Sony will start seeling million consoles per month, when they start to sell Dating Simulators or some other Hentai oriented games. 
Mark my words
[Or FF XIII]
Mark my words [Or FF XIII]
What can Sony do about Japan?
- Thread starter Archgamer
- Start date
Nintendo is winning every territory, not just Japan. There is little Sony can do about that right now, but Japan is relatively safe going for them in any case, as there is only one competing console there.
The launch games cover western gamer tastes, but a number of them are pretty much irrelevant in Japan by design (Resistance, CoD, Def Jam, NBA, VF5 (better/easier to play in the arcades)), and if you take these out you have a real weak showing. Ridge Racer and Gundam alone aren't enough to pull the machine forward.
Do Motorstorm and F1 appeal to Japanese gamers? Maybe.
Full Auto 2 and Genji 2 just deserve to bomb after their respective demos.
DuckThor Evil
Legend
Well imo it's not right to say that Wii is winning in every territory. They are winning in Japan and currently they are catching up MS in NA and in Europe. Japan looks very solid for them and they are certainly doing well in other places too, but until Wii actually overtakes X360 it's premature to say it is winning even at the moment, lot's of things can happen and one very possible scenario is that Wii will never catch X360 in NA or in Europe.
Sony needs games in Japan, that's all. Eventhough I think it's slightly arrogant to say that they are only competing against Nintendo in Japan, but I must admit it's not far away from the truth. PS3 is already quite affordable in Japan, atleast when translated to Euros, but the game library is quite appaling at the moment. Sony probably woulnd't mind seeing FF13 on the shelves already.
iceberg187
Regular
1) PS3 had a price drop before it launched in Japan
2 & 3) I don't know of their penetration rates in Japan, but I don't think that it is important to this either. It's been known from day 1 that the PS3 is much more powerful than the Wii, but game resolution isn't equal to enjoyment of a game for most of them, judging by the way the DS dominates sales in Japan. I like new consoles because of a shiny new graphics, among other things. However, it doesn't appear that the Japanese consider that integral to a game's enjoyment. It's the same situation with the PSP and DS.
4 & 5) The only things that matter, the games. Eventually, Nintendo is going to move more of their focus on the Wii for game development. Nintendo, as a brand, is probably as strong as it's been since the Famicom. Iwata has done a great job running the company. Wii's absurdly quick start has forced a lot of developers to start adding Wii games to their portfolios. Notice how both EA and Buena Vista have started Wii only studios. I'm sure that there is some sort of equivalent going on in Japan. Console sales are like a snowball effect. After a certain period, there isn't any turning back, it is what it is. As I look at the media create sales, they clearly show that the Wii is still supply restrained. IIRC, PS3 is tracking below what the Dreamcast and Gamecube tracked in Japan. I just think that, for the most part, the gamer that are buying all of these games have moved onto something else and that something else is what Nintendo is providing.
Gamers grow up and get tired of a pretty version of the games they played over the last 10 years.
Nintendo saw this, so did other developers of even PC/Console games.
I've been saying this for years myself, and have moved on from most games out there.
It's time to rethink games as an entity and not just making better graphics or AI.
Nintendo re-thought a control scheme, but forgot to include a capability for better graphics and better AI [than PS2]. I think this will prove to be a boat anchor. One that they are successfully dragging now, but will catch, and within 12 months. Their low price point is also a two-edged sword: an small investment is easier to walk away from.
Meanwhile, there is nothing about "re-thought" gaming that cannot be implemented on PS3 or Xbox360 for the next five years.
That's cool. If in 2011 BD players are pretty cheap, PS3 will be pretty cheap too and will be cheaper than today in the next year, 2009, 2010.
All Sony has to do is phase out the PS2 slowly and coast that userbase into the PS3. People will not use a Wii for the next five years, HD gaming is the next gen, not SD graphics and inaccurate motion sensing controllers. Unless they go to the 360, which isn't looking likely, they will buy PS3s.
Even with a high price and small library the PS3 is almost at a million in Japan, not too bad.
Even with a high price and small library the PS3 is almost at a million in Japan, not too bad.
thatdude90210
Regular
Yep, and the PS3 also signaled to the consumers the end of the PS2 in Japan. The PS2 is currently selling at 16k per week, the PS3 is at 20k. Even combined, it's still less than half of what the Wii sold last week.Well in Japan they go for Wii as that console outsell now both PS2 and PS3. And I bet that japaneses know what HD is
Also keep in mind when talking about a "comeback" is that the PS3 has fallen behind the pace of the Gamecube at the same point in it's life (while the Wii is nearly at half of the Gamecube's Japan lifetime sales, in only 17 weeks). Wanna take on the Wii? Beat the Gamecube first.
Even last year, there were signs that the Japanese gamers have moved on to mobile gaming... the sales charts were dominated by NDS games long before the PS3 signaled the end of the PS2. Only something fresh and novel like the Wii stood a chance, unfortunately for Sony, they didn't get that memo.
tongue_of_colicab
Veteran
Sony will start seeling million consoles per month, when they start to sell Dating Simulators or some other Hentai oriented games.
[Or FF XIII]
Well I guess dating games and hentai games would do ALOT better on the wii with the wiimote
As far as sony and Japan go, I think most has been said here already. It seems that Japanese gamers just arnt that interrested in games with uber gfx anymore they rather seem to have something that you can play fast and dont have to sit down for atleast 2 hours.
So you know how much PS4 is already... Or are you forgetting even the fact that PS2 is still selling today?
inefficient
Veteran
I wonder if they will even release Home in Japan. I don't see it really taking off. It might draw a niche crowd. But I think they really need a Japan specific version with more of an anime character at style for it to really become popular.
It shouldn't have to be a big deal to have this separate version. Just a different set of art assets would need to be localized. The Home we have seen so far all the characters look so ordinary and kind of boring. A Japan centric version should have more flamboyant characters and costumes. It needs to be more whimsical and less grounded in plain old reality.
It shouldn't have to be a big deal to have this separate version. Just a different set of art assets would need to be localized. The Home we have seen so far all the characters look so ordinary and kind of boring. A Japan centric version should have more flamboyant characters and costumes. It needs to be more whimsical and less grounded in plain old reality.
I think you'll find that Wii is capable of much better graphics and AI then PS2. Also if this imaginary anchor you speak of doesn't start dragging Wii back until 12 months from now then it'll most certainly snap under the sheer weight of the Wii userbase and quality software. At Wii's current rate of sales it will have a worldwide userbase of around 20 million in 12 months time.. With a large userbase comes developer support, which brings AAA software, which in turn sells more systems..
In about two years the PS3 will have the right price, with the benefit of 2 years of software development and releases. All the big games will be out. Who knows even a new controller, and certainly the capabilities of the current controller will become more prominent, as well as Sony's advantage, certainly over the Wii, in terms of online with Home will start to pay off. Nintendo timed their hardware exactly right to cover that period, but it will be very hard for them to both focus on keeping the Wii hot in the next two years, and prepare something new to release before that time.
This is no problem for Nintendo whatsoever, mind ... by this time they will maybe release a new DS, and who knows what that will lead to?
Also a possibility is that handheld gaming becomes the main platform in Japan, with too little time and space to have a fixed console experience. We'll find out when Final Fantasy PS3 comes out, I guess and see how they stack up against the Dragon Quests and so on on the DS (and the PSP Final Fantasy c.s. will be interesting too)
This is no problem for Nintendo whatsoever, mind ... by this time they will maybe release a new DS, and who knows what that will lead to?
Also a possibility is that handheld gaming becomes the main platform in Japan, with too little time and space to have a fixed console experience. We'll find out when Final Fantasy PS3 comes out, I guess
and see how they stack up against the Dragon Quests and so on on the DS (and the PSP Final Fantasy c.s. will be interesting too)tongue_of_colicab
Veteran
The problem is sony doesnt have 2 years. Only the snes made a comeback from a late launch, no other console managed that. If sony keeps trailing the Wii in Japan as they do now than by the end of the year the wii will become the main platform for Japan. Sony still has some of its big guns for late 2007, beginning 2008 if everything works out so that could make the impact sony needs but if you look at what software japan bought for over the last 12 months that might not be what sony needs.
