Code Name S.T.E.A.M. Fails to Chart in Week of Poor Sales in Japan

If a genie appeared and offered to grant three wishes, one of them would definitely be to ban gaming on mobile phones and smart devices, as its killing the sophisticated side of the video game industry (especially in Japan).

That is an incredibly abysmal week all round. No wonder all these huge in the 80s Japanese publishers are announcing they're focusing on mobile.

Also shows it's the numbers and not chart positions that count. Some weeks you can sell 15,000 and not even be top 15, but this week it's enough to top the chart. Just awful. RIP Japan's console and handheld market.

What a disaster Codename Steam must have been too. The 20th placed game sold 1863 so we know Steam sold even less in its debut week. How does that even happen? I noticed there was no UK chart article this week but it missed out on being in the top 40 chart here too. It only takes about 1000 sales to get until the 35-40 positions. Unfortunately that's going to go down as one of the biggest flops of all time. Less than 3000 sales in your debut week in the 2nd and 3rd biggest markets in the world for a first party Nintendo game? No doubt someone on here will come along and describe the sales figures as 'not bad'.

And before someone accuses me of being happy at a Nintendo game flopping, I'm certainly not. I always love when a publisher tries a new IP, and I love the whole aesthetic of Steam on top. It's not been the best reviewed game but even Mario Party 10 did 50k week 1 in Japan. Hopefully Splatoon doesn't kill off the hope of anymore new Nintendo IP soon, but I have a feeling that's going to do very well worldwide.

Looks like everything is suffering in Japan. Those numbers for pretty low for all involved.

And what abysmal numbers for Code Name Steam. To echo @Peach64, it sold less than 1863. It sold bad here and now has sold worse there. Even though the game was iffy as far as reception, you'd hope that a new Nintendo IP would sell better. Then people wonder why Nintendo doesn't trot out new IPs every year and rely on old standbys. The fact that more people bought Animal Crossing - a game that is going on three years old - than Steam is pretty telling. People in general just seem disinterested in anything new Nintendo puts out (Steam, Wonderful 101, etc).

@Peach64 splatoon is tracking ahead of pikmin three and has alread beat xenoblade x on the coming chartz. while this isn't a figure and is a small sample size it's none the less a good indicator of whats to come. i'm guessing about 100,000 minimum first week. you can qoute me on that.

I still need to play my copy of Code Name: Steam...

You see...this is why some companies don't make new IP all the time...yet fans just cry for more

Not that I was expecting Code Name STEAM to do really well in Japan, with so much American influence, but man, to not even chart... I'm so sad for the crew of that game. It's a really good game, and I was really hoping for a sequel. It's pretty apparent that it will not happen.

It didn't even do that well in the U.S., where I was expecting at least decent sales. I swear Nintendo fans are their own worst enemies sometimes. We finally got a great new IP, and no one bought it. That certainly sends the right message to Nintendo... I hope Splatoon at least sells ok.

It IS a shame considering the game is pretty darn good.

after playing the demo i have to say it is a fun game and i will surely get this some day, BUT the setting is horrible! basically what almost all modern nintendo IPs have to suffer from.

Trust me, Codename STEAM is a fun game, with a lot of qualities. It's not the game of the year by any means but it's fun, new and challenging.

I'm sure it'd have sold like hotcakes if it was a Pokémon or Mario-themed game... And then we say that Nintendo doesn't take risks... when they do, it rarely pays off...

I have a feeling, it's going to be an underrated gem, so I'm keeping my copy handy...

An americanized turn based strategy game fails to sell in Japan? I'm shocked.

Spikey haired teen RPG keeps selling in Japan? I'm shocked.

@faint - "i'm guessing about 100,000 minimum first week. you can qoute me on that."

In Japan? Or is that a worldwide guess? I'd say world is likely but I dont think any home console game can do that in a week in Japan.

At least Nintnedo managed to get a worldwide release for Splatoon. I'm not too fussy about a day or 2.

I'm sorry but I still haven't seen ONE advertisement in regards to Steam. How do you roll out a new IP with no marketing whatsoever?? Has anyone seen a TV spot at all?

Was steam promoted much? I don't have a 3ds but it seems like the hype machine has been focused on splatoon for months now.either way it's not good numbers.

@McoobabWATP Nintendo stopped doing commercials on TV (at least as far I can tell) years ago after the WiiU 1st holiday disaster.

Wow Japan video game culture shifting away from dedicated consoles/handhelds.

Starting to maybe thing the next generation of consoles/handhelds might truly be the last, or we'll eventually only see one machine that Sony/MS/Nintendo all use.

@rjejr just in Japan

@rjejr like I said you can quote me. If it doesn't break 100 k it will be very close but I think it will

@XCWarrior the only ads I see are on the tinypop channel we put on to amuse our daughter.ive seen 1 ad for the new kirby game at half 11 at night,while during the day it's smash 3ds tomodachi life and even that old animal crossing game still being promoted.

Still surprised to see 5 Wii U games in the top 20. Too bad for STEAM. It is even in the portable, not the home console, so truly terrible.

@XCWarrior That's actually not true. There have been Japanese TV ads for at least Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, Girls Mode and New 3DS lately. When I was in Tokyo a few weeks ago, I noticed that there were ads for Xenoblade 3D and Something Mario-related on the monitors in the metro trains as well.

So, does the Xbox sister site ever report these sales? (lol)

@MoonKnight7 I own and love Codename: STEAM and I own and love Wonderful 101 and as disappointed as I am in the sales of both of those games I am very confident that Splatoon will be a MUCH better seller. The HYPE for that game is very high and that's after people played the demo/beta. Hopefully more will get to play it this Saturday and even more people will decide they want it.

It's a shame Codename STEAM has seem abysmal sales in all 3 main regions, I bought the game on day one and I'm happy with the additional amiibo functionality (lucky to have a Marth).

It's easy to pick up and put down, it's an easy to learn strategy game, they even updated it to make it faster from what I can gather.
The demo had me hooked when I played it, if you're into this sort of strategy game then it's a must have in my opinion.

We may never see any sequels to this game now let alone any more games of this kind and that does annoy me a bit being a fan.

@ericwithcheese2 To be fair, neither of those got stellar reviews. I love Wonderful 101 though, I think it is criminally underrated, and I'm getting STEAM at some point too

@Akira_1975 No, but I don't think TV is the only form of advertisement like most fans want to believe. Nintendo did a lot of marketing online in the States

That really sucks about Code Name STEAM.
I don't think it helped releasing the demo so many months before the game came out, at least here in Europe. People tried the demo, realized how slow the game was, then lost interest before ever bothering to download the patch. It would have been a great game to launch alongside the New 3DS. Perhaps.
I'd download it now if it was half price, but for £30-40 I think I'd be wiser investing elsewhere.

Well I think the main problem of Codename Steam is people are still playing on the MH4U online. It's going to be hard to convince them to drop this game for another one
And in Japan Dragon Quest X just got a big update. Not hard to guess what are people playing

wow that really sucks, especially for a new IP Game,

Japan's console video game market is in big trouble. I wonder which Japanese developer will go next.

After the genuinely epic Advance Wars and Fire Emblem games I'm just not sure this S.T.E.A.M game is what people were after. Personally I never liked the stupid cheeseball Americanised steampunk art style and silly attitude or the more 3rd person viewpoint. What I'd love to see is a brand new Advance Wars game that sticks to basically the same formula as the previous games but puts the graphics in the same 2.5D style as the recent Pokemon titles, where it's actually all 3D but the main game view maintains the classic angle from the previous games in the series and the gameplay sticks to what works so well from previous entries etc. The actual battle scenes could go a bit more dynamic just like those in that latest Pokemon games though. To me, that would be an awesome Advance Wars game and an Intelligent Systems games I'd be excited about.

To be clear; I'm not against developers trying all new games and ideas but I just don't think this was one of their better ones in terms of it appealing to a whole lot of people.

Clearly this is a result of it being revealed outside the Digital Event and being compatible with impossible to find amiibo. I wonder what's next for following the same fate as it seems Nintendo has the same room booked this year.

I bought Codename STEAM yesterday and it's looking very good so far, how things sure have changed since being disappointed the game wasn't something else at E3 last year.

@Grumblevolcano
I think it has more to do with the fact a lot of people think the game is ugly (and it's not a matter of graphics). If Intelligent Systems want to make me buy this kind of game they better give it a better artstyle like the one from Advance Wars.
But at least Intelligent System tried. Now they know. I don't think it will hurt them since FE is doing great and the next one looks pretty cool

Really scary chart to look at. If people aren't convinced yet that console gaming is dead in Japan, I don't know what will convince them. Just look at these numbers, terrible would be a compliment.

Konami laughing

All hail our new mobile gaming overlords

As a big fan of Fire Emblem and Advance Wars, I feel like the main problem is probably the art/character design and story. That's what's keeping me away. I just can't wrap my head around Abe Lincoln protecting the queen of England from an alien invasion.

Really a shame about Code Name STEAM sales. I bet it will sell better if it was sold as Fire Emblem spin-off or at least use anime style, to appeal to Japanese audience. That said, I haven't do my part of getting this game yet, I loved the demo, so I'll definitely get it but I was held back by a huge backlog for now. Seeing this news though, I guess I'll get it sooner than later.

[PS4] Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster (Square Enix, 05/14/15) – 15,913 (New)

WTF??? How does that happen for a Final Fantasy game? Sure it was a remake but wow....

Those STEAM sales break my heart... a massive flop in all regions for a great new IP.

Isn't this a heavy school time in Japan? As in, like, rushing to study for exams sort of thing? Because if so, these numbers would make sense...

Edit: yes it is. Or at least the study period before mid-terms should start this week. That explains it.

While I think Codename STEAM is a good game, the story and the characters/setting are uninteresting. The enemies are boring. That said I will get this eventually. It's just that I'm on Wii U and amiibo mode right now on my spendings and still have 3DS games waiting to be played on my N3DS.

It should have been a Wii U title IMO. Better graphics, gyro controls on the gamepad and all. I would have gotten it day one. Plus this was delayed in Europe and Japan so the hype already died down...

Ouch. Rough numbers. Though I had no interest in Steam, it would have been nice if it had sold better. I like tactical games, but I cringe rather hard at the aesthetic and text. Just not for me.

@ikki5 It's the third release of the exact same re-master. They released it on PS3 and PSVita and now PS4 in a very short period of time, they've worn it's appeal away.

Really sad about Codename: S.T.E.A.M though. I got the game last friday and it's actually really, really good and very much up to what would be the Advance War standard for Intelligent Systems turn based strategy. Sad no one give it a chance simply because it's a new IP and the art style despite the fact it's from one of Nintendo's best development studios.

A shame for codename Steam and for Intelligent Systems. However, I haven't seen any sort of gameplay or marketing by Nintendo at all. Even though the Wonderful 101 did badly, I had at least seen some gameplay footage of it before it was released. Why does Nintendo think it's acceptable to release a new IP so far under the radar that I don't even know what it is before its released? Where is the marketing Nintendo? Why bother making it if no one knows about it?

In my opinion, this game is very unappealing to look at and did not get me interested at all. I could at least see the appeal in other games that bombed like the Wonderful 101. Games like this bombing has shown how niche Nintendo has become, even in it's homeland.

@Tazcat2011 It'll be Capcom.

@NintendoFan990 Seems it. I would hate to see it happen though.

It's not surprising Steam did so poorly, it's a very American game.

That's a shame, I liked it alot.

Japan's sales depress me every time. I hope a combination of handheld and console that Nintendo will release next with next gen power of course wink wink will finally sell there. It would allow people to play games and not take up the TV

I'm glad Code Name STEAM is failing. It looks really boring, the characters look dumb, the artstyle is crap, and the gameplay isn't fun. The demo definitely put me to sleep. Hopefully this is a wake-up call for Intelligent Systems and Nintendo to not make crappy new IPs like this.

Love codename steam. One of my absolute favorite 3DS games. I like the artstyle as its not the anime style you'd expect from the developer which makes it all the more appealing to me. Too bad. I'm glad it got made in the first place though. It will remain a gem for the system to a few of us at least

Code Name Steam didn't chart because it is terrible. I do appreciate Nintendo giving everyone a warning demo so even poor folk could see how bad the game turned out. Crazy to think that this turd was given its own 90 minute presentation at E3 last year.

If I didn't get this wrong, does it mean STEAM sold less than 1,800 units on its first week? Because that really is beyond depressing.

@faint - Wow, you really think? Xenoblade X only did 85k and that's right up their alley. And it had a sweet bundle too. DQX did 98k and that's practically a religion over there.

http://gematsu.com/2015/05/media-create-sales-42715-5315

I think 50k is being optimistic, and a win.

@outburst
Oh geez no. The game flopped on the 3ds...aka Nintendo patented money printer.

Had it been released on Wii U the sales would be in negative numbers.

Not unexpected but it sucks all the same. CNS was always going to be a hard sell though, the concept is very out there for most, the art style will divide people and this is before we even get on to the very different game mechanics that make it so great.

Not to mention the reviews, it was mostly received well but we seem to be in a period where anything less than a 9/10 is deemed not worth the time so it averaging a 7 (or 8.1 user score) on Metacritic doesn't help.

I'm loving it so far though, it's not without it's issues but it's been a real blast to play and that's the main thing for me.

@Pixel-Perfect it's just tongue in cheek sillyness, they know it's all ridiculous and that's somewhat the point. It's not trying to be serious in any way at all, you've just gotta go with it and not try to make sense of any of it, embrace the nonsense

@rjejr Xenoblade appeals to the west more than Japan actually. Too many WRPG elements. Xenoblade X's very heavy sci-fi themes certainly didn't help.

@Peach64 While those numbers are terrible, it's profit that matters. If they profited on the game, then it is not a flop. Sales don't matter so much as profit does. That's why a game can sell several million and still be considered a flop - the company didn't profit on the game. Alien Isolation is a flop despite selling over 2 million. Fatal Frame on the other hand can be considered a success with very few copies sold because it doesn't take very many copies for them to make a profit due to the game's extremely small budget. Overall though, I doubt Nintendo profited on Code Name STEAM.

@Flopsy86 "We may never see any sequels to this game now let alone any more games of this kind and that does annoy me a bit being a fan."

Well, at least you're not speaking in absolutes, but I think we'll eventually see one. It was more due to reviews and some odd design choices the game didn't sell well, plus, it's pretty damn quirky. Quirky only helps if a game is awesome. It's kind of like a fat guy who talks to himself aloud vs. a good looking guy who talks to himself aloud. One is unique, and the other is insane or sad and pathetic, and I'm sure you can figure out which is which. Also, I'm sure you can figure out which one CNS is, as well.

Poor Codename steam...perhaps it will end up gaining legs in the long run? It is a lovely title.

Looks like garbage. Not surprised

As many others here have said, the horrible art style and aesthetic of Codename Steam is the only thing that kept me from wanting to play it.

I wonder if this will be the fate of Splatoon..... A very cool, outside the box type game that in a few months, "fails to chart...." The 3ds has 5x the user base.

@Technosphile
Posts like this are just completely unnecessary. It's one thing to say you didn't like the demo, or the game, or whatever, but when you say something like this, no matter if it's truly your opinion, it just comes out as trolling.

A simple "I didn't like this game, so it's poor sales don't bother me" or something along those lines would have done just fine.

Wow, I had no idea that the U.S. Got Steam before Japan. I never thought much of this game. The art style kinda threw me off.

Nintendo has answered the call for new IP. Unfortunately, fans have failed to support them.

I won't be surprised if the next generation sees a large scale back of new 1st party properties.

@rjejr I do. no way it will be that low. 100k is my bet.

@JaxonH True enough. Just look at some of the comments here saying it's a terrible game because of its art style. So say goodbye to new IPs. Nintendo still can't read fans' minds and portray the exact 1::1 replica of their dream game yet, so they shouldn't even bother.

It's a shame, too. Because Codename Steam is one of the best games on the 3DS.

@SparkOfSpirit
Enjoy them while you can Spark... this generation has been a very special one with all the new major IP Nintendo has given us. Enjoy it while you can...

Thank you Japan for ruining the chance for there to be a sequel of the only game that I really enjoyed in a long time...

Atleast Style Savvy 3 got nice sales... Bring it to the West...

That sales chart is just plain bad, even 3ds numbers have tanked. No wonder so many Japanese devs, Nintendo included, are looking to the mobile market.

Oddly enough, I honestly think that STEAM would've done better if it was on Wii U. I guess we'll never see, now.

It's not that Nintendo fans have anything against new IP:s. They have something against bad or average new IP:s.

Splatoon to me, is way more cool and interesting than Codename STEAM, both in style, design and gameplay. I wanted to give it a chance, I tried the demo, but it didn't work out for me.

Consumers can't be expected to buy a game that doesn't appeal to them just because it's new. I'll be supporting Splatoon, the new Nintendo IP that actually appeals to me, on launch day.

@Ogbert I get that, and yet no, it still doesn't seem like something I'd be interested in.

code name steam is a good game but it's not the kind of game that's a week one buy.

@Pixel-Perfect Yeah, I don't expect people with no interest in a game like this to pick it up. But I also think that given the situation of Nintendo systems- that people should keep an open mind and take a chance on more games. I mean, people can't complain about the lack of releases if we as a group are pretty much only buying the same ole stuff.

@IceClimbers Actually I know one of the Devs on Alien:Isolation, and although it has underperformed, its still selling about 100k copies each week, so it might be to early to write it off as a flop. He seems to be pretty happy with sales, at least.

I'm loving S.T.E.A.M and I'm hoping to get some quality time with it when im going traveling in about two weeks Unlike a lot of other comments here i like the art-style and the bonkers setting. And i find that stylized art looks way better on the 3ds than trying to go for a more realistic look, esp. considering its hardware limitations.

@1wiierdguy

Yeah, there's a reason companies are going mobile. Having played some mobile games in the past though, that's a very scary future, imo.

@Pixel-Perfect if you've no interest that's fair enough just before you said you couldn't get your head around it. I thought it was more the concept confused you, thinking it was meant to be a similar tone to FE.

If you're looking for something all serious like FE Awakening was then this is not for you. But if you've not already I'd urge you to try the demo because it's got some really great gameplay aspects and a ton of creativity, it deserves at least a skeptical glance, you might find it clicks

Or not, but at least you'll know!

Such a shame! The updated demo reignited my interest in this game, more people should try it.

@blodermoder Did you try the updated demo? I hated the slower one and never expected to buy the game, but I gave the demo another chance and it suddenly clicked. I actually like it more than Fire Emblem and Advance Wars.

Pitty its a pretty good game I bought it the other day from eb games and nobody else had bought a copy so its not going to sell that well in Australia.

Yet another great game that very few will buy. Things like this certainly won't encourage Nintendo to release New IP and as someone who is enjoying the game this disappoints me.

I am surprised to see so many people disliking the art style in the game because as a fan of cel-shaded games like the Sly Cooper series I think the game looks fantastic and the art style was a major selling point for me. Very unique in an age of games that go for a hyper-realistic look.

How can franchises like Pokemon or super mario appeal to you and code name steam not? Pokemon and super mario or many other concepts from nintendo are so childish. Codename steam atleast is a cool shooter strategy. And the concept with aliens invading london that you have to protect is much cooler or interesting than other nintendo franchises. My daughter plays pokemon, thats the age category those kinds of games should appeal to. I played pokemon myself as a child, but now when looking at it while my daughter plays it, i realize it doensn't have that little special to me anymore. For that I'm happy that Intelligent system bring out games like Fire Emblem and code name steam, that atleast can appeal a bit to the grown up audience. For the fact that you as a parent you buy these handhelds from nintendo mainly for your children. And if there are some grownup games around aswell, then you can also have a treat for yourself

I'm not surprised at all, this game is something that is not very appealing to Japanese gamers, either mobile or console gamers. They'd probably be as shocked as you are if they heard about the low sales on Visual Novel , RPG or Hatsune Miku games in North America.

Before the patch this game was just ok but post patch it's great and that's not necessarily reflected in the review scores floating out there. I would like to try the game with the FE Amiibo but they're insanely hard to find.

@Dpishere

I'm with you there. I thought it was pretty ambitious of them to go for this kind of style. I love it, especially in the cut-scenes.

It was a big selling point for me too, as I bought it on day one. I also don't understand all the hate it has gotten. It certainly doesn't deserve it. It's a shame because I was really hoping for a sequel, and I'm sure it will never happen.

@Dipso 3DS games with realistic graphics run circles around Steam visually.

@Flopsy86 That's exactly how I feel about ZombiU. So much room for improvement in a sequel but sadly will not be. ¡_¡

@Kogorn733
Ahahaha, that's actually a very good choice.

At least the japanese sales list is more interesting to read than the ones in the west.

@Siskan I watch AMERICAN Network TV, and never see any TV ads from Nintendo. Sony and MS? ALL THE TIME.

No one watches TV in Japan anymore. They are all on there mobile phones ALL THE TIME.

@XCWarrior You replied to someone asking about Codename S.T.E.A.M's promotion in the comment field regarding the game's poor sales in Japan. So it makes less sense to assume that we're suddenly talking about America only.

Growing usage of phones may be true, but it doesn't necessarily steal time from TV. It's not like people used to watch TV on the train.
http://www.nippon.com/en/files/h00091_en_fig01.jpg

Please don't blame customers for not buying new IP. It's really the game itself problem. The art style is just too terrible, and no one cares about American characters outside of American. Many games on 3DS these years, e.g., Bravely Default, Tomodachi Life (for western players), pushmo, Denpa man, got success to certain point. I can see Splatoon may get somewhat success if it's also interesting in single player mode and has some interesting story as well (and may also need a 3DS version). The style of Nintendo IP is anime style / cute. If Nintendo throw away its own style and try something totally different (especially if that style is only popular in a very limited market), this is the result.