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[Moor-Angol]

I think this game bombing is a good thing, because all indications are it is a crap game (e.g. 5/6/6/6 score in Famitsu, which is really bad.) and it shows Japanese consumers won't throw their money at any old game with a famous character on it. That's nice to see. Also, it's the fourth or fifth Doraemon game on the 3DS (brand fatigue) and it's published by Furyu, which doesn't have the best reputation for quality.

Actually is the eighth title published on 3DS but 4 of them were just some training/educational games

But I agree with you about the brand overexposure

and looks like they recycled the same graphic engine for the previous title published last year

 

[test_account]

If they're released on PSN, they most likely will be.

Wasnt there some games that didnt work on Vita, but were still solded digitally? That was some years ago though, i dont know how the situation is today.

C'mon Pennywise, you know a port should always sell worse than a new game. Last week you claimed that a Vita port of a game that had been released a few times "sold badly" at 7366 copies. This week you're saying a 3DS port of a game that had been released a few times "sold about what expected" with 2369. Now you're claiming that there were big expectations for the Vita port of a game that already came out on PS2, PSP and DS. Really?

Are there anything new added to those games?

Also, La Corda d'Oro never appeared on a Nintendo platform

I've seen some arugement that this can be a positive thing in terms of sales potential, as in a game/serie that havnt appeared on a platform before could mean that a lot of people havnt played it before.

 

[BriBri]

Actually is the eighth title published on 3DS but 4 of them were just some training/educational games

But I agree with you about the brand overexposure

and looks like they recycled the same graphic engine for the previous title published last year

I'm just waiting for them to relaunch Doraemon Kart

 

[monpiece]

I've seen some arugement that this can be a positive thing in terms of sales potential, as in a game/serie that havnt appeared on a platform before could mean that a lot of people havnt played it before.

The original argument was that every game should be released on 3DS because the install base alone would make it sell better than in other platforms, other factors notwithstanding.

 

[Pennywise83]

The original argument was that every game should be released on 3DS because the install base alone would make it sell better than in other platforms, other factors notwithstanding.

Nope. The original argument is that a higher installed base means higher sales in expected terms, and this is something everyone of course agree. Then, there are many other factors to consider; we have seen many jRPGs bombing on PS1, PS2 and DS even though the audience was there.

 

[test_account]

The original argument was that every game should be released on 3DS because the install base alone would make it sell better than in other platforms, other factors notwithstanding.

I see. And afterall, if a game franchise hasnt been on a certain platform before, one time has to be the first.

 

[duckroll]

Well trying to dig up more info about whether Imageepoch is actually dead (sure seems that way), I came across a pretty interesting old report: http://tinyurl.com/pbmvevg

This was way back from the end of 2013 before Toshin Toshi was released, and it summarizes info from a series of ghetto-tier PR streams the CEO of Imageepoch did on Nico to promote the pending release of the game.

He actually provides a bunch of information which shows in retrospect why they're in the hole they are now. This was back in Nov 2013 I believe, and he was already talking about developing Toshin Toshi, SoniPro, as well as a SRPG "similar to Luminous Arc" (probably Stella Glow). He also talks about why Toshin Toshi is on the 3DS rather than the Vita - because the game is intended for audiences above the age of 35, and he feels there are more of those on the 3DS than the Vita. The development budget for the game is 196,000,000 yen (about 2 million bucks), and took a year and a half to produce. Furthermore he apparently said that they would stop Vita development and try to sell stuff on the PS4 instead (lol!).

So yeah, this factually totally disproves that their move to 3DS had anything to do with lower budgets or anything. At that sort of budget, as a publisher they would have to ship 60-100k just to break even on the title, depending on how much they sell per unit to retailers.

 

[mao2]

Well trying to dig up more info about whether Imageepoch is actually dead (sure seems that way), I came across a pretty interesting old report: http://tinyurl.com/pbmvevg

This was way back from the end of 2013 before Toshin Toshi was released, and it summarizes info from a series of ghetto-tier PR streams the CEO of Imageepoch did on Nico to promote the pending release of the game.

He actually provides a bunch of information which shows in retrospect why they're in the hole they are now. This was back in Nov 2013 I believe, and he was already talking about developing Toshin Toshi, SoniPro, as well as a SRPG "similar to Luminous Arc" (probably Stella Glow). He also talks about why Toshin Toshi is on the 3DS rather than the Vita - because the game is intended for audiences above the age of 35, and he feels there are more of those on the 3DS than the Vita. The development budget for the game is 196,000,000 yen (about 2 million bucks), and took a year and a half to produce. Furthermore he apparently said that they would stop Vita development and try to sell stuff on the PS4 instead (lol!).

So yeah, this factually totally disproves that their move to 3DS had anything to do with lower budgets or anything. At that sort of budget, as a publisher they would have to ship 60-100k just to break even on the title, depending on how much they sell per unit to retailers.

Pennywise83 are you reading this?

 

[Kresnik258]

Well trying to dig up more info about whether Imageepoch is actually dead (sure seems that way), I came across a pretty interesting old report: http://tinyurl.com/pbmvevg

This was way back from the end of 2013 before Toshin Toshi was released, and it summarizes info from a series of ghetto-tier PR streams the CEO of Imageepoch did on Nico to promote the pending release of the game.

He actually provides a bunch of information which shows in retrospect why they're in the hole they are now. This was back in Nov 2013 I believe, and he was already talking about developing Toshin Toshi, SoniPro, as well as a SRPG "similar to Luminous Arc" (probably Stella Glow). He also talks about why Toshin Toshi is on the 3DS rather than the Vita - because the game is intended for audiences above the age of 35, and he feels there are more of those on the 3DS than the Vita. The development budget for the game is 196,000,000 yen (about 2 million bucks), and took a year and a half to produce. Furthermore he apparently said that they would stop Vita development and try to sell stuff on the PS4 instead (lol!).

So yeah, this factually totally disproves that their move to 3DS had anything to do with lower budgets or anything. At that sort of budget, as a publisher they would have to ship 60-100k just to break even on the title, depending on how much they sell per unit to retailers.

Interesting find, thanks for sharing. Suppose that puts to rest all the budget guesswork from a few weeks ago based on appearances.

Bolded seems odd though. What Vita development? And switching all that to PS4, really? Almost seems like they're trying to run the company into the ground.

 

[duckroll]

Interesting find, thanks for sharing. Suppose that puts to rest all the budget guesswork from a few weeks ago based on appearances.

Bolded seems odd though. What Vita development? And switching all that to PS4, really? Almost seems like they're trying to run the company into the ground.

Probably stuff we've never heard about and never will. Either stuff they canned internally, or deals they had for other publishers who canned the projects when the Vita tanked. Either way, we know that they started scaling down around 2014, and people were leaving the company. It never seemed to be a particularly well run developer-publisher to begin with. Mikage had ambitions of being the next Level5, but clearly not the business talent.

 

[vinnygambini]

Well trying to dig up more info about whether Imageepoch is actually dead (sure seems that way), I came across a pretty interesting old report: http://tinyurl.com/pbmvevg

This was way back from the end of 2013 before Toshin Toshi was released, and it summarizes info from a series of ghetto-tier PR streams the CEO of Imageepoch did on Nico to promote the pending release of the game.

He actually provides a bunch of information which shows in retrospect why they're in the hole they are now. This was back in Nov 2013 I believe, and he was already talking about developing Toshin Toshi, SoniPro, as well as a SRPG "similar to Luminous Arc" (probably Stella Glow). He also talks about why Toshin Toshi is on the 3DS rather than the Vita - because the game is intended for audiences above the age of 35, and he feels there are more of those on the 3DS than the Vita. The development budget for the game is 196,000,000 yen (about 2 million bucks), and took a year and a half to produce. Furthermore he apparently said that they would stop Vita development and try to sell stuff on the PS4 instead (lol!).

So yeah, this factually totally disproves that their move to 3DS had anything to do with lower budgets or anything. At that sort of budget, as a publisher they would have to ship 60-100k just to break even on the title, depending on how much they sell per unit to retailers.

Such an odd development to actively try to publish a game geared towards an older audience, a segment predominantly present on the Vita platform, on 3DS. Who greenlight such a decision?

 

[Chris1964]

YSO predictions

Week 11, 2015 (Mar 9 - Mar 15)

[PS3] Yakuza 0 <170k
[PS4] Yakuza 0 <100k
[PSV] Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth <80k

 

[duckroll]

Ouch. That would put it as the lowest modern setting Yakuza game since the first two games. Except it won't have those legs. Just a little bit better than Ishin's opening. Maybe franchise fatigue is setting in for real now.

 

[Foshy]

Digimon under 100k? Aw. It looks incredibly good. I was hoping for it to be a bigger success.

 

[Nirolak]

Such an odd development to actively try to publish a game geared towards an older audience, a segment predominantly present on the Vita platform, on 3DS. Who greenlight such a decision?

When we get over 35 does that actually hold?

Like the Vita's audiences always struck me as more like a 12-25 type of thing.

In comparison to the 3DS having a large 6-11 audience, it's "older" in the sense that most people on it are likely teens and young adults who are notably enthusiast about games and this it's easier to make assumptions about potential audience size for that demographic, but when we start going up from there I'd suspect phones to be the primary platform and then places where we see games that directly target older people show up.

For example I'd consider Yakuza to be an older targeted game given it is about an older than normal (for Japan) protagonist and there is even a young girl as a daughter figure instead of a romantic or little sister one.

The entries where they seem to age down the characters (Black Panther, and now Yakuza Zero) don't seem to do as well.

Similarly last gen there were lots of games targeted at older audiences on the DS. For example, IIRC there was a game about stock trading that did very well. It's arguable they showed up on 3DS, but it's harder to pin down specific titles that would appeal to them, but not as much to a teenage audience to actually try and determine their size. Maybe that game show adaptation of the audience for game shows in Japan is anything like it is in the West.

 

[ZhugeEX]

Ouch. That would put it as the lowest modern setting Yakuza game since the first two games. Except it won't have those legs. Just a little bit better than Ishin's opening. Maybe franchise fatigue is setting in for real now.

Hasn't there been a Yakuza game pretty much every year now.

I'm not surprised to be honest but still disappointed in the sales. It's a shame that many Japanese game sequels have seen declining sales recently.

 

[sörine]

Maybe Yakuza declining will free up the team to make another Monkey Ball or racing game or something else? Outside Binary Domain they've really been relegated to being a Yakuza factory for awhile now.

 

[Nirolak]

Maybe Yakuza declining will free up the team to make another Monkey Ball or racing game or something else? Outside Binary Domain they've really been relegated to being a Yakuza factory for awhile now.

I think their goal is not to sell even worse....

 

[duckroll]

Maybe Yakuza declining will free up the team to make another Monkey Ball or racing game or something else? Outside Binary Domain they've really been relegated to being a Yakuza factory for awhile now.

http://ryu-ga-gotoku-studio.com/

Relegated? It's the name of their studio!

If Yakuza declines to a point where Sega no longer wants to make them, I don't think the team will be "freed up", the studio will just be closed and there'll be another round of heavy Sega layoffs.

 

[Pennywise83]

Pennywise83 are you reading this?

Yes, of course. This shows just how out of tough Imageepoch has always been. Investing so much in the 3DS remake / reboot whatever of an hentai game is just a stupid business decision. Also, I remember reading somewhere expectations of 50k units.

 

[sörine]

I think their goal is not to sell even worse....

Point taken but I believe the Monkeyball series has still overall outsold the Yakuza series. Thanks largely to the first two GC games though, which were million sellers worldwide.

 

[Nirolak]

http://ryu-ga-gotoku-studio.com/

Relegated? It's the name of their studio!

If Yakuza declines to a point where Sega no longer wants to make them, I don't think the team will be "freed up", the studio will just be closed and there'll be another round of heavy Sega layoffs.

It's not impossible they try to pivot them to mobile development like they did with some of their arcade staff, but yeah I don't think the options on the table really include new dedicated device development.

 

[duckroll]

It's not impossible they try to pivot them to mobile development like they did with some of their arcade staff, but yeah I don't think the options on the table really include new dedicated device development.

All of them? I can't see a scenario where the staff being moved to mobile doesn't result in a bunch of layoffs.

 

[Nirolak]

As an addendum to my previous comment about age ranges, I didn't realize it was a hentai game and was commenting more generally.

Not putting one of those on Vita seems like crazy town.

All of them? I can't see a scenario where the staff being moved to mobile doesn't result in a bunch of layoffs.

Oh, sorry, I meant only some like how arcades were a mix transfer and layoffs.

 

[sörine]

All of them? I can't see a scenario where the staff being moved to mobile doesn't result in a bunch of layoffs.

The team could be broken down again into smaller groups. IIRC it was originally composed of Nagoshi's AV racing team plus the non-sports Smilebit staff.

 

[Orniletter]

YSO predictions

Week 11, 2015 (Mar 9 - Mar 15)

[PS3] Yakuza 0 <170k
[PS4] Yakuza 0 <100k
[PSV] Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth <80k

Sub-80k doesn't sound particularly good for a relatively high-budget looking JRPG.

Anyone got the first week number for Digimon world Reigitize Decode on the 3DS to compare (or the original PSP game's fw numbers) ?

 

[duckroll]

The team could be broken down again into smaller groups. IIRC it was originally composed of Nagoshi's AV racing team plus the non-sports Smilebit staff.

It's not a "team" anymore so much as a full studio dedicated to making Yakuza brand titles. Sometimes they work on more than one title at a time, and they've been recruiting more staff over the years specifically for the purpose of making games like these. If the business no longer works, Sega is just going to go chop chop chop. They're not doing that great these days, and they won't be able to afford the upkeep.

 

[Aquamarine]

Sub-80k doesn't sound particularly good for a relatively high-budget looking JRPG.

Anyone got the first week number for Digimon world Reigitize Decode on the 3DS to compare (or the original PSP game's fw numbers) ?

37,125 (Digimon World Reigitize Decode)

80K would be a big jump from Digimon on the 3DS



The oringinal PSP game (Digimon World Reigitize) sold 73,468 first week. So 80K would be an improvement no matter how you look at it.

 

[duckroll]

The original Reigitize sold about the same level on PSP. 73k FW Famitsu, 85k FW Media Create. This sort of opening is definitely not bad for a portable JRPG. Could be better, but Digimon isn't really a huge game franchise. The best selling ones only sold 200-250k total iirc.

 

[Orniletter]

Ah, found the link to the database

04./00. [PSP] Digimon World Reigitize <RPG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.07.19} (¥5.230) - 85.817 / NEW

06./00. [3DS] Digimon World Reigitize Decode <RPG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.06.27} (¥5.480) - 34.350 / NEW

Edit:

37,125 (Digimon World Reigitize Decode)

80K would be a big jump from Digimon on the 3DS



The oringinal PSP game (Digimon World Reigitize) sold 73,468 first week. So 80K would be an improvement no matter how you look at it.

The original Reigitize sold about the same level on PSP. 73k FW Famitsu, 85k FW Media Create. This sort of opening is definitely not bad for a portable JRPG. Could be better, but Digimon isn't really a huge game franchise. The best selling ones only sold 200-250k iirc.

I should have been more patient. Thanks !

 

[sörine]

It's not a "team" anymore so much as a full studio dedicated to making Yakuza brand titles. Sometimes they work on more than one title at a time, and they've been recruiting more staff over the years specifically for the purpose of making games like these. If the business no longer works, Sega is just going to go chop chop chop. They're not doing that great these days, and they won't be able to afford the upkeep.

Right, it's a core production studio and probably the largest alongside Sonic Team. It just might help for them to diversify now rather than have everything hinge on annual console Yakuza games. That might be good advice for Sonic Team too given Sonic's recent trajectory.

I know Binary Domain didn't work out but I'd like to see them try again. And mobile development wouldn't be bad either, especially given the group's strong arcade heritage.

 

[Takao]

If Digimon is any good it'll likely have legs thanks to Adventure Tri.

As someone who thinks the game looks really nice, I certainly hope it does well.

Wasnt there some games that didnt work on Vita, but were still solded digitally? That was some years ago though, i dont know how the situation is today.

I don't think that's the case in Japan.

Are there anything new added to those games?

I wouldn't be the one to ask about that, sorry.

 

[Orniletter]

If Digimon is any good it'll likely have legs thanks to Adventure Tri.

As someone who thinks the game looks really nice, I certainly hope it does well.

Ah right, I forgot about the new anime.

I hope it does well too, it looks like a lot of effort went into it (and I like Media.Vision).

 

[Kresnik258]

Ah, found the link to the database

Also worth noting that this is the most recent "new" Digimon RPG before Cyber Sleuth:

232 PSP Digimon Adventure 45,438 / 80,833 Bandai Namco 2013-01-17

An 80k opening with potential for legs through the anime seems absolutely fine to me.

 

[Shikamaru Ninja]

Is Super Smash Bros. for Wii U hitting a million in Japan? Also, is there a good website that archives all the media-create Japanese sales in database form?

 

[Chris1964]

Hasn't there been a Yakuza game pretty much every year now.

[PS2] Yakuza <ADV> (Sega) {2005.12.08} (¥7.140)
[PS2] Yakuza 2 <ADV> (Sega) {2006.12.07} (¥7.140)
[PS3] Yakuza: Kenzan! # <ADV> (Sega) {2008.03.06} (¥7.980)
[PS3] Yakuza 3 # <ADV> (Sega) {2009.02.26} (¥7.980)
[PS3] Yakuza 4 <ADV> (Sega) {2010.03.18} (¥7.980)
[PSP] Black Panther: Yakuza New Chapter # <ADV> (Sega) {2010.09.22} (¥6.279)
[PS3] Yakuza: Dead Souls <ADV> (Sega) {2011.06.09} (¥7.980)
[PSP] Black Panther 2: Yakuza Ashura Chapter <ADV> (Sega) {2012.03.22} (¥6.279)
[PS3] Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition <Yakuza \ Yakuza 2> <ADV> (Sega) {2012.11.01} (¥5.229)
[PS3] Yakuza 5 # <ADV> (Sega) {2012.12.06} (¥8.800)
[WIU] Yakuza 1 & 2 HD for Wii U <Yakuza \ Yakuza 2> <ADV> (Sega) {2013.08.08} (¥5.229)
[PS4] Yakuza: Ishin! <ADV> (Sega) {2014.02.22} (¥8.600)
[PS3] Yakuza: Ishin! <ADV> (Sega) {2014.02.22} (¥8.600)
[PS4] Yakuza 0 <ADV> (Sega) {2015.03.12} (¥8.845)
[PS3] Yakuza 0 <ADV> (Sega) {2015.03.12} (¥8.845)

 

[Oregano]

Well trying to dig up more info about whether Imageepoch is actually dead (sure seems that way), I came across a pretty interesting old report: http://tinyurl.com/pbmvevg

This was way back from the end of 2013 before Toshin Toshi was released, and it summarizes info from a series of ghetto-tier PR streams the CEO of Imageepoch did on Nico to promote the pending release of the game.

He actually provides a bunch of information which shows in retrospect why they're in the hole they are now. This was back in Nov 2013 I believe, and he was already talking about developing Toshin Toshi, SoniPro, as well as a SRPG "similar to Luminous Arc" (probably Stella Glow). He also talks about why Toshin Toshi is on the 3DS rather than the Vita - because the game is intended for audiences above the age of 35, and he feels there are more of those on the 3DS than the Vita. The development budget for the game is 196,000,000 yen (about 2 million bucks), and took a year and a half to produce. Furthermore he apparently said that they would stop Vita development and try to sell stuff on the PS4 instead (lol!).

So yeah, this factually totally disproves that their move to 3DS had anything to do with lower budgets or anything. At that sort of budget, as a publisher they would have to ship 60-100k just to break even on the title, depending on how much they sell per unit to retailers.

Is the bolded that bad/surprising? We're talking pre-PS4 JP release when people had high hopes for it. It's magnified if that quote came after PS4 release in the west.

Considering the amount of stuff going Vita/PS4 multiplat I'm sure they're not the only publisher/develop who was thinking the same thing.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

Man, Yakuza bombing is sad

Sega is already aggressive with cutting down its development budget on consoles and with worse than expected result, they might have to take drastic measures. I am not a fan of the series but I would have loved to see them continuing with console development. Now even the odds of a localization are hard.

Digimon sales seem about right to me. Hopefully it will do well since it looks really good. We need it localized

Edit: I know these are predictions but these guys are usually spot-on with most of them... so....

 

[Eolz]

http://ryu-ga-gotoku-studio.com/

Relegated? It's the name of their studio!

Hey, their new project is on WiiU!

Spoiler

I still think it would have done "alright" in the west

Edit: Yeah, Smash WiiU is currently at 600k, I don't think it'll get to 1Million this year, even with a bundle.

 

[vinnygambini]

When we get over 35 does that actually hold?

Like the Vita's audiences always struck me as more like a 12-25 type of thing.

In comparison to the 3DS having a large 6-11 audience, it's "older" in the sense that most people on it are likely teens and young adults who are notably enthusiast about games and this it's easier to make assumptions about potential audience size for that demographic, but when we start going up from there I'd suspect phones to be the primary platform and then places where we see games that directly target older people show up.

For example I'd consider Yakuza to be an older targeted game given it is about an older than normal (for Japan) protagonist and there is even a young girl as a daughter figure instead of a romantic or little sister one.

The entries where they seem to age down the characters (Black Panther, and now Yakuza Zero) don't seem to do as well.

Similarly last gen there were lots of games targeted at older audiences on the DS. For example, IIRC there was a game about stock trading that did very well. It's arguable they showed up on 3DS, but it's harder to pin down specific titles that would appeal to them, but not as much to a teenage audience to actually try and determine their size. Maybe that game show adaptation of the audience for game shows in Japan is anything like it is in the West.

My opinion was based on the average Playstation user being 28 and over according to the below link:

http://kotaku.com/5350396/playstation-networks-typical-user-is-28-male-educated-moneyed

Furthermore, if I am to develop an eroge-esque game, my platform of choice would obviously be PC, however which console, or platform holder, could compliment my release? That would be Playstation (Vita in Japan) based on the above information.

In my view, the 3DS should be viewed as a platform where one is seeking a mainstream audience and eroge-esque games do not fit that criteria. Almost 1 in every 6 Japanese individual own a 3DS console, and among the best-selling titles, are multimedia franchises (Pokemon, Youkai Watch, Dragon Quest, Mario, etc.).

I'm going to have a much harder time convincing those users in purchasing my eroge-esque game as 1. I do not have the marketing dollars required, 2. no visibility and 3. the users are already pre-occupied on bigger properties, shifting their attention to me is no small task.

On the other hand, the Vita platform provides me with a much wider net where my title can thrive.

- Average user of 28 (My target audience are adults) - Check
- Higher digital adoption rate & visibility- Check
- Similar games achieving decent results - Check
- Predominantly male audience - Check
- Higher income - Check

I think it was a very poor business decision to transition from PSP/Vita to 3DS. I don't know if that answers your question or your point Niro though?

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Yakuza usually opens at 350k right. Thats a hefty drop. Is it possible that it being a prequel has meant lower fanfare?

 

[sörine]

Is Super Smash Bros. for Wii U hitting a million in Japan?

Maybe with a Family Bundle next holiday. Otherwise no I think.

 

[Kresnik258]

Yakuza usually opens at 350k right. Thats a hefty drop. Is it possible that it being a prequel has meant lower fanfare?

I'd guess so.

I kinda feel like they were treading water with this release to see what was happening with the PS4. Ishin made sense - they did a spin-off when PS3 launched as well - but I assumed they'd just continue on with the mainline series (so Yakuza 6 next) after that, but PS4 has gained very little traction since Ishin launched.

The PS3 is aging and there seems to be some decay in sales as a result, and they can't rely on PS4 picking up the slack yet, so they made a prequel for the time being.

 

[Nirolak]

My opinion was based on the average Playstation user being 28 and over according to the below link:

http://kotaku.com/5350396/playstation-networks-typical-user-is-28-male-educated-moneyed

Furthermore, if I am to develop an eroge-esque game, my platform of choice would obviously be PC, however which console, or platform holder, could compliment my release? That would be Playstation (Vita in Japan) based on the above information.

In my view, the 3DS should be viewed as a platform where one is seeking a mainstream audience and eroge-esque games do not fit that criteria. Almost 1 in every 6 Japanese individual own a 3DS console, and among the best-selling titles, are multimedia franchises (Pokemon, Youkai Watch, Dragon Quest, Mario, etc.).

I'm going to have a much harder time convincing those users in purchasing my eroge-esque game as 1. I do not have the marketing dollars required, 2. no visibility and 3. the users are already pre-occupied on bigger properties, shifting their attention to me is no small task.

On the other hand, the Vita platform provides me with a much wider net where my title can thrive.

- Average user of 28 (My target audience are adults) - Check
- Higher digital adoption rate & visibility- Check
- Similar games achieving decent results - Check
- Predominantly male audience - Check
- Higher income - Check

I think it was a very poor business decision to transition from PSP/Vita to 3DS. I don't know if that answers your question or your point Niro though?

Sorry, for the second part I made that comment when I didn't know that the game in question was eroge. I should have edited my first post instead of making that note in a second post.

For the demographics part though, my assessment was mostly based on Japan. In the West I feel the average age of a PlayStation gamer is much higher. Even just looking at what games cover thematically now, we've went from games about animals with attitudes and spiky haired teens saving the world having puppy dog romances to fathers, soldiers, guys who are getting married, guys who are having midlife crises, and revenge stories with anti-heroes which are all things that tend to play well to older demographics.

I do think the higher average income part holds true though in either though (at least in terms of disposable income they're willing o spend on games) since buying the device in the first place means you're buying something to play a few niche games in the first place.

I agree with you that ImageEpoch's decision here was very poor. I was just commenting on the age demographics question as a whole (for example, I suspect vastly more 50 year olds by percentage own smartphones but not Vitas) without actually considering the product. That was probably a poor choice, especially without clarifying what I was trying to say.

 

[GhostTrick]

Sorry, for the second part I made that comment when I didn't know that the game in question was eroge. I should have edited my first post instead of making that note in a second post.

For the demographics part though, my assessment was mostly based on Japan. In the West I feel the average age of a PlayStation gamer is much higher.

I do think the higher average income part holds true though in either though (at least in terms of disposable income they're willing o spend on games) since buying the device in the first place means you're buying something to play a few niche games in the first place.

I agree with you that ImageEpoch's decision here was very poor. I was just commenting on the age demographics question as a whole (for example, I suspect vastly more 50 year olds by percentage own smartphones but not Vitas) without actually considering the product. That was probably a poor choice, especially without clarifying what I was trying to say.

To be fair, the kind of release itself with such an high budget was a mistake, whatever the platform is. It's even worse when you choose the wrong platform.

 

[Nirolak]

To be fair, the kind of release itself with such an high budget was a mistake, whatever the platform is. It's even worse when you choose the wrong platform.

Yes, I think the product conceptualization as a whole was poor from top to bottom.

 

[Oregano]

Sorry, for the second part I made that comment when I didn't know that the game in question was eroge. I should have edited my first post instead of making that note in a second post.

For the demographics part though, my assessment was mostly based on Japan. In the West I feel the average age of a PlayStation gamer is much higher.

I do think the higher average income part holds true though in either though (at least in terms of disposable income they're willing o spend on games) since buying the device in the first place means you're buying something to play a few niche games in the first place.

I agree with you that ImageEpoch's decision here was very poor. I was just commenting on the age demographics question as a whole (for example, I suspect vastly more 50 year olds by percentage own smartphones but not Vitas) without actually considering the product. That was probably a poor choice, especially without clarifying what I was trying to say.

It is a remake of a game from 1994 though which might explain why they thought 3DS owners might be interested. Other publishers have had success targeting games at those audiences. Of course they tend not to be literally hentai games.

 

[ZhugeEX]

[PS2] Yakuza <ADV> (Sega) {2005.12.08} (¥7.140)
[PS2] Yakuza 2 <ADV> (Sega) {2006.12.07} (¥7.140)
[PS3] Yakuza: Kenzan! # <ADV> (Sega) {2008.03.06} (¥7.980)
[PS3] Yakuza 3 # <ADV> (Sega) {2009.02.26} (¥7.980)
[PS3] Yakuza 4 <ADV> (Sega) {2010.03.18} (¥7.980)
[PSP] Black Panther: Yakuza New Chapter # <ADV> (Sega) {2010.09.22} (¥6.279)
[PS3] Yakuza: Dead Souls <ADV> (Sega) {2011.06.09} (¥7.980)
[PSP] Black Panther 2: Yakuza Ashura Chapter <ADV> (Sega) {2012.03.22} (¥6.279)
[PS3] Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition <Yakuza \ Yakuza 2> <ADV> (Sega) {2012.11.01} (¥5.229)
[PS3] Yakuza 5 # <ADV> (Sega) {2012.12.06} (¥8.800)
[WIU] Yakuza 1 & 2 HD for Wii U <Yakuza \ Yakuza 2> <ADV> (Sega) {2013.08.08} (¥5.229)
[PS4] Yakuza: Ishin! <ADV> (Sega) {2014.02.22} (¥8.600)
[PS3] Yakuza: Ishin! <ADV> (Sega) {2014.02.22} (¥8.600)
[PS4] Yakuza 0 <ADV> (Sega) {2015.03.12} (¥8.845)
[PS3] Yakuza 0 <ADV> (Sega) {2015.03.12} (¥8.845)

Thanks for this.

So pretty much every year since the first game.

And PS3 fatigue and low PS4 install base isn't going to do much here for this next title.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Comgnet second week comparison:

One Piece Warriors - 152pt
Dragon Quest Heroes - 206pt


Comgnet used copies comparison (week after launch):

One Piece Warriors - 66pt
Dragon Quest Heroes - 12pt

 

[Moor-Angol]

Comgnet preorders

Yakuza 0
PS3 - 187pt
PS4 - 80


RE:Revelations 2
PS3 - 63pt
PS4 - 41pt



One Piece Musou 3
PS3 - 58pt
PSV - 26pt
PS4 - 24pt or less


comgnet is not accurate, blablaba, means nothing, blablabla, anyway seems like PS4 users don't like to make preorders in Niigata prefecture

or PS3 is still strong regarding multi titles






meanwhile DQH 2nd week :

Spoiler

PS3 160pt / PS4 46pt