Game Cube
Mega Man Network Transmission
ロックマンエグゼ トランスミッション
79,360 Units
Mega Man X: Command Mission
ロックマンX コマンドミッション
18,599 Units
Nintendo DS:
Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus / Leo / Dragon
流星のロックマン ペガサス／レオ／ドラゴン
593,886 Units
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja / Zerker x Saurian
流星のロックマン2 ベルセルク×ダイナソー / ベルセルク×シノビ
291,962 Units
Mega Man ZX
ロックマン ゼクス
94,341 Units
Mega Man ZX Advent
ロックマン ゼクス アドベント
63,977 Units
Sony PSP
Irregular Hunter X
ROCKMAN ROCKMAN
Rockman DASH
Rockman DASH 2
Mega Man Network Transmission
ロックマンエグゼ トランスミッション
79,360 Units
Mega Man X: Command Mission
ロックマンX コマンドミッション
18,599 Units
Nintendo DS:
Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus / Leo / Dragon
流星のロックマン ペガサス／レオ／ドラゴン
593,886 Units
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja / Zerker x Saurian
流星のロックマン2 ベルセルク×ダイナソー / ベルセルク×シノビ
291,962 Units
Mega Man ZX
ロックマン ゼクス
94,341 Units
Mega Man ZX Advent
ロックマン ゼクス アドベント
63,977 Units
Sony PSP
Irregular Hunter X
ROCKMAN ROCKMAN
Rockman DASH
Rockman DASH 2
The last few did not make it to the top 236, which are apparently those that sold over 20,000 units. Shame.
Complete sales data can be found here. Thanks to Keiji Dragon for the find.
That is just really sad and strange at the same time. The mediocre or even bad games get better sales than the good ones.
ReplyDeleteBN4, by far the worst in the series has almost double the sales of great games like 2 and 3.
And it's really surprising how sales of the Zero games kept decreasing while the quality kept increasing. Zero 3 having 100k less than Zero 1 is a real shame. 110000 games that missed out on an incredible game.
Same with ZX, in terms of gameplay, Advent was much better balanced than the original and yet it sold worse.
I wonder what the sales of SF3 are, pretty much considered to be the best of the SF games.
I don't remember the number, but SF3 had the worst sales of the three...
ReplyDeleteThis is not surprising and it's a got damn shame. I now see why the X series and the Legends are not so popular in Japan. I guess that the Battle Network and StarForce series only attract the Japanese audience due to it's innovation, colorful/ young characters and the happy-go lucky kind of feel.
ReplyDeleteMan, I'm just a little upset about this because according to sales like there's a slim chance that the X and Legends are going to be in production. Come on Capcom, what about the Western audience? We still got love for the blue bomber too!!. . . *sigh*
I think EXE 4 did well because it was the 1st EXE game where the E-Reader was usable, and where playing with friends actually make a difference. Thus being the most fun EXE game.
ReplyDeleteI understand why Black and ToC is lower due to them being a later release. I guess SF1's 3 version scam, actually worked... and CM's sells makes me cry.
Seems like they don't return for sequels much. Sounds like it's time for something else new....
ReplyDelete...sad. So sad. With sales like this, all "blue rocks" must have shed a tear...so did I.
ReplyDeleteOn another hand, WTF is going on with Japanese gamers these days, anyway? XD
The first games/entries in the series sell like mad, then it tapers off after that. Seems to me like consumers are looking for some combination of story and genre to get behind, as if they want to like Megaman, but can't stand any of his current incarnations.
ReplyDeleteAnd how EXE4 sold well and Command Mission didn't is completely beyond me.
Snap - "Same with ZX, in terms of gameplay, Advent was much better balanced than the original and yet it sold worse."
ReplyDeleteIt was nowhere near as fun. Both the gameplay and the story were complete and utter wastes of time; stale, stagnant bogs of rushed production and harebrained ideas that didn't translate into solid mechanics.
MMClassic and MMX didn't need story quite as much because it was before the gameplay formulas got old. MM9 only worked because it has been forever since the last entry in that series, and the stages were short and sweet. Now, the newer games need meaningful story if the gameplay is going to be as inflexible as Starforce's or ZXAdvent's (which present thrill-seeking customers with ultimately pointless challenges and fetchquests that take a couple of eons).
I guess the anime helped the sales in Japan, as some people learned about Mega Man first from it before the games, similar to the "super fighting robot" Mega Man cartoon by Ruby-Spears in North America. Other media and extras, like the E-Reader mentioned above, makes difference in sales. Pokémon for instance... *sigh*
ReplyDeleteIt's quite an oddity. For the life of me, I can't figure out exactly how EXE 4 managed to sell as high as it did, besides being commonly regarded as the worst in the series.
ReplyDeleteI've already known for several years that it sold tons in Japan. I wonder what combination of events led to this...
Is it the New Game+? It was the only EXE game with that feature (4.5 and EXE 2's Hard Mode does not count). I'd kill to have that in EXE 6.
I must be ignorant because I thought EXE4 was completely fine. I tend to think a lot of people dislike it because it's apparently what you're supposed to do.
ReplyDeleteThat and of course, people came out in droves to buy EXE4 after the awesomeness that was EXE3.
So...are hobby games the best way for Mega Man to keep making sales for the next 10 years?
ReplyDeleteBecause it seems that Japanese gamers had lost interest in platforming MM games such as MMZX and MMX8...is the West the same deal?
What is considered best for Mega Man, counting both sales and quality (and I mean a global one, that is fun for any kind of gamer)?
^
ReplyDeleteIt's safe to assume that this is where the money will come from. Revenue generated from the hobby series not only comes from the games themselves, but also the subsequent merchandise, TV shows, comics, etc. There's lots of potential cash in that.
As for the West, I've always been under the impression that it is the opposite: "traditional" MM games sell better than the hobby games.
Japan however, it appears the "traditional stuff" only appeals to a small group, a majority of which grew up during the franchise's heydays.
"What is considered best for Mega Man, counting both sales and quality (and I mean a global one, that is fun for any kind of gamer)?"
ReplyDeleteGoing by Capcom's IR data, the most successful title sales wise would be Mega Man 2 with 1,510,00 units worldwide.
Quality-wise, well, that's debatable.
They would have sold more copies of Rockman Rockman and Irregular Hunter X if they didn't release them on the PSPOS and instead released them on the PS2 and Game Cube...
ReplyDeleteThis is really, really messed up.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt EXE 4 is the worst game out of all EXE series and yet it sells the highest out of all the series, what the hell?
I love Command Mission, and I still play it. Feels like I'm playing Final Fantasy, only Rockman Style. It so sad that I feel like cussing Japanese Gamers "Why don't you like the game itself? It's different, and fun too."
There's so many good games that I wanted to play in PS1 hoping in PS Network (X4, X6, Dash and Dash 2).
This sales record is lies, all lies.
Hard to believe that XCM's number are so low..... how sad.
ReplyDeleteAnon has as point, notice how all the RM PSP titles sold like crap. I think in Japan, PSP is something for adults, not kids. And in Japan, more kids buy games than adults because adults are too busy studying or working their tails off to play games (although it's amazing how many adults you see in the arcades).
ReplyDeleteAs for EXE 4 doing so well, it probably was because the series took off at that point, 4 just happened to be the title in the way at the time. 4 was also when they released the battlechip gate & plug-in battlechips, so that could be part of it.
I don't agree that hobby MM games will continue to carry the series for the next 10 years. Heck, you're already seeing the numbers peak and fade on the charts. I'm sure they'll keep hashing them out until the numbers drop below 100k units though, then they'll reconsider their strategy.
And Rockman X4 didn't sell over 200k units? Then how did it because "PSX Best" title? I thought those had to sell a buttload before becoming 'best' titles.
And then what's next? When they're done "rehashing" these games? Just go back to the formula for the classic and X series, which were just as repetitive?
ReplyDeleteRethink their strategy... Which means reinvent gameplay again. Which will almost certainly mean more "hobby" style games, just a different type. (Where did that moniker come from? It's retarded.)
So really either way it's the same old same old. I like my games to be fresh, but the very Rockman franchise is pretty much the epitome of stale. It's a fallback comfortable franchise, it doesn't need to be new every time. Everyone expects it to be familiar. And I'm fine with that.
Rethink their strategy != hobby style
ReplyDeleteThey could go back to classic, they could do puzzle games, they could do the x series, they could do dash, they could do RPG's, they could do RTS, they could do MMO.....you get the idea? Mario games are a perfect example of how versatile an IP can become.
Let's say the platforming gameplay should be restricted to some series, either in the form of a tribute or fan demanded games (a.k.a. Mega Man 9).
ReplyDeletePlatforming MM games = downloadable games
If Legends 3 is planned, then Capcom should milk this opportunity and reinvent the gameplay or make a new one...
"Going by Capcom's IR data, the most successful title sales wise would be Mega Man 2 with 1,510,00 units worldwide."
Even better, here's a tip: I bet a million zeni that a hobby MM game is the best selling MM game of the 21st century (for a better perspective, the last 10 years), and is followed by another one...but since zeni doesn't exist, I can afford to be wrong XD
"They could go back to classic, they could do puzzle games, they could do the x series, they could do dash, they could do RPG's, they could do RTS, they could do MMO.....you get the idea? Mario games are a perfect example of how versatile an IP can become."
ReplyDeleteclassic, x, dash: "Just go back to the formula for the classic and X series, which were just as repetitive?"
Puzzle games, RPG (apparently, since that's what EXE and RnR are): "Which will almost certainly mean more "hobby" style games, just a different type."
Those other things, MMO's and RTS's, hardly seem like places Rockman could fit. Who knows, they might try it. :P I'd rather have rehash than shoehorn.
Mario games are split between 2D and 3D now. 2D route, which we'll equate with classic platforming Rockman, has about as much variation as those series. 3D has been "reinvented" three times, but remained 3D platformers, not some ridiculously out-of-place genre.
Puzzle mario games are hobby games.
I'm not disagreeing that they might change it up, but the assumption that they'll go back to the old style or even a new genre because the current "rehashed" new style is trailing off seems silly, since the old ones were rehashed and worn out even more so. A new direction with a new style will fall under the hobby style name if it's not some MMO, which it's not going to be. That's why the hobby style moniker is retarded, because it denotes shallow gameplay while encompassing games that may not be...
Forgive me, I don't think I successfully got my point across. :\ Nevermind.
ReplyDeleteEXE4 wasn't that bad. To me, it was refreshing to not play a lesser clone of EXE2, like EXE3 was. I know I'm in the minority regarding this, but whatever. I'll always see EXE2 and EXE6 as the best of the series, anyway. Everything else is tied for second. Well, except for EXE1... It didn't age well.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually surprised that Command Mission sold as much as it even did - I felt the game was incredibly boring, everything looked identical in each dungeon, the characters were unlikable, most of the music was just bad, and normal battles took forever.
I wish MMPU, MHX, ZX, and ZXA all did better... Wanted to see MM2 and MM3 in 2.5D, the X-Hunters in maybe a Day Of Sigma-style OVA, and however ZX could have continued. Hopefully somewhere down the road.