Why does Nintendo think so highly of the Japanese market?

Just Look at the numbers:

Source: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/news/050526e.pdf

GameCube Hardware

Japan - 3,800,000

America - 10,460,000

Other - 4,240,000

Total - 18,500,000

GameCube Software

Japan - 23,990,000

America - 97,770,000

Other - 34,540,000

Total - 156,290,000

Game Boy Advance Hardware

Japan - 15,550,000

America - 33,370,000

Other - 17,870,000

Total - 66,790,000

Game Boy Advance Software

Japan - 62,540,000

America - 147,240,000

Other - 58,590,000

Total - 268,360,000

Nintendo DS Hardware

Japan - 2,120,000

America - 2,190,000

Other - 950,000

Total - 5,270,000

Nintendo DS Software

Japan - 3,820,000

America - 4,750,000

Other - 1,920,000

Total - 10,490,000

On some things “Other” even beats Japan in sales, and in every single thing USA beats Japan in sales. I mean even with a better selection of DS games the DS is still doing better in America. Why does Nintendo usually release games first in Japan and keeping more games exclusives to Japan . Animal Crossing, Pokemon are both examples of games that sell even in the US, and Metroid is an example of games selling in US where Japan doesn’t give a damn about. If Nintendo is really about making profits and being a having a great business model than why do they favor Japan? -Adv2k1

Thanks for the link...I didn't even know about this data. I think it's extremely compelling, especially since these are Nintendo's own numbers (and posted on their Japanese website, no less). Your point is well founded, and I discussed it and some related issues in an editorial earlier this year. The short answer to your question is probably just that Nintendo is a Japanese company, so they naturally want to focus on their own region first and foremost. It clearly doesn't make much business sense, if you look only at sales. I can see some justification for games being released in Japan first, aside from the obvious translation effort needed for games that are developed by Japanese studios. For instance, you mention Pokemon, a series that has performed exceptionally well in Japan as well as North America and virtually everywhere else. Nintendo released the original Pokemon games in Japan to little fanfare, but over the course of two years, they were able to turn it into a multimedia phenomenon thanks to the anime series, trading cards, and brilliant marketing. When they finally brought Pokemon to the rest of the world, the game was an instant success because the company already knew how to sell it to kids. Still, I don't think "Japan as a proving ground" is a sufficient explanation for the company's excessive attention to that market.

Nanostray just hit the DS - but how many copies of the game does 2 player wireless require? If they can pull eight players onto a MarioKart track, 2 into a space shooter doesn't seem too demanding...

APD

I don't have the game yet, but it looks like there is indeed single-card download play of some kind.

Capcom just announced Resident Evil 5 for PS3 and Xbox

360.

(http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=5318)

There was no mention of the game appearing on

Revolution. Do you think this is just because not

enough is known about the system yet, or do you think

Capcom is going to screw over the Nintendo fan-base?

vudu

Today's RE5 news from Famitsu is great for RE fans in general, not so great for Nintendo fans. Best case scenario, RE5 will be announced when Nintendo reveals more about the Revolution, so we'll have to spend a few more months unsure of whether the game is coming to Nintendo's next system or not. Worst case scenario, Capcom is actively avoiding a Revolution version for some reason; either they don't know enough about the hardware to make the decision, or they know enough to think that the game won't work with whatever zany interface and/or market strategy Nintendo is planning to use.

Whatever happened to the announced Mother 1 & 2 and Mother 3 for the

GBA? Was it cancelled or something. I was really looking forward to it.

Maybe it was moved to DS?

-ZeroWil

Mother 1+2, a GBA compilation of the first two games in the series, was released in Japan back in 2003. You may be able to find it at an import shop if you're really desperate, but it doesn't seem to be in stock at Lik-Sang. Mother 3 was announced way back when and never heard from again. Either the game has been canceled or pushed into a long development cycle that may well have it ending up on the DS. I'd say that's being highly optimistic, though. Remember that this same sequel was kicked around for years during the N64 era before being shelved and later "revived" on the GBA. Let's all hope that Mother 3 will break free of its development curses one day.

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