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[cacildo]

The wiiu tracking ahead of the ps4 is really funny.

Also.. Funny that NSMBU and Wii Party U are known for its sales to be tied to bundles, but together both doubled tha WiiU Sales for the week

 

[Anth0ny]

Everything is dead

 

[Crom]

If the Osaka team are the guys behind KH3, they probably started development after they finished KHDD. That game wasn't in development hell and they could (should) have it ready for 2016 (4 years development cycle).

FFXV... get ready for the milking. They're going to do everything they can to make it profitable.



Well, I think all of them launched on holidays. So it isn't a fair comparision.

At this point, is going to be under 10k before its 10th week on the market. I can't remember anything on its release schedule after FF XIV.

Fair?

What holidays lasts for 12-17 weeks?

 

[MikeE21286]

Audible gasp for PS4.

Seriously. I nearly did gasp aloud.

 

[SwiftDeath]

xbox one, savior of Japan

Hell I'd be ok with that so long as something stops the entire market going mobile

Nintendo's handheld's are going to only continue to become more niche as time moves on imo. Sony's handhelds are dead

Hell I'd love if Japan's "hardcore" gamers went big into PC then I could just get games there. Anything but having all Japanese games be designed around touch controls ugh

 

[SmokedMeat]

Japan wants smartphone gaming. That's all there is to it.

 

[Wynnebeck]

Absolutely. Just look at the amount of salt in this thread alone. You're adding some nice contributions yourself!

At that moment, the Wii U will be tracking ahead of the PS4 not only launch aligned, but on a weekly basis, and trending towards a YTD basis. There's a contingent of posters in these threads that can't handle the thought of that happening. So yes - those will be entertaining for sure.


The Wii U should realistically be outselling the PS4 worldwide, like you've implied that it should be, but obviously it's not. The downfall of the Japan market and the downplaying of it's significance is certainly an interesting thing to watch unfold.

This post is a wreck. You first assume I'm salty over both Wii U and PS4 selling like shit. Trust me, I'm not. Next you allude to these nameless posters that can't hand the thought of the Wii U outselling the PS4. I'd like some examples. Moving on, if Nintendo had played their cards correctly, they would be outselling PS4 and Xbone worldwide, but actually they aren't. You say people are downplaying the significance, but you are really confusing what the actual cause for concern is.

It was already a foregone conclusion that consoles would stall this generation in Japan due to the reason I mentioned above. That's not the concern. The concern is that this failure to sell consoles in Japan will dissuade them from starting projects for the PS4, Xbone, and Wii U and chase after the 3DS/Vita/Mobile money thus causing a decline in the amount of globally enjoyed Japanese franchises actually being made. Now, the reason sales wise Japan doesn't matter is that NA and EU made up about 85-90% of the market outside of Japan last generation with NA being the biggest. Not one company's biggest sales came from JP, it was NA. PS3 and 360 are pushing 80+ million sales and only 10 million of those 80+ came from Japan for Sony and even less for 360 with the Wii's numbers skewing an even lesser percentage.

Now, I hope you can see where I'm going with this. PS4 and Xbone are both tracking faster sales that PS2 and Wii worldwide with the Wii U bombing. PS4 doesn't need Japan sales wise because as we saw from last generation, their share of the market is nothing compared to NA hence why MS and Sony are throwing so much stock at NA and EU to sell. Nintendo is in a bad way because not only are they bombing in JP which is one of their strongest territories, they're bombing worldwide! So no, seeing Wii U outsell a PS4 with a shitty launch and no games on the horizon due to a release when that release isn't even going to bear anythin outside of a few weeks bump, is not exciting or wild in any stretch of the imagination. It's sad.

 

[Darius]

Strategically it was better to have more units available in other launch territories. There is nothing apologetic about a wholly justified, objective observation of that reality. It was a bad move for the Japanese market, but a good move holistically.

That there are insufficient titles for the PS4 that appeal to the Japanese market falls on Sony, first and foremost. But as with the PS3 transition, I have little doubt that Japanese publishers are less prepared than their Western equivalents. There's also simply less incentive to transition, since the decline of the PS3 hasn't been as precipitous.

As for why it's relatively easy to discern that there's something in particular that's different about the PS4's sales in Japan and everywhere else, it's quite obvious in the sales data. It's selling well everywhere else, and not so much in Japan. Something that can't be said for the Wii U, which garners more than a third of its sales from the Japanese market, at last check.

PS4's release schedule and exclusive line-up outside of Japan, while better, is still terrible. But it's selling on technology and promise.

Something it can't do in Japan, where the market is quite satisfied with handheld graphics on small screens and where Drakengard 3 can release on consoles in late 2013 looking like a PS2 game and sell 115K. That isn't blame, it's explanation. Different markets. Differing tastes and needs. Sony have put out a product that doesn't meet the needs of the Japanese market well at this stage.

That´s another example... PS4 launched in "important" markets like Brazil, Asia and even Saudi-Arabia among others last year. Really a briliant move...

 

[Blue Ranger]

How is my post wynnebeck?

 

[Skittles]

According to GAF:

Wii U releases with barren launch, Wii U sucks, Nintendo sucks.
PS4 releases with barren launch, don't worry, we can't judge yet, everyone just wait for the games to come.

MK8 can push the Wii U a bit along with other games, X? B2? Zelda? then smash during winter. I can see the Wii U staying ahead of the ps4 by a lot.

The difference is that the third parties didn't abandon the ps4 like they did the wii U(though that could happen, who knows.

 

[RalchAC]

Fair?

What holidays lasts for 12-17 weeks?

Lol, I didn't mean that. But if you launch your console in October/November you have 3-7 weeks before Christmas, then the holidays and finally January.

If it releases in February that "boost" when launch sales start to dry up doesn't exist.

Summer holidays last around 10-11 weeks here in Spain for secondary school students though. And the year I entered the university I had a 13 weeks summer holiday. (Finished my entrance exams in June 8-10, started classes in September 25 or so).

 

[Parakeetman]

Hell I'd be ok with that so long as something stops the entire market going mobile

Nintendo's handheld's are going to only continue to become more niche as time moves on imo. Sony's handhelds are dead

Hell I'd love if Japan's "hardcore" gamers went big into PC then I could just get games there. Anything but having all Japanese games be designed around touch controls ugh

Actually its the other way around a lot of the hardcore gamers moved to consoles from PCs.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Actually its the other way around a lot of the hardcore gamers moved to consoles from PCs.

But consoles are quickly becoming more and more irrelevant there so I don't see where they go long-term?

 

[Devilgunman]

I'm not expecting to do anything amazing, but I do expect it to sell more than Xenoblade, even considering the difference in user base.

The difference between this and the games mentioned, is that this game is made especially for japanese tastes, and it's gathering much more attention than the first game.

X will certainly do better than Xenoblade but it won't be anything worth talking about. Even though the game is JRPG at its core, it won't help because the audiences for that type of game are minority of the WiiU owners. That was also the case for the Wii:Tales of Grace, Xenoblade, Last Story, Muramasa and many other Japanese focused games bombed heavily in Japan.

 

[Ricky 7]

There once was a console so ugly that everyone died.

 

[leatherhat]

The difference is that the third parties didn't abandon the ps4 like they did the wii U(though that could happen, who knows.

And go where? All the major third party games will be ps4 (except MH) and this time next year anime games like jump stars vs and super robot wars will be releasing on ps4 instead of ps3 (or maybe both). The ps4 was obviously going to struggle out the gate, but I think the pessimism about its future is a little unfounded.

 

[manueldelalas]

X will certainly do better than Xenoblade but it won't be anything worth talking about. Even though the game is JRPG at its core, it won't help because the audiences for that type of game are minority of the WiiU owners. That was also the case for the Wii:Tales of Grace, Xenoblade, Last Story, Muramasa and many other Japanese focused games bombed heavily in Japan.

I agree! but we should compare sales of X with sales of jRPGs on the GCN era, that would be more accurate, less games, so attention of user base goes to the few games released. TOS sold 1 million worldwide on the GCN, 250.000 on Japan. I expect similar numbers for X.

 

[prag16]

And go where? All the major third party games will be ps4 (except MH) and this time next year anime games like jump stars vs and super robot wars will be releasing on ps4 instead of ps3 (or maybe both). The ps4 was obviously going to struggle out the gate, but I think the pessimism about its future is a little unfounded.

Again with the "we expected this" mantra. All of a sudden people were expecting sub 10k in the first 8-10 weeks?? I recall VERY few people, if any, predicting this degree of struggle prior to launch.

 

[saichi]

And no Japanese games worth mentioning coming out for it until...2015 with FFV?

a FFV with current gen graphic would be great!

The difference is that the third parties didn't abandon the ps4 like they did the wii U(though that could happen, who knows.

how do third parties abandon it if they are never on board?

And go where? All the major third party games will be ps4 (except MH) and this time next year anime games like jump stars vs and super robot wars will be releasing on ps4 instead of ps3 (or maybe both). The ps4 was obviously going to struggle out the gate, but I think the pessimism about its future is a little unfounded.

DQ does not qualify as major third party game now?

 

[Jamix012]

Again with the "we expected this" mantra. All of a sudden people were expecting sub 10k in the first 8-10 weeks?? I recall VERY few people, if any, predicting this degree of struggle prior to launch.

Eh, while I'd say there definitely were people saying the PS4 would prosper, I'd say most of them had no idea what they were talking about. It was kind of obvious to at least half of those in the know. Given that it's a more expensive console launching in february with no relevent games, there were quite a few people here who saw this coming. Even those who are more optimistic generally thought that the "turn around" would happen a while later.

 

[Dragonborn]

I really do hope Sony isn't sending that many units to Japan, especially when a lot of Europe still doesn't have any. Just ignore Japan until they have some actual Japanese appealing games.

 

[cafemomo]

And no Japanese games worth mentioning coming out for it until...2015 with FFV?

Pssh, why would they remake FFV when they still have FFIV to exploit?

 

[Jinfash]

PS4

And to think it'll get much worse before getting any better is even scarier.

 

[Parakeetman]

But consoles are quickly becoming more and more irrelevant there so I don't see where they go long-term?

Nowhere really. Since its not like there are that many Japanese devs who produce actual games on the PC. Most of the hardcore crowds anyways just played a lot of western titles or the falcom stuff that was released. There are other companies out there, but seriously its not that big of a number. And this is stuff that Id call actual games and not eroge related titles.

Its more the companies are making them irrelevant by not putting in actual effort keeping up with the tech or just wanting to half ass things and expect people to shell out for it. Or they start whorring out their IPs to devs overseas in hopes of hitting it big with the Western market, which is quite hit or miss.

Right now everyone seems to be more focused on profits rather than making games unfortunately. The larger companies. Thankfully the smaller ones are still doing what they do, but the quality of the products they bring out isnt what the majority of what "modern gamers" want. So they remain niche. Unless there is some sort of miracle like with what happened for From Software and Demons Souls which lead into the Dark Souls series. Though its more people just finding their roots, since From Software really did nothing different as the design MO is what they have always been doing.

Anyways there are a lot more problems going on that people realize. Ill just stop now since for the most part posts like these are a huge fucking waste of my time as hardly anyone actually pays attention to it.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

The difference is that the third parties didn't abandon the ps4 like they did the wii U(though that could happen, who knows.

Third parties aren't going to abandon the only viable next gen console on the market. Especially when their titles have global reach and PS4 is most likely going to be the number 1 selling console.

I think big third party support is already present or will happen. The niche devs will step in most likely as well (Falcom, NIS, GUST etc). What happens to the middle tier games from the big pubs remains to be seen.

 

[leatherhat]

Again with the "we expected this" mantra. All of a sudden people were expecting sub 10k in the first 8-10 weeks?? I recall VERY few people, if any, predicting this degree of struggle prior to launch.

I can't say for specific numbers but lots of people saw that ps4 would be very slow out the gate.

 

[Otakumegane]

Or they could just go to mobile.

 

[Takao]

Once you ignore the delusional crowd that expected PS4 to somehow save the traditional Japanese games industry, you'll likely find that the prevailing opinion was that the machine was in for a struggle. I certainly expected it to be dwelling in the sales basement (sub 10k) by the summer.

 

[Fisico]

I agree! but we should compare sales of X with sales of jRPGs on the GCN era, that would be more accurate, less games, so attention of user base goes to the few games released. TOS sold 1 million worldwide on the GCN, 250.000 on Japan. I expect similar numbers for X.

More like 300k+

 

[Nothing1016]

I believe the 3DS XL is ¥18,900 and regular edition is ¥15,000 if I'm not mistaken about price. Correct me if I am.

The reason I bring up prices is because I believe in the eventual 2DS release in Japan. How many units do you think a 2DS can move at let's say a price point between ¥9000 to ¥10,000? Maybe even bundled units for ¥12,000/13,000. Does anyone see this having an impact?

 

[User Tron]

Third parties aren't going to abandon the only viable next gen console on the market.

But isn't this exactly one of the current problems? 3rd parties are leaving the console market for mobile. They see this market as viable alternative.

 

[boingball]

Well, my expectaction that the PS4 will hit Wii U territory soon after release seems to come true. While the console sells everywhere just fine without games (and with that I mean fresh retail games) this is not true in Japan.

Sony Japan just doesn't have a strategy other than pray. It worked with the Vita somehow which seems to have settled nicely and might actually overtake the 3DS at some point. But selling a home console in Japan needs more than praying. Where is Hot Shots Golf for the PS4? Or Ridge Racer?

I am a little bit disappointed by this since this means that japanese devs will focus on handhelds and with the abysmal sales of the Vita in the West there is a risk that at some point those games wont be released in the west anymore (still waiting for Type-0 and VC3 and a couple of RPGs on the PSP).

 

[Parakeetman]

Well, my expectaction that the PS4 will hit Wii U territory soon after release seems to come true. While the console sells everywhere just fine without games (and with that I mean fresh retail games) this is not true in Japan.

Sony Japan just doesn't have a strategy other than pray. It worked with the Vita somehow which seems to have settled nicely and might actually overtake the 3DS at some point. But selling a home console in Japan needs more than praying. Where is Hot Shots Golf for the PS4? Or Ridge Racer?

I am a little bit disappointed by this since this means that japanese devs will focus on handhelds and with the abysmal sales of the Vita in the West there is a risk that at some point those games wont be released in the west anymore (still waiting for Type-0 and VC3 and a couple of RPGs on the PSP).

Its still too early to predict anything at this point. Do that after E3 / TGS.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Sony Japan just doesn't have a strategy other than pray. It worked with the Vita somehow which seems to have settled nicely and might actually overtake the 3DS at some point. But selling a home console in Japan needs more than praying. Where is Hot Shots Golf for the PS4? Or Ridge Racer?

It boggles my mind that we don't have a new hot shots golf. Ridge racer I can sort of understand because of Driveclub but there is no excuse not to have a new hot shots golf

 

[Parakeetman]

It boggles my mind that we don't have a new hot shots golf. Ridge racer I can sort of understand because of Driveclub but there is no excuse not to have a new hot shots golf

Was totally stupid that there literally was 0 iconic titles for a sony system launch. That I will have to say was a massive fuckup.

Having RGG:Ishin was cool and all, but still.

 

[Kandinsky]

xD


Did you pull that number out of your ass?

lol so rude.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

I agree! but we should compare sales of X with sales of jRPGs on the GCN era, that would be more accurate, less games, so attention of user base goes to the few games released. TOS sold 1 million worldwide on the GCN, 250.000 on Japan. I expect similar numbers for X.

Where were they for Wonderful 101?

 

[Snakeyes]

*sigh*

Link to people saying Wonderful 101 would sell incredibly well in Japan?

 

[Cipherr]

I can't avoid noticing that ... i mean, Vita was dead and all and doing 15 times less than 3ds weekly, and everyone was having fun and saying there would be no return.

And now, on a normal week with no special release, the Vita is really not that far from the 3ds in sales.

But especially, the 3ds is going down, while the vita is going up. There is a clear transition incoming and everyone seems to ignore it

Im curious about what this clear transition is that you are expecting exactly. Be specific. Its lovely for the Vita to go up YOY, but its still down LTD 13 million on the 3DS, and down 1 million YTD on the 3DS. And lord only knows what the software gap is, for both first and third party.

Whats the 'transition' you are talking about here?

I mean its nice that the Vita is doing better than awful this year, but don't expect a parade, it really hasn't earned one.

 

[Lexxism]

I believe the 3DS XL is ¥18,900 and regular edition is ¥15,000 if I'm not mistaken about price. Correct me if I am.

The reason I bring up prices is because I believe in the eventual 2DS release in Japan. How many units do you think a 2DS can move at let's say a price point between ¥9000 to ¥10,000? Maybe even bundled units for ¥12,000/13,000. Does anyone see this having an impact?

I'm thinking the same thing especially when they raised the tax to 8%. This can help push hardware sales for 3DS since it's really cheap but I don't know how much. Some people said it won't do a thing because it's not portable aka doesn't fit in your pocket. Do Japanese put their 3DS' on their pockets?

 

[dolemite]

Was there a legitimate reason to delay the PS4 launch in Japan? It's not like the system received Japanesecentric games during the last couple of months and judging from the sales the system is not straining the supply elsewhere.

 

[impact]

Was there a legitimate reason to delay the PS4 launch in Japan? It's not like the system received Japanesecentric games during the last couple of months and judging from the sales the system is not straining the supply elsewhere.

More stock for relevant markets.

 

[Snakeyes]

I'm thinking the same thing especially when they raised the tax to 8%. This can help push hardware sales for 3DS since it's really cheap but I don't know how much. Some people said it won't do a thing because it's not portable aka doesn't fit in your pocket. Do Japanese put their 3DS' on their pockets?

Tablets don't fit in pockets yet sell very well in Japan. What matters are aesthetics and ergonomics, and all versions of the 3DS look like clunky abominations compared to say, an iPad.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Tablets don't fit in pockets yet sell very well in Japan. What matters are aesthetics and ergonomics, and all versions of the 3DS look like clunky abominations compared to say, an iPad.

It is surprising how unattractive 3DS designs appear to be when DS designs especially the DSi were great

 

[FalsettoVibe]

This thread will be an interesting read in the future.

 

[TheChaos0]

It boggles my mind that we don't have a new hot shots golf. Ridge racer I can sort of understand because of Driveclub but there is no excuse not to have a new hot shots golf

This launch boggles my mind in general. Sony should have ensured that there are a few more games on PS4 for the Japanese launch, that appeal to Japan. I guess their plan was to secure the West first and then worry about Japan later. How much later is later though.

 

[Principate]

Tablets don't fit in pockets yet sell very well in Japan. What matters are aesthetics and ergonomics, and all versions of the 3DS look like clunky abominations compared to say, an iPad.

Tablets sell fairly well in Japan but as far as I've seen their revenue from software sales etc in general are incomparable to smart phones. So while they sell well they really don't sell that well. At least in comparison to the west.

 

[L Thammy]

There were certainly people who believed the PS4 to be the second coming of the PS2 or something like that, but that was probably overinflated by new entrants into the thread that weren't familiar with the sales situation. Most of the informative and level-headed members were talking about the likelihood of a failed PS4 launch for months.

Jump! Super Stars	261,692
			31,658 (293,350)
			25,619 (318,969)

Jump! Ultimate Stars	169,740
			75,810 (245,550)
			59,804 (305,354)

J-Stars Victory Vs	209,644
			46,389 (256,033)
			23,441 (279,474)

Still showing similar legs to Superstars despite the tax hike, but still a pretty sharp drop. I think by next week we'll have a good idea of what sort of legs it will ultimately have.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Was there a legitimate reason to delay the PS4 launch in Japan? It's not like the system received Japanesecentric games during the last couple of months and judging from the sales the system is not straining the supply elsewhere.

It would have had even less Japan focused games, see the Yakuza game on PS3 and PS4, and also would have meant less units in markets which were already more than starved enough...

 

[L Thammy]

This launch boggles my mind in general. Sony should have ensured that there are a few more games on PS4 for the Japanese launch, that appeal to Japan. I guess their plan was to secure the West first and then worry about Japan later. How much later is later though.

Ding ding ding. Hell, at this point, it remains to be seen if Japan will ever be more than an afterthought.