With his company, Mistwalker, getting ready to release its second Xbox 360 exclusive RPG, Lost Odyssey, Hironobu Sakaguchi has claimed Microsoft has a big opportunity to generate serious hardware sales in Japan this Christmas.
Speaking exclusively in the latest edition of Edge magazine, Sakaguchi said Japanese gamers are taking their time warming to next-gen formats.
"Consoles like the 360 and PS3 have still to make a breakthrough in terms of sales [in Japan], and the market is very much about Nintendo," Blue Dragon's creator, Sakaguchi, told the magazine.
"The PS3 and Xbox 360 are clearly lacking titles to appeal to the Japanese gamer, but this is about to change, and the Xbox 360 in particular has an opportunity to prove itself at the end of the year. Its line-up is the best Microsoft has ever had in Japan."
Gary Green said: We have a juxtaposition of 2D and 3D visuals, flashy turn-based combat, quirky anime characters with cheeky dialogue with plenty of partial nudity; Yes, this is a Compile Heart JRPG. Whilst the engine is borrowed from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Mugen Souls is more of a Disgaea spin-off. It’s not a strategy RPG as such, it merely sits within Disgaea’s ever-expanding universe (Multiverse? Netherverse? Your guess is as good as mine). You won’t find cameos though, since Mugen Souls is a franchise which aims to stand on its own two feet.
Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."
1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.
It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!
I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.
Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.
Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.
Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:
- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2
I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.
Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.
I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.
I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.
But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.
While the mainstream media always sees things turning in favor of the hero, here are 6 games that own being a bad guy.
Pretty much all of these games listed are based around a morality system you don't have to be bad and you don't have to be good.
It seems to have left out some real amazing games like red dead redemption 1/2,ass effect and true crime la/ny
Armored Core VI?
Ok, I'm really missing something here. Just beat chapter 3 earlier this evening, unlocked A-rank Arena fights. I'm not seeing or sensing any branching paths or morality system and I've done every side mission and arena fight available to me up to that fight.
Is something big coming soon to branch the story?
No mention of Grand Theft Auto? Saints Row (original trilogy), Manhunt? Also The Suffering (depending on the ending you get).
Trevor in GTA 6 is a sadist and psychopath who dabbles in cannibalism. Should be top of the list. These game “news” sites should hire people that know games.
"Its line-up is the best Microsoft has ever had in Japan."
I agree with that statement then again it wouldn't be that difficult to do.
Personally I don't really care how well x360 does in Japan since the major reason a bought the xbox and the x360 was for it's western developed games.
they just fell back to3k weekly sales, how is that rising.
halo3 and the elite was ther peak, and it d'nt outsell the ps3.
yeah some titles are coming, but the only n that could en spark a lil bit of sales is lost odyessy.
I could live where he does. Indenial, Japan. Must be a nice place.
I think his view is overly optomistic - not much of a suprise and he's currently earning his cash from Microsoft.
Still, lost odessy should be an OK title, but Its not gonna turn 360's fortunes around.
I far prefer the quirky output of the Jap studios to the churned out stuff of the west, so I'd prefer it if the 360 did generate a bit more support over there. No one has ever won the hardwrae wars with the US alone, and that's why MS has been so desperate to get the Japs onside... its a losing battle though, and by far the itles that excite me most ove rht enext year are all PS3.. Good job I got both! :)