K, so, japanese game devs hate us now?

[Blunderboy]

What's going on lately? Japan's support for the overseas market is dwindling, lately. Is this how it's going to be from now on?

I was really looking forward to Tales of Xillia back when I'd first heard about it around a year or two ago, but they don't seem to actually be planning on releasing it here, despite it being out and outselling Final Fantasy in Japan a long time ago!

Also, they completed Tales of Vesperia with all the characters and stuff, but they never brought it here.

It reminds me of the phoenix wright series. Already there are two entries to the series that aren't being brought here.

Square seemingly rarely brings things that aren't Final Fantasy here from Japan anymore. Things like Dragon Quest or Blood of Bahamut or Sigma Harmonics...

What gives? :|

Japanese game developers do not hate the West, Private Chan. They just hate you.

Penny for the reference.
Two shiny pennies for the correct quote.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

A lot of people have said it sort of sarcastically, but they're actually right. Japanese games are becoming more and more irrelevant here. The culture that is involved with making games over there translates into what most gamers on this side of the world considers slow and dull games design.

And they've actually got a point.

 

[Strain42]

It reminds me of the phoenix wright series. Already there are two entries to the series that aren't being brought here.

Ok

A) Which 2? I only know of AAI2 not being brought here and

B) AAI2 not being brought here is because Capcom USA hates us, not because the Japanese dev hates us now. On the contrary, Shu Takumi LOVES the western fans of the series. He thinks we're more devoted to the series than the Japanese fans. He's said on more than one occasion how impressed he was at stuff we've done to show our love.

Actually I was pretty sure Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton was released in Japan already. Even still, it still hasn't actually been announced for release here, despite being announced 2 years ago. Given the current trend most of the japanese games I actually want to play, I can't help but assume it's not coming here, especially since half of it is phoenix wright and it's already pulled support for overseas with Miles Edgeworth 2.

No, PLvPW isn't even out in Japan yet, in fact there's not even a confirmed release date for it. Also that games localization would be handled by Level 5, not Capcom. So we wouldn't even blame the same people if it didn't come over

However, Level 5 recently did a big survey about which game people would most want to see localized and PLvPW was the highest, with almost double the votes of second place.

So yeah, while there still isn't much word on that one yet, it's not even out yet and the odds of it being localized are actually kind of good. So, I wouldn't worry just yet.

 

[Arina Love]

if you want Tales of Xillia you better buy Tales of Graces F (coming out soon on English) They don't hate you, if they will find money in west they will bring more of their games here. That's why i buy every and ALL j-RPGs that are coming out on English some of them brilliant some of them just ok some bad but it's totally worth it.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Japanese devs don't just make JRPGs you know...

Street Fighter
Marvel vs Capcom
Resident Evil
Monster Hunter
Dark Souls
Everything by Nintendo

Any of these ringin' any bells?

 

[Vault101]

The second problem I see is the Anime-favoring side of the US's general methods for acquiring it. It's no big secret most Anime-lovers prefer subs, and only a very small percentage of people have actually stuck their necks out from their Internet-laden caves to purchase box sets of some of their favorite shows. I think this, more than anything else, is what inevitably hinders a lot of localization. The three most popular things that are localized from Japan are Anime, Manga, and Games, and when 2 out of 3 are barely being bought up (when they can be fansubbed, released the same day as they were shown in Japan, and viewed off the Internet for free) it becomes a strong disincentive for companies to burn the cash.

your telling me Weaboos/Otaku's dont even buy their damn Anime?

I find somthing hypocritical about that (then again I guess they spend enough on pillows and figures)

ok ok that was mean, I apologise for the derogatory terms (kind of ) I know that was generalisations (and generalisations are subject to exceptions as wel all know)

 

[Meight08]

This goes through the mind of japanese dev's
"why waste money to localize a huge jrpg with hours of dialogue and thousands of pages of text,whent its gonna be outsold by the next,COD map pack delivery system."
Luckily europe still gets some.

 

[Macgyvercas]

I don't know. All I know is that I've been after Nintendo to release the Spice & WOlf visual novels Stateside for some time. Along with Mother and Mother 3.

I swear, it would probably be easier to learn Japanese and just import the damn things. At least, that's how I plan to play Project Diva once I get a PSP.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Maybe they read all those Western articles about how irrelevant they are and decided "Fine. We're irrelevant. Screw all y'all."

Huh. I'd forgotten about those. But come on where does that leave me? I actually prefer their game development style and now I don't have much to look forward to. x_x

I guess it leaves you to learn Japanese and have the games imported?

I guess then you would have to deal with region locking though ~.~

Whoever came up with region locking is an asshole..

That's why I like that Australia declares 'region locking' to be something you have the legal right to circumvent.

Mainly because they consider companies that try to prevent parallel imports (which is what region locking is for), to be engaging in 'anti-competitive business practices'.

Of course, if ACTA passes, that'll probably change, what with the US insisting everyone copy their seriously draconian ideas...

I'm curious though about the situation with Nintendo, because that's quite strange.

I live in the UK at the moment, and there was a pretty heavy push for Xenogear saga, and a moderate one for 'the last story' and something else (I think it's called pandora's tower, but I could be wrong.)

However, all 3 of these titles are ones that people in the US have been begging for.

Since their sale in the UK means an English translation already exists, this does raise the question of what exactly leads to the conclusion that these games will get a European release, but not a North American one.

Is the problem actually about the west as a whole, or is it just the US that Japan is having a problem with these days?

 

[lapan]

Japanese devs don't just make JRPGs you know...

Street Fighter
Marvel vs Capcom
Resident Evil
Monster Hunter
Dark Souls
Everything by Nintendo

Any of these ringin' any bells?

Monster hunter is a bad example since they already started not localizing the games anymore. MHP3 and it's HD PS3 version won't have any oversea release. Gotta love Capcom.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Japanese devs don't just make JRPGs you know...

Street Fighter
Marvel vs Capcom
Resident Evil
Monster Hunter
Dark Souls
Everything by Nintendo

Any of these ringin' any bells?

Monster hunter is a bad example since they already started not localizing the games anymore. MHP3 and it's HD PS3 version won't have any oversea release. Gotta love Capcom.

Yeah, it's like Capcom don't want my money.

I was just using it as an example of a game that isn't a JRPG.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Japanese devs don't just make JRPGs you know...

Street Fighter
Marvel vs Capcom
Resident Evil
Monster Hunter
Dark Souls
Everything by Nintendo

Any of these ringin' any bells?

Monster hunter is a bad example since they already started not localizing the games anymore. MHP3 and it's HD PS3 version won't have any oversea release. Gotta love Capcom.

Yeah, it's like Capcom don't want my money.

I was just using it as an example of a game that isn't a JRPG.

But you see, this whole topic is geared towards the Jrpg. The Jrpg is the only Japanese centric genre that made any headway in the west (dating sims being an example of ones that didn't). The reality is not "Japan Hates the Western Markets" because I can tell you Japan loves money as much as the west. It would make no sense for them to hold out on the western titles since greed transcends prejudice.

The simple truth is, most Japanese games do NOT perform well in the West and particularly in America (for non-prejudice reasons, America is just saturated with homegrown developers). This is particularly true for Jrpgs (Japanese centric genre breaking through to the west... and ultimately losing ground). Even those of popular series like DQ and Shin Megami series get a mixed reception, even among the avid fans. Whether it is down to Developer design philosophies or player preferences, who can tell, but Japanese PRODUCERS just don't see the satisfying returns from the western Market.

The Jrpg market in the west is a minority compared to the more internationally neutral genres like Action/Adventures, shooters and Beat Em' Ups. The Metal Gear series, Resident Evil Series, Tekken, Street fighter, All of Nintendos flagship titles and the various and multitudinous other games I can't be bothered listing, all succeed, and will continue to do so, in the west due to their Universal appeal. Jrpgs are almost (can't stress this enough) entirely popularised in west by the Anime fans of those areas, which is still a minority compared to homegrown mediums and studios.

The Jrpg is just not as transferable a genre as the other more common genres. The conundrum lies in the fact that in order to appeal to the west, it would need to alter the formula that currently succeeds in Japan, which can be hit and miss (and likely miss... people seem to detest changes).

EDIT: That isn't to say Jrpgs don't have any success in the Western Market. The opposite is true in fact. But a failing global economy will almost always diminish what was once considered "adequate"... it's just not, in a producers standpoint, a good investment. The western market was always Icing on the cake to them, and unfortunately they just can't afford cake anymore.

It also can't be ignored that the Japanese game development philosophies are showing their age. Some of the biggest names in Japans gaming scene are saying their industry needs innovation or a complete overhaul (see Sonys current head, who is looking to let hardware development slide in favour of the End User experience).

 

[Grygor]

I find more enjoyment through western titles, certainly not all but at least some. I haven't really found a Japanese title in the past 2 years that I've had any kind of love for. No that's not quite fair, there were two: Bayonetta and Sonic Generations, loved them both. Apart from that, not a thing. In the same span I've enjoyed at least 7 western titles. It hasn't slipped my attention that both Bayonetta and Sonic are produced by Sega, they've caught my eye recently and appear to be the only ones. Their recent portfolio seems far more diverse than other Japanese publishers. They're ahead of the curve.

Well to be fair, Sega has always been heavily influenced by the west - not surprising considering it was founded by Americans.

 

[LilithSlave]

your telling me Weaboos/Otaku's dont even buy their damn Anime?

The type of 'anime fans' this person is describing, don't just not buy anime, they don't buy any media very often. There seems to be some overlap between Japanese NEET who watch anime, and American NEET who watch anime. Consequently a lot of the pirates of any media from any country, including video games, are also NEETs.

Again, it's not like anime fans who don't go buy anime go blow all their money on other stuff. It's that they're NEET internet addicts who hardly ever leave the house. When they do have money, they do often upgrade their computer, buy anime, manga, or anime games. But a lot of American "otaku" actually fit the otaku label by being "NEET" as well. So they just don't have the money to spend on anime, much less non-anime purchases.

But they're not the only anime fans out there. I spend lots of money on anime dvds. Though I tend to spend a lot more money on jRPGs.

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

Agreed. As far as Im concerned, Japanese game devs should just keep what unique game elements they have instead of shoehorning in western elements.

I agree with this as well. The JRPG genre was unique and fresh 12+ years ago, and they had virtually no prominent western elements. I mean sure, there was the occasional reference to western culture, but they didn't use any gameplay styles that WRPGs popularized. The best part? It was well-liked here in the west. Games like Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears sold amazingly well, pretty much selling the PlayStation console by themselves.

Nowadays, we get stuff like Demon's and Dark Souls, which, at first glance, I initially thought was a series made here in America. Inside and out, it seemed like a WRPG in both style and gameplay. It's kind of sad when our market prefers that Japan just copy western games instead of sticking to the style that a lot of us love them for.

I'm really hoping that games like Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower and The Last Story (if the latter two are released here) help to open the eyes of American gamers, and get them to remember how great the older style of JRPGs can be.

 

[peruvianskys]

Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I've never enjoyed any games that could be identified easily as Japanese. I think the difference between what American gamers want and what Japanese developers produce is just too big to work in this current financial crisis, where exports are going to become more expensive and bring in fewer returns. Combine that with the fact that anime and other Japanese imports don't sell well in America at all because of the computer literacy shown by their primary fans, and it's a no-brainer as to why you don't see more Japanese products making inroads here. I certainly won't cry about it because I have an almost across-the-board passionate dislike for the Japanese culture that is popularized in the west, but I definitely think it's a shame that such a big segment of the gamer population is losing their preferred style.