PS Vita sales plummet to new weekly low in Japan

[DarkDragon]

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/168356/PS_Vita_sales_plummet_to_new_low_in_Japan.php

Sony's PS Vita continues to struggle to pick up traction in Japan, where hardware sales for the handheld fell to a new low last week -- almost all consoles suffered significant sales drops, too.

PS Vita's system sales slid to 8,931 last week, slipping into the four-digit range for the first time. It was stuck around the 10,000 mark for a month before a small boost lifted PS Vita sales to 12,105 last week, but the portable wasn't able to keep that upward momentum for long.

The handheld doesn't appear to be performing well in the U.S. either, where Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter predicts Vita sales to be around around 125,000 units in March, its second month on sale. Pachter described those numbers as "meaningfully below our expectations."

Nintendo 3DS hardware sales in Japan also dropped, coming down from 121,921 to 72,115. The portable had enjoyed particularly healthy sales after the release of special bundles for Super Mario 3D Land, Monster Hunter 3G, and Kingdom Hearts 3D in recent weeks.

PSP sales, though still higher than PS Vita's, sank from 18,356 to 14,804. In fact, all consoles reported fewer sales last week with the exception of Xbox 360, which grew from 1,317 to 3,764 as Kinect Star Wars shipped -- that game sold 6,010 copies.

Handheld games dominated Japan's software sales chart last week, and Namco Bandai's 2nd Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen for PSP was at the top after debuting with 265,439 copies sold (a 40,000 drop from the initial sales of the last Super Robot Wars PSP game).

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, the second biggest seller, moved 42,231 units, an 80 percent drop-off from the previous week's 255,810. That's a significantly higher second-week drop-off than other recent portable games from Square Enix's Disney-themed series, which typically fall of by 60-67 percent.

PS Vita failed to put up a single game on Japan's top 20 software sales chart (tracks only retail sales, not digital copies sold on PSN), and with hardly any major releases slated for the coming weeks, it's unlikely the portable's sales will bounce back in the near future.

Full software and hardware sales charts for the April 2 to 8 period in Japan, provided by Media Create and translated by NeoGAF, are available here.

[old man]

I think there's gonna be a crash come next gen. I don't think anybody is going to be able to garner enough interest enough with new gimmicks to maintain any staying power. I could be wrong though. I've been out of touch with modern stuff for a while.

[Zoltor]

Something comes to mind, told you so.

It's pretty much expected, 2 crappy new handhelds, can't keep their sales numbers up. Lol for a handheld device not to sell well in Japan(you know the Japanese, they pretty much love any piece of tech, that's a handheld, they go nuts for anything handheld), it needs to be something especially bad.

[Cholkavich]

thats a bummer, its a great handheld but at the moment there arent really any great titles scheduled to be released. im still waiting for something to look foward to.

[Thunderblaze16]

While people are saving up for the overpriced vita, sales for the Pspgo have decreased fairly well. I was able to snatch a boxed PSPGO with all requires that originally came in the box on eBay for only $93.

[JCU]

The Vita is a nice toy but it is experiencing a substantial drought in desirable games. Golden Abyss was a fun play but not much else is worth buying at the moment. Resistance and Silent Hill both come out at the end of May but that is still far off. Sony better start releasing worthy titles unless it wants the 3DS to walk away this generation.

[Baloo]

The Vita seems to have a lot of hardware flaws and not a good library. The 3DS has the potential to have a good library but doesn't have any must-buys yet, so I think it'll gain steam later on in it's lifespan.

But it isn't looking good for either system really.

[FoxHound]

I was not impressed with the Vita. The 3DS is the perfect handheld i was looking for. I no longer have faith in Sony and the PS3 was the last piece of hardware I will buy from them.

[JCU]

The 3ds already has two big hitters in SM3DL and Mario Kart but Nintendo seems to be taking its dear old time releasing other big names such as Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion 2, Paper Mario, etc.., Kid Icarus is relatively new but I don't think we're seeing phenomenal sales because it stopped being a household name (if it ever was) decades ago. Mario Tennis is released next month and although I wouldn't call it a "must have" title, I believe it will sell it acceptable amounts since not much else worth buying is available. For the amount of crap available on the 3DS compared to quality titles, Nintendo must be doing something correctly for it to continue selling well.

[i64X]

Video game crash of 2013/2014 due to DRM, DLC, motion controls, touch screens, and other stupid BS. Sega will rise from the ashes in 2015 with a new console that goes back to controllers and solid games - circa Famicom in 1983.

Second half of that is probably not going to happen, but I bet the first half will, unfortunately.

[DarkDragon]

My 2 cents is that people are perfectly fine with cheaper and inferior cell phone games. I mean so many people like crappy movies, tv shows, and music so why wouldnt cell phone games be good enough for those people

[kokujin]

My 2 cents is that people are perfectly fine with cheaper and inferior cell phone games. I mean so many people like crappy movies, tv shows, and music so why wouldnt cell phone games be good enough for those people

You hit it right on the head.

[Splatterhouse5]

My thoughts on it is that VG tech has gotten good enough for most - Does a handheld really have to be much better than what the PSP and DS can do? Mix in a couple doses of economic crisis, and I don't think it's a surprise that people are waiting for these handhelds to drop in price (or simply don't care). It makes sense to me that they'd drag their feet about coming out with new consoles.

[Lastcallhall]

I don't think we're anywhere near a "crash" situation yet, but I do think we're near or at a saturation point when it comes to video games and video game consoles/handhelds. It's so easy now a days to get your video gaming "fix" in, whether it be on a console for a marathon session, a handheld while on the bus/train ride home, or a quick game or two on your smartphone when you have a few seconds to kill. We're literally inundated with entertainment at every turn - it's a bit numbing to the senses, if you ask me. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that each outlet for gaming offers it's own unique experience, so we always have a choice. Back in the 80s and 90s, if you wanted gaming, you had to be at home in front of a console, or in a semi-lit room playing an inferior portable. That's it. There was no instant gratification of your Android or iPhone to help pass the time until you got home, and you couldn't take your console with you on the go like you can with the Vita and to a lesser degree the 3DS. It's crazy, and not only do console developers and software developers know it, they thrive on it. At least they did until we finally had our fill and are just now starting to say "no more." Splatterhouse is right, the economic crisis that is affecting everyone on the planet in some way shape or form is starting to seep into the video game industry and I think gamers are at a point where they're good on consoles and handhelds for a few years.

[i64X]

There was no instant gratification of your Android or iPhone to help pass the time until you got home, and you couldn't take your console with you on the go like you can with the Vita and to a lesser degree the 3DS.

How is the 3DS "to a lesser degree?" It's smaller (therefore more portable) and has better battery life than a Vita.

Just trying to follow the logic here...

[doomguy]

Because the 3DS is underpowered compared to the Vita and therefore less console like. I really hate the idea for the 3DS, 3d doesn't work for handhelds and it doesn't immerse much with poor graphics. If you want good 3d gaming go PS3 of PC

[tz101]

Sony just announced 10,000 job cuts so it does not bode well for the future of their video game products. Maybe the crash is at hand?

[JCU]

You hit it right on the head.

Not even close. People are buying the 3DS and it has sold quite well since it was released last year. Of course the price drop has contributed to the sales but still, people are buying it. Even with the Vita, $249.99 is not a lot of money these days yet it doesn't have much to play. Both systems are experiencing a drought (more so with the Vita) and naturally titles are what pushes systems.

The Vita has been the biggest disappointment of the two though. How many people thought all of its power and enhancements would propel it to a stature occupied by Nintendo for years? It's flopping like a fish out of water.

[MrMatthews]

Because the 3DS is underpowered compared to the Vita and therefore less console like. I really hate the idea for the 3DS, 3d doesn't work for handhelds and it doesn't immerse much with poor graphics. If you want good 3d gaming go PS3 of PC

This is the dumbest non-Zoltor argument I've ever read.

[Lastcallhall]

How is the 3DS "to a lesser degree?" It's smaller (therefore more portable) and has better battery life than a Vita.

Just trying to follow the logic here...

Because the PS Vita is essentially a portable PS3. Hell, they even tout the ability to move your game from your console to the Vita while on the go. The 3DS isn't quite there yet - in Otherwords, it's no portable Wii. I'd place it at a portable Gamecube at best (which is still good don't get me wrong). My point is, is that it's harder for you to "take your (home) console with you on the go" with a 3DS versus the Vita, that's all.

[Obviously]

I think there's gonna be a crash come next gen. I don't think anybody is going to be able to garner enough interest enough with new gimmicks to maintain any staying power. I could be wrong though. I've been out of touch with modern stuff for a while.

As I said before I think devices like smartphones and pads are going to ultimately kill the dedicated gaming handheld industry. Innovations like cloud gaming have it in for traditional consoles as well. I think most of us will see within our lifetimes the sales of physical media for books, video games, movies and music practically disappear. It may not be soon but probably sooner than we think.

My prediction is that the next console generation is going to be a flop since it won't have much new to offer beyond a few transparent gimmicks. We've reached a saturation point and the current economy can't really prop up all three major players in the hardware industry right now. I think we'll see a crash followed by a major shake up in the way we play video games. It's a necessary step for the next evolution of the industry to occur. The market has to change first before the way things are done can change.

Or I could be completely wrong and it will be business as usual.

[Robotwo]

I haven't really tried my hands on the Vita yet, but while some of the games seem acceptable, I must say the hardware just bugs me to no end.
I mean sure it has a decent amount of input alternatives, but it just seems to overdo it.

As if a Dpad, 4 face buttons, shoulder buttons, two analog sticks and a multitouch screen and a mic isn't enough.
They just had to add an additional multitouch on the back, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis electrical compass, GPS, front camera and back camera.

Most games so far doesn't really seem to utilize the new inputs in any new or interesting ways, it's just as a really excessive alternative to the regular controlls.
Like climbing by moving your fingers back and forth on the back panel instead of just holding one of the analog sticks up.

The fact that they use memory cards for saving on a system that uses memory card based games also seems a bit odd,
given a 8gb memory card will probably hold a bunch of saves though so you wont have to switch all the time.
But why not use the M2 standard sony already had out instead of make a same-sized memory card that can only be used by the Vita,
thus forcing you to buy one even if you have a spare M2 lying around.

To me the Vita just seems to try too hard to compete a little too much with everything and everyone instead of doing its own thing.
But it still seems like a rather capable system, if only we can get some games that use it in a intersting way.

[Zoltor]

Sony just announced 10,000 job cuts so it does not bode well for the future of their video game products. "Maybe the crash is at hand?"

That is the dumbest thing I ever heard of. Look, not only would the industry survive if Sony went under, it would be more healthier then it has been in ages. Between Sony only caring about graphics, not focusing on gaming in general, and the ilegal BS/scams they pull every year, Sony going under would be the best thing to happen in the industry, since Nintendo saved the industry back in the 80s.

To Robotwo: Omg yea that's BS, I was yet again pissed at Sony when I went to the store, and found out that they made cards that only work for the Vita, I mean WTF.

Everyone with a PSP better buy up every PSP memory card they can find, because they seem to have stopped making them as well. Really Sony goes out of their way to screw gamers, infact so much so, they must love being the scumbags of the industry.

[Obviously]

That's a very idealistic view of Sony's impact on the industry. They're a business like the other two and they all do what they believe will help them profit whether people like it or not.

It's kind of an interesting thing to consider though. If Nintendo and Microsoft were the only ones left would we see some kind of East vs. West schism in game design? Would Japan accept Microsoft more or would Nintendo dominate the market there? Would somebody else fill the void? (Sega?! Haha, no.)

I think we're edging towards a really interesting turning point in our beloved hobby.

[NeoZeedeater]

Sony going under would be the best thing to happen in the industry, since Nintendo saved the industry back in the 80s.
I can't believe the internet hasn't been rid of the whole Nintendo industry saviour revisionist history bullshit yet.

[Zoltor]

I can't believe the internet hasn't been rid of the whole Nintendo industry saviour revisionist history bullshit yet.

Not only did they save it, they made it actually grow. If Nintendo didn't come around, console gaming would've been dead, and the industry(what was left of the industry that is) would be completely PC driven.

[Cornholio857]

Not only did they save it, they made it actually grow. If Nintendo didn't come around, console gaming would've been dead, and the industry(what was left of the industry that is) would be completely PC driven.

Nintendo may have "saved" the industry but at the same time they nearly ruined it with their third party licensing policies.

[NeoZeedeater]

"What if" scenarios aren't facts. It's entirely possible that another console would have become popular. What is fact is that you can't save an industry that isn't dying. Video games in general were alive in the arcades and computers.

Nintendo obviously did a lot for the industry (both good and bad if you look objectively). They were highly influential in helping shape it and should be noted for what they did. That's not the same as saving it, though. A lot of people on the internet have misinformation about the "crash". They don't realize that there was never a point in the '80s where you couldn't walk into a mall and find a bunch of new game releases.

[GriskaGyoran]

*Gasp*

Do I sense a gap that Sega can come back into?

[TrekkiesUnite118]

*Gasp*

Do I sense a gap that Sega can come back into?

Maybe if they weren't in an equally dire financial situation as well.

[TVC 15]

Sony have been victims of there own hubris for far too long, tbh Sony is too big to fail (like the banks) in Japan, if Sony where to hit near bankruptcy I'm quite sure the Japan government would step-in. I could however see a much leaner Sony, and perhaps in the future a lot of there assets being sold off or downsized.

I used to have irrational fanboy tendencies toward Sony, but to be honest Nintendo are hardly saintly, I think when I became more educated and a bit more mature, I realised all's fair in love and war, and at the end of the day Nintendo are just as much in it for the money, and on that end have done some pretty reprehensible things, such as locking up the late 80's game market with dirty anti-competitive contracts.

Kaz Hirai's new strategy of 4 screens is a pretty terrible idea (the latest Sony strategy) trying to link content over 4 completely disparate platforms, PS3/VITA, Interactive TV, Android Phone and Windows Laptop. I know people think Apple are a bunch of rip-off merchants but they make the most money by selling the complete package, OSX differentiates themselves from the competition and allows them to make better margins in the premium market, a market Microsoft and most OEM system builders have been desperately chasing with this new "Ultrabook" reference platform. Of course licensing Windows offers little differentiation, and its been pretty much a rush to the bottom for most Windows computer platforms manufacturers. I think people are slowly getting wise that, an in-house eco-system might be the most profitable bet, but across 4 different platforms I'm not so sure. Android whilst popular also sees similar problems for OEM's, Samsung are the only really profitable Android platform OEM, HTC have been posting losses for example.

Bit off the beaten track, but thats really Sony's problem, too much diversification.

[Zoltor]

Nintendo may have "saved" the industry but at the same time they nearly ruined it with their third party licensing policies.

That's one of the major contributing factors that saves the industry. Without lic, any person can pump out random POS for almost nothing(aka points at the 2600), lic forced developers to put more creatively/effort into their games.

I think Nintendo should've even took it farther though, and not just used it as a deterant, because while it did get rid of the mass cloning, you still have poory coded controls in some games, and a couple of games actually crash/can't be beaten the way it was intended. Since companies were now expected to pay a fee, Nintendo should've playtested each game, to make sure It's atleast playable.


To GriskaGyoran: I would love that to happen, but considering Sega Isn't even allowing their games outside of Japan(nevermind localizing them, themselves), Sega clearly has no desire to even become a major company again, let alone start making hardware again sigh.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

They probably have the desire to be a major company, but have the sense to know now is not the time and that they are not in a financially sound position to do it.

As for Nintendo Playtesting every game, are you insane? With the Size of the NES library if Nintendo was required to play test every game for every error or issue we'd be lucky if we got 1/4 of the library. They had neither the time or the resources to do that.

[Guntz]

There's arguably more crappy licensed games than there are unlicensed (US releases mind you, no imports). The "seal of quality" had nothing to do with the game's quality, that's completely subjective. All that seal means is the game is more or less guaranteed to work and won't break just from looking at it funny.

[sheath]

Nobody who has been duped by the "nintendo saved the industry" narrative can even name all those obviously bad 2600 games that supposedly caused the "crash."

[Zoltor]

They probably have the desire to be a major company, but have the sense to know now is not the time and that they are not in a financially sound position to do it.

As for Nintendo Playtesting every game, are you insane? With the Size of the NES library if Nintendo was required to play test every game for every error or issue we'd be lucky if we got 1/4 of the library. They had neither the time or the resources to do that.

If so, they should allow localization companies to localize/publish their games outside of Japan, but they don't sigh

It wouldn't be that hard, first Nintendo is technically being paid, and second "only" major glitches, and really bad controls would be the target of the testing, so it wouldn't require much time at all(not to mention being able to use developer shortcuts to speed things up).

[TrekkiesUnite118]

You are still asking them to play test close to or over 1000 games (I can't remember the exact size of the NES Library). Not to mention during that time period you'd have GameBoy and SNES coming into the mix eventually. That's a lot to playtest and is just too much to ask one company to do.

[Zoltor]

You are still asking them to play test close to or over 1000 games (I can't remember the exact size of the NES Library). Not to mention during that time period you'd have GameBoy and SNES coming into the mix eventually. That's a lot to playtest and is just too much to ask one company to do.

It's almost 700 on the dot outside Japan, but not 100% sure about Japan, It's somewhere between 1400-1600(don't recall the exact number).

Edit: Oh yea, lets not forget the restriction on companies, what was it, they were only allowed to make 4 games a year, which would definitely make something like to above very doable.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

It's almost 700 on the dot outside Japan, but not 100% sure about Japan, It's somewhere between 1400-1600(don't recall the exact number).

Edit: Oh yea, lets not forget the restriction on companies, what was it, they were only allowed to make 4 games a year, which would definitely make something like to above very doable.

And how many companies were making games for the NES?

Think about it, about 1400 games if we include Japan over about 10 or so years. That's about 140 games to playtest a year. And let's not forget that Nintendo is already busy making their own games and designing and supporting new systems.

For the US that's about 700 over about 7 or so years. So 100 games a year. That's still a lot to ask them to do when they already had their hands full with other things.

[Zoltor]

And how many companies were making games for the NES?

Think about it, about 1400 games if we include Japan over about 10 or so years. That's about 140 games to playtest a year. And let's not forget that Nintendo is already busy making their own games and designing and supporting new systems.

For the US that's about 700 over about 7 or so years. So 100 games a year. That's still a lot to ask them to do when they already had their hands full with other things.

You're missing something, I'm not talking about using their currently allocated teams to be moved to testing all these non Nintendo games, of course not, that's too much for any company to deal with. I'm saying they should've took half of the lic frees, and used it to hire testers devoted just to the testing of these 3rd party games.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Again, it would have taken time to test all those games. And we don't even know if Nintendo would have had the money to hire enough people to do that task and have it be efficient. What you are describing could have very easily lead to games being delayed for months if not years.

[Chilly Willy]

Well, here's a positively STUPID article. March/April is ALWAYS bad for sales of ANYTHING electronic. Always has been, always will be. Think about it a moment - what is going on in March and April? March is Spring Break - where everyone goes on vacation to someplace warm and gets drunk. NO ONE is buying anything as all their money is going to travel, hotel, and buying liquor. What about April? That's Easter... which is NOT a holiday for giving presents, just chocolate eggs.

I've been in the computer business for 30 years and March has ALWAYS been dead for everything. Notice that the only console that didn't drop was the one that released a HUGELY anticipated game, and that BARELY kept it from dropping.

[eddiespruce]

Well, here's a positively STUPID article. March/April is ALWAYS bad for sales of ANYTHING electronic. Always has been, always will be. Think about it a moment - what is going on in March and April? March is Spring Break - where everyone goes on vacation to someplace warm and gets drunk. NO ONE is buying anything as all their money is going to travel, hotel, and buying liquor. What about April? That's Easter... which is NOT a holiday for giving presents, just chocolate eggs.

I've been in the computer business for 30 years and March has ALWAYS been dead for everything. Notice that the only console that didn't drop was the one that released a HUGELY anticipated game, and that BARELY kept it from dropping.

Where I'm from, there is no "Spring Break". Instead, we get what's called "Easter Holidays", where everyone gets a week off following Easter sunday, although most people just stay home and do nothing, as there's usually still snow on the ground.

[JCU]

Nobody who has been duped by the "nintendo saved the industry" narrative can even name all those obviously bad 2600 games that supposedly caused the "crash."

The "crash" entails more then just a game or handful of games though. If anything, the "crash" gets more and more embellished with each passing year.

[Zoltor]

Again, it would have taken time to test all those games. And we don't even know if Nintendo would have had the money to hire enough people to do that task and have it be efficient. What you are describing could have very easily lead to games being delayed for months if not years.

Oh I think we all know Nintendo had more then enough money, I think the toughest time Nintendo ever had, was during the GC(even then Nintendo was never in any real trouble), which then they went on to make the best selling handheld ever, and the 2nd best selling console ever.

The lic fees had to be high enough to scare developers into not just poping out random crap/clones, so I'm sure they had more then enough funds to hire enough "testers".

To chiiywilly: Not every country has Spring break, and almost no country does it like the countries over here do it. Likewise, most nation probally don't really have easter, easter is a strictly christanity based holiday.y

[TrekkiesUnite118]

You're forgetting that Nintendo was still the newcomer during this era. If they screwed up with something financially it could have hurt them far worse than the N64 and GC did riding on the success of their previous consoles.

Sorry, you're demanding a ridiculous request that would most likely have cost Nintendo far more money and time than it would be worth.

[Zoltor]

I'm pretty convinced that the only reason Nintendo survived the late 90's / early 2000's is Pokémon. DS and Wii brought them back from there. (Not by my gaming preferences but based on actual sales)

Lol omg damn Pokemon(so overrated, but so was the anime to begin with), It's not even the best franchise of its genre. I hate Pokemon so much, but it evidently gets the kiddies begging mommy, and daddy to buy them the game(and due to the care bares nature, parents are more then happy to oblige them).

To trekkies: From hindsight we know they had nothing to worry about(finding one or two major bugs, and forcing developers just to hash those out, lol wouldn't have made developers go oh no, I might as well not make the game), however that in theory could be a reason Nintendo didn't impliment such, however It's more likely it never crossed their mind(as in theory just having lic fees should've stopped that as well, not just stop clones).

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Lol omg damn Pokemon(so overrated, but so was the anime to begin with), It's not even the best franchise of its genre. I hate Pokemon so much, but it evidently gets the kiddies begging mommy, and daddy to buy them the game(and due to the care bares nature, parents are more then happy to oblige them).

You do realize the games came first right? And there are plenty of older people who play the games. Heck almost every time I'd walk around my college campus I usually saw at least 10 or so people playing Pokemon on their DS.

[Zoltor]

You do realize the games came first right? And there are plenty of older people who play the games. Heck almost every time I'd walk around my college campus I usually saw at least 10 or so people playing Pokemon on their DS.

Did it. Also yes I know, but that's only because they haven't played games like the DWM games, and the SMT games for example(the real DWM games got like no advertising outside Japan, and the Pokemon advertising is so huge it overshadows any adverting done for other games/franchises).

Especially in the late 90s/early 2000 you couldn't go even 5min without seeing a commecial or hearing someone talk about pokemon(hell even Bill Cosby had to use it in bhis gig, what was it, kids say the darnest things or something like that).

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Yeah, the Pokemon games came out around 1996 in Japan if I remember correctly. The Anime didn't come around until 1998. And what are the DWM and SMT games? I've never heard of those acronyms before.

As for Pokemon being popular, it's probably because the games use a rather original and brilliant formula that really draws the player in and makes it feel as though they are actually the character in the game they control. It's not like other RPGs where it's simply you playing the game's preselected party at a certain state, your party is 100% customizable. Your party is truly your party and unique to you. Throw in the addictive nature of the game, the collecting aspect, and the competitive battling aspect and you have a really great and competitive game for all ages.

[Zoltor]

Yeah, the Pokemon games came out around 1996 in Japan if I remember correctly. The Anime didn't come around until 1998. And "what are the DWM and SMT games"? I've never heard of those acronyms before.

As for Pokemon being popular, it's probably because the games use a rather original and brilliant formula that really draws the player in and makes it feel as though they are actually the character in the game they control. It's not like other RPGs where it's simply you playing the game's preselected party at a certain state, your party is 100% customizable. Your party is truly your party and unique to you. Throw in the addictive nature of the game, the collecting aspect, and the competitive battling aspect and you have a really great and competitive game for all ages.

Oh ok.

I rest my case.

DWM= Dragon Warrior(Quest in Japan) Monsters, and SMT=Shim Megami Tensei

[Zoltor]

But it was so much more than the games. The cartoon, the movies, the collecting card game, toys, clothes, lunchboxes. You name it (gotta catch 'em all).

If adults enjoy Pokémon games well good for them but lets face it Nintendo got a lot of money from parents because of the franchise. A LOT. Nothing wrong with that either. Maybe it was a gift from the gaming gods for the big N's huge contributions to the culture.

Yea such marketing has never been seen before, that's for sure(It's marketing on overdrive, they market in every cene that was big, MtG was huge, they came out with a Card game verion, beany baby type things were big, they did that too, exc).

[TrekkiesUnite118]

I would have recognized those games had you called them what everyone else calls them.

And really all that merchandise arose because of the game, not to help sell the game. The games were already popular and selling before the Anime and the Card game and all the toys started to come out.

[Zoltor]

I would have recognized those games had you called them what everyone else calls them.

And really all that merchandise arose because of the game, not to help sell the game. The games were already popular and selling before the Anime and the Card game and all the toys started to come out.

"Everyone" called the shin Megami games SMT, and about atleast half of the people use the DWM to refer to Dragon Warrior Monsters.

Yea I know, but inturn that also made the games that came after them more popular as well.

[combofriend]

And really all that merchandise arose because of the game, not to help sell the game. The games were already popular and selling before the Anime and the Card game and all the toys started to come out.

Absolutely. But it's after the TV show came part of the big picture that the $$$ really started pouring in. Nowadays the non-game sides of the series are less important, but on the other hand now Pokémon doesn't dominate so much of Nintendo's income either.

Probably... I guess this kind of information would be available in Nintendo's annual reports if we actually wanted to check?

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Everyone I know who plays Shin Megami Tensei calles them Shin Megami Tensei or what the individual games are called. Never seen it referred to as SMT. As for Dragon Warrior, Hasn't it been called DragonQuest since the PS1 days now?

[Zoltor]

Everyone I know who plays Shin Megami Tensei calles them Shin Megami Tensei or what the individual games are called. Never seen it referred to as SMT. As for Dragon Warrior, Hasn't it been called DragonQuest since the PS1 days now?

DWM predates the PS1/when Square bought the riths to use the Dragon Quest name in NA, and no real fan of the series(unless you're from Japan), uses Dragon Quest Monsters, as it leaves a bad taste in our mouths from how Square utterly destroyed the franchise with that joke of a game, DQM: Joker(sigh Square loves making crappy spin-offs of great spin-offs, and then making sequels to the bad spin-off). Well atleast the title fits the game(they got something right).

[Zoltor]

By the way I never heard of Shin Megami Tensei (but still don't play Pokémon) and it looks pretty cool. Has the Mega CD game been translated?

There's a Mega CD port? Well anyway not that I know of(I would've probally known about it, if it was localized, not to mention ATLUS doesn't have a branch in EU), but I'm pretty sure there's a fan translation of the original SFC game that started it all.

[KnightWarrior]

Don't worry, it going to pick up

[TrekkiesUnite118]

The Mega CD version isn't necessarily a port like the PC-Engine version, its more of an enhanced remake.

Still the SNES game isn't the first game in the series. There are games going back to the NES that are part of the series. The SNES one is just the first one to be called Shin Megami Tensei. Before that they were just Megami Tensei.

[Zoltor]

Apparently yeah:
4851

Anyway, back to the topic.. I wonder if Sony may have confused the public with releasing so many different PSP's. Many people probably don't see the Vita as anything different. Some kind of killer app is what's needed to convince the people I suppose.

Ok cool

To trekkies: Oh ok.

[old man]

There was a crash in Europe too, but Nintendo didn't sail in to save the day. Instead cheap little PCs like the ZX Spectrum got really popular and gaming thrived on those things like nothing else. I suspect something similar might have happened here if things hadn't turned out the way they did.

Back OT, all I think that's needed for cell phones to own this shit is a more open market for them and some better service in the big open spaces. Stuff like Droid and iPhone are the future and it's mostly here already.

[sheath]

Well, apparently the new crash has already happened according to Keiji Inafune (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/keiji-inafune-qa/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gamelife+%28Blog+-+Game%7CLife%29). Of course this is the same guy who revealed a few years ago that Capcom has had a decade's long policy of nothing but sequels (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-05-09-kejii-inafune-reveals-capcom-insider-gossip).

I personally am going to enjoy the market that created the self fulfilling prophesies that killed all innovation is now collapsing and transitioning to new markets due to the lack thereof. I'm thinking of holding block parties every time Sony's, EA's and Activision's stock drops.

[Zoltor]

Well, apparently the new crash has already happened according to Keiji Inafune (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/keiji-inafune-qa/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gamelife+%28Blog+-+Game%7CLife%29). Of course this is the same guy who revealed a few years ago that Capcom has had a decade's long policy of nothing but sequels (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-05-09-kejii-inafune-reveals-capcom-insider-gossip).

I personally am going to enjoy the market that created the self fulfilling prophesies that killed all innovation is now collapsing and transitioning to new markets due to the lack thereof. I'm thinking of holding block parties every time Sony's, EA's and Activision's stock drops.

I would fly to Texas for that :)

[Chilly Willy]

To chiiywilly: Not every country fas Spring break, and almost no country does it like the countries over here do it. Likewise, most nation probally don't really have easter, easter is a strictly christanity based holiday.

Nearly all the US has Spring Break and Easter, while Japan is busy changing school years - Golden Week and all that... and sorry, but as far as consoles go that's most of the market between the two. :D

[Da_Shocker]

LOL at some of the shit being said in here. Sony was dumb as hell to think they could sale the Vita for 249 and 299 after Nintendo undercutted there ass. ANd man the Vita is a bit to big IMO. I will wait for the 199 or 249 Slim LTE version that will come out next year. And no Nintendo doesn't playtest 3rd party games only there own. As Guntz said SOQ don't mean shit in terms of gaming quality. As long as the damn game works and the first party get's there licensing fees they don't care how crappy the game is.

[Zoltor]

LOL at some of the shit being said in here. Sony was dumb as hell to think they could sale the Vita for 249 and 299 after Nintendo undercutted there ass. ANd man the Vita is a bit to big IMO. I will wait for the 199 or 249 Slim LTE version that will come out next year. And no Nintendo doesn't playtest 3rd party games only there own. As Guntz said SOQ don't mean shit in terms of gaming quality. As long as the damn game works and the first party get's there licensing fees they don't care how crappy the game is.

If you aren't going to read the posts, but out. I said they should've, as away to make the lic even more helpful to the industry then it already was.

[Da_Shocker]

If you aren't going to read the posts, bud out. I said they should've, as away to make the lic even more helpful to the industry then it already was.

LOL I read everything even when this shit veered OT on page 3. And WTF is bud out? Are you talking about bud seeds being out? Zoltor do you smoke weed or something? It would explain your train of thought's at times.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

I think he meant butt out.

EDIT: Oh god, I think I'm beginning to learn the language and grammar of the Zoltor.

[Zoltor]

LOL I read everything even when this shit veered OT on page 3. And WTF is bud out? Are you talking about bud seeds being out? Zoltor do you smoke weed or something? It would explain your train of thought's at times.

No you didn't, because if you did, you would've seen I clearly said, I wish Nintendo took the lic even farther by testing games to make sure they weren't broken. I never said Nintendo "did" test 3rd party games.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

It's still a ridiculous thing to demand regardless.

[Da_Shocker]

No you didn't, because if you did, you would've seen I clearly said, I wish Nintendo took the lic even farther by testing games to make sure they weren't broken. I never said Nintendo "did" test 3rd party games.

You mean this


That's one of the major contributing factors that saves the industry. Without lic, any person can pump out random POS for almost nothing(aka points at the 2600), lic forced developers to put more creatively/effort into their games.

I think Nintendo should've even took it farther though, and not just used it as a deterant, because while it did get rid of the mass cloning, you still have poory coded controls in some games, and a couple of games actually crash/can't be beaten the way it was intended. Since companies were now expected to pay a fee, Nintendo should've playtested each game, to make sure It's atleast playable.


To GriskaGyoran: I would love that to happen, but considering Sega Isn't even allowing their games outside of Japan(nevermind localizing them, themselves), Sega clearly has no desire to even become a major company again, let alone start making hardware again sigh.

Again tell me how Total Recall got released again? And how many hundreds of shitty NES games got released?

[Zoltor]

It's still a ridiculous thing to demand regardless.

No it Isn't. How many games are crappy because some POS publisher rushes them out the door(a bunch of games don't seem like they were beta tested at all).

To the fake Dr: Again you must've not read, because that was touched on as well, lic only acted to deter developement of clones, and unhashed out games(it was very effective in stopping clones, but unhashed/broken games, it only mitigated it somewhat).

[TrekkiesUnite118]

There may be a lot of crappy games that get released, however it's still ridiculous to demand that Nintendo oversee and thoroughly playtest every single game that comes out on their system. They can't afford the time, money, or manpower to do it, and it would just slow things down to ridiculous crawl. It's just not a realistic or plausible thing to do from a business standpoint.

[Zoltor]

There may be a lot of crappy games that get released, however it's still ridiculous to demand that Nintendo oversee and thoroughly playtest every single game that comes out on their system. They can't afford the time, money, or manpower to do it, and it would just slow things down to ridiculous crawl. It's just not a realistic or plausible thing to do from a business standpoint.

"thoroughly playtest" Um no. You forgot already, the testing by Nintendo would be focused just on controls(which takes next to no time to test), and major gamebreaking bugs(which are easy to find if they exist in X game).

[TrekkiesUnite118]

What if said major game breaking bug happens on the last level? What if the controls are fine except for on one of the last few levels? This isn't something that can be found out in 5 minutes with a game. For what you are asking they would need to spend at least a week on each game they got. Playtesting is a long process, when you try to rush it you miss things.

[grieverr]

...Again you must've not read, because that was touched on as well, lic only acted to deter developement of clones, and unhashed out games(it was very effective in stopping clones, but unhashed/broken games, it only mitigated it somewhat).

I don't think that's what the licensing was for. I don't believe it had anything to do with controlling the quality of a game. The license only made it so that approved publishers can release games as per Nintendo's policy. Licensed developers were given the code for the NES lockout chip so that their game would play on the NES. This was Nintendo's way of controlling games being released without them making money on it.

Also, someone had mentioned the 4 game per year policy. I wanted to mention that some companies opened a second company in order to bypass that. For example, Konami also owned Ultra Games, in order to release more games per year.

[JCU]

LOL at some of the shit being said in here. Sony was dumb as hell to think they could sale the Vita for 249 and 299 after Nintendo undercutted there ass. ANd man the Vita is a bit to big IMO. I will wait for the 199 or 249 Slim LTE version that will come out next year.

Strictly in terms of performance and capability, the 3DS could never sell at its initial price point even if it had a suitable library to coincide with the price. I believe it could have sold at $199.99 if quality games were made available during its release but over a year into release and it still suffers from extreme droughts in releases. Sony is offering a higher priced, yet much more powerful, system but there is not much to play which would justify the prices. Things could be much different if you didn't see the same ten games on the shelves. Both companies seemed hell bent on getting their system(s) to the market without giving much thought to what the hell would be played on each.

[grieverr]

On topic...I have a Vita and am fairly disappointed in it. If I could get my money back, I'd sell it. But I agree with the person who said it's over-engineered. I think it's too good for its own good (does that even make sens?).

One of the (3)DS's success, imo, is that a lot of games are quick to pick up and put down. The Vita, like the PSP, require a higher level of commitment, especially since games have to load, and because the experience is more console-like, you sit through cutscenes and what-not.

[Zoltor]

What if said major game breaking bug happens on the last level? What if the controls are fine except for on one of the last few levels? This isn't something that can be found out in 5 minutes with a game. For what you are asking they would need to spend at least a week on each game they got. Playtesting is a long process, when you try to rush it you miss things.

That's what developer shortcuts are for(stage selects, lv/equipment editer, exc).

To Griever: Please don't tell me they are still using the primitive disc reader tech(that was used to read floppy discs in the 90s, and back) to still read the disks(boy I hope my PSP doesn't break due to using such fragile tech, you would think they would use better tech for the vita)?

Damn the loading, the noise(it sounds like a old tape recorder for crying out loud), exc. Handhelds arent suppose to have any loading at all, neverming long loading times, and the only sound you should hear, is the game's music/sound effects.

[Pulstar]

My feelings about those recent handhelds:

http://kindergarten-fy01-g.fountaincityes.knoxschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/443859/Image/CAMERON's%20IMAGES/General/Yawn.gif

[TrekkiesUnite118]

That's what developer shortcuts are for(stage selects, lv/equipment editer, exc).

To Griever: Please don't tell me they are still using the primitive disc reader tech(that was used to read floppy discs in the 90s, and back) to still read the disks(boy I hope my PSP doesn't break due to using such fragile tech, you would think they would use better tech for the vita)?

Damn the loading, the noise(it sounds like a old tape recorder for crying out loud), exc. Handhelds arent suppose to have any loading at all, neverming long loading times, and the only sound you should hear, is the game's music/sound effects.

I'm pretty sure the Disc technology used for the PSP is radically different and more advanced than what was used by Floppy Disks in the 80's and 90's. And Vita uses Cartridges.

And again, what if the severe game breaking bug doesn't show up if you use the developer shortcuts? What if it only shows up when you play the game normally? Game testing is about testing the game as it would perform in a consumers environment, not how it performs in your development studio.

[eddiespruce]

http://kindergarten-fy01-g.fountaincityes.knoxschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/443859/Image/CAMERON's%20IMAGES/General/Yawn.gif

Seeing this caused me to yawn.

[Zoltor]

I'm pretty sure the Disc technology used for the PSP is radically different and more advanced than what was used by Floppy Disks in the 80's and 90's. And Vita uses Cartridges.

And again, what if the severe game breaking bug doesn't show up if you use the developer shortcuts? What if it only shows up when you play the game normally? Game testing is about testing the game as it would perform in a consumers environment, not how it performs in your development studio.

Only slightly so, and that's awesome that the vita uses carts, but then why in hell is loading a issue? I can only imagine it must be related to poor OS design in some way.

If a game breaking bug wont show up, how gamebreaking is it really.

[TheSonicRetard]

I think he meant butt out.

EDIT: Oh god, I think I'm beginning to learn the language and grammar of the Zoltor.

His use of quotes, parenthesis, and "aka" all grate on me so much. Randomly quoting shit, with 4/5 of his post in a parenthesis (with paragraphs), using "also known as" in place of "i.e." or "e.g." or "ex." in most cases.

Like the above. "Also known as points at the 2600." that's some retarded grammar.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Only slightly so, and that's awesome, the vita uses carts, but then why in hell is loading a issue? I can only imagine it must be related to poor OS design in some way.

If a game breaking bug wont show up, how gamebreaking is it really.

It can still show up, it just might not show up through use of Debug means. A perfect example is Croc on the Saturn. Through a development station it loads fine. Load it up on a stock Saturn and you're treated to a horrific graphical glitch where half the polygons don't show up. The only way to fix it is to boot it from the Saturn bios menu.

As for loading maybe it's decompression, like a lot of SNES and Genesis games that also have loading.

[Da_Shocker]

Only slightly so, and that's awesome that the vita uses carts, but then why in hell is loading a issue? I can only imagine it must be related to poor OS design in some way.

If a game breaking bug wont show up, how gamebreaking is it really.

You do know when I play games on Android phone which has a Class 10 32GB micro sd card it still has loading right?

[grieverr]

DS games have little, if any loading. I would think that Vita games could be the same. I understand the Vita carts hold more data, but the system is also more powerful and should be capable of better performance.

Da_Shocker, I don't think using a phone for loading is a fair comparison being that it's not a dedicated gaming device (even though they're getting there). But the architectures are different enough where I understand and expect loading on a phone.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Oh god, it's like there's two of them...

[Cornholio857]

Oh god, it's like there's two of them...

*sigh*

[Hidden_Darkness]

I can't say i'm surprised that the sales for the vita have dropped, at the moment theres not much of a game selection to warrant paying $250-$300 for it. don't most handhelds start out kinda slow in sales before gaining momentum though? the sales will probably pick up within the next couple years when there is a larger game selection for the vita. so far the selection for vita and 3ds is rather sparse.

[Guntz]

I can't say i'm surprised that the sales for the vita have dropped, at the moment theres not much of a game selection to warrant paying $250-$300 for it. don't most handhelds start out kinda slow in sales before gaining momentum though? the sales will probably pick up within the next couple years when there is a larger game selection for the vita. so far the selection for vita and 3ds is rather sparse.

Chilly may not be here to repeat this, so I will instead...


Well, here's a positively STUPID article. March/April is ALWAYS bad for sales of ANYTHING electronic. Always has been, always will be. Think about it a moment - what is going on in March and April? March is Spring Break - where everyone goes on vacation to someplace warm and gets drunk. NO ONE is buying anything as all their money is going to travel, hotel, and buying liquor. What about April? That's Easter... which is NOT a holiday for giving presents, just chocolate eggs.

I've been in the computer business for 30 years and March has ALWAYS been dead for everything. Notice that the only console that didn't drop was the one that released a HUGELY anticipated game, and that BARELY kept it from dropping.

[Hidden_Darkness]

yeah I read what chilly posted, what I meant was that every handheld goes through a period of time when sales drop.

[Knuckle Duster]

Sony is Vita's worst enemy right now. It needs affordable memory cards and it needs to match the PSP in what it can do. Right now, I can't get a Vita and play all of the digital PSP games or access any of the PSOne classics as I would expect to. It should come down to $199.


It's still better than the 3DS on it's hardware, digital content, and not far behind on native software... Nintendo is lazy and Sony is stupid.

[JCU]

Sony should have used the 3DS debacle as a learning tool but apparently it went over the heads of the decision makers at Sony.

You can not expect to release a high priced system, without a supporting library, and expect it to sell well. The Vita has the deck stacked against it since the 3DS is continuing to gain steam.

What's available that's worth the price? Uncharted: Golden Abyss? What else? Even the usually fun Lego Harry Potter was watered down beyond simplicity.