So yeah, we all know the drill. Sony recently confirmed that the PSP will still be launching in December in Japan, and Nintendo has solidifed the Dec. 2 DS launch with several pieces of software. So now my question is: Which systems or games will suffer because of the PSP and DS, in terms of shop shelf space? Having a small glimpse of Japanese shops last June, they tend to vary in size. Some are pretty big, others aren't so big.
I personally think the first system that will be scaled back in terms of shelf space will be the Swan Crystal, PSone and Xbox. They still have a presence in Japanese shops, but I think the PSone section will be reduced in favor of the PSP games, and that the Swan Crystal section will be reduced for DS titles. I don't see a scale back of GC or GBA games; a select few GC titles always perform very well during the last two months of the year, and the DS's GBA compatibility should ensure a rise if software sales for that system. I'm sure the Xbox might lose SOME shelf space, if it hasn't already.
As for sales of some games, I think mostly some PS2 games will suffer, but it has more to do with Dragon Quest VIII and the greater variety of PS2 games. I personally can't see Tales of Rebirth doing as good, but that's because of DQVIII. I see the GC edition of Viewtiful Joe 2 outpacing the PS2 edition, although both won't sell much. Nintendo's delivering a good GBA lineup to close the year out, so I anticipate Zelda: MC, Kingdom Hearts COM, Pokemon FR/LG/Emerald, Fire Emblem, Mawaru Made in Wario and RockMan EXE 5 to be the top sellers. On the GC front, I see Mario Party 6, Naruto 3, DK: Jungle Beat and Mario Tennis to close the GC out with stellar sales; biohazard 4 might come out Dec. 30, but I see the bigger impact for January.
So, what do you all think?
I personally think the first system that will be scaled back in terms of shelf space will be the Swan Crystal, PSone and Xbox. They still have a presence in Japanese shops, but I think the PSone section will be reduced in favor of the PSP games, and that the Swan Crystal section will be reduced for DS titles. I don't see a scale back of GC or GBA games; a select few GC titles always perform very well during the last two months of the year, and the DS's GBA compatibility should ensure a rise if software sales for that system. I'm sure the Xbox might lose SOME shelf space, if it hasn't already.
As for sales of some games, I think mostly some PS2 games will suffer, but it has more to do with Dragon Quest VIII and the greater variety of PS2 games. I personally can't see Tales of Rebirth doing as good, but that's because of DQVIII. I see the GC edition of Viewtiful Joe 2 outpacing the PS2 edition, although both won't sell much. Nintendo's delivering a good GBA lineup to close the year out, so I anticipate Zelda: MC, Kingdom Hearts COM, Pokemon FR/LG/Emerald, Fire Emblem, Mawaru Made in Wario and RockMan EXE 5 to be the top sellers. On the GC front, I see Mario Party 6, Naruto 3, DK: Jungle Beat and Mario Tennis to close the GC out with stellar sales; biohazard 4 might come out Dec. 30, but I see the bigger impact for January.
So, what do you all think?
In which case they will be dominated.