The Nintendo Switch is due to be released next Friday and while we know that pre-orders are strong in North America it will be interesting to see how the system fares in Japan. Japanese gaming publication Famitsu has interviewed three different retailers in the land of the rising sun to gauge how well they believe the system will do. Here’s the low-down.
GEO
- Nation-wide CD and DVD rental / seller
- 1,686 shops total in Japan and 1,131 of them are also selling video games
- Customers in their 30’s as well as families were responding the most to Switch
- Only a few locations had lines forming for pre-orders, but its entire reservation slots were filled in two days
- Why it filled faster than expected was due to low quantity
- There were many consumers who couldn’t buy Famicom Mini, PSVR, or PlayStation 4 Pro at launch
- Consumers were trying to avoid another sellout situation with Switch, which is why they hopped on preorders
- Preorders for the gray color were taken before the neon version
- Neon was reserved more by women, including those who came to reserve a system for their child
- Game preorder popularity was, Zelda, 1-2-Switch and then Super Bomberman R
- Official carrying case was the most popular peripheral
- The store rep says they believe the price is just right
Bic Camera
- Nation-wide major electronics and home appliances retailer
- 20 stores, but each one is a multi-floor gigantic building and located at the best and highly valuable districts of major cities
- At Bic Camera located in Yurakucho, 200 people formed a line for Switch
- Ikebukuro store had the longest line and there were 700 people
- Switch didn’t seem to be receiving a ton of interest at Bic Camera after Nintendo presented the system
- As the day for reservations approached, interest continued to increase
- Gray was the more popular color option here
- Once it reached its quota, most customers decided to reserve the neon option
- Zelda and 1-2 Switch were the most popular preorders
- Dragon Quest Heroes I-II saw more preorders than expecting
- Store rep said pricing for the Switch was appropriate and they want more supply
Games Maya
- Small independent video game retailer, but widely known in Japan
- Games Maya has seen a pretty huge reaction from consumers since Switch was presented
- There were some who said they would buy it regardless of the price
- Big lines formed during the day for pre-orders, and all slots were filled by around noon
- Store rep felt a stronger reaction compared to past consoles, but wants more supply of Switch
- Gray was more sought after in general, with kids reserving the neon version
- Customers stopped by who just wanted to reserve Switch no matter the color
- Final ratio between the two colors was roughly 6:4.
- Popular game preorders were Zelda followed by 1-2-Switch
- Switch Pro Controller was the most popular preorder, with lots of Zelda customers picking one up
- Already seeing three times more demand from customers than actual supply
- Store rep believes customers are seeing the price as cheap
- She also think it is cheaper than she expected
- Store rep thought that if the price was not below the PlayStation, it will be tough
The console will do good over there.
Especially after they Switch focus from 3DS and get all them games on the console.
Sounds good but how good is it really? About 2 million Switch units available for the 1st month. I believe the Wii U sold close to 3.2 Mill in its first month. Switch preorders are more then what the WiiU had but is that because more people are more interested in the Switch? or Is it because the people whom are preordering are the same people who would have bought one later on during the month but because they are aware that 2 million units might not be enough quantity to last the month, they preorder one instead?
5 more days ’til Zelda..
Umm… What?! 3.2 million? Are you smoking crack? It definitely wasn’t 3 million, that’s for sure. Combined in the world, they barely got a million, but definitely not in the US or in Japan did they hit a million alone. Combined they barely touched 1 million.
http://m.ign.com/articles/2013/01/11/how-successful-was-the-wii-u-launch
If you read it again and keep reading it explains that those number were NA and Jap and then they add the UK and Europe numbers, which their totals come to 2.5 – 3 mill.
Go check Nintendo’s website, they basically tell you their numbers. Wii U sold 13 mill overall. They earned that 2.3 within half a year. It took them forever worldwide
The wii u didn’t sell bad at first, the sales slowed down once all the nintendo fanboys got their system.
If Nintendo focus on advertising it as a Handheld that could be used as a Home Console, instead of a Home Console that could be used as a Handheld, then it sell amazingly in Japan.
Then they can’t sell games at 60$… objectively many games are very high budget, not standard handheld games.
The fact that these games are cheaper to make than on disc, 50 should be the push like Wii and not 60. Half of these 60 dollar games aren’t worth 60. Definitely not giving 60 for Mario kart 8, again.
Not again, but I don’t mind my first time. It’s a quality game developed by more than one hundred people! Not a budget handheld game. It deserves every penny.
So you think it’s fine to resell Mario 8 for a few new vehicles and battle mode?
I’m more than happy. I didn’t want a Wii U but I’m getting a switch.
So you think it’s fine to resell a game people brought? Okay, droid you are
Sure, it’s aimed to new customers. Though I think that some people will re-buy it. I would not re-buy but since I haven’t bought it on the Wii U it’s perfect for me.
Don’t see it as an unavoidable purchase. This is just a chance. I hope they will release all the great software of the Wii U for new customers, even a direct port is fine for me.
Obvously they should not release the entire Wii U library. I would like Yoshi.
(I didn’t bought the Wii U)
I’ll buy it again for the Switch. The Battle mode is worth it for me and I could just sell the WiiU version to get some of the money back, but I’ll probably end up keeping it.
That’s understandable. It’s still a gem and maybe you would like to play it on the go too sometimes.
Well, if you saw Reggie’s video with Pro Jard, Reggie asked him how many 3DS’s he had, and Pro named off like, 6. And by the 3 name off, Reggie started laughing and said that Nintendo loves customers like him. Nintendo looks at those customers as their favorite. I feel that only Nintendo fans can be dumbed into buying something over and over and over again and think of it as nothing. Good example is this virtual console B’s. IDC if they don’t have it, I’m not spending money on fucking Mario again and again and again. Dudes can suck a nut cause I’m not buying stuff over. But they will get the idiot gamer who does over and over. That’s the only reason Nintendo stays afloat, milking off that old red fuck Mario
I concur with you on the thing that when you buy one time it should be carried over. We are still talking about a Virtual Machine. I’m not going to buy that stuff eventually, but if games are priced low… and anyway I prefer new games. Retrogaming is good if it’s free in my opinion.