Some of the editorial speculations expressed within these write-ups are forward thinking -- not to be taken as fact, but rather projections based on evaluated market data.
Each week the Japanese publication Dengeki issues a list of the Top 50 selling software titles in Japan. These numbers are compiled from various but not all retailers, and do a great job to help you understand how games are doing in the overseas market.
In last week's Top 50 there were only three GameCube titles to be found. Star Fox Adventures fell from the number five spot to seven, Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II stepped down from spot 18 to 19, and Super Mario Sunshine dropped a notch as well from spot 24 to 25. It was a fairly weak period for sales, however, as the Capcom GBA battle title Gyaku Tensaiban 2 garnered the number one spot with a mere 53,278. Star Fox Adventures is currently the most rapidly selling GCN game, having topped out at 15,238 units in contrast to PSO's 4,933 and Mario Sunshine's 4,558.
Cumulative sales of the three titles, however, reveal a different picture. Super Mario Sunshine, which released late last July, has sold a total of 624,240, making it the second best-selling GCN game to date in Japan. Meanwhile, Star Fox Adventures has broken the 200,000 mark and Sega's Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II has reached just over 100,000. In terms of share, GCN only accounted for a mere 6% of the list, while the PlayStation 2 dominated with a 62% holding. Even the PS one was more present in the Top 50 with a 10% share. Xbox, however, was no where to be found in the Top 50.
Given that only three GameCube titles showed up in the Top 50 compared to PS2's 31, the numbers suggest that GameCube is really only perceived as being valuable for exclusive releases at the moment. It begs the question: is this trend carving too niche a market for Nintendo's so-called "mass marketable" machine? Despite its price and want to be strictly a gaming system, it seems to be decidedly lacking varied third-party appeal in the overseas market to achieve this.
Nintendo's next big release will come in the form of psychological thriller Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. Be sure to check back soon to see where it falls in the Top 50.
We hope you've enjoyed this quickie look at last week's Top 50 sales in Japan. If you have any ideas for graphs you'd like to see in the future, please email us at cube_mail@ign.com.