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Any reason why the WiiU *won't* dominate Japan?

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It could end up selling more than PS4 at the end of the generation, but I don't think any console is going to "dominate" anything in Japan for the time being. 3DS will be doing the dominating for the next few years.
 
Don't see how that makes any difference.

Because you dismissed several franchises that kept the PS3 close to the Wii. I certainly wouldn't say that the Wii dominated Japan. Domination is what the PS2 did. It sold 21m in Japan compared to GameCube's 4m. The Wii U may very well ended up winning Japan, but I don't see it dominating.
 
SE, Capcom, and Konami aren't behind tech wise. They will keep up with what the west will be doing next gen. I don't see how anyone believes they of all japanese devs would settle with the Wii U when it comes to FF and MGS.

I would say that Konami is behind tech wise. Look at their HD collections like ZOE and Silent Hill. Not only that but MGS4 was a disaster and to this day is the only PS3 game that has multiple mid game installs to name just just to name one huge glaring tech flaw that no other company experienced.

Because you dismissed several franchises that kept the PS3 close to the Wii. I certainly wouldn't say that the Wii dominated Japan. Domination is what the PS2 did. It sold 21m in Japan compared to GameCube's 4m. The Wii U may very well ended up winning Japan, but I don't see it dominating.

Didn't the DS pass the PS2 's numbers after only like 2 or 3 years after launch?
 

mujun

Member
I can see it taking off but on the other hand I can see people who want to console game at home being satisfied with what the well established PS3 has to offer and it never gaining steam.
 
Because you dismissed several franchises that kept the PS3 close to the Wii. I certainly wouldn't say that the Wii dominated Japan. Domination is what the PS2 did. It sold 21m in Japan compared to GameCube's 4m. The Wii U may very well ended up winning Japan, but I don't see it dominating.

While I agree with you that the Wii didn't dominate Japan, it wasn't because the PS3 had titles that struggled to crack 500k.

The DS beat the shit out of the PS2 and it had none of those titles.
 

Hiltz

Member
- New SMB sold over 480k copies in Japan on day one of release. It reached 900k copies sold 3 days later.

- New SMB Wii sold 936.7k copies in its first four days of release in Japan. By week seven, the game sold over 3 million copies, making it the fastest selling video game in Japan.

- New SMB 2 has sold 1 million copies in Japan in its first month.
 

Haunted

Member
Japan doesn't show any inclination of embracing the PC market, so as far as consoles go, WiiU probably has the best chances as of right now.

That said, from the direction Japan is headed towards, gree and handhelds will most likely dominate and we'll see most of the Japanese developers fall further behind the tech curve as they continue to focus on handheld and mobile tech, with games geared towards the domestic market.
 
I would say that Konami is behind tech wise. Look at their HD collections like ZOE and Silent Hill. Not only that but MGS4 was a disaster and to this day is the only PS3 game that has multiple mid game installs to name just just to name one huge glaring tech flaw that no other comapny experienced.

Weren't ZOE and SH farmed out? Because AFAIK the MGS HD collection ran fine.

And I doubt the purpose of Fox engine is just to make Wii U games from now on. When it comes to graphics, these guys go all out. They went all out with MGS4. They're going all out with Ground Zeros.
 

Bullza2o

Member
The time difference between the Wii U and PS4 launches might be a big factor. It looks like Nintendo is picking up the 3rd party mega-franchises, so I'm not too sure if they won't dominate Japan for quite some time.
 

Kagari

Crystal Bearer
It will probably see similar success as the PS3 had. It's also important to remember that the PS3 will still be getting games for a few years after the PS4 is out if the PS1, 2, and PSP have taught us anything. I expect to see a lot of PS3/Wii U titles as a result.

Having a 3DS Monster Hunter port and a beta for a MMO that's already available isn't really a "sure thing" to guarantee future success.
 
Weren't ZOE and SH farmed out? Because AFAIK the MGS HD collection ran fine.

And I doubt the purpose of Fox engine is just to make Wii U games from now on. When it comes to graphics, these guys go all out. They went all out with MGS4. They're going all out with Ground Zeros.

You said "Konami". Isn't the Fox engine a current gen engine? If so, that works perfect for the WiiU. You still haven't shown that MGS (the only franchise Konami has) is a big seller/mover in Japan. And yes, they went all out with MGS4 including multiple mid game installs and 3 different sign ups for MGO. Konami hasn't shown they are up with advanced tech games.

Say what you will about the game itself but MGS4 is not a tech feat.

It's going to do a hell of a lot better than the PS3 because it has guaranteed first party million sellers.

What is the only million seller in Japan for the PS3? Hot Shots Golf?
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
It will probably see similar success as the PS3 had. It's also important to remember that the PS3 will still be getting games for a few years after the PS4 is out if the PS1, 2, and PSP have taught us anything. I expect to see a lot of PS3/Wii U titles as a result.

Having a 3DS Monster Hunter port and a beta for a MMO that's already available isn't really a "sure thing" to guarantee future success.

It's going to do a hell of a lot better than the PS3 because it has guaranteed first party million sellers.
 
Nintendo will seemingly have a good grip on Japanese 3rd party support and a good bit of indie support. While I love my AAA western titles as much as the next person...WIi U is poised be the true enthusiast gamer's console (in conjuntion with a gaming PC & perferred handheld)
 
Not that many people in japan know what a wii u even is ATM apparently (besides the gaming enthusiasts) And I'm pretty sure nintendo has the same negative stigma over there as they do over here in the West so It'll be pretty hard for nintendo appeal to the non-nintendo fan gamers that are more likely to go get a PS4 once it launches
 
Wii U will dominate ps4, but not because of third party, which will be no better or worse than Wii.
Wii U will have better 3rd party support than Wii largely because it's following Wii (while Wii followed Gamecube). Track record matters, especially when 1st parties come courting support. Wii U already does outpace Wii 3rd party wise really, Wii's biggest 3rd party launch window game was a DBZ fighter, while Wii U has Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter and 2 Musou games. There really isn't much room to go but up.

Likewise, people expecting PS4 to automatically attract all the big names PS3 did should probably reign in those expectations. PS3 had pretty much everyone on board before the system hit shelves thanks to following up PS2, PS4 meanwhile is going to be following PS3, where 3rd parties generally saw costs rise and sales fall despite the heavy support they threw at it. That doesn't bode well for PS4.

3DS and Vita also make a pretty good argument for 1st party competency with courting key support, it's not really hard to see the pattern repeating with consoles. If Nintendo somehow manages to secure FF, PS4 will get Vita'd in one stroke in the domestic market.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
We don't know anything about the PS4 yet, so there's still a chance that it could come back on some gangsta shit in Japan.

In fact I'll go ahead and say that the price was probably the biggest factor in why the PS3 didn't dominate Japan as much as the PS2. Japanese devs aren't really averse to the PS3 at all. Even the niche companies over there have been putting out PS3-exclusive games. Handhelds probably delt a bigger blow to the PS3's Japanese support than the Wii.

A lot will depend on how the PS4 launches over there, particularly in terms of price. If Sony has learned their lesson in that regard, the PS4 could do better in Japan than the PS3 did. At the very least Square Enix and Konami have already shown willingness to develop on that level of hardware with demos of their new engines.

Another possibility is that if the Wii U and other consoles are close enough, and the Wii U is actually able to run the FOX and Luminous engines, Japanese devs could be more likely to develop on Wii U and port up to the others. At least they'll be a lot more likely than western developers to do this. It all depends on what console becomes the lowest common denominator in terms of popularity.
 
Wii U will have better 3rd party support than Wii largely because it's following Wii (while Wii followed Gamecube). Track record matters, especially when 1st parties come courting support. Wii U already does outpace Wii 3rd party wise really, Wii's biggest 3rd party launch window game was a DBZ fighter, while Wii U has Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter and 2 Musou games. There really isn't much room to go but up.

Likewise, people expecting PS4 to automatically attract all the big names PS3 did should probably reign in those expectations. PS3 had pretty much everyone on board before the system hit shelves thanks to following up PS2, PS4 meanwhile is going to be following PS3, where 3rd parties generally saw costs rise and sales fall despite the heavy support they threw at it. That doesn't bode well for PS4.

3DS and Vita also make a pretty good argument for 1st party competency with courting key support, it's not really hard to see the pattern repeating with consoles. If Nintendo somehow manages to secure FF, PS4 will get Vita'd in one stroke in the domestic market.

The problem with this is ignoring microsoft and it's position in the US, the PS4 will get those big names because the 362/720 will get them. Also I think it is too early to call the 3rd party situation of the WiiU compared to the Wii, it will for sure have a better first year but after that we will have to see.
 
We don't know anything about the PS4 yet, so there's still a chance that it could come back on some gangsta shit in Japan.

In fact I'll go ahead and say that the price was probably the biggest factor in why the PS3 didn't dominate Japan as much as the PS2. Japanese devs aren't really averse to the PS3 at all. Even the niche companies over there have been putting out PS3-exclusive games. Handhelds probably delt a bigger blow to the PS3's Japanese support than the Wii.

A lot will depend on how the PS4 launches over there, particularly in terms of price. If Sony has learned their lesson in that regard, the PS4 could do better in Japan than the PS3 did. At the very least Square Enix and Konami have already shown willingness to develop on that level of hardware with demos of their new engines.

Another possibility is that if the Wii U and other consoles are close enough, and the Wii U is actually able to run the FOX and Luminous engines, Japanese devs could be more likely to develop on Wii U and port up to the others. At least they'll be a lot more likely than western developers to do this. It all depends on what console becomes the lowest common denominator in terms of popularity.

The PS3 barely cost more than 10000 yen more than the PS2 did. The PS2 was expensive at launch in Japan and the PS3 was cheapest in Japan.
 

JDSN

Banned
It has a stronger case than the Wii had, getting in some form the strongest franchises of Japan at launch window is a big thing, but then again I dont understand the Japanese market.

Soul Sacrifice, Last Guardian and FF VS might have a thing to say about Wii U owning Japan

"Where are we?"
 
Even Vita can run FOX Engine, and the demos so far were for 360 level tech (as is Ground Zeros). Square's really the only one pushing "next gen" with their Luminous Engine, but even that's built to be scalable down to an iPad.

That's the real key you see with Japanese engines like MT Framework, FOX or Luminous: Scalability. Which is probably for the best since everyone's going to end up making mostly 3DS games.
 

Anth0ny

Member
Wii U will have better 3rd party support than Wii largely because it's following Wii (while Wii followed Gamecube). Track record matters, especially when 1st parties come courting support. Wii U already does outpace Wii 3rd party wise really, Wii's biggest 3rd party launch window game was a DBZ fighter, while Wii U has Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter and 2 Musou games. There really isn't much room to go but up.

Likewise, people expecting PS4 to automatically attract all the big names PS3 did should probably reign in those expectations. PS3 had pretty much everyone on board before the system hit shelves thanks to following up PS2, PS4 meanwhile is going to be following PS3, where 3rd parties generally saw costs rise and sales fall despite the heavy support they threw at it. That doesn't bode well for PS4.

3DS and Vita also make a pretty good argument for 1st party competency with courting key support, it's not really hard to see the pattern repeating with consoles. If Nintendo somehow manages to secure FF, PS4 will get Vita'd in one stroke in the domestic market.

Not to mention devs will be way more willing to release something like a One Piece Musou 2 on Wii U and PS3, rather than PS4 exclusively. And until PS4's install base reaches a solid number, that probably won't be changing in the foreseeable future.

The thing that puzzles me is... why do the huge Japanese devs seem to be so willing to push forward when it comes to tech? That Agni's Philosophy tech demo blew my mind... in a bad way. This is coming from the very same company who admitted that they have a hard time bringing towns to life in high definition.

Enter Wii U. Here's another 5 or 6 years to play around with "current gen" hardware. Get more experience, and maybe something good will come out of it, like towns! Not to mention the thing is going to sell like crazy in Japan, at least off the bat, thanks to NSMB, MH and DQ. Did I mention the ridiculously expensive development costs that will come with next gen hardware?

Nope, Agni's Philosophy. Same deal with Hideo "Wii U is a special case" Kojima.

I'm no Nintendo fanboy. I could give a fuck which consoles the third parties put their games out on. But I'm trying to think from their perspective. From Square's perspective. Nintendo, coming off the monumental success of the Wii, is giving devs a second chance with "current gen" tech. Lets be honest: Japanese game quality has taken a clear step down from last gen (with some exceptions, of course). They weren't ready for the jump to HD. How wise would it be to make that jump AGAIN, when Wii U is right there with a solid-to-huge Japanese install base by the time PS4 is even released?

I guess my question is this, because I really don't know: What sense does it make for a Japanese third party dev to release (or, primarily develop) a game for PS4 when Wii U is dominating sales in Japan?
 
The problem with this is ignoring microsoft and it's position in the US, the PS4 will get those big names because the 362/720 will get them. Also I think it is too early to call the 3rd party situation of the WiiU compared to the Wii, it will for sure have a better first year but after that we will have to see.
Well sure, it's going to be sink or swim for Wii U and it's debut is probably going to set the tone for the console's future. Iwata even talked about that and it's specifically why they made sure to have games like MH3U and DQX so early on. Nintendo's making 3rd party success one of their core aims, precisely because of how Wii turned out.

This really isn't ignoring Xbox either, but Japanese 3rd parties largely got burned by 360 (even in the west) and MS seems painfully uninterested in the region at this point. They're not handing the incentives out like they were 5-6 years ago. With another generational leap Japanese 3rd parties can certainly repeat this gen and up their resource demands to compete with the west on Durango/PS4 or they can stick with what they know and wait it out awhile on Wii U/PS3 until there's a clearer direction for their corner of the industry. Looking at how this gen went, I'm sure plenty of developers would've liked that sort of hindsight in 2005...
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
It's pointless to speculate until the PS4 is revealed. Right now, though? Yeah, it looks like the Wii U will dominate in terms of home consoles.
 

Instro

Member
I'd have a hard time putting together any compelling reasons why it wouldn't. Its coming off the extremely popular Wii, and is launching with a number of key Japanese franchises hitting the platform in short order at and after launch. With the year head start it's probably going to difficult to catch in any territory let alone Japan.

I do hope the PS4 succeeds there as well though. Japanese devs need it and the WiiU for their games.
 
We don't know anything about the PS4 yet, so there's still a chance that it could come back on some gangsta shit in Japan.

In fact I'll go ahead and say that the price was probably the biggest factor in why the PS3 didn't dominate Japan as much as the PS2. Japanese devs aren't really averse to the PS3 at all. Even the niche companies over there have been putting out PS3-exclusive games. Handhelds probably delt a bigger blow to the PS3's Japanese support than the Wii.

A lot will depend on how the PS4 launches over there, particularly in terms of price. If Sony has learned their lesson in that regard, the PS4 could do better in Japan than the PS3 did. At the very least Square Enix and Konami have already shown willingness to develop on that level of hardware with demos of their new engines.

Another possibility is that if the Wii U and other consoles are close enough, and the Wii U is actually able to run the FOX and Luminous engines, Japanese devs could be more likely to develop on Wii U and port up to the others. At least they'll be a lot more likely than western developers to do this. It all depends on what console becomes the lowest common denominator in terms of popularity.

Japanese devs don't really subscribe to the multiplatform approach that is common in the West. Chances are wherever a title lands is where it will stay. Right now though, all of that is up in the air.
 
Lol, is this a real post.

oh no, it was baptised in sarcasm

EDIT: The best thing to happen to PS3 in Japan was Gundam VS Extreme, imho. But those titles seems to be the strongest core Japanese titles sony has and they won't even make a dent is sales. So I have no idea what momentum Sony is gonna ride during the transition to PS4 to make people ignore the Wii U in Japan. And while tech wise it'll trump the Wii U, most Japanese devs still haven't a firm grip on developing current gen games; so how are they gonan handle the jump to the next?
 
Well sure, it's going to be sink or swim for Wii U and it's debut is probably going to set the tone for the console's future. Iwata even talked about that and it's specifically why they made sure to have games like MH3U and DQX so early on. Nintendo's making 3rd party success one of their core aims, precisely because of how Wii turned out.

This really isn't ignoring Xbox either, but Japanese 3rd parties largely got burned by 360 (even in the west) and MS seems painfully uninterested in the region at this point. They're not handing the incentives out like they were 5-6 years ago. With another generational leap Japanese 3rd parties can certainly repeat this gen and up their resource demands to compete with the west on Durango/PS4 or they can stick with what they know and wait it out awhile on Wii U/PS3 until there's a clearer direction for their corner of the industry. Looking at how this gen went, I'm sure plenty of developers would've liked that sort of hindsight in 2005...


MH3U and DQX are a good start nut I'm not sure they will be a big driving force like i said earlier in the thread. DQ is already on Wii and is an MMO and the 176th :)P) version of MH3 that is aslo releasing on the 3ds I'm sure it will sell but it's not going to be the monster hunter monster sales.

I'm not sure which 3rd parties you are talking about getting burned by the 360 Capcom made out with there fighters as well as RE and at least there other earlier gen efforts like LP and DMC iirc, FF sold decent at least alot more than it would have if it stayed ps exclusive. I guess SEGA didn't do much there but they didn't do much of anything. Are you refering to the early gen moneyhatted rpgs?
 
MH3U and DQX are a good start nut I'm not sure they will be a big driving force like i said earlier in the thread. DQ is already on Wii and is an MMO and the 176th :)P) version of MH3 that is aslo releasing on the 3ds I'm sure it will sell but it's not going to be the monster hunter monster sales.
Well yeah, MH3U and DQX are both still just ports, and I doubt anyone is really expecting million sellers out of them. At the same time though, they're also pretty significant franchises, and by extension significant commitments of support in Wii U. I mean when was the last time we had a launch game as big as either? It certainly didn't happen on Wii, or even PS3 for that matter.

And don't forget, this is still just launch. It's not *all* Wii U has.


I'm not sure which 3rd parties you are talking about getting burned by the 360 Capcom made out with there fighters as well as RE and at least there other earlier gen efforts like LP and DMC iirc, FF sold decent at least alot more than it would have if it stayed ps exclusive. I guess SEGA didn't do much there but they didn't do much of anything. Are you refering to the early gen moneyhatted rpgs?
Capcom is really the big exception, they banked on 360 from the outset with Dead Rising and Lost Planet and really positioned themselves well for the generation by focusing on internal multiplatform tool development (MT Framework). They're the one Japanese 3rd party who really got HD right, though even that seems to have gotten away from them recently with bloated resource hogs like Dragon's Dogma or RE6, the utter collapse of their fighter revival and a long string of western made bombs under their belts like Bionic Commando, Dark Void and (soon) Remember Me.

Square Enix however is an awful example. FFXIII was a cautionary tale in how not to approach next gen (a lesson they've seemingly not learned too well going by Agni's Philosophy), the game did mediocre on 360 specifically and literally everything else they brought to the system (Nier, FFXIII-2, Star Ocean 4, Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant, Project Sylpheed, Mindjack, Front Mission Evolved, etc, etc) bombed hard. Namco Bandai, Sega, Konami, Tecmo Koei and the other big Japan 3rd parties are generally in the same boat; a lot of spending and heavy commitment with little real success to shiw for it on 360. Maybe a handfull of decent sellers early and mid gen, but those days are long gone. HD in general, and 360 in particular, really hasn't been all that great for the Japanese.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Japanese devs don't really subscribe to the multiplatform approach that is common in the West. Chances are wherever a title lands is where it will stay. Right now though, all of that is up in the air.

I think market realities have finally started to make them accept the necessity of multiplatform development. At least when it comes to big name games.

This gen most Japanese publishers realized the advantage of shipping on both PlayStation and Xbox if they want their games to be successful worldwide. Hell, some of them started doing this last gen The more niche stuff might stay exclusive to a platform sure if developers don't initially intend for a game to see the light of day outside Japan. Hopefully they start realizing the advantage of shipping on PC as well.
 
Well yeah, MH3U and DQX are both still just ports, and I doubt anyone is really expecting million sellers out of them. At the same time though, they're also pretty significant franchises, and by extension significant commitments of support in Wii U. I mean when was the last time we had a launch game as big as either? It certainly didn't happen on Wii, or even PS3 for that matter.

And don't forget, this is still just launch. It's not *all* Wii U has.
It's all anyone mentions though and outside of NSMBU i don't think there is much to get people to jump




Capcom is really the big exception, they banked on 360 from the outset with Dead Rising and Lost Planet and really positioned themselves well for the generation by focusing on internal multiplatform tool development (MT Framework). They're the one Japanese 3rd party who really got HD right, though even that seems to have gotten away from them recently with bloated resource hogs like Dragon's Dogma or RE6, the utter collapse of their fighter revival and a long string of western made bombs under their belts like Bionic Commando, Dark Void and (soon) Remember Me.

Square Enix however is an awful example. FFXIII was a cautionary tale in how not to approach next gen (a lesson they've seemingly not learned too well going by Agni's Philosophy), the game did mediocre on 360 specifically and literally everything else they brought to the system (Nier, FFXIII-2, Star Ocean 4, Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant, Project Sylpheed, Mindjack, Front Mission Evolved, etc, etc) bombed hard. Namco Bandai, Sega, Konami, Tecmo Koei and the other big Japan 3rd parties are generally in the same boat; a lot of spending and heavy commitment with little real success to shiw for it on 360. Maybe a handfull of decent sellers early and mid gen, but those days are long gone. HD in general, and 360 in particular, really hasn't been all that great for the Japanese.

Capcom definately got things right early and then they thought they could chase Skyrim and COD and farm everything else out.

FF13 sold lowere on 360 than PS3 but not that much, it was about an 3:2 split iirc for the US and it's not really like any of SE's other games didn't bomb on other platforms so It's hard to single out the 360 i think
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Well yeah, MH3U and DQX are both still just ports, and I doubt anyone is really expecting million sellers out of them. At the same time though, they're also pretty significant franchises, and by extension significant commitments of support in Wii U. I mean when was the last time we had a launch game as big as either? It certainly didn't happen on Wii, or even PS3 for that matter.

If Nintendo can secure MH4 (or even 5) and DQXI on Wii U then they're home free.

Namco Bandai, Sega, Konami, Tecmo Koei and the other big Japan 3rd parties are generally in the same boat; a lot of spending and heavy commitment with little real success to shiw for it on 360. Maybe a handfull of decent sellers early and mid gen, but those days are long gone. HD in general, and 360 in particular, really hasn't been all that great for the Japanese.

I actually think people underrate Namco Bandai's performance this gen from a production standpoint. Where companies like Konami, Square Enix, and Tecmo have struggled to update their franchises for current gen, Namco has been able to release new entries in almost all of its modern staple franchises on HD consoles without having to heavily westernize them (mostly):
-Two Ace Combat games
-Tekken
-Tekken Tag Tournament
-They're on their third HD-native Tales game now
-Two Soul Calibur games

That's all on top of games they've published for other developers. Regardless of what you think of the quality of those games (you could say the same thing for Capcom), Namco has at least been able maintain a steady pipeline of internally-developed HD releases. That's a lot more than you can say for Sqaure Enix.
 
The lack of Sony 1st party sellers in Japan pretty much guarantees it will. Now this doesn't mean JPN 3rd party support will be great because the big Japanese publishers will be targeting the west. Japan is much more likely to put multiplatform stuff on Wii U than the west though. Honestly the console state in Japan isn't really worth using the word dominating imo because if I had to guess I would say Wii U probably won't even reach Wii sales in Japan. And I'm not expecting more than 5-6 million for the PS4
 
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