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[tinfoilhatman]

there is a lot of ignorance in this thread, saying that Japanese games isn't needed in the West is BS.

Please elaborate, what mainstream Japanese centric console game sells well in the US market?


Why should Microshaft sink .01$ into Japan, what does MS or teh bulk of US gamers need Japan for?

 

[Teknoman]

This , it's a lost cause what was the last Japanese centric console game that sold well in America?

Fighting and JRPG's are pretty much dead here, what do western gamers need Japan for these days?

Fighting games dead? Nah, especially not with people having access to online matches. JRPGs...about the same place they've always been (not dead, but not on fire either).

 

[AwRy108]

In other news, the Xbox 360 is selling very well in the west and Microsoft doesn't care much.

/thread

 

[Teknoman]

Please elaborate, what mainstream Japanese centric console game sells well in the US market?


Why should Microshaft sink .01$ into Japan, what does MS or teh bulk of US gamers need Japan for?

Depends on what you mean by Japanese centric. Made in Japan, or something with the style of Bayonetta / God Hand?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

So is it crazy to imagine them not putting the Xbox 3 out in Japan at all? Or will they just keep putting their systems out there knowing they will never sell?

Also, do games that sell huge in American for the 360 sell big on the PS3 in Japan, or is it just flat out that they don't give a fuck about the type of games we westerners do (ie shooting their friends in the face online)? What games sell big in Japan on PS3?

Some of them are big for Japanese PS360 games, though it doesn't compare to the western scale. Between the two systems, COD Black Ops is over 350K. GTA IV, about 500K. But there are multiple Yakuzas, Dynasty/Samurai/other Warriors, Winning Elevens that make it higher. Individually the biggest PS3 games are FF XIII, RE5 (combining its rerelease), and MGS4.

Please elaborate, what mainstream Japanese centric console game sells well in the US market?

The easy answer is "every other Nintendo game", but that doesn't make much difference to X360.

 

[tinfoilhatman]

Fighting games dead? Nah, especially not with people having access to online matches. JRPGs...about the same place they've always been (not dead, but not on fire either).

Only the hard core of the hard core playing fighting games anymore, this is a specialty market at best, with each year fighting games play less and less of a role in mainstream gaming same with JRPG but to an even larger extent.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

A miserable pile of animu?

:lol:

 

[Vire]

Fighting games dead? Nah, especially not with people having access to online matches. JRPGs...about the same place they've always been (not dead, but not on fire either).

Not really, they were selling in the millions of copies in the past generations.

Now they are only selling in the hundreds of thousands. Besides Square, no other publisher or developer is really moving the needle one inch in that genre.

Tales of Symphonia sold up to 2 million copies while Vesperia only sold 400,000 and that's on two separate platforms...

It's sad to see, but it's reality. These games can still be successful for their budget, but there is no question that Japanese game sales have slowed this generation.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I see a situation next gen where Japanese made games sell as well in the West as Western made games currently sell in Japan. Most are ignored with a few gems here and there that break out.

I had considered re-buying a 360 only for XBLA... Guardian Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, R-Types, Omega Five, Shadow Complex, Rez HD, Bastion, etc, etc.

Yeah, digital downloading on consoles is where Japan really shines this gen and it would be disappointing to see these games go away.

Btw, Shadow Complex wasn't Japanese.

 

[kyubajin]

My only gripe is that all the shmups, Mistwalker & Treasure games ended up being 360 exclusive. XBLA has way better exclusivities than PSN.

I had considered re-buying a 360 only for XBLA... Guardian Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, R-Types, Omega Five, Shadow Complex, Rez HD, Bastion, etc, etc.

 

[Rahxephon91]

Not really, they were selling in the millions of copies in the past generations.

Now they are only selling in the hundreds of thousands. Besides Square, no other publisher or developer is really moving the needle one inch in that genre.

Tales of Symphonia sold up to 2 million copies while Vesperia only sold 400,000 and that's on two separate platforms...

It's sad to see, but it's reality. These games can still be successful for their budget, but there is no question that Japanese game sales have slowed this generation.

Where are you getting your facts? These figures are nowhere near true.

http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2007/1398.html

 

[like a dragon]

Is it needed? Not especially - this generation has proved it otherwise. Aside from a few titles from Nintendo, Capcom and Square - eastern gaming sales have stagnated greatly in the past five years.

The better question is - is it wanted? There will always be a legion of players who yearn for old school Japanese games but unfortunately that market is dwindling with each day passing. The main stream no longer is buying these types of games in the US market.

Uh ,are Japanese games needed? really? umm yes I like variety in my library thank you very much. If all I had to play was western games, or big franchises from capcom, konami, and square Enix, I would just quit gaming.

I enjoyed Demon's soul, Valkyrie chronicles, Yakuza games, Near, bayonetta. Cathrine, Shadow of the Dammed, Vanquish , and I cant wait for NI no Kuni PS3 (if it comes out) and the next Tales RPG from Namco.

Variety is the spice of life. I enjoy my games, regardless of how well they sell.

 

[ViolentP]

This gen plateaued a long time ago. Any further discussions are just killing time until next gen opens up and things can become interesting again.

 

[Stahsky]

what if you were born dead

oh man, that would suck. how do i respond to this?

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

fps games does not cater to the Japanese audience though. They dont sell on any platform.

There's plenty of games to play on the 360 besides FPS games.

 

[djtiesto]

Really, the main interest I had in 360 was for the moneyhatted exclusive RPGs early on, so if MS doesn't even bother to focus on Japan next gen, it'll at least save me some cash.

That said, there's still a surprising Japanese representation on the Indie Game marketplace, for whatever reason (in fact, Protect Me Knight and Nyan-Tech are some of my favorite games on the service).

 

[gunbo13]

Only the hard core of the hard core playing fighting games anymore, this is a specialty market at best, with each year fighting games play less and less of a role in mainstream gaming same with JRPG but to an even larger extent.

Tekken 6: 3.5 Million
Street Fighter IV: 3.1 Million
Soul Calibur IV: 2.3 Million
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: 2.0 Million
Super Street Fighter IV: 1.6 Million

Millions of hardcore fighting game fans? I don't think so.

 

[Vire]

Where are you getting your facts? These figures are nowhere near true.

http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2007/1398.html

Where are YOU getting your numbers? I took them from Namco Bandai's own sales numbers. Unless they are outdated and inaccurate.

 

[Vire]

Uh ,are Japanese games needed? really? umm yes I like variety in my library thank you very much. If all I had to play was western games, or big franchises from capcom, konami, and square Enix, I would just quit gaming.

I enjoyed Demon's soul, Valkyrie chronicles, Yakuza games, Near, bayonetta. Cathrine, Shadow of the Dammed, Vanquish , and I cant wait for NI no Kuni PS3 (if it comes out) and the next Tales RPG from Namco.

Variety is the spice of life. I enjoy my games, regardless of how well they sell.

Did you read at all what I said? The market dictates what is needed. It isn't about what you want. Clearly everyone on this forum likes variety... it isn't about that.

EDIT: Sorry for the DP.

 

[Parmenides]

Worldwide sales figures
Wii – 87.57 million as of 30 June 2011
PlayStation 2 - 59.2 million as of 30 June 2011 (*)
Xbox 360 – 55.3 million as of 30 June 2011
PlayStation 3 – 51.8 million as of 30 June 2011

(*) Oct 1, 2005 - Jun 30, 2011

Fixed

So the 360 is dead where it doesn't matter, and the PS3 is dead where it actually matters.

Wow

2011

Japan (31 Weeks)
PS3 735,637
Wii 407,371
360 72,721

U.S. (30 Weeks)
360 2,700,000
Wii 1,934,000
PS3 1,840,300

Europe (14 Weeks)
PS3 1,090,000
360 760,000
Wii 750,000

Japan+U.S.+Europe
PS3 3,665,937
360 3,532,721
Wii 3,091,371

Source: Media Create,NPD,Nintendo

Europe (14 Weeks)

i don't think they really care about this situation... home console are dead in Japan

Console gaming died in Japan a long time ago

I'd say the PS3 hasn't fared much better either, no thanks to SONY being so oblivious to the needs of their domestic market.

The 360 was never really alive in Japan but the PS3 certainly hasn't been that successful in the region either.

Welcome to 2011!

Comgnet preorder data -The rankings as of August 14, 2011

[PS3] Tales Xillia - 653pt (Sep 8)
[PS3] Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Ver. - 193pt (Aug 25)
[PSP] ... When you have love in Guam Idol AKB1/48 auction, please be left in their Limited Edition! BOX - 145pt (Aug 25 )
[PS3] Dark Souls - 144pt (Sep 22)
[PSP] Limited Edition Black ★ Rock Shooter THE GAME - 137pt (Aug 25)
[PS3] Armored Core 5 - 106Pt (Jan 2012)
[Wii] Dragon Quest NES and SNES I • II • III - 98pt (Sep 15)
[PS3] OG Super Robot Wars 2 - 95pt (????)
[PS3] Final Fantasy XIII Versus - 82Pt (????)
[PS3] Super Dimensional mk2 Neptun (Limited Edition) - 75pt (Aug 18)
[PSP] Final Fantasy Zero - 71pt (Oc 13)
[PSP] WRS Charm Limited Edition Black &Rock Shooter BOX THE GAME - 65pt (Aug 25)
[PS3] Limited Box Shadow of the Colossus ICO / Wanda - 50pt (Sep 22)
[PS3] Fuca and Desuko Disgaea 4. Append Edition limited quantity - 40pt (Oc 27)
[PSP] When you have love in Guam AKB1/48 Idol Limited Edition - 37pt (Oc 6)
[PSP] Mobile Suit Gundam: Ambition of the new Gillen - 36pt (Aug 25)
[PSP] Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's PORTABLE - 36pt (Dec 22)
[PSP] Growlanser 4-over-RELOADED - 32pt (Aug 18)
[PS3] Resident Evil Revival Selection HD Remastered Edition - 32pt (Sep 8)
[PSP] Limited Edition Complete Book of the Pik locus Hero - 32pt (Sep 29)


PS3 1,470 pt
PSP 591 pt
Wii 98 pt

Tales Comgnet Preorders Comparison

-According to Namco Bandai,Tales of Vesperia has sold 630k

PS3 (2009) 420k (MC FW 216k)
360 (2008) 210k (MC FW 108k)

-Tales of Graces has sold 565k

PS3 (2010) 345k (MC FW 215k)
Wii (2009) 220k (MC FW 144k)

 

[Thoraxes]

This , it's a lost cause what was the last Japanese centric console game that sold well in America?

Fighting and JRPG's are pretty much dead here, what do western gamers need Japan for these days?

Uh, all the games developed by a majority of Nintendo's first-party studios?
ATLUS too.
Also i'm not too sure on numbers for other games, but FFXIII sold pretty good over here.

 

[ampere]

one store selling the Halo: Reach hardware bundle for ¥9,980 (£79.30)

Wow, too bad the hardware isn't region free.

 

[Vire]

Fixed

How is the PS2 in anyway relevant to the current generation of hardware? That would be like citing the NES sales numbers.

Secondly, you basically reaffirmed that poster's point about Japan being the least relevant in terms of sales because they have the lowest numbers behind Europe and the US considerably on a monthly basis. If there is one market to abandon, it would be the one with the smallest market.

As for the sales of the Tales games, even if it sold in around the 500,000 mark, that isn't impressive considering Symphonia sold around three times that amount. Notice how they failed to include that in the chart they provided.

 

[kyubajin]

Now that I realise, Japanese games are among if not my favourites these gen, they're so different and daring in their essence: Demon's Souls, Bayonetta, 3D Dot Games Heroes, Lost Odyssey, Half-minute Hero, Valkyria Chronicles, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Little King's Story, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, DS Castlevanias, Mega Man 9-10, etc, etc.

 

[djtiesto]

Did you read at all what I said? The market dictates what is needed. It isn't about what you want. Clearly everyone on this forum likes variety... it isn't about that.

EDIT: Sorry for the DP.

So what happens when the market gets sick of the same games over and over again and decides it wants a bit more variety?

 

[Vire]

So what happens when the market gets sick of the same games over and over again and decides it wants a bit more variety?

Familiarity breads contempt. It may swing the pendulum in another direction but who knows? I'm just talking about the present.

 

[Kagari]

I like how FF Versus XIII is on that preorder list, and we don't even have a date for it yet!

 

[Rahxephon91]

Where are YOU getting your numbers? I took them from Namco Bandai's own sales numbers. Unless they are outdated and inaccurate.

http://www.bandainamcogames.co.jp/corporate/press/pdf/53-026.pdf

Thats from 2007. Unless somehow ToS crawled close to 2 million after that then no it's not close to two million.

Vesperia also sold more then 400,000.

 

[teruterubozu]

They don't have man caves in Japan.

 

[Vire]

http://www.bandainamcogames.co.jp/corporate/press/pdf/53-026.pdf

Thats from 2007. Unless somehow ToS crawled close to 2 million after that then no it's not close to two million.

Vesperia also sold more then 400,000.

According to the chart you just provided it sold 1.4 million copies on combined platforms.

Vesperia according to the chart provided above on this page sold 600,000 units. That's close to three times the amount.

Let's focus this less on the Tales series and more on Japanese gaming in general. My point has less to do with this series and more to do about sales of Japanese games in the US.

 

[commedieu]

Please elaborate, what mainstream Japanese centric console game sells well in the US market?


Why should Microshaft sink .01$ into Japan, what does MS or teh bulk of US gamers need Japan for?

GT5 did pretty well, Metal Gear, Resident Evil. For me..

MS needs worldwide domination if it ever wants to get out of Sony's hardware shadow. They do really well in one part of the world where they give the thing away for free, and support it with 4 games.

They misjudged their audience, its not a Japanese centric ideal, they love apple and reliable hardware.

 

[LQX]

GT5 did pretty well, Metal Gear, Resident Evil. For me..

MS needs worldwide domination if it ever wants to get out of Sony's hardware shadow. They do really well in one part of the world where they give the thing away for free, and support it with 4 games.

They misjudged their audience, its not a Japanese centric ideal, they love apple and reliable hardware.

Where can we get free 360's?

 

[TheOddOne]

ITT: Refuge thread for train wreck PSVita thread.

 

[Zeal]

call me when Japan becomes relevant again.

 

[JWong]

Not yet, Shane Kim hasn't announced it yet

He doesn't even know RE5 has been announced yet.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

How is the PS2 in anyway relevant to the current generation of hardware? That would be like citing the NES sales numbers.

I don't get it either. Sony, nor third parties are currently supporting the system with games and it is selling now based on it's back catalog of games that people can pick up used for pennies on the dollar.

MS needs worldwide domination if it ever wants to get out of Sony's hardware shadow.

Not sure I understand this as the only company who had worldwide domination this gen was Nintendo with the Wii and DS.

 

[Kazerei]

I think it would've helped if the 360 JRPGs were better quality and actually stayed exclusive. Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean: TLH, Eternal Sonata ... so much mediocrity. With the exception of Tales of Vesperia, console JRPGs have kind of sucked this gen.

 

[CadetMahoney]

So the 360 is dead where it doesn't matter, and the PS3 is dead where it actually matters.

heh

 

[Syphon Filter]

I think it would've helped if the 360 JRPGs were better quality and actually stayed exclusive. Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean: TLH, Eternal Sonata ... so much mediocrity. With the exception of Tales of Vesperia, console JRPGs have kind of sucked this gen.

Blue dragon was pretty fun and i am not really into that style of a game. I am sure Microsoft learned things this gen to improve in japan next time.

 

[Satchel]

They really shouldn't bother launching there next gen. Save themselves a LOT of money, time and embarassment and just concentrate on the US and Europe.

 

[ViolentP]

It's cool. The 360 is still a good system, guys. Purchase validated.

 

[Frankfurt]

Another reason why MS doesn't believe in exclusives anymore.

 

[xbhaskarx]

I remember when people said that the Japanese didn't like the 360 because it was too big and too loud. So of course now that they have released the Slim, the 360 is dead in Japan...

 

[SpecX]

They really shouldn't bother launching there next gen. Save themselves a LOT of money, time and embarassment and just concentrate on the US and Europe.

Makes sense, but would Japanese developers support it if the system isn't even available in their home country?

 

[Vire]

Makes sense, but would Japanese developers support it if the system isn't even available in their home country?

Do they like money?

If so, the answer is yes.

 

[Kagari]

Makes sense, but would Japanese developers support it if the system isn't even available in their home country?

I think it will be difficult for them, if something like that happens.

The 360 is already missing out in Japan on titles that release on only PS3, but on 360 in the west (Dynasty Warriors, Dark Souls, for example). I could see something similar happening next generation.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Whenever I see that word I just hear
'edge edge edge undo undo'

no one else? lol

 

[InfiniteNine]

Whenever I see that word I just hear
'edge edge edge undo undo'

no one else? lol

I never use the undo button so no! Just a bunch of edges.

 

[Dunan]

As somebody who doesn't have a 360 but lives in Japan, this is some great news. I'd love to finally get into it and play all the Xbox exclusives that I've missed out on, having only a PS3.

One reason I never gave the 360 much thought was the region locking. I play games from the US (most), Japan (second), and Europe (few). The last thing I want to do is faff around with looking up whether or not my console will play this or that game -- but with the console at what feels like under $100 (it's not, but feels like it), it's suddenly worth the hassle.

Does anyone know of a database containing this kind of info? I'll be wanting to play RPGs in English if the translation is good, in Japanese if (obviously) they were never translated, and in either language for non-story-oriented games like racers.

In particular, I've had a hankering to play:

Lost Odyssey
The Last Remnant
Fatal Inertia (just Y1000 at amazon.co.jp!)
Mass Effect
Halo
Metro 2033

...please tell me I can play these (particularly in English for the first two and last three) on a Japanese 360!

 

[like a dragon]

I remember when people said that the Japanese didn't like the 360 because it was too big and too loud. So of course now that they have released the Slim, the 360 is dead in Japan...

It was too big, loud, and it didn't work too well. You Know the RROD thing that you forgot to mention. Oh, and the lack of Final Fantasy (timed exclusive but people thought it would never come to the xbox 360 in japan) is was killed the Xbox 360. Form factor is the least of Microsoft's problem in Japan.