The economy in Japan is good but not great and there are so many gadgets to buy these days that it's hurting some industry. Maybe gaming is down but according t Yahoo News, PC sales are way down also. But Iphone sales along with other gadgets are way up.

Then why bring it up?

The 3rd world is gaining in wealth and therefore becoming a bigger customer of games over time.  Even though they are still small, their slice of the pie is growing and gradually becoming relevant.  So it isn't that Japan is not becoming irrelevant or that it has even reached that point, but rather, that there are other locations besides the US. Canada, Britain, and Japan that want games.

Soriku said: We've come across this a couple times, so I'm making this thread so we can discuss this same exact topic. We've seen SMG do 130k for the first day, but the week should prove good sales, and lifetime extroadinary (well, maybe not extroadinary but pretty good ). But besides that, we've seen steep sales in console games in Japan. The only games that sell in Japan now are handheld games, FF, and DQ. But the only problem with FF nowadays is that it starts out real strong, but dies rather quickly (See: CC: FF VII, FF XII, etc.). Lifetime sales are good, but that's mostly due to opening sales. Japan Wii gamers seem starved for games. Seeing as how sales are in the 30ks, and dropped into the 20ks and 19k as well. Could it be possible that it's just the sales (so far) of the consoles. The Wii in Japan has almost sold 4 mil in Japan. That's not really a lot compared to, say, the DS's almost 20 mil in Japan alone. But if they are SO starved, why didn't more buy it? Is Japan becoming more and more irrevelant in the gaming industry? Or is there possibly another explanation? Discuss.

Just because Japan didn't swarm over your precious Super Mario Galaxy does not mean it's irrelevant to the gaming industry. Get over it.

Soriku said: Cadence said: Soriku said: We've come across this a couple times, so I'm making this thread so we can discuss this same exact topic. We've seen SMG do 130k for the first day, but the week should prove good sales, and lifetime extroadinary (well, maybe not extroadinary but pretty good ). But besides that, we've seen steep sales in console games in Japan. The only games that sell in Japan now are handheld games, FF, and DQ. But the only problem with FF nowadays is that it starts out real strong, but dies rather quickly (See: CC: FF VII, FF XII, etc.). Lifetime sales are good, but that's mostly due to opening sales. Japan Wii gamers seem starved for games. Seeing as how sales are in the 30ks, and dropped into the 20ks and 19k as well. Could it be possible that it's just the sales (so far) of the consoles. The Wii in Japan has almost sold 4 mil in Japan. That's not really a lot compared to, say, the DS's almost 20 mil in Japan alone. But if they are SO starved, why didn't more buy it? Is Japan becoming more and more irrevelant in the gaming industry? Or is there possibly another explanation? Discuss. Just because Japan didn't swarm over your precious Super Mario Galaxy does not mean it's irrelevant to the gaming industry. Get over it.   Did I ever say it was?

It's quite suspicious considering the fact that you're a Nintendo fanboy, Wii sales in Japan are decreasing, and SMG didn't sell as well as you expected.

^ Your edit was after my post. And it doesn't remove any of my suspicion. Nonetheless, it shouldn't matter to you anyways.

Did anyone on these forums ever watch the trend of New Super Mario Bros? I feel as though SMG will follow the same path. Not huge initial numbers, but huge over the long haul.
On topic, saying Japan is irrelevant to the gaming industry is just pish posh lol.

For a long time, Japan reflected the world as a whole.  What did well in Japan, did well outside of Japan (plenty of exceptions but 80% true IMO).

This is no longer true.  We're seeing a market divergence between Japan and the US in particular.  Game companies are starting to recognize this as we see more Japanese companies looking for Western/American partners.  They recognize the size and value of the western markets and the divergence so they're turning to other groups to seek solutions to these problems.

In a way this is good, we won't just get Japanese hand-me-down games anymore.  In a way this is bad, we won't  just get Japanese hand-me-down games anymore.  There are people who love JRPGs and people who passionately hate JRPGs for example.  If the market turns its back on JRPGs or they suddenly need to become more "Westernized," there are groups of people which will be enthused and groups which will be saddened.

I'm firmly in the disliking of this camp.  I like most all kinds of games and losing out on a genre or style of gaming is a terrible loss to me.  I like the fact that Western tastes are becoming more important, but some of the more mainstream trends (towards FPS for example) do not interest me.

Thoughts?

"I think it's just a phase and I'm not worried about it. We're used to seeing Goku as a Super Saiyan 3 for so long now it's hard to just see him as regular Goku for a while. This lull is not permanent and it's starting to break now. I really think the Japanese were letting their wallets rest for a littlebit as they await the end year blockbuster games."

John lucas

I just wanted to say I think this is the best quote of the discussion so far and it has so truth to it...