Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 22 - Oct. 28: Meager eager edition
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Nov 3rd 2007 at 9:30AM }
Or are they?
Much like a tack carefully obscured within a bowl of popcorn, that small dash of doubt might just shock you into seeing how desperate you are to grasp and consume something with no nutritious value. Are these numbers from a foreign land helping you grow as a person? Are the aesthetically pleasing arrows strong enough to direct your level of happiness? Are they worth enduring terrible metaphors, incessant blathering and consequent fanboy screeching? Only you have the answers...
- DS Lite: 76,243
5,635 (7.98%)- PSP: 59,792
1,123 (1.91%)- Wii: 27,502
2,570 (10.31%)- PS3: 18,785
1,655 (9.66%) - PS2: 11,698
1,417 (13.78%)- Xbox 360: 3,718
707 (23.48%)- Game Boy Micro: 64
54 (45.76%)- Gamecube: 58
10 (20.83%)- GBA SP: 41
89 (68.46%)- DS Phat: 30
- GBA: ???
[Source: Media Create]
See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
... but if you made it this far, it was probably "yes" for all of them.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
SoxFan13 @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:45AM
I wouldn't normally read about J-hardware sales, but Ludwig at least makes it entertaining. Plus, there's not too many blog posts on any of the major sites on Saturday mornings!
Skeffington @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:47AM
Allow me to sum up the upcoming comments:
- Wii is a fad! Not selling as much as it used to!
- Wii numbers are higher than the PS3, and it's all that matters!
- Wii numbers will be back to usual with Mario Galaxy!
- No! Mario doesn't sell as much as it used to, but FFXIII and MGS4 will put the PS3 back in the game!
- DS Phat and GC are back, lolz!
- The Aussie dollar will soon be as much as the US dollar! (OK, maybe not that one).
velocitystrike @ Nov 3rd 2007 10:02AM
"Allow me to sum up the upcoming comments:"
No.
LaughingTarget @ Nov 3rd 2007 10:02AM
Yet Aussies will still pay twice as much for video games...
commen-cents @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:33AM
you forgot "wow the 360 might as well not even try to sell systems over there because those numbers are pathetic"
ruibing @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:52PM
For the love of god, drop the listing of the old Nintendo products or group them into something. A classroom gets a bunch of GBAs to dissect would now raise the sales by 100%.
sinergy @ Nov 3rd 2007 10:03AM
Penelo carrying Spear makes me sad :(
velocitystrike @ Nov 3rd 2007 10:04AM
I jest, Skeff.
I must say, I'm surprised how low the PS2 figure is. I know there haven't been any major releases but it seems almost uncharacteristic of the Japanese to buy more PS3s and PSPs than PS2s.
=/
k0sm0s @ Nov 3rd 2007 1:09PM
that's where we are wrong... the problem is that international game sites no longer bothers about ps2.. from japanese magazines the ps2 still has a strong amount of releases.. the problem is that we do not know about it.. there's way too much decent japanese games on ps2.. famitsu reports on them
Korova @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:02AM
A+ post. Now I have yet another basis for anxiety when I get up in the morning. Gotta watch the fan.
Llama Head @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:04AM
@Skeffington
I thought Galaxy had already been released in Japan?
If this is the case, not much of a spike for the Wii which seems odd.
Anyway, go hand-helds!
Skeffington @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:37PM
This chart reflects the sales just before SMG was released. Next week's sales will show whether the game had an impact.
B1gC72 @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:03AM
wow. the PS3 and PSP are slowly closing that gap on the Wii and DS Lite. do i ever really expect the PSP to outsell the DS Lite on a regular basis OR come close to its total units sold? No. but i still want to see the PSP get a larger install base so we get even more support. same with PS3 and Wii except i do expect the PS3 to overtake it sometime in the next couple years but not right now. i think the Wii shortages are a factor too though.
actually, i would love to see them all do good since i own um all anyway lol. just hope they keep obliterating that damn 360...
(oh and since this is the Japanese sales chart, all my comments reflect Japan only. it's another ball game in the US and UK. there, now im flame retardant. lol)
James @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:31AM
"same with PS3 and Wii except i do expect the PS3 to overtake it sometime in the next couple years but not right now"
Major Lulz reporting for duty or something.
I CBA looking up the data, but I recall a post on Neogaf that worked out how many months it would take for the PS3 to overtake the Wii IF the Wii no longer sold a single unit. I believe it was 14 months or something like that. IE, it's not going to happen. The PS3 has a shot at overtaking the 360 though, I'll give it that. The Wii is just invincible, look how well it sold without games? And in the next few months the proper games are going to start appearing (and costing half that of 360/PS3 games). Should be a crazy time.
mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring) @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:35AM
"the PS3 and PSP are slowly closing that gap on the Wii and DS Lite."
You may want to check those numbers again.
Joshua @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:38AM
"wow. the PS3 and PSP are slowly closing that gap on the Wii and DS Lite."
The Wii and DS Lite are just selling less.
And there are no Wii shortages in Japan.
B1gC72 @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:48AM
well like i said. i own both consles so a bigger install base is great on either front. but the PS3 overtaking the Wii thing mostly sheds light to the fact that i think the Wii is mostly a fad. in time, the fad audience will wear off and then it will be exposed. i can't tell you how many girls i know that hated games before but now all tell me they bought Wii's. but when asked what games they bought for it, the answer is usually just Wii Sports. now i know the Wii does have a great line up coming up and at a cheaper price but grandma, your girlfriend, and great uncle bob aren't going to want to play Super Smash Bros Brawl or Mario Galaxy or MP3 or etc. etc. that lead me to believe the Wii will eventually simmer to just above Gamecube numbers, ala switching spots with the PS3.
the PS3 on the other hand just has too much new technology in it making it too expensive for the average consumer. but judging from how many people had PS2's and how well the PS3 sells whenever they drop the price, people want PS3's they just don't want to sell a kidney to have one. only hardcore gamers have PS3 right now because little Johnny's mom won't buy him one until the price comes down.
so i'll say it again, PS3 will eventually overtake the Wii in A COUPLE OF YEARS. now that could be 2009, 2010, etc. but i firmly believe it will take over. and again, in Japan at least.
B1gC72 @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:50AM
well i admittedly didn't check the numbers on the Wii shortages. i thought it was worldwide. ok i stand corrected then.
LaughingTarget @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:50AM
Or the fact that Nintendo is currently concentrating its limited production capabilities on North America...
Noshino @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:01PM
heh, yah you might want to edit your statement, its not closing the gap, is just the Per-month sales gap that is closing a bit (NOTE: A BIT, don't go all berserk on me....)
LaughingTarget,
"Or the fact that Nintendo is currently concentrating its limited production capabilities on North America..."
....are you serious? you believe that? its just another way for Nintendo to cover the fact that indeed the per month sales gap between teh Wii and the other consoles is closer than before.
See, Nintendo has made a good amount of money out of the Wii and DS, if they wanted to, they could focus some of those resources to be able to supply BOTH US and Japan, guess what? instead they are focusing their resources on that Wiimote cover, isn't that absurd? isn't it more important to focus on the "shortages" they claim to have?
mr nimblewick @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:19PM
I was just trying to note that both the Wii and DS had larger net gains and percentage gains than any of the Sony products. That is actually the opposite of Sony closing the gap.
Noshino @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:24PM
ah, sorry nimblewick, I was refering to what B1gC72 said.
Clack @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:56PM
"....are you serious? you believe that? its just another way for Nintendo to cover the fact that indeed the per month sales gap between teh Wii and the other consoles is closer than before."
Are YOU serious? I guess thats why I can walk into 90% of the stores around my town that should be carrying a Wii and they're sold out? Factor in the fact that Nintendo is pushing out 100k+ units a week here in the states, while still selling out, and its not too hard to believe that there are worldwide shortages.
Does anybody have links to credible sources that say Wiis are easy to find in Japan or are selling out? I'm tired of the speculation.
Noshino @ Nov 3rd 2007 1:06PM
Clack,
what is hard to believe, is that, like I pointed out earlier, Nintendo hasn't been able to fix their "shortage" problem.
Normally, the excuses are not enough money or time, but hell, its a year, the profits made out off the DS and Wii are incredible, and yet not focus on the shortages? why focus on anything else when ONE OF THE MAIN, IF NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT, problem Nintendo is having is shortages?
So yes, IT IS hard to believe that there are shortages all around
Joshua @ Nov 3rd 2007 1:40PM
Bah, I'm not bothering to read all these posts. Just, I have both a Wii and PS3, too, and the PS3 will probably get a lot more popular with time. The main reason I bought a PS3 over a 360 was for Japanese support, anyway.
Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:16PM
Nintendo will give a shit about shortages or Wii production or price cuts or games or whatever other problems we're supposed to believe they have... the second something outsells the Wii. As that has never happened in Japan, and happened for just a couple weeks in the U.S. due to Halo 3, they seriously have nothing to worry about. This is all pre-emptive FUD that has no basis in reality. Reality seems to show the Wii dominating the entire planet every week.
Catprog @ Nov 3rd 2007 7:59PM
http://www.vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=X360®3=All&start=39019&end=39383
Sales by week worldwide.
Look at wii total increase
LaughingTarget @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:14PM
Its important to understand that the other console manufacturers are unlikley out producing Nintendo in any shape form or fashion. The reason there are those sales spikes that outdo the Wii is because of the existing supply from prior months. Nintendo is almost running a just in time format (not really, but seems that way due to the sellouts) whereas the others have a backlog of stock available to sell. The end result is the Wii is still ahead, but there is the illusion the others are catching up.
baka_07 @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:24PM
Maybe the jape people don't really like 3d Mario? Or maybe the wii really had shortages in japan.
Noshino @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:29PM
ahem...Mario 64, Mario 64 DS, NSMB (still sidescroller, but 3D)
so no, they do like Mario, it just wasn't the BOOM that Nintendo was expecting Galaxy to be, even though the pre orders were indeed really high (1.5 million right?)
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 4th 2007 2:11AM
I've been hearing that Galaxy has sold 100,000 copies in it's first day. That's pretty good.
mr mobius @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:40PM
Surely sales numbers go down at this time of year anyway and then from mid-November onwards they'll spike as people buy consoles for christmas presents. I know I'll not be getting Galaxy until christmas day because it'll be the game I'll be planning to keep me busy for the next few months after christmas. Now I have phantom hourglass and so many unfinished games to keep me busy.
Admiral_Mike @ Nov 3rd 2007 12:40PM
This is oct 22 - oct 28, according to wikipedia, galaxy launched on the first of november. The 'galaxy effect' will be in next weeks numbers.
i_hate_mtv @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:08PM
But Galaxy is selling terribly, from what I heard.
Elan @ Nov 4th 2007 12:45AM
130 thousand units for its first day isn't terrible. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children sold around 450 thousand in its first week. I'd say that SMG is on track to besting that, at the very least. And then word of mouth will sell the rest of the copies.
Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:40PM
You're comparing a $20 movie to a $50 video game (granted, the Japanese prices are SLIGHTLY different, and not exact conversions, either). The former will always outsell the latter because of the price (that, and movies have a wider appeal than video games).
Elan @ Nov 4th 2007 3:10AM
Err...I meant Crisis Core, sorry. I can't keep track of the millions of frigging Final Fantasy VII sequels and prequels.
Seriously, just let the series rest in peace, SE. Please?
F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 3rd 2007 1:13PM
The Wii outsold the 360 last week here in America. There are shortages in Japan, thats why the Wii is selling so low in Japan, 'cause they are producing more Wii's to America.
Look the Worldwide sales from last week:
http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly.php
Joshua @ Nov 3rd 2007 1:43PM
There really aren't Wii shortages, at least like they are in other parts of the world, in Japan anymore.
Meloche @ Nov 3rd 2007 1:27PM
Since there's 10.31% more Wii sold and 9.66% more PS3 sold, isn't the gab a bit bigger than last week (by something like 0.65%)?
playwhutyalike @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:03PM
I want that white PS3, dammit. It will go good with my Wii.
.
.
.
.
.
That has been put into a black case six months ago.
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Nov 3rd 2007 6:26PM
What you are missing on Wii right now?
There is a shooter (RE4), there are bunch of action games, there are racers, there are adventures (MP3:C), etc.
I'd say atm only RPG is blatantly missing... /me want Fire Emblem ;_;
But since Wii is success in Japan, all kinds of RPGs - RPG/JRPG/SRPG - are guaranteed to come.
playwhutyalike @ Nov 3rd 2007 6:53PM
I ain't missing shit except GTA IV. But the decesion has yet to be made to go 360 or PS3. That decision will be made once it is released (the game) and I see what each console has to offer.
Hey Rockstar, do a port of GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas for the Wii, but, you know, make it better.
Meaning not lazy.
Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:43PM
Yeah, except that Rockstar, Wii, and lazy all go together.
Last I heard, downloadable missions for GTA4 would be exclusive to 360 only (for whatever reason, they decided to cut that feature from the PS3 version). Not sure if that still holds true, but I think that was the latest public announcement on the issue. Not sure if that'll sway you to a 360 or not.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 4th 2007 2:17AM
@play
Because what the Wii needs are the same exact games you can find on the 360 or the ps3. Yep that'll defiantly help it.
playwhutyalike @ Nov 4th 2007 9:44AM
@blast pro mega
I will make the call once the game is released, then I will weigh the pros and cons (other games, features vs. price). That's 3 1/2 months away so I ain't getting too serious just yet. Oh, and Nintendo didn't get to where they are today by being lazy. I agree with you about Rockstar snoozing it in as of late.
@Vegeta
The Wii doesn't need any "help" from anybody, they are doing just fine on thier own. In my opinion I think if they would do ports of those games, up the graphics with widescreen, and didn't eff the controls that would be pretty sweet addition to the Wii library. Just because we all played those games (me on my PC) doesn't mean they can't be fun again, right? But, I'm living in Imagination Land right off the path to the Gumdrop Forest.
Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:13PM
I'm actually a Wii sales figure and I'm getting a kick out of these replies.
playwhutyalike @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:23PM
Yes!
Rubang in the mo' effin' house!
Mr Khan @ Nov 3rd 2007 2:43PM
And so the climb to the end-of-year high begins
(I know its not Christmas, but they love them some New Years)
i_hate_mtv @ Nov 3rd 2007 3:04PM
Listen up Joystiq, because I have the greatest idea ever!
Instead of having a star option on every post, just change their avatar to their preferred company's logo when it becomes obvious that they're fanboys. Make it so they can't change it.
For example, phattie and/or shagi would have a Sony logo, and Fernando would have Nintendo.
Are there any Microsoft fanboys here?