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[schuelma]

Ah, Media Create's always seem to be a little higher than Famitsu's. Is it just the way they average or does Media Create get different sales data?

Nah, things go up and down. Sometimes MC has higher numbers, sometimes Famitsu.

 

[ccbfan]

I think Phantasy Star Zero proves what a few of us already realized.

PSP has an amazing ability of selling these type of mulltiplayer games.

Amazing that a port with 0 hype at all absolutely destroys a brand new game with decent amount of hype.

Its curious how this would effect Monster Hunter 3. Most of us already think MH3 will not beat MHP2G. But how close can the Wii version get.

Makes me even more sure that S-E is an idiot not to put a FFCC of some sort on the PSP. That type of game is perfect for the PSP. Seriously make FFCC:CB on both Wii/PSP as well as KH on both Wii/PSP. PSP will help FFCC:CB sales in Japan and Wii will help KH sales overseas.

 

[Regulus Tera]

I think Square is not that preoccupied, considering their biggest multiplayer game (FFAgitoXIII) is on the PSP. You could say that they want to test (and possibly create) new grounds by keeping FFCC:EoT DS/Wii only.

I'm actually more worried about what the multiplayer factor of the PSP will do to DQIX. Oh, yes, the game will sell shitloads regardless, but will it be enough to prove that the DS is a viable platform for multiplayer portables?

 

[jeremy1456]

I think Phantasy Star Zero proves what a few of us already realized.

PSP has an amazing ability of selling these type of mulltiplayer games.

Amazing that a port with 0 hype at all absolutely destroys a brand new game with decent amount of hype.

Its curious how this would effect Monster Hunter 3. Most of us already think MH3 will not beat MHP2G. But how close can the Wii version get.

Makes me even more sure that S-E is an idiot not to put a FFCC of some sort on the PSP. That type of game is perfect for the PSP. Seriously make FFCC:CB on both Wii/PSP as well as KH on both Wii/PSP. PSP will help FFCC:CB sales in Japan and Wii will help KH sales overseas.

Terrible idea. You do know that FFCC:CB is not a multiplayer based game, right?

And wtf does KH have to do with anything?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Terrible idea. You do know that FFCC:CB is not a multiplayer based game, right?

And wtf does KH have to do with anything?

It's a game. Settle down! Serious business here~!

 

[Syntek]

Well, LO did pretty darn well. And, hey, all the others did better than VC and the Enchanted Arms port and Eternal Sonata port. So, not really.

All the others did roughly the same as VC, maybe a little better but still in the 30-50k bracket in NA.

LO did worst out of all recent 360 JRPGs in Japan, but did far far better than any of them in NA and EU. That to me tells me the JRPG market outside Japan is inconsistent; sometimes you hit it big, but most of the time it's a lost cause.

WKC will pass the worldwide LTD of Vesperia/LR/IU soon I believe, if it hasn't already. Like the other 3, I don't think WKC is the type of JRPG that will sell outside Japan, but it probably doesn't really need to, at least not as desperately as the 360 JRPGs.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Makes me even more sure that S-E is an idiot not to put a FFCC of some sort on the PSP. That type of game is perfect for the PSP. Seriously make FFCC:CB on both Wii/PSP as well as KH on both Wii/PSP. PSP will help FFCC:CB sales in Japan and Wii will help KH sales overseas.

You're right there should be a Wii version of Birth by Sleep

Spoiler

so I wouldn't have to buy a PSP.

 

[Eteric Rice]

So what happened to Phantasy Star DS that has this discussion going? I thought it did well, or am I thinking of a different game?

 

[Y2Kev]

I'd be surprised if WKC doesn't match 700k shipped (though really where is the source for that? It's said constantly but I've never seen it cited). If it sells through 250k in Japan (which I think is fairly conservative), Sony would have to stuff only 450,000 copies across two big regions. Considering what they do with some of their other titles, I don't see how it can't crack 700k. In general, I think stuffing seems to be the new order of the day. Take a look at your local EB. Soul Calibur IV and The Force Unleashed were such masterful stuff jobs.

I tried looking up some Rogue Galaxy numbers for NA and EU but was unsuccessful. Plus it was a really late release, so there are some complications in the comparison.

But to say it's unlikely (<70% chance likelihood?)? I'd like to see the rationale.

On another note, SO4 is going to be a big test. SO is a pretty big seller in Japan (at least it's an established franchise and one people associate quality with, regardless of SO3's piss-poor original release). There almost seems to be this hard cap for 360 third party RPGs, and they all seem to top out around the same number (with Blue Dragon being the lone exception). If SO4 smashes through the cap with some kind of significant force, I think that might be something interesting to look at. If it performs similarly to games like TLR or IU or ToV, then that is also something noteworthy.

 

[ziran]

From what's been happening in Japan this year, my view is:

- 360 is still completely and utterly dead, in sw and hw sales, in real terms.
- PS3 is on life support, but with its performance in recent weeks is basically dead.
- Wii is the only system with a chance at reviving the home console market, but has a LOOONG way to go. MH3 and DQX are great starts and this is somewhat reminiscent of 3rd party on DS, but 3rd parties are still fumbled by the HD fake-dream, and we have to remember home console development takes a FUCK load longer than handhelds, so realistically it will be 2010 before we can say Wii cannot accommodate 3rd parties (but the fact remains if Wii can't do it, home consoles are dead to 3rd parties in Japan).

- DS is the greatest system ever in the history of gaming (personal opinion) and will likely end up becoming the biggest selling system ever WW (as it deserves to because it's so AWESOME!
- PSP has done well for what it is, but isn't really in competition with DS. It's a secondary system that's being bought for mainly for things other than games bought at retail, and its userbase is happy to buy sw, but overall, thinks its catalogue is poor.

Oh, and awesome sales for MKWii and Wii Sports, totally deserved, arguably the greatest games this gen, imo

 

[schuelma]

On another note, SO4 is going to be a big test. SO is a pretty big seller in Japan (at least it's an established franchise and one people associate quality with, regardless of SO3's piss-poor original release). There almost seems to be this hard cap for 360 third party RPGs, and they all seem to top out around the same number (with Blue Dragon being the lone exception). If SO4 smashes through the cap with some kind of significant force, I think that might be something interesting to look at. If it performs similarly to games like TLR or IU or ToV, then that is also something noteworthy.

Good post kev, you should hang out here more often!

SO4 will indeed be interesting. It's also the last announced major RPG for the 360 as of now. Wonder if Microsoft has some surprises in store for 09.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

On another note, SO4 is going to be a big test. SO is a pretty big seller in Japan (at least it's an established franchise and one people associate quality with, regardless of SO3's piss-poor original release). There almost seems to be this hard cap for 360 third party RPGs, and they all seem to top out around the same number (with Blue Dragon being the lone exception). If SO4 smashes through the cap with some kind of significant force, I think that might be something interesting to look at. If it performs similarly to games like TLR or IU or ToV, then that is also something noteworthy.

Yeah. There definitely seemed to be a lot of hype around the PSP rereleases, to say the least, so it will be interesting to see what happens with SO4.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Good post kev, you should hang out here more often!

SO4 will indeed be interesting. It's also the last announced major RPG for the 360 as of now. Wonder if Microsoft has some surprises in store for 09.

I remember saying the same thing a few weeks ago. People got angry.

 

[Syntek]

I'd be surprised if WKC doesn't match 700k shipped (though really where is the source for that? It's said constantly but I've never seen it cited). If it sells through 250k in Japan (which I think is fairly conservative), Sony would have to stuff only 450,000 copies across two big regions. Considering what they do with some of their other titles, I don't see how it can't crack 700k. In general, I think stuffing seems to be the new order of the day. Take a look at your local EB. Soul Calibur IV and The Force Unleashed were such masterful stuff jobs.

I tried looking up some Rogue Galaxy numbers for NA and EU but was unsuccessful. Plus it was a really late release, so there are some complications in the comparison.

But to say it's unlikely (<70% chance likelihood?)? I'd like to see the rationale.

On another note, SO4 is going to be a big test. SO is a pretty big seller in Japan (at least it's an established franchise and one people associate quality with, regardless of SO3's piss-poor original release). There almost seems to be this hard cap for 360 third party RPGs, and they all seem to top out around the same number (with Blue Dragon being the lone exception). If SO4 smashes through the cap with some kind of significant force, I think that might be something interesting to look at. If it performs similarly to games like TLR or IU or ToV, then that is also something noteworthy.

Yeah, 700k shipped worldwide should be pretty easy.

Actually, I don't think 700k sell-through is an impossibility either. A bundle here, a price cut there, an active online community, and WKC could slowly limp close to 500k in Japan alone, though that's being really optimistic...

 

[Liabe Brave]

I'd be surprised if WKC doesn't match 700k shipped (though really where is the source for that? It's said constantly but I've never seen it cited). If it sells through 250k in Japan (which I think is fairly conservative)...

It's extremely conservative. Media-Create and Famitsu numbers are sold-through, so it's at 200k right now. RPGs typically have lower legs than other genres, so 80% lifetime in the first week isn't unprecedented, but it would be bottom-of-the-barrel performance.

 

[Jasoncheng]

maybe we will see Dissidia selling 1mil in JAP...

CCFF7
1st week 470152
2st week 132667
Total 797029

DissidiaFF
1st week 503000
2st week 157000

1m......

 

[jj984jj]

^It could have longer legs.

 

[HK-47]

^It could have longer legs.

Its already up by 60k

 

[Cellbomber]

WKC will pass the worldwide LTD of Vesperia/LR/IU soon I believe, if it hasn't already. Like the other 3, I don't think WKC is the type of JRPG that will sell outside Japan, but it probably doesn't really need to, at least not as desperately as the 360 JRPGs.

I disagree with this for a few reasons. You have to think the PS3 has a lot of starved JRPG fans waiting to purchase the first really big title to come to it. This game will fill that need. Also the online portion is going to attract more fans than most of the JRPG's that are available. If the online portion is addictive I think the game will do fairly well in the west for these two reasons.

 

[jeremy1456]

It's a game. Settle down! Serious business here~!

Serious business indeed.

I didn't mean it to sound so rude.

 

[cvxfreak]

Its already up by 60k

But it's also the holidays.

CC was doing better than FFIII for awhile, but fizzled out eventually. The same can happen with Dissidia in the post-holiday, so the first two weeks of January will be important indicators.

 

[jj984jj]

Its already up by 60k

I thought he was trying to illustrate the similar drop-off (there's only a ~4% difference).

 

[Y2Kev]

Dissidia: Final Fantasy could have longer legs because it's not really an RPG.

Well, it has RPG elements.

 

[jrricky]

WKC did decent. I want to see if Sony can market this game to the US people. That will be a huuuge test. Lets see if it will have legs though.

WiiMusic WILL continue to have looong legs people.

PSZ kind of disappoints.

AC:CC is gonna have LOOOOOOOOONG legs.

I doubt Dissidia is going to make the 1 million mark any time soon. Dont hold me for this though.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

As far as Japan is concerned, making the RPGs of Vesperia, IU, LR and soon SO4 360 only for any length of time qualifies in the top 10 stupidest gaming business decisions of the year, no matter how big the MS moneyhats were.

By making games 360 only, both Namco and SE risk ruining the viability of that particular game to wow gamers should they decide to port those titles to PS3 in the near future. In Namco's case, they risk making a PS3 Vesperia look like old news since we'll probably have seen a lot of the new Wii title. IU and LR apparently don't seem to be very remarkable titles either, sparing a lot of people from picking up a PS3 version down the line. Furthermore, telling Japanese Xbox 360 owners that they won't be getting FFXIII sends mixed messages to those that dove in for LR, IU and soon SO4. Honestly, how stupid does that make SE look?

There are numerous examples of ports being able to rescue a game from otherwise abysmally low sales. RECVX and RE4 on the PS2 did that, but the PS2 was a much stronger force than the PS3 and 360 combined. Keeping a game exclusive to the 360 and ruining it's ability to sell on the PS3 just doesn't look like it's going to be a plan that works all that well this gen. Thank god Capcom didn't do that with Biohazard 5 or DMC4.

I very much agree with this. It is THIS shit right here that is a big reason for serious gaming falling in Japan. Publishers are scrambling their games, the types of games, and what ever the hell all over and just overall making ridiculous business decisions. IU was pretty much done by Microsoft but Vesperia and LR on the 360 is just utter stupidity. I mean really here Japanese publishers are whining about how they don't have any influence in the West and that Western developers are taking over gaming, yet the two best selling gaming platforms of all-time are sitting their in Western territories with next to zero big third party titles on them not to mention they are selling (especially one) very well in Japan. If only they'd put as much time and effort as they do on the 360/PS3 games that they'd see results.

 

[jj984jj]

Well you have to remember the CG version. I'm sure you can add 20k to that number.

Famitsu combines them. I think the pricing for these Tales of DS games hurt a bit (even DQIX will be cheaper), the numbers are better than previous Tales of DS games but it's still a bit disappointing.

 

[HK-47]

I very much agree with this. It is THIS shit right here that is a big reason for serious gaming falling in Japan. Publishers are scrambling their games, the types of games, and what ever the hell all over and just overall making ridiculous business decisions. IU was pretty much done by Microsoft but Vesperia and LR on the 360 is just utter stupidity. I mean really here Japanese publishers are whining about how they don't have any influence in the West and that Western developers are taking over gaming, yet the two best selling gaming platforms of all-time are sitting their in Western territories with next to zero big third party titles on them not to mention they are selling (especially one) very well in Japan. If only they'd put as much time and effort as they do on the 360/PS3 games that they'd see results.



Well you have to remember the CG version. I'm sure you can add 20k to that number.

That is anime plus CG

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Famitsu combines them. I think the pricing hurt a bit (the highest price for a DS game to date, even DQIX will be cheaper), the numbers are better than previous Tales of DS games but it's still disappointing.

Ahh I see. Well yeah I could see the pricing hurting it as well as competiting with so many other games. It is doing better then the previous DS games but not up to par. Then again maybe the Tales series in general has fallen even lower then it already has? How far is Symphonia 2 on Wii anyway?

 

[HK-47]

Fuck Scamco for whoring the series...

 

[goompapa]

It has nothing to do with being a big publisher or not, RPGs are giving a hard time lately. Level 5 games weren't big in the west to begin with. As pointed by others, SCEA likes to push more popular games instead. Folklore bombed big time as well. But who knows, I guess. It might totally surprise us and do good. Online is definitely a big plus, though they really need to include voice chat support.

WKC is a bigbudget game, Folklore doesn't compare. SCEA could easily convince/bully the retailers and ship a lot. And they will, like others point out, they are not afraid to stuff the channel.
They need good news, they'll love to claim they have "sold" a million in the upcoming press releases to keep their shareholders happy. If the title doesn't sell, they will find a way to give it away, bundles, super discount etc.
Look at Motorstorm 2. According to independent trackers, it hasn't sold more than 2 copies, yet Sony claimed they already "sold" a million. And you can bet that whenever they release the selling figures of LBP it will be in the region of 2-3 million.
That's just the Sony operates these days.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Ahh I see. Well yeah I could see the pricing hurting it as well as competiting with so many other games. It is doing better then the previous DS games but not up to par. Then again maybe the Tales series in general has fallen even lower then it already has? How far is Symphonia 2 on Wii anyway?

Over 200k last time I heard.

Not sure how true that was.

 

[spwolf]

WKC is a bigbudget game, Folklore doesn't compare. SCEA could easily convince/bully the retailers and ship a lot. And they will, like others point out, they are not afraid to stuff the channel.
They need good news, they'll love to claim they have "sold" a million in the upcoming press releases to keep their shareholders happy. If the title doesn't sell, they will find a way to give it away, bundles, super discount etc.
Look at Motorstorm 2. According to independent trackers, it hasn't sold more than 2 copies, yet Sony claimed they already "sold" a million. And you can bet that whenever they release the selling figures of LBP it will be in the region of 2-3 million.
That's just the Sony operates these days.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[duckroll]

Dissidia: Final Fantasy could have longer legs because it's not really an RPG.

Well, it has RPG elements.

I think having more gameplay content than Crisis Core, having a competitive mode, and generally being more FUN, will help it a lot. We'll see where it stands by the end of Jan, but a million is certainly possible. Not easy, but possible.

 

[Parl]

But it's also the holidays.

Yeah, I'd say this is a key point. It's had a big holiday boost, like all pretty much all other software, and had it released at the same time as FF7CC did last year, then it would have started slower than it has - maybe slower than FF7CC did (likely, IMO).

Regardless, though, it has come out with holiday boost, not be be discounted, but certainly to be taken into account in that after the holiday boosts are over, its legs will be significantly weakened, along with everything else. Then at that point, it may not track so favourably against FF7CC, and IMO, without additionally promotional pushes, its trend suggests to me that it may struggle to reach 1m.

 

[PuppetMaster]

Good numbers for WKS. And wow at GT5 Prologues legs.

 

[bttb]

.

 

[Dascu]

Never realized the Crash Bandicoot series was that popular in Japan. Pretty impressive sales for a western platformer. Totally deserved though. Lovely games.

 

[bttb]

.

 

[BishopLamont]

Jesus christ at Pokemon R/B/G/Y topping the charts three years in a row. Monster legs.

 

[AniHawk]

Jesus christ at Pokemon R/B/G/Y topping the charts three years in a row. Monster legs.

Pocket monster legs.

 

[Dascu]

Jesus christ at Pokemon R/B/G/Y topping the charts three years in a row. Pocket Monster legs.

Fixed.


Edit: Goddamn.

 

[Jocchan]

Monster legs.

 

[Johann]

Never realized the Crash Bandicoot series was that popular in Japan. Pretty impressive sales for a western platformer. Totally deserved though. Lovely games.

It had an excellent localization for a Western game (de-Yakuza-fied Crash not withstanding). The PS1 was the era in which Sony won much of the youth and female crowd with their family friendly games.

 

[lordmrw]

Drung the PS1 era damn near everything Square released was sales gold. Christ.

 

[duckroll]

So, does anyone have extensive theories of why Phantasy Star Portable on the PSP managed to sell 330k in the first week alone, while Phantasy Star Zero on the DS sells a mere 86k during the stronger end of the year sales period? Is this a bad sign for appeal of heavily multiplayer based action games on the DS?

 

[cw_sasuke]

So, does anyone have extensive theories of why Phantasy Star Portable on the PSP managed to sell 330k in the first week alone, while Phantasy Star Zero on the DS sells a mere 86k during the stronger end of the year sales period? Is this a bad sign for appeal of heavily multiplayer based action games on the DS?

What competition did PSU had when it launched on PSP and what is avaiable know for th DS ? Maybe it was the wrong decision to to release it in a time with that many other releases, after all Phantasy Star isn`t THAT big of an IP.

I think that most ds owner, who play those types of games already bought a PSP for MH etc. Games like DQ or FF wie Multiplayer will still sell well because of the name - but i can`t see games like Blood of Bahamut selling too well...

 

[Phife Dawg]

<snip>

Thanks for posting these.

Good numbers for WKS. And wow at GT5 Prologues legs.

Will have legs as long as they keep bundling it for free.

http://i40.tinypic.com/8yz4le.jpg[/IMG]

That stopped being funny ages ago, now it's just a pic of an ugly dude that wants to be a chick.

So, does anyone have extensive theories of why Phantasy Star Portable on the PSP managed to sell 330k in the first week alone, while Phantasy Star Zero on the DS sells a mere 86k during the stronger end of the year sales period? Is this a bad sign for appeal of heavily multiplayer based action games on the DS?

It's not really extensive but overlap between the userbases could be a reason. Releasing these rather close to each other may not have been the best of ideas.

 

[Fafalada]

Will have legs as long as they keep bundling it for free.

But it's not free - you still need to hold two jobs to afford one in this economy

Anyway, it seems to be the fastest way for Sony to get a milion seller in Japan.

 

[Phife Dawg]

But it's not free - you still need to hold two jobs to afford one in this economy

Anyway, it seems to be the fastest way for Sony to get a milion seller in Japan.

You needed two to afford it during the launch. With the recession hitting worldwide you'd need at least three by now. But then again the price did go down - maybe two is still correct these days .

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Next up is Outbreak. After Monster Hunter G (and the great sales of RE0/REmake Wii), I can't exactly doubt the possibility now. I just hope they put File 1 and 2 into one package if they decided to go through with it.

I wouldn't mind both Outbreaks in a single package. Preferably with Wiispeak compatibility.

Considering that Outbreak is a fully 3D game, couldn't Capcom put the RE4 camera/aiming system into it? It would require some rebalancing in the gameplay department.