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[CountAntonius]

Dat puzzle and dragon...

I'm guessing a ton of this comes from P&D.

This. Apparently it's so huge that the developers had a daily revenue of $4.9million in the second quarter of this year.

EDIT: Link to source http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/GungHo+Online+news/news.asp?c=52683

How much of that is from puzzle and dragons

P and D baby. Its raking so much revenue, its insane.

This right here. PaD is a phenomenal game. extremely deep and very rewarding. I have just hit my 200th consecutive day. I haven't spent a single dollar on it.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

something tells me this is the "BUBBLE" point and we are going to lose many JP Developers to this

CAPCOM NOoooo!



funny how Nintendo is still alive over there somehow while people love to point at mobile as the sign of their doom

 

[Ratrat]

I live in Japan and have been to many homes where there is only one TV on the house. My mother in law plays a smartphone game when my wife and I are visiting and watch TV in the living room. Children go to a park or return to their schools after school to play with their friends there and many of them bring their 3DS so they can play together. But I do have a Japanese friend who has a second TV in a spare bedroom and he plays his PS3 there. And my friend's younger brother has a TV in his room and he plays a lot of SF IV.

Plus, many people commute by train to work and work overtime, so they're not home until late. Their commute becomes their free time, so playing a handheld or smartphone game is an easy decision.

Yeah, this is just my limited experience and not representative of Japan as a whole. There are many console gamers here and the PS3 has sold very well. The used (console) games market is huge here, so it's not like everyone had migrated to smart phone games. But not everyone in Japan is a gamer. The number of "casuals" outnumber the "core gamers," and they're the ones eating up the smartphone games.

This is the only thing I could find: http://www.kuraray.co.jp/enquete/life/tv/data1.html

Seems like the average household has at least 2.

I prefer the 'games are for kids' mentality excuse than the 'small houses' one. Anecdotally.

 

[Otakumegane]

Japan : always on top of the whaling biz.

Those poor whales. They make such good $$ though.

 

[FourMyle]

I've had more fun with Puzzle & Dragons than pretty much any game on the 3DS or Vita.

If phones keep making games like that then I am fine if dedicated handhelds become extinct in a generation or two.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I've had more fun with Puzzle & Dragons than pretty much any game on the 3DS or Vita.

If phones keep making games like that then I am fine if dedicated handhelds become extinct in a generation or two.

I'm not saying that P&D is bad, as I consider that thinking a game is bad for being on mobile is a wrong, but what games have you played? The 3DS has a huge amount of software that imo easily destroys P&D

Also the japanese industry will be fine, there's about 15 games I can't wait to play next year and they are all japanese. Unless you could DK:TF as western

 

[DarkLordMalik]

funny how Nintendo is still alive over there somehow while people love to point at mobile as the sign of their doom

Let's see how long they can survive there as well.

 

[cafemomo]

Sony has a chance of winning & dominating the handheld market. All they need to do is combine their Xperia line with the Vita.
Hell, the Vita already has FF & MGS. All they need is to scoop up DQ and MoHu and they're golden.

 

[mothball]

I've had more fun with Puzzle & Dragons than pretty much any game on the 3DS or Vita.

If phones keep making games like that then I am fine if dedicated handhelds become extinct in a generation or two.

What other mobile games do you play?

 

[Aureon]

It's gonna blow harder than dot-com did, relatively speaking.
.. or atleast, i hope so. The last thing the industry needs is a wave of P&D clones in the style of the wow-clones.

 

[Sandfox]

Sony has a chance of winning & dominating the handheld market. All they need to do is combine their Xperia line with the Vita.
Hell, the Vita already has FF & MGS. All they need is to scoop up DQ and MoHu and they're golden.

No it doesn't and that's easier said then done. Also, the thing with the Xperia approach is that those devs would just make games that work with every phone basically giving Sony no advantage against more popular android phones and iOS.

 

[Busaiku]

Sony has a chance of winning & dominating the handheld market. All they need to do is combine their Xperia line with the Vita.
Hell, the Vita already has FF & MGS. All they need is to scoop up DQ and MoHu and they're golden.

Vita will surely be the top selling platform when Final Fantasy X comes out.

 

[Finalizer]

Sony has a chance of winning & dominating the handheld market. All they need to do is combine their Xperia line with the Vita.
Hell, the Vita already has FF & MGS. All they need is to scoop up DQ and MoHu and they're golden.

Ha ha ha ha

ha ha

ahhhh...

 

[BIONIC-ARRRMMM!!]

I wonder if even Platinum Games can make the first ever actually decent smartphone game.

Nah.

 

[Steel]

They have half the population of the U.S., so that's roughly 2x per capita purchasing in comparison to the U.S.

No wonder Vita struggles so hard. Everyone has a phone, everyone rides the train, everyone walks to the train, it's just too perfect.

Try 1/3 the population of the U.S. So... Yeah. 3x per capita purchasing and change.

OT:

... This makes me very sad on the inside.

 

[wapplew]

Japan still like to insert coin, mobile is the new arcade.

 

[cafemomo]

Vita will surely be the top selling platform when Final Fantasy X comes out.

Honestly, I said that back then when I didn't know P&D was coming to the 3DS. And hey you never know. P&D 3DS could end up sucking be the blunder of the century.

Spoiler

I'm out $20 am I

 

[Flunkie]

I'm not saying that P&D is bad, as I consider that thinking a game is bad for being on mobile is a wrong, but what games have you played? The 3DS has a huge amount of software that imo easily destroys P&D

Also the japanese industry will be fine, there's about 15 games I can't wait to play next year and they are all japanese. Unless you could DK:TF as western

It's not about easily destroying P&D.

Obviously.

Game of War is the next big thing locally.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I wonder if even Platinum Games can make the first ever actually decent smartphone game.

Nah.

Cave already did the first amazing smartphone games.

 

[FourMyle]

I'm not saying that P&D is bad, as I consider that thinking a game is bad for being on mobile is a wrong, but what games have you played? The 3DS has a huge amount of software that imo easily destroys P&D

Also the japanese industry will be fine, there's about 15 games I can't wait to play next year and they are all japanese. Unless you could DK:TF as western

Well my cousin has most of the big 3DS titles and the only ones I bothered finishing were Mario 3D Land and Kid Icarus when he lent them all to me.

Those were cool games but not worth the $40 at all.

The Vita... lol... can't think of a single game on that system that makes it worth the purchase. P4 is one of my favorite games of all time but I would never tell someone to buy a Vita just to play The Golden.

I've been playing P&D for months and months, haven't paid a single dime and am having more fun with it than anything else on dedicated gaming handhelds.

 

[Crimsonlink]

LOL They complain about not getting PS4 this year yet these kinds of reports show why Sony is skipping over them along with Microsoft.

 

[Haunted]

What a shame.

 

[godhandiscen]

Japan : always on top of the whaling biz.

Bravo!

 

[BocoDragon]

I'm sure this kind of news will make GAF mad.

But I think mobile will evolve into a real platform with this kind of interest.

Early Famicom games were trash, and look where consoles are now.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

LOL They complain about not getting PS4 this year yet these kinds of reports show why Sony is skipping over them along with Microsoft.

Pretty sure there would be people in Japan who aren't too into the idea of mobile gaming taking the place of more traditional gaming platforms just like some of us.

I'm sure this kind of news will make GAF mad.

But I think mobile will evolve into a real platform with this kind of interest.

Early Famicom games were trash, and look where consoles are now.

Then I would have no problem with mobile games. The fact is that, currently, those games are not that, and that's where the issue lies.

 

[Laughing Banana]

I am legitimately worried about the state of handheld gaming now. Like, legitimately worried.

 

[Shengar]

(Japanese) Gaming is dead
And mobile killed it

 

[Zee-Row]

Japan is dead to me , let them sit in their little mobile bubble.

 

[BocoDragon]

Then I would have no problem with mobile games. The fact is that, currently, those games are not that, and that's where the issue lies.

No they aren't.

Well, generally they aren't. Lots of amazing mobile games out there, they're just a minority.

Ya ever actually dug through a bin of Famicom games? It's not just the best games that came here. 95% garbage. Just like mobile. And yet we love that platform in retrospect, and it birthed everything we love today....

 

[Crimsonlink]

Pretty sure there would be people in Japan who aren't too into the idea of mobile gaming taking the place of more traditional gaming platforms just like some of us.



Then I would have no problem with mobile games. The fact is that, currently, those games are not that, and that's where the issue lies.

Sadly their numbers never seem to amount to more than half a million sales for most console games if rarely a million.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Ya ever actually dug through a bin of Famicom games? It's not just the best games that came here. 95% garbage. Just like mobile. And yet we love that platform in retrospect, and it birthed everything we love today....

I haven't, but I'm not too excited at the simple prospect of mobile gaming becoming a viable venue for more fleshed out games in the distant future while, right now, it's evident that some companies are focusing more on mobile games than the type of games some people would prefer to play that the Famicom games might have birthed.

Sadly their numbers never seem to amount to more than half a million sales for most console games if rarely a million.

Sure, I don't know about the specific numbers. I just mean that there would always be exceptions to the rule. In general though, yeah, there's a reason the PS4's being released in Japan last.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Well my cousin has most of the big 3DS titles and the only ones I bothered finishing were Mario 3D Land and Kid Icarus when he lent them all to me.

Those were cool games but not worth the $40 at all.

The Vita... lol... can't think of a single game on that system that makes it worth the purchase. P4 is one of my favorite games of all time but I would never tell someone to buy a Vita just to play The Golden.

I've been playing P&D for months and months, haven't paid a single dime and am having more fun with it than anything else on dedicated gaming handhelds.

I think there are tons of more games on 3DS(too many, I have around 7 games waiting to be opened) and the Vita also has Ys: Memories of Celceta and Tearaway as amazing exlusives. I still understand your point, P&D is indeed fun.

 

[Zee-Row]

The main problem with mobile gaming is that every device out there has a crappy battery for running the more graphically advanced games.

You have to make a choice when you're outside , should I save battery power just in case I get calls or play this game that's going to drain my phone dry in 2 hours?

 

[mrklaw]

It sounds like overall:

"In August, Mr. Warman had forecast that Japan's total mobile game revenue would come to around 26% of an estimated $12.2 billion in global revenue, while North America—although three times bigger in terms of the number of players—comprised only 25%.

Mr. Warman's numbers on Japan now look conservative, he said, noting that revenues will likely be closer to $4 billion. Japan will likely remain the world's biggest mobile game market for at least another year, he said."

Aren't 'normal' videogames projected to reach almost $100bn this year? Just to put that $12bn figure and 'consoles are doomed' in context. Of course mobile has recently been growing much faster than console, but you can't guarantee that will continue - it may saturate in he next few years

 

[BocoDragon]

I haven't, but I'm not too excited at the simple prospect of mobile gaming becoming a viable venue for more fleshed out games in the distant future while, right now, it's evident that some companies are focusing more on mobile games than the games they would prefer to play that the Famicom games might have birthed.

I'll just put this way, in 10 years, do you think mobile will represent the same low level of gaming quality? I don't think it can. As the mobile processing power increases, it simply must give way to the type of full blown gaming experiences that we expect on consoles.

It's a nascent platform. It will be legitimate eventually.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I'll just put this way, in 10 years, do you think mobile will represent the same low level of gaming quality? I don't think it can. As the mobile processing power increases, it simply must give way to the type of full blown gaming experiences that we expect on consoles.

It's a nascent platform. It will be legitimate eventually.

Yes, of course mobile games will eventually evolve just like any other form of video game. But am I supposed to gladly wait with bated breath for 10 years for it to happen and be okay with the shift that is happening today with the promise that it will all pay off?

 

[rrs]

There are great mobile games, but they buried under a wave of pay to win rubbish pretty much like any other market.

 

[NemesisPrime]

I wonder if the PS4 can reverse this migration to mobile gaming in Japan.

Zero chance. That is also not the aim of the PS4.

 

[BocoDragon]

Yes, of course mobile games will eventually evolve just like any other form of video game. But am I supposed to gladly wait with bated breath for 10 years for it to happen and be okay with the shift that is happening today with the promise that it will all pay off?

No.

Luckily I think we've all decided that Japan isn't carrying this industry anymore. And it pains me as much as anyone to say that.

If you think about it, Japan took over the console industry by ignoring Western ideas that consoles were dead and PC was the future. History might not repeat itself, but who knows.... Maybe they re-emerge as a mobile powerhouse?

 

[Steel]

I'll just put this way, in 10 years, do you think mobile will represent the same low level of gaming quality? I don't think it can. As the mobile processing power increases, it simply must give way to the type of full blown gaming experiences that we expect on consoles.

It's a nascent platform. It will be legitimate eventually.

In 10 years a phone's primary function will be for phone calls. Game will continue to be made with the fact that at any moment while playing, the user will have to answer a phone call. Point being, mobile will always primarily be about shorter experiences.

 

[Fushichou187]

Do you have any proof that this is the case? Cause I'm pretty sure it's not even close to being true.

Purely anecdotal, but of all the homes I have been inside in Japan, only the wealthy-- and wealthy by a substantial margin-- had more than one TV in the house. It wasn't so much a wealth issue though as it was a space and convenience issue. Laptops and mobile phones were everywhere though.

 

[BocoDragon]

In 10 years a phone's primary function will be for phone calls. Game will continue to be made with the fact that at any moment while playing, the user will have to answer a phone call. Point being, mobile will always primarily be about shorter experiences.

Phones already aren't for phone calls.

But sure, because it's mobile, it's dedicated to shorter game sessions.

Same as PSP, DS, 3DS and Vita.......

 

[nubbe]

Xperia Play 2 plz
With PS4 remote play

Would take Japan with storm

 

[Zen]

Sony's next handheld should really be completely integrated into the Android system. I don't think that a dedicated handheld will be worth it for them. Sell Sony First Party sofware on their Sony branded phones with controller support, a dedicated 'games only' model, and access to the full Android store or w/e with a Sony PSN partition. They'll be giving up third party software revenue, but what can you do really.

Also every Sony device that can have controller support should support Gaikai streaming.

 

[mothball]

I'll just put this way, in 10 years, do you think mobile will represent the same low level of gaming quality? I don't think it can. As the mobile processing power increases, it simply must give way to the type of full blown gaming experiences that we expect on consoles.

It's a nascent platform. It will be legitimate eventually.

Putting aside the glaring design differences like stamina gates and paying for boosts that separate this era from that one, that evolution will never happen until they tackle the very real control issue that has been sidestepped here. Even with a controller as basic as the Famicom's, the only genre I can think of that would be tolerable at all with touch screen controls would be RPGs--not to mention the screen economy issue (thumbs covering up half the screen) that affects all games. And if we're talking about more casual gamers for whom touch screen controls are acceptable even for games like GTA... why would companies bother making AAA-level stuff for them when it's been clearly shown that Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga and P&D-type games are far cheaper and have far more potential for profit?

The Famicom era succeeded because of game design; the mobile era succeeds because of psychological design.

 

[duxstar]

Well my cousin has most of the big 3DS titles and the only ones I bothered finishing were Mario 3D Land and Kid Icarus when he lent them all to me.

Those were cool games but not worth the $40 at all.

The Vita... lol... can't think of a single game on that system that makes it worth the purchase. P4 is one of my favorite games of all time but I would never tell someone to buy a Vita just to play The Golden.

I've been playing P&D for months and months, haven't paid a single dime and am having more fun with it than anything else on dedicated gaming handhelds.

Lol funny ive tried P and D and every other great cell phone game that came out , and havent found a damn one worth the time it took to install it to my phone. Meanwhile this year alone ive purchased at least 3 games for my 3DS that ive put over 80 hours into and every game i bought was worth every penny.

 

[BocoDragon]

Putting aside the glaring design differences like stamina gates and paying for boosts that separate this era from that one, that evolution will never happen until they tackle the very real control issue that has been sidestepped here. Even with a controller as basic as the Famicom's, the only genre I can think of that would be tolerable at all with touch screen controls would be RPGs--not to mention the screen economy issue (thumbs covering up half the screen) that affects all games. And if we're talking about more casual gamers for whom touch screen controls are acceptable even for games like GTA... why would companies bother making AAA-level stuff for them when it's been clearly shown that Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga and P&D-type games are far cheaper and have far more potential for profit?

The Famicom era succeeded because of game design; the mobile era succeeds because of psychological design.

iOS7 has API support for controllers. I want to see how that goes.

Obviously most mobile owners will not have a controller... but most PC owners do not have controllers either. That hasn't stopped "console" style games from taking off on PC lately, and the assumption is that if you want a gamepad, it's a normal thing to plug one in.

Plus we are a biased old generation... we can't think outside of the controller box. But when high fidelity graphics are paired with touchscreen controls, we might see a new type of "real game" that is not something us controller-centric people can envision at this point.

edit: I can remember once thinking in the 90s that playing with mouse and keyboard was ludicrously stupid! It's for word processing and opening files!

 

[Kintaro]

This puts Japanese developers into an even tighter spot. Completely understand SE and Capcom's decisions as of late.

I don't play games on my tablet or phone, but some of you sound really silly. Grow up. People have different tastes and consume their games differently. It's not the end of the world.

 

[GetemMa]

yeah, No reason you can't play

OH MAN MY SISTER IS CUTE DATING SIMULATOR

on a mobile device.

I will miss all those good Japanese games not made by Nintendo when mobile finally kills everyone there.

Resident Evil 6 and Ninja Gaiden 3 are masterworks, the last of their kind I suppose (sheds tear)

 

[Busaiku]

yeah, No reason you can't play

OH MAN MY SISTER IS CUTE DATING SIMULATOR

on a mobile device.

I will miss all those good Japanese games not made by Nintendo when mobile finally kills everyone there.

Those are the types of games that will most benefit from the mobile environment.