2DS Relaunch Makes Decent Chart Debut in Japan as Persona 5 and PS4 Run Riot

Holy Smoke! Looks like Sony got back all those lost sales and then some.

Also so glad I can still get to experience Persona 5 on the PS3. Take note Nintendo as how old the PS3 is and still gets support!!

To be fair, Persona is something of a magical series. It does not flood the market with titles but rather focuses on quality. Taking its time. And when it arrives, all that is left is the hype.

@Piersen I actually cosplay Igor (and the Velvet Room) at London Comic Con from time to time. Hopefully doing it again. We make Igor insanely creepy

@Spoony_Tech I was going to mention 4 year old Wii U barely beating 9 year old PS3 in hardware sales, but I knew if I did you'd be on here shortly complaining about my complaining again, but since you brought it up first ...

Nintendo may try to blame poor Wii U sales on mobiles popularity in Japan and home consoles being dead, but PS3 and PS4 PROVE otherwise. It's all about the games. And maybe the price. I know PS3 must be way below Wii U at this point, does PS4 Slim match Wii U in Japan?

"better results from the 2DS launch"

What? Really? Everybody in Japan probably already owns 2 or 3 3DS (counting both old and new) and, oh yeah, rumours of NX launching in March, which may be a hybrid, or a handheld, or whatever, but will almost certainly be portable. Why would anybody buy a 2DS in Japan now? It doesn't even play NEW games - there is 1, plus VC - or have NFC built in for amiibo support. 18k seems good to me for that hardware, thats all 4 of the other models combined (give or take, rounded math in my head).

Quite comfortably the best debut of a Persona game. P4 was 211k and P3 127k. P5 pretty much matched their combined sales.

PS4 probably going to pass Wii U total sales in the next week or two.

and minecraft for wii u stays on top :/

I have to admit I was recently thinking of getting the 'new' 3ds but until I know more about the NX Im holding out for now!

I wasn't expecting them to bother releasing the 2DS in Japan by now, to be honest.

It always struck me as something tailored for the Western market that would not appeal to Japan, but 18,000 units is not too shabby.

Holy crap! PS4 rose from the dead. That wipes out the awful sales it had for the last few weeks. I don't think the sales of 2DS were impressive. Wii U sales are pitiful.

PS4 lifetime sales will pass by Wii U in about a months time I think. It'll definitely be this year, that much is absolutely certain.

Good start for 2DS. It would have been the best-selling device if PS4 Slim hadn't launched in the same week. However, there were no new games to go along with the new 2DSes. Also, Japan already had those 100,000 Pokemon Anniversary special edition 2DSes. The real test will be the coming weeks and months, up into the holiday season.

Nintendo obviously released 2DS in Japan the bolster the sales of the "3DS" family, which have been lagging during most of the time that New 3DS has been their main product. Now combine the 2DS with new games, and 2DS + 3DS will see better sales than if it had been just the old "New" and old old 3DS models.

@Royalblues PS4 was selling around 20,000 consoles weekly before the slim rumor starting going around. Obviously, there are gamers who want a PS4, and they held out on getting the old model because now they can get the new, smaller model for the same price.

As for PS4 Pro, who cares? Sony did a really poor job of justifying that model.

@Royalblues The silent protagonist fits Persona well because it's a game about forming bonds between the characters and you, the player. The stoic expression doesn't set anything in stone, the protagonist in both 3 and 4 has a plenty of silly dialogue choices. If anything, I'd welcome some slight customization. A protagonist like, let's say Shulk, would ruin it in my opinion.

It's a shame the west have to wait 5+ more months for Persona 5 (I'm saying "+" incase it gets delayed again)

It's 2016 near 2017
Don't want to sound negative but what will you buy a console that still gets support or one that's come to the end.
In the uk. The ps4 and wii u bundle is nearly if not the same price bar better technology as well as a media player.
How in the world will people still buy a wii u over a ps4 is beyond me.

I have both consoles but even the PS3 is still supported with games

@Ikramali All down to preference at the end of the day. I barely have any games that wow me on the PS or Xbox. I'm not buying a PS5 (whenever that is) until the console's end-of-life. The NX regardless of what it is will very likely be a day-one buy for me as most of the games I love are on Nintendo platforms.

@Mahe

"As for PS4 Pro, who cares? Sony did a really poor job of justifying that model."

Just as Nintendo did in justifying the existence of the Wii-U haha

How could 2DS suddenly overlap New 3DS LL ?
Btw, i hate to see ps4 on the top. Worst thing ever...

I'm surprised they haven't done a "New 2DS"

Makes sense. Sony has the more enticing hardware. Nintendo keeps their prices high on aging-out hardware while alluding to a mystery console that they can't be bothered to reveal.

But please Nintendo, more Color Splash ads! They'll go nicely with dismal 2015 sales figures.

@Anti-Matter Because the console just launched in Japan. The 2DS hadn't been available before.

I always thought the worst thing for Nintendo gamers would be if they went the route of SEGA and no longer made their own consoles.

@WilliamCalley Hardly, as there will literally be nothing on the PS4P that is not on the PS4. While you might think there were not "enough" games on the WiiU, there were still plenty, even good ones, you could not play anywhere else.

@Knuckles
I see...
I will not let Nintendo become another SEGA.
I will keep praying and supporting Nintendo.

@Anti-Matter that's the difference between Sony and Nintendo. Nintendo needs your prayers while Sony don't

Not sure why the "Nintendo goin third party" argument is starting up right now...

3DS is selling fine. The Wii U has been dead for a while.

@Grandpa_Pixel that's brand loyalty. You will buy something which is not known.
Nintendo loves that sort of customers but don't really care about them. They want a wider audience.

@millarrp new 2ds coming in 2018

@Ralek85

Sorry you lost me of course the PS4 & PS4 Pro will share the same games as they are both PlayStation 4, the only difference is the PS4 Pro will play them same games better. People with 4K HDR TV's will have the option to play in 4K, also HDR if there TV supports it but you would be mad to by a 4K TV without HDR.

Persona 5 deserves it
Can't wait till that game comes here

@rjejr The PS4 itself hasn't done amazing in Japan- so many companies are still releasing PS3 versions of their games over there three years after the PS4 launch because of the Japanese public being slow to adopt.
And Persona 5's week 1 sales numbers, as a blockbuster console game, are a fraction of the sales of the blockbuster handheld games (Yokai Watch, Monster Hunter, Pokemon).

Either way, I don't see Nintendo singling out the Wii U's poor sales on the Japanese public's tastes. They've already admitted that they weren't clear at first with what it was and that they needed to have more quality titles sooner.

Hey look Xbone isn't at rock bottom this week! I have no idea why microsoft still releases a system in Japan. Just port everything to pc over there and call it a wash.

@Ralek85

Wii-U will go down in history as the lowest selling Nintendo home console.

I'd say my comment that Nintendo never 'justified' it's existence is not up for debate

I wasn't talking about what Sony is doing, mate

@WilliamCalley So what? Look at the sales data for every Nintendo homeconsole since the NES. With the exception of the unique position of the Wii, it's been an almost perfect linear decline, and the WiiU is basically spot on for hitting projected sales going by that data.

Not sure how sales relate to the "justification" of it's existence, since no company needs to do any such thing, but it's still a fact.
I'd say, by that logic, the Gamecube was hardly "justified", even less making the Wii.

@banacheck Right now, you would simply be mad to buy a HDR TV as the technology is currently a mess. Without a HDR TV (to my knowledge there are no non-"4K" TVs with HDR), there is no guarantee that the PS4P will do anything "better" - it can, and for some/many/who-knows it will, for the rest it won't.

@Ikramali
Can you please stop insulting me with your sarcastic comment ?
Gosh ! What's wrong with me ?
Don't tell me there's nothing wrong !
Well, i'll keep praying for Nintendo future and i dont need your comment for whatever reason.

Guess the collectors are snapping up the 2DS to add a new model for their collections. It'll probably slow down once its just little kids buying it....

@Anti-Matter where did I use insults. Please re-read the comment.
You can keep praying for nintendos future, you have that right, don't let anybody stop you from praying for Nintendo.
They need all these prayers so they can make more money to make more games for us fans.

They need to drop the price on the Wii U already come on.

@Grandpa_Pixel ever since I started persona 3 on ps2 it has replaced final fantasy as my favorite RPG series. I even put it in step above the suikoden games. That was a very tough decision!

I got a 2ds just to play GBC games and some of the Genesis games like Ecco the dolphin and altered beast. I like that it's more like a Gameboy and the 3d effect t never interested me. Too bad no upgrades version with the enhanced power and send games.

@Ikramali
" that's brand loyalty. You will buy something which is not known.
Nintendo loves that sort of customers but don't really care about them. They want a wider audience."

Oh I'm sure they do love those sort of customers, just as Sony loves those who will pony up another $400 mid gen for the Pro.

But me, for example, I'm well aware Nintendo doesn't care. Just as Sony doesn't care and MS doesn't care. But I don't really buy consoles to feel cared about, I buy them because I know they have (or will have) games I know I love.

So Nintendo can love me all day (while not caring about me) for buying an NX day one, and that's fine with me. Because I don't care if they care, all I care about is that I know I love Nintendo games, and I know that every Nintendo console gets those games I love, ergo, they had me at hello.

And Nintendo need prayers due to Wii U no more than Sony needs prayers due to the Vita. Both had a flop and both have a success. Kind of one-sided to only see Sony's success without their failure and only see Nintendo's failure without their success.

At the end of the day though, nobody needs prayers. Because all these companies are multi-billion dollar juggernauts, and will certainly outlast most of our lifetimes.

@Uncensored
I know, I keep telling people Persona 4 Golden is a masterpiece. But you know how people are- always so dismissive of anything they haven't tried. I mean, I'm guilty of it too. Just recently I got into Dragon Quest VII and wow! Definitely one of my favorite JRPG's of all time. Immediately rushed out and ordered DQM Joker, DQM Joker 2, Dragon Quest Heroes Rocket Slime, Dragon Quest Swords for Wii, and Dragon Quest IX (already had IV, V and VI). It's been a long time since I was this infatuated with a franchise.

That's how it was with Persona 4. Was like woah!. Soon got P4 Dancing All Night, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, all 3 PSP entries and the PSone entry on Vita, and locked in that Persona 5 limited edition.

I still champion games I love like Persona and Dragon Quest, but it seems no one really ever listens. People make their minds up about most games before ever even playing them. Good luck changing a person's core beliefs, even if it is just based on a quick glance at a YT vid 2 years ago.

Working on Persona 3 then 4, I cannot wait for Persona 5.

@JaxonH Tokyo Mirage Sessions is great. Try Persona Q if you haven't yet, I ADORE it.

@Royalblues PS4 Slim sells for 70$ cheaper than the original. So you can bundle your own game, but most retailers are already including games.
The SKU doesn't change because it replaces the original PS4. (Someone had wondered about that)
New 3DS is an additional model to the 'family', it's not the replacement model for the original. (That's the difference in SKU)

@Royalblues you blame the consumer for developers who out and out refused to work on propreitary hardware.
PS4 and XB1 both went with a PC architecture.
That architecture is now severely outdated in comparison to actual PCs. It was 2 years ago.
So now they're releasing new options for the tech heads that want the biggest and best.
When the PS4 releases 10x as many games as the Wii U monthly and it's still a 'painful drought', you know some people have too much money and too much free time.
Pro is just that. It's an option for the 20 to 35 year old crowd that is slowly becoming a new, lower middle class. The kind of people where having the loudest car, the flattest abs and the biggest TV is a life goal.

@Knuckles incorrect.
The 2DS launched (initially) in February of this year in Japan.
This is (as the title clearly states) the relaunch.
Or the 'we hoped people would forget about it and buy it now' sales pitch.
Which is basically what companies do with Greatest Hits SKUs, except in that case, there's actually a modicum of success involved.

The announcement of the PS4 slim really excited me as well! I'm gonna wait and get the 1TB model i think, or possibly just get a bigger hard drive later. I wish that this think had external Harddrive support!

@JaxonH agree. No one cares about us. 😥

Glad to see the Vita still performing solidly. A great device with some great exclusives that deserved better. Not hard to see why a Nintendo fan like myself would be drawn to it with those qualifications.

@Grandpa_Pixel " It does not flood the market with titles but rather focuses on quality."
Not so sure about that part, but Persona and ultimately Megaten in general, really are a treat.

@sunrisensoul I would say that for the individual franchises. But as a collective yeh. But I would call Persona its own franchise regardless of being part of the Megaten franchise.

@millarrp New 2DS XL would be pretty sweet. I'd buy it.

@Royalblues How is it the consumer's fault when Nintendo, Sony and MS put out crap like Wii U, the original 3DS, PS Vita and the Xbone? Those are some terribly misconceived products with major faults bringing them down from their predecessors. This generation could have gone differently if the platform holders hadn't been completely clueless, or even downright malicious (Microsoft).

@Royalblues Also, Pokemon Go already boosted the sales of 2DS especially in the US (and probably elsewhere too), and the 3DS in Japan (the Pokemon anniversary 2DS was already sold out by that time by all accounts). Now the initial Pokemon Go craze has already faded somewhat, but the game and the 2DS discount brought a lot of new people in. If the new 2DS owners are happy with the system, they might be more likely to consider the NX, too.

@Mahe 'the original 3DS'
Hmm? Other than the first year being dead as disco for releases, I don't get how it was worse than the DS. Wii U was handled poorly, though. Tad bit harsh.
I feel that the consumer base is to blame only for the perpetuation of the DLC model (considering that so many still buy unfinished games off hype). I also don't think of the PS4 pro as a dud, just a slight upgrade for the tech-heads who want it.

"This generation could have gone differently if the platform holders hadn't been completely clueless, or even downright malicious (Microsoft)."
Nah I expected this. Console sales last gen were pretty high, so fatigue (in addition to the weird decisions) meant sales getting slow. This mid-gen upgrade thing everyone is doing seems good for the bounce back.

Whaaa.. Splatoon has sold a million and a half in Japan alone?

@sunrisensoul The releases. The d-pad. The design. The delays. The 3D. The firmware updates. The price drop. The screen scratching. The list goes on and on.

@sunrisensoul You know what was good for fatigue and bounce back in the last gen? Wii Motion Plus, PS Move, and Kinect. Those were upgrades for existing hardware, anybody could just buy the new controllers/add-ons and use them with their existing console. PS3 and X360 especially needed their motion control add-ons, otherwise they wouldn't have sold nearly as much as they did eventually. Say what you will about PS Move and Kinect, but they did give their respective platforms a very significant uptick.

Now, this mid-gen upgrade? Splitting the userbase and screwing over the early adopters? It could very well blow up in Sony and MS's faces.

@Mahe >The releases. The d-pad. The design.
Yeah, those were a problem, happened with DS, too. Was rough.
> The firmware updates. The price drop.
??? How are these bad? Still, didn't think the 3DS was as bad as you put it. Bad launch year, but still a pretty solid system.

>You know what was good for fatigue and bounce back in the last gen? Wii Motion Plus, PS Move, and Kinect.
Not at all, those barely did much to push out new games for it. Barely considered an upgrade. This is an actual console upgrade.

>Now, this mid-gen upgrade? Splitting the userbase and screwing over the early adopters?
More people being allowed to buy a system is bad? More options for those that want higher tech that is not necessary is bad? You don't have to upgrade at all. And if you got it early, why care about price drops? Isn't that something everyone knows, that consoles eventually get cheaper? It's on you for not waiting, and you'll still have had more time on it than others.

Heck, userbase only gets bigger by price drops, why would people get jealous? That's petty.

>It could very well blow up in Sony and MS's faces.
Very much doubt it. They get to put extra pressure on Nintendo this way. Waay too much pessimism there, chill.

@sunrisensoul You do realize that Wii Sports Resort sold over 30 million copies and bolstered Wii sales, while PS Move and Kinect gave both PS3 and X360 a very big uptick?

There is no "pessimism" here, there is sheer unbridled hate towards bad systems. Wii U is garbage. The original 3DS is garbage. Xbone is garbage. PS4 is good, but not great. PS4 Pro is not what I want. Nintendo, Sony and MS have all been fumbling this gen.

@Mahe
>You do realize that Wii Sports Resort sold over 30 million copies and bolstered Wii sales, while PS Move and Kinect gave both PS3 and X360 a very big uptick?
And yet they fizzled fast after coming out, still not a mid-gen upgrade.

>There is no "pessimism" here, there is sheer unbridled hate towards bad systems.
Seems a bit much, but I'll respect your opinion. Only Ninty and MSoft feel like they're dipping, while PS4 is just trucking along. 3DS has long gotten better.
>PS4 is good, but not great. PS4 Pro is not what I want.
Then hold off/don't get them? Don't have to get either, dawg. I only have a 3DS and PS3 (brother got a Wii U tho) and am waiting to jump at the PS4. People have been doomsaying companies since the SNES, so it'd take something bad to make me actually agree. Right now, just worried for Ninty's consoles, since their portables are ace.