Comments on: Wii sold 235k in Japan last month

By: Blerk

Blerk — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:09:47 +0000

The PSP was *not* dead four months ago. It’s been selling consistently well since the hardware rejig. PSP software sales *are* dead, however. Totally.

By: RevolutionBlues

RevolutionBlues — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:31:26 +0000

Four months ago the PSP was dead. Since then it has sold three million units including about two and a half million in Japan alone (where we’ve seen proof that just one game can make a difference).

So let’s not kill off any consoles just yet.

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:33:33 +0000

Ah, here we go. 20 million PS2s in about a year and a half.

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:30:42 +0000

lol. Did they sack him yet?

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:24:59 +0000

Don’t cry! I was looking for non-VGChartz info and found this amusing little nugget.

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:13:14 +0000

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:03:50 +0000

I was talking to klanger, not you, monkey boy!

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:00 +0000

You can verify the Japanese numbers anyway. That data has always been available to the public.

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:56:25 +0000

You really think they shipped 6 million to Japan and only sold 2.2 million?

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:55:55 +0000

There was a point they could say it truly in Europe though… but it was a trick of the release dates of the consoles.

PS2: 24/11/2000
PS3: 23/03/2007

Announce in January 2008 that you’re selling the PS3 faster than the PS2 did and you take into account a fully stocked xmas which the PS2 didn’t have at the same point.

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:54:47 +0000

They look suspiciously like the shipped figures from the link for the ps2 if you ask me and I know that Sony used to always quote shipped rather than sold.

In any case, I think my original point was that calling the ps3 the next Dreamcast is a bit over the top at this stage. Even when you campare it to 360 sales.

By: ecu

ecu — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:53:17 +0000

You reckon a PS3 “slim” might do it, Blerk?

I do. I think it’d make a huge difference.

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:49:22 +0000

You also have to remember that the PS2 was severely stock-limited for at least the first six months. Getting hold of one was hell on Earth. No such problems with the PS3.

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:47:17 +0000

These are VGC’s sales (not shipped) numbers side by side.

PS3
Japan: ~2.2m
America: ~5.2m
Other: ~6.4m
Total: ~13.8m

PS2:
Japan: ~6.0m
America: ~10.5m
Other: ~8.7m
Total: ~25.2m

Japan and America should be fairly accurate. Other is sheer imagination. Either way, you can see clearly that the PS3 is no-where near where the PS2 was at the same point in its life.

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:46:57 +0000

I’m right!!! La la la.

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:43:11 +0000

Nah, I’m with Psycho - that graph’s bollocksed somehow.

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:37:43 +0000

Well, yes. But the’re also shipped figures so they will always be more. Anyway, the main figures all point to the fact that I am right. And thats all that matters

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:35:07 +0000

Wouldn’t splitting out the regions obviously give you a larger number because you’re still looking at 156 weeks from launch, but the launch was staggered over seven or eight months (with each region launching at a different time)? So you’re actually looking at a much larger period of time than the graph suggests.

Not that I’m defending VGChartz and their ‘figures’.

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:31:43 +0000

Well, true. But at least it tries to base itself in reality rather than hearsay so I give it points for that. Not many points, but points.

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:30:22 +0000

No, it’s because VGChartz is a joke. Always has been.
As for where they get their figures. You sit on it.

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:29:01 +0000

Hmmmm, interesting. I wonder why? So is the different areas of SCE reporting different numbers? Is this the numbers shipped vs number sold problem?

Its the shipped numbers they are using - just in case you were spoddy enough to care:

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps2_e.html

Can’t find where they got the worldwide sales from though?

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:09:27 +0000

scampers off to check

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:07:45 +0000

klanger13: View the same data, but split the regions on the PS2.

Japan: ~6.0m
America: ~10.5m
Other: ~8.7m

Does that add up to the ~14.5m you see in the chart you linked?

(hint, no… it adds up to ~25m)

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:59:00 +0000

What do you thinks wrong with it? Certainly the figures for the current gen look in the right area. Enlighten me thus…

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:55:25 +0000

klanger13: That chart is broken… it has completely incorrect figures for the PS2.

By: klanger13

klanger13 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:49:14 +0000

I suppose its only Japan that you’re talking about but I do think that talk of the PS3 being the next Dreamcast is a little premature considering that sales of the PS3 have almost completely mirrored that of the PS2 so far, globally at least. Check it:

http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php?cons1=PS2®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=X360®3=All&weeks=156

If anything its the next Dreamcast, its the 360. Look at the pads man. God I loved the Dreamcast.

P.s Change one of them to the Wii and then look at the trend and think how many that things gonna sell. Ooh missus!

By: Hero of Canton

Hero of Canton — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:47:25 +0000

I’m lucky in that respect, and that’s why I think the DS is becoming my favourite gaming machine ever. If I was Japanese, it definitely would be. There’s an astonishing range of software, a hell of a lot of which never gets localised, or takes aeons to make it over here.

I’m playing a music game called Daigasso Band Brothers DX at the moment which is just amazing - each song (31 on the cart, with 200 to choose from as downloadable content) has eight instrumental parts, which you can play on one of four different difficulties, and there’s singing and guitar parts, too. And a full editing suite so you can create your own 8-track versions of your favourite songs. And a free downloadable channel on your Wii so it doesn’t sound tinny coming through your DS speakers. It’s best in multiplayer though - you can have eight players from a single copy of the game, all contributing a part of each track. It’s really funny when someone messes up because it puts everyone else off, especially if it’s the drummer.

Woah, tangent. Anyway, yes. Japan. You’re right about the technology thing too - you begin to wonder whether it’s going to be almost a generation behind in terms of tech if this carries on.

By: Blerk

Blerk — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:34:04 +0000

I think you’re right, Hero - people have discovered that they do most of their gaming during the morning/evening commute, so it makes sense to buy most of their stuff for a portable platform. So we get this weird reversal of fortunes - the machine which used to get the piddly throw-away games now gets the big long ones and vice-versa.

Man, I wish I could get on with handhelds. But I just can’t.

By: Hero of Canton

Hero of Canton — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:24:19 +0000

Part of it is a generational thing, and some of it is down to lifestyle. A lot of people who were mad on PS2 will now be a little older, perhaps with a little less time on their hands for gaming. And the DS or PSP fits their needs better. Whereas Wii has plenty of quick-fix games that can be played in a spare half an hour here and there, and doesn’t require constant lengthy firmware upgrades, patches or any of that nonsense. So that’s possibly why that’s the top dog of the home consoles.

And then there’s the fact that RPGs nowadays - probably the most popular ‘hardcore’ genre in Japan - are getting ridiculously expensive to make on the high-end machines. So a lot of developers go for the DS, because it’s got the biggest audience, while some smaller developers even keep their franchises going on the PS2.

But yeah, perhaps the only thing that can save PS3 now is Final Fantasy. That could potentially convince a lot of PS2 owners to finally go current-gen (it’s not next-gen if it’s here now) but that’s not going to help short term.

It’s a very strange situation over there, that’s for sure.

By: Psychotext

Psychotext — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:23:29 +0000

RevolutionBlues: You’re right, there’s certainly room for both. The problem is that most of the 100m+ customers from the PS1 and PS2 were casual gamers… and Sony is starting to realise that they’ve lost them to the Wii.