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[extralite]

For D-pad stuff (like Virtual Console) I'd agree, but the PC feels better for games that prioritize the analog imo. MH3U especially.

The D-pad is exactly the same as on the CC though? FE3 plays perfecly on the gamepad.

I'll just condense all my complaints down to one thing: It doesn't feel like I'm playing it on anything that resembles the PSP controls. CC actually comes reasonably close while also having reasonable ergonomics.

Isn't PSP lacking a second analogue? CC and gamepad are much more alike than any of them with PSP. And as opposed to Nintendo handhelds after the DS Phat the gamepad is actually very nice ergonomically. As was the CC, sure, but the gamepad has no disadvantage versus the CC except maybe weight (not a problem when held with both hands).

 

[Road]

Last gen Tri was Capcom's biggest console franchise.

As a side note, after being milked in almost every possible way, RE5 has sold more in Japan than MH3 according to Media Create:

RE5 - 1.2 million
MH3 - 1.05 million

MH3 still remains the best selling single release, yes.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

The D-pad is exactly the same as on the CC though? FE3 plays perfecly on the gamepad.

Wait, I thought it was Classic Controller/Pro versus Pro Controller, I didn't realize we were talking about the Game Pad.

I feel like the GP is just as good as the PC, except for the shoulder button placement. Which thankfully can be remapped to the triggers for VC, otherwise F-Zero would be awful on it.

 

[electroplankton]

If it's a substantial remake with not just content upgrades but actual visual enhancements which doesn't make it feel like a cheap port, maybe. If it's like Overclocked, probably won't do much with or without the anime tie-in.

That's true. But the original DS2 didn't sell as well as the first one so maybe many people missed it (it was also a late DS release IIRC). Let's see at the full reveal!

 

[Mondriaan]

Isn't PSP lacking a second analogue? CC and gamepad are much more alike than any of them with PSP. And as opposed to Nintendo handhelds after the DS Phat the gamepad is actually very nice ergonomically. As was the CC, sure, but the gamepad has no disadvantage versus the CC except maybe weight (not a problem when held with both hands).

You could also argue with all the 360 fans that the 360 controller is pretty much the same as the DS3 controller and see how far that gets you here.

The lack of the second analog is not usually something someone with hundreds of hours of MH PSP experience complains about. Rearranging the buttons, sticks, and d-pad is far more annoying- and for what? To stick in a touch screen?

 

[Bruno MB]

That's true. But the original DS2 didn't sell as well as the first one so maybe many people missed it (it was also a late DS release IIRC). Let's see at the full reveal!

Both titles sold practically the same.

[NDS] Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor (Atlus) {2009.01.15} - 56.689 / 106.997
[NDS] Devil Survivor 2 (Atlus) {2011.07.28} - 62.246 / 99.748

 

[extralite]

The lack of the second analog is not usually something someone with hundreds of hours of MH PSP experience complains about.

Well the Wii controllers aren't lacking it so the PSP player should be the only one complaining about it in your examples.

You have yet to explain how the changed layout actually negatively affected MH for you.

 

[electroplankton]

Both titles sold practically the same.

[NDS] Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor (Atlus) {2009.01.15} - 56.689 / 106.997
[NDS] Devil Survivor 2 (Atlus) {2011.07.28} - 62.246 / 99.748

Nice! I remember DS2 sold way less.

 

[schuelma]

The other thing they really need to do is ensure the successful casual/family 3rd party Wii efforts transition over (Taiko, Go Vacation Inazuma Strikers, etc), going after the core PS3 base will mean nothing if they lose the mainstream Wii base in the process.

Yeah this is one avenue I have been surprised at- the casual Wii titles haven't crossed over.

Honestly, the biggest question mark for me is Namco, which was a decent supporter of the Wii and which so far has only Tekken and Tanks!.

 

[AzaK]

So, I don't think this is necessarily worth a new thread but thought I would post it here.

Right now, after DQX ships there is a total of ONE Japanese developed 3rd party game announced for Wii U- RE:Revelations in May.

Right now, Japanese 3rd party Wii U support is actually significantly worse than Western support, something I frankly never thought possible.

So, simple question- is this an accurate reflection of where support will be say a year for now (and presumably for good), or will there be better support in the next 6 months or so?

I'm still reluctantly saying the latter, simply because I cannot fathom Nintendo being so incompetent as to be unable to leverage their relationships with companies like NB, Tecmo Koei, and Capcom into even mediocre support.

Of course, Nintendo has proven largely incompetent in the home console world since 2010, so I freely admit my position is largely wishing and hoping.

In my opinion they've been incompetent since SNES because they have been unwilling to do what's necessary to build healthy third party, especially western, support in their systems.

 

[Nirolak]

So, I don't think this is necessarily worth a new thread but thought I would post it here.

Right now, after DQX ships there is a total of ONE Japanese developed 3rd party game announced for Wii U- RE:Revelations in May.

Right now, Japanese 3rd party Wii U support is actually significantly worse than Western support, something I frankly never thought possible.

So, simple question- is this an accurate reflection of where support will be say a year for now (and presumably for good), or will there be better support in the next 6 months or so?

I'm still reluctantly saying the latter, simply because I cannot fathom Nintendo being so incompetent as to be unable to leverage their relationships with companies like NB, Tecmo Koei, and Capcom into even mediocre support.

Of course, Nintendo has proven largely incompetent in the home console world since 2010, so I freely admit my position is largely wishing and hoping.

I would expect, at minimum, a few more titles this Fall.

For Square Enix, I think they might mostly be done (sans perhaps something like an eventual Dragon Quest XII), given that their console development is a trainwreck in general and they seem pretty hyped up about Luminous, which was clearly developed with very high end hardware in mind as the primary use. It's notable that despite having Dragon Quest X on the system, they've yet to make any moves to port over Final Fantasy XIV or announce Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy for the system. They're also announcing their next Final Fantasy game at Sony's conference at E3, not Nintendo's.

Namco I definitely expect more games from simply because they're developing Smash Bros and I can't imagine they're seriously going to sit out the platform on every other game they make. I could be wrong, but by far this would be my #1 choice for support.

Tecmo Koei feels like a company that's willing to support any company as long as you pay them to do so, so Nintendo should be able to get support as long as they're willing to write a check for it.

Sega is pretty much done with consoles, but I'd be surprised if we don't see future Sonic games from them on the system. Nagoshi keeps talking up the PS4 so I'm assuming that's where Yakuza is headed.

Christian Svenson implied that Capcom has at least a few games for Wii U. We're only at one so far, so I expect at least 1-2 others exist. Once they fully move over to MT Panta Rhei, that may dry up. If you pressed me to guess, I would expect Sengoku Basara and, if it exists, a console up port of MH4.

I think Konami is basically only making Metal Gear Solid, PES, Castlevania, Metal Gear Rising, and perhaps Mercury Steam's New IP. They've actively shown zero interest in porting three of those to the Wii U, and I can't imagine they'll start up Mercury Steam's New IP if they refuse to do the others, but it's quite plausible that PES could show up.

Level 5 is always an interesting choice. Inazuma 11 Wii U seems like a logical choice to me. I do feel that Level 5 is going to be hesitant to publish too many of their own consoles games however given how those have went over, so where they show up might depend a lot on who their publisher is.

From Software had the opportunity to announce Dark Souls 2 for Wii U multiple times now yet hasn't, and could have also announced Armored Core: Verdict Day, so I'm not sure how interested they are.

Atlus is kind of an interesting choice given they have at least one partnership with Nintendo going. I will say that the platforms for Persona 5 will tell us a lot there when it finally gets announced.

Nippon Ichi, Idea Factory/Compile Heart, and Imageepoch I imagine will continue to sit on PlayStation for the rest of time since that's where the otaku audience is.

Am I forgetting anyone?

 

[duckroll]

From Software had the opportunity to announce Dark Souls 2 for Wii U multiple times now yet hasn't, and could have also announced Armored Core: Verdict Day, so I'm not sure how interested they are.

I feel I should note that this probably has very little to do with From Software themselves. As far as Japan goes for those two franchises, I think they're more than content to just stay with the PS3 for the foreseeable future. Beyond that it largely depends on Namco Bandai deciding if they want to pony up the cash for From to develop and support ports on a third platform (fourth for Dark Souls).

 

[Nirolak]

I feel I should note that this probably has very little to do with From Software themselves. As far as Japan goes for those two franchises, I think they're more than content to just stay with the PS3 for the foreseeable future. Beyond that it largely depends on Namco Bandai deciding if they want to pony up the cash for From to develop and support ports on a third platform (fourth for Dark Souls).

Fair enough. I'll throw them in the Level 5 boat then (dependent on publisher).

 

[Mondriaan]

Well the Wii controllers aren't lacking it so the PSP player should be the only one complaining about it in your examples.

You have yet to explain how the changed layout actually negatively affected MH for you.

For me the buttons are only in the right place while my fingers are on them. When I move my fingers away and then have to press a particular button, the buttons might as well have placed themselves on some random spot on the controller.

Of course this could be blamed on wanting to use muscle memory and not wanting to have to recondition myself to use a different layout. I could also get around this by looking at the controller whenever I need to move my fingers. I don't understand why it needs to be explained that familiar controls are preferable when someone has hundreds of hours of experience with a given set of controls, though. MH is in my opinion still absolutely a PSP franchise.

 

[Aostia]

before launch I was expecting Wii level PLUS third party support. so nothing great but decent and increasing (following the path of previous slightly increasing nintendo consoles), probably due to new nintendo policy and a view of the wiiu as successor of the wii and not of the gc)
now it seems clear that of the two possible wii visions (great success but also big issues for third party genres of some kind) third parties decided to look at the negative one, probably due also to the portable success still ongoing (at least for 3ds) aside a ps3 that was able to affirm itself as a good console for classic JP production

we'll probably see even less support than the wii, now. otherwise we would have already seen signs of ps3 multiplatfrom games with the wiiu substituting the 360 (that in JP would be a wise joice), with third parties waiting for the N partnership request as for Atlus (SMT x FE) or Capcom/SE (DQ and MH distributed by N in the west)

 

[grimshawish]

In my opinion they've been incompetent since SNES because they have been unwilling to do what's necessary to build healthy third party, especially western, support in their systems.

There is a question whether Nintendo systems at their heart are not third party friendly though.

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

I would expect, at minimum, a few more titles this Fall.

For Square Enix, I think they might mostly be done (sans perhaps something like an eventual Dragon Quest XII), given that their console development is a trainwreck in general and they seem pretty hyped up about Luminous, which was clearly developed with very high end hardware in mind as the primary use. It's notable that despite having Dragon Quest X on the system, they've yet to make any moves to port over Final Fantasy XIV or announce Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy for the system. They're also announcing their next Final Fantasy game at Sony's conference at E3, not Nintendo's.

Namco I definitely expect more games from simply because they're developing Smash Bros and I can't imagine they're seriously going to sit out the platform on every other game they make. I could be wrong, but by far this would be my #1 choice for support.

Tecmo Koei feels like a company that's willing to support any company as long as you pay them to do so, so Nintendo should be able to get support as long as they're willing to write a check for it.

Sega is pretty much done with consoles, but I'd be surprised if we don't see future Sonic games from them on the system. Nagoshi keeps talking up the PS4 so I'm assuming that's where Yakuza is headed.

Christian Svenson implied that Capcom has at least a few games for Wii U. We're only at one so far, so I expect at least 1-2 others exist. Once they fully move over to MT Panta Rhei, that may dry up. If you pressed me to guess, I would expect Sengoku Basara and, if it exists, a console up port of MH4.

I think Konami is basically only making Metal Gear Solid, PES, Castlevania, Metal Gear Rising, and perhaps Mercury Steam's New IP. They've actively shown zero interest in porting three of those to the Wii U, and I can't imagine they'll start up Mercury Steam's New IP if they refuse to do the others, but it's quite plausible that PES could show up.

Level 5 is always an interesting choice. Inazuma 11 Wii U seems like a logical choice to me. I do feel that Level 5 is going to be hesitant to publish too many of their own consoles games however given how those have went over, so where they show up might depend a lot on who their publisher is.

From Software had the opportunity to announce Dark Souls 2 for Wii U multiple times now yet hasn't, and could have also announced Armored Core: Verdict Day, so I'm not sure how interested they are.

Atlus is kind of an interesting choice given they have at least one partnership with Nintendo going. I will say that the platforms for Persona 5 will tell us a lot there when it finally gets announced.

Nippon Ichi, Idea Factory/Compile Heart, and Imageepoch I imagine will continue to sit on PlayStation for the rest of time since that's where the otaku audience is.

Am I forgetting anyone?

Atlus has always had a good relationship with nintendo. SMT games (for the most part) and most of their new ips has usually been a Nintendo thing so it's no surprise that they teamed up with ninty for a crossover. The persona thing has always been a PlayStation thing (it's been out for 17 years and has never touched a non PlayStation console). I think P5 for PS3(and hopefully a up port for PS4) is a given(with a P5 portable for vita after that).


Level 5 is guaranteed WiiU so no arguments there. Sega/Namco will support everything and nippon ichi will go wherever the otaku goes. Square will also be announcing a FF for PS4 but i think WiiU might get dragon quest.

 

[eighty(one)]

Do you mean that everyone should hope for all the core platforms to be healthy?

Initially I posted all platforms, including mobile - but edited it down to core. Mobile is healthy enough, has a pricing model I don't find attractive to core gaming, and pulls away audience from core segments...especially hit is the handheld segment.

I'd like dedicated market to shine, as I prefer it.

Lol

 

[Sammy Samusu]

I wonder what happened to the Crystal Chronicles series.

I would be here for a CC hunting-game for Wii U/3DS.

 

[Takao]

I wonder what happened to the Crystal Chronicles series.

I would be here for a CC hunting-game for Wii U/3DS.

After Crystal Bombas I suspect we won't see many deviations of the Crystal Chronicles formula. That's assuming we ever see Crystal Chronicles again.

 

[Celestial]

Square will also be announcing a FF for PS4 but i think WiiU might get dragon quest.

Dragon Quest is a lock for Nintendo platforms,7 or 8 years have past since the last DQ game on a Sony platform.I dont think this will change now since Wii U has already DQX.

 

[Nirolak]

I wonder what happened to the Crystal Chronicles series.

I would be here for a CC hunting-game for Wii U/3DS.

I kind of imagine the team got absorbed by the Final Fantasy XIV blob along with people like the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance team.

 

[Mileena]

Dragon Quest is a lock for Nintendo platforms,7 or 8 years have past since the last DQ game on a Sony platform.I dont think this will change now since Wii U has already DQX.

So did Nintendo moneyhat like MH or what? Seems really weird.

 

[Takao]

So did Nintendo moneyhat like MH or what? Seems really weird.

Dragon Quest games have typically come to the most successful platforms.

 

[Nirolak]

So did Nintendo moneyhat like MH or what? Seems really weird.

I imagine it's a mix of monetary incentives and perceived audience alignment.

While Nintendo's image works against them for most franchises, it actually works quite well for Dragon Quest.

Install base size also is a big component.

 

[electroplankton]

So did Nintendo moneyhat like MH or what? Seems really weird.

Agreements to bring the series in the West?

 

[Sammy Samusu]

After Crystal Bombas I suspect we won't see many deviations of the Crystal Chronicles formula. That's assuming we ever see Crystal Chronicles again.

Crystal Bearers is the only single-player game in the series. Crystal Chronicles games are actually very focused on the multi-player aspect.

 

[schuelma]

For Square Enix, I think they might mostly be done (sans perhaps something like an eventual Dragon Quest XII), given that their console development is a trainwreck in general and they seem pretty hyped up about Luminous, which was clearly developed with very high end hardware in mind as the primary use. It's notable that despite having Dragon Quest X on the system, they've yet to make any moves to port over Final Fantasy XIV or announce Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy for the system. They're also announcing their next Final Fantasy game at Sony's conference at E3, not Nintendo's.

Yeah starting to think you are correct. I think there is a chance we see another DQ game, but probably little else. Frankly not sure if missing out on 1 Final Fantasy game in 2016 will be a huge deal, but that's another topic.

Namco I definitely expect more games from simply because they're developing Smash Bros and I can't imagine they're seriously going to sit out the platform on every other game they make. I could be wrong, but by far this would be my #1 choice for support.

Like I said above, Namco right now is the publisher I'm most surprised at- the fact that they actually had some Wii successes, plus the Smash development made me think there would be significant support. So far we have not seen that. I certainly expect stuff like Taiko Wii U to come out this holiday.

Tecmo Koei feels like a company that's willing to support any company as long as you pay them to do so, so Nintendo should be able to get support as long as they're willing to write a check for it.

Tecmo Koei has been pretty good on Wii U so far and I expect further decent support. I would assume a DW8 port for later in the year, and for Wii U to get SW4 multi with PS3/PS4.

Kind of like Namco, if we are not hearing anything from them this year that does not bold well.

Sega is pretty much done with consoles, but I'd be surprised if we don't see future Sonic games from them on the system. Nagoshi keeps talking up the PS4 so I'm assuming that's where Yakuza is headed.



I think Konami is basically only making Metal Gear Solid, PES, Castlevania, Metal Gear Rising, and perhaps Mercury Steam's New IP. They've actively shown zero interest in porting three of those to the Wii U, and I can't imagine they'll start up Mercury Steam's New IP if they refuse to do the others, but it's quite plausible that PES could show up.

Yeah I see absolutely nothing from either of these 2 companies, besides Sonic.

Christian Svenson implied that Capcom has at least a few games for Wii U. We're only at one so far, so I expect at least 1-2 others exist. Once they fully move over to MT Panta Rhei, that may dry up. If you pressed me to guess, I would expect Sengoku Basara and, if it exists, a console up port of MH4.

I'm pretty bullish on Capcom, at least as far as Japanese stuff goes. I think they are pretty happy with MH 3G HD sales and like you said Capcom has said more stuff is coming.

Atlus is kind of an interesting choice given they have at least one partnership with Nintendo going. I will say that the platforms for Persona 5 will tell us a lot there when it finally gets announced.

Agree again. I am half expecting P5 to me multi with PS3 and Wii U.

Level 5 is always an interesting choice. Inazuma 11 Wii U seems like a logical choice to me. I do feel that Level 5 is going to be hesitant to publish too many of their own consoles games however given how those have went over, so where they show up might depend a lot on who their publisher is.

Agreed again.

Honestly, and I'd be curious what you think, looking down this list there seems to be a lot of reason to expect decent support from a lot of these companies- but so far there is absolutely nothing announced. Maybe the development problems Nintendo has chronicled impacted 3rd parties, or maybe Japanese companies do not have the resources to easily port PS360 titles to Wii U, or maybe our analysis is wrong and there is simply no support coming.

 

[Mileena]

Dragon Quest games have typically come to the most successful platforms.

I imagine it's a mix of monetary incentives and perceived audience alignment.

While Nintendo's image works against them for most franchises, it actually works quite well for Dragon Quest.

Install base size also is a big component.

I see. So SE sees DQ as their more "kiddy" JRPG and Final Fantasy is the "mature" game going to the big consoles. Not sure how I feel about that.

 

[Celestial]

So did Nintendo moneyhat like MH or what? Seems really weird.

Probably.I think it's strange that we havent see a Dragon Quest game for PSP(almost 20 millions units in Japan).Also there aren't any Dragon Quest games on PSN like DQIV and DQVII for PSONE classics or DQ5 for PS2 while all the FFs and Chocobo games are already there.

 

[duckroll]

I kind of imagine the team got absorbed by the Final Fantasy XIV blob along with people like the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance team.

I was wondering too, so I decided to check it out.

The director of Rings of Fate and Echoes of Time is Mitsuru Kamiyama, a programmer who also programmed most of both games himself, including the ill-fated Pollux Engine. It seems that he's the chief programmer for the Offline Mode for Dragon Quest X.

Toshiyuki Itahana is the director for Crystal Bearers, and the character designer for the entire Crystal Chronicles sub-franchise. He is currently working on Lightning Returns as the character designer for the supporting cast, as well as costume designs. He was also the DLC costume designer for FFXIII-2.

It looks like neither of them are working on FFXIV, but maybe some of the other staff who worked on the games are. Too lazy to check all those. Lol.

 

[electroplankton]

I see. So SE sees DQ as their more "kiddy" JRPG and Final Fantasy is the "mature" game going to the big consoles. Not sure how I feel about that.

Actually I'm pretty sure DQ has a wider audience (hence, also older people playing it) than FF, which is more a teenager series.

 

[Nirolak]

Honestly, and I'd be curious what you think, looking down this list there seems to be a lot of reason to expect decent support from a lot of these companies- but so far there is absolutely nothing announced. Maybe the development problems Nintendo has chronicled impacted 3rd parties, or maybe Japanese companies do not have the resources to easily port PS360 titles to Wii U, or maybe our analysis is wrong and there is simply no support coming.

Well, I can throw out a few theories.

To note, these aren't sorted in order of likelihood, and I don't necessarily believe any given one, but they're what I see as possibilities:

1.) The games that exist simply aren't ready to be shown. Many of the titles listed don't actually officially exist yet, and there's not a whole lot outside of major worldwide titles (which are more likely to go to other platforms) that is announced for Fall at all.

2.) Publishers are taking a wait and see approach. There's no reason they can't just keep releasing 3DS and PS3 games, so why not just wait and see which console platform takes off based on the few titles that are willing to dive in head first.

3.) A modification of #2, publishers got spooked by initial sales and put many titles for the platform on hold to essentially take a wait and see approach, favoring putting their resources toward PS3 or more 3DS games instead.

4.) Sony has actually managed to sell third parties on the value of their system. Since the PS4 has a total of like 6-8 games announced, it will be a while before we see what their full early line-up is (presumably we can make long term judgments by the end of TGS pretty easily).

5.) Publishers are totally and utterly sold on the 3DS to the point that they don't intend to make any console titles outside of major worldwide hits or guaranteed hit local titles, so there honestly aren't many upcoming console titles that even exist, and thus they can't be announced and/or ported to the system.

Unfortunately, TGS time this Fall is probably once again the soonest we can really have everything felt out barring any executives kind enough to announce their entire upcoming business plans.

I was wondering too, so I decided to check it out.

The director of Rings of Fate and Echoes of Time is Mitsuru Kamiyama, a programmer who also programmed most of both games himself, including the ill-fated Pollux Engine. It seems that he's the chief programmer for the Offline Mode for Dragon Quest X.

Toshiyuki Itahana is the director for Crystal Bearers, and the character designer for the entire Crystal Chronicles sub-franchise. He is currently working on Lightning Returns as the character designer for the supporting cast, as well as costume designs. He was also the DLC costume designer for FFXIII-2.

It looks like neither of them are working on FFXIV, but maybe some of the other staff who worked on the games are. Too lazy to check all those. Lol.

It's also possible the team was just dissolved to Square Enix's various other projects, yeah.

 

[walking fiend]

I would expect, at minimum, a few more titles this Fall.

For Square Enix, I think they might mostly be done (sans perhaps something like an eventual Dragon Quest XII), given that their console development is a trainwreck in general and they seem pretty hyped up about Luminous, which was clearly developed with very high end hardware in mind as the primary use. It's notable that despite having Dragon Quest X on the system, they've yet to make any moves to port over Final Fantasy XIV or announce Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy for the system. They're also announcing their next Final Fantasy game at Sony's conference at E3, not Nintendo's.

Namco I definitely expect more games from simply because they're developing Smash Bros and I can't imagine they're seriously going to sit out the platform on every other game they make. I could be wrong, but by far this would be my #1 choice for support.

Tecmo Koei feels like a company that's willing to support any company as long as you pay them to do so, so Nintendo should be able to get support as long as they're willing to write a check for it.

Sega is pretty much done with consoles, but I'd be surprised if we don't see future Sonic games from them on the system. Nagoshi keeps talking up the PS4 so I'm assuming that's where Yakuza is headed.

Christian Svenson implied that Capcom has at least a few games for Wii U. We're only at one so far, so I expect at least 1-2 others exist. Once they fully move over to MT Panta Rhei, that may dry up. If you pressed me to guess, I would expect Sengoku Basara and, if it exists, a console up port of MH4.

I think Konami is basically only making Metal Gear Solid, PES, Castlevania, Metal Gear Rising, and perhaps Mercury Steam's New IP. They've actively shown zero interest in porting three of those to the Wii U, and I can't imagine they'll start up Mercury Steam's New IP if they refuse to do the others, but it's quite plausible that PES could show up.

Level 5 is always an interesting choice. Inazuma 11 Wii U seems like a logical choice to me. I do feel that Level 5 is going to be hesitant to publish too many of their own consoles games however given how those have went over, so where they show up might depend a lot on who their publisher is.

From Software had the opportunity to announce Dark Souls 2 for Wii U multiple times now yet hasn't, and could have also announced Armored Core: Verdict Day, so I'm not sure how interested they are.

Atlus is kind of an interesting choice given they have at least one partnership with Nintendo going. I will say that the platforms for Persona 5 will tell us a lot there when it finally gets announced.

Nippon Ichi, Idea Factory/Compile Heart, and Imageepoch I imagine will continue to sit on PlayStation for the rest of time since that's where the otaku audience is.

Am I forgetting anyone?

I agree more or less too. Some parts where I think differently.

Final Fantasy: It's traditionally a graphical showcase, so it will be targeted for the most powerful console, which apparently is PS4. However, I am not sure if they will not be willing to scale down the game to fit it on other platforms. If it was 5 years ago, I would say definitely it wouldn't be on Wii U or even Durango, if it required being scaled down, as it would sell more or less as they expected regardless of platform. But the brand has weakened a lot since then.


Persona 5: I think they will be moving forward with PS brand for Persona, so unless it becomes a multiplatform release, it won't be on a Nintendo console. But regardless, I think Persona is a particular case and we can't discern much regarding general direction of Capcom based on it.

I also expect Konami to support the platform for future releases as well; like a lot of other games that don't sell much, like Crysis, there was no reason to port them to begin with.

 

[Laguna]

I think WiiU will be the leading console next gen quite easily in Japan, I agree that right now it´s looking bad but as we know that has alot to do with the delays. PS4s presentation a few days ago clearly ignored the Japanese demographic even the trailers from Japanese studios like Capcoms Deep Down and SCEJs Knack are clearly supposed to appeal to the Western market rather than the Japanese. In the last years there were often arguments about how most Japanese developers have fallen behind and that they couldn´t keep up in the graphics department, so I really don´t know how they are supposed to do it this time around.

I think that most PS4 games will be developed by western studios, similar to what happened on PS3, while most Japanese studios will have a considerably large part of their resources working on handheld software, combined with SCEJs less than stellar softwaresupport with software that actually appeals to Japanese it will have a lot of problems. The best case scenario in my opinion is that they have a new GranTourismo and Everybodies Golf in PS4s first year or it will have a worse 1st year in Japan.

 

[Nirolak]

Actually I'm pretty sure DQ has a wider audience (hence, also older people playing it) than FF, which is more a teenager series.

Yes I'd agree with this assessment.

Dragon Quest is the "everyone" series and FF is the "12-22" series if we had to assign strict brackets.

 

[extralite]

For me the buttons are only in the right place while my fingers are on them. When I move my fingers away and then have to press a particular button, the buttons might as well have placed themselves on some random spot on the controller.

Of course this could be blamed on wanting to use muscle memory and not wanting to have to recondition myself to use a different layout. I could also get around this by looking at the controller whenever I need to move my fingers. I don't understand why it needs to be explained that familiar controls are preferable when someone has hundreds of hours of experience with a given set of controls, though. MH is in my opinion still absolutely a PSP franchise.

If you're resting your hand naturally on the side of the controller your thumb is already right on the four front buttons which have the same layout as all the other controllers we already discussed. It's not the layout that is different but the size of the controller.

You keep coming back to the PSP but the original comparison was with the CC. The CC has the sticks further on the inside and below the buttons, the gamepad further out and above. If the CC conditioned you to move your fingers in a certain way (switching between buttons and stick) you would move the thumb into exactly the opposite direction as your supposed to. I see that taking some getting used to. On the other hand on PSP you don't even have an analogue camera stick so you should be fine with four buttons which are easily found if your hand is resting naturally.

Anyway, I'm not sure if your playtime was just too short or if the gamepad is really not for you. But you can always keep playing on PSP I guess.

Yes I'd agree with this assessment.

Dragon Quest is the "everyone" series and FF is the "12-22" series if we had to assign strict brackets.

Don't agree with this at all. During SNES and PS1 age both series had pretty much the same number of sales slightly in favor for DQ but increasingly less so nearing PS age. Recently FF might be selling less to older players but that would have more to do with console preferences and availability than with target age or taste.

Even then 22 is too young as the end of the spectrum. MCs in the series might be in that age bracket (as are the MCs in DQ btw) but there are always older party members to identify with for the older players, like Reeves or Auron. FFXII especially had many of these, FFVIII not so much but school setting manga and games are popular with people not in school anymore too. The Catherine protagonist provides a good idea of how old the Persona players actually are. And what their family situation is.

In tone and theme DQ is the younger franchise anyway. It's like Jump magazine which has a younger core readership than Sunday but reaches a broader audience simply because it's the most popular manga magazine.

 

[Nirolak]

Don't agree with this at all. During SNES and PS1 age both series had pretty much the same number of sales slightly in favor for DQ but increasingly less so nearing PS age. Recently FF might be selling less to older players but that would have more to do with console preferences and availability than with target age or taste.

Even then 22 is too young as the end of the spectrum. MCs in the series might be in that age bracket (as are the MCs in DQ btw) but there are always older party members to identify with for the older players, like Reeves or Auron. FFXII especially had many of these, FFVIII not so much but school setting manga and games are popular with people not in school anymore too. The Catherine protagonist provides a good idea of how old the Persona players actually are. And what their family situation is.

In tone and theme DQ is the younger franchise anyway. It's like Jump magazine which has a younger core readership than Sunday but reaches a broader audience simply because it's the most popular manga magazine.

Well:

We ask Kitase if, as he settles into his 40s, he ever thinks about those members of the Final Fantasy audience who have also grown up with the series. After all, even those players who only joined the fanbase with the seventh game in the series, the first to make a truly global impact, are now entering their 30s. Surely the expectations of these players and the things that they look out for in games are different now to what they were ten, 15 years ago. Is Square Enix interested in changing the tone or theme or style its output to meet these changing needs of the audience?

"I actually think that it's a very natural thing for players to grow out of the Final Fantasy series," he answers. "In terms of the age group we target with each new game, it remains the teens to 20-somethings. That said, you're right in saying that some of our staff have been working on the series for many years. They are having new experiences and growing and they inevitably do bring those new ideas and perspectives to their work. In Final Fantasy XIII, for example, we have a greater spread of older characters in the story than we have had in the past. Satzu is older, has a family and is not really the kind of character one would normally encounter or play as in the series. But, that said, I think it's better that we keep the focus on the young generation rather than ageing the series' appeal. If players choose to stick around and continue playing the games as they grow older then that's great, but hopefully new generations will find the appeal, grow up with the series and then pass that down to the next generation as they themselves grow older".

The decision to aim the series towards younger game fans is one Square Enix has had to consciously take in the past. In Final Fantasy XII, Yasumi Matsuno originally intended for Balthier, a much older member of the core cast, to take on the role of lead protagonist. Reportedly, it was felt that casting players as a 40-year-old man would alienate a large slice of the fanbase, so the decision was taken to focus on the much younger character of Vaan.

Source: http://www.giantbomb.com/final-fant...itase-speaks-on-final-fantasys-future-241270/

 

[saichi]

^^^

Cause Akira Toriyama does the character design for DQ each time so it's automatically for the younger audience

 

[extralite]

Horii also worked as an editor for Jump, it's not just Toriyama. And I played the DQ games, I'm basing my comment on tone and motives on what I see in the games. The main point is that DQ isn't targeting an older age group than FF, it just more easily reaches older players as well that are just an extension to a younger core. Young for both, starting younger for DQ though.

Edit: It is also pretty telling that the novel adaptions of the first four DQ games were written by an author who writes children's books and that Itoi's DQ commentary/parody draws on Western children's book classics, Mother trying to match the quality found in these classics. The same author who adapted DQ also adapted the Famicom Mother game, btw.

 

[saichi]

Horii also worked as an editor for Jump, it's not just Toriyama. And I played the DQ games, I'm basing my comment on tone and motives on what I see in the games. The main point is that DQ isn't targeting an older age group than FF, it just more easily reaches older players as well that are just an extension to a younger core. Young for both, starting younger for DQ though.

Edit: It is also pretty telling that the novel adaptions of the first four DQ games were written by an author who writes children's books and that Itoi's DQ commentary/parody draws on Western children's book classics, Mother trying to match the quality found in these classics. The same author who adapted DQ also adapted the Famicom Mother game, btw.

Miyazaki's movies look kiddy but it's enjoyed by all ages. It's not targeted for an older group but rather for all age group. The kiddy look doesn't automatically mean it's targeted for younger audience. That's how DQ is.

On the other hand, Hokuto no Ken appeals to teegaers and it's mainly enjoyed by that age group. That's how FF is.

I'm not sure what to disagree with Dragon Quest is the "everyone" series and FF is the "12-22" series

 

[AranhaHunter]

So did Nintendo moneyhat like MH or what? Seems really weird.

Dragon Quest games have typically come to the most successful platforms.

With the exception of DQX WiiU, DQ has only appeared on the most successful platforms, lending most to believe that DQX WiiU port got incentives from Nintendo but we don't know for sure.

Dragon Quest is a lock for Nintendo platforms,7 or 8 years have past since the last DQ game on a Sony platform.I dont think this will change now since Wii U has already DQX.

The last mainline DQ on PS was in 2004 with DQVIII, the last DQ on a PS platform was a DQVIII spin off in 2006, but yeah the only way that Sony can get DQ on PS is totally dependent on moves by them (i.e. moneyhat, buy SE). SE won't put it there and Nintendo will fight not to let that exclusive major franchise go to other platforms.

Probably.I think it's strange that we havent see a Dragon Quest game for PSP(almost 20 millions units in Japan).Also there aren't any Dragon Quest games on PSN like DQIV and DQVII for PSONE classics or DQ5 for PS2 while all the FFs and Chocobo games are already there.

It is indeed very weird. The PSOne classics remake won't fly because Hori and SE want to make money on those remakes that people in JP eat up. I think the PSP is the only console that has sold over 10 million copies in Japan and never got a DQ game or a DQ spin off, unless you consider Itadaki Street a DQ game. PS3 will be the second console to not get a DQ and sell over 10 million there.

 

[jeremy1456]

With the exception of DQX WiiU, DQ has only appeared on the most successful platforms, lending most to believe that DQX WiiU port got incentives from Nintendo but we don't know for sure.

If I recall, the Sega Genesis had sold more than the SNES when DQV was announced.

The Sega Saturn had also sold more than the Playstation in Japan when DQVII was announced for the platform. Not to mention the fact that DQVII was announced originally for the N64 before they had any idea how that console war would pan out.

I think that's just something Hori once said in passing that people have taken too far.

 

[metalslimer]

I think WiiU will be the leading console next gen quite easily in Japan, I agree that right now it´s looking bad but as we know that has alot to do with the delays. PS4s presentation a few days ago clearly ignored the Japanese demographic even the trailers from Japanese studios like Capcoms Deep Down and SCEJs Knack are clearly supposed to appeal to the Western market rather than the Japanese. In the last years there were often arguments about how most Japanese developers have fallen behind and that they couldn´t keep up in the graphics department, so I really don´t know how they are supposed to do it this time around.

I think that most PS4 games will be developed by western studios, similar to what happened on PS3, while most Japanese studios will have a considerably large part of their resources working on handheld software, combined with SCEJs less than stellar softwaresupport with software that actually appeals to Japanese it will have a lot of problems. The best case scenario in my opinion is that they have a new GranTourismo and Everybodies Golf in PS4s first year or it will have a worse 1st year in Japan.

I think Wii U will probably outsell the PS4 in Japan, but it won't be some massive gap, and considering the deafening silence from japanese 3rd parties on Wii U, I doubt that small gap makes makes them reconsider where they are putting their games, especially when a lot of big console games are high budget games that are multiplatform

 

[omonimo]

I think Wii U will probably outsell the PS4 in Japan, but it won't be some massive gap, and considering the deafening silence from japanese 3rd parties on Wii U, I doubt that small gap makes makes them reconsider where they are putting their games, especially when a lot of big console games are high budget games that are multiplatform

It doesn't outsold even ps3 :/

 

[metalslimer]

It doesn't outsold even ps3 :/

Are you saying the Wii U won't outsell the PS3? Very possible looking at Wii U's support and the home console market in general. Of course with the pricetag the PS4 will probably come at will kill its chances in Japan.

 

[jeremy1456]

Are you saying the Wii U won't outsell the PS3? Very possible looking at Wii U's support and the home console market in general. Of course with the pricetag the PS4 will probably come at will kill its chances in Japan.

Not to mention the fact that Sony's only big selling game in Japan is Gran Turismo, and we can probably expect a several year wait for that.

Meanwhile Nintendo has 3D Mario, Smash Bros., Animal Crossing, Mario Party and Mario Kart. Not to mention their C-tier selling titles like Pikmin and Mario Sports.

Aside from Gran Turismo, Sony's top selling first party games (the only ones that are guaranteed to be exclusive) don't even sell as much as Nintendo's C or D tier (saleswise) series.

 

[metalslimer]

Not to mention the fact that Sony's only big selling game in Japan is Gran Turismo, and we can probably expect a several year wait for that.

Gran Turismo 6 is looking like a PS3 game anyway.

 

[jeremy1456]

Gran Turismo 6 is looking like a PS3 game anyway.

So add a couple more years to the expected wait time for a PS4 exclusive Gran Turismo.

Either way, the outlook isn't very good.

 

[shinra-bansho]

When looking at Japanese publishers, perhaps it would be useful in identifying the actual franchises in their stables and whether it's likely the next installments will appear on the Wii U (as opposed to the 3DS, PS3-only, PS360, PS4-only or PS4/Durango).

For example, are we expecting:

• Resident Evil 7 to appear on the Wii U?
• The next Tales?
• The next mainline Final Fantasy?
• The next Kingdom Hearts if it ever comes?
• The next Yakuza?
• The next Winning Eleven or Pro Baseball?
• The next Dynasty Warriors?
• The next Atelier or Ar Tonelico?
• The next Disgaea?
• The next Street Fighter?

And so on.