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[Nirolak]

Instead of a sequel, Puzzle & Dragons will be getting a multiplayer mode and an update so large that Gung-Ho basically considers it to be Puzzle & Dragons 2.

And today, at the so-called “GungHo Festival 2015″ (a fan event organized by the company in Chiba near Tokyo), the second drastic change was announced: the addition of multi-player.

...

But GungHo today said at their fan event that Puzzle & Dragons will get a “true” multi-player mode: just like Japan’s other top mobile game, Monster Strike by Mixi (2121), the mode will focus on cooperative (not competitive) gameplay.

The idea is to let two players clear the same dungeon at the same time by letting them taking turns.

...

At the event, producer Yamamoto said that in the multi-player mode, the health points of both players are added: as always the goal is to clear the dungeon without the HP bar reaching zero.

He went on saying that the mode will be included in a future update that will be “so comprehensive that it’s no exaggeration the result could be called Puzzle & Dragons 2″ (to make it clear: there will still only be one app, this mode will be included in Puzzle & Dragons proper).

Source: http://www.serkantoto.com/2015/06/01/gungho-multi-player-puzzle-dragons/

I made a separate thread here since we have a gigantic P&D community, but if you prefer to discuss the business implications here, feel free: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1054979

 

[AniHawk]

Damn, Splatoon is completely sold out at Yodobashi. Looks like it sold really well during the weekend.

i'm surprised this game is continuing to do so well at retail.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Damn, Splatoon is completely sold out at Yodobashi. Looks like it sold really well during the weekend.

Yeah I had Yodobashi coupons and was planning to pick it up over the weekend as well.
Was sold out at the Umeda Yodobashi. You honestly don't see that very often!

 

[ZSaberLink]

Comgnet sales - Index Period: May 25 - May 31, 2015 2015
[3DS] Hatsune Miku Project mirai Deluxe - 135pt
[WiiU] Splatoon - 132pt
[PS4] Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - 49pt
[Vita] Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels & Dragons - 29Pt
[Vita] Phantasy Star Nova - 28pt
[3DS] Assassination Classroom!! - 28Pt
[Vita] MineCraft: PlayStation Vita Edition - 26Pt
[Vita] ChuShingura46 + 1 - Chushingura 46 + 1- V - 20pt
[3DS] Style Savvy 3 - 17pt
[3DS] Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki - 16pt
[Vita] POSSESSION MAGENTA (Normal Edition) - 13Pt
[3DS] PUZZLE & DRAGONS SUPER MARIO BROS EDITION - 12pt
[Vita] POSSESSION MAGENTA (Limited Edition) - 11pt
[3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes Ultimate Mission 2 - 11pt
[Vita] Nobunaga's Ambition creative with Power-Up Kit - 9pt
[PS3] Minecraft (English) - 8pt
[3DS] Bravely Second - 8pt
[PS4] Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster - 6PT
[3DS] Mario Kart 7 - 6PT
[PS4] Earth Defense Force 4.1 THE SHADOW OF NEW despair - 5pt


Tsutaya ranking:
1. [WIU] Splatoon
2. [3DS] Hatsune Miku
3. [PS4] Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
4. [PSV] Minecraft: Playstation Vita Edition
5. [3DS] Puzzles & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
6. [PSV] Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels & Dragons
7. [3DS] Assassination Classroom
8. [PSV] Nobunaga's Ambition creative with Power-Up Kit
9. [3DS] Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki
10. [3DS] Style Savvy 3
11. [3DS] Bravely Second: End Layer
12. [PS4] Final Fantasy X/X-2
13. [PSV] Sword Art Online: Lost Song
14. [PS4] Dying Light
15. [PS3] One Piece Pirate Warriors 3
16. [PSV] God Eater 2: Rage Burst
17. [PSV] Possessions Magenta
18. [3DS] Yokai Watch 2: Shinuchi
19. [WIU] Super Smash Bros. Wii U (was 39th last week? interesting)
20. [PS4] Earth Defense Force 4.1: The shadow of new despair
20. [PS3] Resident Evil Revelations 2
20. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes Ultimate Mission 2

 

[Glass Joe]

i'm surprised this game is continuing to do so well at retail.

anecdotal, but I've been getting matched up with a lot of Japanese players myself. Made me curious enough to check out any rumblings about Japan sales.

 

[hiska-kun]

Tsutaya's Ranking Week 22 2015

01./00. [WIU] Splatoon <ACT> (Nintendo)
02./00. [3DS] Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai Deluxe <ACT> (Sega)
03./01. [PS4] The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt <RPG> (Spike Chunsoft)
04./03. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition (Mojang AB)
05./02. [3DS] Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition <RPG> (GungHo Online Entertainment)
06./00. [PSV] Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo tr. <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games)
07./00. [3DS] Assassination Classroom: Korosensei Daihouimou!! <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games)
08./00. [PSV] Nobunaga's Ambition: Creation with Power-Up Kit <SLG> (Koei Tecmo)
09./00. [3DS] Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki <ACT> (Arc System Works)
10./05. [3DS] Style Savvy 3: Kira Kira Code <ETC> (Nintendo)
11./06. [3DS] Bravely Second: End Layer <RPG> (Square Enix)
12./04. [PS4] Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster <Final Fantasy X Final Fantasy X-2> <RPG> (Square Enix)
13./08. [PSV] Sword Art Online: Lost Song (Bandai Namco Games)
14./07. [PS4] Dying Light <ADV> (Warner Entertainment Japan)
15./12. [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 (Bandai Namco Games)
16./11. [PSV] God Eater 2: Rage Burst <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games)
17./00. [PSV] Possession Magenta <ADV> (C-Territory)
18./16. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch 2: Shin Uchi <RPG> (Level 5)
19./39. [WIU] Super Smash Bros. for Wii U <FTG> (Nintendo)
20./21. [PS4] Earth Defense Force 2025.1: The Shadow of New Despair <ACT> (D3 Publisher)
20./22. [PS3] Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (Capcom)
20./00. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 <TBL> (Bandai Namco Games)

 

[Mory Dunz]

Smash U possible above 3DS?
Guess that means there's at least a small bump.

 

[Vena]

Instead of a sequel, Puzzle & Dragons will be getting a multiplayer mode and an update so large that Gung-Ho basically considers it to be Puzzle & Dragons 2.


Source: http://www.serkantoto.com/2015/06/01/gungho-multi-player-puzzle-dragons/

I made a separate thread here since we have a gigantic P&D community, but if you prefer to discuss the business implications here, feel free: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1054979

It'll be very interesting to see what happens with the pie split between this and Strike. I know that Strike has been snipping at the heals of Gung-Ho, and I wonder how much of an investment this is and how much it costs to do something of this magnitude for a mobile game.

 

[BishopLamont]

amazing, 3ds q3/q4 lineup is filled up again

thanks niro and everyone else again regarding the software situation again in japan

Smash U possible above 3DS?
Guess that means there's at least a small bump.

well yeah splatoon is coming out, some bump is expected

I suspect Monster Hunter 5 actually isn't coming until 4DS at this point and they're just going to fill the space with 5000 spin-offs on mobile, 3DS, and for the MMOs, PC and maybe consoles.

They likely only have to stall until 2017 for a decent install base.

most people predicted mh5 for nx right? this seems to be the case

nx for 2016, some mh port not long after and mh5 for 2017, which gives them 1-2 years to build the userbase for mh5, inline with what happened with mh4

at this point capcom is better at milking their main series than even nintendo, considering capcom has less to work with, they'll have released 4 mainline mh within a generation, possibly 5 if the next one is multiplatform with 3ds/nx

only level 5 is comparable, but then yokai has the benefit of being the latest hit, while capcom has been working with mh for so long and the decline hasn't been that big, where as with nintendo they haven't been able to keep with with the nsmb series which hasn't been selling quite as well

animal crossing is the only one that has been able to keep its sales, smash is getting bigger but only relative to its own series

 

[hiska-kun]

Huge win for Splatoon according to our source

 

[Hero of Legend]

Huge win for Splatoon according to our source

How huge?

 

[hiska-kun]

How huge?

We have to wait for more details
Tomorrow and Wednesday

 

[ZSaberLink]

Huge win for Splatoon according to our source

Not sure exactly what that means, but it can't be bad for sure =). Any thoughts on Wii U sales itself (I figure it's mostly the Smash Wii U/Mario Kart 8 crowd buying Splatoon, but I'd love to be wrong).

 

[Hero of Legend]

We have to wait for more details

Cool. Really excited for Wednesday's numbers. Thanks for sharing!

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Huge win for Splatoon according to our source

 

[Xbro]

Do we have any idea how the digital side of Splatoon is going?

 

[Parakeetman]

i'm surprised this game is continuing to do so well at retail.

Amazon JP seems to be out till the 6th.

 

[Busaiku]

Expected shipments for the first week are like 200k, right?
Man, if it sold like 170k+, that'd be crazy.

 

[BishopLamont]

Expected shipments for the first week are like 200k, right?
Man, if it sold like 170k+, that'd be crazy.

yeah sold-out reports probably indicates 150k+

 

[AniHawk]

anecdotal, but I've been getting matched up with a lot of Japanese players myself. Made me curious enough to check out any rumblings about Japan sales.

that's happened to me too. one of my first matches were with people who all had japanese names (at least i assume the characters were japanese characters)

 

[Lord_Byron28]

anecdotal, but I've been getting matched up with a lot of Japanese players myself. Made me curious enough to check out any rumblings about Japan sales.

I'd imagine time of day would also factor in to what players you get.

 

[ZSaberLink]

I'd imagine time of day would also factor in to what players you get.

It's mostly that =). If I play in the afternoon, it's all English names. If I play at night, it's a lot of Japanese names. But that's how it's been for most of the online games I've played.

 

[1st Course]

To start with mobile discussion,

Please take a look at this graph. This graph shows the total cumulative downloads for Puzzle & Dragons in each geographic region. Please note that only sales on iOS and Android are counted. The total cumulative number of downloads now exceeds 48 million worldwide with 36 million from Japan, 7 million from North America and an estimated 5 million from other markets.

There are a total of 65 million smartphone users in Japan, Puzzle & Dragons has captured a 55% of that total.

In fact, Puzzle & Dragons has sold more units than the number of new smartphones shipped in Japan over the last 12 months (30m)

The game has continued to perform well over the year.

Please see a breakdown of annual estimated sales since 2012 (Calendar Year)-
2012 - 6.5m
2013 - 20.0m
2014 - 16.0m
2015 - 5.0m (as of May 2015)

Do you know if the numbers include duplicate downloads from same device or not?

 

[duckroll]

Expected shipments for the first week are like 200k, right?
Man, if it sold like 170k+, that'd be crazy.

The first day shipment was 150k, I don't think we ever got any sort of confirmation for the size of subsequent shipments over the weekend.

 

[SalvaPot]

Comgnet sales - Index Period: May 25 - May 31, 2015 2015
[3DS] Hatsune Miku Project mirai Deluxe - 135pt
[WiiU] Splatoon - 132pt
[PS4] Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - 49pt
[Vita] Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels & Dragons - 29Pt
[Vita] Phantasy Star Nova - 28pt
[3DS] Assassination Classroom!! - 28Pt
[Vita] MineCraft: PlayStation Vita Edition - 26Pt
[Vita] ChuShingura46 + 1 - Chushingura 46 + 1- V - 20pt
[3DS] Style Savvy 3 - 17pt
[3DS] Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki - 16pt
[Vita] POSSESSION MAGENTA (Normal Edition) - 13Pt
[3DS] PUZZLE & DRAGONS SUPER MARIO BROS EDITION - 12pt
[Vita] POSSESSION MAGENTA (Limited Edition) - 11pt
[3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes Ultimate Mission 2 - 11pt
[Vita] Nobunaga's Ambition creative with Power-Up Kit - 9pt
[PS3] Minecraft (English) - 8pt
[3DS] Bravely Second - 8pt
[PS4] Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster - 6PT
[3DS] Mario Kart 7 - 6PT
[PS4] Earth Defense Force 4.1 THE SHADOW OF NEW despair - 5pt


Tsutaya ranking:
1. [WIU] Splatoon
2. [3DS] Hatsune Miku
3. [PS4] Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
4. [PSV] Minecraft: Playstation Vita Edition
5. [3DS] Puzzles & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
6. [PSV] Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels & Dragons
7. [3DS] Assassination Classroom
8. [PSV] Nobunaga's Ambition creative with Power-Up Kit
9. [3DS] Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki
10. [3DS] Style Savvy 3
11. [3DS] Bravely Second: End Layer
12. [PS4] Final Fantasy X/X-2
13. [PSV] Sword Art Online: Lost Song
14. [PS4] Dying Light
15. [PS3] One Piece Pirate Warriors 3
16. [PSV] God Eater 2: Rage Burst
17. [PSV] Possessions Magenta
18. [3DS] Yokai Watch 2: Shinuchi
19. [WIU] Super Smash Bros. Wii U (was 39th last week? interesting)
20. [PS4] Earth Defense Force 4.1: The shadow of new despair
20. [PS3] Resident Evil Revelations 2
20. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes Ultimate Mission 2

Splatoon selling as much as a Hatsune Miku game for the 3DS? MADNESS I SAY.

 

[Xbro]

Splatoon selling as much as a Hatsune Miku game for the 3DS? MADNESS I SAY.

It actually had more pre-orders then Miku had sales. They had to cancel 15 of them because they couldn't meet the stock.

 

[Nirolak]

Splatoon selling as much as a Hatsune Miku game for the 3DS? MADNESS I SAY.

To note, that's a Miku re-release.

 

[Mpl90]

It actually had more pre-orders then Miku had sales. They had to cancel 15 of them because they couldn't meet the stock.

Yeah, usually when preorders > actual sales at Comgnet, it means it sold out there.

 

[BishopLamont]

really happy splatoon is doing well, shows there is some hope left

 

[Moor-Angol]

I went to Yodobashi Shinjuku for Hot Line Miami preorder and checked the Nintendo floor : Splatoon sold-out

Previously I was in Bic Camera West Ikebukuro: same situation

 

[hiska-kun]

Yes, on Saturday Splatoon was available everywhere, but today is impossible to find at any shop.

 

[TheJoRu]

Splatoon doing well is like music to my ears. It is EAD's best game since Super Mario Galaxy 2.

I'm not kidding.

 

[frankie_baby]

Yes, on Saturday Splatoon was available everywhere, but today is impossible to find at any shop.

Could that combined with the very good first day sell through suggest just maybe the second shipment was quite chunky

 

[crinale]

Sell through rate is above 90%

 

[hiska-kun]

Sell through rate is above 90%

That's what eogirawenin means?

Edit:
Nine wari goe

9 &#21106;&#12426;&#36234;&#12360;

>90%

Got it, puzzle solved

 

[KooopaKid]

That would be a nice "fuck you" to all the content-based reviews. The core gameplay and game design alone is 10 out of 10.

 

[twothunder]

Yodobashi Camera is completely sold out of #Splatoon disks across the country.
https://twitter.com/Cheesemeister3k/status/605201853920374784

that's happened to me too. one of my first matches were with people who all had japanese names (at least i assume the characters were japanese characters)

Japan did get the game one day before the West. My first games had lots of Japanese players.
Now. It's far more mixed. Lets hope it sells well in both east and west

 

[KillerMan91]

Considering how it's completely new IP selling well from Nintendo (pretty rare) maybe there will be actually decent boost for WiiU hw also and not just the old owners picking up the game up like with so many nintendo titles on WiiU.

 

[Shahed]

Considering how it's completely new IP selling well from Nintendo (pretty rare) maybe there will be actually decent boost for WiiU hw also and not just the old ownes picking up the game up like with so many nintendo titles on WiiU.

Hopefully. It's definitely nice to see Nintendo branch out to a a genre they haven't got a lot of experience in. I'm still baffled though why they didn't create soemthing like this on the Wii. Could have done really big numbers

 

[Cosmonaut X]

I'd be very happy to hear Splatoon was doing well; it's a brilliant game, with a solid and thoroughly entertaining single-player mode and fantastic, addictive multi.

Not sure how it would affect HW. I could see it going two ways:

-- It's primarily selling to the audience who love stuff like Mario Kart, so even though software sales are strong it's selling to a base who already own the system.

...or:

-- It's something new and fresh for Nintendo (in terms of both style and gameplay) and it could draw in a new audience, or at least lower the barrier for people who were already considering the system but wanted to see something new (as great as the Wii U titles released to date are, they are very much experiences you could have had on 3DS or Wii in terms of characters, aesthetics and gameplay, even if there are differences for fans of the series).

Anecdotally, I've seen a lot of people commenting very positively on the game after seeing it in adverts and the concept seems to click with viewers. Whether that translates into "That's a game/system I have to get!" is very much up in the air.

 

[Javier]

Splatoon selling as much as a Hatsune Miku game for the 3DS? MADNESS I SAY.

Nintendo should do a Callie & Marie spinoff game to compete directly with Miku.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

I'm gonna predict 200k+ for Splatoon.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

I'm gonna predict 200k+ for Splatoon.

Too aggressive, I think (though I'd be happy to be proved wrong!). I can see a good 100k+ result (maybe 150k+?) but breaking 200k would be a big surprise.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Too aggressive, I think (though I'd be happy to be proved wrong!). I can see a good 100k+ result (maybe 150k+?) but breaking 200k would be a big surprise.

Seems more like it would be around 150k than 100k, from these reports.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Too aggressive, I think (though I'd be happy to be proved wrong!). I can see a good 100k+ result (maybe 150k+?) but breaking 200k would be a big surprise.

Spoiler

I'm gonna predict 30k for Wii U too.

 

[hiska-kun]

I'm gonna predict 200k+ for Splatoon.

Maybe you're not that crazy

Spoiler

I'm gonna predict 30k for Wii U too.

Or maybe you are

 

[Mpl90]

Maybe you're a squid



Or maybe you are a kid now

Fixed

 

[duckroll]

I like how the market is so dead that predictions of a 200k+ opening for Nintendo's biggest console game launch of the year so far are met with "seems too high" reactions.

 

[Wiggy]

I like how the market is so dead that predictions of a 200k+ opening for Nintendo's biggest console game launch of the year so far are met with "seems too high" reactions.

A month ago predictions of 100,000 would have got that response, so at least we've progressed ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[hiska-kun]

Something from Sony could be announced tomorrow according to GamesMaya.