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[Silent Chief]

That's unfortunate, since it means less JRPGs overall than if MS was still funding games like Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, Blue Dragon, etc.

Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant. Why would Square-Enix needs somebody to fund their RPGs? There are dozens of small Japanese studios looking for funding. Instead Microsoft gives their money back to Square-Enix to "fund" Tomb Raider.

The Japanese market cannot support 3 consoles. It can barely support 2.

 

[Abdiel]

What I'm trying to say is that the Xbox Install base has an overwhelming majority of "Dude Bro" type gamers. PlayStation does as well of course but it's nowhere near the same number relative to install base. The PlayStation install base has much varied type of gamers with no one majority.

I guess what I'm saying is that the majority of Xbox gamers are the type of gamers that buy the same console with their friends just to play the same shooter/sports game. Basically they won't buy other games or systems because they're just semi casuals who have been bought in by Microsofts shooter/sports advertising and they don't know any better and are not cultured like gamers on other systems like PlayStation.


Yeh.... I'm going to get so much shit for these posts. Maybe I'm being too extreme. But if you can't tell I'm not a fan of the Xbox game business as I don't think Microsoft have done much good in recent years for the game industry. Especially with the stuff they tried to do with Xbox One. Good to see that a lot of gamers saw sense and chose PlayStation over Xbox this gen, and for good reason too.

The middle part there, about 'not cultured', is probably what will get you the most shit, especially here on GAF, since the audience for the XB1 on here is probably a fanbase that is more diverse than the larger buying audience for the system at large, you know?

A lot of folks on here talk about games last generation fondly, that did terribly in the wider buying numbers, which means that they're representation of the potential audience buying those kinds of games. I mean, people on GAF are really excited for Scalebound, but I've heard practically nothing, ever, from customers regarding that game. Maybe that will change a bit after Gamescom, but I don't expect that to be the case.

That's why I make the commends I do on here. That GAF has a lot of people that are more deeply steeped in what the various systems have to offer, and as such, are apart from the larger trends shown in the gaming communities.

As to how MS have contributed to the gaming market, I don't really want to comment on that aspect. I think they've lead to some great games/franchises coming about, like the origins of Mass Effect, which I loved (When I finally played the trilogy on PS3, haha). At the same time, some of their focuses/pushes and methodology I do feel have had negative impacts. I don't think Sony is blemish free in that regard either. And Nintendo is so backwards on so many things that it is very frustrating there too.

I feel Sony has shown the most growth of the three companies in terms of addressing what needed to be addressed to be more of a positive influence for console gaming, but none of them are perfect.

 

[mejin]

Playstation gamers were always more receptive with diversity of genres than any other platform.

But even if PS4 is on the top right now, we can see Sony pushing hard to get japanese developers's support. So how can anyone be surprised if several games won't come to Xbox One? Microsoft is doing nothing to get their support, maybe they don't even care.

 

[ZhugeEX]

The middle part there, about 'not cultured', is probably what will get you the most shit, especially here on GAF, since the audience for the XB1 on here is probably a fanbase that is more diverse than the larger buying audience for the system at large, you know?

A lot of folks on here talk about games last generation fondly, that did terribly in the wider buying numbers, which means that they're representation of the potential audience buying those kinds of games. I mean, people on GAF are really excited for Scalebound, but I've heard practically nothing, ever, from customers regarding that game. Maybe that will change a bit after Gamescom, but I don't expect that to be the case.

That's why I make the commends I do on here. That GAF has a lot of people that are more deeply steeped in what the various systems have to offer, and as such, are apart from the larger trends shown in the gaming communities.

As to how MS have contributed to the gaming market, I don't really want to comment on that aspect. I think they've lead to some great games/franchises coming about, like the origins of Mass Effect, which I loved (When I finally played the trilogy on PS3, haha). At the same time, some of their focuses/pushes and methodology I do feel have had negative impacts. I don't think Sony is blemish free in that regard either. And Nintendo is so backwards on so many things that it is very frustrating there too.

I feel Sony has shown the most growth of the three companies in terms of addressing what needed to be addressed to be more of a positive influence for console gaming, but none of them are perfect.

Which is why I've said "majority" and not "everyone". I know my last post was a bit extreme and very stereotypical but it's just to get my point across. The Xbox does have a fanbase that does fit that stereotype. That's just one of the reasons why we don't see and won't see future Japanese titles on Xbox outside of a select few big hitters.

And yes, I agree that no one is perfect, just look at Sony during the PS3 era. But right now I'm not a huge fan of Microsofts intended approach to console gaming.

See I have personal opinions like these ones, but I can see outside the box as well and will assess each situation uniquely and accurately when posting in sales threads on GAF. Even I've been called an "Xbox fanboy" or such for some of my objective posts when actually I'm far from happy with the Xbox brand.

 

[DarthWalden]

I'm going to get so much shit for this post... but here goes.

In my opinion, the majority of Xbox gamers fit into the "dude bro", "America fuck yeah" and "COD and Madden" demographic.

The overwhelming majority don't know what Japanese games are or would be willing to buy them.

(awaits backlash)

I think I'm a pretty stereotypical xbox gamer. I don't play cod but I do play sports games and I really don't give a shit about Japanese games especially jrpgs. Platinum games or the guy directing it does nothing to get me excited.

 

[Anth0ny]

I'm going to get so much shit for this post... but here goes.

In my opinion, the majority of Xbox gamers fit into the "dude bro", "America fuck yeah" and "COD and Madden" demographic.

The overwhelming majority don't know what Japanese games are or would be willing to buy them.

(awaits backlash)

the same could be said for Sony gamers. "dude bros" (as in, the people who buy shooters and sports titles almost exclusively) make up a large percentage of the console gaming demographic.

 

[ZhugeEX]

the same could be said for Sony gamers. "dude bros" (as in, the people who buy shooters and sports titles almost exclusively) make up a large percentage of the console gaming demographic.

Not really. Sony and Nintendo have much varied audiences. You just have to look at game sales to see that.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

the same could be said for Sony gamers. "dude bros" (as in, the people who buy shooters and sports titles almost exclusively) make up a large percentage of the console gaming demographic.

Playstation gamers are more receptive of games of other genres, though. A more accurate statement would be that PS gamers are "dudebro-also" as opposed to strictly dudebro.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

the same could be said for Sony gamers. "dude bros" (as in, the people who buy shooters and sports titles almost exclusively) make up a large percentage of the console gaming demographic.

There's a lot, but there's also a lot of gamers receptive to Japanese games.

 

[Caronte]

I'm saying more Xbone owners will obviously buy XV than Type-0 but not enough to be significant. We'll still be looking at 90+% of sales on PS4.

Oh, yes I agree with you.

 

[Cheerilee]

Going by Inoue’s comment, it appears Microsoft might be preparing its own event for Japan.

NX = Nintendo Xbox

They're bringing back SpaceWorld.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I would say the core Xbox contingent is less receptive to games like JRPGs overall. That's not that surprising, and I wouldn't call them dudebros or uncultured because of it (the 360 was my primary system last gen), but it makes sense when you consider everything that lead up to last gen.

Microsoft either ushered in or rode the wave of western game developer prominence and made a huge impact with Halo. It set the tone in a lot of ways. As that was happening, Japanese development started declining, so people with a strong desire for Japanese games likely stuck with the PS3.

I think this explains the sales breakdowns of multiplatform JRPGs. People who are likely to swallow those games up probably aligned more closely with Sony or believe those games "fit better" there. So multiplatform owners will likely buy those games on Sony systems, which just leaves Xbox-only owners as an audience, and most of them don't have any real attachment to the genre.

 

[W.S.]

What I'm trying to say is that the Xbox Install base has an overwhelming majority of "Dude Bro" type gamers. PlayStation does as well of course but it's nowhere near the same number relative to install base. The PlayStation install base has much varied type of gamers with no one majority.

I guess what I'm saying is that the majority of Xbox gamers are the type of gamers that buy the same console with their friends just to play the same shooter/sports game. Basically they won't buy other games or systems because they're just semi casuals who have been bought in by Microsofts shooter/sports advertising and they don't know any better and are not cultured like gamers on other systems like PlayStation.


Yeh.... I'm going to get so much shit for these posts. Maybe I'm being too extreme. But if you can't tell I'm not a fan of the Xbox game business as I don't think Microsoft have done much good in recent years for the game industry. Especially with the stuff they tried to do with Xbox One. Good to see that a lot of gamers saw sense and chose PlayStation over Xbox this gen, and for good reason too.

Well Sony has had the advantage of a homegrown console with naturally built in support from Japanese companies. Couple that with having a broader global audience and I think those two heavily contribute to the Sony base having a more varied type of gamer.

In the case of say the US, if we're purely using the NPD as a metric of both the PS4 and XBO platforms then it hasn't shown a huge difference if we're profiling the "majority gamer". Outside of maybe a couple of odd games or two like Bloodborne (which shows that Microsoft's been deficient in the hack and slash area for quite some time now) you usually see the same type of games selling on both platforms.

I wouldn't paint too broad of a stroke on XBO owners though, there are plenty of gamers like myself who are open to a lot of different genres and would support all types of games including games like Type-0, Dark Souls II, DMC4, DOA5, and so on. However I've also become more budget conscious so if I already owned the game on last gen or don't find the pricing on some of these appealing I'll just wait for a sale.

 

[4Tran]

I wouldn't paint too broad of a stroke on XBO owners though, there are plenty of gamers like myself who are open to a lot of different genres and would support all types of games including games like Type-0, Dark Souls II, DMC4, DOA5, and so on. However I've also become more budget conscious so if I already owned the game on last gen or don't find the pricing on some of these appealing I'll just wait for a sale.

While there are some Xbone owners who like diverse games, this number is sadly not very large so all but the biggest games perform poorly. The publishers know this and it's central to their product planning.

 

[Biker19]

the same could be said for Sony gamers. "dude bros" (as in, the people who buy shooters and sports titles almost exclusively) make up a large percentage of the console gaming demographic.

Wrong, wrong, & wrong.

Unlike Microsoft, both Nintendo & Sony have been receptive of other genres & have much varied audiences, like one other poster said.

Microsoft have always heavily marketed their consoles as the place for shooter & sports games. That's one of the reasons why most other genres such as JRPG's haven't been doing so hot in terms of sales on Xbox platforms.

 

[Etnos]

You honestly can’t see the irony in your post?

What irony? Japanese games don't sell as they used to, that is what I said

You’re saying Xbox should focus only on AAA-buying audience but that’s exactly

When did I say that? Besides they are doing alright pushing original content both Japanese + Indie to their platform.

Playstation the bigger playerbase

Yes a bigger player base always attracts more games

Not sure how does that has anything to do with the fact japanese games are not what they used to be sales wise.

 

[Abdiel]

Well Sony has had the advantage of a homegrown console with naturally built in support from Japanese companies. Couple that with having a broader global audience and I think those two heavily contribute to the Sony base having a more varied type of gamer.

In the case of say the US, if we're purely using the NPD as a metric of both the PS4 and XBO platforms then it hasn't shown a huge difference if we're profiling the "majority gamer". Outside of maybe a couple of odd games or two like Bloodborne (which shows that Microsoft's been deficient in the hack and slash area for quite some time now) you usually see the same type of games selling on both platforms.

I wouldn't paint too broad of a stroke on XBO owners though, there are plenty of gamers like myself who are open to a lot of different genres and would support all types of games including games like Type-0, Dark Souls II, DMC4, DOA5, and so on. However I've also become more budget conscious so if I already owned the game on last gen or don't find the pricing on some of these appealing I'll just wait for a sale.

Most of the discussion in this thread, by myself and Zhuge, has been based on sales trends on both the US and international scale. In reference to Japan alone, many of the major 3rd party titles like Destiny don't even get a XB1 port. This represents aspects of the Japanese market perception both within and without.

Titles targeted at the local audience in Japan see no purpose in releasing for the XB1, while they are not only released on PS4, but with a greater focus on localization than what was previously seen in the past gens. Whereas Western Titles that were very popular overseas are only coming to PS4. This means that Japan is basically a non-entity to XB1, and more than that, MS doesn't seem to see any reason to try and break that blockade.

It translates to increased options for PS4 players on a global scale, with less options for Xbox gamers. The Japanese publishers make those decisions based on their own internal trends, but even a publisher like Square Enix, which has massive franchises, are electing to release most of their new announcements on only a single platform. Even a franchise like Star Ocean which got a release last gen on the 360.

 

[mujun]

Not really. Sony and Nintendo have much varied audiences. You just have to look at game sales to see that.

How about specifically in North America?

 

[ZhugeEX]

How about specifically in North America?

Xbox is even more so a dude bro brand in North America. You just need to look at the halo attach rates and COD attach rates compared to other genre attach rates.

PlayStation of course has shooter/sports demographic as well but there is also large amount of gamers buying other genre games.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Do people count "Recore" as a Japanese game? Sure it's being made by Inafune but I'm looking at it from every angle (of a cinematic trailer) and I couldn't see it.

...And it even that has guns lol.

 

[wapplew]

I think Spencer did a lot to address not "varied" enough problem on Xbox. Just look at the stage time they gave artistic indie titles like cup head and beyond eyes, plus unique titles like recore and sea of thief.

Still Sony been like that since they join gaming business, it's in their blood now.

 

[LiquidSolid]

Do people count "Recore" as a Japanese game? Sure it's being made by Inafune but I'm looking at it from every angle (of a cinematic trailer) and I couldn't see it.

...And it even that has guns lol.

It's developed by Armature, so no, it's a western game.

I think Spencer did a lot to address not "varied" enough problem on Xbox. Just look at the stage time they gave artistic indie titles like cup head and beyond eyes, plus unique titles like recore and sea of thief.

Still Sony been like that since they join gaming business, it's in their blood now.

If they'd started doing that 10 years ago, maybe it would've made a difference, but they didn't and things like this don't change overnight.

 

[ProfessorMoran]

I really liked the 360 early last gen with strong JRPG/Japan support. Even if most of those games eventually hit PS3, or were never localized. There's no sign of that happening this gen at all.

That's unfortunate, since it means less JRPGs overall than if MS was still funding games like Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, Blue Dragon, etc.

It also means the JRPG audience on XB1 will be nearly non-existent.

The Japanese userbase for the xbone is nearly non-existent, at some point ms figured out that they're funding titles that nobody in Japan was going to buy and will end up selling like shit everywhere else, it's now a matter of deciding whether to keep banging their heads against the proverbial wall, all the moneyhatting did was create a game of keepaway except the games were being kept away from the majority of gamers in Japan who will never buy an Xbox no matter what, they were literally creating IPs that were dead before they even got released. At ~200 units a week there's no ship to turn around, they need to stop this charade and get the fuck out of Japan, it's a waste of resources.

 

[Dazza]

Even in the states I see split similar to conservative vs liberal with demographics.

There is a discount lack of Xbox space in Japanese retail this generation, most places don't even stock it now, I was actually surprised that they even did lastgen. But all console space has been cut back and you no longer see a gaming section in the weekly electric store mailers

 

[Biker19]

I think people really do underestimate what MS did last gen. They dumped a shitload of money into securing exclusives from Mistwalker, Tri Crescendo, Tales Team, Tri ace, and more.

All of which bombed and forced the developers to either quickly make a PS3 port to cover the losses incurred (Like Tales and Eternal Sonata and Star Ocean), or have them on shakey footing which disallowed them from actually gaining a major foothold in the 7th gen race.

I can tell you with certainty Mistwalker's early dealings was what set the tone for their entire run afterward, Vesperia's failure putting off Tales releases in the west for years, and Star Ocean just having its next title more than a half decade afterward.

All of this definitely played a part negatively impacting the Japanese industry scene without a doubt.

It was a big mistake for Japanese 3rd party publishers to rely on Xbox platforms for huge sales in the first place. They should've waited until the install base for PS3 had increased or something else.

Ever since around 2010, they woke up & realized that most of their audience for those types of games/genres are on PlayStation platforms, mobile, & even on PC, including some others for this gen such as 5pb: They had Chaos;Child exclusively on Xbox One for some reason. Now they've been ported over to PS3, PS4, & PS Vita.

Same with Access games with D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die; it's now on PC.

 

[Game Guru]

I have said it before that if JRPGs sold well on Xbox consoles, we would see more of them coming to the XB1, but the majority of the Xbox audience really only want shooters, sports, and AAA titles. Both the original Xbox and Xbox 360 even tried to win over JRPG fans and failed miserably. Quite frankly, I also believe Fighting Game Fans will ultimately support only the PS4 as well because Street Fighter V is PS4 exclusive.

However, the biggest problem MS has is that the Xbox line is increasingly something that only Americans would buy.

You’re saying Xbox should focus only on AAA-buying audience but that’s exactly what they did. The result? Every other player base (Japanese audience, the indie audience, the janky European game buying audience etc) all flooded to Playstation. By themselves, each is a small segment of the market but together they all add up which grants Playstation the bigger playerbase that allows it to snag COD and AAA exclusivity.

Without games that appeal to the Japanese, XB1 lacks the Japanese audience. Without games that appeal to Europeans, XB1 lacks the European audience. Without indie games, XB1 lacks the indie audience. What ends up left is the American AAA audience... which PS4 also has since it has all the third-party AAA titles that Americans would buy. To Americans interested in AAA titles, the PS4 is just as valid an option as XB1, but for fans of Japanese games, janky European games, and indie games, XB1 is not an option compared to PS4.

 

[W.S.]

I have said it before that if JRPGs sold well on Xbox consoles, we would see more of them coming to the XB1, but the majority of the Xbox audience really only want shooters, sports, and AAA titles. Both the original Xbox and Xbox 360 even tried to win over JRPG fans and failed miserably. Quite frankly, I also believe Fighting Game Fans will ultimately support only the PS4 as well because Street Fighter V is PS4 exclusive.

However, the biggest problem MS has is that the Xbox line is increasingly something that only Americans would buy.



Without games that appeal to the Japanese, XB1 lacks the Japanese audience. Without games that appeal to Europeans, XB1 lacks the European audience. Without indie games, XB1 lacks the indie audience. What ends up left is the American AAA audience... which PS4 also has since it has all the third-party AAA titles that Americans would buy. To Americans interested in AAA titles, the PS4 is just as valid an option as XB1, but for fans of Japanese games, janky European games, and indie games, XB1 is not an option compared to PS4.

What type of games appeal to Europeans that aren't on the system? The XBO has plenty of indy titles to choose from and is growing as well so there's not as much lack of those as there was before.

 

[Kagari]

Mm, no, I think you're wrong. I'm speaking purely from retail perspective here; Across just the one district, XV has over 300 preorders on the PS4, and 10 on the XB1, and KH3 has over 200 on the PS4 and 10 on the XB1. I wouldn't be surprised if those 10 are the same on both games.

The US is the primary market for the XB1, yes indeed, but the audience buying the system isn't showing any consumption of Japanese games, or even broadcasting forward reaching interest in them. These companies do use preorders as a metric for showing potential interest, you know.

Last generation, the market for the 360 and PS3 was very different, the impression in the US was a significant disparity. That doesn't exist now, and we've seen a minimizing of what demographics are buying which console. Rather than a console for a wide range of games that the 360 still sold to, it's largely become just shooters, racing, sports, and the huge multi-plats like Assassin's Creed.

What insight we're getting is that Japanese publishers are trying to push the PS4 even more now. Microsoft showing up at TGS would be irrelevant anyway. They have no market power or pressure for Japanese influence, less so than ever before.

It's going to be inevitable, I think. Especially with all the other Japanese games only coming to the platform. If you like those titles you know what to look forward to and to expect and the userbase has made its place already.

SE announcing what they did at E3 isn't the last of it either going by their own comments of trying to boost console relevancy in Japan and most consumers are going to see that and react accordingly.

 

[Imperfected]

What type of games appeal to Europeans that aren't on the system? The XBO has plenty of indy titles to choose from and is growing as well so there's not as much lack of those as there was before.

There was mention earlier in the thread that some European countries (France was the example used, I believe) are really into Japanese games, including the more "niche" stuff. Not sure myself how accurate that statement is, as outside of very country-specific preferences (Germany's love of "hard" sims, for instance; I also recall being told that one or two of the Nordic countries have a huge cottage industry for point-and-click graphical novel type games) I don't recall ever seeing anything going "huge" in Europe outside of the usual culprits (FIFA, Football Manager, etc.).

Honestly, the European market's always struck me as being more PC-centric. Anyone have any solid data for what the big (or at least anomalous, compared to other regions) console titles are in the region?

 

[Game Guru]

What type of games appeal to Europeans that aren't on the system? The XBO has plenty of indy titles to choose from and is growing as well so there's not as much lack of those as there was before.

To be fair, MS's biggest missteps for Europe were their DRM plan, mandatory Kinect, the laser focus on American content, and half of Europe being Tier 2 with Japan. European customers like their consumer rights and the reveal of Kinect being mandatory was during the NSA spying scandal which had them rather peeved off at America as well. In addition, calling half of Europe Tier 2 was insulting to Europeans as well. That initial reveal pretty much killed XB1's chances in Europe other than the UK.

 

[Usobuko]

As far as home consoles go this gen, there are more JPN games coming to PC over Xbox One. One Piece Musou, Tales, Toukiden etc.

 

[Kagari]

As far as home consoles go this gen, there are more JPN games coming to PC over Xbox One. One Piece Musou, Tales, Toukiden etc.

A lot of the PS/PC userbase tends to overlap so there definitely is more of a market there at this point.

 

[LiquidSolid]

To be fair, MS's biggest missteps for Europe were their DRM plan, mandatory Kinect, the laser focus on American content, and half of Europe being Tier 2 with Japan. European customers like their consumer rights and the reveal of Kinect being mandatory was during the NSA spying scandal which had them rather peeved off at America as well. In addition, calling half of Europe Tier 2 was insulting to Europeans as well. That initial reveal pretty much killed XB1's chances in Europe other than the UK.

It didn't help but it's not like they had a chance in Europe anyway. That market went more and more in the PS3's favour as last generation went on and the horrible last few years of the 360's life didn't exactly give them any momentum to push them into this gen.

I think the lack of diversity in their library definitely hurts them. Their two biggest franchises by far are Halo and Gears but they're nowhere near as popular outside the US as they are in it. And while they've really tried to push Forza as an alternative to GT, it's never really worked out that well.

 

[wapplew]

Japanese titles are not only influential in Japan market. I don't know about Europe, but huge part of Asia love Japanese titles.
Console market in Japan itself might be smaller, but I think the rising market in the rest of Asia could make up for it and that's what SCEJA focusing.

That's why I think Japanese titles are very important in a console library.

 

[AmaterasuOni]

Japanese titles are not only influential in Japan market. I don't know about Europe, but huge part of Asia love Japanese titles.
Console market in Japan itself might be smaller, but I think the rising market in the rest of Asia could make up for it and that's what SCEJA focusing.

That's why I think Japanese titles are very important in a console library.

Europe has a big "nerd scene" and Japanese things have been trending here for years. I can honestly say that people have high interest in all things Asian, be it Japanese anime or Viatnamese food or ancient Chinese philosophy. We love that stuff.

And I think PlayStation domination is part of that. We have little love for US and huge hearts for Asia. Plain and simple.

 

[Wagram]

Honestly, it's a shame that they aren't trying to back the Japanese market harder. I understand why, and it's a shame because the JRPGs are what sold me on an Xbox 360. Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean 4, The Last Remnant were the reasons I bought a 360.

Sadly, without titles such as these I don't have any desire to purchase an Xbox One. Perhaps sometime down the road when it's dirt cheap.

 

[Game Guru]

It didn't help but it's not like they had a chance in Europe anyway. That market went more and more in the PS3's favour as last generation went on and the horrible last few years of the 360's life didn't exactly give them any momentum to push them into this gen.

I think the lack of diversity in their library definitely hurts them. Their two biggest franchises by far are Halo and Gears but they're nowhere near as popular outside the US as they are in it. And while they've really tried to push Forza as an alternative to GT, it's never really worked out that well.

MS needs Europe and Asia if they ever hope to beat Sony, and that means actually catering to the tastes of Europe and Asia. I think the lack of diversity almost certainly hurts them.

 

[Abdiel]

It's going to be inevitable, I think. Especially with all the other Japanese games only coming to the platform. If you like those titles you know what to look forward to and to expect and the userbase has made its place already.

SE announcing what they did at E3 isn't the last of it either going by their own comments of trying to boost console relevancy in Japan and most consumers are going to see that and react accordingly.

I was wondering if you'd see this thread and the more comprehensive discussion taking place in here Kagiri. We've had some good commentary in other threads the last few months, along similar lines.

It does sound like we agree completely though. SE is the largest current Japanese Publisher, right, besides Nintendo themselves? Capcom isn't producing near as many games as they used to, Konami has diminished to a point of almost being unrecognizable, Bandai still makes a ton of games too, I suppose... But both SE and BN have announced all these new games for PS4, with some later ports to PC, and not even for all of those.

Japan has largely been given a direction and a narrative that they are seemingly comfortable with, in the development/publishing aspect, which will continue to have long reaching repercussions. I guess it helps that the PS4 is so much easier to program for, and since it is the defacto leader, there's no concerns about them releasing their games for it. I hope this does help lend some vitality to the industry over there. Japanese games have always been my favorites, with a few notable exceptions like Dues Ex HR and Mass Effect trilogy.

 

[Game Guru]

I was wondering if you'd see this thread and the more comprehensive discussion taking place in here Kagiri. We've had some good commentary in other threads the last few months, along similar lines.

It does sound like we agree completely though. SE is the largest current Japanese Publisher, right, besides Nintendo themselves? Capcom isn't producing near as many games as they used to, Konami has diminished to a point of almost being unrecognizable, Bandai still makes a ton of games too, I suppose... But both SE and BN have announced all these new games for PS4, with some later ports to PC, and not even for all of those.

Japan has largely been given a direction and a narrative that they are seemingly comfortable with, in the development/publishing aspect, which will continue to have long reaching repercussions. I guess it helps that the PS4 is so much easier to program for, and since it is the defacto leader, there's no concerns about them releasing their games for it. I hope this does help lend some vitality to the industry over there. Japanese games have always been my favorites, with a few notable exceptions like Dues Ex HR and Mass Effect trilogy.

Let's not forget Koei Tecmo who also seem to be backing PlayStation & PC wholeheartedly as well. I get the feeling Nintendo is more likely to win back Japanese support for their next console if they play their cards right than Microsoft could at this point.

 

[stryke]

There was mention earlier in the thread that some European countries (France was the example used, I believe) are really into Japanese games, including the more "niche" stuff. Not sure myself how accurate that statement is...

It's accurate enough that when I was studying french language back in high school, my textbook had a page or two dedicated to otaku culture.

 

[MEsoJD]

Well they honestly gave it a good try. It's basically admitting defeat by not having a presence, but at this point, it's just not going to happen.

 

[klee123]

That's unfortunate, since it means less JRPGs overall than if MS was still funding games like Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, Blue Dragon, etc.

The issue here is that whilst MS worked really hard early last gen with Mistwalker and all the third party exclusives, it seemed that their end goal was really to be able to get a mainline FF on their platform.

Have you noticed that once FF 13 was announced on the 360, there were no more MS funded exclusive Jrpgs announced? Mistwalker was basically tossed aside like garbage afterwards.

It shows how much MS really cares.

 

[Abdiel]

Let's not forget Koei Tecmo who also seem to be backing PlayStation & PC wholeheartedly as well. I get the feeling Nintendo is more likely to win back Japanese support for their next console if they play their cards right than Microsoft could at this point.

It's probably an uphill battle for Nintendo with a new console, as they're in a very tight spot with most of the third parties for console space, while Sony has expanded those relationships much more confidently.

MS has lost the Japanese options; it's likely that the only major Japanese support they'll get is the mega franchises, or games specifically funded or they wouldn't exist, like scalebound. And even those I don't expect to do well on their platform.

 

[Biker19]

The issue here is that whilst MS worked really hard early last gen with Mistwalker and all the third party exclusives, it seemed that their end goal was really to be able to get a mainline FF on their platform.

Have you noticed that once FF 13 was announced on the 360, there were no more MS funded exclusive Jrpgs on the 360? Mistwalker was basically tossed aside like garbage afterwards.

It shows how much MS really cares.

And even if they did, it was all for nada.

They thought that by announcing Final Fantasy XIII coming over to Xbox 360 at that one E3 show, that everyone will be ignoring the PS3 version for the 360 version & ditch PS3 for good (especially when the 360 had a higher install base over PS3 at the time as well as being more cheaper than PS3 was).

But they were wrong. Despite those advantages, the PS3 version still managed to heavily outsell the Xbox 360 version, especially in the U.S.

 

[Sakujou]

as bad as it sounds, but why do people think that this is funny?

this is fucked up.

if there is no competitor, its no fun and basically sony can do whatever they want and will get away with it.

i dont expect much from nintendo, since they have to deal with the legacy of iwata and NX.

And even if they did, it was all for nada.

They thought that by announcing Final Fantasy XIII coming over to Xbox 360 at that one E3 show, that everyone will be ignoring the PS3 version for the 360 version & ditch PS3 for good (especially when the 360 had a higher install base over PS3 at the time as well as being more cheaper than PS3 was).

But they were wrong. Despite those advantages, the PS3 version still managed to heavily outsell the Xbox 360 version, especially in the U.S.

this.

ms tried big for japan during the OG and 360 era.
they funded so many projects, getting them onto their system.
so many shmups and visual novels which were for a long time exclusively available only for the ms platform.

it didnt help them. ms stayed a niche system in japan.

It's accurate enough that when I was studying french language back in high school, my textbook had a page or two dedicated to otaku culture.

france has a huge comic culture, i remember seeing that stuff in my textbook in school too. but i think thats it... right?

 

[Biker19]

as bad as it sounds, but why do people think that this is funny?

this is fucked up.

if there is no competitor, its no fun and basically sony can do whatever they want and will get away with it.

i dont expect much from nintendo, since they have to deal with the legacy of iwata and NX.

Go look at PS1 & PS2. Tons of games, & Sony hasn't done anything dumb, despite competition being there. And both of those consoles had very high install bases over the competition.

Besides, most Japanese games have always been with PlayStation & have always sold more on PlayStation platforms.

 

[Sakujou]

Go look at PS1 & PS2. Tons of games, & Sony hasn't done anything dumb, despite competition being there.

Besides, most Japanese games have always been with PlayStation & have always sold more on PlayStation platforms.

sure

but i didnt have the feeling that the outcome of those gens would look this grim like the ps4/x1/wiiU one.

while the ps1 and snes were doing good, the ps2 was released super early.
ps2/xb/gc had their own share of games without heavily relying on remakes. oh and there werent systems back then selling without having proper systemseller games.

but this is right now the case.

we had a longer time before bloodborne came out, where the ps4 sold shitcakes without having a proper exclusive game. but as told in another thread, exclusive games do not matter these days anymore, it about how a system feels and how the reception of the company is during those days.

sony has won without even fighting. ms fucked it up, because of mattrick

 

[Stanng243]

sure

but i didnt have the feeling that the outcome of those gens would look this grim like the ps4/x1/wiiU one.

while the ps1 and snes were doing good, the ps2 was released super early.
ps2/xb/gc had their own share of games without heavily relying on remakes. oh and there werent systems back then selling without having proper systemseller games.

but this is right now the case.

we had a longer time before bloodborne came out, where the ps4 sold shitcakes without having a proper exclusive game. but as told in another thread, exclusive games do not matter these days anymore, it about how a system feels and how the reception of the company is during those days.

sony has won without even fighting. ms fucked it up, because of mattrick

I see Sony winning as a good thing. Didn't one of their execs said that it's allowed them to take more risks in making games? Sony put out a lot of niche games last generation, and I'd love to see more this generation. if being the leader gives them this freedom, I hope they continue winning.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

sure

but i didnt have the feeling that the outcome of those gens would look this grim like the ps4/x1/wiiU one.

while the ps1 and snes were doing good, the ps2 was released super early.
ps2/xb/gc had their own share of games without heavily relying on remakes. oh and there werent systems back then selling without having proper systemseller games.

but this is right now the case.

we had a longer time before bloodborne came out, where the ps4 sold shitcakes without having a proper exclusive game. but as told in another thread, exclusive games do not matter these days anymore, it about how a system feels and how the reception of the company is during those days.

sony has won without even fighting. ms fucked it up, because of mattrick

I was in all those meetings as well. Every single exec was against all the negtaives previously, but Mattrick said no to every single one of them. It's all his fault.

france has a huge comic culture, i remember seeing that stuff in my textbook in school too. but i think thats it... right?

France is apparently pretty huge. Kishimoto (creator of Naruto, biggest anime/manga worldwide after DBZ) specifically asked for a French animator to join Naruto's anime team because he was a fan of his work. I'm certain manga sells a ton there as well.

 

[Primethius]

It's always the same narrative with this guy. Down to the exclusive BS.

Anyways, with the discussion taking place here, it really makes me wonder why MS isn't making a greater push in China relative to Sony. The China Joy thread paints MS as pretty much giving up the market to Sony, whatever potential it may have.