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[nli10]

wow, it seems there are just 2 types of legs right now, DS games ones and no legs at all. Trusty Bell sure fell hard, but it was quite near its first shipment (~70k) so its not a bomb, Namco matched demand. Then other titles like FF2, DBZ SB2, GG AC PS2, RE4 Wii ,Harvest Moon Wii...they all dissapear within 1 or 2 weeks at most.

This time of the year looks to be so slow that only DS consistent games which sell the same through all the year hold most of the top30 places, making new entries debut and dissapear the next week.

Its hard to track particular games thanks to that, oh well, Famitsu Top500 2006 soon please.

Nintendo games have legs, everything else just has toes...

DS hardware is up this week, yet NSMB sales are down, this means that (as with FFIII) PH is eating into the NSMB adoption rate, even on a single day sales. I expect NSMB to bow out of the top 10 again next week due to this shift and PH to get around 200k sales - but that really depends on supply.


Sales of DS to 'gamers' (lapsed and current) are approx. trackable using NSMB and sales to 'non-gamers' are approx. trackable using BT2/1. I'll add the past few weeks of Mario Sales to my big data pile and update the graph. Might be worth tracking PH in the short term too.

 

[Hero]

I wonder if Nintendo is going to announce a NSMB2 at E3 this year after seeing how well it's still doing.

 

[Oblivion]

I wonder if Nintendo is going to announce a NSMB2 at E3 this year after seeing how well it's still doing.

Why would you (or anyone else for that matter) think that? This is the same company that didn't create a (2D) sequel to a 20 million unit selling game til 15 years later.

 

[the thoroughbred]

I don't reckon Zelda: PH will hit 1 million. I think Japan doesn't like Zeruda. They never have. When Zeruda was hitting 1.5million, FF and DQ, would do that in there first week. Now some will argue that Selling even 400k is very good, but for a game like Zelda which is Nintendo EAD at their finest, and their most passionate, it should be their flagship game. It doesn't reflect in sales. If games like Super Mario 64 DS can hit almost a million, then why the **** can't TP.

If somehow, everyone decides that yes Zelda is now cool, and PH manages to even break the million mark, I would expect to see very slight rises of TP, and if I were Nintendo, I would do a special bundle of the 2. How much I wished it would be a big hit.

If you think about it in their perspective, they will probably never do another expensive zelda again. If TWW sold the same amount worldwide, and costed a lot less money to make, then why bother investing so much in making a masterpiece like TP. I like TWW by all means, but I loved TP.

 

[TheGreatDave]

I wonder if Nintendo is going to announce a NSMB2 at E3 this year after seeing how well it's still doing.

With the legs it has, why bother?

 

[StevieP]

Yah, I'm sure Nintendo was extremely disappointed with worldwide sales of TP :lol

 

[Magicpaint]

I don't reckon Zelda: PH will hit 1 million. I think Japan doesn't like Zeruda. They never have.

Don't be silly.

 

[Oblivion]

With the legs it has, why bother?

Sales are beside the point. Nintendo is just straight up weird when it comes to Mario.

Yah, I'm sure Nintendo was extremely disappointed with worldwide sales of TP :lol

I don't think they are, but I really feel they're just looking for any excuse they can to not bother making the next Zelda so big. [/tinfoilhat]

 

[Nolan.]

I don't reckon Zelda: PH will hit 1 million. I think Japan doesn't like Zeruda. They never have. When Zeruda was hitting 1.5million, FF and DQ, would do that in there first week. Now some will argue that Selling even 400k is very good, but for a game like Zelda which is Nintendo EAD at their finest, and their most passionate, it should be their flagship game. It doesn't reflect in sales. If games like Super Mario 64 DS can hit almost a million, then why the **** can't TP.

If somehow, everyone decides that yes Zelda is now cool, and PH manages to even break the million mark, I would expect to see very slight rises of TP, and if I were Nintendo, I would do a special bundle of the 2. How much I wished it would be a big hit.

If you think about it in their perspective, they will probably never do another expensive zelda again. If TWW sold the same amount worldwide, and costed a lot less money to make, then why bother investing so much in making a masterpiece like TP. I like TWW by all means, but I loved TP.

Isn't PH very high on famitsu most wanted though?.

 

[TheGreatDave]

Sales are beside the point. Nintendo is just straight up weird when it comes to Mario.

I wouldn't say you have a perfect science for it though. Mario had 3 games on NES, 2 on SNES, tons of Gameboy, 1 on N64 and 1 on Gamecube. There's no perfect rule here that prevents Nintendo releasing another Mario on DS. I agree it's not as likely as it would be with other companies, sure. But it's not like Nintendo hate sequels that badly.

 

[Magicpaint]

I don't think they are, but I really feel they're just looking for any excuse they can to not bother making the next Zelda so big. [/tinfoilhat]

Well, if it means they're more experimental with the franchise, then that's good news for me. As much as I love the 'big' Zelda games like Lttp, OoT and TP, I always sort of preferred the Zelda games that were smaller, and broke certain conventions like LA, WW and MM.

 

[Deku]

NSMB's commercial success hides the fact that artistically it was mediocre at best. I really didn't enjoy the game as much as I wanted to. It felt lifeless and like a rehash of eveything we already know about Mario (i guess that might have been half of what Nintendo wanted to achieve). There's no feeling of exploring amazing new worlds and the pre-rendered 'clean' look of the sprites was wholly uninspired. They should go back to hand drawn stuff.

And the soundtrack, don't get me started on that.

 

[Oblivion]

I wouldn't say you have a perfect science for it though. Mario had 3 games on NES, 2 on SNES, tons of Gameboy, 1 on N64 and 1 on Gamecube. There's no perfect rule here that prevents Nintendo releasing another Mario on DS. I agree it's not as likely as it would be with other companies, sure. But it's not like Nintendo hate sequels that badly.

I didn't necessarily mean that there wouldn't be another one for the DS, just that it would be waaaaaay too early for a sequel to be announced.

 

[linsivvi]

If you think about it in their perspective, they will probably never do another expensive zelda again.

Despite the fact that, other than Wii Play, TP was the best selling Wii game outside Japan?

 

[nli10]

Why would you (or anyone else for that matter) think that? This is the same company that didn't create a (2D) sequel to a 20 million unit selling game til 15 years later.

You are clearly thinking Red Ocean here

3D Mario handheld sold ok but not spectacularly ~1.5 Million?

2D Mario outsold all expectations and will creep to 5 million

2D Yoshi sold solidly and will creep to 1 million



Brain Training 2 was released about a year after the first in Japan, and while it did canabalise the sales the overall total of the two is much more than the single would have been.

I'm not sure a 2nd NSMB would be as worthwhile, but I can see another platformer getting a DS resurection in the same style - (New Kid Icarus maybe?) and with an Xmas release becoming another solid million game.

 

[CurseoftheGods]

How much did Phantom Hourglass get in Famitsu?

 

[womfalcs3]

Rainbow Six: Vegas was released in Japan today for the PS3.

The PS3 has the following full blu-ray titles being released in July:

- My Summer Holiday 3 (July 5th)
- Wangan Midnight (July 26th)
- Everybody's Golf 5 (July 27th)

 

[titiklabingapat]

How much did Phantom Hourglass get in Famitsu?

39/40 or 38/40. I don't remember.

 

[TheGreatDave]

I didn't necessarily mean that there wouldn't be another one for the DS, just that it would be waaaaaay too early for a sequel to be announced.

Fair enough, we're in agreement then.

 

[Vic]

How much did Phantom Hourglass get in Famitsu?

39/40

 

[CurseoftheGods]

39/40

Very nice.

 

[.dmc]

NSMB haters need to get the **** outta here. Playing through SMW via the Virtual Console made me realise how good NSMB was, it is easily the best Mario after SMB3 + SMB. Even then, we're arguing about brilliance, like which is your favourite Beatles album between Rubber Soul and Abbey Road.

 

[donny2112]

Hope they're working on a Jungle Beat sequel with wiimote/nunchuck/bongo enabled rithmin' drumming!

Fixed.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

:lol

Come on dude, two straight weeks we have 2 PS3 games in the top 30 (would that be top 15 or 20 even?).

RESURRECTION3

But it pushed out the PSP games. Sony shot itself in the foot, again.


Using G-Para numbers makes this thread feel like "old times."

 

[TheGreatDave]

NSMB haters need to get the **** outta here. Playing through SMW via the Virtual Console made me realise how good NSMB was, it is easily the best Mario after SMB3 + SMB. Even then, we're arguing about brilliance, like which is your favourite Beatles album between Rubber Soul and Abbey Road.

The game couldn't live up to the expectations of people that were blinded by nostalgia. New Super Mario Bros is one of the most critically under rated games of recent times. Playing Mario 1, 3 and World lately makes you realise just how stupid some of the complaints thrown at the game were.

 

[DayShallCome]

NSMB's commercial success hides the fact that artistically it was mediocre at best. I really didn't enjoy the game as much as I wanted to. It felt lifeless and like a rehash of eveything we already know about Mario (i guess that might have been half of what Nintendo wanted to achieve). There's no feeling of exploring amazing new worlds and the pre-rendered 'clean' look of the sprites was wholly uninspired. They should go back to hand drawn stuff.

And the soundtrack, don't get me started on that.

I really, really liked NSMB. Nintendo did a great job with it.

 

[Rlan]

The game couldn't live up to the expectations of people that were blinded by nostalgia. New Super Mario Bros is one of the most critically under rated games of recent times. Playing Mario 1, 3 and World lately makes you realise just how stupid some of the complaints thrown at the game were.

It's not without it's faults though - The Blue Shell pales in comparison to weaponry avaliable in Mario 3 [Mario World is on par - I wasn't that extactic about the cape], the music [particularly the "whaa" sound] isn't nearly as catchy as NES/SNES themes, and - though a staple of the Mario series - all bosses were very boring and would have been the one thing that could have done with a total overhaul.

The actual PLATFORMING however, is fantastic.

 

[psy18]

And the soundtrack, don't get me started on that.

What? It has some pretty nice tunes/remix...
Try using good earphone next time you play it...

 

[Dash Kappei]

Yup, there will be one this week.

Podcast you say... hmm...

Again, a concise and nice flowing podcast would be awesome

 

[TheGreatDave]

It's not without it's faults though - The Blue Shell pales in comparison to weaponry avaliable in Mario 3 [Mario World is on par - I wasn't that extactic about the cape], the music [particularly the "whaa" sound] isn't nearly as catchy as NES/SNES themes, and - though a staple of the Mario series - all bosses were very boring and would have been the one thing that could have done with a total overhaul.

The actual PLATFORMING however, is fantastic.

They're my two complaints too. I don't really care too much about power ups (the most well loved one from Mario 3 is basically a gimmick). But the music...I don't know who was in charge of it (was it the chick that did Yoshi T&G?) but I really don't like the direction they took, other than having the enemies react to it slightly.

 

[ethelred]

The game couldn't live up to the expectations of people that were blinded by nostalgia. New Super Mario Bros is one of the most critically under rated games of recent times. Playing Mario 1, 3 and World lately makes you realise just how stupid some of the complaints thrown at the game were.

But you can't fly in NSMB.

 

[TheGreatDave]

But you can't fly in NSMB.

Shit, you mean I have to actually play through the level?!

 

[LOCK]

Nice for Zelda

Can't wait for DQS to come out for the Wii.

 

[Masklinn]

But you can't fly in NSMB.

You can blue shell your way through most levels though, and it's ****ing hard, which makes it very very fun.

Trying to play most of the game as mini-mario is great too.

 

[charlequin]

With the legs it has, why bother?

Because four legs are better than two?

 

[radiuhm]

wow how does wii sports manage to be there everytime, glad to see PS3 is still on the list, can't wait

Spoiler

for a price drop

to buy one.

 

[tanod]

So did Phantom Hourglass just sell in a week over half of what Twilight Princess has LTD?

Even if it didn't, nice sales!

The fact that FolkSoul didn't break the top 10 gives me hope that it will have a little better legs as more people get an opportunity to play it and talk about it.

 

[Yoshi]

So did Phantom Hourglass just sell in a week over half of what Twilight Princess has LTD?

Even if it didn't, nice sales!

The fact that FolkSoul didn't break the top 10 gives me hope that it will have a little better legs as more people get an opportunity to play it and talk about it.

In a day...

 

[Koren]

The game couldn't live up to the expectations of people that were blinded by nostalgia. New Super Mario Bros is one of the most critically under rated games of recent times. Playing Mario 1, 3 and World lately makes you realise just how stupid some of the complaints thrown at the game were.

I agree... My main complaint about it is being a bit on the easy-side (probably because of the flower mario->super mario if you're hurt once, and wall-jumping). But still...

 

[loosus]

New Super Mario Bros. is fecking awesome.

I can sum up what I didn't like about it in a few bulleted items:
-I wish that when you got a power-up (e.g., mushroom, giant mushroom, fire flower, etc.), it didn't stop you until it transformed you to the better form. It was only for a second or so, but that design seems to 1980s. It'd been cool to touch a mushroom and keep running the entire time.

-The dark world didn't seem as well-designed as the rest of the game. There was nothing astonishing like in that of Super Mario Bros. 3, which was one surprise after another.

-I think the beginning levels were a little too complicated for newbie Mario players. Might be wrong, but I had some friends who were a little turned off by it.

-The underwater stages were a little nasty looking.

-I wish there was a little more variety in terms of music.

-What is the point of the map? It seems pretty useless, because the game is 90% linear.

-I don't like having to touch the screen to use power ups or to visit worlds on the map.

Otherwise, the game was freaking awesome. My favorite DS game and probably at least in my top 20 of all time. If you don't like it, you're just dumb!

 

[Rancid Mildew]

The fact that FolkSoul didn't break the top 10 gives me hope that it will have a little better legs as more people get an opportunity to play it and talk about it.

How does this work exactly? If FolkSoul did break the top 10, it wouldn't have legs?

 

[Jocchan]

Because four legs are better than two?

 

[SeatBelts]

01. [NDS] The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo) - 303,000 / NEW

when will the japanese learn..

 

[tanod]

In a day...

Very impressive.

How does this work exactly? If FolkSoul did break the top 10, it wouldn't have legs?

It would just be a lot more noticeable week 2 drop if it had made it into the top 10 and that by itself, I think would hurt sales.

The game looks to be awesome from the demo and it got close to a 33/40 in Famitsu. I would hope it would do well over its shelf life.

 

[Pureauthor]

when will the japanese learn..

Yeah, I know, we all want it to be a million seller from day one.

 

[donny2112]

It would just be a lot more noticeable week 2 drop if it had made it into the top 10 and that by itself, I think would hurt sales.

So you're saying that if people see it drop sales rankings from week 1 to week 2 by 15 positions instead of 10 positions that more people will pass on the game in the subsequent weeks?

 

[tanod]

So you're saying that if people see it drop sales rankings from week 1 to week 2 by 15 positions instead of 10 positions that more people will pass on the game in the subsequent weeks?

One of a million contributing factors, yeah. Not the primary factor by any means. I'm not trying to say it's gonna be #1 or even #10. Don't misunderstand me. I was just pointing out the possibility of that phenomenon.

Like initial box office sales or 2nd week drop percentages affect people's perception of the quality of a movie, I am proposing that game rankings would likely have the same psychological effect.

 

[Link]

when will the japanese learn..

Learn what?

 

[kisakiproject]

Hopefully TB is #31. Yay Zelda! Have some legs Folksoul.

 

[Version 3.0]

Go Zelda!

On the topic of Twilight Princess' sub-par performance in Japan: I think it has a lot to do with Wii Sports not being a pack-in for Japan. Pack-ins have been rare for over a decade now, so people are accustomed to being required to buy at least one game. When the Wii launched in Japan, that one game was Wii Sports. Outside Japan, it was Zelda.

So TP missed out on that initial rush. I think it would've actually done better if it arrived after launch, say a month or two later. Then it would've had a big launch of its own, and put up first month sales along the lines of Super Paper Mario.

 

[MrPonx]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ZEEERRRUUUUUUUUUDAAAAAAAAAAAAAA