Fire Emblem Echoes sold less on its first week in Japan than either Shadow Dragon or New Mystery did.

[Folt]

35 minutes ago, Quintessence said:

I know,  but what I specifically mean is that the transition between Fates and Echoes might feel harsh for newcomers, which is probably the reason why it isn't being stellar in the sales aspect.

I can agree with that. The transition from standard Fire Emblem to Gaiden/Echoes makes me think of the original Legend of Zelda to Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link in some ways.

(Honestly, I'd actually like a spinoff FE series that takes Gaiden/Echoes's stuff and improves on it/modernizes it since it could get really neat in a different way from most FEs.)

EDIT: Incidentally, I heard from elsewhere that the sellthrough on Echoes was about 80%, which indicates that Nintendo expected it to sell that low. It was never meant to reach any big heights.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Folt

[Armagon]

4 minutes ago, Folt said:

EDIT: Incidentally, I heard from elsewhere that the sellthrough on Echoes was about 80%, which indicates that Nintendo expected it to sell that low. It was never meant to reach any big heights.

So if it's selling as much as Nintendo expected it to, then even if it's sales are low compared to other FEs, it's probably still a success in their eyes. But we need source.

[tumut]

Bad marketing, bad timing.

I can't even fathom how people can compare this to heroes or pokemon.I'm super excited for Echoes though.

[Armagon]

Bad timing yes and no. Yes because the 3DS is almost dead but no because if this game had released after E3, THEN it would've really been bad timing. FE16 is very likely gonna show up at E3 this year. If Echoes released after E3, it just gets massively overshadowed by the FE16 reveal and hype.

[Folt]

7 minutes ago, Armagon said:

So if it's selling as much as Nintendo expected it to, then even if it's sales are low compared to other FEs, it's probably still a success in their eyes. But we need source.

I looked it up: It's the Famitsu sales charts that says it had an 80-100% sellthrough according to Neogaf. Taking a small bit from the Neogaf JP VG sales thread, but others could probably find better sources:

 

Quote

Famitsu Sales: Week 17, 2017 (Apr 17 - Apr 23) 

01./00. [3DS] Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia # <SLG> (Nintendo) {2017.04.20} (¥4.980) - 133.410 / NEW <80-100%> 

 

Edited April 27, 2017 by Folt

[Armagon]

Just now, Folt said:

I looked it up: The Famitsu sales charts that says it had an 80-100% sellthrough. Taking a small bit from the Neogaf JP VG sales thread, but others could probably find better sources:

 

 

Famitsu is pretty reliable i think, so if Echoes is having an 80-100% sellthrough in Japan, then it's probably already met it's goal.

In other words, Echoes isn't failing.

[sirmola]

11 minutes ago, Folt said:

EDIT: Incidentally, I heard from elsewhere that the sellthrough on Echoes was about 80%, which indicates that Nintendo expected it to sell that low. It was never meant to reach any big heights.

Honestly, I suspect that Nintendo wanted to a.make a profit. b. satisfy hardcore fans and make them not feel like they are being abandoned. c. continue to support the 3ds. I wouldn't be surprised if the switch's success was known when they decided on how many copies to print.

 

But IMO, this sellthroungh figure shows that nintendo predicted sales to be at this level. That implies that they will not be disappointed, and that the game met sales goals. heck, 80-100% sellthrough implies that the game was sold out in some stores, possibly reducing sales. In other words, the game is meeting or exceeding expectations, and therefore not failing. If anything, this will prove to nintendo that niche appeal games (which is very much what echos is) are worth their time. We can stop freaking out now.

[Harvey]

So comparing sales between the original gaiden and the remake.

Gaiden:  324,699 

Echoes: 131.668

Even the original did good interms of sales......

 

[sirmola]

2 minutes ago, Harvey said:

So comparing sales between the original gaiden and the remake.

Gaiden:  324,699 

Echoes: 131.668

Even the original did good interms of sales......

 

THe NES was REALLY popular in japan. Much more popular than the 3ds. It's actualy really common for series to have their higher selling entries be NES or snes entries. There has been too much change/shrinkage in the market imply that a game is doing poorly because it is selling less tahn a 25 yearold game (especialy if that gaiden figure is lifetime).

[André The kid]

Ok, for those that are still worried, let me say just one thing.

Awakening Sales: 2M

44% America
23% Europe
27% japan
6% Rest of The World

Fates Sales: 1.9M (Approx)

50% America
15% Europe
29% Japan
6% Rest of the World

Fire Emblem Blazing Sword : 1M (Approx);

50% America
19% Europe
30% Japan
1% Rest of the World

 

 

Now, if Awakening Fates and The Blazing Sword (The 3 Best selling games in the franchise) had only released in japan, like Echoes (So far), they would have sold:

- Awakening : 540,000
- Fates: 550,000
- Blazing Sword: 300,000

 

See? Echoes still has not released in the two biggest markets in the world.

(Some advertising would help though.)

Let's wait and see.

 

 

 

[Nobody]

43 minutes ago, sirmola said:

. Much more popular than the 3ds. 

Nah. 3DS is the second best selling gaming system EVER in Japan, after the original DS. Install base isn't a problem for any 3DS game in Japan, because the 3DS is simply huge there. 

I have hard data here to prove that:

19,380,000 NESs were sold in Japan through all its life. As you can see, even back in 2013 the 3DS had already sold over 11 million units in Japan.

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=701305

22,665,915 3DSs have been sold in Japan as of last week

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1364230

so yeah, you guys should stop talking about data you don't know about as if they were truth. The 3DS is massively sucessful in Japan, and is outselling the NES by over 3million units.

again, this isn't me trying to say this game is a failure or its sales are disappointing. It's just that if you're trying to make a point, the least you can do is provide correct data.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Nobody

[Armagon]

12 minutes ago, André The kid said:

Ok, for those that are still worried, let me say just one thing.

Awakening Sales: 2M

44% America
23% Europe
27% japan
6% Rest of The World

Fates Sales: 1.9M (Approx)

50% America
15% Europe
29% Japan
6% Rest of the World

Fire Emblem Blazing Sword : 1M (Approx);

50% America
19% Europe
30% Japan
1% Rest of the World

 

 

Now, if Awakening Fates and The Blazing Sword (The 3 Best selling games in the franchise) had only released in japan, like Echoes (So far), they would have sold:

- Awakening : 540,000
- Fates: 550,000
- Blazing Sword: 300,000

 

See? Echoes still has not released in the two biggest markets in the world.

(Some advertising would help though.)

Let's wait and see.

 

 

 

Today I learned that Europe's FE sales are lower than Japan's. *Insert "the more you know" jingle here*

[Etrurian emperor]

I think we should wait for the Western sales before we jump to any conclusions. For the West this will be a brand new game but for Japan its not all that new, just an updated version of a game they already know and liked less then what came before or after it.

Western fans don't have this problem. Its all new for most of them.

The western audience is no longer a fringe demographic so strong western sales might boost the overall figure. 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Quote

Today I learned that Europe's FE sales are lower than Japan's. *Insert "the more you know" jingle here*

Not only that, it was sold only half as much as it was in Japan although EU has almost six times as much inhabitants as Japan has.

[Harvey]

50 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I think we should wait for the Western sales before we jump to any conclusions. For the West this will be a brand new game but for Japan its not all that new, just an updated version of a game they already know and liked less then what came before or after it.

Western fans don't have this problem. Its all new for most of them.

The western audience is no longer a fringe demographic so strong western sales might boost the overall figure. 

My main issue for the western release is the reviewers....Japan KNOWS Gaiden and they liked it....but what about others besides gamexplain?

 

[Armagon]

Just now, Harvey said:

My main issue for the western release is the reviewers....Japan KNOWS Gaiden and they liked it....but what about others besides gamexplain?

 

Nintendo has hosted events for people to play Echoes. People who were invited there have had pretty positive impressions. So i wouldn't worry too much. 

I can definitly see IGN doing something stupid like taking off points because no S-Supports tho.

 

Overall, i expect the game to get a 7.5/10 or 8/10.

[Harvey]

2 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I can definitly see IGN doing something stupid like taking off points because no S-Supports tho.

Don't forget that gamespot is another moron too.....I'll never forget conquest 's review.....

 

[Armagon]

5 minutes ago, Harvey said:

Don't forget that gamespot is another moron too.....I'll never forget conquest 's review.....

 

What did Gamespot do with Conquest, again?

[sirmola]

Gamespot Took points off for not having the optional grinding.

Edited April 27, 2017 by sirmola

[Armagon]

3 minutes ago, sirmola said:

Gamespot Took points off for not having the optional grinding.

So it's just Gamespot's version of "7/10 too much water" then.

[sirmola]

36 minutes ago, Armagon said:

So it's just Gamespot's version of "7/10 too much water" then.

Pretty much (it was even 7/10), although it is hard to tell how many points were that, and how many points were them not liking the plot (which is an entirely valid complaint).

Edited April 27, 2017 by sirmola

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

Western sales again will be decent not groundbreaking like the last 2 new recent entries this to Nintendo is just a profit for the bigger game lack of marketing even shows this.

[sirmola]

I should probably note that IGN posted an article about the preview event, which was very positive. Article link: http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/25/fire-emblem-echoes-shadows-of-valentia-hands-on

[Zapp Branniglenn]

3 hours ago, Harvey said:

So comparing sales between the original gaiden and the remake.

Gaiden:  324,699 

Echoes: 131.668

Even the original did good interms of sales......

 

That's Lifetime vs first week. Looking only at Japan sales, Echoes' lifetime can eventually match Gaiden. We don't know if these numbers even include digital or have combined the standard and special editions.

Plus there's still an international release. I think it's reasonable to expect Echoes will still compete with FE7-14 (excluding 12). Maybe even taking third place from 7 by being the third to surpass one million. We'll see.

[Tryhard]

8 hours ago, Harvey said:

So comparing sales between the original gaiden and the remake.

Gaiden:  324,699 

Echoes: 131.668

Even the original did good interms of sales......

And Mystery of the Emblem sold over 750,000 copies in Japan, far more than Fates and Awakening (well, afaik the best selling FE game in Japan in general), and New Mystery doesn't even come close to touching that. It's not really meaning anything.

It's also worth noting that the numbers in the original post aren't for the full week. It is for the 20th (release) to the 23rd, at least according to here. So three days, not a week. Granted, most of the sales are probably still in the first few days but it's worth pointing out.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Tryhard