Japanese games may not have been as popular on PS1 in US as the myths had you believe (Sales of PS1 games NPD)

Jap /ntsc games were huge in Britain! On the black market...
Every body and their dog had ps1 chipped to run copies/imports.
Europe got screwed in those days! We had to wait a year+ after ntsc release for pal copies and the best jap games like Xenogears, Parasite Eve, FFTactics etc never even came out in pal.
 
Xenon said:
This was a huge factor. Remember back then most games were fairly short compaired to current games.
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Which is funny because I remember renting games as a kid and it felt like they took days upon days to finish and then I look at playthroughs and HLTB and they're at most 4-5 hours. I remember Donkey Kong Country took me months as a kid and it felt like there were so many more worlds than there actually are.
 
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NeoIkaruGAF said:
I think the fact that the top 25 includes a lot of sequels skews the general perspective a bit.
We have ALL the Crash games, both GT games, two Tomb Raiders, two Resident Evils, two Tekkens, two Spyros, two Tony Hawks, two Drivers. That's 8 game series making up for more than 2/3s of the chart (I'd consider FF7 and 8 two very different games even if they're the same IP, while the others are just proper sequels, with the exception of CTR). I think this muddies the waters on the variety of the PS1's library, while there's basically no two games alike in the N64 chart with the possible exception of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.

I gotta admit though, I took a look at the top 50 from that GAF thread and yup, lots of western titles there!
What can I say, those Japanese classics may not have set the charts on fire, but I'd wager Vagrant Story and Chrono Cross get way more love and discussion these days than Tomb Raider 3 or... uh... Frogger.
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When asked what your favorite game of a generation is, there's a decent chance it's not a blockbuster. A lot of gems fall by the wayside. I will never stop talking up Vagrant Story. I tried getting my friends to like it, but they weren't into RPGs, least of all unpopular ones. But that game still remains as my favorite PS1 game, and my favorite Square game. And I'm one of those who dumped hundreds of hours into FF7. But Vagrant Story owns my heart.
 
Sony really fucked up not securing the Spyro and Crash IPs back then

But I guess both ND and Insomniac went on to bigger and better things
 
I mean, FFVII is coined for making Japanese RPGs popular outside Japan (not just the USA) so who said Japanese games were the be- all-end-all (just in the USA) or something when even such a prominent genre needed its breakout hit to get on the map (and few other games follow on par) at the time? But yeah, you seem to be downplaying their importance heavily, basically thread backfire, since plenty of them sold wonderfully, the top 2 is among them and their importance transcends sales and goes into game design/quality everyone worldwide aspired to in a pioneering era for the industry. Idk what specific all-American myths you refer to in order to believe this disproves them, maybe something only your random friends/gamestop employees or yourself said? Who the fuck knows, you just left it so vague to have room to argue your point even after all the people calling you out for your bullshit I guess.
 
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This is probably what OP was trying to get across. It's easier to understand the raw data after it's been converted to meaningful visuals:

PdZ3nd2.jpg
 
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Now add all the pirated copies and it will probably look different.
At least around here piracy was absolutely rampant at the time. Having a flashed/modded PS1 was the norm, not the exception.

Even ignoring that. I think 10 out of the top 25 games being Japanese in a system with literally thousands of games isn't bad.
 
brohmbel said:
This is probably what OP was trying to get across. It's easier to understand the raw data after it's been converted to meaningful visuals:

PdZ3nd2.jpg
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Sample is meaningless when the bottom 5 entries on the list are within less than 15k units of each other!
 
Digital Gex said:
10 out of 25 with sales lopsided toward the US games, with the number 1 and 2 spots being bundled games almost being beaten by two Crash games that weren't bundled.

ok.
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Were they bundled? I don't remember that at all. The only GT games bundled were GT3 and GT5. GT5 wasn't bundled until late too, after it was already $20.
 
The US is not the world and all that Jazz. We all know that Crash and Spyro sold bonkers on PS1......FF, DQ etc...sold bonkers in Japan. GT sold even more copies in Europe than America......Every region have their preferences, but when certain games sell well enough all over you have to take notice......FF sold well everywhere, so did GT, so did Tekken and Resident Evil....
 
Unknown? said:
Were they bundled? I don't remember that at all. The only GT games bundled were GT3 and GT5. GT5 wasn't bundled until late too, after it was already $20.
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In Japan GT1 was for about a good year or so. Some months for GT2.

Then there were the "special packs" in Europe, though they were limited still add up.
 
thelastword said:
FF sold well everywhere, so did GT, so did Tekken and Resident Evil....
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This depends on your definition of well. RE had weakspots and Tekken had many until Tekken 3. FF didn't kick in Europe as much as people said and after FF7 was a steady decline in the US.

In comparison Crash did well everywhere and rose each game except in America where 2 beat 3, though they are close. Could be a margin of error.
 
JordanN said:
Anyone old enough remember Scholastic Book Orders?

They sold video games and I'll never forget every issue you would see Frogger for $19.99.

Lm9UQTf.jpg
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Mine never had games like this, it was always shitty PC education games. Then again I wasn't even in high school in 2010. I don't remember Scholastic book orders being a thing in high school anyways so it would be almost 20 years ago when these for a thing for me.
 
cireza said:
Frogger and Namco Museum vol 3 ? lol
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Was popular for Ms.Pacman mostly followed by Dig Dug, Pole Position 2, and others. In Japan vol.2 was more popular, probably for Dragon Buster and Xevious. Big deal at the time.

Frogger is weird because other Hasbro/Atari remakes were as cheap yet didn't sell as much I take it they stuffed the shelves with Frogger. You could even buy it at gas stations.
 
Xenon said:
This was a huge factor. Remember back then most games were fairly short compaired to current games.
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Exactly. In my first several months I didn't have a memory card since my family didn't know that games would need one, so I had to beat everything in one sitting, or at least try. I'll never forget the joy of getting my first memory card as a surprise gift.

I also think this list discredits the significance of both rentals and the used game market which were both quite large and growing back then. Those were lovely days, not just with the big chains such as Blockbuster but even for over a decade grocery stores also had a rental section for movies and games. It was an incredible and cheap way to try new games or rent our favorites again. From the NES to Genesis it was really one of the few ways I could try new games, as my family wasn't well off. It carried well into the PS1 life cycle, and some of my favorite games were played through rental means.

Then later on having my first job in the final years of the PS1 and Dreamcast into PS2, going to the mall and getting used games from EBGames and Blockbuster before they went tits-up was a great way to build up my library and play the great games I had missed. It sucks that the companies that made those games weren't supported, and perhaps that guilt is what pushes me to support the little guys and buy day 1.

Finally in regards to games like Frogger and the Namco Collection, it was a big factor in many family's decision to get a new system, it had games for the kids who wanted that cool new thing, and then a familiar point of entry for the older gamer, a mom or pop who wanted to try the new fangled toy. To see their childhood now in some form of 3D. Also, Frogger was heavily discounted and always on sale around here, it made a great easy stocking stuffer.

I really miss those days, game having shorter and less expensive dev time was a boon. So many great stories and new game design. I still kind of wish we could have that stage in the industry at least for more game variety and less focus group generic crap. Plus all the social media mob campaigns. Back then it was much more of a passionate hobby, where a new game type could generate huge buzz from word of mouth alone, with E3's and booth babes being equally awesome! It was a Rad time.
 
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I could 9 out of 25 games, the top 2, and 3 in the top 10 - seems like a pretty strong showing from Japanese studios to me. I'm not sure what this thread is supposed to prove though. The PS1 had a massive library from across the world, it's why it was so great. And the fact that you could get 2 Final Fantasy games on the list of best selling titles was a huge change from prior generations where JRPGs were much more niche.
 
diffusionx said:
I could 9 out of 25 games, the top 2, and 3 in the top 10 - seems like a pretty strong showing from Japanese studios to me. I'm not sure what this thread is supposed to prove though. The PS1 had a massive library from across the world, it's why it was so great. And the fact that you could get 2 Final Fantasy games on the list of best selling titles was a huge change from prior generations where JRPGs were much more niche.
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2 is not a "huge change" it's 2. Also FF7 you would believe sold a lot more based on the loud minority.
 
Digital Gex said:
2 is not a "huge change" it's 2. Also FF7 you would believe sold a lot more based on the loud minority.
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Yea it actually is a huge change. Also since when is "top 25 in sales" the cutoff here. The JRPG genre was really popular and there was a large variety of titles on PS1 that had lots of fans. Again I don't see the point of this thread.
 
Digital Gex said:
How can posting real sales data rewrite something when the sales data is history?
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And what are you trying to prove? That japanese games aren't popular? That Frogger is more popular than Final Fantasy?

Digital Gex said:
2 is not a "huge change" it's 2. Also FF7 you would believe sold a lot more based on the loud minority.
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No it was just in the top 25 and has been re-released multiple times. Clearly FF7 is a failure 🙄🤣
 
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diffusionx said:
Yea it actually is a huge change. Also since when is "top 25 in sales" the cutoff here. The JRPG genre was really popular and there was a large variety of titles on PS1 that had lots of fans. Again I don't see the point of this thread.
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You're being obtuse.

It isn't a huge change. Point of thread is pretty easy to understand even additional info from other post within thread clarifies it further, if you are still confused there's no helping you.

Also the "jrpg genre was really popular" is false outside Japan. Even with full top 50 there's barely anything. Considering the output of them after FF7 you'd think some of them would have sold.
 
oagboghi2 said:
Clearly FF7 is a failure 🙄🤣
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Never said this but your mental handicap probably added this imaginary segment to the post. To bad it never happened nor was this argument made about FF7 being a failure. Try again.

I notice this is a trend sometimes within many thread, just people imagining things that never happened.
 
Digital Gex said:
You're being obtuse.

It isn't a huge change. Point of thread is pretty easy to understand even additional info from other post within thread clarifies it further, if you are still confused there's no helping you.

Also the "jrpg genre was really popular" is false outside Japan. Even with full top 50 there's barely anything. Considering the output of them after FF7 you'd think some of them would have sold.
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Were you around back then? I don't need a top N sales chart to know it was a viable genre in the US on PS1 in a way it was not on SNES. Games like Vagrant Story or Legend of Dragoon didn't need to sell 2M copies to make a profit and justify their existence. Square became one of the biggest publishers on the platform on the back of games like VS, Xenogears, FF7-9, BFM, and other titles and again they didn't need to be top sellers. You even had western developers making JRPG style games (Silver, Anachronox) just because the genre built up a loyal fan base and audience. If all these games failed they would not have kept translating them into English and releasing them in the USA.

Bottom line - it was a different era. You didn't need to sell untold millions of copies and place in the top 10 of the year to make a profit and keep existing as a studio. That boom-bust attitude came later.
 
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Digital Gex said:
Never said this but your mental handicap probably added this imaginary segment to the post. To bad it never happened nor was this argument made about FF7 being a failure. Try again.

I notice this is a trend sometimes within many thread, just people imagining things that never happened.
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Your entire thread is about a bullshit comparison between western games and eastern games on the PS1

Tell us more about how much more popular Crash Bandicoot is than Final Fantasy?
 
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Digital Gex said:
2 is not a "huge change" it's 2. Also FF7 you would believe sold a lot more based on the loud minority.
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Enthusiasts are always overrepresented in discussions. Most people who fucked around in Crash and Tony Hawk aren't going to log online to talk about what a life-changing experience they had, but people who got sucked into FF, MGS, and RE will. The Japanese games on the original PlayStation were unlike anything we had played before and it made lifelong Sony loyalists out of many of us.

I don't know what narrative you think you're overturning. I don't recall ever hearing someone unequivocally contending that Playstation's Japanese games sold more copies than American games in America. However, you cannot dispute that many iconic Japanese games made a big splash in the U.S. and are indeed up there among the Western top sellers, if not in the upper echelon of America's crossover successes. Nevertheless, this shows why Sony dominated the PS1 generation and never gave up the crown since, because they had the best mix of must-play Japanese and American titles side by side.

Digital Gex said:
10 out of 25 with sales lopsided toward the US games, with the number 1 and 2 spots being bundled games almost being beaten by two Crash games that weren't bundled.

ok.
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fc1e091f-1c1e-43e1-872c-20b82b1a51a9.jpg
 
Bolivar687 said:
Enthusiasts are always overrepresented in discussions. Most people who fucked around in Crash and Tony Hawk aren't going to log online to talk about what a life-changing experience they had, but people who got sucked into FF, MGS, and RE will. The Japanese games on the original PlayStation were unlike anything we had played before and it made lifelong Sony loyalists out of many of us.

I don't know what narrative you think you're overturning. I don't recall ever hearing someone unequivocally contending that Playstation's Japanese games sold more copies than American games in America. However, you cannot dispute that many iconic Japanese games made a big splash in the U.S. and are indeed up there among the Western top sellers, if not in the upper echelon of America's crossover successes. Nevertheless, this shows why Sony dominated the PS1 generation and never gave up the crown since, because they had the best mix of must-play Japanese and American titles side by side.


fc1e091f-1c1e-43e1-872c-20b82b1a51a9.jpg
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Ahh so Crash was bundled. /thread
 
Unknown? said:
Ahh so Crash was bundled. /thread
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No he wasn't look above limited PAL bundles don't count as bundles especially since it's not the US. Let me know when Crash was bundled with millions of consoles free.

@Bolivar687
Most people who fucked around in Crash and Tony Hawk aren't going to log online to talk about what a life-changing experience they had, but people who got sucked into FF, MGS, and RE will. The Japanese games on the original PlayStation were unlike anything we had played before and it made lifelong Sony loyalists out of many of us.
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You're nuts, thats what people have been Doing WIth Crash, Spyro, SF, Twisted Metal, and etc for years. Lol, it's only really japanese game fans on forums even bringing a good chunk of those games up with FF7 being an exception due to the appeal to anime fans that never came back.
 
Lol you gotta see the desperation when people use LIMITED PAL bundles that barely anyone had for CRASH ONE in a thread about US sales. Good job.
 
I will say however, that GT1&2 wasn't the only games bundled with the PSone in the US. The third bundle batch LATER did include Crash 3 but that was toward the end of it's run so GT still had a good amount of time on the shelf with its bundles and the GT bundles were still sold when the Crash 3 bundle came out.

However, that still had GT more bundled, and Crash 1 and 2 never bundled in the US so it doesn't change much of anything.

Or using PAL bundles in a US thread.
 
Digital Gex said:
I will say however, that GT1&2 wasn't the only games bundled with the PSone in the US. The third bundle batch LATER did include Crash 3 but that was toward the end of it's run so GT still had a good amount of time on the shelf with its bundles and the GT bundles were still sold when the Crash 3 bundle came out.

However, that still had GT more bundled, and Crash 1 and 2 never bundled in the US so it doesn't change much of anything.

Or using PAL bundles in a US thread.
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Show proof. Some sort of image or link. I don't remember them at all and they certainly didn't bundle them at launch.
 
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