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Famitsu have published a list showing the five best-selling PS3 games of all time in Japan. With exact sales figures and everything. And - no shock here - Metal Gear Solid 4 tops the list.
Today, Famitsu publisher Enterbrain announced that Nintendo has sold 7 million Wii in the period starting with its December 2, 2006 launch and ending November 23, 2008.
Oh dear. Famitsu publisher (and industry analysts) Enterbrain have published their Japanese figures for the month of October, and it's not pretty reading. Compared to October 2007, software sales are down 14.9%. Hardware sales are even worse, down an impressive 29.1%. Overall, this means the market is down 21.6%. That's...that's really sad reading. Only bright side is if you're a Microsoft Japan employee, as for the month, the 360 outsold the PS3, 27,000 to 22,000. Crazy days.
One of the most feel-good stories of the year has got to be the unholy alliance between NPD/GfK/Enterbrain, that lets us see - every three months, at least - what the biggest-selling games are not in the US, Europe or Japan, but in the world. Last time we checked, the best-seller was GTA IV. This time around, for the quarter running from July-September? It's Madden. Madden, followed by daylight.
Yes! Let's! A report issued by Famitsu publishers and all-round industry analyst types Enterbrain has given us the lifetime sales figures for the current generation of Japanese consoles. Handhelds, too. And, just for good measure, the PS2. They serve to put a few recent trends into perspective. For one, the 360 - which is the fastest-growing console in the country, with sales up 157% in recent months - has still been outsold by the PS3 3:1. And for all the PSP's recent chart domination, the DS is still kicking its arse. And that's not even counting DS Phat sales.
It's about time!
The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Limited and Enterbrain have joined forces to release the Top Global Markets Report, the first report to combine point-of-sales data for video game sales in the world's largest games markets, aka the U.S., U.K. and Japan.
The soon to be monthly report will give a break down of the top titles by country and worldwide.
"The video games business has become increasingly global, with the majority of the publishers releasing games in multiple markets," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "The U.S, as the world's largest market will be able to view and compare sales for the first time outside of their own market."
It's kind cool to check this stuff out. For instance Grand Theft Auto IV is the top selling game in the world despite not being on sale in Japan. Of course Super Smash Bros. Brawl is in a close second without having to bother selling on two consoles. And Wii Fit? That depresses me.
While it's enjoyed various ups and downs in the West, in Japan, the PSP has been emerging as something of a colossal hit. Over the first six months of 2008 it's been the best-selling console in Japan, and Sony have now announced that (based on Enterbrain figures), since the unit's launch in Japan in 2004, over ten million PSPs have been sold in the country. To anyone getting visions of a tortoise and a hare, it's OK, you're not alone.
Earlier this week, according to Bloomberg, Enterbrain president Hirokazu Hamamura predicted a new DS would be unveiled at E3. You'd think he'd be the kind of guy - what with his company publishing Famitsu and all - to get that sort of thing right. But Nintendo quickly came out and, rather than say "no comment", went so far as to say "no dice". Now, Enterbrain themselves have felt the need to issue a statement, denying that Hamamura predicted any such thing.
He did not...make a comment about the possibility of an announcement by Nintendo concerning a new model or successor to the Nintendo DS due to its current scarce product availability caused by its worldwide popularity.Maybe they're right, maybe Bloomberg are right, but either way, who am I to stand in the way of a good old-fashioned corporate back-tracking expedition? Full statement's after the jump if you're interested.
Famitsu publisher Enterbrain is not encouraged by the Japanese console market. In fact, they've predicted that game console and software sales will peak this year with spending of 710.4 billion yen and drop to 671.1 billion yen by 2010. More from Japan Today:
According to Bloomberg Japan, Enterbrain (Famitsu's parent company) honcho Hirokazu Hamamura has said that Nintendo might unveil a new DS model at E3 2008. While Ash is asleep and our Google Translate only takes us so far, there doesn't appear to be any other information of note other than Nintendo declining to comment on the rumour.
