Media Create Sales: Week 6, 2020 (Feb 03 - Feb 09)

[Kcannon]

Eh... not so sure about that when you remember Star Fox, Metroid, Advance Wars, F-Zero, Golden Sun, Wave Race, etc..

Click to shrink...

You should stop bringing up those limited-appeal IPs. We're not in the 90's or the 00's anymore.

F-Zero and Wave Race were pulled along by the 90's extreme sports craze and viability of arcade-like experiences. F-Zero is the worst one since Nintendo invested heavily enough to produce an anime.

Golden Sun sold on its premise as a visual stunner for the console it was in. There's a reason Dark Dawn flopped as it couldn't translate the best part of the game. This can be chalked up to Camelot's natural limitations as they're not a large studio.

Advance Wars, I believe, never really got close to a million (the 1 + 2 release sold less than 40K on Japan). Fire Emblem could at least pull respectable numbers over there pre-Awakening (the average release could hit 200K-400K easily), so it had credibility to break the million barrier.

Star Fox is also not a guaranteed million-seller since Assault and Command didn't get there. Neither did 3D for that matter despite being a competent remake. Metroid also struggles in sales, but is able to at least carry itself through the critical reception of its better titles.

Nintendo could potentially revisit those franchises and maybe even turn them great enough for the current environment, but don't act like they're being irresponsible or losing money for not investing in that stuff.

 

[Charamiwa]

Click to shrink...

You're right Arise look much, much worse.

 

[ILikeFeet]

You're right Arise look much, much worse.

Click to shrink...

I'm more than fine with saying this series always looked bad

 

[Charamiwa]

I'm more than fine with saying this series always looked bad

Click to shrink...

At least it had colors before...

 

[ILikeFeet]

At least it had colors before...

Click to shrink...

and little contrast, making colors look garbo

 

[Piston]

You should stop bringing up those limited-appeal IPs. We're not in the 90's or the 00's anymore.

F-Zero and Wave Race were pulled along by the 90's extreme sports craze and viability of arcade-like experiences. F-Zero is the worst one since Nintendo invested heavily enough to produce an anime.

Golden Sun sold on its premise as a visual stunner for the console it was in. There's a reason Dark Dawn flopped as it couldn't translate the best part of the game. This can be chalked up to Camelot's natural limitations as they're not a large studio.

Advance Wars, I believe, never really got close to a million (the 1 + 2 release sold less than 40K on Japan). Fire Emblem could at least pull respectable numbers over there pre-Awakening (the average release could hit 200K-400K easily), so it had credibility to break the million barrier.

Star Fox is also not a guaranteed million-seller since Assault and Command didn't get there. Neither did 3D for that matter despite being a competent remake. Metroid also struggles in sales, but is able to at least carry itself through the critical reception of its better titles.

Nintendo could potentially revisit those franchises and maybe even turn them great enough for the current environment, but don't act like they're being irresponsible or losing money for not investing in that stuff.

Click to shrink...

FYI, both Advance Wars on DS sold between 250-300k and the GBA games sold between 350-400k in the US... which were probably their best markets.

 

[Deleted member 51691]

You're right Arise look much, much worse.

Click to shrink...

Yeah it looks like a fan game tech demo in UE4

Obviously more polished but some of the effects used have a "stock" feel that I can't explain

 

[ILikeFeet]

Arise feels like Bamco already knows the outcome, hence the change in aesthetic. All the more reason a cross-gen push feels more likely, methinks

 

[Deleted member 19702]

F-Zero wasn't shelved right away. The game had a high budged GameCube game and three original GBA games. It even had its own anime.

That and the 3DS was still selling when when Return of Samus released, so the whole 'nobody cared anymore' is hyperbolic. Also, I hate the whole 'nobody asked for' argument since by that logic, we wouldn't get games like Splatoon or RFA since 'nobody asked for it'.

Click to shrink...

We don't have a new F-Zero game since 2005, so... yeah? It's long shelved.

Why are you trying to fight the facts? Return of Samus bombed, so as all other late 3DS games, and Federation Force was panned since it's inception, a spin-off running away from the series' know formula resulting in massive outrage, and it's one the lowest rated Metroid games ever, the thing was DOA.

Anyway, you're jumping to a strawmen with your Splatoon and RFA comparison. Both are (relatively) new IPs, they're nowhere like the Federation Force situation where a spin-off runned away from the series know formula/standard. This isn't a valid argument.

 

[HeroR]

We don't have a new F-Zero game since 2005, so... yeah? It's long shelved.

Why are you trying to fight the facts? Return of Samus bombed, so as all other late 3DS games, and Federation Force was panned since it's inception, a spin-off running away from the series' know formula resulting in massive outrage, and it's one the lowest rated Metroid games ever, the thing was DOA.

Anyway, you're jumping to a strawmen with your Splatoon and RFA comparison. Both are (relatively) new IPs, they're nowhere like the Federation Force situation where a spin-off runned away from the series know formula/standard. This isn't a valid argument.

Click to shrink...

Because the GameCube game bomb and the GBA games underperformed despite all the push they gave the franchise. They selves it because the market didn't want F-Zero.

Metroid Prime also started as a spin-off that put the franchise in first-person. And FF was trying something new for the series not 'running away from the series know formula/standard'. It's no different than Mario's RPG games.

 

[Deleted member 19702]

You should stop bringing up those limited-appeal IPs. We're not in the 90's or the 00's anymore.

F-Zero and Wave Race were pulled along by the 90's extreme sports craze and viability of arcade-like experiences. F-Zero is the worst one since Nintendo invested heavily enough to produce an anime.

Golden Sun sold on its premise as a visual stunner for the console it was in. There's a reason Dark Dawn flopped as it couldn't translate the best part of the game. This can be chalked up to Camelot's natural limitations as they're not a large studio.

Advance Wars, I believe, never really got close to a million (the 1 + 2 release sold less than 40K on Japan). Fire Emblem could at least pull respectable numbers over there pre-Awakening (the average release could hit 200K-400K easily), so it had credibility to break the million barrier.

Star Fox is also not a guaranteed million-seller since Assault and Command didn't get there. Neither did 3D for that matter despite being a competent remake. Metroid also struggles in sales, but is able to at least carry itself through the critical reception of its better titles.

Nintendo could potentially revisit those franchises and maybe even turn them great enough for the current environment, but don't act like they're being irresponsible or losing money for not investing in that stuff.

Click to shrink...

Dude, chill out, stop with your lame ad hominem attitude, it won't make you look cool and clever, it just makes you look juvenile, instead learn to talk like a civilized person.

Anyway, there was a Reddit poll from October 2019, asking which "dead" Nintendo IPs you want the most on Switch. Golden Sun, F-Zero and Advance Wars were 1., 2., and 4., respectively. Only Wave Race ranked low from my list and both Star Fox and Metroid were disconsidered because of the time vault requirement.

So, yeah, there's market demand for those games and you act like saying this is something offensive, lol. If Nintendo is willing to invest and put some muscle on stuff like Xenoblade and Fire Emblem, both aren't stellar sellers either, there's nothing wrong to put an effort on those, as well.

 

[Oregano]

Fisico none of their games are actually high end but they want to pretend they are, so keeping up the appearance of being on the cutting edge by jumping on next gen early will be an important move.

SyndicateWars if you think Nintendo isn't good at maintaining IPs because some fan faves from the Gamecube era have been shelved who are they being compared to? Every publisher has dead IPs and I would struggle to name one who is quite clearly better than Nintendo at maintaining them over a long period of time.

 

[Mory Dunz]

Being good at managing IPs includes knowing what to prioritize and create. Money and time doesn't exist in a vacuum. They'd be stupid to keep every old franchise alive and miss out on new ring fits and splatoon, the wii line, etc etc

They're not perfect but tbh It's not even really an argument that's worth engaging in.

 

[ILikeFeet]

So, yeah, there's market demand for those games

Click to shrink...

reddit polls are not market demand

 

[K Samedi]

Being good at managing IPs includes knowing what to prioritize and create. Money and time doesn't exist in a vacuum. They'd be stupid to keep every old franchise alive and miss out on new ring fits and splatoon, the wii line, etc etc

They're not perfect but tbh It's not even really an argument that's worth engaging in.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I agree. I think for Nintendo in particular there are some strategic opportunities to revive a couple of older IP but for the most part they will need to prioritize their resources to work on titles that have high sales potential.

 

[Man God]

Golden Sun Dark Dawn doomed the series.

 

[Deleted member 19702]

SyndicateWars if you think Nintendo isn't good at maintaining IPs because some fan faves from the Gamecube era have been shelved who are they being compared to? Every publisher has dead IPs and I would struggle to name one who is quite clearly better than Nintendo at maintaining them over a long period of time.

Click to shrink...

...I didn't said they aren't good at it, my friend. They're one of the best in the game to preserve their IPs, no doubt about it, but doesn't mean they're perfect and any criticism should be automatically shot down. They can make an even better job than it is now with their IPs. You're trying to dig for an excuse to shot down any criticism at any cost.

Really, as much as I love Nintendo and their games, their fans are among the most toxic and intolerant among the internet, sometimes it feels like you're talking with Bolsonaro supporters, it's not that far off.

 

[ILikeFeet]

Golden Sun, out of a lot of their ips, has a good path towards a revival. it'd just have to be of a moderate budget, but at that point, they might as well make a new IP or a new Xenoblade game

 

[Porygon]

Really, as much as I love Nintendo and their games, their fans are among the most toxic and intolerant among the internet, sometimes it feels like you're talking with Bolsonaro supporters, it's not that far off.

Click to shrink...

Need a hug?

 

[Oregano]

...I didn't said they aren't good at it, my friend. They're one of the best in the game to preserve their IPs, no doubt about it, but doesn't mean they're perfect and any criticism should be automatically shot down. They can make an even better job than it is now with their IPs. You're trying to dig for an excuse to shot down any criticism at any cost.

Really, as much as I love Nintendo and their games, their fans are among the most toxic and intolerant among the internet, sometimes it feels like you're talking with Bolsonaro supporters, it's not that far off.

Click to shrink...

I'm all for criticised Nintendo when they deserve but it's obvious why some of their franchises were shelved, especially for ones where the developers have much bigger franchises to concentrate on and the resources required for making the games are becoming bigger and bigger.

I also tire of all the focus being on a handful of franchises that happened to be popular almost twenty years ago, and the lame bitterness directed towards Xenoblade and Fire Emblem. It's time to move on.

 

[lightning16]

I've always felt that Nintendo could just create any old moderately-sized JRPG and it'd have just as much potential as a Golden Sun reboot/sequel/remake would. I've always thought it was one of their IP's that doenn't really make a ton of sense to revive (although it'd at least be nice to have the older games in playable form). Still think Kid Icarus is the IP that makes the most sense to revive.

 

[Oregano]

If Camelot had the resources to develop Golden Sun in addition to Mario Tennis and Mario Golf we would be getting new Golden Sun games. That's what it comes down to.

 

[Kcannon]

Dude, chill out, stop with your lame ad hominem attitude, it won't make you look cool and clever, it just makes you look juvenile, instead learn to talk like a civilized person.

Anyway, there was a Reddit poll from October 2019, asking which "dead" Nintendo IPs you want the most on Switch. Golden Sun, F-Zero and Advance Wars were 1., 2., and 4., respectively. Only Wave Race ranked low from my list and both Star Fox and Metroid were disconsidered because of the time vault requirement.

So, yeah, there's market demand for those games and you act like saying this is something offensive, lol. If Nintendo is willing to invest and put some muscle on stuff like Xenoblade and Fire Emblem, both aren't stellar sellers either, there's nothing wrong to put an effort on those, as well.

Click to shrink...

What ad hominem? I never insulted you...

I'm just stating how things are. Those IPs are of limited appeal since the market barely offers alternatives of the same genre (and said alternatives aren't the best-selling). I don't know how exactly you think that's ad hominem unless you are somehow the physical manifestation of dead Nintendo IPs.

Maybe GS has a chance with the JRPG focus on Switch, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Also, really? Reddit poll? Are we really gonna use Reddit to gauge the market?

 

[Kcannon]

FYI, both Advance Wars on DS sold between 250-300k and the GBA games sold between 350-400k in the US... which were probably their best markets.

Click to shrink...

I have no idea about the US numbers. Do you have a source?

 

[Deleted member 31092]

You're right Arise look much, much worse.

Click to shrink...

It looks like the usual video where people comment "NINTENDO HIRE THIS MAN"

 

[HeroR]

I'm all for criticised Nintendo when they deserve but it's obvious why some of their franchises were shelved, especially for ones where the developers have much bigger franchises to concentrate on and the resources required for making the games are becoming bigger and bigger.

I also tire of all the focus being on a handful of franchises that happened to be popular almost twenty years ago, and the lame bitterness directed towards Xenoblade and Fire Emblem. It's time to move on.

Click to shrink...

Especially when FE was nearly a dead IP that clawed its way out of the grave. FE, love or hate it, should be celebrated for that. It's probably one of the best gaming comeback stories.

Xenoblade Chronicles also had to claw its way to where it is. Remember the first game nearly never got a US released. Fans had to beg and demand for the game to come over.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

...I didn't said they aren't good at it, my friend. They're one of the best in the game to preserve their IPs, no doubt about it, but doesn't mean they're perfect and any criticism should be automatically shot down. They can make an even better job than it is now with their IPs. You're trying to dig for an excuse to shot down any criticism at any cost.

Really, as much as I love Nintendo and their games, their fans are among the most toxic and intolerant among the internet, sometimes it feels like you're talking with Bolsonaro supporters, it's not that far off.

Click to shrink...

Sounds like you're the one who need to chill out a bit tbh

 

[Fisico]

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure what we're arguing about, this is the same thing but in Unreal Engine 4 with lots of post processing filters as stated before (not that I necessary want to trivialize it, I'm well aware these are not on/off toggles and does take some efforts).
Whether you like the art direction or not is not really the point (it definitely looks like a good move for the western markets though) but a couple cinematics and a battle system looking like the previous entry doesn't say anything about a supposed "increased budget", in fact if you look behind the visuals there's nothing indicating much of an increase in term of scope yet.

Fisico none of their games are actually high end but they want to pretend they are, so keeping up the appearance of being on the cutting edge by jumping on next gen early will be an important move.

Click to shrink...

I mean it's fair to think that but there's no historical precedence looking at the series, the publisher or at past gens overall in Japan, you could argue that shared architecture for hardware makes it easier to achieve, but we have yet to see anything concrete on that front.
Not to mention that if they want to pretend their offerings are high end they have better products to choose as late ports

Bandai Namco titles for PS4 First year in Japan with numbers from MC CY 2015

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 {2015.02.05} - 34.690 / 84.261 - Simutaneous PS3/PS4 release
God Eater 2 : Rage Burst (2015.02.19} - 37.824 / 60.484 - Simultaneous PSV/PS4 release
One Piece 3 : Pirate Warriors 3 {2015.03.26} - 46.693 / 80.266 - Simultaneous PSV/PS3/PS4 release
Godzilla {2015.07.16} - 7.729 / 13.012 - Late PS3 port
Saint Seiya: Soldiers' Soul {2015.09.25} - 6.938 / 13.058 Simultaneous PS3/PS4 release
Sword Art: Game Director's Edition {2015.11.19} - 18.342 / 29.816 - Late PSV port
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven {2015.12.17} - 23.534 / 32.346 - Simultaneous PS3/PS4 release

Click to shrink...

Notice any pattern ?
Yep, just like 0 internally UE4 developed game made it on Switch from Bamco so far, 0 internaly developed game by Bamco were released during PS4 first year, the first Bandai Namco developed game to be released on PS4 was Super Robot Taisen OG Moon Dwellers in June 2016, as a PS3/PS4 multiplat and only from there others titles followed including... Tales of Berseria (still PS3/PS4) a couple months later.

Tales of Arise ? If it's not simultaneous they won't bother, they'd rather pay external developers to test the market on others IP first and see what to do from there.

If I were a betting man I'd say history often repeats itself, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 is a good candidate for a late port release, same for the next Sword Art Online, a Code Vein extended rerelease on PS4/PS5 would make sense and a couple others manga IP through late ports or multiplat will most likely happen.
Meanwhile in late 2022 I can see an iterative sequel of Arise release on PS4/PS5 (the same way they did, Xillia -> Xillia 2, Zestiria -> Berseria, one full new game and one sequel working on improving the previous entry) especially with the wide gap between Berseria and Arise releases.

 

[Piston]

I have no idea about the US numbers. Do you have a source?

Click to shrink...

No source per se, just stuff I saved from when numbers were more bountiful.

 

[jnWake]

Would people call Jump Force big budget? Because I feel the Tales of Arise look is basically the same one but better implemented.

I remember when the trailers aired people said it looked far from Switch's capabilities but it doesn't really look like something that can't be ported IMO.

 

[Acevil]

Would people call Jump Force big budget? Because I feel the Tales of Arise look is basically the same one but better implemented.

I remember when the trailers aired people said it looked far from Switch's capabilities but it doesn't really look like something that can't be ported IMO.

Click to shrink...

I imagine it is bigger budget than the past two tales games. With that said, it really does not look impressive.

 

[Kcannon]

No source per se, just stuff I saved from when numbers were more bountiful.

Click to shrink...

Surely there exists a website out there that has those old NPD numbers saved somewhere.

 

[Piston]

Surely there exists a website out there that has those old NPD numbers saved somewhere.

Click to shrink...

You can dig through old NeoGAF threads if you want, don't know why anyone would want to submit themselves to that though.

 

[ILikeFeet]

I'm not sure what we're arguing about, this is the same thing but in Unreal Engine 4 with lots of post processing filters as stated before (not that I necessary want to trivialize it, I'm well aware these are not on/off toggles and does take some efforts).
Whether you like the art direction or not is not really the point (it definitely looks like a good move for the western markets though) but a couple cinematics and a battle system looking like the previous entry doesn't say anything about a supposed "increased budget", in fact if you look behind the visuals there's nothing indicating much of an increase in term of scope yet.

Click to shrink...

I was arguing the idea that Arise looks similar to the previous games because of "post processing filters" is ludicrous. if you can't see how much of a leap they're taking with shader work, visual effects, and the like, then I can't help you. Bamco is definitely taking an increased interest in visual flourishes, which the move to UE4 is facilitating more than their previous engine. the fact they aren't rehashing the art and assets yet again, alone, shows an increase in budget and priority.

I never intended to argue about art style or whether or not it's even good or not, but that's typically how graphics discussions tend to go unfortunately

 

[MysticGon]

I'm more than fine with saying this series always looked bad

Click to shrink...

Vesperia was gorgeous in still frames and the fighting in Tales games were always well animated. Their cutscenes were ass though.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

The improvements in Arise are massive and well beyond just an engine change what is there to even argue about here.
We probably will never know but it wouldn't surprise me if Arise had twice the production cost of whatever Berseria costed.

 

[Nanashrew]

There's a lot of graphical detail being put into the new game. I have no clue if one could downscale it to the Switch, but Switch is not Bandai Namco's priority with their internally developed games. The Harada x Takahashi interview springs to mind where Harada spoke of going harder on graphics as a possible path forward like Square Enix does for their games. I still question this decision and if it truly is the path forward, because It's still going to be a Tales game in the end, and the story is very likely going to have a lot of the same cliches and tropes. I've seen some comments about the graphics like "maybe now I can play a Tales game without feeling embarrassed by its looks" but I feel some are gonna drop it once they dig in. Tales has always been a mediocre franchise with its storytelling and trying to relive the glory days of Phantasia, etc. And its music running Motoi Sakuraba ragged recreating the same kind of tracks over and over and over again that all of this gen people who are invested in the Tales series think he's a bad composer and passed his prime and would rather Go Shiina, come in and take full reign.

A low to mid-tier budgeted franchise that once had a great following in Japan, in decline, now pushing for something resembling closer to AAA in hopes to attract more people. I'm unsure about this recipe, and will be unsure until it releases and I see a turnaround in sales. Its problems with reaching a wider audience goes beyond just a graphical upgrade. I don't honestly expect much out of the game but another Tales game but with shinier graphics.

I do say this with love too. Tales of series is one of my favorite franchises but they can be painfully mediocre at worst and mediocre with fun cast at best. They're a snack food, a comfort food of sorts. Can't really complain much about the battle systems at least because they've been improving on it a lot over the last decade.


I will say If anyone sees Arise as looking terrible, less than impressive, or looking similar to any of their previous UE4 titles I would not blame you at all. That's Bandai Namco's shoddy work using the generic default UE4 lighting system they've been using in a bunch of their UE4 games. It makes everything look washed out, bland and ugly, and it absolutely destroys the presentation, the graphical fidelity, and the overall looks of their games. It makes their games look no different or just a bit better than any of the YouTube videos where people have inserted a cartoony character model into a realistic setting. Just amateur hour from a giant corporation like Bandai Namco.

 

[Chris1964]

Iwata had twitted first week sales of New Leaf were around 800k, 600k was the initial physical shipment that was completely sold out and 200k sales came from eShop. If we go by Famitsu more than 100k of these digital sales came from download cards, which also faced supply problems.

With Switch and Animal Crossing momentum New Horizons won't have problem to exceed 1m opening.

Click to shrink...

Make that 1,5m

 

[Zedark]

Damn, 1.5M would be a huge opening, and set it on the path to becoming the biggest Switch game in Japan. Since it releases late in the quarter, we should be able to parse digital from the next fiscal report quite decently.

 

[Kouriozan]

This would be massive indeed, I'm surprised by how much hype there is despite Nintendo refusing to give us any new info haha.

 

[Deleted member 5334]

Slightly off topic, but it ties into some discussion regarding Level 5's decisions as of late...

The way Level 5 has been handling Snack World overseas has been really... strange. I mean, given how the company is in disarray even in Japan, it's just mind-boggling further how the International release handling has been. Very limited to no marketing really anywhere (France may be the biggest region I think that has solid marketing, so curious how it'll play out there). Localization for the English side on the game has recently came under fire for some of it's... decisions (which you can see in the OT thread here on this site).

Snack World's anime was effectively shadow dropped onto Crunchyroll with no marketing or lead up to it heading there. Furthermore, it's dub only, wasn't noted to being dub only, is weirdly missing an episode, but it launched on a site that largely more-so focuses on subtitles, leading to a huge disconnect with audience there. It's also weird, because it would appear the dub is in a number of non-English speaking regions with no alternative, too, for the streaming regions. So there's that angle too.

I'm just baffled at some of these things here. Maybe not entirely, given how the company has made some serious mistakes and mess-ups in Japan, but for something that was supposed to be a big project for them, it continues to baffle the mind.

 

[Oregano]

Slightly off topic, but it ties into some discussion regarding Level 5's decisions as of late...

The way Level 5 has been handling Snack World overseas has been really... strange. I mean, given how the company is in disarray even in Japan, it's just mind-boggling further how the International release handling has been. Very limited to no marketing really anywhere (France may be the biggest region I think that has solid marketing, so curious how it'll play out there). Localization for the English side on the game has recently came under fire for some of it's... decisions (which you can see in the OT thread here on this site).

Snack World's anime was effectively shadow dropped onto Crunchyroll with no marketing or lead up to it heading there. Furthermore, it's dub only, wasn't noted to being dub only, is weirdly missing an episode, but it launched on a site that largely more-so focuses on subtitles, leading to a huge disconnect with audience there. It's also weird, because it would appear the dub is in a number of non-English speaking regions with no alternative, too, for the streaming regions. So there's that angle too.

I'm just baffled at some of these things here. Maybe not entirely, given how the company has made some serious mistakes and mess-ups in Japan, but for something that was supposed to be a big project for them, it continues to baffle the mind.

Click to shrink...

If I'm not mistaken Level 5 Abby was meant to be in complete disarray long before the issues at Level 5 proper fully manifested. On the game side you're also seeing what happens when Level 5 handles it instead of Nintendo.

Don't worry though, Yokai Watch 4 will be a breakout hit in the west thanks to the PS4 version.

 

[Chris1964]

I don't think Hino had realized what it actually means losing Nintendo's support at west for Level 5 IPs when he decided to ignore Switch after the success he found on DS and 3DS. Now that he knows that mobile isn't the heaven he imagined and has to move along with zero big games he faces the hard reality.

 

[Deleted member 5334]

If I'm not mistaken Level 5 Abby was meant to be in complete disarray long before the issues at Level 5 proper fully manifested. On the game side you're also seeing what happens when Level 5 handles it instead of Nintendo.

Click to shrink...

Interesting to note that Level 5 Abby's decisions may also tie-in to the fact Dentsu USA made some really bad and awful calls with their localiation and co-productions. When effectively they combined and formed Level 5 Abby (and really not even sure what the heck Dentsu USA is at this point), it also inherented Dentsu USA's problems, which probably was further aspirated with decisions on Level 5's Japanese side.

I've also looked up the reviews for Level 5 Abby on occasion via Glass Door, and... oof. Haven't checked in awhile, but wonder if it's still bad.

Don't worry though, Yokai Watch 4 will be a breakout hit in the west thanks to the PS4 version.

Click to shrink...

Sad thing is, it was kinda needed to happen because of Latin America's situation with Nintendo (with that still being a solid region for Yokai Watch), but with how they're handling the marketing... I'm expecting this to just absolutely fall in it's face.

I don't think Hino had realized what it actually means losing Nintendo's support at west for Level 5 IPs when he decided to ignore Switch after the success he found on DS and 3DS. Now that he knows that mobile isn't the heaven he imagined and has to move along with zero big games he faces the hard reality.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, pretty much this. Nintendo was integral for so many of their games Internationally did, notably Layton and Inazuma Eleven (even if we arguably didn't get the games here in the states, outside of the one 3DS port for Inazuma). It's also really boggling my mind that I legit believe the Captain Tsubasa game, which really looks to have some aspects of the Inazuma Eleven games in it with how it works, will likely release first and likely have over-all better marketing WORLD WIDE. The mobile game certainly has, that's for sure.

Honestly, as long as Hino continues to run the company, I really don't think Level 5 will ever be able to stop making the same mistakes they keep making over-and-over again..

 

[Naga]

I don't think Hino had realized what it actually means losing Nintendo's support at west for Level 5 IPs when he decided to ignore Switch after the success he found on DS and 3DS. Now that he knows that mobile isn't the heaven he imagined and has to move along with zero big games he faces the hard reality.

Click to shrink...

A lot of companies (of every size) this gen have discovered that mobile isn't an heaven. Some are still discovering it or thinking it'll be different for them lol.
Wonder if we'll see more companies coming back from that platform in the coming years.

 

[Marukoban]

Mobile used to be almost free for anyone who entered, but that hasn't been the case for years now.
Nowadays it takes a lot to have a successful mobile game.

 

[MysticGon]

I don't think Hino had realized what it actually means losing Nintendo's support at west for Level 5 IPs when he decided to ignore Switch after the success he found on DS and 3DS. Now that he knows that mobile isn't the heaven he imagined and has to move along with zero big games he faces the hard reality.

Click to shrink...

He got what he deserved. If Bamco can stick the landing with Tsubasa he'll have nothing left.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Hino really needs to take a good hard look at himself and his company and reconsider their strengths.

I think that Level 5 needs to go back and consider Work For Hire projects again. They can't live off their savings for much longer and the likes of S-E and Nintendo are really hurting for development support...

 

[Mpl90]

Any update from retailers on how Hatsune Miku is doing or whether they received small new batches of Switch stock? Speaking of which, the Neon SKU just climbed up the rankings and it's now 2nd, which should mean a new restock happened.

 

[Sandfox]

I imagine it is bigger budget than the past two tales games. With that said, it really does not look impressive.

Click to shrink...

The last two Tales games were PS3 games, so that would be the expectation. That being said Arise looks bad.

He got what he deserved. If Bamco can stick the landing with Tsubasa he'll have nothing left.

Click to shrink...

Inazuma is pretty close to DoA no matter what happens.