Nier sold far more than anything else in Japan last week

by JC Fletcher on Apr 29th 2010 10:00PM

Japan may be as confused by Square Enix's Nier as we are -- but it would appear that PS3 owners are answering their questions about the action RPG title firsthand, by purchasing it. The PS3 version, Nier Replicant, is the best-selling title for the week of April 19.25, with 60,000 units sold, according to Gpara's early estimate of Media Create sales rankings.

Nier Gestalt, the version released for Xbox 360 (and also the version released on both consoles in North America) didn't perform quite as well, coming in at number 11 -- possibly due to the older, more gruff main character, but probably due to the fact that it's on Xbox 360. There's no mention of how many copies were sold, but it's fewer than the 12,000 with which Pokemon Ranger: Path of Light achieved the number ten position.

To see how games that aren't Nier performed, check the list after the break.

[Via Kotaku]

Japanese Top 10 Software Sales (April 19 - 25):

Nier Replicant (PS3) - 60,000 units
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 29,000 units
Tokyo Mono Harashi: Karasu no Mori Gakuen Kitan (PSP) - 22,000 units
Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 20,000 units
Ys: Oath in Felghana (PSP) - 16,000 units
Pro Baseball Spirits 2010 (PSP) - 16,000 units
Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 15,000 units
Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 14,000 units
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition (PS3) - 12,000 units
Pokemon Ranger: Path of Light (DS) - 12,000 units

Source

Tags: cavia, japan, media-create, Microsoft, nier, nier-gestalt, nier-replicant, sales, square-enix, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (40)

Some people out there sure love trannies...

I really really want to find out more about Nier and whether it would be a good idea to pick up or not. I'm definitely intrigued by it, but I haven't seen any real solid reviews on it. And for that matter, will Replicant be coming to the States?

I highly doubt it, but you're not missing anything. The only difference between Gestalt and Replicant is the main character and his relation to the damsel in distress, Old dude/Daughter in Gestalt and Pretty Boy/Sister in Replicant, aside from that, they are the same game with the same story.

What's with the picture of Raiden?

That's probably why is sold so many..

Dude! I so totally thought the exact same thing! For reals, seriously!

Thirded, I saw the pic and thought "Sweet, some MGS Rising news!"

You mean Stereotypical Japanese Archetype #8?

I think the fact that Oblivion is so high in there is more interesting then anything. Good for Oblivion, it deserves it.

Seriously, who said Japanese didn't liked WRPGs? I's like Square Enix who keeps thinking the West doesn't like JRPG and keeps making modification to appeal to the West. We like the original iteration of any JRPGs.

Whoa...didn't even see that. Strange, actually. But good.

I agree, but don't let's get carried away: following a budget reprice (presumably with marketing etc) it sold 12,000 copies. That's great, but add it to whatever the original week sales were, and it's still only a moderate success. Japan surely can't be more than a very small proportion of Oblivion sales.

However I hope this does mean there's a base here to work on in improving sales of this series and genre in future.

(By the way, I can't help feeling that if they, maybe, hired an actual character designer for the next game it might help Japanese sales. Oblivion's landscapes are beautiful. Its characters [and monsters etc].. yeah, moving swiftly on. Given that the Japanese especially are used to pretty characters, it's going to be a bit of a nasty shock seeing Oblivion's.)

Wait, I thought they were going to release the different versions in both regions. So now because I live in America I have to play the version meant for the 360, which was a sure bomb in Japan?

Honestly I was only going to rent it anyway so I'll still check it out, but its annoying how I no longer have a choice but to play the version that was made only for Western audiences (and therefore a likely bomb in the dev's own country) instead of both to see how they compare story-wise.

Nier dier pumpkin eater always eating monies!

Stay out of my booze cabinet!!

*Gurgle* Har har har...

I actually agree with you. I won't support it either.

Problem is Square Enix: they're the only one who thinks the West likes games differently. Capcom, Konami, Atlus, etc, doesn't significantly change their games to appeal to the West.

You are both idiots. The older version was the original, and the replicant version was reworked for the japanese crowd. Cry me a river, you anime twats.

Good for Nier. But you guys have to admit they didn't have much competition. Nothing comes out in April.

Monster Hunter Tri and Super Street Fighter IV would like a word with you.

Tri was out in Japan last year. SSF4 just came out this week.

hahaha. I get your reasoning, but admit it, if this game was got higher ratings you would snatch it up in a minute.

I was really excited for this game, but I want to play the japanese version where you play as the girls older brother and not her father. I like the look of the japanese version better anyway. This really sucks.

The current HD console generation isn't very popular in Japan it seems. The PS3 has only sold 5 million systems in Japan, while selling nearly 30 million systems in the US and EU (source: Vgchartz.com). Only 6 million Japanese people have either a PS3 or an Xbox 360, compared to the nearly 70 million non-Japanese who have either a PS3 or Xbox 360.

Yeah cause Japan is just as big as the rest of the world combined....

/s

@Guardian Legend: someone needs to go back to school...

It's been a good 20 minutes and I'm still laughing.... oh man.

I think you both assumed I implied something that was never actually implied.

I should correct one part of my previous statement though. Instead of saying "non-Japanese", I should've said EU + US, as that's the only data that Vgchartz.com provides. (EU + US + JPN).

Anyway, even accounting for population differences, the HD consoles don't appear to be as popular in Japan as they are in the EU and US. In the EU and the US, the HD consoles are around 55-60% of the total console sales. The Wii makes up the rest. In Japan, the HD consoles are about 40%. The Wii is the king there with 62%. Point being, core gamers are more popular in EU and US, while in Japan, casual gamers are more popular.

Plus, 10% of the US population has an HD console, while only 5% of Japan's population has an HD console.

Hence the PSP and the DS outselling every other console week after week after week in Japan.

The Japanese live in pretty small spaces, especially compared to the U.S. and Europe. I'm sure if I lived in a 500 square foot apartment, I wouldn't feel the need for a 65" 1080p HDTV. I'm sure then the low resolution of the Wii doesn't bother them too much. It's also the cheapest console, which probably has something else to do with it.

@GuardianLegend

>In Japan, the HD consoles are about 40%. The Wii is the king there with 62%.

You should keep in mind that a lot, I mean ALOT, of people (non-gamers) buy the Wii for Wii Fit.
This means that the number "62%" for Wii contains a lot of non-gamers, who bought Wii. (I'm not saying no gamer bought the Wii. I'm saying 62% includes ALOT of non-gamers)

So I think its difficult to just compare 40% and 62%.
If you were able to subtract the non-gamers from 62% and compare it with 40%,
the HD console might be more popular.

One thing I'm sure of is, the population of gamers has decreased here(Japan) compared to the PS2 generation. (Looking at games sales weekly here.)
Thats why I think the Japanese game devs are becoming more interested in the Western market. So I think there would be more Western-taste games coming from Japanese devs from now on. (Sad about this)

Copland: "So I think its difficult to just compare 40% and 62%.
If you were able to subtract the non-gamers from 62% and compare it with 40%,
the HD console might be more popular."

You seem to be forgetting or ignoring that that dynamic also exists in the EU and the US numbers. Meaning the relative numbers would end up being the same.

Hey, Western Gamer, go F!@k yourself.

I'm not some crazy gamer who only enjoys Japanese-made games. If you're right, then you're right and I take back what I said about not supporting it. Simple as that.

Reuben, stop being a little douchebag. First, look at Western sales, SE above all wants to make money. Look at one of the most popular Japanese characters in the West, Frank West. Not some pretty-boy. If you want to argue about SE decision of not thinking about their installed fanbase in the West, by all means go ahead. But by making a statement that is not correct, you look like a little Wapanese twat.

Dude, I already said that if you're right, you're right. Except for the first sentence of my last post, I don't see how I was being a douchebag. You're a little too hostile, man.

Westerngamer1000 is right, the original intended version of the game is the one we are getting, and that the Japanese got on the 360. They only modified it to more suit Japanese tastes.

Remember this is square-enix, the company that made Matsuno add Vaan into FFXII because teens playing Final Fantasy wouldn't be able to relate to an "old man" like Baasch who was the intended main character.

Why is Raiden wearing Big Boss' outfit? Oh wait, this is Nier, the Japanese answer to God of War crossed with Final Fantasy :D

God of Fantasy? :o

I always considered Nier from the moment I saw it, Square's answer or attempt to answer to a game like God of war for example, the gameplay style looked slightly similar in the initial trailers, but as it progressed, I could see elements of what Square is known for, sappiness which was where all similarities ended.

You can't blame them for thinking that way, God of war, gears of war, Resident Evil, they all had big hench men with six packs on thier arms, they were all popular and they all sold relativly well, not to mention they all have ongoing sequels :) Square has never really had a game like that, this was thier chance to cash in on the theme.

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Nier sold far more than anything else in Japan last week

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