Ucell said:
VanceIX said:
Ucell said:
VanceIX said:
Dude, I am Indian (currently living in the US). I can tell you that the vast majority of the population will never be able to afford the PS4, and those that can will probably be uninterested in gaming anyway, seeing as that it simply has never been a hobby there.
In Brazil, you'll have to get the government to lower the huge import taxes first. Until then, you're out of luck.
And tons of Japanese games sell well in the west, what are you talking about? Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Persona, Ni no Kuni, Bravely Default, Lost Odyssey, etc. all do great in the west. It's just making a game that can appeal to both and then localizing it well.
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When did you last come to India? I'm presently living here and console gaming has become much much more popular here in the last few years.
PS4, despite its $667 price here and the media's general apathy towards consoles and video games, still sold out here when it launhed in January. There were some lines even during its midnight launch. I was at Citywalk Mall in New Delhi and outside a games store their there was quite a big line at midnight, both at GTA V and PS4 launch. So gaming is becoming more mainstream here.
Also apart from GT, MGS, FF and KH few Japanese games sell well in the west compared to western games. That's undeniably true.
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I visit every other year for 2-3 months at a time.
From what I've seen, no one that I know is a console gamer. A lot of my family is fortunate enough to be mid-high social class, and none of them have consoles. Consoles are expensive, games are expensive, and on top of it all there is no guarantee that your friends will have a console too. Not to mention, outside of bigger cities like Delhi or Mumbai, you will be hard-pressed to find videogame stores. I lived in Jodphur and Jaipur and not once did I come across a place selling videogames. Most cities don't have big malls to offer consoles and games.
Also, many other games have seen large degrees of success in the west. What about Gravity Rush, Fire Emblem, Rogue Galaxy, ICO, Shadow of the Collosus, Gran Turismo, Atelier, Legend of Dragoon, Pokemon, White Knight Chronicles, Zelda, etc.? Tons of Japanese games are successful worldwide, it's the question of localizing and marketing them right. Most Japanese games these days are smaller, niche titles which are hard to localize, since the big devs have all been concentrating on the west, with no help from Sony or Nintendo.
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Yeah I'd imagine gaming may be niche in smaller cities, but in large cities gaming has become quite popular. That's definitely the case in Delhi.
Now let me give you an insight into gaming in Delhi-NCR region:
Most gamers in India are PC gamers followed by PS gamers, then Xbox gamers with Nintendo barely having their presence felt here. I think though, as you said, its all down to prices. PS4 games here cost 4000 bucks, PS3 games cost 3500 bucks while newly released PC games usually cost 1500 bucks with only EA games costing 3000 bucks on PC. Also most people here have powerful CPU's and buy low-end graphics cards, which cost them much less than a brand new console and are capable enough to run new games on low settings which is good enough for most. Add PS Plus and XBL costs and you know why their are more PC gamers here than console gamers.
So yeah MS and Sony can do a lot to appeal to the general gaming public here. And India's population has enough rich people to support gaming massively. Games aren't advertised AT ALL here, so that should also change.
Anyways, I know its getting long now, butr most of those Japanese games you listed have NOT sold well in the west. Western games sell tons more in the west, and now are gaining appeal even in Japan, as you can see from sales of BF 4, GTA V and COD Ghosts last year.
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