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Media Create Sales 4/2 - 4/8

Deku

Banned
DeaconKnowledge said:
I completely disagree.

The DS was a flash in the pan: Handheld success from a proven developer in the handheld space. No big deal.

What's your evidence. By your standard anything successful can be classified as flash in the pans.

And the 'proven in the handheld space' line is so often misappropriated by armchair analysts and spindoctors its practically meaningless. The DS was designed around a specific reading of the market and it was a high risk strategy that paid off. The continued downplaying of the risks involved is really why people continue to misjudge the market.
 
StevieP said:
Resident Evil Gamecube exclusivity?
For one, Capcom had to know going in that GameCube wasn't as sure a thing as PS2, and based their decisions with that in mind.

For another, the two exclusive games were already well under way and came out 6 and 14 months from launch. The rest of the Resident Evils for the generation were multiplatform (RE4) or PS2 exclusive (Outbreaks, Gun Survivors).
 

cvxfreak

Member
Square Enix's moves with FFXIII have a few similarities to that of Biohazard on GameCube.

As SE is doing with the two versions of FFXIII, Capcom developed Biohazard and Biohazard 0 at the same time with the same engine and resources in order to minimize costs and maximize profit (as far as the GameCube was concerned). Of course, the true beast was Biohazard 4, which had the longest development time and was THE reason why the whole GameCube deal stung PlayStation fans in particular. In the end the remake was never slated for PS2 and Zero was an N64 game, so that move was forgivable.

However, when Capcom realized that the GameCube truly couldn't support the RE series by itself, Capcom quickly made amends by porting Biohazard 4 to PS2 and bringing unique side stories to that platform as well that respected the bounds the series was known for. The Outbreak games were unique enough, yet close enough to the GameCube exclusive RE games that many who refused to buy a GameCube found them to be reasonable substitutes.

Square Enix meanwhile is pumping out a crapload of FF games to spread the brand all over the place. Even the Wii is getting a FF game, FFCCTCB. My personal suggestion for SE would be to keep FFXIII on the PS3 as they have already done for the greater part of the last two years, and make sure the Wii version of Crystal Chronicles contains an epic storyline with memorable characters, voice acting, beautiful Wii graphics and a solid single player adventure that can measure up to the mainline FF games in everything but a number at the end. So should FFXIII prove that the PS3 is too inefficient to support the FF series, SE will have something to fall back on with the Wii and can continue from there.
 
cvxfreak said:
My personal suggestion for SE would be to keep FFXIII on the PS3 as they have already done for the greater part of the last two years, and make sure the Wii version of Crystal Chronicles contains an epic storyline with memorable characters, voice acting, beautiful Wii graphics and a solid single player adventure that can measure up to the mainline FF games in everything but a number at the end.
Ehhh... your suggestion would be to not transform FF XIII into something completely different, but instead to transform FFCC into something completely different?
 

Deku

Banned
cvxfreak said:
Square Enix meanwhile is pumping out a crapload of FF games to spread the brand all over the place. Even the Wii is getting a FF game, FFCCTCB. My personal suggestion for SE would be to keep FFXIII on the PS3 as they have already done for the greater part of the last two years, and make sure theWii version of Crystal Chronicles contains an epic storyline with memorable characters, voice acting, beautiful Wii graphics and a solid single player adventure that can measure up to the mainline FF games in everything but a number at the end. So should FFXIII prove that the PS3 is too inefficient to support the FF series, SE will have something to fall back on with the Wii and can continue from there.

That will unfortunatelly not happen. I'm sure it will be pretty and have high production values, but Crystal Chronicles has now become a new S-E franchise. Mana also started like as a FF spinoff, it was called Final Fantasy: Seiken Densetsu at one point. Note that in Ring of Fates, Crystal Chronicles is featured more prominently than Final Fantasy.

If you stack it up to DQ:Swords, Swords probably trump CC in every category in terms of franchise significance. If you want S-E to do something significant FF related on the Wii, it will have to be something bigger than a Crystal Chronicles game.



Long shots as they may be, those who are speculating S-E might do something FFXIII related on the Wii might have a better chance of seeing their wish fulfilled if current trends hold. The Wii Crystal Chronicles game was also one of the first Wii titles announced, during the ascent of the DS to total domination in the market, before DQIX and both next-gen platforms hit the market. So a lot has happened since then to warrant, at the very least, a consideration for the mainline going multi-platform, even if its just for due diligence purposes. Every business must consider all their opportunities.

Edit: I re-read my post and it sounded like I was disagreeing with your comment that it will have good graphics and voice acting. I've rewritten parts of it so it now makes more sense.
 
Behold! Instalment three of the grand, epic adventure known to all and sundry as...

The Sales-Age Saga

*~*

Chapter 1 (MC 3/19 -3/25 2007)

Chapter 2 (MC 3/26 - 4/1 2007)

*~*

Dramatis Personae:

John: Human Male
Elsie Dee: Female Wii
Henry David: Male XBox 360 Premium
Tack: Male XBox 360 Core
Bob Roberts: Male Playstation 3
Dennis Stark: Male Nintendo DS
Clementine Shelley: Female Gameboy Advance SP
Duke Richard Eddington: Male Playstation 2

*~*

Chapter 3: The Console Graveyard

*~*

The wind swirled about as the tiny band of people (well, people in a loose sense of the word, anyway) stood silent on the plot of grassy land.

After several moments, the majority of the systems split up and went in separate directions, presumably to pay respects to their respective predecessors. John noted several grave markers that were ill-maintained, the granite crumbled, the inscriptions faded, grass and weeds growing thickly around the plots - stark contrast to the neatly trimmed ground around the area the consoles seemed to be milling.

After taking a glance at what appeared to be an eternally grey sky, John turned and walked the short distance towards these ill-used gravestones.

Atari Lynx
1989 - 1994

Philips CD-i
1991 - 1998

3DO
1993 - 1996

TurboGrafx - 16/PC Engine
1987 - 1993

"These are known as the Forgotten Ones." A voice interrupted from behind. Turning, he saw the wizened form of Clementine as she plodded slowly up to him.

"None mourned their passing, none visit their graves, and few remember their existence." The old GBASP let out a slow sigh, and settled herself onto a nearby tree stump. "When I pass on - and it will be soon - I will not suffer their fate." A melancholy smile made its way onto her face. "I wonder what it must have been like to have been them."

John lowered his head. "This Console Graveyard..."

"None know how it came to be. It's very own pocket dimension; where none may breach and defile these lands." She chuckled with mirth. "Not that anyone would want to. Precious few even know of our existence as sentient beings."

Abruptly, she fell silent again, and pulling herself to her feet, she hobbled over to another row of grave markers. The area around this set was well kept, and a light breeze kicked up as John hurried to join her.

His eyes widened as he stared down at this particular row.

Sega Genesis

1988 - 1994

Sega Gamegear

1990 - 1995

Sega Saturn

1994 - 1998

Sega Dreamcast

1998 - 2001

"I came into the world just as their star faded from existence forever. It's a crying shame what happened." Clementine said with a sigh. "I'm proud of my heritage - and my predecessors went head to head with these guys more than once. 'Course, it was a moot point when the Playstation family came along, really."

"..." John tucked his hands into his pockets, trying hard to look respectful. "I'm, uh..."

"Don't try saying you're sorry, lad." The GBASP glanced up at him with wry humour. "I've seen you taunting Sega fans on the internet many a time."

"Oh. Uh, well, that is an entirely unrelated matter, I can assure you."

"I'm sure, I'm sure." The old woman chuckled again. "Come on. We should rejoin with the others."

*~*

"You humans sure are lucky."

"Huh?" John glanced up at the person who had made that remark.

Dennis was off to the side, leaning upon his staff. "You guys get sixty - seventy years on average. Us game systems? We last five, maybe six of even seven years if we can manage it. But then we fade."

"..."

"You know my ancestor - the original Gameboy?"

"But I thought you were the third pill-"

"Ah, stow it." Dennis swung his staff around, clonking John on the head with it. "I'm the torchbearer for the next-generation of Nintendo's handhelds, and everyone knows it." On that note, Dennis reached up to touch the silver circlet on his forehead. "This crown wasn't just given to me on a whim, you know."

John frowned. "Speaking of which, where's my PSP?"

"She's been feeling a bit unwell recently, so she didn't come." Dennis frowned, then brightened up. "The recent announcement of Crisis Core's release date and that new Harvey Birdman should perk her up some, though."

"Oh." John said. He seemed to be saying that a lot recently.

"Anyway, like I was saying, we get a few years and that was it. The Gameboy lasted a heck of a lot longer than most, but it was still a fraction of the lives you people get. No different for any of us. Even Richard..." Dennis paused and looked over at the old Playstation 2, who was currently locked in conversation with Tack and Elsie. "He's still pretty healthy, but time is taking its toll. It's no different for anyone." He paused again, cocking his head slightly to the side.

"Well, unless you count him."

"Him? Him who?"

Before Dennis could answer, there was a metallic clang nearby, and John quickly shifted his position.

Striding up to their group was what appeared to be a robot. It was completely asymmetrical, save the number of limbs on either side. As it strode up to meet them, Richard smoothly stepped into the mechanical being's way, blocking the path.

"And what do you want, Peter?" Richard asked wearily.

"Nothing." The machine replied in a harsh, metallic voice. "Merely to observe this boy whom you all insist on paying so much attention to."

"Of all places that which we could have met, I would never have thought it would be in the Graveyard." Richard's eyes were hard, his mask a stern mask.

The metal being jerked with laughter. "Scared of your own mortality, Playstation 2?" It raised a hand, pointing towards one of the gravestones. "Perhaps you should have joined me in the path I chose."

"What, artificially prolonging your existence by constantly swapping out parts?" Richard snorted angrily. "I'd be surprised if there's any of your original self still in that thing you call a body."

The pointing hand shifted within itself, abruptly morphing into what appeared to be a miniature cannon. From it a blade made entirely out of blazing energy formed. John gulped and took a step back.

"I will not be mocked, Duke." The machine said calmly. "Say what you will about my methods, but they allow for far more games to be played on me then one such as you could ever dream of!"

"Forgive me, sire." Dennis was speaking up, staff laid out casually across his shoulders. "I hate to interrupt you sir, but it seems to be that you right thumb is slightly outdated."

The machine paused for several seconds, mentally considering Dennis' words. "Perhaps you are right. There are upgrades which would allow my right thumb joint to clench with far greater efficiency that they do now." He turned to glare sourly at the Playstation 2. "Until next time."

Once he had left, John heaved a silent sigh of relief. "Who - what was that?"

"Haven't you guessed?" Henry said softly. "He's a PC. One of those that survive through constant upgrading of hardware. Consoles really don't have that luxury."

"The rivalry between consoles and computers have lasted for a long time, you see." Dennis explained to John. "The XBox line tried to mediate the dispute some, but the Playstations still remain largely opposed to the whole thing."

"..." John remained silent, watching the path down which the PC had disappeared.

*~*

"Right, DFA's charged up again." Elsie called. "And this time, we're heading for a dimension with strong Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable sales, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Henry grumbled. Meanwhile, Tack glanced around. "Where's Bob?"

"Probably off skulking somewhere." Elsie shrugged. "No worries, the DFA's been set to drag him along wherever we go."

"Guess that's okay, then..."

"Right. Everyone ready? And here we go..."

POOF!

*~*

As always, feedback would be much appreciated.
 

Galactic Fork

A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
Pureauthor said:
"She's been feeling a bit unwell recently, so she didn't come." Dennis frowned, then brightened up. "The recent announcement of Crisis Core's release date and that new Harvey Birdman should perk her up some, though."

Wow, I had no idea CC got a release date. Must search for that information!

(I Just now got the name themes for the PS3 and Premium Xbox 360. The DS is obvious, can't see one for the rest though.)
 
Well, if anyone can get all the name references (shouldn't be difficult at all), I'd be willing to give 'em a cameo or something. :lol
 

Ikael

Member
I just wanted to say that, as nerdy as it might be, Pureauthor's fanfic is awesome and a genious idea. I really love how you describe each character and the "humanization" of each console / platafform. Still, you are relying too much into the "idea introduction" phase. I was missing a little bit more of action there, some kind of conflict or drama, although on the last installement of your fanfic you started to move it into interesing places. I loved the console graveyard and I think that the spirit of fallen consoles living into the Virtual console's services can be an interesting thing to explore. Keep on the good job! :)
 

Furoba

Member
Eteric Rice said:
I doubt they'll do all of that.

I have to wonder, though. Will they make an engine made for the Wii? It might be similar to the Gamecube, but there's supposedly a couple of extra things in there that could be taken advantage of.

Hopefully they do. I mean, if you can get...

foto_f160006.jpg


Out of the PSP, what can they get out of the Wii?

Just about the same, if they port it right... ;)
 

Tf53

Member
Pureauthor said:
Well, if anyone can get all the name references (shouldn't be difficult at all), I'd be willing to give 'em a cameo or something. :lol

Elsie Dee: Female Wii LCD?
Henry David: Male XBox 360 Premium High Definition / HD-DVD?
Tack: Male XBox 360 Core Tard Pack ;)
Bob Roberts: Male Playstation 3 Blu-Ray
Dennis Stark: Male Nintendo DS Does this need explaining? :D

As for the rest, no clue.
 
Tf53 said:
Elsie Dee: Female Wii LCD?
Henry David: Male XBox 360 Premium High Definition / HD-DVD?
Tack: Male XBox 360 Core Tard Pack ;)
Bob Roberts: Male Playstation 3 Blu-Ray
Dennis Stark: Male Nintendo DS Does this need explaining? :D

As for the rest, no clue.

clam shell, disc read error...
 

Neomoto

Member
DS broke 2 million YTD, in the same week Wii broke 2 million LTD lol
DS breaks 16 million, incredible.
PS3 continues to decline.. I think 10k weeks will start make some appearances in a while.
Wii and DS doing fine, PSP slipping closer to pre-mhp2 sales.

I wonder what next week Wii sales will be considering the production went up.
 
Tf53 said:
And John? :D

Edit: And why is Wii LCD?

John is the manliest man of all our manly man-loving man dreams.

LCD?

Lakitu Can Dunk
Luigi Can't Dance
Lowest Common Denominator
Locusts Cause Damage
Leeches Cure Disease

One of those.
 

ziran

Member
DS and Wii sales are good, again, clearly dependent on shipments. PSP sales have declined more than I expected considering a new Gundam was released, although, this game hasn't sold particularly well and this audience probably already has the system. PS3 sales are terrible.

Good sales for GS4, difficult to say where its first week will be depending on whether it grabs a more mass market audience or not. I'd expect somewhere between 240k and 320k.

SPM has been unusually low on the Amazon Japan chart over the last few weeks, in the top 20, but not as high as I expected. Now it's at the number 1 spot, and the Wii site has TV ads up, they must be working :)

Also, Dragon Quest Swords is already in the Top 10, at 8.

Amazon isn't the best judge of game sales, but it sometimes gives an idea of what's happening.
 

Kafel

Banned
ziran said:
Good sales for GS4, difficult to say where its first week will be depending on whether it grabs a more mass market audience or not.


I hope that more and more people will try this game and appreciate it. We've seen pics of ads ( with a professional lawyer ) and a big campaign in stores around this game. We'll see if it has worked.
 

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
moku said:
You could say that I am evangelizing the move, and that would be partly true. I said it will move to the Wii as either a port of sorts, or outright moved to it.

It's not as if the PS3 is burning up the charts in the States either. The Wii is. Companies that sink MILLIONS of $$$ into a project, cant then turn and release it into a hostile market, onto a slumping platform. The biggest risk they take, is tarnishing the franchise name, or sidelining it. People who think that this isnt a primary concern of S-E are insane. Lets say they follow thru and release FF on the PS3(Next year, right) on a massivly smaller install base. It sells moderatly/poorly when compared to other FF's. That could put a brand-name(The Final Fantasy reputation) in a wierd position.


Thats why I said my piece awhile back, and I am even further emboldened by recent sales charts.

What if by the time the game comes out the Wii has 5+million units worldwide lead? Thats just being conservative! It could be much larger of a gap by that time.

Lose sales, the series gets pushed into the backs of gamers minds, and the series can lose its luster by not making a huge splash/impact into the gaming community.

Even porting it to the 360 wont help matters in Japan. S-E needs to come to the only logical conclusion, and thats that the next main FF game, has to hit the Wii if these sales continue. There are projections that we use all the time to figure out what the lead could be by that time. S-E sees similar projections.

They know the score as of right now, and they can figure out what the score will be in a years time.

They just have to make the move soon, or they will be locked into either a big delay, or releasing thier premiere wordlwide franchise onto a system with a tiny install base.

It's thier call, but money, and logic dictate thier next move.
CVX mentioned RE but didn't Square do this same thing Moku is proposing with the switch from SNES to PS1/N64 generation? Take a game they were aiming at one console, which was supposedly better hardware-wise and switch it over to the dominant console in Japan and WW? I could see them still supporting the PS3 but I just don't see why they would keep the new main FF off of the Wii. Yeah, it'll be a downgrade but if they want sales, they would be wise to put it on the Wii.
 
Deku said:
What's your evidence. By your standard anything successful can be classified as flash in the pans.

And the 'proven in the handheld space' line is so often misappropriated by armchair analysts and spindoctors its practically meaningless. The DS was designed around a specific reading of the market and it was a high risk strategy that paid off. The continued downplaying of the risks involved is really why people continue to misjudge the market.

I was talking from the perspective of third parties when the DS took off.
 
ziran said:
Good sales for GS4, difficult to say where its first week will be depending on whether it grabs a more mass market audience or not. I'd expect somewhere between 240k and 320k.

SPM has been unusually low on the Amazon Japan chart over the last few weeks, in the top 20, but not as high as I expected. Now it's at the number 1 spot, and the Wii site has TV ads up, they must be working :)

Also, Dragon Quest Swords is already in the Top 10, at 8.

Amazon isn't the best judge of game sales, but it sometimes gives an idea of what's happening.


After 2 days on the market, GS4 did better than any other GS title released for GBA, and i'm sure after Golden Week it will break 500k mark.

SPM seems like is doing like Yoshi DS did on amazon chart, can we expect around 300k on first week?

DQ:S's debut is good, but first day preorder on amazon is not significative, RE4 stayed in top25 all the first week (except the madness about asian and north american 360 and PS3 titles sold at 1yen), but now it's on top50. Anyway, it's normal DQ:S will stay longer in top25 than RE4 cause it's a stronger brand (and also a brand new game, not a porting)
 

Thraktor

Member
xsarien said:
In Japan? Are you ****ing kidding?

Lowest weekly PS3 sales: 14,520
Highest weekly XBox360 sales: 35,343

Yeah, it's going to require a slow PS3 week to coincide with a strong XBox360 week, but it is a possibility, which just goes to show how bad things are looking for PS3 at the moment.

I would have said that Trusty Bell could be the game to do it, but with Ninja Gaiden Sigma coming out the same week, I'd say PS3 will manage to stay just that bit ahead.
 

Kafel

Banned
I think we'll be surprised by Ninja Gaiden Sigma, this title may push a lot the PS3 in Japan.


Remember that the previous one was "untouchable" for them, because it was on the Xbox.
 

milanbaros

Member?
What are we expecting for SPM? Do you think this will be percieved(sp?) as a follow up to the previous titles in the series or as a new game? The other two performed decently but both got sub 200k starts. I think 300k is asking too much.
 

jimbo

Banned
Thraktor said:
Lowest weekly PS3 sales: 14,520
Highest weekly XBox360 sales: 35,343

Yeah, it's going to require a slow PS3 week to coincide with a strong XBox360 week, but it is a possibility, which just goes to show how bad things are looking for PS3 at the moment.

I would have said that Trusty Bell could be the game to do it, but with Ninja Gaiden Sigma coming out the same week, I'd say PS3 will manage to stay just that bit ahead.


Does Japan like Forza? I think that game comes out next month, in a pretty slow PS3 period.
 

Thraktor

Member
milanbaros said:
What are we expecting for SPM? Do you think this will be percieved(sp?) as a follow up to the previous titles in the series or as a new game? The other two performed decently but both got sub 200k starts. I think 300k is asking too much.

There are a few differences worth noting with Super Paper Mario over the other Paper Mario games. The first is obvious, it being a platformer as opposed to the first two's more traditional RPG settings, especially considering the success of NSMB. The second is that it's on Wii, a vastly more popular system, which itself is a double-edged sword: one that the game itself will get a lot more attention, two that the system is still supply-constrained, and sales will be entirely dependent on how many consoles Nintendo manages to shift over the next few weeks.
 

Thraktor

Member
Kafel said:
I think we'll be surprised by Ninja Gaiden Sigma, this title may push a lot the PS3 in Japan.

I would have said that about Virtua Fighter 5, but it only managed to boost sales by less than 5,000 units. I just don't think one game (expect perhaps Final Fantasy) is enough to persuade people to shell out ¥50,000 for a console.
 

apotema

Member
Thraktor said:
I would have said that about Virtua Fighter 5, but it only managed to boost sales by less than 5,000 units. I just don't think one game (expect perhaps Final Fantasy) is enough to persuade people to shell out ¥50,000 for a console.

The only thing that can persuade them is a price cut
 
skinnyrattler said:
CVX mentioned RE but didn't Square do this same thing Moku is proposing with the switch from SNES to PS1/N64 generation? Take a game they were aiming at one console, which was supposedly better hardware-wise and switch it over to the dominant console in Japan and WW?
I don't think there's any evidence that FF VII went beyond any early planning stages for anything but PlayStation, other than that FF VI SGI demo people frequently mistake as N64 testing.
 

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
Moor-Angol said:
After 2 days on the market, GS4 did better than any other GS title released for GBA, and i'm sure after Golden Week it will break 500k mark.

Bingo, it already became the highest selling Gyakuten Saiban for it's original platform.

The question is how high it will sell after it goes through the initial shipment.

It could reach 500,000 or even 600,000. If it has legs it could be the first one to hit 750,000 or dare I say 1,000,000.
 

CorwinB

Member
Hcoregamer00 said:
It could reach 500,000 or even 600,000. If it has legs it could be the first one to hit 750,000 or dare I say 1,000,000.

If it reaches 1 million, then Capcom will have no other choice than rebranding it "Lawyer Training", to acknowledge its non-game status.
 

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
Raw64life said:
GS4 definitely has a shot at 1 million when you factor in the inevitable "Best Price" re-release.

The day GS4 breaks a million is the day the franchise goes mainstream.

The previous 3 games have been selling to a niche audience.

I predict GS5 in a year if GS4 sells a million copies, the engine is already done. They just have to draw new sprites and create 4-5 new cases then BAM we have GS5.
 

cvxfreak

Member
It would be nice if the PW series could sell a million, even with worldwide sales.

I wonder when Gyakuten Saiban 3 will hit Japan. Hopefully this summer so I don't have to wait until September. :D
 

jesusraz

Member
cvxfreak said:
It would be nice if the PW series could sell a million, even with worldwide sales.

I wonder when Gyakuten Saiban 3 will hit Japan. Hopefully this summer so I don't have to wait until September. :D

Exactly what I was thinking...July time seems a nice point to put it out, complete with full English translation, of course ;)
 

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
jesusraz said:
Exactly what I was thinking...July time seems a nice point to put it out, complete with full English translation, of course ;)

Which is exactly why the NA version will probably come out before the Japanese version.
 
Thraktor said:
Lowest weekly PS3 sales: 14,520
Highest weekly XBox360 sales: 35,343

if i am correct, 360 sales had the peak during holiday season, so it's hard for a system which sells constantly 3k a week to increase 10x just for a new RPG, especially if this RPG is not named Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy and, more important, not during the highest sales period.

Sigma can move some PS3, i imagine we'll see 20-25k PS3 sold, so 360 should really have a big boost to reach these numbers. Difficult but not impossible, maybe we could have a draw :)
 

Hcoregamer00

The 'H' stands for hentai.
grandjedi6 said:
Which is exactly why the NA version will probably come out before the Japanese version.

I hope that is the case because I don't want the import sales cannibalizing USA sales like with Ace Attorney 2/Gyakuten Saiban 2 DS
 

Masklinn

Accept one saviour, get the second free.
Diablos54 said:
Didn't they skip the 3rd one in Japan?
They (seem to have) skipped the remake (for now), but GS 1, 2 and 3 were released on the GBA a long time ago (GS3 was released back in 2004), it's just that they never made it to US/Yurop in GBA form
 
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