Monster Hunter X (Cross) and New 3DS Continue to Lead the Way in Japan

Monster Hunter is so popular they'll even buy any game with a similar name.

[3DS] Monster Hunter X (Capcom, 11/27/15) – 65,227 (2,587,086)
[3DS] Monster Strike (Mixi, 12/17/15) – 38,795 (738,231)

nintendo should try to get a monster hunter game for the nx launch (window): all problems solved (at least in japan)

Decent week for Nintendo, given the time of year. Seems like they are gaining some momentum in Japan. I agree with Mr. Whitehead about the interest in how long Wii U can maintain a 20K weekly clip.

I don't see any reason why the sales would stick around 20,000. The titles that are selling well are pretty old now. If Mario Maker and Splatoon were going to improve Wii U sales, it would have happened already. The numbers are dropping by 50% each week out from Christmas and next week will probably see it return to the 12,000 baseline it's had all along.

By the way, I am quite surprised that the Minecraft version selling so well is the PS Vita one!
On the other hand, at least Paper Mario Mix is being sold there...

@Wouwter I really hope it's not that the reason, although it would be too funny if it really was...

Monster Hunter.........man if only Nintendo owns that IP.......

Is Minecraft Wii U still only digital?

If Japan Wii U release dates match up to the west, then TP HD, SFZ and Pokken Tournament may help keep it selling near 20k.
PS4 has R&C and U4 so it will probably remain ahead.
3DS seems fine as always.

@rjejr
I don't think that U4 will help to boost PS4 sales. R&C will do, but not for long I guess.
Anyways, the PS4 will stay ahead of the Wii U most of the time now. Next week all hardware sales will drop by 50% anyway.

I'm also surprised that SMM doing so well. But it's deserved, that's for sure
Splatoon is selling well cuz of its squids... we all know that japenese like squids. When I visited Japan in November last year I saw it with my own eyes xD

@ChromXsome "I don't think that U4 will help to boost PS4 sales"

Well U4 may not "boost" PS4 sales, anybody who wants a PS4 for that probably already bought one when the trilogy released a few months back, but it should keep PS4 selling more than Wii U, which was my only point, PS4 selling ahead of Wii U even though Wii U has several games coming out that should keep it selling above lasts years abysmal 9k - 12k weekly number. .

@rjejr
The PS4 will sell more than the Wii U even without U4 xD
Doesn't matter if the Wii U has the games or not. We have seen it in the Past: Wii U gets a good game = Gets a boost for 1-3 weeks and then falls back again.

And I guess, that the weekly Wii U sales will stay at about 20k and PS4 sales will remain between 30k and 40k per week

@ChromXsome: In Japan, WiiU still have 700 000 more units sold than PS4. We will see if the PS4 can close this gap this year.

Looks like the PSTV/Vita thing has completely dropped out of the Japanese market?

I have one, still in its box tucked away till it can be completely hacked to bits lol.

That piece of hardware had so much potential it's crazy. Hope Sony don't drop the PSVR as quick.

@6ch6ris6 fingers crossed for MHX on NX

@Chandlero Exactly. There are many weeks that Wii U is doing better. The Wi U clearly is more popular than PS4 in Japan where it kind of flopped. The only reason why PS4 will eventually pass Wii U is because they'll release the NX. If they kept supporting Wii U, PS4 will always remain behind.

@Peach64 not for long of true. It's starting to look like pokken will be a mover and a shaker

Once again, the best selling PS4 games are all Western franchises which makes me wonder why the Japanese have never given the Xbox brand a chance. I've never bought the ridiculous argument that the Japanese 'hate American products' and these numbers make that clear. MS Japan is doing something seriously wrong.

@Chandlero According to the current sale's levels, is not gonna happen this year (Sony need like 60+ sales over the Wii U).

I do believe that U4 will make a really big jump in PS4 sales, specially with all the hype -earned- of the title. Sales of the console will definitely jump over 100K at time of launch. Calling it!!

@6ch6ris6 too true!

If the PS4 can close the gap..? The Wii U had holiday seasons in 2012 and 2013 without the PS4 to compete with and struggled to sell. There may be 700k sales between them, but PS4 took 14 months longer to hit Japan. It's not a million systems in a month kind of country, so yeah, PS4's climb to the Wii U seems slow, but holiday numbers only account for 5-8% of the year.
And for people calling the PS4 a flop: look at how long it took for Japanese consumers to buy into Wii U. I agree. Wii U install base will pinnacle this year, while the PS4 is only growing. Western games selling in Japan doesn't help Nintendo, but Sony sure is going to benefit.

And still no signs of Cross making it over here...TwT

I actually have Minecraft on the vita and it's great! It truly is like the console version on the go which is really fun! Still I prefer the 3ds in every way haha but I have to admit the Vita could've and should've been better but yeah that's why Minecraft vita is selling well as it's a great and truly is a console experience on the go!

@DoctorOverbuild
Ya Minecraft Vita is fantastic- it looks nearly as good as the console versions (though world size is drastically smaller obviously).

But what sucks about Minecraft Vita is, you crack open that shiny blue plastic case and reach in for the cartridge, and find nothing. Oh what's this? A slip of paper? And what's that... wait a second... it's a digital code! Well wtf did you sell me a physical copy of a code for??!!

Also, Vita is great for Sonic Racing Transformed and Rayman Origins and Legends. Those games look nearly identical to the Wii U versions (or PS3 versions since Origins isn't on Wii U). And Sonic Racing Transformed is as good as Mario Kart 8 to me- so having a version that looks just like the home consoles on the go is amazing...

Oh, and Bastion. Mother freaking BASTION!!! On the Vita. Reason to buy the handheld right there. If only they'd bring Transistor now...

I also think having near-console quality versions of Final Fantasy X, Persona 4 Golden, Muramasa, Child of Light, Tales of Hearts R and Metal Gear Solid HD Collection make the Vita worth consideration at the very least. Of course Gravity Rush, Wipeout 2048 and Uncharted Golden Abyss are the top 3 exclusives, and it's got quite the spread of PSone and PSP games. I have every Final Fantasy from 1-10, including Tactics, Dissidea and X-2, Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, Xenogears, all the Persona games.... if only it could emulate PS2 games

@Socar

What difference would it make if Nintendo owned Monster Hunter? The games are on NIntendo system anyway.

@electrolite77 Yes, but the head start is true for every region of the world. Only in Japan, Nintendo could press home an advantage.

Seems like sales of all relevant platforms are up YOY, even for the market saturated 3DS. In particular, Wii U sales are double what they were at this point last year.

http://www.famitsu.com//biz/ranking/

Sad how quickly Illusory Revelations #FE dropped off of the top 20. It's at 24 right now. Only about 60k shipped, yet has only sold through almost 40k so far. Prospects are not looking good for a Western release...

At least Monster Hunter, Splatoon, and Mario Maker are cleaning up as usual. I'm surprised to see Fallout 4, Star Wars Battlefront, and Rainbow Six sell as well as they have. Apparently, the Japanese want American shooters more than they want a pop idol Persona knockoff...

@Gamer83
One word, marketing. Since the beginning MS has had trouble relating with the Japanese.

Or should I say the higher-ups here in the US have. MS Japan paved the way for it but the execs screwed things up with the typical in your face American way of doing business.

In other words, they tried to shove a square peg into a round hole.

@DarkKirby The difference is that they completely own the IP and that Capcom won't move it to other platforms. It remains a Nintendo exclusive forever.

I need Monster Hunter X please! What about western release Nintendo?

Animal crossing: New Life?

@electrolite77 not true. maybe recently it picked up pace, but last time I checked, Wii U sold more at the point of its lifetime than PS4 did. PS4 is a Japanese flop.

Here you go: like I said, PS4 behind Wii U and Gamecube.
http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2015/06/03/ps4-japan-sales-vs-dreamcast-wiiu-gamecube-ps3/#/slide/1

It never outsold Wii U 2-1, your mistake is that you don't understand that consoles sell more in the beginning .You have to check how much it sells at this point of its lifetime, and Wii U outsold and beat PS4 totally.

@Chandlero.

@Gamer83 Seriously off topic but I trust your judgement -

Thinking about getting Injustice for my kid since it's on sale for $6.99 on Wii U. Too bloody? He turns 11 today. I'm not worried about the violence per se, he probably has over 50 hours on Dragonball Xenoverse and 1,000 on SSB (if you add them altogether) and maybe a dozen on PSASBR (that games lame, even he knows it) and maybe 100 on 2 or 3 of the Soul Caliber games - don't know which ones - 1, 2,4 maybe, and that lousy Wii Legends? I've never let him play MK b/c even I won't play MK. I do think he would like the story mode, and they seem more dressed than DOA - he hasn't played those yet either. Guess my main concern is the blood and MK like dismemberment and disembowelment. Any chance there's a "blood off" or "low gore" option? Thanks.

@rjejr
Sorry, didn't see this until today. I'm guessing you probably already made a decision but the violence and blood isn't that bad in Injustice. I played far worse when I was 11. Not sure if there's a way to tone it down but the game is already pretty toned down to begin with.

@Gamer83 No, still haven't made the decision. On the 1 hand, Pokken Tournament is out in 9 weeks and we pre-ordered that on Amazon, OTOH $7 might be to good to pass up. I figure I could buy it and not let him play it if it seems too much. He's actually pretty good at self policing if things get too bad. The story mode seems good though.

Thanks.

@rjejr
Story plays out like a longer episode of Justice League. If he likes DC characters he should be able to really get into it.

@Gamer83 No, he only follows Teen Titans Go!, which is a whole other kind of evil. (I've tried to get him to watch Teen Titans to no avail) I still think I'm going to pick it up for $7. I know he'll enjoy beating people to a pulp in story mode, it's more an issue of my wife.