Japan Sales Thread

Actually, average/monthly sales don't mean jack. Installed base does. All a publisher wants to know is: "If I publish my game in this region, will I sell enough to make a profit?", Weekly sales numbers don't help with that.

 

Not absolutely true. The PS2 install base is way higher than the PS3 install base, but the higher current sell-through of PS3 shows a more active buying market. Chances are you'll sell more of a game to buyers of a new console wanting something to play, than to people who's console is gathering dust.

There's no straightforward metric. All of it counts for something or other. Basically what's wanted is an active, and therefore growing, userbase.

 

Not sure there's much point posting this as everybody's throwing their spin at the NPD release (it's quiet everywhere else on B3D ):

Media Create 1/5-1/11

Code:

Hardware | This Week | Last Week |   YTD   |    LTD    
NDS      |   101,630 |   230,678 | 332,308 | 25,451,951
WII      |    41,243 |   119,965 | 161,208 |  7,640,109
PSP      |    60,495 |   157,088 | 217,583 | 11,575,747
PS3      |    28,144 |    60,654 |  88,798 |  2,711,226
360      |    10,554 |    19,964 |  30,248 |    860,788
PS2      |     6,628 |    12,548 |  19,176 | 21,418,700
-------------------------------------------------------
DSi      |    78,201 |   182,518 |  78,201 |    916,771
DSL      |    23,429 |    48,160 |  23,429 | 17,374,394

YTD fixed for 2009 (last week was incorrectly counted as 2008 in those YTD figures).

 

Just me, then

Media Create, 01/12 - 01/18

Code:

Hardware | This Week | Last Week |    YTD  |    LTD    
NDS      |    81,334 |   101,630 | 413,642 | 25,533,285
PSP      |    42,559 |    60,495 | 260,142 | 11,618,306
WII      |    32,333 |    41,243 | 193,541 |  7,672,442
PS3      |    20,690 |    28,144 | 109,488 |  2,731,916
360      |     9,576 |    10,554 |  39,824 |    870,364
PS2      |     5,760 |     6,628 |  24,936 | 21,424,460
-------------------------------------------------------
DSi      |    62,525 |    78,201 | 140,726 |  1,041,821
DSL      |    18,809 |    23,429 |  42,238 | 17,435,441

 

Nothing much to say I guess, but thanks for the updates. Still very much appreciated!

 

Everything continues to tumble...

Media Create 19/1-25/1

Code:

Hardware | This Week | Last Week |    YTD   |    LTD    
NDS      |    65,294 |    81,334 |  478,936 | 25,598,579
PSP      |    38,280 |    42,559 |  298,422 | 11,656,586
WII      |    26,770 |    32,333 |  220,311 |  7,699,212
PS3      |    17,708 |    20,690 |  127,196 |  2,749,624
360      |     7,663 |     9,576 |   47,487 |    878,027
PS2      |     5,007 |     5,760 |   30,013 | 21,429,537
--------------------------------------------------------
DSi      |    51,618 |    62,525 | 1,068,052|  1,606,229
DSL      |    13,676 |    18,809 |   254,047| 

 

360 holding up decently I suppose. Wii is becoming pretty anemic..ironically Japan is it's least successful territory. That was the case with Gamecube as well though, but on a far different scale of course. Gamecube actually did best in America and worst in Japan.

The falling sales have a lot more to go though. PS3 did 7-8k many weeks last year I recall, and has been trending behind it's year ago numbers in japan on a weekly basis so...with the economy bad maybe much worse numbers to come for all consoles.

 

I think it's probably better to post monthly numbers rather than weekly ones as the stats:comments ratio is pretty far off

I can provide weekly, YTD, LTD numbers on request.

I'll keep the dates aligned with the NPD dates.

So here's January (05/01/2009 - 01/02/2009, 4 week period):

Code:

[B]Home[/B]
Wii: 123,624
PS3:  83,947
360:  35,900
PS2:  22,729

[B]Handheld[/B]
NDS: 319,018
PSP: 185,469

[B]NDS Split[/B]
DSi: 247,957
DSL:  71,061

 

Actually, they do mean something..

When people buy consoles they tend to buy games for their console aswell, therefore weekly\average sales can give you some indication of a lot important factors that a publisher will have to consider before developing a game. Its obviously not the most important figure in the world, but it has some importance.

 

Because there's been talk about SF4 elsewhere, here we have first day sales:

[PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) - 58,000 (50%)
[360] Street Fighter IV (Capcom) - 28,000 (65%)

As usual, the source is GAF, which either got the source off a 2ch post referencing a blog or off a guy who reads 2ch referencing a blog. But they point here.

 

What do those percentages mean?

 

I'm guessing the percentage is launch day sales out of launch day shipment.

 

Exactly, sorry, I meant to explain but forgot. 50% is about average for most game releases, 65% seems to indicate that they undershipped the 360 version.

 

I'm surprised the X360 version sold as much as it did. Roughly half the PS3 amount. Especially considering there's over 3 times as many PS3s in Japan as X360's.

By those number I'm guessing capcom and retailers were caught by surprise on that also.

Regards,
SB

 

Due to Microsoft Japan backing up hardcore / niche games genres including JRPG / 2D shooters / 2D fighters / dating sims / non-Japanese games, Xbox 360's audience in Japan tend to support an old-style game such as SF4 well. Plus Xbox 360 is cheap enough at the half price of PS3, SF4 is the most appropriate title that justify casual purchase of Xbox 360 Arcade for those who want to play the latest iteration in the franchise.

 

It's almost a "can't ignore us now" statement to any studio releasing an HD game in Japan.

If you were on the fence about whether to buy a PS3 or 360, I'm sure the thought of buying one or two extra games crosses your mind for the latter choice. Although, it may be the Wii that is depressing PS3 sales more so than the 360, especially if you look at MS's position in Japan last gen.

 

has anyone else heard about how the UK is now a bigger gaming nation than Japan, statistically?

 

I read the news in Kotaku and Fudzilla. It seems that the new is originated from Kotaku and the news didn't have that much echo in more business centric site as Gamasutra or gameindustry

 

I don't see it mattering that much. There's some tracking of Japan numbers because they're a large market, but also because Japan actually makes games for itself. Games a lot of us would like to someday play. UK studios aren't quite as focused on their home market. We also don't get weekly top-30s with numbers from the UK, so there's just not as much to talk about.

 

they do have the weekly top 40 though + plus also various game lifetime to date sales numbers every month, i.e more info than we see from NPD in the US