Slashdot Mirror
Heavy Japanese Support for Xbox 2
Gamasutra has word that there are already several Japanese game development studios and designers lining up to create titles for the Xbox 2 system. Yoshiki Okamoto, a former producer at Capcom, is quoted in the article as being surprised at the response the new console is getting. From the article: "I've been hearing that some other designers will also be joining. There are a lot of surprises. I find myself saying: 'What, this development studio!? This game!? These people!?'" Commentary on the upcoming console's Japanese future also available at GamesIndustry.biz. Update: 04/07 03:18 GMT by Z : The translations from the original source came from Gamespot.com.
You will be assimilated.
I'm not too surprised actually. Microsoft has been pushing hard and listening to what the Japanese developers want. (And probably throwing alot of money around as well)
In that sense, I'm all for it. Microsoft's generally pretty good when competing.
I'm worried, though, what happens if Microsoft "wins" the market.
i want a fighter to contend with the currently dominating soul calibur. and think about blending them with mmorpgs if at all possible, and by that, i mean replacing the d&d method of diceroll situational decisions with true hit-detection & move priority that makes for fighting goodness. i know that's a lot to ask, but i'd like to see better steps in that direction than Iron-Phoenix, which i have to admit is a fighter, and uses the idsoftware approach to multiplayer battles. i'm still waiting for the one that gets tech like streetfighter or soulcalibur.
Whether we like it or not, Xbox2 is going to be pretty big hit. Microsoft is making some pretty smart choices and some pretty dumb ones too. They may even have a very slight chance of coming out on top of Sony this go round? I'm just worried about what XNA is going to do to smaller/independant developers mainly... although I haven't heard if it's a required purchase to be "allowed" to make games for Xbox2. Then again, I'm also of the opinion that this next generation isn't going to do so well, at least not at first. With ever rising prices, quite a few smaller developers will probably continue supporting the current consoles and casual gamers probably won't be able to see enough of a leap in graphics between these two generations to justify a $300+ system. It will certainly be an interesting time...
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
If I remember correctly, lack of Japanese developers was what hindered the X-Box so much before. I can't think of a single game for the system made in Japan that was console exclusive or playable. Microsoft has historically been disliked by Japan. Sony even tried to make thier own version of Unix a decade or so back so that they didn't have to use Windows. Maybe Gates just bought the country. God knows he could do it and still have enough money to use as toilet paper.
What do Saddam Hussain and Little Miss Muffet have in common? They have Kurds in their Whey.
pretty much impossible to tell yet. a bunch of development studios didn't make a console hit before, and not likely to do it again. for all we know their games could be pure crap too. especially when it's damn hard to tell beforehand what the games will be like on these systems - the sun and the moon have been promised on future console systems before with failed delivery. now they're just playing the HYPE game.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
In the May issue of FamitsuXbox (comes out in April, oddly enough), there's a huge article with 3 top game designers about their new studios that are exclusive to the xbox2.
One of designers is Sawaguchi, who was the brains behind the Final Fantasy series, and who is currently heading his own studio with other FF vetrans.
He's apparently working on two different RPG titles for the xbox2. One is a very traditional RPG thingy, while the other deals with a main character who is over the hill and who has adventure come looking for him.
--------
Nothing can be done before the tremendous power!
RabidComics
Now those Sumo wrestlers will have a game console they can get real support from. It's about damn time.
Here are a few problems with some of your arguments.
1) PS2 effectively buried the Dreamcast (my sweet, dear Dreamcast). I would say Sony was pretty serious, but I agree with you that Microsoft did make the game a bit more deadly, no pun intended. Competition is certainly stiffer.
2) IE isn't a good comparison, primarily because it is technically 'free' software, at least in the financial sense. It doesn't compare to the X-box, which is fabricated hardware that the consumer must purchase. Once they beat Netscape, Micro~01 had no incentive to develop IE further, which brings me to your third point and final comments.
3) Yeah, Intel vs AMD = good for customers. However, if one of the companies disappeared, the other would continue marketing and making new chips, because software (or bloatware) continues to demand more processing power. I know I'm heavily simplifying things, but the console market is similar. Developers want to keep pushing the limits of the available tech, gamers want prettier graphics and more realistic bouncing breasts, and this requires newer hardware.
Its all about sales. IE doesn't get developed as much because you don't 'sell' IE at Best Buy. Game studios want to keep selling new games. There are a finite number of X-Boxes that can be sold, thus Microsoft must make X-Box 2, and 3, creating demand and maintaining their bottom-line. The same for game developers. Even if Sony disappeared, we would probably see a new console every 5 years, which is roughly the timeline we see a company roll out its next generation. You don't stop doing business just because the competition is gone, which will never happen, the gaming industry is too lucrative, it rivals the movie industry and in some ways exceeds it.
Have you seen an Xbox or a Gamecube lately?
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
"Japanese developer support for the XB2 does not necessarily mean Japanese popular support. Games may sell systems initially..."
If there are lots of good games, people will buy the system. The games are always what decides whether a console is a winner or not. The main problem with the Xbox in Japan is that 90% of it's games are American or European and apparently a large portion of Japanese gamers only like Japanese games. You have to also take into account that the Japanese market is not as big as it used to be, their numbers have been dwendling while both American gamers and game developers have been growing and growing...
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
I'm sure it's true, but I can't help but think of an episode of the West Wing.
In 1 episode it's nearing ther President's re-election campaign. He's about to go see a famous and fancy musical based on the War of the Roses (not the movie, the event).
His opponent wants to meet with the President during intermission (kind of a public meeting) but the president declines. He doesn't like the guy and this is a nice occasion for him. So he declines.
The opponent then leaks to the press that the President invited him to sit with him during the musical and speak with him during intermission, and his "people" confirm the false rumor. Before the White House can reply the whole world is buying into the rumor. Calling him a liar isn't going to fly well because all of the reporters think it's true (heck, they "discovered" a rumor and got it confirmed: job accomplished).
If you're trying to get someone to do something, sometimes telling the world that they've promised to do it forces their hand. Because now the public expects it to happen.
And sometimes it pisses them off royally. But who cares if they hate you already?
In any case, I doubt MS would do this.