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Media Create Sales: 20 - 26 March
- Thread starter cvxfreak
- Start date
ziran said:
A. I thought Japanese people liked Nintendogs? Plus FF titles score really high in EVERY MAGAZINE WORLDWIDE. Where are the negative press opinions?
B. X-2 wasn't a numbered FF. It was a spinoff. Spinoffs in any series generally do less sales-wise and are more hit or miss than normal games. I don't think X-2 (which was a fantastic game that most rpg players who know quality agree on) turned anyone off of FFXII.
Bebpo said:
The ones who keep buying it, yeah. Sales from FFVIII to FFIX dropped heavily (by around 900K) for a reason, right? FFVII is a game that is almost universally attributed to high quality, and thus it's not hard to explain FFVIII's rise over FFVII. Likewise FFVIII is panned by many gamers, and then you see the decrease in sales.
FFX -> FFX-2 is obviously much harder to gauge, but you can argue it's not a true-true title in the FF series and had limited appeal among traditional, serious FF games. It still sold well, reasonably close to FFX.
Actually no, I don't think FFVIII -> FFIX's sales drop was due to FFVIII being panned. Most people loved it in Japan.
I blame the economy getting a lot worse after FFVIII and before FFIX came out. Same reason why during the PS days games were selling much much much better than they do now. FFVII and FFVIII came out when times were very good and overall game sales were high. FFIX hit after that bubble burst so the drop was to be expected along with most other games at the time.
I blame the economy getting a lot worse after FFVIII and before FFIX came out. Same reason why during the PS days games were selling much much much better than they do now. FFVII and FFVIII came out when times were very good and overall game sales were high. FFIX hit after that bubble burst so the drop was to be expected along with most other games at the time.
That seems to be an exception to the rule, either way.Bebpo said:
So what about DQ VII, released about 3 months after FF IX and selling 4.12m, the biggest ever for a DQ game? And DQ VIII selling 3.60m, again a good million more than FFX-2 / FFXII? Edit- damn you CVX!
FF VII created about a million extra FF fans, all of which carried over to FF VIII because of the hype and made it (still is) the fastest selling game ever. When word got around that it wasn't all that good, sales have been returning back to the 2.5m mark of the SNES games which is about right. FF VII and VIII were exceptional circumstances, they had a lot of hype in themselves and you are right to an extent that they were released during a massively successful time for the PS.
About some other comments, yes DS sales went up across all software this week and Mana seemed to put in another 15-16k which is actually pretty good, and this is obviously down to Rangers + increased hardware sales this week.
I think Contact may do well, I wouldn't expect much but maybe 30-40k first week? Who knows?
And yes, Koei must be worrying but then they have bought it on themselves. I think Winning Eleven will go a similar way (although the world cup this year might defer that for another 12 months) as each title has been selling less than the last and the endless final editions / international / j-league versions in much the same way as 3-4 DW titles / spin-offs per year will mean that gamers are going to be starting to lose interest.
I just know that the people didn't buy FFIX that much because of the economy .Both FFX and FFXII has lower sale than FFIX , so the economy is still bad in Japan while DS is sell like crazy rightnow ?
I see Nintendo's game (especially the DS one) sell a lot better than GBA+N64. Is it the same ?
gconsole said:
DS is doing well because DS games are cheap and it's very popular.
I was living in Japan and I've been paying attention to Japanese sales for years. Games were selling very well in the 90s, but at the end of the decade game sales became very poor. The current game market is still doing bad along with the economy and FFX and FFXII have outsold FFIX so I'm not sure what you are talking about there.
DS is selling better than GBA+N64 because it's just a more exciting system that the Japanese are latching onto and it's getting a lot of hype. It's bringing in new gamers aka. people who didn't buy games before and that is making game sales look better. But those people are only buying DS games. The non-gamers are still not buying many games because of the pooor economy.
Wait, what? English Training is already at 700K ?!? A potential million seller? This is unbelievable. It's easy to figure out the good image Nintendo must have in households with such applications, that make people become smarter in a fun way. As it's now easy to foresee DS could break every records in Japan, partly thanks to its cheap price as Bebpo said.
a. your response to: 'previous instalments of the franchise have disappointed many' was: 'the games all score very high'.Bebpo said:
i was pointing out the score or love someone has for a game doesn't mean many weren't disappointed. personally i love nintendogs, but it's clear some are disappointed with it.
b. i think ffx-2 was very close to a main ff game. ffcc or fft are spinoffs. x-2 disappointed some and as others have already said, so did ffviii.
edit - i'm not saying ffxii or the ff series is crap, so calm down.
i'm saying i'm surprised so many expected it to sell better than it has because previous games seemed to disappoint some gamers to the extent the final fantasy series looks to have stabilised at around 2-2.5 million for each release (without international edition and hits releases).
The bubble in the Japanese economy burst much earlier. Around 1992-1993. There was a period of mild recovery but it was hit again by the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and has remained in a tailspin until 2003 when it first showed signed of recovery and it has been recovering ever since, in part due to rising demand in China and continued strong US economic growth.
Tying FF sales to the economy probably isn't that great of an idea, but the decline of the Japanese gaming industry is much more complex that mere economics. It probably had more to do with stagnation of the industry and the shrinking pool of new players entering the market. The recession would certainly have played a part in reducing overall consumer spending on everything, including games, but by the time FFVII and FFVIII hit, the bubble had already burst and the Asian financial crisis had spread.
Tying FF sales to the economy probably isn't that great of an idea, but the decline of the Japanese gaming industry is much more complex that mere economics. It probably had more to do with stagnation of the industry and the shrinking pool of new players entering the market. The recession would certainly have played a part in reducing overall consumer spending on everything, including games, but by the time FFVII and FFVIII hit, the bubble had already burst and the Asian financial crisis had spread.
Also why are you people cheering on Brain Training and Animal Crossing?
Know what the NA equivalant of that is? Cheering on The Sims and it's various expansions.
Come on people. FFXII is a game that deserves to be cheered on. Mario Kart is a game that deserves to be cheered on. Ace combat is a game that deserves to be cheered on. Not this non-game/sim crap.
I think it really doesn't matter what the game is to some of you? As long as it has the Nintendo name eh?
Know what the NA equivalant of that is? Cheering on The Sims and it's various expansions.
Come on people. FFXII is a game that deserves to be cheered on. Mario Kart is a game that deserves to be cheered on. Ace combat is a game that deserves to be cheered on. Not this non-game/sim crap.
I think it really doesn't matter what the game is to some of you? As long as it has the Nintendo name eh?
Tabris said:
Well, there's really nothing we can do. The Brain Training games are educational and created by a professor at a university. I don't know about you, but the fact that the Japanese are interested in retaining their knowledge and acquiring new knowledge is something I can take comfort in.
You're a little late on the Brain Training bashing either way. :lol :lol :lol
And what does it say about you? You don't cheer for something when it has the Nintendo name and dares to be different? Are you THAT set in your ways? I don't even want to think what you'd be like when you actually hit 50 and have to deal with younger gamers playing new types of games you haven't thought of yet.Tabris said:
I quite like Animal Crossing and FFXII. But I think for what it represents, FFXII is just the giant hollywood type production that uses production values to wow the end user and AC is the lower budget game that deserves to succeed on the level it has. It's really a great game, better than The Sims.
I read and listen to posters talk about where they are in FFXII like excited little boys playing through another linear prescripted RPGs and I don't find it as fun playing those games as I used to. FFXI has spoiled me. It has the same grind, and god forbid, more or less the same battle system, but I get to play with real people and the story in FFXI isn't half bad and they actually kept the classic FF job system, as opposed to the character driven drama that FF has become.
Does FFXII deserve its sales. Yes. It's like a Star Wars of LOTR movie. There's a core base of people who will buy it. I'm playing through my copy of FFXII because its tradition. I've always played a FF games when Square puts out a new one. But I'd be lying to you if I say FFXII is a fantabulistic game. It really isn't. I still spend more time on FFXI and AC. As for cheering, I cheered for Crash not Revenge of the Sith at the award shows. Buying something doesn't mean you cheer for it.
Battersea Power Station
Member
Dude, I don't support "games" like Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, etc., but you can't expect serious gamers to rally behind an RPG. RPGs are like video games Jr. -- they take little to no skill and just ask for your time. I've seen people suck at F-Zero, at Super Mario Bros., at Super Monkey Ball, at Ikaruga, at Tekken, at Soulcalibur... but I've never seen anyone suck at an RPG. Have you? Oh, I've seen people lose patience, but RPGs are not a gamer's genre.Tabris said:
A Link to the Past
Banned
Tabris said:
:lol
Yes, of course, Brain Training is so comparible. Outside of the fact that BT requires little effort from Nintendo to develop, and actually comes out not-half-bad. Oh, and it's $20.00.
It's a budget game that's developed by six people for cheap. So, Nintendo makes millions off of these games, and spends them on more BT games (BT2 is plenty different from BT) along with "real" games.
HyperZone<3
Member
Ah c'mon, recind your bet, we all very much like having Bepo around, even if it seems he will greatly overestimate the appeal of Japan's second most popular franchise.
What the heck? Looked it up, its a freaking dating sim in the top ten. I thought those days ended back in the PS1 era. From Koei no less, when the heck did they start making dating sims?
Galactic Fork
A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
CowGirl said:
OK I think I'll ask now. I've been getting more and more curious.
What exactly is considered a "game" these days. Can somebody give a clear defintion?
cvxfreak said:
Well, people waited a long time for FFXII with all the delays, I think it contributed to what you're seeing. Just look at how people are bursting of excitement because of New Super Mario Bros (because it has supposedly been such a long time since the last "real" Super Mario game) for example. And to be honest, I usually see FF games as "just another FF", but to me it seems FFXII is different and a refreshing take on the RPG genre. In battles, style and story from what I've heard and played.
I mean, I'm not really a big FF fan and rarely get hyped for upcoming FF games, but I have to admit I'm looking forward to FFXII because it really seems like a good game trying to break free from some of the traditional RPG conventions (in battles at least), which is something I appreciate.
fly high ~ayunite~
Member
DS has amazing legs, I never thought I'll see the day when Nintendo dominate the charts for months & months with no sign of slowing down.
Mr. Pointy
Member
NSMB = ~5 million in Japan.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
How much of the huge SMB sales was nostalgia? I'm sure it was a big part, but based off that NSMB should go through the roof. I reckon it'll outsell Mario Kart, though admittedly it's not being released during the biggest sales time.
HyperZone<3
Member
Print run of 10,000 copies only, and as I understand it, was sold mostly through Sega's online(IE no retailer reports) store.Kaworu said:
In short, it ain't showin up on no best sella list. It will, however, show up on Ebay for years to come at highly inflated prices, barring a port to any other system(hi there Border Down).