Japanese hardware sales, June 30

Japanese hardware sales, June 30 - July 6: E4 edition

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 13th 2008 at 9:30PM }

Here's an amusing anecdote -- while all my fellow co-workers will be soaking up the sun and the overwhelming PR spin at E3 2008 during the next few days, I'll be the only 'Stiqer not in attendance. It's nobody's fault but my own, really -- due to an incident last year involving me, Jamie Kennedy, a claw hammer, and a stern threat to murder Jamie Kennedy with a claw hammer should he ever release a sequel to Son of the Mask (which I may have issued directly to Kennedy immediately following last year's Activision press conference), I'm no longer allowed to cross the state lines of California. (Side note: Has there been a Son of the Mask 2? No, there hasn't. You're welcome, America.)

Don't weep for me, empathetic reader. My compatriots don't realize that while they'll be trolling for news in Santa Monica, I'll be attending a much more prestigious and exclusive convention -- so exclusive, in fact, that I'd wager you've never even heard of it. Yes, I'll be the only Joystiq blogger lucky enough to attend the Extreme Electronic Entertainment Expo (E4) -- in fact, I'll be the only member of the gaming media in attendance, as it is held in my apartment, and I was in charge of invitations.

Actually, I may be the only person in attendance, as the only other two invitees (Darnell, the club-footed maintenance guy for my apartment building, and this cute cashier that works at a nearby Taco Bell) have yet to RSVP. C'est la vie -- the three day schedule I've written up (which I've included after the break to show the rest of the crew exactly what they're missing out on) will be carried out, come hell or high water, or, you know, loneliness.

- PSP: 56,439

2,422 (4.11%)
- DS Lite: 47,455

1,429 (2.92%)
- Wii: 44,525

3,955 (8.16%)
- PS3: 14,359

3,614 (20.11%)
- PS2: 11,768

4,095 (53.37%)
- Xbox 360: 4,776

328 (6.43%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: The uninvited archives

Extreme Electronic Entertainment Expo Schedule

Monday, July 14:

8:00 a.m. - Doors open. Well, door opens, I guess, since there's only one. I guess I could open up the kitchen window to the fire escape should the traffic become a problem.

9:00 a.m. - Breakfast is served. I've bought three boxes of generic-brand Frosted Flakes and some chocolate fudge Pop-Tarts to cater to all of E4's attendees. No, I don't own any milk, or a toaster. Attendees who request either will be asked to leave immediately.

10:30 a.m. - Opening Address. This year's welcome speech will be delivered by none other than yours truly, in Convention Hall A, otherwise known as my living room. Seating is extremely limited, so make sure you get there early.

11:00 a.m. - "Let's Hang Out". A mandatory session for all attendees, "Let's Hang Out" is an hour-long hang out session with me. We can listen to records, or play some Smash Bros Brawl, or just sit in awkward silence. It's all up to you, as this is one of the expo's most flexible events.

12:00 p.m. - Lunch. I hope you like Peanut Butter & Banana sandwiches and Sprite, because that's what you're getting. Attendees who ask for anything else, or second helpings, will be asked to leave immediately.

1:30 p.m. - Microsoft Press Conference. Gather around my laptop to watch the live streaming video from E3's Microsoft Press Conference. Make mandatory snarky comments about how everyone there wishes they could be at E4, and reminisce about the Jeff Bell era.

3:00 p.m. - Nap.

5:00 p.m. - New Game Expo. Think you're gonna see this year's big games revealed at E3? Think again. E4's got fresh new titles that those E3 developers haven't even dreamed of, like Guess That Apple, Extreme Euchre, Ball Throw, Hats!, The Steel Magnolias Trivia Challenge, and Hats! 2.

7:00 p.m. - Dinner. I think we might just order some pizza, or something. Bring some money, if you want some. Those who try to sneak a slice without contributing will be asked to leave immediately, then prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

8:00 p.m. - The E4 Grand Ball. A mandatory formal dance, held suggestively in Convention Room C, otherwise known as my bedroom. Note that should the cute cashier at Taco Bell not show up, this event my be replaced with an additional session of "Let's Hang Out".

9:00 p.m. - Lights out. My septuagenarian neighbors don't appreciate any noise coming from my apartment once the sun goes down, so the 9:00 curfew will be stringently enforced. The couch in Convention Room A folds out into a futon, so you can crash there if you want, I guess.

Tuesday, July 15:

11:00 a.m. - Brunch. In order to conserve funds, breakfast and lunch will be combined into one magical mid-morning meal. Attendees may choose between Frosted Flakes, chocolate fudge Pop-Tarts, or PB+B with Sprite. Requests for any combination of the three will be swiftly denied, and countered with me asking you to leave immediately.

12:00 p.m. - Nintendo Press Conference. Watch the live stream of Nintendo's E3 press conference. Again, snarky comments about E3's lack of exclusivity will be mandatory. Defamatory statements concerning Reggie Fils-Aime, however, will not be permitted.

1:30 p.m. - Sony Press Conference. See above. The attendee who quotes the most humorous memes from former Sony E3 conferences will win a very special prize -- a pre-release copy of Guess That Apple.

3:00 p.m. - Extended nap.

7:00 p.m. - Dinner. My grandmother usually drops off some chicken pot pie on Tuesdays, but only enough to feed me. Other attendees can fend for themselves, or simply watch me eat, trying to live vicariously through my spells of pot pie-induced pleasure.

8:00 p.m. - Binge Drinking.

Wednesday, July 16:

2:41 p.m. - Wake up, covered in someone else's vomit. Self-explanatory.

3:00 p.m. - "Let's Hang Out: Part 2". This edition of LHO will likely be far more terse than the last one, due to any and all unscrupulous acts that may have occurred during the previous night's proceedings.

4:00 p.m. - Nap.

6:00 p.m. - Farewell address. This year's keynote speaker, Billy Dee Williams, will deliver the farewell address. Should Billy Dee fail to show up, Darnell, who has been said to look like a club-footed Lando Calrissian, will fill in.

7:00 p.m. - Door closes.

7:01 p.m. - Binge Drinking 2.

8:33 p.m. - "Me Time".

Tags: japanese-hardware-sales, japanesehardwaresales

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fernando Rocker @ Jul 13th 2008 9:34PM

Well... MGS4 was not the system seller everyone was expecting.

What I found weird is, that MGS4, a huge game, has not not sold a million in Japan and in USA yet.

jimbo @ Jul 13th 2008 9:45PM

It's odd that even though the PS3 consistently outsells the 360, the 360 is beating out the PS3 in software sales... and MGS4 just launched a couple weeks ago, too.

Fernando Rocker @ Jul 13th 2008 9:48PM

But I game that big should sell a million in every region first week. GTA4 did that on the PS3.

MGS4 was released a month ago, and is at 500k in Japan and 750k in USA.

Robert @ Jul 13th 2008 10:03PM

and here it comes the obsessed anti PS3 guy Fernando Rocker, sometimes your behavior makes me think your home job is being a Nintendo Astroturfer

browntown @ Jul 13th 2008 10:20PM

No metal gear has reached 1 mill in japan yet. MGS4 is not as big as some people believe, its a very big critical success but not in sales. Its doign pretty good though and it did sell a fair amount of systems. I think the biggest factor is the price of the PS3, needs to come down, just as the 360 didn't get any long lasting boosts, its at a high price too.

mcatrage @ Jul 13th 2008 10:22PM

I don't get it why are you going after him. His post actually makes sense for once and he even provided numbers to prove his point.

kingofwale @ Jul 13th 2008 10:34PM

just another perfect example of Fernando Rocker with absolutely no knowledge of the games he likes to bring up.

*sighs*, and to think seeing himself being voted down each time would somehow discourage him and make him humble.

I've lost all hope in humanity. ;)

DangerMouse @ Jul 13th 2008 11:07PM

Maybe Metal Gear Solid 4 doesn't cater to kids and the parents who buy there games.

The_Punisher @ Jul 13th 2008 11:09PM

Honestly i hate responding to you and giving you attention, and let's be honest, i hate you. Just one question:

Where in this article do you see MGS4 mentioned? Don't bother responding, this is rhetorical, and beleive me i'm not checking to make sure you respond.

mr mobius @ Jul 13th 2008 11:44PM

You're a huge fanboy, and if it wasn't for Nintendo I'd have crucified you by now. Anyway...

I don;t see why people are minusing you (except because they deem you a blinded fanboy) because it's true that the PS3 hasn't sky rocketed like it was predicted. As with most huge games the hype was more than the sum of it's parts.

why not the LS2LS7? @ Jul 14th 2008 12:02AM

Why should a game "that big" sell a million in every region the first week?

Did Halo 3 sell a million in Japan the first week? No? How about in Europe? No? Must not be a big seller then.

Slayer @ Jul 14th 2008 12:22AM

@why not the LS2LS7?

A lot of gamers are too damn obsessed with game sales it seems. In some cases cases it gets so bad that they actually use that as an excuse to see if the game is good or bad. It's just like you said with halo 3, it didn't sell a million in every region in the first week but that doesn't mean it isn't a good game either.

Last I checked, a good game was a good game regardless of how well it sold.

4MyFriends @ Jul 14th 2008 1:29AM

The Fernando hate is quite sad, it's like people wait for him to post just so they can complain about him, even when he do nothing wrong. If anyone else would had stated the obvious truth that MGS4 wasn't a system seller, no one would be bitching.

Geist @ Jul 14th 2008 4:28AM

Don't listen to them Fernando, you're still an interesting read in my book.

Russ Crandall @ Jul 13th 2008 9:52PM

This is hilarious, and rings true to all of us uninvited. If I wasn't in Hawaii, I'd totally come to E4 if only for LHO. Are the naps gender-separated?

Griffin McElroy @ Jul 14th 2008 2:09AM

I imagine they would be, though that would require the attendance of multiple genders.

Sora @ Jul 13th 2008 9:54PM

What time zone is all of this in? o.O

Josh @ Jul 13th 2008 11:24PM

Anyone who does not know that will be asked to not attend.

Lavat @ Jul 13th 2008 9:54PM

It looks like the PSP has been on good ground in terms of sales, keeping above par on the DS is a good enough reason for me to buy one.

Danny @ Jul 13th 2008 9:57PM

I enjoyed this post immensely.

Gonna be similar to most of our weeks, only with about two fewer people.

Jerk Face @ Jul 13th 2008 10:24PM

Griffin, not only is your name fucking awesome, but you, sir, are one funny son of a bitch!

J @ Jul 13th 2008 11:56PM

I wouldn't have bothered reading the whole thing had i not read your short compliment. And i agree. That was quite enjoyabled.

Two thoughts did come to mind. One is... does Joystiq barely pay Griffin enough to support himself? I'm starting to think you, Griffin, decided to stay behind because you wouldn't be able to afford the plane ticket. Second is... have you ever thought or done any writing for, say, Robot Chicken or MadTV! I would love to see a sketch of your entire schedule. Or maybe you should do your own youtube animation with yourself doing the voice over.

You seemed to have hit all the right notes, and the voice in my head that I used to narrate your story helped. I never listened to any of the podcast so I don't know how you sound.

My favorites parts were the meal times, of which you always managed to add to them and keep them funny. It's difficult though to pinpoint which one of those is my favorite since they all build on top of each other. Makes me wonder why you often make such lame comebacks everytime someone insults you. I'm guessing what you're thinking is that those comebacks are for free, so you save your efforts for the articles you get paid to write. In that case, i would agree.

Good work. Too bad you're a 360 fanboy. Boooo. :]

Gun Barrier (Gamer Tag) @ Jul 13th 2008 11:03PM

Aww... i was hoping that 360 would increase this month too..

mr mobius @ Jul 13th 2008 11:37PM

Aww tnaks a lot Griffin. Now I'm missing out on two high profile game expos in one week. I can now see why Justin is the more likeable McElroy.

On a different note, I see the DS is creeping back up consistently on the PSP, even when it sells less on a week.

Next week's sales may depend highly on what drops at E3 so should be interesting. Mention of Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger may do wonders for the DS in Japan.