Marvelous Entertainment folding and auctioning off their franchises (No More Heroes, Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, etc.) might be for the best. They can't survive in this current gaming climate. It's way too unforgiving for small Japanese publishers. The PSP is saturated, the DS is uber-saturated, the PS360 are expensive and the Wii, well, Marvelous has already tried going that route and it didn't work.
It's not that 31k for Heroes Paradise first week is bad. In fact, I think those numbers are quite positive (especially the 360 numbers. Awesome sales there). Shows that NMH is finally getting a following in Japan. Remember, the Japanese software market is a lot smaller than North America's. So 31k in Japan isn't as low as it looks. But with HD development being so expensive, 31k FW isn't gonna be enough.
@Boutros
Yeah the 360 version is uncensored. But even if the game is uncensored on the 360, gamers actually need to own a 360 to play the game right? Which you'd imagine would be a problem when the PS3 outnumbers the 360 4:1 in sales. When No More Heroes sold almost as much on the 360 as on the PS3 despite the 4:1 install disadvantage , I'd say the 360 version was a great success. It shows that the Xbox 360 has made some great inroads with hardcore Japanese gamers (the audience for No More Heroes). In Japan, who would be the ones buying Xbox 360s? Gamers who spend a lot of money on their hobby probably (aka hardcore gamers). I strongly doubt there are too many Xbox 360 owners in Japan (aside from expats) who don't also own a PS3. They don't have Final Fantasy on the 360 there. No Gran Turismo. No MGS4. No Yakuza. etc. And for most Japanese console gamers, a Wii and/or PS3 is enough for them. So to buy a 360 in Japan, you'd most likely to be a hardcore gamer or an expat. And who is likely to buy No More Heroes? Hardcore gamers.
