82 réponses à ce sujet

[Dasher1010]

Is this true? I would have expected ME2 to sell a lot more given that it's a pretty high profile title. I only read this info on forums and I find it a little hard to believe.

[Collider]

It's Japan.

[MSparkyPants]

A lot of western shooter type games don't do amazingly in Japan. It's also a western RPG. Dunno the actual reasoning behind the sales, but that'd be what I figure.

[Praetor Knight]

Well if the Firepower Pack is being advertised as "Happiness is a warm heat sink," I wonder how the rest of the advertising is written.

[Rogue Unit]

Not enough big breasted females and spiky-haired, sword-swinging teens with annoying catch phrases for the likes of Japan.

Modifié par Rogue Unit, 31 janvier 2011 - 09:21 .

[TheBlackBaron]

Japan is not real receptive to western RPG's. I recall reading somewhere that FFXII got criticized over there for incorporating elements of WRPG's into it, especially the battle system.



Also, not enough like anime.

[Whereto]

Well mass effect doesn't have over sized guns in a turn based combat system, so what you expect. Western games tend to based in more "realism" where as eastern games are more outer worldly.

[Fiery Phoenix]

It's not exactly the kind of game they're interested in.

[hawat333]

And I guess -considering percentages of the population- they sell less JRPGs in Europe, on the Islands, etc. than in Japan.

No mistery there.

[Alexine]

I think it's because it was released on the xbox. Xbox 360 has never been popular in Japan. Portables such as Nintendo DS and PSP (surprisingly) are what dominate the console market, with Playstation 3 steadily behind.

And I don't think ME2 was that much marketed either in Japan. Mass Effect 1 did well since Microsoft was backing them in marketing (since ME is a Microsoft exclusive).

[Daryst]

lots of games, books and movies dont do well in Japan and vice versa. There are always exceptions, but look at bollywood for example. Great in India and its surroundings, but its not near as populair in Europe or other places as it is there.

[migrained]

Im living in Japan, and Mass Effect 2 is not sold here. It is also not sold in EA store Japan. Very poor advertising. I resorted to playing ME2 by buying it overseas.

[Daryst]

migrained wrote...

Im living in Japan, and Mass Effect 2 is not sold here. It is also not sold in EA store Japan. Very poor advertising. I resorted to playing ME2 by buying it overseas.

ouch, bad move on EA's part. I will bet that it would have done much better if it were actually sold in Japan . Star Wars did quite well according to the box office numbers on its Release. So they are not too shy about western sci-fi

[adam_grif]

It's a very non-traditional wRPG in a nation that still thinks turn based party combat, grinding levels and random encounters are "good design". Neither Mshep nor Femshep were girly enough to satisfy the Japanese RPG crowd. The fact that it was also primarily a third person shooter, mechanically, was the final nail in the coffin.



I'm not even sure if the game was brought to Japan and localized, but if it was it still would do terribly for the reasons I just mentioned.

[Shinichi28]

If We get time to complete our own RPGs we'll sure buy some western RPGs <_<

[Daryst]

Shinichi28 wrote...

If We get time to complete our own RPGs we'll sure buy some western RPGs <_<

What is it that doesn't compell you to play a wRPG like Mass Effect or SWKOTOR compared to the jRPG's like FF or Kingdom Hearts?

because if I have to go with your comment, you are not really interested in them.

[1490]

Japan is a much different culture compared to the U.S. or much of Europe. Some themes will always be shared, but the style of storytelling and emphasis on certain parts usually isn't the same. A lot of what they find humorous, sexy, or exciting is different than what we consider to be over here. Most of the anime I've seen I consider too fantastical, odd, and overly melodramatic, they're probably looking at the games and movies I like and thinking the same thing.

[Kappa Neko]

Well, there's two reasons for that:

a) yes, the Japanese like different kind of games

they boycott the Xbox and everything that comes from non-Japanese developers



I've just graduated with a degree in Japanese Studies. I took an exam about the "Cool Japan" campaign in which the game industry plays a curious part.

It is argued that because of the immense popularity of anime, Hello Kitty and Pokemon, the Japanese have emerged as a cultural superpower. Until the 90s anime makers were not interested in the global market. They were only interested in selling to their own people. Now they design products with regard to global appeal. The government tried to instrumentalize their potential cultural power.

Obviously this is not true for the gaming industry. If anything, the Cool Japan image only somewhat restored their lost race pride and confidence. The Japanese have a huge domestic market. Both developers and players stay loyal to the domestic market.

One reason why shooter games fail in Japan is self-Orientalism. The Japanese promote the image of a peaceful country. They are still by constitution forbidden to wage war. The Japanese use this to convince the world that they going the non-military route. This outward picture has an effect on the Japanese themselves. They, too, have come to believe they really are a peaceful country. This is one reason why shooters don't sell in Japan.

The Japanese and the Western gaming industry are going in very different directions at the moment, I'd say. Maybe they've always been very different. But it seems to me that JRPGs used to be a lot more popular in the West in the 90s.

If you take a look at the top 100 games list on Amazon Japan, you'll find few non-Japanese games. ME2 is not on the list (Dragon Age is). ME2 for PS3 ranks 1,104 in games at the moment!

I've never heard of 99% of the Japanese games. They are all anime-style.



I used to love JRPGs as a teenager. Now I love grown up realistic looking games. And BW is providing exactly that.

What I dislike most about Final Fantasy since FFXIII is the look of the characters. They now look exactly like TV idols. The characters of JRPGs have always had spiky hair in various colors, true, but they never looked so "over-styled", for lack of a better word.

Well, Japanese devs are only providing what the Japanese otaku crowd wants, just as the shooter flood is satisfying Western needs. Can't blame them. It just saddens me that I have to turn my back on a genre I loved for so long.

Sorry for the lecture!

[Shinichi28]

Daryst wrote...

Shinichi28 wrote...

If We get time to complete our own RPGs we'll sure buy some western RPGs <_<

What is it that doesn't compell you to play a wRPG like Mass Effect or SWKOTOR compared to the jRPG's like FF or Kingdom Hearts?

because if I have to go with your comment, you are not really interested in them.

Lets see ME is the only  wRPG I ever like,after playing it thought  if every wRPG offers this great gameplay then why I shouldn't play more wRPG.So I brought Fallout:New Vegas and its was buggy,end of story.Now if Bioware releases more wRPGs like ME I for sure buy them for other developers I cant say anything.REally looking forword for that new SWKOTOR.

Modifié par Shinichi28, 31 janvier 2011 - 11:31 .

[Shinichi28]

Kappa Neko wrote...

Well, there's two reasons for that:
a) yes, the Japanese like different kind of games
they boycott the Xbox and everything that comes from non-Japanese developers

I've just graduated with a degree in Japanese Studies. I took an exam about the "Cool Japan" campaign in which the game industry plays a curious part.
It is argued that because of the immense popularity of anime, Hello Kitty and Pokemon, the Japanese have emerged as a cultural superpower. Until the 90s anime makers were not interested in the global market. They were only interested in selling to their own people. Now they design products with regard to global appeal. The government tried to instrumentalize their potential cultural power.
Obviously this is not true for the gaming industry. If anything, the Cool Japan image only somewhat restored their lost race pride and confidence. The Japanese have a huge domestic market. Both developers and players stay loyal to the domestic market.
One reason why shooter games fail in Japan is self-Orientalism. The Japanese promote the image of a peaceful country. They are still by constitution forbidden to wage war. The Japanese use this to convince the world that they going the non-military route. This outward picture has an effect on the Japanese themselves. They, too, have come to believe they really are a peaceful country. This is one reason why shooters don't sell in Japan.
The Japanese and the Western gaming industry are going in very different directions at the moment, I'd say. Maybe they've always been very different. But it seems to me that JRPGs used to be a lot more popular in the West in the 90s.
If you take a look at the top 100 games list on Amazon Japan, you'll find few non-Japanese games. ME2 is not on the list (Dragon Age is). ME2 for PS3 ranks 1,104 in games at the moment!
I've never heard of 99% of the Japanese games. They are all anime-style.

I used to love JRPGs as a teenager. Now I love grown up realistic looking games. And BW is providing exactly that.
What I dislike most about Final Fantasy since FFXIII is the look of the characters. They now look exactly like TV idols. The characters of JRPGs have always had spiky hair in various colors, true, but they never looked so "over-styled", for lack of a better word.
Well, Japanese devs are only providing what the Japanese otaku crowd wants, just as the shooter flood is satisfying Western needs. Can't blame them. It just saddens me that I have to turn my back on a genre I loved for so long.
Sorry for the lecture!

Loved your lecture hope others will learn too<_

[adam_grif]

So I brought Fallout:New Vegas and its was buggy,end of story.

Bad move. Fallout: New Vegas was developed by Bethesda, a company with a reputation for releasing buggy games. Fallout 3 was far less buggy. Although the "greatest" wRPGs are usually considered to be games such as Planescape Torment and Baldur's Gate 2.

[Captain Crash]

The Japanese market is a strange one. Great post by Kappa which puts some context into it. I wasn't aware of all that so an interesting read. Still those numbers are surprisingly low, especially over the hype its got in the west. Even if its just a curious glance to see what the fuss is about. Just shows how set they are in their domestic market.

Modifié par Captain Crash, 31 janvier 2011 - 11:42 .

[Unkei]

Japan is weird. They play only their loli games with girly boys.

[Count Viceroy]

Collider wrote...

It's Japan.