Nintendo killing it in Japan

[danholo]

To whomever was lamenting Nintendo's 'failures' fear not. This is not big news if you've been following Japanese gaming charts, but the newest information out of the island nation shows that Nintendo is showing the biggest sales of any other company there.

Top games so far from January 1st to June 29th:


#1 Yokai Watch (3DS: 849,027)
#2 Dragon Quest Monsters 2 (3DS: 739,032)
#3 Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS: 633,695)
#4 Mario Kart 8 (Wii U: 512,467)
#5 Pokemon X/Y (3DS: 416,864)
#6 Puzzle & Dragons Z (3DS: 411,922)
#7 Mario Party Island Tour (3DS: 404,666)
#8 Knack (PS4: 398,685)
#9 Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost (PS3: 367, 354)
#10 Dark Souls II (PS3: 335,226)
#11 Wii Party U (Wii U: 252,539)
#12 Yakuza Ishin! (PS3: 250,937)
#13 Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS3: 248,164)
#14 Samurai Warriors 4 (PS3: 246,662)
#15 Persona Q (3DS: 234,880)
#16 Sengoku Basara 4 (PS3: 231,351)
#17 New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U: 227,263)
#18 Harvest Moon: Story of Seasons (3DS: 220,599)
#19 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-hen (PS3: 205,319)
#20 Sword Art Online ? Hollow Fragment ? (Vita: 198,294)
#21 Monster Hunter 4 (3DS: 191,152)
#22 Freedom Wars (Vita: 187,890)
#23 J Stars Victory VS (PS3 180,904)
#24 Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS: 180,215)
#25 Fossil Fighters Frontier (3DS 171,974)
#26 Super Mario 3D World (Wii U: 163,501)
#27 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-hen (Vita: 158,974)
#28 Battle for Money Sentouchuu (3DS: 146,517)
#29 J Stars Victory VS (Vita: 143,178)
#30 Hatsune Miku ? Project Diva ? F 2nd (Vita: 139,515)
#31 Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4: 136,507)
#32 Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS: 135,773)
#33 World Soccer Winning Eleven 2014 (PS3: 133,381)
#34 Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (3DS: 127,949)
#35 Pro Baseball Spirits 2014 (PS3: 127,019)
#36 Grand Theft Auto V (PS3: 123,182)
#37 Yakuza Ishin! (PS4: 122,474)
#38 Attack On Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind (3DS: 116,676)
#39 Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3: 112,969)
#40 Mario Golf World Tour (3DS: 110,756)
#41 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U: 108,017)
#42 Wii Fit U (Wii U: 107,041)
#43 The iDOLM@STER One For All (PS3: 102,255)
#44 Mario Kart 7 (3DS: 100,507)
#45 Soul Sacrifice Delta (Vita: 96,737)
#46 Gundam Side Stories (PS3: 94,503)
#47 Inazuma Eleven Go Galaxy (3DS: 92,903)
#48 Puyo Puyo Tetris (3DS: 91,375)
#49 Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster TWIN PACK (Vita: 91,075)
#50 Hatsune Miku ? Project Diva ? F 2nd (PS3: 88,867)

Note that the sequel to Youkai Watch has been released last week and has already sold 1.3 units, going to number 1 immediately.

[VR46]

I don't think anyone ever doubted them on the 3DS front, but 6 out of the 50 titles are Wii U releases I believe, that's where the root of the problem begins.

[sj33]

The Knack sales are so misleading - it's bundled with the console!

[danholo]

I don't think anyone ever doubted them on the 3DS front, but 6 out of the 50 titles are Wii U releases I believe, that's where the root of the problem begins.

That's like 50% of the entire library! Not bad if you think of it from that perspective.

[Lord Lucifer]

I don't think Nintendo ever had a problem in Japan, it's just the west where things crumble.

That said, I think the Wii U is selling like hot cakes worldwide at the moment??

[sj33]

WiiU hardware sales figures are actually very good in Japan, second only to the 3DS. Makes you wonder what the attach rate is like, though.

[nakamura]

Japan buy as much ****e as the west.

[Asura]

That said, I think the Wii U is selling like hot cakes worldwide at the moment??

Nah, it's had a surge following the release of Mario Kart, but there's two problems with that:

>> 1000% extra sales don't count for anything if the usual 100% is extremely low
>> Mario Kart fever won't last forever

I still really think Nintendo needed that Zelda to be Christmas 2014. Next year, they might run headlong into sequels to Skyrim, Tomb Raider and such.

[fuse]

Yokai Watch 2 just did 1.2 million in its opening week, too.

[PaTaito]

monster hunter+ 3ds = constant charts full of 3ds.

Nice to see WiiU sales up, looks like it might dawdle along nicely if smash bros has the same impact.

[importaku]

In 4 days to be precise its really impressive, its at number 1 and the first youkai watch game is at number 3 currently. For me i dont care if nintendo does nothing outside of japan as i dont buy western nintendo stuff much. That market is irrelevant to me.

[Yakumo]

Youkai Watch would sell 1.3 million on any bloody system. People would buy a console just for the game because of the mega following the animation and merchandise has. Nintendo are just lucky that the game was developed for their system or hey actually paid for it to be produced on their system. Either way being on Nintendo is NOT the reason why it has sold so well.

[danholo]

Well, I think that goes without saying. Fortunately for Nintendo, they had a perfect platform for it. I don't know if the Vita would cut it.

[importaku]

Directly Nintendo can't claim any success in how well Youkai watch has sold but the userbase on the 3DS is way larger than the next competitor which is the Vita, i doubt that it would have sold half as well on that. Been a wonderful game sometimes isn't enough you need a massive userbase to pull it off too.

The first game took a while to get really popular mainly when the other 2 sides of the media triangle were finally unleashed, the anime & the games plus toys all work closely with each other which is why it has exploded into the crazyness it has. It takes you beyond just the game the anime allows you to know the characters back stories lot better & the toys bring elements of the game & the anime into the real world.

Im genuinely interested how it pans out, will it keep growing or will Japan get bored of it all like so many things before.

As for Japanese gaming it's pretty healthy, despite all the doom & gloom predicted from the west.

[sj33]

As for Japanese gaming it's pretty healthy, despite all the doom & gloom predicted from the west.

Well, yes and no. It's all handhelds here. Obviously we know that, but it's impossible to overstate - handhelds are absolutely massive here. You catch a bus, or a local train, or even go to the hospital waiting room and there will always be at least a couple of people playing either a 3DS or a Vita. Despite the overall sales figures, I see just as many people playing Vita as I do 3DS. Even see PSPs now and again.

It makes sense in a country where commuting times can be 2+ hours and people working late, but it does have me worried about the fortunes of the proper consoles.