Wyrdness said:
You are somewhat right but the is a bit more to it then that, like you said gameplay is one main factor but people in Europe have a varied taste that seems to be determined by multiple factor. Dragon Quest is increasing in popularity even to the point that we're buying more then the US with in one game being released because it had a unique style, well developed, interesting quirks of it's own over other rpgs, is marketed well and evolves well with each insatallment while maintaining it's tradition, it even uses British English which Europeans are more used and accustomed to, in Europe we tend to like games that have interesting Quirks, Pokemon is one example.
I think the number one issue first of all before you tackle everything else is that in Europe you have to make yourself known and market your product as the are a lot of avid gamers here who may only pop into the store every now and then and don't visit forums and such, gaming is just a common past time here much like football, many people support teams but don't know much about the game. They may see your game in the store but not know what it's about, as long as the gameplay is at a decent level you'll get a foothold in gaining/starting a fanbase, the are more then enough rpg fans in Europe just market your game even if some people say it's not what they expected the are going to be people in there who still like what they're playing after all FF is still going. |
Yeah i honestly think that Dragon Quest 8 and Final Fantasy 12 that came out at the end of the PS2 lifecycle, SE had nailed it. no more poor dialogue, brilliant English voice acting. those 2 games were brilliant RPGs - but at the end of the day the gameplay was to complex, too hard, to slow, too boring or too long.
i mean DQ8 was turn based, in Europe i dont think many gamers accept that. there were so many battles, you had to level grind a LOT, same for FF12. the Gamit system in FF12 was way too complex, no western gamer who has not much knowledge in RPGs in going to be able to come into that - they would be overwhealmed. not to mention very long dungeons.
my point is that i think if you make the gameplay more accessible to gamers you will get the sales. just like ME has been a success for an RPG in the US. not so much in Europe, but getting there. and Pokemon is another example of a successful RPG, because it makes its own rules, it dosent conform to the standards of long cutscenes, American voice acting, etc. this is why i think TLS could end up being a moderate success in Europe - its adpats to change in my personal opinion.
