Nintendo DS outlook in 2006

[Bacon McShig]

Media Create (Japan) sales for last week (yes, week, not month)

1. NDS Brain Training 2 414,556 NEW
2. NDS Animal Crossing DS 205,119 (1,382,228)
3. NDS Mario Kart DS 168,680 (836,478)
4. PS2 Kingdom Hearts 2 156,837 (884,428)
5. NDS Brain Training 153,189 (1,157,870)
6. PS2 Front Mission 5 146,209 NEW
7. NDS Mario & Luigi 2 132,726 NEW
8. NDS Gentle Brain Training 82,789 (935,535)
9. NDS Tamagotchi 63,433 (784,537)
10. NDS Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon: Blue Rescue Force 61,154 (572,858)

DS - 390,181
PSP - 110,741
PS2 - 78,646
GBASP - 15,998
GC - 12,579
Xbox360 - 12,300
GBM - 11,234
GBA - 447
Xbox - 121

YTD / LTD
DS - 4,151,356 / 5,646,952
PSP - 2,200,710 / 2,682,962
DS Lead - 1,950,646 / 2,963,990

DS is a juggernaut over there.

[Tommy Tallarico]

Compared to what? I mean, that's nice for the DS and all, but it's not hard to be on top when there's no new Jap console or handheld with recent game releases competing with it. Well, there's the PSP, but we all know it sucks anyway.

[Bacon McShig]

Compared to what? I mean, that's nice for the DS and all, but it's not hard to be on top when there's no new Jap console or handheld with recent game releases competing with it. Well, there's the PSP, but we all know it sucks anyway.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is a huge release only in it's second week, on a platform that has a much higher installed base, and 3 DS games beat it. Plus, 8 of the top 10 games are on DS, with most selling over 100,000 in a week, which many faily big games struggle to do in a month. And as shidoshi mentioned, DSes are selling so well that Nintendo can't keep up with demand.

Come on, that's pretty impressive.

[Tommy Tallarico]

I see what you mean now. I was just looking in comparison to the dated consoles and shitty PSP, but the DS is definitely doing hot by myself.

[Joust Williams]

WHat is Brain Training and how has 3 of them come out for DS and sold 2.5 M copies between them

Oh I found out. Some quiz app. Who gives a hell

[Bacon McShig]

Think of it as a sort of edutainment version of Wario Ware.

It'll be interesting to see how it does here.

[Spike]

I do readily admit, however, that the DS does have an edge. As big an edge as some make it seem around here? Absolutely not.

I'm not certain what your point about sales is here Stephanie, but I'm going to do us all a favour and just chalk it up to psychobabble rambling and ignore it altogether.

Did the PS2 have a big edge over the Cube and Xbox in terms of big-name exclusives? Absolutely. Why? Because the PS2 sold like gangbusters. Same thing with the DS. Huge DS sales = more content from 3rd parties = more big-name exclusives.

That is a big edge. That is why sales are important. It doesn't matter how much better technologically the PSP is, the sales are with the DS, and that's where most of the big-name games will be going.

Out there selling their crap, I'd reckon. I am not claiming the DS isn't beating the PSP in terms of support (or sales), but the PSP is hardly a dead system, or even a dying system.

Well, RockStar is moving GTA:LCS over to the PS2, so if that isn't a sign that the system is in trouble, I don't know what is...

[mollipen]

I was just looking in comparison to the dated consoles and shitty PSP...

Come on now... it's also got tought competition in the Xbox 360.

*snicker*

[Space Pirate Roberts]

Square is making the basketball game for Nintendo, yes.

Huh, that's a rather odd choice. I don't think I've ever heard of Square doing a sports game, and pretty much everything I've tried from them that wasn't a traditional RPG was terrible.

[mollipen]

Think of it as a sort of edutainment version of Wario Ware.

Thus Joust's lack of interest in the title - he has no use for his brain, thus no need to keep it active and healthy. *heh*

And I'm not sure I'd call it WarioWare, per say... I mean, it could be seen as a game of mini-games, but that makes it sound a bit less serious than it meant to be. It's based on a book (or something similar) of mental challenges that were designed to "stimulate" your brain and give it the exercise it doesn't always get. The initial project was based on studies that showed that regular exercise of your brain can help keep you healthy mentally and help ward off things like Alzheimer's.

So yeah, it is still a game, but it was put together for a serious purpose, and that's why its audience consists of a lot of older people who usually don't play video games.

The second one, from what I know - and I could be wrong - is more focused on kanji and the practice and study of it.