[Discussion] DW7XL PS3 exclusivity.

[sakichi.livejournal.com]

I'm sure most of you have read about this by now: Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends is being released for the PS3 only in the west.

The original Dynasty Warriors 7 was ported to the Xbox 360 for its US and European release, where generally, Microsoft's console tends to sell better than the PS3 with copies of its games ranking higher on sales charts. Sales of DW7 seem to be divided between both with no console fully dominating the other*. But one must wonder why Tecmo-Koei has decided to only allow the release of the game on one console in the west as opposed to both when it's obvious that there are many, many people who bought the game for their 360s as well. Some may point to the reason being that the Xbox 360 is being gradually phased out in Japan due to extremely poor sales of the American console and nearly all current DW7 titles in Japan being exclusively for a Sony console as it was for many years (even though a lot of titles ended up being ported to PC, the original Xbox, and the 360 as well.) Some may theorize it's because the PS3 version sold better to begin with and releasing the expansion would not be profitable.

So Warriors, what's your opinion on the matter? Express your excitement, utter disappointment, whatever. But please, and I'm saying this now: DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT turn this discussion into a console war!

I mean it. No one wants to hear your reasons why you think one console is better than the other, okay? Save it for where it belongs, like 4chan. No flaming someone because they bought the game for one system and not the other. All I ask is you guys be mature about this. Now that that is out of the way... Personally, I'm a bit upset at their decision. I'm hoping there will be a Live Marketplace DLC release of the game in the future like there was with Samurai Warriors 2. I find it extremely unfair, to be honest. =\


*=By fully dominating the other, what I mean is, I don't see a huge difference between sales of the two. While I'm at it, let's compare them. Keep in mind that the game was only for the PS3 in Japan, so I'm not counting those sales to determine which version sold better in the west. I've read two different things from many souces, including referencing VGChartz. As for approximately how many copies sold for each version of the game:

—The Xbox 360 version sold about 87K worldwide. This version was not released in Japan.

—The PS3 version sold about 89K worldwide, not including Japan. Not a largely significant difference until the Japanese sales are factored in.

—In Japan alone, where the series is pretty popular, the exclusive PS3 version sold a whooping 457K alone.

I believe using the Japanese sales figures with the worldwide ones is a very poor way to determine how well the game sold in the west, since sales were divided between two consoles and not one. Also, I'm not saying that VGChartz and the like are fully reliable, but it's definitely something to consider.

Comments

[samanosukesgirl.livejournal.com]

As someone who loves all consoles, THIS IS MORE REASON WHY I NEED A PS 3 NOW!!

[tehseto.livejournal.com]

Being a 360 owner and not a PS3 owner, my opinion should be fairly obvious.

But as samanosukesgirl said, it's just another reason for me to want a PS3. A lot of games I want are coming to the PS3 and it's getting frustrating not being able to afford one right now. ;;

[darksilverhawk]

And since when has Koei's market research department proven themselves competent lately?

[rydain]

What a crock. If KOEI didn't intend to fully support the 360 version with all the planned additional content, they should have made DW7 a PS3 exclusive. I feel bad for people who bought the game with the reasonable expectation of being able to enjoy the rest of the add-ons.

Though it's nice to see that XL has decloned a few characters, I'm disappointed at the apparently limited extent of such. So far, they've made new move sets that use the same base weapon, and I expect to see this trend continue. Tweaking motions is far faster than developing models, hit boxes, and all the other additional data required for new weapons. At least they're trying to mix things up, but I doubt I'm ever going to get my buckler blade back at this rate.

[donesschen.livejournal.com]

I have both the Xbox 360 and PS3, but bought DW7 for PS3 only because I wanted to play online for free. So I guess I'm safe, but I do feel sorry for those who don't have a PS3 :(.

[viajeras.livejournal.com]

It's total BS that XL isn't coming to 360. I'm a PS3 user, but I'm still disappointed in Koei (not like it would be the first time this year.) I'm just bracing myself, because this decision just feels like a bad sign for Koei games in the west.

[creamedice.livejournal.com]

At least this is coming out in English...

[lightwishes.livejournal.com]

I'm a PS3 user, so I'm not incredibly upset about this but I am pretty confused. I don't understand their reasons for doing something like this. Was there some sort of behind-the-scenes business deal or something?

I feel for you who bought DW7 360 version. I'd be hella annoyed about this.

[evergreen-chaos.livejournal.com]

As someone who bought the PS3 version to solely play with people who only have a PS3, it's not a big loss to me. Besides.. the PS controller feels more comfortable to me than the 360 one. (I only use the 360 for 360 exclusive RPGs that I wanna play... which is rarely ever.) And since I've been playing DW games since 4 on the PS2, it's kinda just default for me to buy DW games for the PS3. (Especially since the boyfriend hoards the 360 to play CoD:MW2 everyday, all day/night long after work.)

[cherrytruck.livejournal.com]

I'm a PS3 player, but if the situation was turned around and only Xbox users got the exclusive content and not the PS3 users, I'd be quite pissed for sure!

I really don't get why they'd leave out a particular audience who happen to use a different console. Like everyone said, DW7 was released on both consoles so you'd expect them to be treated equally. It's a pretty bad decision they've made on the fact that not only is it really going to displease Xbox fans, it might also damage their future sales of Xbox-only users (most of us aren't fortunate enough to own both PS3 and Xbox, I presume) and they're missing out on a big audience!

I hope Koei realize the disappointment they're doing to half their western fans and perhaps change their mind while they can.

[teambenevolence.livejournal.com]

I'm late for the party and I know I've already given my thoughts about this but yeah.

I remember there was a bit of a fuss because the DLC was being released while the PSN was still down, and so only 360 users could get it. THEN PSN users got charged double for the DLC for a short while before it got sorted. Some sort of payback? :p

I suppose one thought for Koei JP is that the west isn't their big market. Hell, DW7 sold better in the UK than in America from what I've heard. But even in Europe it is nowhere near as big as in the east. I mean, even with the disasters in Japan it still sold enough to hit number one in the charts, whereas in the UK it hit 10, and it barely sold a few thousand in the States.

It could simply be problems with Microsoft, concerns over disc-swapping etc or it could be Koei JP don't care. I mean, we're not getting DW7 Special for the PSP either, and afaik it's not been confirmed yet whether we'll be getting DW for the PS Vita next year either. I really hope so, as DW is one of the games that got me interesting in buying a Vita.

Although I have a PS3 and won't be affected it still sucks they would deliberately alienate their fanbase and ensure the game sells even less here. While yeah, thanks to youtube and so on footage will be online within minutes of someone getting a copy, it really isn't the same as playing it yourself.

[ryuudo.livejournal.com]

Also quite late, but I'm pretty sure that the real reason they aren't porting DW7:XL to Xbox 360 is that the technology they use in DW7 isn't compatible with it. I'm not saying that they couldn't do complete DLC the way they did with SW2:XL in Xbox, but... clearly they have no intent to do so for a game they have to port to a system that it wasn't originally released for in Japan.

Personally? As a PS3-version owner, I'm fine with it. I do own an Xbox though, and had considered purchasing that version of the game while PSN was down though, so I could just as easily be in the other camp. It is disappointing though, as everyone should get the chance to play it if they can affort to - and yet at the same time, given their current stance on SW, I think we're lucky to be getting it at all.