Japanese hardware sales, Nov. 5 - Nov. 11: Twice in a lifecycle edition

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 17th 2007 at 4:00AM }

Admittedly, we were being facetious last week when we suggested the PlayStation 3 would trump the Wii next in a series of apocalyptic (but... interesting!) sales chart reversals. The fact that our front door opened into outer space this morning should have been a clear signal that our duration of stay in The Zone of Rather Implausible Things had been extended. The homeless guy with a mirror for a face also makes a lot more sense now (THAT COULD HAVE BEEN US).

Since our sarcastic quips now manifest in reality, perhaps we should ask "What's next?" just one more time. The Wii besting the DS Lite? The GBA making up its mind about staying on or off the charts? A million dollars mysteriously falling into our laps?

- DS Lite: 78,854

302 (0.38%)
- PSP: 58,964

750 (1.26%)
- PS3: 55,924

38,490 (220.78%)
- Wii: 34,546

3,071 (8.16%)
- PS2: 9,043

1,166 (11.42%)
- Xbox 360: 5,817

11,856 (67.09%)
- Game Boy Micro: 708

595 (526.55%)
- GBA SP: 211

5 (2.43%)
- Gamecube: 69

86 (55.48%)
- DS Phat: 30

15 (33.33%)
- GBA: 4

4 (N/A)

[Source: Media Create]

See: The fascinating archives

Tags: Japanese-Hardware-Sales, JapaneseHardwareSales

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Pikachief @ Nov 17th 2007 4:05AM

i knew this would happen sooner or later :(

no one liked 360 at all when that first came out either :/

WedgeTalon @ Nov 17th 2007 7:35AM

I hated on the 360 when it first came out. But at that time I thought surely the PS3 would blow it away with its awesomeness. But the PS3 came out and it was expensive and no better than the 360 and had no real edge (at least thus far) in exclusives. All of it's "exciting" exclusives over the first year were disappointments.

If I were to buy one of them right now, it would be the 360.

I still want a Wii more than either anyway. I don't care if the other have "better graphics", it wouldn't make a difference to me as I have no HDTV and no plans to get one any time soon.

Patrick @ Nov 17th 2007 9:46AM

who in their right mind hated the 360

wired2thewall @ Nov 17th 2007 10:51AM

>>who in their right mind hated the 360

anyone who enjoys a solid piece of hardware that won't crap out if you so much as look at it wrong.
Since you asked, I figured you were looking for an answer.

Oh yeah, other people who hated the 360? People who don't buy buy into micro-transactions (yeah, the other 2 consoles are guilty now but we have Microsoft to thanks for implementing that money grabbing philosophy and the frat boys / 360 crowd for accepting it)

Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 17th 2007 10:51AM

Oh, a lot of people here hate the 360.

But, they're not in their right minds.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 17th 2007 1:26PM

@wired

ummm what? micro-transaction has been around long before Xbox and xbox live. Have you ever played an mmorpg?

telee @ Nov 17th 2007 4:14AM

I would like a million dollars.

I mean, just saying.

Brello @ Nov 17th 2007 12:33PM

Then you could give a few hundred to each of those 4 people in Japan that bought a GBA. Seriously, where did they even find that?

gonk @ Nov 17th 2007 4:25AM

look at those 360 sales go!

gonk @ Nov 17th 2007 4:27AM

also, check out

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/video-game-article/super-mario-trivia.php

and the new Metalocalypse episode at
http://www.adultswim.com/video/index.html

E.J. @ Nov 17th 2007 4:29AM

I can imagine that the Wii has already flooded Japan with the consoles. There has to be a point where everyone already has a Wii and hardware sales wane.

To test the mettle of such dominance comes from software sales and accessory attach rates.

Good for the PS3 though. They've been quiet for too long and now that they have a somewhat-acceptable price for their lower-end console, which is still pretty high.

Compete, corporate dogs! For your competition shall benefit us gamers!

Clack @ Nov 17th 2007 8:53AM

The Wii still has a looong way to go before its in as many households as the DS or PS2. There's that rumor that they're depriving the homeland of stock in order to feed our (USA) insatiable appetite, but I've not seen any proof of this one way or another.

Mr Khan @ Nov 17th 2007 12:07PM

Whenever people say this, i remind them that the DS Lite sold 100k consistently for almost a year before it began to slow to where it is now

That's saturation, this is constrained supply + a lower level of enthusiasm

samfish @ Nov 17th 2007 4:44AM

This should be a fun comments section.

ymmv @ Nov 17th 2007 5:08AM

It's really surprising how quickly Wii boredom has set in in Japan. Super Mario Galaxy was hailed as the second coming of Christ by Wii fans and critics alike, but it has sold less than Super Mario Sunshine. Console sales have been going down for a while too and now the PS3 has become the fastest selling console in Japan.

With PS3 sales picking up in Europe as well, it looks like the US could become the topsy turvy gaming nation where up is down and down is up.

bm @ Nov 17th 2007 5:50AM

"Super Mario Galaxy was hailed as the second coming of Christ by Wii fans and critics alike, but it has sold less than Super Mario Sunshine."

I'd say that's pretty much proof how the japanese have zero fucking taste. That and the hissy fit they threw when they heard DQ9 was going to have *gasp* a different battle system.

Then again, with Spiderman 3 near the top of the charts in the west, you might wonder the same about the rest of the world...

Jon @ Nov 17th 2007 5:58AM

Whoa... Japanese have zero tastes because they have different tastes to you...?

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 17th 2007 6:21AM

Holy shit, Galaxy sold less than Sunshine? You mean Sunshine got to be on the market for over 5 years and Galaxy got to be on the market for 15 days and now we get to compare their sales?!?!?

You're stupid so stop typing!

Also, "PS3 has become the fastest selling console in Japan" is a lie. Lie lie lie. You wrong you lie you dumb. The whole planet knows that's a battle between the Wii and the PS2, which the PS3 has quietly opted out of.

Can some sort of Nintendo-hater give me a decent argument these days? Or is it really all bullshit FUD and lies? You guys are losing it.

Joe @ Nov 17th 2007 7:16AM

if the upcoming holiday season is what's helping the ps3's sales sky rocket, shouldn't it do the same for most of the other systems?

Clack @ Nov 17th 2007 8:58AM

"if the upcoming holiday season is what's helping the ps3's sales sky rocket, shouldn't it do the same for most of the other systems?"

The other systems didn't just get a $100 price drop.

Jouten @ Nov 17th 2007 9:03AM

Yep Rubang! You are right :)

"On 11/12 the Wii received a new game from Nintendo titled Super Mario Galaxy. Since then 31 sites and magazines have reviewed it including Deeko, gamesTM, GamePro and 1UP. Together their reviews have resulted in an average ratio of 97.9%. That ratio has resulted in this title becoming the 1st best game of all time and the 1st best game on the Wii."

http://www.gamerankings.com/

Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Nov 17th 2007 9:11AM

> Super Mario Galaxy was hailed as the second coming of Christ by Wii fans [...]

Finally N gets punished for pushing up the clones.

Mario universe would remain with us, but Nintendo has to seriously think about new games. Spinning and cloning the same platformer for 2+ decades is just silly: fans are slowly dying out (read: growing up) and will not play that anymore. New gamers looks at all the Mario stuff with uncovered surprise: "that thing is game or what???"

I guess Wii/WiiSport/WiiFit is what N does to shake gaming - not only on outside, to fans - but mostly internally to really bring new gamer generation.

As long as they would be pushing Mario/Samus/Link - they will be remaining in eyes of new gamer generations just a relic of past.

Probably PC/PS*/Xbox* will never see such quality of games, but they see (had seen and will be seeing in future) much much much much more newer original games than Nintendo even cares to look at.

name123 @ Nov 17th 2007 10:05AM

@Rubang

Nintendo games are too easy.

I was all excited about Zelda PH until I read it was easy. Nintendo keeps dumbing their games down. Kids are a lot smarter than they think, and can handle far more challenging games. Or maybe it's because I'm a genius.

Aberu @ Nov 17th 2007 10:37AM

Personally DQ9's battle system changing was a stupid idea. I think most people agree, especially those who actually by the dragon quest games. Reason being, every damn company, and their mother's, saw the success and addictive nature of MMO's and though it was because it was this badly designed battle system that was the reason. They've implemented the feel and the systems of MMOs into so many single player RPG's, and it's just kinda lame quite frankly.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 17th 2007 10:38AM

@Ihar.

I don't know what's more surprising, your stupidity or the fact that no one bothered to reply to you. Calling SMG a clone tells me two things:

1. You've never even touched a Wii
2. You've never even played SMG.

Because if you did there is no fucking way you'd even try to say that. SMG is vastly different from any Mario game I've ever played.

Also another thing I don't understand is why should Nintendo be punished for making another Mario game. As long as they are good and provide a fun experience then who gives a fuck? It's like saying that Sony should be punished for shipping out a yearly sequel for Ratchet and Clank or that Microsoft should be punished because of the many sequels of Halo.

Now then do you want to know why SMG is not doing as well in Japan as it is in the states? It has nothing to do with the game being a "clone." It's simply because (as someone stated before) console gaming is a dying way of life in Japan. Sure Sony has bested Nintendo (for now) with 55,000 sold this week. But that's not even close to the amount it would have gotten in Europe or even the States. The fact is, the Japanese gamer prefers handheld gaming (and even cell phone gaming)over consoles and games like Mario and Zelda do a hell of a lot better on handhelds than they do on consoles.

Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 17th 2007 11:06AM

FYI, Ihar, the game that helped this spike in PS3 says?

It wasn't the oh-so-original Ratchet & Clank Future (not knocking the game, but it is just as much more-of-the-same as you say Galaxy is).

No. It was Shin Sengoku Musou 5 (to be called Dynasty Warriors 6 over here). AKA The same hack-and-slasher since the late PS1/early PS2 games.

Why should it matter what character is slapped on the game? If a game is good, it's good. Doesn't matter if it's Mario or some new guy.

mmxzero @ Nov 17th 2007 11:51AM

@name123
I dont see how being a self-proclaimed genius should affect fully enjoying the excellence of Phantom Hourglass. Didnt bother me =P

Noshino @ Nov 17th 2007 1:50PM

Seriously, SMG is seen as the second coming of Jesus, and the same will happen when Mario 256 is released.

SMG was fun, felt fresh, innovative...but for the first 30 mins...

screw the reviews, hell, most of them gave Halo high ratings, which I really didn't think it deserved, games like Ouendan or Okami that set the bar on originality and what can be done deserved much better reviews...

But let's used them alright, most if not all of them seem to give SMG high scores because its the most fun they have had on the Wii for a while, and that it sets the bar high...but for Wii games...but what if you compare to other games, games that have already set the bard high for graphics, design, art direction, mechanics, etc? it wouldnt be high anymore...

oh, and RubangB, then say something like this

"Can some sort of Nintendo-hater give me a decent argument these days? Or is it really all bullshit FUD and lies? You guys are losing it."

when you claim this...

"Sony deserved the bad press. Nintendo deserved the good press. Microsoft deserved the mysteriously neutral press and Halo hype and mysteriously insane software sales."

Sony was arrogant while they were on top (and still is), Nintendo has always been arrogant even when on the bottom, and Microsoft, well, Moore is gone, so a big slice of there arrogance is gone..

you want a decent argument? then at least act decent

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 17th 2007 5:14PM

Noshino, I don't think what I said was rude or offensive. Nintendo's said and done some stupid shit back in the day, but not this much this fast. 599 US dollars, real-time weapons change, actual Japanese history, get a 2nd job to pay for one, 5 million people will buy it without any games, 50 GB Blu-Ray is necessary (hasn't been proven yet), "true HD (what the eff does that mean?)", 4-D gaming?, RUMBLE IS LAST GEN... etc. etc. That was Sony for the past year and they've earned the bad press it got them.

Nintendo on the other hand has been attacking all demographics successfully, with the Wii favorably shown on everything from the Colbert Report to Dr. Phil, and Microsoft fueled the biggest hype train ever for a year straight and it paid off with the insane Halo 3 launch.

The PS3 would be doing much better if Sony just shut up and never ever ever talked about it, and just let it stand on its own.

Rubang B (BRUSH WITH FAME) @ Nov 17th 2007 6:26AM

If anybody in this thread brings up exclusive game X or Y, please point them to www.gamerankings.com which shows Super Mario Galaxy (Wii only) to be the greatest game of all time. Good night.

Admiral_Mike @ Nov 17th 2007 6:56AM

OMFG it beat ocarina!. Hmm, the top 3 are nintendo games, and five out of the the top ten are on nintendo consoles(Gamecube version in RE4s case). *zoidburg voice* Hooray!

Neptune @ Nov 17th 2007 7:16AM

"..to be the greatest game of all time"

Technically Gamerankings.com only handle reviews from like 1998, so jewels like Tie Fighter, Ufo Enemy Unknown and Link to the past aren't included.
Not that it would matter, just trying to be a wiseass.

Joe @ Nov 17th 2007 7:29AM

why don't I point you back to your parent's basement?

Neptune @ Nov 17th 2007 7:29AM

ok screw my post. I fail at using search function.

License to ill @ Nov 17th 2007 10:32AM

@ Rubang

You know SMG has had disappointing sales in japan...Just look at the numbers...

But don't worry I'm sure US and Euro sales will be through the roof...

ColossalHat @ Nov 17th 2007 1:10PM

Ah but a universally well reviewed game is not always the best selling, nor the most fun. Not saying it's true of Galaxy, since I don't have a Wii I'm not gonna play it for a while, but the point stands.

bm @ Nov 17th 2007 6:58AM

"Whoa... Japanese have zero tastes because they have different tastes to you...?"

Don't give me that bullshit. "Oh, that's just your opinion" that's some fucking annoying cop-out shit that I wish people would stop using.

The japanese are retarded for not buying SMG. Westerners are retarded for buying Spiderman 3. There are just some things that transcend all euphemisms.

bm @ Nov 17th 2007 7:00AM

Right, that's the first time that's happened to me and I've been on here for god knows how long.

Clack @ Nov 17th 2007 10:25AM

Yep I thought people were just being tards by doing this all the time, but it happened to me a couple of days ago too.

Jon @ Nov 17th 2007 4:26PM

Retards are people like you who does not know that there are people out there who does not share the same gaming tastes at you.

I like SMG but I at least I am mature enough to understand that people have a right to not want to like it. Immature people like just makes the rest of us be ashamed to call you a fellow gamer. Oh, wait. I doubt you ever were.