VITA; all it would mean is that people have room to store their PS+ games.
As is it, most people add on the price for a 32gig memory card anyway, which is usually ordered from online.
megabytecr
Member
15% digital sales is a good estimate, but it has been going up at a fast rate, interesting to see that figure but I guess we will never know. So maybe 115k-120k.
Good post, thanks for that. Everything here is just put in a vacuum without considering anything else.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
You know what? Overly defensive fans can be annoying.
But I'll take them over obsessed and toxic fans who despise the thing they claim to love and constantly wish for it to fail just so they can feel their embittered crusade is justified. And go around blaming everybody who doesn't share their misery for being a part of the problem - all that spending their own money on stuff they want to buy.
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