"Vinnk's Village" Anecdotal Report
Hello all. Not sure how interesting this is going to be (slower week than last) but I had some requests to see doing these. If there is anything specific you would like me to check for, feel free to let me know.
Disclaimer: These are my observations and not intended to represent all of Japan or really anything other than my own experiences in a small town in Japan.
Jusco
Switch Hardware: 0
Mario Odyssey : In stock. Unknown how many copies.
Youme Town
Switch Hardware: 0
Mario Odyssey: Sold out
Goody
Did not go this week.
Best Denki
Switch Hardware: O
Mario Odyssey: In stock. Only display boxes on the shelf, but I could count 3 copies behind the counter.
Wanpaku/Game@Net
Switch Hardware: O
Mario Odyssey: New sold out. 1 used copy for about 400 yen less than a new copy.
Famicom Dojo
Did not go this week.
Yamada Denki
Switch Hardware: O
Mario Odyssey: In stock. Unknown quantity.
Book Off
Switch Hardware: 0 new. Saw that they had a used switch (or at least the box) in the recently traded in section but it wasn't priced or put out yet.
Mario Odyssey: Sold out
NOTES:
1. I have still never seen a new switch unit in the wild. I got mine at launch on Amazon and have never see another new unit.
2. Minecraft is still huge among kids here. Those I have talked to who have PS4s pretty much all have Minecraft. Oddly enough many Switch owning kids I talked to did not know they can play Minecraft on the Switch. It strikes me as odd since it is a fairly high-profile game. Then again I don't see special download cards for this game in my area (did they make them at all?) and perhaps the younger kids don't check the eShop to see it ranked near the top. It is clear due to it's ranking that many people are buying it, but I think there is a lot of untapped market for when a physical version is eventually released.
3. Wolfenstein II is getting more advertising in stores than I expected. I have a feeling this one might do OK here. It comes out in about 2 weeks I think.
4. Xbox One X. Only 3 of the stores in my town even carry XBox1 stuff. And if I didn't know it was releasing this week, I would not have known from these stores. I think Yamada Denki was taking pre-orders nationwide, but I did not see any special display at my local store. Launch was a non-event.
5. I have still never seen a Famicom Mini in the wild at retail price. Only used ones going for over retail. And it is making me really mad at this point. I know.. My fault for not pre-ordering but seriously..
6. Amibo sections at 2 stores getting smaller. The space is being used to make room for switch stuff. Not sure if this is temporary or not.
7. I said this earlier in the thread but since it is indeed just an anecdote I'll include it here as well. I teach school children as part of my job. And this conversation or one very much like it has happened to me several times in the past few weeks.
Kid: I'm getting a Switch for Christmas/birthday!
Vinnk: Cool. What game do you want to play?
Kid: Monster Hunter World!
Vinnk: Oh, I don't think that's on the Switch. You mean Monster Hunter XX?
Kid: No. Monster Hunter World. For Switch.
8. I went to a Book Net near Fukuoka just a few hours ago. I noticed something surprising. I even took a photo because I didn't know if it would be believable without it. It looks like along with Odyssey, 2 of the Tecmo/Koei ports are sold out!
I was not expecting that. It is possible that this store received a very limited number or that there is a higher than usual fanbase for these games who shop at this store. No idea. I will admit I have not been looking at the other stores to see if these were sold. This is because they were not on my radar at all until I saw them sold out here. From early reports these titles sold very poorly so I am not sure how to explain this anomaly. One odd shop can easily be relegated to "statistical noise". Still I found it interesting.
Hardware is also sold out of course. The only Joycons usually available are the neon. Sometimes the Splatoon ones. I haven't seen a set of ARMs ones in stock for a long time.
9. Many used copies of Gran Turismo Sport already at shops selling used games. New copies of the game have not hit bomba bins but about half of the shops have discounted it. You can easily get a new copy for under 5000yen.
10. Lots of used copies of Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8DX and Zelda. But they are only a 500 or 1000 yen cheaper than new. At least so far.
11. Sony VR is another impossible to find product. I have yet to see a new one for sale.
12. IMPORT copies of Mario and Rabbids Kingdom Battle are a featured item on the front page of Suruga. Guess some people can't wait.
That's all for this week. Hope it was entertaining.