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[Weng]

Seems pretty clear the WiiU is back to sub-10k by next week already; I'm wondering if it'll dip below 5k before the next big release. When is it, March?

February 13th

 

[Aeriscloud]

Japan continues to buy Final Fantasy.

Agreed. Also fixed.

 

[sajj316]

Great job Vita!! Keep pumping baby ..

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

I don't think it matters if the gameplay is different though. If people looking for a steady stream of big console titles are underserved, then they will look for alternatives. That's precisely my point though. In the past, the console audience might not have paid as much attention to big western games, because they were content enough with games which catered to their existing taste. Now that there is less and less of that, it makes sense that if they're looking for more things to play they might go "hey, let's check that out instead" when they might not have done so previously.

So the lack of big Japanese blockbusters led to more eyes on the Wester blockbusters which then grew in popularity. I can agree with that.

Isn't it weird though that FPS's has taken off wildly, yet WRPG's haven't even though the biggest selling titles on consoles are usually RPG's. Thats why I thought it may of been a genre thing as Japan doesn't really have much in the FPS department.

 

[L Thammy]

What a strong first week. Guess that's coming from Capcom's brand name eh? Though the leg seems weak. Good perfomance nonetheless. Here's hoping for

Spoiler

no sequel as I don't want them taint the game

.

It's one of Capcom's most expensive projects and tanked in the US. I don't think they'd make another unless they can reuse a lot of assets.
Still, I don't think it's unfair to use it as evidence of expanding/shifting interests in the Japanese audience.

 

[SmokyDave]

Agreed. Also fixed.

You know that there's a PS3 SKU too, right?

 

[Entryhazard]

February 13th

Fucking Donkey Kong to the rescue

 

[Shengar]

Amazing in today's Japanese market. The same market where only one title in the entire lifespan of PS3 has sold over a million copies.

That's depressing

It's one of Capcom's most expensive projects and tanked in the US. I don't think they'd make another unless they can reuse a lot of assets.
Still, I don't think it's unfair to use it as evidence of expanding/shifting interests in the Japanese audience.

Reuse assets? At that quality? For next-gen console? Well now I'm obviously happy they wouldn't make a sequel. Though it still sad to know the game tanked in US
A bit suprise then for Dark Arisen to make it to the west if the original tanked.

 

[Canis lupus]

That yoy drop for 3ds is terrible
This year might be worse than we thought in the drop from last year

It'll be pretty ugly. Last year had all the big hitters like MH4, Pokemon X/Y etc, and it was still down 600k YoY. 3DS peaked in 2012 and Nintendo need to worry, it won't have the legs of the DS.

Agreed. Also fixed.

Surprised FFX Remaster Vita version jumped this week.

 

[Chris1964]

Heck, he even said my first week's expectations (based on Comgnet) were just a dream...and I believed him XD

I don't remember if I said this or not

"Japanese gamers will have to lose their interest in Western games eventually." It was something like that, right?

but I certainlly didn't say this

 

[duckroll]

So the lack of big Japanese blockbusters led to more eyes on the Wester blockbusters which then grew in popularity. I can agree with that.

Isn't it weird though that FPS's has taken off wildly, yet WRPG's haven't even though the biggest selling titles on consoles are usually RPG's. Thats why I thought it may of been a genre thing as Japan doesn't really have much in the FPS department.

Well, what WRPGs can you think of which had a big marketing push in Japan with good localization? That's probably a major factor too.

 

[Entryhazard]

It'll be pretty ugly. Last year had all the big hitters like MH4, Pokemon X/Y, 2DS etc, and it was still down 600k YoY. 3DS peaked in 2012 and Nintendo need to worry, it won't have the legs of the DS.

Actually the 2DS is not released in Japan

 

[ab.aeterno]

February 13th

Hmm, OK. They should be safe from sub-5k then. They'll probably settle into around 8-10k by the time it comes out. How it drops after that release will be very interesting to watch, to see if it has a long tail or craters after a couple weeks.

 

[Bruno MB]

As of yet, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds looks headed to sell around half a million units.

Ocarina of Time 3D had a softer launch (it wasn't released during the holiday season) but from week 4 onwards showed strong legs. It would end up reaching 600.000 units.

-------------------------------------------------------------
|    | [B]Zelda: Ocarina 3D[/B] |    [B]Zelda: ALBW[/B]    |  [B]Difference[/B]  |
|    | [3DS] (2011.06.16)| [3DS] (2013.12.26)|              |
|----|---------|---------|---------|---------|--------------|
|Week|  Weekly |   LTD   |  Weekly |   LTD   |Ocarina - ALBW|
|----|---------|---------|---------|---------|--------------|
| 01 |  182.998|  182.998|  225.418|  225.418|        42.420|
| 02 |   40.262|  223.260|   68.578|  293.996|        70.736|
| 03 |   26.019|  249.279|   29.949|  323.945|        74.666|  
| 04 |   13.052|  262.331|   19.631|  343.576|        81.245| 
| 05 |   11.399|  273.730|         |         |              |  
| 06 |   10.068|  283.798|         |         |              |  
| 07 |    8.253|  292.051|         |         |              |  
| 08 |   24.079|  320.026|         |         |              |  
| 09 |   20.586|  340.612|         |         |              | 
| 10 |   15.608|  356.220|         |         |              |
| 11 |   14.525|  370.745|         |         |              |
| 12 |   10.271|  381.016|         |         |              |
| 13 |   11.885|  392.901|         |         |              |
| 14 |   12.432|  405.333|         |         |              |
| 15 |   10.104|  415.437|         |         |              |
| 16 |    9.373|  424.810|         |         |              |
| 17 |    9.377|  434.187|         |         |              |
| 18 |    9.280|  443.467|         |         |              |
| 19 |    7.250|  450.717|         |         |              |
| 20 |    6.796|  457.513|         |         |              |
|----|---------|---------|---------|---------|--------------|
|Year|   YTD   |   LTD   |   YTD   |   LTD   |  Difference  |
|----|---------|---------|---------|---------|--------------|
| 01 |	498.145|  498.145|  225.418|  225.418|      -272.727|
| 02 |   86.787|  584.932|  118.158|  343.576|      -241.356|
| 03 |   15.907|  600.839|        -|        -|             -|
|----|---------|---------|---------|---------|--------------|
| LTD|        -|  600.839|        -|  343.576|      -257.263|     
-------------------------------------------------------------

[3DS] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Nintendo) {2011.06.16} - 182.998 / 600.839
[3DS] The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo) {2013.12.26} - 225.418 / 343.576

 

[Canis lupus]

Actually the 2DS is not released in Japan

Edited, I wonder why not?

 

[StreetsAhead]

Hmm, OK. They should be safe from sub-5k then. They'll probably settle into around 8-10k by the time it comes out. How it drops after that release will be very interesting to watch, to see if it has a long tail or craters after a couple weeks.

It will also depend on whether Mario Kart is coming out in March or not. At this point, I assume not, but I'd like to be proven wrong.

 

[metalslimer]

It'll be pretty ugly. Last year had all the big hitters like MH4, Pokemon X/Y etc, and it was still down 600k YoY. 3DS peaked in 2012 and Nintendo need to worry, it won't have the legs of the DS.



Surprised FFX Remaster Vita version jumped this week.

They shouldn't worry in japan but they should definitely be cautious in how they wind down the
3ds because it isn't a guarantee the next launch will go smoothly. I also strongly disagree with the idea 3ds can last until 2017 without a successor without a lot of damage being done

 

[Aeriscloud]

You know that there's a PS3 SKU too, right?

It's selling because it's a real Final Fantasy on a handheld, not because it's Final Fantasy on a Vita.

Final Fantasy is a system seller and has been for a long time.

 

[Shengar]

Edited, I wonder why not?

Maybe they wait for the momentum. This Q1 is the perfect time for them to introduced it in Japan.

 

[Busaiku]

Yep. I reckon this was pretty clear when Pokemon and MH couldn't help 3DS beat the previous year's Japanese total. Unless a good price cut or a price cut and new model hit, I expect the system to remain in decline year on year.

3DS Lite please, Nintendo. Better battery life, cheaper and take out the horrible two-toned colours.

Well, 2DS still isn't out yet, so they've still got a little flexibility.

 

[Entryhazard]

Edited, I wonder why not?

I don't know, in NA and EU was released the same day of Pokémon in order to cater a younger audience, maybe in Japan they deemed it not necessary.

 

[duckroll]

They shouldn't worry in japan but they should definitely be cautious in how they wind down the
3ds because it isn't a guarantee the next launch will go smoothly. I also strongly disagree with the idea 3ds can last until 2017 without a successor without a lot of damage being done

Yeah there's no way I see the 3DS lasting to 2017 without a successor in sight. Can't even imagine it.

 

[MadLukas]

Edited, I wonder why not?

No need. The 2DS is meant for western parents, who didnt buy the 3DS because they meared it would melt the brains of their under-6-year olds. The 3DS is generally a popular products with every age in Japan.

And because its more expensive, they get a higher margin out of it.

Same reason, why the Vita TV was produced, to get Japan interested in the idea of streaming and remote play, because that idea wasnt really a thing in Japan. They know it would be sucessful in USA/Europe, but appereantly it needed to be tested first.

 

[SmokyDave]

It's selling because it's a real Final Fantasy on a handheld, not because it's Final Fantasy on a Vita.

Sorry, I wasn't aware you'd been polling purchasers.

 

[Entryhazard]

It's selling because it's a real Final Fantasy on a handheld

Bravely Default already happened

 

[Boy Wander]

DKCR sold around a million in Japan with a much bigger install base and opened with 170k sales. It also launched around the holiday period which would have helped sales.
What can we realistically expect the Wii U game to open with? Sub 100k?

 

[dacuk]

Vita still on a yearly rise.

Everything else sliding into the abyss.

The Future is Vita™

Delusional, you still are.

Not even Sony thinks Vita is the future

 

[Ratrat]

The 2ds probably wouldn't even sell. It's atrocious looking and goes against the idea of portability and is not something children or adults would carry around. It would have to be sub ¥9,000 for anyone to even look at it.

They are better off doing another price-cut.

 

[Aeriscloud]

Bravely Default already happened

Not enough zippers and belts for Japan.

Sorry, I wasn't aware you'd been polling purchasers.

Oh you're absolutely right, let's see what the West will say in a few months.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

3DS will reach 20M (PSP LTD) by the end of 2015.

Tragic.

It's time for NinSmart.

 

[Orgen]

January 2013 was huge due to permanent lack of Animal Crossing in shops earlier.

Yep, I remember.

I've checked the dates and the week 1 from 2014 started on the 23th December, and the week 1 from 2013 started on the 22th, so maybe that could explain some differences (but not all the YoY decline, of course)

 

[Shengar]

The 2ds probably wouldn't even sell. It's atrocious looking and goes against the idea of portability and is not something children or adults would carry around. It would have to be sub ¥9,000 for anyone to even look at it.

They are better off doing another price-cut.

I thought of that too since portability is very important in Japan. I'm still eager to see how it perform though.

 

[L Thammy]

I don't remember if I said this or not



but I certainlly didn't say this

This thing with sudden increased Japanese interest on western titles has to end some time. Call of Duty exploded in Japan when it exploded in west ans Square Enix took over its publishing.

GTA couldn't top 420k even on mighty PS2, it won't sell now 200k more than that because Take-2 says so.

 

[braves01]

3DS numbers are really disappointing

Vita numbers surprisingly strong (by Vita standards), but I think it's just a death rattle

Wii U gonna Wii U straight to 5k methinks until DKCTF bumps it to 35k for a week

---

Fucking depressing all around. Time to stock up on retro systems and games before mobile is all that's left.

 

[Shahed]

I find it strange that people still don't get Smoky Dave. Week after week people always fall for it, and not only in these threads

Some people just need to relax a bit. It's all good fun

 

[Mortimer Brewster]

It appears Vita has finally found its niche in the Japanese market which probably means that it will be around for awhile carving out a PSP style existence. The poor Wii U though looks hopeless. Looks like Iwata's Antenna to Japan needs as much fixing as the one for the West.

 

[Into]

While all eyes on the Wii U and to lesser extent Vita, being relatively newer products. The story here is the major drop for the 3DS compared to last year.

I simply do not see how the 3DS will even replicate 2013, it will see a drop. What games are going to even compete with the sales prowess of a Animal Crossing, Pokemon and Monster Hunter? Those are about as big as you get on handhelds.

I wonder at what stage their next handheld is at, surely beyond the "throw-ideas-at-the-wall" stage and probably in more advanced planning, prototypes being made, thrown around etc.

 

[Shahed]

While all eyes on the Wii U and to lesser extent Vita, being relatively newer products. The story here is the major drop for the 3DS compared to last year.

I simply do not see how the 3DS will even replicate 2013, it will see a drop. What games are going to even compete with the sales prowess of a Animal Crossing, Pokemon and Monster Hunter? Those are about as big as you get on handhelds.

I wonder at what stage their next handheld is at, surely beyond the "throw-ideas-at-the-wall" stage and probably in more advanced planning, prototypes being made, thrown around etc.

Dragon Quest XI? Is there anything else they could get since I imagine sequels to the same popular games would sell to people who already have a 3DS instead of new owners

 

[March of the Crabs]

The Wii U sales are like a really shitty roller coaster. They'll coast downwards getting lower and lower every week until a new first party title is out and it shoots back up again for about 2 weeks only to start the cycle all over again.

 

[Chris1964]

Yeah, no. I was talking for the supposed sudden interest of Japanese of Japanese for western games when there were always strong western sellers and Call of Duty wasn't the first hit. That's completely diffrent from this.

"Japanese gamers will have to lose their interest in Western games eventually." It was something like that, right?

 

[metalslimer]

3DS will reach 20M (PSP LTD) by the end of 2015.

Tragic.

It's time for NinSmart.

Yeah people really said the 3ds was a failure

 

[And_Gignac]

Is a 3DS --> Vita transition in the foreseeable future? Seems the 3DS is reaching some type of saturation point.

 

[BlackJace]

Well, at least they have the 2DS to drop.

Wii U'll have to wait until fucking Donkey Kong.

Vita will probably drop after FFX HD wears down.

Nice to see GTA V still truckin.

 

[Shahed]

Is a 3DS --> Vita transition in the foreseeable future? Seems the 3DS is reaching some type of saturation point.

What games would they transition for?

 

[Boy Wander]

So there are 4 Wii U games landing in Feb:

Wii Fit U
Monster Hunter Frontier G
Puyo Tetris
DKCR:TF

Will any of these other than DKCR:TF trouble the charts / give hardware a boost?

 

[L Thammy]

Yeah, no. I was talking for the supposed sudden interest of Japanese of Japanese for western games when there were always strong western sellers and Call of Duty wasn't the first hit. That's completely diffrent from this.

Fair enough. I was just faintly remembering a previous comment; I didn't intend any hostility.

Will any of these other than DKCR:TF trouble the charts / give hardware a boost?

I'm not sure that Donkey Kong will give the hardware much a boost. It's been packaged with a mass-appeal 2D platformer long enough.

 

[Nirolak]

Market is also a post-holiday lull.



Could it be a new shipment?

[U][B]System	2014YTD		2013YTD		   Dif		Change[/B][/U]
3DS	284,147		453,775		-169,628	-37%
PSV	134,379		53,433		 80,946		151%
PS3	68,173		107,040		-38,867		-36%
WIU	76,734		104,452		-27,718		-27%
PSP	22,065		87,285		-65,220		-75%
360	1,001		3,520		-2,519		-72%

2014 vs 2013 so far.

At an average of around a 1/3rd decline on the primary platforms with the one that's going up being counterbalanced by its predecessor finally dying off, it's not an overly rosy picture even accounting for the fact the holidays are over.

With the Vita it's not exactly blazing across the sky despite going up either...

Now, the PS3 is in its eighth year, so perhaps that's a bit of an unfair assessment to it, but if the PS4 also fails to do much that doesn't really pick up the slack of its extended decline.

 

[Shengar]

Is a 3DS --> Vita transition in the foreseeable future? Seems the 3DS is reaching some type of saturation point.

No.....unless SCEJ took a surprise price cut before Nintendo did and heavily marketed Freedom Wars, there wouldn't be any significant raise on Vita's sale.

 

[Shinriji]

[U][B]System	2014YTD		2013YTD		   Dif		Change[/B][/U]
3DS	284,147		453,775		-169,628	-37%
PSV	134,379		53,433		 80,946		151%
PS3	68,173		107,040		-38,867		-36%
WIU	76,734		104,452		-27,718		-27%
PSP	22,065		87,285		-65,220		-75%
360	1,001		3,520		-2,519		-72%

2014 vs 2013 so far.

Vita beast mode continues. #champion

 

[And_Gignac]

What games would they transition for?

Maybe not an extreme, smokydavedream situation when Vita gains exclusives over 3DS, but we may see more third parties developing for both consoles instead of just for the 3DS.