Umihara Kawase Fresh! First Week Sales Data for Japan

[sol-alpha]

There are three video game sales trackers in Japan: Media Create, Famitsu and Dengeki.

Unfortunately, Media Create recently stopped publishing sales data publicly. So that leaves Famitsu and Dengeki.

For the sales in Week 17 (April 22-28) of 2019, this is the following sales data from Dengeki which is a Top 50 ranking:
https://dengekionline.com/articles/460/

Rank: 38
Console: Switch
Game: 海腹川背 Fresh！
Publisher: サクセス   
Release date: 19/04/25   
Sales for this week: 1,231 units   
Life to Date sales: 1,231 units

Famitsu publishes a Top 30 ranking weekly but Umihara Kawase Fresh! didn't sell enough to get in the Top 30.

The reason for referencing multiple trackers is to compare sales since they do have different methodologies.

Now, regarding Umihara Kawase Fresh! I actually expected at least 5,000 units sold for the first week before it released. So, 1,231 units is really bad even though I know this is a niche game series.

If you don't understand how bad that is, it is one of the lowest debuts for a software title in Japan this year and I follow game sales data regularly. The week 18 sales data also just released and it shows that Umihara Kawase Fresh! is not going to have strong continued sales weekly because it didn't chart in the top 50: https://dengekionline.com/articles/592/

_____

Here are comparisons from past games in Japan if you didn't know.
These are sourced from the following site which archives Famitsu sales data:
https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/game-search





Note: The site is using the US localised name for Sayonara Umihara Kawase but this is sales data from Japan.
FW = First Week
LTD = Life to Date

You will not find sales data for the Super Famicom version of Umihara Kawase because it didn't chart in the Top 30 of Weekly Famitsu back in 1994. Even if it did, the magazine used a point system so you wouldn't get exact sales unit numbers.

[Alc]

Well, that's disappointing.

You seem to know your stuff though. You run a game shop or something?

[sol-alpha]

Well, that's disappointing.

You seem to know your stuff though. You run a game shop or something?

No, I just follow sales discussion on forums over US (NPD) and Japan with the trackers I mentioned.

Being able to see sales data weekly for months/years helps you get an idea for how things perform especially when discussing it.

[sol-alpha]

So the PS4 version of Umihara Kawase Fresh! released on April 23rd 2020.

Unfortunately Dengeki no longer provides sales data and Media Create stopped providing data publicly.

All that leaves is Famitsu, Famitsu publish a Top 30 for the week and just like the Switch version, it didn't sell enough to get into the Top 30.

The link is here and it's not archived so you'd have to look at it and/or archive it through other means as soon as possible: https://s.famitsu.com/ranking/game-sales/

The last game on the list is Just Dance 2020 with 2,714 units sold for the week. Without knowing anything else it just means the PS4 version did as bad as the Switch version. It doesn't matter if it sold double, these are terrible sales figures and is most likely the reason why they're releasing a spin-off focused on multiplayer battles next.

[KawaseFan]

The last game on the list is Just Dance 2020 with 2,714 units sold for the week. Without knowing anything else it just means the PS4 version did as bad as the Switch version. It doesn't matter if it sold double, these are terrible sales figures and is most likely the reason why they're releasing a spin-off focused on multiplayer battles next.

And one more Fresh port, as it turns out.  But I'd be surprised if BaZooKa sells much better than Fresh.  I can only speak for the reception it's getting on this forum, but there certainly isn't a lot of excitement for it here.

[Alc]

Man, they just need to go back to basics after BaZooKa.

Incidentally sol, archive.org seem to be spidering https://www.famitsu.com/ranking/game-sales/, albeit sporadically.

[Princess Rescuer]

Ouch. Bare in mind, this is going from Vita to Switch, a huge jump in console popularity, ESPECIALLY in Japan. The Switch is much more popular than the Vita in all regions, but it's important to note that Japan favors handhelds, giving the Switch a commanding lead over everything else. The Switch's closest competitor, if we're counting devices mainly used for gaming and not smartphones, in fact IS the Vita, a last-generation handheld that the 3DS had already soundly conquered.

Glad to see the desire to return to form. I regretted Fresh and didn't even bother buying Bazooka. Tried the demo. Not appealing. At least Smash arenas have opponents with move sets and not just generic enemies that walk back and forth. And the rounds overstay their welcome by lasting MINUTES when Smash matches can be over in a few seconds.

[KawaseFan]

And the rounds overstay their welcome by lasting MINUTES when Smash matches can be over in a few seconds.

To be fair, Smash matches could also last hours depending on the match rules.  How many people would actually want to do that is another matter entirely!