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[Satter]

I'm one of those WiiFit purchasers... It's actually kind of fun and it motivates me to continue doing sit-ups / push-ups / other muscle-building excercises.

Considering it's the holidays here in Japan these kind of sales are pretty much expected. All you see in the front of stores is Wii, WiiFit, DS Lite, Dragon Quest IV and Final Fantasy IV.

I expect 2008 to be a huge year (comparitively) for the PS3 in Japan, though. The only games I really see being pushed for the system right now in Japan are Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Uncharted. Neither of those games are system sellers (at least in Japan) so it's pretty easy to understand why the PS3 isn't able to put up much of a fight this holiday season.

DMC4 and GT5 will be telling on how the 2008 starts off for the PS3. But, IYO, are Japanese consumers looking forward to these titles when SSBB is right around the corner?

 

[schuelma]

man, nintendo sure does make sales threads fucking boring

Nah, ethelred can always find something in the numbers to start a fight about.

 

[yankeeforever2]

Then let's adjust those expectations, shall we?

Ordered by first week sales:

NDS Final Fantasy III                    502K .. 52K .. 53K ... 1 million (20070701; probably would've done better with more stock early on)
[b]NDS Final Fantasy IV                     309K[/b]

WS  Final Fantasy                        147K .. 56K .. 44K ... 377K (20011230)
GBA Final Fantasy V Advance              147K .. 33K .. 14K ... 243K (20061231)
WS  Final Fantasy II                     147K .. 28K .. 17K ... 242K (20011230)
GBA Final Fantasy VI Advance             137K .. 36K ..     ... 280K (20070701)
GBA Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls  137K .. 34K .. 26K ... 269K (20041226)
PS1 Final Fantasy IV                     119K .. 49K .. 23K ... 261K (19971228)
GBA Final Fantasy IV Advance              99K .. 35K .. 21K ... 219K (20061231)
PS1 Final Fantasy II                      57K .. 25K .. 14K ... 138K (20021229)
PS1 Final Fantasy                         55K .. 23K .. 14K ... 122K (20021229)
[B]PSP Final Fantasy                         53K .. 41K ..     ... 118K (20070701)[/B]
PS1 Final Fantasy V                       51K .. 20K .. 11K ... 152K (19981227)
[B]PSP Final Fantasy II                      34K .. 12K ..     ...  46K (20070617)[/B]
PS1 Final Fantasy VI                      27K .. 10K ..     ...  37K (19990321)
WS  Final Fantasy IV                      20K ..  6K ..  4K ...  30K (20020414)

I'm going to assume you haven't looked at the numbers. :lol

Wow, FF1 and 2 did beyond horrible on the PSP.

 

[ethelred]

So the only worthy comparison point is to the one game that started better? Interesting.

The only worthy comparison point is the only other full remake, yes. That it performed better isn't the reason why it's the only valid comparison, but that is the point of the concern.

>60% of the initial shipment sold. This is not some "no one bought it" bomb.

Right. It's not a "no one bought it bomb." And that's why I avoided saying "holy shit, this is a massive and terrible bomb." I actually think my response was pretty measured. I said the sales are "not good."

However, saying that it did less than FFIIIDS and therefore was "not good" is too pessimistic, in my opinion.

I wouldn't have said anything if it had only slightly underperformed Final Fantasy III, but it underperformed by a really significant amount. I don't think those numbers were good. My opinion is the phrasing was not too pessimistic.

 

[Link]

man, nintendo sure does make sales threads fucking boring

Not when there's posts like this every week.

 

[ethelred]

So I don't sound excessively negative, I'll point out again that Dragon Quest IV is pulling in fantastic numbers, and its performance is really and truly unprecedented when one compares it to the prior portable remakes -- none of them ever netted anything close to console-level performance, and yet here is Dragon Quest IV looking at this point like it almost certainly will outsell the PlayStation remake.

 

[schuelma]

So I don't sound excessively negative, I'll point out again that Dragon Quest IV is pulling in fantastic numbers, and its performance is really and truly unprecedented when one compares it to the prior portable remakes -- none of them ever netted anything close to console-level performance, and yet here is Dragon Quest IV looking at this point like it almost certainly will outsell the PlayStation remake.

I'd also add Galaxy's resurgance has to be encouraging.

 

[donny2112]

The only worthy comparison point is the only other full remake, yes.

And you expected the average Japanese consumer to know that this Final Fantasy IV re-release was a full remake and not like the previous three re-makes they could've bought in the last 11 years? I think it may be too optimistic to say that the work put into related titles by the developer determines how to compare sales to the consumer. It's your opinion, though, so no problems.

 

[ethelred]

I'd also add Galaxy's resurgance has to be encouraging.

I guess so.

And you expected the average Japanese consumer to know that this Final Fantasy IV re-release was a full remake and not like the previous three re-makes they could've bought in the last 11 years?

It's... uh, rather self-apparent, isn't it?

It's not exactly like asking them to choose between identical twins.

 

[charlequin]

And you expected the average Japanese consumer to know that this Final Fantasy IV re-release was a full remake and not like the previous three re-makes they could've bought in the last 11 years?

Er... yes? I would expect the TV commercials with voice acting, full 3d graphics, etc. (plus the pretty extensive coverage in the magazines and the detailed director's blog) would make that relatively clear.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

OK, some improvements to software sales graphing. Previously, in some cases if a game dropped from the charts and then returned, it would show a line connecting the two non-consecutive weeks. Good for looking at a growing sum, but not for weekly numbers. I believe I've got that taken care of. Example: Taiko no Tatsujin DS, which disappeared for over a month and then returned.

Second, tables are in. Same old &html=1 or &html=2. Since this is day-based, there is a bit of funkiness comparing games that launched on different days of the week. When one game's second week total is on day 10 and another's is on day 11, they'll be on different lines. This is correct and best matches the image, but it's perhaps not what one is expecting when they just want to see comparisons split like Week 1, Week 2, Week 3. Perhaps something like that will be a future endeavor.

This portable FFT comparison shows you both matching launch days and non-matching launch days. Apparently while A2 and The War of the Lions released on the standard Thursday, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was a Friday release.

Final Fantasy Tactics portable, weekly
Final Fantasy Tactics portable, cumulative

This makes me wonder, will the top 100 be 3/4 Nintendo systems games, 50 of those being DS games.

Probably something like that, but probably more tilted towards DS. Last year it was 37 DS, 8 GBA, 4 Wii, 1 GCN, 43 PS2, 7 PSP.

I'm well aware of the numbers. Comparing this full remake to straight ports is kinda dumb, to be honest. The only real comparison point there is FFIII and it's underperforming that by a lot.

Well, I and II have seen multiple full remakes. However, I agree that compared to III this is no great start. The one advantage it might have is lack of crippling shortages in the next few weeks, but without shortages FF isn't exactly known for big legs.

So I wonder what the biggest problem is for FF IV. Coming too soon after the last prominent version of FF IV? Too much FF in general? Coming too soon after DQ IV? And might DQ V/VI/IX be hurt from similar issues?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Well, the previous ports were somewhat "enhanced" (CG movies, additional levels and weapons) to justify their re-release value, but of course nothing on this scale. Though reusing the basic FFIII engine probably cut down costs a lot.

But I think all those changes (3D engine, VA, etc.) were necessary to reach even this level of sales and justify it to consumers. If it were another port, sales would probably be far lower.

And for why it should sell notably better than previous re-releases/ports - VA, new gameplay mechanics, character conversations, etc. are nice "touches" but aren't the sort of thing that would sell it on its own. Probably the biggest reason is the move to 3D with better graphics, but I thought we'd established that Japan wasn't really an "OMG 3D graphics" sort of place (and that 2D games sold from about equally well to much, much better).

It's probably the damn price that is preventing it from selling extremely well. The base price is 5980 Yen (almost 60 USD), which is just crazy for a DS game. For some reason KOEI, Square-Enix, and occasionally Capcom, think they can sell their games for a lot more than other publishers. Unfortunately they get away with it. I'll buy FFIV remake when I can get it for 4,000 Yen or less.

 

[Odysseus]

Er... yes? I would expect the TV commercials with voice acting, full 3d graphics, etc. (plus the pretty extensive coverage in the magazines and the detailed director's blog) would make that relatively clear.

it doesn't matter. it's still going back to the well with a game just remade two years ago, for crying out loud. no doubt the majority of the people buying this game bought it on gba and ps1, too. the cow only has so much milk.

 

[donny2112]

It's... uh, rather self-apparent, isn't it?

For anyone who was following it, sure.

Er... yes? I would expect the TV commercials with voice acting, full 3d graphics, etc. (plus the pretty extensive coverage in the magazines and the detailed director's blog) would make that relatively clear.

If they watched the TV commercials and kept up on it, then yes. If they just walked into a store and saw "Final Fantasy IV" for the DS, then possibly not.

I'm simply throwing out a possible factor here without on-the-ground evidence to support it. It wouldn't be the first time that the general public was blissfully unaware of something the video game community considered common knowledge, though.

This is not meant as an excuse for the sales of FFIVDS, as I don't consider them bad after the first week. This is meant as a counterpoint to ethelred's comment that the effort of the developer should determine how to compare sales to the consumer.

 

[ivysaur12]

I'm so happy for Galaxy, especially after the shoddy first couple of weeks it had.

 

[Xavien]

man, nintendo sure does make sales threads fucking boring

You say that as if it's a bad thing. This place is relatively peaceful when Nintendo is dominating (one of the very few peaceful and civil threads on gaming GAF right now actually).

 

[linsivvi]

Why are we going through this again? Haven't this FFIV argument been beaten to death in last week's thread?

Any way you slice it, 288K first week sales for a game with reused story, dialogues and engine cannot be considered "not good".

 

[ethelred]

Why are we going through this again? Haven't this FFIV argument been beaten to death in last week's thread?

Any way you slice it, 288K first week sales for a game with reused story, dialogues and engine cannot be considered "not good".

It can be sliced quite a few ways such that 288k first week sales are not good.

 

[linsivvi]

It can be sliced quite a few ways such that 288k first week sales are not good.

Like how?

It surpassed the GBA LTD in its first week, and it's not done selling.

 

[Xavien]

It can be sliced quite a few ways such that 288k first week sales are not as good as FFIII DS.

Fixed

 

[ethelred]

Like how?

It surpassed the GBA LTD in its first week, and it's not done selling.

It can be sliced such that the sales of a full remake are not comparable to those of a broken, barebones port.

Fixed

If I need you to ghostwrite for me, I'll PM you.

 

[linsivvi]

Fixed

That's a more accurate statement.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

It's probably the damn price that is preventing it from selling extremely well. The base price is 5980 Yen (almost 60 USD), which is just crazy for a DS game.

FF III was as much. DQ IV was only 490 less. Doesn't seem like a major factor in it selling less than those two.

I'm so happy for Galaxy, especially after the shoddy first couple of weeks it had.

It's worked out well for me. Discussions stemming from its early slow sales led to assembling software data, and my inability to afford the game immediately gave me time to get it pretty complete. But by now I've been able to enjoy the game and see it get the holiday bump I theorized in early November.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

All I'm seeing is legs. That's a good thing.

Looks like everyone is downloading GT5P....right?

 

[AdmiralViscen]

Just how badly are the latest StarForce games doing? Or have they been out for ages and I didn't notice?

 

[Xeke]

The real winner is Mario Kart DS. Legs like nothing else. It's been out for over 2 years now and must have only gone out of the top 20 a few times.

 

[DiddyBop]

Japan is clearly not ready for HD gaming. FFXIII development moved to the PS2? It would make much more sense right now for Square, but I'm sure they've already been heavily moneyhatted by Sony to keep it on the PS3.

 

[ethelred]

Just how badly are the latest StarForce games doing? Or have they been out for ages and I didn't notice?

Hard to say, really. On Media Create, the sales are being split between the two versions, and we don't really know where the games are at right now. For all we know, they could be performing identically to the first Star Force set -- the vast bulk of their sales came under the radar in the lower parts of the chart, too.

 

[DiddyBop]

The real winner is Mario Kart DS. Legs like nothing else. It's been out for over 2 years now and must have only gone out of the top 20 a few times.

over 2 yrs? really? and its still in the top 20? cot damn. with all the money nintendo is making this gen,they can afford to take next gen off and spend it swimming in their cash.

 

[donny2112]

Just how badly are the latest StarForce games doing? Or have they been out for ages and I didn't notice?

They sold ~48K (200K LTD) this week at #16 by Famitsu from sinobi. The first games were at 21K (297K) at the same point, but they had already passed the holiday season, too.

 

[Fuzzy]

All I'm seeing is legs. That's a good thing.

Looks like everyone is downloading GT5P....right?

They heard there was no online until Christmas and decided to wait. It'll see a boost next week.

You can't tell but I'm completely bullshitting here.

 

[Jammy]

Okay, we know how really well DQIV, both Mario Parties, Layton 2, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, FFIV, etc. are selling, but look at these games.

Mario Kart DS
Taiko Drum Master DS

Wow. Can somebody get an LTD or approximation on these two games? These games have forever been below the top ten since their release it seems and have accumulated quite a bit of sales. These are certainly making both Nintendo and especially Namco happy.

 

[donny2112]

Mario Kart DS
Taiko Drum Master DS

Wow. Can somebody get an LTD or approximation on these two games?

2.66 million and 261K respectively in Famitsu LTD as of this week.

By the way, how much did Layton 1 and 2 sell?

Layton 2 did 68K, but Layton 1 was out of the Top 30 this week.

 

[ivysaur12]

By the way, how much did Layton 1 and 2 sell?

 

[Xavien]

If I need you to ghostwrite for me, I'll PM you.

Sure, no problem I could use a little work when I'm bored.

Small side note: Isn't this the 3rd-4th week in a row that Super Mario Galaxy has increased in weekly sales? Isn't that pretty unusual for Japan?

 

[Sage00]

So I was just looking at third party software attach ratios for Wii and.. this surprised me. From what I'm seeing it's around .5:1? Seriously.. almost half of Wii owners don't even own 1 third party title? Am I doing it wrong? I must be, because that sounds crazy.. o.o

Maybe Joshua and/or Donny can correct me on this.

 

[Fuzzy]

2.66 million and 261K respectively in Famitsu for this week.

Too bad NSMB dropped out of the top 30 in Famitsu, we won't see it pass 5 million.

 

[Link]

Too bad NSMB dropped out of the top 30 in Famitsu, we won't see it pass 5 million.

Possible holiday bump?

 

[Mockingbird]

FFIV is performing way below my expectations. I really thought it'd be a surefire million seller. Hopefully it will be able to get there.

The Japanese sales resurgence of Super Mario Galaxy is highly welcome. Let's hope it breaks a million before the holiday sales season is over.

Or maybe hope not and get it through to SE that they should stop revising the same games over and over again -- not to mention an unimpressive looking revival at that.

 

[Hero]

FFIV DS came out at the wrong time. Too close to DQIV, I believe. Cannibalizing your own sales, forshame.

 

[Link]

Can someone who's good at this sort of thing (Joshua?) figure out what the theoretical weekly max is for Wii sales going by known worldwide shipments and distribution percentages? I'm curious to see if all those slow weeks the Wii had will be negated by holiday sales and if they'll end up selling everything that was left sitting around anyway.


Does that make any sense?


EDIT - To make things a bit more clear, I want to know how many Wii's Nintendo sends out in Japan each week, and assume that anything shipped out previously is unavailable. Essentially, I want to see how much ground the Wii is making up after the inventory had a chance to build.

 

[ethelred]

Or maybe hope not and get it through to SE that they should stop revising the same games over and over again -- not to mention an unimpressive looking revival at that.

FFIV DS is a pretty damned impressive looking revival, and a really high quality product overall. I'm pretty excited at the gameplay tweaks and rebalances and new systems Ito added to the game. While I could wish for Square to focus more on making new, original stuff, if you're going to remake a game, this is the way to do it.

 

[Busaiku]

Too bad NSMB dropped out of the top 30 in Famitsu, we won't see it pass 5 million.

We got numbers from sinobi.

22.New SMB　35000 (4967000)

So in the next 1-2 weeks probably.

 

[AdmiralViscen]

Sure, no problem I could use a little work when I'm bored.

Small side note: Isn't this the 3rd-4th week in a row that Super Mario Galaxy has increased in weekly sales? Isn't that pretty unusual for Japan?

Holidays.

FFIV DS is a pretty damned impressive looking revival, and a really high quality product overall. I'm pretty excited at the gameplay tweaks and rebalances and new systems Ito added to the game. While I could wish for Square to focus more on making new, original stuff, if you're going to remake a game, this is the way to do it.

+1

 

[jgwhiteus]

On a related note, is this the last FF franchise game that's going to come out for a while? I know that cellphone game just got announced, and there's FF: Dissidia, but besides those I can't think of any more FF titles that have been announced besides FFXIII (in 2009?)

I'm sure Square will find some way to fit in a few releases between now and then, though maybe it wouldn't hurt (sales) to cut down on the output a bit.

 

[DanielJohnson]

We got numbers from sinobi.

So in the next 1-2 weeks probably.

Unbelievable numbers...

Do we have NA numbers for NSMB?

 

[Link]

On a related note, is this the last FF franchise game that's going to come out for a while? I know that cellphone game just got announced, and there's FF: Dissidia, but besides those I can't think of any more FF titles that have been announced besides FFXIII (in 2009?)

I'm sure Square will find some way to fit in a few releases between now and then, though maybe it wouldn't hurt (sales) to cut down on the output a bit.

There's also FF:CC: The Crystal Bearers and FF:CC Wiiware.

And don't worry, regardless of what anyone says, DS remakes of FFV and VI are inevitable.

 

[_Alkaline_]

Great Galaxy sales. Thank god.

Hopefully it passes 1 million soon enough.

How much did Sunshine end up selling in Japan?

 

[speculawyer]

Damn . . . it looked like HD was making a come-back . . . .not now.

 

[Furoba]

I think this year's New Year bonuses will have quite the impact on Japanese PS3 sales during the first few weeks of January. Sometimes a bonus can be as much as one year's worth of salary (Toyota or so), but mostly it is less than that of course.