It's Media Create charts time once again, our weekly insight into what's hot and not in Nintendo's homeland. It's a quiet week in terms of earth shattering revelations, but does continue some trends that have begun in the past few weeks.
The software top 20 has a strong 3DS contingent as always, though they're all unsurprisingly kept off the top by Dark Souls II's arrival. There are a couple of notable success stories, however, with Yo-kai Watch maintaining its strong run alongside its Anime series, while Kirby: Triple Deluxe has passed 500,000 physical retail sales in the country. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze remains the only Wii U title in the list in 17th place — the results are below, with lifetime sales in parenthesis.
1. [PS3] Dark Souls II – 255,197 (New)
2. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch – 37,247 (569,720)
3. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca’s Wonderful Mysterious Keys – 18,728 (737,593)
4. [PSV] Soul Sacrifice Delta – 17,357 (66,143)
5. [3DS] Harvest Moon: Tsunagaru Shin Tenchi – 15,883 (176,180)
6. [3DS] Kaseki Horider: Mugen Gear – 13,362 (93,900)
7. [3DS] Kirby: Triple Deluxe – 12,225 (501,835)
8. [3DS] Pokemon X and Y – 10,106 (3,994,938)
9. [PS3] Yakuza: Ishin – 10,034 (222,147)
10. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto V – 7,910 (736,810)
11. [3DS] Puzzle & Dragons Z – 7,755 (1,407,075)
12. [PS4] Battlefield 4 – 7,539 (55,286)
13. [PS3] Ar no Surge – 6,751 (33,7870
14. [360] Dark Souls II – 5,950 (New)
15. [PS4] Yakuza: Ishin – 5,451 (119,722)
16. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 5,132 (3,239,571)
17. [Wii U] Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – 5,117 (72,401)
18. [3DS] Doraemon: New Nobita’s Great Demon — Peko and the Exploration Party of Five – 4,813 (9,665)
19. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 4,759 (3,692,937)
20. [PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Full Boost – 4,395 (338,323)
The hardware results, meanwhile, show more underwhelming results for Sony's new PS4, though Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes may give it a boost next week. The 3DS is still in an arm-wrestle with the Vita, meanwhile — Sony's portable is ahead of the 3DS LL (XL) once again, but as with last week combining the two 3DS models still takes it above its rival. The Wii U remains static in the absence of new releases on 7,654 sales; the results are below, with last week's sales in parenthesis.
PlayStation 4 – 29,677 (35,294)
PlayStation Vita – 28,270 (31,325)
3DS LL – 23,372 (24,192)
PlayStation 3 – 14,128 (12,102)
3DS – 10,772 (10,876)
Wii U – 7,654 (7,773)
PSP – 3,461 (3,425)
PlayStation Vita TV – 1,447 (1,962)
Xbox 360 – 278 (300)
Level-5's Yo-kai Watch — which seems to be its potential name for the West — has been a notable success story, hopefully boosting hopes of localisation. In terms of hardware, the rapid loss of momentum for the PS4 will be a concern for Sony and, in truth, the wider market. Both the 3DS and Wii U are awaiting big new releases to prompt another surge in their sales, with a bit of a wait ahead for the home console in particular.
[source gematsu.com]
Comments 40
I hope they bring Yo-kai Watch to the US. I have loved everything from level 5 and I'm sure this wouldn't be an exception. Speaking of level 5, any updates on the localization of Fantasy Life?
More obsessing over sales. Oh well.
I think at this point we shall all have to resign ourselves to another hardware generation with Nintendo dominating handhelds and first party releases while making a modest profit as Sony and Microsoft lose money battling it out for main home console dominance.
So...same as it ever was.
I hope Nintendo has direct with at least ONE JUST ONE new game! Even NES Remix 1+2 bundle in North America! JUST ONE GAME! Or else PS4 will be outselling Wii U for.... quite a while... May....
Immature fanboy moment incoming:
HOW DOES IT FEEL PS4?!
But seriously, Xbone is going to do even worse over there if the 4 is having this hard of a time.
I still think the PS4 is doing "ok" in Japan when you think about it, because nun of the games really appeal to them.
WiiU will continue the bad sales until MK8 releases.
3DS still got it.
Vita doing good.
@S-Miyahon In fairness, Handhelds and Consoles are for a different purpose and such.
What I can say is that the Vita can't even get close to what the 3DS is doing. 7.2 Million as of now is just terrible.
@WingedSnagret I would be surprised if Xbox One sold 75k units in it's debut week in Japan.
Ahh. I want to play Yo-kai Watch so bad!
@Action51 But who sold the most consoles and handhelds last gen? That was Nintendo.
MK8 can't W8
As I said before, people are going to be surprised by console sales this generation. And not in a good way. Don't think the Wii-U is the only console this will apply to.
"The Wii U remains static in the absence of new releases "
Does Japan have anything coming out on Wii U that may sell systems? I don't see $10 downloadable titles as system sellers, even if the games themselves sell well. Will that sentence be repeated 10 more times (70 days) until MK8?
Not trolling, just asking. The 3DS seems to get a lot of titles in Japan that the West only gets months or years later, or never, so Wii U could be getting something in Japan the next couple of months
Who are the people still buying the X360 in Japan? Collectors? Never see any X360 games in the charts so... idk.
The PS4 is dipping fast but I am sure it will pick up when games come out that people in Japan want.
Wii U has nothing as far as I know until MK8.
Vita....
3DS.. highest selling system again this week, unreal and its 3 or so years old, impressive!
Weak numbers across the board. And LOL @ Vita TV.
@rjejr It could be that the longer development time for console games is what's taking so long for new releases to arrive on the Wii U. That strategy worked out for Nintendo with 3DS because of potentially shorter development time. That combined with Nintendo's lack of experience with HD could be heavily slowing down development.
@MAN1AC LOL?
OMG!!! i want youkai watch so bad!!! the anime is awesome i love it i can tell it would make a great game. the ghost watch, and the augmented reality parts of it to find and talk to ghosts would be so fun. i wish there was something i could do to get it to NA.
@rjejr Not really, at least nothing that appeals to the majority of japan's audience.
Many thought Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate could do it (failed in japan, but not in the west), I expected PuyoPuyoTetris to change sales a teeny tiny bit, but most japanese players probably got the PS3 version.
Just like the PS4, the WiiU needs a stunning japanese game to shift some serious numbers. But both lack a system seller for the core audience.
But while developers in the east are reluctant to develop for WiiU because of lacking sales numbers, PS4 development is too expensive for many of them, in addition to bit being catered more towards the west (japanese players are really sensitive about that stuff).
I guess Monolith X could make a difference, and maybe SSB, but I don't really see Mario Kart 8 getting all that successful in japan. And unless some dev's take the risk of developing something for WiiU exclusively, 2014 is Nintendo's last chance to conquer the market.
@Ernest_The_Crab - "That combined with Nintendo's lack of experience with HD"
It wouldn't have to be a Nintendo made game to sell consoles, a lot of US Wii sales are probably based on Just Dance and Zumba, so I thought maybe something really odd that the Japanese might buy but would never make it over seas so I wouldn't know about it, like that drum master game on Wii.
@Kaze_Memaryu - "Just like the PS4, the WiiU needs a stunning japanese game"
The big difference (to me at least) - PS4 has been out for 3 weeks in Japan, Wii U for 16 months. I thought maybe Wii U would be getting some weird Gundam or Dynasty Warriors stuff the west doens't get. That 3DS Tamaguichi game sold about 4 mil. Maybe the Wii U needs a talking fish game like Seaman, that was announced on 3DS over 2 years ago.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/02/nintendo_resurrects_dreamcasts_seaman_for_3ds
The Wii U needs an aquarium sim, even Wiiware had one. That scuba minigame in Wii Fit U has potential, but it could use some nice realistic HD fish graphics. Endless Ocean could use a sequel.
Oh well, Japan waits for rain like the rest of us I guess.
From the hardware sales numbers, I'll I can say is Japanese has more common sense than westerners. Just sayin. Don't flame me plox.
The Wii U sales is just abysmal. Come on Nintendo, step up or you'll really be in trouble with the Wii U.
The Vita sales is surprisingly strong recently. Is there a reason behind these sudden demands?
You hit it in the head with the poor PS4 sales are a bad sign for everyone. The videogame market is expanding, but the console market is rapidly shrinking. Personally speaking, I didn't buy a PS4 due to the high price & small selection of games. I thought I might get it to play the FIFA World Cup game, but the game is only coming out for the PS3 & 360! That's just...odd. Between the cool Wii U games coming out & my backlogs of Wii, PS3 & 360 games still to play, why upgrade?
@Hy8ogen As a Vita owner I can say it is a wonderful system. I just think it took longer to catch on and it now has a great library. If Monster Hunter 4 had been a Vita exclusive this would have happened sooner.
@rjejr The PS4 being practically new (especially to japan) definitely does make a difference.
And I can imagine PS4 development costs to subside considerably once the documentation for japanese developers is finalized (I believe it's in the middle of progress, like every platform documentation shortly after launch).
What does worry me is the current view on the future. Although the PS4 sold less than the WiiU on its own launch, a few top developers from japan (Squenix, BamDai, Konami, SEGA (stop laughing), Marvelous ) have already announced titles for PS4 in the near future, despite the difficulties of costs and risks. The WiiU, on the other hand, doesn't get a single slice of the cake, despite many opportunities simply waiting for exploitation (Arcade games, online-focused non-FPS, RPG's).
I don't fully understand why that gap exists, and how the PS4 is that much more appealing for japanese developers than WiiU, but this isn't a good direction - neither for Nintendo, nor for japans gaming industry.
Vita Crunchyroll App for NA.
A marriage made in otaku heaven!
LOL.
Where is 2DS?
@Hy8ogen From what I have been told, the Vita has good games in Japan, not to mention some that's coming out in the future. J Stars Victory VS (Also on PS3, but you know, handhelds reign supreme over there.) Phantasy Star Nova, Gravity Rush 2, and that new Sword Art Online game. That's just to name a few. I'm pretty sure there are a lot more that I missed though but you get the point. I just wish those games were coming over here to the west...
@rjejr
Not sure. It's possible though. But I would like to point out that you don't need new releases to see a surge in sales. You just need to make more people aware of the games already out, aka ADVERTISE THE DANG THING!
Sales will stay low without new releases from the people who are familiar with the library, but the majority of the masses don't keep up with all that stuff. I guarantee you if Nintendo just started blanket bombing ads showing a collage of footage from Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, NSMBU, Zelda Windwaker HD, Super Mario 3D World, Wii Sports Club, Wii Party U and DKC Tropical Freeze, so as to inform the masses of what's ALREADY on offer, sales could easily top the charts. Easily. Wii U has about a dozen or so games right now that are creme de la creme- you can tell people about them all day long, but if you could actually SHOW them how fun the games look, then people start responding.
But, we both know that's not going to happen lol. Nintendo? Properly advertising? Bwahahaha!!! That DKC trailer from the latest Direct, that would suck the masses in like gravitational field, but of course Nintendo only shows that video to its fans, the people who are already buying the game... go figure.
Yokai Watch is Level-5's new Inazuma Eleven, that's for sure.
They tried to replicate IE's success with Dragonball Sen-- err, Danball Senki, but that hasn't worked very well... (probably because the first few games were PSP exclusives?)
I REALLY hope they bring it to the west, alongside Fantasy Life!
Glad to see the Vita is doing better than it was. It really is a fantastic handheld.
Bring Yokai Watch and Fantasy Life to the West this year and I'll be a happy camper.
Seeing how quickly the PS4 seems to be dropping off and the Wii U's situation for the past year, I wonder if Microsoft should even bother releasing the XBO over there.
Good for the Vita hanging in there and Yokai Watch. Hope Level 5 sees these sales and give us a localization announcement already.
it would be nice to see this in North America with stellar sales in Japan. but there is another game which had stellar sales but will more than likely stay in Japan and that just makes me sad that Fantasy Life might not make it. it outsold this and Disney's Magical World but somehow Level 5 doesn't want the US/Canadian money which would be a lot. hello! Common sense! now I'm getting all riled up
If Dark Souls 2 moved over a quarter million units, it's not too likely MGS is going to help move PS4s. It is likely though that MGS will sell.
After reading Koji Igarashi's take on Mighty No. 9, it doesn't inspire much confidence in Konami's future releases.
As in, considering how terribly mediocre the last Castlevania was, Konami's back to the drawing board for me. Until they really do something spectacular, there's no getting excited for their new releases, not for me anyways.
I'm glad to see the Vita finally do good numbers. I like my Vita, but it's library could be a lot better. Hopefully we get more games with the sales increase.
I'm not expecting to see a surge in Wii U sales until MK8 comes out. It's kind of depressing but at least it's still managing to sell 7,000 a week with no notable new releases coming anytime soon.
Can someone explain to me why the 3ds is split between standard and LL, its the same console, it plays the same games, iys should be combined as standard. They dont list all the different sku's for other systems so why for the 3ds.
@JaxonH - I was under the impression they do a good job of advertising in Japan. They always seem to be putting new bundles on sale. Though I suppose having new bundles and advertising new bundles isn't the same thing and I just sort of leapt to that conclusion. The Japanese do strike me as a very knowledgeable bunch when it comes to home electronics though. Everybody knows about Akihabara.
New bundle forthcoming:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/02/nintendo_releasing_a_wii_sports_club_wii_u_hardware_bundle_in_japan
Old bundles:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/09/wii_u_family_hardware_bundles_revealed_in_japan
I'm still surprised Wii U isn't seeing more games in Japan though. I wonder how long before PS4 reaches Wii U sales levels on a weekly basis?
@TruenoGT
And why not a 3DS Pro?
A 3DS XL fitted with two control pads, better screen and with TV connectivity. Drop the plain vanilla 3DS and sell this for 200 bucks and the 3DS Xl for 180. So future game do take advantage of the larger screen.
@TruenoGT
And why not a 3DS Pro?
A 3DS XL fitted with two control pads, better screen and with TV connectivity. Drop the plain vanilla 3DS and sell this for 200 bucks and the 3DS Xl for 180. So future game do take advantage of the larger screen.
Anyone interested in seeing this some day come to the States and other territories, here's a petition for Level5 to try and get it released internationally!
http://www.change.org/petitions/level-5-please-localize-youkai-watch-for-3ds-in-america-and-other-territories
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