Lucky [FF] 13...

FFXIII's first day sales numbers are in, and they are unsurprisingly limit-breaking.

Over 1 million people bought the game. In other words, 1 out of every 120 people IN THE ENTIRE NATION OF JAPAN went out and bought the game. For 8300 Yen ($90+). On the FIRST DAY of release. With an installed base of slightly over 4 million, that means one out of every four PS3 owners came out for the festivities and returned home with a copy of FFXIII.

What is more surprising, however, is the lack of PS3 shortages and the lack of Lightning Bundle shortages. Apparently over 100,000 Lightning Bundles were sold - but compared to the massive amount of games sold separately, that's a drop in the bucket. I actually expected the game to move more PS3s on the first day of release, and significantly so. The PlayStation 1 didn't have a strong presence in Japan prior to FFVII launching, and immediately afterwards became THE console to own.

This gaming market is a bit more complicated these days than it was back then, particularly in Japan. In Japan, although the PS3 installed base is 75% larger than the 360's installed base, it's still comparatively tiny compared to the installed base of EITHER console in the States and in Europe. Going to Akihabara and trying to find new HD games to buy for either console is a sad, sad affair - most of the shelves filled with either localized Western ports or crappy text-based adventure games. It seems that most Japanese developers are terrified of making games for either HD console, and I had (and still have) high hopes for Final Fantasy XIII to turn that around, even if it did prop up the PS3 as the worldwide first-choice console for Japanese software.

Like most problems these days, I blame the economy.

I already ranted about this last time, but the fact that the majority of well-known series dropping to portables for sequels is an alarming trend. Everything from fighting games to RPGs - both genres that are arguably the LEAST comfortable to play on portable systems - are making the jump. Japanese companies, most of them anyway, remain convinced that the portable market (PSP and DSi ) is the only way to guarantee profit from a release, and as such the big-budget franchises are taking huge risks by changing platform. Don't believe for a second that there wasn't a bunch of Japanese nerd rage when Dragon Quest IX was announced as a DS exclusive. That didn't stop half the country of Japan from buying it, with some people buying multiple copies to have more than one save slot (sadly, the creator of the game actually suggested this in an interview as a solution for the lack of multiple slots).

The lack of Lightning Bundle shortages in Japan ties into marketing. The import shops around the world sent out emails last week stating that the stock was less than expected, and hiked the price of the bundles to a cool $800. For something retailing for less than $400 in Japan proper. The funniest part: nobody EVER said this was a LIMITED edition. And actually it would be a bad move to make it a limited edition, because that would make less people able to buy the game/PS3 bundle, the availability of which is a win-win for Sony and Square Enix. The import shops are certainly taking advantage of the "oversight" and are riding the hype wave. The speed of XIII's localization speaks volumes not only on the new significance of the Western market in terms of console penetration compared to portables, but also of the importance of this title for Square Enix, a company notorious for treating its overseas customers like second-class citizens.

Put simply: we like our portables in the West, but they are NOT a valid replacement for console gaming. And we like our HD games. Final Fantasy XIII is going to do well not only as a FF game, but as a top-tier HD JP console game. There aren't many on the market right now, particularly for the PS3. "MAKE IT RAINNNNNNNNN!"

Another surprising news article that came out over the last few days... "core" game sales are up, and "casual" game sales are down. Some people argue that the "industry darling of the moment" soccer moms and grandmas are moving on past the Wii fad. I say it's more of a difference in how they play games. For us core gamers, gaming is a part of our daily lives. For most people, the Wii won't be used except for special occasions, like board games for example. The 'Fit' line of stuff is a trap, but it's a trap that sells really, really well and gives the casuals an excuse to use their wii more often (before they get lazy and let the Wii Balance Board gather dust in the closet).

All I have to say to game companies: "Remember who's going to keep you in business when the casuals lose interest. Better start learning how to please both audiences at once."

I wanted to come up with a funny personification with the video game industry playing the part of a ditzy high school girl trying to choose between the shallow jock (casual) and her plainer, but more loyal, best friend (core). I just don't have the creativity at the moment to make that happen...