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Forums - Sales - Japanese Gaming Companies Struggling

sega4life on 19 September 2009

 

Only 8% of Koei's sales come from outside of Japan

by Andrew Yoon 

How does a company like Koei, which seemingly releases a new Dynasty Warriors game every few months, stay afloat? Well, it's not with the help of American audiences, that's for sure. Sony Japan Studios' senior VP, Yasuhide Kobayashi, shared some information with DICE Asia attendees. He revealed that many Japanese companies are struggling to have their games appeal beyond the Japanese market. The worst offender? Koei, with 91.8% of its sales coming from the Japanese market.

Tecmo follows at 89.6 percent, while Square Enix receives a startling 86.6 percent of its sales from the motherland. With Kobayashi saying "the Japanese market is really shrinking," these companies must "develop [a] global title." in order to survive. Expect to hear even more about the dwindling importance of the Japanese market, and publishers' efforts to make more "global" titles, at Tokyo Game Show next week.

Koei = 91.8%
Tecmo = 89.6%
Square Enix = 86.6%


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sega4life on 19 September 2009
kowenicki said:
Easily solved

Make some decent games. Japanese games this gen have been pretty poor in the main.

I totally agree..

And it seems the games that appeal, are not coming state side, or are teased to be...



PS4 Preordered - 06/11/2013 @09:30am

XBox One Preordered - 06/19/2013 @07:57pm

"I don't trust #XboxOne & #Kinect 2.0, it's always connected" as you tweet from your smartphone - irony 0_o

MontanaHatchet on 19 September 2009

Let's be honest, the majority of gaming companies are struggling. Yeah, these Japanese companies are having a hard time appealing to western audiences. However, I'd rather be in that situation than losing hundreds of millions of dollars with every quarter past.



 

 

Tayne on 19 September 2009

I like the synchronization in that screen shot.




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Khuutra on 19 September 2009

I think that the explosive success of Dragon Quest may skew S-E's number a bit, but I'm just guessing.



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DaBuddahN on 19 September 2009
sega4life said:
kowenicki said:
Easily solved

Make some decent games. Japanese games this gen have been pretty poor in the main.

I totally agree..

And it seems the games that appeal, are not coming state side, or are teased to be...

Agreed. 

You have games, for example, like White Knight Chronicles that have some appeal to the west, but take forever to release. Also, I think Yakuza 3, with some good marketing could sell well. I'd buy it.  



wenlan on 19 September 2009

So, earning Japanese Yen is struggling?
With the speed we print Greenback here, I would rather earn Asian/European currencies if I were them......



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Slimebeast on 19 September 2009
Tayne said:
I like the synchronization in that screen shot.

You mean the clones being thrust backwards identically?



huaxiong90 on 19 September 2009

To solve this problem, Japanese developers need to do what Hideo Kojima, Tomonobu Itagaki (though I don't like him much), and Yoichi Wada have suggested all along: Establish connections with the Western world. Look at the gaming tastes outside of Japan. When you can take them into account, then you get the perfect game. Look at MGS4 for example. That game, in my opinion, perfectly fits in this formula. It's got content that appeals to everyone. Ratchet and Clank also was one of the few American games that got bundled in Japan.

I think Quantum has the potential to do very well, as it looks like a Japanese Gears of War.



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dobby985 on 19 September 2009

Does anybody even buy dynasty warriors games anymore?
They may have tricked people into buying recent ones by slapping a Gundam skin on it.
Once you have played one dynasty warriors game, you've played them all.
It's just wave after wave of pointless enemies held together by ridiculous plot lines and terrible voice acting.