Nikkei: 3DS to pass 4 million sold in Japan by year's end

@eat it
*hears should be gears
*tickle should be scratch

It's early. whatever

@eat it

Monster Slaying.

@eat it Its a challengeing game so...there's that.

@eat it

You realize you just named 1 Hardcore genre vs 3 casual genres that are almost exactly the same? Have you ever played an Action/RPG before? Ever heard of Final Fantasy? Shadow of the Colossus? God of War? Xenoblade? Zelda? Fable? Devil May Cry?

It sounds like your piling all games into 2 catagories 1: Hardcore shooters, 2: Everything else that other casual crowd likes for some reason. I've been a gamer 26 years and i dont have a single shooter in my top 5 favourite games. So much more out there i hope you're not one of "those" gamers where everything needs to aim down the barrel of a weapon cause you would seriously be missing out.

I'm probably jumping the gun with all this conjecture, but im just going with what i'm reading on your end.

@eat it

It's kinda like a huge payoff over a long amount of time. You are almost never given the upper hand in a fight and each Monster can feel like a "final boss" from another game. Gameplay was fairly original when it came out, even today.

Basically it isn't instant fun like a lot of todays games, it has a very tedious tutorial system and the whole thing can be kinda confusing with trying to gear up/grind/ farm etc...

I'll certainly admit the controls and some interfaces need to make it to the 21st century but the core game is novel and a whole lot of fun with friends. In Japan, games like this thrive off a very social mobile gaming atmosphere. Everybody will carry around a psp/3ds and with wifi just about everywhere, it's very easy to get into unlike here in the states.

Just my 2 cents.

@eat it

It's super challenging, and has co-op. It's also a really long, and requires a lot of time and effort.

I tried getting into it, but it's just not for me. I found it to be frustrating and monotonous. I enjoyed Demon/Dark Souls a billion times more, but to each his own.

@Foetoid

dude what are you on about?!

what I'm asking is, why is monster hunter's popularity in Japan so intense? I'm just saying I understand the popularity of CoD and those other casual games because of their accessibility, but I don't know what the appeal for monster hunter is, because as far as the rest of the world is concerned, it doesn't even exist. It sells like mad over there and I'm just wondering what all the fuss is about.

This has nothing to do with the games I play. I've been here a while, and I've games on every platform at one point, I don't really need to list every game I've played.

And even if I only played CoD and MoH, and BF3, that doesn't mean you're somehow better than me because you play Catherine, El Shaddai, and cave story.

@eat it Monster Hunter is a strategic game, each monster you hunt is basically a final boss, much like Shadow of the Colossus. Unlike SotC, MH pushes you into fighting the same monster again and again and as you fight it, you pick up on its quirks and its patterns. The weapons have diverse fighting styles and there is a huge difference between mastering a weapon and knowing how to attack.

Battles are very long in some cases and boring in the eyes of onlookers, but for the players it's another obstacle cutting down time is another challenge. I had tried out a new weapon for the first time and it took 26 minutes of hunting to kill the monster. I came back right afterward (I'd gotten used to the weapon) and I shaved it down to 19 minutes. Came back again after being a little more used to it and it took 15 minutes. There is an absolute learning curve and it's obvious to the player, usually giving him/her satisfaction.

Every monster is a puzzle, strikes from a certain direction after being hit a certain way and after learning their quirks you can see how much better YOU'VE gotten at the game, not how much you've upgraded your character. It's possible to beat an end-boss with no armour if you know when to block, when to roll and when to strike. This challenge and skill level isn't present in a lot of other games.

But I can completely understand why you wouldn't be interested, it's got some long-ass battles and can be boring at times. Not to mention there's a huge portion of preparation (getting potions, gear, traps) before battles that can also turn people off. For those interested in a strategic fighting game not based on the highest stats, Monster Hunter is a godsend.

@That One Guy
Demon/Dark souls lite ?
Dark souls actually borrowed elements from MH like cutting off parts of a monster and looting it.

@Shockwave

Why do you hate progress?

@Shockwave

Vita's numbers will not be pretty.

3DS is doing well because it also appeals to kids and families and is riding the DS' coattails of success.

@Co

2 Mario games around Xmas probably won't hurt.

@Co
Far to early to judge the vita's numbers. I don't think it will do too bad though, after all, it sold a quarter million in 2 days.

@mrantimatter

Early adopter numbers. It will mean very little months from now.

Vita is way too niche a product to have DS like success, or hell even 3DS like success given these new numbers it's been putting up since the fire sale price slash from Nintendo.

Parents and kids aren't running out to buy a Vita. Tech hungry Sony loyalists are.

@Co Actually, Japanese people are, seeing as it's not out in the rest of the world.

@Oddgirl

When it's released worldwide is what I'm saying.

I'm a predictor of the future, if you haven't read my posts around here.

@Co Well, from reading your posts, I would have said "stark raving Nintendo fanboy" over anything. No offense.

At any rate, the Vita will be successful. I doubt it will pull 3DS numbers, but if it can compare to the DS and PSP, just hopefully with decent global software sales, that sure would be something. Anybody that enjoys great video games would be fools not to have both anyways, pending that second or third mortgage and child's college fund of course.

@Oddgirl

A lot of that will depend on software prices, not to mention software selection, if they hope to break out of the "that's an awfully nice piece of kit" niche that they're setting themselves up for. Personally, I didn't see anything in the launch window lineup that appealed to me at all, (or at least not to justify the barrier to entry) and I'm a tech-whore (presumably their target market.)

@Oddgirl

"I would have said "stark raving Nintendo fanboy" over anything."

Why thank you. I do try.

" Anybody that enjoys great video games would be fools not to have both anyways"

Seriously? How much money do you all make around here?

@Co

Wow, I say nice things about both portables, and it turns into a bash fest while I'm gone.

Here's a freakin' clue to all you (Co, I'm looking at you:
NOT EVERY SYSTEM HAS TO "FAIL". ANY SYSTEM THAT DOES NOT END UP BEING THE INDUSTRY LEADER DOESN'T HAVE TO JUST GO AWAY AND DIE. NOT EVERYONE LIKES THE PLAY THE SAME THING. ONE CONSOLE/PORTABLE ONLY WILL NEVER EXIST. COMPETITION IS GOOD.

Seriously, you kids crack me up. Every other article it's "the PS3 will die", "the Wii will die", "the 3DS will die", "the Vita will die". No, they will co-exist, like they always tend to do, and people will play them and be happy. That's it. Sorry it's not a dramatic ending to a huge bloody battle, but in reality these consoles will just exist and fight after completely different markets.

Ugh..

@Shockwave

I think what I'm saying is being taken out of context.

I don't think Vita or 3DS will _die_.

Clearly, at least in regards to 3DS, I am being proven way wrong in my assessment. What my assessment has always been regarding these 2 hand helds is that they will garner nowhere near the success of their predecessors. Especially Vita due solely to the fact that if anything 3DS can fail safe to the families and kids that adored the DS and Nintendo brand in general, whereas Vita is carving itself a very niche crowd with a VERY different hand held/smart phone/tablet world than in 2004 and the original PSP.

@Co

How is over 70 million sold PSPs, niche?

@Shadow Hog It could be because Nintendo is taking a loss for each 3DS sold. Similar to how Microsoft and Sony took a loss for each console their sold at first. But because Nintendo is taking a loss, the more they sell, the more they lose. Partly because of the rising Yen, and the dropping Dollar and Euro. As a result their financial forecast is showing a loss for the first time in decades.

Because of this, it seems like Nintendo's fortune has turned. Yes, they're selling 3DS like crazy, but it's not helping their finances at all. At least for the time being.

In the long term scope of things, this may change. The loss is to establish a strong install-base in order to gain 3rd party support, which is needed to prolong the life of the 3DS. Otherwise the 3DS won't last more than a year or so.

@Ectoplasm

VG Charts says almost 7.2 million Globally.

Even more interesting is their global sales of all consoles ever.

http://www.vgchartz.com/hardware_totals.php

Assuming you count the 3DS as a DS, the DS is the best selling console of all time, the Gameboy is the 3rd best, Wii is 5th with GBA being 6th.

And people say Nintendo is doomed lol.

:( poor Gamecube languishing above only the Sega consoles. So underrated. Going from this chart it wouldn't surprise me to see the Wii overtake the Ps1 at some point.

@Ectoplasm

Wow the Tie-in ratios are really interesting. With the Xbox 1, Ps2 and GC filling 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

@Foetoid If you count the 3DS as a DS you may as well count the Wii as a GameCube. At least Game Boy + Game Boy Color make sense to combine, misleading though it may be. 3DS is true next generation hardware compared to the DS, it shouldn't be lumped together in sales.

@Foetoid
VGChartz is notoriously unreliable, as I recall.

@Oddgirl
Exactly. It's a whole new platform.

@Foetoid

That chart seems odd, what all are they considering a 'gameboy' in that? are they adding GBC numbers to the GB original/pocket numbers?

@mrantimatter

I'd have to imagine the Gameboy colours include all GB, GBC etc while GBA, SP and Micro are lumped together too.

@Oddgirl

Obviously the idea of counting the Wii with GC sales is pretty much trolling. They're two different beasts, once three times faster than the other. They look nothing alike, have only their architecture and backwards compatibility in common and are entirely new generations of consoles. The 3DS is still a dual-screen handheld that keeps the DS name, tho tbh i would rather see them counted seperately, at the same time i can see why Vg Charts would put them together.

@(Unverified)

I've been hearing good things about Pushmo and I picked up the 3D Kirby NES remake. It probably doesn't help that their online sales are partially being cannibalized by the free Ambassador games at the moment. When those go on sale to the general public, there should be a big uptick in downloadable sales. I know I'd sure as hell grab Metroid Fusion or Wario Ware if I didn't already get them, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

@baby sea tuna I like to see them do more games like Kirby's Adventure.
Looks like Kid Icarus is getting the same 3d treatment from the nes version.

lol and where is Pokemon Red,Blue,Yellow,Gold,Silver,Crystal, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, FireRed,Leaf Green

@A Sandwich

Maybe they've "got this," but I know that if their stock ever hits 22 again, I'm pulling the ripcord.

@baby sea tuna

Hell if it does, I may buy in. Lord knows it won't be that low for long.

@A Sandwich I was wondering about that too, seemed to be a sly dig at Nintendo for no real reason.

@Co

That's what I said when it hit 24, and yet here we are.

@baby sea tuna

LOL touche' sir

@A Sandwich

I believe you're forgetting to include the fact that Nintendo does sell other stuff too, and those things aren't sell as well anymore.

As far as I can tell, the 3DS per unit sale is not very profitable for Nintendo due to the significant price drop.

Just an FYI.

@A Sandwich
Given the price drop, I don't think anyone expects high 3DS sales to make a lot of money for Nintendo. At worst, if they're literally losing money on each sale, then selling more means the loss may even be worse than forecast.

Selling a ridiculous number of 3DS systems is excellent news for Nintendo, but that's because it means there is a potential to make a lot of money from game and system sales in future years, not necessarily that they are going to be profitable right now.

(All that said - I bet they did estimate conservatively.)

@Aquatos
PRO TIP:
They will make more Zelda.