Rumor: Wii games face disappointing first day sales in Japan
by Candace Savino 
{ Dec 16th 2007 at 3:04PM }
This seems to be becoming a trend, but the handful of Wii games that were released this week in Japan are reported to have had poor first day sales. They were all third-party titles, which is also somewhat worrisome. Here's a look at the numbers:- Chocobo's Dungeon (Square Enix) - 30,000 (30% sell through of initial amount shipped)
- NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Sega) - 7,000 (10% sell through)
- Soul Calibur Legends (Bandai Namco) - 5,000 (10% sell through)
- We Love Golf (Capcom) - 4,000 (10% sell through)
- Shikigami no Shiro III (Arc System Works) - 500
So, what do we make of these numbers? If they're correct, is it bad news for the Wii and third-party developers, or just more evidence that Japan is shying away from console gaming? While the latter is certainly a factor, third parties certainly can't be happy to see low numbers. However, it's way too early to ring a death knell for any of these games, even if these numbers are correct. We'll just have to wait and see how these games perform in the next few weeks.
[Via Cubed3]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
troy @ Dec 16th 2007 3:11PM
I don't see how 'No More Heroes' could have sold 10k+ and the new NiGHTS couldn't clear that figure. I don't know, I'm waiting for official numbers before I think square-enix didn't hit a homerun on their hometurf with the ever so beguiling looking 'Chocobo's Dungeon' title.
Nebinator @ Dec 16th 2007 3:24PM
Odd.... Yay! I got second comment!
troy @ Dec 16th 2007 3:28PM
No, that is just a second post. You can only 'comment' ON something, i.e. the topic of the post, which you have not done. LOL
DonWii @ Dec 16th 2007 3:46PM
WiiFit, Galaxy, and the DS are cannabilizing sales. (Yes, Galaxy has been charting in the top 10 with 30-45k units weekly).
The only console games that have sold very well are Resident Evil and Dragon Quest on Wii, and Dynasty Warrios/Gundam Games on PS3.
Service_Games @ Dec 16th 2007 4:00PM
If the Japanese are shying away from console gaming, where are they going? Handheld gaming? Computer gaming (OSX or Win)? Or have they just losing interest in gaming completely?
SG
Candace Savino @ Dec 16th 2007 4:25PM
No, I didn't mean to say that they were losing interest in gaming, but some people speculate that Japan is moving away from console gaming in favor of handheld gaming (DS, PSP, and yep, cell phones). As for PC gaming, that isn't big in Japan.
Service_Games @ Dec 16th 2007 4:36PM
Ah ha! Thanks for the info. It makes perfect sense. I was just a bit confused.
SG
Candace Savino @ Dec 16th 2007 5:00PM
No problem! Sorry that I didn't make that clear. :)
tiamat1990 @ Dec 16th 2007 4:25PM
Handheld gaming...have you seen the PSP and DS sales?
ssuk @ Dec 16th 2007 5:29PM
Well, it's running up to Christmas... Everyone's broke...
Sora267 @ Dec 16th 2007 7:08PM
Funny, I thought that the Japanese were Shinto and Buddhist, meaning that they didn't celebrate Christmas. Oops.
racecar @ Dec 16th 2007 11:48PM
Lots of Americans are Atheist/Agnostic, but that doesn't stop them from celebrating Christmas.
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
Joe @ Dec 16th 2007 6:01PM
This saddens me I really liked the first NiGHTS on the Sega Saturn and now it looks as if there might not be a third game. So that really sucks. Also seeing as Chocobo's Dungeon did not sell well I wonder how much faith SE still has in the Wii. I was wishing for a new Super Mario RPG. So I hope that game will still get a new game.
Gretchen @ Dec 16th 2007 6:14PM
Well let's wait for a month of sales rather than a rumour of 1st day sales, and then see how things did.
Max Headroom @ Dec 16th 2007 7:12PM
I wouldn't have bought any of those games either. I don't think that very many third parties are making good Wii games yet. Or if they are, they are severly missing their target audience by making everything cartoons. I don't know what's sold well in Japan so far, but in America it is Red Steel, Resident Evil, and Nintendo's first party games. Shouldn't that tell third parties something? DON'T COMPETE WITH NINTENDO'S FIRST PARTY GAMES! YOU WILL FAIL! INSTEAD MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND NOT CARTOONY!
Matt @ Dec 16th 2007 8:22PM
Same here, I have no interest at all in those games. But I don't think the message should be "don't compete with Nintendo's first-party games", I think it should be to make... you know... GOOD games for the system. It's not that first-party Nintendo games sell and third-party games don't sell --- the truth is that good games sell, mediocre games don't. I've got a few third-party Wii games that are good, but there are way too many garbagey ones out there right now..
racecar @ Dec 17th 2007 12:27AM
Unf. Red Steel is not a good example of a successful Wii game. Yes, it sold a lot of copies, but most of those came from launch sales (read: when nobody had really put their hands on the game yet). If it was truly successful, it'd still be selling lots of copies and wouldn't be considered such a disgrace. So, really, you're right. Nintendo is pretty much the only major software developer for the Wii right now. But it shouldn't be that way.
Additionally, just because none of these games didn't catch your fancy doesn't mean that they aren't well produced and potentially good games. NiGHTS seems to be a pretty interesting game, though I admit that I'm probably not going to buy it. Bad sales are a sad sign for anyone hoping to get a sequel to their favorite cult classic. Developers will just have to say, "Look at what happened to SEGA."
Chocobo's Dungeon looks great, too (as most Square games do), and sad sales on a Square-Enix game could mean doom for any future worthwhile RPGs (beyond those currently in production) coming to the Wii. Trust me, nobody wants that to happen.
Soul Caliber Legends is a case of a good franchise gone bad. It had, what appeared to me to be, good graphics, but cheap and repetitive waggle killed what could have been great. This particular game fits in well with the general idea that you and Matt were referring to. Third parties should create good games that the hardcore crowd can get into, especially if that is going to be their target audience. The shouldn't be making dumbed down controls to reach out into a casual audience when they're not likely to pick up the game up in the first place.
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
thethirdmoose @ Dec 16th 2007 9:39PM
It's because casual gamers don't go out and get games on the first day- only very hardcore gamers do.
Nushio (NDF - Blue) @ Dec 16th 2007 11:13PM
I call myself a hardcore gamer, yet I hardly ever buy games the week they come out. I usually wait 2-4 weeks before buying the games.
I have no reason why I do that though.
B1gC72 @ Dec 16th 2007 9:57PM
it makes me wonder just what the ratio of Hardcore:Casual gamer is over there. if casual gamers are the ones buying the majority of the consoles then most of them arent going to know the history of gaming and probably wouldnt be interested in the nostalgic value of a game like NiGHTS. i have no numbers to back this though, its just a thought.
but regardless they definitely have to figure out whats going on.
racecar @ Dec 16th 2007 11:55PM
I wonder if this is a problem of advertising, much akin to what was seen with Metroid Prime 3. Not being in Japan, I can't come to a solid conclusion on this, but it doesn't seem like third parties are really putting any advertising dollars into their Wii-only games. I only see ads for cross-platform games. Perhaps this also stems from Nintendo's requirement that people be shown playing the games in addition to a pure, in-game footage advert. *shrug*
Regardless, I think Nintendo really needs to get a preview/demo channel going that both they and third parties can start placing adverts on. If people got a little hands-on time or any other hype they'd be seeing much better numbers than these.
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
BDR @ Dec 17th 2007 1:55AM
Oh man. Ooooooooh Maaaaaaaaaan. If Chocobo Dungeon can't move copies in Japan, I shudder to think of the future of quality RPGs on the Wii. RPGs are an important genre that can help Nintendo to capture the hardcore gamer (along with FPS), and if the Wii lacks quality titles there's no doubt that it will hurt. Bad.
That said, these aren't confirmed figures, and it may have a staggered start, akin to SMG.
Michael K. @ Dec 17th 2007 8:26AM
maybe those games didn't sell because they all look bad, except chocobo's dungeon
Ghaleon @ Dec 17th 2007 10:39AM
Isn't every Chocobo Dungeon game complete garbage?
I didn't think NiGHTS would sell well, but not THIS badly. And I figured No More Heroes would do wayyy better. This is no good beans.
I don't think most gamers are "educated" in general anymore -- hence DQ and RE being mediocre games but two of the only huge 3rd party Wii sellers. No one remembers NiGHTS, or WHY it should be remembered. Barf.
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Dec 17th 2007 12:47PM
DS. DS. DS.
All the games are fall into two categories: (1) remakes and (2) has analogues one on DS.
Comparing launch week sales of WiiFit and UR MR GAY, one can safely say that Jap's Wii audience is more interested in new original games.
And since literally everybody in Japan has DS already, games which have relative titles on DS would definitely outsell (or cannibalize completely) sales of Wii's titles.
aeron @ Dec 17th 2007 8:16PM
racecar, you have no idea what americans are do you? Hollywood controls all of the filth you see...they are atheist.
Anyway, the wii has only been successful for nintendo and little developers that only need to sell 10,000 copies to get good profits off of shovelware.
Arthur Lucena @ Dec 18th 2007 3:03PM
This is a bit sad. Just like Quest of Barbaros - a good game with a low numbers. The third parties doesnt realized that the great amount of wii customers doesnt used to "follow" the games industry, doesnt used to read reviews, doesnt used to wait great gamers.
So make tv commercials, outdoors and sort of things to aim the casual gamer.
I mean... thats what i think.