Big in Japan July 30-August 5: Dragon Quest X
By
Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor
New Wii RPG debuts at number one; Wii sales experience surge.
Gamers familiar with game sales in Japan should be well aware of the high sales track record of the Dragon Quest series. The trend has continued with the release of Dragon Quest X for the Wii last week.
The RPG debuted in the top spot of the Media Creates sales chart for the week of July 30 to August 5 with 367,148 units sold. The sequel features five continents for players to explore and six playable races (human, ogre, elf, dwarf, puklipo, weddie) for players to experiment with. This game marks the first time the series has adopted the mass multiplayer online RPG genre, as players have to pay a set subscription fee after the initial 20 days of free online play.
Other debuts include All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 for the DS and the PSP. The DS version was at eighth place with 20,459 units sold, while the PSP version was at 14th place with 12,928 units sold. Both versions of the 2D side-scrolling action title are identical; players get to pick among a stable of past and present Kamen Rider superheroes to fight off enemies from past Kamen Rider episodes and universes.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 was at second place in the top 10 with 213,547 units sold. The game was recently praised for its controls and layers of secrets within its design, but was panned for its frustrating co-op and nostalgic retreads for its levels. For more information, check out GameSpot's review.
Atlus' and Arc System Works' recent fighting game stood strong amidst the new releases. The PS3 version of Persona 4 Arena was at seventh place with 20,477 units sold. The game was recently praised for its fighting mechanics and visuals, but was criticized for its dry narrative presentation. Check out GameSpot's review for more information.
In terms of hardware sales, the Wii received a considerable spike in sales due to the release of Dragon Quest X. Sales for the system went up to 41,415 units. Otherwise, the 3DS still had the lead; the XL version was at 82,251 units while the regular version was at 42,164, which added up to 124,415 in total.
Top Japan Game Sales Of July 30 – August 5
Software
Rank / Title / Publisher / Console / Sales Units
1. Dragon Quest X / Square Enix / Wii / 367,148
2. New Super Mario Bros. 2 / Nintendo / 3DS / 213,547
3. Pokemon Black 2, Pokemon White 2 / Nintendo, Pokemon Company/ DS / 66,758
4. Brain Age 3DS / Nintendo / 3DS / 31,792
5. Just Dance Wii 2 / Nintendo / Wii / 29,602
6. Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition / Nintendo / Wii / 21,001
7. Persona 4 Arena / Atlus / PS3 / 20,477
8. All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 / Namco Bandai / DS / 20,459
9. Digimon World Re: Digitize / Namco Bandai / PSP / 17,508
10. Wii Sports Resort / Nintendo / Wii / 15,706
Hardware
3DS XL – 82,251
3DS – 42,164
Wii – 41,415
PS3 – 13,944
PSP – 11,824
PS Vita – 9,038
PS2 – 1,154
Xbox 360 – 981
DSi – 637
DSi XL - 405
By
Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor
Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.
54 comments
I think it was a mistake releasing an MMO on the Wii. I know Wii had the sales but it has the weakest online out of the big 3. This game probably would have done better if it was released on the Xbox 360.... They really should have just put this game on PS3 since it's an MMO. Making it exclusive to wii is dumb IMO. If it was just an RPG then it would have sold tons more. What was SE thinking?
Alphaville's song should automatically play in the background whenever the "Big in Japan" webpage opens ^_^
A very understandable and deserved spike in sales, but the chagrin of a company whose consoles have a track record of omitting very badly needed features such as wi fi coop.
1 Like Even if i am one of the early hardcore nintendo fanboys it really makes me sad tha vita isn't going that well. it is a great system. But i am real happy that 8/10 spots are for ninty's systems.
its sort of a bad sign when Japanese developers dont want to push the big bucks to make current gen games(which are usually more expensive to make than a wii,3ds or psp game would be which is why more games are being made on those systems) and sort of want to stay safely last gen in their way of producing games. With the WiiU we may see more Japanese games with more modern graphics and gameplay since Xbox 360 sells like shit in Japan.
4 Like fuck you square , Why cant ps3 get new DQ games..... ps3 has nothing but crap for rpgs these days
@tsunami2311 No joke. Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, Persona, and those frickin' third party Wii exclusive RPGs like Xenoblade. C'mon man.
2 Like Didn't DQs 8 and 9 sell well over two million copies each the first weekend they were on sale?
Squenix drop the ball yet again.
2 Like Sold really really bad comparing to the DQ9. I hope this is the first and last DQ MMO.
I gonna be sincere, Internet is ruining the games, this ridiculous mania, of multiplayer, F2P, DRM and DLC are ruing everything that is good about games, right now Square-Enix just ruined Dragon Quest, the only hope for classic RPG game, just hope Namco-Bandai don't do the same thing and crush the Tales series.
1 Like @Sohereiam its not the internet its companies greed thats messing things up. F2P,DLCand multiplayer can be used for good or evil. Too bad most companies now a days consider Evil the way to go for profits sake. ....Though DRM is never good..Ive yet to see it be good...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the subscription planned for Japan only? I thought I read somewhere that it would be free (outside of DLC and the game itself) when it was released in the West.
3 Like Another Dragon Quest for the Wii would be awesome!
...if it wasn't mass multiplayer online RPG...
8 Like Was drooling until I saw the subscription-mmo-bullcrap. Another great singleplayer RPG ruined.
1 Like Sony needs to drop the price on the Vita and the memory cards... At this rate it is going to fail.
Not sure if I'm interested or not... It'd be nice if they localized it, but as for now, I hope that Time Travelers and Bravely Default get localized.
@MamaLukuBuku the japanese will not buy anything american. unfair trade ever since we ben doing it with them
4 Like @juboner Lol what are you talking about? Go look up GM car sales in Asian countries then proceed to insert foot in mouth.
@MamaLukuBuku lol go look up japan not asian countries, japan is alot different than asian countries
I dunno if I'm interested in DQX yet... the concept intrigues me, as I love WKC, MH among other kill-things-a-million-times-with-friends games, but the subscription fee throws me. I'm far from done with the current gen, so I can't see myself getting a Wii U for quite some time, if ever, so this may very well keep my Wii going longer than anticipated.
That said, really enjoying my recent purchase of a 3DS. Was on the fence, but wouldn't have paid more than I did for it ($120) and not without getting a few games free (OoT 3D, SM3DL) out of the starting gate. Its way overpriced for what it is, but a good handheld all the same.
1 Like should've made dragon quest x a wii u exclusive, that'd boost the sales of the new console much more than when everyone has already played the game on the wii
2 Like Twilight Princess still sold better on the Wii, and it was on both the Gamecube and the Wii!! Besides if they cancelled the Wii version of Dragon Quest X, the back lash would have been HUGE. Given the hype and amount of people who would've invested in a Wii just to play that title.
@robertwarnes91 that's not what i meant. what i wanted to say is they could've announced it for wii u only from the very beginning. in that case, there would be no cancellation, and people's attention would be drawn to the new console because only on wii u you'd be able to play the game so highly anticipated by everyone. of course there was no wii u at the time the game was announced, so that wouldn't be possible
DragonQuest 8 is my fav game OF ALL TIME... 9 was pretty good, but 10...Oh my God, I want it so bad..
@BillyColeman I maintain that that is one of the best jRPG franchises ever. I've never been so immersed nor found a game in the genre that I felt was more realistic. It's a bit of alchemy.
@hippiesanta That's what Playstation fans have been saying for a long time only without a hint of surprise.
2 Like @hippiesanta in japan yes is that a shock too you????? jeez were have you been under a rock???????
2 Like Surely every single person and their pet in Japan must own a Wii by now. Who's still buying them?!
@Diamondsoulz LOL...I have owned 3 wii. They all end up colling dust and then I sell it, just to buy another one a year after when another game is actually interesting. I'm heading for a 4th Wii, I miss Super Mario Bros. There are so many trashy games on the Wii, not to mention the graphics are mostly FUGLY and the content for kids. Motion control does suck. But alas, I'm hooked on Mario and Dragon Quest. North America only gets the crappy games.
2 Like Just for some perspective regarding the 1st week 367,000 sales of Dragon Quest X, lets compare how many sales Dragon Quest IX made, it was 2.3 million in its 1st week. So DQX is a huge flop in comparison. Making it an MMO was the exact wrong move.
@Banefire76 Well it probably won't flop financially I just disagree with the pay to play model... Subscriptions will hurt gaming if they start branching out into different genres.
I would hardly call it a flop since it selling better than Skyward Sword did on the Wii in Japan. Plus don't forget the DS has FAR bigger userbase than the Wii in Japan. Besides what's wrong with a making it an MMO? Dragon Quest 9 was built around group play and networking.
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