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Forums - Sales Discussion - Japan sales (Week 15): Media Create/Famitsu/Dengeki - April 9 - 15, 2018

Nautilus on 20 April 2018
Faelco said:
Nautilus said:

I do agree that these forums can be ridiculous sometimes.There are some users from the Sony side that whenever the PS4 is treading bad waters, they say stuff like "Home consoles on Japan are dead, so it selling this bad is normal"(There is already one comment like this on here, you can check out) or "PS4 is doing great overseas, so Sony dosent care about Japan", but when PS4 starts doing well on it, like it did when MHW arrived, the tone totally changes, and start saying stuff like "heh, thiose idiots that thought that PS4 was dead on Japan" or things of the same sort.Heh, I even remember a user here who went on claiming that the Switch would fail to sell well on Japan because he was reading on japanese forums that those users werent very fond of the machine.It was a very entertaining period.And the same thing can be said for the Nintendo side, where some users can get very defensive when Nintendo consoles start doing bad on Japan and there isnt a legit reason for it doing bad.The usual sentences arent far off of the ones you just posted.other ones you usually see are "Nintendo consoles are more popular on the USA, so they are sending more units there, thats why the stock is so low this weak!".You know the drill.

Having said that, please, please stop this Faelco.I am not one of those people, and while I do admit its simply more fun at the moment to cheer for Nintendo, I am as unbiased as possible when it comes to these situations, when we try to analyse whats going on.I mean, I like to believe you know me enough to know Im not as blind as you seem to suggest.So lets stop this kind of nonsense talk, please?

First of all, about your whole Vita and PSVR point:Who said that, only because they have supply, it means that the demand for them is high?Who is even saying that they are selling well?Having stock dosent mean its flying off the shelves.Actually, its most likely the oposite, as Media Create shows(at least for Vita).It could be a stock that was bought 3 weeks, 1 months, maybe even 2 months ago, and they didnt manage to sell it all yet, while the PS4 manages to sell everything that is being shipped, which seems to be, at least for the last month, anywhere between 10k to 20k.Second, as Im much in the dark in this situation as you.I dont know whats the cause.And like I said, if it ends up being exclusively a supply problem, Ill be the first one to admit.I simply just think thats its more likely that its a mix of supply problems coupled with retailers buying less stock.Now the reason for that i have no idea.Dwindling sales due to its age, Switch canabilizing a bit of its market, pre Golden week, lack of compelling software.Could be any of those reasons.Probably its a combination of all of them.

And just to adress the anecdotal evidence part:Its not that I dont believe you, its simply that, just because a couple of stores that you go through dosent have PS4 on them, you cant make a conclusion on that alone that PS4 must be having supply problems.Without more evidence and proof, there could be any number of reasons behind it, like the ones I already said.And just to clarify:if someone came and said the same thing but about the Switch, I would also call BS on that.

And sorry for the late reply.I went to sleep, then I had classes and a bunch of responsabilities to attend to.

Don't worry, the "ridiculous forums" part wasn't specifically about you, it's more of a reaction to all the recent Japan sales threads. Sorry if I seemed too harsh.

My Vita/PSVR argument wasn't that it's selling well, quite the opposite. You were saying that retailers were the one not ordering PS4s because they were disappointed about the sales. My point is that the Vita and PSVR sales are way lower than the PS4, and the retailers have Vita and PSVR all the time. And the sales are not bad enough for it to be months old stocks, so they do order Vita and PSVR regularly, enough to have a constant stock. It would be perfectly ridiculous for them to decide to not order enough PS4 because they think it doesn't sell enough, and yet order more than enough Vita and PSVR, don't you think?

I know that we can't be sure about something just because of a few stores. But we don't have that much people here trying to buy a PS4 in Japan, so we can't get a lot more info than that. Some other users checked the online stores of big Japanese retailers and the PS4 wasn't available either (right now the only PS4 sold by Amazon themselves and available is the Shadow of Mordor bundle...). When it's the same things for weeks or months, it's maybe not enough to understand the problem entirely, but it's IMO enough to understand that there is a problem.

New anecdotal evidence. I went to get my GoW bundle this morning, 2 weeks after my last time in the store. Still no PS4 available at all, except for a dozen preordered bundles (I preordered the last one 2 weeks ago). Switch, PSVR, Vita and Labo all available, with a lot of stock for Switch and Labo. The store was very quiet and empty though, maybe too early. Families will surely go get Labo tomorrow.

What would you say if a big Gamestop in a city like New York or London didn't have any PS4 for more than 2 weeks, maybe a month? Normal situation or shortage? For me, it's not normal...

I would say that the stock for said console would be bad or have some management problem when it comes to New York, maybe I could say that this problem would extend to most major cities in the US, but I wouldnt say the same for the entire country.

Anyways, without further clarification, this is all just hypothetical.I think that, after Golden week comes and goes and we get data from the week after that, we can get a better picture of the situation.I still personally expect for the truth to be betwenn what I believe and what you believe, but we will see.



My (locked) thread about how difficulty should be a decision for the developers, not the gamers.

https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=241866&page=1

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Jranation on 20 April 2018
fatslob-:O said:
Just utterly pathetic numbers all around ...

Japan's future as a dedicated gaming devices market is probably at stake for the very first time! Heck, we could be witnessing a precursor to the very first Japanese video game market crash by the end of this generation/start of next generation!

It must be extremely sad that the most currently relevant Japanese game franchises in the market have been reduced to less than a dozen. Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest, Mario, Pokemon, Monster Hunter, Splatoon and Super Smash Bros are all that's left ...

The situation is so dire that franchises such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Yokai Watch may not be able to reach 1M units sold in Japan ever again with future entries ...

Or you know. Nintendo can make a new IP which can get a Splatoon like Success. Or third parties to make new IPs on the Switch for a Yokai Watch Like success



Pocky Lover Boy! 

Train wreck on 20 April 2018
Jranation said:
fatslob-:O said:
Just utterly pathetic numbers all around ...

Japan's future as a dedicated gaming devices market is probably at stake for the very first time! Heck, we could be witnessing a precursor to the very first Japanese video game market crash by the end of this generation/start of next generation!

It must be extremely sad that the most currently relevant Japanese game franchises in the market have been reduced to less than a dozen. Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest, Mario, Pokemon, Monster Hunter, Splatoon and Super Smash Bros are all that's left ...

The situation is so dire that franchises such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Yokai Watch may not be able to reach 1M units sold in Japan ever again with future entries ...

Or you know. Nintendo can make a new IP which can get a Splatoon like Success. Or third parties to make new IPs on the Switch for a Yokai Watch Like success

If it was that easy, all consoles there would be thriving. :-/  For every one success Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and 3rd parties have, they have numerous games that fail to gain traction or just fail. 



outlawauron on 20 April 2018
fatslob-:O said:
Just utterly pathetic numbers all around ...

Japan's future as a dedicated gaming devices market is probably at stake for the very first time! Heck, we could be witnessing a precursor to the very first Japanese video game market crash by the end of this generation/start of next generation!

It must be extremely sad that the most currently relevant Japanese game franchises in the market have been reduced to less than a dozen. Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest, Mario, Pokemon, Monster Hunter, Splatoon and Super Smash Bros are all that's left ...

The situation is so dire that franchises such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Yokai Watch may not be able to reach 1M units sold in Japan ever again with future entries ...

Kingdom Hearts barely hit a million in Japan on the PS2. Why would it not hitting a million be surprising?



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Acevil on 20 April 2018
outlawauron said:
fatslob-:O said:
Just utterly pathetic numbers all around ...

Japan's future as a dedicated gaming devices market is probably at stake for the very first time! Heck, we could be witnessing a precursor to the very first Japanese video game market crash by the end of this generation/start of next generation!

It must be extremely sad that the most currently relevant Japanese game franchises in the market have been reduced to less than a dozen. Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest, Mario, Pokemon, Monster Hunter, Splatoon and Super Smash Bros are all that's left ...

The situation is so dire that franchises such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Yokai Watch may not be able to reach 1M units sold in Japan ever again with future entries ...

Kingdom Hearts barely hit a million in Japan on the PS2. Why would it not hitting a million be surprising?

Also should be noted, not that many games do 1 million plus in Japan, even when the PS2 was leading. Why is that the plateau. 



 

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fatslob-:O on 20 April 2018
RolStoppable said:

It's the threshold because Nintendo is winning in Japan and fatslob doesn't like it. His post blatantly goes in the direction that in the future Japan might not matter anymore, but there's nothing to suggest that Japan will lose its second spot in the worldwide ranking of countries when it comes to console sales.

They've been winning Japan since last generation so that hasn't changed but even you can't be in denial that Nintendo hasn't been doing as well compared to their previous portable systems and let's not forget that Nintendo had to make an exit from the home console market too ... 

You say nothing but are you certain that an aging demographic such Japan will maintain current trends ? And are you also certain that spot won't become contended or a runaway lead ? 



fatslob-:O on 20 April 2018
RolStoppable said:

Nintendo has made an exit from the home console market? How do you come to that conclusion?

Despite your continued denial that Nintendo's new system isn't a home system, you're comparing the Switch to the WII U to simply dodge the fact that Nintendo aren't offering new systems anymore with a non-portable form factor ... 



fatslob-:O on 20 April 2018
RolStoppable said:

I am not comparing Switch to Wii U. Going by your messy logic, Nintendo isn't offering new handhelds anymore either, because Switch clearly isn't the typical handheld.

Maybe you should play a Switch. That should make you realize that nothing has been lost in terms of home console functionality. You're stuck in the past where a clear distinction between home console and handheld existed, that's why you have trouble to accept that Switch is more than a plain handheld console.

That doesn't change the fact that the Switch is still a portable system ... 

FWIW, it's not functionality that defines whether the system is portable or not. It's specifically the form factor and that is an absolutely relevant metric of hardware design but you pointing out that there's nothing in terms of functionality separating the two design philosophy makes your argument weaker ... 

Thus our conclusion about the two designs is that the only differentiating aspect between the two is how compact their physical design is so by technical merit while the Switch may have equivalent functionality of a home system it's still a portable system by physical design ... (another thing is that the vast majority of "traditional" home consoles aren't operated by built-in/integrated/internally contained batteries like the Switch thus makes it an even stronger proposition that it is a portable system)

You're argument becomes even more flawed when we make a comparison between phones and stationary personal computers ... 

It boils down to this, you only want to blur the lines between what is a portable or a home system so that you can prop up your comparisons with the Switch against other platforms ... 



PortisheadBiscuit on 20 April 2018
fatslob-:O said:
RolStoppable said:

Nintendo has made an exit from the home console market? How do you come to that conclusion?

Despite your continued denial that Nintendo's new system isn't a home system, you're comparing the Switch to the WII U to simply dodge the fact that Nintendo aren't offering new systems anymore with a non-portable form factor ... 

Considering Switch performs BETTER as a home console, it's a home console. Portability is just an added feature



fatslob-:O on 20 April 2018
RolStoppable said:

Switch isn't operated by its battery when it is in the dock, because it needs more juice when it is docked. That's why it draws the power it needs from a socket.

Your conclusion is pretty weird when you are the guy who wants to reduce Switch to a handheld in order to have a better talking point. It's also weird to suggest that portability prevents Switch from providing the exact same things that Nintendo home consoles have provided in the past; Switch's portability is not detrimental, rather it's an additional feature on top of what is expected to be there. It makes absolutely no sense to say that Nintendo has exited the home console market when the majority of Switch owners plays the console when it's connected to their TV.

Maybe you want to explain why anyone should be concerned about Switch's sales performance.

@Bold Just like most other portable systems when they are getting charged from the socket ... (doesn't mean that the Switch CAN'T be operated by a battery like you imply)

See how easy it is to debunk your argument ? You only want to dismiss the classification of physical design when it's convenient in your case to make these comparisons ... 

I didn't suggest that there was anything that prevented the Switch from offering the same things their previous home consoles provided. My case is that Nintendo is simply NOT offering a home system on a technical basis and you keep feigning a charade about this fact ... 

Last edited by fatslob-:O - on 20 April 2018