RolStoppable said:
The sell-through percentage in Japan allows you to gauge how a game performs according to retailer expectations, not publisher expectations. It's common that publishers have already printed copies that are ready to be shipped in week 2, because retailer and publisher expectations aren't always on the same page; this particular scenario means that retailers' expectations are notably below the publisher's expectations, hence why there is no delay between second order and second shipment. Labo's scenario is the opposite where retailers were bullish from the get-go, but the sell-through rate doesn't provide any indication how much Nintendo expected Labo to sell up to this point. But unsurprisingly, if retailers place high initial orders, a publisher is going to fulfill those orders. |
While you're correct that ultimately retailers decide how much they order, but let's not also pretend that bigger publishers can dictate a lot of that. If a game can't sell through its shipment that means retailers have to drop the price to clear inventory. That means it hasn't sold well.
It's way to early to say anything definitive about Labo, but it's not off to a strong start so far and that's fair to say. Have to wait and see if it have good word of mouth.
