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[jgwhiteus]

Well, DQ and FF are doing great, but I'm not sure anything original has been as big as Blue Dragon.

True...but how many original jRPG IP's had blockbuster status or sales approaching Square-Enix's last gen (or even before that)? FF and DQ and their various spinoffs have always dominated the market, on both consoles and handhelds - even for BD, you can't deny a major component of its success was having Sakaguchi's name attached to it.

I just think it's a bit early to predict trends one way or the other for jRPGs since so few games in the genre have been released so far for consoles (and many that have been released on the DS / PSP seem to have had healthy, if not DQ / FF level sales). And I don't think anybody doubts that DQIX and FFXIII won't have massive sales when they're released.

 

[909er]

There are more JRPGs on a system that has been out a year longer? Imagine, a genre that takes the longest to fill being most plentiful on the system that has been out the longest. WHOWOULDATHOUGHT.

JRPGs have always been the staple of the Playstation brand. You wanted a JRPG, you go to the PS2. You wanted a few quirky JRPGs, you went to the GC. You wanted a JRPG and you get a Xbox, you're a dumbass. Did Xbox even have one quality JRPG? Thats why it's so surprising, not only does the 360 have the most, it also has some damn fine ones with some promising ones on the way. They're no FFXIII, but better than anything else confirmed for any system.

 

[Deku]

Surely folks here dont just look at rank order but unit sales. Rank 1 on a slow week is not the same as Rank 10 on a week with a game over 200k units.

Well, DQ and FF are doing great, but I'm not sure anything original has been as big as Blue Dragon.

It had a the Toriyama Sakaguchi chic factor which drove first week sales, that is until the nerds found out it was mediocre.

 

[PantherLotus]

JRPGs have always been the staple of the Playstation brand. You wanted a JRPG, you go to the PS2. You wanted a few quirky JRPGs, you went to the GC. You wanted a JRPG and you get a Xbox, you're a dumbass. Did Xbox even have one quality JRPG? Thats why it's so surprising, not only does the 360 have the most, it also has some damn fine ones with some promising ones on the way. They're no FFXIII, but better than anything else confirmed for any system.

1. It's awesome that the 360 has some JRPGs released and announced for it.
2. Definitely an improvement over the XBOX.
3. Non-indicative of future success or of future JRPGs.

 

[justchris]

I'm really not seeing the logic that makes abandoning the DS because of a stupid decision that the company made with a previous title at all sensible. It's pretty obvious that Namco had TotT shit out expecting crap to sell on the DS, got torched for it, and is now making amends.

So I wonder if, when you start up ToI, it first shows a personal apology from the head of the Dev team, and a promise never to do it again?

 

[Vinnk]

Microsoft are being dickheads with these games. Lets be honest. They are spending millions to create them but they are marketing them like shit and then hanging them out to dry. If MS were seriously they would have thrown millions into a media blitz on Lost Odyssey and made damn sure that every gamer in Japan knew the biggest Japanese release on the 360 platform was happening. Microsoft are not doing a fucking thing, they are sitting on their collective asses and quoting 'library' to try and gather sales.

It fucking pisses me off. If they don't market blitz this game in the US/EU in a effort to gather as many sales as possible then they are a pack of deliberating idiots.

Actually I was surprised by the amount of advertising this game got. As you know I live in a tiny town, but there were banners and things up for this game for weeks, and this was at department stores as well as gameshops. I also saw ads for this game on TV starting BEFORE Blue Dragon even came out. They also had fliers, posters, and a Famitsu cover.

Other than Blue Dragon, no 360 title has been advertised so well in my town. I am including Eternal Sonata, Halo 3 and Ace Combat 6 in that statement.

Microsoft did a lot of this title, much more than most of their games. It was simply rejected. Gamers knew about it, they just didn't care.

 

[donny2112]

per donny request

Thanks!

Remember the days when it was rare if more than one or two games from a Nintendo console made it into the top ten? Times have sure changed...

Because I was curious ...

# of Nintendo system games in Famitsu Top 30 for ~ this week each year (sales of #30):

1996: 7 (10,800)
1997: 6 (8,000)
1998: 7 (7,300)
1999: 6 (9,200)
2000: 12 (4,700)
2001: 6 (6,300)
2002: 15 (7,000)
2003: 13 (5,700)
2004: 16 (10,500)
2005: 19 (13,300)
2006: 21 (15,100)
2007: 19 (14,000)

 

[Deku]

Well Vinnk as Jonny pointed out, he doesn't live there and his assumptions on advertising expenditures are merely assumptions based on the 1st week sales.

 

[PantherLotus]

donny, did you mean games in your list?

 

[Deku]

Thanks!



Because I was curious ...

# of Nintendo systems in Famitsu Top 30 for ~ this week each year:

1996: 7
1997: 6
1998: 7
1999: 6
2000: 12
2001: 6
2002: 15
2003: 13
2004: 16
2005: 19
2006: 21
2007: 19

he meant games for nintendo consoles not Nintendo produced/published titles.

Your research is interesting though, perhaps the 3rd parties actually do sell games afterall.

 

[jgwhiteus]

I'm really not seeing the logic that makes abandoning the DS because of a stupid decision that the company made with a previous title at all sensible. It's pretty obvious that Namco had TotT shit out expecting crap to sell on the DS, got torched for it, and is now making amends.

You know, one sales-age quirk that bugs me is the habit of judging franchise game sales as indicative of the merits or popularity of the system they're on rather than the merits or popularity of the game itself. I don't deny that a system's userbase size and composition, etc., will have an effect on how well a game sells, but there are so many other factors that can come into play - marketing and quality of the game itself being two of the biggest.

I mean, if an FF spinoff on the DS sells worse than its predecessor did on the GBA, does that mean that the DS is a "worse" system for FF spinoffs than the GBA was, and that it should have gone to another system instead? No, maybe it means that FF spinoffs are played out and players are sick of them (crazy, I know). Or that it's a worse game and got worse reviews. Or the publisher didn't want to put a lot of marketing dollars into it this time around. Or it was released in March instead of in December. You can't always make an apples-to-apples comparison across systems and proclaim that one system is necessarily "better" or "worse" for a franchise based on the sales of one game.

 

[VultureDude]

No more no more heroes? Poor Suda left holding the TP...

Ubisoft must be worried now... I hope they have a rock solid advertising campaign for north america...

 

[donny2112]

he meant games for nintendo consoles not Nintendo produced/published titles.

That's what that list is. The system just had to be either SFC, GBOY (Famitsu never changed the symbol for GBC games), N64, GBA, GCN, NDS, or WII. I didn't filter on publisher.

Also, see my update to the list.

donny, did you mean games in your list?

I'm not filtering out non-games.

Spoiler

Yes, that would be another way of phrasing it.

 

[Lobster]

Ubisoft must be worried now... I hope they have a rock solid advertising campaign for north america...

Why would Ubisoft be worried? Im pretty sure they were smart enough to look at the past sales of Suda games.

 

[PantherLotus]

Remember, no game has ever sold >100% of the number of systems sold on which it was released.



edit:
donny -- "# of games that were on nintendo consoles that appeared in the top 30"


right?



vvv - gotcha.

 

[Deku]

That's what that list is. The system just had to be either SFC, GBOY (Famitsu never changed the symbol for GBC games), N64, GBA, GCN, NDS, or WII. I didn't filter on publisher.

Gotcha.

 

[Vinnk]

So what should I look for this week guys? I leave in about an hour.

 

[PantherLotus]

So what should I look for this week guys? I leave in about an hour.

peripherals!

 

[Lightning]

And yet, enough people know about games like Blue Dragon, Ace Combat 6, and Lost Odyssey to make this by far Xbox's most successful year in Japan.

The most successful year for an "Xbox" in Japan is hardly an achievement to be proud off.

I'm sure plenty of developers wish they could "go down" in the sense of continued big-budget work from a large publisher.

That nobody wants? I mean, what's the use of putting hours and hours of hard work into a game only to have the public throw it back in your face? Sakaguchi went from creating FFVII and selling 10million and being loved alround the world to selling less then a million and who's name is starting to mean nothing. But hey, who cares about creating games that are successful when Microsoft's money is involved....

Mistwalker's work deserves better then what these sales are showing. If this was the PS3 this thread would be 100 pages by now and Sony cursed into oblivion but because it's MS we get the same "Good for a 360 game" bullshit when the sales actually suck. I think people need to get some perspective that with all that has been released on the 360 it should've done MUCH better and that the Mistwalker investment is not paying off for EITHER company.

Time to explore other options Mistwalker. Fission Mailed.

 

[Deku]

So what should I look for this week guys? I leave in about an hour.

Galaxy stock and pricing
Layton 2 and DQ IVrr stock
and Lost Odyssey stock

 

[avatar299]

Yeah, MS is fucking up. But keep this in mind. Blue Dragon is the best selling JRPG in Japan for next-gen systems. So maybe it's a genre issue more than a Mist Walker issue.

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Dragon Quest Swords has outsold it in Japan

 

[nextgeneration]

So what should I look for this week guys? I leave in about an hour.

Wii Fit and Mario Galaxy. Thanks, Vinnk.

 

[Warm Machine]

Man, the japanese scene seems so dull nowadays.

 

[donny2112]

So what should I look for this week guys? I leave in about an hour.

Price of Super Mario Galaxy.

Price collapse ...

... or not.

Also, could you check on the supply of Dragon Quest IV and used NDS systems? I'm just curious if the used ones are getting bought up before New Year's.

 

[ethelred]

Lightning, are you okay? You seem to be actually physically choking on your bitterness that Sakaguchi abandoned your PlayStation brand. Do you need a heimlich?

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Lightning, are you okay? You seem to be actually physically choking on your bitterness that Sakaguchi abandoned your PlayStation brand. Do you need a heimlich?

No worries.
As long as I can finally lose this tag Lightning can write novels of this bullshit.

 

[RBH]

Lightning, are you okay? You seem to be actually physically choking on your bitterness that Sakaguchi abandoned your PlayStation brand. Do you need a heimlich?

:lol

 

[Lobster]

So what should I look for this week guys? I leave in about an hour.

No More Heroes.

 

[harSon]

The most successful year for an "Xbox" in Japan is hardly an achievement to be proud off.

That nobody wants? I mean, what's the use of putting hours and hours of hard work into a game only to have the public throw it back in your face? Sakaguchi went from creating FFVII and selling 10million and being loved alround the world to selling less then a million and who's name is starting to mean nothing. But hey, who cares about creating games that are successful when Microsoft's money is involved....

Mistwalker's work deserves better then what these sales are showing. If this was the PS3 this thread would be 100 pages by now and Sony cursed into oblivion but because it's MS we get the same "Good for a 360 game" bullshit when the sales actually suck. I think people need to get some perspective that with all that has been released on the 360 it should've done MUCH better and that the Mistwalker investment is not paying off for EITHER company.

Time to explore other options Mistwalker. Fission Mailed.

Good god bro, your analyzing of the Xbox 360 never ceases to amaze me :lol You seem to be bitter, not 'disappointed'.

 

[avatar299]

Mistwalker's work deserves better then what these sales are showing. If this was the PS3 this thread would be 100 pages by now and Sony cursed into oblivion but because it's MS we get the same "Good for a 360 game" bullshit when the sales actually suck. I think people need to get some perspective that with all that has been released on the 360 it should've done MUCH better and that the Mistwalker investment is not paying off for EITHER company.

Time to explore other options Mistwalker. Fission Mailed.

I don't mean to jump on Lightning's crusade, but can we stop this bullshit. No other platform gets a pass like the 360 does. A game bombs on the wii and it gets it's own thread. Software sales are dismal on PSP and we start hounding the piracy advocates. A 360 game bombs and they get a free "get out of jail" card.

 

[Lightning]

Lightning, are you okay? You seem to be actually physically choking on your bitterness that Sakaguchi abandoned your PlayStation brand. Do you need a heimlich?

I couldn't give a shit about the Playstation brand in this discussion. I want him to make Wii games.

 

[PantherLotus]

I don't mean to jump on Lightning's crusade, but can we stop this bullshit. No other platform gets a pass like the 360 does. A game bombs on the wii and it gets it's own thread. Software sales are dismal on PSP and we start hounding the piracy advocates. A 360 game bombs and they get a free "get out of jail" card.

Uh...is it perhaps tied directly to the amount of people that care?

 

[909er]

The most successful year for an "Xbox" in Japan is hardly an achievement to be proud off.

That nobody wants? I mean, what's the use of putting hours and hours of hard work into a game only to have the public throw it back in your face? Sakaguchi went from creating FFVII and selling 10million and being loved alround the world to selling less then a million and who's name is starting to mean nothing. But hey, who cares about creating games that are successful when Microsoft's money is involved....

Mistwalker's work deserves better then what these sales are showing. If this was the PS3 this thread would be 100 pages by now and Sony cursed into oblivion but because it's MS we get the same "Good for a 360 game" bullshit when the sales actually suck. I think people need to get some perspective that with all that has been released on the 360 it should've done MUCH better and that the Mistwalker investment is not paying off for EITHER company.

Time to explore other options Mistwalker. Fission Mailed.

Ever thought that maybe Sakaguchi situation is of his own making? Don't know if you heard about it, but there was a little thing called Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Didn't really do him alot of good for his career, that one.

 

[Deku]

I don't know man, the PS3 is actually ahead of the 360 in installed base in Japan. It's not actually a double standard when the scale being used is correct.

 

[harSon]

I don't mean to jump on Lightning's crusade, but can we stop this bullshit. No other platform gets a pass like the 360 does. A game bombs on the wii and it gets it's own thread. Software sales are dismal on PSP and we start hounding the piracy advocates. A 360 game bombs and they get a free "get out of jail" card.

Nobody is saying the game is a box office smash hit, they are simply saying 'It's good for the Xbox 360'. The game's sales are good when compared to other Xbox 360 titles in Japan.

I couldn't give a shit about the Playstation brand in this discussion. I want him to make Wii games.

Nice save.

 

[Thunder Monkey]

Lightning, are you okay? You seem to be actually physically choking on your bitterness that Sakaguchi abandoned your PlayStation brand. Do you need a heimlich?

Why would he need German beer?

 

[Vinnk]

Ok, I'll try to get all of that. This will be my last report before the new year. I am leaving for the United States on wednesday and am spending Christmas with my family for the first time in 4 years. I won't be back in Japan until the 2nd.

 

[Oblivion]

I think this calls for mariochart.gif

Wael?

 

[beelzebozo]

i hope mario galaxy sells a billion copies and is elected president

 

[909er]

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Dragon Quest Swords has outsold it in Japan

Ah, forgot about that one.

 

[Lightning]

Nice save.

Save? WTF do I need to save?

I am free to express my feelings on the matter. I accepted months ago that Mistwalker will never make a game on Sony's platform. Kitase/Nomura and Level 5 will provide more then enough anyway.

You see, unlike some of you I don't attack other users I am posting on-topic.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

The 360 anomaly I find surprising is that people continue to expect these titles to take off.

 

[Deku]

The 360 anomaly I find surprising is that people continue to expect these titles to take off.

People did the same with the GameCube didn't they? I mean I actually met a guy in 1998 who thought Zelda was going to make N64 #1.

That game did smashingly well too.

 

[PantherLotus]

The 360 anomaly I find surprising is that people continue to expect these titles to take off.

The 360 will never hit a million units sold in Japan before its successor is announced.

 

[Man God]

The 360 anomaly I find surprising is that people continue to expect these titles to take off.

I agree with you. The final test would be a game from a really major japanese franchise like Dragon Quest or FF to see if this really is a case of national pride.

 

[PantherLotus]

I agree with you. The final test would be a game from a really major japanese franchise like Dragon Quest or FF to see if this really is a case of national pride.

uh...it would be a test of national pride? SERIOUSLY? where TF are you people coming from?

 

[A Link to the Past]

I hope Galaxy travels well through word of mouth.

 

[harSon]

The 360 will never hit a million units sold in Japan before its successor is announced.

By the time it's announced? Probably not. But roughly a million by the time the Xbox's next iteration is released is certainly not out of the question. Whether it happens or not doesn't really matter considering sales would suck with either scenario :lol While it seems like a complete waste of time for Microsoft, I'm not one to argue (We are getting some decent games out of the deal).

uh...it would be a test of national pride? SERIOUSLY? where TF are you people coming from?

It's not that far of a stretch. Sure a large chunk of it has to be blamed on Microsoft (Xbox 1 failure, horrid advertisement, and suspect hardware reliability) but the system should be selling more then 2-8k a week considering it's lineup of games.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Considering the odds against the 360 in Japan I applaud anything it manages to eke out.

It's like cheering for the Special Olympics or something.
And hey I'm getting some sweet Japanese support out of the deal. =)

 

[Scottlarock]

I couldn't give a shit about the Playstation brand in this discussion. I want him to make Wii games.

I don't believe that.