Japan Sales Thread

[Silent_Buddha]

I'd be incredibly surprised if there isn't a huge spike in PS3 sales when FF XIII is released there.

Regards,
SB

 

[ShadowRunner]

I'd be incredibly surprised if there isn't a huge spike in PS3 sales when FF XIII is released there.

Regards,
SB

No doubt. I was wondering if the anouncement of the bundle would cause a large drop in sales until then.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

While the Japanese do like bundles moreso than most other people around the world, it still accounts for a relatively minor (but profitable) subset of overall sales.

So it might be depressing sales slightly but don't imagine it's having a large effect on sales volume.

Regards,
SB

 

[obonicus]

Also, bundles tend to be limited. Not sure if this one will be, but probably.

 

[mrcorbo]

Looking good in Japan for Sony ATM. With a sustained sales increase post-Slim/price drop leading into a holiday season which will feature one of their big tent-pole titles in FFXIII I don't think they've ever been in a better position to build positive momentum in any territory than they are in Japan right now.

I think this will be the true test of whether the home console market in Japan is as diminished as it has seemed or whether it was just waiting for the right product at the right price.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Well there's still a fly in the ointment. While the economy is doing better, it's still in pretty bad shape over there. So I expect things to still be down. That said, I don't see any home console challenging PS3 in Japan this holiday season.

Regards,
SB

 

[obonicus]

GAFfers seem to think NSMB Wii will be a breakout hit. The DS version did sell 5 million copies in Japan alone, but I have my doubts. But it could be personal bias blinding me, since I'm not a mario fan.

 

[assurdum]

Media-Create does have PS3 just under 40k. I'm thinking just over 30 or barely under for next week.

There will be 2 new releases this week, in theory could be a little bit boost or at minimal stable but I could wrong my prediction.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I'm interested to see if Wii can approach past holiday numbers again or if it's finally out of the "latest fad" zone and back to normal console territory.

Regards,
SB

 

[assurdum]

I'm interested to see if Wii can approach past holiday numbers again or if it's finally out of the "latest fad" zone and back to normal console territory.

Regards,
SB

Well, with price drop a boost is inevitable. To have an idea of the next trend of the wii I think needs more weeks.

 

[obonicus]

Sorta ouch for Wii -- that's with Wii Fit + and the price-cut.

 

[djskribbles]

So that's a full week with the price drop right? Wonder where both the PS3 and Wii will settle in the next couple weeks. Wii and PS3 should be close in the next MC/Famitsu.

 

[Xenus]

Well the PSP did 49k while the Wii did 32k so while relatively the jump is the same the numbers look much better on the PSP side.

 

[deepbrown]

PS3 sold 5,000 more units than the Wii

 

[obonicus]

...and not for the PSP price-cut and GranTurismo?

I didn't have any expectations for Gran Turismo PSP. I didn't see any reason to believe that the Monster-Hunter crowd that seems to be behind the PSP's (brief?) resurgence would be interested in the game. So 50k was more or less what I was expecting for sales; nothing astounding, but decent. With no real releases coming up that number is bound to plummet, no surprise. The Wii, though, prospective owners had about the same amount of heads-up on the price-cut as PSP owners (since the Wii price cut was announced during Sony's keynote, and the PSP cut during Sony's press conference) and didn't see a blip. The software scenario is bleak there too, but Wii Fit + at least is squarely aimed at all the people who had been buying the Wii for Wii Fit the first time around. So yeah, bigger ouch at the Wii. Overachievers are held to higher standards than underachievers.

 

[obonicus]

For someone that often points out the home console numbers in Japan as all sorts of bad, I am wondering how the Wii is the "overachiever" in this console v. portable scenario when the portable has consistently outsold the console.

Well, for several reasons. The PSP was nearly stillborn. The PSP is overshadowed by the vastly more-successful DS. The Wii broke sales records when it came out and in fact, 'til late 2007, was outselling the PSP. The Wii certainly was blowing its competition out of the water. The Wii's still the market-leader, but it's currently being outsold by the 2nd-place console even after a price-drop. The PSP... the PSP's where it's always been, behind the DS.

Sure, it's a double-standard, but that's my point. The Wii has farther to fall, don't be too alarmed when people remark on how it made a bigger splash when it lands.

If you want to look at 2009 only, I might be inclined to say 'yeesh, they're both ugly', but I'm looking further and realizing that one of them's been ugly for years.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Aye, the more surprising outcome is that Wii outsold the PSP in the first place, when traditionally handhelds have almost always outsold the home consoles.

PSP above the Wii is where it should be if it's not going to fail.

Wii selling 32k is pretty decent for a relatively small price cut. Compared to PS3 that is. I think Wii is going to be behind the PS3 on average for this holiday season.

IMO - the Wii Fad has faded, and it'll sell about how one would expect a console to sell in current economy. PS3 appears to have a more compelling holiday release schedule which should give it the edge. Especially with a AAA RPG coming out. Something the PS3 has really needed in Japan.

Regards,
SB

 

[obonicus]

2009 only? You just stated that the device that came out in December of 2006 stopped outselling the portable in "late 2007" or essentially less than a year or put another way the PSP has been outselling the Wii for almost TWO years and yet you consider the Wii the overachiever which has actually been "ugly" in Japan, for most of its life.

What? How has the Wii been ugly in Japan for most of its life? Up until 2 years into its lifespan it was ahead of the PS2. Was the PS2 ugly too?

You're avoiding context completely. The Wii had several weeks over 100k in 2007. In 2008 it spent most of the time still over 50k a week. Sure, the PSP was outselling it... but was being massively undersold by the DS. In fact, since the release of the Lite the PSP had been doing 20-30k a week, about 1/5 of what the DSL managed. They're almost equal now. I'm comparing consoles to consoles and handhelds to handhelds. That's how I framed my earlier comment.

But if you want to continue looking at Wii vs. PSP, then look at august this year. Post the MH3 bump the Wii and the PSP were almost tied in their race to the bottom, even prior to their announced price-drop. The PSP's price-drop (and GT to some degree, no doubt) gave it a bigger push than the Wii's pricedrop + Wii Fit Plus. Ouch for the Wii.

There was a 3.8 million unit gap between the PSP and Wii when the Wii launched and there is now a 4.3 million unit gap. But, I am not actually alarmed you feel different, not at all.

Sure, like I said, the PSP started outselling the Wii, there'd be no other result. But more importantly, what are you saying? Are you calling me a fanboy? You should come out and say it, so I know that all possible discourse has been exhausted.

 

[djskribbles]

9/24 - 10/4

M-Create:
DSi – 53,293
PSP – 51,215
PS3 – 37,538
Wii – 35,392
DS Lite – 10,661
Xbox 360 – 4,244
PS2 – 2,179

Famitsu:
DSL　6600
DSi　57000
PSP　55000
Wii　32000
PS3　37000
PS2　2800
360　2600

Last week:

M-Create:
PS3 - 39,960
WII - 11,731

Famtsu:
Wii　13000
PS3　50000

MC's drop last week for the PS3 was much larger than Famitsu's, but this week it's much smaller.

 

[DonaldDuck]

The sales rate for the PS3 is extremely solid now. Five (¿six?) weeks above 35K, with the explosion of week one after price drop+slim launch (150k), and several weeks around 50K.

It even keeps the pace without the release of big titles (Tales of and Gundam, but nothing else). So there was a group of users waiting for an attractive HD product at a good price, but the stability of the sales surprises me.

Was common place to think PS3 was a dead body in the sales department but its health is pretty good indeed. I´m not able to explain the fading of Wii, tough. What is happening to Wii? Is the idea of a cool shaped, cheap, standard definition console with a new motion controller not so likable any more? Japan is a country where high definition was already well stablished, so the CRT weight didn´t seem to be the reason of PS3 crash.

It´s just a gaming issue? Not enough J-RPGs for PS3? Could a weekly Gundam transform PS3 into a sales monster? Or it´s just the size?

If the main reason for the slow start of PS3 in Japan is size, it would be absolutely astonishing.