Awakening sells 390,000 to date in America

[Gregosa]

Well deserved sales. I'm glad the game has turned out to be a success.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

It's a sales projection. It's what a project needs for profit. That's why a Wii U FE is not viable in itself.

I don't think they were average sales. They probably were much lower than Nintendo's sales projections for those particular games to make a sizable profit.

And considering each console's install base, RD and the DS FE had really disappointing sales.

DSFE1 and DSFE3 sold 500k(former) and 250k respectively, which is the average of the series

I don't know about RD and POR, but the only data that I can find is basically they bombed

[shadykid]

I wonder why 700k is anywhere near logical when the average sales of FE is IIRC around 500k

And even worse, its a console FE on the Wii U....

fixed for accuracy

also, regarding other sales:

1. the 331k for FE7 was for all of North America, although admittedly it probably picked up some extra sales after the period of that report

2. FE11 might have sold decently by numbers in the end, but it was mostly in the bomba bins (in America) and that didn't help profits

Edited September 13, 2013 by shadykid

[amadeuscho]

DSFE1 and DSFE3 sold 500k(former) and 250k respectively, which is the average of the series

I don't know about RD and POR, but the only data that I can find is basically they bombed

Considering FE in Japan has sold anywhere from 700,000 (SNES) to 300,000 in Japan, those aren't average. Those sales are on the low end. SD and FE12 sold 270,000 and 250,000 in Japan respectively. The GBA had a smaller install base and was cheaper to make, so the DS sales projections were probably higher.

PoR, RD, SD, FE12 all contributed to the downfall to the series, because they were going in a downward direction for the series. That as well as increased production costs made it so each FE release needs a certain amount of sales to be viable for Nintendo to pursue

[shadykid]

speaking of sales, someone post line pics for Monster Hunter 4!

[Anathema]

And even worse, its a console FE on the Wii U....

EXCUSE ME ???

alright, i guess i'll have to sit this one out if/when it gets localized, getting tired of shelling out cash for extra consoles just to play FE here...

BUT!! congrats to IS! i hope everyone working there can breath easier knowing their jobs are more secure now! (hope they also got some nice bonuses, maybe)

[AVahne]

I'm just hoping that the DLC sales have been good enough to warrant a 3rd set of DLC. I want my Princess class.

[VincentASM]

I'm just hoping that the DLC sales have been good enough to warrant a 3rd set of DLC. I want my Princess class.

That sounds fun, but I think the boat's just about sailed.

I would think IS would prioritise making a new game rather than another expansion--and a late one too--for a year and a half-old game (in Japan).

[nocturnal YL]

Nah, that was some gross misinterpretation of a top IS dude stating a console FE would need to sell 700K to be profitable or along those lines.

Some people decided to read a "console FE" as "SMT X FE".

Hitoshi Yamagami is in Nintendo, not IS. He does handle most communication with IS, though.

And on the 250k sales thing before: (1) Hatano said the canning of the series as a possibility, not a final answer; and (2) they'll have to intentionally make the most unsellable FE ever to reach below 250k world sales. I take it that they never truly want to can the series.

[Irysa]

It's a bit of a shame that merely by being a Nintendo second party product, IS are incapable of "budgetizing" the games a bit more. There's a degree of quality expected that they have to live up to, despite being niche. Games from devs like NIS or Idea Factory (ugh) sell similar numbers, and keep being made because they're not that expensive to make. Awakening to a certain degree swerved mode into the pandery fanservice area that seems to attract that crowd, which is probably the main reason it's sold particularly well, sales being combined totals of them plus the dedicated FE players. However, I think it's pretty reasonable to assume the budget for Awakening was markedly higher than something like Disgaea 4 or Neptunia <_<

Still, budget doesn't always notate the game quality (hi Falcom, Sandlot, FromSoft etc). I'd just hope that the bigshots at Nintendo are willing to let the series continue existing in a state similar to titles from devs like those.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Irysa

[shadykid]

completely off topic Monster Hunter 4 line pics!

Hitoshi Yamagami is in Nintendo, not IS. He does handle most communication with IS, though.

And on the 250k sales thing before: (1) Hatano said the canning of the series as a possibility, not a final answer; and (2) they'll have to intentionally make the most unsellable FE ever to reach below 250k world sales. I take it that they never truly want to can the series.

poor FE9/10, most unsellable Fire Emblem games ever

[Anathema]

poor FE9/10, most unsellable Fire Emblem games ever

but they were so good :<

idk, is it cause it was not on handhelds? would that contribute to them doing so poorly?

cause if that's the case then IS should reconsider making the next FE for the wiiU or consider what the new super smash is doing with having the game for the 3ds in addition to the wiiU. and no, im totally not hung up on this.

and i missed your caption and thought that photo was of the line waiting for awakening.

Edited September 14, 2013 by Anathema

[Phoenix Wright]

Fire Emblem is old. 1 or 2 more games and I'd say it's time to move on.

[amadeuscho]

but they were so good :<

idk, is it cause it was not on handhelds? would that contribute to them doing so poorly?

cause if that's the case then IS should reconsider making the next FE for the wiiU or consider what the new super smash is doing with having the game for the 3ds in addition to the wiiU. and no, im totally not hung up on this.

and i missed your caption and thought that photo was of the line waiting for awakening.

I think it's mixture of things. GC was the poorest selling home console of that generation and in Nintendo's history.

The game came out toward the end of the gamecube's life cycle.

The presentation of the game was poor for a game at the end of the life cycle, including graphics.

Poor promotion by Nintendo.

The JRPG was dying out as a genre aside from Final Fantasy and Tales.

RD was a direct sequel and suffered as a result of the lack of success from PoR.

It also had poor presentation for a Wii title and that generation overall. It had gamecube level graphics.

Poor promotion, and Nintendo chose not to use Ike in the game's promotion.

It didn't take advantage of any of the Wii's motion controls, which could have went along way in getting more people to buy the game.

IS isn't making the next FE game for home consoles. the 700,00 figure was basically the FE producer saying an HD FE is not viable on the Wii U. The SMT x FE is a cross over and has the added draw of the SMT series, as well as the help from Atlus, so it is much easier to justify.

Fire Emblem is old. 1 or 2 more games and I'd say it's time to move on.

Are you saying you only want 1 or 2 more games in the Fire Emblem series as a whole, and then you want Nintendo to end the series?

[shadykid]

Fire Emblem is old. 1 or 2 more games and I'd say it's time to move on.

not sure if srs

anyway, some European sales updates, although this only gives an upper bound:

http://metro.co.uk/2013/09/03/fifa-13-is-top-selling-game-of-2013-ea-is-top-publisher-3947817/

(sales up to June 2013, not surprised that Awakening<304k especially with physical only)

also, http://www.gameblog.fr/news/38208-france-la-verite-sur-les-ventes-de-jeux-video-en-2013

French sales that are relatively up to date, the fact that retail sales aren't 64k is somewhat disturbing given France's portion of the European market and their general Nintendo-friendliness compared to the rest of the continent, but hey, this game has a high digital sales ratio, so....

Edited September 14, 2013 by shadykid

[Phoenix Wright]

Are you saying you only want 1 or 2 more games in the Fire Emblem series as a whole, and then you want Nintendo to end the series?

not sure if srs

Very serious. I feel the same way about Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid (my favorite franchise), Phoenix Wright (3rd favorite), Kingdom Hearts, and many others --a number of television series too. There comes a point, I feel, when a name needs to be dropped and companies move on. I'm happy Futurama ended, sad Simpsons haven't, etc.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, especially here, but it's just how I feel. Mario is milked to friggin' death. And those games are still good! I just get tired of seeing the same things over and over and over again. Not saying IS should just stop making games like Fire Emblem, but I certainly wouldn't mind a different setting with new mechanics and everything.

edit: I totally get the business argument. I just don't agree with the model (for the long term).

Edited September 14, 2013 by Phoenix Wright

[shadykid]

Final Fantasy is probably the one that has the least reason to end.....current Square-Enix issues aside

Edited September 14, 2013 by shadykid

[Anathema]

hnm, i can understand wanting tv shows to end and stuff cause it's the same characters and at some point all the scenarios just seem stale.

but some franchises like ff and fe, where (nearly) every installement is a new world and not attached to others plot-wise, i don't really understand why it needs to end.

though i guess character tropes can get meh after awhile...?

[Phoenix Wright]

I know the series is extremely strong commercially. How to explain things more easily...

I like change. I like when things evolve. I am one of 3 people that enjoy webpage updates when they come out (like YT and stuff). Mario hasn't actually evolved into anything. Final Fantasy hasn't either, really (combat system is different sometimes, but the core of FF is pretty much the same). People like that. People like the concept of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'm a fan of that. But I am also a fan of renovations. Or something completely new.

hnm, i can understand wanting tv shows to end and stuff cause it's the same characters and at some point all the scenarios just seem stale.

but some franchises like ff and fe, where (nearly) every installement is a new world and not attached to others plot-wise, i don't really understand why it needs to end.

though i guess character tropes can get meh after awhile...?

That, and companies are forcing themselves to cling to names to make their business. I don't agree with that sort of model. This isn't necessarily true for Intelligent Systems, as they've got quite a few icons under their belt, with varying degrees of success (Advance Wars, Paper Mario RPGs, WarioWare).

Edited September 14, 2013 by Phoenix Wright

[Dragrath]

glad they made sales means FE14 might happen in the future...

The fact that the features I disliked(exessive fan service, lack of straegic depth of former titles ect) are probably part of the overall sucsess is unfortunatly a disaponintment but the alternative is the series dieing so... hoping for the best...

[VincentASM]

not sure if srs

anyway, some European sales updates, although this only gives an upper bound:

http://metro.co.uk/2013/09/03/fifa-13-is-top-selling-game-of-2013-ea-is-top-publisher-3947817/

(sales up to June 2013, not surprised that Awakening<304k especially with physical only)

also, http://www.gameblog.fr/news/38208-france-la-verite-sur-les-ventes-de-jeux-video-en-2013

French sales that are relatively up to date, the fact that retail sales aren't 64k is somewhat disturbing given France's portion of the European market and their general Nintendo-friendliness compared to the rest of the continent, but hey, this game has a high digital sales ratio, so....

Thanks, that's interesting to know.

It's too bad Awakening didn't make it into the lists so we'd have *some* figures at least.

[shadykid]

I bring you completely irrelevant news: Monster Hunter 4 is already top 5 all-time in the eShop charts for Japan:
1. Animal Crossing
2. Pokémon AR Searcher
3. Denpa Ningen no RPG
4. Monster Hunter 4

edit: now #4

Thanks, that's interesting to know.

It's too bad Awakening didn't make it into the lists so we'd have *some* figures at least.

yeah, I want my 3DS only top 10/20 charts!

Edited September 14, 2013 by shadykid

[amadeuscho]

I know the series is extremely strong commercially. How to explain things more easily...

I like change. I like when things evolve. I am one of 3 people that enjoy webpage updates when they come out (like YT and stuff). Mario hasn't actually evolved into anything. Final Fantasy hasn't either, really (combat system is different sometimes, but the core of FF is pretty much the same). People like that. People like the concept of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'm a fan of that. But I am also a fan of renovations. Or something completely new.

That, and companies are forcing themselves to cling to names to make their business. I don't agree with that sort of model. This isn't necessarily true for Intelligent Systems, as they've got quite a few icons under their belt, with varying degrees of success (Advance Wars, Paper Mario RPGs, WarioWare).

I disagree completely both with the assessment of Mario and Final Fantasy. Mario has evolved. It's evolved so many times that there are now three different series (of just platformers) with different styles of Gameplay: (New Super Mario Bros, Mario 3D (64 style), and the 3D area series. And as an FF fan, the only thing I feel FF13 and FF6 have in common is that they are both JRPGs. Everything else is completely different.

I can understand retiring stories. Apollo Justice was supposed to take over for the Ace Attorney if he wasnt so poorly received. Professor Layton is also retiring. And the FE series retires that protagonists after 2 or less games. But gaming at its core is based on the gameplay experience rather than stories, which is Nintendo's trademark philosophy. I think stale or poorly aged gameplay mechanics should be retired, rather than story or franchise focused retirement.

For gaming most of all I don't think retiring series works. Unlike DVDs or TV series of the past, games are released only for the current consoles. So if a series were to retire, new gamers from the next generation would not be able to experience it. There was a whole generation of gamers who didn't know what Punch-Out was until the Wii revival. There are racing fans who have no idea what of F-Zero is. And there are people who think the star of Kid Icarus is named Icarus. The rise of the virtual console may help alleviate this problem, but VC games aren't necessarily advertised for a new audience.

[Blademaster!]

Final Fantasy is probably the one that has the least reason to end.

FF has needed to die for awhile now, if it isn't already dead.

[shadykid]

FF has needed to die for awhile now, if it isn't already dead.

I said aside from Square-Enix crapping out terrible games lately!