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A Look at Japanese Game Sales on Steam - Post-holiday 2016 edition [Steamspy figures]
- Thread starter kswiston
- Start date
hans_castorp
Member
Xanadu Next's sales 
Guys, go buy that game. It's amazing
Guys, go buy that game. It's amazing
GhostTrick
Banned
It's pretty depressing that even Conception II sold better than Xanadu Next. Hell, it's depressing that Senran Kagura sold better than Xanadu Next. And I actually like Senran Kagura...
XSEED really need to rethink their approach with these releases. Xanadu Next deserved so much better. It's a fantastic game.
XSeed cant do the same thing ever, which is announcing some titles 1 year in advance, without communicating around it then announce a release date 1 week before the actual release with no fanfare.
Especially with 2005 era titles. There's a reason why a game like Senran Kagura sold better at a higher price. Apart from obvious fan service, the perceived value is higher, considering it's a newer game, with higher perceived production values.
No I mean, the series was absolutely massive years ago. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing Umineko, even people who didn't play VN regularly were into it. The series popularity tipped around Ep. 5, I think it was more popular then even FSN. Most people would have bought it back then if it was released on steam. (I think some people even went as far to try to contact R07 for an official english location using WH script, but my memories are a bit fuzzy)
Episode 6-7-8 killed a lot of goodwill the series had (Both in the west and in Japan, Ep VIII is rated very low). A lot of people lost interest and didn't stick around. I don't think even the PS3 port sold much.
That's why Higurashi episode 1 sold 70k despite the fact it was already release years ago by Mangagamer and the anime aired 10 years ago. Most VN fanbases keep growing while Umineko popularity shrunk despite the name.
tl;dr version: R07 should be grateful he still has a fanbase.
NEKOPARA Vol. 1 - 314.000 (278.000)
NEKOPARA Vol. 0 - 285.000 (252.000)
NEKOPARA Vol. 2 - 191.000 (149.000)
Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~ - 171.000 (172.000)
Steins;Gate - 24.000 (14.000)
stop the world i want off
push the button, trump. end our miserable existences.
NEKOPARA Vol. 0 - 285.000 (252.000)
NEKOPARA Vol. 2 - 191.000 (149.000)
Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~ - 171.000 (172.000)
Steins;Gate - 24.000 (14.000)
stop the world i want off
push the button, trump. end our miserable existences.
Real_Madrid
Member
I'm happy MGS V is selling so good, the PC port was also well done and mostly bug-free, imagine that for a AAA-open world game.
Even Ground Zeroes sold a lot.
Even Ground Zeroes sold a lot.
I don't think Xanadu Next sales are surprising.
Dunno if it's the artstyle, but, from the screenshots in the store page, it looks really dated, more so than the Ys and Trails games.
Personally the only reason I'm even considering getting it sometime is because of the high praise it gets here on gaf, so I can see how alot of people overlook it.
Dunno if it's the artstyle, but, from the screenshots in the store page, it looks really dated, more so than the Ys and Trails games.
Personally the only reason I'm even considering getting it sometime is because of the high praise it gets here on gaf, so I can see how alot of people overlook it.
Welp, all things considered Toukiden sales aren't an absolute trainwreck I guess. Here's hoping the Toukiden 2 port is on par with God Eater's.
And to be honest about XN, I'm just about done feeling sorry for a recently released but poorly selling Falcom game that's ten years old, looks twenty years old, and only made to the west because someone's in XSEED is a fan and willing to deal with Falcom's "quirkiness" for it. It's in my wishlist (while the rest of Falcom's catalog is in my library already) but come on.
I feel bad for XSEED, if anything.
And to be honest about XN, I'm just about done feeling sorry for a recently released but poorly selling Falcom game that's ten years old, looks twenty years old, and only made to the west because someone's in XSEED is a fan and willing to deal with Falcom's "quirkiness" for it. It's in my wishlist (while the rest of Falcom's catalog is in my library already) but come on.
I feel bad for XSEED, if anything.
I knew that name was familiar, turns out I have it too even though I'm not big on VNs. This is why:
To be fair, all three Nekopara games and Go! Go! Nippon! combined (and you could probably find Go! Go! Nippon! keys super cheap as it was in a bunch of bundles) is cheaper than Steins;Gate is on Steam. Trying to get people outside of VN fans to buy into the genre at anything above cut rate prices is tough sledding (compare the first volume of Higurashi to the rest to see what happens when more people take a chance on it), whereas it's a lot easier to buy in to some silly story about catgirls for $5 (which is typically the sale price for Nekopara vol1 and 2).
And I'm another person who has all of Falcom's games on Steam but Xanadu Next, and it's not for a lack of wanting. It basically comes down to a lack of needing the game right now!!!!! along with the price and the fact that my library is already comically bloated.
Cave's console ports have never really sold very well (there's a reason the only game they work on now is Mahou Otome), and Mushihimesama at 40k is doing better than the PS2 or X360 version ever did. Deathsmiles is behind the X360 release (but was also Cave's most popular X360 game and was also one of only two to see an international release (and is also a completely broken port)) and Dodonpachi Resurrection is basically in-line with the X360 release in Japan.
Chairmanchuck
Member
Higurashi 1 was also in a really cheap indigala bundle before.
Besides that, sales for that seem good. Im not sure what people expect from visual novels, but even Clannad with 10k was a huge success....
I didn't even realize it was on steam and I try to check new releases every week
you do have to remember we live in an age where if a game doesn't sell at least a million copies it's a complete and utter piece of rubbish
I mean disgaea 1 selling that many copies is great. personally I skipped it because it's my least favorite disgaea game, but I will be there day 1 for disgaea 2 in hopes they continue to bring the series to PC.
Chairmanchuck
Member
you do have to remember we live in an age where if a game doesn't sell at least a million copies it's a complete and utter piece of rubbish
The thing is that people should understand that the visual novel market has a totally different demographic.
If a traditional VN sells 10k, in most cases thats already considered a great success.
Usually they hover around 3-5k.
KainXVIII
Member
Xanadu Next is overrated, i mean its solid action/adventure rpg, but not amazing game for sure. Graphics especially not aged well (unlike sprite based Ys 1+2 collection with amazing OST), story and music is also not doing much for me.
Dragon Quest Heroes - 36.000 (34.000)
Bummed about this, maybe we never see sequel on pc =(
Dragon Quest Heroes - 36.000 (34.000)
Bummed about this, maybe we never see sequel on pc =(
Poetic.Injustice
Member
Niche games tend to sell lower and lower with each successive game. People don't buy the next entry in a Visual Novel because they haven't played and finished the first. Considering the length of one game is about 40 hours on average, they likely never will.
Orakio Rob
Member
Exactly. I'm waiting to buy SC, as I've been playing FC for, like... a year or so? ^_^
I've just started Chapter 3 in FC. The game is really good, but man, it's long and slow. Considering the little time I have available for gaming, I know it will probably take me another year to finish it.
It looks way better than Ys VI, and the Ys games from that time period are obviously the comparison that makes more sense.
I'm pretty sure it bombed in the west, not just on PC. Though it's hard to say 100% if they'll bring it to PC I doubt it takes much effort for Koei to do for SE.
And it's acutally ok.
Chairmanchuck
Member
I think that was a problem with Higurashi. They should have waited and released all 4 in one pack like they did with Umineko.
people need to understand a lot of things, but likely will never put in the time or energy to do so.
I am used to people not getting that 50k+ sales for disgaea is amazing lol.
yup, I am guilty of this. buying a bunch of games and not getting around to them, and thus not buying the sequels even though they look great
KainXVIII
Member
Nah, badly modeled 3d characters ruins all.
Pheace
Member
Yay for Disgaea! I hope that's enough for them to keep pushing the whole franchise on to PC. I've only ever played up to 2 since i didn't own any of hardware the rest released on, so I'm very much looking forward to getting 3+, Makai Kingdom, Ogre Tactics ... ok that last one isn't Nippon Ichi but I still want it! Blasted PC SRPG/TRPG scene, it's vastly underrepresented!
i've only ever seen it hit 75% off on the euro store, maybe that has something to do with it.
It fits better with the environments than the sprites did in Ys VI, it was the most jarring of the Ys games done like this.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Baseball Stars 2 - 24.000 (29.000)
Shock Troopers - 21.000 (23.000)
Twinkle Star Sprites- 20.000 (22.000)
The Last Blade - 7.000 (1.000)
Shock Troopers 2nd Squad - 6.000 (1.000)
Looks to me like some Humble Bundle owners haven't gone back and redeemed their Steam keys for Last Blade and Shock Troopers 2.
Shock Troopers - 21.000 (23.000)
Twinkle Star Sprites- 20.000 (22.000)
The Last Blade - 7.000 (1.000)
Shock Troopers 2nd Squad - 6.000 (1.000)
Looks to me like some Humble Bundle owners haven't gone back and redeemed their Steam keys for Last Blade and Shock Troopers 2.
Doesn't make it any less disappointing. I don't really expect their sales to set the world on fire or anything, but that negative sales trend is troubling. Is it just a coincidence that each one sold (relatively) significantly less than the previously released game? If not, how can these companies (Degica, XSeed, and others) better position these older games to sell now that the initial novelty of Japanese games on Steam is gone and the marketplace is flooded with competition (including, in this case, the games' previously released siblings)?
Also, is it safe to assume that this is the majority of these games' sales, or do they sell in significant numbers on GOG and other marketplaces?
This. The pricing for VN is usually ridiculous. There's a bunch of excellent indie games on Steam that sell for peanuts, I think most people just look at VN and think "why so expensive? it's a bunch of fucking text!". They can't ask the same price otakus are willing to pay.
DS was also the first game they ported on 360, the first titles usually sell the best and then it's downhill from there.
Steins;Gate released way too late on Steam (less than half a year ago). The game had huge potential back when the anime was still very popular and somewhat recent, but they missed that boat by years.
Spiral Insanity
Banned
Some of these are way too low. I hope Degica didn't project higher sales.
I blame all of the garbage that ends up on Steam.
I blame all of the garbage that ends up on Steam.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Holy shit you weren't lying. Those numbers are brutal.
Maybe that'll make Capcom focus on new games instead of re-re-re-releasing every RE under the sun.... we can hope.
The CAVE games and most of Degica's other shmups are only being sold on Steam and Degica's Japanese website. (GOG doesn't want them, apparently.)
I do think that the novelty wearing off is affecting sales of these particular games but it's also true that CAVE's ports have been successively buggier and the core fanbase is warier about buying them upfront.
It's also worth mentioning that these games still get a relatively high proportion of sales from Japan and the preferences between Japanese and international fans are much different and CAVE has acknowledged as much: to generalise, Japanese fans who like a game will buy every port that comes out and are willing to pay a high price for it, whereas international fans are far less enthusiastic about games that are already accessible elsewhere and have different expectations about pricing that factor in the age of the game, graphical fidelity, etc.
DS did big numbers in the west but it was a fluke and very few people stuck around for subsequent games.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
According to Steam's achievement stats, only 12% of FC owners beat the game. That's 25,560 out of 213,000. If we can assume most SC owners also own FC, 37,000 isn't so bad I guess?
Chairmanchuck
Member
Because they wont earn much if they sell it for 10$ less. I doubt that many people would buy Grisaia at release just because it was 10$ cheaper.
Especially since its a 50h VN.
Also the localization in terms of script is far higher with long VNs.
Besides that there are still a lot of shorter VNs available on Steam that arent really expensive like Sound of drop - fall into poison, G-Senjou no Maou, World End Economica etc.
Chairmanchuck
Member
Yeah, but for some reason some of the japanese games arent even available in Japan, Korea or China on Steam....
Eolz
Member
Yeah it got around 100k before it got some refunds and bad reviews/word of mouth due to it being a really basic port without lobbies (and no online for a long time), as well as having expensive DLC (can't buy costumes 1 by 1 unlike console versions) easy to pirate.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
This reminds me of Dragon Quest Builders, you would think that Minecraft being as big as it is on the PC, the would release Builders. Is basically the perfect game to introduce DQ to PC owners....
Jawbreaker
Member
Really happy about those numbers for Dragon's Dogma.