Stumpokapow said:So, Nintendo is including a bonus soundtrack CD with select copies of the first shipment of Soma Bringer. I understand it's with 30% of the first shipment, but I have no idea how many units they're shipping--I'm not even sure if orders are settled at this point, given that there's still more than a month until the launch.
Since Soma Bringer is scored by Mitsuda (supposedly; I don't know if he's just doing one track and passing the rest to a no-name, or if he's actually scoring the full thing), this should be a big draw to encourage week-one purchases of SB.
Plus, the hype amongst the Japanese press and retailers is that this game is the closest thing to Secret of Mana since Seiken Densetsu 3. Three-player co-op, a mix between beat-em-up and RPG mechanics, colorful visual style. I suspect there'll be a lot of retailer-level buzz about this.
If I were a betting man, I'd revise Soma Bringer up from a B-level title (80k-200k; ranging from Project Hacker up to say Hotel Dusk / Ouendan 2) to a low A-level title (250k-500k; ranging from Picross up to say Mario Hoops)
If we compare with other RPGs, on the DS, we've got--rounding up:
Diamond / Pearl (5.4 mln), DQM: J (1.5 mln), Pokemon MD 2 (1.3 mln), DQIV (1.2 mln), Final Fantasy III (1 mln), Pokemon MD (800k), Pokemon Ranger (650k), Mega Man Star Force Triple-Sku Edition (600k), Final Fantasy IV (560k), Revenant Wings (525k), Mario and Luigi (425k)... I suspect that Soma Bringer will do somewhere around here, beating Crystal Chronicles, Tactics A2, Children of Mana, Tales of Innocence, Tales of the Tempest, Shiren DS, It's a Wonderful World, and others.
I would have agreed with you if Nintendo were not so tight lipped about the title. There isn't even a video yet. If Nintendo generates some buzz I think that you are right, otherwise this could be another Ash.