Japanese hardware sales, Jun. 25 - Jul. 1: Slippery slope edition

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jul 6th 2007 at 11:30PM }

And just when you thought things were going so well. This week's inescapably cataclysmic sales charts confirm what we've all suspected since 2004 -- the Nintendo DS is nothing more than a farcical fad. Microsoft may have waited until this week to deal with their Red Ring of Death problem, but Nintendo had best act faster to resolve their imminent Red Arrow of Debilitation plight. Even those with the most cursory of interests in hardware sales can see the deadly signs spelling out the end of Nintendo's touchy-feely technology: D-O-O-M. E.

That bonus "E" is there for a reason, wonderfully capturing the sound emitted by surprised Nintendo executives experiencing a rude awakening. It's the sort of wake-up call that transpires when someone replaces your pillow with a crocodile on the same day you decided to wear your special salami pajamas (lovingly referred to as salamajamas). Time to pack your bags and go home, Nintendo.

Okay, since you're already in Japan, just pack your bags. Pack your bags with demolished dreams and haunting regrets.

- DS Lite: 157,435 6,453 (3.94%)
- Wii: 73,919

8,337 (12.71%)
- PSP: 38,305

5,321 (16.13%)
- PS2: 16,316

4,354 (36.40%)
- PS3: 11,914

2,333 (24.35%)
- Xbox 360: 3,154

215 (6.38%)
- Game Boy Micro: 377

93 (32.75%)
- GBA SP: 179

49 (37.69%)
- Gamecube: 111

29 (35.37%)
- DS Phat: 45

15 (50.00%)
- GBA: 16

16 (N/A%)

[Source: Media Create]

See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts

Tags: Japanese hardware sales, JapaneseHardwareSales

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

StrangeBum @ Jul 6th 2007 11:42PM

@ 'the Nintendo DS is nothing more than a farcical fad'

Ahahaha...I lol'd when I read that. DS will never die, it's just that everybody and their grandmother already has one, so unless Nintendo starts selling them in the maternity ward at hospitals for the new mothers to give to their infants I see this sort of thing happening more often now.

StrangeBum @ Jul 6th 2007 11:42PM

Chris @ Jul 6th 2007 11:44PM

On the other hand PS3 up 24% way to go Sony!

StrangeBum @ Jul 6th 2007 11:44PM

Wow..sorry about the double post..

Macview @ Jul 6th 2007 11:49PM

"salamajamas" That is the funniest thing I have ever heard. Ever.

T @ Jul 6th 2007 11:57PM

nintendo needs to step it up a notch and dodge the kiddyness if they want to attract more audiences for the DS. Hopefully they learn there lesson before this happens to the wii, i mean look at how easy Twilight princess was compared to previous zeldas just so that "EVERYONE" could play it. They really need thier hardcore audience back and fast.

Joshua @ Jul 6th 2007 11:59PM

360 is still 1/4 of the sales of PS3, even though both seem to kind of be up.

And...Salamajamas! Yes!

mccomber @ Jul 7th 2007 12:00AM

Hurrah, 5 digit sales! It's almost like it's a real console in Japan again!
And, I concur with salamajamas being the highlight of the weekend on Joystiq already. Well played sir, now I have no reason to come back until Monday.

Ska Oreo @ Jul 7th 2007 12:03AM

@6

You're kidding right?

Naota @ Jul 7th 2007 12:07AM

we can only hope Ska

Joe Winders @ Jul 7th 2007 12:07AM

Are you guys serious??? The DS sold more units than all other consoles combined! If any one is in trouble, it's anybody who isn't selling the DS.

Catprog @ Jul 7th 2007 12:09AM

From vgcahtz and wikipedia

Assuming that no one has more then one ds then Nintendo only has about 8% of the population of japan.

Negativecool @ Jul 7th 2007 12:20AM

My GOD I wish I was interested in the DS!! So dominate...so sexy.

Argin @ Jul 7th 2007 12:24AM

As you can see Nintendo is clearly doomed to fail forever.

Andrew H. @ Jul 7th 2007 12:24AM

thanks for the good laughs engadget
=p

Purple Haze @ Jul 7th 2007 12:35AM

NOOO!!! IT'S TOO YOUNG! IT'S TO YOUNG!

syco @ Jul 7th 2007 12:39AM

Obviously, Joe, parody is lost on you.

Axel_Silver @ Jul 7th 2007 12:50AM

I don't... I don't get it... People are still going crazy about the DS and the Lite. Is this some sort of joke? Some sort of sick joke that's trying to feed on how popular Nintendo's little touchable friend is? It isn't funny, Joystiq. I'm used to at least an only slightly cynical view, and now we're reduced to throwing insults about pillows being replaced by crocodiles and Nintendo wearing salamajamas. Is this the fourth grade? The second grade? I don't mind comedy, but this is stooping to the level of comedy VGCats uses. Do you really need to be doing this to us, joking about the DS?

Grey Acumen @ Jul 7th 2007 1:11AM

The Wii is selling more than all competing consoles combined, and the DS is selling more than all other consoles combined PERIOD.

Has there been a single non-nintendo dominated week since the DS lite came out?

Antos @ Jul 7th 2007 1:30AM

Well, by the assertions above, then I guess the DS Phat and GBA SP is where it's at (50% and 37%) increases respectivly. Retro is back!

Gotta love statistics... and satire lol.

Hashbrown_Hunter @ Jul 7th 2007 1:39AM

lol salamajamas :D

It's good to see Sony on the rise and is it really a big deal if the DS fell 6%? everyone in Japan probably owns one, so I expect the sales to slowly drop until the next DS craze starts up.

WhatIsThatThing @ Jul 7th 2007 1:42AM

DUN DUN DUN! Ahem...Excuse my lateness.

Mort @ Jul 7th 2007 2:05AM

@Axel_Silver: Can I borrow some sand..? My vagina, unlike yours, is running low...

And as to what caused the drop in DS sales, one can only guess... My bet is that, as StrangeBum said, _everyone_ already owns one...

Paviel @ Jul 7th 2007 2:20AM

I think that this article did overdo it. I think a single sentence, maybe enhanced by an exclamation or two, might have done the trick better. Maybe something like this:

OMG! DS Lite sales are down THREE POINT NINE FOUR PERCENT in Japan this week!

Paviel @ Jul 7th 2007 2:25AM

Oh, and I also agree with StrangeBum and Mort. When you hit the bottom, you can only go up... and when you reach the top, you can only go down...

And besides, as they say in Japan, the nail that sticks up will be pounded down... and DS sales have been sticking up for a long time now, so maybe we should expect more pounding.

TwistedBishop @ Jul 7th 2007 3:52AM

I feel bad for anyone who can't enjoy a term like "salmajamas".

zwarrior @ Jul 7th 2007 4:46AM

Am I the only one who noticed #15 just called Joystiq, "engadget"

Curmeo @ Jul 7th 2007 5:20AM

as usual, PS3 is pwning the competing 360.

as usual, fanboys think Wii is pwning the other systems, namely PS3, even though Wii is in a different league and is not a direct competitor, contrary to wat fanboys want to believe. do u Wii fanboys also compare cellphone games to arcade games?

Rubang B @ Jul 7th 2007 5:43AM

Curmeo, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all in DIRECT competition for MY DOLLARS. Some people want 1 console so they pick between Wii or the 360, or 2 consoles, and they have to pick between Wii60, WiiS2, or some times even WiiS3, so yeah... you're right, Nintendo isn't competing, they're DOMINATING.

And yes, cell phone games are in direct competition with arcade games for MY DOLLARS. Do I want to buy a $5 cell phone game or go drop $5 of quarters into a couple machines? I choose neither, and uh you, Pikachu?

Kye @ Jul 7th 2007 5:43AM

Has there ever been a week where everything went up (or down)?

Babel @ Jul 7th 2007 5:57AM

Purple Haze's comment made me laugh more than any of the actual post. Does that make me retarded?

Curmeo @ Jul 7th 2007 6:51AM

Rubang B,

why dont u go ahead and include toilet paper in the mix? after all, toilet paper companies and nintendo are in DIRECT competition for YOUR DOLLARS! will you spend your money buying a bag of rolls to clean your ass or instead go for Cooking Mama?!

you dont get it: the *majority* of Wii owners do not own a 360 and/or PS3, in the same way as the majority of cell phone gamers do not visit the arcades every day.

Dont fool yourself into thinking a $250 game system (that has mostly casual games, a motion sensing remote largely designed for the casual gamer, and a joke of an online service) is directly competing with PS3/360, two systems that are made for hardcore gamers.

Anonymous @ Jul 7th 2007 6:59AM

I love how some people try to convince themselves that the Wii isn't part of the competition. You've fell for Nintendo's tricks - of course they're in direct competition, they just dont want you to figure that out because you might then go and buy an Xbox360 or PS3 instead.

Anonymous @ Jul 7th 2007 7:05AM

Don't fool yourself with the whole hardcore and casual gamers aswell - are you saying 120m PS2's sold were done so to hardcore gamers? I don't think so.

To win over the console market you NEED to pick up more casual gamers along the way than hardcore gamers, who don't make up the majority of the market.

Evan @ Jul 7th 2007 7:12AM

@Curmeo

I know that, if the Wii didn't exist, I'd own a 360 by now. I was planning on buying a 360 last Christmas, but the Wii intrigued me. So, the Wii cost Microsoft my sale, and I'm sure there are many more like me.

X_Arre @ Jul 7th 2007 7:23AM

I don't compare cell phone games to arcade games, or toilet paper for that matter (where the hell did that come from, your ass?)

But Usually it's alright to compare console games to console games. Are the 360 and PS3 in seperate leagues because they have different software formats?

Curmeo @ Jul 7th 2007 7:28AM

Anonymous,

dont compare PS2 to Wii. last gen had totally different circumstances. Last gen all three consoles had similar hardware, software, and services:

a) all three consoles were prices similarly, $300 to $200.

b) all three consoles had similar controllers.

c) all three consoles had similar graphics/capabilities.

d) all three consoles had similar multiplatform and exclusive games.

e) atleast two consoles had online services.

this gen is totally different:

a) Wii is much cheaper than PS3/360.
b) Wii has a joke of an online service.
c) Wii remote is built for the casual gamer and *focuses* on motion sensing unlike Sixaxis.
d) Wii ports are casual versions of PS3/360 ports. whats Call of Duty 3 without online play, in 480i, with limited stereo sound, and with motion sensing controls? yes thats right, its a casual version of the hardcore PS3/360 version.
e) Wii focuses on casual games MUCH MORE than PS3/360 do.
f) Wii hardware is totally different than PS3/360 hardware. Wii doesnt even have a hard drive, has a much weaker GPU and CPU, has no no PPU, and has much less RAM.

mo @ Jul 7th 2007 7:29AM

@32 curmeo

throw toilet paper into the mix?? that was the worst analogy ive ever heard

and your really going to say there not in the same league because they target different audiences?? are you retarded??

the movie Knocked up targets a different audience of people than Hostel 2, but there both movies, targeting the audience that goes to the movies, and they want people who are only going to see one movie in the next month to see their movie

if your trying to say that the PS3 is winning because the wii dosent count as a contestant thats just fuckin hilarious, and even more so because you belittle fan boys in your post while saying this

i am amazed at the shit PS3 fanboys will say to defend there purchase, just calm down, you system dosent have to be the coolest for you to enjoy it

just because the Wii is beating the pants off all the other competitors in sales dosent make it any more fun to play, and the PS3 any less

although owning the winning system does make joystiq.com wayyy more fun....

and besides,as 33 pointed out, its nintendo that constantly claims there not competing directly with them and are going a different direction, thats just part of there propaganda to make the wii look even more unique, no one fell for it but you apparently

and lastly, do you think if there was no wii ever produced that the sales for the PS3 and Xbox 360 would be the same as they are now??of course not, all the wii sales would be divvied up into them almost entirely,especially now that the 360 is only 50 dollars away in price

anyway thanks for the laugh

Spongie @ Jul 7th 2007 7:40AM

How come we never see any sales outside of japan?

mo @ Jul 7th 2007 7:43AM

@curmeo said
d) Wii ports are casual versions of PS3/360ports. whats
Call of Duty 3 without online play, in 480i, with limited stereo
sound, and with motion sensing controls? yes thats right, its a
casual version of the hardcore PS3/360 version.

that makes it more casual?? only the hardcore people can handle the intense audio capabilities and better HD resolution??

those casual gamers just dont know what to do when that 1080i is thrown in there face, they just run away to their casual version.... i know i cant handle it, thatswhy i bought a wii, im just not hardcore enough for a 360 yet...

@39

the rest of the sales charts dont come out officially as often,japans come out weekly

Evan @ Jul 7th 2007 7:43AM

Sony's up because four big games were released on June 28th:

1st - Super Robot Wars: Original Generations (PS2)
5th - Ratchet and Clank 5 (PSP)
7th and 8th - Tales of Fandam Vol 2 (PS2)
19th - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (PS3)

If they can release games like that every week, then maybe they'll keep on going up.

Spongie @ Jul 7th 2007 7:46AM

Its nice to see wii sale so well to bad most of the games suck balls...

Curmeo @ Jul 7th 2007 7:59AM

mo,

yes, having no online makes the Wii Call of Duty 3 version casual.

not having 5.1 surround sound makes it casual.

only supporting 480i makes the graphics and performance crappy. playing local splitscreen on 480i is horrible. this is 2007, not the PSX/N64 FPS era. even playing the single player campaign in 480i is a horrible experience as one finds it irritating to spot the enemy in the distance. again this is 2007, not 1996.

having gimmicky motion controls makes the Wii version crappy. PS3/360 controls are much smoother for the game.

Anonymous @ Jul 7th 2007 8:02AM

@Curmeo,

Your points hold no water, technical specs of a console do not make it either a casual console or a hardcore console (even though I will never accept that a company is aiming for only the hardcore audience as that would be financial suicide)...how it's marketed is (and in that regard EVERYONE in the industry is looking to grab as many casual gamers as possible)

All i've gathered from your posts is that you do not like the Wii, from what I can see, you're trying to belittle the Wii simply because you dont like it.

It's quite easy to compare current gen consoles with last in this context - you're trying to convince people that the Wii isn't competition to either the Xbox360 or PS3 because they're going after a different market (casual and hardcore), would you therefore say the PS2 wasnt competition for the Xbox because the original Xbox catered for the hardcore gamers more whereas the PS2 was actually a casual gamers choice last gen?

The Wii IS in direct competition whether you believe it or not - the Wii will take sales away from the Xbox360 and PS3. Just because people say "oh you can buy two different consoles this gen, the Wii and [insert console of choice]" doesnt mean people actually will (as sales have seemigly proved).

Rob @ Jul 7th 2007 8:33AM

@curmeo:

The 360 doesn't have a hard drive either, as far as developers are concerned.

5.1 and online do not hardcore make. I've been gaming longer than most of you here have been alive. I don't do online, and I don't give a flying flip about 5.1. I care about *games*, nothing more. The tech means little to me. I don't care if its "kiddie" or gunning down pedestrians, as long as it's fun and low maintenance. This generation doesn't fit both of those yet. Not enough games on 360 (IMHO, but borderline) or Wii, definitely not enough on PS3. The 360 doesn't fall under low maintenance by a longshot, and with all the firmware upgrades, neither does the PS3.

t_m @ Jul 7th 2007 8:38AM

well its not ninja gaiden thats boosted the PS3's sales.

I wonder if its that cool looking "kids summer vacation" game i keep seeing advertised on the trains.. the on where you go swimming, catch insects and ride down the hills on carts. It certainly looks like the most fun games on the PS3 until LittleBigPlanet.

Wish my japanese was good enough to catch the title so i could look it up. Summer Vacation 3??

DrunkenKender @ Jul 7th 2007 9:18AM

plz tell me wut i must do 2 b h4rdc0r3. i want 2 b hXc like you.. plz. should i sell my Wii for PS3?

Zelda @ Jul 7th 2007 9:19AM

OH MY GOOOD! the DSLite died like a dog!

Curmero is right the Wii does attract people to gaming who otherwise would not be seen dead with one. And because Wii brings new blood into gaming thats also good for MS and Sony, ironically.
Wii is good for sexual inuendo too, great for when that bird you've been wanting to shag for ages comes round ;p