| MrT-Tar said: While a lot of Western games don't do too well in Japan, I think I should point out the exceptions
To me this points out that it isn't xenophobia (as these games were make in the U.K and US respectively), but that the games themselves don't appeal to the Japanese audience. A western game might have more hurdles to jump over to be successful in Japan, but if the genre is right (honestly how many JRPGs and platformers have been made in the West this gen? Not a lot) a game should sell well |
I think it is as simple as the Japanese prefer handhelds over consoles with Japanese devs in tune to the handheld market more than Western devs.
Reason? Economic. With the inflation of the Japanese Yen after the late 1980s-1990s Japanese recession, the buying power of the average Japanese gamer is lower than those in NA or Europe. Inflation is good for exports because the currency from a wealthier country allows their companies to manufacture and export cheaper because their dollar buys more Chinese Yuan or whatnot, but it hits the domestic economy hard because inflation means your consumer dollar or yen makes purchases just that more expensive.
Paul Krugman, the loved/vilified economist (depends on your political views), has written columns on Japan's "Lost Decade" of the 1990s, which has many parallels to the recession many countries faced after September 15, 2008 when the housing market went belly up.
