@Gaara42, this should've been expected (and was the case made by the shorts). This title is dated. I don't know why they even bother releasing a title like this so much after the PS3 version.
GAME.CO.UK is giving buy one get one free discount with Virtual Fighter 5 on xbox 360. (since last week). Indicates Sega might be opting for price cut which is sure to increase sales.
No question VF5 is the best fighting game out there right now for the xbox 360... at least until soul calibur sequal comes out on next gen.
vgchartz has this at 60,000 copies sold in America so far. Seems like it got lost in the crowd this holiday season. Looks like Virtua Fighter 4 sold more in America than Japan or elsewhere, and since Xbox360 has a very small user base in Japan, this will barely sell there if it is released there. If anyone has Europe charts to see if it showed up on any that would help.
And regarding this not being released in Japan, if you read the article carefully it says "It still isn’t completely decided if Sega decides to ignore this release". Either way, with increase Xbox360 sales and good reviews I do not see why this can't reach 500,000 copies or more. No examples have been provided that show a different version of a game released later with online, more features, more polish and on a console with a much higher user base has sold less than the version that came before it. From this I do not think that Xbox360 players will see this as an old game and will therefore pick this up during the Holiday season. This should be at 50DKP at least.
Neither of the examples you provided apply to this scenario. The later release of GTA 3 for the Xbox was around 2 years later, by that time Vice City had already been released for the PS2 and people had mostly moved on (due to a new game in the series being released). The Oblivion scenario is not applicable either because the game was launched a full year later on a system with a smaller install base (and the game had been launched on two systems prior to the PS3 launch, not the case here). Actually, both instances you provide have the later version launching on systems with a smaller install base, in this case it is the opposite. This game does not have a new Virtua Fighter game being released to challenge consumers attention (as was GTAs case), it is not being released a year or more after the version on the other system and the system it is being released later for has a larger install base.
Also, this game was not delayed, the PS3 version was just released early due to pressure to get it around the PS3 launch date. I think that you assume to much about the tendency of gamers, if a person does not own a PS3 but owns a Xbox360, why would they move onto to other games when this has not even been released on their system yet?
This game should sell at least 500,000 copies over its lifetime and I think the inclusion of online (if implemented well) will help it have a longer tail than the PS3 version which was not online.
@Gaara42, I can't think of a single instance where a delayed version sold more than the original game. Any of the GTA games (granted the PS2 had a larger install base, but the Xbox versions sold disproportinately fewer copies, even though they offered more content, were more polished, and had better graphics).
Recent examples on the simExchange include Oblivion. More content, supposedly more polished, sold no where with the momentum of the Xbox 360 version. The PS3 version came out, those who had waited a while for it picked it up, and then that was it. This was the same case with the delayed Tom Clancy games.
For long delayed games, I think there are some fans of the brand that are hold outs, but most gamers have moved beyond to newer titles. I don't think additional content saves delayed releases (or even makes any difference).
I brought up the Japanese market because that was what was necessary for the PS3 version to even hit those low sales numbers.
Can I see data that shows that versions that are more complete and polished, and included online play were as the older version did not sell less?
The Xbox360 version does not need Japan in order to sell well, as the console is not even selling great there. So a Japanese release would add probably 20,000 copies to this games lifetime sales figure. Also, it might be released in Japan, as Sega is still weighing their options (look here)
Also, the PS3 version did not have online play and I would not consider this game coming in after the initial buzz, maybe in Japan it will be after but I do not think so in the States or in Europe.
@Gaara42, I was just looking at this one as well. I think this game will take a severe hair cut from just how delayed it is. Delayed versions never sell as well as they could've if they came out with the initial buzz. At this point in the Xbox 360 library, I have a hard time seeing 550,000 ~ 600,000 copies getting sold.
The PS3 version also had the additional Japanese market for VF5.
This stock is undervalued and should be in the 55-60DKP range at least. We predicted around 29.1DKP lifetimes sales for Virtua Fighter 5 for the PS3, a system which had a much smaller install base and that version was released in February, instead of end of October (holiday season effect starts) like this version. The Xbox360 will have many more systems near the end of October 2007 than the PS3 had then in February 2007 (just 4 months after the PS3's launch).
Also, this version has online were as the PS3 version did not (a big reason why many might not have bought it), which is a big selling point and many people might have held off buying the PS3 version until the Xbox360 version which would have online (and would probably include more extras and be more polished). From all of this, it would seem that the Xbox360 version should sell at least twice as many copies as the PS3 version, even more if it is marketed correctly and the online is well fleshed out. This stock should be in the 55-60DKP range.
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