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[KratosEnergyDrink]

Persona 5 and FFXV better be awesome, might've the last potential great game of generation from Nation of Sun

The new PS4 FF game sales were horrible. Its only a port but nonetheless...

 

[Megidolaon]

Because of all the people on message boards prattling on about the minimum Fs that are acceptable in each S or the number of Ps, no not the number of Ps on the tv the number of Ps the game put out before it gets scaled duh.

Yeah, it's too bad. I remember before XIII was out, and it was just screens, people were complaining about how low textured the grass was. It was weird, but undoubtedly puts a lot of pressure on devs.

I tend to favor art direction over anything. All the technical stuff tends to go over my head anyways. I can appreciate a nice-looking game, but you can have an ambitious, solid production without incredibly lavish cutscenes.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

The new PS4 FF game sales were horrible. Its only a port but nonetheless...

¯\_(&#12484_/¯ Well...? Consumers will tend to buy games that are new and/or good. When there's nothing appealing out there, they won't buy. The comparison is pretty meaningless.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I think it's just a natural evolution of the Japanese market. Handhelds have been more important than consoles for a few generations now. It's a society that games on the go.

I don't think this effects Japanese developed games with a large western audience - Metal Gear, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy etc.

Metal Gear is a poor choice of example given recent Konami & Kojima events.

 

[Gunslinger]

Not surprised mobile dominate Japanese gaming industry. Traditional gaming will become extinct over there within a couple of years IMO. The arcades are also in decline there. Which is a shame because that was the last area left in our world where traditional arcades are still in business.

 

[qualitydisc]

Metal Gear is a poor choice of example given recent Konami & Kojima events.

Absolutely, Metal Gear and Konami as a whole are probably the most dramatic example of the effects of the domestic market right now. I still haven't fully come to terms with it, to be honest.

 

[unapersson]

On the up side, Japan does seem to be growing wise to Steam/PC lately.

At best that will stem the tide, it's a way of getting extra money from existing console ports, but if those traditional console games are no longer made then the supply of Japanese Steam games is going to dry up. On the up side, there's a rich history of console games that could get ports going back decades, so Steam could become an archival platform .

 

[dark10x]

What a shame.

-JC

Think I'll delete a few games from my phone out of respect.

 

[Videoneon]

This is a direction I'm not happy to embrace, in large part because this probably could have been avoided (albeit only by having major economic changes/changing history, and because many offending decisions come from high up by people who are insulated from the negative ramifications of their actions, i.e. politicians and management) and because the nature of this industry doesn't allow for all kinds of games, including that which services dedicated platforms, to coexist. There's a very good chance that the games I like will not be made in the future.

It's a bit unfortunate that this industry is another expression of crappy economics. Terrible economics and bad social values are truly ruining this world, from the environment to society and even "little things" like video games.

 

[BocoDragon]

I think the Japanese console market is dead.

Any sustainability it has is because the overseas market can make up for the lost sales. If these games were developed only for the home market (which was primarily the case in the 80s and 90s), they'd never be made at all.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I think the Japanese console market is dead.

Tales of Zestiria sold 316k in its first week, Dragon Quest Heroes sold 566k in its first week, Yakuza 0 sold 161k and Bloodborne sold 150k. If that's "dead," you people have a real funny definition of it.

 

[Mivey]

Tales of Zestiria sold 316k in its first week, Dragon Quest Heroes sold 566k in its first week, Yakuza 0 sold 161k and Bloodborne sold 150k. If that's "dead," you people have a real funny definition of it.

Those numbers mean little without context.
Tales of is very old franchise. Is their a list that compares the first week sales of each "main" title for the last 20 years?
If it has been going down steadily, that's a clear sign of the market and even the demand for these games vanishing. The best we cold hope would be a stagnation, I guess.

 

[alstein]

At best that will stem the tide, it's a way of getting extra money from existing console ports, but if those traditional console games are no longer made then the supply of Japanese Steam games is going to dry up. On the up side, there's a rich history of console games that could get ports going back decades, so Steam could become an archival platform .

Well, what you'd see in such a case is a good number of folks with console development skills, some of whom won't want to work with mobile.

I suspect if the Japanese console industry collapses, in 1-2 years you'll start seeing a new wave of Japanese doujin games/indie games for PC or console.

That said, the mentality isn't there among some folks.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Those numbers mean little without context.
Tales of is very old franchise. Is their a list that compares the first week sales of each "main" title for the last 20 years?
If it has been going down steadily, that's a clear sign of the market and even the demand for these games vanishing. The best we cold hope would be a stagnation, I guess.

Regardless of context, those sales don't signify "dead." That was my point. Sales are way down in general compared to years ago, so that's a broader subject.

 

[RedSwirl]

I wish there wasn't so much pressure on games to have amazing graphics/budget. Most Japanse devs just don't have the budget to compete with Western devs and it's killing them. I don't care if a game doesn't push the hardware, as long as it is good. FFXIII was the exact opposite of what I wanted after XII. Better graphics and less interesting everything else.

I like the bold anime style of Persona 5 even more than the hyper realism. FFXV looks great, but I won't care how nice it looks if it is mostly a linear flashy cimematic-fest like XIII (not saying it will be).

Heck I was amazed with how nice KH2.5 still looks which is just upscaled PS2. Why can't they just settle for a lower graphical quality if console gaming is getting too expensive?

For the same reason the Japanese film industry can't compete with Hollywood in terms of money.

 

[witchedwiz]

Absolutely, Metal Gear and Konami as a whole are probably the most dramatic example of the effects of the domestic market right now. I still haven't fully come to terms with it, to be honest.

Frankly, the issue is that a LOT of companies would love to go back to nes/snes times, when the number of copy needed to break even were so few and the netto gain from a successful game was gargantuan..
Nowdays an aaa game to make the publishers happy has to sell a shitton of copy (see tomb raider)..
Konami is an example of that..
They thrived in the early age of games, then they started to get hiccup and ultimately they managed to stay relevant only thanks to an handful of ip selling like crazy, leaving plenty of useful ip in the garage of the forgotten stuff..
Now, with the fall-out with kojima they lost One of their two MAJOR title/ip serie contributor, so a change of direction was to be expected..
It hurts nonetheless..