If it truly is just a demo, $30 is still waaaaaaaaaaay too high. Anything but free is high for a demo.
Return to The BaDlands #25 - PS4's Japan Launch Sales + MGSV:GZ Price Drop
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 On 02/25/2014 at 09:36 AM by gigantor21 See More From This User » |
So the PS4's Japanese launch arrived two days ago, and we've finally got some sales numbers. According to Famitsu it sold over 300k in two days.
The good news (which Sony will likely focus on) is that it completely destroyed the PS3's 88k launch numbers, and it was one of the best launches ever for a console there, only behind the Wii and PS2. The bad news is that it's just slightly above the WiiU's launch numbers--a far cry from the blockbuster record-setting sales the PS4 and Xone saw in their first few weeks on the market. In the UK, for comparison, the PS4 completely outsold the WiiU in just a few days. And while the initial stock for the country has eventually sold out, it's a far cry from the massive queues and excitment that the PS2 got over there.
Honestly...I don't know how to feel about these numbers. We've seen plenty of examples of launch numbers being worthless--the WiiU fell off hard after a great Christmas and has yet to recover, while MS is maneuvering as quickly as possible to stop the PS4's post-Christmas momentum in Xbox territory. But I literally can't think of any way to interpret these numbers at all. Would they have sold more if they had made Japan a bigger priority? Or does the more muted launch suggest that nothing will stop the decline of the console space on Nintendo and Sony's turf?
Either way, I expect the sales to be terrible after the Ground Zeroes rush dies down next month. Japanse devs are being even more cautious than their Western counterparts when it comes to the next-gen transition, so there will be very severe software droughts throughout the year. Whether later releases like GGXrd, Deep Down, or (much later) FFXV and KH3 help revitalize things is yet to be seen.
And speaking of Ground Zeroes...
Konami reported today that they've cut the price on the next-gen copies abroad, from £39.99 to £29.99--in line with the digital versions of the game. Seems that the mass of criticism over the game's premium price for what's essentially a demo did have an impact at Konami HQ. This should help ameliorate some of the anger over the game being split up and sold in pieces...although I'm still very leery of the practice.
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