I was looking at the numbers, and didn't realize how much different the Japanese landscape has changed in the past 10-odd years.
What I am talking about are debuts - Fantastic, insane numbers of games being sold in it's debut week. I didn't realize (although I thought it was up there), that Final Fantasy VIII holds the record for best debut.
Here's the top 20 list since the PS1-era from Famitsu, and the launch dates of the respective games:
Game | System | First Week Sales | Release Date |
Final Fantasy VIII | Playstation | 2,504,044 | 02/11/99 |
Dragon Quest VIII | Playstation 2 | 2,236,881 | 11/27/04 |
Final Fantasy VII | Playstation | 2,034,879 | 01/31/97 |
Final Fantasy IX | Playstation | 1,954,421 | 07/07/00 |
Dragon Quest VII | Playstation | 1,862,065 | 08/26/00 |
Final Fantasy XII | Playstation 2 | 1,840,397 | 03/16/06 |
Final Fantasy X | Playstation 2 | 1,749,737 | 07/19/01 |
Pokemon D/P | Nintendo DS | 1,586,360 | 09/28/06 |
Final Fantasy X-2 | Playstation 2 | 1,472,914 | 03/13/03 |
Resident Evil 2 | Playstation | 1,389,733 | 01/29/98 |
Pokemon R/S | Gameboy Adv. | 1,245,003 | 11/21/02 |
Dragon Quest V | Playstation 2 | 1,048,925 | 04/25/04 |
Resident Evil 3 | Playstation | 1,005,020 | 09/22/99 |
Pokemon F/L | Gameboy Adv. | 955,337 | 01/29/04 |
Derby Stallion | Playstation | 920,565 | 07/17/97 |
Kingdom Hearts 2 | Playstation 2 | 916,569 | 12/22/05 |
New Super Mario Bros. | Nintendo DS | 865,024 | 05/25/06 |
Monster Hunter 2nd G | Playstation Portable | 823,265 | 03/27/08 |
Smash Bros. Brawl | Wii | 816,198 | 01/31/08 |
Gran Turismo 2 | Playstation | 748,581 | 12/11/99 |
Monster Hunter 2 | Playstation Portable | 746,313 | 02/22/07 |
Dynasty Warriors 4 | Playstation 2 | 723,127 | 02/27/03 |
Dragon Quest V | Nintendo DS | 679,442 | 07/17/08 |
Tekken 3 | Playstation | 671,886 | 03/26/98 |
If you'll notice with the list, it's totally littered with titles from the Playstation 1 and 2, with a sprinkling here and there of portable titles (mainly pokemon), and a measly 1 Wii game.
So the question is: Will we ever see a game in the future that will challenge the top tier titles, with 2m+ sales in their first week? Even now, uber-seller Pokemon D/P (which had a very decent userbase when it launched) sold well below most Final Fantasies. Likewise, Dragon Quest V on DS sold well below Dragon Quest V on PS2 (both remakes).
To me, this is similar to the movie industry in the United States: No movie has ever really come close to Titanic yet (although TDK is getting there)...However that comparison has to do with LTD runs vs. first week sales. Has Japan gone casual enough with the DS and Wii, that consumers will not go out and purchase a game week-1 en-mass? Only 2 console games in this generation have passed 500,000 units first week (both Wii games).
What games could potentially near those insane numbers in the next year or two? The only 2 I can think of would be Dragon Quest IX (on DS), and Final Fantasy XIII. However, neither system has shown to have the power to do insane numbers week one (the DS due to casual users, and the PS3 due to smaller userbase). Are there any potential Wii blockbusters that could see incredible sales soon?
Also, this isn't a discussion AT ALL about LTD numbers. I know how much LTD matters, but it's fun to see something sell over 1,000,000 copies in 1 week, isn't it?
And for those requesting it. NA Top 20:
System | System | First Week | Release Date |
Halo 3 | X360 | 2,844,837 | 09/25/07 |
Halo 2 | Xbox | 2,740,295 | 11/09/04 |
Grand Theft Auto IV | X360 | 2,317,774 | 04/29/08 |
Grand Theft Auto: SA | PS2 | 2,252,004 | 10/26/04 |
Smash Bros. Brawl | Wii | 1,684,689 | 03/09/08 |
Pokemon D/P | DS | 1,404,722 | 04/28/07 |
Mario Kart Wii | Wii | 1,231,264 | 04/27/08 |
Grand Theft Auto IV | PS3 | 1,217,429 | 04/29/08 |
Madden NFL 07 | PS2 | 1,148,367 | 08/22/06 |
Madden NFL 06 | PS2 | 1,007,839 | 08/08/05 |
Gran Turismo 4 | PS2 | 770,867 | 02/23/05 |
Call of Duty 4 | X360 | 761,489 | 11/06/07 |
Wii Fit | Wii | 729,598 | 05/21/08 |
Kingdom Hearts 2 | PS2 | 719,701 | 03/28/06 |
Madden NFL 08 | X360 | 711,258 | 08/14/07 |
Madden 09 | X360 | 709,955 | 08/12/08 |
Metal Gear Solid 4 | PS3 | 665,902 | 06/12/08 |
Guitar Hero 3 | X360 | 658,671 | 10/28/07 |
Super Mario Galaxy | Wii | 635,162 | 11/12/07 |
Madden NFL 07 | X360 | 625,461 | 08/22/06 |
And European Top 10 (mind you, not enough data for a solid Top 10, as many games are missing data)
Game | System | First Week |
Grand Theft Auto: SA | PS2 | 1,513,978 |
Grand Theft Auto IV | PS3 | 1,206,829 |
Gran Turismo 4 | PS2 | 1,026,956 |
Grand Theft Auto IV | X360 | 1,020,855 |
Halo 3 | X360 | 908,192 |
Wii Fit | Wii | 644,865 |
Mario Kart Wii | Wii | 596,925 |
Metal Gear Solid 4 | PS3 | 532,217 |
Pokemon D/P | DS | 508,306 |
Smash Bros. Brawl | Wii | 311,060 |
To note on both lists: VGC doesn't compile top 10s, so I just checked games I *thought* would be in the top 20 and 10 (based off LTD sales for given 'big' games).
Very interesting for the US and Europe, because both are more diversified in top titles. European data is interesting, because there isn't a lot of data, and even then, the list indicates how casual Europe is. Even though top titles have some major selling power (such as Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo), the sales numbers drop pretty quickly. Battlefield: Bad Company on X360 (nowhere in the top 20) sold as much as #10 SSBB did in Europe..Yet #1 GTA:SA sold more than half of Halo 3.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.