Paper Mario: Color Splash Makes Modest Japanese Chart Debut

That's atrocious for Paper Mario!

Good to see Stories have a great second week. Word of mouth must be good.

Wii U truly is a toxic console.. them numbers are terrible.

"Mario and company receive the Media Create results", and Peach and Toad show the "obvious" expression to see these regular results this week ...; well, hopefully better next time.

"Modest" is putting it politely. It's downright awful.

"All told it was a week of both positives and negatives for Nintendo"

How do you figure that? Looking at the numbers Nintendo in my book had a poor week.

Great caption on the screenshot though.

Paper Mario: ColoUr Splash's sales went down the can.

That by the way for you Americans means they went down the toilet.

PlayStation vr done good. It's was in everyone's face advertising. Well done sony

Monster Hunter Stories always looked like more of a kid game to me, and kids don't wait on line for midnight openings, they buy what they can when they can. I think MHS will have legs throughout the holiday.

Guess that PM game looked a bit too much like SS after all. Anybody have the PM Wii number? I know Wii crushed Wii U 8-1 but I think that was a launch window title so install base it's 1st week shouldn't be an issue. I actually like the look of this one more, and PM Wii had too much reading.

I wonder what TTYD HD would have done for $50 on disc like WW HD? Guess we'll never know.

Is 50K good for Playstation VR? I would think that number should be higher for the release?

Lackluster results for Nintendo, until they start releasing a constant stream of games or we get some NX news, I don't see them doing well other then the occasional bump from Pokémon or whatever else is on the way

Maybe if it was a Paper Mario game like the ones from the 2000s sales wouldnt be so low.

@Gerbwmu I've read else where that PSVR sold out in Japan, so maybe they shipped most of them west? I wouldn't make too many $400 headsets until I knew they were going to move well. I think PS Vita TV sold great the first week in Japan then bombed big time, and that was only $100. That $500 24" 3D display Sony made never sold, no matter how many times they kept dropping the price.

I've always been a fan of longevity over week 1 as my metric of choice.

The headline should be swapped with the sub. MHStories must sell well to get it ported to the West so this is very good news.

Unsurprising. Everyone thought Sticker Star would be good AND the 3DS has a bigger user base. While I'm not a hater of Color Splash, I hope Nintendo realizes that the type of gameplay found in the recent Paper Mario games is not what we are looking for.

I wonder how many people are going to use these sales numbers as an excuse to say that the game is terrible?

It certainly doesn't help that said game is on a console that's on its last legs.

@rjejr - there is an art to making money and over supply is never a part of it. I'm sure Sony knew what they would move and set up a production schedule to meet the expected demand but 50K still seems low.

Then again I didn't think it would sell well so from my perspective I guess 50K is a nice start. Will be interesting to see how it goes over. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews that basically come down to motion sickness. So I'd probably love it since I dont have those issues but $700 plus dollars, since I don't have a PS4, is way more then I'm gonna spend for it.

@DreamyViridi I don't think for a second that the sales reflect the quality of the title. I believe that poor sales are due to a poor attach rate for Wii U and because of the lack of RPG elements. I bought the game and it looks great. But there is something lacking. I keep thinking how great Thousand Year Door is.

I chalk it up more to going against monter hunter than anything else. Color Splash is pretty fun.

@ottospooky - I can definitely respect that. I've beaten Colour Splash and loved it, though I played the game with a blank mind. I didn't really think of the other games, just what this one offered and it made me smile and laugh multiple times!

Try not to let the lacking RPG elements bother you too much, there's a fun game in there.

CS could've done worse but it's still pretty disappointing, um no PSVR games on the list ?
EDIT: Nevermind I saw PSVR Worlds

@DreamyViridi For now, there's gonna be more stroking egos over perceived IQs for ''predicting'' performances than when the game is mostly forgotten by the masses and have only sales as reference for their knowledge of the game's quality. (Reviews are seldom read afterwards)

Based on the reviews I can understand why it's not selling well. It just doesn't seem like the Mario RPG I'd want to play. Especially with that battle card system.

Makes me sad that Color Splash sold like that. It's a brilliant game. I even played PM64 and TTYD on the run up to it's release and it easily stands up with them...In fact I think the writing, scenarios and even the way the world is structured stand strongest in Color Splash.

But such is the videogame market. Clones of proven concepts sell well even if mediocre. Different experiences are huge risks and can't expect to sell even if the game is good.

I guess if it had been released on the 3ds the impact might have been greater

@Gerbwmu I'm planning on spending to get the PS4 for Christmas, but even $400 for me for the headset is too much. Plus $60 for the camera.

I am looking forward to trying it out and VR in general taking off, but probably $200 is the most I'd pay to own one.

Really enjoying it and hats of to Nintendo for trying a different approach to the paper Mario series but I think it's clear what fans want in the series

Happy for Tomb Raider!

@ottospooky d

There are literally no major Wii-U titles releasing at this time, meaning the game has no competition.

If it's selling this badly, it means the game stinks or people just don't want it.

Either way you look at it, it's another failure by Nintendo.

@Equinox

50K peripherals sold in one week at a cost of $400??

That is a fantastic number, and I'm sure Sony is happy.

@Spoony_Tech Word of mouth? It's Monster Hunter

When a game made by Compile Heart sells nearly as much as a game with Mario in it, it should be clear that somehow, somewhere, Nintendo Nibelsnarfed up.

@KilleyMC No profanity, thanks.

@rjejr Paper Mario for Wii is by far the best-selling title in the series, selling over 4 million copies. It sold more than any other two Paper Mario titles combined. http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Paper_Mario

In Japan, it sold half a million copies by the end of 2007. http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Famitsu_2007_video_game_sales

Also, WWHD only "sold" because it was bundled with Wii U consoles. The standalone full price release did really poorly. (In Japan where it wasn't bundled, it only sold close to Color Splash numbers.)

Color Splash sales are modest, sure, but they're less than 1k Tomb Raider on PS4, which debuts at number two.

@MJInnocent This is the "Oh, it's out?" edition of Tomb Raider. In addition, Tomb Raider has never done very well in Japan.

Meanwhile, Paper Mario has previously been a much bigger seller in Japan.

I didn't like SS one bit. I went into the trailers of CS with an open mind, and it looked more of the same. Which is why I decided to sit this game out. What made the PM series so great, to me, was the RPG elements and the multitude of characters to choose from. Along with using those characters in puzzles to be able to progress.

Sadly, this is the very first Mario game I didn't buy. I wish I could say I love the sticker version of the PM games, but I just couldn't get into it.

Paper Mario Color Spash sales are abysmal. Here is how it compares with the sales of previous Paper Mario games:

Japan sales only:
Paper Mario (N64) - FW: 118,322, LTD: 425,609
Paper Mario TTYD (GCN) - FW: 137750, LTD: 409,600
Super Paper Mario (Wii) - FW: 156, 055, LTD: 506,298
Paper Mario Sticker Star (3DS) - FW: 130,009, LTD: 564,823

@RyanSilberman
Maybe Nintendo should at least let the fans have ONE more paper Mario game like the ones I the 2000s. Then they can see if colour splash or the new one sells better. BTW I love all paper Marcos so far ( except sticker star, obviously)

I meant Mario.

Wow, Monster Hunter Stories was really fascinating.
Never care with VR. The thing that I will never ever want to see, touch, buy or even play. Just only Nintendo games for me.

@SniffitisWhiffit
Sticker Star was quite interesting despite the leveling system was terrible. Oh, I love to see 64 Things with upgraded level -Ra or -Ga spells ala Final Fantasy magic spells. Well, Color Splash just only have 27 Things though...

@Equinox

Kinect didn't cost $400

@Mahe You can't go by raw sales numbers, you have to go by attachment rate. TTYD 1.91mn on a total of 21.74mn, an attachment rate of 8.8%, as opposed to PM64, which had a rate less than half that at 4.2% (1.37mn/32.93mn). SPM, likewise, had a 4.2% attachment (4.23mn/101.63mn), and Sticker Star had an absymal 3.7% (2.21mn/59.79mn). Still want to argue that its popularity was comparable, when the series popularity shows a demonstrable and entirely unsurprising rise and fall?

@Mahe Thanks for the numbers. I'm just going to have to go w/ percents, TTYD 10% of the install base, PMW 4%. I'll sleep better that way.

But my earlier point could still stand, this is only the first week and only the in Japan number for CS, so world wide when all is said and done CS may not be too far off the others. It's basically the only Wii U game available this holiday if parents want to buy their kids a new game on the system. And like MHS, I see it more as a slow burn than a day 1 seller.

Console games just don't sell in Japan.

@rjejr "That $500 24" 3D display Sony made never sold, no matter how many times they kept dropping the price."

OMG yeah, it actually became a best buy recommendation for a TV it's size, regardless of 3D and gaming.

@westman98 That really puts it into perspective and yeah, it flopped big time.

@Mahe
Super Paper Mario Wii was the crepiest Paper Mario ever.

@Anti-Matter And I love it for that.

@westman98

And Japan's FW numbers for Color Splash, rather than being simply a case of the Wii U install base limiting the sales, is indicative of the general trend of the series' sales in Japan. As you can see below, the attachment rate in Japan started strong (not surprising given the nation's fondness for RPGs) peaked strongly with TTYD (even higher than the general WW rate of 8.8%), and cratered with SPM and fell down the cellar stairs with SS:

Paper Mario
FW: 118,322
% of LTD: 27.8%
LTD: 425,609
Install Base: 5,540,000
Attachment Rate: 7.68%

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
FW: 137,750
% of LTD: 33.6%
LTD: 409,600
Install Base: 4,040,000
Attachment Rate: 10.14%

Super Paper Mario
FW: 156,055
% of LTD: 30.8%
LTD: 506,298
Install Base: 12,750,000
Attachment Rate: 3.97%

Paper Mario Sticker Star
FW: 130,009
% of LTD: 23%
LTD: 564,823
Install Base: 2,132,0000
Attachment Rate: 2.65%

Using some scratchpad maths, if this title follows suit for Japan, you would expect:

Paper Mario Color Splash
FW: 20,894
% of LTD: SERIES AVG ± STDEV
LTD: 62,634 - 86,065
Install Base: 3,210,000
Attachment Rate: 1.95-2.68%

Which means, at best, it matches SS and slips below 2% attachment at worst. It's not inconceivable that such a performance would serve as the rather ignominious end of the Paper Mario series.

Can we just talk about how Splatoon still hanging on to that top 20 somehow.

@Anti-Matter
You, my friend, are the first person I've ever heard of who actually likes things. I personally don't mind them and am fine with only 27 instead of 64. One other person I know who hates things is @RyanSilberman.

@JohnGrey
There were a lot more casual gamers with little interest in Paper Mario who bought a Wii and 3DS than the N64, GCN, or Wii U, which may contribute to the much lower attach ratios of Super Paper Mario and Sticker Star.

But regardless of attach ratio, Color Splash sales are absolutely abysmal. It will struggle to sell 1/4th what previous Paper Mario titles have sold in Japan.

Just wanted to say that the pic on homepage with Peach and Toad looking sad is hilarious!

For all the people that felt so proud about the direction of the Paper Mario games because Sticker Star sold well, see? That was because Sticker Star looked like a return to form. It wasn't, it was a terrible farce of a game that made the N64 Paper Mario seem like 10 years of refinement by devs over what Sticker Star "accomplished." Anyone that thought Sticker Star was good on its own merit, it didn't try anything truly new - everything it did was an inferior twist on old ideas with fundamentals like partners and experience points ripped out to give the devs time off from being creative with the story and gameplay.

The franchise is going to die, but I guess you were so stuck on defending a bad game you sat there and told all the people who spoke up to correct this terrible direction change to stop judging Nintendo. That's rich - gamers are just entitled and can't demand quality, how spoiled we are. LMAO, nope, just critical of where our money is spent and rightfully so.

@rjejr Even this generation has seen several console games sell in the 500,000 - 1,000,000 range, or even over a million. It's just that bad console games don't usually sell so well, and most of Wii U's game library is garbage.

@JohnGrey Some good observations, but you've used the total install bases, not the install bases at the day or year of the release. When Super Paper Mario was released for Wii, there were actually less Wii consoles sold than there are Wii U consoles sold now, because it was so early in the Wii's lifespan and Color Splash is so late in Wii U's deathspan.

For game sales early in a console's life, things like the used game market affect continued sales performance. Japan has a very strong used game market, and some games like Xenoblade Chronicles have actually seen extended circulation through used copies when the actual retail print run has been limited.

@Mahe "It's just that bad console games don't usually sell so well, and most of Wii U's game library is garbage."

Wii U has had some horrible games from start - Nintnedo Land - to finish - AN:aF - but after playing PM:CS for a couple of hours last night I like it. Sliding the cards onto the TV is kind of absurd, but other than that it's good for me.

But after SFZ was so bad and TMS#FE so niche Japanese, I can imagine a lot of people have already unplugged their Wii U and have moved on to PS4 and X1S or tablets, smartphones, Vita (still big in Japan) and 3DS.

So following up your discusison w/ the other guy, the Wii U install base is probably larger now than the Wii base when PMW released, but there were probably a lot more Wii in use than there are Wii U today. Wii U hasn't had a really great - ie mass appeal, not esoteric - game since Splatoon. Wii U only had maybe 3 big games, Spaltoon, MK8, SSB. I'll take Hyrule Warriors and XCX over any of those 3, but that's just me, they aren't "mass appeal".

So yes, PMCS has it's flaws, but whatever size the Wii U install base, the Wii U "in use" base in Oct 2016 has to be fairly small, it hasn't had a mass market appeal game in 18 months. It's been dead for a long time, PMCS isn't really enough of a reason to resuscitate it. Maybe if Zelda released on Wii U in Nov - 2016, not Nov 2017 - more people would have picked up PM while they waited? Though as the other guy pointed out, it is a dieing breed. A dieing breed on a dieing console is not a good set up for sales.

@rjejr That is a good point. The "active user base" is different from total user base. Fox example, recent Just Dance games on Wii have still kept selling, and Wii back catalogue titles like the Nintendo Selects line also keep selling. That means that even though Wii is ancient by now (10 years coming up!), and even though it has only a few game releases any more, people are still playing their Wii games and buying new ones.

With Wii U, it's the opposite. The low quality of the Wii U library has really deterred the existing Wii U install base from buying the titles that come out. That's why you see almost every Wii U title flop really badly. Wii U owners have been severely burned by the bad games and the terrible Gamepad controls that have been force-fed to Wii U owners. Nintendo killed the Wii U by a stream of garbage games and the awkwardness of using the Gamepad.

@Mahe Hey I think we finally agree on something.