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Capcom Takes Grand Theft Auto To Japan
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a press release announcing that Capcom will publish the phenomenally successful Grand Theft Auto 3 in Japan. It appears the big Japan publisher will "..localize, publish and distribute.. Grand Theft Auto 3" for both Playstation 2 and PC, and "Grand Theft Auto 3 is scheduled for release in the Japanese market in Fall 2003." Interestingly, one commentary about GTA3 in Japan says that the author's Japanese friends "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'", but the game's suitability for the Japanese market will only be definitely proved/disproved by sales figures.
Wouldn't "Grant Theft Yugo" be a lot of fun?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
"author's Japanese friends "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'
This is coming from a place that just loves tentacle-rape Hentai.
...GTA3 hasn't been released in japan as of yet? truly bizzare.
moox. for a new generation.
that's the kind of game only an American would like
As long as they're tossing out generalities, what about games featuring animated rape and incest? There isn't much of a market for those over on this side of the pond.
...the way they think is diffirent from here (EU/US) and it is quite obvious that GTA3 will do badly there for pointless violence (as mentioned before) is not really their thing. Metal Gear Solid 2 got a lot of bad response in Japan because it was too American which, in all aspects, it is.
Fun/Happy games do better in Japan as the action-based games are a smaller market but are the topsellers in the EU/US.
Well Rockstar is going over seas to Japan and I'm really happy about that it's about time a real game with everything in it and more make it overseas. Capcom has made great games in the past but Partnership with Rockstar games in this venture is good for the gaming market in Japan which is declining even as we speak, they need a game like GTA3 Which was the highest selling game in the USA and think about the possibilities of GTA Vice city as well Capcom and Rockstar will make a killing in Japan granted in the past USA games haven't went well in Japan, but this is very different GTA has so much to offer and Capcom the makers of SF2, Mega man, Resident evil now think how popular those are and now add GTA franchise and you got a monster on your hands. I know this venture with Rockstar games and Capcom will do very well even in the future. Could you see the possibilities. To be honest I would love to play the Japanese version of GTA and See what Capcom and Rockstar came up with for this highly sold highly popular game so far for this decade. Well thank you for hearing me out.
For all of those that had witness let me give you one of my favorite sayings "Ph34r My M4d Skillz"
by letting you dress up the main character and obsess over his blood type. I bet they'll also make it so that you can collect various accessories to decorate your cars and houses.
Seriously, I WANT to see a game that will offend the Japanese.
I know more than you drink.
The GTA games are made in Scotland by the company formerly known as DMA. We sort of like it on this side of the pond as well, and we probably get the dark scottish ironical comedy in it better than most Americans. No offence, like.
Something that really struck me as funny was a stand up comedy show on the BBC filmed in Glasgow. Some canadian comic was doing a routine about how violent the Americans are, and used GTA3 as an example.
Not all Japanese porn is tentacle rape stuff. Just take a look at this fine video for an example of refined Japanese taste.
GMD
watch this
better moral structure when it coems to sex?
you mean the 3 decades it took them to aprove a birth control pill while viagra took only 6 months
better overall moral strucure?
you mean the baatan death march and just as much rape, human experimentation and genocidal acts as the germans during world war 2 yet got away with a slap on the wrist
people are always bringing up the united states's sins of the father so why not japan's, oh because they're the poor defensless country we dropped nuclear weapons on to stop a war they started
Interestingly, one commentary about GTA3 in Japan says that the author's Japanese friends "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'"
Not enough tentacles, I guess...
10. "Grand Theft Auto, eh?" (Canada)
9. "Grand Theft UNIX Code" (SCO Offices)
8. "Grand Canyon Theft Auto" (Arizona)
7. "Grand Theft Electric Auto" (Ed Begley Jr's Garage)
6. "Grand Theft Item #6" (This list)
5. "Grand Theft Poland" (Nazi Germany)
4. "Grand Theft Evil Otto" (Berzerk! videogame)
3. "Grand Theft Exploding Auto" (Israel)
2. "Grand Theft Rickshaw" (China)
1. "Grand Theft Entire Country" (Iraq)
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I sincerely doubt that we can take the comments of two or three people and equivocate them to the beliefs or opinions of an entire country. Although their comments were stereotypical, let's not stoop to the same level in return.
I don't usually go in for violent games but GTA3 has a certain charm and it is one of the most playable games I have ever encountered. I imagine that the Japanese market will react the same way everyone else in the world reacted to GTA3 -- they'll buy millions of copies.
"..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'"
That smells more like somebody who heard all about the game on CNN as opposed to actually playing it.
'that's the kind of game only an American would like'
Isn't Rockstar a UK company? I know Rockstar North worked on State of Emergency and Vice City, but the origional GTA series didn't start on this side of the pond.
Hot Soup - Lethal Doses
It seems to me that the only applicable explanation is a deeply rooted post-war disgust of anything American except dollars. This shouldn't be a new concept to anyone who pays any attention to world politics. Any other theories out there that don't involve simply bringing up hentai as a defense?
As to Rockstar I hope they do great. The reality of it is when the game lands on the shelf it won't have a giant neon sign above it saying "Made in the USA" and when push comes to shove gamers tend to buy good games not games manufactured by political entities they feel empathy towards.
Who moderates the meta-moderators?
Anyone remember this positive Japanese perspective on the game, from a rather unlikely source? (Slashdot story here.
Gamespot also wrote an article about "Liberty City Has No Place in Japan" a while back.
oh come on, this isn't insightful, it's flamebait
the united states locked up thousands of their own citizens to "protect" them from their neighbors, ruined their livelihoods by forcing them to sell off their businesses and possesions at pennies on the dollar
world war 2 was an atrocity brought about by the victors of the previous war demanding reparations from countries that had just been bombed to the stone age and then not doing anything about germany's illegal re-armament, considering the us is accorss an ocean most of the blame goes on france and england for making continuous concessions
I guess they will change the fish market vans into hot dog carts...
Most Japanese think Americans are loud, violent gun-toting maniacs thanks to the movies they see in theaters and on TV...
"Yes you too can pretend to be an American in this realistic American city simulator!"
I wonder if they'll make the cars drive on the other side of the road?
Really, most _Americans_ are appalled by the GTA series, once you get outside gamer circles. And even moreso if they've actually _seen_ the game being played. I mean, this is a game where you pull drivers out of cars, beat them to death, and run over pedestrians while trying to avoid the cops.
It doesn't exactly take a puritan to find that disturbing.
(I have played the game, and found it not to my taste. I don't mind that it exists, and hey, if that's what the market likes, so be it, but this is a far stronger case that the game has objectionable content than the typical anti-3D-shooter sentiment.)
-- Kate
...the developers of Grand Theft Auto don't live in New York, Miami or even the USA. They're in Europe, although I don't remember the country, it ain't the USA.
Actually, noone has proven with facts that a single person at Gitmo or locked up as a result of 9/11 was actually a citizen. Most of those locked up were non-citizens in violation of immigration laws. While I don't agree with them being indefinately locked up, I think it's disingenuous to act like these guys were the "boys next door", when they were people in long-term violation of a nation's sovereignty.
Only in slashdot are posts of solidarity modded at -1 Redundant, while posts of antagonism are modded as -1 Flamebait.
oops, i meant during world war 2, the japanese internment camps, sorry i wasn't more clear
Before you all go crazy crucifying the Japanese for saying only we Americans would like such a game, remember a few things. -This is based soley on a few friends of some guy we don't even know. -I studied Japanese culture in college and it is far, far more repressed than ours. It is not socially acceptable to express your true feelings or desires. Those things are expected to be explored only in private.. hence they tend to take them to the extreme when they have the privacy (tentacle rape, etc). All this leads to incredible amounts of bottled up tension and shame that has driven japanese suicide levels to unbelievable rates, sadly.
1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
Are they going to have the main Guy have tenticles? For that occasional full body cavity search. Include a cute but obnoxious side-kick? Perhaps they are going to change the Guy to a Gal! Nothing better then a gun-packing honey!
-- What's this '-r *' file doing here? -- Oh well, a simple 'rm' should do the trick.