MGS4 sells 476K units first week in Japan; UK PS3 sales impact 'minimal'

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 17th 2008 at 11:00AM }

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Here is the Metal Gear Solid 4 tale of two regions. In Japan, Famitsu reports that MGS4 sold 476,334 copies in its first few days, becoming the best-selling PS3 game to date in the region. Snake also boosted sales of the PS3 itself, with Japanese sales hovering around the 10K mark; the console sold 77,208 for the week.

The UK tells a slightly different MGS4 sales tale. MGS4 is the second fastest-selling PS3 title behind Grand Theft Auto IV and was 14,000 short of MGS2's initial sales in 2002. Although the UK's Chart-Track apparently did not release actual numbers, the company's director did say that MGS4 had a "minimal impact" on hardware sales and that "there's not a lot to say about it."

Unless Sony or Konami sends out a release, we're not expecting US sales figures until NPD's June report releases sometime next month.

Source: Famitsu (translation) report (Via IGN)
Source: Chart-Track: MGS4 had "minimal" impact on UK PS3 sales

Tags: famitsu, japan, konami, metal-gear-solid-4, mgs4, sony, uk

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

skidawg @ Jun 17th 2008 11:05AM

big sales boost, small sales boost, whatever. this game is amazing and deserves some credit for whatever it does to help ps3 software and hardware sales.

Zertoss @ Jun 17th 2008 11:30AM

Yeah, I'm not a MGS fan, but 4 is slowly converting me. I'm going to try and find the collection tonight thanks to this game.

My roommate can't put MGS4 down.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 17th 2008 11:43AM

I think Nintendo would be stupid NOT to include the name Wii in their next console. Just like with the old NES, they just added Super to it. That, and SuperWii has a nice ring to it IMO. If the next Wii has 360/PS3-like grafix I will be disapointed.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 17th 2008 12:17PM

Wrong thread, I know.

:(

mr mobius @ Jun 17th 2008 12:56PM

Swii! Has a ring to it. Even it's name sounds amazing. Buy on day of release/christmas after release!

Jakka @ Jun 17th 2008 1:06PM

Imho, it won't sell more than 3M copies.

Farseer (GDI) @ Jun 17th 2008 1:44PM

deaftly, thanks for the link - I just spent the last half hour looking over that guy's stuff. Dude's talented, for sure.

Farseer (GDI) @ Jun 17th 2008 1:45PM

ok, that wasn't supposed to go there...

Co @ Jun 17th 2008 11:07AM

The US sales should reflect more towards the Japan release than the UK's.

Come one Sony, put the 360 in 3rd place for good!

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 17th 2008 11:09AM

Why...why would you say this? :(

:P

Co @ Jun 17th 2008 11:14AM

lol! I knew you'd be on top of my comment with the quickness! eh...just tryin to stir stuff up man I'm dyin over here at the jobby job and its only tuesday!!

samfish @ Jun 17th 2008 11:20AM

Personally, I'd rather see Sony end up in 3rd place. I'd hate to see the horrible, expensive standards they set with the PS3 become legitimized.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 17th 2008 11:20AM

Oh its going to happen no doubt (see j@pan) but not likely this year. Mmmmaybe by the end of next year. Thats a BIg maybe too. I'm just wondering when the insane Wii sales are going to drop, if ever. That console should be in its rightful place. 3rd!

Last part ^ just for you Co

:D

Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 17th 2008 11:23AM

I don't mind seeing Sony last place this gen due to all the mistakes they made, BUT, I hope they learn from them and will go much better when the next-gen consoles are released and Nintendo goes back dooooowwwwwnn. : D

deaftly @ Jun 17th 2008 11:28AM

http://i27.tinypic.com/2h6yet5.jpg

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 17th 2008 11:29AM

Nintendo can stay in 1st next gen as long as the pack a punch in the HD visuals dept and get 3rd party support. Hey, they got the funds to do it, why not? Get Crytek to rig up some crazy specifications for a game and then create the hardware around that, lol! I can see it now....

Q3 2011 Nintendo SuperWii $349.00

Guerrilla @ Jun 17th 2008 11:31AM

The PS3 is expensive, but the MGS4 bundle was one hell of a deal this past weekend. $400 for an 80GB PS3, MGS4 and a DualShock3 isn't bad at all.

I say $400 because Wal Mart's offer of a $100 gift card with any Blu-Ray player purchase was nice, but Best Buy pulled an even better deal by price matching them with bundles for $400 if you mentioned the Wal Mart deal.

At least they did in my area. The 2 Wal Marts were sold out within the first day and Best Buy was hauling bundles out each time I stopped in there over the weekend.

Co @ Jun 17th 2008 11:36AM

deaftly,

LMAO @ white jesus. That is classic, and my new wallpaper as well.

Fenix,

Wii in 3rd place!! :( lol hey i'm liking the ideas on the Super Wii though!

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 17th 2008 11:45AM

Korova Pyro aspect @ Jun 17th 2008 12:32PM

We dont know if Jesus rode dinosaurs. BUT HE PROBABLY DID!

That was full of win, deaftly!

arrrgh @ Jun 17th 2008 2:35PM

great mike!! you get a gold star!!!

this is your finest hour

Lars @ Jun 17th 2008 6:34PM

I guess I'm just weird, but I see the PS3 and think "someone finally got it right this generation." Finally a console that's really open and provides top-notch entertainment for a very reasonable price. Their stance of allowing developers to do whatever they want and not bribing or funding exclusives is a great thing for consumers. As is allowing 3rd party everything, in terms of hardware. Unfortunately MS is doing just the opposite. It's a shame that 360 is so much more popular, but as they say... the devil's ways are attractive. MS is hurting the industry but attracting consumers at the same time.

I hate highly proprietary things, and the 360 is among the worst ever created in that respect. Yeah, I understand some proprietary is necessary to protect profits, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. Microsoft crossed that line, and kept on running.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but I'm not a fanboy, I'm just being logical, and I'm right. I guess that being a developer gives me a different perspective.

mr nimblewick @ Jun 17th 2008 11:08AM

PS3 isn't getting a big boost from this game because it already got its boost from this game back when it was announced.

Why else would someone have bought the PS3 up til now?

doom saber @ Jun 17th 2008 11:10AM

Because of BD and Gta4?

herman @ Jun 17th 2008 11:12AM

Maybe they don't own a 360 and want to play GTA4, COD4, Singstar, Warhawk, Rock Band, etc.. Are those good enough reasons to have already bought a PS3? As for MGS4, it is very good, as I have never been a MGS fan but may have to go get the old ones.

Brodie-san @ Jun 17th 2008 11:13AM

I know some people who are still holding out for more price cuts.

All I can say is: I know some cheap ass people.

samfish @ Jun 17th 2008 11:14AM

There's nothing cheap about not wanting to spend $400-$500 bucks on a videogame console.

Brodie-san @ Jun 17th 2008 11:26AM

It depends. If you consider yourself a gamer then this really is not that much money to invest.

Then again I suppose it's all down to the people and disposable income. I'm sorry, I forget that I was once a 15 year old gamer who had to play Wonder Boy non-stop on the Megadrive/Genesis because I couldn't afford to buy any other games/consoles.

Now at aged 30 the issue is not the price but the time needed to actually place these things!
:)

samfish @ Jun 17th 2008 11:36AM

I consider myself a game, have a decent paying, full time career job and have a reasonable disposable income.

But there are considerably more important things to spend that money one.
Car, food, girlfriend, house, etc. I'm just glad I don't have kids!

No matter what, though, for most people, dropping $400-$500 dollars like that is going to impact one's budget.

arrrgh @ Jun 17th 2008 11:39AM

no.

this bears repeating

There's nothing cheap about not wanting to spend $400-$500 bucks on a videogame console.

you can still be a gamer and not want to waste your pocketbook on half a grand worth of gaming hardware. The world isnt the same. Gas and food prices will just keep climbing. It's getting harder and harder to justify a big entertainment budget. Once the ps3 drops to the 250$ mark, things will be looking better

Noshino @ Jun 17th 2008 11:45AM

samfish,

I don't mind paying $500 for the PS3 as it is newer and better technology than last generation, not only that, but it has multiple other functionalities, same goes for the 360 which I wouldn't have minded buying if it wasn't because Im not fond of its controller....

But I for sure wouldn't be paying $ 250 for something that was barely updated from last generation and that the only upgrade that it got was for the input device....

I said it before, Nintendo is bit by bit becoming the new Apple...

riggs @ Jun 17th 2008 11:53AM

god damn you argh and your repeating bears!

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Jun 17th 2008 11:55AM

"There's nothing cheap about not wanting to spend $400-$500 bucks on a videogame console."

The converse is also true: There is nothing wrong with spending $400-$500 on a console that has features you want. Besides, if you really want a Wii badly then you're apt to spend that much anyway on a bundle package.

I know why you replied to the bait Samfish, but the value per dollar question will always be a matter of personal opinion.

4MyFriends @ Jun 17th 2008 11:57AM

"not only that, but it has multiple other functionalities"
"But I for sure wouldn't be paying $ 250 for something that was barely updated from last generation and that the only upgrade that it got was for the input device...."
It's quotes like these from so called "gamers" like yourself that is leading to the decline of this industry. Most gamers could gives a fuck about playing overpriced 1080P movies, or running linux on their video game console, they just want a functional gaming system they can have fun on. What the fuck ever happened to play games because they were "fun", instead of them being "cool"?

In regards to your unjustified bashing of the Wii; is baby still upset that people would rather pay 300+ dollars on ebay for a "GameCube 1.5" than 400 dollars on your "Blu-ray player with Video Game Functionality"? Too bad, either stop crying or do it elsewhere, like the SDF.com forums.

arrrgh @ Jun 17th 2008 11:58AM

dont blame the bears >8(

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Jun 17th 2008 12:06PM

'What the fuck ever happened to play games because they were "fun", instead of them being "cool"?'

I think you muddled your points there. Wii games wildly popular because they reside at the corner of Fun St. and Cool Ave. So the answer to your WTF question is that games used to be fun, and now they are cool.

Yeah bashing the Wii for the hell of it is not fair. But I think you're also being a dick by discounting the market that wants more than mini-games and Mario. Not everyone has to worship at the alter of Wii Sports and SSBB to have fun.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 17th 2008 12:14PM

Jesus I'm glad 4myfriends isn't running the game industry otherwise we would have never progressed past the games as toys era, where games were nothing more than gameplay.

Sorry that a ton of us want more from our games than JUST gameplay. I'd rather not have to bounce around worlds that are way too kiddie with voiceless, boring characters and no story anymore. I did enough of that in the SNES and N64 eras.

samfish @ Jun 17th 2008 12:22PM

I hope my dick is as big as tmac's is when I grow up.

arrrgh @ Jun 17th 2008 12:25PM

I'd be more worried about the sand that seems to be pouring out of his vagina

Noshino @ Jun 17th 2008 1:05PM

"It's quotes like these from so called "gamers" like yourself that is leading to the decline of this industry."

Decline? I want the freaking industry to advance, but for the industry to advance there has to be changes from generation to generation, the advances on the technology placed on the Wii are not a la par with the onces brought by Sony and Microsoft

"Most gamers could gives a fuck about playing overpriced 1080P movies, or running linux on their video game console, they just want a functional gaming system they can have fun on."

And you are the voice of most gamers?

I said that the systems offer multiple other functionalities, since when it is bad to offer more? Because your console of choice can't do much, it doesn't mean that those features are bad...

What the fuck ever happened to play games because they were "fun", instead of them being "cool"?

"In regards to your unjustified bashing of the Wii; is baby still upset that people would rather pay 300+ dollars on ebay for a "GameCube 1.5" than 400 dollars on your "Blu-ray player with Video Game Functionality"? Too bad, either stop crying or do it elsewhere, like the SDF.com forums."

Why would I be upset about the price one of the consoles is being sold for on eBay? I just found funny that samfish was talking picking on the PS3's price

samfish @ Jun 17th 2008 1:16PM

No noe is picking on the PS3's price, Noshino. Stop being so defensive.

$400-$500 is a LOT of money for a LOT of people. That's all there is to it. Doesn't matter if it's a PS3 or a refrigerator.

Vidikron (FU) @ Jun 17th 2008 1:28PM

$400 is what you'll wind up spending on the Wii anyway. It's, after all, the "party" machine, right? Well, the party machine needs multiple Wiimotes and multiple Nunchuks. Nintendo's costs are just hidden. They nickle and dime with the best of them.

Mike @ Jun 17th 2008 2:23PM

Hey idiot, all of these are at least 8/10 PS3 games...

Grand Theft Auto IV
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The
Rock Band
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Orange Box, The
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
GRID
Burnout Paradise
Unreal Tournament 3
Resistance: Fall of Man
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
NHL 08
MLB 08: The Show
Virtua Fighter 5
Super Stardust HD
skate
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
MotorStorm (JPN Import Version)
Devil May Cry 4
Warhawk
Civilization Revolution
SingStar
Everyday Shooter
PixelJunk Monsters
Fight Night Round 3
DiRT: Colin McRae Off-Road
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
MotorStorm
Gran Turismo HD Concept
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
College Hoops 2K8
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
NBA 2K8
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
College Hoops 2K7
NBA Street Homecourt
Echochrome
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
Assassin's Creed
Madden NFL 08
FIFA Soccer 08
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online

Jhongerkong @ Jun 17th 2008 4:09PM

LIST WARS COMMENCE!

Jacksons @ Jun 17th 2008 6:17PM

Complaining about gaming costs seems silly. Xbox, PS1, PS2 were all $300, and the piece of crap Saturn was $400. (yes, I mocked the Saturn. Deal with it.) Gaming has never been super cheap. I remember paying around $109 for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on Genesis, and around $80 for most N64 games I wanted. Sure, spending an extra $150 for wifi and another controller on 360 sucked, and spending $180 for 3 more wii controllers sucked, and $50 for an extra controller on the ps3 sucked, but there's always been extra costs. At least software is only around $60 max now, and drops down in price over time. I'd much rather pay $60 or less on software than save a few bucks on the console any day. I likes my games.

Lars @ Jun 17th 2008 6:40PM

"Why else would someone have bought the PS3 up til now?"

You're obviously not much of a gamer I guess, if the only game that has attracted your attention this generation is MGS4.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 17th 2008 11:11AM

No one expected this to be a massive seller, no MGS game ever has except for 2 really and even that was over the course of years.

Doesn't even matter cause it's still one of the best games I've ever played and probably the best this generation.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 17th 2008 11:14AM

Best games this gen? Pfft!

Yeah yeah, whatever H4.5ZE says Hi! :O

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 17th 2008 11:24AM

Yup I can only think of a few games this gen that didn't disappoint me even a little bit, like MGS, Oblivion, COD 4, and the first Condemned (although my expectations were low since it was a launch title).

Mass Effect had shitty side quests, Assassin's Creed wasn't deep enough, Gears campaign was just "pretty good" to me and I hated the multiplayer, Uncharted and Bioshock kinda fell apart near the last quarter, Heavenly Sword got old fast, GTA 4 had like 2 different kinds of missions (and had like 95 missions based on those 2 kinds), and Lost Odyssey was like a 1996 RPG remade for the HD era.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy those games, cause I did, I'm just saying all those games let me down in some way.