Support NeoGAF

[michaelius]

Like I said, they were already invested towards the Vita and PSP. Sony has also helped with Toukiden. There is really no other developer left to make hunting action games.

The only hunting action game I think Sony is not involved in is GE2, but that could change.

Well I guess Sony incentives + vision of becoming next Monster Hunter for a smaller platform was probably tempting enough

 

[schuelma]

Just in case anyone is wondering why PS4 and Xbone will be released in EU and US first.

Seems home consoles are pretty much dead in Japan.

I bet PS4 will have a strong launch based on the tech+the promise of FF15 and KH3.

I do think it will probably be a pretty tough road initially though because I suspect most projects will stay PS3 for a while. 3rd parties invested a lot in making PS3 a viable platform- now they are seeing their efforts pay off.

 

[Magicpaint]

Yup. It goes unnoticed thanks to the twin floptacular headliners, but all is not well in handheldland. Sure, it'll get better later in the year, but should the platform really be declining in sales at this point? I don't think so.

Because 40k in a quiet week is still healthy - because the Q1/2 lineup was anemic compared to last year, it's really easy to see. Everyone knows DS 06/07 numbers are not achievable, so it's back to reality. The 3DS is a healthy platform.

 

[KillerMan91]

I bet PS4 will have a strong launch based on the tech+the promise of FF15 and KH3.

I do think it will probably be a pretty tough road initially though because I suspect most projects will stay PS3 for a while. 3rd parties invested a lot in making PS3 a viable platform- now they are seeing their efforts pay off.

I predict that PS4 will be pretty much like PS3 in terms of sales. Probably million or two lower due demographic issues Japan is facing. Same franchises pretty much luring the same gamers to the platform as with PS3.

 

[schuelma]

I predict that PS4 will be pretty much like PS3 in terms of sales. Probably million or two lower due demographic issues Japan is facing. Same franchises pretty much luring same gamers to the platform as with PS3.

Yeah. In its favor will be a lower starting price, and possibly a quicker mainline FF game.

 

[Damo Yoshi]

I wonder when Sony will pull the pin on the PSP in hardware production? Vita is slowly, slowly finding its feet and Sony doesn't seem keen on cutting their losses ("yet" snark pending) -- when does Sony stop any possibility of the PSP cannibalising Vita sales and exclusively concentrate on the future?

What a strange story the PSP can tell its grandkids -- a story of love and loss (and lots of monster hunting and WHAT THE SNAP am i playing software).

 

[Kyoufu]

I predict that PS4 will be pretty much like PS3 in terms of sales. Probably million or two lower due demographic issues Japan is facing. Same franchises pretty much luring the same gamers to the platform as with PS3.

PS4 won't be as expensive as PS3 was at launch so I don't think it's going to be as bad as people think.

Won't be outselling 3DS LTD but that doesn't mean it can't be a healthy platform.

 

[StreetsAhead]

I bet PS4 will have a strong launch based on the tech+the promise of FF15 and KH3.

I do think it will probably be a pretty tough road initially though because I suspect most projects will stay PS3 for a while. 3rd parties invested a lot in making PS3 a viable platform- now they are seeing their efforts pay off.

What are the 'must have' launch titles for Japan (I know they haven't announced the full line up yet)? Killzone, Knack, Drive Club?

 

[schuelma]

What are the 'must have' launch titles for Japan (I know they haven't announced the full line up yet)? Killzone, Knack, Drive Club?

Well, for now, nothing, though I am reasonably confident there will be some Japanese launch titles announced in August and September.

I think tech will sell the system at first though.

 

[BadWolf]

I predict that PS4 will be pretty much like PS3 in terms of sales. Probably million or two lower due demographic issues Japan is facing. Same franchises pretty much luring the same gamers to the platform as with PS3.

With the WiiU failing hard (and being completely ignored by third parties) and the 180 being completely irrelevant in the region, imo the PS4 has a very good chance to do extremely well, especially with games like the new Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts coming.

 

[Kyoufu]

What are the 'must have' launch titles for Japan (I know they haven't announced the full line up yet)? Killzone, Knack, Drive Club?

We don't know what the launch titles are for Japan yet. I'm guessing they've got a Minna no Golf game in the works at least.

 

[schuelma]

With the WiiU failing hard (and being completely ignored by third parties) and the 180 being completely irrelevant in the region, imo the PS4 has a pretty good chance to do extremely well, especially with the new Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts already announced.

Well, its not like the Wii was ever serious competition for most 3rd party franchises.

I see your point, but I would also argue 3DS is more serious competition for 3rd party franchises than DS was last gen.

 

[Mpl90]

I think a Musou will be there, at launch. It's becoming the new Ridge Racer: last three launches all had a Musou title released with the platform.

 

[schuelma]

I think a Musou will be there, at launch. It's becoming the new Ridge Racer: last three launches all had a Musou title released with the platform.

Yeah musou, maybe a gundam game, probably a few PS3/PS4 games.

 

[Mr Swine]

will Vita ever get a "Monhun" fatigue (or in the same genre) with all the games that have been released or will be released in the future or will that simply not happen?

 

[Glass Rebel]

I'm actually surprised how weak the support for the 3DS is outside of Nintendo (obviously), Atlus and Bandai Namco. Level-5 seems to be pretty insignificant and Capcom has "only" Gyakuten Saiban and Monster Hunter.

 

[schuelma]

I'm actually surprised how weak the support for the 3DS is outside of Nintendo (obviously), Atlus and Bandai Namco.

Capcom?

 

[slaughterking]

Capcom?

Level 5 too.

 

[marc^o^]

Capcom?

Square?

 

[Mpl90]

I'm actually surprised how weak the support for the 3DS is outside of Nintendo (obviously), Atlus and Bandai Namco.

Not counting Level 5, Square Enix, Agatsuma, Kadokawa, Capcom, Marvelous, etc.etc.
I see.

 

[kswiston]

3DS is being supported by most of the major Japanese studios. I don't see how support is bad.

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

will Vita ever get a "Monhun" fatigue (or in the same genre) with all the games that have been released or will be released in the future or will that simply not happen?

The better question is are these "Monhun" type games just becoming the Japanese equivalence of a game where you shoot others in America has become? Which is to say it may be unfair to lump them all together just as it is unfair to lump Bioshock Infinite and Last of Us in the same category as Call of Duty and Battlefield.

 

[ULTROS!]

Square?

Square kinda vanished after DQVII Remake.

 

[DGRE]

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is available on the 3DS eShop right?

 

[KillerMan91]

PS4 won't be as expensive as PS3 was at launch so I don't think it's going to be as bad as people think.

Won't be outselling 3DS LTD but that doesn't mean it can't be a healthy platform.

Well yeah. Lower launch price could mean better first year but at the same time imo I see that interest towards home consoles has dropped a lot between this day and 2006 in Japan. Also it's not like PS3 was that expensive for long. It didn't take even a year and it was 39k yen (same as PS4 launch price) and still it didn't sell that well. I think best case scenario is little over PS3 sales and realistic little under. the projection by millions.

 

[schuelma]

Well yeah. Lower launch price could mean better first year but at the same time imo I see that interest towards home consoles has dropped a lot between this day and 2006 in Japan. Also it's not like PS3 was that expensive for long. It didn't take even a year and it was 39k yen (same as PS4 launch price) and still it didn't sell that well. I think best case scenario is little over PS3 sales and realistic little under.

I was going to say- I thought I remembered PS3 getting price drops in Japan much quicker than anywhere else.

 

[jeremy1456]

I bet PS4 will have a strong launch based on the tech+the promise of FF15 and KH3.

I do think it will probably be a pretty tough road initially though because I suspect most projects will stay PS3 for a while. 3rd parties invested a lot in making PS3 a viable platform- now they are seeing their efforts pay off.

Your first paragraph is sounding eerily similar to the significant number of proclamations made around the launch of the PS3.

 

[shinra-bansho]

What are the 'must have' launch titles for Japan (I know they haven't announced the full line up yet)? Killzone, Knack, Drive Club?

I'm not sure about Japan specifically, but I wouldn't be surprised if, when affordably priced, new systems will sell by virtue of being "real" next gen* systems alone.

*N.B. anyone who takes issue with this, I'm not interested in semantic discussions.

Wiki says the PS2 launched with:

• A-Train 6
• DrumMania
• Eternal Ring
• Kakinoki Shogi IV
• Kessen
• Mahjong Taikai III
• Morita Shogi
• Ridge Racer V
• Stepping Selection
• Street Fighter EX3

Not sure whether that was supposed to be a killer launch line up to drive transition.

The PS3 had a major price problem. And the 360 was the 360.

Not sure whether a potential 40K yen price will be too off-putting for the Japanese consumer though.

 

[michaelius]

What are the 'must have' launch titles for Japan (I know they haven't announced the full line up yet)? Killzone, Knack, Drive Club?

GT6 PS4 for launch window will probably be anouced

 

[darkside31337]

I'd imagine the western games would do better than most people expect. People still get surprised when those titles do 150k+ even though things like FPS sales continue to go up every year with COD, BF etc.

Just a matter of how quick the adoption is from last gen to next gen but that is something that is an issue in every region.

Personally I think Sony is making a mistake if they're not releasing 2013 in Japan. The tech and the quantity of games alone (and this was -not- the case with the PS3) would ensure a sell out of a pretty limited supply.

 

[schuelma]

Your first paragraph is sounding eerily similar to the significant number of proclamations made around the launch of the PS3.

Well, I am a well known Sony fan boy.

But anyways, PS3 sold in Japan for a long time literally on the promise of its tech. PS4 will presumably be cheaper so I can see it at least starting out pretty well.

 

[ambientmystic]

I'm not sure about Japan specifically, but I wouldn't be surprised if, when affordably priced, new systems will sell by virtue of being "real" next gen* systems alone.

*N.B. anyone who takes issue with this, I'm not interested in semantic discussions.

Wiki says the PS2 launched with:

• A-Train 6
• DrumMania
• Eternal Ring
• Kakinoki Shogi IV
• Kessen
• Mahjong Taikai III
• Morita Shogi
• Ridge Racer V
• Stepping Selection
• Street Fighter EX3

Not sure whether that was supposed to be a killer launch line up to drive transition.

Wow, that Japanese launch line up is pretty poor in retrospect

They really coasted on its DVD playback in the 1st year or so lol.

 

[Totakeke]

How is the new EO tracking compared to the mainline? Seems much worse?

 

[Frillen]

I'd rather say they both had premature births. Wii U with games and Vita with PS4 will be different beasts.

The Vita + PS4 thingy is not going to boost Vita sales. People are not going to buy a secondary device for $250 on top of a device for $399.

 

[Mpl90]

I'm not sure about Japan specifically, but I wouldn't be surprised if, when affordably priced, new systems will sell by virtue of being "real" next gen* systems alone.

*N.B. anyone who takes issue with this, I'm not interested in semantic discussions.

Wiki says the PS2 launched with:

• A-Train 6
• DrumMania
• Eternal Ring
• Kakinoki Shogi IV
• Kessen
• Mahjong Taikai III
• Morita Shogi
• Ridge Racer V
• Stepping Selection
• Street Fighter EX3

Not sure whether that was supposed to be a killer launch line up to drive transition.

For reference, here's PS2 launch, software wise (Famitsu)

1 [PS2] Ridge Racer V (Namco) - 233.391 / 233.391
2 [PS2] Kessen (Koei) - 101.844 / 101.844
3 [PS2] Street Fighter EX3 (Capcom) - 76.389 / 76.389
6 [PS2] DrumMania (Konami) - 43.158 / 43.158
7 [PS2] Eternal Ring (From Software) - 42.734 / 42.734
12 [PS2] Let's Take the A-Train 6 (Artdink) - 17.842 / 17.842
16 [PS2] Mahjong Taikai III: Milennium League (Koei) - 9.906 / 9.906

 

[pharmboy044]

The Last of Us might actually hit 200K. Not a bad number for a western new IP.

 

[Mpl90]

Yeah musou, maybe a gundam game, probably a few PS3/PS4 games.

You know, seeing Toukiden being so successful makes me think we could see Toukiden: Ultimate at launch of PS4, like MH3G HD Version last year, on Wii U.

 

[KillerMan91]

I was going to say- I thought I remembered PS3 getting price drops in Japan much quicker than anywhere else.

it got price drops everywhere pretty much at the same time. In USA/Japan they launched with 599$/499$ price points and in EU with only 599€ model. They phased out the 20gb model in US early 2007 but still sold it in Japan. Then in fall they phased the 20gb sku also from Japanese market and launched 40gb model everywhere with 399$/399€/39k yen price point. In EU the drop was actually biggest. From 599€ to 399€ with one price drop. Pretty mindblowing.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Your first paragraph is sounding eerily similar to the significant number of proclamations made around the launch of the PS3.

¥49,980 20GB
¥59,980 60GB

I hazard to guess the PS4 won't launch for more than ¥40K.

 

[marc^o^]

The Vita + PS4 thingy is not going to boost Vita sales. People are not going to buy a secondary device for $250 on top of a device for $399.

Considering the perspective owning both devices at one point will create tremendous value, it should have an influence. People hearing about the synergies may very well buy a Vita in the coming months, waiting for the PS4 to price drop or be worth it in terms of japanese lineup.

 

[schuelma]

I hazard to guess the PS4 won't launch for more than ¥40K.

That is still really really expensive for Japan, especially when the dominant platform goes for less than half that amount.

 

[shinra-bansho]

That is still really really expensive for Japan, especially when the dominant platform goes for less than half that amount.

Yeah, I wasn't sure about Japanese price sensitivity.

The PS3 didn't really resonate well with consumers until it went to ¥30K looking retrospectively.

And I imagine Sony will be pushing to reach that as soon as possible (as well as $299 in the US, and 299 Euros.)

It's still a lot better than the PS3 launch price though.

 

[Darryl]

My biggest question is, these people buying Wii U's... Which games are they buying? One would think NSMBU or maybe even NintendoLand would show up on the bottom of the charts at least, no? But not a single game charted. Is it so fragmented that no game chats or aren't they buying any games at all. They certainly aren't buying the games on the eShop, are they?

probably people seen some commercials and are preparing for the first of the launch games to hit soon. gettin a used NSMB:U and waiting for pikmin

 

[DGRE]

At this rate, MH3 3DS may reach 2 million before MH4 comes out. Pretty impressive numbers.

 

[BadWolf]

That is still really really expensive for Japan, especially when the dominant platform goes for less than half that amount.

Not really a fair comparison since the 3DS is a 2(?) year old handheld system that is nowhere near the same class in performance and functionality as the PS4.

Apples and oranges imo.

 

[schuelma]

Not really a fair comparison since the 3DS is a 2(?) year old handheld system that is nowhere near the same class in performance and functionality as the PS4.

You do not think the 3DS is competition for PS4 or any other system in Japan?

 

[Nirolak]

Not really a fair comparison since the 3DS is a 2(?) year old handheld system that is nowhere near the same class in performance and functionality as the PS4.

Apples and oranges imo.

It can still be a replacement product for a fair number of people however.

It's not a 100% overlap obviously, but for some consumers it is.

 

[BadWolf]

You do not think the 3DS is competition for PS4 or any other system in Japan?

Not really, one is a handheld and the other a console.

 

[pieatorium]

Not really a fair comparison since the 3DS is a 2(?) year old handheld system that is nowhere near the same class in performance and functionality as the PS4.

Apples and oranges imo.

it had a slow start at a much lower price than ¥40K when it launched.

 

[schuelma]

Not really, one is a handheld and the other a console.

oh ok