Japan Sales Thread

[obonicus]

No one really knows. It's more likely that the demo plus all the other titles released tipped the scales slightly in their favor.

 

[djskribbles]

But that doesn't necessarily explain the Wii's drop in sales. I think some kind of Monster Hunter game/demo was released recently, which is why the Wii went up a little. Many people at GAF seem surprised that it didn't move more Wii's than it did.

 

[obonicus]

But that doesn't necessarily explain the Wii's drop in sales. I think some kind of Monster Hunter game/demo was released recently, which is why the Wii went up a little. Many people at GAF seem surprised that it didn't move more Wii's than it did.

We've been wondering at the Wii's drop here too.

MH3 Demo not moving more Wiis isn't that surprising. MH is a bigger franchise than it was when MH2 came out on PS2, but we don't know how much bigger, and how much of the fanbase of the portable games translates to the console games.

 

[Xenus]

It could be that it's just reaching the saturation level for it's present pricepoint.

 

[PARANOiA]

It could be that it's just reaching the saturation level for it's present pricepoint.

That's an interesting point. The Wii's still at its launch price isn't it?

 

[obonicus]

It could be that it's just reaching the saturation level for it's present pricepoint.

I don't think that's it. I personally think the problem is that Nintendo has shown it's not quite as skilled as some would hope when it comes to courting an expanded audience -- it seems like Nintendo was expecting they could release Wii Fits on a constant basis, and Wii Music says that it ain't so. Wii Sports Resort is just a sequel, it's not the product genius of Wii Fit.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Wii Music is a totally different product than Wii Fit. Wii Music wasn't a big success, but Wii Fit was massive. So far, Nintendo hasn't had many misses.

Wii Sports Resort will be huge. It's almost guaranteed to be bundled with Motion Plus, which may be more of Nintendo's "product genius." Resort includes the sword fighting game everyone wanted when they bought the Wii.

 

[obonicus]

Wii Music is a totally different product than Wii Fit. Wii Music wasn't a big success, but Wii Fit was massive. So far, Nintendo hasn't had many misses.

Sure, but that doesn't mean that the strategy of depending on the multi-platinum hits is sound. Wii Sports hit it out of the park. Wii Fit hit it out of the park. Mario Kart hit it out of the park. All of these sustained Wii sales beyond everything else, with little-to-no third party support.

It continues to have little-to-no third party support, but Wii Music and Animal Crossing weren't compelling enough to push sales nonetheless. And from all appearances, Nintendo hasn't really gone out of its way to court third parties -- which would have been necessary if they wanted the Wii to have the PS2's momentum.

Wii Sports Resort will be huge. It's almost guaranteed to be bundled with Motion Plus, which may be more of Nintendo's "product genius." Resort includes the sword fighting game everyone wanted when they bought the Wii.

It's nothing like Wii Fit. Wii Sports Resort will do well, but it's catering to the folks who bought Wii Sports. Why would anyone who doesn't own a Wii buy it for Wii Sports Resort? How exactly does it expand the audience? The people who will want Wii Sports Resort are the people who wanted Wii Sports. At best you'll get the PITA 'traditional' gamer who might be pushed because of the 'more precise' controls. I'm not even sure 'improved controls' is something that the expanded audience will care about particularly.

 

[mrcorbo]

I agree with obonicus. I think they may have missed a chance to fully capitalize on their momentum during the holiday season and I think their complacency may end up costing them. The market they are chasing is large, but they are also fickle in a way that the more traditional "gamer" demographic is not. You need to make an effort to hold their attention or before long they will be on to "the next big thing".

This is all just a feeling on my part, though. Realistically, it's way too early to tell if this is a just a blip or a more persistent trend and whether it spreads to other markets. Only time will tell.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Sure, but that doesn't mean that the strategy of depending on the multi-platinum hits is sound. Wii Sports hit it out of the park. Wii Fit hit it out of the park. Mario Kart hit it out of the park. All of these sustained Wii sales beyond everything else, with little-to-no third party support.

It continues to have little-to-no third party support, but Wii Music and Animal Crossing weren't compelling enough to push sales nonetheless. And from all appearances, Nintendo hasn't really gone out of its way to court third parties -- which would have been necessary if they wanted the Wii to have the PS2's momentum.



It's nothing like Wii Fit. Wii Sports Resort will do well, but it's catering to the folks who bought Wii Sports. Why would anyone who doesn't own a Wii buy it for Wii Sports Resort? How exactly does it expand the audience? The people who will want Wii Sports Resort are the people who wanted Wii Sports. At best you'll get the PITA 'traditional' gamer who might be pushed because of the 'more precise' controls. I'm not even sure 'improved controls' is something that the expanded audience will care about particularly.

I think it's possible that rather than drop the price of Wii they'll start bundling the Wii with motion plus and Wii Sports + Resort.

I don't think the Wii is in any way dying. It's still selling huge. A bit of a price cut or a more compelling bundle can probably boost sales again.

To be honest, the Wii is relatively dropping a little bit, but it's still a homerun for Nintendo. Any talk that they're somehow doing something wrong just seems crazy to me. They're doing less awesome, but still awesome.

 

[obonicus]

I don't think the Wii is in any way dying. It's still selling huge. A bit of a price cut or a more compelling bundle can probably boost sales again.

I don't think it's dying, and they can prevent any sort of real downswing in NA still, I'm sure, but they did perform a misstep and it hurt them in JP.

To be honest, the Wii is relatively dropping a little bit, but it's still a homerun for Nintendo. Any talk that they're somehow doing something wrong just seems crazy to me. They're doing less awesome, but still awesome.

Just because they're successful doesn't mean they can't make mistakes. Depending on Wii Music and Animal crossing was a mistake, there's no way around it. Depending on their first party studios to keep the insane sales going is also a mistake, and one they seem to want to continue making.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I dunno, they appear to be losing a bit of momentum in the US also. Almost 60% year over year drop in sales of Wii consoles? They're still selling head and shoulder's above the competition so it's not panic button time.

Question is. Is the situation in Japan an indication of a trend or is it just a blip. Same goes for the US market.

On superficial examination it could be worrying as it shows a rather large downward trend in two territories. Will the Wii end up being more a "fad" or will it have legs to carry it? The lack of significant 3rd party success is certainly worrying.

Regards,
SB

 

[Scott_Arm]

If Nintendo drops the price or bundles more stuff in with the console (motion plus and Resort), I think they'll most likely get their sales way back up. The Wii bundle hasn't changed since launch, including the price. Nintendo isn't in any danger, and I don't think the fad is over.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I'm not entirely convinced, although I can see the merits of what you say.

But without a large pool of desirable games (to the ownership base), how much staying power can it have?

I still think the Wii is borderline "Fad." It's only annecdotal evidence obviously, but I know a lot of people here in the US and Japan that haven't even touched their Wii in months.

The DS on the other hand. OMG, Everyone I know that has one just can't put it down. Enough so that I'm even considering getting one.

Regards,
SB

 

[Scott_Arm]

I'm not entirely convinced, although I can see the merits of what you say.

But without a large pool of desirable games (to the ownership base), how much staying power can it have?

I still think the Wii is borderline "Fad." It's only annecdotal evidence obviously, but I know a lot of people here in the US and Japan that haven't even touched their Wii in months.

The DS on the other hand. OMG, Everyone I know that has one just can't put it down. Enough so that I'm even considering getting one.

Regards,
SB

Doesn't matter how much they play it, just that they buy it. I hadn't turned on my Wii in probably 8 months until I got Wii Fit and now I've been using it five times a week for a month and a half maybe. I'll most definitely buy Wii Sports Resort. For most people the Wii Sports games, Wii Fit, Mario Kart, Wii Play all seem to be enough to justify the purchase. The thing is selling like crazy. It's dropped, but I'm not convinced it can't regain it's massive sales with some clever bundling or a price cut.

 

[obonicus]

Leaked JP numbers, supposedly from Famitsu. Posted for the ouch:

Dsi 35k
DSL 4k
PSP 30k
Wii 13k
PS3 9k
360 4k

 

[Rangers]

Those are numbers from something called sinobi blog, which are usually fairly innacurate as to the order of system etc. However the overall general range of the numbers should be reasonably valid, so the real Famitsu/MC numbers this week are apt to be very low!

 

[obonicus]

Those are numbers from something called sinobi blog, which are usually fairly innacurate as to the order of system etc. However the overall general range of the numbers should be reasonably valid, so the real Famitsu/MC numbers this week are apt to be very low!

Sinobi essentially is a source for leaked Famitsu numbers and is generally trustworthy. People are questioning these because they're so bad.

 

[tuna]

The new flu probably has a large influence on these numbers. Japan (especially the Kansai area) has been hit quite bad the last week.

 

[Rangers]

Sinobi essentially is a source for leaked Famitsu numbers and is generally trustworthy. People are questioning these because they're so bad.

He's usually pretty far off, I've seen him underrate the Wii heavily causing controversy in the past (omgosh, whats wrong with the Wii!!??). Only for the real numbers to correct things.

But as I already stated in GENERAL the numbes shouldn't be out of that ballpark, which shows a very low week.

Anyways dont we usually get final Famitsu numbers by wednesday?

Edit: well, those must have been the exact famitsu numbers, because now theyre posted on GAF

Famitsu Sales: 05/10 - 05/17

01. [PSP] Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 (SCE) - 41,000 / NEW
02. [PSP] Growlanser (Atlus) - 30,000 / NEW
03. [NDS] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky (Pokemon) - 19,000 / 303,000
04. [NDS] WarioWare Myself! (Nintendo) - 19,000 / 133,000
05. [NDS] Dragon Ball Kai: Saiyajin Raishuu (Bandai Namco Games) - 18,000 / 162,000
06. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, PSP the Best (Capcom) - 15,000 / 713,000
07. [WII] Winning Eleven Playmaker 2009 (Konami) - 15,000 / NEW
08. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 12,000 / 3,363,000
09. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!! (Nintendo) - 11,000 / 605,000
10. [PS2] Rakushou! Pachi-Slot Sengen 6: Rio 2 Cruising Vanadis (Tecmo) - 8,800 / NEW

DSL　4600
DSi　35000
PSP　30000
Wii　13000
PS3　9200
PS2　4400
360　4100