3DS has surpassed PS3 lifetime sales in Japan
- Thread starter dmr87
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CliffyB's Cock Holster
Opiate said:
Well no, because for a Sony platform the hardware specification of the Vita is remarkably non-bespoke. Its also being sold in tandem with proprietary memory devices that surely are high-profit items!
Ultimately any platform-based economy is basically about creating a conduit into the market; the main income stream is transient, consumable commodities transacted via that conduit. Its what flows along the pipe, not the pipe itself where the value is, and Vita is actually pretty well served in that regard for options.
But of course all this is a gross simplification because platforms do incur running costs, especially in terms of keeping that platform serviced with first-party software product while it builds a market, maintaining and improving system software and services, all the back-end stuff... its a pretty lengthy list of additional costs that continue through the lifetime of the platform.
Point being, selling at profit/loss on the hardware is just part of the equation, you couldn't conclude the state of a business by looking at that on its own.
You actually nailed it. They have to ride trains all the time, lots of public transportation = lots of handheld sales.
But Daveh, how else are we supposed to get our blue shell ragefest, Chores: The Video Game, Puff-puffs and "Stop using the fucking upswing!" fixes?
We don't got no alternatives man!
Nope it's trains.
Q
qizah
Unconfirmed Member
That's pretty insane, but those numbers are well deserved. The 3DS has had an awesome line up in such a short amount of time, especially in Japan.
Now, if only some of those Japanese titles could get localized ...
.
Now, if only some of those Japanese titles could get localized ...
.You've seen the release list for 3DS in Japan?
Next to a lot of Nintendo titles like 3D Land, NSMB 2, Animal Crossing and more, it has Monster Hunter Tri. Plus several interesting third party releases like Kingdom Hearts, Bravely Default, Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. And in Q1 2013 they'll receive Dragon Quest VII and Monster Hunter 4.
Tathanen
Get Inside Her!
I have been trying SO hard to parse this post.
Are you saying that handheld gaming is popular in Japan because high Japanese internet speeds can conquer the limitations of Wi-Fi? And that because of this, more handhelds sell, because... everyone buys their handhelds to play online?
I just
I can't even
That's why Vita sels so much.
Welp, that is a pretty good lineup. And yeah forgot about the amount of Bravely Default advertising I saw.
One must never stop using the upswing
SuperSonic1305
Member
Why is this impressive again? Should I be surprised that the successor to the DS sold 8 million units?
nckillthegrimace
Member
Are you surprised that the successor to the PS2 sold less than 8 million units?
smartphone games are so awful i cant believe people really play em more than a few seconds.
MasterSheen
Member
It's that outsold a console with six years worth of sales within two years.
Version 3.0
Member
By all means! I'm only tongue-in-cheek reacting to the supposition that handhelds are superior, or even equal, to consoles. I have every major handheld minus the Vita, all the way back to the original Game Boy, still on the rack, and though I much prefer TV consoles, the little guys have their moments.
Snowden's Secret
Banned
CRITICAL HIT
SuperSonic1305
Member
That ship sailed the moment the PS3 launched at the price it did and when Japan became handheld centric. Even the Wii that was this cultural phenomenon is nowhere close to the PS2. Will people be impressed when 3DS passes the Wii next year? They shouldn't be.
That tends to happen when your product is 2-3 times cheaper and is released in it's strongest market with the biggest ip available on it.
Seeing stuff like this in text only always causes misunderstandings. Though I guess the husbands bit should've been a giant warning sign.
Magicpaint
Member
Lately I prefer handhelds by far so I am okay with this!
Even by Nintendo handheld standards the DS sales were incredible and one of a kind; it is not realistic to just expect the 3DS to repeat that kind of success but the 3DS reaching 8m at this point (more so than surpassing the lackluster PS3 sales) is definitely impressive.
Even by Nintendo handheld standards the DS sales were incredible and one of a kind; it is not realistic to just expect the 3DS to repeat that kind of success but the 3DS reaching 8m at this point (more so than surpassing the lackluster PS3 sales) is definitely impressive.
You should be in the sense that the majority of those people who bought a DS are the kinds of people that don't buy Ames generally and for those people to have the same product awareness for the 3DS is pretty neat.
Hcoregamer00
The 'H' stands for hentai.
I hope this means that I get lots of streetpasses from Japanese tourists when I go to Las Vegas for New Years 
Since I am surely not getting crap from the American and Chinese tourists
plagiarize
Banned
*chuckles*
Zekra Dezivad
Member
Really?
Better online play/services, bigger screen, more confortable controller, huge western support and your console don't turn off after >4 hours of play/movies/internet/music
I use portable devices at home, so I think that with this use home consoles globally offer a better experience.
staticneuron
Member
I have no idea. Handhelds have sold Amazingly well in Japan for years now. Comparing them to consoles simply has never been a habit until now I guess. I would understand if outselling the PS3 was some lofty goal but the PS3 never set the charts on fire and also it is a home console. It was going to happen sooner or later I guess the focus is on the speed.
Just some numbers
To date (not exact numbers)
NDS 32 million in 8 years: 4 million per year
PSP 19 in 8 years: 2.3 million per year
Wii 12 million in 6 years: 2 million per year
PS2 21 million in 12 years: 1.75 million per year
PS3 8 million in years: 1.3 million per year
I am pretty sure the gameboy numbers are even more insane ( I don't have them on hand though) I remember when they were selling 4 different versions of the gameboy and they were all getting decent numbers.
The OP is talking about Japan. The people that are purchasing the 3DS are most likely the same people who purchased the DS, and the GBA before that (probably even every version).
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
Nobody could possibly have as much fun with a handheld system as a console system, so I have to react to such an outrageous claim.
slaughterking
Member
That's really quite unfair of Nintendo. They should have really made the 3DS less appealing.
Joeshabadoo
Member
I hope this means that I get lots of streetpasses from Japanese tourists when I go to Las Vegas for New Years
Since I am surely not getting crap from the American and Chinese tourists
I get a healthy amount of Japanese streetpasses here in NYC. Not shocking. Passing through Times Sq twice a day to and from work is always fun
metalslimer
Member
lunchwithyuzo
Banned
DS and PSP released a week apart it Japan fwiw, not a year apart.
staticneuron
Member
Thanks! Corrected the numbers.
This, eventually the hardcore gamers will catch on. U.S. really has a similar handheld movement but its mostly in the tablets and iphones. I've been saying ever since Vita came out and we got glimpses of console gaming in our hands that people would get more excited for that feeling after Wii-U came out. As gamers and demographics shift it will become more and more apparent.
I still stand by my prediction that once we hit the point of diminishing returns and profitability soon the shift in gaming will be to handhelds with streaming and wireless connectivity to TV's. It's going to make all these doom and gloomers for handhelds look silly when everything shifts there. That is at least a gen or two away though. Depending on how bad this next gen goes maybe quicker.
Thrillhouse
Member
And you have just given us a striking example of using prejudices as facts.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Unlikely, considering the anemic 3DS and Vita libraries. Noone's gonna be drawn away from consoles in the near future.
StreetsAhead
Member
So, it may have been mentioned, but the 3DS LL, which is marketed as a supplementary model (DSi rather than Lite) has outsold the Vita's LTD in less than half a year here. The difference is ~400,000 units.
Hcoregamer00
The 'H' stands for hentai.
I live in California where the only place that I can get Japanese streepasses are during Anime Conventions and during the busy periods in Las Vegas. Here is hoping that New Years will net me a nice number of streetpasses
The Japanese sales difference between the DS and gameboy advanced are double. In your line of thought there should be no growth the DS took the casual market by storm in Japan.
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
"Because Japan has trains" doesn't really explain why handhelds suddenly leapfrogged console sales, since Japan has had mass transit since, uhh... forever? I see it as a combination of factors:
1) DS and PSP processing power being able to render 3D graphics. Last gen was the first generation devs could offer something remotely close to the console experience.
2) The HD twins completely collapsing. Both in terms of sales and the inability of Japanese devs to rapidly make games for them. The DS/PSP had both a larger install base and were easier to develop for.
3) Local multiplayer. Japan apparently values local multi highly, and last gen was the first to offer built-in wireless Adhoc multiplayer.
4) Blue ocean strategy. Thanks Reggie.
1) DS and PSP processing power being able to render 3D graphics. Last gen was the first generation devs could offer something remotely close to the console experience.
2) The HD twins completely collapsing. Both in terms of sales and the inability of Japanese devs to rapidly make games for them. The DS/PSP had both a larger install base and were easier to develop for.
3) Local multiplayer. Japan apparently values local multi highly, and last gen was the first to offer built-in wireless Adhoc multiplayer.
4) Blue ocean strategy. Thanks Reggie.
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
Sorry if this was pointed out but for me at least the surprising thing is that at current rates it will take the Vita another year to even surpass the 360. Ouch.
You're still segregating. No one has to be drawn away when i'm talking about a combined system. I'm talking about the makers creating only one system for the gen that is Vita-like or Wii-U pad like. Thats it. A system with same next gen capabilities once we reach a point where graphic upgrades are miniscule and costs are prohibitive to keep on pushing any further. The next step in evolution would be a Wii-U pad or Vita like system, maybe with a base station or not but same graphical abilities as a next gen console (I say that because personally I feel next gen will be our point of diminishing returns) in which we have wireless streaming.
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
Re: if you thought the vita you were an idiot.
Back when it was first announced, the Vita was priced the same as the 3DS, the PSP was keeping pace with the 3DS, the 3DS software charts hadn't gone holy trinity, and there were no indications third party support for the Vita was going to fall into a sinkhole.
Nintendo was smart to cut the 3DS when it did solely to provide an easy distinction with the Vita, and announcing MH3G was the best way to proclaim "we are the strongest handheld in Japan", kinda like when DQIX got announced for the DS.
Back when it was first announced, the Vita was priced the same as the 3DS, the PSP was keeping pace with the 3DS, the 3DS software charts hadn't gone holy trinity, and there were no indications third party support for the Vita was going to fall into a sinkhole.
Nintendo was smart to cut the 3DS when it did solely to provide an easy distinction with the Vita, and announcing MH3G was the best way to proclaim "we are the strongest handheld in Japan", kinda like when DQIX got announced for the DS.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Oh, sorry. Yeah it looks to be going that direction with cloud etc and local streaming - I guess it depends on how MS/Sony create their machines.
Wii U isn't looking like it's changing the status quo at all in terms of third party stuff, sadly.
Cosmo Clock 21
Banned
I don't see how your example relates, but there's a reason why Capcom never bothered putting online into the PSP monhuns like the console iterations had.
Canis lupus
Member
Congrats 3DS, and now repeat that success in the West.
That's why i'm actually a little bit sad that Wii-u looks to be shaping up to be another Wii situation. I was really much more excited to see the movements it could make in gaming compared to the Wii motion control movement. There's still a chance but i'm just afraid its not going to be taken seriously by developers to capitalize on it. MS and Sony are making certain movements in that direction that would set gamers up to that movement like cloud saves, digital downloads and account portability but we will have to wait and see if they are making any changes to controllers or inputs.
I don't feel gamers should be afraid of that movement or losing fidelity or gameplay. This preconceived notion that portable gaming is less then console gaming is so uncalled for now it reminds me alot of that "laptops are not meant for gaming" meme that just wouldn't die in the face of reality. We are really reaching a level of parity here and really all they need now is a simple wireless streaming box to hook up to TV to complete the transition.
Maybe in gross numbers, it might...
But relative to market size, that would be a truly laughable notion