Japanese hardware sales, 30 October - 5 November: incredibly innovative edition

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 10th 2006 at 10:00PM }

Like getting struck by a sack of bowling balls launched from an hydraulic catapult, some words recently spoken by EA Montreal's general manager, Alain Tascan, really made an impact on us. Tascan's observations concern recent testosterone explosion simulator, Gears of War, and how it seemingly lacks innovation and consequenty, doesn't deserve the high scores it's been awarded with. Aside from imparting the fact that EA's hallways are entirely devoid of mirrors, his conclusion reminded us of how stale our beloved series of Japanese sales chart has become. Allow us then to do what must be done -- that which has never been done before.

- DS Lite: 113,097

45,584 (28.73%) -- Innovation factor: 761
- PSP: 23,725

2,183 (8.43%) -- Innovation factor: 1659
- PS2: 20,982

850 (3.89%) -- Innovation factor: 922
- Xbox 360: 6,580

5,015 (320.45%) -- Innovation factor: 562
- GBA SP: 1,443

415 (22.34%) -- Innovation factor: 1443
- Game Boy Micro: 1,299

52 (3.85%) -- Innovation factor: 1299
- Gamecube: 647

3 (0.47%) -- Innovation factor: 647
- DS Phat: 373

259 (227.19%) -- Innovation factor: 373
- GBA: 20

5 (33.33%) -- Innovation factor: 20
- Xbox: 0

7 (100.00%) -- Innovation factor: 0

As you can see, not only have we employed the use of striking colors to make the chart easier to read, but we've also used various arrow sizes to keep things fresh and unpredictable. The "innovation factor" is a brand new statistic calculated by taking the number of units sold modulo the current year (2006). Those three additions make the chart a numeric adventure, clearly illustrating that the mere presence of innovation alone can have a massively beneficial effect on old, informative charts. In your decrepid and wrinkled face, tradition!

(If you find yourself just wanting to enjoy a good old-fashioned sales chart, check after the break. We fully support backwards compatibility, you know.)

[Source: Media Create]

- DS Lite: 113,097 45,584 (28.73%)
- PSP: 23,725 2,183 (8.43%)
- PS2: 20,982 850 (3.89%)
- Xbox 360: 6,580

5,015 (320.45%)
- GBA SP: 1,443415 (22.34%)
- Game Boy Micro: 1,299 52 (3.85%)
- Gamecube: 647

3 (0.47%)
- DS Phat: 373

259 (227.19%)
- GBA: 20

5 (33.33%)
- Xbox: 0 7 (100.00%)

Tags: Japanese hardware sales, JapaneseHardwareSales

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Optimus Prime @ Nov 10th 2006 10:05PM

What 360 game launched in Japan?

Relix @ Nov 10th 2006 10:20PM

No game actually. It was the Xbox 360 core pack.

rdj75 @ Nov 10th 2006 10:13PM

"1. What 360 game launched in Japan?"

LOL, thats the first thing that came to my mind as well. Over 6,000 units? As funny as that may be its still pretty incredible considering the direction they've been going in.

Huey2k2 @ Nov 10th 2006 10:13PM

Wow, since when did Japan care about the 360?

Huzzah!! @ Nov 10th 2006 10:14PM

Again, I wish I could have gone to Japan and bought an Xbox.

"Yeah, that's right.... I was the only one to buy an Xbox in the WHOLE COUNTRY!! HAHAAHAHHA!!!"

rk @ Nov 10th 2006 10:17PM

I predict that Xbox's sales next week will be infinately better then this weeks...

Count Zero @ Nov 10th 2006 10:30PM

I look forward to reading these every week. They just keep getting better and better.

David @ Nov 10th 2006 10:22PM

Democrats win, Bush admited he lied to everyone, and the 360 sold copies in Japan?!?!

END OF THE WORLD!!!!!!

Duo @ Nov 10th 2006 10:26PM

Wasn't it that crazy RPG coming out?

Or maybe people decided they weren't going to get a PS3 due to shortages and gave up on waiting the 3 weeks for a Wii.

TwilightKnight @ Nov 10th 2006 10:27PM

May Science save us!!!

skyrous @ Nov 10th 2006 10:38PM

This list will get interesting next week. it'll look something like this:

- DS Lite: 113,097 45,584 (28.73%)
- PS3: 80,000 (infinite)
- PSP: 23,725 2,183 (8.43%)
- PS2: 20,982 850 (3.89%)
- Xbox 360: 6,580 5,015 (320.45%)
- GBA SP: 1,443415 (22.34%)
- Game Boy Micro: 1,299 52 (3.85%)
- Gamecube: 647 3 (0.47%)
- DS Phat: 373 259 (227.19%)
- GBA: 20 5 (33.33%)
- Xbox: 0 7 (100.00%)

Everything much as it is right now plus the obvious addition of the PS3. The week after it'll look like this:

- DS Lite: 113,097 45,584 (28.73%)
- PSP: 23,725 2,183 (8.43%)
- PS2: 20,982 850 (3.89%)
- Xbox 360: 6,580 5,015 (320.45%)
- GBA SP: 1,443415 (22.34%)
- Game Boy Micro: 1,299 52 (3.85%)
- Gamecube: 647 3 (0.47%)
- DS Phat: 373 259 (227.19%)
- GBA: 20 5 (33.33%)
- Xbox: 0 7 (100.00%)
- PS3: 0 (infinite)

And stay that way till spring... No doubt when this happens microsoft will swoop in and claim to be more popular in Japan. I don't doubt for a moment they would make the claim even if everybody on the planet new it was BS.

epobirs @ Nov 10th 2006 10:39PM

The week all of those Blue Dragon bundle packs ship will be the big one for the 360. Producing more of the same will be the challenge. A lot hinges on how well rated Blue Dragon is when it finally reaches Japanese gamers.

DG @ Nov 10th 2006 10:49PM

Those colors, by the way, make it harder to read.

Ritz @ Nov 10th 2006 11:04PM

It's the goddamn yellow =D

Paul Gale @ Nov 12th 2006 7:39PM

Pretty awesome hardware report this week. First off, look at PSP's total: 1,473,473 (pretty cool).

Next up, I approximated before that Xbox 360 sales would quadruple once the Core pack hit, and what actually occured was pretty close: 4.23 to 1.

Also, for overall sales up to this point, the ratio is close to 2.7 to 1 (Nintendo to Sony), which is a lot higher than 2005's 12 month data of 1.98 to 1 (Nintendo to Sony).

Here's to seeing how PlayStation 3 fares when it comes out in Japan in two more days and then, just how many Wii consoles will Nintendo have ready day one? It'll be at least 400,000; that's for sure.

And wow, after 39 days of being availabe in Japan, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl for the Nintendo DS have combined sales of over 2.9 million copies.

I'm also happy to see that New Super Mario Bros. is still on the top ten list, now being there for 6 months in a row.

General Knowledge Training is really impressive as well (seems to be that way for all games on the DS lately, isn't it)?

I'm looking forward to seeing how many copies Pokemon Battle Revolution will sell for Wii in Japan this December. If Nintendo can ship one million Wii consoles in Japan by December 31st, then I think around 700,000 is a reasonable number for PBR games sold. It'll be interesting.
Paul Gale
1up.com

thunderleg @ Nov 11th 2006 1:15AM

Those varied-sized arrows probably violate a patent of some sort.

You may want to remove them before lawyers have their disgusting way with you, Joystiq.

dooards @ Nov 11th 2006 1:46AM

Dead or alive Xtreme2
The Idol M@ster

http://www.xboxyde.com/news_3657_en.html

takuhi @ Nov 11th 2006 3:52AM

What happened in Japan was that that week's issue of Famitsu was packed with an exclusive demo disc of Lost Odyssey. God only knows how much they spent to get that in there, but having a playable game in hand may have nudged a few thousand people into buying a 360 then instead of waiting for the next major release. Sega used this same marketing ploy for the Dreamcast, incidentally.

Zo� K. @ Nov 11th 2006 4:17AM

Maybe it has something to do with this:

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/07/scalding-sake-itagaki-charged-with-sexual-harassment-by-real-w/

You never know, man. ^_^

Salty @ Nov 11th 2006 1:36PM

It was the bundle packs for Blue Dragon and Lost Planet.

VampireHunter Z @ Nov 11th 2006 4:53PM

Wow, I guess a combination of the Core system and the Lost Odyssey demo gave the 360 a boost. The market is so damn unpredictable. The DS started out real bad, now it's a monster. I'll make a prediction anyway. When Blue Dragon drops you can expect to see 20K - 25K 360s sold in that week. Might be the first time we see it outsell the PS2 and PSP.