Has Sony abandoned Japan?

[VanceIX]

Tamron said:

VanceIX said:

Spartphone gaming is plenty present here, I'm not sure what you're getting at? It's not that smartphone gaming is all that much more poular in Japan, it's just that console gaming has decreased in popularity.

And why has it decreased? could it possibly be because people think "i dont really need it i have good games on my phone"? hmmmm

VanceIX said:

And the PS3 weekly sales were stronger than the PS4 when it launched if you consider weekly sales. PS3 launched with Japanese titles like Ridge Racer, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Genji, while the PS4 launched with Knack, which is a western-oriented title.

The Japanese reception to the PS3 was actually suprisingly warm when you consider the insane price-point. Their reception to the PS4 is downright terrible, even with the much lower price. A HUGE lack of Japanese games, with little on the horizon, is the reason why people don't care about the PS4.

Sales were okay for Japan for ps4 at launch considering the higher tax band on retail products here now, the time of launch (yes, japanese do celebrate christmas too), and the declining favor of consoles in general.

That said, the decline is squarely down to the boom in smartphones in japan and asia, with japanese publishers, that were once the reasons to buy games consoles, now releasing mobile games in japan, cleanly negating the need to buy anything more than a smartphone which most people already own.

Again, try visiting and seeing for yourself.

My friend went on an internship to Japan this summer, and I'm planning on going either next summer or the one after. Pray tell me, how does noticing that the Japanese have smartphones and games on them (just like the rest of the world) make them any different?

Look, mobile games aren't much more popular there. The major publishers do make mobile games, yes, but those are hardly costly for them. Publishers like EA and Activision do the same thing here with mobile games and sell millions. Mobile games are cheap to make, you don't see console quality mobile games even in Japan, unless you consider ports like Final Fantasy or Monster Hunter. Major devs can easily make console games along with mobile games if they wanted to. There simply isn't a market for it anymore, and Sony/Nintendo are responsible for that.

I'll say it again: People in the west refuse to buy a Vita because of the lack of titles and support, with most decent titles being Japanese niche titles. Put that scenario with the PS4 in Japan and you'll understand what's happening.