Panchira hunting RPG Monster Hunter 3’s release has rapidly turned into a disaster after a reasonable start and the distinction of a full 40 point score from top gaming rag Famitsu. However, now the game is already selling for 60% off its starting price, and industry sources are saying this is “a once in 5 years” flop.
Though reviews have been favourable, the million copies apparently shipped to distributors have proven to be wildly optimistic, with some retailers able only to sell half of their stock, leading to the fantastic (and for retailers, highly depressing) discounts seen now.
Just why this game, capable of getting a full score in Famitsu, is resolutely failing to sell is a matter of some speculation.
Curiously, of recent releases several titles have seen similar treatment, though these are now acknowledged to be overhyped rubbish:
Via Hachimaki.
Wii doesn’t deserve this cool ass game. This game is tooooo awesome to be on this gey console :p
f♥♥k YOU NINTENDO WII!!!!
Can this be built into the engine? ,
Heh, all the brain dead people here not comprehending OVERBOUGHT as in have a village of 200 people and bought 200000 apples… Your apples are going to go bad before the villagers can eat them.
Also as stated, people want the bundles with the new black Wii and the controller. So of course they are not going to buy the single game.
Also, there’s another article around here about the game having lock-up problems, so some people might be waiting for a fix.
Quality does not equal sales and vice versa.
The thing to note here is that Capcom massively overshipped and retailers over-bought. Capcom is already made their money from the initial shipment. However if they want to ship more copies which they have to because they expect a 2 million shipment before the end of the fiscal year, retailers have to remove their stock.
One thing that makes me wonder is why did retailers purchase so many copies? No console game in Japan has sold 1 million copies this year. So to even think that a game could do that in one week is rather ridiculous.
If you read other articles you will find that the CC bundle had a 70% sell through and the Wii Bundle had an 80% sell through. While the standalone only had a 40% sell through. Capcom underestimated the value of the bundles. In fact they shipped roughly 600,000 stand alones while only 400,000 bundles. The black wii bundle most likely only making up 100,000 of that.
With such a large stock still on shelves due to a mis prediction, retailers have to cut price. So this isn’t unexpected at all. Hopefully Capcom and retailers can turn things around and end the year off with 1.5 million units sold.