Will we play more Japanese software now?

[tapedeck]

With titles such as Brain Training, Forever blue, Tingle, Jam Sessions.... are we seeing titles which traditionally appeal to a Japanese audience being given a better chance to appeal in the west?

 

We all know Wii opens new avenues to developers and the opportunity for big ideas (not budgets) to really shine.

With the DS we've seen more titles which you could percieve as non-games being available - (titles which I feel have never really left Japan over the last ten or so years).

 

Many titles such as stocks and share manipulation, dating simulators, pet care, "training" games, music games now swamp the DS all across the globe moreso than any previous format. With this development in the handheld arena do you think we will see more titles like 'Seabass'/dating simulators/Giftpia etc on western consoles?

 

It's refreshing to see such titles given an opportunity even if they are wrapped up in "generations!" or "training" monikers. But will the industry shirk this opportunity and redub titles (as seen in the recent Elite Beat Agents transformation) or will we see Japanese culture dripping from our consoles more than we think?

 

I would like to think we could see more Japanese software over here. Apart from language translations, why 'baracade' their culture? Japan is becoming more Western and this can be seen in some of their studio's games (MGS, Sonic to name but two). But as Japanese culture becomes more western it would be nice to see a greater number of their games over here.

 

 

P.S:

(Points of interest to me are the recent Sin and Punishment release on VC and the great way that was handled. And if anyone saw the N64 Perfect Dark release I'm sure you would smirk at the way in which even Western developers try to judge the Eastern market.)

[Emasher]

Defiantly. Developers/publishers just didn't know non-Japanese people would buy that kind of game before I guess.

 

As for me I don't really like that kind of game much anyway.

[Patch]

Will we play more Japanese software now?

 

I hope so. The Phoenix Wright games have recently got me wondering just how many other gems there are over there that we need over here!

 

I'm all for new, quirky, eccentric, non, pseudo and half games. The more choice, the better.

[jammy2211]

Well obviously, if company's make a game for the Japanese market the costs in bringing it over here are pretty minimal. Now the Wii is set to dominate Japan I'd guess we're bound too.

 

I'm hoping for alot more RPG's and such, but really just game which shows Japan's focus on creative freedom. For me the Japanese based game are almost always more creative and diverse, and generally more fresh then what Western Studio's make, and that's what I really want to see. It feels like Japanese studio's create games in a different way to Western studio's, which is what I prefer.

 

As for the training games and stuff, yeah we're going to see all them. However I'm a bit confused by your examples, because all the games you listed have always been successful in the West since they launched. Just they're more successful in Japan.

[James McGeachie]

We already get the vast majority of DECENT Japanese software. The majority of stuff that doesn't make it over is pretty much shovelware poorly done anime games and some quirky titles that are too obscure due to culture barriers that mean they'd make absolutely no sense in any respect here and don't have any particularly strong elements anyway.

 

It's not like Japan has some deep treasure chest of ultra classics that we never see in the West. There's probably a few but virtually everything of highest standard is localised in some form.

 

The only thing I can think of that really interested me and I was sad to see not come to the West was those ultra simple GBA games, with simple concepts and visuals but pretty deep quality of gameplay. Can't remember the names but they looked like Atari games visually but more stylised.