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[Lee-T]

I just thought some people here might be interested in some ToysRUs sales, so I decided to post this here(we used to get a weekly Best Buy update from someone on here). Here are the life to date sales of a few new titles(which have only been out about a week).

PS2 Destroy All humans 2,300
XB Destroy All humans 1,400

PS2 Batman 3,900
XB Batman 1,700
GBA Batman 1,600
GC Batman 1,300

Pokemon Emerald is now at 112,000 LTD. On 6/9 it was at 95,000, so in about a week and a half it has done about 17,000, which would probably be a lot higher but many TRUs are low on inventory or sold out.

Also, in August Nintendo will be bundling Super Smash Bros. with Gamecube systems. I don't know if that was posted yet, but it's also been confirmed in Nintendo Power.

 

[Alcibiades]

I heard Batman Begins for GCN is becoming a hard item to find...

 

[Meier]

I think it will be very interesting to see how Diamond and Pearl affect the DS' sales. Emerald's numbers are pretty astounding.

 

[Lee-T]

I heard Batman Begins for GCN is becoming a hard item to find...

Thats true, we sold out(only got in 6 copies), and all the surrounding stores are out. It would probably be closer to GBA/XB numbers if we had it.

 

[AniHawk]

I think it will be very interesting to see how Diamond and Pearl affect the DS' sales. Emerald's numbers are pretty astounding.

I was surprised to learn we were sold out of the game. We've been sold out for about 2-3 weeks now.

 

[cvxfreak]

Pokemon's a beast. I thought Emerald would only debut at like 400K in the US because Fire Red and Leaf Green were recent, but I was wrong.

 

[Juno]

I'd expect the Pokemon numbers to be fairly inflated at Toys R Us. It's their key demographic.

 

[Tonche]

Those Emerald numbers are still amazing.

What's Toys R Us' market share?

 

[Amused_To_Death]

Those Emerald numbers are still amazing.

What's Toys R Us' market share?

9% according to NPD, and dropping...

 

[dark10x]

Regarding Pokemon...

They seem to release new Pokemon games quite often and many of those games are released at the same time (different colors, for instance). Now, I haven't really played a whole lot of the series, but I always thought that the core games were RPGs. Do they really crank out that many new RPGs with new stories? Or is there something else to these games? I mean, there are a lot of FF games out there, but if that series had been moving at the pace of Pokemon, imagine where it would be now!

 

[Speevy]

They're RPG"s in the same sense that Phantom Dust is an RPG.

 

[ziran]

Regarding Pokemon...

They seem to release new Pokemon games quite often and many of those games are released at the same time (different colors, for instance). Now, I haven't really played a whole lot of the series, but I always thought that the core games were RPGs. Do they really crank out that many new RPGs with new stories? Or is there something else to these games? I mean, there are a lot of FF games out there, but if that series had been moving at the pace of Pokemon, imagine where it would be now!

ruby/sapphire/emerald are essentially the same game. emerald has a few [important to fans] improvements.

fire red/leaf green are remakes of the original red/green/blue on the gb.

speaking as a HUGE pokemon fan in his 30s, i love these games and consider all of them [the rpgs] to be masterpieces!

 

[Ark-AMN]

Are there Pokemon games coming out for the DS?

If so, thats gonna be huge

 

[Speevy]

If the DS can't sell in the US by itself, I doubt Pokemon will help it.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

I have no idea why places are only stocking like one or two copies of Batman for the GCN. It's turning it into a rare find even though it should be selling in decent numbers.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

If the DS can't sell in the US by itself, I doubt Pokemon will help it.

Are you serious? Pokemon could sell Game.com systems at this point.

 

[Juice]

I'd expect the Pokemon numbers to be fairly inflated at Toys R Us. It's their key demographic.

True, but Nintendo doesn't do as well at specialty stores like EB/Gamespot as it does in the real cash cows like Walmart and Target, so some balance is needed.

 

[jman2050]

If the DS can't sell in the US by itself, I doubt Pokemon will help it.

You doubt the power of Pokemon?

 

[Speevy]

Are you serious? Pokemon could sell Game.com systems at this point.

There was only a 29,000 increase in GBA/DS systems sold in the month of May (Pokemon) over April (no Pokemon).

 

[Speevy]

You doubt the power of Pokemon?

To sell DS systems in the US, yes.

To sell a ton of software to existing system owners? No.

 

[ziran]

Are there Pokemon games coming out for the DS?

If so, thats gonna be huge

new rpgs - Pokemon Pearl/Diamond.

as a pokemaniac these games represent a pokemon fan's dream. the ds is essentially perfectly designed for the ultimate pokemon rpg experience, AND the probability of online battles!!!

these ds games will be huge, i estimate 12-15 million sold worldwide, easily!

 

[Tarazet]

I don't know about a DS game, but this month's GI has a piece on a new GC Pokemon game that will be coming out in October, and is supposed to be the full-fledged RPG that fans have been waiting for since day one...

 

[ziran]

There was only a 29,000 increase in GBA/DS systems sold in the month of May (Pokemon) over April (no Pokemon).

there are already 28 million gba owners in NA, so emerald was never going to cause a huge spike in hardware sales, since it's essentially selling to the people who bought ruby/sapphire/fr/lg [who already have a gba].

pearl/diamond are new pokemon rpgs that require a ds to play them, so it follows they will sell huge amounts of ds hardware.

 

[Meier]

There was only a 29,000 increase in GBA/DS systems sold in the month of May (Pokemon) over April (no Pokemon).

That's a terribly flawed argument. The GBA has sold something like 28 million units in North America.. most of the Pokémon demographic already has purchased one at this point and these are repeat buyers. The DS has sold something like 2.5 million units here or some such.. clearly, there is a huge untapped potential for sales. I know that if I dont have a DS by the time Diamond/Pearl come out, I'll buy a unit for the game.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

there are already 28 million gba owners in NA, so emerald was never going to cause a huge spike in hardware sales, since it's essentially selling to the people who bought ruby/sapphire/fr/lg [who already have a gba].

pearl/diamond are new pokemon rpgs that require a ds to play them, so it follows they will sell huge amounts of ds hardware.

Bingo!

Anyway, just watch the numbers that Pokemon will create in Japan, it will be sick. As for the US, when Pokemon hits, it will most likely cause the largest sales spike for the DS since launch.

 

[Speevy]

I know that if I dont have a DS by the time Diamond/Pearl come out, I'll buy a unit for the game.

But that's what I'm saying. Between now and then, it looks like the DS is selling ~100K. Early GBA numbers were never that low, to my knowledge. Yeah, certain games sell systems, but the impact is deadened by periods of non-sellers/no releases. I expect this phenomenon to affect Zelda TP too.

 

[Satter]

It'll be interesting to see what happens when Pokemon goes online.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

But that's what I'm saying. Between now and then, it looks like the DS is selling ~100K. Early GBA numbers were never that low, to my knowledge. Yeah, certain games sell systems, but the impact is deadened by periods of non-sellers/no releases. I expect this phenomenon to affect Zelda TP too.

The DS will sell more than 100k before Pokemon is out. Games like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Castlevania, and Nintendogs will push a lot of systems before Pokemon rolls around. In fact, the DS will just be building up some steam by the time Pokemon hits and hype should just further increase the sales from Pikachu and friends.

One other thing, lots of brothers and sisters will have more than one DS in the home to battle when Pokemon hits. It happened with the GBA and I'm willing to bet the DS will have the same effect.

 

[dark10x]

ruby/sapphire/emerald are essentially the same game. emerald has a few [important to fans] improvements.

fire red/leaf green are remakes of the original red/green/blue on the gb.

speaking as a HUGE pokemon fan in his 30s, i love these games and consider all of them [the rpgs] to be masterpieces!

What are the differences in the game itself then? Is there even any reason to own the same game three times (are the differences large enough to warrant another purchase)? I've always kinda thought that certain games (released at the same time) were essentially the same (kinda like the MMBN colors)...but what differences are there really?

 

[milanbaros]

When is pokemon ds released in jap and us?

 

[AniHawk]

What are the differences in the game itself then? Is there even any reason to own the same game three times (are the differences large enough to warrant another purchase)? I've always kinda thought that certain games (released at the same time) were essentially the same (kinda like the MMBN colors)...but what differences are there really?

The differences between Red and Blue and Green, between Gold and Silver, between Ruby and Sapphire, is that one game has some Pokemon the other doesn't. You're supposed to trade with your friends to "catch 'em all."

The difference between RBG and Yellow, GS and Crystal, and RS and Emerald are small upgrades not found in the original titles (actually, the Japanese Blue is sort of an upgrade in itself, Yellow was made to cater to Pikachu fans, and more towards the TV show in general. I'm sure CVXFREAK can tell you all about it).

 

[ziran]

What are the differences in the game itself then? Is there even any reason to own the same game three times (are the differences large enough to warrant another purchase)? I've always kinda thought that certain games (released at the same time) were essentially the same (kinda like the MMBN colors)...but what differences are there really?

even as a massive pokemon fan i only buy either ruby or sapphire [ruby]. so when a dual release occurs people pick either one or the other.

the differences in each version are small, based on specific pokemon available in each version [e.g. ruby has pokemon that aren't available and pokemon that are difficult to find in sapphire and vice versa], there are also a few other things [that differ]. this encourages one of the big hooks, trading. players trade pokemon to get pokemon they want or to help complete their pokedex [directory of pokemon].

emerald however, is an update of ruby/sapphire with extra features, kind of like how final fantasy international version is released in japan. this version is pretty much a must have for fans, as it's the 'best' and most complete version in the [ruby/sapphire/emerald] series. as such, it's amazing how well this update sells. in japan crystal on the gbc sold 1.8 million [from silver/gold] and emerald has sold around 1.6 million and is still in the top 30.

 

[terrene]

To sell DS systems in the US, yes.

To sell a ton of software to existing system owners? No.

And what scientific method did you use to produce this piece of market insight?

Nobody will buy a DS to play Pokemon? What are they buying it for now, fucking Zoo Keeper?

 

[Lindsay]

Judging by POKéMON Crash & Burns craptacular sales no one is buying a DS for a non-main POKéGame. Dunno what Nintendo was thinking with this one. You're suppose to release spinoffs after the main games come, not before. -_-?