Japanese Feeling to PS3

A report by IncGamers' Tokyo correspondent, Jake Kawaguchi, outlines the issues the console has had with its native people.

Kawaguchi iterates that the lack of big titles, and exclusive titles, have had a bearing on sales figures in Japan, and with the previous release of Little Big Planet and GTA IV (localised), the console has seen a considerable rise in sales.

[Dorjan]

Sony have had a lot of fail over the last year.

Good luck for the next!

[DavidMacDougall]

Wouldn't you say its almost like they had 33% failure rate

[Oner]

Go that way ------>

[Noctis Lucis Caelum]

No, sony was only failing in 2006, they are now rising, look at 2007, 2008, and now 2009.

[ultimolu]

Yeah...sure.
They had a whooooole lotta failing and they're kicking ass worldwide.

You 360 fans are predictable. Create accounts to bash the PS3 and Sony.

Just wow.

[PopEmUp]

like Sony they will be outselling the ps3 every single year and months by now but no they didn't fail

[i am the truth]

All this will change when FF13 is relased in japan.That is if MS do not give square something like 20-50 million for it to not be exlusive in japan.

[AndyA]

Surprising how long it's taken for HD gaming to take off in Japan

[hfaze]

Seriously... They get all of the sweet electronic gadgets before we do, yet they go ga-ga over a souped up Game Cube with motion controls for a home console, and judging from the DS sales in Japan, I'm almost convinced that every Japanese person has at least two DS'es...

Not to mention they get the advantage of lower prices on Sony, Hitachi, Pioneer, and NEC HDTV's due to not having to ship nearly as far, and no import tariffs.

You'd think that HDTV market penetration is higher in Japan than in the US or Europe, which should spark interest in HD gaming... Yet HD gaming is more or less ignored in Japan judging from the number of consoles sold, and the fact that the top 10 selling games in Japan are usually either Wii or handheld titles...

[mint royale]

and so is the xbox. HD gaming is still really suffering, and 1 week when the ps3 outsells the wii with the fantastic bundles ain't gonna prove anything when its back behind the week after.

[Maticus]

WHAT is in that picture lol?

[darkwing]

its HD gaming in general that is in trouble in Japan, and Wii is playing a part in it

[Arsenal4Ever]

sony failed in 2006 and 2007, but 2008 was very good and 2009 will be much better.

[PopEmUp]

in 2007 but i do they fail in 2006 but in 2007 they outsell the 360 with the ps3 weakest vs 360 strongest line up of games, HALO 3

[Noctis Lucis Caelum]

Sony began rising in 2007.

[Nathaniel_Drake]

The PS3 outsold the 360 worldwide in 2007 even with the Halo 3 coming out.

[Foxgod]

Ps3 has a hairy feeling to it ??!?!

[deeznuts]

Only if you think PS3 = Female Cooch

[KingDizzi]

Next year will be the time PS3's sell in Japan:

Yakuza 3
FFXIII
GT5
WKC this year
FFXIII Versus whenever that one releases

[shine1396]

Its always next year....
just kidding, the games are here and they are making a difference. MGS was huge. people just don't want to drop so much money in the current climate. Chrismas is really going to be interesting.

[KingDizzi]

funny enough it does seem to be the case of next when the PS3 shines but just look at the games coming next year, hype is justified.

[demoneyeslaharl]

Yakuza 3 on PS3?

Damn it... I want!

[ultimolu]

Me too! That game looks freakin' hot!

[chrisnick]

isnt it fleeing?........anyway...yes they should.....they have alot of bundles now.......they should be buying those up.

[Rockstar]

I thought it should have read "Japanese Feeling The PS3"

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

I get a Hard Feeling everytime i look at my PS3!!! ;-o
(SORRY!!!) ;)

[CliffyBee]

I get a hard feeling when I look at 15yr old boys.

pp, pull your pants back up!

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

Cliffy's'BOYS'!!! ;-D

[sinncross]

The PS3 will only continue to rise in Japan and other regions.

Apparently the PS3 has outsold the 360 in Europe, so that's a positive sign for Sony coming from 20007/ 08.

Likewise, the PS3 has been selling better then the 360 overall this year, and this is with a higher price tag. Sony is bound to sell even more when they can afford to have a price drop, of course a good holiday season will help the price cut to be sooner then later.

There is also key exclusives coming for Japan. Regardless of whether MS can get FF13 to appear in Japan on Xbox360, that won't help much, but does stop a potential juggernaut of sales for the PS3. Look at the Last Remnant? In the top 15 most sought games in Japan, the 360 version is not even on the list, with the PS3 version being higher then Star Ocean 4, a 360 exclusive. Perhaps to do with FF13, but with FFVersus13 still a PS3 exclusive, which Japanese gamer would choose the 360 FF13 when they could get both FF13 and its sister title Versus13 on the PS3.

For perhaps the first time, the decision to make Versus13 is actually going to play some importance for Sony in Japan, and even the world. Up until now, Versus13 was glance over because of FF13 being an exclusive, but now multi platform, Versus 13 is being seen in a better light.

I expect PS3 sales to continue beating the 360 sales in Japan for the rest of the year... PS3 exclusives are still coming, while the 360 has very little in terms of exclusive for Japan, with the all important Gears 2 not even having a Japanese release at this time.

Kick in WKC for the PS3 to end off the year, PS3 sales can be strong going into 2009 which is important for any company. On the Wii side, I think sales might drop after a little while while gamers get more into the HD gaming, but Nintendo has enough key software to keep the Wii healthy.

[gamesmaster]

agreed, sony should really push the FFXIII versus exclusivity, i think it will play a key factor in peoples descision as to which platform they play the first XIII on, and if sony can hold this one together than i would expect more software sale on the ps3 (which i would expect anyway) and a good increase in hardware sales.

but gain nothing is certain in this generation, i'd like versus to stay exclusive, not for fanboy reasons. just because i can see it being a more refined XIII if they focus on the one console and make use of its strengths.

@above - quality post, well written and you back up your points too.

+bubble

[Arsenal4Ever]

im not talking about who outsold who. Im talking about quality of the product.

The PS3 was poor in 2007 at leat 80% of 2007 the PS3 was in a bad situation until november. in 2008 the PS3 had GT5P, MGS4, LBP, R2, WipEout HD and more.

What did we have in 07? Just Uncharted and Ratchet i'm being honest.

[Diamondwolf]

September actually started the rise of the PS3, not november. Spike hit right after Halo 3

[Ap3theBad]

WRONG dude,we had uncharted,R&C,warhawk,heav enly sword,ninja gaiden sigma,motorstorm,ridge racer (witch was a japanese #1 hit)... so we had a great year in 2007,and outsold the 360 for a bit untill gaylo hit the shelves then it was over untill i think march of 08? or somewere around there i know that.

[Wizeguy21]

Its still to early to tell! LBP and GTA4 are not even 3 weeks old in japan. We wont know where Sony stands unless they either start selling as much as the Wii consistently OR until after xmas!

[supremacy]

white knight chronicles should be arriving in December so that should do some wonders all the way into next year, hey i mean level 5 is a well respected company in japan so we'll see i supposed.

also mirror's edge should do good down there, i mean this game just feels japanse, its like a 1st person tumb raider game without the guns.

[cmrbe]

All the PS3 had to do is realese JRPG's and other major titles on a regular basis and its back to PS2 level of bussiness for the PS3. Its already starting, slowly but surely.

[cliffbo]

bold predictions? any 2 year old could have written that 'nothing' article.

[gamersday08]

Everything was fine and smooth sailing before Xbox came in. Even when SEGA and NEC was in the race, the industry was healthy and there was peace. Yes, SEGA lost the race to SONY but they bowed out with dignity and willingly and they continue to make kick-a** games for PS2. I still respect SEGA to this day and I'll buy SEGA's game anytime.

I still remember the good old days when I got back from school and would drop by a neighborhood game shop and look at the awesome games displayed on the shelves such as Final Fantasy VII, Wild Arms, Legend of Dragoon, Motor Toon GP, Sega Rally, Jumping Flash, X-Men Vs Street Fighter, Raiden DX, etc. Ahhh....such fond memories. Games were imaginative, creative and so much fun.

Then, an evil empire called M$ introduced the devil machine that upset the whole industry. They blatantly rip off other developers' IPs, over-hype their games, lied to their fans, sell broken hardware, bash their rivals and pay developers to take away the competitor's exclusive titles.

You reap what you sow M$, karma will catch up with you one day. That day is near.

[hfaze]

Well... Although I am no fanboy of Microsoft, I do have to admit that they have brought some good changes to the industry as a whole.

Do you really think that online console gaming would be where it is now without XBox Live? There's a chance that something like Nintendo's god-awful "friend code" system would have become the norm, or we would be stuck with having to have an online account per-game like the old PS2 online days... (glaring at Konami and their backwards online ways...)

I will give Microsoft one thing... I'm glad that they brought unified online gaming to the consoles.

Other than that, DOWN WITH THE EVIL EMPIRE!! ;-)