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Forums - Gaming - Square-Enix CEO Calls Out Japanese Gamers on Western Bias!!!!

outlawauron on 08 December 2009
makingmusic476 said:
outlawauron said:
It's entirely stupid as it happens both ways. Western gamers are xenophobic outside of the big, advertised games (Nintendo stuff, FF, etc.)

Eastern gamers are xenophobic outside of the big stuff (GTA, MW2, Halo, etc.)

I disagree.  In the West, or at least in North America, you have a large number of anime loving, game playing, Japan fans like us.  Western Otakus, if you will.  Our numbers are strong, and we can make even a game like Valkyria Chronicles sell somewhat decently (and it's still selling!).  In japan, you don't have a fringe group of Western gamers that'll eat up games like Call of Duty.  Heavily advertised Western games sell poorly, and games that aren't advertised are destined to not even reach 10k. 

Exaggerations aside, Western games have become more and more popular in Japan after somewhat of a hiatus in the PS2 era.

 

And please point me to a heavily advertised western game in Japan that sold poorly!



"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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r505Matt on 08 December 2009
PullusPardus said:
ah , damn i've had it with this thread. so heres goes me generalizing everything.

Western Classics , do they sell well in the west ? , nope, why? because most westerners don't care about classics, all they want is quick fun cheesy games.

Eastern Classics , do they sell well in the east? , yes, Why? because most easterns like games that don't revolve around chaotic mindless battles and are more open minded.

And this is why there are like 20 versions of Dynasty Warriors right? Talk about chaotic mindless battles, and those games should be at the top, not to mention lack of any deep story (yeah yeah, history, whatever, could still be better executed), and each one that comes out is just a clone of the previous.



outlawauron on 08 December 2009
r505Matt said:
PullusPardus said:
ah , damn i've had it with this thread. so heres goes me generalizing everything.

Western Classics , do they sell well in the west ? , nope, why? because most westerners don't care about classics, all they want is quick fun cheesy games.

Eastern Classics , do they sell well in the east? , yes, Why? because most easterns like games that don't revolve around chaotic mindless battles and are more open minded.

And this is why there are like 20 versions of Dynasty Warriors right? Talk about chaotic mindless battles, and those games should be at the top, not to mention lack of any deep story (yeah yeah, history, whatever, could still be better executed), and each one that comes out is just a clone of the previous.

Someone hasn't played any of the recent Musou titles and has completely ignored the sales of recent titles.

 

Series isn't big anymore.



"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."

Check out MyAnimeList and my Game Collection. Owner of the 5 millionth post.

r505Matt on 08 December 2009
FaRmLaNd said:
This wesetern vs Eastern debate is meaningless. Both sides have great games.

Its as if some people have rejected western games or Japanese games because they think it makes them cool, or a member of the elite or some shit.

Rediculous.

Furthermore fighting about narrative in games is worthless because the main streangth of the medium in interractivity not narrative. Go read a book or watch a movie if you want a well executed narrative, games very rarely reach that level of narrative effectiveness.

No the games that are remembered are the packmans, pokemons, marios and half-lifes of the world. They focus on gameplay first. Theres a reason half-life isn't burdened by overly long pretentious cinematics and thats because it tells the narrative during the gameplay. Something many games could learn from.

Amen, though a blend is nice.

But first and foremost is the gameplay.



Kenryoku_Maxis on 08 December 2009
makingmusic476 said:
outlawauron said:
It's entirely stupid as it happens both ways. Western gamers are xenophobic outside of the big, advertised games (Nintendo stuff, FF, etc.)

Eastern gamers are xenophobic outside of the big stuff (GTA, MW2, Halo, etc.)

I disagree.  In the West, or at least in North America, you have a large number of anime loving, game playing, Japan fans like us.  Western Otakus, if you will.  Our numbers are strong, and we can make even a game like Valkyria Chronicles sell somewhat decently (and it's still selling!).  In japan, you don't have a fringe group of Western gamers that'll eat up games like Call of Duty.  Heavily advertised Western games sell poorly, and games that aren't advertised are destined to not even reach 10k. 

A Japanese game still only sells well in the 'west' if it has advertising to back it up.  Look at such games as Dragon Quest IV and V, Muramasa: The Demon Blade or even Okami.  They didn't sell well, even with hype from the 'Anime obsessed JRPG loving underground'.

It works the same way in Japan.  Nearly all western released games in Japan aside from the highly published ones like Modern Warfare or GTAIV don't get any media or recognition, and see similar sales to the games I listed for the Japanese side.

Also you really should stop using the word Otaku.  It means something quite negative.



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makingmusic476 on 08 December 2009
outlawauron said:
makingmusic476 said:
outlawauron said:
It's entirely stupid as it happens both ways. Western gamers are xenophobic outside of the big, advertised games (Nintendo stuff, FF, etc.)

Eastern gamers are xenophobic outside of the big stuff (GTA, MW2, Halo, etc.)

I disagree.  In the West, or at least in North America, you have a large number of anime loving, game playing, Japan fans like us.  Western Otakus, if you will.  Our numbers are strong, and we can make even a game like Valkyria Chronicles sell somewhat decently (and it's still selling!).  In japan, you don't have a fringe group of Western gamers that'll eat up games like Call of Duty.  Heavily advertised Western games sell poorly, and games that aren't advertised are destined to not even reach 10k. 

Exaggerations aside, Western games have become more and more popular in Japan after somewhat of a hiatus in the PS2 era.

 

And please point me to a heavily advertised western game in Japan that sold poorly!

Even 410k for GTA is poor, given it's reception elsewhere.  And it doesn't compare to the 2+ million Final Fantasy pulls off in North America.



r505Matt on 08 December 2009
outlawauron said:
r505Matt said:
PullusPardus said:
ah , damn i've had it with this thread. so heres goes me generalizing everything.

Western Classics , do they sell well in the west ? , nope, why? because most westerners don't care about classics, all they want is quick fun cheesy games.

Eastern Classics , do they sell well in the east? , yes, Why? because most easterns like games that don't revolve around chaotic mindless battles and are more open minded.

And this is why there are like 20 versions of Dynasty Warriors right? Talk about chaotic mindless battles, and those games should be at the top, not to mention lack of any deep story (yeah yeah, history, whatever, could still be better executed), and each one that comes out is just a clone of the previous.

Someone hasn't played any of the recent Musou titles and has completely ignored the sales of recent titles.

 

Series isn't big anymore.

Yeah, I know, but for a while Japan was still eating those games up. Not spectacular sales or anything, but they still kept breeding clones over and over, and making profit off them (this is just in Japan of course). Just going against the 'easterns like games that don't revolve around chaotic mindless battles' since that is like the very definition of those games.



Kenryoku_Maxis on 08 December 2009
makingmusic476 said:

Even 410k for GTA is poor, given it's reception elsewhere.  And it doesn't compare to the 2+ million Final Fantasy pulls off in North America.

Final Fantasy is a 20 year established IP and the unquestioned 'most popular JRPG in America'.  And usually has a marketing budget to compare to Halo or GTAIV.

No western game released in Japan compares to a western released Final Fantasy game.  Especially now that SquareEnix relies on the western sales for the bulk of its sales for every Final Fantasy game.



Six upcoming games you should look into:

 

  

outlawauron on 08 December 2009
r505Matt said:
outlawauron said:
r505Matt said:
PullusPardus said:
ah , damn i've had it with this thread. so heres goes me generalizing everything.

Western Classics , do they sell well in the west ? , nope, why? because most westerners don't care about classics, all they want is quick fun cheesy games.

Eastern Classics , do they sell well in the east? , yes, Why? because most easterns like games that don't revolve around chaotic mindless battles and are more open minded.

And this is why there are like 20 versions of Dynasty Warriors right? Talk about chaotic mindless battles, and those games should be at the top, not to mention lack of any deep story (yeah yeah, history, whatever, could still be better executed), and each one that comes out is just a clone of the previous.

Someone hasn't played any of the recent Musou titles and has completely ignored the sales of recent titles.

 

Series isn't big anymore.

Yeah, I know, but for a while Japan was still eating those games up. Not spectacular sales or anything, but they still kept breeding clones over and over, and making profit off them (this is just in Japan of course). Just going against the 'easterns like games that don't revolve around chaotic mindless battles' since that is like the very definition of those games.

Again, you still haven't played any recent Musou games if you think they're all clones.



"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."

Check out MyAnimeList and my Game Collection. Owner of the 5 millionth post.

Khuutra on 08 December 2009

Are w having another East vs. West argument in here?

Dammit, people.

Okay, who's been the loudest so far: the guys saying Western games have shitty stories as a rule, or the guys who say Japan makes no decent games?