Mass Effect
Member
So recently there's been discussions (because you know why) revolving around about how much certain games matter or don't matter. And if you've been in any of those other threads, you've probably seen that list. You know, the one of the upcoming (mostly Q1) PS4 games. If you don't know what I'm talking about, here it is, more or less:
Gravity Rush 2
Nioh
Nier: Automata
Guilty Gear Xrd
Persona 5
Dragon Quest Heroes/XI
Earth Defense Force 5
Dynasty Warriors series
Samurai Warriors series
King of Fighters XIV
Ace Combat 7
Yakuza series
Yooka-Laylee
It differs depending on who's posting it, but as you can see most of are lesser-known (outside of GAF/gaming circles) Japanese games. A common response to that list is "none of these games matter" or "they're niche games that won't sell a lot." And it's true, something like Red Dead Redemption 2 will outsell every Japanese game on this list combined, but I don't think its entirely about sales. It's also about diversity.
Like I said, most of those games listed above won't sell all that much individually, but combined and over time, I think they can attract a not-so-insignificant number of people to the PS4. If, for example, (warning: totally made up numbers incoming) Persona sells 100k people on a PS4, Nioh sells 50k PS4s, Nier sells 10k PS4s and so on, it starts to add up (note: these [madeup] numbers aren't software unit sales, but [madeup] PS4 sales). None of those numbers are significant on their own, but as you get more of these games on your system, it only helps.
Not only that, but it's a compound effect: You get more niche games on your system > people buy your system for said niche games > those niche games sell better as the audience for them grows.
I don't see why Sony should stop going after these games, especially when either a.) they're cheap to make, or b.) they're not even financially responsible for them. I don't think it particularly harms Sony to court them. In fact, it probably helps them (otherwise, why would they keep doing it?).
And I've seen several others share the same sentiment in the other threads:
That's where I stand on the matter. They draw in new audiences to your system and help sustain those audiences. They build longtime fanbases (see: Ueda games). They encourage more developers to release those niche games on your system.
To me, the question is as to the metric by which these niche games collectively have an effect? Obviously they aren't the most biggest factor to a platform's sales or growth, but are they an important factor nonetheless?
And this isn't just about niche Japanese games, but niche games in general. If we look specifically on the Xbox, we're also talking about games like Sunset Overdrive or ReCore. Or D4 or Scalebound (yes I know they're Japanese). And that's something I wanted to make clear, since many in Master Ninja's thread expressed apathy to not getting Japanese games, which is fine, but that thread ended up focusing specifically on Japanese games, whether Xbox gamers care about them, and whether Microsoft should bother investing more into them (answer: they shouldn't). So to Xbox fans: surely you guys want more games like SSOD, ReCore, or Ori(? does this count?) right? Because those titles bring diversity into the line-up of the system.
This isn't to say that Microsoft has totally stopped investing into niche games. After all, they are publishing titles like Cuphead; however, if what we're hearing from certain people is true, then they are at least scaling back on pursuing these games, especially when it comes to bigger (in scope, not popularity) games.
On the flipside, if Sony were to drop supporting these games (either by not making the games themselves or by not helping out like with marketing or publishing like they're doing with Nioh) would it hurt Sony in the longterm? To Sony fans: would that negatively impact your view on Playstation or would you not be all that affected?
Hell, we can even bring Steam into this topic. There are so many smaller games there that definitely aren't mainstream, but people still enjoy nonetheless. Games you absolutely would never see anywhere else, especially on console. Games like Sir, You Are Being Hunted, The Stanley Parable, or Sunless Sea just to name a few. In fact, I'd argue Steam is probably the strongest case for this entire argument on why niche games can have a great effect.
Still, it's also not as if this prevents 3rd AAA blockbusters from coming. They'll still be there, and they'll still sell millions, but appealing only to that audience limits what games become viable on your platform because you curate an audience that doesn't care for those games. But that also doesn't mean throwing away money just for the sake of 'variety,' a point that Figments made in another thread:
But I believe there can be a balance somewhere in between.
What do you think? Do these smaller, niche titles move you more towards one platform or the other?
Gravity Rush 2
Nioh
Nier: Automata
Guilty Gear Xrd
Persona 5
Dragon Quest Heroes/XI
Earth Defense Force 5
Dynasty Warriors series
Samurai Warriors series
King of Fighters XIV
Ace Combat 7
Yakuza series
Yooka-Laylee
It differs depending on who's posting it, but as you can see most of are lesser-known (outside of GAF/gaming circles) Japanese games. A common response to that list is "none of these games matter" or "they're niche games that won't sell a lot." And it's true, something like Red Dead Redemption 2 will outsell every Japanese game on this list combined, but I don't think its entirely about sales. It's also about diversity.
Like I said, most of those games listed above won't sell all that much individually, but combined and over time, I think they can attract a not-so-insignificant number of people to the PS4. If, for example, (warning: totally made up numbers incoming) Persona sells 100k people on a PS4, Nioh sells 50k PS4s, Nier sells 10k PS4s and so on, it starts to add up (note: these [madeup] numbers aren't software unit sales, but [madeup] PS4 sales). None of those numbers are significant on their own, but as you get more of these games on your system, it only helps.
Not only that, but it's a compound effect: You get more niche games on your system > people buy your system for said niche games > those niche games sell better as the audience for them grows.
I don't see why Sony should stop going after these games, especially when either a.) they're cheap to make, or b.) they're not even financially responsible for them. I don't think it particularly harms Sony to court them. In fact, it probably helps them (otherwise, why would they keep doing it?).
And I've seen several others share the same sentiment in the other threads:
That's where I stand on the matter. They draw in new audiences to your system and help sustain those audiences. They build longtime fanbases (see: Ueda games). They encourage more developers to release those niche games on your system.
To me, the question is as to the metric by which these niche games collectively have an effect? Obviously they aren't the most biggest factor to a platform's sales or growth, but are they an important factor nonetheless?
And this isn't just about niche Japanese games, but niche games in general. If we look specifically on the Xbox, we're also talking about games like Sunset Overdrive or ReCore. Or D4 or Scalebound (yes I know they're Japanese). And that's something I wanted to make clear, since many in Master Ninja's thread expressed apathy to not getting Japanese games, which is fine, but that thread ended up focusing specifically on Japanese games, whether Xbox gamers care about them, and whether Microsoft should bother investing more into them (answer: they shouldn't). So to Xbox fans: surely you guys want more games like SSOD, ReCore, or Ori(? does this count?) right? Because those titles bring diversity into the line-up of the system.
This isn't to say that Microsoft has totally stopped investing into niche games. After all, they are publishing titles like Cuphead; however, if what we're hearing from certain people is true, then they are at least scaling back on pursuing these games, especially when it comes to bigger (in scope, not popularity) games.
On the flipside, if Sony were to drop supporting these games (either by not making the games themselves or by not helping out like with marketing or publishing like they're doing with Nioh) would it hurt Sony in the longterm? To Sony fans: would that negatively impact your view on Playstation or would you not be all that affected?
Hell, we can even bring Steam into this topic. There are so many smaller games there that definitely aren't mainstream, but people still enjoy nonetheless. Games you absolutely would never see anywhere else, especially on console. Games like Sir, You Are Being Hunted, The Stanley Parable, or Sunless Sea just to name a few. In fact, I'd argue Steam is probably the strongest case for this entire argument on why niche games can have a great effect.
Still, it's also not as if this prevents 3rd AAA blockbusters from coming. They'll still be there, and they'll still sell millions, but appealing only to that audience limits what games become viable on your platform because you curate an audience that doesn't care for those games. But that also doesn't mean throwing away money just for the sake of 'variety,' a point that Figments made in another thread:
But I believe there can be a balance somewhere in between.
What do you think? Do these smaller, niche titles move you more towards one platform or the other?
