Yoshi’s New World sold 58,285 copies in its first week, based on data from Media Create. The game also sold through 57.59 percent of its initial shipment.
The last mainline Yoshi game, Yoshi’s Island DS, moved 303,114 copies at launch with a sell-through rate of 84.82 percent. There’s definitely a big difference between the two, though there are important factors to consider.
Perhaps biggest of all is that Yoshi’s New Island is included in Nintendo’s “Monthly Recommended Software Campaign”. New 3DS owners are able to download one game for free (or choose from other titles) through the end of August.
Media Create reports that Yoshi’s Island DS sold to younger and older Mario fans. Yoshi’s New Island, however, was mainly purchased by a younger audience.
Yoshi’s New Island could end up selling quite a bit more down the line. Yoshi’s Island DS eventually went on to move one million copies in Japan, so something similar could happen with the new 3DS title.
SteamWorld Dig’s Wii U version is launching towards the end of this month, developer Image & Form confirmed on Twitter. This is actually earlier than the studio planned.
Image & Form said:
@BradleyKragen The end of August 😀 earlier than we expected!
— Image & Form (@ImageForm) August 1, 2014
German website Gameswelt, in collaboration with Nintendo, will be hosting a tournament at Gamescom for the new Smash Bros. Gameswelt is currently seeking three commentators who will receive a free pass to the expo and a copy of the games for Wii U/3DS. Those who are interested can find more information on the website here.
Aegis Defenders, a new 16-bit tactical platformer from GUTS Department, has a chance of coming to Wii U. The game’s Kickstarter will need to hit $150,000 for this to happen.
Although raising such a high amount may seem unrealistic, Aegis Defenders’ Kickstarter did manage to collect nearly $40,000 in its first day. There’s also over a month remaining in the campaign.
You can check out Aegis Defenders on Kickstarter here.
SEGA reported its first quarter financial results earlier today, which unfortunately have brought about some disappointing news.
For the period ending June 30, SEGA’s profits dropped by 57.4 percent. While revenue rose slightly year-over-year to ¥88.3 billion ($858 million), net profits dipped to ¥5.5 billion. Half-year losses are estimated to come in at ¥7 billion ($68 million).
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth was the only title released this quarter. It did quite well having sold 250,000 copies in Japan. Another 1.7 million game units originated from older titles.
SEGA’s arcade business primarily drove revenue for the company. Pachinko and Pachislot drove ¥47.5 billion ($461 million) in revenue and an operating profit of ¥13 billion ($126 million).
Italian website NintendOn caught up with Rika Suzuki, who was once the vice president of Cing. Suzuki spoke about what it’s like making games with a narrative focus, the studio’s closure, and interest in continuing Kyle Hyde’s story (Hotel Dusk).
Head past the break for Suzuki’s comments. The full interview can be found here.
A new Pokemon X/Y distribution event will be taking place next month. Between August 13 and September 17, players will be able to obtain Heracross for Pokemon X (previously only encountered during normal gameplay in Pokémon Y) or Pinsir for Pokemon Y (previously only encountered during normal gameplay in Pokémon X) through the Internet.
GameStop, meanwhile, will distribute a Mega Stone beginning on August 18 that can be used in both games. The item allows for Mega Evolutions of both Heracross and Pinsir.