Comments on: This Week In Sales: Japan Invaded By Heavy Rains And Resident Evils

By: cowcow

cowcow — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:52:51 +0000

This year its all about Fist of the North Star and Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll.
Those are two DW type games by Koei that actually has newer gameplay elements

By: cowcow

cowcow — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:52:51 +0000

This year its all about Fist of the North Star and Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll.
Those are two DW type games by Koei that actually has newer gameplay elements

By: thebanditking

thebanditking — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:50:35 +0000

Im glad to see Star Ocean 4 selling well after such a slow start, hopefully it will be a slow burner. Sadly I don't see End of Eternity on here….rather impressive debut for RE5, especially with it being an older title and one that can likely be found very cheap for the non Alternative Ed. Im also glad to see Heavy Rain show up, hopefully the game can become a cult classic over there, its good to see Japanese gamers branching out a bit.

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:02:44 +0000

yeah, I've heard both ways, it happened to some people but not others, wonder if it has to do w/ which model of PS3 one plays the game on like Slim or Phat. I think I would do the same thing as you and play it non-stop once I get my copy. I wonder if the DLC eps they roll out later would be compatible for both the US/Jpn ver, probably not… buying them on Jpn PSN would cost an arm and a leg…

By: Hraesvelgr

Hraesvelgr — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:53:58 +0000

From what I played of Heavy Rain (finished it once so far), it never froze for me. The game doesn't list your playtime, but it took me about three days of playing to finish it and I never ran into any bugs.

By: Ishaan

Ishaan — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:41:49 +0000

It's a port of a PC game from 2006. :P

By: NickyD

NickyD — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:37:51 +0000

I'm kind of surprised at the poor DW: Online performance. Don't those titles usually sell pretty well over there? I might not be knowledgeable about what makes DW:O so appealing or unappealing, though.

By: Ishaan

Ishaan — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:29:51 +0000

Thanks Ereek. :)

This is pretty anecdotal, but at least one retailer in Japan has pointed out that, right out the door, DQVI was selling primarily to older folks due to the nostalgia factor and that, over time, sustained sales would come from the younger crowd.

I believe BbS sold more than 358/2 due to it being marketed as a game that tied into the main story. Remember, the teaser trailer for BbS in Final Mix 2 was what people originally thought was Kingdom Hearts 3. I believe that perception never really went away, as was the intention all along. Yea, it'll be interesting to see how it does in the U.S., given the PSP's situation...

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:23:54 +0000

Heavy Rain is getting some good buzz in Jpn, I'm dying to rec. my copy from P-A...I hope the freezing problem isn't as bad as everyone said, or they would put out a patch soon.

Other than Phoenix Wright and puzzle games like Prof Layton where you play in short burst, I can't bring myself to play portables anymore, like during bus commute I would play 10 mins and fall asleep. BBS was pretty fun, but I really don't feel like playing it on a small screen. If I'm at home, I either want to play games on the big TV or read a book on the couch.

Pretty amazing RE5 Gold/Alternate is selling so well, are those extra contents sold as DLCs in Jpn? I'm wondering if I should just get the 2 extra episodes or the whole game again w/ the costumes, I don't really play the online modes..

By: Ereek

Ereek — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:59:10 +0000

Interesting that SO4:I is still doing so well. Perhaps it is something of a slow burner in Japan? Even more amazing is how many copies DQVI has sold, and is still selling. I suppose that's to be expected though.

Also, BbS selling more than Days is a bit surprising to me. In North America it will probably be opposite because of the PSP's decreasing popularity.

I really like these weekly sales articles.