PS3 vs X-box 360

[a6m5]

This survey shows only one thing in particular, that non Japanese machines do not sell in Japan (though I'm sure someone is gonna show me an example proving me otherwise ).

No, you are right. American games don't sell well in Japan. I found something interesting for you and anybody who's wondering why that is the case.

Of course, this is no big surprise as the best-selling games in the US over the past few years have been sports titles, GTA (which actually does decent sales in Japan, but never in the top 100), and, err, well, games from Japan. So why can games from Japan become top 10 sellers in the US but American games can't even break into the top 100 in Japan? Well, that's the million dollar question isn't it?

One of the key reasons is different in gaming tastes and genres. American developers make some of the best console FPS, sports (American only), and action games around. If you take a look at the top 100 list you won't find a single FPS or American sports title. As for action games, Ratchet and Clank 4th (AKA Ratchet: Deadlocked) does appear as number 70 on the list, and was developed by American Developer Insomniac Games. But that's it, no other American game is on this list. Not even God of War was a top 100 seller.

It also doesn't hurt that in the US we often get the "best" of what Japan has to offer. Only the top sellers in Japan are officially released in the US, and those games are often carefully translated and localized for American tastes. However, this is not true at all when it comes to American games released in Japan. Often American titles are literally just dumped into Japanese stores with little to no translation at all, and there is little to no "quality control". Both good and bad American games are dumped into Japan, and there are a lot more "bad" games than good. Just imagine if all the games released in Japan were dumped into American stores with little to no translation, how do you think they would do over here?

Great read. You can find the full article here. I was very glad to find "Gaming Steve". Instead of going off about how Japanese people "don't buy American" like some ignorant types, he actually looked into why American games weren't selling well. As I noted ini my old post, Japanese consumers LOVE American products. Thanks to tha_con for pointing out the iPod thing as well.

(This is where you flap about accusing me of being a racist)

Nope. Last time, you accused Japanese people of boycotting American games. This time, you just pointed out that American games don't sell well in Japan. You are not a racist, at least not anymore. j/k

 

[Solid Lifters]

OMFG! I'm Japanese!

(...because I hate the XBox...)

 

[a6m5]

OMFG! I'm Japanese!

(...because I hate the XBox...)

My brother from another mother?

 

[Solid Lifters]

My brother from another mother?

あなたをの兄弟愛しなさい。

 

[KENJIusa]

dang girls!

 

[code_kev]

Instead of going off about how Japanese people "don't buy American" like some ignorant types, he actually looked into why American games weren't selling well. As I noted ini my old post, Japanese consumers LOVE American products.

Ignorant types? Excuse me, just because I don't explain everything in ridiculous amounts of detail does not mean I am ignorant. It's pretty obvious that gamers tastes and interests vary from region to region. I will say though, the bit about the stuff about bad translations was quite interesting.

To hear that God Of War did not even get in to the top 100 was a shame, as it's better then 99% of anything else on the machine.

The I pod thing was bloody obvious, we are talking about the games market. I hate it when people try to prove me wrong by using out of context arguments.

 

[a6m5]

Ignorant types? Excuse me, just because I don't explain everything in ridiculous amounts of detail does not mean I am ignorant.

You were ignorant, just few weeks ago:

The Japanese are also famous for snubbing anything from the US regarding technology.

Does this mean you changed your mind? If you have actually changed your stance on this, then I apologize to you. I am sorry. But as far as I know, your last stance was this:

And my statement about the japanese was abit over the top, but regarding consoles, it's pretty true.

It's pretty true? At least have enough guts to stand by your statement, or apologize and move on.

 

[code_kev]

I said pretty true in case some smart arse went "ahh but code_kev, what about the *insert obscure console*, that was American and sold a gazillion machines". If that happened, I could then go "Ahhh, I said pretty true, meaning in most cases, mw ahahah". I stand by what I said (ish *get out clause*), but if someone can prove me wrong, hey fine.

Okay, I read what I said a few weeks, and I was wrong then. I was probably in a silly ranty mood. In hindsight I should have said consoles, okay? Even the great Code_Kev makes mistakes.

 

[a6m5]

And same here. Although I still disagree(about the consoles), I think we can agree to disagree. 👍 My apologies for offending you. As you can see from how I said it, 'ignorant types', that wasn't directed directly at you, but it sure did seem that way.

 

[tha_con]

Ignorant types? Excuse me, just because I don't explain everything in ridiculous amounts of detail does not mean I am ignorant. It's pretty obvious that gamers tastes and interests vary from region to region. I will say though, the bit about the stuff about bad translations was quite interesting.

To hear that God Of War did not even get in to the top 100 was a shame, as it's better then 99% of anything else on the machine.

The I pod thing was bloody obvious, we are talking about the games market. I hate it when people try to prove me wrong by using out of context arguments.

YES, finally you give me the gasoline to burn the fire!!!

Because 1, you have no understanding of WHY the Xbox does poorly. It's not the console itself genius It's the CONTENT available for it.

You see, if the Xbox were to have all of the good PS2 titles from Japan (let's just toss around a few titles):

Tekken
FF
Kingdom Hearts
Dragon Quest
Devil May Cry
Gran Turismo
Xenosaga titles

THOSE titles, then it would do amazing, because dun dun dun...it has good CONTENT that pertains to the given region.

The iPod arguement DOES hold water, you're just trying to IGNORE it, to better your own arguement.

You see, even though the iPod is american made, the key to it's success is it's accesibility of content, content that can be decided by the end user. You fail to understand that the majority of Asian consumers do not really care about where the console was made, especially since most PS2's aren't made in Japan anyway, they are outsourced because it's cheaper.

Anyway, I digress. The fact is, the Xbox and the 360 both lack key developer support to attract the Japanese consumer. That is the reason it does not do well, not because it is american. Any product can do well, given it has proper content support.

So, please, I beg you, literally I'm begging here, give me something else to debate about this topic

 

[code_kev]

The iPod arguement DOES hold water, you're just trying to IGNORE it, to better your own arguement.

CONSOLES THA_CON, CONSOLES. I'm not trying to bloody ignore it. In hindsight I meant consoles, I've admitted that, now move along!

Because 1, you have no understanding of WHY the Xbox does poorly. It's not the console itself genius It's the CONTENT available for it.

If you read in a previous post of mine, you will see that I spoke about gamers tastes varying from region to region, this would suggest I have atleast some idea of why the xbox doesn't sell in Japan. So please, explain to me why I don't understand this, when later on in your post you bloody agree with what I said in an earlier post of mine.

The content you listed doesn't sell because it's are good, it sells because it fits in to the tastes of the region. For Japan this tends to be arcadey fighting games, generic RPGs etc.

 

[tha_con]

CONSOLES THA_CON, CONSOLES. I'm not trying to bloody ignore it. In hindsight I meant consoles, I've admitted that, now move along!



If you read in a previous post of mine, you will see that I spoke about gamers tastes varying from region to region, this would suggest I have atleast some idea of why the xbox doesn't sell in Japan. So please, explain to me why I don't understand this, when later on in your post you bloody agree with what I said in an earlier post of mine.

The content you listed doesn't sell because it's are good, it sells because it fits in to the tastes of the region. For Japan this tends to be arcadey fighting games, generic RPGs etc.

No, you argued that they don't sell well becasue they are american, which is purely not the case. It is simply a matter of the contetnt available for the system, nothing more, nothing less.

Hence, your arguement is incorrect because you are saying that the Xbox doesn't do well because it's american, it has nothing to do with the hard ware, but everything to do with the software available for it.

 

[code_kev]

Did you even read my post? Infact I'll quote myself:

If you read in a previous post of mine, you will see that I spoke about gamers tastes varying from region to region, this would suggest I have atleast some idea of why the xbox doesn't sell in Japan. So please, explain to me why I don't understand this, when later on in your post you bloody agree with what I said in an earlier post of mine.

Yes, before I was unclear, now I am not.

The fact that it is American DOES have something to do with it, American console means American style games, games that don't tend to sell very well in East. So nerrr. The fact that it's made by MS and not Sony probably sways more gamers then you image also.

There's no stopping your ego is there.

 

[tha_con]

Did you even read my post? Infact I'll quote myself:



Yes, before I was unclear, now I am not.

The fact that it is American DOES have something to do with it, American console means American style games, games that don't tend to sell very well in East. So nerrr. The fact that it's made by MS and not Sony probably sways more gamers then you image also.

There's no stopping your ego is there.

God man...I just don't know how to put this in lamens terms...at least terms in which you can understand.

If Microsoft had those titles, it would do amazing in Japan, because it's superior to the PS2. There is NO doubt about it.

Do you know HOW MANY MP3 players there are in Japan that are made by Sony? You have NO idea. But, fact is, Japanese consumers enjoy the better product, it matters a lot less to them who made it, just what they can do with it.

I know MANY people out of Japan, very many, in fact much more than you probably know being as your still in highschool I'd assume and you livein the UK. Wait until college life hits you and you meet some people from outside your nation.

I talk frequently about video games with my japanese friends, they are more die hard than I am, but they constantly tell me the only reason they don't own an Xbox is because of the titles on it. In fact, a few of them even go as far to tell me they WISH that the xbox had titles like that, becuase it's better hardware.

I understand that you're trying to make a point, and that you understand the Xbox doesn't do well because of software, but again, it has absolutely nothing to do with who made it, where it was made, or what color it is. It has everything to do with the software available. AMERICA has nothing to do with it's success.

For proof, look at Crash Bandicoot, which did AMAZING in Japan, or even Ratchet and Clank, which continues to sell like hotcakes.

StarCraft anyone? It's the RTS of choice in both Japan and Korea. Did you know that? Probably not.

 

[Maven]

The content you listed doesn't sell because it's are good, it sells because it fits in to the tastes of the region. For Japan this tends to be arcadey fighting games, generic RPGs etc.

Oops, you're starting to slip into generalizations again, Code. Better stop while you're ahead.

 

[tha_con]

^^ I was really tempted to poke fun at that...considering code_kev enjoy's FPS and Racing titles...which never see anything drastically new....ever. But then I figured...hey...why be mean?

 

[code_kev]

God man...I just don't know how to put this in lamens terms...at least terms in which you can understand.

Tha_con, drop the internet genius act please, it's boring. Just because you work in a games shop does not make you the expert you seem to imagine yourself to be.

If Microsoft had those titles, it would do amazing in Japan, because it's superior to the PS2. There is NO doubt about it.

Well thank you for re-wording what I said a few posts back.

Do you know HOW MANY MP3 players there are in Japan that are made by Sony? You have NO idea. But, fact is, Japanese consumers enjoy the better product, it matters a lot less to them who made it, just what they can do with it.

I have "NO" idea, so what? I don't know everything. Whether the Ipod is better is a matter of opinion.

I know MANY people out of Japan, very many, in fact much more than you probably know being as your still in highschool I'd assume and you livein the UK. Wait until college life hits you and you meet some people from outside your nation.

Trying to belittle me by saying I go to highschool is pretty sad. I go to University, and have met people of many races and nationalities.

I talk frequently about video games with my japanese friends, they are more die hard than I am, but they constantly tell me the only reason they don't own an Xbox is because of the titles on it. In fact, a few of them even go as far to tell me they WISH that the xbox had titles like that, becuase it's better hardware.

Great.

I understand that you're trying to make a point, and that you understand the Xbox doesn't do well because of software, but again, it has absolutely nothing to do with who made it, where it was made, or what color it is. It has everything to do with the software available. AMERICA has nothing to do with it's success.

Brand loyalty plays a large part too. "I'll buy a ps3 because I really like Sony products", "I liked the ps2 so I'm getting a ps3", "I don't like MS", these things matter, and do effect what machines people buy.

StarCraft anyone? It's the RTS of choice in both Japan and Korea. Did you know that? Probably not.

Actually I did.

Oops, you're starting to slip into generalizations again, Code. Better stop while you're ahead.

Read what I said, I said it "tends to be", meaning not always.

^^ I was really tempted to poke fun at that...considering code_kev enjoy's FPS and Racing titles...which never see anything drastically new....ever. But then I figured...hey...why be mean?

Ummm excuse me? What exactly would you say?

"OMG KEV, YOU LIKE FPS GAMES AND RACING GAMES"

So? So what exactly? I like 2 genres of games that are popular in the UK? Is that meant to be an insult? I like other genres too, Adventure titles (I'm a fan of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango etc), some role playing games (especially morrowind, KOTOR), survial horror (I love res 4 long time) and puzzle (mahjong addict). OBVIOUSLY what I said about Japanese games genres doesn't apply to ever Japanese gamer, some like them, some don't, some like other stuff etc etc, I made the mistake of assuming you were smart enough to guess that.

\/\/\/\/
That's true, but I think times have changed quite abit. The market is pretty different now.

 

[a6m5]

Brand loyalty is an factor, but it's not as big as you think. Sony Playstation was a newcomer at one time also. They had no trouble putting Nintendo and SEGA away.

 

[tha_con]

If you go to a university act a little more like it

As for your comments on enjoying FPS titles and such, i wasn't insulting your taste by any means, I was poking fun at this:

arcadey fighting games, generic RPGs etc.

First of all, I'm not sure of ANY fighter that isn't "arcadey" and "generic" RPG's is funny.

Your intent in those two sentences is that the two genre's see little evolution and you were poking fun at them, as if to say "it's bland and boring".

I was simply doing the same, poking fun at the fact that you enjoy two genre's that are almost identicle in core gameplay elements among every single game of the respective genres.


Oh, and contraty to what you might believe about "arcadey fighters" they aren't as popular in Japan as you think. Titles like Tekken and DOA aren't half as popular as you might think in Japan. In fact, the only fighters that are played to heavy extents are Capcom fighters and Virtua Fighter.

Korea, however, play's Tekken like they are superhuman...it's amazing.

And DOA...well....no one respects DOA as a fighter...it's a peep show.

 

[code_kev]

If you go to a university act a little more like it

Ahh so that's why you said that, setting me up just so you could say something like "well act more like it". No, no I won't.

First of all, I'm not sure of ANY fighter that isn't "arcadey" and "generic" RPG's is funny.

I meant arcade style fighting games. Nothing more, nothing less.

Your intent in those two sentences is that the two genre's see little evolution and you were poking fun at them, as if to say "it's bland and boring".

Nope, infact I'm a big fan of soul cal 2 and virtua fighter 4 evo. I quite like some Japanese RPGS, but many tend to be quite bland (obviously there are some incredible ones out there also).

I was simply doing the same, poking fun at the fact that you enjoy two genre's that are almost identicle in core gameplay elements among every single game of the respective genres.

Well obviously the core gameplay elements are almost identicle, otherwise it wouldn't be in the same genre.

Oh, and contraty to what you might believe about "arcadey fighters" they aren't as popular in Japan as you think. Titles like Tekken and DOA aren't half as popular as you might think in Japan. In fact, the only fighters that are played to heavy extents are Capcom fighters and Virtua Fighter.

Fair enough.

And DOA...well....no one respects DOA as a fighter...it's a peep show.

Well that's pretty obvious.

 

[YSSMAN]

Wow, what the hell did this turn into?

I was flipping through the Best Buy ad today and saw they are taking preorders on the new Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell, which I thought was rather funny since there arent a whole lot of 360s to go around yet...

Oh well, I probably get mine later this month or in March, as I did the same thing with the origional XBOX. First things first, I need a new HDTV...

 

[Jump_Ace]

Jump Ace, that's a pretty silly ranty post.

Saying that Halo 2 is like anyother fps game is like saying Gt4 is like any other racing game. Dumb. Also re-inventing console names into something "funny" got boring about 10 years ago.

No no I meant Halo I, it seemed to me to be just like any other shooter, only with a better storyline. I just got the feeling that when it first came out it was in a whole new genre all in it own and that is why so many people like it, but I played it and was disappointed. Haven't tried halo II but wont get my hopes up. And I'll call what I want when I want.

Jerome

 

[code_kev]

How exactly does that answer what I said?

HALO blows my @$$, its the same as ANY other 1st person shooter

So you prefer Doom 3 Eh? I thought you said all FPS games are pretty much the same...I fail to see how one thing can be better if it's the same.

Ohh you call what you want when you want eh? Big man.

 

[stefmeister]

Thought I would post this INterview with Hideo Kajima (Creator of the Metal Gear series) & he has said that there is no difference between the PS3 & Xbox 360, he has even said he hasn't ruled out making MGS4 for the 360 as well as PS3:

http://www.xbox365.com/news.cgi?id=GGPriPLuLd12160521

 

[slackbladder]

I didn't read anywhere where he said that he hasn't ruled out a 360 version only that it was technically possible to make MGS4 on the 360, which is kinda' obvious. If it looked as good as or better than the PS3 MGS4 is another question.
It is interesting to see why MGS4 is on PS3 and not 360, though I'm not sure if I believe it. I'm sure developers and the like are'nt entirely candid in interviews.

 

[LaBounti]

MGS4 for Xbox360 would never happen. Je said his self it would be a completly original game if he made a MG game for xb360. MGS4 will only be for PS3, MGS5,6,7 or what ever would be for Xbox. He hates ports and pointed out that splinter Cell for PS2 could have been 10 times better looking if it were an orginal game on a ps2 based engine basicaly. Even the port of MGS2 for Xbox he did not like the technical aspecs of it.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Thought I would post this INterview with Hideo Kajima (Creator of the Metal Gear series) & he has said that there is no difference between the PS3 & Xbox 360, he has even said he hasn't ruled out making MGS4 for the 360 as well as PS3:

http://www.xbox365.com/news.cgi?id=GGPriPLuLd12160521

That's all 100% BS. He never that. He said something else, and got his words all twisted around.

And, what he said was, he hasn't ruled out making an original game for the XBox360. What Hideo is doing is letting people know, in his own way, that there's a Kojima Productions game coming down the pipeline for the XBox360. Anybody who reads his Hideoblog, (link in my signature), will know he's been talking and dinning with Microsoft Execs. and saying how he would make an original game for the XBox360, since he said it was a console similar to the PS3, and that he would find it challenging and exciting.

He also said that the TGS MGS4 trailer wasn't anything that technical or taxing on the PS3 system, and that the TGS trailer "may have" been accomplished on a XBox360. It might not be true, or not, but that was Kojima being the supportive business man he is, giving a little ego boost for the XBox360 camp. Again, more signs that an original Kojima Productions title is coming to the XBox360 sometime after MGS4.

 

[stefmeister]

MGS4 for Xbox360 would never happen.

Mr Kajima said that about MGS3 & that got ported to the Xbox.

Capcom also said that Resident Evil Code Veronica would be a Dreamcast only title & that got ported to PS2. They said the same about Resident Evil 4 been a Gamecube only title (My mate went out & brought a GC) only for it to get a PS2 release a year later.

Also wasn't Halo meant to be an Xbox only game yet was later released on PC as well.

Basically in the space of now & a few months away anything could happen & I woudn;t be at all surprised to see MGS4 on the Xbox 360 at some point in the future!

 

[YSSMAN]

...I wouldnt be surprised to see MGS4 on the 360 either, it would almost be dumb not to do it.

MGS appeals to such a wide range of people (I however am not one of them), they are missing out on some buyers by not going multi-platform. Sure, they may not say that they are, but come-on... Did anyone actually belive that RE4 was going to actually be a GC exclusive? You could have smelled it a mile away that it was going to go to PS2...

 

[Solid Lifters]

Mr Kajima said that about MGS3 & that got ported to the Xbox.

No it hasn't.

Capcom also said that Resident Evil Code Veronica would be a Dreamcast only title & that got ported to PS2. They said the same about Resident Evil 4 been a Gamecube only title (My mate went out & brought a GC) only for it to get a PS2 release a year later.

I'm sure the deal was for RE games to be exclusive for just one or two titles. Then, all other titles, up to a certain level, would be released first on Nintendo's console before all others.

Also wasn't Halo meant to be an Xbox only game yet was later released on PC as well.

Aren't FPS games better on PC? Why would Halo limit itself to only the Xbox, when the big FPS fans are on the PC?

Basically in the space of now & a few months away anything could happen & I woudn;t be at all surprised to see MGS4 on the Xbox 360 at some point in the future!

I wouldn't wait for it. It's not going to happen. But, maybe a XBox360 Metal Gear Solid "type" of game, maybe. Yes, but not using any of the traditional MGS series characters. Besides, MGS4 will be Solid Snake's last appearance in a game.


Some new info just came out from Microsoft now claiming Sony has absolutely no plans for an online service like their XBox360. Read their new BS below.


Xbox Live Arcade Manager Talks About The Sony PS3 Online Strategy

Xbox Live Arcade group manager Greg Canessa still belives Sony has No Online strategy

Part of the success of next gen consoles will) be the online features. As we have seen with Xbox Live, it’s more than just playing great games like Halo. With features such as Xbox Live Arcade, and the ability to download movie trailers and other media, the XBL has become a valuable source to Microsoft.

Speaking with Next-Gen, Xbox Live Arcade group manager Greg Canessa believes Sony will have their work cut out for them in trying to build a successful online community like XBL. Not only will they see incredible challenges in engineering, but as Canessa points out, building a solid community takes a lot of time and effort.

Here are the comments from Xbox Live Arcade manager Greg Canessa in regards to Sony’s online approach.

"I tell you, we're still waiting for what their strategy is online. Arcade is of course a big and growing part of the Live story now, and those guys have a lot of catch-up to do. You know, forget an Arcade-style service, in order to provide something like that you have to have the fundamental services that allow that. Arcade is possible because of the work we've done. It's taken many, many engineers several years building this robust online games service that has a single identity and a single profile and achievements and leaderboards and multiplayer match-making that we provide to all the game developers from a set of common interfaces. All of that work is really hard, and takes a really long time to build.

"Not to mention the community, the millions of people that use Live, that Sony doesn't have; they can't even claim an online customer. It takes a long time to do that. We've been in the business with Xbox Live since 2002. We've been building upon that success, and it allows Xbox Live Arcade to exist, because we leverage all of those interlying technologies.

"If Sony is trying to come at us, you know... 'good luck.' It's going to be really hard for them. It's just a huge engineering challenge, and beyond the engineering challenge, it takes a long time to build a community. Not to mention Arcade, because that has its own set of issues. You have to take time to build an ecosystem and talk to developers and get developers to put out games for that platform and work with them to plug into all of the underlying technologies that need to be in place and making sure it works properly. There's so many stacks of challenges, I can't see how Sony can catch up with us in the near-term. Long-term? I don't know anything about what their response is, and I don't know how anything will change in the foreseeable future, at least as far as Xbox Live Arcade is concerned. And, my personal opinion from a Live perspective is that that won't change."

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently said that “Sony has no online strategy.” However, as we reported a few days ago, Sony does indeed have a very comprehensive approach to online gaming that they hope will rival Xbox Live.

There will no doubt be a few growing pains with Sony’s online approach, but to say they will fail would be premature. As Canessa points out, Sony does indeed have a lot of catching-up to do. Xbox Live offer several services that have turned out to be an incredible success including Xbox Live arcade. If Sony hopes to match or exceed the success of Microsoft, the too will need to offer a wide-ranging service.