Nintendo Q2 FY3/2015 Corporate Management Policy Briefing, Part 5: Four Consecutive Double-Million Sellers in Japan

Iwata: “Having three million sellers in four months is so rare that the other platforms have never experienced it.”

☆ NintendObs Event – Nintendo Q2 FY3/2015.

A major factor in the decrease of sales of the Nintendo 3DS hardware in the first half of this year is that we could not release any million-selling titles for the platform in the Japanese market. However, the two versions of “YOKAI WATCH2” (Japanese titles) released by Level-5 in July have sold approximately 2.8 million copies in total including their download versions. In addition, the sales of “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS” released in September are currently 1.88 million units and will shortly reach two million units including its download version. Furthermore, the sales of “Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate” have already exceeded two million including its download version in three weeks since its release in October (in Japan). Such a sequence of double-million sellers is due to the fact that each of them appeals to different generations.

“Pokémon Omega Ruby” and “Pokémon Alpha Sapphire” are on the way in November. Seen in this light, in the second half of this year,

We can reasonably expect such a surprising outcome as four double-million sellers in no longer than five months.

Tracing the history of software for dedicated video game platforms since 2000, when we started to receive precise video game sell-through data in the Japanese market from independent research companies, the number of titles that sold more than two million units amount to seven for Nintendo 3DS, 15 for Nintendo DS, eight for Wii, two for GameBoy Advance, and regarding other companies’ platforms, two for PSP and three for PS2.

Four double-million-selling titles in five months is a first in the history of the Japanese video game market. It is almost certain that the three titles I introduced before will become double-million sellers in four months, which is also a first.

Furthermore, having three “million” sellers in four months is so rare, even though it happened three times for Nintendo DS (in 2005, 2008 and 2009) and Nintendo 3DS (in 2011, 2013 and 2014), that the other platforms have never experienced it.

It seems that the market status of video games for dedicated platforms is increasingly being reported as pessimistic in contrast with the popularity of smartphones. The facts I have showed here proves that dedicated video game platforms still have ample business opportunities. I might add that third-party titles developed by software publishers as well as Nintendo titles have produced significant results. It is true that the sales of video games have been globally polarized between huge hits and ones that do not sell well, but I would like you to know that some blockbusters have consecutively emerged in the field of dedicated video game platforms.

— Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo
Source: Nintendo JP.