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The Week in Gaming in Japan
Next Generation has a piece up today examining recent events on the gaming scene in Japan. From the article: "Ninety-Nine Nights - April 1 Arrival. This week's short interview of Mr. Maruyama reveals -- in addition to his outright declaration that Blue Dragon will sell a million -- that 'The launch period will last through until March.' Why's that? What happens in March? I check my schedule: well, Final Fantasy XI (pre-loaded onto every [Japanese] Xbox 360 sold at launch) snaps out of its beta phase? Ninety-Nine Nights releases on April 1st, and let's hope the joke is that the little witch girl's face isn't as creepy in the actual game as it's been in every piece of press. If they're banking on Japanese guys wasting more than half their disposable income on plastic figurines of that witch girl, they've got some rethinking to do." Relatedly, Forbes is running an article positing that the 360 has its work cut out for it on the Japanese market.
Please translate this in english:
...and let's hope the joke is that the little witch girl's face isn't as creepy in the actual game as it's been in every piece of press
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Japanese buyers don't like a console not made in Japan.
Also, what's up with this? (from TFA):
"'Unless we achieve meaningful success here, we cannot say we are a winner in the next-generation console battle,' Maruyama told a news conference."
Only A winner? Aiming kind of low, aren't we? Shouldn't you want to be THE winner?
This is Japan we're talking about. That kid is right up their alley.
I'd say the fact that it creeps westerners out shows that they did their market research. If you don't think Japanese soft-core tastes are creepy, take a look at the free pencil box art that shipped with the "R.O.D the TV" DVD's sometime. Particularilly the pin-up of Hisa.
Yeesh. I now need to somehow scrub my brain out after remembering the sight of it. Hello, beer!
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Apparently the Lawson's (like 7-11) outside my friends apt will have this for sale on Saturday. There have been no preorder takers so far.
He lives 2 hours north of Tokyo in a city with about a half million.
If they're banking on Japanese guys wasting more than half their disposable income on plastic figurines of that witch girl, they've got some rethinking to do.
With ideas like that, sounds like they've been smoking too much Maruyama!
As I was talking to one of my friends today about Microsoft's japanese strategy we pretty much decided the whole thing is a joke. I don't see how having FFXI and Sakaguchi making games for your system gives you a sure-fire sale in Japan. They must think the Japanese gamers are dumber than American gamers.
Let's not forget how small the backwards compatibility list is for the system right now. I think there's no more than 20 titles on there. Oh wait, the first XBox barely sold 10k systems in Japan (i think, if this isn't right, the fact that they barely had any measure of market penetration isn't deniable), that must be all the titles they sold those 10,000 people.
Are there any titles in the Japanese launch that weren't available at the US launch? The launch line-up here was pretty pathetic, I don't expect to hear good news on this one. Note, I said news, not Redmond, WA issued propaganda.
Insert Sig Here
I'm not optimistic for this console rocking Japan's world.
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.