The PS Vita just had one of its best sales week in Japan thanks to Sega's new rhythm game for a popular virtual character, which helped nearly quintuple hardware sales for the ailing handheld.
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F was the top-selling game in Japan last week and moved almost 160,000 copies at retail, the biggest opening week debut for any PS Vita title ever. Atlus' Persona 4: The Golden previously held that record with over 137,000 units sold.
The Sega game released with a hardware bundle, which helped boost PS Vita system sales to a little over 50,000, about five times its sales in the previous week. No other PS Vita titles pushed enough copies last week to appear on Media Create's top 20 software sales chart.
Major PS Vita releases have managed to temporarily multiply the system's otherwise bleak weekly sales in the country before, such as Persona 4: The Golden and Metal Gear Solid HD Edition, but those numbers immediately returned to their usual lows of around 10,000 units the following week.
Though companies rarely provide digital sales figures for PS Vita titles, a spokesperson for the series disclosed that Hatsune Miku's downloadable version sold about 10 percent as much as the retail release (16,000 copies), according to a report from Andriasang.
That spokesperson, however, also mentioned that based on current sales trends for the game, it would be difficult to create a sequel due to Hatsune Miku's high development costs. While they never released in the U.S., the Hatsune Miku games were some of the most popular on PSP in Japan.
The Vita was the highest selling single SKU in Japan for that week so it's not like the boost is nothing. The 3DS still beat it though if you add up all the different 3DS models.
Robert,
The Vita has just as many models as the 3DS. 3DS and XL, Vita Wifi, and 3G. 2 different skus, and 2 different models.
Now yes when you get a game that the markets wants you can have success. The main problem with the Vita is that first Sony doesn't have the best selling game on their device.
They are depending on the 3rd parties to grow the market for the device. Then you have that even with that boost no other game showed up in the top 30. So people bought that game and system only for that game. Meaning you didn't gain any extra sells nor did your 3rd party developers. Finally it was a music game! That being the best selling game on your system can't be good for your market or userbase.
Technically the Vita has two models, but the 3G version might as well not exist because nobody buys it (especially in Japan).
Hatsune Miku isn't selling to music fans; it's selling to otaku. Having a lot of otaku own your system isn't a bad thing as they tend to be willing to spend large sums of money.
Also, used games are even more common in Japan than in the US. If a game isn't new, people in Japan almost always buy it used. For example, in this last week's Media Create sales data, 8 of the top 10 games came out that week and the other 2 games were only about 1-2 months old. Chances are those new Vita owners just got their non-Hatsune Miku games used and so those figures don't show up.
Robert, admittedly many otaku bought this game, but stating that this is not selling to music fan is clearly far fetched. Miku Hatsune has around 8M regular listeners[1] and this is a steady growing phenomenon in Japan, that's a demographic clearly far bigger than the usual otaku crowd (mind you, half of these listeners are woman). The limiting factor is clearly the Vita installed base, only real fan will buy a Vita for this game but the lot of people listening to Miku are a potential growth margin... as long as they already own a Vita !
No, it doesn't only apply to Japan because Miku's market (and Vocaloid, in general) is worldwide, not restricted to Japan. If the game was offered worldwide through digital distribution on PSN and Steam (for example), the numbers would skyrocket much higher, particularly since many of Miku's fans are younger and cannot afford to import games and/or don't have their own access, etc. The key is access, but Miku has achieved success even without being offered outside Japan. This is very similar to what happened with Susan Boyle's success a few years ago, but Miku is different because her success is completely bottom up from the consumers, not from companies.
@Robert:
No, Hatsune Miku is waaaay past being bought only by otaku. I am doing my doctoral dissertation with her as the topic, and so is Alex Leavitt at USC. People around the world support Miku and buy her songs and products, and this is without having her officially offered outside of Japan. Now, if companies would simply pay attention, they would give the market what people want. Crypton Future Media, her creator, is actually doing exactly that, at least to the best of their ability.
These types of claims need to stop, as do the rather dismissive attitude towards otaku. I'd suggest doing some academic research. After all the years and efforts of scholars such as Dr. Henry Jenkins and James Paul Gee to change the popular but mistaken perception about topics such as otaku and gamers, it's amazing that I continue to see segments of the community disrespect each other. This view is the same view as gamers received when D&D became popular for tabletop games, or video games in general became popular. I see no reason for members of the community to treat other members as somehow "lesser."
Let's put it this way. If Miku can win awards at Cannes Lions (two, in fact) and she can win other awards and receive notice from music industry journals such as Billboard (already done), as well as hit the tops of music charts in Japan and worldwide (already done), she is hardly a niche phenomenon, nor is her popularity restricted to Japan (witness the many non-Japanese fans doing Vocaloid dances at school events or cosplaying as Miku and other Vocaloids around the world).
@Joe:
It is not accurate to state that Sony doesn't have the best selling game on their device. Yes, they do. If you mean that there is a different game on another device that sells more, that would only be because of a larger user base for the hardware, not because the other game is "best selling." Also, having a music game as the best selling game is GOOD as long as the game is created properly (i.e., by empowering consumers, as the PJD games do, because this makes the game open ended and invests consumers in its success... and the company's).
@All:
Quantity doesn't equal quality. Everything in media today is a niche of one type or another. So-called AAA games in the West are niche and many people will never play those titles because they simply are not interested in them. Instead, those people are playing something else... or reading something else... listening to something else... etc. People who are fans of something tend to think everyone shares their preferences, but this automatically creates a conflict because each group prefers different things. That's diversity, and we should appreciate it. That's why it is better for companies to support and empower consumers so that they can create whatever niches they want.
Success for a company today is achieved by empowering consumers to create and rate the content they want. That's why Miku is a success, including her games (note that the songs and outfits are made by consumers, not by Sega or Crypton or any company or company employee). When you have a niche that is measured by millions of devoted consumers, the concept of "mainstream" becomes irrelevant. When you have a niche that is measured in a handful of consumers but the product or service is extremely expensive, the idea of "mainstream" still becomes irrelevant (e.g., expensive cars, expensive art, etc.).
The Vita has just as many models as the 3DS. 3DS and XL, Vita Wifi, and 3G. 2 different skus, and 2 different models.
Now yes when you get a game that the markets wants you can have success. The main problem with the Vita is that first Sony doesn't have the best selling game on their device.
They are depending on the 3rd parties to grow the market for the device. Then you have that even with that boost no other game showed up in the top 30. So people bought that game and system only for that game. Meaning you didn't gain any extra sells nor did your 3rd party developers. Finally it was a music game! That being the best selling game on your system can't be good for your market or userbase.
Hatsune Miku isn't selling to music fans; it's selling to otaku. Having a lot of otaku own your system isn't a bad thing as they tend to be willing to spend large sums of money.
Also, used games are even more common in Japan than in the US. If a game isn't new, people in Japan almost always buy it used. For example, in this last week's Media Create sales data, 8 of the top 10 games came out that week and the other 2 games were only about 1-2 months old. Chances are those new Vita owners just got their non-Hatsune Miku games used and so those figures don't show up.
[1] http://www.cdjournal.com/Company/products/cdjournal.php?yyyy=2012&no=05
No, it doesn't only apply to Japan because Miku's market (and Vocaloid, in general) is worldwide, not restricted to Japan. If the game was offered worldwide through digital distribution on PSN and Steam (for example), the numbers would skyrocket much higher, particularly since many of Miku's fans are younger and cannot afford to import games and/or don't have their own access, etc. The key is access, but Miku has achieved success even without being offered outside Japan. This is very similar to what happened with Susan Boyle's success a few years ago, but Miku is different because her success is completely bottom up from the consumers, not from companies.
@Robert:
No, Hatsune Miku is waaaay past being bought only by otaku. I am doing my doctoral dissertation with her as the topic, and so is Alex Leavitt at USC. People around the world support Miku and buy her songs and products, and this is without having her officially offered outside of Japan. Now, if companies would simply pay attention, they would give the market what people want. Crypton Future Media, her creator, is actually doing exactly that, at least to the best of their ability.
These types of claims need to stop, as do the rather dismissive attitude towards otaku. I'd suggest doing some academic research. After all the years and efforts of scholars such as Dr. Henry Jenkins and James Paul Gee to change the popular but mistaken perception about topics such as otaku and gamers, it's amazing that I continue to see segments of the community disrespect each other. This view is the same view as gamers received when D&D became popular for tabletop games, or video games in general became popular. I see no reason for members of the community to treat other members as somehow "lesser."
Let's put it this way. If Miku can win awards at Cannes Lions (two, in fact) and she can win other awards and receive notice from music industry journals such as Billboard (already done), as well as hit the tops of music charts in Japan and worldwide (already done), she is hardly a niche phenomenon, nor is her popularity restricted to Japan (witness the many non-Japanese fans doing Vocaloid dances at school events or cosplaying as Miku and other Vocaloids around the world).
@Joe:
It is not accurate to state that Sony doesn't have the best selling game on their device. Yes, they do. If you mean that there is a different game on another device that sells more, that would only be because of a larger user base for the hardware, not because the other game is "best selling." Also, having a music game as the best selling game is GOOD as long as the game is created properly (i.e., by empowering consumers, as the PJD games do, because this makes the game open ended and invests consumers in its success... and the company's).
@All:
Quantity doesn't equal quality. Everything in media today is a niche of one type or another. So-called AAA games in the West are niche and many people will never play those titles because they simply are not interested in them. Instead, those people are playing something else... or reading something else... listening to something else... etc. People who are fans of something tend to think everyone shares their preferences, but this automatically creates a conflict because each group prefers different things. That's diversity, and we should appreciate it. That's why it is better for companies to support and empower consumers so that they can create whatever niches they want.
Success for a company today is achieved by empowering consumers to create and rate the content they want. That's why Miku is a success, including her games (note that the songs and outfits are made by consumers, not by Sega or Crypton or any company or company employee). When you have a niche that is measured by millions of devoted consumers, the concept of "mainstream" becomes irrelevant. When you have a niche that is measured in a handful of consumers but the product or service is extremely expensive, the idea of "mainstream" still becomes irrelevant (e.g., expensive cars, expensive art, etc.).