Here’s What Japanese People Are Saying About The PS4

Kotaku - Sony announced the PlayStation 4 last month to much fanfare and a complete lack of an actual console. The stone has been cast and now we get to see the ripples. Japanese gaming magazine, Weekly Famitsu conducted a questionnaire between February 22nd and February 26th, where they asked Japanese game fans for their thoughts and opinions on Sony's upcoming console.

[HammadTheBeast]

Looking good.

Still, downvote Kotaku.

[iGAM3R-VIII]

Q: What do we want?
A: E3!!!!

Q: When do we want it?
A: NOW!!!!

Q: Why do we want it?
A: To see what else Sony and their outstanding console can bring!!!!

[UnholyLight]

****To see what else Sony and their outstanding console can bring!!!! And also to see what Microsoft has behind the veil

[INC NATE2131]

I cant wait to see what sony has to offer at E3, im excited for both actually, unlike most people in this world, im not going to sit and argue about which console is better, nope instead im going to buy both and enjoy the uniqueness each console has to offer!

[UnholyLight]

But otherwise I totally agree with you iGAM3R-VIII

[jadenkorri]

looks like Tiqila will be buying a wii u... seriously would you expect MS to provided online gaming for free considering how much money they have gotten from gold memberships. I'm surprised Sony hadn't announced it themselves that online will be fee based instead of free. I hope it remains free but I'm sure it was considered.

[Saigon]

Classic statement!!! That was great, I can't say anything else!!!

Beyond that lmao moment, I am finally glad to see what the Japanese people had to say about the system. Its good to hear their feedback since Sony normally caters to that crowd and let the rest of us accept what was decided. I know this time it is different, so now Sony is catering to the devs and western society and what do we get in result, we get the PS4.

[himdeel]

Are they saying, "It's over 9000!"?

[morkendo23]

in the voice of VEGETA

9000?? super saiyan 4

(ps4)

[TheOneEyedHound]

Me to somebody hack that site.

[RandomDude655]

Bro, It's not like that actually does anything. I've been downvoting Kotaku for about 4 years.....

[Kurt Russell]

Because people like me don't mind it, and the world doesn't just involve you I guess...

[rjdofu]

@Kurt Russell: pretty sure a bunch of people has been trying to downvote this site since ages, proven in the comment section of most BS Kotaku article.
The fact that this site still remains 3 star is beyond me.

[MiloGarret]

It's because reasonable people vote them up. Duh?

[LessThan2Tflops]

That reminds me to upvote them again

[clrlite]

....and here's what people are saying about kotako.

[CalvinKlein]

I agree with the Japanese people on number 2. I play mostly on vita since it came out because you can suspend it any time and pick up right where you were. After playing deadspace 3 up to chapter 8 so far, the checkpoints suck and it makes you go back really far if you dont keep playing till it decides to save your progress(different than saving inventory in this game LOL). You see why this feature is so great.

Sad to see they are not big on infamous, its one of my most anticipated. They liked the dragon game like me tho, I think everyone liked that.

[deafdani]

So, you're downvoting Kotaku despite this being an actually decent article? And you got 113 agrees because of that shit? I guess it's cool to hate on Kotaku just for the sake of it, even when the hate isn't justified? Ride the coold-kids wagon, uh?

Ugh. There's many things wrong in the gaming industry, like bad journalism (something of which not only Kotaku is guilty), but there's also many things wrong with the gaming community. And apparently N4G brings out the worst of both worlds.

Again: ugh.

[Karlnag3]

It's a decent article reporting information from a survey by a magazine they do not run. This is Famitsu's article, not Kotaku's.

[PSVita]

Good news. Worrying about the price always confuses me because it a one time buy and ill last you for 10 years. Not a lot of people can say they've had there phones or TV etc. but like the vita I think Sony will really surprise people with a reasonable price tag. Also like the xbox360 they should release a cheap basic model so entry gamers can join in too.

[guitarded77]

Or people can do like I am. I started putting away $25 a wee since the announcement, that way it doesn't affect my wallet when the time comes. I should have about $900 to spend when the console launches, which lets me buy a console, games and any accessories I want. For me to just go drop almost a thousand dollars without being prepared would hurt like a SOB, but Sony's given us plenty of time from announcement to launch. Some companies, like Apple, just launch very shortly after an announcement, and many people seem to find money for that stuff.

[TheOneEyedHound]

lol that is funny.

[pixelsword]

I should put away $25 every time I take a wee, too!

That's a good idea!

;)

[jessupj]

Exactly, it's not an ongoing cost.

That fact the same people could easily save up an extra $50, but wait for a $50 price reduction makes me shake my head.

If you can afford a yearly iphone, you can afford a console.

[Garrison]

Careful.. logic can make some idiots head explode if you say it too loud.

[DragonKnight]

1. There were japanese gamers concerned about the overseas focus? Wow. Those people need to get over themselves. I understand that Sony is a japanese company, but seriously? When was the last time you heard any other region expressing that kind of concern.

3. WHAT?! These people are the reason Square-Enix are making bad decisions. They presented a vague "promise" about E3 and these people are anticipating that? Geez, get some standards. It's a good thing that this is a pretty small study and not exactly representative of all japanese gamers.

[kevnb]

Have you played final fantasy 13 or resident evil 6?

[iWishTifaWasReal]

FFXIII was okay, but gawd FFXIII-2 was annoying as hell.

[Root]

Both terrible games

[BitbyDeath]

"There were japanese gamers concerned about the overseas focus?"

Square-Enix always boasted about putting western influence into their games.. and then came the death of Final Fantasy...

[TacoTaru]

I also am concerned about the "overseas focus". I would much rather have a bunch of Japanese games than a bunch of Westernized action allasame games and I live in the Western world.

[solid_warlord]

Yea but japanese have too many RPG and cartoonish stuff that are anti masculine. Japanese games are underperrforming this gen.

[GribbleGrunger]

1. You say that they need to get over themselves because they're concerned about oversees influence

2. You say that it's the influence of these people that have ruined Square-Enix, when the company themselves have said that they wanted to make more Westernised games.

Think about it. Perhaps they have a right to be concerned.

[DragonKnight]

I think there is a misunderstanding here. I know full well that FF13 and RE6 suck beyond measure. I was speaking to the idea that the Japanese audience don't like the idea of a Japanese console having western influences. This isn't about the games, this is about the PS4 console itself. The first point of the article spoke about the console, not the games, and the people were concerned about the focus on the overseas market, not the overseas influence in Japanese games.

@GribbleGrunger: As I said, there is a misunderstanding. It's not about the games, it's about the console. These people are concerned that the PS4, a Japanese console, has too much Western influence. These people also were excited about Square-Enix when Square-Enix showed nothing new and made a vague promise about E3 because of the name Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy 13 trilogy sucks (yes, I'm calling Lightning Returns a failure due to the track record of its predecessors and it's continued shift away from Final Fantasy staples and style) and yet these people are excited for SE to bring a Final Fantasy title to E3? All indications are that Final Fantasy is going the very linear, very actiony route with less focus on character development and deep storytelling and more emphasis on flashy gameplay. Where are the standards?

[PurpHerbison]

If I was Japanese living in Japan I wouldn't give two f*cks for any console. I'd be in the Arcades for sure.

[Muerte2494]

a really good read. If they keep articles like this coming, I might start back visiting the site.

[Adolph Fitler]

Yep, the American consumers whinged about price with PS3...The thing was ONLY $599 for the top of line 60gig model & $499 for 20gig.
It's a one off purchase, for christs sake, what the hell do people want???? Sony to give them a machine, out of the goodness of there heart? I mean, Sony gave Americans & Japanese the low price, so low in fact that it was rumored they were losing, at least, $250 per console, when it 1st launched.
I'll never get over the amount of crap that Sony had to cop for PS3's launch prices, & I'll never have faith in my fellow gaming community again, after the whining, b!tching, moaning, & in general, being little b!tches & causing Sony to redesign the PS3 & as a result (of jewbags that thought $499 & $599 were too expensive), the backwards compatability that Sony were previously synonymous for, was stripped as one of the consoles features....So, thanks to the stingy, whiners in USA & Japan, by the time PS3 came to Europe & Australia, the PS3 had been redesigned without the PS2's Emotion chip, which would have allowed us PAL PS3 buyers (& PS2 HUGE game catalogue collectors) to play PS2 games on our shiny new PS3's flawlessly, without any exceptions. Instead, we got a cheap, stripped back emulation load of BS, that eventually was stripped from PS3's features also. The worst part is, that here in Australia, we were charged the premium of $849 & $999au for PS3 (which didn't equate, even given exchange rates & taxes, as we were about .85c to U.S.'s $1, I believe).
We were charged almost double for these machines, & we had the cheap, no frills, non-proper b/c versions, to boot.

So, Sony Japan....... give America the raw end of the staggered releases this time, instead of punishing us & Europe.

[JimmyDanger]

So we're blaming "whining Americans and Japanese" for Sony taking out hardware BC for our Aussie $999 launch PS3?

I think it'd be more accurate to apportion the blame squarely at Sony.

[Sh0ckWav3]

that because in 2005 your minimum wage was $13.74.. were we were getting payed $7.25..

[4lc4pon3]

maybe you should move then if your aussie prices are crap. Honestly that's your own fault you choose to live in a country where the prices are absolutely insane.

In my case money is no object. Charge me 1000 for the PS4. I will be glad to pay that since it will give me MANY years of great entertainment and value.

[awesomeperson]

@4LC

I'm an Aussie, but to be honest saying "that's your own fault you choose to live in a country where the prices are absolutely insane" is a bit unfair.

You don't choose to live in a country based on gaming prices (although we do get the short end of the stick with many other markets). It is just a little ridiculous how everything here is so much more expensive (I do know it may cost extra to ship over, other takes, etc).

We're not an insignificant market, but when we have to pay a few hundred dollars more for some consoles, and game prices are generally around $90+ (used to be up to 120), it's just... annoying.

Of course, like you, I am willing to pay whatever the PS4 costs (already on preorder) but to just say it's our fault is unfair.

[Kingthrash360]

"Jewbags"....ouch. that was unexpected from someone named adolph fitler...

On topic.....whatever bring on E3

[TheFallenAngel]

I have heard a lot of people at work talking about the PS4. People I would've never thought they would talk about video games. I don't know what it is, maybe the social networks like facebook and youtube but more people knows. Great news for Sony. Launch day for me.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

Same for a man. A man senses a great console launch and for him to make a lot on ebay

[MiloGarret]

So corny

[4lc4pon3]

shut up and take my money now. I'm ready for the ps4

[Adolph Fitler]

Yes, I agree with that, the Japanese are almost always the ones that innovate gaming the most. And, it is a great country for some of the greatest games of all time. I mean, Japan gave me pretty much EVERY arcade & 8 & 16bit classic I enjoyed in the 80's & 90s, like Galaga, Pacman, Double Dragon, Dragon Ninja, Sonic, Mario, Duck Hunt, Final Fight, 2 Crude Dude's, SF2, Super Metroid, Castlevania, Midnight Resistance, Ghosts'n'Goblins, Ghouls'n'ghosts, Contra, Sonic, Streets Of Rage, etc, etc, & this list could continue for days.
And, all the best games, that ALL the Western developers try, mostly unsuccessfully to try & copy, have come from Japan. PS1 classics such as Resident Evil (which created a whole new awesome genre), FF7, Tenchu, Bushido Blade, MGS, Tekken, Soul Edge, Rival Schools United By Fate, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Gran Turismo, etc, & this list could also go on for days.
And then we move onto some of PS2's masterpieces that spawned out of Japan, games like Ico & SOTC, which are probably the 2 greatest examples of FUN, revolutionary, innovative gaming, that came from that gen. & then we have awesome new IP's like Devil May Cry & Onimusha, & many others I won't go on to mention. But, by PS2, Japanese games were starting to suffer poor sales, as evidenced by Ico's, SOTC & many others, & the tirade of Western developers were coming through, & that is no insult, as amongst the crappy & average Western developers, were some truly awesome teams from the U.S. & Europe...I mean, we got the pleasure of Rare's team splitting off & the other half or so, creating Free Radical & giving us 3 absolutely awesome FPS games in Timesplitters, I mean, another Western developer & fps could turn staunch Japanese based gaming fans off, but Free Radical delivered the best, most fun, unapologetically dumb, gameplay & FUN driven fps shooter series I HAVE EVER played. Timesplitters, still has not been bettered on consoles for sheer, 60fps, fps fun (& this includes the COD series, as awesome as that series is). Also, Criterion became one of my favorite developers of all time, thanks to Burnout.

So, what we REALLY need is a healthy dose of both East & West developers and/or style games of the highest quality. The games that should suffer poor sales, are those worst of the worst type games we get & have got, every generation, since the birth of gaming. So, the developers & games that are garbage & no good, should be given the fatal blow, instead of teams like Clover Studios, & even Free Radical, even though Haze was THERE best work, it is still a far better game than many that came out this gen & in gens past, so, Free Radical really should still be around, & I am really peeved that the Sony heads didn't pull the trigger & buy them, when there troubles started.

Anyhow, Japanese games have always paved the way forward for Western developers to copy. They pretty much always take risks & try to deliver innovative games, that in many cases proved too much of a risk, which is why we see the huge decline in Japanese developed games & why we get less & less of there releases.
Funny thing is, Western developers really use Japanese games as inspiration, & in many cases, really try to copy gameplay ideas & such from there games, yet, Japanese developers do not do the same. I mean, interview a Japanese developer & they will usually reference maybe a Hollywood blockbuster as influence.

[Ravenor]

Haze was Free Radicals best? That is some opinion you got there. Was it the stupid story? Half baked gameplay features? Awful characters? Or terrible sound design and visuals? Haze the best this generation...that's a good one.

I also can't agree with the idea that Japanese developers have never iterated with another Japanese developers idea, that is clearly false. Saying you used Final Fantasy or Resident Evil as a INFLUENCE is not the same as wholesale ripping gameplay concepts or characters. Blue Stinger a Japanese developed Dreamcast game has a evil Biotech Corporation, Mutated zombie like creatures and a character that seems similar to Barry. But yeah you're right, this is probably the only example.

Like if you can't understand that the gaming community at large isn't going to ever go head over heels for Disgaea or Asura's Wrath I have no idea what to tell you. The people who started playing console games recently now outnumber the people who may have gotten their start in gaming in the 80's or 90's by a huge margin. That's going to effect the market.

I don't want you to get confused and think that what I'm saying is there is no market for Japanese developed quirky games as clearly there is. Demons/Dark Souls being great examples of a new Japanese IP, but that game also offers something wildly different from what 99% of other Japanese devs are releasing. Maybe that's the issue? It has just been more of the same old stuff out of Japan that gets released here.

Oh, if you have such a huge catalog of PS2 games and were so upset about the lack of BC. Why didn't you just keep your PS2 around, was it really that hard?

OH x2, wasn't Metal Gear RISING (Not MGS) developed by Platinum a Japanese developer?

[Adolph Fitler]

Anyway, I will be getting a PS4 on launch, & I really hope that it sells massively, straight away in Japan, & that causes in influx in Japanese developers making homegrown games in abundance, & then I truly pray, they convert them to PAL for us, as I miss that Japanese flare in games. I mean, there really hasn't been very many Japanese developed games this gen. & I've felt that & it stings, & if it keeps declining at this rate, we are only gonna be left with 5 or so Japanese development teams working on games for PS5.
AS it is, many Japanese publishers, such as Capcom & Konami are outsourcing to British & U.S. developers. DmC & Castlevania being great examples....& while I've still enjoyed these redo's, I would hate to see what would happen to MGS, if it was not under Japanese development.....Oh, snap, I just did, with MGS: Rising... So, imagine this is the way the series goes now... just like Capcom have done to the once great Resident Evil series (& the only great ones, were the 1st 3 on PS1/Saturn).

@Jaqen_Hghar
"So we're blaming "whining Americans and Japanese" for Sony taking out hardware BC for our Aussie $999 launch PS3?"

Damn straight, were blaming whining gamers in a land where they got it 1st. Why would I blame Sony, to join the "kool" ranks that seem to think there hero's for joining the ranks & hanging constant crap on Sony. Poor old Sony were damned if they do, damned if they don't. Fact is, Sony were giving at least $250 away in the States selling PS3. The machine had extra features that equated into extra production expenses, & they were damn useful features, such as built in WiFi, HDMI, Bluetooth, HD movie playback through BluRay disks, all of which 360 never had (& in most cases still haven't), yet was only $100-$150 cheaper. And, not to mention, PSN offered a FREE online gaming service, that not only allowed & still does allow, PS3 owners to play online games free, download demos as soon as they come out (Live makes non-Gold/non-paying users wait a week for new demos), movies & latest release trailers, content & other goodies that do not require you to even enter a credit card no., let alone spend a cent.
Yet, XBL would cost me $100au a year for having internet access (so, I pay for the same thing twice, once to my ISP, & the other to MS, the latter, really providing gamers with NOTHING for the money, as we already have the internet & all those features on PS3 & pc)
So, taking $100 & X that by how many years I have owned the console, so 100x8= 9-10 games if I pay full price, or if I get from Playasia (as I do), there's 13-15 games MS has simply taken away from me. Yet, Sony are the ones copping the flakk....Yet, you pay Sony for PSN+, & they give you a plethora of PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP & PSVita games for your money. If I pay $69.95, I can get Borderlands, infamous, LBP2, free Unchartered multiplayer online, Gravity Rush, Unchartered:GA, Wipeout2097 (Vita version), & heaps more FULL disk based PS3 games, as well as PSN games, & the aforementioned PS1, PS2 classics, PSP games, mini's, & PSVita games, & not only this, you get decent to great discounts off much on the store, also FREE game content. I mean, what more could you ask for, for a paid service. Unlike XBL, that is value for money, as Sony are actually giving you a product for your money, whereas, MS are deceiving consumers by charging them for a service that they already have, ultimately meaning, that either your paying for Live twice, or paying your ISP twice.

Anyhow, these are my thoughts of the matter.

[JimmyDanger]

I think blaming Sony for their mistakes, rather than "whiny gamers" for somehow forcing them to make the mistakes is somehow more appropriate - and grounded in reality.

I think people criticize Sony because they make mistakes, rather than any desire to - as you put it - join any "kool ranks". I believe this is also more firmly grounded in reality.

[Bowzabub]

Tell us how you really feel Adolf..

[dboyman]

Still wish they offered even as a Limited run edition "Premium" edition PS4 with a included Cell processor for PS3 BC. Then the BC issue for those who are willing to pay more for BC would be dealt with....

[Donnieboi]

Maybe then can make an attachment. It's entirely possible if they plug it into the ps4's auxiliary port (originally reserved for the new eye camera) for hi-speed communication between the old hardware in this attachment (ibm cell chip & emotion engine chip) and the ps4's motherboard.

Just an idea, but it MIGHT be possible as an optional alternative to putting the chip directly inside ps4.

[Silly gameAr]

Rush this article on out to let the next one in.

[Kos-Mos]

"Can we please get some games with depth instead of generic action games and shooters."

[EffectO]

What a shock!

Japanese gamers are just like Western gamers,just replace FF with COD or something and you are good to go.Same hopes,same fears...I guess Japan is not a land of aliens afterall

[Theyellowflash30]

I'm a little worried about the Japanese support for PS4 games as well. I don't know why Sony is making their Japanese Studio make an American focused game like Knack. That game won't sell any PS4's in Japan. There was almost nothing for the Japanese audience at Sony's press conference. I understand they have Deep Down and FF. But I'm not sure if that will be enough.

[Donnieboi]

Yeah knack looked good, but I can't believe a japanese studio is making it. Looks like a western disney pixar film. Even the trailer was first presented in english, as opposed to being in Japanese with english subs. Odd for the presentation of a japanese game's first trailer (obviously has a 100% western focus).

[FinalomegaS]

really?

[RockmanII7]

I was gonna make a joke about that when I saw it, but we're no better.

[FinalomegaS]

oh but come on, it's not FF have this shinny platinum armor of quality. It's been through many year of torture, yes I love the series but unless SE really tries and bring back the magic of JRPG which is my fav genre i can't see how they faithfully expect...

I suggest:

MMOrpg FF = give the long grinding and no-lifers something to do (yes this is currently avail)

JRPG FF = old school Turn base with towns and magic etc

3rd person Action base RPG with online coop = like Mass effect

ok ok i'm going off the deep end now, but how about a boss rush 4 player coop action based for replay value.

what'd you think :)

[MNGamer-N]

I am excited for the console, but am going to wait until I know the asking price before I fully jump aboard the PS4 train. If it is too high, I'll have to wait on it.

[TuxedoMoon]

I'd answer the same way. The only reason I bought myself a PS3 was for KH3 and FF games. Aside form Infamous, I wasn't to excited for anything else. Knack was probably the least interesting out of the bunch...

Just need to see more games and a price tag for that machine.

[RockmanII7]

I would rater have Knack than Driveclub

[TuxedoMoon]

That much I agree with. that presenter REALLY seemed to like those leather seats...

[Picnic]

Well it appears to be practically conclusively proven now that Japan is extremely likely to always support buying Playstation.

I mean the Japanese, this supposed epicentre of quirkiness,
failed to properly support the Dreamcast which had such forward thinking love letters to all aspects of Japanese culture as Jet Set Radio and Shenmue.
And if ease of programming was so important then more studios would have released on the Dreamcast and Gamecube than would have bothered to release on the not quite to easy PS2 in the 128 bit age.

The Japanese love Sony - but they probably aren't playing many of the same kinds of games that we are in the West.
WE'RE playing the quirky, artsy, stuff that you might think the Japanese would lap up.

The next Xbox announcement is the really interesting one. The next generation doesn't start until we know what they have up their sleeve and how that compares not only to the PS4 but to the WiiU.