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Forums - Sony Discussion - Why in the land of platforming (Japan) LBP failed so miserably?

Signalstar on 06 January 2011
RolStoppable said:
Signalstar said:
RolStoppable said:

List your personal top 10 platformers of all time.

<snip>

I don't see what my strange taste in platformers has to do with the competence of Western developers in the genre. 

P.S. Fuck New Super Mario Bros.

Well, nothing. I just needed to buy myself some time.

In general, the Japanese don't seem to care a lot about 3D platformers, so R&C, J&K and S&B (Bentley) falling flat in sales is not much of a surprise when the critically most acclaimed platformers of this generation (Super Mario Galaxy 1&2) didn't do wonders either. All of them well made games for sure, but if you create a product that the market doesn't really want, then you shouldn't expect a lot of sales in the first place.

Besides, while there certainly are some good Western-made platformers, they are the exception to the general rule (as a general statement isn't all including). Japan alone has created more great platformers than the rest of the world combined, I don't think that this is an overstatement.

Anyway, Japan prefers 2D platformers to a bigger degree than the other markets, that's for sure. LBP is a 2D game (despite its three layers or whatever they are called) and it didn't sell well. That's because it's not a good 2D platformer. Its mechanics and pacing of challenge (i.e. amount and kind of obstacles and enemies) is nowhere close to other successful platformers, so aside from being 2D and having a jump button it doesn't share a lot of things with them.

In conclusion: LBP may be a good game, but it's not a good 2D platformer, hence why it can't sell like one.

Lol thanks for having me rack my brain for nothing then. I wasn't arguing that Japan is not number 1 when it comes to platformers that would be stupid. I think Western platform games are fun in their own way. I agree I don't really like LBP for its "platforming" more for its endless replayability and charm.  

And if Japanese love 2D so much why did my beloved Hammerin' Hero sell like ass ? :( 

Maybe because it also had floaty jumping, was hard as hell, and was more of a beat em up. Still frickin awesome though.



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leatherhat on 06 January 2011

-Go to look up Tomba japanese sales

-Tomba isn't listed on vgchartz

 



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AOvechkin08 on 06 January 2011

Maybe becuase LBP isn't a pure platformer. It has lots of create your own levels and games in it and feels a lot like a dev tools for a game with platformer elements in it. The japanese like straight up platformers I noticed... and Kaizo mario romhacks.



Zucas on 06 January 2011

Well it isn't a Japanese game for one.  Usually don't like to throw that around, but it's not hard to look at the performance of western games over the last decade and see that it does have an affect.  

Other possibilities is it isn't your usual platformer in any sense whatsoever.  Not to criticize Japanese tastes, but it just wasn't traditional compared to other platformers.  Also not a well-known brand.  Obviously a new IP, but that has had a big affect this gen in Japan as well.



radiantshadow92 on 06 January 2011

We cannot deny it forever. For the most part, western developed games just do not do well in Japan. 



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mushroomboy5 on 06 January 2011

I thought that (mostly) western games don't sell in japan despite their (sometimes) similarities to japanese developed games that do sell.



M.U.G.E.N on 06 January 2011

ugh LBP physics aren't'bad' ..they are just different >_> and I'm glad that's the case too

It had very good sales in JP, considering the kind of game it is....not sure how LBP2 will do there but who cares. It's apparently better in every way than the first game so it will end up selling great WW

Some games sell better in some areas in the world....like MH3P or Halo etc etc. nothing new and nothing wrong with it..also it doesn't mean there's something 'wrong' with the game itself



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toastboy44562 on 06 January 2011
kowenicki said:

British game. 

 

i.e. not Japanese.



this. i dont know why people dont admit it by now



Darth Tigris on 06 January 2011

I'm not Japanese.  I live in the US.  I LOVE platformers, grew up on them as my fav genre and miss having my choice of AAA platformers like previous gens have had.

But, to be honest, LBP has never appealed to me.  Nothing about the platforming has looked fun and I don't really enjoy creating levels and games (yeah, Forge bores me silly).  Maybe the Japanese see what I see, or rather what I don't.



XxXProphecyXxX on 06 January 2011

I think the whole not created by japanese is the best explanation I can see.

I mean look @ how western games sales in JAPAN.......