Halo 3‘s reign in Japan is over. Last time we got numbers from Media Create, Bungie and Microsoft topped the charts, pushing nearly 60,000 copies of the 360 exclusive during it’s debut week. This week? Halo 3 doesn’t appear in the top thirty. How quickly they turn on you. Perhaps sensing a great disturbance in the buying trends of the Japanese, the nation’s gamers respond. Dragon Ball, Gundam, Pokémon, Final Fantasy and Tamagotchi rule the top ten, with Mistwalker’s ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat making a respectable, if unspectacular, debut.
Here are the best selling titles in Japan for the week of October 1-7. More after the top ten.
01. Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor (PS2) Р204,000 / NEW 02. Gundam Battle Chronicle (PSP) Р86,000 / NEW 03. ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat (DS) Р50,000 / NEW 04. Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor (Wii) Р40,000 / NEW 05. Jikkyou Powerful Major League 2 (PS2) Р35,000 / NEW 06. Pok̩mon Mysterious Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (DS) Р34,000 / 475,000 07. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) Р30,000 / 680,000 08. Pok̩mon Mysterious Dungeon: Shadow Expedition Party (DS) Р29,000 / 418,000 09. KanKen DS 2 + Jouyou Kanji Jiten (DS) Р23,000 / 51,000 10. Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi: Mina San Kyu (DS) Р20,000 / 74,000
Marvellous have gone and announced another Harvest Moon game (and no, it’s not the “online game” series boss Yasuhiro Wada has spoken of previously). Just in case Harvest Moon fans were feeling a little left out in the cold. Harvest Moon: Sun and Friends is for the DS, and features some Sunflower Islands, wild animals that help you out on the farm and the ability to trade items (sadly not wives) over wi-fi. Oh, it’s got voice-chat too, so anyone looking to save a buck or two on international calls, you have been advised.
Sometime between the time I woke up and wrote this, the postman brought two complimentary Wii-mote Jackets. While North America won’t see the Jackets until October 15th (or thereafter), Japan’s already getting them. Nintendo’s shipping them from Kyoto, so it might take a day or two to filter through the entire country. Besides the actual Jackets, the package includes instructions how to use the Wii-mote Jacket and reminders to hold the Wii-mote snug. As we previously reported, the Wii Remote Jackets provides “cushioning for the Wii Remote for people who might accidentally throw or drop their Wii Remotes while playing games.” So how’s it feel?
Great, actually. Really great. When the Jacket was first announced, I didn’t really think of it one way or the other. Probably because I wasn’t expecting something this nice for free. Two pluses: 1). The cushiony plastic feels durable, yet strong and ergonomic. The Wii-mote is actually easier to hold while wearing the Jacket. 2). Even after playing Wii Sports for twenty minutes, there was less slippage foreshadowing. Granted, you’ll still need to hold on tight, but the shiny Wii Remote gets less clammy. This doesn’t mean you won’t have to wipe your hand while playing. You will. Still, even if, say, Nintendo spend millions sending these out and released it as an actual project, I would totally purchase one. Two, even.
Something that most might have missed in yesterday’s Nintendo Fall Conference: Data about male and female users. Since the DS launched, Nintendo has been all about expanding the user base to those not traditionally (stereotypically?) considered gamers like females and old people. Sure, there have been females playing videos games for donkey’s yonks, so that in itself is no biggie. But, according to Nintendo’s data, the percentage of females now playing its consoles is. In Japan, the DS has a 53 percent female user base, while the Wii has a 51 percent user base. You do the math! In the future, don’t be surprised if Nintendo talks about expanding its user base — to males.
Females High Percent [Infendo]
Every game has a story. Not just it’s own story, the story behind the game. How it was made. Trials, tribulations, agony, ecstacy, that kind of thing. The PlayStation Blog has a post up by Sony game-hunter Rusty “Best Name In Gaming” Buchert, detailing just how it was he came across Everyday Shooter, why it blew his socks two days into the future and back again and why you’ll all be able to play it VERY SOON for $10. Who thought a downloadable game would hijack a lot of press. It’s nice to know that people do want to know about indie games from the hardcore to casual player. This is where we’re going to find the future of the game industry.
Good reading!
From IGF to PS3: Everyday Shooter’s Backstory [PlayStation.Blog]
So the DS prints money. The Wii, it beams money. Which means the Wii Ware service, where cheap, downloadable titles can be developed with little manufacturing costs to capitalise on an already burgeoning installed base will… look, it’ll make a fuckton of cash. Developers and publishers know this, from wee indie coders all the way up to Squeenix, and they’ve been banging on Nintendo’s door to get games on the service. Satoru Iwata: We’ve already received proposals for over 100 titles from software development companies. We’ve made a platform for developing software at low cost, and would like to offer a new business chance based around a battle of ideas.
Low costs and high returns? Savvy business model you got there, Nintendo.
If you can get past the extraordinarily bad pun in the headline, Microsoft has sent word that PGR4 – bless its racing stripes – is now out and about for the Xbox 360.
With some 120 vehicles, including motorcycles from BMW and Honda, there’s plenty to keep you busy, especially when you throw in the multiplayer potential. Just fork over the $99.95 asking price and Bizarre Creations’ racer can be yours. Oh, you’ll need to wash, dress and leave the house, too.
Project Gotham Racing 4 [Official AU site]
You know, there are people who will see this and just freeze. Maybe drool a little, maybe grin toothlessly, maybe even drop to their knees and thank the appropriate deity. I mean, recreating an avatar of yourself that can walk freely amongst a paddock full of Pokemon? You can say what you want about the shitty graphics, the limited “gameplay” (if there even is any), the endless trips Nintendo make to the Pokemon well…and none of it will matter. This thing is going to sell like cakes that have been heated until they’re just right.
With the US press release out on Activision Value’s attempt at a third instalment to Raven’s gory FPS series, I wasn’t at all shocked when the localised version found its way to me.
There’s been a geysering artery’s worth of info in the last week or so (and beyond) regarding the shooter, so I almost didn’t read the release.
But I’m glad I did. Check out this cheeky gem:
Soldier of Fortune Payback will be available for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and the PC. The game is scheduled for release in early 2008.
What? 2008? Looks like Activision told a bit of a fib at Activate Asia. Reading the latest from the US on the game, it seems it’s still set for November over there. So, is this just another thing we’ll be missing out on because we’re Australian? Please, for the love of all things holy, stop piling it on!
PS. We did get one thing over the States – RRPs. $80 for the Xbox 360, $90 for the PS3 and paltry $50 on PC. When did PC games get so cheap?
You can read the full release after the jump.
Wired went and found out what the deal was with Nintendo’s “new” Wii. You can return to normal breathing patterns, fanboys, the only thing that’s different between the new and the old box is that the “new” one comes with the Wii Remote safety jacket. Which for some reason I just cannot look at without thinking of Jim Brown’s rad Egyptian headdress in Mars Attacks.
What is Wii Play ‘n Learn? The Boring Answer [Game|Life]
