RSS'Metal Gear Solid 4' gives PS3 a sales boost in Japan
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published July 3, 2008, 12:43 PM
It's good to be on top of the heap, Sony discovered for perhaps a brief moment, and today gaming analysts are giving the PS3 a ray of hope for Japan. But that depends on just how carefully you slice the pie, as the market leader remains Nintendo.
Widely circulated reports attributed to Reuters, though not attributed to the Nikkei service, state that the relative ratio of sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 to Nintendo's Wii console, tightened to 1.7 : 1, during a five-week period that ended last week. In that period, the highly anticipated Konami game title Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released in Japan exclusively for the PS3, evidently contributing to sales.
The source of that data, according to Reuters, was Japanese publisher Enterbrain which not only produces video game magazines there, but also manages the Famitsu industry analysis service for retailers.
But a week-by-week check of Japan game console sales on VGChartz.com, whose source is the exact same data from Famitsu, presents a very different picture: Indeed, PS3 console sales for the week of June 15 did eclipse Wii sales ever so briefly: 311,836 versus 296,712, during a low sales week for the Wii.
That breakthrough, however, was a momentary blip on the radar, as Wii console sales climbed right back up to 502,764 for Wii versus 158,971 for PS3, during the week of June 29 -- a ratio of 3.16 : 1. Throughout last year, Enterbrain reported sales ratios in the Wii's favor as high as 6:1.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 has never really caught on in Japan, with console sales for the June 29 week at 130,926 and remaining relatively stable.
MGS4 is probably the best thing so far on any next gen console, in terms of both visuals and gameplay...no its not perfect, but its much more deserving of the "10" scores than that supremely over hyped Grand Theft Auto 4....
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|While I did enjoy it better than the SEVERELY overhyped GTA I do not think it has the best visuals. Uncharted, Gears of War,COD4, and maybe even UT3 still have the edge.
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|indeed GTA4 was overhyped beyond belief.
I forced myself to play 6-7 hours of it before I couldn't take it anymore and put it on ebay.
its scores should be halved, it's only real positive being the rich environment they made.
as for MGS4 im not far enough into it to give a solid opinion on it. it might change a whole lot once i get further in, but so far it feels like it was also mostly hype. there seems to be a lack of actual gameplay, and the AI seems retarded.
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|The MGS flame burned out faster than I thought. What ammunition is left fo Sony? Killzone 2 and Little Big Planet isn't going to provide a boost. The Little Big Planet audience all have Wii's and Killzone being just another FPS's of which we are flooded with.
Sony is very very boring. Too much focus on pushing features & agendas that no one needs, and too much hype and not enough delivery of the goods. We are probably halfway through this generations life span and still PS3 is nowhere and with no Home in sight.
I actually think (& god forgive me for saying it...) Xbox 360 was probably the pick of the consoles this time around. My Wii and PS3 are not very entertaining. I'll swap both for Mass Effect.
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|Don't get me wrong MGS is a good game, but it is nowhere near as good as the hype.
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|Texto ditto.
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|Maybe not to you mate but there are plenty of reviewers that gave it a perfect (or near perfect) score.
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|The game is fun but far from perfect. There is no such thing as anything that is perfect.
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|It seems like reviewers have been throwing 10's around lately. It must not be that hard to get a ten as it used to be.
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|You are right. GTA4 also got perfect scores. What was Halo's average score?
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|*checks thread*
It says ps3 game metal gear there is NO talk whatsoever about games for the xbox360 - just because something gets a great score doesn't mean everyone is going to buy it.
Why do fanboys automatically jump on the 360, look they all have their strengths and weaknesses - use what works for you but for god sakes can we stop with the "my system is better then yours"
Halo did well because it appeals to all ages, metal gear, not so much while it is a fantastic game its not going to be sony's crown jewel.
I will own all three come september - currently I have ps3 and wii and I like them both equally as they offer completely different things.
I prefer the xbox360 interface and the rumored 3d one - that looks quite impressive if they can pull it off...
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|"GTA4 also got perfect scores."
Which proves his point....
"What was Halo's average score?"
I don't really care what the score was. Halo succeeds because of one thing. GAMEPLAY. Halo is fun. It is not going for that graphic powerhouse. But whenever you have a fanbase that big, that gives way to a lot of people to B**** about it. Happens with every game. So basically you can be a sheep that goes by what all the "UBBER l33t" people are saying, or you can *gasp* decide what you like for yourself. Don't like Halo? Fine don't play it! There will still be plenty of people that are.
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