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Media Create Sales: Week 50, 2012 (Dec 10 - Dec 16)

This.... game right here... this freaking game man. What was its first week? Those legs are ridiculous. 3DS is starting to really build a nice number of 300k+ sold games. That middle tier of 250k+ sold is very important IMO for a console. There has to be some populated wiggle room in between bombing and a blockbuster.
Run For Money is a bit of an oddball in that it's based off a TV show with irregular airing times. During downtime it falls off Top 20 but when it airs it gets a crazy sales spike. Didn't it have like a +1000% week once?
 

Meier

Member
Nice numbers but it's sad to see how far off Inazuma Eleven has fallen. I imported the first and loved it. It seems like a huge misstep by Nintendo and/or Level-5 to not release this here in the US after all this time.
 
Scrap the project this size after one year on the market? Good God, I sure hope you are a businessman!

It's just the opposite, what you're advocating is the classic sunk cost fallacy. No serious businessman throws good money after bad.

It will cause massive reputation damage to the company, I hope Sony is smart enough never to do it.

That damage has already been long done, which is why there's nobody developing for it and almost nobody buying it. Whether due to price, software or feature set, this is a product the market obviously does not want.

And Sony clearly knew it a long time ago. They didn't feature it at E3 or TGS. Their holiday games were all ports or side games. There's nothing big being announced for next year.

In short, they're not investing anything into the project to shore up 3rd party support, trying to spur sales with aggressive price cuts, or committing much of their own development bandwidth. They're just letting it coast into a peaceful slumber while they gather resources for the Orbis project.

None of that is a commentary on the quality of the Vita hardware itself (I think it's great, and almost bought one back in October), just the rather undeniable state of affairs.

Cancelling an unpopular product early into its lifespan is far from the end of the world. Nintendo, Microsoft, Apple and many others have all done it and come out just fine. If Sony wants to stay in the mobile gaming space, their Xperia line is a far better battleground to fight it on. And frankly one that would have made far more sense from the beginning.
 
And if we were thinking Vita was in trouble due to its LTD at its 2nd week instead of how it got to that LTD and when that LTD was set, you'd have a point.
It wasn't really a "point" so much as an observation that I wasn't sure why people were seemingly ignoring i.e. the sales look okay, I don't think anyone should be rushing to proclaim "Japan is embracing Wii U as its main console". Could you elaborate a little on the "how it got to there" part? Is it the big drop off week/week?

I'm aware sell-through for the Wii U is much higher than sell-through for the PSV. And that PSV sales were more front loaded.

Was there something else in particular about the two weeks of sales that Vita had last year that pointed to its impending doom? Was it really already clear that it was destined to die so miserably by week 2?
 

Nibel

Member
Please add this to the OP

ibppmkbOkgLepC.gif
 
It wasn't really a "point" so much as an observation that I wasn't sure why people were seemingly ignoring i.e. the sales look okay, I don't think anyone should be rushing to proclaim "Japan is embracing Wii U as its main console". Could you elaborate a little on the "how it got to there" part? Is it the big drop off week/week?

I'm aware sell-through for the Wii U is much higher than sell-through for the PSV. And that PSV sales were more front loaded.

Was there something else in particular about the two weeks of sales that Vita had last year that pointed to its impending doom? Was it really already clear that it was destined to die so miserably by week 2?

It wasn't clear that it was "destined to die", but the warning signs were there in full force week 2. You may forget that Vita debuted 1 week later than Wii U which means that its 2nd week was the busiest week of the year in Japan when it had that drop. If Wii U has another big drop in week 3 it will also look terrible. Another thing you're forgetting is the horrendous software situation that quickly happened. While the sales may be concentrated to only a few games NSMBU has already outsold everything on Vita. Basically if you really want to seriously compare the two situations wait till next week and see how things go. If it sells 72k next week I think Wii U will be in big trouble.

Edit: And it seems Donny was thinking the same thing.
 

donny2112

Member
Hmm. I thought earlier this year it was hitting around 10-13k typically. And then it took a nosedive.

You should've said 10-13K, then. :p It was doing that for 8 weeks back in Feb-Apr. before dropping below 10K for the first time. Did it for 4 weeks back in July, too.

Was there something else in particular about the two weeks of sales that Vita had last year that pointed to its impending doom? Was it really already clear that it was destined to die so miserably by week 2?

Vita's second week was uniquely placed at the most lucrative sales week in Japan for the year. In that lucrative week, sales dropped from 325K at launch to < 75K with ample supply. That is a bad, bad sign. No one was expecting sales to go up from launch, but dropping that heavily in the face of readily available supply and what should've been the highest consumer demand of the year was very troubling.

It wasn't its LTD, nor that it had a second week drop that was disconcerting. It was that the second week drop was so precipitous during that heaviest sales week of the year. That is what gave the veteran Sales-Agers pause and sounded warning bells for Vita's future prospects.

That situation was unique to the Vita, so trying to look at second week sales of the Wii U (or any other system that's not in that same timing position) and apply Vita logic to it misses a big part of the point of the Vita gloom at second week sales.

Edit:
As metalslimer covered. :)
 
That will be the real crazy week, right?
Yeah, it's normally the biggest week.

I just don't understand how the Nintendo performance in the Japan can be sooo different from that of the west; it's really baffling, specially when I hear people pointing out that smartphones are even more prevalent in Japan.
 

zroid

Banned
You should've said 10-13K, then. :p It was doing that for 8 weeks back in Feb-Apr. before dropping below 10K for the first time. Did it for 4 weeks back in July, too.

I suppose so, yes :p

What I meant was "above 10k" and I said 13 because that's what it's at now.
 
It wasn't clear that it was "destined to die", but the warning signs were there in full force week 2. You may forget that Vita debuted 1 week later than Wii U which means that its 2nd week was the busiest week of the year in Japan when it had that drop. If Wii U has another big drop in week 3 it will also look terrible. Another thing you're forgetting is the horrendous software situation that quickly happened. While the sales may be concentrated to only a few games NSMBU has already outsold everything on Vita. Basically if you really want to seriously compare the two situations wait till next week and see how things go. If it sells 72k next week I think Wii U will be in big trouble.
Vita's second week was uniquely placed at the most lucrative sales week in Japan for the year. In that lucrative week, sales dropped from 325K at launch to < 75K with ample supply. That is a bad, bad sign. No one was expecting sales to go up from launch, but dropping that heavily in the face of readily available supply and what should've been the highest consumer demand of the year was very troubling.

It wasn't its LTD, nor that it had a second week drop that was disconcerting. It was that the second week drop was so precipitous during that heaviest sales week of the year. That is what gave the veteran Sales-Agers pause and sounded warning bells for Vita's future prospects.
I wasn't aware of that nuance of Japanese sales. Late shoppers.

So essentially we should be looking for a rise or at least a hold next week?
That situation was unique to the Vita, so trying to look at second week sales of the Wii U (or any other system that's not in that same timing position) and apply Vita logic to it misses a big part of the point of the Vita gloom at second week sales.
Which systems did launch in comparable weeks, out of curiosity? The Wii?
 

Jackano

Member
Yeah, it's normally the biggest week.

I just don't understand how the Nintendo performance in the Japan can be sooo different from that of the west; it's really baffling, specially when I hear people pointing out that smartphones are even more prevalent in Japan.
Well this will just point out that smartphones are not as much a competitior to dedicated handheld than what you think.


Next week is the biggest week but in 2005 the DS was at 407k "this" week, for the all-time record of 597k the following one (19-25th dec. 2005).
The 3DS will probably not do it :(
 
I wasn't aware of that nuance of Japanese sales. Late shoppers.

So essentially we should be looking for a rise or at least a hold next week?
Which systems did launch in comparable weeks, out of curiosity? The Wii?

Yeah Wii U should either remain around the same or get a boost. If it drops hard, there is a big problem. I don't think any other system has launched that close to the end December before.

The 3DS will probably not do it :(

No system will ever pull that again. The only way I could see it happening was if Nintendo for some reason decided to launch Pokemon during that week.
 
Well this will just point out that smartphones are not as much a competitior to dedicated handheld than what you think.


Next week is the biggest week but in 2005 the DS was at 407k "this" week, for the all-time record of 597k the following one (19-25th dec. 2005).
The 3DS will probably not do it :(
Yeah, it is very unlikely to do it; however, I would attribute it the real jump from DS to DSL; we still have to see a real jump from the OG 3DS that can attract a lot of people who didn't find it appealing [for starters, a better screen, camera, attractive outer design, etc.]

---
But what is really unsettling, is that the whole dedicated market of Sony+Nintendo is noticeably shrinking without explanation; I mean 3DS may eventually reach 30m sales, but there's no way PSV+3DS reach anywhere near 50m of DS+PSP
 
Yeah, it is very unlikely to do it; however, I would attribute it the real jump from DS to DSL; we still have to see a real jump from the OG 3DS that can attract a lot of people who didn't find it appealing [for starters, a better screen, camera, attractive outer design, etc.]

---
But what is really unsettling, is that the whole dedicated market of Sony+Nintendo is noticeably shrinking without explanation; I mean 3DS may eventually reach 30m sales, but there's no way PSV+3DS reach anywhere near 50m of DS+PSP

Well I think this one has a pretty simple explanation. A lot of those DS and PSP owners were the same exact people and they are just buying a 3DS and not a Vita. I think to a much less extent this is pretty true with the PS3/360 as well which is why I don't think consoles have grown nearly as much as people think they have. If Sony had been able to make Vita a more attractive platform I think we could have seen it easily break that 50 million by the end. Of course Vita's failing may be an stay of the death of consoles in japan.
 

DR2K

Banned
Yeah, it's normally the biggest week.

I just don't understand how the Nintendo performance in the Japan can be sooo different from that of the west; it's really baffling, specially when I hear people pointing out that smartphones are even more prevalent in Japan.

North America
12/20 3D Game Collection: 55-in-1
escapeVektor
PIX3D
12/27 Fluidity: Spin Cycle
Johnny Impossible
Mahjong 3D: Warriors of the Emp...
01/03 Code of Princess
Unchained Blades
02/04 Fire Emblem: Awakening
02/10 Brain Age: Concentration Training
02/13 Sonic & All-Stars Racing Tr...
02/26 Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of t...
03/05 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - ...
03/19 The Croods: Prehistoric Party!

Europe
12/20 escapeVektor
Gunman Clive
01/10 Fractured Soul
01/17 Tokyo Crash Mob
01/31 Secret Agent Files
02/08 Scribblenauts Unlimited
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Tr...
02/14 Finding Nemo: Escape to the Big...
02/15 Girls' Fashion Shoot
Super Black Bass 3D
02/22 Crash City Mayhem
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survi...
Viking Invasion 2: Tower Defense
03/01 Imagine Horsez
03/08 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - ...
Dr. Kawashima's Devilish B...
03/13 Monster High Skultimate Roller ...
03/29 Midnight Mysteries: The Devil o...

vs

Japan
12/19 Bird Mania 3D
Dasshutsu Adventure: Majo no Su...
Gurutto Splash!
Peakvox Ryryrythym
12/20 Acrylic Palette: Irodori Cafe -...
Boku wa Koukuu Kanseikan: Airpo...
Nicola Kanshuu: Model * Oshare ...
Oshare de Kawaii! Koinu to Asob...
Oshigoto Theme Park 2
Tongari Boushi to Mahou no Machi
12/26 3D Space Harrier
BlazBlue: Clone Phantasma
Chari-Sou DX
Jokenshi Akane
Onna Kenshi Akane
Zombie Slayer
12/27 BioHazard: The Mercenaries 3D
ESSE Rakuraku Kakeibo
Fantasy Life
Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3: Endou Mam...


http://www.gamefaqs.com/3ds

Not surprised one bit.
 
Yep. Do we have datas about that? Could be interesting.

No, it's just a guess and if there is its probably in Japanese, but it makes a lot more sense than a huge chunk of the market just disappearing.

don't worry, it's "selling within expectations"

Yoshida admitted the thing was not. Rule of thumb for both Sony and Nintendo, don't ever listen to what their regional offices PR people have to say because its nothing but bullshit.
 
Media Create Sales: Week 50, 2012 (Dec 10 - Dec 16)

18./00. [PS3] Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12 # <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2012.12.13} (¥9.240) - 17.013 / NEW




Famitsu Sales: Week 51, 2012 (Dec 10 - Dec 16)

11./00. [PS3] Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12 # <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2012.12.13} (¥9.240) - 30.419 / NEW

Romance of the Two Trackers
 
Anybody have any bright ideas why nobody's announced any monhun clones for 3ds yet? All of the B-tier titles seem comfortable releasing on PSP/Vita.

Edit: well I guess there was EX Troopers...
 

Kandinsky

Member
Legs everywhere!

Man the crazies really come out during the holidays, I'll just stay the fuck away from these threads for my sanity, see you in 2 weeks!
 

rouken

Member
Is Vita really going to have lower sales in Winter than Summer?

with nothing to push it to the top over the next few months unlike last summer i think its very likely that it will hover around the lower part of the charts fighting with the wii and 360.
 

zroid

Banned
with nothing to push it to the top over the next few months unlike last summer i think its very likely that it will hover around the lower part of the charts fighting with the wii and 360.

Vita "fighting" with the Wii and 360 brings to my mind the image of an uncle play-fighting with his young nephew, except the nephew is trying his darndest to win, while the uncle is more or less aloof and just humouring the kid.
 

jrDev

Member
Are you guys sure the Vita wasn't an experiment and Sony is readying to announce and launch its real handheld system with the data collected?
 
with nothing to push it to the top over the next few months unlike last summer i think its very likely that it will hover around the lower part of the charts fighting with the wii and 360.

Take a look at releases in the next three months and stop being so fucking ridiculous. AKB48 and Kadokawa dungeon crawler in January, Kagura in February, SS & Muramasa in March. Yes, it won't sell as well as Pokemon or Mario, but it will sell just fine.
 
Take a look at releases in the next three months and stop being so fucking ridiculous. AKB48 and Kadokawa dungeon crawler in January, Kagura in February, SS & Muramasa in March. Yes, it won't sell as well as Pokemon or Mario, but it will sell just fine.

There's a pretty tremendous gulf between Pokemon/Mario sales and what those Vita games are likely to do. Not that I'm agreeing it will drop down to 360 numbers in the coming months, but I don't really see that lineup escalating the weekly sales above, say, 20k a week consistently, and even that sounds pretty optimistic from our present vantage point.
 

watershed

Banned
Take a look at releases in the next three months and stop being so fucking ridiculous. AKB48 and Kadokawa dungeon crawler in January, Kagura in February, SS & Muramasa in March. Yes, it won't sell as well as Pokemon or Mario, but it will sell just fine.
Define "just fine". No Vita game so far has been able to boost Vita sales consistently high for months now. Every big release sees a good to moderate spike in hardware sales followed by a swift plummet back down. I don't think its ridiculous to think the Vita will continue to skate near the bottom of the charts the next 3 months. Just look at how its selling in the middle of the biggest shopping season of the year.
 
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