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[Trago]

Those home console sales are really bad.

Vita and Freedom Wars are looking good. It's a shame that Sony are gonna wind down on first party Vita development. If they put more of their top talent, especially Japanese talent on this thing, I think we'll see similar sales numbers or better. The only other first party Vita game coming that I can remember is Gravity Rush 2.

 

[Metallix87]

Seems that Freedom Wars was quite interesting afterall

Not really. It did well, but failed to hit 200k, which I believe someone mentioned was Sony's expectation. It also gave Vita a decent boost, but not decent enough to topple the 3DS.

 

[Magicpaint]

Not really. It did well, but failed to hit 200k, which I believe someone mentioned was Sony's expectation. It also gave Vita a decent boost, but not decent enough to topple the 3DS.

200k was the LTD goal. It will obviously beat that very easily.

 

[Infinite Xero]

Has there ever been a game with legs that opens under 300k? I'm curious to see how long Freedom Wars stays in the Top 10 considering most of its stock was sold through last week.

 

[Metallix87]

200k was the LTD goal. It will obviously beat that very easily.

Oh, my mistake, then. Wow, that's a really conservative LTD figure for this type of game.

 

[Prelude.]

Not really. It did well, but failed to hit 200k, which I believe someone mentioned was Sony's expectation. It also gave Vita a decent boost, but not decent enough to topple the 3DS.

200k is probably very close to what they shipped to retailers for launch.

 

[Lexxism]

Has there ever been a game with legs that opens under 300k? I'm curious to see how long Freedom Wars stays in the Top 10 considering most of its stock was sold through last week.

Yo-kai watch is the game I can only think of. It opened 52,901.

 

[Takao]

I wouldn't call Gravity Rush low-budget, though it's not a hugely expensive project either I'm guessing. Tokyo Jungle would be a better example, though that's an experiment that I think came off rather well. Did Tokyo Jungle Mobile ever get a release in Japan?

Yeah, TJM was released in Japan. It's just that no one buys PSM games.

 

[Tripon]

I don't know why Sony won't release a 4G LTE version for the Vita.

 

[ohlawd]

Yo-kai watch is the game I can only think of. It opened 52,901.

that low.

holy fuck.

 

[djplaeskool]

that low.

holy fuck.

Yeah, most people (myself included) had it dead in the water, since it released so far ahead of the rest of its media foundation.

 

[Hero of Legend]

that low.

holy fuck.

20x FW, is that a record?

 

[vicissitudes]

Has there ever been a game with legs that opens under 300k? I'm curious to see how long Freedom Wars stays in the Top 10 considering most of its stock was sold through last week.

Yo-kai watch is the game I can only think of. It opened 52,901.

PSP
Monster Hunter Portable (2005)
FW - 118,317
LTD - 668,964

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Best reprint) (2009)
FW - 5,904
LTD - 592,747

PS3
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III (2008)
FW - 34,186
LTD - 295,174

DS
Mario Kart DS (2005)
FW - 224,411
LTD - 3,894,723

Nintendogs (2005)
FW - 135,674
LTD - 2,037,232

Brain Age (2005)
FW - 44,166
LTD - 3,829,480

Big Brain Academy (2005)
FW - 52,525
LTD - 1,589,539

English Training (2006)
FW - 231,770
LTD - 2,203,669

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007)
FW - 119,816
LTD - 968,033

Mario Party DS (2007)
FW - 242,195
LTD - 2,015,390

Rhythm Tengoku Gold (2008)
FW - 227,718
LTD - 1,869,103

Friend collection (2009)
FW - 100,373
LTD - 3,634,606

Wii
Wii Play (2006)
FW - 171,888
LTD - 2,800,615

Wii Sports (2006)
FW - 176,880
LTD - 3,682,754

Wii Fit (2007)
FW - 254,009
LTD - 3,561,787

Taiko Drum Master Wii 2 (2009)
FW - 29,349
LTD - 418,284

Wii Party (2010)
FW - 223,595
LTD - 2,361,016

3DS
Nintendogs + Cats (2011)
FW - 68,973
LTD - 602,954

Hint: Freedom Wars will have no legs and drop 70%+ next week.

Spoiler

I miss garaph

 

[Zekra Dezivad]

Oh, my mistake, then. Wow, that's a really conservative LTD figure for this type of game.

Probably if we add digital sales (usually 5-10%) Panopticon may have already surpassed the 200k mark, so even in that case, should be fine

 

[Chris1964]

Closer thing I can think to Yo-kai Watch situation is this.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79368

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

I play and love both western and Japanese games. Skyrim (modded, on PC) and Dark Souls are two of my favorite games last gen.

I agree with you about VC > Skies (is this the same dev team though?) and Souls > Otogi. I wasn't meaning to highlight those as the best examples of what each dev has done, but rather to rattle off a few of the memorable Japanese-developed games of that era.

There are certainly some AMAZING Japanese games out right now - some of my favorites of all time - but there just aren't as many Japanese games being released any more.



Excellent insight, thanks.

I believe the Skies team or probably known more recently as the Sakura Wars team did go on to work on Valkyria Chronicles. Vyse and Aika are in it

Honestly, I think the smaller devs are doing very well in giving us a great selection of quality Japanese games. SEGA, Atlus, Namco, GUST, Falcom and even NIS.

Its the big companies that have resulted in a noticeable decline of quality Japanese devs. I'm talking about Square, Capcom and Konami.

SE and Konami have effectively become like the Western pubs and seem to only be interested in big AAA games. Game output is decreasing as a whole due to rising development costs and way more time needed to make quality games these days. Everyone should accept that. However, one of the great things about the Japanese industry is that there still seems to be a middle tier. Its pretty much gone in the West and has been reduced in Japan but is still there.

Its incredibly sad to see Konami and SE which have so many great video game properties and just ignore them these days. Particularly SE. The glory days of Squaresoft was a golden era for jrpgs.

Capcom is a bit better than those two. In fact a lot better but I still don't like what they did with BoF. I'm still bitter.

Hopefully SCEJ find their feet again when developing on the PS4. I'm sure Nintendo will continue with what they do.

 

[MasterSheen]

PSP
Monster Hunter Portable (2005)
FW - 118,317
LTD - 668,964

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Best reprint) (2009)
FW - 5,904
LTD - 592,747

PS3
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III (2008)
FW - 34,186
LTD - 295,174

DS
Mario Kart DS (2005)
FW - 224,411
LTD - 3,894,723

Nintendogs (2005)
FW - 135,674
LTD - 2,037,232

Brain Age (2005)
FW - 44,166
LTD - 3,829,480

Big Brain Academy (2005)
FW - 52,525
LTD - 1,589,539

English Training (2006)
FW - 231,770
LTD - 2,203,669

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007)
FW - 119,816
LTD - 968,033

Mario Party DS (2007)
FW - 242,195
LTD - 2,015,390

Rhythm Tengoku Gold (2008)
FW - 227,718
LTD - 1,869,103

Friend collection (2009)
FW - 100,373
LTD - 3,634,606

Wii
Wii Play (2006)
FW - 171,888
LTD - 2,800,615

Wii Sports (2006)
FW - 176,880
LTD - 3,682,754

Wii Fit (2007)
FW - 254,009
LTD - 3,561,787

Wii Party (2010)
FW - 223,595
LTD - 2,361,016

3DS
Nintendogs + Cats (2011)
FW - 68,973
LTD - 602,954

Hint: Freedom Wars will have no legs and drop 70%+ next week.

Spoiler

I miss garaph

Yep, quite a few games with small debuts had long ass legs. Taiko is another good example, as the new entry will show us.

 

[vicissitudes]

Yep, quite a few games with small debuts had long ass legs. Taiko is another good example, as the new entry will show us.

Yeah I added Taiko 2 which was the most prominent example but all of them had extremely good legs.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Holy shit at Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Best reprint). That's 100x its first week!

 

[maxiell]

Not really. It did well, but failed to hit 200k, which I believe someone mentioned was Sony's expectation.

Amazing.

In other news, very surprised by the Watch_Dogs split. Never thought it would do that well on PS4.

 

[Myshkin]

half that vita top openings list is monhun games : /

Reminds me of that Vita infomercial over a year ago, where people were saying in the stream chat "finally, a game that isn't a monster hunter" and I was saying "psssst, the monster is a dragon".

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Best reprint) (2009)
FW - 5,904
LTD - 592,747

What in the world......

 

[pieatorium]

Oh, my mistake, then. Wow, that's a really conservative LTD figure for this type of game.

only 2 of this type of game passed 200k at retail on vita. God Eater, which everyone expected, and Toukiden which noone expected.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

I don't know what you're referring to as a "partnership deal". SCE owns Freedom Wars outright and while their external projects have helped the platform, SCE hasn't done a lot of Japanese Vita games. For retail it's just been Hot Shots Golf, Gravity Rush (the only internal game), Soul Sacrifce (+ Delta), Freedom Wars and the upcoming launch of OreShika 2.

Just referring to how they seem to co-develop these games- with outside help to a good effect. Tho I don't know how much is done internally ect.

 

[sörine]

Just referring to how they seem to co-develop these games- with outside help to a good effect. Tho I don't know how much is done internally ect.

Not much, usually it's just oversight, funding and maybe testing/qa. People tend to attribute more involvement but I wouldn't even call SCE a co-developer in most of those cases. People do the same thing with Nintendo too a lot.

 

[Takao]

Just referring to how they seem to co-develop these games- with outside help to a good effect. Tho I don't know how much is done internally ect.

Ah, SCE has always done externally developed games. It's not really a new thing.

 

[StormKing]

Doesn't SCEJ expect this to sell 1 milllion worldwide

Has any game on Vita done that yet?

 

[Takao]

Doesn't SCEJ expect this to sell 1 milllion worldwide

A producer's hopes don't equal the expectation of his employer's.

insert dragon's dogma 10 million units here

 

[metalslimer]

Another shit week besides fw sales

 

[Jigorath]

Not really. It did well, but failed to hit 200k, which I believe someone mentioned was Sony's expectation. It also gave Vita a decent boost, but not decent enough to topple the 3DS.

A new IP opens at 180k and nearly doubles Vita HW numbers. And according to Famitsu the VIta did top 3DS. You know you don't have to constantly downplay everything Sony related in these threads.

 

[Metallix87]

A new IP opens at 180k and nearly doubles Vita HW numbers. And according to Famitsu the VIta did top 3DS. You know you don't have to constantly downplay everything Sony related in these threads.

I'm not downplaying anything, I'm standing by my stance from last week, though it seems that Famitsu has proven me wrong all the same.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Okay I found this bizarre thing.

From what it looks like, there's a 3DS eShop straight port of Wappy Dog DS coming?

http://www.famitsu.com/news/201406/18055481.html

http://www.segatoys.co.jp/poochi/3ds/

It's still in 4:3 (obviously unsure of actual res). Says on the bottom it's not compatible with the DS so it's literally an eShop game. Or maybe it's retail due to the price?

Maybe it IS a DSiWare game but it's a voucher with the toy and codes are system specific? That would make more sense.

Da hell?

 

[Nightengale]

Oh, my mistake, then. Wow, that's a really conservative LTD figure for this type of game.

Not really. Many games of that same genre not named Monster Hunter are in that sales ballpark.

 

[Metallix87]

Not really. Many games of that same genre not named Monster Hunter are in that sales ballpark.

True, but I figured a first party offering would do better by default. I suppose that's my mistake / misconception.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

True, but I figured a first party offering would do better by default. I suppose that's my mistake / misconception.

I don't think the notion of first party titles doing better would really exist outside of established brands. While even a new IP can benefit from the platform holder marketing it directly and being able to control things better, history is littered with complete bombs from both Nintendo and Sony.

 

[RPGamer92]

Nice to see the Vita cross the 3 million mark quicker than expected.

 

[TheRealTalker]

Good on FW

 

[Usobuko]

Good point on PS4 owners not really having a lot of options as far as Japanese-developed games (or ANY games) go at this early point in the console's life. My reaction was fairly knee-jerk, and certainly there many factors at play in the Watch_Dogs numbers.

My main fear is that younger Japanese gamers will embrace western tastes to a degree that will eventually lead to homogenization of what's offered gameplay and game mechanic-wise, overall.

I guess I just want 90s-2000s Japanese game development back. Okami, Skies of Arcadia, Otogi, Dark Cloud, Devil May Cry... I want modern games that bring back the same feeling I had playing these games for the first time.

*sniff*

I don't see any differences when you have people in this forum who grew up on those 'golden' era but still taking a fanboy-ish side on Japanese games depending on which platforms they are on.

I kid. I think even for Japanese developer who supposedly chase after the west, say Capcom, RE6 and Dragon Dogma are still mechanically focused.

 

[jeremy1456]

A new IP opens at 180k and nearly doubles Vita HW numbers. And according to Famitsu the VIta did top 3DS. You know you don't have to constantly downplay everything Sony related in these threads.

180k is decent for a new IP. Almost doubling the hardware sales isn't that impressive. It is the Vita we're talking about. The system didn't sell exceptionally well by any means; it almost sold what a healthy system would have on a normal week a this point in its lifespan.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Nice to see the Vita cross the 3 million mark quicker than expected.

GBA 25 weeks
Wii 33 weeks
NDS 39 weeks
3DS 42 weeks
PS2 42 weeks
PSP 63 weeks
GCN 121 weeks
PS3 127 weeks
PSV 133 weeks

Quicker than expected? D:

 

[BriBri]

Okay I found this bizarre thing.

From what it looks like, there's a 3DS eShop straight port of Wappy Dog DS coming?

http://www.famitsu.com/news/201406/18055481.html

http://www.segatoys.co.jp/poochi/3ds/

It's still in 4:3 (obviously unsure of actual res). Says on the bottom it's not compatible with the DS so it's literally an eShop game. Or maybe it's retail due to the price?

Maybe it IS a DSiWare game but it's a voucher with the toy and codes are system specific? That would make more sense.

Da hell?

It's 3DS. I covered it a week or two ago. It's an eShop app with mini-games compatible with the toy released on the same day. Unsure if it's usable/available to people who haven't purchased the toy.

 

[jeremy1456]

GBA 25 weeks
Wii 33 weeks
NDS 39 weeks
3DS 42 weeks
PS2 42 weeks
PSP 63 weeks
GCN 121 weeks
PS3 127 weeks
PSV 133 weeks

Quicker than expected? D:

How does it compare to the Game Gear, Wonderswan, and Neo Geo Pocket?

 

[L Thammy]

Notable balance issues found in Freedom Wars, apparently. If this translates to bad word of mouth it may cut the game's legs (and the IP's growth).

True, but I figured a first party offering would do better by default. I suppose that's my mistake / misconception.

As far as I know, it's only Nintendo that has really strong first-party output in Japan. (In terms of sales, of course.)

 

[ZSaberLink]

So considering the estimated LTD for Kamen Battride 2 on Wii U was only 10K by Namco, does it look like they can hit that without too much of an issue?

It's interesting that Kamen Battride 2 on Wii U had a better first week than quite a few other multiplat games...


Resident Evil Revelations 8,179
Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 6,241
Kamen Rider: Battride War II 6,827
One Piece: Unlimited World Red 4,242
Tank! Tank! Tank! 5,513
Puyo Puyo Tetris 5,232
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 2,242

 

[TaiKH92]

Dat Vita boost

 

[Shizuka]

So considering the estimated LTD for Kamen Battride 2 on Wii U was only 10K by Namco, does it look like they can hit that without too much of an issue?

It's interesting that Kamen Battride 2 on Wii U had a better first week than quite a few other multiplat games...


Resident Evil Revelations 8,179
Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 6,241
Kamen Rider: Battride War II 6,827
One Piece: Unlimited World Red 4,242
Tank! Tank! Tank! 5,513
Puyo Puyo Tetris 5,232
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 2,242

Tank! Tank! Tank! is a console exclusive, isn't it? The other version being for arcades.

 

[Zen]

Those home console sales are really bad.

Vita and Freedom Wars are looking good. It's a shame that Sony are gonna wind down on first party Vita development. If they put more of their top talent, especially Japanese talent on this thing, I think we'll see similar sales numbers or better. The only other first party Vita game coming that I can remember is Gravity Rush 2.

Well they onyl said that we will see less triple A development. I mean we are still seeing small and mid sized projects coming from them, they announced a ton at the last ces.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

GBA 25 weeks
Wii 33 weeks
NDS 39 weeks
3DS 42 weeks
PS2 42 weeks
PSP 63 weeks
GCN 121 weeks
PS3 127 weeks
PSV 133 weeks

Quicker than expected? D:

After about 6 months into the lifespan of the system, I think it was expected to be dead at this point and discontinued... so yes, quicker than expected.

 

[sörine]

As far as I know, it's only Nintendo that has really strong first-party output in Japan. (In terms of sales, of course.)

That wasn't always the case. Sega, Hudson, SNK, Bandai and other first parties had been relatively dominant on thier own platforms too. Really it's Sony and Microsoft being relatively weak that's more odd historically.

Tank! Tank! Tank! is a console exclusive, isn't it? The other version being for arcades.

Yes, it's not on any other console. Ken's Rage 2 was also a late port.

 

[Bitanator]

After about 6 months into the lifespan of the system, I think it was expected to be dead at this point and discontinued... so yes, quicker than expected.

It is not exactly doing the jitterbug now. 133 weeks to reach a shit LTD for a handheld is pathetic.