Japanese hardware sales, December 19 - 25: Auld Lang Syne edition

@stiqlol And why Xbox should sell? No games for japanese audience, no exclusives, paid online.

@Fweak Monster Hunter on the 3DS is the cause of all this nonsense.

@stiqlol

Why does it baffle your mind though? There is little to nothing that the Japanese want on the 360. The 3DS saw a huge sales boost because its recently had Monster Hunter come out for it, along with it being the holidays, other large Nintendo titles coming out for it within the last couple of months, and a very good looking line up of titles lasting well into next year. The PSP is only dead outside of Japan, inside of Japan it still has support.

"Surely there's enough Hot Shots Golf to sustain more than a couple hundred thousand sales of the Vita in the first two weeks."

Apparently not, since there wasn't a single Vita title that cracked the top 20.

@Suichimo
Regarding Vita software, it's not properly counted in the chart; the chart is retail sales only, and a big proportion of the sales must be online (which is cheaper, memory cards aside).

Regarding Vita hardware, those sales are indeed very poor. At the moment it looks bad for the system in Japan - 3DS doesn't just have more sales right now, it also has all of the big (in Japan) future announced titles. And Sony don't have the same room Nintendo did to cut prices because they're already below cost. But Vita may have a better chance with Western gamers, and the main competition is also good news in a way: 3DS this year proved that it's not sensible to count a system out in its first few months.

@Banana Hammock
Seriously. The dog just annoyingly howled the whole video. In most of these videos, you can get some sort of resemblence to the phrases she's being asked to say. This...this is just a husky doing what they normally do.

But I digress. It's been a while since i've seen a Mishka video and I haven't seen that brown husky since it was a pup. I feel happy just to see it doing well.

@Echo 78

Just wait until the vita gets monster hunter

@Goldenswo140

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/12/28/vita-sales-drop-below-3ds-psp-in-japan/comments/35252262/

@Goldenswo140
But the 3DS has Monster Hunter... will the world implode if both opposing consoles have it?! :O

@Goldenswo140
You are aware Dragon Quest is bigger then Monster Hunter is right? I mean the country took a day off for the last Dragon Quest. Monster Hunter just sold a bunch of copies.

@Goldenswo140

But when the Vita gets Monster Hunter, the 3DS will get its pokemon game.

@Crzycracka But they do have money to buy 400k 3DS?

@Crzycracka
The earthquake and tsunami didn't cover the entirety of Japan, you know. Just because some parts were destroyed, doesn't mean everyone is dirt poor now.

@JoeTheBeast16
You might not have noticed, but it's 2012.

@Shadowbender

Actually, I upvoted you right after the "Happy New Year", but then immediately regretted my decision...only to realize I made the right call.

@Shadowbender
Good show, mate.

@Shadowbender

You know all these "doom and gloom" comments are pointless.

Every time people make these predictions, they're proven wrong.

"PS3 is such a fail, I'm not buying a $500 console."

* Sony drops PS3 price and releases Slim model. PS3 sales catch up to Xbox 360 worldwide.

"Nintendo should just stop making game systems, the GameCube is so kiddy and PS2 is teh bestest evar!"

* Nintendo releases the Wii and it takes the gaming world by storm, expanding the market to millions of new casual gamers who woud have never touched a game controller otherwise.

"The PSP is going to destroy the DS. Nintendo sucks so bad with their 2 screens and kiddy Mario crap."

* The DS Lite is released, along with Brain Age and Nintendogs, and once again consumers determine the victor. The PSP loses almost all support from Western 3rd-party publishers, leaving Japan as the only country where the PSP is relevant.

"The 3DS is too expensive, it haz noe gaemz. Nintendo should just give up and switch over to making smartphone games."

* Nintendo drops the price of the 3DS by $80, and announces the Ambassador Program to people who purchased the system before the price drop. Mario Kart and Mario 3D Land are released. 3DS ends up outpacing the first-year sales of the original DS.

See what I mean? Enough with these pointless doom and gloom scenarios. The same crap is happening with the Wii U, and it's getting ridiculous.

@tendoboy1984

Exactly.

Far too many people, especially these days, stray off into the delusion that their opinion is representative of EVERY OPINION IN ALL OF TIME. It so happens that, yes, some people out there are ecstatic over the Wii U. Yes, some people saw promise in the PS3, found it suitable to pay 500/600 dollars because-what's this?- they wanted to.

But how could this be? $250 for a system which has been factually Provence to have no games worth ten minutes of anyone's time? I'll conclude this with a spoiler: Some disagree.

@Shadowbender

The ironic thing is that most of the companies/systems that have failed happened when computer gaming was brand new. With the exception of Sega, and on a lesser extent Nokia, the last 15 years have actually been very steady.

Here's where you get problems with fanboyism though. Like state above, you have the immature younger crowd who have no idea of business sense and defend the system their moms and dads can afford to buy them so they don't feel left out. But there is another group. There's the other end of the spectrum, the older users, who grew up with dozens of companies in the 70s, 80s, and early to mid 90s. They saw many of them completely go out of business and fail to compete in the market when every electronics company seemed to try to produce hardware to compete in the then new market. You put these two groups together; people who want everyone but what they own to fail, and the group of people who've seen so many systems fail they wrongly still think it's going to keep happening today, and you have a large group of very obnoxious people.

It's one thing to like a console, and it's another to not like a console. But I think people will realize, however big or small the sales are, that these three (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) are here to stay. They are too powerful to be snuffed out of business, and each have their own dedicated groups of followers to ensure their survival.

Honestly, it's why I like system specific forums. You bypass people like Co who perpetuate this mentality.

@Acosta02

EDITORIAL: NINTENDO'S CREEPING DOOM!

All pointless gossip and speculation. Nothing more. If Nintendo can turn the 3DS around, then Sony can turn the Vita around.

Also, the Vita has only been out for less than a month. It hasn't even been released outside Japan yet! Give it some time before you charge forward with your "doom and gloom" nonsense.

Remember the PS3's launch? "$599 U.S. Dollars!" Now look at the PS3 today, it's doing pretty well next to the Xbox 360

@Acosta02

5 months ago... "EDITORIAL: NINTENDO'S CREEPING DOOM!"

All pointless gossip and speculation. Nothing more. If Nintendo can turn the 3DS around, then Sony can turn the Vita around.

Also, the Vita has only been out for less than a month. It hasn't even been released outside Japan yet! Give it some time before you charge forward with your "doom and gloom" nonsense.

Remember the PS3's launch? "$599 U.S. Dollars!" Now look at the PS3 today, it's doing pretty well next to the Xbox 360

@FernandoRocker
While I agree screaming Nintendo doom was stupid they're did his because the 3DS had such high steam running behind it then most of the games got delayed.
Vita however did not have as much hype as the 3DS had and launched with a better launch line up.

@FernandoRocker This.

@FernandoRocker
This dude only comes out to be saying same crap about the 3DS, dude is 2012 new year new comments to talk about.... what a tool..

@FernandoRocker

What I think is ironic is that most of your posts are simply what a bunch of Sony fanboys said towards the 3DS but in reverse, but you're trying to play the high and mighty card.

Here's a clue. No one, Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony, are going anywhere. That goes for everyone else.

I really wish that people who realize that just because you don't like a system, doesn't mean there isn't a market for it. If we all played the same console, things would be pretty boring.

The 3DS will be just fine. The Vita will be just fine. Can we just stop fighting and play some games already?

@FernandoRocker
The doom and gloom didn't start week two, it started a few months later. When the sales died down, and titles started to be canceled and delayed, then people started talking doom and gloom.

@Shockwave
I actually believed FernandoRocker had something against SONY, maybe he still has a lil' bias in some respects but, the day he purchased a PS3 was the day I started seeing him as just "strongly opinionated"!

I can attest that he's signed in pretty regularly, his heart grew three times larger after he got one!

I thanked him for broadening his horizons by adding him as a friend, the past was forgotten and we moved on.

It's all about enjoying a shared experience as gamers regardless of console, politics, religion, race or social standing.

@tendoboy1984
It's still not a good selection. Why limit what PSP games I can play and force ahigh priced SD card when I could buy the PSP with all the games I'd want and use a converter for a micro SD card?
Let's also add in that most Vita games were released on PS3 same date or coming out a month later on PS3.

@The Aquacharger

Most Vita games are also seeing PS3 releases because Sony is promoting something called "cross platform" play, wherein you can play the same game on a home console and handheld, and your save data carries over between systems.

For example, I decide to get the newest Killzone title on my PS3. When I'm out and about, I can transfer my save data to the Vita version and continue playing from where I left off.

@tendoboy1984

Yeah, but you have the game twice.

@The Aquacharger
Most of the vita lineup isn't cross platform, at least not the first and second party stuff.

@tendoboy1984

Exactly. People really need to remember one other thing. Japan is not the epicenter of gaming any more. Look at their current trends. The PSP is selling like hotcakes, the Xbox 360 is bombing, and Microsoft still rules with an iron fist there over Apple. It's like bizarro world over there. Couple in the fact that Nintendo planned a VERY well timed MH release, and there's your answer.

I think the lineup will fare much better in the rest of the world. Fifa sells like nothing else in Europe, and games like Uncharted will do much better in Europe and North America. And without a "Monster Hunter" type release in other territories on the 3DS, I don't think there will be anything to snuff out the Vita's success nearly as much as what happened in Japan.

@Shockwave
Japan is not the 'epicentre of gaming' in general but it's pretty close to that in portable gaming - for sales other regions are certainly bigger, but a high proportion of the best handheld software is Japanese. A lot of Western development houses treat handheld projects as second-tier.

As for bizarro world - I don't know if you've noticed, but Microsoft rules with an iron fist over Apple in *every* region, as far as home computers are concerned. (I'm typing this on a Mac, but I'm smart enough to know that puts me in a small minority.) In terms of phones... uh I didn't hear that Windows Phone is a smash hit in Japan either...