Nintendo ruling the roost

[Razer]

Here are the latest Japanese console software sales for the week of Jan 1 - 7:


1) Dragon Quest Monsters Joker---NDS---Square Enix---266,827
2) Wii Sports---Wii---Nintendo---166,011
3) Hajimete no Wii---Wii---Nintendo---141,702
4) New Super Mario Bros.---NDS---Nintendo---128,211
5) Imasara Hito ni wa Kikenai Otona no Joushikiryoku Training---NDS---Nintendo---109,573
6) Kawashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouwo Kitaeru Otona no DS Training---NDS---Nintendo---99,320
7) Oide yo Doubutsu no Mori [Animal Crossing: Wild World]---NDS---Nintendo---94,917
8) Pokemon Diamond---NDS---Nintendo---94,370
9) Hoshi no Kirby: Sanjou! Dorocche Dan---NDS---Nintendo---93,522
10) Pokemon Pearl---NDS---Nintendo---78,398


And this is why Nintendo will never die. They...make...fun...games. Even the number one game is for a Nintendo system. You think Sony's not keeping track of these numbers? The Sony/Microsoft war in Japan is clearly for the number 2 spot.

[Girkon]

Take that critics. Nintendo has made a come back and it is with a vengence.

[Gryph]

It's insane just how popular the DS is in Japan. I think the DS is the first handheld to dominate the sales charts like it's been doing so often.

[Razer]

I believe that's because the DS (which I didn't think was anything more than a gimmick at first) is something that brigns an entirely new gaming experience to the table. It is a complete evolution of the GB/GBA (and simply brilliant in it's backwards compatibility tho they could have found a way to do 2P also) while still being new. The PSP is nothing new. It simply combines all of your features you already had into one device. It's a freakin' universal remote. Now also look at the market, the PSP is putting your PS2 (slightly dumbed down) with your everyday PC media functions (incredibly dumbed down). Now we're talking Japan as in "The land of electronic technology", everyone there already has a PC so this is nothing great. Maybe in the US where not everyone has a PC this sells but not in J-Land.

The reasoning follows the Wii also. The PS3 is simply a PS2 with PC media functions. It's great graphically but average in every other department in itself. IF you have an HDTV then it's nice...IF you have a full 5:1 (minimum) Dolby sound setup then it's nice. The XB360 isn't even a competitor due to (I believe) it's US roots. We simply can't get a foothold in Japan. Sorry, Bill.

I love my Wii for what it brings NEW to me. Any game that is on the Wii and PS2 I will probably get the PS2 version unless the Wii version is a better experience. If I ever get a PS3 (and I probably will when it hits $350) then I don't want it to play the same old games I have on my PS2. I want something new and I don't mean prettier graphics. I really could care less about visuals when the gameplay is not up to par. And as long as human beings still program the games we will still get the crap games pumped out. Matter of fact I see more than ever in the future due to the ginourmous cost of producing a game now. You can't take a chance so it'll be a sequel or a licensed game. There will be a few Katmari's or Loco Roco's that trickle out but just look at the PS3 and XB360 launch lineups and count how many games were existing sequels as opposed to new properties. I'll even say you can throw out the games that only had one appearance on a platform. It's a shame but it's a monster we created and perpetuate by buying the same old, same old so it's our shame.