GT5 Prologue scores third place in Japanese charts

by Ludwig Kietzmann on Dec 20th 2007 3:55PM

You know times have changed when the top three spots in Japan's software sales chart are no longer occupied by traditional fare, but rather a miasma of Mario mini-games, a balancercise board and a glorified automotive demo. Gamasutra runs down last week's top ten, highlighting Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue which made its debut in third position with approximately 116,000 units sold. Professor Layton bully, Wii Fit, found itself parking off in second position with 124,000 units after having switched places with Mario Party DS and its 180,000 attendees.

Nintendo proved the overall wii-ner, with six first-party titles accounted for in the chart -- in fact, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was the only game not to be found on the Wii or DS. The two systems are expected to enjoy continued good fortune in the hardware sales chart due for release tomorrow.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

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Tags: DS, Gran-Turismo, Gran-Turismo-5, GranTurismo5, GT5, Japanese-Software-Sales, Mario-Party-DS, MarioParty, Polyphony-Digital, PolyphonyDigital, PS3, Wii, Wii-Fit, WiiFit

Reader Comments (88)

@rice

If you haven't realized it, the Japanese have different gaming tastes. Right now, they are all about the handhelds.

@ kahn
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/xenophobic

@ rice
so... who should I relate a japanese sales chart to? Eskimos? the French?......

@ maverick
Ive got nothing against the japanese, they just have horrible taste in 'games'.

Well we don't love Japanese like kotaku were they treat Japanese like Gods on earth and they have a shrine dedicated to them but most of us don't hate them either.

In my case I hate everyone and every thing in the world including Japanese but I'm not a racist just a really hateful person.

Now there are plenty great Japanese developers but most of them work with Capcom, Nintendo, Square enix, Konami and Namco/Bandai and maybe Sega so there aren’t many great independent Japanese studios I’m aware of. Also that companies like Square love to exploit JRPGS.

I notice you never have the presence of mind to spell my name correctly, and i used xenophobic in lieu of "racist"

I find you highly disagreeable

cold school,

"as for the sales chart; the japanese wouldnt know a good game if it punched them in the face. "

yah, I agree with that, exactly why (altho I REALLY hate it) Famitsu gave Ocarina of Time a perfect 10...

Its just a matter of taste, hey, they might think about you the same way you do about them...which is perfectly fine

Everyone has their own tastes, and in this case, I happen to like japanese culture, and hence agree that you are talking nonsense and that they have a much better taste than you do, sorry, no FPS nor Nascar fan (F1 ftw)....

@ kaan

"and i used xenophobic in lieu of "racist""
So, you dont know what either word means.

"I find you highly disagreeable"
just 'disagreeable'? Ill try harder next time.

Well, the jerk store called, and they're running out of you!

:P

Bravo Mr Kahn you have my begrudging respect.

Thats stupid, why did my comment get censored because I defended a country's taste in games, but its okay to say that the country has crap taste in games without getting censored, I think Joystiq is racist!!! -_-"

I'd like to see a real driving sim myself. GT loses that sim classification when it becomes a viable strategy to bumper car your way around the track. I recall a track I could just ride along the walls with the accelerator held down and win every time. Yes, they did a great job getting all the cars to perform somewhat close to the real counterpart, but they are placed in a world that doesn't do them justice.

Yes, Polyphony can argue until they lose their voice that this is a sim if you drive the right way but that doesn't change the fact that driving in a manner that will (not may, will) get you killed in reality is the best strategy to take in numerous situations, it isn't any more a sim than F-Zero is.

Plus, I hate how Gran Turismo has NEVER gotten the visual speed ratios off. I get thrown off by how slow I seem to be moving.

Hmmm... I've never seen a track in GT where you could just hold the accelerator, bounce down the wall, and win. Are you sure you're just not exaggerating or thinking of Burnout or something? I'm not a huge fan of GT, but from I have played, most of the tracks have gravel and grass outside the tracks it's very hard to get any speed off the track without just spinning out or doing donuts. Once or twice way off the track usually results in a loss.

I remember it was GT3, the only one I played. There was one track that let me do that. It was THE moment I decided to write of Gran Turismo forever.

@FidliousWong

LOL. You caught me, I was hoping to sell some of these Lambo's we got laying around the lot before '08. Dang!

For the record a 30k Evolution9 will get you on the track, and that's new (20k for a nice used one Evo8). Right out of the box you can track that car without any mods (even the brakes rock on that thing stock - Brembo's).

Now we're getting somewhere. Allow my counter offer....

$40... that's what GT5 Prologue runs (frankly, I'm tempted since apparently one of the upcoming prizes for an online racing circuit is the mech from Omega Boost). Can you get me a good, fast racing car and track time for $40? Oh yes, and ensure that, should an accident happen, I won't become an Earnhart inspired wall stain?

PGR gets credit, Forza is crap, damage looks tacky, fullstop, I'd rather no damage then see that lame damage.

First I'm not much of a fanboy because I believe fanboyism is for poor people that can't buy both systems but you deserve a boot in the head for saying that Forza 2 is crap.

And honestly you will rather have box physics than pseudo-damage?, I think that’s just simply (and I mean no offense by this ) retarded. Almost semi,pseudo-realistic damage modeling is better than no modeling at all, seriously is a freaking driving simulator not a bumper car simulator.

But then again according to most PC gamers all your precious simulators suck because GTR > Forza, Gran Turismo..Nuff said because as I say driving simulators are incredibly frustrating to the point I rather play Average Joe: Everyday First person Shooter.

"First I'm not much of a fanboy because I believe fanboyism is for poor people that can't buy both systems but you deserve a boot in the head for saying that Forza 2 is crap."

OK, that has to be the most ignorant and elitist comment I've ever read. Minus one for you.

A boot to the head for you for being an asshat.

And if you think that was elitist and ignorant well welcome to the internet dumbass.

But prove me wrong, if you had both systems you won’t be talking trash about one of them also saying Forza 2 is crap is just dumb, both GT5 and Forza 2 are great and sorry for defend a great game now GTFO of my internets and est some s**t.

I was censoring the last part on purpose.
Damn fanboys, damn them to hell.

Honestly, it doesn't make a difference to me. If I see/hear a comment that I think is ignorant, I'm going to call that person out.

And anyway, he was only stating his opinion. Just because he doesn't like a game that you like doesn't mean he's a fanboy or he is inferior to you in whatever way. That's just immature.

By the way, I don't calling me names will help your case.

Minus 2 hearts.

Who the fuck you think you are? In any case I have more rep than you hell you don't even know how the rating system works.

So is alright to call stuff crap for not good reason and I'm the ignorant *facepalm.

Just GTFO man,you are an ignorant.

You lose sir good day.

For the record I say I meant no offense to him,I was just trying to say that his argument was misinformed.

Because when you call a game crap normally because the game was something like E.T and Forza 2 is by no means crap.

No I don't know how the rating system works. That was a mistake on my part.

And anyway, it may be a stupid reason to you. But again, it is his opinion.

"You lose sir good day."

If you say so, kid.

I hate Racing Sims,those games are way too frustrating. I end throwing the controller away and screaming my way out of the room like the angry german kid.

By the other hand I love Burnout and other unrealistic racing games like Riiiiidgeeee Raaceeer and Outrun.

Now is this the full game or just the demo of the real game?

The damage is completely garbage, there is no denying it, I would not rather have box physiques, I would prefer DiRT physiques, but that ain't happening, if thats the case, I'd gladly stick to Sega GT style damage counter. The damage looks like it was tacked on, if anything, it reminds me of original Xbox style gfx, not next gen.

And if its a driving simulator, why the hell does the car having damage or not matter to you? Like you said, its a driving simulator, 'driving simulator' that means hello, not a 'crashing simulator', but a 'driving simulator'. You're contradicting yourself in an attempt to suade my opinion of Forza.

I'm with you. I like my racers arcadey and FUN!!!

Is dirt that good? huh. I never play it again I'm not a fan of racing Sims, I bought Forza 2 because it was a slow month and well the store gave me a discount on the limited edition and I have to say that Forza 2 even when it’s frustrating from time to time is the only racing sim I have truly enjoyed since Daytona USA.

Anyhow I will be good and ignore the fact you replied to the wrong comment but well this is a big déjà vu for me, this is pretty much like that thread on GS.
Well yeah you are not supposed to crash but hey shit happens, I mean in that case why you die in videogames, you are not suppose to die either but it happens, also if you screw up the least the developers can do is insert something to make it cool.

Mr. Esc...

I'm with you on the arcade racers. I love the campaign in Ridge Racer 7, BTW. I thought the hex progression in RR6 was shit though. Anywho... to answer your question....

GT5 Prologue goes beyond being a simple demo. I mean, the DL from the Japanese PS3 store is over 5GBs. Here are the main number of features...

37 cars, more to be added as DLC
10 tracks. On each track, it will feature either Reverse or a different track configuration.
16 player online racing
GT-TV
Through special DLC releases for people competing online, special additional items will be added such as Toon Motor GP 1&2 vehicles and tracks or the mech from Omega Boost. Also, apparently as DLC for GT5P, you'll be able to snag copies of Motor Toon GP 1&2 and Omega Boost for winning online circuits. But that's in the future.

In other words, it's like a sampling of the main event but well beyond a simple demo.

You can't really bump stuff on GT anymore or take short cuts over the grass. If you do, you become a ghost and you only go about 30mph for a few seconds, aka a penalty

Chocobo's Dungeon (Wii) ranked number 10. That's actually pretty good if you ask me.

Good news for 3rd parties on Wii, and a good counterpoint to NiGHTS 2's disappointing premier

@FidliousWong

You have a point, sir. However, if you already own a 'trackable' car, like the mentioned Evo9 as your daily driver, then the cost isn't bad (usually 100-150, less for open practice track days, at least in my area). Or if you are REALLY into these sims, why not buy a car that can double, which is what I decided to do. Most of us need a car to drive to work each day and buying a used evo8 or a new/used evo9/x, isn't really a stretch considering most new cars will run you 20k or more.

The track day cost does vary to... for example, I'm doing an ice racing day next week for $5.00 bucks, which is going to be badass... nothing like constant awd drift to put a huge smile on your face.

Insane that people over there pay $40 for an online demo, money that can't be put toward buying the real thing. Picture if Nintendo released a Mario Galaxy demo $30 at the end of '07! UGH.

I know Sony has done this w/ GT for a long time, but that doesn't make it any less retarded. Power to them for suckering people to buy this I guess though.

Again, that's just a personal opinion level. The reason why Sony keeps pushing Prologue is obviously because there's a demand for it. And even though Prologue is just a demo of the full game, it has a lot of contents in it and well worth the 40 dollars (and this is my opinion).

Comments are welcome, but when people saying negative things of other people because they simply don't agree...that's kind of balony in my opinion. Some of you paid 59.99 for Halo 3 for example, but I would not pay more than 30 for that game. Different Strokes for Different Folks.

i don't get this obsession some people have with car games

and paying for a demo is retarded

I agree with you sir. But GT5P isn't a demo. You get to transfer your cash, vehicles and license acquired from GT5P to the full GT5. I've had GT4 for months and though it was a crappy game coz i was playing burnout at that time, i tried it out after all the GT5 hype and to my surprise its a very good game. Not sure how it compares to the rest though but its a good game. And the graphics for GT4 are insane for a PS2 game.

Concerning damages I think its good there aren't any considering the difficulty of the game, if you play it you'll know what i mean. Midtown madness was pretty good with crashes but in real life if you crash once depending on how bad it was the car might get totally damaged, is forza like that?

It proves if you hype a game for years and years along with delaying it years and years people will finally buy it in chunks due to desperation. If it sells well enough it will become the norm and we will actually be "keeping up with the jones" in our virtual world. Can't win a race? Then buy a faster car IDIOT!

GT5 < Burnout < M&M kart raci- LOOK A NUT!

Previous 50 Comments

GT5 Prologue scores third place in Japanese charts

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

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