This report is a few days late and very long. Still I think it the best report I have done and worth the read if you are interested in any of the following topics:

1. What are sales like this week?
2. Why aren’t the Japanese buying Super Mario Galaxy?
3. Is Piracy a big problem in handheld gaming?

The best stuff is at the bottom. I hope you enjoy it.

The current Media Create sales numbers (to compare) can be found here. If you are new to these reports please click here for a short overview.

I was asked to look for Wii, PS3, Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles and Dragon Quest IV. I visited the stores on Thursday, November 29th, 2007.

Jusco
Wii: 3
PS3: 9
B:UC: Sold Out
Dragon Quest IV: 4

Youme Town
Wii: 1
PS3: 11
B:UC: Sold out
Dragon Quest IV: 3

Mr. Max
Wii: Sold out
PS3: Sold out
B:UC: Sold out
Dragon Quest IV: Sold out

Book-Net
Wii: 4
PS3: 6
B:UC: Sold out
Dragon Quest IV: 4

Goody
Wii: Sold out
PS3: 4
B:UC: Sold out
Dragon Quest IV: Sold out

Best Denki
Wii: 3
PS3: 12
B:UC: Sold out
Dragon Quest IV: 8

Wanpaku
Wii: 2
PS3: 9
B:UC: Sold Out
Dragon Quest IV: 5

Famicom Dojo
Wii: 1
PS3: 3
B:UC: Sold Out
Dragon Quest IV: Sold Out

Yamada Denki
Wii: 6
PS3: 17
B:UC: Sold Out
Dragon Quest IV: 11

TOTALS:
Wii: 20 (Last week 18)
PS3: 71 (Last week 75)
B:UC: 0 (last week 5)
Dragon Quest IV: 36

NOTES:

1. The Wii numbers haven’t changed significantly, but 2 stores I talked to told me they are getting a lot more shipped to them recently. Since there are similar numbers “in shop” I would say that sales are increasing. But it’s still easy to find.

2. There are TONS of used PSP and DS systems. I have never seen so many used systems available. In some store they are more numerous than the new systems. The old-model PSP systems are selling cheap (about $75-$85) because they have so many of them. Seems a lot of people “traded-up” The same thing happened with the DS when the lite model came out.

3. PS3 is in stock everywhere and in large numbers. As I said last week, it is being pushed by stores much harder than the Wii and being given prime floor space. However it should be noted that I did this report 3 days before the launch of WiiFit.

4. There is a glut of used Xbox 360 systems again. Seems people have finished Ace Combat. But I expect those systems to be snapped up for the release of Lost Odyssey. Retailers must agree with me because the selling price is not as low as used 360s usually go for.

5. A few stores put brochures for Wii fit out near the systems and 2 stores have posters up, but other than that there is almost nothing in store for the launch of this game. Perhaps they are going to try to build buzz in the big cities and then let it spread around. I’ll report more on this game next week.

6. There are still copies of Dragon Quest IV to be found, but last week stores were drowning in copies, now there is just an average amount. Seems they are selling quite well. When I saw how many were out last week I was worried that Square-Enix over shipped.

7. This week the local Otaku are nuts for Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes (mostly the PS2 version) and they are getting hyped for No More Heroes. It seems that the title has otaku “street cred”.

8. Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles is sold out in every store in my town. Not a single copy, new or used is for sale. I was waiting on this game until I found a Zapper pack but this week I decided to go for the game only version. Seems I waited too long. I can’t find a copy for myself anywhere.

Special: Last week you guys wanted to know about why Super Mario Galaxy wasn’t selling and how bad the PSP piracy thing is in Japan. Here’s what I found:

Super Mario Galaxy:

The gamers I talked to that bought Super Mario Galaxy simply adore it. But the thing is a lot of them never picked it up in the first place. A lot of the Otaku gamers I talked to were turned off by the ads for it that made it look like a casual title. They were worried that that game was too simple.

So then I talked to a lot of my friends and co-workers who were not gamers. Only about half of them knew Super Mario Galaxy was the new Mario game. A few of them went “Oh, I have that!” and went on to describe Mario Party 8. Seems a lot of the casuals were not even aware the Mario Galaxy and Mario Party were different games. Of the ones that did know what it was, again very few picked it up. They said it looked really difficult and disorienting. They say they love Mario, but not that type of game.

It was actually a bit frustrating. The Otaku say it looks too simple and the casuals say it looks too hard. The ad campaign seems to have distanced the game from both camps. The only people who seem to truly “get it” is my elementary school students. They ALL know about the game and most of them really want to play it. But they don’t have money to buy games. If they still want it by the time they get their New Years money, the game might still do some nice sales. But by that time it might be too late.

PSP Piracy

Until I started looking into it, I never knew the problem was this big. I saw 4 high school boys playing PSP in the park by my house and started talking to them. Of the 4 kids there, only one of them had a legal game with him. The others were all playing pirated software. I asked where they got the copied games and they told me a few sites. I asked where they found out about how to get free games and they told me they read it in a book.

The local bookstores in my town all have multiple books on PSP (and DS) “hacking” (word being used loosely). These books have step-by-step guides and provide web links. They are not photocopied manifestos being sold at shady game stores. They are brightly colored, high production books and magazines and you can find them at ANY bookshop. Even in my tiny city I was able to find them very easily. One PC magazine had a full page ad on the back cover for the R4. It didn’t say what it did or even use the word DS in the ad, just a picture of the card itself. In other words, their target consumer already knows what it is and what it does.

Next I went to talk to some shop owners. They say it very common for someone to buy a PSP without buying a game for it at the same time. However it is very rare for someone to buy a DS, PS2, Wii, 360 etc. without a game. Some stores, when they see a customer buying a system without games, will ask if they want to buy a Memory Stick. There is a fairy good profit on memory sticks.

Now it should be noted that this is only information that I have gathered from a few people at a few game stores. I cannot say if this is a nationwide trend or if it is just my town. What I do know is there is a thriving business for piracy and I can’t imagine that I am the only one noticing.

Previous Reports on 4cr:

November 22nd, 2007
November 15th, 2007
October 25th, 2007
September 6th, 2007
August 30th, 2007