Anyway, had a good day.
Comparing sales numbers only works when the price tag is the same. It is not fair to compare a game of $40 to a game of $1 for example. Ultimately, it is all about the profit. These companies place the price point not just where it can sell the maximum number of units but the maximum amount of profit.
Dragon Quest X has a subscription cost which means you can’t compare it to previous Dragon Quest games. The way to measure success of DQ X is how long it can get people to pay the subscription fee. An MMO does not have to sell many units in order to rake in the cash. I believe it was that Final Fantasy MMO which was the most profitable for Square even though it sold ‘less units’.
Dragon Quest X isn’t the game I’m watching. I am watching NSMB 2 and the trainwreck NCL has done with that game. I’ve never seen a more disappointing 2d Mario game since the Japanese version of Super Mario Brothers 2 (and Nintendo had an excuse then). Super Mario Brothers has always been the flagship product of Nintendo. But thanks to temper tantrums by those who have a sick, sick love affair with 3d technologies, NSMB 2 got stuck with C string developers resulting in a C string quality game (the coin collecting gimmick was to hide the mediocrity. There is a reason why nothing happens when you get a million coins). Nintendo is making the game against their will. The only reason why NSMB U is getting better care is because it is the flagship launch game and not even the most 3d diehard inside Nintendo wants their console to have a weak launch.
Poor Reggie Fils-Aime. Nintendo has to decide whether the 3DS is not selling in the Americas because of Reggie not doing a good job marketing or because of the product itself. It’s the product itself. There is no way I’ll ever buy the 3DS and this goes beyond my bias for the 3d. The 3DS is overshooting the market. The only games that look remotely interesting on the 3DS are Gameboy ones and the others from the E-Shop. But I’ve played those games before, and I don’t see why I should buy a big 3DS XL to play black and white Gameboy games. Of course, the 3DS cannot overshoot the Japanese market because the Japanese treat their handhelds like everyone else treats their home consoles.
My prediction for the Eighth Generation: If you want a home console gaming experience, buy the 3DS. If you want a handheld console gaming experience, buy the Wii U. Who knew that the 3DS offers a more traditional console experience than Nintendo’s home console? And with the 3DS XL, Nintendo’s handheld has a larger screen than the home console does.
If Nintendo continues to struggle, perhaps a solution would be to have the handheld console offer a traditional handheld gaming experience and have the home console offer a traditional home console gaming experience.