360 tops PS3 in Japan sales for one week...

TOKYO — Sales in Japan of Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 video game console have exceeded those of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc's PlayStation 3 for the first time on a weekly basis, a survey shows. According to the survey conducted by research firm Media Create Co, Xbox 360 sales came to 17,673 units in the week to Saturday, against 17,434 units for PS3.

Xbox 360 overtook PS3 as the second best-selling video game machine in Japan, Media Create said. Nintendo's Wii stayed the best-selling machine. The Xbox 360 machine performed strongly partly because Microsoft on Nov 1 cut its price by up to 5,000 yen. In the preceding week, Xbox 360 sales totaled only 3,718 units. Meanwhile, PS3 slumped due to a lack of blockbuster game software titles.

 

Hell freezes over in five, four, three...



I blame Ace Combat. Blame is totally not the correct word to use in this situation though, because that's like saying this is a bad thing.

 

Sony were so passionate about creating a new do-it-all console that they forgot to make games for it. It's a common mistake

 

How much are 360's actually going for in Japan? Significantly less than in the US, I presume?

 

I believe too this an effect of Ace Combat being released there. Well, good news for 360 for once in Japan, but I don't think this sales will last, just like PSP sales after FF:Crisis Core.

 

Yeah, it probably won't last long at all. I mean, I'm not really too hip on all the console sales stats in Japan or anything, but, from what I can tell, if Blue Dragon couldn't get the 360 to the top spot over there there's really not much else that will, save for, obviously, Ace Combat, and games like that are few and far between right now...

Capcom needs to do a new Mega Man Legends with the engine they've used/are using for Dead Rising, Lost Planet, and Devil May Cry 4.

 

People reading far too much into the figures and ignoring some important facts.

1 - Xbox did drop the price of the 360 yet again
2 - Ace Combat 5 sold a good number of games for an 360 title doing 80,000 units (slightly less then blue dragon and doa4 but still god).
3 - Sony were going to release the 40gb just after this and this probably would have dropped ps3 sales.

Numbers? The Xbox 360 sold what 17,673 machines compared to the PS3 17,434 units, but lets see how many PS3 shift over the 360 over the next few weeks. And the machine numbers are still pathetic compared to the 37,821 that they sold when Blue Dragon was released and even the 18,735 it sold a week later... The Xbox 360 is still doooomed in Japan.

 

That's what I find interesting right there.

 

Because people weren't buying the PS3 due to a new release of a new console and possible price drop?

I got a feeling that the next figure will show the PS3 outselling the Xbox 360 by at least 10 to 1.

 

Until the Lost Odyssey package comes out. Which is in about a month. Once that happens the 360 will probably start outselling the PS3 fairly consistently.

Microsoft is slowly getting the games Japanese gamers want on their system. They're getting the RPGs, they got Ace Combat 6, they're getting Ninja Gaiden 2. This isn't like the original Xbox where 99% of the library came from the US and was made for the US, Microsoft is most definitely pushing for more RPGs and Japanese made games, and as time goes by, I think its going to pay off for them.

Of course, you can have a great library (even in Japan) on the 360 now. The only games that'll be worth anything on the PS3 are still a ways off, and are only getting pushed back. By the time FFXIII (and its 20 iterations) comes out the PS3 will either be a mere memory or cheaper than the Wii.

 

Be interesting to see if it does, the Xbox 360 didn't outsell the PS3 when Blue Dragon came out and apart from the odd blip here and there I can't see it selling that much more.

 

Thats because when Blue Dragon came out it was the only game anyone in Japan wanted for it.

People don't buy consoles for one game typically. Well, sane people don't.

But when the 360 has Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon (as a greatest hits), and Eternal Sonata? Which console do you honestly think the RPG loving crowd is going to want? And with the promise of Infinite Undiscovery and Cry On? I mean honestly, if I loved RPGs, I know it wouldn't be a very difficult decision for me to make.

 

Nintendo DS or Sony PSP then?

Even this year it's the 3rd best selling game for the system, but it's only sold about 70,000 copies. Halo 3 and Ace Combat 5 have sold better but your talking by a 4 digit number.

The Xbox 360 is a lost cause in Japan, it's been outsold by the PS3 in a shorter time, it has more games but still the PS3 has outsold it on games by over 2:1 or 1,000,000 games extra. Again I stand by the statement that Lost Odyssey will cause a minor blip in Xbox 360 sales and then it'll be back to selling less then 10,000 consoles a week.

 

Handhelds? Aren't we talking about consoles?

I think a year from now you're going to be sadly mistaken.

 

I believe people put too much weight on these sales numbers which are great to grab headlines, but don't really reflect the realities of the situation. I remember seeing all the weekly numbers for Saturn and Dreamcast sales years ago and they were similarly impressive if you took them in isolation. When compared to the overall sales numbers and more importantly, the units of software being sold, things didn't look as good. The reality is that the Wii is outselling both consoles, but software wise, the DS and PS2 are winning the sales battles and creating revenue. So, I'm all for a vigorous battle for supremacy in Japan as long as we end up with some obscure or unique 360 and PS3 games here in the States. I don't really have much faith in a week's worth of sales number translating into anything but hype.

 

Well I didn't think it was a permanent thing, but just the fact that the 360 beat the PS3 during a week of sales is really good press for the 360 in Japan. I'm sure the PS3 will go back to beating the 360 next week, but it has to be a major embarrassment for Sony when news like this is released.

 

Lost Odyssey is not going to save or boost the 360 japan to start beating the ps3 on a weekly basis. That's just beyond wishful thinking. Mistwalker games have been performing poorly all around (even their recent DS game has been doing horibly).

Eternal Sonata is also a moot point now since it's ps3 bound with extras (but truely by most accounts, it was a very bland JRPG. I don't see it selling well in the long hall nor on the ps3).

Anyways thing will be back to normal in future numbers (PS3 will improve over the next few weeks due to the 40GB PS3 just being released, but over all still will be rather poor numbers (ie not near PSP/DS numbers).

I can't believe someone is being delusional to start calling the 360 on a comback in japan when it was just 240ish units over the ps3.

 

Yeah...I dunno, are RPG's still giant sellers in Japan? Because most of these newer RPG's just really don't look that good IMO.

 

I reiterate: No one buys a console for one game. Blue Dragon DID help the 360 out in Japan. And as MORE GAMES come out on the system, that Japanese people want to buy, the MORE PEOPLE will buy the system, since there will be MORE GAMES that they want on the system. 'Tis a simple concept really. Though I'm still wondering what you PS3 fellas are thinking is going to keep the system afloat for the next 3 years while you wait for FFXIII...

Eternal Sonata did indeed suck. I just listed it because, for the time being, its still only on the 360, and regardless of it coming out on the PS3 later, its still going to be on the 360. Its still a game on the 360 whether it goes to another console or not.

I still say the Lost Odyssey bundle will push the 360 ahead of the PS3 in December. There's quite frankly nothing anyone from any region would really want to play on the PS3 at the moment.

I'm not calling it a comeback, but I think in the coming months its going to do a lot better in Japan. Once again, its getting exclusives that the Japanese people would want. I imagine the Xbox left a bad taste in their mouths since, as I already stated, it was 99% games for the US audience. This is no longer the case. And as the PS3 continues to flounder, losing exclusive after exclusive, I can only imagine EXCLUSIVE titles like Ninja Gaiden 2, Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, etc. helping the 360 in Japan. Will it come out on top of the PS3 in the region? Who knows. I'm not going to speculate on that. But I will say its numbers will pick-up, because it is delivering on the game front far more than PS3 is, and I imagine, as the PS3 continues to collect dust, more and more people will be inclined to check out the actual good games on the 360.

 

Let's see whether this is a temporary blip or whether it becomes a trend. If it lasts longer than a few weeks then it is possible that MS has broken into the Japanese market - finally - which they never really did with the original Xbox. Either way, I see yet more egg on Sony executives faces. Frankly I think they should be walking around with perminant omlettes attached to strings on a little hat so they can flip the egg down as and when appropriate!