The "I don't care about this game, so it doesn't matter" trick

[Bodhesatva]

Just for emphasis, I thought I'd pull these charts up. Here, again, are the best selling games in Japan for the PS2:

http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=&console=PS2&publisher=&sort=Japan

Now, for the PS1:

http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=&console=PS&publisher=&sort=Japan

Now, for the SNES:

http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=&console=SNES&publisher=&sort=Japan

Now, for the NES:

http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=&console=NES&publisher=&sort=Japan

In Japan, exactly four games have ever sold better than Dragon Quest on their respective systems: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Kart. That's it. In history. It's really hard to over emphasize just how big a deal Dragon Quest is in Japan.

So. Most games that sell 2-5 million copies are medium-tier, moderately important titles that sell a lot of copies, but aren't flagship titles anywhere. They rarely are the "killer app" system sellers we're talking about. Dragon Quest is different: it's a total blank page in Europe/America, but it is the killer App in Japan.

Arguing that Dragon Quest isn't a crucial system seller is very much like arguing that Grand Theft Auto isn't. It doesn't even crack the top 40 games on the PS2 in Japan (any incarnation), but it clearly is a big deal because it sells so well here and in Europe and decides what system a great deal of people buy in those regions.