Virtua Fighter 5 sales numbers.

tekken 4 around 1.14 millions
vf4 400k

so no /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

 

tekken 4 sold 1.2 million. Tekken 5 sold 372 thousand.


Virtua Fighter 4 sold 624,000 and Evo sold 261,000.

Tekken 3, tag, and 4 all sold over a million. VF4 sold very decently with over 600,000. Combine that with evo you get nearly 900,000 sold. these numbers are about a year old but you shouldn't expect much change as most sales of these games are non existent and if they are sold, it isn't new but used. VF4: EVO by itself sold pretty well for an expansion pact (which is what it is). And even as an expansion pack, it sold about 3 times what Virtua Fighter 5 sold. Which exacerbates/underscores the discussion.

Tekken 5 sales are interesting though. Because, Tekken has always been a very public and popular game. After Tekken 4, it just seemed like people left Tekken and didn't return. Or it could be that the fighting game scene is even smaller now than in 2004. Lastly, remember Tekken TAG was a launch title, SO, we can't use VF5 being essentially a launch title as an excuse.

To tell you the truth, The only fighting game that has close to a million in total sales since 2004 have been Mortal Kombat (i don't know the numbers for DOA4 but I'm pretty sure it didn't crack a million). DBZ games, if you count those, have sold well as well.

One thing is for sure, ALA Resident Evil, the whole Fighting game genre needs a big re-evaluation of their product and make some massive changes to re attract people. Either you re-release old shit like Capcom or you stay content with low to mid hundred thousand in sales. Obviously since Arcades are dead, a good online play on a good fighter (tekken, VF, Soul Calibur) would be a HUGE boost. Or the reintroduction of Tag 2 on 2 or dare I say 3 on 3 with a good ad campaign would also boost sales. I think a VF vs. Tekken would be an instant Million seller. Capcom used the vs. games to prolong it's Aging 2D street fighter based games about 5 more years and got a few million sellers out of it. After that wears off, your then left with where you were 5 years before and that is, forced to created and revolutionize a new game. Capcom decided to retire and rerelease old games.

 

Damn. I can't believe this is my first post after all this time lurking.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option...=1&limitstart=5
DOA 3 hit 1.3 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_computer_and_video_games
DOA 4 hit 1 million last November and is being repackaged as a greatest hit.

Sega could take some notes not to underestimate bouncing boobies, in game stories and whatever else DOA is doing to sell. Take out Lau and put in the villain from Shenmue and then release Shenmue 3.

 

Western VF will die if it doesn't evolve and implement some of the tactics that the more successful fighters in the West use.
Wether it's more flash; explosions; bouncing boobs; a novice controller mode to make moves and combos easier to do (like some Capcom games); whatever. The kind of crap that you find in lesser fighters that draw in these huge crowds.

If VF doesn't apply some of these sleazy tactics to draw in more players and in turn make more money it will die in the West.
VF needs to adapt and overcome.
Times have changed and if VF doesn't change with the times it will get killed by the competition.
I love VF just the way it is but if they have to make some visual and audio changes to draw more people in and make more money, I'm willing to deal with that minor inconvinience just so that it does not die here in the West and so I dont have to go to Japan just to be able to play the next installments.
Gameplay-wise it has to still be VF though so it wont lose it's core audience.
If at all possible, VF could have two versions of it's next installment. The Japanese version and a Western version for the rest of the world.
Final Fantasy does it! Why not VF?

 

Mortal Kombat DA/Deception did even better than DOA 3/4 so it's more than "boobies". Plus VF can't do something that would change what it is.

What it can do, without changing "Who they are" is to A. Get a few more "cool" characters. There is no need to have some 10 Asian Characters in the game. That is not needed. Get some variety. But even if you have "cool" design characters, only through a story can we really appreciate their personality and there character's shine. Hell, even their Stage music doesn't exactly match. Like Blanka's Brazil stage seems savage but catchy. Vega's was fast to match the character's speed. M. Bison's was evil and had the Gongs to match the stage. VF's music is both bland and forgetable, but it also sometimes doesn't even match the local. ie.. the French/German Castle stage? Dhalsim inda stage anyone, take Notes Sega. So good storyline, good endings, good videos and such, good stages, good music to match the stages, and good character design. Once you catch the Casual's attention, you need to nurture it.

To Nurture it, You need to facilitate their improvement. In order to understand the game, you need to teach them the game. So then why is something like a decent training mode, something in an old game, not able to be in the new game. Simple Really. So now you taught them the game, you have to allow them to have an oppertunity to spread the wealth and gain an identity.

In order to do that, you need to have people to play with. Either A. Individual files so that you can take it to your friends house and play as your character with your rankings, with your customizable clothing and so on. OR 2. You need to allow online play so that you can play both your friends and other people online. combine with a forum or a way to speak and discuss strategies and other things, you have a florishing community. If you can get Both to be in the game, it would be exponentially better.

Boom right there, Three things they can do that WOULDN'T change the fact that VF is a deep, very balance, and generally realistic fighting game. Boobies and Fatalities aren't needed. Street Fighter never relied on it, Tekken never relied on it and they sold well.

no longer can you just release a game with no story, 8 character, no online, no nothing and it still sells well. This applies to beat em ups ( you can't release a game that you could beat in 1-2 hours like in the old days,), rpgs (you can't release a game without verbal dialogue anymore for a system and it sell well), sports game (you can't release a game without all the teams in the league and without seasons, franchise mode anymore and it sell well), you can't release a FPS anymore with 4-5 weapons, no deathmath, CTF, and other online multiplayer aspect and expect it to sell well, And I could go on. So why does sega things they are any different.

IF NONE OF YOU WANT TO READ WHAT I WROTE ABOVE, HE IS A SIMPLE RUNDOWN. ALL SEGA NEEDS TO DO TO MAKE VF SUCCESSFUL IS TO ADAPT TO THE TIMES THAT YOU LIVE IN.

 

i agree that "cool" characters are extremely important. however, i don't believe that coolness has much to do with ethnicity. just looking at brad, goh, eileen, and el blaze . . . i don't see anything that would make brad/el blaze cooler than goh/eileen. that's not to say that i wouldn't like to see an iranian female mercenary in the game - because, that would REALLY f'ing rock. i just think that the asian-ness of vf is overstated. vanessa would still be cool if she were asian. on the other hand, shun would still look decrepit if he were african american, and lion is just lion regardless of his ethnicity.

don't know if it's that simple. the average gamer is impatient to get to the "good part," and i don't know how exciting he/she finds training modes. even with an evo-like training mode, it takes 60-90 hours before the light comes on. that's about 1 - 1.5 hours per night for two months, and at that point one can flow rather than think. most people aren't willing to put that amount of time in before they get to the good part.

i do agree with some of your other points. here's my list of changes that would improve sales (some of which are cringe-inducing):

1. the inclusion of more simple strings/combos that can be discovered by mashing

- see street fighter, kof, tekken, soul calibur, doa, mortal kombat, guilty gear

2. more characters, and make them more colorful

- vf 5's roster is too small compared to the competition, and the characters are too understated

3. more exciting backgrounds

- those in vf 5 are too subtle for the average gamer, see the competition

4. include panties, blood, and/or weapons

5. online play & "achievement points"

hate to say it, but i think the average male gamer wouldn't mind going online, attempting some simple strings, see a little butt, drop out of the match just as he is about to lose, and then attack the message boards bragging about how unbeatable he is or how many achievement points he's attained.