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Forums - Gaming - What is the relevance of Japan?

pokoko on 28 August 2013

I don't really understand the question. How many countries buy more home consoles than Japan? I'm guessing not very many. If Japan isn't relevant, does that mean most of the rest of the world isn't, either? That's a very narrow-minded view.

As far as the market shrinking, isn't it more that the market has expanded? Aren't a significant portion of mobile gamers people who would never have bought a home console in the first place? Why, then, consider them as lost customers? That makes no sense to me. It's a manipulation of statistics.



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TheLastStarFighter on 28 August 2013
brendude13 said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
It's a good sized market, significant enough in the big picture. It's more important, however, because of its high concentration of developers. Winning that audience and wooing its developers can be very influential worldwide. Think about this (unlikely) scenario: Sony and MS ignore Japan for a year, Nintendo launches a slew of big games and new IPs and takes over the market, selling 15-20 million Wii U's. Sony's lack of Japanese focus results in a small market share less, than 5 million. Konami makes Metal Gear Solid 6, Square makes Final Fantasy XVI and Namco makes Tales of Spurgeonryan. Are they going to release these popular-in-Japan titles only on a system with a small Japanese footprint? The answer is no, even if worldwide it is a commanding leader. If a system is big in Japan AND elsewhere they may even only make it on that system, like Square tried with DQX. But you need a Japanese presence to get the support of key developers like Square, Konami, Capcom, Namco and others. That's why it's important.

Metal Gear Solid 5, Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 are all confirmed for PS4, so it's not like they're going to lose Japanese support. The sequels to these games will probably remain on the same system.

You totally missed my point.



outlawauron on 28 August 2013

It's the second largest video game market in the world, still ahead of every European country. I don't see why everyone downplays it.



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outlawauron on 28 August 2013
the-pi-guy said:
outlawauron said:
It's the second largest video game market in the world, still ahead of every European country. I don't see why everyone downplays it.

I don't think they are quite downplaying, just that they feel PS4 and Xbox One launches in Japan might be worthless because Japan buys a lot of portables rather than consoles.  

It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because they treat the country like it's a second-rate market rather than the second largest.



"We'll toss the dice however they fall,
And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

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brendude13 on 28 August 2013
TheLastStarFighter said:
brendude13 said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
It's a good sized market, significant enough in the big picture. It's more important, however, because of its high concentration of developers. Winning that audience and wooing its developers can be very influential worldwide. Think about this (unlikely) scenario: Sony and MS ignore Japan for a year, Nintendo launches a slew of big games and new IPs and takes over the market, selling 15-20 million Wii U's. Sony's lack of Japanese focus results in a small market share less, than 5 million. Konami makes Metal Gear Solid 6, Square makes Final Fantasy XVI and Namco makes Tales of Spurgeonryan. Are they going to release these popular-in-Japan titles only on a system with a small Japanese footprint? The answer is no, even if worldwide it is a commanding leader. If a system is big in Japan AND elsewhere they may even only make it on that system, like Square tried with DQX. But you need a Japanese presence to get the support of key developers like Square, Konami, Capcom, Namco and others. That's why it's important.

Metal Gear Solid 5, Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 are all confirmed for PS4, so it's not like they're going to lose Japanese support. The sequels to these games will probably remain on the same system.

You totally missed my point.

Guess I should have paid more attention to the "(unlikely)" part.