Japan: more sales data for Week 31, July 2017; Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 (Media Create, Dengeki, Famitsu)

Week 31 (Media Create)

Today, Media Create published their weekly report on video game sales in Japan during Week 31, 2017. It reveals that total Software sales topped 900 000 units, which is 36.57% of Week 30 sales. As you can imagine, this massive drop is due to the release of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age the previous week, and more precisely the usual second week drop that followed.

Hardware sales also took a hit: they amount to only 54.17% of Week 30 sales, with 180 000 units sold across all platforms. That being said, Media Create believe they’re at a high level for the year, and at an adequate for a strong shopping season (Summer).

Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2: Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Kakugo was one of the entries this week, and it sold about 70 000 units. If you take the bundle into account, it sold a little less than 60% of what the original sold at kaunch, back in July 2015 (136 000 units sold). It’s clearly not that game that was going to kick both versions of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age down the top two spots.

The Nintendo 3DS version sold about 308 000 units, and the PlayStation 4 about 201 000 units. Media Create expects sales of the Nintendo 3DS to increase noticeably in the upcoming weeks, especially from casual players buying the game during Obon. This comes as no surprise, since Nintendo 3DS is the most mainstream platform of the two.

Source: Media Create

Week 31, 2017, July 2017 (Dengeki)

During its second week, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age sold about 500 000 units (303 000 units for the Nintendo 3DS version, and 198 000 units for the PlayStation 4 version). This brings the total since launch to 2 581 000 units (1 438 000 units for the Nintendo 3DS version, and 1 143 000 units for the PlayStation 4 version, the first game on the platform to sell over 1 million units).

 

As for Splatoon 2, it sold 72 000 units during its third week, bringing the total since launch to over 834 000 units.

Dengeki report that Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2: Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Kakugo sold about 68 000 units during the first three days. That’s only 55% of all units shipped to retailers for launch, which is pretty bad news for Capcom. Adventure games aren’t really known for selling in the long term, and the second week drop is usually pretty sharp.

Therefore, unless word of mouth helps alleviate that drop, retailers are going to have trouble selling the remaining units without resorting to price drops.

It’s certainly intriguing that Capcom went and convinced retailers to ship that many units, what with the first entry underperforming. But looking at numbers closely, we can see that Capcom may have simply (but wrongly) assumed that people who bought Dai Gyakuten Saiban: Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Bouken at launch would be back for the sequel.

If the sell-through ratio is 55%, that means Capcom shipped about 130 000 units for launch, which is almost the same as sales of the original during the first 4 days (about 139 000 units). Unfortunately, it looks like they overestimated the number of players interested in the sequel, as many of them were seemingly soured by the ending of the original (that left so many questions unanswered).

But even if the ending of the original had been well received, it doesn’t change the fact that direct sequel almost always sell worse than their predecessor (though that applies to LTD sales, not first-week sales which can often be stronger due to sales being more frontloaded).The problem is that Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2: Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Kakugo is unlikely to sell much more than its first week shipment…

This week, Dengeki also share data for July 2017 (July 3rd to July 30th), with the following Hardware and Software data:

• Hardware: 700 000 units (+166.9% compared to July 2016) / 17.8 billion Yen (+159.2% YoY)
• Software: 4.17 million units (+94.7%) / 27.6 billion Yen (+139% YoY)
• Total: 45.4 billion Yen (+146.5%), the first time in seven years sales went over 40 billion Yen in July.

The Nintendo 3DS saw its sales increased by 160.2%, boosted by the New Nintendo 2DS XL, and more precisely the Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age bundle. The Nintendo Switch also saw an increase in sales, due to bigger shipments, and sold 240 000 units.

Nintendo 3DS Software sales increased by 23.2% thanks to Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. With the help of Splatoon 2, Nintendo Switch software sales topped 910 000 units, which shows that players didn’t buy all that many games besides the popular shooter.

As for the Summer period as a whole (July to August), things are starting to look good. While the whole market was down Year on Year at the end of June, things turned around in July, and growth is finally back. The question now is whether the upward trend will continue throughout August, and if the momentum will be kept even beyond that month.

Next, here’s Software sales for each platform:

Platforms	This week	This week (%)	Fiscal Year	Fiscal Year (%)
PS4	278,822	31.9％	2,855,528	30.0％
PS3	2,990	0.3％	58,338	0.6％
Vita	21,476	2.5％	561,648	5.9％
Switch	99,065	11.3％	2,157,512	22.7％
Wii U	5,825	0.7％	151,406	1.6％
3DS	464,874	53.2％	3,725,641	39.2％
X One	118	0.0％	6,025	0.1％
Total	873,170	100.0％	9,516,098	100.0％

And here’s Hardware sales:

Platforms	This week	This week (%)	Fiscal Year	Fiscal Year (%)
PS4	52,574	29.2％	510,022	26.0％
PS3	111	0.1％	5,938	0.3％
Vita	4,585	2.5％	89,436	4.6％
Switch	57,300	31.8％	773,900	39.4％
Wii U	142	0.1％	3,265	0.2％
3DS	25,701	14.3％	315,225	16.1％
2DS	39,637	22.0％	263,757	13.4％
X One	105	0.1％	1,605	0.1％
Total	180,155	100.0％	1,963,148	100.0％

And finally, here’s the Top 50 Software:

01./01. [3DS] Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Square Enix) {2017.07.29} – 302,800 / 1,437,676
02./02. [PS4] Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Square Enix) {2017.07.29} – 197,675 / 1,143,182
03./03. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Nintendo) {2017.07.21} – 72,308 / 834,003
04./00. [3DS] Great Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2 – Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Kakugo (Capcom) {2017.08.03} – 59,728 / NEW
05./00. [PS4] Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.08.03} – 21,341 / NEW
06./04. [3DS] Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy (Level 5) {2017.07.20} – 11,525 / 107,823
07./06. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} – 10,435 / 660,725
08./05. [3DS] Hey! Pikmin (Nintendo) {2017.07.13} – 10,039 / 114,871
09./00. [3DS] Great Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 1 & 2 Special Edition (Capcom) {2017.08.03} – 8,728 / NEW
10./08. [3DS] Sumikko Gurashi: Koko, Dokonan Desu? (Nippon Columbia) {2017.07.20} – 4,644 / 31,397
11./12. [NSW] ARMS (Nintendo) {2017.06.16} – 4,500 / 196,681
12./07. [PS4] Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (Square Enix) {2017.07.13} – 4,369 / 130,325
13./13. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} – 4,011 / 527,559
14./20. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo (Nintendo) {2016.11.23} – 3,811 / 194,446
15./15. [PS4] Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix) {2016.11.29} – 3,472 / 986,306
16./21. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.04.27} – 2,783 / 183,791
17./26. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo) {2016.12.01} – 2,733 / 1,087,939
18./19. [PSV] Minecraft: Playstation Vita Edition (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2015.03.19} – 2,650 / 1,117,451
19./10. [PS4] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.07.27} – 2,594 / 8,329
20./25. [PS4] Minecraft: Playstation 4 Edition (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2015.12.03} – 2,533 / 233,248
21./28. [3DS] Monster Hunter Double Cross (Capcom) {2017.03.18} – 2,394 / 1,629,810
22./17. [PS4] Gundam Versus (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.07.06} – 2,261 / 150,845
23./34. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} – 2,250 / 2,655,861
24./31. [NSW] 1-2-Switch (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} – 2,233 / 254,237
25./24. [3DS] Pokemon Sun (Pokemon Co.) {2016.11.18} – 2,200 / 1,723,395
26./29. [PS4] NieR Automata (Square Enix) {2017.02.23} – 2,172 / 343,971
27./32. [3DS] Pokemon Moon (Pokemon Co.) {2016.11.18} – 2,167 / 1,579,727
28./30. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2015.10.08} – 2,061 / 296,993
29./33. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki (Level 5) {2016.12.15} – 1,933 / 780,009
30./14. [PS4] Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.07.27} – 1,733 / 6,444
31./42. [PS4] Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft) {2015.12.10} – 1,661 / 221,121
32./40. [3DS] Mario Sports Superstars (Nintendo) {2017.03.30} – 1,611 / 114,538
33./27. [3DS] Ever Oasis (Nintendo) {2017.07.13} – 1,567 / 25,017
34./59. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 (Square Enix) {2016.03.24} – 1,539 / 677,552
35./36. [PS4] Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Game of the Year Edition (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.06.29} – 1,500 / 13,768
36./46. [3DS] Kirby: Planet Robobot (Nintendo) {2016.04.28} – 1,439 / 538,571
37./39. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 + II.5 ReMIX (Square Enix) {2017.03.09} – 1,378 / 119,389
38./38. [3DS] Pro Baseball Famista Climax (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.04.20} – 1,378 / 92,523
39./23. [PS4] DiRT 4 (Ubisoft) {2017.07.27} – 1,350 / 4,197
40./41. [WIU] Minecraft: Wii U Edition (Microsoft Game Studios) {2016.06.23} – 1,339 / 322,312
41./09. [PSV] Kenka Bancho Otome: Kanzenmuketsu no My Honey (Spike Chunsoft) {2017.07.27} – 1,308 / 8,070
42./48. [3DS] Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo) {2014.09.13} – 1,300 / 2,431,486
43./43. [3DS] 100% Pascal Sensei: Kanpeki Paint Bombers (Konami) {2017.07.13} – 1,156 / 10,559
44./47. [3DS] Miitopia (Nintendo) {2016.12.08} – 1,089 / 229,360
45./49. [3DS] Tomodachi Life [Nintendo Selects] (Nintendo) {2016.03.17} – 1,083 / 113,058
46./51. [WIU] Splatoon (Nintendo) {2015.05.28} – 1,044 / 1,526,739
47./56. [3DS] Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World (Nintendo) {2017.01.19} – 1,022 / 136,680
48./37. [NSW] Cars 3: Driven to Win (Warner Entertainment Japan) {2017.07.20} – 956 / 6,163
49./35. [NSW] Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star (Marvelous) {2017.07.20} – 933 / 11,560
50./54. [3DS] Cube Creator DX (Arc System Works) {2017.04.27} – 933 / 27,545

Source: Dengeki
Top 50 data compiled by: ZSaberLink

July 2017 (June 26th to July 30, Famitsu)

To the surprise of absolutely no one, both versions of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age can be found at the #1 and #2 of the Software Top 5 for July 2017, and that’s with just 2 days of sales! As detailed in this post, the Nintendo 3DS sold the most, but the difference between the two isn’t as big as you would have expected back when the game was announced, in 2015.

Splatoon 2 has to do with #3, which is still a fantastic debut (though it’s clear it was and is still being held back by Nintendo Switch shortages). It’s guaranteed to be in the Top 5 Software for August… in fact, the Top 3 Software is quite likely going to be exactly the same!

01./00. [3DS] Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2017.07.29} (¥5.980) – 1.130.468 / NEW
02./00. [PS4] Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2017.07.29} (¥8.980) – 950.338 / NEW
03./00. [NSW] Splatoon 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.07.21} (¥5.980) – 800.394 / NEW
04./00. [PS4] Gundam Versus # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.07.06} (¥8.200) – 145.161 / NEW
05./00. [PS4] Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age <RPG> (Square Enix) {2017.07.13} (¥6.800) – 124.874 / NEW

This time around, it’s the PlayStation 4 that managed to grab the most spots in the Top 5, with the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch having to do with only one each.

1. PS4 – 3
2. 3DS – 1
3. NSW – 1

Thanks to Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, Square-Enix was the most successful publisher by far, with that game making for more than half its total sales in July. As for Nintendo, it was #2 with over 1 million units sold, and most of those coming from Splatoon 2.

1. Square Enix – 2.270.000 / 3.540.000
2. Nintendo – 1.187.000 / 4.843.000
3. Bandai Namco Games – 215.000 / 1.375.000

Hardware-wise, the Nintendo Switch is back at the top thanks to much bigger shipments for Splatoon 2 and the week that followed. As for the Nintendo 3DS, it was the second best-selling console, in great part thanks to Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age New Nintendo 2DS XL. In fact, without the Nintendo 2DS range, the Nintendo 3DS wouldn’t have sold 100 000 units… Finally, the Wii U didn’t even reach 1 000 units.

Source: Famitsu
Data compiled by: Chris1964 (NeoGAF)

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