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[Metallix87]

[3DS] Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai - 145.000
[PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam UC - 90.000
[PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken - 45.000
[3DS] Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D - 25.000
[3DS] Girls RPG: Cinderella Life - 50.000

 

[test_account]

Seeing as Dark Souls was a multiformat console title, I feel it would take a considerable bag of money from Sony to get FROM to make an exclusive Vita sequel to the original.

Judging by how bad Dark Souls trundled along on the PS3 at points, i'd dread to think what a handheld version would be like....

Sony owns the Demon's Souls so getting an exclusive that way isnt much of a problem. It is more of a case if From Software wants to take such a job, or if they want to use time to develope a sequel to Dark Souls instead, or something else for that matter. Or maybe that is what you mean?

Regarding preformance issues, wasnt it just the upper parts of Blighttown that had serious preformance issues? The lower parts/swap also had some lower framerate, but it was more than playable in my opinion. I cant remember any other places in the game where there was any preformance issues that affected the gameplay. But the Vita is a completely different machine, so i dont think that the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Dark Souls is much of an indication on how good From Software will program for the Vita.

People simply underestimated the powerness of Nintendo franchises. Mario Kart would have been a sales juggernaut, no matter any potential issue relating to hardware performance. But also Mario, Animal Crossing, Paper Mario, Nintendogs.

What Vita games should people wait, sales-wise?

That might be. I wonder how these 3DS entries will sell compared to the DS entries.

For Vita, i dont know. We get to know more in a week from now =)

 

[Aostia]

Generally speaking, anything in a sales thread is not considered port begging, don't worry.

Ok! thanks

The point was also really sales-related: I think that if Sega already planned a PS game on DS, they should seriously think about a possible installment on 3ds. It' more adequate, in my opinion, for several reasons (already hinted previously). Plus, I think that also under a Nintendo point of view could be good to "push" it to happen, because honestly I saw them so focused on MH franchise (for obvious reasons...) that I'm afraid (as 3ds owner) that they could not try to get similar "minor" brands on the console.
In my opinion that could be a mistake. A constant flow of games is maybe the most important thing for a console (in Japan, but in general), especially for a certain kind of target.

 

[king zell]

it's kinda strange that Nintendo always bundles Mario platform games and never Mario Kart games?

 

[electroplankton]

[3DS] Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai - 105.000
[PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam UC - 75.000
[PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken - 30.000
[3DS] Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D - 15.000
[3DS] Girls RPG: Cinderella Life - 10.000

 

[Salvadora]

it's kinda strange that Nintendo always bundles Mario platform games and never Mario Kart games?

They did in Europe on the DS iirc.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Do we have updated numbers for Ragnarok and Lord of Apocalypse?

 

[Gianni Merryman]

it's kinda strange that Nintendo always bundles Mario platform games and never Mario Kart games?

Actually I bought my first DS phat bundled with Mario kart DS, moreover Nintendo has released more recently a Mario kart Wii bundle as well(not sure about Double dash on Gamecube).

This time around, since the two games released simultaneously, maybe they had to opt for only one between Mario kart 7 and Super Mario 3D land, on the other one as far as I'm concerned as a consumer I would appreciate much a bundle with both the games at a convenient price.

 

[Chris1964]

Phantasy Star never exploded because Phantasy Star is rife with gameplay issues.

That people are still buying it at the 500K level puts it as a franchise with potential.

I feel it's generally a bad idea to 100% write in or write off a series without considering what the actual product is first.

This is also how games that tank like Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Inazuma Eleven 4 tend to surprise people.

Brand strength neither for certain caps a product nor guarantees it sustainable success.

I'm not saying that PSV will be a breakout hit, or that it will tank, just that it's a franchise in a place where it has a lot of potential to head in either direction.

What they show in the 8th will be quite revealing.

Phantary Star never was a big seller and the main reason Phantasy Star Portable rised its sales is because it presented itself as an alternative for Monster Hunter audience at the right system. Sega had the chance twice with 2 and Infinity to take it a level up but didn't achieve it with Infinite being overstocked and quickly dropping in price.

I find hard to imagine they will find now the right formula to make it a bigger seller.

 

[Nirolak]

Phantary Star never was a big seller and the main reason Phantasy Star Portable rised its sales is because it presented itself as an alternative for Monster Hunter at the right system. Sega had the chance twice with 2 and Infinity to take it a level up but didn't achieve it with Infinite being overstocked and quickly dropping in price.

I find hard to imagine they will find now the right formula to make it a bigger seller.

This is a new generation though.

That's why I said if it looked like another incremental improvement on PSP2, there was no real reason to believe it would go up (or even stay stable).

If they actually take the time to reinvent it, that opens a lot more opportunity, for either better or worse.

 

[donny2112]

If they actually take the time to reinvent it,

Then they might want to call it something else. If they reinvent and the name says that it's the same series, then it's quite possible that only fans of the PSP ones might buy the new one. In that case, they might be turned off by the changes, and new people wouldn't give it a second thought. See FFCC:Crystal Bearers, BK:Nuts&Bolts. Of course if it's really something special, word of mouth can overcome that some, but still, if it's that much an improvement, positioning it differently (and maybe in a different series) might be the way to go.

Just a thought.

 

[Nirolak]

Then they might want to call it something else. If they reinvent and the name says that it's the same series, then it's quite possible that only fans of the PSP ones might buy the new one. In that case, they might be turned off by the changes, and new people wouldn't give it a second thought. See FFCC:Crystal Bearers, BK:Nuts&Bolts. Of course if it's really something special, word of mouth can overcome that some, but still, if it's that much an improvement, positioning it differently (and maybe in a different series) might be the way to go.

Just a thought.

I think that's why they're actually calling it Phantasy Star Victory instead of Phantasy Star Portable 3.

Though the level of change I'm considering possible is more akin to AC1 -> AC2 -> AC3 or Call of Duty 3 -> Call of Duty 4 than say Banjo Platformer -> Banjo Vehicle Building Simulator.

But yes, I do agree that doing something very different has a fair chance of backfiring. However, since the series is trending downward, I don't think there's that much to lose at this point, and I'm not sure an entirely new IP would fair much better on a system with this low of an install base.

Usually new IPs early in a generation benefit from the assumption that something bigger is coming, even if it's unrelated, so people at least have something safer to look forward to when deciding to buy a platform. In this scenario however, they would most likely be the biggest game on the system.

 

[Chris1964]

I think that's why they're actually calling it Phantasy Star Victory instead of Phantasy Star Portable 3.

Technically the "Portable" dies with PSP, so the Victory doesn't mean many things (and it start with "V").

 

[Nirolak]

Technically the "Portable" dies with PSP, so the Victory doesn't mean many things (and it start with "V").

I feel this is simultaneously true and not true.

I mean, we still had Advance Wars on the DS.

That said, I don't think it's a surefire sign of any change, which is why I don't want to weigh in on the game much until I actually see it or it's confirmed to even be coming to the platform for sure.

Sega isn't known for making good decisions.

That said, while I'm making this point about Phantasy Star, I feel it applies to many games on many platforms, especially when we have a generation switch going on, and I think it's something that might be interesting to try implementing more in discussions about product potential in general. Namely, what is actually changing in the next iteration of this franchise, and is it enough to make a significant improvement or decline in series sales.

Even this week, we see a very strong debut for Harvest Moon. I feel there's a good open question about what they did to the game that might have caused it.

 

[Man God]

I feel this is simultaneously true and not true.

I mean, we still had Advance Wars on the DS.

That said, I don't think it's a surefire sign of any change, which is why I don't want to weigh in on the game much until I actually see it or it's confirmed to even be coming to the platform for sure.

Sega isn't known for making good decisions.

That said, while I'm making this point about Phantasy Star, I feel it applies to many games on many platforms, especially when we have a generation switch going on, and I think it's something that might be interesting to try implementing more in discussions about product potential in general. Namely, what is actually changing in the next iteration of this franchise, and is it enough to make a significant improvement or decline in series sales.

Even this week, we see a very strong debut for Harvest Moon. I feel there's a good open question about what they did to the game that might have caused it.

It's apparently a great game in the series coming off of a solid game and sad to say it it is probably the best graphics the series has ever seen.

 

[Chris1964]

I feel this is simultaneously true and not true.

I mean, we still had Advance Wars on the DS.

Not important but for the record the Japanese name of Dual Strike was Famicom Wars DS.

[FCM] Famicom Wars &#12501;&#12449;&#12511;&#12467;&#12531;&#12454;&#12457;&#12540;&#12474; <SLG> (Nintendo) {1988.08.12} (¥5.500)
[NDS] Advance Wars: Dual Strike &#12501;&#12449;&#12511;&#12467;&#12531;&#12454;&#12457;&#12540;&#12474;DS <SLG> (Nintendo) {2005.06.23} (¥4.800)

 

[Mpl90]

Considering PSV for PSV ( ) as a certainty, there are two things which can happen:

1) The lack of Monster Hunter can give to the game a much more important value, especially if they try this time to make some improvements. And this value could translate in a deeper impact to the market. I think the lack of a big Square Enix offer on PS3 is what has caused good numbers for some mid / low tier RPG series on the platform, and the outstanding performance of Xillia on PS3.

Deeper impact doesn't mean only better sales, something can't happen phisically if Vita maintains this weekly sales rate, or even if it improves, at least just after the release. Deeper impact means more attractiveness to the audience, people being attracted so much by the game to buy the platform

2) The lack of Monster Hunter can lower its importance, since on PSP...PSP basically became so big due to the MH audience, and this audience is moving to 3DS right now, seeing how MH3G is selling constantly, and in some weeks it's selling even better than the MONSTER ( aka Mario Kart 7 ).

Obviously, right now 3DS hasn't ALL the Monster Hunter audience, absolutely...but PSV's impact could be affected by the presence of what is its...father, can we say something like that? on another platform. Especially if Vita still doesn't demonstrate to be able to move a good amount of software generally when the game will be released.

Vita so far hasn't had a good support in terms of big impact games, with just one mid / mid-big game in Hot Shots Golf and Dynasy Warriors as a possible mid one, and a plethora of little games and a few mid-low ones, and it has a very low install base, but its software situation is still worrying right now, IMHO.

 

[Nirolak]

Not important but for the record the Japanese name of Dual Strike was Famicom Wars DS.

[FCM] Famicom Wars &#12501;&#12449;&#12511;&#12467;&#12531;&#12454;&#12457;&#12540;&#12474; <SLG> (Nintendo) {1988.08.12} (¥5.500)
[NDS] Advance Wars: Dual Strike &#12501;&#12449;&#12511;&#12467;&#12531;&#12454;&#12457;&#12540;&#12474; &#12487;&#12451;&#12540;&#12456;&#12473; <SLG> (Nintendo) {2005.06.23} (¥4.800)

I see. Thanks.

It's apparently a great game in the series coming off of a solid game and sad to say it it is probably the best graphics the series has ever seen.

See, now this I find quite interesting.

If the last entry was seen as good and this one even better (and improved in aspects across the board), and the debut sales increase seems to match up, it would suggest to me that this entry is likely to have fairly healthy legs, and that if they can continue making notable improvements in the series, it could actually be on a healthy growth path.

 

[muu]

Ok! thanks

The point was also really sales-related: I think that if Sega already planned a PS game on DS, they should seriously think about a possible installment on 3ds. It' more adequate, in my opinion, for several reasons (already hinted previously). Plus, I think that also under a Nintendo point of view could be good to "push" it to happen, because honestly I saw them so focused on MH franchise (for obvious reasons...) that I'm afraid (as 3ds owner) that they could not try to get similar "minor" brands on the console.
In my opinion that could be a mistake. A constant flow of games is maybe the most important thing for a console (in Japan, but in general), especially for a certain kind of target.

The decision to go on Vita for this game likely came much before the release of Vita (or 3DS' price cuts for that matter). Seriously doubt anyone thought Capcom was going to pretty much bet everything on 3DS at that point, esp. considering the series exploded on the PSP. Much like ROdyssey I believe this to be the case of a follower title that missed a turn that the leading title made.

Will other MH follower titles take the same path? Maybe if they're already being developed, but I'd be surprised if any projects being started hereonafter deliberately go in to a smaller-userbase hardware that lacks the title they were leeching onto.

 

[Chris1964]

Even this week, we see a very strong debut for Harvest Moon. I feel there's a good open question about what they did to the game that might have caused it.

Media Create's survey says large scale TV promotion with high interest from women at 20s and 30s.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Actually I bought my first DS phat bundled with Mario kart DS, moreover Nintendo has released more recently a Mario kart Wii bundle as well(not sure about Double dash on Gamecube).

I don't know about Japan, but it was one of a few that were packed in with the $99 GCN.

 

[Orgen]

[3DS] Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai - 103.000
[PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam UC - 89.000
[PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken - 76.000
[3DS] Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D - 41.000
[3DS] Girls RPG: Cinderella Life - 32.000

 

[donny2112]

I think the lack of a big Square Enix offer on PS3 is what has caused good numbers for some mid / low tier RPG series on the platform, and the outstanding performance of Xillia on PS3.

The presence of the big Square Enix offer of FFXIII on PS3 (to bring in the fans) combined with the lack of many other jRPGs is most likely the reason why Xillia could sell what it did. I think it's very reasonable to conclude that Xillia did what it did because of the presence of the big Squaresoft RPG and not in spite of.

 

[Chris1964]

I think the lack of a big Square Enix offer on PS3 is what has caused good numbers for some mid / low tier RPG series on the platform, and the outstanding performance of Xillia on PS3.

The opposite happened.

 

[muu]

Even this week, we see a very strong debut for Harvest Moon. I feel there's a good open question about what they did to the game that might have caused it.

This week's Media Create rankings (from media create itself) says their market research pointed to many customers saw the TV CM and purchased the game, many of them 20-30s women. There's definitely good vibes about the game but this will probably show up with the game having longer legs. Seems they put significant effort into advertising the game, which led to record sales.

I think a lot of us in gaming forums forget that the general public won't buy games on release if they've never heard of it. You can't always rely on the core gamer crowd either, since 'used' in Japan means '30% cheaper, but looks like the previous owner was wearing latex gloves while handling the packaging.' You still need suckers that'll buy new games, and to reach them you need to be on TV cramming pixels down their throats.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

I really want this Harvest Moon game now.

 

[BorkBork]

Even this week, we see a very strong debut for Harvest Moon. I feel there's a good open question about what they did to the game that might have caused it.

Preorder Bonus maybe?

OMGZ cute alpaca!

 

[Man God]

Harvest Moon games have had awesome promo plushies since HM 64. I have a shelf full of them and I'm not ashamed. Most of them are surprisingly high quality.

 

[Nirolak]

Media Create's survey says large scale TV promotion with high interest from women at 20s and 30s.

This week's Media Create rankings (from media create itself) says their market research pointed to many customers saw the TV CM and purchased the game, many of them 20-30s women. There's definitely good vibes about the game but this will probably show up with the game having longer legs. Seems they put significant effort into advertising the game, which led to record sales.

I think a lot of us in gaming forums forget that the general public won't buy games on release if they've never heard of it. You can't always rely on the core gamer crowd either, since 'used' in Japan means '30% cheaper, but looks like the previous owner was wearing latex gloves while handling the packaging.' You still need suckers that'll buy new games, and to reach them you need to be on TV cramming pixels down their throats.

Actually, I think this brings up another good point.

There are a lot of games that could do better, but don't because they lack adequate exposure.

Earlier in the generation there are usually a lot less hits coming out around the clock, so I think there's a good opportunity for franchises launching after Q1 ends, but before the Fall comes around, especially on 3DS, unless I'm forgetting a packed line-up of games, which I could be.

 

[frostbyte]

[3DS] Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai - 95k
[PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam UC - 79k
[PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken - 45k
[3DS] Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D - 13k
[3DS] Girls RPG: Cinderella Life - 20k

 

[BKK]

When was the last Wii release? It's unprecedented how dead it's release schedule is, even Dreamcast had more titles being released for it at this stage in it's life despite being discontinued three years prior.

 

[clemenx]

They did in Europe on the DS iirc.

In NA too. My phat DS was a red one bundled with MKDS.

 

[Gianni Merryman]

When was the last Wii release? It's unprecedented how dead it's release schedule is, even Dreamcast had more titles being released for it at this stage in it's life despite being discontinued three years prior.

IIRC Kiki trick - or what's its name - has released a few weeks back(and bombed AFAIK), by the way apart from that there hasn't been around much new stuff for Wii lately, neither in Japan.

 

[TyRaNtM]

[3DS] Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai - 99.999
[PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam UC - 79.999
[PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken - 49.999
[3DS] Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D - 22.999
[3DS] Girls RPG: Cinderella Life - 51.999

 

[BKK]

IIRC Kiki trick - or what's its name - has released a few weeks back(and bombed AFAIK), by the way apart from that there hasn't been around much new stuff for Wii lately, neither in Japan.

Thanks (Jan 19), is that the only release this year, or have there been others which also missed the Top50?

 

[MasterSheen]

[3DS] Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai - 105k
[PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam UC - 75k
[PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken - 25k
[3DS] Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D - 17k
[3DS] Girls RPG: Cinderella Life - 12k

 

[Road]

Thanks (Jan 19), is that the only release this year, or have there been others which also missed the Top50?

Ignoring VC and Wii Ware:

- Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes - Double Pack [Best Price! Reprint]
- Kiki Trick
- Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny [Best Collection]

Wii's 2012 schedule is probably gonna be very similar to N64 in 2001 and GC in 2006 in Japan.

 

[BKK]

Ignoring VC and Wii Ware:

- Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes - Double Pack [Best Price! Reprint]
- Kiki Trick
- Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny [Best Collection]

Wii's 2012 schedule is probably gonna be very similar to N64 in 2001 and GC in 2006 in Japan.

Cool, search by release year, that's what I wanted; Wii in 2012, although it doesn't display reprints if the original released in another year. Still quite remarkable that GC (4m) had more releases in H1 2006 than Wii (12m) has scheduled for H1 2012.

 

[LOCK]

[3DS] Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai - 120k
[PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam UC - 100k
[PS3] Street Fighter X Tekken - 25k
[3DS] Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D - 26k
[3DS] Girls RPG: Cinderella Life - 40k

A shot in the dark.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Out of curiosity given the PSV's predicament... what sustained the PSP before Monster Hunter was on it and got big? Was it simply running on hype?

 

[LOCK]

Out of curiosity given the PSV's predicament... what sustained the PSP before Monster Hunter was on it and got big? Was it simply running on hype?

I would say it started off ok, maintained a mid-tier hit here and there, was then on the verge of death,BAM MH became a phenom and sales rocketed for a few years.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

Out of curiosity given the PSV's predicament... what sustained the PSP before Monster Hunter was on it and got big? Was it simply running on hype?

It wasn't running on anything. It wasn't running.

 

[shinra-bansho]

It wasn't running on anything. It wasn't running.

I mean relatively speaking - looking at the graphs posted - it managed to get to 1.2 million in 20 weeks. The PSV looks like it will struggle to get much more than halfway there.

Curious what sort of software kept it from sub-10K-ing like the Vita looks imminently set to do.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

I mean relatively speaking - looking at the graphs posted - it managed to get to 1.2 million in 20 weeks. The PSV looks like it will struggle to get much more than halfway there.

Oh.

Well then yes, it was running on hype. I remember distinctly that everyone thought that Sony was going to take over the handheld market like they did with consoles.

Vita is suffering from the opposite--skepticism. After last time around people are waiting and seeing.

 

[Erethian]

Up until the explosion of MH in 2007/2008, which lifted the weekly sales average of the PSP markedly, the system was surviving on the aforementioned hype (coming off the highly successful PS2), and, well... MH. And I guess Crisis Core, though that took a while to release.

Then there was lower tier stuff like Hot Shots, Musou games, Gundam games, Metal Gear spin-offs, and Tales spin-offs.

If you want an entire list, here is everything that had a LTD of 150k on PSP, between its launch and the release of MHP2G in 2008.

Not including best releases that might have bumped some other titles above 150k.

 

[bigtroyjon]

I don't know how it was in Japan but the multimedia functions helped to sell a lot of PSP's in the US initially.

 

[M-PG71C]

I think that's a good point: The PSP had a lot more promise considering Sony was coming off the PS2. I fully expected, back then, for Sony to come out and own the market.

For those reasons alone, I bought the PSP on hype. I enjoyed the hell out of Ridge Racer and Lumines. And then months went by and no software came out. Then the DS started kicking ass. Years later and my PSP library is less then twenty games and for the most part, it collected dust.

Now people like me are watching the Vita and seeing what is going to happen first. I don't think that's a far-fetched conclusion for a lot of customers, despite this "data" being very subjective.

 

[Chris1964]

Cool, search by release year, that's what I wanted; Wii in 2012, although it doesn't display reprints if the original released in another year. Still quite remarkable that GC (4m) had more releases in H1 2006 than Wii (12m) has scheduled for H1 2012.

Nintendo left Wii die this year but it still has some games coming.

Mario Party 9
Fatal Frame
Dragon Quest X

Good guesses are the new Playmaker and maybe a new Taiko and Just Dance.

 

[guek]

I kinda feel like they let Wii die because they had no other choice. It was either farm out some of their IPs to third parties which might lead to questionable results or devote all their resources to 3DS and Wii U development. Ideally they should have devoted some of their dev teams to supporting the Wii, but with 2 new platforms coming out in the span of 2 years, I get the impression they're stretched pretty thin.

Pachter goes on and on about how they should have launched a "Wii HD" in 2010, and though I still think such an idea is preposterous, the Wii successor is indeed very late. But if they had tried to launch in 2010 or 2011, they would have had to juggle launching the 3DS and Wii U close to each other, which might have been too much for a company the size of nintendo to handle. It's possible 3DS development had a huge impact on the timetable for Wii U. Hence dead Wii in 2012.

 

[BishopLamont]

The Wii's situation although inevitable and obvious is still pretty saddening. Like a relationship where you're with them for no other reason than just being with them, its there, but pretty empty.

I kinda feel like they let Wii die because they had no other choice. It was either farm out some of their IPs to third parties which might lead to questionable results or devote all their resources to 3DS and Wii U development. Ideally they should have devoted some of their dev teams to supporting the Wii, but with 2 new platforms coming out in the span of 2 years, I get the impression they're stretched pretty thin.

Pachter goes on and on about how they should have launched a "Wii HD" in 2010, and though I still think such an idea is preposterous, the Wii successor is indeed very late. But if they had tried to launch in 2010 or 2011, they would have had to juggle launching the 3DS and Wii U close to each other, which might have been too much for a company the size of nintendo to handle. It's possible 3DS development had a huge impact on the timetable for Wii U. Hence dead Wii in 2012.

An early Wii HD would create another Wii situation where the next-gen system is once again underpowered, unless it was somehow an extension of the Wii or has a very short life cycle, where they could create the true next-gen being Wii 3 or whatever. But its too late for that now, and I doubt it would have sold much.