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An Updated Look at Japanese Game Sales on Steam [Steamspy figures - May 2016]

D

DarkLordMalik

Member
GhostTrick said:
Also the distinction consoles vs pc makes no sense. PC is one platform as a whole yes, but consoles arent. PS4/PS3/XB1/XB360 dont make one platform or one SKU as a whole. So yes, PC will always sell a fraction of it if you compare one platform to every others.
Click to expand...
It wasn't a comparison per se as much as it was about the popularity of games. This just goes on to show the different taste of PC gamers and console gamers. Please don't interpret it as something else.

Bad word of mouth is no excuse. Resident Evil 6 still keeps selling well. It launched to around 4 million and has steady legs. Sells like 100k-200k each quarter for Capcom. The same goes for Resident Evil 5.

Back in October 2013, Resident Evil 5 was at 6.5 million and Resident Evil 6 was at 5.2 million. This number doesn't include the PC version BTW.
 
G

GhostTrick

Banned
DarkLordMalik said:
It wasn't a comparison per se as much as it was about the popularity of games. This just goes on to show the different taste of PC gamers and console gamers. Please don't interpret it as something else.

Bad word of mouth is no excuse. Resident Evil 6 still keeps selling well. It launched to around 4 million and has steady legs. Sells like 100k-200k each quarter for Capcom. The same goes for Resident Evil 5.
Click to expand...



Of course it is. People are far less likely to buy your game if it's known as a bad game. Even then the game can still have some legs, like for exemple RE6 selling something like 20~40k this month on Steam.

As for showing the taste of PC gamers, I doubt DmC selling higher is more of a taste question rather than a contextual release. DmC is the only AAA DMC game released on Steam during the launch period. Not a remaster, not a late port. Higher sales.
 
D

DarkLordMalik

Member
GhostTrick said:
Of course it is. People are far less likely to buy your game if it's known as a bad game. Even then the game can still have some legs, like for exemple RE6 selling something like 20~40k this month on Steam.

As for showing the taste of PC gamers, I doubt DmC selling higher is more of a taste question rather than a contextual release. DmC is the only AAA DMC game released on Steam during the launch period. Not a remaster, not a late port. Higher sales.
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DmC was given in some of the bundles as some people have said earlier, so higher sales perhaps.

Although I don't understand why the original DMC4 is so low. It was a great port AFAIK.
 
P

Psycho_Mantis

Banned
GhostTrick said:
You can only get away with late port if it's an amazing game with excellent word of mouth. FFX HD remaster outselling Type O HD or Lightning Returns by a wide margin at a higher price is a good showing of that.






How much ?
Click to expand...

26k without NISA store or digital. In line with previous entries according to AniHawk.


DarkLordMalik said:
Great thread OP. It puts into perspective the sales for the Japanese games on Steam. Some show potential while others show failure. Niche developers like Idea Factory definitely have established themselves on Steam.


I am surprised to see that no game has managed to hit a million sales yet. Dragon's Dogma was touted as the second Dark Souls yet it barely managed to register 300k sales. Compared to Dark Souls and the crazy WOM DD received before launch, this is disappointing to say the least.

DmC has higher sales than the original series. I guess we all know how the taste of PC gamers align with the West :p

Resident Evil sales are a fraction of what the game did on consoles. Resident Evil 5 is at 7 million while Resident Evil 6 is at 6.5 million. I would have expected atleast 1 million here on PC.

The positive thing is that there is definitely room for growth here, so the potential exists. It is up to the developers to realize it now.
Click to expand...

PC/West PS3 users have let us down. Dragons Dogma 2 now relies on Japanese PS3 players and with the market shrinking......I think the dream may be over.
 
D

DarkLordMalik

Member
GhostTrick said:
Wasnt it also released on GFWL back in 2008 ?
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So was Resident Evil 5 and other classic Capcom games though.

Psycho_Mantis said:
PC/West PS3 users have let us down. Dragons Dogma 2 now relies on Japanese PS3 players and with the market shrinking......I think the dream may be over.
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Dragon's Dogma was at around 2.3 million in September 2015, before the launch of PC verison.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dragons-dogma-series-sales-reach-23-million-units/1100-6430483/

There is potential for growth here for the series, on both PC and consoles.
 
Z

zulux21

Member
CertifiedFP said:
Yeah but, didn't some NIS exec say that a Vita port of Disgaea 5 was 'never' happening?
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correct because the vita can't handle it.

thus it will either come out on...

NX (assuming it is more powerful than the vita and has a portable version)
Mobile devices
or a future sony handheld (which would most likely just be a gaming focused mobile device with some exclusive games)

in that order of likelyhood.
 
F

Famassu

Member
Dragon Quest Heroes - 25.000

Not even PC can save the massive floppage that is Dragon Quest (spin-offs) in the west.
 
A

ash_ag

Member
Access Games

Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut - 197.000 (published by Rising Star)
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - 65.000 (published by Playism)

I think the above might as well be added on the list.
 
Y

yuraya

Member
MGSV had microtransactions, dlc and a separate demo in GZ along with it. As a package it grossed a lot of $. And the microtransactions were no joke. They were used for several worthwhile things in the game and I think they were very successful for Konami despite all the hate for them. I spent a lot of time invading people with the fob stuff on Steam. And lots n I mean lots of people had 3 or 4 FOBs long before it was possible to acquire them the free way.

Its gonna be hard for any other Japanese game to topple TPP on steam. DS3 might be able to pass it once it gets some discounts and the dlc comes out.
 
G

GhostTrick

Banned
yuraya said:
MGSV had microtransactions, dlc and a separate demo in GZ along with it. As a package it grossed a lot of $. And the microtransactions were no joke. They were used for several worthwhile things in the game and I think they were very successful for Konami despite all the hate for them.

Its gonna be hard for any other Japanese game to topple TPP on steam. DS3 might be able to pass it once it gets some discounts and the dlc comes out.
Click to expand...



It shouldnt be hard as long as next big releases are here day and date. FFXV could've been but it wont since they plan to release it later.
 
O

orochi91

Member
yuraya said:
MGSV had microtransactions, dlc and a separate demo in GZ along with it. As a package it grossed a lot of $. And the microtransactions were no joke. They were used for several worthwhile things in the game and I think they were very successful for Konami despite all the hate for them. I spent a lot of time invading people with the fob stuff on Steam. And lots n I mean lots of people had 3 or 4 FOBs long before it was possible to acquire them the free way.

Its gonna be hard for any other Japanese game to topple TPP on steam. DS3 might be able to pass it once it gets some discounts and the dlc comes out.
Click to expand...
I've always wondered how microtransactions would manifest in a Souls game.

From Software is leaving way too much money on the table.
 
H

hamchan

Member
Looks like people are not biting on the Musou games anymore. Who can blame them considering Koei Tecmo port quality.
 
Garou

Garou

Member
Abilidebob said:
While they used GFWL, didn't both needed to be activated on Steam?
I'm 95% sure on Dark Souls being that way, unsure about SFIV.
Click to expand...

Retail-copies (that are still out there) don't use Steam in any way, in the case of Dark Souls you were simply allowed to use that key after the transition as well on Steam.
USF4 actually represents a chunk of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition as well, since that Steam-ID was changed altogether (and many with USF4 actually just have SSF4AE because they didn't buy the upgrade to USF4 but had their entry renamed anyway.)

So games that weren't Steamworks from the very beginning have incomplete numbers and shouldn't be used for comparison.
 
A

Atolm

Member
NateDog said:
Very surprised at The Last Remnant, nearly touching 1m? Was it ever on sale?
Click to expand...

It was on the 1$ tier of a bundle not long ago. I had it on my account when I came back to PC gaming earlier this month and I didn't even know I had it. Same with other big profile titles like Sonic Generations.

Not to discredit the OP by any means but I think these threads fail to get the point. It's almost impossible to know how much revenue a game generates by looking at raw data. And since that's how companies measure success...Is Binary Domain successful, when I politely received an email from Sega with a free code? How about Metal Gear Rising, how much from those 500k copies Konami sees, when I bought a code for dirt cheap (sorry, I already paid full price on release for PS3) at a resale website? And so on. What we see it's an unclear and distorted picture.
 
A

Ascheroth

Member
Kvik said:
The fuck? This is a crime. Why aren't people playing it? I'd expect at least half of FC players would be buying SC as well.

I'll probably have to raffle a few copies closer to Trails of Cold Steel 2 release just to get more people to play.
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11.3% of those who bought FC have completed it. That pretty much aligns with the sales of SC (~20k). So basically nearly everyone who finished FC has bought SC. That just shows that a directly connected sequel to a very long game has a limited audience to begin with. Although it isn't that black and white, because the release of SC should also have got some to buy FC and it didn't have any major sales yet, etc.
 
N

Nzyme32

Member
There are quite a few titles that have been skipped over that have multiple versions or are delisted.

For example Dark Souls 2 has the standard version and the Dx11 version which has Scholar included (unless that is what you mean in the figures)

Also missing is Devil May Cry 3 (which was on Steam prior to the new version). Onimusha 3 (delisted) ... probably some others I can't even remember
 
E

Easy_D

never left the stone age
Muntu said:
Dang it people, more of y'all need to buy TiTS SC.

I want, no, NEED localized Zero and Ao some day (soon(-ish))
Click to expand...

I imagine many are like me and waiting to buy SC until they've finished FC and I just can't get myself in the mood to play it, despite what I've played so far being awesome.
 
A

aravuus

Member
Easy_D said:
I imagine many are like me and waiting to buy SC until they've finished FC and I just can't get myself in the mood to play it, despite what I've played so far being awesome.
Click to expand...

Haha sure, I'm just bummed to see such low numbers. I'm sure SC numbers will slowly but steadily keep climbing in the coming months and years, though.
 
E

Eila

Member
Gung Ho and Game Arts also released a Dokuro port back in 2014. I remember getting it from a groupees bundle, but even then it didn't do too hot.


prudislav said:
BTW: really surprised by Akiba's Trip numbers :) especially when it was broken on Win 10 for quite some time
Click to expand...

I bought it in the anime sale a few weeks back. I liked it, surprisingly. Not too into open world janky games.
 
S

sprinkles

Member
Muntu said:
Haha sure, I'm just bummed to see such low numbers. I'm sure SC numbers will slowly but steadily keep climbing in the coming months and years, though.
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11.3 % of FC owners have the achievement for beating the final chapter. This percentage is roughly in line with the sales of SC compared with the first game. You cannot expect people to buy a lengthy and (for a digital only game) not that cheap sequel when they still have not beaten it's predecessor.
 
Kudo

Kudo

Member
Seems to be hit or miss what games make it on Steam, lots of good numbers and lots of bad ones.
Thanks for making this thread, was pretty interesting read.
 
B

bobbytkc

ADD New Gen Gamer
It is great to see the number of players for each game, but I always wanted to know what the actual revenue breakdown is since that is what matters to the devs. A lot of the games (last remnant for example, quite sure I bought it for 2.50 or something) are heavily discounted so it is hard to tell how much money each port brings to the devs.
 
A

aravuus

Member
sprinkles said:
11.3 % of FC owners have the achievement for beating the final chapter. This percentage is roughly in line with the sales of SC compared with the first game. You cannot expect people to buy a lengthy and (for a digital only game) not that cheap sequel when they still have not beaten it's predecessor.
Click to expand...

Of course I'm not, geez, just joking around lol
 
S

SpotAnime

Member
kswiston said:
KOEI-TECMO

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends - 186.000
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 (untranslated) - 92.000
Romance of the Three Kingdoms Maker (untranslated) - 74.000
Dead or Alive: Last Round - 68.000
Dynasty Warriors 8 - Empires - 31.000
Nobunaga's Abition: Sphere of Influence - 21.000
Samurai Warriors 4-II - 20.000
Toukiden: Kiwami - 17.000
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z - 9.000
Bladestorm: Nightmare - 5.000
Arslan: The Warriors of Legend - 4.000

SQUARE-ENIX

Dragon Quest Heroes - 25.000


XSEED/MARVELOUS

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - 181.000
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC - 21.000
Corpse Party - 4.000
Click to expand...

Koei Tecmo is a good example of savvy consumers. Their ports are famously bad and their prices are outrageous, and it seems like people have caught on to it. Toukiden and Arslan, specifically.

Dragon Quest: Heroes = ouch. I wonder if this sold bad on the PS4 as well.

And that gap between FC and SC, huge. Bigger than a pricing difference, I think. FC sold better out of the gates IIRC. SC should be half of FC at this point without a discount.
 
C

Chairmanchuck

Member
hamchan said:
Looks like people are not biting on the Musou games anymore. Who can blame them considering Koei Tecmo port quality.
Click to expand...

I think the latter might be the reason why. Arslan was a more or less good port, but is a really mediocre game. Before I had my 980ti, the game was running really bad on my 280x.
Also the pricing of K-T titles is not good imo. They wanted 60€ for games that had a superior console version. Like in a lot of K-T ports the Multiplayer was missing or they ported the PS3 version.

I am also sure Attack on Titan might be K-T next hit on Steam, just because of the name. Some games on Steam just sell because of the name, not because whether its good or not. Look at FF:Type0. A mediocre game that sold more than TiTS.

Dragon Quest: Heroes = ouch. I wonder if this sold bad on the PS4 as well.
Click to expand...

I think people are waiting for better sales on that.


Edit: Considering port costs (if there is already a translation/console port out), let me say that in 99% of the cases the port costs nowadays are not really that high. I know some of the port costs of some games (from a few years ago) and lets say if a game that doesnt need to be rewritten is ported, if it sells about 5000 times, it recoups the port-cost.
 
R

Relaxed Muscle

Member
CrispyBoar said:
Games such as the Guilty Gear games, Disgaea PC, Dragon Quest Heroes, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, & Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim.
Click to expand...

Disgaea, for example, is relatively new, and the publisher probably agrees that the launch was far from perfect.

Still PC games aren't as frontloaded as console games and they have a higher revenue as they don't pay license to platform holders.

All the games you posted has a chance to keep having a decent stream of revenue down the line, with sales.

There's the fact also that not every game can be a smashing success, PC became increasingly a more competitive enviroment, and publishers needs to step out their game too.
 
A

Ascheroth

Member
SpotAnime said:
And that gap between FC and SC, huge. Bigger than a pricing difference, I think. FC sold better out of the gates IIRC. SC should be half of FC at this point without a discount.
Click to expand...

As mentioned:

Ascheroth said:
11.3% of those who bought FC have completed it. That pretty much aligns with the sales of SC (~20k). So basically nearly everyone who finished FC has bought SC. That just shows that a directly connected sequel to a very long game has a limited audience to begin with. Although it isn't that black and white, because the release of SC should also have got some to buy FC and it didn't have any major sales yet, etc.
Click to expand...

sprinkles said:
11.3 % of FC owners have the achievement for beating the final chapter. This percentage is roughly in line with the sales of SC compared with the first game. You cannot expect people to buy a lengthy and (for a digital only game) not that cheap sequel when they still have not beaten it's predecessor.
Click to expand...
 
E

Eila

Member
CrispyBoar said:
Games such as the Guilty Gear games, Disgaea PC, Dragon Quest Heroes, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, & Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim.
Click to expand...

The arcades GG/Blazblue games run on are already windows PCs so I can't imagine the price to put them on steam is that high. Mostly paperwork.
TitS SC and Ys VI were already PC games, although there was significant work put on the releases on top of the translations.
 
K

Kresnik258

Member
Interesting stuff. Weird to see games which I assume did rather poorly on Vita based on store ratings (i.e. HTOL#NIQ; XBlaze) also doing relatively poorly on Steam. Guess a turd is a turd no matter the platform (although I quite enjoyed Firefly Diary).

Also interesting to see the splashback Koei-Tecmo seem to be getting, I guess people are cottoning on to their poor ports.

And yeah, that DQH did absolutely terribly.
 
P

Psycho_Mantis

Banned
Disgaea, for example, is relatively new, and the publisher probably agrees that the launch was far from perfect.

Still PC games aren't as frontloaded as console games and they have a higher revenue as they don't pay license to platform holders.

All the games you posted has a chance to keep having a decent stream of revenue down the line, with sales.

There's the fact also that not every game can be a smashing success, PC became increasingly a more competitive enviroment, and publishers needs to step out their game too.
Click to expand...

Console games aren't always that frontloaded either. Persona 4G opened at 34k in NPD and went on to 350k in the West in a year. Naruto Storm 3 had an NPD opening of <150k and went on to 1 million in NA in over a year. Danganronpa opened at 13.5k and its LTD in the west is at 200k (100k in US) and was deemed a great success.
 
Ultimadrago

Ultimadrago

Member
cj_iwakura said:
Recettear's success is amazing.
Click to expand...

This has to be stated again (and yes, I know it has been on sales, but really). Holy shit. Why did the game get such great word-of-mouth marketing online anyways?

I've beaten it 7+ times at this point and, while unlikely, I would be so down for a #2.
 
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