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[Psycho_Mantis]

No, actually I don't. It's a really high bar and JRPG is just one genre. Very few publishers in Japan command that level of spending power in the west, and those who do tend to specialize in different areas. Konami = MGS. Capcom = RE. Square Enix = FF. We can also change the question to these:

"Slightly off topic, but one of the things that I have always wondered is why no other japanese stealth action game can sell numbers even close to what MGS does in the West. I'm sure the history of MGS plays a huge role in their sales but is there more?"

"Slightly off topic, but one of the things that I have always wondered is why no other japanese horror game can sell numbers even close to what RE does in the West. I'm sure the history of RE plays a huge role in their sales but is there more?"

We're talking about multi-millions in sales outside of Japan. That's a high bar which requires a lot of brand awareness and spending power. Also, how about this?

"Slightly off topic, but one of the things that I have always wondered is why no other platforming game can sell numbers even close to what Mario does in the anywhere. I'm sure the history of Mario plays a huge role in their sales but is there more?"





Maybe, but the marketing sure isn't.

you mean Japanese horror action game

I understand what you're saying. A lot of genre's house powerhouse IP's that sell incredibly well in comparison to their competition. It's extremely rare for the competition to answer this with an IP of their own with similar financial backing and even more rare for it to succeed. I can think of a couple at best. You need lots of money, a talented team and a bit of luck. I just hope someone (out of the very few who can) is crazy enough to do it.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Hmm, looks like sites skipped a minor Famitsu announcement, looks like a new Wii U and 3DS game from Bandai Namco?

WiiU3DS「ご当地鉄道　ご当地キャラと日本全国の旅」[バンナム]
　11/27発売。ご当地キャラが…すごろくゲームに登場。

 

[BriBri]

Hmm, looks like sites skipped a minor Famitsu announcement, looks like a new Wii U and 3DS game from Bandai Namco?

I searched for this and got a picture of Kumamon. WHAT IS THIS?!

 

[Hero of Legend]

I searched for this and got a picture of Kumamon. WHAT IS THIS?!

Kumamon recently got a 3DS game developed by Noise, that's right, the Custom Robo devs.

Googling pointed me to this:

I guess Bandai Namco is sort of rolling with doing 3DS/Wii U multiplats of children licensed properties as they're doing with that SF Party game with Doraemon.

 

[BriBri]

Kumamon recently got a 3DS game developed by Noise, that's right, the Custom Robo devs.

Googling pointed me to this:



I guess Bandai Namco is sort of rolling with doing 3DS/Wii U multiplats of children licensed properties as they're doing with that SF Party game with Doraemon.

Well I got that Kumamon game day one silly;-)

And OMG! I see Funassyi! Must. Resist.

 

[Takao]

Tourism Japan: The Game?

 

[BriBri]

Do I just need sleep or am I seeing another Wii U/3DS game?

WiiU3DS「ソニックトゥーン アイランドアドベンチャー/太古の秘宝」
12/18発売、アイランド～は5378円、太古の秘宝は7538円。

Edit: it's Sonic Toon dated

 

[Penguin]

I'd imagine getting Norman Reedus to star in the next SH will do wonders for the western audiences who already love him in The Walking Dead.

I wonder how many people like the character, and not necessarily the actor though.

 

[DrWong]

Do I just need sleep or am I seeing another Wii U/3DS game?

Edit: it's Sonic Toon dated

Sonic Boom...?

 

[BriBri]

Sonic Boom...?

Yeah, Japan are calling it Toon. Same game.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Yeah, Japan are calling it Toon. Same game.

And NOT animated by Toon Boom!

 

[DrWong]

Yeah, Japan are calling it Toon. Same game.

... same content... Ok thanks.

 

[shinra-bansho]

I used sales from the last non-MMO mainline entries about 4 years back but I'd agree the world these games released in isn't the world if today. In the world of today Dragon Quest has remained relatively stable sales wise with it's 3DS spinoffs and remakes while today Final Fantasy seems rooted in ever steeper decline for it's XIII sequels. Today FF is a diminishing franchise, the riskier franchise, while Dragon Quest is sort of trucking along steady and reliable. FF doesn't strike me as the more inmediately likely of the two to maintain sales, in any region or on any platform. It's not the sure thing, Dragon Quest is.

Mobile isn't simply encroaching on handhelds, it's impacting all platforms and worldwide too. It's changing the way games are not only played but also how they're purchased and for how much. We're already seeing Steam follow similar trends, this isn't a phenomenon that impacts only handhelds even if they're the most immediately recognizable "victim" of the shift. Consoles this gen are also selling less overall than they did last gen, despite the record setting launch of PS4 and XB1 those platforms aren't maintaining that lead.

This response was to your suggestion that Japan didn't matter, that's it's insignificant in either sales or consideration. The numbers really just don't reflect that at all though, even today. It's an empty mantra.

Again I'm not arguing towards "why move DQ" I'm arguing against "why not move FF."

I'm not sure where they teach that consolidating your brands onto an unattractive market is the sure thing?

Your entire line of reasoning is based on SE happy to truck along and see themselves continue to decline to irrelevance being a big brand or brands in a progressively shrinking puddle, as Bethesda sells their 20M Skyrim and WBIE grows into a major player.

Home console hardware is back in growth phase, something that can't be said for handhelds.

My suggestion is that Japan is not that important anymore. Qualifier. And it isn't. To any brand that operates globally it's just another market. Qualifier. Not for FF. Not for MGS. Not for RE. Again that isn't the case for something like DQ, and it may never be.

But the road to growth for either brand is not to double down on what Japan wants. It's to go where the global market goes.

Tl;dr version, SE needs to grow in Western markets with their current and future brands more than they need to maintain their brands in Japan if they want growth.*

*in the dedicated space. If the want to become a mobile house and exploit that growth, that's a different can of worms.

 

[HeelPower]

I think it also depends heavily on what sort of game it is. I hate to say it, but I don't think the audience who loves him in Walking Dead are watching the show because it is some sort of psychological horror masterpiece with creative scares. Silent Hill's very nature is a bit of a sales kryptonite. Not enough shoot bang. Not enough constant excitement. Not enough set pieces.

Just look at how RE has evolved and how the sales have grown with that.

Cheesy horror movies are successful in the west though.P.T itself was downloaded many times and is really popular online.

Not to mention I don't think Kojima's Silent Hill will be anything like the classics.It will be mainly dependent on Jump scares and not the artsy stuff.

I think it has a really good chance of being the best selling Silent Hill yet.

if it fails miserably,which I doubt it will, it will be the final nail in the coffin.

 

[ZSaberLink]

Were these kids games released for the Wii U last year? Just wondering.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Were these kids games released for the Wii U last year? Just wondering.

Aside from Taiko and Sonic, not really. Those were expected anyway.

 

[ZSaberLink]

Aside from Taiko and Sonic, not really. Those were expected anyway.

Hm I see. Fatal Frame got 2 more preorders (19 now). Still no Bayo 2 in sight, although it's clearly doing a ton better than Fatal Frame on Amazon (Bayo 2 = #13, Fatal = #40s?)

 

[SwiftDeath]

So like 7 hours or so and we should have XB1 numbers?

 

[theprodigy]

So like 7 hours or so and we should have XB1 numbers?

6 hours

Spoiler

and then NPD on Thursday followed by Smash Bros on Friday, oh my!

Spoiler

also we could get Destiny sales maybe

 

[SwiftDeath]

6 hours

Spoiler

and then NPD on Thursday followed by Smash Bros on Friday, oh my!

Spoiler

also we could get Destiny sales maybe

Good couple of days for sales-age. Well I suppose Japan XB1 numbers probably won't be too good but at least we'll get them.

I hope we hear some sales numbers for Destiny

 

[Pennywise83]

Tl;dr version, SE needs to grow in Western markets with their current and future brands more than they need to maintain their brands in Japan if they want growth.*

*in the dedicated space. If the want to become a mobile house and exploit that growth, that's a different can of worms.

That's why they have Eidos. And that's why they're focusing on Western markets on selling games like FFXIV, FFXV and KHIII. But DQ already had a chance of becoming a hugely popular franchise in the West, and failed to do so (the IP sold well, but not that well).

I think there are barriers that cannot be overcome. Unless they start making DQ with a different artstyle, a different gameplay and a completely different take (remember that on a first glance, DQ games are light-hearted jRPGs, they do not communicate epicness and coolness as FF), I don't think they will be able to sell well in the West (without losing much appeal in Japan).

If we assume SQEX want to keep the spirit of the series, either they keep focusing on Japan or they go handheld, where such an IP has more chances to sell well.

 

[mao2]

Hmm, looks like sites skipped a minor Famitsu announcement, looks like a new Wii U and 3DS game from Bandai Namco?

It's a sugoroku game starring various gotouchi characters (local community mascot characters).

 

[hiska-kun]

6 hours

Spoiler

and then NPD on Thursday followed by Smash Bros on Friday, oh my!

Spoiler

also we could get Destiny sales maybe

We forgot lines in Japan for Smash Bros on Saturday.

 

[Nightengale]

We forgot lines in Japan for Smash Bros on Saturday.

But that's so boring...

 

[theprodigy]

We forgot lines in Japan for Smash Bros on Saturday.

Don't care I'll wait for the sales update later, gotta get the game impressions first!

Edit: so uh Xbox One sales now, apparently

 

[ZSaberLink]

Seems like Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire are getting demos too on 10/15? (at least limited amounts)

This seems new for Nintendo titles, right?

http://www.gonintendo.com/s/236981-...-version-of-pokemon-omega-ruby-alpha-sapphire

 

[Pennywise83]

Well, there's a topic but...

Xbox One sold around 23k units at launch.

 

[Chris1964]

At least Toemon will calm down now.

It did even worse than expected.

 

[Tenbatsu]

I searched for this and got a picture of Kumamon. WHAT IS THIS?!

It's a mascot to promote tourism in Kumamoto Prefecture.

 

[crinale]

I read that the highest number of first week software sales for Xbox360 during 2013 was about 23K.

 

[Jamix012]

At least Toemon will calm down now.

It did even worse than expected.

Yeah, thank god. Do we think it can outdo Vita TV on a weekly basis?

Speaking of Vita TV, were there ever any Japan figures released for the Gamecube's Gameboy Player or the SNES Super Gameboy? I'm curious if we can get a comparison.

 

[L~A]

At least Toemon will calm down now..

Optimist.

Seems like Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire are getting demos too on 10/15? (at least limited amounts)

This seems new for Nintendo titles, right?

http://www.gonintendo.com/s/236981-...-version-of-pokemon-omega-ruby-alpha-sapphire

Not quite, Nintendogs already had a demo, TW101 too (but no Bayonetta 2, for some reason); Chibi Robo had a demo too, iirc. It's true that it's quite unusual for them.

And that demo will be exclusive to CoroCoro readers, no idea if they'll put it on the eShop afterwards.

***

About XB1... well... to think I was expecting 50k before we got those rumblings from the SUPER SECRET JAPANESE RETAIL BLOG. Lowered my expectations to ~30k, and it didn't even reach that. Software sales are horrendous, though not surprising with the bundles.

I guess now MC and Famitsu will stop tracking X360 right? I remember them stopping right tracking the OG Xbox right when the 360 came out.

 

[duckroll]

Cheesy horror movies are successful in the west though.P.T itself was downloaded many times and is really popular online.

Not to mention I don't think Kojima's Silent Hill will be anything like the classics.It will be mainly dependent on Jump scares and not the artsy stuff.

I think it has a really good chance of being the best selling Silent Hill yet.

if it fails miserably,which I doubt it will, it will be the final nail in the coffin.

Cheesy horror movies are stuff people watch in the cinema or pick up a 10 buck DVD for. P.T. is a free download. I don't think there has really been a test of whether "real" horror can sell well as a full retail game. I guess there's Evil Within, but a) I think that's going to bomb, b) it still has a ton of shoot bangs.

I do agree that Silent Hills is probably going to be more mainstream and different though, but even then, I don't think it has a chance to match RE's success. It might be successful on its own merits though.

 

[Imouto]

We have no number this week, aside from Xbox One?

 

[Busaiku]

Amnesia sold over 1 million, it's definitely possible for Silent Hills to be big.

 

[Atram]

We have no number this week, aside from Xbox One?

22 minutes

 

[duckroll]

Amnesia sold over 1 million, it's definitely possible for Silent Hills to be big.

Isn't that a digital game? Only a million? I don't see how that can be considered big. Something like Dead Rising which isn't considered a super successful series does about 2 million worldwide.

 

[L~A]

^

It's a small indie game. So 1m is big for that game, which didn't have 1/10th of DR3's budget.

Amnesia sold over 1 million, it's definitely possible for Silent Hills to be big.

To be fair, Amnesia only reached that numbers due to the hype generated by those YouTube videos of people ruining their pants playing the game... and the Steam sales. The developers even admitted that most of the sales actually cames from the Steam sales, and that people generally didn't buy it at full price. I suspect most people didn't actually play the game, or play it through the end.

So it'll be quite different this time around for Silent Hills, though it's definitely going to do better just by having the Kojima name attached to it (plus all the PT hype).

 

[Shahed]

But DQ already had a chance of becoming a hugely popular franchise in the West, and failed to do so (the IP sold well, but not that well

It's hard to make a mass market game on your first attempt. Somtimes it takes one game to come first and do reasonably, and then follow that with another game. Considering this is about the West, there's only been one mainline game released on home consoles worldwide, and it never got a follow up

Sure FFVII managed it first try, but that game is more naturally appealing in terms of aesthetics and themes on a global scale

 

[metalslimer]

At least Toemon will calm down now.

It did even worse than expected.

Don't know why you people can't just wait for the legs.

 

[Man God]

Well, first of all, how many JRPGs can you name which have the same production values of FF and KH, and equivalent marketing campaigns, and failed to sell anything close?

Lost Odyssey.

 

[duckroll]

^

It's a small indie game. So 1m is big for that game, which didn't have 1/10th of DR3's budget.

I'm not talking about Amnesia's success, I'm saying those numbers don't indicate that Silent Hills has a chance to be "big". It'll take a lot more than.

 

[Atram]

It's hard to make a mass market game on your first attempt. Somtimes it takes one game to come first and do reasonably, and then follow that with another game. Considering this is about the West, there's only been one mainline game released on home consoles worldwide, and it never got a follow up

jrpg´s have a massiv decline in the west the last 8 Years.

 

[Busaiku]

It's hard to make a mass market game on your first attempt. Somtimes it takes one game to come first and do reasonably, and then follow that with another game. Considering this is about the West, there's only been one mainline game released on home consoles worldwide, and it never got a follow up

Sure FFVII managed it first try, but that game is more naturally appealing in terms of aesthetics and themes on a global scale

Uh, Dragon Quest I, II, III, IV, VII, and VIII came out on the most popular consoles during their time.

I'm not talking about Amnesia's success, I'm saying those numbers don't indicate that Silent Hills has a chance to be "big". It'll take a lot more than.

Small independent games have managed success due to stuff like Twitch and word of mouth.
A game with Mr. Kojima attached to it definitely has a chance of doing several million.

 

[Jamix012]

Uh, Dragon Quest I, II, III, IV, VII, and VIII came out on the most popular consoles during their time.

Weren't DQ V and VI also on the most successful console of the generation (SFC)?

 

[Busaiku]

Not in the west.

 

[Bruno MB]

Outside Xbox One launch there is nothing interesting for this week other than seeing how many copies of Dragon Quest X were shipped and the impact of the two New 3DS in the old models since they can now be pre-ordered. Will 3DS be under 20.000 units?

 

[Ty4on]

Outside Xbox One launch there is nothing interesting for this week other than seeing how many copies of Dragon Quest X were shipped and the impact of the two New 3DS in the old models since they can now be pre-ordered. Will 3DS be under 20.000 units?

XB1 on top? I hope the threads are prepared

 

[Shahed]

Uh, Dragon Quest I, II, III, IV, VII, and VIII came out on the most popular consoles during their time.

Small independent games have managed success due to stuff like Twitch and word of mouth.
A game with Mr. Kojima attached to it definitely has a chance of doing several million.

Note I said worldwide. Dragon Quest VIII was the first game in the series I played despite being a fan of RPG's above any other genre. The reason? It was the first to release in Europe. That's why I equated it to FFVII because it was also the first FF in the region.

Sure it's all anectodal, but a lot of people I know were surprised by how much they enjoyed it when i lent them my copy. I've had a few queries since, but interest has waned due to a lackbof a console follow up

 

[duckroll]

Small independent games have managed success due to stuff like Twitch and word of mouth.
A game with Mr. Kojima attached to it definitely has a chance of doing several million.

Just like Zone of the Enders amirite. Whoops.