Top selling, most anticipated, and highest rated PCE games as of early 1994

[SamIAm]

Here's some fun data to chew on. In Gekkan PCE magazine's March 1994 final issue, they showed the top-ten best selling PCE games up to that point. Note that because of their weird dating system, this would have actually come out more like toward the beginning of February.

PCE magazines all published sales figures every month, but frustratingly, they divided the actual number by a factor that they deliberately kept secret. Someday, we might compute what factor each magazine used. For now, bear in mind that the figures below don't represent actual sales numbers, but rather something more like sales "points" that give you an idea of proportion.

The little blurbs next to each game are low-substance descriptions, so I won't translate them. If anyone is dying to know, however, I can.



1. Tengai Makyo II
[Released March 1992; the date they printed is wrong]
7148 points

2. F1 Circus
[Released September 1990; this date and all others are correct]
5529 points

3. Pro Baseball World Stadium 91
[Released March 1991]
5513 points

4. F1 Circus 91
[Released July 1991]
4979 points

5. PC Genjin 2
[Released July 1991]
4924 points

6. Momotaro Densetsu Turbo
[Released July 1990]
4709 points

7. Bomberman 93
[Released December 1992]
4113 points

8. Momotaro Densetsu II
[Released December 1990]
3985 points

9. Momotaro Katsugeki
[Released September 1990]
3869 points

10. Ys III
[Released March 1991]
3831 points

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PCE magazines also came with postcards that you could send in to let them know which games you were most eagerly anticipating, as well as which games you "were glad you played." Every month, they would put the results in top-10 charts right next to the sales-figures. I'll have to investigate later what exactly Gekkan's postcard let you fill in, but for now, here are the results.



"Anticipation = Sales"

"The anticipation score is a measurement of how much readers were anticipating a game before it went on sale. Naturally, it's fair to say that higher scores meant higher sales. However, it's important to be aware that the postponing of release dates could stretch these scores. In particular, the #2 ranking game, Monster Maker, maybe gets a yellow-card for this. It looks like it's finally going on sale on March 30th; since everyone has been waiting for so long, we hope that they aren't betrayed this time. We also want to pay attention to new games on the list: Emerald Dragon, Garou Densetsu 2, and The Legend of Xanadu. Those ought to sell pretty well!"

Most Anticipated Games:

1. Tengai Makyo II - Hudson (7800 yen) - 5586 points
2. Monster Maker - NEC Avenue (7200 yen) - 3978 points
3. Ys IV - Hudson (7800 yen) - 3599 points
4. Tengai Makyo Fuun Kabukiden - Hudson (7800 yen) - 3394 points
5. Ys III - Hudson (7200 yen) - 2884 points
6. Momotaro Densetsu II - Hudson (7200 yen) - 2246 points
7. Street Fighter II' - NEC Home Electronics (9800 yen) - 1818 points
8. Emerald Dragon - NEC Home Electronics (7800 yen) - 1224 points
9. Super Momotaro Dentetsu II - Hudson (6800 yen) - 1174 points
10. Genpei Toumaden - Namco (6800 yen) - 1161 points
11. PC Genjin 2 - Hudson (5800 yen) - 1151 points
12. Garou Densetsu 2 - Hudson (6900 yen) - 1137 points
13. Momotaro Katsugeki - Hudson (6500 yen) - 111 points
14. Super Darius - NEC Avenue (6800 yen) - 1077 points
15. Ranma 1/2 Ganso Musabetsu Kakutoryu - Masaiya (7200 yen) - 1033 points
16. Record of Lodoss War - Hudson (6800 yen) - 1022 points
17. The Legend of Xanadu - Nihon Falcom (price not determined) - 987 points
18. F1 Circus 91 - Nichibutsu (6900 yen) - 965 points
19. Afterburner II - NEC Avenue (7200 yen) - 960 points
20. Legend of Valkyrie - Namco (6200 yen) - 914 points



"Reader Survey - Games We're Glad We Played - Cumulative Top 20"

"The immortal masterpiece Ys I&II takes the top spot. Ys IV, released at the end of last year, is on its heels and apparently selling well.

It's no surprise that the top positions are occupied by the RPGs that represent the PC Engine.

These days, it's all about the CD games, but more than half of the positions here are occupied by Hucards - a testament to how many good games there have been over the years. We pray that there will be more that can give these a run for their money."


1. Ys I&II - Hudson (7800 yen) - 17879 points
2. Tengai Makyo II - Hudson (7800 yen) - 17345 points
3. Momotaro Densetsu II - Hudson (7200 yen) - 5810 points
4. Tengai Makyo Ziria  - Hudson (7200 yen) - 5648 points
5. Super Momotaro Dentetsu - Hudson (5800 yen) - 4739 points
6. Snatcher - Konami (7800 yen) - 4208 points
7. Bomberman - Hudson (5300 yen) - 3662 points
8. Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetsu - Hudson (6800 yen) - 3419 points
9. Super Momotaro Dentetsu II - Hudson (6800 yen) - 2398 points
10. Tengai Makyo Fuun Kabukiden - Hudson (7800 yen) - 2062 points
11. Bomberman '93 - Hudson (6500 yen) - 2059 points
12. Street Fighter II' - NEC Home Electronics (9800 yen) - 1922 points
13. Super Star Soldier - Hudson (6500 yen) - 1806 points
14. Ys III - Hudson (7200 yen) - 1803 points
15. Momotaro Densetsu Turbo II - Hudson (5800 yen) - 1759 points
16. Momotaro Katsugeki - Hudson (6500 yen) - 1747 points
17. F1 Circus 91 - Nichibutsu (6900 yen) - 1689 points
18. F1 Circus - Nichibutsu (6900 yen) - 1526 points
19. Power League III  - Hudson (5800 yen) - 1386 points
20. Fire Pro Wrestling 2nd Bout - Human (6900 yen) - 1356 points

[SamIAm]

It's amazing to me how much Hudson dominates the lists.

The "most anticipated" and "highest rated" lists, you could criticize from all sorts of angles, from the sampling method to the bias of the magazine imparting itself on readers before they respond. However, if those top-selling games are accurate, it paints a more objective and somewhat unexpected picture. Momotaro may as well have been the system's mascot character!

It's also surprising to me to see that many of the best selling Hucards were from 1991. I would have expected fewer of those and more from 1989. We know from other sources that total sales of Hucards declined after 1990. However, it seems that certain franchises had really strong followings.

[Artabasdos]

It's amazing to me how much Hudson dominates the lists.

The "most anticipated" and "highest rated" lists, you could criticize from all sorts of angles, from the sampling method to the bias of the magazine imparting itself on readers before they respond. However, if those top-selling games are accurate, it paints a more objective and somewhat unexpected picture. Momotaro may as well have been the system's mascot character!

It's also surprising to me to see that many of the best selling Hucards were from 1991. I would have expected fewer of those and more from 1989. We know from other sources that total sales of Hucards declined after 1990. However, it seems that certain franchises had really strong followings.

Nice find. Bomberman, Snatcher & Street Fighter II are such classics I'm surprised they're not a bit higher up.

But yeah, cool shit like this isn't quite the same in the internet age.

[majors]

Seeing those F1 Circus games listed intrigues me, sort of makes me want to d(r)ive in and try to understand the lure. Or it's a bunch of marketing BS to push games.

It's also surprising to me to see that many of the best selling Hucards were from 1991. I would have expected fewer of those and more from 1989. We know from other sources that total sales of Hucards declined after 1990. However, it seems that certain franchises had really strong followings.

We cannot forget that there was 10x more PCEs, Cores, Shuttles that only had HuCard capabilities vs the Duo's. Larger install base, larger market.

[Necromancer]

Not surprising there's so much Momotaro and F1 Circus stuff, I guess.  They're like Keith Courage: every time you buy a lot, you get a couple of 'em.

[esteban]

This is great!

I will jot have a chance to read/process this info until later, but I hope that the discussion in this thread can help inform some stuff I wrote a few years ago...


I know it is lame to quote myself, but I'm hoping that you (Sam) and other folks here can help put all these puzzle pieces together:


TOP GAMES OF 1991 vs 1992 (I look at the shift in trends over the year...but I would love to know the "methodology" behind these rankings...)


1991 TOP 10

http://archives.tg-16.com/Gekkan_PC_Engine_1992_04.htm

TOP 10 GAMES OF 1991…

Immediately upon reading the list below, you will sputter in disbelief, "What?! F1 Circus '91 was ranked ahead of all other titles. Really?" Indeed, for many PCE fans outside of Japan, these results may have been surprising.

TOP TEN PCE GAMES 1991
01. F1 Circus '91 (2,764)—SPORTS
02. Pro Yakyuu World Stadium '91 (2,428)—SPORTS
03. PC Genjin 2 (Bonk's Revenge) (1,869)—ACTION
04. F1 Circus (1,542)—SPORTS
05. Ys III–Dawn of Ys (1,299)—RPG
06. Populous (961)—STRATEGY
07. Power League IV (829)—SPORTS
08. World Jockey (812)—SPORTS
09. Dragon Slayer–Legend of Heroes (800)—RPG
10. Zero 4 Champ (767)—SPORTS

NOTE: Although the HuCARD version of Populous made the list, the later CD•ROM2 release Populous–The Promised Lands offered several additional themed worlds.
However, once you digest this information and analyze it, you will discover a trend: racing games were incredibly popular on the PCE in 1991. Indeed, racing games account for three spots: F1 Circus '91 (the newest release) occupies first place, the prior year's F1 Circus holds a firm third place, and, finally, Zero 4 Champ coasts into tenth place.

Furthermore, if we include racing games in the general genre of "sports" (as common practice dictates), another trend emerges: 60% of the Top 10 games for 1991 were sports titles. The popularity of baseball in Japan is well-known, so it is not surprising that Pro Yakyuu World Stadium '91 (#2) and Power League IV (#7) made the list. What is surprising, though, is that Namco's World Jockey occupies eighth place. Horseracing? Yes, horseracing. Although World Jockey supported up to four players—making it a potentially popular party game—I am still at a loss to explain its popularity.

GOLDEN AGE OF HuCARD: 1991 was clearly dominated by HuCARD releases, which comprise 80% of the Top 10. Only two CD•ROM2 titles made the list: Ys III–Dawn of Ys (#5) and Dragon Slayer–Legend of Heroes (#10). Jump forward a mere year to the Top 10 PCE Games of 1992 and the situation has completely reversed itself—70% of the titles are CD•ROM2 games, with only three HuCARD's making the list.

1992 TOP 10

http://archives.tg-16.com/Gekkan_PC_Engine_1993_04.htm

Top 10 PCE Games '92 (1300x1642 .jpg) ▼ TOP 10 GAMES OF 1992…

Times change. Only a year prior, the Top 10 PCE Games of 1991 was dominated by HuCARD's (80% of all titles) and the sports genre (60% of all titles). Within the sports category, three were racing games (à la F1 Circus) and two were baseball titles. Now look at 1992's top games…

TOP TEN PCE GAMES 1992
01. Tengai Makyou II–Manji Maru (RPG)
02. Snatcher (DIGITAL COMIC)
03. Dragon Knight II (RPG)
04. Dragon Slayer–The Legend of Heroes II (RPG)
05. Record of Lodoss War (RPG)
06. Parodius Da! (SHOOT-EM-UP)
07. Bomberman '93 (ACTION)
08. Ranma 1/2–Datou, Gansou Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu! (ACTION)
09. Power League V (SPORTS)
10. Gradius II (SHOOT-EM-UP)

NOTE: Look at the third column (genre) and notice that Snatcher defies categorization with "?" as its designation. Gekkan PCE had icons representing a wide array of information, yet, surprisingly, no icon for digital comics, a popular genre on PCE.

Clearly, the CD•ROM format dominates the list (70% of all titles), leaving room for only three HuCARD's: Parodius Da! (Konami's parody of Gradius), Bomberman '93 and Power League V (the most recent entry in Hudson Soft's then-popular baseball series). The incredibly popular racing games of 1991 appear to have been a passing fad, with only one sports game—Power League V—making the Top 10 in 1992. As sports games (and the HuCARD format) became less prominent, what genre ascended the list? Why RPG's (on CD•ROM), of course. Four of the top five games of 1992 fall staunchly into the RPG genre: Tengai Makyou II–Manji Maru, Dragon Knight II, Dragon Slayer–The Legend of Heroes II and Record of Lodoss War.

HELP: I wrote this years ago and I would love any help to improve it!

[xelement5x]

Not surprising there's so much Momotaro and F1 Circus stuff, I guess.  They're like Keith Courage: every time you buy a lot, you get a couple of 'em.

So true.  I now understand why I see them ALL the time and they're normally pretty cheap to pickup.

[Artabasdos]

Not surprising there's so much Momotaro and F1 Circus stuff, I guess.  They're like Keith Courage: every time you buy a lot, you get a couple of 'em.

Is F1 Circus '91 any good?

[Gypsy]

Not surprising there's so much Momotaro and F1 Circus stuff, I guess.  They're like Keith Courage: every time you buy a lot, you get a couple of 'em.

Is F1 Circus '91 any good?

Just play any F1 racing game heh.

@OP: This was fun thanks for sharing.