220°

Xbox One Probably Screwed In Japan, But Check Your Nationalist Bull**** At The Door

Some people claim that the Xbox fails in Japan because it is a Western product. How much truth is there to this claim?

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gamerevolution.com
Snookies123949d ago

Apple does fine over there... Just throwing that out there. So of course it's not that "it's an American product so they don't like it." I'm not sure what the deal is with Microsoft and Japan, considering the 360 had some JRPG exclusives at first over there. Yet it still didn't succeed for some reason.

knifefight3949d ago

Well it does talk about everything you mentioned ^^;;

It comes down to this: "Are you noticing an unfortunate pattern here? These releases are coming several months, if not years apart. That pattern can't sustain any console at all."
The releases of the system-sellers were few and far between. Then when everything else started going multiplatform, well....

jc485733949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

it's the games. MS keeps shelling out games Japanese people are not interested in.

RememberThe3573949d ago

Well there was some nationalist bias back then. The culture has been changing over the years though, especially with the success of the iPhone. Japanese nationalism is as much of a secret as American nationalism, they love their culture as much as we love ours.

Baka-akaB3949d ago

Before claiming there is nationalism involved , therer should have been proof they were catering to the need of their target public . They dfinitively werent . The 360 didnt launch with blue dragon , lost odyssey , or vesperia , before someone else drop their name . Those games came in quite too late .

It launched with a frickin' fps (perfect dark zero) among other unwanted things

abzdine3949d ago

Xperia Z is the best selling phone since release.
PS4 will be all over the place in Japan and the reason who 360 didn't succeed with all these RPGs is that MS paid to get the game released early and gamers know that when the game releases later on PS3 it will include more content and better graphics (Star Ocean, Tales of...)

dbjj120883949d ago

Someone reads articles before commenting! /s

GameSpawn3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

Nationalism is part of it and there is no denying it. Apple does well because of it long history of being "artsy fartsy" and the Japanese have fanaticism for everything Apple (it's pretty to them).

Seriously though, Apple's products WORK. The do what they need to do with minimal bullshit. I have always hated Apple for coming off kind of snooty and having blatantly over-priced products, but I am willing to admit that they at least have a really good product.

As far as gaming consoles were:
Nintendo (Japanese Co.)
Sega (Japanese Co.)
Sony (Japanese Co.)

Gaming consoles now:
Nintendo (Japanese Co.)
Sony (Japanese Co.)
Microsoft (American Co.)

Based on the past I wonder which ones the Japanese will favor? Obviously, not the one that has always been portrayed with big red devil horns over them. Not the one with a billionaire that got his billions through shady back stabbing means. Not the one that is currently run by a pompous bald moronic idiot that wouldn't know what the market wanted if they were screaming it directly into his face. Not the one that is spinning around more than a carousel.

Two big things in Japanese culture are the reason for Sony's and Nintendo's dominance in Japan:
Honor and Loyalty
The Japanese have a strong sense of honor and have already established much loyalty for Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft has not given them any reason to gain loyalty from them. Microsoft has had to much consumer distrust from the Japanese (or many others for that matter) to put faith into their products.

Donnieboi3949d ago

I'm American, and I still prefer Japanese games. Well the few that make it to the west, and didn't try to pimp itself out by over-westernizing itself (like resident evil 5 & 6 -_-)

nukeitall3948d ago

Nationalism BS?

This is Japan, the most nationalistic country in the world.

If there is a product that is equivalent or similar enough made in Japan, they will pick that first. Honor and loyalty is exactly that, to their own country!

The only way MS would succeed there is if, Nintendo and Sony seize to exist.

Get educated!

http://www.japantimes.co.jp...

The fact of the matter is Japan, unlike many other countries still face strong nationalism issues which makes them overall much more sensitive to staying with their own country.

The constant threat of China and Korea. Did you know for instance that American cars sell extremely well in China, because the Chinese remember what the Japanese did to them?

Ask a Japanese what kind of TV they got! Is it Korean?

knifefight3947d ago

So you're taking newsbits about extremists who dislike a country with whom Japan has a very longstanding feud, and you're trying to make it reflect the whole country? Nice try, but no dice on this one, champ.

That would be like someone looking at America's annual public gun massacre and saying that the whole country is a bunch of gun-toting crazy people. It would be like trying to paint all of Germany as racists hate mongers because of the lingering remnants of the Nazi party. You could take a look at North American groups like the KKK and the Westboro Baptist Church and write the exact same news story you posted. Same goes for the "Tea Party" that thinks the US has a Muslim Terrorist president. Do those groups accurately reflect the Unites States? Of course not.

http://www.peopleofcolororg...

So how about checking your nationalist BS at the door?

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 3947d ago
Trunkz3949d ago

"Microsoft is likely to lose the Japanese portion of the console war, but it's got nothing to do with the address of its home office."

Yeah, it's crappy pricing compared to the PS4 is one of it's biggest weakness, especially around Christmas time, that extra $100 can easily buy you a game or an extra controller for PS4.

wishingW3L3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

this guy clearly has no idea about the huge advantage the X360 had in Japan and it still lost. The X360 was cheaper, it was smaller and its Japanese library of games was way bigger than the PS3's or Wii's for years to come. It was more than just Vesperia, Odyssey and Blue Dragon, the X360 had many more exclusive Visual Novels like Stein;Gate, Manic Shooter like Donpachi and many other games that never made it out to the West like IdolM@ster. The author of this piece should make a better research next time.

Narutone663949d ago

Yeah, but you just can't ignore the infamous RROD. Asian people specially Japanese don't put up with things that easily broke.

OC_MurphysLaw3949d ago

I recall the PS2 having a bunch of disc drive issues but that didn't stop it from dominating in Japan.

worldwidegaming3949d ago

once you make a big mistake like that you will see lots of bowing and saying sorry. we all know America does not deal in "Sorry"

jetlian3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

japan didnt want to buy it simple as that. They didnt want to make games for it unless MS paid for it. Blue dragon sold like crap on 360 when compared to ds version which came out later!

xbox original oh its to big. ps3 was bigger oh japanese house hold got bigger to accommodate/s

xbox 360 rrod yet ps1 and 2 had high failure rates only thing was internet wasn't big enough to a mass a lot of attention

now its ps4 is cheaper yea and when 360 was 1-2 hundred cheaper didnt matter lol

now its ps4 is more powerful and will get better MP games. When 360 was getting the better MP it didnt matter!!

they dont want to buy it simple as that

HammadTheBeast3949d ago

Actually, Japanese devs made no games for the Xbox 360.

Baka-akaB3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

Almost all of those games werent there when it launched . And some of those catered to an even more fringe niche , like those schmups .

And it's not as if the game you mentioned werent successful , when they came out . For the most part they had success .

swerve1213949d ago

Its just like there cars and such you'll never see no one driving a Cadillac in Japan. They believe alot in there own stuff. Because the Xbox is a American product going against a Japanensse 1 they will never support it. The iPhone does good because small and works for people who travel from Japan 2 America.

worldwidegaming3949d ago

Now we are getting somewhere!
This is the case in most of Asia. The Japanese that I have met and talked with in Yodobashi kamera told me they do not want to buy American game systems."they said NOTHING about games.
They prefer to support their home console. Even if Microsoft and various companies cater to such a small country as japan, risk will be too great.
The Apple argument is all people can say
"comparing a smart phone to a console does not make sense and if you think so apple has a new controller coming out!"

Baka-akaB3949d ago (Edited 3949d ago )

It is far more irrelevant and arbitrary to claim that , with a product that has yet to cater to tastes being ignored (or a better one) . Such case simply hasnt presented itself . When you'll have that , then you guys will have a serious point .

Meanwhile Apple and few other examples are still the proof US product can sell fine on their soils

GraveLord3949d ago

Xbox doesn't fail because it is a western product, it fails because it fails to appeal to the Japanese gamer while Playstation and Nintendo have been appealing to Japanese gamers for years. They know what they want, Microsoft doesn't.

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190°

Bethesda Needs to Reduce the Gaps Between New Fallout and Elder Scrolls Releases

Waiting a decade for new instalments in franchises as massive as Fallout and Elder Scrolls feels like a waste.

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gamingbolt.com
-Foxtrot13h ago

Microsoft have Obsidian but I feel it's Bethesda who just don't want to play ball as they've always said they want to do it themselves.

Once MS bought Zenimax in 2020 they should have put the Outer Worlds 2 on the back burner, allow Bethesda to finish off its own Space RPG with Starfield (despite totally different tone why have two in your first party portfolio with two developers who's gameplay is a tad similar) and got Obsidian for one of their projects to make a spiritual successor to New Vegas.

When the Elder Scrolls VI is finished Bethesda can then onto the main numbered Fallout 5 themselves.

The Outer Worlds 2 started development in 2019 so putting it on the back burner wouldn't have been the end of the world, they'd have always come back to it once Fallout was done and it would have been nicely spaced out from Starfields release once they had most likely stopped supporting it and all the expansions were released.

If they did this back in 2020 when they bought Zenimax and the game had a good, steady 4 - 5 years development, you might have seen it release in 2025.

We are literally going to be waiting until 2030 at the very earliest for Fallout 5 and all they seem bothered about is pushing Fallout 76.

RaidenBlack11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Its not just only Todd not playing ball.
Obsidian have made a name for themselves in delivering stellar RPGs, but most famous once have always been sequels/spin-offs to borrowed IPs like KOTOR 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Stick of Truth etc.
Obsidian wants to invest more in their own original IPs like Outer Worlds or Pillars of Eternity with Avowed.
Similar to what Bluepoint & inXile wants to do or Kojima is doing (i.e not involving anymore in Konami's IPs).
So yea, even if New Vegas has the most votes from 3D Fallout fans, Obsidian just wants to do their own thing, like any aspiring dev studio and MS is likely currently respecting that.
But a future Fallout game from Obsidian will surely happen. Founder Feargus Urquhart has already stated an year ago that they're eager to make a new Fallout game with Bethesda, New Vegas 2 or otherwise. Urquhart was the director of the very first 1995's Fallout game after all.
And don't forget Brian Fargo and his studio inXile, as Brian Fargo was the director of Fallout's 1988 predecessor: Wasteland

KyRo7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

Obsidian should take over the FO IP. They're do far better with it than Bethesda who hasn't made a great game for almost 15 years

RaidenBlack1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

@KyRo
So, by 15 years, you mean Fallout 3 was the last great game Bethesda made?
You don't consider Skyrim a good game, which came out 13 years ago?
I'd consider Fallout 4 a pretty decent game as well. It's Story & RPG elements were a bit downgrade from New Vegas but the exploration and shooting on the other hand, were upgrades.
FO76 was disappointing and Starfield could've been better at launch I'll agree.

Duke197h ago(Edited 7h ago)

I disagree. Part of these games is the support for the mod community. If they move to releasing a "next game" every 2 or 3 years, the modding support plummets and the franchises turn into just another run of the mill RPG.

Make the games good enough to withstand the test of time, to keep people coming back to them and expanding on them with mod support.

--Onilink--4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

I dont think anyone is saying they need to come out every 2 years (not to mention almost no game is released that quickly anymore)

By the time Fallout 5 comes out, it will be more than 15 years since Fallout 4 came out (same with ES6 coming out 15 years after Skyrim). Even if you want to use F76 as the metric for the most recent release, that one came out in 2018. It will be a miracle if F5 comes out before 2030

The point is that for a studio that doesnt seem to operate with multiple teams doing several projects at once, that their projects normally take 4-5 years as a minimum, and that now they even added Starfield to the rotation, it becomes a 15+ years waiting period between releases for each series, which doesnt make sense. Imagine that Nintendo only released a mainline Mario or Zelda game every 15 years…

They either need to start developing more than 1 project at a time, let someone else take a crack at one of the IPs or significantly reduce their development times

Duke193h ago(Edited 3h ago)

Why should someone else take a crack at one of the IPs? Look at what happened to Final Fantasy as a recent example - there is pretty clear FF fatigue setting in because they are now pumping out titles in the franchise every few years. Pumping out more games faster doesn't always make a series better.

There are plenty of options to make new games, not just create more titles in the same universe at a faster pace.

-Foxtrot47m ago

"Why should someone else take a crack at one of the IPs"

He's literally just told you why

We're waiting like 15 years before a sequel comes out, it's insane

Skyrim came out in 2011, the next game is expected to come out in 2027 at the earliest so that's 16 years apart while Fallout 4 came out in 2015 and might not release until 2031, again 16 years.

We're fine with Bethesda trying new things and doing new IPs like Starfield but adding a new game to the cycle now means a bigger wait. Also Starfield didn't meet most peoples expectations, can you imagine waiting 15 years or so for a sequel and it's disappointing? It would feel even worse because you would have to wait another 15 years to see if they manage to come back from it.

They need to give it to another developer, we don't need main numbered titles but a spin off of Fallout and Elder Scrolls should be cycled in between the long gaps of the main releases.

Once again you are making out people want these games as quick as possible when all we want is a standard development time of at least 4 years or so rather than waiting 15.

mandf4h ago

Yeah I’m going to say it, who cares about the modding community when making a game? Half the time developers only tolerate modders because they fix there game for them.

Skuletor6h ago

Yeah, let's all advocate for smaller gaps between series' releases, then we'll probably get headlines about how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven. Let them cook.

SimpleSlave5h ago

"how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven" So every Bethesda game then? Got it.

Listen, I would agree if this was about From Software or something, but Bethesda?

🤣

C'mon now. What timeline are you from?

Skuletor3h ago

Think about it, they're already bug filled messes on their current schedule, can you imagine how much worse it would be if they rushed things?

-Foxtrot43m ago

@Skuletor

Who's saying to rush the releases? No one is saying that...

People just don't want to be waiting 15 years for a sequel, they aren't working on the game for that long, you do realise that right? The issue isn't coming down to them working on the game and us "rushing them", it's the fact they are working on other games like Starfield now meaning bigger gaps before they even get started on them.

I bet you any more Elder Scrolls VI only entered full development last year when Starfield was finished despite being announced in 2018.

Duke193h ago

I mean you aren't wrong. People are going to complain about anything

isarai5h ago

Hows about you focus on quality, just a thought 🤷‍♂️

Sciurus_vulgaris4h ago

Bethesda [or Microsoft] would have to reallocate internal and external studios towards fallout and elder scrolls titles. Bethesda has the issue of developing 2 big IPs that are large RPGs on rotation. If you want more Fallout and Elder Scrolls, development will have to be outsourced.

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